There was a spatter of blood as Klayer's body struck the cold steel deck of the command center. Her compatriots were used to her body being covered in blood, but this time, the blood was her own. Thick gashes raked across her body and her armor was torn jagged. She had collapsed the instant she appeared. Small rivers of blood flowed from her wounds onto the slate grey floor.

A healer immediately moved to Klayer's body and began magically sealing her wounds, though it was always an arduous task with someone this powerful--it took a great deal to fell a Kyosar, and just as much to restore one.

Klayer staggered to her feet only a few moments after the healer had begun, despite the fact that her wounds remained critical.

A woman in a form-fitting military uniform regarded her with a look of quiet alarm. "What happened?"

"The scouts were right...it's her," Klayer said, a small trickle of blood coming from her mouth as she spoke. "And that's not all. She has spawned. A lot."

"How many?"

"Enough to turn this whole sector into a brood zone. They have already begun attacking the IAF."

The uniformed woman clenched her jaw and tapped a device on her ear. "Section, this is Alvaret Team. We have confirmation. Mnokugura has re-entered this sector of space and has produced a full spawn. Please advise."

There was a pause as she recieved a reply through her earpiece, then she turned back to Klayer. "How long do we have?"

Klayer's jaw was set firm. "Mnokugura could reach this world before Aerothi completes her work. We must marshall the fleet and draw her away...or at least slow her down."

"Casualties will be high. We can't take on monsters of that size without serious losses."

"I know that. But if Mnokugura reaches this planet before it is reawakened, the Protectorate itself will be the next thing on her menu."

"What's the status of your agents?"

Klayer looked uncertain for a moment, which all present knew couldn't be a good sign. "There have been complications."

There was a long pause. "Complications?"

"Yes...I believe they are going to attempt to speak to Eternity."

"Eternity? The void master?"

"Yes. Aerothi has directed them to planet Scyther to find her."

"Scyther..." the woman paused for a moment and pulled up a holographic starmap from the table in front of her. "That's twenty sectors away. It would take months. We couldn't possibly hold her off for more than a week."

"I know...however, Talia Ruby contains a portal to Alvaria Sapphire--it is very close to Scyther."

"Talia Ruby," the woman repeated somberly, looking for the star on her starmap. "That's dangerously close to Mnokugura."

"Her spawn have already overrun the entire area," Klayer said gravely. "But we have little choice."

"But how can we get them there without revealing our presence?"

"We can't. But I might know someone who can."

"Surely you don't still trust her."

"No. I do not. But she can still be useful to us."

*****

Annelique was nervous as they approached the flickering torchlights in the distance. She had never met a Black Crescent--or anyone from a clan, for that matter--and she didn't know how they would be recieved. Would they help them? Imprison them? Ignore them? Eat them? She had no way to know.

The sky remained as dark as it had been and at first the entire town was shrouded in black. Forms of buildings slowly revealed themselves as ghostly grey silhouettes as they drew closer.

She saw strange shapes moving silently in the tall trees; whether they were human, she could not tell, nor was she willing to risk finding out. The group steered away from them, keeping a brisk pace towards the city.

The town was not at all fortified; it seemed little more than a collection of stone buildings and large, silk-woven tents. As they entered the borders of the city they began to see other people. The first seemed to be sentries; they wore cloaks of a deep indigo and held longbows at the ready, though they were still aimed at the ground. They looked the group over but seemed to pay no particular heed to them. That, at least, was a good sign.

Despite the late hour, the town was bustling with activity. As they moved deeper into the city they found themselves among dozens of girls, passing by and talking idly on the streets, some loudly, some in hushed tones. They had strange, exotic features, but they also held a beauty that almost reminded Annelique of the cherubs back home.

There were others, too--members of other clans, identifiable by their garb or their obviously different facial features. She recognized several Ironbellies as she walked, along with many others she was not familiar with.

Eventually, she stopped at an intersection and turned to her companions. "So I guess now we need to find someone to help us sneak into Eronmar."

"Pity we're not in Faneglut," Kaboom said. "We could just buy somebody."

"If we had any money," Sudvana replied.

"I guess there is that," Kaboom said.

"I don't even know where to start..." Annelique said. "Gairanda?"

Gairanda looked around. "Probably a tavern...normally you can get at least some general information if you bribe the barkeep. But..."

"...we don't have any money," Kaboom said.

"Why don't you have any money?" Sudvana asked her.

"It's still at my house. Honestly, I haven't ever needed it, except for a few times when I needed stuff for something I was working on. Even then, I usually just take it out in trade."

"Maybe we can sell something," Annelique said.

Kaboom suddenly clutched her shotgun to her chest jealously, giving Annelique a wary look.

"We don't have much left," Sudvana said.

"You guys could always sell your bodies," Kaboom suggested. "Most of you are pretty cute."

The others just looked at her.

"What? I didn't mean as food. Unless one of you--"

"NO," Sudvana interrupted. "To either," she added.

"Well, let's try asking around, there's no harm in trying..." Gairanda said.

"How are you holding up?" Annelique asked her. She looked a little dizzy.

"There's...a lot to sort through. It's better if I don't think about it."

"Sorry," Annelique said.

The group wandered the city streets until they came upon what appeared to be a tavern. It was a strange, crescent-shaped building painted in jet black. A white silk banner hung at the entrance with the words "The Dark Moon" scribed upon it.

The interior was, indeed, quite dark--only a handful of torches lit the central area where the bar stood, and the far corners of the crescent seemed to be lit only by candles.

The barkeep was a tall woman with a crescent moon tattoo on her face. Despite this, she didn't appear to be a Black Crescent herself. She had mild features and her curly hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail.

Annelique approached her gingerly. "Excuse me..."

"Yeah?" the woman said.

"We...um...we were looking for some information."

"Yeah?" the woman repeated.

"But we, um, we don't have any money."

"Okay..." the woman said, a quizzical look on her face.

"We need someone who can sneak us into Eronmar."

The barkeep's eyebrows raised. "Eronmar?" There was a pause. "Eronmar, huh?" She laughed quietly. "Yeah, that'd be a trick...it would have been a trick *before* Aerothi took it."

"But is there anyone who can do it?" Annelique said quietly.

"For free?" the barkeep replied. "I dunno. I'll ask around and see if there are some thrillseekers, but...I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Just take a seat over there and I'll ask around."

She motioned to a small table near one of the walls.

"Thank you," Annelique said before moving to the table and taking a seat. The rest of the group followed suit. The barkeep left the bar and began serving drinks to the different tables, but Annelique could see that she was speaking with the patrons as well.

They waited for almost a half an hour, with the barkeep checking up on them every so often, letting them know that she hadn't found anyone yet but would keep looking. Annelique politely thanked her, and their own group chatted every so often about how screwed they were, trying unsuccessfully to think of a plan. Suddenly, across the quiet chitchat of the bar came a booming voice.

"Patrons of the Black Moon! For the rest of the evening, drinks are on me!"

It was a woman. She was immediately recognizable as a black crescent from the vibrant shine of her face against her raven hair. An exotic-looking suit of scale-mail armor draped around her body like a dress, held in place at the hip by a wide leather belt and reaching all the way down to her ankles. It's wide sleeves ended just above her wrists. The scales were jet black and the armor seemed to be lined with padded blue silk. Black metal gauntlets of a thin, angular cut covered her hands and bracers led up her arm, disappearing under her armor. A long, thick-bladed sword was strapped behind her waist. It did not seem to have any scabbard; it simply hung against her belt. The blade had a dark, reflective glint and it had a thin, hooklike edge on one side. Her black, shoulder-length hair curled around her ear just enough to touch her chin. The strands caught just a hint of indigo in the flickering light.

Beside and slightly behind her was another woman. She wore a very similar--almost identical--suit of armor. She had a sabre strapped to her belt and a thin face framed in sun-blonde hair that began to curl as it passed her shoulders. She was very obviously not a black crescent--what she was, Annelique couldn't say.

The barkeep did not seem happy to see either of them. "It's the Dark Moon, Cassandra, and unless you're here to pay your existing tab, don't expect me to serve anything for you. In fact, I'd prefer it if you left."

The raven-haired woman smirked. "Hmph, such rudeness, and from a tavern keeper of such high reputation..." she said in a melodic voice as she strode sideways in front of the bar.

"It's not *my* reputation that I'm worried about."

"You wound me," Cassandra said with a smile, in a tone that made it perfectly clear that she was amused.

"I *will* wound you if you don't get out of here."

There was a blur of motion and suddenly Cassandra's blade was pointed at the barkeeper's neck. Though she was a perfectly safe distance away, the barkeep drew a weapon of her own--a steel shortsword--and pointed it right back at her.

"Don't think I won't fight you, Cassandra."

Cassandra laughed--but rather than a haughty laugh, it actually seemed to be more of a playful one. "Oh, same old Morana." She slowly hung her weapon back on her belt. There was a clicking sound as it fell back in place.

The barkeep, however, did not lower her weapon.

"Oh, I suppose if it's that important to you..." Cassandra said condescendingly as she reached into a pouch and pulled out a fistfull of large gold coins. She placed them on the bar with a broad smile. "There now. Is this enough for you to spare my life?" she said, a pouting look suddenly crossing her face.

"Goddess..." Morana growled as she scooped up the coins. "Don't start any trouble."

Cassandra simply smiled coyly as she turned towards the tables. As she turned, her eyes immediately locked on Annelique.

"Why Morana, you never told me you served such lovely customers!"

"Hey!" someone yelled out from across the bar, obviously insulted.

"And what is your name, angelic one?" Cassandra asked, walking slowly towards the table with her hands clasped behind her back.

"Annelique," the angel said pensively.

Cassandra smiled broadly. "A name as beautiful as your face," she said. She pulled up the one empty chair at the table and took a seat. The second woman simply stood behind her, sending an occaisional glance at the other patrons at the bar.

"So who are your friends?" Cassandra asked.

"Sudvana, Kaboom and Gairanda," Annelique said, gesturing to them each in turn.

Cassandra smiled. "So what is a beautiful angel like you doing in a dangerous backwater like this?"

"Um...we're trying to save the world," Annelique said in a slightly awkward tone.

"Ah," Cassandra said, not looking in the least bit surprised. "And you think it's safest to do it here in the Dark Moon?"

"Actually, we're looking for someone who can get us into Eronmar," Annelique replied.

Cassandra's smiled like a wolf that had just found a pig stuck in a bear trap. "Really. Well, I believe you have found your girl. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Cassandra, Crescent Corsair Extraordinaire!"

Annelique heard someone muttering at another table. "I am so sick of hearing that..."

"You shut up!" Cassandra snapped without even glancing at them.

"You're a corsair? Does that mean you have a ship?"

Cassandra looked almost offended. "Do *I* have a ship? Does Cassandra, Crescent Corsair Extraordinaire, have a *ship*?"

"Oh Goddesses, here it comes..." came the muttering again.

"I'll have you know, my *ship* is none other than the Starslicer, the fastest and most dangerous sea vessel in the world."

"How fast can it get us to Eronmar?"

"I can have you on the coast in twenty minutes. Of course, after that, you're stuck on foot."

"You mean you still haven't managed to get yourself an airship?" Morana said.

"No," Cassandra said, turning towards the barkeep, "because people like you keep taking all of my gold!"

"We need a way to get into the city without being detected," Annelique continued. "Aerothi knows who we are."

Cassandra leaned back in her chair. "I just might be able to arrange something there...of course, there is the matter of my fees."

"They're broke, Cassandra," Morana said. "There isn't much profit in saving the world."

"We're having a PRIVATE CONVERSATION here Morana," Cassandra said.

"She's right," Sudvana said. "We don't have anything."

"Except our incredibly hot bodies," Kaboom said.

Sudvana made an angry noise and jabbed at her with her elbow.

"Hmmm, no money..." Cassandra tapped her chin, a loud sigh escaping her lips. "A shame. I was so looking forward to this. But I wonder..." Cassandra leaned forward again. "What do you know about Eronmar?"

"We've been there...we worked in the mines for a little while," Sudvana said.

"Do you know where the treasure rooms are?"

"Um...they're probably in the palace..."

"Do you know a way into the palace?"

"I do," Annelique said.

"You do?" Sudvana asked.

"Yes. Klayer showed me some pretty good maps, along with secret entrances. It's how I got in when I...came to get you."

"Excellent!" Cassandra said. "So we have a deal. I'll get you in, and in exchange you'll give me all the treasure."

"We can't even guarantee there is any treasure," Sudvana said.

"Well, if there isn't, you've still got your incredibly hot bodies," Cassandra said with a wicked look.

Sudvana just whimpered and buried her face in her hands.

*****

Ralier, while surprised, was also quite happy that no one in Eronmar seemed to recognize her or Blast. Something seemed to be going on--Monsters, girls, demonesses and other creatures of every possible description were running back and forth, some carrying wounded companions, others manning defensive posts. From the things she overheard, there was a battle going on just outside of Eronmar. The distraction was more than enough for her to do what she needed to do...the problem was, she didn't know what that was, exactly.

She knew she needed to stop Aerothi, but attacking her directly would be blatantly suicidal. The whole party wasn't even able to defeat one of her groupies; what chance would she and Blast alone have against her whole elite guard all at once? Not to mention whatever horrific powers Aerothi herself might have.

She wanted to ask Blast what to do, but first, she didn't want to put any more pressure on the poor girl, and second, she knew she wouldn't answer anyway. So Ralier more or less wandered around Eronmar hoping to spot an opportunity.

What she did spot was quite a bit different, but just as welcome.

"Ishiar!" she called out.

Ishiar turned from where she was standing in a stone boulevard, looking just as lost as Ralier was--and now just as shocked. "Ralier? How did you get here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing! Not to mention that whole 'you being alive' thing!"

"Aerothi's redheaded thug came back to capture me, and then they let me go," Ishiar said.

Ralier's jaw dropped. "You're kidding."

Ishiar walked up to the kari and lowered her voice. "Have you heard of someone named Eternity?" she asked.

"Uh..." Ralier scratched her head. "Sounds familiar...seems like one of the angels mentioned her. Why? What's wrong?" Ralier noticed that there was suddenly a very heavy look on Ishiar's face.

"I...found out who has the fourth fate mark."

"Who?"

"...Aerothi."

"Say what?" Ralier's face pinched with confusion. "No, that's just...no. Just no. Icky. Wrong. Bad. She's the bad guy, isn't she?"

"There's more," Ishiar said. "The mark is death."

"Death? Like, what kind of death? Like, you die, or you make other people die?"

"I don't know...but apparently Eternity does."

"How do you know all this?" Ralier asked.

"Aerothi told me."

"Okay. Back up. Aerothi, the diabolical sorceress who is personally planning to end all life on this planet, told you exactly what you wanted to know and then let you go?"

Ishiar nodded. "Apparently she was as surprised as I was."

"Well, I know I'm pretty damned surprised. You know she's got to be lying."

"No..." Ishiar said, her voice quiet, her face showing a hint of worry. "I really don't think she is."

"Then, whuh..." Ralier's hand was fidgeting in her hair again, pulling it upward as she tried to puzzle out this new information. "What the hell is this supposed to mean? The four of you have the same mark? *She* is the one you're linked to?"

"I don't know what it means," Ishiar said. "That's why we need to speak to Eternity."

"Who is this Eternity person?"

"She's a legend...supposedly one of the greatest masters of void magic."

"Void magic? You mean that weird stuff that fiddles with people's minds and screws with time and freaky shit like that?"

Ishiar sighed. "I don't know. I don't know anything about void magic and I've never met anyone who has. The only sorcereress I ever knew well was Latella. The only things I know are the legends about it...that it's magic that isn't magic, that it holds the power of the goddesses, that it does freaky shit, that kind of thing."

"So how are we going to find this person?"

"Aerothi told me she found her on a world called Scyther."

"Another world? So we need to go flying around in a spaceship now?" Ralier said despairingly. "We couldn't even get to Eronmar on foot without losing half of our--"

She suddenly stopped, unexpectedly choking on her own voice.

"Assuming we can even find a ship, what are we going to do about them?" Ralier continued. "We can't just leave them behind."

Ishiar furrowed her brow. "Well, they made it through the portal, so they should be on their way here."

Ralier didn't look very relieved. "Or they might have gone back to Phaesili to look for us, or they..." Ralier stopped again.

"Ralier, don't think like that," Ishiar said. "They can make it."

"But what if Aerothi sends one of her skanks at them again? Or more than one?"

"She won't. She told me as much."

"And you believe her?"

Ishiar looked torn. "I know it's weird, but yeah, I do. If nothing else, she had an easy opportunity to feed me to just about anyone she wanted and she didn't take it. In fact, she fired one of her minions for trying."

Ralier looked even more confused.

"This is just fucked up," she said.

Ishiar nodded heartily, but suddenly stopped. With a start, she looked past Ralier's shoulders to what was behind her.

"Blast?" she asked, seeming to notice her for the first time.

Blast peeked around from behind Ralier's shoulders and waved, but her movements were meek and seemed almost labored. Ishiar saw her skin, pale and gaunt, and the pain that replaced her usually joyous demeanor.

Ishiar looked alarmed. "Blast, what's wrong?" she asked.

Ralier clenched her teeth and held up the golden sword. "This," she said.

"What? Is it poisoned?"

"It eats peoples' souls," Ralier said simply, an angry edge evident in her voice.

Ishiar looked back and forth between Ralier and Blast, her own face confused now.

"Blast?" she asked, her voice suddenly urgent. "Is she alright?"

Ishiar growled through her teeth. "No. Her soul basically got stabbed and it can't fix itself thanks to this thing."

As Ishiar watched in sudden dismay, Blast's pale, ghostly face retreated slightly and she closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against Ralier.

Suddenly Ishiar understood Ralier's angry demeanor. Blast was innocent, kind--she was a bright light in a world turning dark. That Aerothi's little attack dog would so ruthlessly snuff out that light was...

...She didn't have the words to describe it. She just felt sickened and outraged. She knew now why her arm hadn't stopped hurting since Rea had struck it with that sword. She could only imagine what it was doing to Blast.

"Give it to me," Ishiar said.

Ralier hesitated. "The angel...well, an angel, apparently a friend of Annelique's...she told me not to use it," Ralier replied.

"That's because she wouldn't," Ishiar said, taking the blade from Ralier's hand. "And neither will I. Until we find Rea." Ishiar fumed quietly to herself for a few moments before continuing. "And she's damned lucky we're busy saving the world."

Ralier wasn't about to argue.

*****

For all her bluster, Cassandra was definately right about one thing--her ship was fast. Very fast. It's sails practically seemed to be vestigial--the ship cut through the waves as if borne by the wings of a dragon.

It was a small vessel--it's crew of 30 women made it seem crowded. It was really little more than a large skiff, equipped on both sides with an alarming amount of weaponry. Heavy crossbows, mostly, though the rear of the ship also had some sort of long artillery cannon mounted on a metal disk inset into the deck. The weapon looked as though it could change it's angle, and from the look of the disk, Annelique was guessing it could rotate as well. Most of the crew were armored similarly to Cassandra, wearing the same draping suits of scale-mail. A few of them wore very different clothing, however--clothing of a style she had never seen before. Annelique also noticed one other very peculiar thing--at one point Cassandra had pulled a pistol from a concealed spot under her armor, performed some sort of technical and loading check on it, and placed it back in it's hiding place It looked fairly advanced, especially compared to the crossbows and swords the ship was otherwise armed with.

The speed of the ship was just as big a mystery. There were no propellers or other obvious means of propulsion, and the wind was not nearly strong enough to be bearing the ship at this speed.

Asking about the gun was probably a bad idea, but hopefully an inquiry about the speed would be inoffensive.

"How is this ship so fast?" Annelique asked over the sound of the waves.

Cassandra smiled proudly. "Water spirits. They fire us along and make sure no nasty waves get in our way."

"Water spirits?" Annelique asked, perplexed.

"Didn't you know that the elements have spirits?" Cassandra said. "At least, my ship's enchanter seems to think so. I figure, if it works, I'm not gonna argue."

Suddenly, Annelique became aware of flashes in the distance. Seconds later, the crack of distant cannonfire could be heard.

"What's going on?" Annelique asked.

Cassandra was already spying the horizon with a large pair of binoculars. "Heh. Looks like they're trying to retake Eronmar again."

"Again?"

"Yeah. Eronmar is basically a brick. Trying to take it by force is like asking a succubus to suck on your toes."

"Then how did Aerothi take it?"

Cassandra lowered her binoculars. "Imagine if you asked a succubus to suck on your toes while you had a hundred thousand people pointing spears at her head. That's basically the gist of it."

"Where did she get all these armies?" Sudvana asked.

"Apparently she got them from all over the place. My clan has decided to pretty much stay out of it, and apparently we're the only ones who got away with it. But don't you worry your cherubic little faces, I'll get you in there. There isn't a fortress built that Cassandra's Corsairs can't break into and loot into oblivion."

"That's...reassuring." Annelique was suddenly glad she didn't have any money--it meant Cassandra had no incentive to try to rob her.

There was a sudden roar and Annelique felt a hot wind pressing down on her from above. As quickly as it appeared, it vanished, and Annelique saw the flaming trail of a rectangular metal airship being borne aloft by some kind of jet engines. Several others passed by along with it, their passage blasting shallow wakes in the sea beneath them.

"Mecki transport ships," Cassandra said.

"Who's side are the Meckis on?" Annelique asked.

"Yours, I think," Cassandra replied. She raised the binoculars to her eyes again. "Looks like we're not the only boat out here either." Turning to her crew, she called out "Take us ashore!"

"Shouldn't we get closer?" Sudvana asked.

"Allies or not, the more people who see us, the more likely it is we'll get ratted out," Cassandra said. "I wanted to land in the southern bay, but we'd have to either go right through their fleet or go all the way around it. If we land here on the northeastern shore, we can still follow the mountainside into Eronmar without being seen."

The ship was already coming around, turning from it's southward course towards the west.

"What if she has sentries on the mountain?" Annelique asked.

"Oh, ye of little faith," Cassandra said coyly. She didn't give any more of a reply than that.

The ship ran aground on a sandy beach about a hundred meters from the first rises of the mountain. Cassandra leapt ashore, followed by five of her crew, each carrying a heavy crossbow and wearing a sabre or similar weapon. They hit the ground running, their movements surprisingly quiet for being so heavily armed and armored. Annelique and her companions followed, constantly looking southward for any sign of a potential enemy.

Cassandra led them up onto the rocky hillside and started moving southward. Her crew seemed to know exactly what they were doing--one would move forward to a rocky outcropping, tree or bush, then keep the area covered while they gestured for the next to move forward. Annelique had never seen such military precision before.

Indeed, there were sentries on the mountain--but Annelique only found out because there would be a snap of crossbow fire, followed by the quiet thud of a body hitting the ground. As they walked past, they would see a monster or an unconscious girl lying in the dirt with a crossbow bolt through their necks. Those few who survived the initial shot were quickly felled by the swords of Cassandra's crew--they were quite skilled, it seemed. They didn't stop to eat their defenseless victims, however--they pressed on towards Eronmar fortress, which was growing closer by the minute. Within half an hour they had reached it's walls, Cassandra's crew having felled the ground sentries while remaining safely in the shadows beneath the wall guards.

"Alright, Annelique, now it's your turn," Cassandra whispered.

"There's a magical entryway through each of the outer walls," Annelique said. "They look like normal walls, but if you say the right command phrase, you can walk through them. There's only one problem."

"What's that?"

"Only three people can go through during any given hour. If there are any more than that, an alarm will go off."

Cassandra thought for a moment. "What's the command word?"

"Each opening has a different one. It goes 'Adamant Grey,' 'Ruby Red,' 'Blood Crimson' and 'Heart of Eronmar.' The outer wall entryway is in the center, right about there," Annelique pointed off to a section of the wall, "the second is in the southern center of the middle wall, and the last is in the eastern center of the inner wall. The entrance to the palace is in the foundation of the northwestern corner where it meets the mountain."

"Only three people, huh?" Cassandra said. "That's okay. This isn't the first time we've had to deal with this situation."

"What do you mean?" Annelique asked.

Cassandra just smiled. "You three, take your clothes off."

Sudvana put her arms protectively around herself. "I thought we talked about this!"

"Well, we can do this with your clothes on, I just presumed you wanted them to stay intact."

"Um...just what exactly is this plan of yours, Cassandra?"

"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe," Cassandra said. "At least ninety percent of the time," she continued. "Just take your clothes off and trust me."

"Just that *sentence* makes me nervous," Sudvana said, but after a moment she slowly started pulling off her clothing. Her companions did as well, and soon they were all standing nude next to the fortress wall.

At least it was dark, Sudvana thought.

"Okay, now put them somewhere safe. We can come back for them later," Cassandra said, glancing upward to check on the wall guards.

They piled their clothing and what was left of their armor against the wall.

"So why aren't you guys getting naked?" Annelique asked.

"Only half of us have to," Cassandra said.

"Why? I--"

"Hold still for a sec."

Before Annelique could protest or even say anything, Cassandra siezed her by the hips and lifted her clean off the ground. The metal pieces in her gauntlet dug painfully into her naked skin.

"What are you doing!?" Annelique hissed.

Cassandra just smiled wolfishly at her before flipping her around in mid-air and driving her head down into her mouth. There was a muffled squeal as Annelique felt Cassandra's tongue slithering past her face, quickly followed by the slick flesh of her throat.

Anneliques protests were all too muffled to be comprehensible as she slid down into Cassandra's body. Her descent slowed considerably when her wings reached Cassandra's lips, but the woman was apparently an expert--she simply tipped them with her hands so that they folded neatly against Annelique's back and her trip down her muggy throat resumed. Annelique's naked legs kicked in the air as her waist slid into Cassandra's mouth. By this time Annelique's head was beginning to emerge from the esophagus into Cassandra's stomach.

"WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOING." Annelique hissed again.

"Wha foo you fink I'm doing?" Cassandra replied, her voice muffled from around Annelique's legs. They began to slide smoothly into the woman's mouth and down her throat in one graceful motion, and soon Anneliques feet and toes were disappearing behind Cassandra's lips. There was a loud glomp as Cassandra's throat muscles conveyed the rest of her meal into her stomach. Strong muscular ripples forced Annelique's body down into the tight, slimy organ, forcefully curling her into an awkward ball. Her head rested at the bottom of the stomach with her knees and wings pressing against her from either side. Her arms were pinned in awkward positions around her and she could feel slime beginning to drip down her bare skin.

"Cassandra, I'm going to ask one more time nicely," Annelique said.

"Loopholes are wonderful things," Cassandra said. "Only three people can go through, but I'm guessing that enchantment isn't smart enough to care what those three people just ate."

"Three people? Oh, don't tell me you swallowed the others..."

"No, just two of them. Since we can't bring all four of you. Oh, you might want to tell your faerie friend to stop swearing. It makes it a lot harder for us to sneak around."

Annelique sighed. "How do you propose to sneak around with me trapped in your belly even if I'm quiet?"

"Like I said, we have experience with these situations."

Annelique could swear she could hear the smile in Cassandra's voice.

"Alright, just...do this quickly, okay?" Annelique said. "I want to have some feathers left by the time we get inside."

"But of course! Remember, we are professionals!"

Annelique felt the stomach lurch as Cassandra started off towards the first entryway. Despite their bulging bellies, all three were able to run both gracefully and quietly--apparently they *had* done this before.

In fact, in Cassandra's mind, the hardest part was concentrating over the waves of bliss she was recieving from having swallowed an angel.

Upon reaching the area Annelique had indicated, Cassandra stood next to the wall and whispered "Adamant Grey."

Nothing appeared to happen, but she had been expecting that. She and her two full-bellied crew were already feeling along the walls for the entryway, and before long Cassandra's hand vanished into what appeared to be solid rock.

"It's here. Let's go."

The three women stepped through the now-illusionary wall and into a long, stone tunnel. The streets of Eronmar were visible on the other side, with monsters and soldiers occaisionally moving past. Cassandra silently pressed forward, stopping shy of the exit and pressing her back against the wall and motioning for one of her companions to do the same.

She waited until the boulevard was clear on her side, then nodded. Her companion held up her hand for a moment; shortly after, a pair of nagas slithered past, eventually turning a corner. She nodded, and all three girls stepped out onto the street.

"So what's the plan?" one of her crew asked.

"Blend in," Cassandra said. "Spoils of war," she said, patting her belly as she did so. Her two crew nodded.

"My wings hurt," Kaboom said from inside one of them.

"Shhh!" Cassandra said.

Cassandra and her two full-bellied companions started walking down the street as though they belonged there. Sure enough, most of the creatures they came across paid little attention to them--they did look at them as though there was something unusual, but they didn't say anything--at first.

"You there!"

A woman in crimson armor was calling out from a wooden watch post, already making her way down the steps.

"Can't you follow orders?" she snapped at them. "You don't eat until the battle is over! We need everyone ready to fight!"

"Yes, ma'am, I apologize," Cassandra said. "We will dispose of our meals immediately."

"Take them to the prisons, then report back to your units!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Cassandra and her retinue jogged away. Once they were out of earshot of anyone, Cassandra muttered "This is almost too easy."

"Please hurry up," came Sudvana's muffled voice. "My skin is starting to burn."

"Hang in there, I know you can do it," Cassandra said, smirking to herself. She was actually quite enjoying her little angel meal, and she was pretty sure her companions were enjoying theirs as well.

After five or ten minutes of jogging, they reached the south side of the second wall.

"Shit."

"What?" Annelique said. By this time her head was half-submerged in digestive juice and her wings were utterly soaked.

"They've got guards stationed here--looks like one of their command posts."

"Can you beat them?"

"Not without making a racket."

"Well, you'd better thing of something! I'm cooking in here!"

Cassandra smirked again, but it didn't last long--the angel was right. She had to think of something.

There were two guards standing on the inner wall, looking straight down at where they would need to be. They seemed to be guarding a building built on top of the wall. There were also two harpies and a naga in the corner of the road itself--the naga and one of the harpies both appeared to have full bellies and were doubtless hiding from whatever regiments they were supposed to be in.

"Hey angel!" Cassandra whispered.

"What?" Annelique replied quietly.

"How long do those magic doors stay open?"

"I don't know."

Cassandra scowled to herself. That didn't make things any easier.

"Captain," one of her crew said, "we don't have to take the passageway. We may just be able to take one of the ladders up the wall--they still think we're they're allies."

"Look at your abdomen and tell me you can climb a ladder."

The crew looked down at her enormously swollen belly. "Point taken, captain."

"If we're going to go over the wall, just puke us up!" Sudvana said, a hint of urgency in her voice.

"Yeah! In fact, let's not bother with the excuses, just puke us up! I think my toes are coming off!" Kaboom said.

"You guys are gonna get us caught!" Cassandra hissed. "Alright, we--"

Suddenly, there was a noise--an alarm of some sort was being sounded on the other side of the city.

"That sounds like it's coming from the passageway," Cassandra said. "Good thing we're nowhere near it. Some other poor sucker is gonna get it, though."

"But it could be one of your crew!" Annelique said.

"They're not that stupid, thanks," Cassandra replied. "Now be quiet, someone is coming."

Two humans and a kari walked past in a rough group; they all looked pretty beat up. They were talking to each other quietly. They sent nervous glances at Cassandra and her group...the kind that Cassandra immediately recognized as meaning they weren't supposed to be in this particular alleyway either.

May as well take advantage of the opportunity.

"May I help you, soldiers?" Cassandra said with an air of authority.

One of the two humans--one with dark blue hair and quasi-demonic armor that looked like it had spent the better part of the afternoon inside a naga--replied for them after a short delay. "We've been sent on a special mission. We need new supplies before we disembark."

She wasn't too bad of a liar...but not good enough to fool Cassandra the Corsair.

Cassandra stepped forward, her face stern. "And what exactly is this special mission?"

"If it were public, it wouldn't be a special mission, sir," the woman replied. Cassandra could tell she was on edge about something already, and nervous about this encounter.

"Don't give me that supplies crap," Cassandra said. "You're already wearing armor forged by the Blood Fane. Why shouldn't I believe you're a spy?"

"I stole--"

"Wait a minute..." Annelique interrupted from inside Cassandra's belly. "Ishie, is that you?"

A sword flew out of it's scabbard and within a heartbeat Ishiar had it levelled at Cassandra. "Let her go. Now."

Cassandra looked down at her belly. "You two know each other?"

"Yes. Let me out and I'll explain," came Annelique's muffled reply.

Cassandra sighed and regarded the three creatures in front of her. "Alright...do any of you know a safe place to talk?"

Ishiar's face was befuddled, suspicious and relieved all at once. "I think so," she said, sheathing her sword.

Ishiar led them through the city streets to the same room Shannon had used when they had spoken before. As before, it was empty. After the last of them entered, Cassandra closed the heavy oak door behind her and grudgingly began to vomit up Annelique. Her crew did likewise, Sudvana and Kaboom each hitting the floor in a puddle of goo. Kaboom's wings were mostly gone, and she was clearly grimacing. Annelique looked at her own wings--soaked, but mostly intact. Sudvana looked no worse for the wear, except that she had a slightly frightened look on her face and was still self-conscious about being naked.

Ralier looked at Cassandra and her two companions. "So, uh, why did you three eat--"

"What happened to Blast?" Kaboom suddenly interrupted. It didn't look like she could even see Blast from where she was, but she was looking around for her as though she sensed something was wrong.

Blast slowly stepped down from Ralier's back. The look on Kaboom's face made it obvious she wasn't worried about her wings anymore. She didn't say a word--she simply stared at Blast, her expression falling as if to match that of her sister who was staring back at her.

"Something about a soul-eating sword," Ishiar said, drawing Lo'i Klaethe from the makeshift scabbard she had scavenged for it. "This one."

Though she couldn't put her finger on why, Annelique found herself instinctively inching back.

Cassandra simply raised an eyebrow. "Soul-eating sword, huh? You could catch a pretty penny for that one on the black market...plenty of people interested in making sure their enemies don't come back."

"That isn't funny, Cassandra," Annelique said.

"It wasn't supposed to be," Cassandra replied.

Kaboom stood up and walked over to embrace her sister. She was cradling her now.

"So that girl doesn't have a soul?" Cassandra asked.

"No, she's got a soul. It's just permanently injured," Ralier answered.

Suddenly there was the clack of a latch and the door to the room began to open. Instantly everyone was on their guard--everyone, that is, but Blast and Kaboom, who merely looked back at the door.

It was Gairanda, wearing her full armor and looking as though she had been in a few fights since the last time they had seen her.

Cassandra sheathed her sword and huffed. "Were you the one that set off the alarm? Honestly..."

"I know what you were thinking, Cassandra," Gairanda said gravely.

Everyone in the room turned to them--every eye was either on Gairanda or Cassandra, or switching between both.

"You mean the plan that only three of us go through? Because apparently--"

"I mean the plan that you had for them," Gairanda said. Annelique noticed Gairanda still had her sword in her hand.

"What plan?"

"You had what you wanted from them. You planned to leave them in your stomachs."

Cassandra sighed. "Ugh. Honestly, the things I put up with..." her tone sounded more dismissive than fearful. "I don't know who keeps telling people these things about me, but I'm not--"

"Enough. I can see your mind," Gairanda said. She was almost snarling. Her fingers were clenching around the hilt of her blade.

"Is that so," Cassandra said, her voice still dismissive. "Then what am I thinking now?"

"You're wondering what hidden abilities the angel might have, because she's close to the door. You assume you can barge right through me and the others are too far away. And now you're debating whether you should make your break for it before I say even more."

Gairanda took a step forward, still narrating Cassandra's thoughts as she went. "Now you're wondering if there's a way you can convince them that I'm lying--"

"Alright, alright!" Cassandra yelled as her hands curled into fists. "So you can tell what I'm thinking. Look, I wasn't *planning* on digesting them. I had only thought about it. Come on, anyone would."

"Is she telling the truth, or do we try out our new soul-eater?" Ishiar said gravely.

Gairanda continued to glare at Cassandra, but her hard expression softened very slightly. "Technically. She was considering it--she had not made a firm decision yet, but could not think of a reason not to. She isn't trustworthy."

Cassandra was starting to look outright offended. "Now you're just--"

"And never has been," Gairanda interrupted. Her gaze became unfocused for a moment as if her mind was fading. Her body lilted slightly, as if in step with it. "You've betrayed a lot of people, Cassandra the Corsair," she said.

Cassandra simply stared back at her, a look of carefully controlled anger on her face. All of the swagger had drained out of her demeanor, leaving only a smoldering statue facing off against Gairanda's unflinching gaze.

"I wonder..." Gairanda said. "I wonder if you are faking those thoughts. Those thoughts of remorse, for my sake...or if there are genuinely people you wish you had not betrayed."

Cassandra looked to the others in the room. "I think our business together is finished here, if you girls will excuse us--"

"Our business is not finished," Gairanda snarled through clenched teeth. "I know why Klayer sent you here, and it wasn't to kill the Angel."

Cassandra's own voice turned dark. "If you value your life you will leave my secrets where they are from now on," she said, her hand grasping the hilt of her blade. "Because I have had enough of this."

"You know you will only get what you want on one condition, Corsair. There can be no secrets anymore. I know about the Starslicer. The real Starslicer." Gairanda's stance was wavering, her eyes blinking erratically. It was clear that trying to ferret out Cassandra's mind was causing her to lose her grip on her own. "...It isn't a boat, is it, Cassandra?"

"Klayer..." Sudvana said. "It was no accident that you came into that bar, was it, Cassandra?"

"No," Cassandra said, her gaze never moving from Gairanda. "Klayer promised she would get me my ship back if I took you to Eternity."

"Your ship?" Ralier asked.

"The Starslicer. The original Starslicer." Cassandra said, her eyes finally breaking off. "It was a starship, impounded by the Star Protectorate. MY starship." The tone in Cassandra's voice was bitter. "They destroyed it rather than risk it falling into my hands again."

"Then how could she get it back?" Ralier asked.

"I've learned better than to ask how Klayer does what she does...but in retrospect, I wouldn't be surprised if it was never destroyed at all and I was simply tricked into believing it was." Cassandra's face was flushing red--whether it was with anger or embarassment, no one could say.

"What is your relationship with Klayer?" Annelique asked. "How do you know her?"

Cassandra smiled, but this time it was a sardonic, bitter smile. "I suppose she hasn't shared much about herself with you. She usually doesn't."

"No, she hasn't," Annelique said.

Cassandra turned on her heels for a moment. "Klayer is a member of a secret organization within the Star Protectorate. Top secret and all of that dragonshit. Officially they don't exist. Of course."

"What does this organization do?"

"Besides spy on it's other members or hatch it's own conspiracies? Occaisionally they try to root out hidden threats or deal with things that the Protectorate cannot officially get involved with."

"What is the Protectorate?" Ralier asked.

"The Allied Star Protectorate. One of the local spacefaring nations. One of the bigger ones. Nothing but a bunch of douchebags and meddlers, if you ask me."

"You're a pirate," Gairanda said accusingly.

"And you're getting on my nerves," Cassandra snapped right back.

"Alright, let's...turn this conversation back to the productive part," Ishiar said. "You say Klayer agreed to get your ship back if you took us to Eternity?"

"Yes."

"How does she even know about that?"

"I've found it's usually a waste of time to ask."

"So are you going to do it?" Ralier asked.

"Wait. What about the original plan?" Annelique interrupted. "We still need to find the fourth person who bears the fate mark," she said, taking out the crystal she had recieved from Charlotte, the Demon Seer.

Ishiar sighed, shaking her head. "...Fuck..."

"What?" Annelique asked.

"I already found her." Ishiar said dourly. "It's Aerothi."

The crystal pulsed with light as she said the name.

There was a long silence in the room--if there had been any doubt before, it was now erased.

Cassandra was the one who eventually broke the silence. "What?" she asked simply.

"It's a long story..." Ishiar said. "Apparently Eternity will know the answers. Or so we can hope."

There was another long silence. No one in the room seemed willing to break it until, at long last, Annelique spoke.

"Aerothi..." she said, her eyes filled with a darkness that made it seem as though her mind was desperate to look upon something other than what her mind's eye was showing her. "I felt something about her when we first met her...something alien. She felt...like...like she could swallow the world and dissolve it into an eternal nightmare, and release it just as easily."

"When I first met her, she offered me death," Sudvana said quietly. "She offered me the one thing that I thought would end my suffering."

"When I met her, I just thought 'Good Goddess, what a creepy little girl," Ishiar said.

"Wait. You've *all* met Aerothi?" Cassandra said.

They nodded.

"And you're *all* still alive?"

They nodded.

"Maybe trying to eat you wasn't such a hot idea..." Cassandra admitted. "Well, I won't try that again, and you have your little...mindreader...to attest to that. I guess we can skip the formalities now and head straight for the ship."

"You know where it is?"

"Yes, assuming Klayer actually got it."

"Well, there's really no point in infiltrating the palace now," Annelique said.

"Except the treasure," Cassandra said.

"Which is probably all heavily guarded, and we're supposed to be saving the world. You get your ship out of this, not money. So let's go," Ishiar said, swinging the door open and stepping out into the street.

"You girls really do need to learn to lighten up," Cassandra said.