(Note: I'm leaving the battle in Lahan up to Fei's player. Shitan'll pick up after that. As for this post..... well, one warning - I am TERRIBLE at battle scenes. That should explain it all.)

==Something is coming.==

Yui looked up from the dishes at the 'sound' of her daughter's thoughts, eyes on the wall in front of her. She sensed nothing at first, but gradually, a dull rumble could be heard, shivering the air with its distant immensity.

Her eyebrows rose to her hairline. //Gears? Here? -Now-?!// She focused on the sound, doubting her senses. But as they grew closer, there was no mistaking it; it was the sound of a gear -- or rather, several gears, all headed in her direction. She thought they might be standard assault gears, by the nuance of the engines, but there was one...... unusual engine among the bunch.

The patter of Midori's feet brought her out of the self-induced trance. ==Something is wrong with them. Dad is already running down the hill with Fei. I couldn't tell him......==

"Couldn't......" Strange. There was no limitation to Midori's power, that she had ever seen. Why couldn't she reach and speak to her father? "Can you tell what's wrong? Is it something with the gears, or the pilots?" Yui paused, biting her lip. "Better yet, do you know why they're here?"

Her daughter stood silently, eyes wide and unblinking. If Yui had not seen her daughter delve so deeply before, she would have worried; the girl's pupils were dialated, nearly obscuring her golden brown irises, and nothing so much as a breath gave any indication that she was still alive. It stabbed at Yui with a guilt-tinged blade, to see her daughter so deeply...... moved into whatever mental realm that allowed her to read thoughts. If she didn't come back......

Just as she was about to reach out and shake her out of it, Midori shivered and squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her small fists as if she were angry, or in pain.

"Midori......"

==They aren't there. They're out already, and I think one of them is running away.== She sighed, opening her eyes and blinking as if the light were blinding. ==I don't know what else. Something was just...... wrong with them, and I can't tell. Something else is there, making it all black.==

'Making it all black'? Yui turned from her daughter, staring at the door -- at Lahan, or at least the direction of the little town. Shitan was already down there, with Fei...... and the ret of the innocent villagers of Lahan.

What 'dark' thing could possibly want to disturb that peaceful, obscure little hamlet?

What if Shitan was hurt? He was fast, skilled...... but no match to a gear on foot. He hadn't a chance against a dozen, if it came to that. Fenril had been left in Terrean with Melchoir, all those years ago...... and while he could undoubtably commandeer a stunned gear if he so desired, she didn't think he would be willing to jeapordize his cover.

She closed her eyes. //The fool man will let himself get killed before he does something to ruin his mission.// What if he -was- hurt? How would she know? What if.......

==He's somewhere behind Fei, with Dan.== Midori's hand tugged at her skirt, and Yui opened her eyes to meet those of her daughter. ==Fei is in that strange gear. I can't tell anything that's going on with him right now.==

Another barrier? What was it? She had never heard of anything that would block a telepath, unless it was a large ether emission of some sort. She didn't know from experience, unfortunately, but she had heard from her Grandfather that such barriers had been erected during the war against the Diabalos.

But Yui didn't envy Midori her talent; she had the feeling it was more misery than not. The child would have no illusions in life. While that would be good from a certain standpoint, it would also rob her of her childhood -- in fact, she believed it already had. Midori was mature beyond her years, and far too smart for a simple five-year-old. How often had she laughed, even, in the last three years they had been on the surface alone?

And what secrets did she harbor behind her silent eyes? What did she see in her mother, or her father, or the people of the village that no one else could ever hope to find out on their own?

Yui turned her eyes to the door again. "What about the villagers? If Dan is there...... are Timothy and Ali--"

==Someone is coming!!==

Yui froze, immobilized for a moment at the..... volume, she supposed, of Midori's mental shout. Yet as silence descended upon the room, she could hear faintly the sound of heavy, booted footsteps crunching over gravel as they made their way up the path just beyond the fence. The tread, and the carelessness of the noise, told her in no uncertain terms that it was -not- Shitan, or anyone else from Lahan.

==Spies. Solaris.==

Yui shook herself, glancing about the kitchen. Their back door was locked securely; but the front was unlocked, and open just a crack from Shitan's exit only ten minutes before. //Will he ever learn how to close a door properly?// They had grown so lax, in their years as part of the peaceful village...... He never would have been so careless, three years ago.

Sighing, she motioned for Midori to move behind the table, and walked to the pantry. "How close are they?"

==Close.==

She opened the door and stepped inside, staring at the object she was seeking. "......And they will not divert themselves."

==No.==

Nodding, Yui stared at the weapon, fingers twisting together nervously. If they were close....... She had to protect her daughter. While Midori was powerful in her own way, she had nothing in the way of offensive abilities...... despite her potential, she was still just beginning to learn her skills.

Where did that leave them? She was....... she was so out of practice. The last time she had picked up a sword was the Third Invasion, and even then, she had been lucky to survive. //Even masters need to practice, now don't they.......// Yet if Shitan was holding his own down below, surely she could defend her own home against two rogue Solarians.

But it was his weapon. Was that permissable? -His- weapon....... even as his wife, she wasn't sure she should take it up.

==They're closer. I don't think they are going to miss us. Just take it! He won't care!== A faint tremor echoed in her mind, mirroring the words.

Midori...... afraid?

The footsteps dragged to a stop just outside, and the outer door creaked as it swung open, propelled by the butt of a rifle. She saw, between the hinges of the pantry door, a pair of ivory boots standing at the threshhold. The inner wall, and a hanging plant blocked the rest of her vision.

"Irachten fcrast. Bayer niguon yo!" Midori flinched, backing up against the stove. The boots stepped inside, stopped just a hair from entering the kitchen. "Nil arme archtassen!"

Yui slid back, further into the pantry, muscles coiled more tightly than a spring. Her skirts brushed the floor, but the soldier outside didn't seem to notice. //Be brave, Midori. Hold on......// Her hand inched backward, running lightly along the shelves, seeking the hilt of Shitan's sword. Her fingers found the smooth, worn leather, and closed around the hilt like a vice.

A second set of boots appeared behind the first. "Ni hacht!"

"De ricnan operna yin! Deseu!"

Her daughter bit her lip, shaking her head ever so slightly, eyes fixed on the soldiers across the room.

"Ir licdassen!" The chairs crashed to the floor, and a blur of white leapt over the table, a long, naked blade painting an irridescent trail in the air.

In a flash, Yui was there in front of her daughter, the katana slicing a bloody line across the soldier's immaculate white uniform before he had managed to clear the table. He fell with a groan, sliding off the slick wooden surface; the other leapt back and drew his sword, left hand fingering the holster of the rifle at his side.

//Oh..... not using the rifle, eh? That arrogant?// Yui fell back into a defensive stance, eyeing the Solarian warily and bracing herself for an attack. She had no illusions that he would leave them alone - certainly not after she had just killed his comrade. It easn't likely hte two were capable of any sort of friendship -- not with the brainwashing and drugs Solaris so loved to pump into its expendable forces -- but he certainly wouldn't be pleased that she was ruining whatever plan they had cooked up before attacking the house.

Why -wasn't- he using the rifle, though.......? It seemed logical that he would simply want to kill her and be done with it........ or perhaps she was thinking too much -- spending a lot of time with Shitan tended to do that to a person.

And in battle, one isn't supposed to think; in battle, one is supposed to -win-.

Apparently, her opponent had the same idea in mind. He inched slowly around the table toward her, sword held in guard position, displaying caution his partner apparently hadn't possessed. She pushed Midori back, away from the table into the corner by the door, hoping she would be safe from whatever the soldier threw at her. He didn't posess anything indicating a skill with ether, and she hoped, fervently, that she was right in thinking he was solely a grunt, and not trained in anything arcane.

Yui moved first, darting forward, blade catching his shoulder with a wide swing. Blood immediately soaked through his uniform and she moved in again; yet her swing missed its mark. She had the satisfaction of seeing him run into the table, and immediately jumped at him, thrusting the katana through his gut before he had the change to regain his equilibrium.

He fell with a dull thud, not a sound escaping his lips.

She raised her eyebrow, feeling disdain creeping up on her. //That wasn't very hard. Is this what they're sending out to Gebler these days?// Didn't look like it would be long before Kislev managed to win eeh war, if that were the case.

==You're just like dad.== Midori's words came to her faintly, tinged by an emotion she couldn't quite catch. ==But he's mroe arrogant, I think.==

A small smile crept onto Yui's face at that, as she stood staring at the bodies littering her kitchen floor. "They weren't very good, Midori - that's not arrogance......"

==You were just too fast for them. I don't know why you think you can't fight anymore.== Midori crossed the room to Yui's side, giving the corpses a wide berth. ==Dad is worried...... really....... really......==

Yui glance down at her daughter, feeling the girl's small fists tighten arouhg the fabric of her skirt. Worried? Afraid? "Then...... well, why don't we go to the summit and see what's going on in the town? To reassure ourselves, at least --"

A tremor shook the earth, seeming to rock the house on its very foundations. Yui's feet seemed to fly out from under her, gravity slamming her into the hard wood floor before she could so much as blink. The world seemed to flare white, blindingly white.......

And then blindingly black, as the illumination flickered and died.

"W-what on......."

Solarian gears didn't carry any sort of atomics, did they? Surely nothing else could have created such a blast...... surely.......

==Hurts..... Can't go......==

Yui heaved herself up from the floor, stumbling along the now-uneven surface to her daughter. Midori was huddled up against the wall, in the corner of the counter near the door, shivering like mad. SHe flinched away from her mother's touch.

==Stay. Stay..... Don't go out there...... Don't go......==

Yui reached out to her again, gathering her daughter into her arms despite her violent shaking. "I won't, I won't......" She tightened her embrace, biting her lip as she rested her chin on Midori's head. She wouldn't leave, but....... but Shitan......

Where was Shitan? Was he okay? Had he been caught in that blast, whatever it was?

She prayed to God it wasn't so.

(OOC: Ugh....... please don't hold me responsible for this horrible piece of fiction. ^^;;)