“We’ve got trouble, right here in Konan city! With a capital T and that rhymes with C and that stands for Celly!” Orpheus half-explained as he ran by, grabbed Anaera’s arm, and pulled her behind him like a flag.

“Or-or-or-or-phe-u-u-ussss,” she yelled as she hit the ground and was dragged, bumping behind him, “I c-c-can run!”

“No time! Susanne and a new ally are in trouble! You haven’t met the other one yet. She’s Tasuki no Otaku, and she’ll be your ally.”

Anaera could only close her eyes as she was dragged behind her guardian at an insane speed. She wondered what her pants were made out of, because they were holding up amazingly. She wondered how Orpheus could talk so clearly while running. She wondered how long he had been gay…

“Worry about my orientation later,” he said as they came to an abrupt stop. “Now, you have to fight. See?”

Anaera looked into an ally across the way and saw the fight. It looked bad. “You’ll be with me, Orphy?” she asked as she picked up the hilt hanging from her neck and placed the spot where the blade should be over her heart.

He looked her in the eyes, “Yes, I will.”

Anaera closed her eyes, and pulled. She screamed in pain as the sword her father had given her came out of her heart, its blade the same color as her hair and cold as death.

Mercy fell to the ground, unconscious, but her mind carried on the fight. In her dream, she was powerful and Tigger was there. They were going through a portal…

Susanne braced herself for the shot to come, but before it could, a sword made of midnight slashed down through the air, and sliced the entire barrel of the gun away, all without a sound. Then, the air in front of Celly wavered and there stood Anaera, screaming in rage and pain, wearing a black helmet. She pulled her ordinary sword from its sheath on her back, so she had a weapon leveled at each antagonist.

“Who’s first?” Anaera asked Nyx and Celly. Orpheus moved around her to the unconscious girl with blonde and blue hair, who could only be Tasuki no Otaku. “Is she all right?” she asked the mouse-colored man, as she stood ready to fight.

“She’s not badly injured, but I think both of your allies could use some of your – help.”

Anaera nodded and resheathed her katana. “This might sting a bit.”

With that, she launched into motion -- and just in time because Nyx and Celly were NOT going to stand there with swords at their throats. Celly dived for her BBBoD and Nyx was pulling another weapon from her Hammerspace.

“I’m fine!” Susanne called as she took a fresh grip on her Silence Glaive and faced Celly again. “And thanks!”

Anaera vaguely registered Susanne’s comment as she made a high-speed assessment. She left Celly to Susanne and went after Nyx before she could finish pulling out an even larger gun. She grabbed Nyx’s upper arm and pulled her into a lock, with the silent black blade at the girl’s throat. “You have something I need,” Anaera whispered, and slit her throat. She held the blade against the wound and felt the Nyx’s life energies jolt up the blade and into her. It hurt like Hades, but the blonde girl needed help. Orpheus knew what to do. He picked up the unconscious girl and brought her to Anaera, who was surrounded by a sparkling black haze. Anaera reached out her hand, and transferred life Nyx’s life energy to Mercy. She sent enough to heal the girl, but more still seemed to be coming from Nyx! What was this woman? She should be dying! The energy was overloading Anaera…

Orpheus saw what was happening, and set the waking Mercy down. He grasped his charge and pulled her away from the immortal. He should have known! But he had been too busy thinking about Nuriko! He had been selfish, but he’d make up for it now! “Concentrate the power in the blade, Anae!” He felt her nod and then saw the black aura move down around the sword. “Now, think of you father, and CUT!”

Susanne was having trouble once more. She hadn’t gotten to Celly before Celly had gotten to her BBBoD. And Celly was laughing at her. Just to mock her, the loony had not changed the BBBoD into her blade and was fending off Susanne’s Glaive with a glorified club! And it was working, too. Susanne was tiring, finally, and her wound was slowing her up. Celly was about to start laughing maniacally, when something else happened.

Celly looked past Susanne to see Nyx collapse. The laughter died on her lips, and she snarled. She changed her BBBoD into the obscenely long sword and would have pressed the attack, but she was confused at what happened next. Orpheus guided Anaera’s arms to cut AIR. The space between her cuts turned black, and then, there was thunder without sound. It knocked both Susanne and Celly off their feet and sent a blast of warm, strangely scented air over them.

Anaera looked in astonishment at the portal before her. She had never done that before.

“I helped,” Orpheus explained. “I thought you might want to see the old place.” With a smile composed only partly of humor, he went over and slung a disoriented Mercy over his shoulder.

“Susanne, come on!” Anaera called.

Susanne got up, her Glaive still in her hands, and walked the few steps between them. “What is that?”

“Our escape route. We can’t possibly hope to win right now. Please, step in.”

“Where does it go? And besides, it smells funny in there!”

“I don’t care what you smell! Now get in!”

“Wait!” Susanne cried as she was unceremoniously thrown through.

“I don’t have time for this,” Anaera complained, feeling her legs start to turn to jelly and sensing Celly preparing for an assault. “Orphy?”

“Got her!”

The dazed Mercy looked into the portal and said fuzzily, “I just had a dream about this!”

“Tell us about it later,” Orpheus said as he tossed her in. “Now, where’s Roger?”

“Coming!” the British tiger replied.

Anaera looked over to her antagonists. Celly was checking on Nyx, which explained why Anaera was still alive. Anaera’s eyes widened. Nyx was coming back to life! She had to hurry. She turned back to the portal. Wait! Did she just see TWO tigers jump in. She was too tired and in too much pain to be certain. And too confused.

“I’ve got you, Anae,” Orpheus said. He picked her up and carried her through the portal. “Welcome to Hades,” she heard him tell the two girls before she passed out.