While Hotaru rained down terror on the human race, none of it reached the notice of Riley Claro. After debating which door to enter, she selected one at random, figuring there was no way to tell what she would face behind any of them. She still felt this whole thing was a bit...off. It didn't make any sense, but anything beat standing in the same room with that annoying Monohan. And these people, whoever they were, apparently were much greater than she. Good or bad, she couldn't tell, but she figured it'd be best to stay on their good side for the time being at least.

She pushed the door open and tentatively peeked in, but saw nothing but an empty room, the same material and color and lighting as the hallway in which she stood. "Is this a joke?" she asked, turning to Mem with a frown, but Mem didn't respond. Rather, she stared back at her impassively.

"Alright," Riley said. "Here I go...entering this empty room. Wow, what memories! It's overwhelming! Yes, indeed!"

Monohan snickered as he saw Riley disappear, the door closing lightly behind her. "I think I'm starting to like that girl."

"I think you're starting to rub off on her, is more like it," Mem commented.

"You think?" he grinned.

"That's not necessarily a good thing. Sarcasm is a defense mechanism used to cover up things we'd rather not see in ourselves."

"Maybe," Monohan shrugged in a clearly dismissive gesture. It was obvious he disagreed.

Riku raised an eyebrow. There's something-- But Mem cut him off with a warning glance. Monohan looked up at Riku and gave him a strange look, but then shrugged again and walked toward a door, sitting down beside it. Mem didn't look at the young man, but she was troubled at the fact that he was able to hear their silent communications. No human had been able to do that in millenia. And the ones who had...things had not gone well with them.

Who exactly was Michael Monohan?

---

Inside the room, Riley looked around impatiently. She had shut the door. Now why was she still in a plain, white, brightly lit room? She reached for the doorknob, but the door held fast, locking her inside. "What?" she said as she pulled on the doorknob again. "Mem? MEM?" She pounded on the door and put her ear to it, but could hear nothing from the other side. She yanked on it again and this time, it gave, causing her to stumble backward. As the door opened, she saw there wasn't a white hallway with three figures on the other side, but rather, pitch darkness. A musty smelling mist swirled around her knees and the temperature dropped. The bright light on the ceiling flickered once, then twice, and then went out, leaving Riley in darkness.

She instinctively put her hands out in front of her as she groped about, blindly. "Mem, this isn't funny. I get it. Oblivion's dark. OK, now let me out!" But Mem didn't answer. Mem wasn't anywhere near her. She heard a shuffling sound behind her and turned around with a start. She could faintly see two figures - one large and one very small. She heard the larger of the two speaking.

"One day, you're going to see them, Riles. A hundred million...billion...pinpricks of light that are in reality, more enormous than anything you could ever imagine!"

"Is that where Mommy went?"

There was a pause. "Y-yes. That's where Mommy went. She wanted to find the perfect star just for you so when we got up there, you'd feel right at home."

Riley felt a flood of warmth wash over her as her father's memory ignited the same one within herself. She remembered that night. How her father had bought the luminescent pen from the market that day and had stood on a chair, lightly dotting the entire ceiling with the pen. She remembered laughing in delight when he switched off the lights and the room glowed from the makeshift stars. She watched the pair, much more visible to her now, as they sat underneath her father's starry sky and smiled as he took her five year old hands in his own and began to sing a song with her.

Twinkle, twinkle little star...

(O.o I have no idea what to do!)

Fate traced her hand over the pattern that she had just finished weaving into the tapestry of destiny. "It's time," she muttered. The fork in the road. She knew her children would do well. If everything when right, the future would be guided back to it's original place. Things have been out of balance for far too long.

"What will happened?"

Fate turned around to see Earth sitting behind her. "Who knows? You know as well as I do, that the future is never set in stone. It moves and adjusts it according to how humans shape it. Though as Yuuko use to say everything is 'hitsuzen', inveitably. Just a matter of when and how it'll happen," she said with a small smile.

Earth smiled back. "Of course. They won't get hurt out of there will they?"

"The children? No, I doubt that. They're far to careful. Hotaru is probably going slightly insane with all the death she gets to cause. She's been complaining that the world hasn't had a good massacre or war in the last couple eons. Seika, Ita, Arashi and Kai are probably celebrating the return of all their magic with the elements being released again. Kaos is probably having the time of his life. I think Chi and Riku will just have fun and Tran and Mem is probably the only ones who isn't exactly happy but that is due to their own abilities," Fate said with a chuckle.

"That sounds exactly like them," Earth agreed.

"Yes. I had hoped we would find more of our family who have been reincarnated," said Fate.

"How does that work exactly?" Earth asked.

Day threw a paperweight at a mirror, shattering it into a million pieces. Kat winced at his anger, but she felt it too. The world was falling apart with the terrorist bombings of all the power stations and weather machines. She shivered as she looked outside, where everything seemed to be burning. She thought of Riley and snorted. There was no way she had survived out there. She looked to Day and asked, "What are we going to do?"

He answered with a roar, causing her to wince again and she regretted saying anything. But he took a deep breath and calmed himself. "We regroup and we round up any survivors out there." He walked to the window and looked out, shaking his head in wonder, but then he turned to her and smiled. "We're being tested, Katharine, and we're not going to fail. Rather, this is the perfect opportunity for the Donaiti."

"What do you mean?" she looked at him, confused.

"Look out there. Mass chaos. Humankind are nothing more than sheep and they need to be led. We bring the survivors here and we instruct them. We put them to work. We create a new civilization. The Donaiti have always been the strong voice of the Minister. But now, it's time for them to be the strong voice of the planet."

"What about the Minister?"

Day shook his head and smiled. "The Minister is no more." Kat wanted to ask him if the rumors had been true - if there really had never been a Minister, but she decided it'd be best if she kept silent. Day turned to her. "How would you like to oversee an entire nation?"

"M-me?" Kat sputtered.

"Prove your loyalty. Have the surviving Donai round up every person regardless of age, gender, or health. Bring them here. We'll build our ranks. It won't be hard. Such hysteria...such confusion...no one's going to turn down protection. And if they do...well, accidents happen. We'll weed out the freethinkers and rebuild this world as it was always meant to be...with a select few on top and the mindless masses doing whatever they're told. And we will make those who did this pay."

Visions of glory filled Kat's head. She pictured herself commanding thousands...even millions if that many people survived, and she nodded, determined to see this fulfilled.

---

The song faded, as did the two figures that Riley had been watching. The room grew even colder and she spotted a faint green glow far to her left. She walked toward it, ever curious. She heard shouting. It was faint at first, but the closer she got to the light, the more distinctive it became, as did the scene. She saw six men, dressed in the very uniform she herself wore, push Saul to the floor, using their stunners to render him paralyzed. He said nothing...his vocal chords didn't even work. But she saw him staring at the closet door, which was cracked and every ounce of him willed his daughter to stay inside and stay quiet. She couldn't see herself in there, but she remembered vividly the fear and the tears. How had she forgotten that day? What she had witnessed had been brutal!

The men pulled Saul to his feet and laughed as they let go of him and he sank to the floor again, fully paralyzed from the stuns. Two of the men picked him up again while the other four took their turns punching him in the stomach, the jaw, the cheek. And he had been unable to fight back. She heard their laughter and their taunts and she watched in horror as her father's face grew almost unrecognizable.

"Stop it!" she shouted, running toward the men. When she reached a certain point, she felt her own legs turn to jelly and she felt each punch her father experienced. Mem neglected to tell her that getting too close would result in experiencing the memories firsthand. She retreated as best as she could, using what little strength remained in her arms to pull her away, distancing herself from the scene.

She felt the feeling in her legs return and the pain from the punches dissipated and stared in shock as the six Donai men dragged her father away. She couldn't believe that any Donai could be so cruel. They had been charged with arresting the freethinkers, but they never showed outright cruelty!

At least she never had.

Was this a more common practice among those in her organization than she realized?

"As Hotaru will tell you, life, death, and rebirth is an endless cycle. For some reason us old Slatrommis when we die and are reborn, we still have all our memories from our previous life. It feels like we've just went to sleep for a long time. You remember that right?" Fate started.

Earth nodded. Of course, she remembered.

"But for some reason the younger ones, they don't always remember. Perhaps because their magic are weaker and not so closely tied to the grand design or perhaps it's just Destiny's way of giving them a normal life. So when they die, they keep getting reborn but they don't remember their magic or memories. Some eventually figure it out, and they remember and return to their duties. Kai, Seika, Ita and Arashi are the ones who have been reborn and regain their memories. Mem, Chi, Riku and Hotaru haven't died yet. We're not too sure on Tran and Kaos. We're probably sure they've died at least one though. So Hotaru is always on the look out for mortals who show promises of being one of the Lost Slatrommis.

Of course we have no way of knowing if they're really a reincarnation of a Slatrommi or a mortal who has magic. We just have to watch and observe again. Sometimes a mortal who has magical abilities is sometimes just a mortal with magical abilities. Not too many mortals have those abilities anymore though, so it makes our job a little easier," explained Fate.

The threads in her hands glowed. Fate frowned. "I'll have to inform Hotaru of Donaiti's latest plan."

-------

Hotaru smiled at her handiwork and then frowned upon recieving the news for her mother. In the distances she saw a TV station that the Donai controled. It was from the TV stations that the fake Minister made his daily annoucements.

A thin smile spread across her face. Why not... spread the word about the nonexistance Minister or what really happens to people when they're taken by Donaiti. Nothing like a little distrust between the people to set off the war she needed. She spread her wings and flew towards the direction of the TV stations. With just a little magic to disguise herself, the world would be recieving a international broadcast about the lies of Donaiti.

As Saul's memories progressed, the distance between them and Riley decreased each time. She watched as he was repeatedly doused with ice cold water, a practice that she had only read about. He was beaten, starved, subjected to "holo-therapy" and finally thrown in a tiny dark cell that was so small, he couldn't lie down comfortably, nor could he even stand up without having to bend down. Riley wished she could have simply observed it all, as bad as it was. But it was even worse in that some unseen force wouldn't let her move away. So she was doused, beaten, had the sensation of starvation, saw the holo-therapy propoganda, and roughly tossed in the cell along with him.

And there she was now, though he had vanished again. She rose to her feet, but the roof was so low that even though she was much shorter than Saul, she couldn't stand upright. So she sat down again, though her muscles ached. The Oblivion cell itself was only three feet in diameter. There were no windows, no apparent openings except for a tiny slot in which meager amounts of food and foul smelling water were shoved through once a day. It was so dark and so quiet. To her, the time passed slowly and she had been sitting in the cell for four days now, a mere fraction of the time Saul had spent in there, though she could already feel herself going mad. In reality, barely any time on the outside world had passed.

"Mem?" she called out. "Mem, I remember him. And I understand now...I...I can't, in good conscious, call myself a Donai anymore. I'm even starting to remember the day they took me." She paused, but all she could hear was the beating of her own heart. "I was so angry and so scared and I tried to fight them, but there were too many of them," she continued. "They brought me to the complex and put me in..." she furrowed her brow, trying to remember and all of the sudden, the walls of the tiny cell began to extend outward and it grew brighter and brighter. Riley quickly shielded her eyes from the light that was so intense to her.

When she felt her eyes had adjusted a bit, she lowered her arm and found herself alone in a plain white room identical to the one she had started out in when she had stepped through the door except this time, there was no door. She looked down and saw her Donai uniform was gone and had been replaced by a form fitting white tunic and pants. She paced nervously until an invisible seam in one of the walls split and a man wearing a Rank One Donai uniform walked in, the wall closing behind him. He held an info device in his hand. He smiled brightly at her and she glared back.

"Riley Claro, Age 16. Mother and Father both deceased." He looked at her with compassion. "Poor child. You must be so frightened."

Riley uttered the same words she had back then. Indeed, she had once again become that defiant 16 year old. "Murdered by the likes of you!"

The man didn't react to her anger. Rather, he walked to one of the walls and tappen on a panel. The wall opened and he pulled out a glass of water, offering it to her. She hit it out of his hands and it shattered into a millions pieces. He raised an eyebrow and said, "I see. Well, my dear, I promise you'll understand everything much more clearly in a short bit. We did not murder your father, nor do we have any intention of hurting you. Rather, we'd love to see you provided for. The Minister charges us with caring for those in need."

"I have no need of you!"

"But you do," he insisted. "And you'll understand that all very soon." He extended his hand, but she stared at him impassively. He brought his hand back and shrugged. "We always like to try civility first. But believe me," he leaned in, his voice taking on a malicious tone, "you're all alone here, little girl, deep within a building you have no chance on escaping from. And you will soon learn it is not in your best interest to be so defiant."

At his words, the wall parted again and three more men walked in, one of them holding a stunner. Riley backed up as he approached her, until her back was against the wall. She threw out her arms instinctively, but the next thing she knew, she had lost all feeling in her body, from her neck down. She slumped to the floor and saw she was being dragged from the room. Had it not been such a frightening predicament, she might have actually been embarrassed!

(I think one more memory post and then she'll return to everyone else)

Kat was finding her task a little harder then she originally imagined. Chaos had people confused and distrustful towards everyone. She had to wince for a minute as she saw friends and family fighting with each other. Who ever was behind this was doing an excellent job. The world was in chaos.

She summoned up her courage and took command. It wasn't enough though. The Donaiti forces were small compared to the sheer mass of regular people. They managed to control the smaller areas but there was still problems of mobs. Kat gave a frustrated cry. Day would never let her lead a nation if she couldn't get a mob of people under control.

Ssss would you like the power to control these mortals with easy?

Kat froze. She was hearing things now.

You desire power... do you not?

Kat found herself nodding.

Do you not want to rule the world? Bow down to no one? Absolute power? I can give you that.

The world around her seem to slow down and grow darker. Even though the sun was still shining strongly, the shadows seem to elcipse it. Kat didn't notice it. "How do I do that?" she asked.

Sssss open your heart to the darkness... I shall do the rest.

Red inhuman eyes appeared in Kat's mind. I'm Kage.

------

Hotaru whistled to herself as she set everything up. She had just finished recording everything she was gonna reveal. Nothing like some good old magic to disguise what she really looked like and pull almost nonexistance clips of film about Donaiti. She'll have to thank Mem for the memories.

She made copies of the films and hacked into Donaiti's dataframe. From there she would upload the video and it would be played on TVs across the world. And she throw in a nice little firewall so that the Donaiti couldn't get rid of it too soon.

Just as she hit play and recording loaded itself onto screens across the world, Hotaru froze feeling that all too dreadful bit of magic. She looked in the direction of source, her red eyes turning cold. "Segaks," she spat.

Riley was returned to the place where it all began, where her previous life and memories had been snatched from her. She still had no feeling in her body as the Donai men sat her in a reeducation chair, fastening her arms and legs to it. She couldn't fight them as they lowered the hologoggles over her eyes. She couldn't tune out the propoganda, so she watched and she learned. She began to forget and she changed.

But a conflicting message overtook the Donai propoganda. A voice that sounded vaguely familiar. Come back now.

"I can't," she responded. "I can't even move and I'm strapped down here!"

Try.

With that single word, the hologoggles vanished, as did the chair. Riley landed on the floor with a thud, all feeling returned to her body. The white tunic was gone and in place was the Donai uniform she had been wearing all along. She rubbed her head as everything she had seen and experienced flooded her mind. She was back in the plain white room with a single door.

She picked herself up and trudged toward it and this time, when she turned the knob, it opened back to the hallway where the others waited.

They turned their attention to her, expectantly. Monohan scrambled to his feet. Riley spread her arms and shook her head. "It was so...so..." she couldn't even describe the experience, but her face was enough. She looked down at her uniform and began to claw at her shirt. "Get this thing off of me! I want no part of the Donaiti anymore!"

Monohan sprang forward. "I'd be happy to help," he grinned and Riley slapped his cheek. He turned away, laughing. "She's not changed that much!"

Mem spoke gently to her. "We'll find you new clothes when we return."

"I can't believe that they'd do stuff like that. I never did anything so cruel!" the girl exclaimed.

"It wasn't your role," Mem said. "You were in a position where you didn't need to see the dark side of the Donaiti. You needed to fully believe in everything they did. So the knowledge of more unpleasant things, you were shielded from.

"Well, I'm not anymore and I'm going to fight back. I'm going to make sure that organization is crushed."

Kai laughed. "I don't think you're going to have to worry about them much."

"No," Monohan spoke up, his voice changed a bit. He sounded wise and once again Mem, Kai, and Riku all gave him an odd look. "They're still there. It's going to take much more to destroy them. Much more."

Kai was the first to respond. "Then we'd better get back and see what needs to be done." He looked at Mem, knowing she was the only one who could return them. "Ladies first?" he smiled.

Mem obliged and the group found themselves back in Hotaru's room.

Hotaru was waiting for them. Riley had to take a step back. Standing before her was Hotaru but it didn't look like her too much. Black hair, red eyes and scaly wings, Hotaru looked much more like a demon then she did like the normal girl.

"Tenshi?" she asked quietly.

Hotaru nodded. "We have a problem," she addressed Riku, Kai and Mem.
"Segaks eht, ereh er'yeht."

She stopped and took a look at Monohan. Something had changed in his life force. It was different, older, wiser and stronger. Judging from the look on his face, he might have understood what she was saying but didn't comprehend the meaning. Hotaru looked at Mem, who only shrugged.

"What problem?" Riley asked.

"A big one," Hotaru said vaguely. "I have to go find Kaos."

"I'll go with you," Kai offered, knowing full well that if he stayed there would be nothing more but questions and more questions.

"Can I go took?" asked Riku.

Hotaru thought about it for a minute. "If you can find Chi and stay with her, yes. Mem?"

Mem sighed. "I know, I know. It's a shame I can't be of more help on the battlefield. But this is the best I can do." She looked at Monohan. "We need to find out more about you, Monohan. And," She looked at Riley. "I'm sure you have some questions and your father still needs healing."

Riley nodded fiercely. "Yes."

"Good," said Mem. "It would a waste of time if you didn't have questions. By the way Tenshi, Riley is gonna raid your clothes. And you're gonna need to come back and explain the rest to her. After all she's your student."

"I know and go right ahead. I don't wear anything in there anyways," said Hotaru. "Second door to the left."

"So what would you like to know?" Monohan spread his arms wide as Riley retreated to change clothes. "I'm an open book. I'm 28 years old, one of the most intelligent freethinkers you'll ever meet. I've been trained in mechanics and data systems. I'm allergic to peanuts and..."

"Not that kind of information," Mem interrupted.

"Fair enough," he said. "My first name's Michael, but I don't like being called that. Too common."

"I know," said Mem.

"So what don't you know? I have a scar on the back of my leg where I--"

"Monohan!" Mem said and the young man grinned. He got a kick out of driving people crazy, it seemed. "What I need to find out is about..." she paused and started again. "Did you hear us communicating with each other back there?"

"What? When you guys were talking about Riley's memories and being changed and all that? Of course I did. You weren't exactly whispering."

"No, we weren't," Mem agreed. "But we weren't speaking either. At least, not with our mouths."

Monohan looked at her as if she were from another planet. "OK," he said slowly. "Ha ha. That's funny!" He pointed at Mem. "Yeah, I like that."

"I'm not joking."

Monohan stared at her, but her face betrayed no hint of humor. "You're serious."

"Completely."

"How were you speaking then? With your minds or something?"

"Exactly."

Monohan turned around in a slow circle, unsure of how to respond. He had never heard of anything so crazy, though, so he figured Mem must be one of those dry-humored types of people. That or she really was crazy!

"OK," he said, clearly not believing her. "You speak with your minds. Got it."

And you hear it.

Monohan jumped back in surprise. Her lips hadn't moved. He'd been looking right at them. And yet, she was right...he had heard it!

"Strange," Mem muttered. "I don't sense locked up memories. That means you aren't a reincarnation Slatrommi. You are a strange guy Monohan."

Monohan laughed nervously. He had to admit, now that he was the one being exaimed, he was getting a bit freaked out. "Strange is good you know. It makes you unique."

"I know," stated Mem. "It's one of your favorite sayings."

Monohan looked at her. "And how do you know that?"

"Isn't it simple? I'm looking at your memories."

"You are? Hey! Those are privay memories! What gives you the right?"

Mem gave him a deadpan stare. "Because that is my ability. No... I've concluded you're not a Slatrommi."

"What's a Slatrommi. Some type of food?" Monohan asked.

Mem sighed. "No. It's not a type of food. Tenshi will explain that later when she gets back. But if you're not a Slatrommi then that makes you a mortal with magic."

"Magic huh? Wow that makes me extra special then!" Monohan said cheerfully. Magic, as hard as it was to believe, would probably be a good thing. He remembered listening to fairy tales about magic when he was kid. Monohan frowned, remembering something. "Hey that doesn't mean I'll grow fairy wings, shrink ten times smaller then my height and wave a wand right?"

"No. But's let find out what type of magic you do have," Mem stated. She held up two stones, one black and one white. The black began to glow. "Cosmos magic. Interesting, most mortals don't get cosmos magic to begin with." The two stones disappeared and a chart floated in front of Monohan. It was a octagon. Each point had a different label, light life, death, cosmos, misc, chaos, peace and dark. The Cosmos area began to glow and a small scale of the universe appeared. Mem's eyebrow raised in surprise. The moon was glowing.

"Lunar. You have lunar magic, Monohan."

"OK, lunar it is, then."

Mem frowned. Stop that.

Stop what?

Stop being obnoxious. The very fact that we're having this conversation without speaking should show you that I'm not lying to you.

I never said you were!

But you don't believe me.

Monohan laughed and spoke aloud. "Well? Lunar magic?" he waved his fingers in the air. "Ooo...look at me. I'm magical! Come on, Mem. It's fun and all, but do you really expect me to swallow all that? I don't know who you guys are and I admit, you do seem special, But then again, history's been full of illusionists."

"Illusionists?" Mem crossed her arms. Why'd I get stuck babysitting?

"Who are you calling a baby?" Monohan pouted playfully. At that moment, Riley entered the room, dressed in regular clothes, no longer wearing the Donai uniform. "Riles," Monohan said.

"Don't call me that," the girl replied.

"Guess what?" he ignored her statement. "I'm special. I'm a lunar god."

"What?" Mem exclaimed. "Whoever said you were a god?" Sheesh! she rolled her eyes.

I heard that! Monohan thought at her.

---
At first, Kat resisted the alien presence in her mind. She was frightened of it, but the segak continued to speak to her, his words tempting and seductive. It took little effort for her to fall under his spell. He burrowed down deep into the recesses of her mind where he would never be ejected unless it were by his choice.

Oh yes...so nice to have a new host...

While the Donai scrambled around Kat, trying to stop Hotaru's transmission, she simply walked to one of the monitors and pressed a few buttons and the transmission ended. The firewall would have kept the Donai out, but not a segak.

"What'd you do?" asked one of the Donai.

Kat smiled. "Just playing with fire," she responded, causing the Donai man to look at her in confusion. There was a strange quality to her voice. "Find where the transmission originated from and eliminate it." She turned to a young blonde woman. "Liss, damage control, now."

Liss nodded and sprang into action. Kat turned and caught her reflection in the monitor screen. For a brief instance, there was a red glint in her eye, and then as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone.

Mem let out another sigh. She would let Hotaru deal with Monohan and Riley. Mortals! This was the very reason why she decided to stop interacting with them all the time. Monohan had lunar magic, but it didn't mean he could use it. Not without training at least. If he didn't believe in it, then there was no point in trying to teach him. "I'm not even going to try and teach you," she muttered.

"Why not?" Monohan said with laughter in his voice. "Can't prove to me that there's such thing as magic?"

"That's exactly why I'm not going to bother," Mem snapped. "If you won't even try to accept that fact, then there's no point. Just because you have Lunar Magic, doesn't mean you can use. You just have the potential to use it. You're wearing my patiences thin, boy," she hissed pointly. "I can't see your future teacher agreeing to teach either."

Monohan frowned at the boy comment. He was not a child! He was a man! "And who might be the one teaching me?"

"I fail to see how my slightly biopolar cousin, Riku would even consider teaching," Mem said dryly.

"That kid? You're joking right?"

Mem glared at him. "That -kid- is thousand times older then you think, and far more powerful compared to what little magic you have. Now shut up."

"Mem?" Riley interrupted. "What exactly are you? I mean Magic? How can that be?"

Mem stared at the girl while she ignored Monohan. "You'll have to wait until Tenshi comes back. She's our teacher, she will be the one to explain everything to you. One Step at a time."

----------------

Kaos waves at Tran cheerfully. Sure he was causing massive destruction and that Tran probably didn't like it but he was loving it. So he was a little surprised when Hotaru appeared out of nowhere.

"We have a problem. There's a Segak on the loose," was the first things out of her mouth.

"What?!"

"But how would one have gotten loose?" Kaos asked, stunned.

"I don't know," Hotaru shook her head. "But I'm going to find out."

"Where is it?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out too." Segaks hid themselves well and were not easily found. Hotaru shook her head in frustration. The last thing they needed was a segak.

"So what would you have us do?"

---

"Come on...Mem...Meeeeee-eeeeemmmm..."

"Monohan, she doesn't want to talk," Riley said. "Honestly, how old are you?"

Monohan shot her a look. "OK, let's recap. Life out there as we know it is ending. We've been abducted by these salamis--"

"Slatrommis," Mem corrected.

"These slatrommis," Monohan amended, "...you just had a freak experience with your memories, and I've been told I've got the potential to be a lunar god." He grinned as he heard Mem sigh again in annoyance. "Oh and yeah, we're stuck in a little room waiting for who knows what? What's wrong with me trying to enjoy myself a little?"

"Because, Michael," Riley said, using the name her didn't like. "You're irritating everyone around you! Show some respect."

"Was I being disrespectful? Oh Mem, Riley, you two have my sincerest apologies," he exclaimed.

Riley and Mem exchanged a look. Is he being serious? Mem thought.

"More than I've ever been before," he answered her aloud.

Mem stared at him, but this time it was his face that was impassive and she couldn't tell if it was truth or sarcasm.

"Do I have magic?" Riley asked quietly, but Mem shook her head. "Then why'd you guys choose me?" She walked over to where her father lay on the bed, sleeping peacefully. "Because of him?"

"That I can't tell you," Mem said, her voice full of sympathy. "Perhaps it was just...you were open. Even brainwashed by the Donaiti, some part of you was still seeking the truth." She saw Riley's face full of emotion as she thought of her role in the organization who had done such terrible things to the person she loved more than anything. Mem laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. Blame only makes you vulnerable to falling." She sat back. "Hotaru should be back soon."

"Search the cities. Look into the Donaiti because they're the likely suspects. I would say just kill anyone in their uniform but that might be a huge hassle. It's only one so far, but I'm not sure how strong it is. It might be a Red Level, but incase it's a Blue. I want you there," said Hotaru.

"Where are you going?" asked Kaos. In terms of raw magic and control, Kaos and Hotaru had the most though there were times where like Kai outclass Hotaru in technique only because he was older. He supposed that's why Kai was here.

Hotaru sighed. "I have a student to teach," she muttered.

Tran chuckled at that. "Finally went and got one huh? It's been years since your last one," she said with a smile.

"Yeah yeah, Hey when Riku gets here send him back to my place okay? He might be getting this first student." Hotaru left after that.

---------------

"Who's Hotaru?" asked Monohan.

Mem rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Someone you'll meet soon," she said.

"Telllll meeee!!" he said, poking her on the side. Something in Mem snapped. She threw Monohan across the room, pinned him to wall and sent his mind into a dream where he was surrounded by beautiful women.

"That," she said angrily. "Should keep him busy until everyone gets back."

"What did you do to him?" Riley asked, looking a little horrified.

"I send him into a dream where he's surrounded by beautiful women who will listen to every word he wants to say," Mem muttered.

"Oh."

"You said Hotaru. Do you mean Tenshi? Is that her name?" Riley asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Mem looked chagrinned at her mistake. She knew Hotaru wished Riley to refer to her as Tenshi and had not yet revealed her true name to the girl. "Call her Tenshi, Riley."

"OK," the girl nodded and Mem smiled. Her experience in the hall of mirrors really had changed her. The defiant defensive expression she had carried before had been replaced by one of compliance and willingness, though now she had a certain wariness about her. At any rate, Hotaru would be pleased at the change. Teaching her wouldn't be such a chore. It might not be easy, as the girl had lost her faith in others, but at least she wouldn't be defiant. Monohan, on the other hand, was going to be a challenge.

"Thank you," a new voice said. Riley and Mem both turned to see Hotaru had appeared in the room. "It's nice that you're finally willing to learn without combatting everything I say." She eyed Monohan, still pinned to the wall, his eyes closed and his smile wide. She raised an eyebrow. "Dare I ask?" Mem shook her head and Hotaru shrugged and turned away as if it really weren't too strange a thing at all.

"Mem showed me the things I had forgotten," Riley said. "The things the Donaiti stole from me."

Hotaru listened and now heard intense dislike for the Donaiti in Riley's voice. She nodded her approval. "She showed you truth and now you'll be less likely to fall prey to false doctrine again." Riley opened her mouth, but Hotaru silenced her. "I know what you're going to ask. How are you to know that it's truth that we speak? How are you to believe anything anyone ever tells you again?" Riley nodded and Hotaru gently replied, "I don't have an answer for that. You're going to have to learn to trust. Are you willing to try?"

Riley nodded slowly and said, "Yes...I think so."

"Good. Because our truths are the only thing that will ultimately save you and all of this planet."

"Despite Mem earlier slip up, I think it's time I properly introduce myself," Hotaru teases. 'You're getting old Mem, forgetting things like.'

'Oh hush. That boy is insane to deal with.'

"You best wake the boy too, don't untied him though," Hotaru said to Mem. Mem muttered something under her breath and Monohan snapped awake.

"Aww man! That was the best dream ever! Why you go and wake me?" Monohan complained.

Hotaru, who returned back to her standard appearance, raised her eyebrow. No wonder Mem lost her temper. Riku would have fun with this one. "Maybe we should put him back into the dream and never wake him," she muttered.

"I second that!" said Mem.

"Hey!"

Hotaru turned her attention to Riley. "Anyways, Riley Claro, nice to meet you. I'm Hotaru, but if you like you still can call me Tenshi."

Riley looked at her. "So why did you introduce yourself as Tenshi, if your name is Hotaru."

Hotaru laughed. "Well in all honestly, Tenshi is another one my names. I have many names. Hotaru is what my family calls me by. And unlike the rest of my family, I'm the only one who doesn't remember my true birth name. Too young to remember it myself, and my parents more or less disappeared. Hotaru began my name," she said cheerfully. Chuckling she continued, "Though you've probably heard of my other names."

"I have?" asked Riley.

"Sure, Grim Reaper, Life, Merciful Angel, Unmerciful Angel, etc etc," Hotaru continued. She bowed, "I'm Hotaru, the Angel of Life and Death. And you Riley, are about to learn the biggest lesson of all time."

"Wait the Angel of Life and Death?" Monohan asked. "How can you be something that exist but doesn't have a face?"

"Well yes, I do intend to turn what little you know about the world, upside," said Hotaru. "As I'm sure you know, my family is called Slatrommis, which is translated into Immortals in your modern day English. We are gods, goddess, spirits, ghosts, kamis, angels, demons, or whatever else you would like to call us. We exist on a plane that is different from yours, and our magic comes from everything around us. From the stars in the sky, to the earth beneath our feet, everything has magic and everything is alive. The sole purpose of Slatrommis is to guide humanity in a direction that will ensure one of two things, the survival of the human race or the survival of Earth. This," she said pointing outside, "Is the start of a revolution that will save this world from collapsing on itself."

"I have magic too," Monohan piped up. "Sure I'm not a distant cousin or something?"

Hotaru noted that his tone wasn't sarcastic or teasing anymore. He was actually asking a legitimate question. While Monohan loved to rile people up, he realized there was a time and place for everything. And if Hotaru was going to share this big mystery, now was not the time. In truth, his playful ways were endearing - they showed he hadn't been reduced to what most of mankind had...mindless drones. Rather, he had a certain spirit that he refused to allow to be quenched, no matter how rough life got. Because of the lack of humor in the world, he had a tendency to take things too far.

"No," she answered. "I'm afraid you'd be considered...a mistake by most slatrommi."

"Mistake?" he exclaimed and Riley couldn't help but laugh at his expression.

Hotaru said, "Let me explain. Long ago while our number was still great, there was a small group that split apart and settled among humans. They wanted to see what would happen if they mixed with humans, if humans could inherit powers and what they would do with them. It was...an experiment." Monohan and Riley were completely engrossed in Hotaru's tale. "Unfortunately humankind is corrupt by nature and as soon as they began to realize what potential they had, they abused it. They used their powers to kill and to conquer. What should have been something to better humanity, they turned into a curse so," she softened her voice, "we had to step in and take action, I'm afraid."

"What'd you do to them?" Monohan frowned.

"It was a very dark time," Mem interjected and Hotaru continued to speak.

"There were too many to train in the proper ways, so we had to..." her voice trailed off and Riley and Monohan knew exactly what they had to do. "Of course, not everyone met this fate. Obviously a remnant remained free and it's most probable that you're descended from one of these."

"So I do have some god in me," Monohan stated.

"Trace amounts," Mem said.

"That's more than her," he nodded toward Riley. "But...does that mean that now that you've discovered me, you're going to--"

"Of course not!" Hotaru exclaimed. "Like Mem said, that was a dark time and there were too many people to teach. And even if we had been able to, the good majority of them weren't exactly willing to learn."

----

Not far from where Hotaru spoke, Kat herded up a group of refugees and had them brought to the Donaiti Complex. They huddled together, shivering from fright and cold. She examined each person, her eyes boring into theirs, and separated them into two groups. One would be sent down to reeducation, the other to Oblivion. She weeded out those who seemed spirited, freethinking, or possible rebels.

To the first group, she said, "You will follow Liss," she nodded toward the blonde woman. "She will take you to the second level and get you some clean clothes and food. You don't need to be afraid any longer for we're here to take care of you and keep you safe from those who might wish to harm you. All we ask is open-mindedness to what we say. We'll never force anyone to do what we ask. We simply ask that you'll hear us out so we can start to build a new society." Her words had the desired effect and the people in the group began to relax and nod their agreement. She smiled, all the while thinking how like stupid sheep they all were. She nodded toward Liss and the young woman led them away.

She turned to the second group, the ones destined for Oblivion. "Likewise, you are very welcome here. You'll be going down to the lower level where you'll be given clean clothes and a hot meal. We ask the same of you - that you hear us out and consider what we say. We see in you such strength and promise. Everyone needs to work together to rebuild our world. We also value anything you might have to input. We don't have all the answers!" Again, her words resulted in what she wanted. Total compliance. They had no idea that when they reached that lower level, the clean clothes would be a prisoner's tunic and the hot meal would be watery soup. But, they'd find out soon enough. Kat gestured toward a young man with glasses. "If you'd follow Sean, he'll get you situated."

"Thank you," a few of them murmured and she smiled brightly, "Of course!" After a minute, the entryway had been cleared. Kat's group of Donai she was overseeing awaited her orders.

"Sector two," she said. "Same as last time. Clear it out. Bring in all who are willing to come. Eliminate all who are not."

"But if you're willing to learn and you make a good impression on your teacher, you might actually learn to control it," Mem said. "There are far too little people in this world who can use magic."

"No way!"

Riku appeared in the room with a horrified look on his face. "Tell me what Kaos was saying was a joke Hotaru!"

Hotaru frowned. Riku was in one his overactive moods. "Rikugou you're acting like a child."

"He's annoying Hotaru! I don't want to teach him!"

"And it would seem you fail to make a good impression, Monohan," Mem said dryly.

Monohan, who was still stuck to the wall, had to sweat drop. "Isn't there anyone else who can teach me?"

"No," said Mem and Hotaru.

"Rikugou is the God of Cosmos, in other words, he's the only slatrommi who has lunar magic," Hotaru stated. She turned to Riku. "You don't have to teach him if you don't want to, Riku. You're always asking for a chance to prove yourself. Here is a prefect chance."

Riku frowned. "I'll think about it," he said glaring at Monohan.

Hotaru sighed. "Yes anyways, where was I? Oh, well there use to be quite a bit of Slatrommis that existed. In fact humans and slatrommis use to coexist together. That was until the Great War where the Segaks went berserk."

The roundup of the people in Sector Two went smoothly and again, Kat divided them up into two groups - one to be reeducated and the other, to be locked in Oblivion. As the world continued to rage out of control, the segak lodged in her mind gave her guidance. Day observed her work from a distance and was pleased with what she was accomplishing.

"Very well done," he said, coming up behind her.

She whirled around and smiled, her brown eyes twinkling. "It's been a pleasure," she replied.

"How many sectors are left to raid?"

"Six," she replied. "But word has spread about the compassionate Donaiti offering food and shelter." She pointed toward the doors where even then, people were streaming through in their attempts to escape nature's fury.

"Good. What do our numbers look like?"

"We've almost replenished our number with new recruits, though I have a feeling we will more than surpass where we were before. The first group to be reeducated has emerged and they are completely in sync with our vision." It hadn't been hard to seize their minds, so mindless were they to begin with.

"Good," Day crossed his arms. He was pleased. "Carry on then."

Kat watched as he disappeared around the corner and the smile plastered on her face quickly faded.

He will need to exit the picture...

"Indeed he will," she muttered, replying to her inner segak. Shadows flickered all around, hungry for prey, but she held out her hand and the shadows drew back.

"If the slatrommis were the guides of humanity, then the Segaks were the the destruction of humanity. Segaks are shadow creatures, they feed off the darkness of the human heart, negative emotions such like hatred and jealousy. They were peaceful, sure they cause the death of their clan member, humans and slatrommis alike but it was okay. It was the circle of life.

So went they declared war, part of it wasn't a surprise. It lasted for 4 billion years, eternity to human and only a few years to the slatrommi and segaks," Hotaru explained.

"Only a few years?" asked Riley.

"And four billion years? Is that possible?" asked Monohan.

"Earth is alot older then you think. When humans place the steel coat on earth's surface, that as when humanity lost 4 billion years of history. Before that, humanity has no record of the Great War or the peace that existed before hand," Mem said.

"Slatrommis are near immortal. We're timeless but we can die. As a result, the only way to defeat the Segaks, were to seal them away. So they did that, by sealing away the segaks, our race dwindled down into few slarommis there are today," Hotaru continued. "It was a heavy price."

"Still not enough though," Mem whispered.

"Yeah. There's a segak on the loose somewhere in the city," Hotaru told Riley and Monohan. "We're trying to find it, and chances are it's trying to prevent us from taking down Donaiti and allowing the rebirth to happen."

"So you're like... really old then?" Monohan said, still soaking in the 'near immortal part' "Does that mean I'll live forever too?"

Two pillows flew at his face. "It's rude to ask a lady her age and no you won't live forever," Hotaru yelled at him.

"So when the humans with powers became corrupt, was that the segak's doing?" Monohan asked.

"I'd love to say it was," Hotaru replied, "We believe it was, but because humans are so prone to selfishness and thirsting for power, we're not completely positive. The segaks insisted they were innocent and that the race we attempted to guide was in fact, simply not worthy of our guidance."

"That doesn't seem very nice," the young man concluded.

"I'm inclined to agree," Hotaru continued and Riley and Monohan looked up in surprise. "It's the only time you'll find me agreeing with the segaks. In truth, my wish was to see the earth cleansed of all hint of human touch."

"And do you still wish for that?" Riley asked.

"Yes," Hotaru replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to feel that way.

Monohan's eyes widened and he looked at Riley, now very much relieved to have the kid teaching him rather than the psychotic woman who actually would have rather seen them all dead.

----

Day leaned over the sink in his chambers and splashed cold water on his face. It had been a miserable day and he was exhausted. He knew he could barely afford to sleep, but his red rimmed eyes struggled to remain open. He ran a hand through his hair and stepped away from the mirror.

He didn't see the shadowy movement in the corner.

He didn't see as it formed into a ghostly figure.

He didn't see it inching its way toward him.

And he didn't see it when it lunged toward him, enveloping him in darkness.

"I think they misunderstood you, Hotaru," Mem stated.

"Oh, right. Earth, while it doesn't look like it, is another slatrommi and she happens to be a close friend. You know all the polluting that humans do? Well it hurts her, alot. She's always covered in bandages and wounds that will never heal. Humanity is fine until they become technologially advance. Then that where the problems begin. Frankly the only reason why I don't normally take serious action, is because Lady Earth loves humans as if they were her own children," Hotaru ranted.

"Basically, Hotaru rather see the destruction of the entire human race then see Aunty in anymore pain. She's endure it for billions of years now. Still as Lady Earth says, there is no need to punish everyone for just a few bad apples. Which is probably way Hotaru goes a little crazy whenever she gets to punish a wrong-doer," Mem explained. "Hotaru you do realize that if humans were gone, you pretty much be out of a job?"

"Actually it would mean less work," Hotaru said offhandly. "Still the balance wouldn't allow it either. Even if I all I did was remove the bad humans, only more will appear to offset the good humans."

------------

Kaos and Kai felt the shadow magic spike again. Kaos gave Tran a kiss on the cheek and both of them disappeared. Someone had just been taken by the shadows.

The announcement rang through the Donaiti complex. Kat Cardella appeared on all the viewscreens, her face filled with grief.

Fellow Donai, I have some very sad news to share with all of you tonight. Our beloved leader is dead. He was not killed in the chaos outside, but rather was found in his chambers. We are doing everything in our power to find the man or woman responsible. We have two suspects in mind, but don't wish to falsely accuse, so we are waiting until we have more information. If anyone knows anything, please come see me. If you see any suspicious activity, please come see me. If you have any fears whatsoever, please come see me.

I was Day's protege, his student. And it is with a heavy heart, I'm assuming a new position so our organization doesn't fall apart. As you know, the Minister was also killed in the Chaos. Day wished me to fill that role, to lead our people. I resisted this very move, fearful of what it might entail, but was urged by Day's most trusted advisors to proceed. I see now he was preparing me for this very thing, knowing how precarious life can be.

So from this hour forward, we shall remember Day, but look ahead and see how we can rebuild our world, ridding it of all terrorists and freethinkers who would destroy us. I shall keep all of you safe. I can do no less.

The transmission ended and Kat smiled. She had been changing as she listened to her words echoing through the complex. She stepped in front of the mirror and smiled her approval at her transformation. She exuded authority now in her long black and red robes. Her hair was slicked back and her brown eyes glinted with just a hint of red.

A knock sounded on her door and when she opened, she saw Liss and two Donai men. "Minister," the girl said. "We're to escort you now."

Kat smiled at the title, but kept with her ruse. "Liss, call me Kat. Minister sounds so formal."

Liss replied, "With all due respect, I wouldn't feel right calling you by your given name. You'll get used to it."

"I hope so!" she exclaimed as she stepped into the hallway. The two Donai men fell into place on both sides of her body and they slowly walked toward the elevator that would take them down to the lower transport systems and whisk them away to the Ministerial chambers. Once a myth, Kat, or rather the segak, brought the entire Ministry into being.

Riley and Monohan had to just stare at Hotaru in shock for awhile. Monohan (who was finally released from the wall) looked at Riku who hadn't said anything.

"Is she always like this?" Monohan asked.

Riku glared at him. "Yes," he said flatly.

"Hotaru is a little... unique, as far as Slatrommi go," Mem explained. "Because she's influence both by Life and Death, a positive and negative magic, she's got duel perspective on sides of reality. So she says one thing and then another, but that' just the influence of her magic, her basic core personality is completely neutral and doesn't take any sides."

"So she doesn't want to destroy all humanity," asked Riley as Hotaru continue to rant in the background.

"She does," Mem said with a smile. "But that's her death magic talking."

"Somehow," Riley said dryly. "That doesn't make me feel better."

-------

Kaos and Kai stared at the looming building of Donaiti headquarters. They could feel the shadow magic moving away. It was growing faint.

"Where is it going?" Kaos muttered. Somehow the city regular to it's normal peaceful state.

"Not in the air. Must be in the ground," Kai muttered.

"Or in someone's body."

"That too."

"Continue to track it?" asked Kai.

Kaos looked at him. "Of course. Not unless you want your girlfriend to be angry at us."

Hotaru suddenly grew a strange a expression on her face.

"What is it?" asked Mem.

She didn't answer - she held her hand out, indicating that the people in the room not say anything. She walked to a wall and waved her hand over it. All of the sudden, a viewscreen appeared.

"Nice trick," Monohan whispered to Riley and the girl shushed him.

The viewscreen came to life and Kat's face appeared. They listened to her words and Hotaru grew more and more serious. Riley walked to her father's side and picked up his hand as he slept. When Kat had finished, Hotaru let out a breath.

"How'd you know that was going to happen?" Riley asked her.

"Slatrommi sense things." Hotaru turned toward Mem. "I wonder who the 'two suspects' are supposed to be. I think it's safe to assume you're one of them, Riley. I'm most likely the second."

"What?? She thinks we killed Day?"

"No. She knows we didn't. He knows we didn't...because he did."

"Wait," Monohan said. "He? Who are you talking about?"

Mem's eyes grew wide as she realized what Hotaru was thinking. Hotaru nodded. "That's right, Mem. Looks like we found our segak."