Fantasy The Depth of Sanity

[chaos general]

Hello, fellow CoGgers. Chaos General here with my second fiction story. Some of you may remember Tenshi Dime - I've written up to Chapter 20 in that and have completely lost inspiration for it. Up to Chapter 6 is posted here. This story will have significantly shorter chapters and will all be contained in this one thread, so please refrain from commenting here, but rather if you want to tell me something, do it via PM or other source. I'll put an index in this thread for the chapters as well (an idea I stole from Digital Jedi ) for easy access. So, without further ado, here we go...

Prologue
Chapter 1 - Blessings
Chapter 2 - An Unwelcome Reality

Feel free to rate this thread as you see fits.

 

[chaos general]

Prologue

In the beginning, there was man. There was life, emotion, death. Man woke up everyday to hunt, eat, and then sleep once again. It was a simple life for man, free of toils, hardships, strife. How some have longed to achieve that tranquil state of life, where the most complicated matter in the world was the heat of fire. And some have tried to achieve that Shangri La of sorts, thinking that if they become more powerful, they would own the universe and its populous, human and beast, angel and demon, spirit and living. The skies would succumb to their will and the plants would fruit at their bidding.

However, as we all know, that is utterly impossible. Though many have tried to control Earth, Shinkufah, Torinne, and Xilibis, more commonly known as The Quadrinity of Planets, none have succeeded. Each planet had its focal group, of course, and those four focal groups were always at bitter ends. Earth was secretly owned by Chaos Corporation, Shinkufah by the Elemental Guardians, Torinne by the Omarians, and Xilibis by the Society. Each group, in turn, was led by an extremely powerful person. At the current age, Chaos Corporation was ruled by the Honorable Presidante Alienna Ricci, the Guardians by Shinato of the Shineral Lineage, the Omarians by Omar himself, and the Society by the king and queen of the centaurs, Eque and Niana Etoile. And oddly enough, at the current age, all four of these universal powers are allies.

Chaos Corporation used to be the strongest of the groups, and, as a result, used to be the one involved in the most conflicts. Today, Chaos Corporation fights the struggle with an unknown group, one that has never been seen before. This is after the destruction of Maverick, after the liberation of the Shinkufahn Monarchs and Elemental Guardians, and after the war between Chaos Corporation and the Omarians. All of that has passed, however roughly. Most say that it was the war between Chaos Corporation and the Omarians that led to the crippling of Chaos Corporation. Now its numbers are a mere sixteen potent warriors from all over the Cosmos. Luckily for Alienna, these numbers are growing. Granted, they are growing slowly, but something is better than nothing.

Alienna has bravely led small numbers through maelstroms before, but nothing will compare to what she is about to face. And unbeknownst to her remains the fact that the Guardians, Omarians, and Society are not likely to be helping her; their hands scorched by the fires that they are quelling in their homelands. Earth's paramount organization will be fighting this struggle alone. The struggle against the unknown force that ominously threatens to shatter the existence of sanity"¦

 

[chaos general]

Chapter 1 - Blessings

Deity of Heavens, hear my cry"¦ Do not let the righteous die"¦ Unjust death is the cruelest fate"¦ Give four strength before it is too late"¦ Deity of the Heavens, hear my cry"¦ Do not let the righteous die"¦ Unjust death is the cruelest fate"¦ Give four strength before it is too late"¦ "¦ "¦ "¦

"Deena?"

Deity of Heavens, hear my cry"¦

"Deena???"

Do not let the righteous"¦

"Deena!!"

Do not"¦ let"¦

"Wake up! Deena, wake up, hurry!"

Do not"¦ Hmm? Who"¦? Who's is that voice"¦? Oron? Hiro? Iru? Who is there"¦?

"Come on, please, Deena, please wake up!"

I am awake"¦ am I not? Why do they persist?

"This is no time for your games, Deena, wake up!"

But I am awake! Really I am!

"Ugh"¦ We haven't the time for this. Ice!"

"Ah! That's cold!"

"Finally! Dear Lord, Deena, next time please don't dawdle like that! We're under attack!" Iru Watanare exclaimed, her purple hair and eyes as fierce as the battle raging on around them. Chaos Corporation's main headquarters was currently under attack by a rabble of bandits, coming from God knows where.

Deena Ishara, the girl on the grass with the bright, white hair, had been sleeping during the battle"¦ as per usual. She tried to stifle a huge yawn, but failed and it erupted out of her with astounding force. You see, Deena was a full angel, so any noise that escaped her mouth was huge. She was also one of Chaos Corporation's five elite warriors, along with Iru, and was desperately needed on the battlefield.

"Would you stop stretching and come with me? There are so many enemy forces its ridiculous. Hurry up!" Iru said, hitting her in the arm and readying her axe, which also conveniently functioned as a violin. Iru was what they called an Angeloid. That is, she was half-angel and half-something else. In Iru's case, it was zombie, due to her mother's genes, and her mother's genes were blessed with the powers of song. Iru's predominate element, however, was ice; that is what caused her hair to be purple. Deena, on the other hand, controlled light and air, not to be confused with wind. Air controlled what was in the air, and whatever air was in anything living as well. Wind simply moved those things.

"I'm coming, I'm coming", Deena said, annoyed. "Sheesh, you know, saying "˜please' and "˜thank you' wouldn't---"

"Shut up and follow me!" Iru commanded, grabbing Deena's arm and dragging her across the grassy field that they were on. The battle was raging in the dark, murky distance, and how Deena managed to run from it simply to sleep was beyond anyone. But she always came to the same spot for her naps, so it wasn't terribly difficult to find her. The area Deena snoozed in was a grassy patch of land in the middle of a small lake just outside of Chaos Corp.'s walls. She felt safe there, and always had thought-provoking dreams when she slept in that particular area.

"Just like the one I had now"¦" She thought to herself, quickly swiping her bow and quiver of arrows off of the floor beside her nap zone.

"Who's attacking us anyway?" She asked Iru. Iru stared at her with a hint of anger; she always got angry when Deena slept through battles.

"Who do you think, sleeping nuisance?"

"You don't have to be mean about it, it was just a question. So it's "˜them' again? Still no name for this mystery enemy?"

"Oron thinks that it's Genocide. Alienna thinks that he's crazy. Personally, I do too. Last I checked, Genocide was our ally. He helped us defeat Reshef, after all" Iru declared, panting a tad from running.

"Hmm"¦ I dunno"¦ Oron's never really wrong about these things. I mean, he is a telekinetic"

"So is Alienna"

"True" Deena thought of Alienna and Oron's arguments about the subject. Oron had a prediction while meditating not so long ago that Genocide the Angry God and his "mistress" Mystia the Sin Genie were plotting against them. Alienna, her pink hair whipping about while she yelled, argued that that was impossible and that Genocide would never turn against them. They were both telekinetics, but most thought that Oron was the better one. But alas, Alienna was older, in charge, and stubborn as hell when it came to what she thought was right. That instantly made her correct and Oron false.

They were nearing the battlefield now, and Deena could make out Oron and Hiro fighting the mass of soldiers around them. The soldiers looked human, but Deena couldn't be sure, so she asked Iru.

"Well, they look human, but when they die, they turn into snakes" She said normally, as if this happened everyday when the Sun rose.

"Oh, kind of like when we fought those animated cards, right?" Deena was talking about a group that drew monsters on pieces of paper, and then animated them into actual warriors. Once killed, they turned back to whatever enchanted parchment they were drawn on.

"I'm willing to bet it's the same case" Iru replied. They were now basically in the fray, with soldiers attacking them from all sides. Iru whipped around and slammed the broadside of her axe into the face of one of the snake-men. It looked like someone drew lines on his face when she pulled it back, the strings of her violin whining. She then proceeded to drive the axe horizontally across his body. He turned into a dead snake on the spot. She was ruthless when it came to attacking. Deena flew up to a vantage point and started firing her arrows, some three at a time; her specialty, and it was made a tenfold easier due to the bow that Iru made her.

"How talented Iru is"¦ She sings, fights, and smithies" Deena thought as she took down a rather nasty-looking snake-man.

"What ho, fair Deena?" Oron called out from under her. He withdrew his sword from the body of one of the snake-people and waved at Deena. Battles were so routine to them that during battles, casual conversation took place regularly between the Chaos Corp. members.

"What ho, back, horny Oron?" She called back. Oron blushed and continued to fight. Oron and Deena were in love, and everyone knew it. It was a rather touching tale, but it's also a tale totally irrelevant to this one. But all of the men in Chaos Corp.'s present and past lusted after Deena, and with good reason. She was stunningly beautiful, as most angels were. Her body was amazing as well, coated with creamy, almost translucent skin because of the combination of the elements light and air.

"Oron! Get over here, I need backup!" Alienna Ricci, the Honorable Presidante of Chaos Corporation, yelled across the battlefield, pink hair wild and all over the place. One should learn to associate pink with Alienna. Her telekinesis was pink, her hair and eyes were pink, her clothes were pink, and God knows that her Italian blood was probably also pink. It was a common joke among Chaos Corp. that the toilets were stained pink after she visited them, but Alienna quickly dispelled that, claiming that the next person she heard, saw, or thought making that comment would be smote to the fullest extent of her power. And some were. She was tall, and that coupled with her pink head, it was impossible to miss her on the battlefield. It made her an easy target, but because of her power, it didn't matter.

"Coming!" He yelled back, hacking and slashing with his katana that Iru made. She had added an interesting design to it "“ it had a blunt part near the tip that Oron could hold on to without getting cut. It came in handy most of the time, and it was especially amusing when they would see fallen foes with a bleeding slash attached to a swelling bruise on their bodies from where it had connected. A snake-man latched onto his arm, trying to bite at his face, so he used his telekinesis to create a body-shockwave that quickly repelled it back. Shortly after, it burst into flames; Hiroshi Sugamori had hit it with a fireball.

"Thanks, bud!" Oron yelled, finally reaching Alienna's side.

"No problem" Hiro called back, cross-slicing another snake with his daggers. He was the son of Go Sugamori, the famed ninja lord of Torinne, and carried the agility of a ninja in his movements. His sister, Ayumi, was fighting by him, her twin steel fans leaving tremendous gashes on the serpents. Like Hiro, she had the fluid grace of a ninja, and they also shared the element of poison. Each member of Chaos Corp. had at least two elements, the max being three. Some, such as Alienna, surpassed this max through the use of clandestine magic, but that was unwise unless you were powerful. Like Alienna. The siblings had found near the beginning of the battle that poison was futile against the snakes. It should have been obvious, though.

They were the five elite; Alienna Ricci, Oron Dimah, Deena Ishara, Iru Watanare, and Hiroshi Sugamori, also known as "Troupe Alpha". They also each controlled very wise combinations of elements, since some elements don't mix as well together. Alienna was the only one who controlled five, because of one of the Sin Spells. Her main two were Virus and Telekinesis. Oron also had Telekinesis, and alongside it Dimension, which gave him the powers to pass through worlds at high speeds. There were others that made up the rest of the twelve current units in Chaos Corp. Troupe Omega, consisting of three units, was inside of the building, and Troupe Beta, consisting of four, was also fighting. In Troupe Beta was Nautic Ochrichtz, a Humanoid-Fish from Earth, Sailem Murck, a water priest from Torinne, Yolanda Sarjeon, a mermaid from Shinkufah, and Sepia, a nymph from Xilibis. All were also extremely skilled, and, coincidentally, all controlled water in some form, even if not primarily.

"Oh my God, there are so many of them!" Alienna roared, frustrated, eyes blazing with adrenaline. "Oron!" She called.

"Ma'am?"

"Order Troupe Beta to cover us! We're doing the Elemental Sin Spells"

"What? Are you positive?" Oron was stunned. Doing a Sin Spell took some time, and, though powerful, they weren't extremely reliable.

"We've no choice. It's the only way to eliminate this many soldiers. You do Chaos Sin, I'll do Darkness Sin, Deena'll do Light Sin, Iru Ice Sin, and Hiro Fire Sin. Now!"

"Got it! Troupe Beta, cover Troupe Alpha!" Oron ordered as he prepared to do his Sin Spell. He heard Alienna shout the order to the remainder of Troupe Alpha.

"The Sin Spells? Is she crazy? We'll be drained of power! It might not even work!" Oron thought. The Sin Spells were some of the most powerful spells ever written, but they were physically draining, and their area-of-effect damage was not terribly large. There was one Sin Spell for every Core Element, and there were nine Core Elements: Chaos, Darkness, Light, Fire, Thunder, Wind, Earth, Water, and Ice. Technically, there were ten Core Elements, as Chaos was made of two separate parts, creatively named Chaos 1 and Chaos 2. As Sin Spells went, though, there was only one Chaos spell. Core Elements were what all other elements were made out of, and they were also some of the most uncommon to come out of an Ikre. An Ikre is a large crystalline substance that randomly discharges concentrated elements, which can then be harvested and placed inside people. Or things.

Each Sin Spell was given a threatening name. Oron rather liked Chaos Sin's name, "Finite Devastation", though Light Sin's "Heaven's Crescent", Fire Sin's "Infernal Skull Ray", and Ice Sin's "Celsius Cannon" were cool too. Dark Sin was named "Hell Pyre", but Oron always thought that that was so overused these days in basically everything that it had lost its luster from when it was written.

Snapping back to reality, he realized that he could hear his, Deena's, Iru's, Hiro's, and Alienna's voices chanting the same incantation, give or take a few words. As he heard them being said, he prepared for the sight that he was about to see. Watching five different Sin Spells going off at once would indeed be a spectacle of sorts. He could imagine that it'd be eye candy for Chaos Corporation, so long as none of the spells hit allies.

"There aren't many allies to hit though" He chuckled to himself. They were powerful, but so outnumbered that it was ridiculous. Without Troupe Beta covering them, this would be suicide. And after the spells went off, he knew that Troupe Alpha would be terribly vulnerable. "Good thing for Troupe Beta then"

Histened to himself say, "Oh, divine spirit of sin, grantest me thine power and allowst me to sustain thine glory. Bestowst upon me the powers of Chaos. Chaos Sin, Finite Devastation, cometh!" "¦ "¦ "¦ Nothing.

"Did I say it wrong??" Oron thought, looking back on his words. "No"¦ I said every word correctly, what's going on?" He looked around to his Troupe members. They all had the same look of confusion on their faces. Suddenly, Oron knew. The stark realization came upon him as the skies crashed all around him in a flurry of sound and light. And then everything went black...

 

[chaos general]

Oron woke up some time later to a bright light. As his vision cleared, he realized that he was in the hospital ward of the Chaos Corp. building.

"How appropriate" he thought, "fainting to a light and waking to one too"¦" A feeling of dread grasped and tugged at his heart. He knew what had happened, and why, but that wasn't what was bothering him. It was telling Alienna that really got to him. That and keeping from laughing in her face and endlessly gushing "I told you so". He knew he had been right the entire time about his suspicion and had always thought Alienna was a fool to not believe him. He thought back to his latest argument with her.

* * * *

"Alienna, bias toward your allies shouldn't occur in a wartime situation! You can't trust just anyone!"

"You don't know, Oron. You don't know anything. Oh, of course, you think you know everything and how the world ticks and turns, but you don't. And don't you dare take that tone with me. That is an order" She remained calm even while throwing harsh truths in Oron's face. He stared back at her with a cold glance.

"I am yet to be wrong about a prediction", he said plainly.

"You are yet to make a prediction anyway, Oron" It was true. He had made "predictions", yes, such as "It will rain at seven" or "Hiro will be late", but nothing of magnitude. At least not yet. Alienna, on the other hand, had indeed made many real predictions, and she knew that Oron's was wrong. It had to be, it didn't even make sense.

"Alienna, come on! Why would I just make up something and stick to it? What have I against Genocide and Mystia anyway?" He was getting angry now. Very angry. His eyes burned an unnatural blue, the color of his Telekinesis, as opposed to their usual brown. Alienna knew she had to calm him down before she had to implement force.

"Oron"

"They're evil!"

"Oron, stop"

"They're plotting to kill us and when they do---"

"Oron, please stop"

"--- you'll be sorry that you didn't believe me!"

"Oron, I will ask you one more time. Please---"

"When we're laying on our deathbeds---"

"STOP!" A loud crack was emitted from the wall as Oron was thrown into it, full force. Alienna had sent him flying with a burst of energy, fueled by anger.

"We will not talk about this subject again, do you understand me?" She was yelling now. "Genocide and Mystia are NOT against us, they will NOT attack us, and you will refrain from saying that they will. Next time, Oron, you will not be treated as kindly as I will not hesitate to remove you from Troupe Alpha and possibly Chaos Corporation for talking to the Honorable Presidante in the tone you did, do you understand?" Oron nodded. He stood up and glared at her. His mouth opened as if to say something, but he thought better and left the room. Alienna shook her head.

* * * *

Oron winced as he attempted to get out of the cot he was lying in. He glanced to his right and saw Iru, sitting up straight in her cot, staring at something in her hands. She twisted it upside-down and kept staring.

"What are you doing??" Oron asked, quizzical. She didn't break her gaze at the object.

"Looking at this"¦ thing I found on the field. It looks like an emblem" She looked up at him. "I think it may point to who we're up against. Here, look at it" She tossed it to Oron. It hit him in the face. "Sorry!" Iru laughed.

"That's okay" he said, rubbing his nose where it hit. He picked it up and stared at it. It was the most peculiar emblem that he had ever seen.

Slightly scratched and mostly confusing, it glistened as Oron held it in his hands.

"That's a rather interesting emblem. Looks kind of like a circular coat-of-arms, doesn't it?", he said.

"Well, maybe. It's definitely our enemy's emblem "“ it was on every one of those creatures that we killed."

"Speaking of, is that battle over?"

I only just woke up a few minutes ago. I contacted Alienna to ask her how the battle was going. She said that it was about to end" Iru explained, tapping the earpiece on her head. All Chaos Corp. employees had one. It was a small, walkie-talkie-like device that hooked onto the ear. Pressing a button on the side turned it on. Then, the user would say a name, such as "Alienna", and, if it was programmed into the device, it would "call" that person. It was kind of like a very small, less ornate, and less complex cell phone. Oron looked disheartened as he spoke.

"It kind of sucks that we missed the whole battle", he said glumly.

"Yeah, and you know what's worse? My axe broke. Alienna informed me of that too. I don't think that prospects for your sword are too high either"

"Oh, that's welcome news. You can always make new weapons for us, though, right?" Iru was somewhat of a blacksmith because of her abilities to manipulate metals.

"Well, of course I will. Let's just hope we don't need them too terribly. There's no telling when we'll get attacked again".

"Hmm, yeah. Hey, when you do get around to making those new weapons, I'd fancy a claymore. Those swords are just so cool", Oron said with excitement. Their conversation was interrupted soon, however, because a very ruffled Deena walked into the room, followed by an equally ruffled Hiro. Hiro was carrying a few things in his hands, which he dropped very unceremoniously on Iru's bed.

"Your axe. It broke. A lot" He sounded breathless as he spoke. Iru thanked him. In the meantime, it became apparent that Deena also was carrying something, which she dropped equally unceremoniously on Oron's bed.

"Your sword. It also broke. Quite a bit" She sounded as equally breathless as Hiro. Oron looked at Iru.

"About those weapons, then"¦" Iru rolled her eyes.

"So how'd it go after we were knocked out?" Iru asked. Hiro and Deena looked at each other and gave each other knowing looks.

"Meh", they both said in unison. Deena continued on. "We won, but"¦ Well"¦ Alienna isn't too happy"

"Why not? There obviously were no casualties, right?" Oron asked.

"Well, no, but she's just very disheartened that Chaos Corp. has only a few units right now. If it wasn't for how powerful we all are, we'd probably all be dead. All dead." Deena explained, with a twinge of exasperation. It appeared as though Alienna had already gone through this with her.

"However", Hiro continued, also with that same twinge, "she said that she has found a location in which she thinks are some prisoners. She says that with any luck we can---"

"Free them and bring them to our side. Yes, good job, Hiro" Alienna stated while briskly walking into the room. Her face was sullen but with a few spots of red on her cheeks. Her short, spiky hair was all over the place, and she had quite the gash on her right arm. It was oozing creepily. She had obviously fought hard.

"I see that the two of you have awoken" she continued. "Good. I need to tell you exactly what we are going to do as soon as you get some new weapons. Yours broke at the most strategic of times" She sighed. "Anyway, there is a palace near Kyoto that I've been investigating. I've sent Aunsaer there to snoop around before, and he says that it's definitely suspicious. Tsuku also agrees with me, so naturally, we need to go there first-hand. And by "˜we', I mean the four of you. According to our I.E.S.S., there are indeed people in there with elements in them. That makes it no ordinary palace". She stopped, as if she was comedian who had just made a joke that the audience didn't laugh at.

"What the Hell's an I.E.S.S.?" Oron asked rather bluntly.

"Oh" Alienna said. "I've never really used that name with you all. It stands for "˜Ikre and Elemental Scanning System'". An ikre was a special type of rock that generated the elements that can be implanted into able bodies to be manipulated into powers.

"So what else do we know about this palace?" Iru asked.

"A few disturbing things" Alienna said. "First of all, someone is there that we know we don't want there. And that we're shocked is there". She stopped again, the same way.

"Who?" Deena asked with mock-excitement.

"You won't be as sarcastic when I tell you" Alienna replied, stopping again.

"Alienna, just tell us" Hiro said, tired of the game.

"It starts with a T"¦" She teased.

"May I buy a straight response from you? Or a vowel?" Oron asked.

"Fine. It's Trystenne" At this, the whole group gasped in shock. Trystenne was a man who used to work for Chaos Corporation a while back. He betrayed them and then was supposedly killed by Oron himself.

"What?! I thought"¦ He's dead, right?!" Oron asked, flustered.

"Evidently not, I guess" Alienna shrugged.

"How is he alive?" Deena asked, also flustered. Iru seemed complacent.

"Actually, I'm not at all surprised", Iru stated. "He has the element of Spirit. He easily could have escaped into a ghost shell and came back" Hiro nodded. Oron and Deena still looked dissatisfied.

"It's entirely plausible. So who's the other guy?" Hiro asked, curious.

"His name is Nobunaga, like the ancient Japanese war hero. Kind of ironic, I know, but whatever" Alienna informed. "He allegedly leads a band of ninjas and samurai in that palace, him being the lord. So, yes, he is indeed "˜Lord Nobunaga'." Hiro seemed extremely interested.

"That name"¦ it sounds so familiar" he said. Iru looked at him as he were slow.

"Hiro "“ Lord Nobunaga? Of course it seems familiar. Alienna just said that he was---"

"No," Hiro cut her off, "I mean that aside from that, his name sounds"¦ Oh God!" He stopped abruptly.

"That was either one fast orgasm or you just had a stark realization. What is it Lassie?" Oron goaded.

"You're gross, Oron" Deena interjected.

"No, no, no, listen guys" Hiro stammered. "This guy, Nobunaga"¦ I think he may be related to me!"

"It wouldn't be the first time someone from your family fought us" Alienna said. She was right. A few months earlier, they had fought Hiro's father, who was literally insane. It was the only way, but Hiro inherited most of his family's estate in the process. "You see," Alienna continued, "I thought the same thing when I saw Nobunaga's name on your father's will. Oddly enough, your father wrote that will a few years ago. From what I've heard, back then, your father and your uncle were not on good terms. What I think is that your uncle, Nobunaga, is jealous. It's only natural he'd try to get our attention. He wants to kill you, Hiro" Hiro ****ed his head.

"Alright, you just blew my mind"¦ So this Nobunaga wants what my father gave to me and Ayumi?" Ayumi, Hiro's sister, was also left a small portion of the estate. The late Lord Go Sugamori had three castles to his name, all in Torinne. Hiro inherited one; Ayumi one; and one was transformed into a mausoleum for the Sugamori family. Hiro and Ayumi were to be buried there when they died. Their mother, whom their father murdered in a fit of insanity, was the first Sugamori to be buried there. Soon, other members of the family's tombs were moved into that palace.

"Well, not exactly. It's true that he wants those palaces that were given to you guys, so that he can expand his actions into Torinne, but it appears to me that he's working under a higher power." Alienna took a breath. She obviously was going to go on explaining a complicated situation. "Alright, so here's the deal: This emblem we found belongs to whomever it is that is fighting us. This same emblem, according to Aunsaer, is apparent on the troops at Nobunaga's palace. Not only that, but we've intercepted radio transmissions between Nobunaga and some other person. And I have reason to believe that this "˜other person' is our enemy. What do you guys think?" Iru began to speak.

"I think that we definitely need to check this place out. We're powerful enough to deal with a rabble of ninjas and samurai. It's not like we haven't fought worse."

"Yeah, and besides" Oron said, "don't we have a building near Kyoto? We could operate from there."

"Exactly." Alienna seemed impressed. "So what I'm going to do is send you four there either today or tomorrow, depending on when you get your weapons fixed, have Aunsaer meet you, and the five of you will storm the palace. Sound good?"

"No. Not at all" Hiro was very displeased with the idea. "What I think needs to happen is more of a discreet intrusion than a direct assault. If we just "˜storm the palace', we're going to get raped. We don't know the land or the buildine a total suicide."

"Alright then," Alienna said, "how do you think we can intrude?"

"Hmm"¦" Hiro thought for a moment. "Ah, I can't think up anything."

"Good. Back to my plan, then" Alienna said defiantly.

"No, no, wait" Deena said. "I like Hiro's idea. Here's what we can do: Iru and Hiro will dress up like a Lord and Lady, or a kabuki and geisha, or something, declare that they have a meeting with Lord Nobunaga, and we can enter that way." Oron stared at her.

"Umm"¦ Won't they check to make sure? It wouldn't work."

"Yes it would," Deena continued. "They'd have to open the doors to check, right? After they open the doors, we can knock out the guards and enter. It'd work, trust me. Besides, we'll have Aunsaer with us."

"Yeah, but we'd also have Trystenne to deal with" Iru said, worried.

"Speak of the devil, huh?" A strange, but oddly familiar spoke. It was Trystenne himself.