Midgardia 07

This man, his garb and hair would be strange in most places; here however, in this bar he is surrounded by oddities. Twin Chinese sisters in a pink and white matching formal dresses, a man with a dog's head and wearing armor that looks to be made of plastic, a witch in pink, there is even a woman in a mockery of knight's armor whose head floats above her neck via violet colored flames. If the version of him from thousands of years ago walked in here he'd go in a mad rampage to slay the monsters; but these are now his co-workers.

   The man with long spikey golden hair, wearing a denim jacket over a black t-shirt, and blue jeans sips at his beer, remembering. How it all started, he thinks to himself, thousands of years ago he was the most renowned champion on the continent, a little planet these people call Peres. It all started with such a simple quest; a King told of a witch that seduced the princess. From there, battle after battle with the witch, sealing her...and sealing her again, it was a game to the witch. He would cross paths with these Dimension Police, join their ranks to pursue her...so many guises, he could not accept a mission undone, to permanently defeat this monster that even these...champions of a thousand worlds have failed to do so along side him. A witch, a sorceress, a goddess, a queen, a vampire, a devil, even a few times where she had the form of some eldritch horror or a serpent's body below the waist. Wings, four-arms, different colored hair, a tail, even slightly different personalities and powers...she limits herself...its a game.

   He *chugs* his beer. He know it dawned on him before, as it does every so often, that his life's quest, that he threw his life away for, spending decades and then centuries with these people before he even realized it. Hunting her, her creations, her minions that scatter to the wind...meeting her children...most recently...facing three of her daughters, one of which he himself as part of a very elaborate and supposedly permanent plan helped seal away, standing there, mocking him with her very presence...standing there as...

   His mind flashes to the scene, standing there on the meteor, its ancient sacred alter, summoning forth from the Eternal Realm between and beyond all universes, his team seeking out a way to connect back to a world they called Midgardia. The connection lost for centuries, believed done by that very being he had hunted for what now amounts to most of his life. This was a desperate attempt, lead by the swordswoman sorceress Ruby and the dark sorceress Nefaria, mercenaries he has worked with before, and two of the most powerful sorceresses in the records of the Dimension Police, especially now that certain others have been taken off that list and placed on the Eldritch Ones list. A summoning of goddesses that could show them a way to connect with Midgardia, paths of power required. A woman with skin like blue smooth armor and flames of hair and the horns of a demon floating about her head, a woman in a brown Victorian dress with a white halo of flame floating above her head and hugging a teddy bear with pleading human eyes that stared directly at him and mouthing the words "help me", and the third...the dark princess in impossible armor both form fitting and yet armor like, long black hair and piercing blue eyes. He didn't face her himself, but he knew her from the records, Nefaria however was clearly fearful of the dark one. He thought maybe this summoning freed her, however he learned from the two sorceresses that they thought three others were going to appear, and that they could not have summoned her intentionally so easily from her prison; he had to have freed by other means.

   "Other means," scoffs the man looking into his glass, a quick check from their agents found that planet, Espara, in fairly advanced state, and found the other witch; the dark one's mother, sitting comfortably as the immortal leader of a financial empire.

   "Chaos," says the man known as Suranaku catching the android bartender's attention as he holds his glass for a refill of the liquid that can do nothing to ease him as he has become too powerful in his time, "Again and again we meet...I the hero and you the elusive final boss...what a long and tiring game you have dragged me and so many innocent people into to ease your eternal boredom...Eldritch monster god."


    ******

   It has been an odd day at school to say the least for Mia and her friends, the whole day the only thing anyone could talk about was the new kaiju on the news, the one that beat Dursha and then just vanished with him. Luke had to go straight home, his mother apparently had some emergency to discuss with him, Nikkie too, Mia is certain the three things are related, glad for once her family doesn't have some high end scary connection, scary connection yes but not THAT high end.

    As she reaches home however she senses something inside, something she hasn't felt for some time. She rushed into the house to find...her grandmother sitting on the couch sipping tea.

   "Grandma!" shouts Mia

  "Afternoon my dead," says the old woman, "So, I hear you summoned a creature."

  "How..." starts Mia, her grandmother lifting her hand to stop her, "I have wards on my old book, should someone get it...and I wanted to be the first to duel you my dear."

  "Duel..." starts Mia a worried tone in her voice.

  "Yes," says her grandmother taking another sip of tea, her voice calm yet somehow threatening and worried at the same time.

   She sets the cup down, "You know the game my dear, summoners of all types, LaMopo, Eldritch, Spirit, Mystic Monster, Demon, Angel, and so on and so on my dear, just as the dark ones have their tournaments and territories and now this...new giant monsters fighting thing...we summoners are bound to the rules of the game as ancient as time."

   Her grandma makes a gesture and they are both transported to another dimension, a world of darkness standing upon a red grid.

  "The Battle Zone," says Mia, "grandma,"

  "Mia the summoner," says her Grandma, "I Yuki the summoner formally challenge you to a battle zone duel."

  Mia *sighs*, she knows this had to happen, "I accept."

  "Good," says her grandma with a tone of relief, "Now as you know the battle zone is a special place, you and I will be protected once the battle starts in a pair of Perfect Spheres, magically giving advice as we see fit to our creatures as they battle one another. In this place they will not be restrained by the Nine Obelisks....sorry....Eight Obelisks now....that restrict their power in the real world."

   "Eight?" thinks Mia, "what...happened to the ninth one?"

   Yuki makes a gesture and summons a sigil on the ground from which rises a very tall man wearing black knight armor, a cape, clawed gloves, his face hidden in swirling darkness beneath a helmet with a T-face design with only two red glowing eyes to be seen.

  "My summon beast," says Yuki, "The Demon I have named Bob."

  Bob *sighs* a puff of black fire puffing out from his helmet.

  "Something to complain about Bob?" asks Yuki.

  "No...Milady," says Bob.

  "Now you," says Yuki to her granddaughter.

  Mia sets down her back pack,

 "How'd she bring that with her?" wonders Yuki.

  Mia opens it and out pops the tiny red squirrel fox.

  "Mew Mew," says Mia, "the...Dreamer...I guess is what those ladies in her castle...world...thing called her."

  Yuki's eye twitches at hearing all this as she thinks, "I...probably should have played this out differently...it...was in her backpack...castle...people in the summon space? What?"

  MewMew looks at the knight, a strange smile that Mia doesn't see but Yuki does quickly crosses MewMew's face.

  "You had it in your backpack?" asks Yuki, *sigh*, "too late to wonder about that now."

  The Perfect Spheres come over them automatically and they vanish from the battle ground to the far ends of the board, screens they can control (Mia knew about this already from studying summoning) allowing them to see the battle from different angles.

  "MewMew," says Mia, "please...try not to get hurt."

  MewMew *smiles* and says in non-fitting woman's voice, "As you wish...so shall it be!"

  A fire erupts around MewMew and she grows into a cat woman like creature with the same ears and tail as before, covered in red fur, hunched over and *growling* at Bob.

  No matter who wins or loses, this battle ground is designed to return them to perfect health once the battle is over, rewarding the winner with more power however or some other magical item as a prize...an incentive laid down in ages past by whoever started the game.

  "Bob," says Yuki, "This is my grand-daughter's first duel, try not to make her feel too bad, just gently beat that thing. No doubt she summoned some lower level...oh shit."

  MewMew charges and using an Inferno Slash cuts through Bob's armor forcing him to fly backwards.

  "Do not under-estimate me human," comes MewMew's voice in Yuki's sphere.

  "How...." starts Yuki.

  "Mia cannot hear this," says MewMew, "I am the Dreamer and the Dream....I am...Eldritch."

  "Shit," says Yuki...pausing a moment and then smiling, "Mia takes after me after all...Bob...show this Animalistic Eldritch what real power looks like."

   "As you wish," says Bob, his cape turning into demon wings, summoning from a black sphere a giant broad sword of darkness, the tip of the sword like an arrow head on a segmented section.

  "MewMew," whispers Mia not sure how to duel, she's read about it, but has no idea.

  "Rho-Sho-Shadow Sword!" yells out Bob, "Strike!"

  The tip of the swords flies forward, MewMew dodges it, however the blade stops in the air and becomes covered in dark crystals before being pulled back by a hard to see black chain.

  "MewMew....win!" screams Mia, surprising herself on her choice of words.

  As the crystal blade comes back MewMew smiles and says, "As you wish," a cyclone of darkness erupts around her catching the blade, shattering the crystals and nearly yanking the Rho-Sho-Shadow Sword from Bob's hand. When the cyclone stops, the red cat creature is no longer there, standing perfectly erect in her place is a figure in a cloak so dark that the walls of darkness around them seem grey by comparison, a hood that seems to be part of her head, a face that is two blue glowing slants and a mouth guard, framed by shadows between the hood and face. The cloak opens to reveal to be two great wings as MewMew takes place, her legs merged into a cloak tail reminiscent of a bird's tail.

   Yuki *laughs*, "though so, Eldritch indeed...she is a Shadow Vampire...just like you Bob...no holding back, take her down!"

   Bob unsummons his sword and with a jab calls forth black fire, "Dark Flame Blast!" he shouts. the Blast however is absorbed by the ample chest of the shadowy form of MewMew, who just floats there.

   "She's strong," says Yuki, "after all...she did speak to me in here."

   "She spoke to you in the Perfect Sphere!" yells out Bob. Distracted he is caught off guard as MewMew flies right up to him and holds his shoulders in a pair of clawed hands that separated from her wing/cloak. Her face mask pulls back showing a woman's face made of shadow, a face that smiles at Bob. Bob's eyes go wide and he starts to shake.

   MewMew let's go and floats backwards, landing upon the grid, wrapping herself back up in her cloak.

  "cocky," says Yuki, "Now Bob...Bob...what..."

  Bob is standing there shaking trying to regain his composure.

  "What did she do Bob?! A Scary Face? Some kind of Psychic Attack! You are a Demon Shadow Vampire, the rare male of your kind, bigger...stronger, what..."

   "She spoke to you in the Perfect Sphere!" yells out Bob, into the battleground where even Mia can hear what he says, "and you didn't think I could have used that information!? You useless mortal crea..."

  "Bob!" yells out Yuki, "Know your place!"

  Bob stops and stands erect, "Yes....MiLady."

  Bob points at MewMew, "That...is not what it seems MiLady, I know this creature...she...is the Umbra Luminous, the Inferno Cat we saw before would be the bestial form...."

  He pauses looking at the Umbra Luminous not sure what he can get away with saying before being attacked by her to shut him up.

  "I know the bestial form," says Yuki, surprising everyone as she projects what she is saying now out into the battle grid, "Mia...you summoned a Shadow Vampire...a very powerful breed of demon indeed, between vampires, demons, and the Eldritch, seems my Bob knows your summon from the past. Guess MewMew's old master did a very good job with her...she has Bob here on the ropes already and the battle has barely been a battle....but as they say its the battle not fought with fists but with the mind that can win the day sometimes...but I have made Bob much stronger than he was before...I intended to show you the folly of battle my dear, how harsh it can be with a quick yet not...overly dramatic finish...guess I have to go further...Bob...use the Black Dragon Fire....show my grand-daughter how powerful you really are and how intense these battles can become."

  "Yes...MiLady," says Bob. He floats in the air, MewMew does not move, He summons a large black sigil beneath his feet, MewMew does not move."

  "MewMew," says Mia in a whisper.

  "Win," whispers MewMew back to Mia, "I will."

  Mia smiles and whispers back, "Win"

  A cyclone of black fire erupts from the sigil around Bob rising into the air and twisting about, taking on the form of the head of a massive black dragon at the front that comes crashing down towards MewMew.

  "The Black Dragon Fire," says Yuki aloud for all to hear, "Mia...this attack can level mountains and cities...this is why the games exist, why the battle zone exists, why...what is happening?"

   The black flames upon the grid are spiraling like water down a drain, being sucked into MewMew, being absorbed. MewMew rises into the air.

  "That...this is impossible..." whispers Yuki.

  MewMew spreads out her wings and glows a bright blue, causing Bob to shield his eyes with his arm, as MewMew declares.

  "Ancient Powers now unfold
   Bring Forth the Light of Old!"

   A bright light envelops the area and now looming over the battle grid is a massive female entity, body covered in blue armor like skin, blue flames for hair, and a pair of curved lighter metallic blue/silvery goat horns floating about her hair above the temples.

   "No!" yells out Yuki, "A summon...can't...summon...what?"

   This form is now MewMew...MewMew is still floating in the arena.

  "The Star Killer..." whispers Bob just as its fist comes down crushing him into the grid, making it wobble, something that terrifies Yuki, but then everything goes to black and they are back in Mia's living room.

   Mia is sitting on the couch, in her lap is the little red squirrel fox MewMew. Yuki finds herself sitting on a chair, with a pale man with short cut deep black hair, wearing a black suit standing beside her. However something else is there, on the coffee table there is a blue and silvery-white ferret with little tiny backward curved blue horns on its head. It leaps into Mia's lap where it plays with MewMew.

   "Guh!" exclaims Bob breaking the silence noticing the ferret, "The...the...the.."

   He whispers, "The Star Killer....this world is doomed, this planet..."

  "Wow," says Mia scratching under the ferret's chin, "A second summon...I think...I'll name you...FiFi!"

  FiFi chirps in approval as she is petted.

  "You...Fi...Fi...you named...the Star Killer...FiFi...guh..."

  "Bob," states Yuki with a *sigh*

 "Sorry...MiLady," says Bob regaining his composure, however his eyes are stuck on MewMew and FiFi.

  Yuki takes a sip of the tea still on the table, and still hot.

  "Well," says Yuki, "My dear you have a second summoned beast, very rare...seems your first summon took advantage of the lack of magical limitations in the battle zone to summon her friend there. From what I saw I'd say MewMew has impressive defenses, might need to work on offense perhaps, some practice in the real world with all its limitations could help. However..."

   She sets her cup down, "Mia," Mia is playing with her two new pets like a pair of living stuffed animals.

  "Mia!"

  Mia looks up startled.

  "Sorry," says her grandmother Yuki, "My dear, they are loyal to you and will obey you but while not a demonstration I would have liked to show with my own summon...in my old age it seems the bond may be slipping."

  She looks at Bob with a *glare* and back at Mia, "You have known Bob since you were very little Mia, In fact he is in my Will, the magic one, to be inherited by you in the event of my passing."

  "Grandma," says Mia, "you havn't been sick or anything have you?"

  "No, no," says Yuki, "sorry, didn't mean to upset you, I plan to live much longer...my point was this demon has been passed down for generations as you know. Had your mother not rejected my offer...she is a bit awkward around Bob...the old ghost of my mansion, heh...I think he must have scared her when she was little...no such problems with you my dear. However, my point was...make no mistake, as you saw he is no ghost...or gentleman as he pretends to be, per the contract. He is a demon."

  She takes another sip of tea, "While we seldom know the whole stories behind what he summon and definitely not those of others. This can make them a huge surprise. Yours were especially surprising. Passing its self off as a cute little creature...which is what you always wanted, something tells me your contract stipulates this."

  Mia *nods*

  "Thought so," says Yuki, "As you know many summoned creatures are dream demons, mindless mystical abominations...or simply older ones that gained intelligence and seek more power through our magic, and so on. Bob here...is in reality...or was a Demon General, The Master of the 5th Legion of a Dark World...the Hell of another world apparently, in direct service of a Dark Empress.

   MewMew and FiFi both yawn as they curl up in Mia's lap.

  Yuki eyes them a second before continuing, "In other words...he is a high class demon; A Shadow Vampire at that from what I read; very powerful group of monsters. MewMew was toying with him. Those forms she took are in-keeping with Shadow Vampires, I wander though...if she might be a hybrid with something else like Bob...conjecture though my dear. This second one though...we clearly saw she was something very big...something able to wobble the battle zone...I have seen some insane things in my days dear. Attacks that rival volcanoes, atomic blast scale destruction, even one that summoned missiles in the shapes of skyscrapers...I have never seen anything wobble the grid before, not even a giant black meteor made of screaming faces...Ethan's creature is a monstrous one...any way...what was my point...oh right. FiFi one punched Bob and made the grid wobble. On the one hand I am glad it took something like that to defeat him, on the other it seems like the kind of summon one calls forth only as an attack summon and not a summon creature...well, I guess my grand-daughter is still in good hands."

  "MiLady," says Bob, "You wished for me to inform you when it was time to go."

  "Oh right," says Yuki, "sorry to make this such a short...and dramatic visit my dear but I have an important meeting to get to."

  "Oh," says Mia as she stands to help her grandmother get ready to leave, "Just...one more question," asks Mia.

  "Yes My dear?" says Yuki as Bob holds the door to a car that was hidden from Mia when she approached the house earlier (magic to make the visit more of a surprise).

   "When I inherit Bob...does that mean he goes from your contract to mind?"

   "Yes," says Yuki, pausing as she sits in the backseat of the fancy car, and smiling as what Mia is implying dawns on her.

  "So," says Mia with both Fifi and MewMew in her arms, "Does that mean Bob will have to become a cute little animal as well?"

  "Yes," says Yuki.

  Bob's eyes twitch a bit as he goes to close the door, Yuki rolling down the window as Bob goes to the driver's seat.

  "Cool," says Mia, "I always pictured Bob turning into a cute little bat."

  MewMew and FiFi both snicker.

  Bob looks right at FiFi, "Damn you FiFi" to which the ferret sticks her tongue at him, causing MewMew to snicker louder.

  Mia waves goodbye as the car drives away.

  As Mia heads inside she says, "I can't wait to see the look on Nikkie's face when she sees you FiFi and hears all about this."

   ******

   Yuki enters the large office, seeing inside Sharon and her son Luke, the Tigress Narna and her daughter Nikkie, as well as Lohln and a strange bald man in a brown suit sitting in a chair with Lohln's hands on his shoulders she's never seen before. As well as a woman wearing an odd Victorian black dress with a red seam and a blood red halo floating above her head; and even weirder she is holding a stuffed white rabbit with red button eyes and sown shut mouth that seems to twitch. With Bob beside her she enters the office.

  "Already have your demon out?" asks Sharon, "did you sense,"

  "Holy fucking shit no!" exclaims Bob surprising everyone there who has met him before, as he looks directly at the woman, "No! First the Star Killer is here and now you!?"

  "Bob," says Yuki sternly but is surprised when the woman with the stuffed toy *zips* directly in front of them, looking up at Bob and then down at Yuki.

  "So..." says the woman narrowing her eyes at Yuki, "you are holding my little brother's leash...cute."

  She skips back across the room beside Sharon and Luke who look a bit nervous.

  "Brother?" asks Yuki.

  "I...am older..." starts Bob as if fighting against his own restraints.

  "Order born is not order of age," says the girl, "besides...that also applies to the one eavesdropping in the corner."

   "What?!" exclaims Sharon and Lohln looking around.

  A woman materializes from the shadows, tall, long wavy black hair, wearing armor that reminds Yuki of Bob's.

  "Shadow Vampires," says Yuki.

  "Whatever," says the woman.

  "Who are you?" demands Lohln.

  "That is my line," says Sharon, "how dare you spy on me...in MY office vampire."

  "We must flee for your safety," says Bob whispering to Yuki, "Their pride will get you all killed, those two could level this entire city faster than any of you could utter a single syllable of a single spell."

  "You'll make me blush," says the woman in armor, "little brother."

  "At any rate," says Narna, "Cynthia, was it? You did call us all ahead of time...asking for this meeting, something about missing family you are looking for. This was all very elaborate, but I suppose with that whole, bring your closest loved one as my oracle detected a connection bit, it was Miss Yuki's summoned beast you were seeking."

  "mmm, no," says Cynthia with a smile hugging her stuffed toy. She sets it on the desk, and with an extended claw like nail, grown in that instant cuts the strings on its mouth.

  It stands up and says in a man's voice, "By blood or bonds the Dreamer will be found connected to one of four of the great powers in this city."

  With a flick the strings sow back through the toy's mouth.

  "He was always a nice guy," says Cynthia, "but that divine curse makes his predictions a tad cryptic.

  "You put a curse on your toy?" asks Luke surprising himself that he spoke up.

  "Oh...no," says Cynthia, "He had that curse before I turned him into my little fuzzy bunny forever friend."

  She snuggles the bunny.

  Sharon whispers to Luke, "these are not what they claim to be, please be quiet."

  Luke *nods* watching her snuggle the bunny.

  "At any rate," says the armored woman.

  "Sister," says the woman addressing Cynthia.

 "Hmm," says Cynthia in mid snuggle hug.

  "You cheated,"

  "How?" asks Cynthia.

  "This hardly looks like our minions searching out the scent of...the Dreamer now does it?"

  "I know," says Cynthia, "I just think it will be more fun to let the big bosses of this board know something is going on...I'm surprised three of them actually brought their closest loved ones here."

  She hugs the bunny toy to her bosom, "I mean they don't even know us. But hey,"

  She looks at Yuki, "How serendipitous, this one brought her summoned boy toy...and it happens to be our long lost little brother..."

  Yuki thinks to herself, "I doubt it was serendipity....and...."

  The armored woman is looking at her and smiling and she can hear a thought protrude into her mind, "Cynthia missed what Rhoan said...the Star Killer...oldest of our sisters is here and he saw her today...what a fun clue you have turned out to be...for me."

   Yuki is frightend and automatically raises as many psychic locks as she can with silent spells, not sure they are even doing anything against this being.

  Cynthia turns to Lohln, "and one of you actually brought an avatar they made for a Monstro-Dursha of all things."

  Lohln's grip on the man's shoulder's tightens, "a...excuse me, oh queen of the 13 clans of Vampires...who we didn't even know existed, as I stated before of course...but...what do you mean by a...as in one of? You know who this is apparently. The avatar I made of the imprisoned rampaging Kaiju Dursha."

  Nikkie and Luke exchange looks remembering the news report they saw in class.

  "Yeah," says Cynthia with a hand wave, "I know that smell, I had to once kill like ten of those ugly things. Damned beetles were infecting my garden, eating up my crops."

  "If we are done with the ominous foreshadowing," says the woman in armor, "sister, I think perhaps we should return to our positions on this board and let our minions hunt properly for the darkness that shall envelop this world."

   "Oh you're one to talk about being ominous," jokes Cynthia as they both vanish into thin air.

  "Well," says Sharon, "I know when I am being messed with....and I don't like it."

  She looks at Yuki, "those Shadow Vampire Queens referred to your summon as their brother...and it clearly recognized them...anything you can add to this Miss Yuki?"

  "Nothing I know for certain," says Yuki, "other than I don't believe in serendipity. However something they said does have my attention, but I don't believe it would be safe to bring it up here."

  "Of course," says Sharon, "I have never known a Shadow Vampire not to linger in the shadows and spy on those they just met with...collectors of information, knowers of secrets and all that...spying demons."

  She eyes Bob, "not unlike your summon when we visit you...even without your command to do so."

  ******

  On the roof Cynthia and Rhudra stand over looking the city, well Rhudra stands at an impossible angle on a stone arch while Cynthia sits there, her feet dangling over the edge holding the bunny. She tosses the bunny off the building, halfway down it vanishes into a white sigil, landing back in a room full of other stuffed animals.

  As the sun sets a shadow slithers out from under Cynthia's dress and turns into a Shadow Vampire which lays its head in her lap to be petted.

  "So silly," says Cynthia, "having to wait till dark, puppy."

  The Shadow Vampire looks up at her. Cynthia points at the city, "Go find the Dreamer."

  The Shadow Vampire spreads its cloak wings and flies off.

  Cynthia looks up at Rhudra, "where are you hiding yours" she stares intently at Rhudra's cleavage.

  "My minions are already familiar with this city, using their own resources to look."

  They both vanish from the rooftop.

  ******

   As the car with Yuki drives towards her mansion hidden in the mountains Bob speaks up, "MiLady,"

  "Yes Bob,"

   "I have served your family for generations."

  Yuki looks a bit concerned, "Bob...are you..."

  "Despite the role that I play, I have taken a liking to your family, as you have not asked, I am offering this advice. You are in danger, those two came to this world of their volition...I am certain MewMew knew this, a summon summoned by a summon would be bound to the original summoner by the contract. In that instant she no doubt sought out the perfect assistance...which is as far as I can try to imagine her motivation for doing that."

  "Bob," says Yuki, "they said you were their brother...in what manner did they mean that? Are you from the same clan perhaps?"

  "I...we have the same mother...in a manner of speaking," says Bob, "created through different means, but it is for all intents and purposes a blood relation. By your science our DNA would show us to be half-siblings."

   "Different fathers," says Yuki, "so a Lilith scenario?"

  "No," says Bob, "the mother made me to be her brother in a...previous summoning of sorts, an act of loneliness...I cannot say more on that matter."

  "No need," says Yuki, "It is the stuff of myths and legends, stories, I get it. Tell me what you can about those two who showed up and demanded a meeting from gods just to mess with them."

  Bob pauses as they pull up the mansion gates, "Cynthia, the one with the two....she...well as you know my proper title is Rhoan the Demon General...they are Cynthia the Mad One...she takes more after our...cousin Misaline in her behavior...not that, that means anything to this world...just more....dark about it. That toy was no doubt a man she had use for...Misaline turns her friends into toys so she has them forever...Cynthia does this to people to make them her friends...or on a whim....she is disturbed, keeps demons as pets and men as toys...."

   "Twisted," says Yuki.

  Bob gets out and opens the door for Yuki in the parking garage with her many other fancy cars from around the world. As they walk in past the maid staff the conversation is on pause till they can enter Yuki's office where she is taking down various old books on the rules of summoning and variations of it.

  "continue Bob," says Yuki, "if you would please, we have another player...the armored woman who didn't even seem to be paying attention to the gods...she was in my head...referred to me as a clue."

  "Rhudra the Dark Princess," says Bob, "She and the mother have a very close relationship. She modeled herself after her, the mother caused so much suffering and torment across realities just to free Rhudra from an Eldritch Seal she was in...I cannot speak more on that matter it seems."

  "The Star Killer," says Yuki trying to find some reference to summon beings have familial connections when summoned, "This...is also a sister."

  Bob looks at the book Yuki is reading, "Yes...one of the mother's oldest children. She is...FiFi...unfortunately now named by a summoner the rules have limited greatly what I can tell you about her other than she is a very powerful opponent, but this you know."

  "MewMew is the mother isn't she?" asks Yuki.

  Bob pauses, "It seems you guessed it so...yes, I can tell you that."

  Yuki looks through the book, "As I thought there is no information regarding a summoner being related to another summoner summoning creatures from the same family as each other...so how could that happen? How could my grand-daughter summon the mother of the creature I summoned?"

   "You lent Mia the Stone of Storms," says Bob, "to power her summoning. Your ancestor summoned me as I was in a receptive state for summoning at the time. That stone...was created by the mother...it is based on HER power, directly connected to her, it could be used with the right enchantments and equipment to summon her...or be summoned to her. I do not know the circumstances but it seems one way or another Mia now has a contract with her...and it seems The Mad One and the Dark Princess arn't very happy about it...I do not know the circumstances of what was going on prior to the summoning unfortunately."

  "No, no," says Yuki, "you have told me more than enough...and much more than I'd have ever thought you'd offer up."

  "A rare lapse, MiLady." says Bob.

  "Of course," says Yuki while thinking, "they riled him up. He is clearly out classed by them, not good should this get serious. But hmmm...the stone might be the key though."


    ******

   Across the street from the high school and standing on a rooftop there is a woman with long black hair wearing a white kimono with a fan covering her face. She stands intently watching the sci-fi club finally let out, always so late. The boys and girls, some close to and others legally adults, leaving in different directions. The woman peeks over her fan with eyes of pure red and narrows her brow as the last one leaves.

   "Luke?" she asks aloud, looking around, "But...tonight I was...where the fuck is he?!"

  The window below her lights up as a man leans out and looks up, "Hey! Who the hell is on my roof!?"

  The woman leans over, her milky white eel skin face, shark teeth, blue tentacles waving from beneath the black wig and red eyes startling the man as she *hisses* at him, sending him scrambling back into his house in fear.

  The woman leaps from the roof top, in the same direction she has followed Luke in before.

  "Stand me up will he," she says, "granted he didn't know about our date, but that is no excuse!"