A black book fell into Hotaru's hands, opening as pages flipped, stopping at one point. "Merged lifelines, I can't see any further then a few minutes," Hotaru muttered.

"Merged lifelines?"
"Can't see?"

Riley and Monohan were equally as confused. Hotaru ignored their questions for the time being. She tapped the page, only for black shadows to flare up. Instantly a twisted symbol began to take shape. Hotaru snarled. "It's him alright."

The black book disappeared and a white book took it's place. "Which one?" asked Mem.

"Kage."

"Kage? Didn't we kill him?" asked Riku.

"Apparently not. Lovely, he went and advanced to Red Level, nearing blue."

"Will someone please explain what's going on?" demanded Riley.

"Segaks have three levels of power, black, red, and blue. Black is the most common and pretty much any mature Slatrommi can fight. One out of ten segaks become Red, which any mature slatrommi with at least a 1 billion years of training can handle. Finally blue level is obtained one out of a thousand segaks. It's the most powerful level, and only Slatrommis with huge amounts of raw magic and training can handle them," explained Mem.

"And it looks like your dear friend, Kat, has fallen under their influence, Riley," said Hotaru.

"We may have been friends once upon a time, but that was way too long ago," Riley said. "I'm not surprised in the least that your segak took over her, of all people. What do we do? Let's take her down!" Riley clapped her hands together and Hotaru shook her head.

"You wouldn't be able to get near that segak, silly."

"Kat's not that tough."

"I think she's saying that segak could squash you like a bug," Monohan said.

Hotaru nodded. "Something like that. No, you'll play your part, but not against the segak."

"Then what's my role?"

"Why does it matter? Your destiny is set." Hotaru asked. "You're going to be taught. You're going to influence. You're going to--"

"Die young still?" Riley said. Monohan raised his eyebrows when she said this. "How long did you say? Six years?" She sounded bitter. "If my destiny's set, then why can't I try to squeeze that little segak out of my worst enemy?"

"Because slatrommis and segaks can override destiny, alright? He would squash you like a bug and you wouldn't even get your six years."

"So if she agrees to stay put, why don't you agree to override her destiny?" Monohan asked. "It's not fair to let her die young when you're saying you can change that." Riley smiled at the way he was actually defending her.

"Hers, I can't."

"You just said you could," the young man challenged.

"Alright, Mr. Semantics. Hers, I won't." She turned to her student. "You have a purpose, Riley. In life and in death. I can't tell you what that purpose is, but please know that it's something that I can't change because of what it will mean for the world. You just have to trust me."

Before Riley could respond, the man in the bed began to stir. She leaned over him. "Are you alright?" she asked, her voice soft. He blinked his eyes a few times and turned to focus on her face. His lips moved, but no sound came out. But there was definite recognition on his face. Riley grinned and hugged him. "You're coming back to me!"

Monohan's voice was low as he spoke to Hotaru. "Look at that. For as much as I rag on her, she's an innocent. How many of those are really left in this world? And you still insist you won't save her when you have the power to? Don't you think the world needs people like that?"

"She's still got six years. That's a long time to humans."

"Hardly!" Monohan scoffed.

"I do not have to defend myself to you," Hotaru's voice turned icy.

"Suit yourself," the man shrugged. "I was just saying..."

Hotaru rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming. Slatrommis and Segaks existed on a different plane of existance, thus their interferance with the human race was limited. Hence why they were guides. Life was a delicate balance, to save Riley would mean someone else of equal important must die.

Not to say the future was in set in stone. Merely certain events were inevitable, but the process by which they got there were different. There was always a different road that could be taken, but the end result was always the same.

"The future isn't so set in stone. If you want me to override her destiny, then kill someone of equal value to take her place," Hotaru said coldly. "Life and Death is a balance. There are certain people who must die at a certain time vice versa there are certain people who must be born at the same time. Everyone else just goes to the same cycle, until their destiny has been met. Some never return to earth. To bring someone to life, you must kill another of equal value. To curse someone, two people must died, the caster and the cursed. If you do that for her Monohan, then I'll gladly overwrite her destiny."

Monohan glared at Hotaru. He had really started to dislike the woman. He didn't understand why he felt so strongly about this, seeing as he and Riley had been arguing since the moment they saw each other. The girl wasn't pleasant to be around and she had been responsible for his imprisonment. So why did this whole situation bother him so much?

"If I find that person, I'll hold you to that," he whispered fiercely, low enough where Riley couldn't hear him.

Hotaru lowered her voice even more. "Stepping into the role of hero, are you?"

"I'm not a hero. I'm just doing what's right. It's almost a pity that you slatrommis aren't human. If you were, you'd know in your heart that everything you say is wrong."

"You're one to speak of right and wrong. You're telling me you're willing to condemn another person to a premature death, not to mention yourself? To that person you curse, how is that the right thing to do?"

Monohan didn't answer. He backed off and looked away, anger still filling his eyes. "I'm tired of being stuck in this room," he complained and Riley looked up.

"I am too a little, Tenshi. Is there any way we might be able to go out there?" she gestured to the door. "I need to do something rather than just sit here!

Hotaru tilted her head, feeling the angry from Monohan. Humans were strange creatures but life would be dull without them, as much as she didn't want to admit. She certainly didn't have the time to explain why she wasn't allowed to do certain things. And most certainty she wasn't going to tell them that even though she's been training for years, she still lacked control over her powers not to mention the last time someone wanted their destiny rewritten and the balance wasn't set properly, it caused an entire speices of lifeforms to die out and cause two wars in three different countries.

"You're always welcome to come and go as you please. I just suggest against since you'll probably be picked up by the Donaiti who are sweeping the area," said Hotaru. "As for what you can do... I'm not too sure."

Riku suddenly stood up grabbed Monohan by the collar of his shirt. He waved his hand a portal appeared and he started to drag Monohan into it.

"Hey hey! Where are you taking me?!" Monohan shouted, trying to pull himself free.

Riku glared at him. "I've decided to teach you, so we're going back to my room since it provides a better focus for your lunar magic," he said coldly.

Kat reclined in her chair and grinned, relishing her new ministerial palace. She still couldn't believe the turn of events - how easy it had all fallen into place. And yet, here she was. Yesterday, a nobody and today, in charge of the entire province. The rumors that had circulated about there being no minister were long disproved as one truly existed now.

"Have you found out the identity of the woman who was with my old friend, Riley?" she asked a man who was hovering nearby.

"No, Excellency," he replied. "We're still trying to figure it out. There's no records of anyone named 'Tenshi.'"

Tenssshhhiiii...

Kat sat forward and frowned as the segak stirred within her. "Keep looking. I want her found. I want them both found and made an example of."

"Yes, Excellency," the man bowed and hurried out of the room.

"Liss!" Kat called and the blonde woman appeared. "What's going on with the emergency power centers?"

"Power won't be restored to the entire city for...years, most likely. Only the Donai sector has power right now. We're hoping Sector 2 will be back online by next week, though."

"Don't waste time," Kat said. "The Donai sector will be the only one that needs power for the time being."

"We still believe there are survivors in Sector 2," Liss countered. "They might freeze if we don't do anything. It's getting colder out there."

"Then they'll freeze," Kat shrugged. "We gave them more than ample opportunity to join the Donai. Anyone stubborn enough to hide is a freethinker and should be eliminated on sight. Send some patrols in." She saw the woman's shocked expression, though she tried to hide it and Kat's voice softened. "Liss, I know I may seem harsh, but look what just happened. Freethinkers turned our world upside down. How could I do any less than protect the good men, women, and children of our city?"

Liss nodded uncertainly. "No need to explain, Excellency. I understand. I'll assign some patrols immediately."

Monohan fell into a dark room. Tiny lights flickered on and began to glow. He looked around in awe. "What is this?" he asked.

"A mini scale replica of outer space. The tiny lights you see are called stars. The biggest and one closes to the Earth is the sun. From that you see there are other planets surrounding the system and this," Riku explained, pointing to a small rock that hover around Earth. "is the moon and source of your magic."

Monohan stared in shock. He was seeing stars! "So what about the change of mind? I thought you didn't want to teach me?"

Riku glared at him. "If you're serious about taking Hotaru's offer, then we can avoid at least the curse from backfiring on you. The thing with my sister is that she always provides a loophole or two for certain people to bypass them. Of course, most humans just foolishly accept and don't think about the consequences. She'll never tell you this but the last person who wanted their destiny rewritten and didn't set the balance of life and death correctly, started two wars, wiped half the human race and an entire species of animals.

Slatrommis are not supposed to directly interfer with the destiny of humans unless we're permitted to. If we're not and we do, then things get throw out of balance and there are serious consequences. It might not effect the world today, but it would later down in the future. Life and Death magic is the most sensitive balance there is. Hotaru can change it so that Riley doesn't die in six years, but do you know what the consequence is? First off, there's a huge chance that the sun will die out and the entire earth will go into an age ice which will kill off most humanity and if that not that, then creations of the atomic bomb, which will further hurt Lady Earth and wipe out the entire human race. And..."

"Okay! I get it!" Monohan shouted. "Consequences for every action. So just because she says she can, doesn't mean she should, that's what she was talking about earlier right?"

Riku nodded. "Exactly. My sister has gone through enough in her entire life. She doesn't need to spend the next four billion years trying to correct a mistake that someone made when they decided to rewrite their history."

"Alright then, how does this prevent me from not getting curse?"

"Normally in order for Hotaru to overwrite destiny, she needs someone of equal value to died. The person who is trying to overwrite their destiny, person A, must offer the life of person B. In other words they have to curse them. You however, posess Slatrommi magic, which means you don't have to offer Hotaru the human, you just need the soul."

"A loophole," Monohan whispered. "So because I posess Slatrommi magic I won't die?"

"Yes. Though... you'll have to kill the person yourself, so you'll be staining your hands in blood. If you can live with that for the rest of your life, then this is path you need to choose."

"So how do I determine who someone of equal value is?" Monohan asked, still not completely understanding everything.

"That's the tricky part," Riku said. "And that's not something I can answer for you."

"Why not?"

"Because that's not something I can determine!"

"So how do I know?" Monohan insisted and Riku sighed.

"I just told you I can't answer that for you."

"So there's no way to know?"

"Not for me, not for you."

Monohan threw back his head and groaned. "Oy, Riku, you're driving me crazy!"

Riku grinned. "Good."

"So tell me this at least, what happens if I choose someone not of equal value."

Riku grew serious. "Were you not listening a minute ago? Death. Lots of death, lots of destruction. So do you see why you shouldn't even think of doing something like that? Especially for a girl you don't even like."

"I never said I didn't like her," Monohan said sharply, causing Riku to raise an eyebrow. "I think I'm just..." he exhaled. "It just doesn't seem fair." Riku didn't say anything and the two men stood there in silence until something clicked in Monohan's mind. "If everything is so futile and risky and such a bad idea, why'd you even bring up loopholes in the first place?"

Riku raised an eyebrow and smiled, but didn't answer.

"You're seriously trying to annoy me, aren't you?" Monohan commented. "You think I'm supposed to do this, don't you? It's the right thing to do! So answer me this...I understand the slatrommi magic thing, but how exactly would that keep me, the curser, from dying after I curse the cursee?"

----

Looking down from the tops of the tallest buildings, the Donai patrols looked like dozens of tiny spiders as they swooped in and out of buildings, pulling out survivors. Some went willingly, fearful of the consequences. These were destined for Oblivion unless they were determined to be weak minded and easily influenced. The ones who resisted collapsed where they stood after a Donai turned his stunner on them.

In the small room where Riley, Mem, Hotaru, and Saul remained, Hotaru suddenly went rigid.

"What is it?" Riley asked, concern filling her eyes.

Riku whacked Monohan on the head. "I think you have selective hearing. Slatrommis exist on another plane of existance then humans. We have different rules and we're not bound by the same restrictions that humans are. You posess Slatrommi magic, which is on another plane of existance. If you kill someone with slatrommi magic, the curse doesn't effect you.

Instead all you have to live with is the fact that you killed someone," Riku said. "In some ways that burden, is just as heavy.... but unlike the curse it doesn't mean you go straight to hell and you won't die right away."

"So why can't Hotaru," Monohan started before he was silence by Riku's glare. "Right... I remember. At least give me a hint to figure out how to find someone of equal value."

Riku scratched his head. "Well Hotaru once told me, that people are measure by worth of their souls. The things they did in one lifetime determines their worth. So obviously someone who spends their entire life donating to charity to help orphans and has a good heart, is worth a lot more then people. Even small good deeds, like holding the door open for someone, or picking up sometime they dropped, goes a long way.

Look here how to do this in detail after you find someone of equal value. Person A has 6 years to live, Person B has 60 years to live. As Person's A's death approaches, you must kill Person B. Hotaru will then switch the lifelines so that Person A now has 60 years to live and Person B will die in Person A's place. So you have six years to find someone to take Riley's place. "

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

Mem glanced towards the windows. "There are alot of them out there. I don't think it would be wise to take them on, Hotaru."

Hotaru shook her head. "We'll retreat for now. Mem, wipe the records please." Mem's hands began to glow as she nodded. Hotaru turned to Riley. "Help your father Riley, we're going."

"Going where?" asked Riley.

A door appeared in the room. It was white with blue trimmings on side, with an angel wing door knob. The other side was black with red trimmings and a dragon wing door knob. Hotaru pushed open the door. "My room."

Liss checked her sensor as she neared the building. She was showing 4 people on the third floor. She motioned to the others. "Alright, so far everyone we've run into has been hostile. At this point, I'm cold and I'm getting hungry. I just want to get back."

"So what would you have us do?"

The blonde woman pointed to the sensor and then pointed up. She had her stunner ready. "We go in, we kick down the door, we stun. No questions asked."

The others agreed as they too were cold and getting hungry. They had been patrolling all afternoon. So up they went, stealthily, yet quickly.

---

Upstairs in the small room, Hotaru waved her hands. "Come on, come on! They're getting closer!"

"I'm trying!" Riley snapped as she helped her father to his feet. "He may look frail, but he must weigh twice what I do!" She tugged on him and he tried to walk. His legs were very weak and Riley had to pretty much drag him.

"Riley, come on!" Riley looked toward the door to the hallway as she heard the footsteps and she froze. Hotaru clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Don't stop!" she admonished as she walked to the pair and assisted Riley in helping Saul walk.

Suddenly, the door kicked in and six Donai patrolmen flooded into the room. Riley recognized most of them. Hotaru pushed her and Saul to the floor as the stun beams whizzed overhead...actually, right where her head had been.

"I do not have time for this!" Hotaru snarled. She punched one man in the stomach, before snapping his neck. Grabbing the fallen stun gun, she charged it with a bit lightning magic, shocking two more to their death, literally. Dancing around the stun beams while defending Riley and Saul, a thin wire fell into her grasp. She lept over one patrolman, strangling him to death as well. That was four down... What else was a good way to kill someone?

Hotaru smirked to herself as the thoughts of being cold echoed in her head. Well if they were cold, why don't she warm them up. Liss and the last patrolman didn't have time to scream before their bodies were engulfed into a huge fire.

Riley stared in dumb shock as Hotaru waved her hands and the bodies disappeared. Hotaru had just murdered them in cold blood. "Don't," Hotaru spoke. "They would have killed you if I let them live. For now just get though the door."

Riley bit back her words and pushed through the door.

-----------

Riley stared at the nearly empty room she was in. There wasn't much, only a bed and the doors she came through. But what caught her eyes was how the walls didn't stay the same shade of red.

Hotaru walked in behind her, the doors closing shut. The red faded away and turned swirling blue, with an occasional streak of red.

"What?"

"We lost contact with six Donai patrollers in Sector 2."

"Who?" Kat demanded.

"Merim Jenks, Liss Harper, Vince Cortez, Leo Delario, Tristan Corbett, and Tavis Fortune."

Kat's eyes flashed a deep, but brilliant red as her rage overtook her. The name that affected her most, of course, was Liss's. She had been a valuable worker and once upon a time, long before the segak, a friend.

Tennnnnssshiiii...

She turned around, her eyes returned to their normal brown shade and said, "Blow up Sector 2."

"Minister?" the man gaped.

"You heard me. Are you questioning what I say?"

"No, of course not, Minister. Forgive me. I just...with the city being so decimated as it is, setting off a bomb--"

"--will be no big deal," Kat finished his sentence. "I don't want one stone remaining. We'll take out the people who'd threaten our survival in one swoop." The segak soul turned a little flip, delighting in the destruction that would rain down on them all.

The donai man nodded, though he didn't feel it was a good idea at all. He didn't know if the city could take the impact of a bomb, especially one so large that it would take out an entire sector. As he relayed the orders to the others and they prepared to carry them out, he couldn't help but keep thinking, This is a mistake!

---

Inside the small room, Riley had laid Saul down on the bed and she sat beside him, afraid to say anything to Hotaru. The woman wasn't going to kill her, otherwise she would have long ago. But seeing how she had done it with no remorse to the others, left Riley feeling cold with fear. She didn't want to be in this tiny room, but at least she was safe.

The room seemed to have a special effect on Saul. It almost seemed to heal him. His eyes held much more clarity and he was able to sit up a little. "R-Riley?" he said, his voice hoarse. "Are you ok?"

Riley nodded, squeezing his hand. She leaned in and whispered, "Don't get on her bad side," glancing at Hotaru.

"I heard that," Hotaru said.

Hotaru glanced at the walls, they were flicking orange. Funny... it wasn't her emotions her room was picking up. "You're afraid," she stated.

Riley didn't say anything. Hotaru sighed. "Come on Riley. Your father can rest here if he likes."

Glancing at Hotaru, Riley asked, "Where are we going?"

Hotaru blinked. "To meet my mother. It's rude not to introduce you since you are a guest here at our house. We can probably check up on Riku and Monohan too later. If you're lucky, Lady Earth is still around too."

Riley was taken aback by that. "Your mother?" Slatrommis had parents she guessed. It was a little strange to imagine. She keeps imagining Hotaru and her family like... these strange demons that couldn't be touched.

"Of course. Well technically she's my foster mother seeing as I don't remember my own parents. But she's practically raised me since the end of the Great War, so she's mother. The same can be said for the rest of us, except for Mem and Chi. Mem's mother is Dream and Chi's is Lady Earth of course. We're not related by blood, but we all consider us to be family, no matter how mismatched and broken it may be," Hotaru with a smile. The walls flickered a bright yellow reflecting her happiness on the topic."You coming?"

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

"Six years," Monohan muttered.

Riku turned his attention away. "Hotaru is home," he said.

Monohan looked at him curiously. Riku shook his head. "Never mind it for now. She'll stop by in here later. First we'll get you started on your training."

"I-I'd like to come too, if I may," Saul spoke up, his voice soft. Riley looked to Hotaru, her eyes hopeful that her father could come with them.

Hotaru nodded, "Of course you may! Do you feel you can walk?"

The man moved his leg and said, "It's strange. I feel so much stronger in here."

"Of course you do. This is the slatrommi realm. As long as you're in here, your body and mind will be much stronger than it is out there."

"I want to stay here then," he laughed.

"I'll see what I can do," Hotaru grinned and winked at him. Riley was a little surprised to see how she responded to her father. It was so different from the way she spoke to her or Monohan. "Follow me."

----

The few stragglers left in Sector 2 peered out from their hiding places, wondering why the Donai patrols were all leaving in such a rush. A few of the braver ones jumped out and cheered, taunting the uniformed men and women. But their happiness turned to confusion when they heard a strange buzzing noise overhead. They looked up and saw a strange machine, never before seen over the city. It soared overhead, but low enough for them to see a sliding door on the bottom of it opening. A large, round object fell through the open door and the strange machine pulled up in a sharp turn.

They stared at the round object as it came closer. "What do you suppose that is?" One of them asked, but there never came an answer. There was a flash of light as the object hit the ground and then sector 2 was gone.

----

Lady Earth cried out in pain.

Hotaru froze as a she heard a scream. She ran down the hall, with Riley trailing behind her. Riku and Monohan, stopped their training and looked outside. Seeing Hotaru, Riku left as well. Monohan, not knowing what was going on, followed.

-------

Lady Earth clutch her arm which was looked like someone just blew it up. Blood was spilling onto the floor as Fate tried to stop the bleeding.

"Hotaru!" Fate shouted as the four children ran into the room. Hotaru didn't waste a second, her appearance changing as she ran towards Lady Earth. Her hair turned white and her eyes became blue. White wings spread as she whispered the healing spells.

What seemed like an eternity, the wound closed and the pain ended. Hotaru stumbled backwards, her appearance changing back. Lady Earth had passed out from the pain. "You alright Oretsis?" Riku asked.

Hotaru nodded weakly. There was much about the wound she could do. Sudden movements would open it again. Because Lady Earth real body was the planet itself, to heal a wound was like trying to bring everything that died within the wound's radius to life. It was draining. Hotaru silently thank the stars that she decided to the kill the Donaiti Patrolmen cause without them, she wouldn't have been able to heal the wound.

However, whether it was through Hotaru's magic or Lady Earth's own will to live, something strange happened in the crater the bomb left in Sector 2. A tiny plant sprouted up. It had lain dormant for years underneath the steel layer humankind had laid down. The bomb created such an intense heat that a section of the steel melted and it was just enough.

Riku grabbed Hotaru's arm. "Look," he pointed at Lady Earth. She had a strange look on her face as if for the first time in a lifetime, she felt some sort of sense of renewal. There was a pinprick of light on her arm where the wound had been. It was so tiny, it could be easily covered, and yet it glowed with an incredible intensity.

Everyone in the room stared at it in wonder, except for Monohan, who was too busy staring at Hotaru in wonder. Hotaru's face lit up rapturously as she realized what it must mean. She didn't want to get her hopes up, though, without making sure.

She turned to Riley, Riku, and Monohan. "Come with me," she smiled. "Riley, if this is what I think it is, what I showed you before is about to come to pass. Saul," she turned to the older man who had knelt by Lady Earth's side. "You stay here."

"Gladly," the man replied.

Hotaru turned from him and then stopped. She turned around slowly and stared at the man for a few seconds, for the first time noticing a certain radiance about his face. She wondered if he had been the catalyst, having been close as she had healed Lady Earth. The thought of a human having a hand in the healing of earth was far fetched. However, she had not taken the time to truly look into him to see who he truly was beyond simply being Riley's father and the others didn't have the ever so subtle glow he now did.

"Come on," she said again and Riley shot her a strange look, wondering why she had looked at her father that way.

'Humans,' Hotaru concluded. 'Where very strange creatures.' She mused at the thought. They always had a way of surprising her.

She tossed Riley and Monohan a small pendent of a star. "Wear it. No one, will be able to see you if you wear them."

"Where are we going?" asked Riley.

"Back to Sector 2."

"But why? It's overflowing with Donaiti!"

Hotaru shook her head. "Not anymore." She turned to Lady Fate. "Mother, could you call the others if they're done with their tasks?"

Fate was helping Earth into the bed. "Of course dear. Go down and see it with your own two eyes. Send back pictures."

----------

"It would be suicide to just go in and expect to only fight Kage," said Kai, starting at the building where Kat was hiding in.

"But we can't just leave him in there either," Kaos pondered.

"Blow up the place?"

"And hope it draws him out? Sound like a good idea."

Arriving in the crater, Riley drew in a breath at the strange site. All around, everything was decimated. Even the steel ground had been melted. And there it was - a tiny green plant. She knelt down beside it and touched its leaves with wonder. On all sides of the crater, the sky was a hazy brownish-yellow color as radiation from the bomb spread to the other sectors, poisoning the inhabitants and staining the buildings. Yet, the air around the tiny plant was clear. In fact, it even smelled sweet.

"Idiots," Hotaru muttered. "I'll never understand how your minds work." She spread her arms wide. "I don't even have to wage war on humankind. You do it to yourselves and I can guarantee, sliding glass doors isn't going to keep the Donaiti safe from that." Sure enough, the radiation cloud had drifted toward the Donaiti complex.

Monohan asked as he reached out to touch the tiny plant. "How'd this thing get here? And what is it?"

"It's life," Hotaru replied. "It's the start of a new beginning. It's healing."

"It's so small."

"Now it is, but everything starts out small. All it needs is a little encouragement." She closed her eyes and caressed the leaves of the plant and it began to grow.

---

"Something went wrong!" a dark haired man knelt low to the ground.

"What do you mean something went wrong?" Kat's voice was filled with venom and her eyes flashed red.

"The bomb - we detonated it in Sector 2 just like you commanded us to, but now there's this strange cloud spreading out all over the rest of the city and everything's dying. People, birds, rats...ugh, you can't imagine the smell!"

The segak within could, however, and grew excited.

"I'm not concerned with any of that," Kat replied. "I thought something really bad had happened from the way you were speaking."

The man lifted his head and gaped at the minister. "B-but, it is really bad. It'll reach the Donaiti Complex any time now."

Kat grew cold at the thought. Though she was enjoying living in the Ministerial Palace now, the Donaiti Complex was where all the people who worked for her lived. Everyone she commanded and everyone who would be forced into compliance was there. She felt her ambitions beginning to crumble.

The segak within didn't share her feelings, however. He was just thrilled about the prospect of mass death and destruction. Kat felt the double nature inside of her and it confused her.

Hotaru smiled as she watched the tiny plant budded into a small blue flower. "Forget me nots," she said. "Heh, not really ironic that this is the first one that decides to bloom. No one has forgotten you, little one."

Riku noticed Riley and Monohan's confused faces. "It's called a flower but that's just a generic name, like how you address anything with four legs as animals. The common name that people use to call it years ago, is Forget Me Not. The meaning behind Forget Me Not is to remember me forever."

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

Kai glanced at the Ministerial Palace. If this didn't draw out the Segak, then nothing more then a straight forward charge would.

"Wlob elag thgim. Worg smrots lufrewop. Em dnuora parw sdniw ecreif."

-Fierce winds wrap around me. Powerful storms grow. Might gale blow. -

"Mrotsdniw: Ecils!" -Slice: Windstorm-

A blade of wind flew towards the building. It's first strike it sliced through the building before growing into a full grown storm. Kai signed to Kaos who went to add his own spell to the mess.

"thgim s'noitcurtsed, gnilbmar ytinasni. Thgirb nrub rewolf citoahc."

-Chaotic flower burn bright. Insanity rambling, destruction's might.-

"Slatep soahc"

-Chaos Petals-

A ball of chaos magic blew towards the building. It burst into tiny petal like pieces, that blew through out the whirlwind. Whatever it brushed again, exploded.

Kaos and Kai grinned. If anything that building wasn't going to be standing after this.

Riley stared at the little flower and thought the name was very appropriate and quite beautiful. All of the sudden, Monohan said, "Move over!"

Puzzled, she moved by instinct and right at that moment, a second plant sprouted from the ground.

"They're over here too!" Monohan exclaimed, his voice full of glee. He pointed to more green coming out of the cracks in the ground, and growing at a tremendous speed. Within minutes, a soft blanketing of green covered the ground, but it didn't stop there.

Hotaru merely stood there with her arms crossed, enjoying the burst of life as earth began to take itself back. She also couldn't help but smile at how childlike the two humans were acting. They were running around and laughing and seemed to forget all the recent events.

----

Deep in the ministerial palace, Kat heard the explosions, small at first, but growing louder. "What is that?" she demanded. "Go find out."

The two men in the room eyed each other, neither one of them particularly wanting to see what was causing the terrible noise outside. Their hesitation angered Kat. Her eyes glowed red and she waved her arm. Dark shadows flickered all around her and approached the men, threatening to engulf them. "GO!" she shouted and this time, there was no hesitation.

She waited in silence. The segak had grown stronger and stronger within her and had implanted itself so deeply within her that all traces of who she used to be were almost gone. Her hair had grown blacker, and the red streaks more brilliant, and her eyes were now always red, no longer brown. Sitting comfortably in power, the segak found no reason to try to hide any longer.

She waited a little more, but the men never returned. Growing impatient as the explosions grew louder and the whole palace shook, she rose from her seat, determined to find the source herself. Someone was trying to attack her haven and they would soon pay...

---
Meanwhile, the radiation cloud finally reached the Donaiti complex and all the particles seeped in through microscopic spaces. No one would die immediately upon contact, but the sickness would come upon them within a few hours...

Riku sat on the ground, the green grass felt soft and comforting. "What now Hotaru?" he asked.

"Well this rebirth shall continue, hopefully, if not nothing short of actually killing Lady Earth and allowing her soul to be reborn will fix everything. I perfer not to do it that way though. If we can heal it, then it's better. As going through the whole cycle again, is kinda complicated and messy," said Hotaru.

"As for the Segak, I can only hope that Kai and Kaos have managed to find Kage and kill him. I really can't deal with it right now," she continued tiredly.

Riley and Monohan stopped in their playing when they noticed a lady with long white hair and blue eyes appear. She glanced at them. Riley and Monohan looked at each other. Didn't Hotaru say no one would be able to see them? "Who are you?" Riley finally asked.

"You must be Riley. Which means he's Monohan," the lady said. "Where's Hotaru?"

"Seika!"

"Well that answers that question."

Hotaru appeared next to Monohan. "Where are the others?"

Seika shrugged. "Ita was right behind me, but I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to go join Kai and Kaos. Tran is headed here, or so she tells me. Arashi and Chi are finishing up the last power plant. No idea where Mem is."

"Mem is with her mother," said Hotaru.

Seika looked around. "Forget me nots. Excellent choice, if I must say. As long as they aren't daisies."

"Daisies?"
"What are those?"

"They're a small white flower," said Riku, joining them.

"And Seika is allergic to them," Hotaru said with a laugh. Seika scowled at her.

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

"So how goes the hunting process?"

Kai and Kaos looked to see Ita standing behind them. "About time you got here Ita. I was expecting you hours ago," joked Kaos.

"Hey, unlike you guys, I had to finish clearing out those power plants," Ita shot back.

"The radiation cloud is spreading fast through the building," Kai interrupted. "It'll kill everyone in there within a matter of hours."

"Serves them right," Kaos muttered.

"It's coming." Ita pointed to the building. Kat or rather Kage appeared, the shadows flickering around her.

The segak had so overtaken Kat, that when she appeared in front of Kai, Ita, and Kaos, she looked barely human. Her features, once rather pretty, had distorted from the malevolent being inside of her and she was bathed in shadows.

Ita shuddered. "I always hate looking at the possessed," he whispered. A segak itself was ugly, but to see what it did to a human host was even worse.

The three slatrommi stood their ground, their feet apart and their arms crossed, their stance formidable. "It's about time you've come out to play," Kai called.

Kage/Kat hissed and the shadows reared up, taking the form of monstrous beasts.

----

Saul gently squeezed Lady Earth's hand. "How are you feeling, milady?" he asked, a perfect gentleman.

"Much renewed, strangely enough," the woman replied as she tried to rise from her chair. Saul shook his head and insisted she stay seated.

"Don't," he said. "You need your strength."

She relented and smiled gratefully at him. "Have you ever heard of sreplehs, Saul?" The man shook his head and repeated the word. It sounded strange and foreign on his tongue. Earth continued. "Sreplehs are beings born once every few millenia, though their abilities usually lay dormant their whole lives and they never discover that part of themselves."

"What do they do?"

"They help slatrommi, but can only do so within the slatrommi realm. And that's the reason most sreplehs never awaken - not many humans ever come here."

"What kind of help do they give?"

"It varies," Earth shrugged. "Depends on the slatrommi the srepleh is created for. They live to be a companion to that slatrommi, to live in this realm and to always lend aid when they're called upon. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I think so, but I don't want to sound presumptuous," he replied.

"You aren't being presumptuous. I think you know. I can't force you to stay here, but I won't lie." She pointed to the tiny prick of light on her arm where in the human realm, the new garden was springing to life. "This wouldn't have happened without you, my srepleh."

Saul's mouth widened into a smile. "I'll always be here to help you when you need," he committed.

"It's not as easy as it may seem. You'd have to give up your human life and all contact with Riley. It's a lonely existence for sreplehs here. They don't mingle with slatrommi. It would be a life of solitude except for when you were called upon. Think on it before you commit."

Seika and Hotaru glanced at a building that stood in the distance. "What's wrong?" Riku prodded.

Seika frowned. "They managed to draw out Kage." She looked at Hotaru. "What are you going to do, Hotaru?"

Hotaru fell silent.

Seika's frown grew deeper. "Hotaru," she said harshly.

"What's going on?" Riley asked Riku.

"Not sure," Riku answered her hesitantly.

Seika glared at Hotaru. "Hotaru," she said with a warning tone.

Hotaru stared at her. "It's like I don't want to do it."

"Then why?"

"I don't have enough."

"What?!"

Understanding filled Riku's eyes. Riley noticed it and asked again, "What's going on?"

Riku sighed. Why was he the one explaining things today? "When a Segak possesses someone, things get really nasty. It damages the soul of the possessed and if left alone, the soul will vanish... forever. Human souls are frail. They can only take so much pressure before they break. After that, the person just ceases to exist. They never know about afterlife, or about rebirth. Hotaru is the only one who can heal souls among us. But... judging from her reactions, she has no intention of doing that."

"WHAT?!"

"Why don't you let her explain before yelling," Riku said coldly, covering his ears from the loudness of Riley's and Monohan's voices. He was getting really angry.

"Not enough Hotaru?" Seika questioned.

"I would have had enough but... this," said Hotaru pointing around them, "Was an unforeseen event. Whatever magic I had to spare for Kat, I spend healing Lady Earth and I don't have time to go collect more. I can't dip more into my reserves not without compromising Lady Earth's rebirth and the high chance of leaving me dead at the amount of magic I've been pouring out today."

For some reason, something within Riley's very being stirred at the thought of Kat losing her soul and simply ceasing to exist. They weren't always rivals. Indeed, they had been the closest of friends when they were younger. She tried to remember just exactly what had happened to change that and couldn't.

Hotaru saw her expression and shrugged helplessly. "I wish I could do it, Riley. Truly I do. No matter that she has been a terrible person and has done terrible things as a Donai, but knowing what that organization does to people, I dare say, in different circumstances, things would have been different for her. She wouldn't have been like that."

"You're not going to compromise Lady Earth or yourself," Riku said, his jaw clenched tight.

"There's got to be a solution," Riley said. "Forget what I said earlier...I don't believe anyone should lose their souls."

Riku shook his head. "She'll never know any different. Afterall, were you aware of the soul and rebirth before meeting Hotaru?"

"That's not fair!" Riley frowned at the man.

"Is it fair what Lady Earth has put up with for so long? Is it fair that you're asking Hotaru to end her own life, as well as compromise Lady Earth to try to save the life of a woman who has wronged even you? If it were anyone else...anyone you didn't know, you wouldn't be crying about how unfair it all is," Riku replied.

"Riku," Hotaru admonished him gently and he looked at her in surprise. He'd think she would be irritated as well, but she wasn't. She was looking at Riley with the patience that one might have for a child.

Riley turned her back on Riku and looked Hotaru levelly in the eye. "Can you use me in any way to help her?"

"No!" Monohan exclaimed, but Riley held out her hand to silence him.

"I've got less than six years as it is. I've been reunited with my father. I'm not scared if that six years gets cut down to less. No one should lose their soul. Everyone deserves a second chance." She couldn't help but think that Riku might be right, though...if it had been a random stranger, she wouldn't have felt the impulse to offer herself.

"You're not going to give up are you?" Hotaru asked gently.

"No," Riley responsed firmly.

Hotaru sighed. "Fine. My own fault I supposed." Her appearance flickered, changing her back into her Death form.

"Oretsis... what you doing?" Riku asked slowly.

Hotaru glanced at him. "My job. I'll speed up the radiation that is covering the Donaiti building. It'll kill everyone in there within a matter of minutes. Next I'll have to kill half of this flower field. Finally... I'll sent another atomic bomb towards Sector 3," she said coldly. "Then we'll see from there if I have enough to save Kat."

Seika's eyes flashed. She didn't like where Hotaru was going with this. "And what about yourself?"

Hotaru smirked at her. "I'll chance my luck. If I end up dying due to magic lose, tell Kai I'll be waiting for him in my next life."