Saturday dawned dark and gloomy, with a thick bank of clouds directly blocking out the sky. This changed rather abruptly approximately 2.7 seconds after sunrise, as the massive web of weather spells suddenly kicked into gear. From the roof of Dark Heart High, Principal Amakusa looked at the now glorious sunrise, and sighed. "Looks like I won't be killing those weather witches after all. And they were offering a 150% money back guarantee..." ******************************************************************************** Dark Heart High Netherworld Educational Institution for The Universal Propagation of Evil. Created by Mads ******************************************************************************** Part Thirty-Eight: Conflagration! by Lafing Cat ******************************************************************************** Across town, in an altogether less imposing edifice, the sudden change in weather went unnoticed by one Yuri T'Glath Mikagami. Yuri was not in the frame of mind to notice a small scale war happening outside, if truth were to be told. Her sleep had been restless, filled with nightmares of yesterday's activities. The image of her mother's sword sliding between the ribs of Milky Angel Marriage Moo (and puncturing one of her ridiculous inflatable breasts in the process) kept running through her head, over and over again. Yuri sighed, and began to slowly climb out of bed. Perhaps it would be a good idea to talk to her mother about this. As Yuri walked downstairs she was greeted by the sight of her mother and father cuddled up together on the Mikagami family couch, watching Saturday Morning Anime. "Um, Mom?" Yuri's mother looked up at her daughter, surprised. "You're up early dear, what do you need?" "Do you think I could talk to you for a bit?" "Certainly dear, let's go into the kitchen, I need to start breakfast anyway." Mrs. Mikagami paused briefly to allow her husband to literally envelop her in a hug, before climbing off the sofa and walking into the Mikagami household's kitchen. "Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" "Well, remember last night, when I came home from my assignment? You asked me how everything went and I said 'fine?'" Yuri paused briefly, and then continued after seeing her mother nod. "Well, everything didn't go fine. Somehow I got discovered, and there was a fight... During that fight I kind of killed someone." Mrs. Mikagami put down the spoon she was using, and turned towards her daughter. "Yuri, what do you think this person would have done if you hadn't killed them?" "She probably would have killed me." "And you obviously didn't want that did you?" "But I wouldn't have been in the whole mess in the first place if I hadn't been infiltrating the school..." "Yuri, Principal Amakusa didn't tell us the complete story in his letter, but he did tell us that what you were doing was essential to the future of Dark Heart High. Your father may not be the best of friends with the Principal, but he does trust him enough to have placed you in his care, if he said that what you did was necessary, and then it was." "But to kill to uphold the ideals of the school, that makes us no better than the people at Knight School." "Yuri, listen to yourself. 'Dark Heart High is no better than Knight School.' Think about what that statement means, and then maybe you'll understand your position better. Remember, I used to be a magical girl before I met your father, I know all about the side of Light" "..." At this Yuri fell silent. After a moment pregnant with anticipation she finally spoke. "Thanks Mom, I don't know whether I feel better yet or not, but at least I have a better idea of what to think about." "That's good dear, and don't worry too much about it. There comes a time in every young girl's life where she has to stop listening to what everyone else says about the world, and decide what she believes for herself. I can't tell you want to think, but if you have any more questions or concerns, just remember that your father and I are both here for you, and love you very much." With this last statement, Mrs. Mikagami swept Yuri up into a tight hug. "Now here, eat your breakfast and get ready for school." The mass of pure darkness that was Hellstorm came drifting into the room, with a wicked gleam shining in the hellish pinpricks that marked his eyes. In the voice that had stricken terror into the hearts of the strongest of heroes, he rumbled "Did I hear the word 'Breakfast'?" * * * As chance would have it, Amy Angeleye was also using the time before school to discuss the events of last night with her mother. But whereas Yuri had been plagued by restless sleep and nightmares, Amy was having the opposite problem. "I just don't understand it mom, I killed a man in cold blood, a man I knew. I didn't know him very well, but still. It wasn't even in a fair fight either, I just pulled the trigger and *poof* his head was gone. And do I feel bad about it? No! I slept better tonight than I have in weeks, and I can't understand why. I felt better yesterday about killing him than I did when I used to exterminate vampires and such as a magical girl." Throughout her speech Amy paced around the room, supposedly "tidying up" but really just throwing a few of her plush toys around the room. The early morning light lent a strange look of contentment to the otherwise distressed girl. After she finished talking, she flopped down on her bed, the pink sheets still unmade. Andrea Angeleye broke the silence. "I told you when you wanted to transfer to Dark Heart High that the school would change you. I said that it was a big change that you might regret, but that I'd support you no matter what you did. You just have to ask yourself, is this Mikagami girl worth the effort. If you really want to be with her, then you're going to have to face the environment that she's in." "Oh mom, I do want to be with her, even though I know she doesn't see me in the same way. It's just that I don't want to lose myself in the process of finding her. Councilor Ikari seems to think that I'm just suffering from 'alignment shock' and after a few weeks or so that I'll fit in just fine with the rest of the students. I just don't know that I want that." Amy let out a small laugh. "It's funny; at Sakura Arts I was always worried because I never quite fit in." "Amy, no matter what you want to do, I'll support you. I'm warning you though, if you keep switching schools, you're going to run out. As it is right now, Zeros Academy is probably the only one that I could still get you into, and you know how crazy they are." "Thanks for the support, but I think I'll stick it out at DHH. Yuri is worth any sacrifice!" At this last proclamation, Amy jumped to her feet in a particularly flashy powerpose that caused her mother to hurl herself backwards from the bed in order to avoid Amy's wild swing. Unfortunately, she was not quite fast enough, and ended up dazed in a corner. Amy sweatdropped. "Um, sorry mom... I think I'll just be running off to school now." * * * The courtyard of Dark Heart High thronged with more activity than usual this morning, as the student body eagerly anticipated the upcoming sports meet. Bets on the performance of various students were being made in the darker corners, though oddly enough, no matter how good the odds were, no one seemed to be willing to bet against Balabalalde. The bragging of various students about how they would perform this afternoon could also be heard. As Yuri walked in the gates of the school, she was stopped by what looked like a four foot tall blue skinned toad. "Principal Amakusa says go to office. He want talk to you before class." The strange being croaked, in a reasonable emulation of human speech. Yuri sighed. Dark Heart High had some of the strangest messengers she had ever seen. As Yuri headed into the building, she thought to herself. "If Principal Amakusa has another job for me I'm going to insist I get some extra credit." * * * Hamaji Amakusa sat behind his desk, idly tapping a single sheet of paper against its polished hardwood surface. At the sound of a knock on the door to his office, he set it down and called out. "You may enter." Yuri walked nervously into the office. "I was told you wanted to see me?" "That would be correct. Please have a seat." As Yuri sat down, Amakusa stood up and walked over to the window which overlooked the Dark Heart High campus. "Beautiful, isn't it?" "Excuse me?" "The school, isn't it wonderful?" "Um, yes sir. Is that all you wanted to ask me?" "Of course not." Amakusa gestured at the paper lying on his desk. "I have received a most interesting complaint from Sakura Arts. They claim that one of my students, a 'Ms. Mikagami,' was involved in an altercation with several of the most promising students on their fencing team. They are decrying this as an attempt to sabotage their school's chances in the upcoming Interscholastic Sports Meet." "But I already told you what happened yest..." "Of course I told them that such an event was impossible, and as they have no evidence to corroborate their claims, it will amount to nothing. I find it particularly amusing that they offer no excuse for the eyewitnesses reporting a male involved in the situation. Still, I had to go to moderate lengths to provide you with an alibi. I dislike having to cover for my students. On the other hand, you did recover the items that I asked for, thus there are mitigating circumstances." Principal Amakusa turned away from the window, and paced back and forth across his office. "I spent a great deal of effort thinking about what to do to you in this situation. Would you care to offer any thoughts on the matter?" At Yuri's silence, Amakusa continued. "In the end, I concluded that while your performance was ... adequate, it was beneath the standards that Dark Heart High holds for its upperclassmen. As such, I will be restoring your status as a member of the freshman class. In the event you have forgotten your previous schedule, you may obtain a copy of it in the office." Yuri blinked. "You mean that's all?" Amakusa smiled; a smile that managed to convey the message of infinite menace despite its outward kindness. "Do you feel the punishment is insufficient?" "Not at all Amakusa-sensei, Thank you." "If you have no other comments, I suggest you leave quickly. First period starts in less then a minute, and it would be a bad idea to miss any more of your classes than you already have." The last few words were delivered to the quickly retreating backside of Yuri Mikagami, as she scampered off to class. Amakusa chuckled, "All that potential, and she still has the good sense to listen to advice when it is given. I hope it stays that way." With a sigh, he returned to his desk calling out to his secretary. "Send in the next stack of paperwork for the sports meet." * * * "... and these are some of the more common methods by which to construct a doomsday weapon." *BANG!* At the sound of the door being flung open, Fujiko Kurosawa paused in her lecture and turned towards the door. Spying a still panting Yuri, she frowned. "Miss Mikagami, did you forget that this is no longer your homeroom?" "No *huff* sensei, I'm in the right room. Amakusa-sensei says *huff* I'm supposed to be a freshman again." The response to this information was taken in a variety of different fashions by the respective members of classroom 10A. Amy jumped out of her seat with a shout of joy, and ran up to give Yuri a hug, until stopped by a glare from Kurosawa-sensei. Craig sank down in his chair unhappily, having earlier been convinced by Liza to bet that Yuri would last a good four days longer as an upperclassman. Now he was out 1000 yen. Balabalalde, in an astonishing display of eloquence, blinked. Twice. Kurosawa-sensei merely sniffed. "Hmmph, hardly surprising. Well, your seat is still open, return to it, and in case you have forgotten, we have a test on Tuesday which you are *not* excused from. You can get the notes from one of your fellow students." "I'll give them to you Yuri!" Amy jumped up and down, waving to Yuri. "Miss Angeleye, unless you particularly enjoy the idea of spending several days in detention, I suggest you return to your seat and be quiet." "Yes sensei" Amy said meekly, barely able to contain her joy. Now that Yuri was back as a freshman, they would be together all day long again! "Now, if you will all remember the fundamental principles of..." Yuri sat down into her seat and tried to relax. Maybe her life would finally get back to 'normal.' * * * Far away from campus, one of the two remaining new members of Dark Heart High's senior class gazed up at the imposing office building that stood before him. Sakazashi the Fifth examined the paper in front of him once again. Though the location seemed implausible, the source that had given him this address was reliable. He shrugged his shoulders and walked through one of the many sets of glass doors. He was greeted by a scene of tasteful opulence. The reception area was around the size of a football field and decorated with works of art that would have been reserved for the presidential suite in most places. It was well lit, much to the gratitude of the exotic plants that hung artfully arranged from wall hooks on the airy columns. Of course, this aesthetic masterpiece was completely lost on the Doombringer. He marched up grimly to the reception desk and glared at the blue-haired receptionist there. "May I help you?" she asked, not bothering to cease filing her nails. "I have an appointment." "What is your name?" "I believe Tanaka-san is expecting me." "Ah yes, you would be the charity case." Doombringer scowled, raising a hand menacingly. "What did you just call me?" The receptionist sighed, reached over and touched a button. As though summoned from nowhere, a battalion of concealed guns sprouted up from nowhere. By their exotic appearance, subtle humming noises, and the military grade power cables supplying them, it was blatantly obvious that they were capable of reducing even the most potent of beings to dust in short order. Doombringer looked around, performed some simple calculations, and decided that the insult was beneath his dignity to notice. "Could you direct me to his office, please?" "Third elevator from the left." As Sakazashi crossed the massive hall, the receptionist touched another button, and the defensive emplacements vanished as quickly and quietly as they had appeared. The elevator that Sakazashi stepped into was as richly appointed as the rest of the building. He stepped in, momentarily puzzled at the lack of a set of buttons to press, but ceased worrying as the elevator doors closed, and it started to rise of its own accord, trying to ignore the muzak rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon" that had started playing with the elevators motion. The elevator slowed to a stop, opening directly onto an office that seemed to occupy and entire floor of the building. Across a veritable lake of plush deep red carpeting say a desk of polished mahogany. A brown leather chair, framed against a bay window, faced away from the rest of the room, its occupant concealed behind it. "Ah, Sakazashi-kun. How nice of you to come. I trust the trip out here wasn't too stressful?" spoke the man behind the chair, in a voice that screamed of normalcy. "Yes Tanaka-san. It was fine. I understand you found what I need?" "Yes. However there were... complications. I will no longer be able to offer this to you simply as a... charitable donation. I'm afraid that I must ask you for a favor in return." At this Tanaka spun his chair around to face Doombringer. The light shining through the window behind him made any precise definition of his features impossible. "What kind of favor are we talking about here?" Doombringer asked suspiciously. "In the future, I may have a certain task I wish for you to perform for me. Your situation makes you uniquely suited for several projects I have in the works, I will contact you at a later date to solidify the details." "First, I want to see it." "Certainly." From within one of the many drawers in his expansive desk, Tanaka-san removed a small leather briefcase, unremarkable except for the strange seal etched upon the lock. Pausing briefly to recall the combination, he opened it up and slid it across the table to Doombringer, who took a brief look inside. "Doesn't look like much, are you sure it'll work?" "I assure you it will perform admirably at its function." "Fine, you know where to find me when you need me later." With this, Doombringer shut the case, and turned to leave striding purposefully across the floor. "Sakazashi-kun?" "What is it now?" "You might want the combination to the lock." Doombringer returned to retrieve the combination, and then turned to leave once more. As he stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed behind him, Tanaka sank back in his chair. Folding his fingers thoughtfully under his chin, he mused to himself, "Perhaps if the boy weren't so uncultured I would have warned him about the complications of that item. Looks like I may not be collecting that favor after all. Such a pity." * * * "So Yuri, tell me all about what being an upperclassman was like, were the classes hard? Were the professors mean? Did you see any cute boys??" Yuri looked oddly at Leilei. "I thought that when Bala was unwrapped you didn't bother going to Home Ec." "Well not normally, but Bala said that today we were going to make Demon's Food Cake and that's my absolute favorite dessert." Leilei was practically bouncing up and in her eagerness to consume truly sinful amounts of sugar. "Um, isn't that Devil's Food cake?" "No, Demon's food cake, I don't normally get to eat it because a few of the ingredients have to be summoned directly from Hell. You can buy them in a few specialty stores, but it's not nearly as good unless it's fresh." Leilei's explanation on the finer points of evil culinary delights was interrupted by the entrance of Craig Maimsworth. "Oh Yuri, are you coming to my party? I need to plan for the refreshments." Yuri blinked confusedly. "Party? No one told me anything about a party." "They didn't? I thought Amy would have mentioned it by now. But anyway, yeah, I'm having a We-Handed-Melvin-His-Butt-on-a-Silver-Platter party, it's next Saturday, and it looks like a bunch of your friends are going to be there." With this Craig handed Yuri one of his invitation cards. "Oh look, there's Yasuko. Hey Yasuko!" Yasuko stopped close to the door of the Home Ec room. "What do you want?" she asked, pausing briefly to brush her hair back over the shoulder of her conservatively cut blouse. "Well, it's about a party of mine, a We-Handed-Melvin-His-Butt-on-a- Silver-Platter party. I know you didn't have anything to do with it, but well, most of the rest of us are going to be there, and I didn't feel right about leaving you out. Anyway, here's a card, it's next Saturday and it'd be great if you could come." Any response that Yasuko would have made was cut off abruptly by the screeching voice of Baba-sensei. "Its time for class now! Everybody return to your stations!" Waiting impatiently while the students scrambled to their appropriate kitchenette areas, she then continued. "In order to make the recipe go smoother, I have preconstructed the pentacles at each counter. Arrange the candles along the outside points of the pentacle, and then recite the incantations. The rest of the instructions for the cake should be in your book." Craig got out his candles and began to place them as instructed. "Baba- sensei? My pentacle looks a little odd." "Nonsense Maimsworth, I constructed them all myself." Craig sighed and began to chant the incantation. The resultant explosion of technicolor marshmallows surprised no one *except* Baba-sensei. Maybe I *did* make a mistake, she thought to herself. * * * "So, in conclusion, creative accounting is one of the best ways for an evil organization to work within the system, and still spread its reign of terror across the globe." Putting away his laser pointer and turning off the projector, the guest speaker from Arthur Anderson turned towards the members of the FAC. "Are there any questions?" ".i have one mortaL ?what would you suggest as tools to recruit others to our dark causE .if you had not noticed, we have a grave shortage of memberS" "Well, showing them how effective taxes can be at enslaving mortals can be is a good start. Tax laws are specifically designed to be so confusing that even the slightest exposure to them causes a loss of will and an increasing feeling of unrest. No other evil program has been so pervasive or so effective. You need to sell them on what accounting can do for *them*." ".for a flesh-being your ideas have meriT .thank you for speaking to our cluB" "You're quite welcome, now if there are no other questions..." "Um, I have a sort of a favor to ask... my parents are both really big fans of your company's work, and I was wondering if you could autograph this shirt for them." Yuri offered up the corporate shirt towards the guest speaker. "Of course I would be happy to do so, who do I make this out to?" "Mr. and Mrs. Mikagami" "There you go, and if that is all, I have a series of orphanages to foreclose mortgages on. No rest for the wicked as they say." The senior accountant gathered up his pair of briefcases and left the room. ".that is all for this special meeting of the FAC. .however I expect all of you to present at least one idea for recruitment at the next meetinG .you may leave noW." As Ryuji and Yuri headed for the door, the golden box that was the extension of The Unbidden on this plane extruded a massive tentacle to block Yuri's path. ".we need to have a little discussioN .you missed the last meetinG !that is unacceptablE .as punishment for your absence, and to insure you drag your mortal form to the next meeting, I will be keeping that shirT. !yoinK" "But this is for my parents!" Yuri protested, trying futilely to retain the shirt. "!for your insolence you shall assist me on my next projecT .if you perform well perhaps I will return it to yoU !now run along before I shatter your soul with the merest sound of my true voicE" Yuri left the room slightly depressed. Now how was she going to break the news to her father? * * * The sports fields on the outskirts of the Dark Heart High campus thronged with activity. Beings of all shapes, sizes and creeds mixed in an almost festival atmosphere. For once the fact that on normal days they would have been trying to kill each other vanished in the spirit of friendly competition. Well, it almost did, there was the occasional fight breaking out as old enemies (and in some cases, old friends) saw each other for the first time in a long while. The fights were quickly broken up by a security detail of DHH upperclassman, however, and if they were a little bit rougher at ending the fights than perhaps strictly necessary, well that was the price of peace. In the midst of all this commotion, Yuri looked around for a shock of pink hair. Leilei had said to meet her here in front of the ticket booth, and then they'd go find a seat to wait for the events to start. "Oh hey Yuri, looking for someone?" Amy Angeleye said as she wandered up behind Yuri. "Well, Leilei said she'd meet me in front of the ticket booth, but I don't see her..." "Leilei? I think I saw her over near the concession stand. She seemed pretty focused on something. I know! We can go look for her together!" Amy grabbed Yuri's hand and started running off towards the concession stand. In front of the concession stands, a large crowd was gathered round the unusual sight of a small pink haired girl berating a 7 foot tall mass of fangs and spikes. "What do you mean this is all the cotton candy you have!" Leilei exclaimed excitedly, gesturing at the pile on the counter. It is worth noting at this point that the pile of pink cotton candy, which almost exactly matched Leilei's hair, was also over twice her height. "How can you call this a concession stand if this is all the cotton candy you have! Oh! Hi, Yuri, Hi Amy! Can you two believe what this guy is trying to get away with?" "But miss, this is the third time you've been back here in 10 minutes! We've had to run over to the suppliers both times to get more sugar and now even our distributor is out, we just don't keep enough on hand to supply people like you! Now if you want what we have left it's yours, but understand we won't be getting any more." The concession stand attendant was tired of dealing with the little pink bundle of energy. If his manager hadn't threatened him with death should he eat any of the customers, he would have made short work of her. She looked a tasty morsel, though probably a bit too sweet for his tastes. "Oh fine, I'll take it then. So Yuri, Amy, any events you two particularly wanna see? I just wanna make sure to catch the track meet and the soccer match and see Bala kick some tail!" Yuri thought to herself for a second. "Well, if it's not much trouble, I'd like to see how the members of the fencing club do. I do feel kinda guilty for quitting. There anything you want to see Amy?" "Not really, I just came to spend time with my friends." You specifically, Amy thought to herself. "Well then, the track meet is about to start, why don't we head off to that then?" Leilei called out, merrily bouncing herself off towards the track field, having consumed her small mountain of cotton candy during the course of the conversation. * * * "...And at the halfway point of this years interscholastic sports meet, the results of the first half of the matches stand as follows: All of the Track and Field events were won by Balabalalde of Dark Heart High. The Fencing match ended in a narrow victory of Knight School over Dark Heart High. The Full-Contact Debate match was won by Lord 'Squiggy' the Fourth, of Zeros Academy. The Powerpose competition ended in a smashing victory by Secret Princess Princess Princess of Sakura Arts. The Shinobi contest was won by John Doe of the Median School for the Absolutely Average. If anyone knows the location or appearance of Doe, please instruct him to collect his prize at the judges' booth. In the Martial Arts Demonstration event, the category broke down as follows. Best Technique, Armed: Midori Taimada, Dark Heart High. Best Technique, Unarmed: WHEEEEEE!, Sugar Valley. Best Finishing Technique: XcghthrsTn, Black Soul High. Best Overall Competitor: BOB, Academy of Light. The Laughter and Speeches contest was won by Estrella 'the Emerald Queen' of Sugar Valley, however the judges would like to extend a special mention to Yasuko Wareme, of Dark Heart High, for her unique approach to an old standby." At the mention of Yasuko's name, Yuri turned to Amy. "That's odd; she didn't mention anything about being in the sports meet." Amy just shrugged; she had better things to do than keep track of what Yasuko was up too. "... and that concludes the announcements of the winners. The rest of the events will begin promptly after the end of the halftime demonstrations." The speakers arranged throughout the arena fell silent for a moment, and then once again crackled to life. The announcer sounded strained this time, as though something were bothering him. "As a last minute change, the previous display of the Knight School drum line has been replaced with (ow) a special fighting demonstration by the students of Dark Heart High. (Stop that!) That is all." Sakazashi the Fifth left the announcer's booth with a smile on his face. Everything was going as planned. He patted a sheath hung about his hip, reassuring himself that its contents were still there. All the preparations were complete. The announcement had been made and, of course, the drum line was no longer around to complain about the loss of their time slot. * * * "Why are you letting him get away with this?!?" Hamaji Amakusa turned towards Akurei and silenced him with a calculating look. "I'm letting him get away with this for three reasons. One. Knight School needs to learn that fighting Dark Heart High on this level is a bad idea. Though the extra 'effort' our students are showing at the sports meet should convey the message well enough, think of this as simply an exclamation point. Two. We can plausibly deny Dark Heart High's involvement in this event, as it is merely a personal vendetta." Amakusa paused, sipping slowly from a cup of coffee. "And the third reason?" "The third reason? Simply that if this plays out the way I feel it will, it will be most interesting. To set the stage for our little drama, please inform Balabalalde that he may be needed to participate in the halftime show." * * * Back in the bleachers, Yuri, Amy, and Leilei watched the halftime entertainment with little concern for the odd replacement that had been announced. As the scheduled time for the demonstration grew nearer, Leilei squealed and pointed towards the field. "Look, there's Bala! I wonder what he's doing down there? Hey, maybe he has something to do with that demonstration thing." As though on cue, suddenly a crack of thunder pealed from the heavens. A pillar of apocalyptic fire erupted from the center of the stadium. Out of the midst of it walked a figure. "Oooh, Amy, you've got good eyes, can you tell who that is?" Squinting against the glare of the flames, Amy studied for a bit before saying. "If I had to guess, I'd say it was Doombringer, but something looks odd about him...." As the figure raised his hand, the flames died out to nothing, leaving no more evidence of their passage than a circle of dead grass. "I, Sakazashi the Fifth, do hereby challenge Balabalalde to a duel!" Turning to point at Bala he continued "Do you have the spine to face me now, or must you prove your cowardice to the combined schools?!" Balabalalde merely walked onto the field, coming to face Doombringer directly. He nodded, and then waited. "Is that all you have to say? Then let me bring you your DOOM!" With his last declaration, Doombringer leveled his hand at Bala and let forth a merciless torrent of power. Bala, however, was no longer there, having covered the distance to Doombringer in a blink of an eye. His lethal blow to Doombringer's skull was met with an undirected wave of force, flinging Bala some 30 feet away. Bala seemed not at all concerned, and once again rushed towards Doombringer, effortlessly dodging the tightly focused beams of raw energy that continued to lance towards him. This time he succeeded at connecting with a lightning fast flurry of strikes to the arms and torso. In order to escape this relentless assault Doombringer was again forced to resort to incinerating the area around him, blasting both Bala and terrain in an indiscriminate orgy of flame. Doombringer, seeing that he was not going to be able to end this battle nearly as quickly as he had hoped, decided to change tactics. He battered Balabalalde this way and that by sprays of kinetic force, keeping him unable to close the distance. In the stands, the spectators reacted to this pyrotechnic display in one of two fashions. The foolish, and those confident in their own abilities, simply stayed to watch. The rest fled the area, desperate to avoid the stray blasts of energy that wracked the stadium. "Yuri we need to get out of here, it isn't safe to stay!" Amy said, tugging Yuri's arm towards the nearest set of stairs. "But Bala looks like he's getting hurt!" Yuri said, gazing worriedly at the fight that continued to rage in the center of the field. "Bala can take care of himself; let's just get out of her... YURI!" Amy tried to yank Yuri out of the way from an oncoming wave of fire, but lost her grip at the last second, sending Yuri tumbling down the stairs. Amy rushed after her, desperate to help her friend. Out in the field Bala heard Yuri's name being shrieked. He turned away from Doombringer, to try to find the source of the problem. The moment of distraction allowed Doombringer to slam a ray of multicolored light into him, knocking him too the ground, and stunning him momentarily. Sakazashi walked over towards Bala, continuing to hammer him with bursts of dark energy. "Worried about your little girl toy huh? Maybe when I'm done with you, I'll go play a little bit with her eh? I think she'd like that." As he gloated, he moved to stand over Balabalalde, preparing to deliver the finishing strike. The wards on Bala's chest awoke to a furious glow, the arcane symbols that composed it clearly visible, as once again, the dark god inside him roused slightly from its slumber. "I don't think so." he snarled, slamming a furious kick into Doombringer's crotch, and sending him flying. Bala leapt off the ground, and advanced towards him, parrying Doombringer's frantic bolts of lightning and blasts of force with quick flicks of his forearms. As Bala closed to within mere inches of him, Doombringer tried to send him flying again with a non-directional apocalypse of flame, but cringed as Bala just continued to walk though it, stopping only to deliver a rib shattering punch to the chest, which knocked Doombringer off the field entirely and slammed him into the bleachers. "Looks like I'll be needing this after all," Doombringer muttered to himself, sliding what appeared to be a small white knife from the sheath on his belt. As Balabalalde advanced towards the shaky Doombringer, he couldn't help but wonder why his opponent was *smiling*. Oh well, kill now, think later. Bala leapt into the bleachers, intending to land on Doombringer and crush him. At the last second Doombringer rolled to the side and brought the knife up in a pitiful slash. Bala blocked it contemptuously with the side of his arm, and then stared in surprise at the stump that he drew back. He then quickly leapt back into the center of the field, to escape another swipe aimed at his neck. Doombringer looked at the knife with satisfaction. He had to admit he had been slightly worried before, but it seemed to be as good as the old man said it would be. As he rushed towards the crouched Bala, he decided to finish this once and for all. Along the side of the field, Amy had managed, with some difficulty to return Yuri to consciousness. "*rrmmm* what happened?" Yuri asked groggily. "You fell down the stairs. Luckily the blast of fire missed you anyway." "Fire blast? Bala! How is Bala?" Yuri tried to jump up to see what was going on, but a wave of pain shot through her head and she screamed out. Yuri's scream caused Bala to stand up and turn around. This had one important consequence. Doombringer's stab, which would have taken Bala in the shoulder, instead caught him in the middle of the back. A clear-eyed observer could have just seen the tip of the knife sticking out of the center of his breastbone. Directly in the center of the ward that still held his power in check. The ward flared brighter than the surface of the sun, as the previously pristine white knife blade turned a dull black. Amy could only stare as the truth of the scene unfolded before her, and she Saw that she had been wrong. Bala *did* have a heart. It was merely something that should never be. A heart of purest darkness. A heart of untempered evil that saw no need to hide itself. The foulness of it overwhelmed her and her brain shut itself down in self preservation, sending her into the blessed refuge of unconsciousness. The light from the ward was slowly absorbed into the surface of the knife, allowing those with more mundane sight to finally see what had happened. Balabalalde, the more or less human boy, was gone. Where he had stood now featured a huge smoking crater. In the center of that crater stood Balabalalde, the dark God. True scion of the line of Agherukk, and inheritor of the power of the Wargmere. He appeared much as his previous self had, only carved of purest ebony, as though a sculptor had spent a year in study to create a replica. His eyes were featurless ebon orbs, though his hair continuted to flutter in the breeze. The only other noticeable change was the pair of monstrous wings sprouting from his shoulder blades. He turned towards Doombringer, and growled. Pausing only to reach behind him and contemptuously toss aside the now blacked knife, he leapt into action. Sakazashi didn't even have a chance to scream as the new God began to rip him limb from limb. Yuri watched the scene unfold before her in a state of shock. Bala wasn't like this! Bala couldn't be like this! Disregarding the pain in her head, she rushed out to the center of the field. * * * As principal Amakusa watched the scene unfold before him, he was approached by a messenger. "Amakusa-san, by a 7-2 vote, the Council of Judges has demanded that Balabalalde be removed at once. He is also prohibited from participating in any additional events, 'for the safety of the spectators.'" Amakusa merely gazed at the lone figure of Yuri making her way across the ruins of the sports field. "I'll remove him in a moment. Things are just getting interesting." * * * "BALA! What happened to you? Stop it!" Yuri cried as she approached the site where the new Balabalalde was still abusing the smoking corpse of Doombringer, his ebon fists leaving trails of charred flesh as he beat it again and again. Bala gave no sign of having heard her, his attention focused entirely on enacting his vengeance. Frustrated with the lack of a response, Yuri did the only thing she could think of to attract his attention. She slapped him. The being that Bala had become raged. Something was trying to keep him from his vengeance. Without thinking, he swung out with a blow fast enough to create a thunderclap from disrupted air. And missed. Yuri blinked at the blow that had come a fraction of an inch from decapitating her. "What are you doing Bala!?!" Bala blinked. In the confusion of the moment he stopped raging long enough to think. The realization of who he had just tried to kill hit him, and he sank to Yuri's feet. Principal Amakusa took this opportunity to stride up next to the two of them. "Seems like you've had quite a bit of fun today. However I'm going to have to ask you to leave now. You've caused quite a stir amongst the judges." Amakusa turned towards Yuri and said. "Now Miss Mikagami, I suggest to come with me, Balabalalde needs to go." At this, Bala rose and put his arm across Yuri, causing her to blush furiously. "She Comes With Me." "Um, Bala, maybe I'd better do what Amakusa-sensei says." "NO! You Are Staying With Me." At the suggestion that Yuri might be trying to leave, his grip on her became vice-like. "Um, Bala, that kind of hurts. Let me go!" "I believe the young lady wishes to leave. I suggest you let her go. Now." Principal Amakusa advanced towards Bala, his eyes gleaming with menace. "Or You'll Do What?" "This. Chronos Shift." At the latter intonation from Amakusa, Balabalalde was encased in a form fitting crystal prison. He offered a hand towards Yuri as she struggled out from under Bala's now frozen arm. "Um, Amakusa-sensei? Is he dead?" Amakusa laughed. "Not in the slightest, it's merely a binding spell. It will hold him for a good long while though." As Amakusa turned to walk away he was startled by a roar behind him. Balabalalde had broken free of the binding and was rushing towards Amakusa and Yuri. His attempt at an attack on Amakusa failed miserably as Amakusa dodged nimbly out of the way, but then abandoned further attempts as he grabbed Yuri and prepared to take to the skies. Amakusa thought quickly. He didn't have any more powerful binding spells prepared, and anything strong enough to bring the boy down would level more of the school than he felt like rebuilding. After a split second of calculation, he shouted out a few words in Aklo. Balabalalde simply vanished, this time leaving nothing to replace him. Yuri landed heavily on the ground, her feet sending something skittering towards Amakusa. Amakusa picked up the dagger that came to rest at his feet. "Hmmm, an Agherukk ancestral knife. I wonder where this came from. Well I'll be sure to return it to its proper owner." Amakusa walked over towards Yuri. "Come along now Mikagami. The half-time show ended 45 seconds ago." ************************* Authors Notes: WHEEEEEE! Well, here's to my second impropart ever! Cost me waaaay to much of my sleep time, but it was a lot easier than my first. If the theory holds, then by the third time I ought to be enjoying it ^_^ The chapter took on an interesting life of its own, as some scenes evolved rather differently than I thought they were going to. I'm pretty satisfied with how they turned out though. I think I managed to capture the humour that is the core of DHH while resolving the serious issues that have cropped up. People, let's remember that this is supposed to be a parody, not a darkfic. Keep it funny. I didn't get to work as much with Yasuko as I would have liked. I was looking forward to doing something interesting with her new 'thing.' Future authors will note that I left her responce to Craig vague. I personally would like to see her at the party, but won't force it on anyone, as she didn't really have anything to do with it. I like Yasuko and Craig as a team though, have ever since the very beginning with them scheming against Yuri, and I think it would be great to have them back together as a team again. I'm silly though, and this is Impro, so do what you want. Now for a few notes: Bala. THIS IS AS STRONG AS HE GETS! There are no more seals, there is nothing else. You will note that I still left him weaker than Amakusa, this is on purpose. I feel that as the Principal Amakusa needs to be more of a badass than his students, otherwise how could he maintain discipline amongst the students. That's just my 2 yen though, so take as you will. Tanaka-san. Tanaka is supposed to be a psudonym. Whoever he really is is left up to future authors', if they want to use him at all. Feel free to throw him away and never mention him again. or don't. Whatever. Doombringer. Doombringer is dead. D. E. D. dead. If for some reason you really want to you can bring him back, but I cleared it with Mads, and he said "Kill him." On to happier things. This chapter would not have been possible without the aid of The_Apprentice, who helped me with pre-reading and was also kind enough to share a great deal of his notes with me, saving me a huge amount of time. Along with The Empress, he worked with me to plan the events that have spanned our chapters and will span hers. More thanks to Sharyna and Nicolas Juzda who were my other pre-readers. 2 down, H! Flash ender to go, Wish me luck all! "Ha ha, meow!" Lafing Cat ************************* Balabalalde looked across the blasted landscape that was the home realm of the Agherukk. He looked at the slip of paper that had arrived with him, and then at the imposing edifice that was his clan's true home. He was not looking forward to explaining to his parents why he got suspended from school.