"So, you and Miranda have been close lately, huh?" Millie said. 

"No more than usual," Courtney said. 

"So, you haven't been going on dates?" Millie asked. "Having romantic evenings?" 

"Millie, this isn't the time," Jean said. "We should get to class before..."

"Dates? Romance?" Courtney asked. Her cheeks reddened. "If only." 

"What's up with that?" Millie asked. "Shouldn't you be getting all defensive and saying 'aahhh, it's not like that at all' or something?" 

"Should I?" Courtney asked. "But it really would be like that if only..." her voice trailed off. 

"Does Miranda not feel the same way?" Jean asked. 

"I don't know," Courtney admitted. 

"Then you have to ask her," Millie said. "It's carpe diem, baby!" 

"But I..." Courtney began. She was interrupted by the bell ringing. The three looked at each other and ran to class. 

*****

Millie waited until lunch to bring the subject up again. "I'll tell her for you," she said. 

"You can't!" Jean said. "Courtney has to say it herself." 

Courtney nodded. "Yeah, but what if she thinks I'm gross or starts hating me? At least right now I can be by her side." 

"Courtney..." Jean said.

"Rubbish!" Millie cried. "You may be strange, but so what? That doesn't make you gross or anything. If anyone says otherwise I'll beat them up!"

"Guys..." Courtney began. Miranda walked over and grabbed her shoulder. 

"We're getting a response from the compasses," she whispered. "We've gotta go." She raised her head and stood up straight. 

"Something's come up," Courtney said. "We'll talk later, okay?" She hurriedly packed what was left of her lunch and followed Miranda out. 

"A confession?" Jean asked. "Did Miranda confess?" 

"Go for it, Girl!" Millie called after them. 

*****

Miranda, Courtney and Sam all snuck out of school and went towards the signal. 

"I can't believe I'm missing afternoon classes, again," Courtney said. 

"It can't be helped," Miranda said. "This is more important." 

"Still," Sam said. "Isn't it strange that they'd attack again so soon after we beat one of their bigwigs?" 

"Could he be back?" Courtney asked. "He did swear revenge, so..." 

"It's not the same one," Miranda said. "A general who goes himself in lieu of his subordinates has to be desperate. Especially when there are so few Celestials. That was probably his last chance." 

The three transformed in an alley when they were close. They followed the signal to see a masked woman finishing a boar monster with a spiked whip. 

"You must be the other clerics," she said, taking off her mask. "I'm Mina Murray. And you are?" She extended a hand. 

"I'm..." Courtney began but Miranda blocked her outstretched hand and held up a hand to signal quiet. 

"She's not one of us," Miranda said. 

"What do you mean?" Courtney asked. "She beat a monster, didn't she?" 

"How did the dog recognise that you were a cleric?" Miranda asked. 

"I saw who you were and..." Courtney trailed off. 

"She took off her mask," Sam said, quietly. 

"Exactly!" Miranda said. "We couldn't see through her mask and she can't see through ours. That can only mean one thing." 

"It's a trick!" Courtney said. 

Mina snarled. "Impudent brats!" A swirl of white feathers gathered around her, transforming her into a creature with bat wings, fangs and claws. She opened her mouth and screeched. The soundwaves sent the three girls reeling. 

"Love's Divine Protection!" Sam cried, a barrier formed to block the screech attack. 

"Will you shut up?" Courtney asked. She fired several arrows that arced over Sam's wall at Mina, who stopped her attack and flew above them.

Courtney fired several more arrows. Mina swooped down at her, claws stretched. Miranda's shield came between them and her sword thrust into Mina's abdomen. 

The bat woman shrunk into a plastic figure, which Miranda crushed beneath her boot. 

"I almost fell for it," Courtney said. 

"Don't worry about it," Miranda said. "It's easy to forget that little detail." She put her hand on Courtney's shoulder. "Come on, let's go back." 

*****

"You would fail me as well?" 

"It was a slight miscalculation," Raziel said. "I didn't know that they could see through each others' disguises. Next time, I will surely finish them." 

"Very well," the figure said. "I will look forward to it." 

She was sore everywhere, that was the first thing she felt. How long had she been out? She tried to piece everything together in her mind. She'd beat up most of Theta, rescued Ines, blown up a building... had there been anything else? She opened her eyes, drowsily. 

"Morning," Ines said. "We're almost back home." 

Sirvanna sat up and looked around. They were in a jet of some kind. That was when she remembered. 

"Sorry," Sirvanna said. 

"Oh, don't worry about it," Ines said. "You broke me out. The least I could do was secure transportation back. Besides," she looked back at Sirvanna "you looked so cute sleeping." 

"I shouldn't have kissed you," Sirvanna said. 

"Huh?" Ines asked. 

"It was way out of line," Sirvanna said. "As team leader I should..." 

"Hold on a moment," Ines said. "Let me see if I've got this. You're worried that you may have abused your authority to take advantage of me?" 

Sirvanna blushed. "Well I..." 

Ines laughed out loud. "You take yourself way too seriously," she said. "Besides, if I hadn't wanted you to kiss me I would've moved out of the way. It's not like I didn't have time to see what you were doing." Ines appeared directly in front of Sirvanna. 

"The ship..." Sirvanna began. 

"On Auto-pilot," Ines said. "Now, listen. We're both consenting adults. There's absolutely no reason why we shouldn't be able to have a relationship. You haven't abused your authority or in any way taken advantage of me. Now, can I kiss you?" 

Sirvanna studied Ines's face for a moment. Taking a few seconds to look over at her lips. She swallowed nervously. "Go ahead." 

*****

"You fools!" Wraith cried. "My Lord was going to speak with that girl and you let her escape before he even returned. How could you fail him like this?" 

"I'm sorry," Rose said. "We just..." The young girl broke away from the group and ran for the doorway. 

"You're incompetent," Wraith said. "I would have never..."

"Enough, Wraith," Michael said. He was carrying the girl piggyback.

"My Lord," Wrath said, kneeling. "Forgive me I was just berating these unworthy ones on your behalf." 

"I understand your feelings," Michael said. "And it is indeed unfortunate that Omicron managed to return home before I could speak with them. However, that is not an acceptable reason to be disrespectful. I'm certain that Rose, Daisy, Elizabeth, Mary and Blair did their very best." 

"Yeah!" the Primary schooler cried, leaning forward so that her stomach was leaning against the top of Michael's head.

"My apologies, Lord," Wraith said. "You are correct, as always." 

"Don't apologise to me," Michael said. "Apologise to them." 

Wraith turned back to Rose, looked tentatively over at Michael, and bowed. "My apologies." 

"Think nothing of it," Rose said. 

"I think I've gotten most of the details about what happened," Michael said. "However, I would like to hear it directly from you." 

"Of course," Rose said. "Lisa led Omicron to us. We tried to reason with them, but they insisted on fighting us. You know how Americans are. I gave the order to not hurt them any more than necessary. Most of them escaped us. We did manage to catch their speedster though. We put her in the detaining facility." 

"Which was attacked by her comrades?" Michael asked. 

"One of them, Sir," Rose said. "Their leader returned. She left explosives everywhere. We didn't have time to disarm them. Mary was barely able to get Blair, Elizabeth and myself out. Daisy was taking a rest back here at the time. 

The athletic teleporter stepped forward. "I couldn't save anyone else, I'm sorry." 

Michael shook his head, gently. "No, it's perfectly alright. I'm just glad you're all safe."

"Blair," Rose said. "Stop playing with Mr. Wagner's hair." 

Michael laughed. "Don't worry about it. It's only hair, after all." 

"How is Chelsea, Sir?" Rose asked. 

"Settled," Michael said. "I can give you some time off to see her if you'd like." 

"No, it's okay," Rose said. "I'm just glad she's away from the fighting."

*****

"You're quite certain that you told them nothing?" Trask asked. 

"They didn't ask me anything," Ines said. "They kept saying that their leader would explain everything to me when he got back." 

"It's lucky that Miss Bowman rescued you, Trask said. "Before they brainwashed you. For the time being, get some rest and report to the briefing room with the others in the morning." 

Ines waved and headed out. Sirvanna was waiting by the door. 

"Did it go okay?" Sirvanna asked. 

"I suppose," Ines answered. "You aren't in trouble?"

Sirvanna shook her head. "Trask is claiming I acted under orders for a very successful covert mission. He couldn't punish me without giving it away." 

"Ines, Sirvanna!" Yuni ran forward, hugging the two of them. "I'm so glad you're both okay." 

"Yuni's happy," Alena muttered. She was standing several feet away, leaning against the wall. "Thank goodness." 

"You've got guts, Boss," Alexa said, patting Sirvanna's back. "Better than I expected." 

"Sure, let's all hold a reunion party in the corridor," Katelyn said. "I bet we can totally fit a full buffet out here. Come on, let's head out to the town!" 

"Yay, Party!" Yuni said. Katelyn and Alexa led Ines and Sirvanna away. Yuni started to follow, but held back. "Let's go," she said, holding her hand out to Alena. 

"But..." Alena began. 

"That's no good," Yuni said. "This is a time for the team to celebrate," she grabbed Alena's hand "all of us. Okay?"

Alena looked down at their hands and gave a very slight nod.

*****

"Come on, eat up!" Katelyn said. "Aren't you hungry?" 

"They fed me pretty well, actually," Ines said.  "Their teleporter sent the food directly into my cell so I couldn't escape. They gave me salmon with fries, sushi, some type of noodle dish, lobster, fettuccine, chili dogs, mutton, bratwurst and.." 

"Hold up," Katelyn said. "You weren't even a prisoner for half a day. Were they just trying to fatten you up to make your powers useless? I'm surprised you could even eat all of that." 

"Can't be helped," Ines shrugged. "My metabolism works in overdrive to keep up with everything else." 

"Hey," Yuni said. "What was it like when Sirvanna came? Did all the bad guys rush her after she made a speech about justice?" 

"Someone's been watching too many cartoons," Katelyn said. 

"It was really cool," Ines said. "There I was in my cell, trying to think up an escape plan. When I heard sounds of struggle and faint voices. It all faded and all I heard were footsteps coming closer and closer. That's when I saw her, hair sticking straight up, cuts and burns everywhere, torn clothes. She blew my door open and almost collapsed. But I caught her. She told me we had thirty seconds to get out of there. I had to move fast. Luckily, that's what I do best. I outran the explosion and got us both out of there. That's when I kissed my hero." 

"And suddenly this became a different story completely," Katelyn said.

"Aahh," Yuni squealed. "That's so sweet. You totally have to recreate it for us!"

"You did not," Sirvanna said. "I kissed you." 

Katelyn, Yuni and Alexa all turned to look at Sirvanna.

"I did not expect that," Alexa said. 

"I still wanna see the re-creation," Yuni said. 

"Bow-chicka wow-wow," Katelyn said. 

"I thought we were telling them that I kissed you," Ines said. 

"I changed my mind," Sirvanna said.

"Why are we going to this thing?" Debora asked. 

"He's my best friend," Mischa said. "I may not have been able to go watch every round, but I can at least support him in the final." 

"And why am I going?" Debora asked. 

"Because, for all your posturing, you do think of him as a friend," Mischa said. They entered the student union conference room. Several televisions were set up and every one had two players and a referee in front of it."

"Hey guys!" Kitty called. "You came too?" 

She was standing in the audience with Melanie, Amanda and Kody. 

"I had nothing better to do," Debora said. "Thought it might be fun to see him humiliated." 

"So, how are they doing this?" Mischa asked. 

"They're going to have everyone battle their Pokemon in Stadium 2," Amanda said. "Or use the rentals. After that's done they're going to tally up the points from everything and the top eight are going to play Smash Brothers best two out of three to determine the overall winner." 

"That explains where my copy of Silver went," Mischa said. "How's Leonard's position?" 

"He's doing pretty well," Amanda said. "He's even swept a few opponents. At this rate he should have no problem getting in the top 8." 

"Of course," Mischa said. He's using my pokemon. So, which ones did he put on his team?" 

"Nyssa, Adric, Romana, K-9, Vicki, and Ace," Kitty said.

"You named your pokemon after Doctor Who companions?" Debora asked.

"Only the good ones," Mischa said. "You won't catch any Tegans, Roses, Donnas, Amys, Susans, Rivers or any of the other obnoxious, horribly written ones on my cartridge."

They looked over at Leonard's screen. "The opponent is weak, go K-9!" was displayed as Umbreon came from his pokeball.

"Four to two Leonard's favour," Mischa noted. "He's got this one."  

K-9 koed his opponent in one hit and Alakazam came from the other players' final pokeball. 

"He's really got this one," Amanda said. 

The six of them watched the rest of the round. Leonard suffered three losses and approached them while the scores were all being added together. 

"Here's your game," Leonard said. 

"Next time ask," Mischa said.

It only took ten minutes for the scores to get tallied. Leonard was in the top eight, as was the girl with the newsie hat. 

"I don't believe it," Debora said. She walked over to the girl. "Nellie, still doing stuff like this?" 

She looked up at Debora with a shocked expression on her face. "Debs? Since when did you attend stuff like this? Isn't it, like, against your intellectual code or something?" 

"Just came to observe," Debora said. "I'm not one to compete in such a pedestrian pursuit." 

"Then wish me luck," Nellie said. "I'm pretty confident about my skills but some of these blokes are tough." 

"Good luck," Debora said. "Although, I'm sure you don't need another trophy." 

"That's harsh," Nellie said. "Besides, you have more than me for that debate thing." They announced the start of the final game. "Well, I've gotta go," Nellie said. "Let's get together after this is over and catch up." 

"An old friend?" Mischa asked. 

"My cousin, actually," Debora said. 

"I see," Mischa said. He looked over at the big screen they'd setup for the Smash Brothers games. "Looks like they're using the boring rules. Final Destination, no items." 

"I bet you'd do well with that," Kitty said. "You always do well in our matches." 

"Except with the smash balls," Kody added. "He doesn't even use them half the time when he gets them." 

"Can't be helped," Mischa said. "I like to play as Samus and I don't want to get tuck in her useless suit." 

"Leonard's match is first," Amanda said. "Your cousin's is last." 

Leonard selected Sonic his opponent went with Meta knight. 

"I see they didn't ban Meta knight in this tournament," Kody said. "That's kind of unusual." 

"I've never gotten why he's banned anyway," Mischa said.

The stock was set for five. Leonard won the first match with two lives left, lost the second due to a careless mistake and won the deciding round with one stock remaining. The second round was between a girl playing as Wolf and a guy playing as Snake. The Wolf player won both matches handily. One with four stock left and one with three. The third round was between Ike and Fox. It was close, but the Ike player won. The final preliminary match was Nellie, using Sheik against a guy who was playing as Mario. She ended up winning the first match with three stock left and the second with one. 

Leonard barely lost the first match against the Wolf player. He won the second with one stock left. The final was particularly brutal. The two each ended up down to their last stock with over a hundred percent damage when Sonic hit Wolf with a downward kick, knocking him from the field. Nellie beat the Ike player in a pair of close matches and the finalists were determined. 

Leonard narrowly won the first match when Sonic rolled out of the way of a smash attack only to finish Sheik with a brutal blow. Nellie won the second match with a relentless assault. In the final match Sheik took Sonic out twice before losing her first life. Sonic was down to his last stock when Sheik still had three remaining.

"He's at a disadvantage," Debora said. 

"Yeah, but he won't give up," Mischa said. "If she gets over-confident it could cost her the win." 

Sonic quickly brought Sheik down to two lives, then one. After a skirmish, Sheik was knocked off the platform. She jumped back, using her teleport and getting stuck beneath the stage, losing her last stock. 

"Victory!" Leonard shouted, throwing his arms into the air. 

*****

The competition has ended and Leonard's managed to come out ahead. What lies in wait for the group? Will Nellie make a return appearance at some point? These questions and more may be answered next week in Soniczero's blog. 

Head Writer: Ktulu007

Assistant Writer: Soniczero1993

Foolish, there was no way around it. Going into hostile territory alone with no hope of backup when a spy had let you in the first time. Indicating that they could probably detect the new stealth technology and had just let them in... No, it wasn't just foolish. It was quite possibly the dumbest thing she'd ever done. Still, she had no regrets.

"I can't let her go," Sirvanna muttered. She flew in low. Maybe she could get in under the radar. There was no sign of an attack, yet. Were they still trying to take her alive? She shrugged, their error.

She landed the plane near the base, set the destruct sequence and ran. Even before it blew several guards came out to investigate. Unfortunately for them. They were caught in the blast. A group of soldiers swarmed out. Sirvanna waited until they were dispersed, some trying to find some survivors and some trying to put out the fire caused by the explosion. She grabbed the first soldier she caught near her and pulled him into the bushes. One arm locking him into place and the other over his mouth.

"Where is the woman you captured?" She whispered. "If you don't tell me or you try calling for help you're going to learn what it's like for your brains to fry when a bolt of lightning enters your ear canal." She moved the hand from his mouth.

"If... if... if I... tell you, you'll kill me anyway," he stuttered.

"Yes," Sirvanna said. "Yes I will."She pulled his face up so they were making eye contact. "The question is how painfully you want to die. I can make this quick and painless, or I can send every nerve in your body into torment simultaneously. Choose, now!"

"Fifty metres northwest is a smaller complex." He said, after a long pause. She was taken there."

"Good boy," Sirvanna said. She hastily snapped his neck.

*****
It wasn't a small building. Smaller than the other, maybe a little. Sirvanna couldn't really tell. Big or small, she had to find Ines quickly and then the two of them could use her speed to get out of hostile territory. Sirvanna approached the gate.

"Halt, where's your authorisation?" Sirvanna's hands flashed. The gate tore apart and the guards around it dropped. She stepped into the facility.

Immediately inside the building were several doors. One of which had a computer lock. Sirvanna blew it open and tentatively stuck her head inside. There was no one inside. Just several shelves of weapons and some crates. Sirvanna took a carrying bag and filled it with timed explosives. She set the timer on one of them and left it in the room, buried underneath some crates of ammunition.

She turned to leave. "Fire!" she ducked back into the munitions room as a hail of bullets hit the doorway where she had been standing.

She waited, pressed against the wall by the doorway. She hated to delay, especially given her limited time, but there was no choice. They would have to come inside to get her and when they did...

They rushed in in a group. Seven of them. They held blades at the ready. Obviously not wanting to risk hitting the ammunition or explosives.

She blasted two of them before they could get their bearings and grabbed their weapons as they fell.  One she hurled immediately, embedding it into the forehead of a third. She sent a bolt of lightning into the second weapon as she used it to block the blades coming down on her. Two more dropped as the voltage moved into their blades and straight into them. 

She decapitated the sixth with a quick swing. She hurled a small bolt at the final one, forcing her to drop her weapon. She grabbed the woman by the throat and held the blade to her forehead. "Where is the prisoner?"

"Second door on the left. First door to the right from there leads to the holding cells," the woman said. "But you can't get to her. We've got better gifted than you standing guard." 

"We'll see," Sirvanna said. She punched the woman out and moved on. 

*****

It didn't take her long to find the place. Even with a few quick stops to plant more explosives. Resistance proved to be minimal. They were really betting on the plaguers to keep the prisoners in place. Lucky for them. They'd suffer fewer casualties that way. 

She tentatively peeked into the holding cell area. Two of Theta Squad's members were there. The older woman and the primary schooler. 

The floor shook violently beneath her. Sending her sprawling into the room. 

"Look what we have here," the older woman said.

"Sneaking around is no good," the girl said. "We have to punish her, right?" 

"She can wait for Mr. Wagner with her friend," the older woman said. "You'd better come peacefully, Lambie. We wouldn't want you hurt." She moved carefully towards Sirvanna. Sirvanna didn't make a move until they were right next to each other. Then she threw a bolt of lightning into her face. 

"I can't afford to wait," Sirvanna said. The primary schooler ran up and slammed her fist into Sirvanna's stomach, sending her sprawling. 

"That was a dumb thing to do," she said. Sirvanna backed away from the girl. Her strength would be a problem. She hurled several bolts at her, but the kid just shrugged them off. "See that!" the girl cried. "You don't have enough power to stop me."

Sirvanna ran further back. She might be able to take the kid when she was energised, but she'd used a lot of power already. Power... She looked around as she backed away. 

"Stop running!" the girl cried. "I'll try not to hurt you too bad." 

Sirvanna slammed her sword against the wall and held on. "Got you!" the kid shouted, leaping towards Sirvanna

"No, I've got you," Sirvanna said, sparks falling from her eyes. Power. It surged from the outlet, to the blade and into Sirvanna and she channeled it into the strongest bolt she'd ever fired. It surged upwards into the child, sending her through the ceiling. 

Sirvanna let go of the blade and staggered forward. "You're monstrous, you know that?" She turned around and found herself facing Rose. "You could've killed that child," Rose said. 

"I don't care," Sirvanna said. She hurled a bolt of lightning at Rose. Who shrugged and fired an energy blast at her. Sirvanna leapt backward, but the blast caught the ground beneath her. Sending shrapnel flying at her.

That was right. Ines had pointed it out to her last time they'd fought Theta. Rose fed off of her energy. Sirvanna picked up a piece of shrapnel and hurled it at Rose, who hurriedly ducked beneath it. 

"It only works for energy," Sirvanna muttered. 

"What are you babbling about?" Rose asked. 

"Just figuring something out," Sirvanna said. She rushed at Rose. Rose hurriedly took up a defensive posture. Sirvanna's fist went into Rose's gut. Simultaneously, her leg spun around, catching Rose in the face. The leader of Theta went down. 

Sirvanna stumbled towards the cells, breathing heavily. She found the one she was looking for right away. 

"There's a face I never thought I'd see again," Ines said. "Do you wanna sit down? You really don't look so good." 

"I'm fine," Sirvanna said. She blew the cell's lock open and nearly collapsed into Ines's arms. 

"Just take a breather," Ines said. "We should be safe enough for a couple minutes."

"No time," Sirvanna said. "This place is gonna blow in about thirty seconds."

Ines scooped her up and ran. "Cutting it close, aren't we?" She asked. Neither one noticed that Rose and the others were gone when they ran through that area. 

"I knew you'd get us out on time," Sirvanna said. 

The explosives started going off. "Not gonna look back?" Ines asked. 

"You aren't looking at it either," Sirvanna said. 

"I can't," Ines said. "If I trip and fall we'll both die. You're just not looking at it to act cool." 

Ines managed to outrun the explosion with Sirvanna in her arms. "Where's the jet?" Ines asked. 

"Scrap," Sirvanna said. "We'll have to find another method." 

"The others?" Ines asked. 

"Not here," Sirvanna answered. 

"I'm surprised they had you come by yourself," Ines said. "Seems kind of tactically unsound." 

"They didn't," Sirvanna said. "I disobeyed orders." 

Ines whistled. "That's a new one for you, and all for someone you don't even like." 

"About that," Sirvanna said, moving some strands of hair out of her face. "There's something... something..." 

"Something you want to tell me?" Ines asked. 

Sirvanna nodded. She clenched her fist. "I won't lie to myself anymore," she said. She reached her arms around Ines's neck and kissed her. "If anyone asks, you kissed me." She said. 

"Understood," Ines said. She took off again, Sirvanna still in her arms. "But you don't get to deny liking it," Ines added. 

"Fair enough," Sirvanna said. 

"We have to go back!" Sirvanna said.

"We can't go back," Benton said. "We have to head back to base and make a full report. Maybe the Colonel will let you go on a rescue mission afterwards." 

"No point," Alexa said. "Face it, she's gone. They straight up murdered her and came after us." 

"She's alive!" Sirvanna said. "We just have to save her." 

"It's wishful thinking," Alexa said. "They aren't going to take the risk of her escaping or being rescued. Not during a war." 

There was silence for a time. 

"She's alive," Yuni said, softly. Everyone turned to look at her. 

"How would you know?" Alexa asked. 

"Because that Rose lady told her people to take us alive," Yuni said. "If they wanted us alive it wouldn't make sense to kill her." 

"That's right!" Sirvanna cried. "She did say that." 

*****

"She's been in there a while," Yuni observed. 

"Maybe she's working hard to earn a promotion," Katelyn said. 

"Don't be crude," Alexa said. "They're obviously arguing." 

"Why would they be arguing over a report?" Yuni asked. Alena's hand came to rest on her shoulder and she looked over at Alena who shook her head. 

"Not the report," Alena said. "Ines." 

"Please let me rescue her," Katelyn said, doing her best Sirvanna impersonation. "I'll do your taxes. I'll divide by zero. I'll even learn to cook." 

The four heard a door slam and Sirvanna strode out. 

"When do we leave?" Yuni asked. 

Sirvanna looked over at her. "We don't," she said. "There will be no rescue mission. We're giving her up for lost." 

"No way," Yuni said. "But that's too cruel!" Tears fell from her eyes. "It's just too cruel." 

"We're to standby for further orders," Sirvanna said. "Return to your rooms for the moment." 

She strode away, lost in thought. She didn't even hear anyone behind her until "So, you're giving up?" a familiar voice asked. 

She turned around to see Alexa walking behind her. "We have our orders," Sirvanna said. 

"Oh right, I forgot," Alexa said. "Orders are everything." She got right in Sirvanna's face. "We're such a lucky squadron to have a leader like you. Anyone else might have succumbed to their humanity and done something unthinkable like disobeying orders. How fortunate for us that we don't ever have to worry about you doing anything so unexpected." She turned away from Sirvanna and walked off in the opposite direction. 

*****

"Stop crying," Alena said. 

"I'm sorry," Yuni sobbed. "I can't help it." She loudly blew her nose. "It hurts when you lose someone, you know?" 

"I don't," Alena said.

"You don't feel sad?" Yuni asked, still sobbing. 

"N... Well..." Alena looked over at Yuni. "Seeing you cry makes me feel sad. So, please, stop crying." She gently wiped Yuni's eyes with a fresh handkerchief. 

*****

"Where's Fury?" Trask asked. 

"Maybe she went to powder her nose," Katelyn suggested. 

"Benton," Trask called. "Find Fury and bring her here." Benton saluted and moved to comply. "As for the rest of you," Trask said. "I called you over here for a specific purpose." 

"We're all getting a vacation and free ponies?" Katelyn asked. 

"Not even close," Trask said. "With the unfortunate loss of Undine we're going to have to recruit a new plaguer into the squad. I've brought some dossiers for you to look at. I'd like you to pick three suitable candidates." 

"Too soon," Alexa said. "Ask later." 

"It may be short notice," Trask said. "But remember that Undine sacrificed herself for this country. The best way to honour her memory is to press on." 

"Colonel Trask!" Benton's distraught voice came in over the radio. 

"What is it, Benton?" Trask asked. 

"I just found nearly three dozen soldiers suffering from severe electric shocks, Sir," Benton said. "And the new stealth jet is missing." 

"Well, well," Alexa said. "I guess she is human after all." 

"Should we activate Fury's implant, Colonel?" Benton asked. 

"No," Trask said, after a long pause. "We'll let her go. If she succeeds we can take credit for the operation. If she gets herself killed we can report that she went off on her own. Either way she's sure to cause a lot of damage."

Most of the characters are based off of actual yuri fan club members. New names were supplied by those droids we were looking for. 

The meeting had gone well. They'd watched some Yuru Yuri, played some games and gone their separate ways. Mischa had noted that Jennifer had stayed as far away from Debora as she could while occasionally sending him glances. 

He and Debora went back to his apartment. "Where's your violent friend?" Debora asked. 

"He's taking Amanda out," Mischa said. "Something about neglecting her." 

"He'd better step up his game, then," Debora said. "She's the only hope he's got of ending up well-adjusted." 

"You really should wait to tease him until he's around," Mischa said. 

"No need," Debora said, putting her arms around his neck. "I know someone who'll tell him for me." 

"Don't look at me," Mischa said. "I won't even tell him I've got a girlfriend." 

"Do you resent it?" Debora asked. 

"No," Mischa said. "I don't mind keeping it hidden from them. It's worth it to be with you." 

Debora leaned up and kissed him. "You know just what to say." She pulled her arms back.

"I'm just being candid," Mischa said. "By the way, are you fighting with Jennifer?"

"What do you mean?" Debora asked. 

"When she came in today she seemed inordinately concerned about your presence," Mischa said.

"Don't look at me," Debora said. "I haven't really spoken to her since that time she asked me to stay away from you because, being pretty, I could find someone else. You remember, I told her that my relationship with you was none of her business."

"Oh yeah," Mischa said. "When we were playing Magic and she arrived with Amanda." 

"Bingo," Debora said. "I suppose she could still see me as a threat. It's obvious that she still likes you." 

"That's probably it," Mischa said. 

"You're just going to take my word?" Debora asked. "Whatever happened to your intellectual curiosity?" 

"I still have it," Mischa said. "But I also know both you and Jennifer. If you'd done anything to upset her you wouldn't have a problem telling me what it was. And Jennifer does have trouble letting things go. So even though it's been a while since that conversation, I don't doubt that she'd still be mad." He handed Debora an N64 controller. 

"We're on Area 51, right?" Debora asked. 

"Uh-huh," Mischa said. "It's funny, I've had this game for a long time, but I've never really played it co-op before." 

"Just try not to die," Debora said. She leaned against him and the two started playing.

*****

Leonard got back just as Debora was leaving. 

"Were you here the whole time?" he asked. 

"Sure," she said. "Is that a problem?" 

Leonard shrugged. "Not really. It just seems like you guys are hanging out a little more than you used to." 

"We are not," Debora said. "You just didn't notice before since we tended to go into town or you were caught up in your games. Farewell." She headed on her way.

"See ya," Leonard said. He went inside. 

"Back so soon?" Mischa asked. "What happened with Amanda?"

"Hey," Leonard said. "We were out for four hours. That's not a short date." 

"Is it that late?" Mischa asked, glancing back at a clock. "I guess I lost track of time." 

"I'll say," Leonard said. "You were gaming again, weren't you?" 

"Well, yes," Mischa said. "We were doing some co-op. By the way, Debora thinks you'd be a fool to let Amanda go since she's your only hope of ending up well-adjusted." 

"I'm plenty well-adjusted!" Leonard said, feigning indignation. "You tell her that at last I was able to find someone who could put up with me." 

"I'll pass that along," Mischa said. "So, how was the date?" 

"It went pretty well," Leonard said. "We're going to try and make it a regular thing. I wouldn't want her to feel neglected again, you know?" 

Mischa nodded and handed Leonard a cup of tea. 

"I've finally found someone who's really good for me and I almost blew it," Leonard said. 

"You were too used to the way things were before," Mischa said. 

"That's probably it," Leonard agreed. "Man, why do relationships have to be so complicated?" 

*****

Why indeed. It looks like Leonard and Amanda are on the right track. Mischa and Debora are still sneaking around. The mystery of Jennifer's issues with Debora has been solved. What new developments await? Tune in next week to Soniczero's blog to find out. 

Head Writer: Ktulu007

Assistant Writer: Soniczero1993

"Use your radio to call me when you finish," Benton said. "I don't know how long we'll be able to wait, but we'll circle around as long as I can." 

"Understood," Sirvanna said. "We'll hurry." 

She led her team from the aircraft. It was night where they landed, which was a bit disconcerting, but they had crossed several time zones. A brunette girl appearing to be in her late teens waved them over. 

"You must be the spy," Sirvanna said. 

"That's right," she answered. "I'm here to take you into the base so that you can complete your mission." She smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Lisa." 

"You can call me Fury," Sirvanna said. "This is my team, Undine, Sylph, Pixie, Aurora and Mara." 

"Code names?" Lisa giggled. "How professional of you." She gestured. "It's this way." 

"Ines," Sirvanna said. "Scout ahead for potential hazards and be careful." 

"Got it," Ines said. She winked at Sirvanna. "Try not to miss me too much." 

"Did you hear that?" Katelyn asked. 

Alexa nodded. "Our fearless leader used someone's real name during a mission. Maybe she's been replaced by a shapeshifter." 

"No way," Katelyn said. "A shapeshifter could never fake being that uptight. I think it's love." 

"Awww," Yuni squealed. "That's too cute!"

"Shut it," Sirvanna said. "It was just a slip of the tongue. She's an incorrigible flirt who acts without thinking. I don't even like her."

"That was harsh," Alexa said. 

"And with her right there too," Katelyn said. "I guess we always do hurt the ones we love." 

Sirvanna turned around. Ines was standing right there. She looked away as soon as Sirvanna looked over. "I scouted the area. There's no trouble in sight. I couldn't get into the base." 

"Thank you," Sirvanna said, her cheeks turning red. "Lead the way, Lisa." 

"Oh... yeah," Lisa said. "Sure." 

"Hey," Yuni tapped Sirvanna's shoulder, "shouldn't you apologise?" 

"Forget it," Alexa said. "Some people are just naturally cold." 

"But..." Yuni began, but she stopped in mid-sentence. Unsure of what to say.

"Don't worry," Alena said, slipping to the back with Yuni. "They'll make up." 

"You think?" Yuni asked. 

Alena nodded and gave her a very slight smile.

The group progressed in veritable silence. They quickly reached the base. Lisa led them to a back entrance. 

"You should be able to find what you're looking for through here," she said, holding the door for them. Sirvanna went into the dark room first followed by the others. The door closed behind them and several bright lights came on. 

"We aren't alone!" Yuni cried, moving between the figures in the room and Alena. 

"A trap," Sirvanna said. "Dammit, I should've seen that coming." 

"Relax," the feminine voice had a British accent. "We don't have any intention of fighting with you." 

Sirvanna's eyes adjusted and she noticed that there were five other women in the room. The one speaking had curly bright red hair. 

"I'm Rose," she said. "The leader of Theta squadron." 

"Didn't you all die?" Katelyn asked. 

"Not at all," Rose said. "Our implants were simply shut off." 

"So, you betrayed your country," Sirvanna said. "And we were mistakenly told that you hadn't survived." 

"We may have to fix that," Alexa said. 

"No need for violence, Love," Rose said. "We didn't betray our country. It betrayed us. When we realised that it was easy to figure out where our loyalties should lie." 

"I don't suppose Michael Wagner is around at all?" Sirvanna asked. 

"He had to pop out for a bit," Rose said. "But he'll be back soon if you'd like to talk with him." 

"Like we'd be fooled that easily!" Alexa said. A whirlwind ripped through the room tossing furniture everywhere and scattering the members of Theta. 

"Pick your opponents!" Sirvanna said. "We'll take them out and get out of here."

"How impertinent!" Rose cried. "Take them alive, and try not to hurt them too badly." 

Sirvanna fired a bolt of lightning at Rose. The other woman didn't flinch when it hit her. She fired a blast of crimson energy back that hurled Sirvanna into the wall. 

Ines went after a tall blonde woman. Just before she could reach her, her feet were floating off the ground and she couldn't move forward. 

"Same as Katelyn, huh?" Ines muttered. She spun herself around as quickly as she could, trying to break free.

Alexa floated towards a middle aged woman with graying black hair. She hurled a gust of wind at her. The older woman gestured and the ground broke through the floor to shelter her. 

"Don't underestimate your elders!" she said. Chunks of the ground broke free and hurled themselves at Alexa. 

Alexa created a funnel to toss the projectiles aside. "Maybe you should retire," she said. "Before you get hurt." 

"Alexa, behind you!" Alena's voice called. Alexa looked back. An earthen hand squashed her into the ground from above. 

Katelyn tried to keep track of her opponent. The brunette looked like a body builder. She had disappeared the moment Katelyn had approached her only to reappear behind her and vanish again when Katelyn had telekinetically thrown a chair at her. 

Katelyn gathered all of the furniture in the room in a swirl around her. Where was she? 

"Thanks for the lift." Katelyn looked up. The woman was sitting in one of the chairs. Katelyn hurriedly tossed it away, but she vanished again before it hit the wall. 

"Can we not fight?" Yuni asked. Her opponent looked like she was still in primary school or barely out of it.

"Why?" the girl asked. "Because I'm young?" 

"Well, kind of," Yuni said. "I wouldn't want to be a bully."

The girl giggled, approaching Yuni. "You're funny, but this is a fight and I'm going all out!" 

She grabbed Yuni's arm and tossed her as easily as she might throw a doll. Yuni soared through the air, Ines managed to catch her before she hit the wall.

"Thanks," Yuni said. "I think that would've killed me."

"Maybe," Ines said. She took Yuni to Sirvanna, who was dodging another of Rose's blasts. 

"Stop shooting her with lightning!" Ines said. "Didn't you notice that she only fires her thing after she gets hit by yours?" 

Sirvanna paused. "I must be distracted," she muttered. "What do you want?" Yuni fired a beam of light over Rose's head, temporarily blinding her.

"We have to run," Ines said. "We're making too much noise." 

"Reinforcements?" Sirvanna said. 

"Only a matter of time," Ines said. 

"How do we get away from them?" Sirvanna asked. "You might make it but the rest of us would get caught. Unless..." She stared at Yuni. "Unless we can use our powers creatively." 

"I think I overdid it," the young girl said. She turned to Alena. "Can you entertain me more than your friend?" 

The lights went out throughout the room. 

"Grab Yuni and Sirvanna," Ines called. "I've got Katelyn and Alexa should be able to move fast enough on her own." 

Alena nodded. She ran forward, punched the kid in the gut as hard as she could and grabbed the two women, one in each arm. 

*****

"What happened to the lights?" Katelyn asked. 

"I absorbed them," Yuni said. "It was Sirvanna's idea." She hugged Alena more tightly. "This is kind of fun." 

"We're not clear yet," Sirvanna said. "They'll follow as soon as they can." The lawn around them lit up. Alena fell forward in a heap with Sirvanna and Yuni. Ines put down Katelyn and ran back. 

"No choice," Sirvanna said. "We have to take a stand."

"There is a choice," Ines said. "You all run to the rendezvous point. I'll hold them off." 

"I can't allow that!" Sirvanna said. "I'm the leader, I should do it." 

"I'm the only one who stands a chance of holding them off and making it back in time for evac," Ines said. "Besides, I'm just an incorrigible flirt. If something happens I won't be a big loss. Now go!" 

"Follow us after five minutes," Sirvanna said, her voice shaking. "Without fail, okay?"

She and the others ran as fast as they could, leaving Ines to intercept Theta. 

*****

"Hurry aboard!" Benton called. Yuni got on first followed by Alena, Katelyn and Alexa. Sirvanna stood with her feet barely on the ramp. Looking back. 

"Come on," she muttered. "Hurry up." 

"Is that her?" Yuni asked. The group looked intently at a figure in the distance. 

"Too slow," Alena said. 

"It's them!" Alexa said. 

"Hurry up and get in!" Benton called. "We have to go!"

"We're waiting right here until she comes back!" Sirvanna cried. 

"No time," Alena said. She pulled Sirvanna in. The ramp closed behind them. 

"Ines..." Sirvanna whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Let me make things clear," Trask said. "Everything I'm about to say is top secret. It is not to be discussed with anyone who is not in this room. Not family, not friends, not even other soldiers. If I suspect for an instant that one of you has leaked any of it I'll set off those bombs in your skulls."

"Seems a perfectly reasonable reaction," Alexa muttered. 

"At least he's not sending us to bed without supper," Katelyn whispered. 

"We understand," Sirvanna said. "We'll keep it quiet." 

"Good," Trask said. He hit a button and an image of a silver haired man with violet eyes appeared on the monitor. 

"He's pretty," Yuni said. 

"Are you sure that's a he?" Ines asked. 

"Maybe it's a very flat woman," Katelyn said. "With a strangely masculine chest." 

"This," Trask began "is Michael Wagner, leader of the enemy troops. He's a plaguer. I hate to admit it, but we created him." 

"Created... him?" Sirvanna asked. 

"How did you create him?" Yuni asked. 

"When a man and a woman love each other very much..." Katelyn began. 

"Enough," Trask said. "I'll explain it. It wasn't long after the plague first broke out and the first plaguers started to emerge. The UN formed a task force to study it. Scientists from all over the world gathered in Munich. They took orphaned children from everywhere. All of whom were perfectly healthy. In an effort to study the effects of the plague, they were deliberately infected with an enhanced version." 

"That's horrible," Yuni said. 

"It was a necessary step," Trask said. "The children were carefully monitored through the stages of the virus. One survived the experience. His hair shifted to an unnatural silver and his eyes changed to a bright violet."

"Michael Wagner," Sirvanna said. "So, how did he escape?" 

"There was a glitch in the compound's security system," Trask said. "A rather nasty one that resulted in the power going down in the entire complex. Wagner escaped in the confusion. Over a decade later, when next we heard of him he was the head of a plaguer rebellion in Japan. We sent some aid to the Japanese government, but it was too late. They'd taken over within weeks. But he wasn't content with that. He spread his influence and conquered more and more. Bringing us to the sorry state we're in today." 

"So we take a plane past anti-aircraft guns and into hostile territory, fight past a group of plaguers and somehow reach him?" Ines asked. "Sounds like my kind of odds." 

"Stealth is going to be the key to success," Trask said. The jet you'll be taking is the newest stealth model. The team we sent in before you had one of the same. They made it to his base before we lost contact. I expect you to do better." 

"What's his power?" Alena asked. 

"Unfortunately, we don't know for sure," Trask said. "We suspect that he exerts an influence over minds." 

"When do we leave?" Sirvanna asked. 

"Right now," Trask said. "We need to hurry before they figure out a way to detect our stealth tech. Our spy will meet you when you land. I want you to sneak into the base without attracting attention and kill Michael Wagner." 

"Because that'll stop the entire war," Katelyn said. 

"Well if he's controlling everyone they might not want to fight anymore when he's gone," Yuni said. 

"At the very least we can demoralise them," Sirvanna said. "Let's roll out." 

Uriel lunged forward, floating above the ground. Miranda was barely able to turn his strike aside with her shield. 

Courtney prepared an arrow and tried aiming, but Miranda and Uriel were moving too quickly for her to follow very well. 

"What should I do?" she muttered. 

"Focus," Hermes said. "You're borrowing power from Artemis. You should be able to shoot an arrow unerringly. You just have to tap into it." 

Miranda ducked under a sword swing and swung upward in response. Uriel jumped back. He let out a start when an arrow came right for his chest. He swung his blade, slicing it in half. But Miranda's blade was following up with a strike towards his chest. 

She found herself slicing through empty monastic robes. "Where?" She asked, looking around. 

"Above you!" Sam shouted. 

Miranda and Courtney looked up. Uriel's blonde hair was flowing in the wind. White, feathery wings were flapping, keeping him aloft. 

He swooped down towards Miranda. She brought her blade up to block, but it was unnecessary. Courtney's arrows forced him back into the air. He spun around and dove for Courtney. Miranda tackled him from the side and brought him rolling to the ground. She brought her blade up, but was kicked away before she could bring it down. Courtney fired a volley of arrows, forcing Uriel back while Miranda recovered. 

Sam stepped between Courtney and Miranda. "Stay back," Miranda said. "Leave him to us." 

"It's okay," Sam said. "I can fight too, I think."

Uriel flew forward, sword outstretched. 

"Love's divine protection," Sam said,  holding up her wand. A shield enveloped the three. Uriel bounced back when he hit it. 

"We can't stay in here forever," Courtney said. 

"We won't have to," Miranda said. "I have an idea."

The three of them got into a huddle. They eventually broke free and Miranda left the shield.

Uriel swooped down at her instantly. Miranda blocked with her shield and swung with her sword. He flew up and away from her. He was between her and the shield. Two arrows came up, piercing his remiges and bringing him crashing to the ground. 

Miranda rushed forward, tackling him into the shield, which bounced him into the air. Several small holes formed in the shield, arrows flew out of them, piercing Uriel's body as he fell into the ground.

He pulled himself up. "I'll be back!" he declared, vanishing from sight. 

*****

"You're in a sorry state," Raziel said. "Honestly, you're pathetic." 

"Shut up!" Uriel said. "They just took me by surprise. Next time I'll..." 

"You'll nothing!" 

Uriel turned, his face pale. "My Lord, if I can have just one more..." 

"No," the voice was harsh. "I told you not to turn back, and yet here you are. You have committed an unforgivable offense." He waved his hand and Uriel screamed. His body turned a grainy white and he was still.

Raziel reached over and brushed against his unmoving body with his finger. "Salt?" 

"It is your time, Raziel," he said. "Let Uriel's fate serve as an example to you and do not fail me." 

"Welcome back," he said. He turned towards Wraith. "Thank you for bringing her home safely. Kinder egg?" 

"I will graciously accept this token of your esteem, my Lord," Wraith said.

"Please don't call me that," he said. "Now, if you'll excuse us." 

"Yes, my Lord," Wraith said. He bowed and made his way out. 

He turned towards Trojan and put his hands together. "I'm disappointed," he said. "I thought that you knew better." 

"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know how they found..." she stopped talking the instant his hand went up. 

"I'm not talking about you getting caught," he said. "I'm disappointed that you gave up. Didn't I tell you that your first duty is to survive?" 

"I'm sorry," she said. "I... I thought that..." 

"I know," he said "but rest assured that I won't give up on any of you. Not as long as you breathe. Kinder egg?" 

*****

"Can Zhao have the egg?" Zhao asked. 

"No!" Wraith declared. "It is an irreplaceable token of my Lord's esteem." 

"But Ryu never even eats them," Zhao said. "He just keeps them on his shelf." 

"I couldn't vulgarly consume a present given to me by him," Wraith said. "You wouldn't understand." 

"Why doesn't Ryu eat the chocolate and keep the toy?" Zhao asked. 

Wraith stared at her. He looked at the wrapped chocolate in his hand. He held it to his ear and gently shook it. "There's a toy in there?" he asked. 

*****

"Why didn't you leave any of your team behind to guard the prisoner?" Trask asked. 

"Because the robots seemed to be the major threat," Sirvanna said. "I thought that the others would be capable of keeping her securely locked up if we could hold them back." 

"I see," Trask said. "You may go." 

Sirvanna nodded and strode out.

"Do you think her team deliberately allowed the enemy plaguer to escape?" Trask asked. 

"No, Sir," Benton said. "They acted with diligence and destroyed the robots with admirable haste. I don't think that they could have possibly done more." 

"That's good," Trask said. "If I have your word on it then it should assure the higher ups." 

A soldier ran into the room and hurriedly saluted. "Colonel, Britain's Theta Squad failed. They want your team to take over the mission." 

"Understood," Trask said. "I'll summon them at once."