".Hello?"

The child was surrounded by a cool, deep blackness on all 
sides.  Her only means of support in this void, a small 
wooden pedestal, felt cold and dry beneath her bare feet.  
She was illuminated by on overhead light that she couldn't 
make out.  The shadows it cast seemed to exemplify her now 
dirty blonde hair and pale skin.  Her eyes were partially 
cast in shadow, and all that remained of her clothes 
consisted of a tattered, green battle garb.

All around the young girl of about ten years could feel some 
kind of presence.  It was in the very air around her, yet 
she couldn't see it.  She was tired, hungry and frightened, 
but her battle training was still tuned enough to tell her 
one thing; she wasn't alone.

As if to prove this fact, a woman's voice cut through the 
darkness, startling the young girl.  The voice was soft, 
calming and eerily mother-like.  To the young girl, it 
seemed to be coming from everywhere at once.

"Its all right.  You're safe now.  I won't let that monster 
torture you anymore."

The child spun around, trying to see who was talking.  She 
was trembling with fear, yet still had enough control to 
assume a haphazard battle stance.  

"Who are you?  Where's Sensei?  What have you done to 
him?"

The voice seemed closer now, and as the girl tried to focus 
on it, she noticed a soft, blue light slowly pushing back 
the darkness around her.  In the dim shadows beyond her 
pedestal, the girl could see that she was in what looked 
like an endless tower, filled with floating islands adorned 
with tall, greenish things.  She had known what those were 
at one time.  Something. A tree?  Yes, that was it.  They 
were trees.

She was in a giant nursery.

"You need not worry about him, that abomination can't hurt 
you as long as you're in my care, little one."

The girl turned, and in the growing light she saw a tree 
centered in a giant pool of water.  Around the tree, tiny 
bits of energy danced like flotsam on the surface of a pond.  
The girl was sure that the voice was coming from this 
direction.

"What are you talking about..?"

The water before the tree started to gently ripple, then 
explode upwards in a column, soaking the branches above it.  
When the water subsided, a woman was left standing in its 
place.

The woman herself was beautiful.  Her face was slender, pale 
and delicately pristine.  Her soft eyes and warm smile 
looked as if they had been stolen from some rare painting or 
even a goddess, only to be perfectly reformed and amplified 
here.  The woman's hair was a soft, silky blue that seemed 
to stretch to her feet, which were standing on the surface 
of the water.  To complete the effect, she was clothed in an 
array of multi-colored robes that were strangely dry.  

The girl was frightened at first, but then felt herself go 
numb.  The pretty woman in front of her was moving towards 
her. or was she moving towards the pretty woman?  The girl 
didn't know.  She tried to move, but found she had no 
control over her body.  She knew that she was in trouble of 
some kind, but as she approached the beautiful woman on the 
water the little girl felt her fears just melt away.  
Something about her seemed to put the little girl's mind at 
complete and utter ease.  With the last of her curiosity, 
the little girl weakly asked, "Who are you?"

With a voice that seemed to wrap around the little girl, the 
woman said, "I am Tsunami, the ship of Jurai, and we are 
inside of myself.  Tell me, what is your name, little one?"

"Anata."

*** 

The Villains Crusade

Chapter Two: Getting to Know You.

By: BGlanders

Like the last one, this chapter has also been heavily 
edited.

Yay.

*** 

It had been a good hour since Kagato had regained 
consciousness, and already he found himself missing his old 
ship.  Granted, the Souja II hadn't been the biggest or the 
fastest in the universe, but it had been his.  His new ship 
was merely a third of the size of the Souja II, and in 
Kagato's opinion its combat abilities left a great many 
things to be desired.  His new `assistant' informed him that 
she had taken the liberty of christening the ship `The 
Rumia'.  At first he made his displeasure for not being able 
to decide known, but later was secretly thankful that such a 
pathetic ship hadn't taken on the name Souja.  

 At the moment he and his new associate were seated in what 
Misa had referred to as the `War Room'.  It was a small side 
room to the bridge equipped with a smooth, reflective black 
table and several holo-projectors that remained hidden in 
the walls.  Evenly spaced glow globes dotted the sleek, 
purple metal of the walls supplied the lighting, and the 
temperature was at a mild 72 degrees.  The very room itself 
seemed to give off an air of seriousness.  

Kagato sat in what would be considered the captain's chair.  
Misa, sitting across from him, had her feet propped up on 
the table as the holo-projectors showed the mad scientist 
and magical girl what their target would be.  After 
reviewing the battle statistics, Kagato gave his detailed 
scientific opinion.

"Impossible."

Misa, who had been dividing her attention between the screen 
and the baton she was twirling in her hand, yawned and said, 
"Nonsense!  With the two of us together we should be able 
to get in and do the job in two shakes!  You worry too 
much."

Kagato sighed, mentally counted to ten, and then responded.  
"And how, little girl, do you figure that?"  He gestured 
to the projection between them.  "This is the planet Jurai 
we're talking about!  Even at full power I don't stand a 
chance in hell at breaching their defenses, let alone 
fighting off the Royal guards and to top it all off, what 
makes you think this ship would last two seconds against the 
Imperial Fleet?"

Misa shrugged, and then gestured to the wall control panel 
behind her.  "I did my homework, Kaggi old pal."

"Don't call me that."

".and boy oh boy did I learn a lot about you.  How you've 
been on the GP's eternally most wanted for the last five 
thousand years, how you decimated entire fleets without even 
blinking and how you and your demon practically destroyed 
Jurai seven hundred years ago, just to name a few headers.  
Honestly, what's the difference this time?"

Kagato calmly took out his makeshift gravity saber.  When he 
activated it, the familiar hum of an energy weapon, coupled 
with the warm sent of ozone assaulted his senses.  
"Because," Kagato held out his left arm, then let the 
sword graze it slightly, drawing blood.  "I'm not immortal 
anymore.  I don't have my powers anymore.  I don't even have 
my demon anymore!  We don't have anything to help us!  This 
can't be done, plain and simple.  We would need nothing less 
than an entire army just to get within a thousand leagues of 
the palace!"

Misa stared wide eyed at the open wound on Kagato's arm, 
then watched as he deactivated his sword and headed for the 
door.  "I'll be in the infirmary if you need me.  Please 
see to it that you don't need me for at least an hour."  

With that, Kagato walked out of the room. 

*** 

She remembered the first time she met the man in the 
shadows.

It had taken a week, but she had gotten strong enough to 
walk on her own.  Uncertainly, she shuffled across the cold, 
metallic floor of her room and through the door, her green 
nightgown dragging underneath her feet as she went.  The 
ship itself was incredible.  She had never seen anything so 
spectacular in all her life.  Her people had just begun to 
pierce the veil of space, but it would take thousands of 
years for them to even come close to something as incredible 
as this.

Eventually, her wandering brought her to a rather large room 
towards the back of the ship.  It was at least several 
stories tall and filled with all sorts of shiny, metallic 
combat crystals, drones and exercise equipment.  In the 
center of the room stood a man surrounded by at least three 
humanoid combat drones.  He was standing with his back to 
her, his attention seemingly one the crystals around him.  
Not wanting to disturb him, she tried to hide behind a 
vaulting block, but kept herself in a good position to 
watch.  He was clad in a billowy pair of light green pants 
and a large, loose long-sleeved green shirt.  In his hands 
was what looked to the girl like a sword, except it seemed 
to be more like a thin, round pole than anything else.  

For several moments, the man stood completely still, the 
drones circling slowly.  Each seemed to be armed with a 
similar piece of steel, but unlike the man's blade, theirs 
were glowing faintly.  Then, without warning the drones 
attacked as one, their blades cutting the air with a high-
pitched whistle.  The girl thought the man would surely be 
hit, but before the robots could bring their swords down the 
man suddenly sprang to life, parrying the first drone's 
attack while tilting his head to the side, narrowly dodging 
the second's attack.  The man pushed hard and knocked the 
first robot back with his sword, then brought it forward 
just in time to meet the third's attack head on.  With 
deadly calm, the man brought his sword down across the 
robot's chest, leaving a streak of melted metal and charred 
wires in its wake.  Before the other two could act, the man 
spun about and beheaded the second, its sword not even in 
position to block.  The first, having regained its balance, 
charged and swung its blade wildly through the air.  The man 
simply ducked, pivoted and thrust his sword through the 
waist of the machine.  For three full seconds both 
combatants stood motionless.  Then, the man slowly pulled 
back, the robot sliding limply off the man's weapon.  In 
less than six seconds all three drones had been defeated.

The man, still with his back to the girl, stood up straight 
and sheathed his weapon in at his side.  For a moment the 
girl thought he wouldn't notice her, but that was when he 
spoke.

"It's rude to hover, child.  Either come out or leave."

Startled, the girl took a step back.  Only then did she 
realize that she had been holding her breath.  Hesitantly, 
she emerged from her hiding place, her feet slowly bringing 
her out into the open.  Once she was in plain sight the man 
turned around, and the girl saw his face for the first time.  
He looked young, despite his long, white hair.  His skin was 
a chalky white, and his features gave his face a slim, gaunt 
look.  The girl noticed a tiny bit of sweat on his scrunched 
brow.  Slowly, she approached him.

The man watched as the young girl came near, her feet softly 
shuffling on the green practice mats beneath her.  When she 
was at arms length, she stopped and gave the man a looking 
over.  Slowly she circled him, all the while keeping her 
arms tightly crossed on her chest.  He returned the gesture, 
and both remained silent, studying each other for a full 
minute.  The man saw that she was young, no more than ten 
years old.  Her hair was a waist-length dirty blonde that 
had been combed back, revealing a lightly freckled face.  
Her eyes however, were what really caught the man's 
attention; cold, blue and penetrating.  The man felt himself 
being bored into by those eyes, and inwardly grimaced at the 
notion.  Finally, the man spoke again, breaking the 
atmosphere.

"What were you doing hiding back there?  What do you 
want?"

Slowly, the child released her death grip on her shoulders 
and pointed to the sword at his side.  Without breaking eye 
contact, the young girl quietly said, "Show me."

Surprised, the man felt his hand involuntarily move to cover 
the hilt of his weapon.  He stood for a bit, contemplating 
the girl's request.  "Not just yet, child.  The first thing 
to do is to get you fully healed, then."

"No!  I. please.  I want to begin now. Sensei."

The man froze.  For a moment he considered simply swatting 
her aside for her disobedience.  Before he knew it, his free 
hand had already tightened into a fist.  Catching himself in 
time, he forced his body to relax.  He looked again in the 
girl's eyes, this time noting the edge they had taken.  He 
knew she meant her request.  With a sigh, he nodded and 
stepped back.  With a gesture, a drone appeared carrying a 
sheath similar to the one at the man's side.  It floated 
over to the girl and extened the hilt in her direction.  
Wordlessly, she accepted.   

"Very well then, let us begin.  This is called a gravity 
saber."

*** 

The training room was about thirty meters in height, width 
and breadth.  Each wall was equipped with various weapons, 
both projectile and hand held.  The floor was a maze of 
metallic sawhorses, bars, hoops and practice dummies.  To 
Misa, it looked like a quasi-futuristic Bond trap.

"While working in the infirmary I took the liberty of 
setting up this little exercise via the ship's computer.  I 
believe this should give me an accurate picture of what 
you're capable of."  Kagato pointed to a padded man-sized 
practice dummy stationed in the middle of the room.  
"Here," Kagato handed Misa what looked like a metallic 
sword hilt with several buttons near the top.  "Your task 
is to destroy the practice target.  Begin."

After giving a weak laugh, Misa turned to the scientist and 
did her best not to sound too demeaning. 

"And what exactly," Misa held the handle by its end, 
letting it dangle, "do you expect me to do with this little 
toy?"

Kagato repressed a snarl, and then silently took out his own 
gravity saber.  Before Misa could blink, Kagato was on the 
other side of the room; his energy sword already activated.  
As Misa watched, the practice dummy that was now between 
them shuddered, then split neatly in two.

"That."

Misa blinked several times in silence before finally 
answering.

"Oh."

Kagato stood, his energy blade already deactivated.  Without 
turning, he addressed the magical girl.  "Since you serve 
no obvious use to me as of yet, you shall be instructed in 
the art of combat so as to aid me in our current task.  
Now," as he spoke, the carved practice dummy sunk into a 
hole in the floor as another, unscathed dummy took its 
place, "Show me what you can do."

Misa smiled, her baton already twirling in her hand.  "All 
right then Kaggi old boy, let me show you how it's done!  
CALLING MYSTICS!"  With a flurry of light and sound, Misa 
summoned what she considered to be a pretty good on-the-spot 
demon.  It was the energy saber she had been holding before, 
only now much bigger, sprouting feet and arms, and a face to 
boot.  The nose of the creature was the saber's energy 
blade.  "Now, Energy Saber-Thingie Girl, destroy that 
dummy!"

Before Kagato could comment, "Energy Saber-Thingie Girl" 
charged forward, eyes and nose both blazing with energy.  
With a mighty scream, the Love-Love Monster sliced through 
the dummy's mid-section with its energy nose like a hot 
knife through butter.  When it was done, Misa jumped up and 
down, clapping and cheering.

"Way to go, Energy Saber-Thingie Girl!  That will be all, 
thank you."  Before the demon could comment, Misa waved her 
baton, instantly causing the monster to return to its normal 
form.  The Gravity saber, now devoid of legs, clanged to the 
floor.

With a broad smile, Misa gave Kagato the V sign and beamed.  
"How was that for starters?"

Kagato looked first to the deactivated sword on the floor, 
then to the dummy and finally to the grinning girl at the 
far end of the room.  ".Interesting.  I guess you actually 
do serve a purpose after all.  This changes things.oh yes. 
hmmm."

Kagato was lost in thought.  `So this little one is a 
sorceress, is she?  Well then, this might be to my 
advantage.  It makes sense of course, the orb said he was 
going to pair me with someone who was as familiar with evil 
as myself, and of course he wouldn't have given me someone 
if they were useless, not for the job we have to do at 
least. Eh?'

Kagato snapped out of his inner monologue in time to notice 
the door at the far end of the practice room closing, and 
Misa leaving.  After looking around the room one more time 
Kagato chuckled to himself, knocked on his head lightly and 
headed out.

*** 

An hour later, Pixy Misa was standing outside the doors to 
the sick bay, debating whether or not to enter.  She had 
asked the mad scientist where he was headed when she saw him 
in the hall, and he and told her "some important research 
needed to be conducted."  As the ship didn't come equipped 
with a science lab, the med lab was the next best choice.

 Just before she was about to turn around and head for the 
bridge, the sleek metal doors in front of her hissed open.  
From inside, she heard Kagato say, "It's rude to hover, 
little girl."

Kagato was sitting on the same operating table he had awoken 
on several hours before.  He was unconsciously rubbing his 
arm as his eyes danced across a blindingly fast read out 
screen on the wall next to him.

Misa strolled in, her defensive `I'm better than you are' 
attitude practically dripping from her words.  "It's also 
rude to sulk, little boy."  

Kagato shot Misa a glance that could kill, then turned his 
attention back to the readout panel.  Before Misa could walk 
out Kagato spoke up, his eyes never leaving the readouts.

"I've been giving our problem some thought.  Seeing as how 
an assault in our current condition would be suicide, I've 
been looking at some possible alternatives."  Misa wandered 
over to where the scientist was sitting.  Her curiosity 
temporarily overrode her ego as she examined the display 
before the good doctor.  After realizing that it was moving 
far too fast for her to make heads or tails of it, she 
decided to do what she was best at.

Talk.

"So tell me, Kagato, how'd you lose all your powers?  Did 
Washu zap you with some kind of energy sapping thingamabob 
or something?"  

Kagato pushed some buttons below the readout.  Instantly a 
flat screened notepad and digital pen slid out from a slot 
in the wall.  While watching the readouts and writing on his 
pad, Kagato answered.
"How did you know about...?"

Misa pointed towards the display in front of the doctor.  
"Like I told you, I did some homework on you."

Kagato nodded in remembrance, giving an "Ahh that's 
right." before resuming his staring contest with his 
readouts.

".So?"

"Eh?"

Misa was sitting on a table across the room from Kagato, 
kicking her feet in the air out of boredom.  "So how'd you 
lose your powers?  Did you trip down the stairs or what?"

"Not quite."

"Then how'd you get so weak so fast?"

"I died."

".Oh."

Kagato continued to work as Misa wandered around the 
infirmary, idly twirling her baton and pushing buttons here 
and there out of sheer boredom.  After awhile, she 
remembered something that had been playing in her mind since 
Kagato had woken up.

"Whose Anata?"

Kagato froze in mid scribble.  Misa turned to look at him as 
he slowly put the notepad down beside him.  With a snap, the 
readouts stopped and the wall slid closed, hiding the panel 
from view.  Without turning, Kagato answered.

"How do you know that name?"

Misa could tell Kagato's mood had dramatically changed at 
her question, but she wasn't sure what way it was steering.  
Cautiously, without any hint of sarcasm or disrespect she 
said, "You called me that when you woke up, remember?  It 
was when you first got here."

Kagato nodded.  After several seconds he turned, sitting 
sideways to Misa.  For the first time since she entered the 
room, Pixy Misa could see the scientist's face.  She had 
seen his expression many times before, staring back at her 
in a mirror.  She knew what Kagato was feeling inside.

"She was my pupil.  I found her. I don't know how, it just 
happened.  She was alone, dying, desperate. I don't know why 
I took her in, but I did.  It was through her I was learning 
meaning in this world, but now."

Misa nodded, taking a step forward.  "They took her, didn't 
they?  The people we're going after."

Kagato nodded.  "I don't know why they stole her from me, 
why I'm alive or even why I accepted this impossible 
mission, but I do know this; to give up is the unforgivable 
sin, and I can't give up on her being alive.  Not yet, 
anyway."

When Kagato turned to face Misa, she saw that the contempt 
and scorn he had held in his face earlier seemed to have 
vanished, at least partially.  Whatever the case, she knew 
he wasn't spiteful towards her at the moment, and that was 
good enough for now. 

"When I saw you, you reminded me of her.  I guess I was a 
bit shaken at the time.  I apologize."  Misa nodded.  Both 
paused for a moment, letting the silence do the talking.  
Finally, Kagato decided it was his turn.

"So tell me, why exactly are you here?"

Misa looked up, her mind already drifting off.  "Eh?"

Kagato stood and walked over to a small square hole in the 
side of the wall.  After pressing some buttons, two cups of 
steaming, brown fluid appeared.  Taking on in each hand, the 
doctor turned to the magical girl.  "I was thinking while 
my arm was healing.  I know you're evil; otherwise you 
wouldn't be here.  I also know you have considerable power 
or can conjure entities to that effect, and that you've had 
some kind of revelation in your life.  So tell me, what did 
you do that was so horrible that you've been chosen to be my 
assistant?"

Misa paused, thinking about what had let to her being there.  
She thought back to her life on earth, battling that blue-
haired sap Sammy, the rush the feel of battle gave her, the 
joy of watching Sammy fight for her life, Rumia.

Other memories started to creep in.  Misa tried not to think 
about them, but the more she tried, the faster they came.  
She remembered her friend, Sasami.  She remembered that she 
was Misao, the weak.  She remembered her parents that were 
always there but never around.  She remembered the 
loneliness, the tears, the.

Misao.

She remembered the separation.  Misa was Misao and Misao was 
Misa, but now.

Misa shook her head and forced back a tear.  "Let's just 
say I was a feared and respected villain where I come from 
and leave it at that, okay?"  Misa was doing her best to 
put on a false front of confidence.  Kagato didn't buy it, 
but nodded anyway.  Without really thinking about it, Kagato 
offered one of the cups to the young girl.  Misa accepted 
the cup, drinking the thick, brown liquid.  She wasn't sure 
exactly what it was, other than good.

"Fair enough."  With that Kagato turned, downed the 
contents of his cup, tossed it into a waste bin in the 
corner and headed for the door.  Misa, while somewhat 
confused, followed suit.

"Excuse me?  It's rude to just walk out in the middle of a 
conversation, and besides where do you think you're going?  
Don't we need to get going to Jurai or wherever it is we're 
going?"

Kagato started down the hall, not bothering to see if Misa 
was following.  "Not yet.  First we need to pick up 
something on a brief stop, but after that we should be 
ready."

"A brief stop?  For what?  Hey now you're not actually 
thinking of trying to storm that palace, are you?  Come on!  
You said it yourself, we would need an army just to get 
close to the dumb place!  What are we picking up, anyway?"

"An army."

Misa stopped deadpan in the hall, staring at the back of the 
good doctor.  She was in no mood to take orders from a 
second rate scientist who couldn't even use magic, and now 
that they were heading somewhere, a somewhere that she had 
no knowledge of, she wasn't about to take anymore orders, 
not until she got some answers anyhow.

"Hey now, I think I'm entitled to a little more info than 
that!"  Misa was half-chasing the scientist down the sleek 
metal corridor, complaining under her breath all the while.  
Kagato ignored the sulking Magical Girl as he rounded a 
corner and arrived at the ships elevator.  

"Tell me child, where are my quarters?"  

Misa was so absorbed in her complaining that she nearly ran 
into the mad scientist's back.  "Huh?  What's the deal?  
Are you gonna just nap while we have a job to do?"

Kagato turned and glared at the girl behind him.  "As a 
matter of fact, yes.  We've got a good six hours before we 
arrive at our destination, so I would suggest getting some 
rest."  

As Kagato boarded the elevator, he nodded to the young 
magical girl standing before him.  "It would probably do 
you some good to get some sleep as well.  I'll need your 
powers at their peak very shortly."

Misa was about to comment, but at that moment the little 
voice in her head kicked in.

`Sleep is good.  Sleep is friend.  Get sleep.'

"Sweet dreams, Kaggi-pooh!  I'll see ya in six!"

As the elevator doors closed, Misa swore she could hear 
Kagato muttering something about murdering children.

*** 

By the time the training session had ended, the Souja II had 
prepared dinner for both Lord and guest.  As the man sat 
across a great wooden table, he silently nibbled on his 
steamed Batleth, his thoughts occupied by the events of the 
day.  To the man, the training session had gone surprisingly 
well.  The girl had been focused, alert and intent, never 
questioning her orders once.  While they could have trained 
for hours, the man knew that the girl needed food and rest, 
so he called for a dinner break.  Reluctantly the girl 
agreed, and after sheathing her blade she followed the man 
through a great labyrinth of corridors until they arrived at 
the dining area, which was where they currently were.

While picking at his food, the man decided to ask a question 
that had been bothering him since he had met the girl.

"Tell me, what is your name, child?"

The girl started and then fell silent, aimlessly poking her 
fork into a clump of steaming brown meat.  "Why. why do you 
want to know?"

"Well it only seems right that if we're going to be 
traveling together that I know what to call you.  So tell 
me, what is your name?"

"I. don't know."

The man stopped poking his steak and looked straight at his 
dinner guest.  "What do you mean, you don't know?  I 
checked your cerebral scans and nothing indicated amnesia, 
so don't play games with me child.  Now tell me, what is the 
name your mother gave you?"

"I don't know.  I don't remember my mother."  

"Then what did others call you?"

"Others?"

"Yes, others.  Don't tell me you've never been in contact 
with a humanoid before."

"The others." The girl stopped stirring her food, her fork 
sitting motionless in her hand.  "They always called out 
`hey you!' when they wanted me."

The man nodded.  "Very well then, I shall call you Anata.  
How does that suit you?"

The girl thought about it for a second and then nodded, a 
slight smile on her face.  "Anata. That fits, I guess.  
What is your name, Sensei?"

"I was once known as the Lord Kagato Hakubi of the House of 
Jurai, chief retainer of the Royal Guard and Master of 
Scribes, but it has been eons since I've gone by that 
title."

"Um. if you don't mind, could I just call you Sensei?  Your 
name's kinda long."

The man's smile grew a little.

"That's fine.  I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss 
Anata," the man said with a nod.

"Pleased to meet you Sensei," she said back.

"So," Kagato began, "do you like music, Anata?"

The silence that had been present ever since the girl had 
first come on board was for once forgotten as the two sole 
occupants of the Souja II spent the rest of dinner getting 
to know each other.  

***

By the time the elevator doors had shut, Kagato realized 
that he never did find out where his room was.  After 
wandering for a good hour, the mad doctor broke down and 
consulted a convenient holo-kiosk Grumbling, he re-boarded 
the elevator, this time with a newfound sense of direction.

Kagato's room was a small, egg-shaped purple area that 
offered one bed, a table, two chairs and a window showing 
the light of the stars as it bended around the ship.  With a 
word, "Lights", the room was illuminated with a soft, 
purple-yellow glow.  Sighing, Kagato laid down on the black, 
twin-sized cot and let his mind drift.  After making a 
mental note to ask the child why the entire ship was purple, 
Kagato closed his eyes and slept.

Misa's quarters were what she affectionately referred to as 
`her Suite'.  They were about five times the size of 
Kagato's, and decked in purple shag.  Stretching out on the 
gigantic, ultra-poofy king size, Misa yawned and mumbled 
something to herself about being beautiful before the Gods 
of sloth seized her mind, causing her to drift off.

*** 
SEVERAL HOURS LATER.
*** 

Several hours later, an explosion that took out the ship's 
navigational system and a fifth of the rear outer hull 
aroused Kagato from his nap.  Without even taking the time 
to rub the sleep from his eyes, the scientist bolted from 
his bed and headed for the bridge.

As he got there, Kagato did a quick mental inventory of the 
several hundred blinking lights and messages that adorned 
the ship's main control panel.  Cursing under his breath, he 
punched in a command to stop the klaxons that had been 
blaring ever since the scientist had been raised from his 
now-usual nightmares.

"Computer!  Status report!"  As Kagato scanned the 
holographic lists that appeared instantly before him, Pixy 
Misa sleepily stumbled in the door behind him.

"What happened?  Did we hit something?"  While in mid-yawn 
she heard Kagato say, "No, someone is shooting at us."  
Misa was now wide-awake and focused on the scientist's every 
word.

"Computer, give me a visual on our attackers."  Before the 
pair, a hologram appeared showing a sleek, black ship that 
appeared almost organic.  To Misa it appeared as if the ship 
had been carved rather than built.  Bewildered, she looked 
to Kagato for an answer, only to find him smiling.

"Well now, a Lipocarthus class Battle Cruiser.  I'm honored 
the Imperial navy would send out such a powerful greeter."

Misa scratched her head and pointed at the holo-ship.  "Um, 
if they're here to greet us, then why are they firing at 
us?"

"Because," Kagato grinned, "They want to kill us of 
course."

Before Misa could ask Kagato just what the hell he was 
talking about, the scientist turned to address her.  "Pixy 
Misa, if you would be so kind as to dispose of this nuisance 
for us?"  Kagato gestured to the ship on the screen before 
them.  Misa nervously chuckled.

"Sure.  I'll just go out there and ask them to leave.  WHAT 
THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, `DISPOSE' OF THEM?"

Kagato, still slightly smiling, eyed the ship on the 
monitor.  "That ship, Ms. Misa, is a Lipocarthus class 
vessel.  Its shields and hull are strong enough to allow it 
to fair reasonably well against even the new Mark V 
torpedoes.  As you may or may not know, we're not carrying 
any torpedoes and are cannons are pathetic.  That ship's 
hull alone is far to dense for this one to scratch even if 
we rammed the damn thing, however."  Kagato punched some 
numbers into the panel before him.  Instantly a new holo-
screen appeared next to the cruiser, showing a rather large 
piece of purple debris.  "...I do believe your `magic' 
should be more than adequate for the job."

Misa looked to the floating wreckage from their ship, then 
to the image of the Battle Cruiser.  As she stood there 
contemplating, Kagato saw a moment of doubt flash across his 
young assistant's face.  Then with a blink she turned to 
Kagato and smiled back.  "On second thought." Misa stepped 
back and began twirling her baton.

"CALLING MYSTICS!"

*** 

On board the Diamon a crew of about twelve sat on the oaken 
bridge, overlooking the tiny craft that had dared to enter 
their sector of space.  In the center of the bridge sat what 
would have constituted as the captain.  He was robed in red 
and black attire, sporting what looked like several large, 
black cotton balls on his right shoulder.  Idly he gauged 
the pathetic craft that his ship had already blown a large 
chunk from.  `To think,' he thought, `such a pathetic little 
ship.  A pity that it wandered across our boarders, probably 
while out searching for ore.  Too bad.' Half-sneering to 
himself, he gestured for his gunner to finish the job.

"Um, Sir?  Shouldn't we hail them first?  Standard siege 
protocol states that." The gunner was cut short by the 
Captain's icy stare.  With a gulp, he nodded, said "right, 
Sir!" and nervously prepared the blast cannons, all the 
while cursing himself for sticking too closely to the rules.  
As the gunner was about to flick the firing switch, he 
happened to glance at a holographic display of a large chunk 
of debris, and then froze.

The large chunk of debris was moving.

To be more precise, it was `swimming' with giant purple fins 
that a moment before hadn't been there.  Also, the gunner 
noticed that the debris had grown eyes and a tooth filled 
mouth to go with said fins. 

The gunner also noticed the debris was moving towards his 
own ship.

"Um. Sir?  We might have a problem." The gunner swiveled 
to address the Captain, who incidentally was also watching 
the swimming wreckage head towards his ship.  Before the 
wreckage got too close, the captain snapped to his senses 
and turned to his gunner.

"Private, I don't know what that thing is, but I order you 
to open fire immediately!"  The gunner complied, swiveling 
in his wooden chair and taking aim at the creature.  One 
moment, its gaping jaws filled the screen.  The next moment, 
a volley of missiles bombarded the creature, sending up a 
momentary cloud of fire.  As the crew of the black vessel 
gave up a cheer, the gunner watched as the giant fireball 
subsided. only to reveal a set of now much closer gaping 
jaws filling the screen.

Frozen with terror, the gunner could only look on as the 
giant metal fish-thing proceeded to take a bite out of the 
forward cannons.

*** 

From the bridge of their vessel, Kagato and Pixy Misa 
watched as Misa's latest Love-Love Monster, "Space Debris 
Fish Girl", chowed down on the now-crippled Battle Cruiser.  
Kagato looked to the beaming Magical Girl, nodding his head 
in approval.  

"Impressive."

"Thanks."  Misa watched as Kagato's hands danced over the 
control panel.  Slowly, the Battle Cruiser disappeared from 
the view screen, only to be replaced with what looked like 
blood red clouds floating aimlessly through space.  Slightly 
unnerved, Misa stared at the clouds, asking the scientist, 
"So what is this place?"

"This is the Soulless Sea, an area known for its violent 
and destructive inhabitants.  This is one of the few areas 
of space not claimed by the Jurai Empire or any of its 
lesser houses."  

Misa watched as the ship glided on through layer after layer 
of red mist.  "So why are we here, exactly?"  Kagato 
smiled and pointed at the view screen.  

"To acquire our army."

Misa looked and gasped.  Three more Lipocarthus class Battle 
Cruisers quickly emerged from the red mist surrounding the 
tiny purple craft.  As Kagato brought his own ship to a 
halt, Misa felt a tiny ball of fear forming in her stomach.

"Um, Kagato?  I don't think I can get all three of them 
before they destroy us."  Kagato answered by patting the 
Magical Girl on the head, instantly causing her face to 
twist with anger.  

"Not to worry.  They're here to talk, not fight."

As if to emphasize his point, the bridge suddenly echoed 
with a booming, male voice.  "Unidentified vessel, lower 
your defenses and prepare to be boarded.  If you resist, we 
shall open fire."

Misa looked to Kagato, who was now patiently standing by the 
control panel.  Half frightened out of her mind, she shakily 
asked, "Um, aren't we gonna do something?  I mean, are we 
gonna fight them here, or..?"

Kagato shook his head.  "Not at all.  Don't worry, child.  
I have a plan."

Misa nodded as the sound of approaching footsteps from the 
hall beyond the bridge reached her ears.  "Yeah, okay, so 
what's you plan?"

The doors behind Kagato slid open, revealing several men 
garbed in dark red uniforms, each carrying what appeared to 
be long, wooden staffs.  Calmly, Kagato put his hands on his 
head and turned to face his captors.

"We surrender."

Misa face-faulted as the guards surrounded them both.  As 
she was led away from the bridge, she couldn't help but 
think that the self-proclaimed mad scientist in front of her 
was truly insane.

*** 

In a world that could have been a billion light years away 
one moment and right next door the next, a woman sat amidst 
her shadows, watching the mad scientist and the magical girl 
through eyes that could see more than eyes should be able 
to.  With a sigh, she watched as Misa and Kagato were led to 
their ship's transporters; Misa's expression radiating death 
while Kagato looked so content that `mellow' might have 
described him to a tee.  With a gesture from the woman, the 
vision was gone, replaced with the image of a planet 
surrounded by a crisscross of tree-like ships, each one 
sleek and wood-like, and each one seeming to shimmer in the 
starlight.

All the while a thought ran through the woman's mind, 
something that she hadn't dared to think for what could have 
been countless millennium; then again, for her it might have 
been only yesterday.

"Sister, what has become of you?"

*** 

I hope you've enjoyed this heavily revised second chapter of 
the Villain's Crusade.  This story will be finished soon.  
Oh yeah.
  
Kagato & Co. belong to TV Tokyo, AIC and Pioneer

All C&C to BGlanders@aol.com or Ronoken@aol.com, 
please.also, Ronoken@hotmail.com is now up.

I have a page!  www.geocities.com/tokyo/gulf/6417