Our Sister, The Idiot.

A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.

By Sunshine Temple

Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.

Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.

http://jtemple.florestica.com/

Temporary Backup Site.

http://www.fukufics.com/fic/

Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku

http://fukufics.com

C&C as always is wanted.

Our Sister, The Idiot.

Chapter 3: Dominating Climax

I leaned on the passenger seat and glanced over at the vampire. The apprehension roiled off of him almost as much as his hunger. I did not expect his thaumaturgy trick to work a second time.

In truth it did not really even work the first time, but we had to try it.

"Necromancers and Black Court working together?" I asked after a couple blocks of silence.

He brooded for a minute. I waited him out.

"It's a natural fit, Red." he eventually said. "Black Court vamps are undead and can make more undead. Necromancers play in that same icky park. Besides, no reason a Black court vamp can't be a necromancer itself."

"And the Stygian?" my tone was mild.

Despite that, he increased pressure on the steering wheel. At least he did not look at that bookbag he stashed in his box of phones and knives.

"Trouble. I told you: they replace parts of their minds with those of inhuman creatures. Skilled in magic too. One providing support to those corpse puppeteers is not a good thing."

"They expected to gain control of Dresden," I stated.

He snorted. "I mean, the Winter Queen herself can't bend Harry to her will. What luck did those bozos have?"

"She's different now," I softly said.

"If anything she's even more stubborn and headstrong. Not to mention harder to subdue. I mean she's a frikin' succubus," he snorted, with a bit of concealed ire.

"A baby succubus."

"Oh." Thomas continued to drive. "So... she's vulnerable?"

I nodded.

He eyed me. "To someone like you?"

"To someone like me." I gave a sober nod. That was our great weakness. We can be controlled by our mothers, and any demon powerful enough to capture us and dominate our will could become our mother.

He drummed the steering wheel. "You smelled something familiar."

I shrugged. "They got a supply of succubus blood too. It's not impossible to get, but it's a valuable commodity."

"They were trying to influence control her. How? Thaumaturgy?"

"Maybe something in her food." I leaned back.

"In her..." Thomas stared at me. "Those Renfields you puked up."

"That's what they're called? Yeah, those crazy fuckers. It's another weakness of ours: we get hungry in fights."

"Lots of supernatural creatures do that."

"And we tend do eat our kills."

"Lots of supernatural creatures do that," he repeated with a sigh.

"But ghouls and vampires taste like shit. Renfields merely tasted funky."

His gaze lingered over me, and I noticed the slight tensing of his muscles. He was fast, not terribly trained, but experienced. If he decided to start the violence here and now. Well... hopefully he'd remember that I can survive a car accident a lot better than he can.

"We're on a schedule." I cocked my head. "Meeting first, fun later, maybe."

Snorting, Thomas wrung his hands over the steering wheel. "Right. I've seen what kind of fun you like."

I rolled my eyes. I mean, by Silvan standards... well, I really had no place calling Kasumi's tastes vanilla. Given everything, Lieutenant Tendo was remarkably flexible, in both mind and body.

And Serenity... I had fed well on that trip.

"Still... I'm not sure there was some phantom succubus," Thomas pondered.

I glanced at him.

"Couldn't she just takeover Harry's mind? I mean that's what you girls do right?"

"Said the White Court incubus."

"It's different. Yeah, my father controlled his daughters but that's because he had power to spare. Well, he did one time. Once his weakness was exposed, the tables turned and Lara used hers..." He nodded. "It's like that?"

"It's not like Dresden is suddenly easier to dominate," I stated.

"If you're not a Winter Queen," he frowned. "So, a weaker demoness? Using magical trickery to... drug her? Make Halley long and tall weaker?"

"Why weaker? Dresden's stubborn, take every edge you can get. Mind magic's powerful; there's a reason it gets the wizards all freaked out. And the right thaumaturgy bond..." I spread my hands.

"Some demon chick getting control of Harry?" He glanced over at me. "Can you imagine-"

I smiled.

"Right. Harry's still missing."

I nodded. "But I doubt it's purely because of our sinister little demoness. Her crew hardly got started. I mean they were still bickering over their Words and mistresses doing a magical tail-measuring contest."

He laughed but sobered. "If you knew who their bosses were."

"Kemmler and Mavra and whoever trained your Stygian?"

The vampire eyed me. His lip quirked again. "Sneaky. You play the kill-crazy martial monster, or the dismissive demoness but..."

"It's no indulgent, indolent, lapsed vampire, wayward son, but it works."

He put his attention back onto the road. "It's not that straightforward."

"Nothing ever is with you supernatural types, it's all secrets and schemes," I grumbled.

"Says the secret agent demon." Thomas' snort was subdued.

I decided not to quibble with the whole contractor versus agent thing. Looking out, I tapped the window. "Aren't we meeting with a succubus operative from your family?"

"Tania? An operative? Hah!" This time the vampire snorted and laughed. "Oh, Red you're in for a surprise."

"Oh." I tried not to sigh. Part of this visit was to learn about things in my little sister's world. It was a secondary reason, but important. The eldest of my little sisters had her own tasks, but the primary was to get to BlackStone and tell her about events in Silvana: about Grandmother and Mother. Getting a lay of the land was just a bonus.

Vampire politics and posturing was not something I had patience for. That said, at least the White Court were tastier than the Black Court.

***********

The coffee shop was closed. That was not too surprising; it was a bit high scale to be an All-Night greasy spoon style place.

It was also a White Court asset. The demon wrinkled her nose a bit as we stepped in. People did more than get their coffee here.

Okay, nothing actually happened on the premises. The House had places for direct access. But coffee shops were full of business people getting a cup of Joe, or taking a break to do some work, students doing the same, even soccer moms and divorcees. People of all ages came and... mingled.

Again, nothing too overt. Even the social media page was squeakily clean. But there was a bulletin board to one side past the sparkling counter where people could put up fliers for services.

That is if they got the approval of the staff.

Honestly, Lara cared more about the networking and the power than the sex. Though for our kind one often followed another.

The redhead turned and watched me as I relocked the door behind us, turned on the lights, made my way to the bathroom, where I washed up changed into the spare emergency clothes I kept in my truck. I then got a couple of the machines running. I had stashed the Stygian's backpack under the counter. Watching, she shot me a quizzical look and then wandered around the cafe until she found a phone mounted on the wall in a little alcove.

It wasn't a pay phone, just an "anonymous" phone in case any customers needed to make a call. One that wouldn't show up on their call records, but would show up on ours.

She dialed a number, waited, and left a brief message. I wondered if she had directly called her daughters or had left a message with a mailbox at some other line that they would periodically check. Maybe they had set it up as some sort of group voicemail.

Still, that she was using a bugged White Court line had some sort of meaning. Did she want Lara to know about that number? Damn spies and their head-games.

Seeming a bit more relieved, she sauntered back and watched me for a moment.

"Yeah, Tania's late, big surprise," I grumbled.

"Not that," she gestured to the espresso machine I was setting up.

"Oh, when I ran a salon it had a coffee shop in the lobby. So, I had to learn how all the machines worked," I said as I busied myself behind the counter. "And how do you take your coffee?"

She leaned on a pillar and eyed the bulletin board. "Strong, dash of salt. Lotta yoga teachers in this part of town. Huh, riding lessons and more than a few au pairs looking for room and board," she drawled.

"I didn't think you were the type to judge," I noted.

The redhead laughed. "Where I come from we don't play quite so many coy games. Well... maybe Cecilia does. Though, she doesn't need to advertise."

I scoffed as I pulled out a packet of ground beans. Salt in coffee did many things, lowering the bitterness among them. And given her nature and that she wanted it strong, I was guessing she wanted some military-grade caffeine delivery mechanism and not anything my brother would call "froo-froo".

"Those are all humans Red, both the sellers and buyers."

She made a thoughtful noise. "What, you just skim off the top?"

"Do I have to draw you a diagram?" I asked as I got the beans and filter ready and set it up. With just the two of us and only a few guests coming, we did not need much.

I could make the "froo-froo" stuff Tania liked, which was why I got the espresso machine up and running. Then again, her goons liked well... the same strong brew the redhead did. I made sure there would be enough.

"Oh..." She at least looked a bit embarrassed. "Right, your manpower shortage," she added, rubbing it in

"Yeah, we can't just turn people; we have to do it the old-fashioned way," I muttered, bitterly. And that was a challenge enough. Again, I did not want to get into the problems Justine was facing. Not here. I would do anything for Justine. Anything.

I watched as the pot started to fill.

Nodding, the redhead was about to say something, her expression sympathetic, but she stopped.

My tension eased a bit as the machines started to gurgle. Good, I had enough people giving skin-deep sincerity. Sure, my brother understood a bit of what I went through, but if anything she was even more clueless. She thought that because she was some kind of supernatural sexual predator, she could understand what it was like to live with a Hunger.

"That ain't for her is it?" The redhead gestured towards the backpack.

"Who?"

"Operative Tania," Ranma's tone was wry.

"Yeah, I ain't handing that over to her." I fished out a few mugs.

"And you didn't trust it outside,"

"It was stolen from a bunch of necromancers and a vampire."

"No, that was the Stygian's gear."

I eyed her then watched the coffee pot fill. It took a while.

"I am familiar with Opsec," the redhead drawled. "If it's something I don't need to know, and it doesn't pertain to finding our wayward sibling, it's your business."

I snorted. "You're not curious?"

"Of course I am. But unless I beat it out of you, you ain't gonna tell me, and we don't got time for that."

I ignored her cocky grin as I filled a mug, added salt, and slid it down the counter.

She leaned forward and took a sip. "That'll do."

"Pretty accepting of secrets."

The redhead went back to leaning on the pillar. "We've all got secrets, vampire."

"Yeah, well, Harry gets pissy when anyone else is keeping secrets."

"Pissy or prissy?" she asked.

"Both." I might have smiled.

"Wizards are prima-donnas."

I laughed but thought as I poured a half a cup for myself. The redhead had not come alone; she sent her two daughters to the Carpenters. Empty Night, she had a big family, one she liked. She could have other daughters, other sisters doing who knows what. Or doing who knows who, they are succubae and I know my own sisters were active enough, especially when hungry.

"The prizes from your Stygian foe aren't directly relevant to Dresden's disappearance are they?" The demon sipped her coffee.

Exhaling, I eyed the bag. She was giving me an out. "They weren't the last time I tangled with them, which was also the last time they tried to have Harry be an unwitting pawn in their schemes."

She smiled "Was that so hard?"

I shook my head.

"The Stygians have a beef with the both of you, maybe Dresden is clueless of it. Sounds like that's why this Stygian signed on with this girl band of dark magic."

"And as you pried out earlier, the other two: one was one of Kemmler's Heirs and the vampire was sired by Mavra. Both the Heirs and Mavra are pretty pissed at Harry."

The redhead nodded.

"But that's not getting us close to her."

"And Tania will?" Ranma asked, impatience entering her voice.

I bit my lip. "She'll help with the cleanup, and she knows people in the prosecutor's office and other parts of city government. She'll get us started with connections. And we don't have to bug Lara directly... unless we have to."

Seemingly satisfied, the redhead leaned back and sipped. If her tail were out I could just imagine it giving a very feline swish as she waited patiently for the violence. If not for the coffee, I'd suspect she was about to take a cat-nap.

I busied myself with my own drink and getting things set up. About ten minutes later, she her cocked her head and shifted her stance slightly.

The front door unlocked, opened, and a man strode in. Mid-twenties, average height, he had close-cropped ash-blonde hair and moved as if he had training.

For one, he didn't linger in the doorway. Quickly crossing the fatal transition zone, he cut the room into sections, scanning each part. His suit had some tailoring that well-hid the light body armor and other gear he had on. Though it did enhance his fireplug of a body shape.

Of course the demoness took this all in and languidly turned towards him in a balanced stance with wide legs, one food behind the other and her knees slightly bent.

"Riley," I cautioned the man. He was one of the men my elder sister had hired. He was... management for a few teams, and had the privilege of working for Tania on more than one occasion, though he was rising in Lara's organization. "This is Ranma Saotome."

"Sir," he stated. Enlisted men had a whole language based around the minor inflection of that world. In this case it meant, "I understand you, but am not comfortable with this situation."

"Well, this a pleasant surprise," Ranma eyed him up and down. "Hollywood Marine or Paris Island?"

Riley tilted his head.

The redhead smiled. "Don't worry, it's nothing obvious like a tattoo showing."

"Hollywood Marine. Like the movies?" I asked.

Riley and Ranma shared a pained look at my ignorance. "No, the USMC has two training facilities for new recruits, one in Southern California and the other in South Carolina," she then gave Riley a questioning look.

Riley shook his head. "Sand Fleas."

"Ah, Paris Island," the redhead chuckled and let her stance ease back.

His tension did not ease, if anything Riley was a bit more wary. "And you?"

"This and that. Bit of contracting for a mercenary company that handles special problems, training people on combating non-humans," the demoness said, seemingly quite relaxed.

Riley was still skeptical. "Which company?"

She laughed. "Come on, It's not like I guessed your MOS." The redhead glanced at my confused look. "Military Occupational Specialty. Hell, I ain't my sister; I don't have all that stuff memorized."

Her attention went back to Riley. "You might be something in recon battalion. Either way, you've got the look of career NCO who suddenly found himself without a career."

Riley was stone-faced.

"People with good long-term prospects in the corps don't leave it to go work for vampires. No matter how good the money is," the demon's tone sharpened.

The man gave a controlled exhale.

I watched, fascinated by the one-sided conversation.

"Oh, I'm different. I'm a supernatural-predator working for humans," she gave a big, toothy smile. "It's not like I could get a job and... be myself in any military, well any military on earth."

Riley gave me a glance, seemed satisfied by my expression and went back to the tiny redheaded woman who was now pacing about sipping from her mug.

"No worries, this ain't an Accords issue. My folk's got no stake in that... well... other than my little sister, who we are looking for, but it's got nothing to do with the Winter Queen, or those Wizards. Probably," she flashed him another smile.

Riley's eyes widened.

"Yes," Ranma purred. Like a literal purr that a cat makes. I had heard my brother make a similar trilling noise when he... she... was happy.

"I'm that demoness. Have you seen Dresden? Oh, you have, maybe not how she is now but you've met before." Her eyes shone. "I'd say we can sit and chat over coffee, talk about the insults Dresden gave when you first met, but you shouldn't be keeping your vampire boss outside waiting for too long."

Shaking his head, Riley reached into his coat and took out his phone. He tapped out a message.

"Don't be that way," Ranma admonished. "Mooking is honest work. I just told you, I mook myself. I've done the 'go into the building first to make sure it's safe' plenty of times."

She leaned on the display case. "Course, when I get sent in it's kinda the opposite of the old 'put a canary in the mine first' if you get my drift."

"Could you be any more of a braggart?" I asked.

"Sure! I could summon my tail and whip it out right on the counter."

Riley looked confused and vaguely insulted, but mostly confused.

"Someone's briefing wasn't very detailed," Ranma said in a sing-song.

Perturbed, Riley stepped back and opened the door.

What appeared to be a young woman full of sensuality stepped into the room. Dark blue-black hair tumbled down slender shoulders. A white suit coat, blouse and skirt, all with matching silver trim, were tailored to be just a hair on the scandalous side of business decorum. Same with the grey heels that were just a bit too high.

Plump pink lips gave a casual smile as dark eyes glinted in a too perfect face of pale skin. My cousin Tania was young for one of us but she was blooming into quite the succubus of House Raith.

Riley stepped to one side and took position with the other guard Tania had brought with her. He was taller than Riley and looked like he bench pressed refrigerators, but his grey eyes were alert and he seemed extra cautious after getting a glance from Riley.

Tania was blissfully unaware of the communication between her mooks; she was used to turning heads whenever she entered a room.

The redheaded succubus did not disappoint. Her interest was frank and would only have been more obvious if her tail had been out.

Where Tania's gait was slinky and gave an instinctually seductive prowl, Ranma's was a perfectly balanced one where the beauty was a by-product. Like the elegance of a big cat slinking about. Tania was a predatory beauty; the redhead was a beautiful predator.

Tania's lips were about to quick up, but then the redhead's stomach grumbled. Loudly.

"Sorry, been a draining night," the demoness grinned, revealing her features were a bit paler than Tania's and a lot sharper in the cheekbone and chin.

"At least you're presentable enough," Tania sniffed as she turned to look at me, her periwinkle eyes had a slight silver sheen. "Unlike you, cousin. Is this how you dress when entertaining... guests?"

"Unlike you, we've been working." I sighed as I pushed out some cups, including a small one with the fancy brew I knew Tania liked.

"I think he looks pretty good, in a sort of Road Warrior goes business casual. You should have seen him before he washed up," Ranma remarked as she took a few cups and handed them to Riley and his man. She smirked at their awkwardness and then brushed past Tania.

"You're being forward," Tania murmured as if tasting the air. She then took a begrudging drink from her small cup.

"Not yet," Ranma assured.

Her eyes shone and she turned to me. "Yes, I was busy cleaning up your mess. Do you know how much work goes into hushing up a fire like that?"

The redhead gave a vague shrug.

"What'd you do, bribe Marcone?" I asked

"Easy. Blame Dresden," the redhead shrugged.

"Oh, is that your expert opinion?" Tania snapped.

"It's Chicago. Sweeping this stuff up shouldn't be much trouble. People don't want to deal with this, especially people in authority. That's why you have contacts in the Prosecutor's office, as an assistant," I added with a tiny twist of the knife.

Tania glared.

Ranma sipped. "Not an operative, indeed."

"Do you have any idea the mess I was dealing with?" she demanded.

The demoness smiled. "Yup."

I sighed.

"And since you're here and not actually helping clean up the remains of a scourge of Black Court and Renfields, some ghouls, and the body of a sorceress and a necromancer that were left in the burning building. Oh, wait... the sorceress was hit by a car, outside."

"You think you can come here and stomp around, make a mess and do whatever you want?" Tania demanded.

The redhead leaned back against the pillar and took a long sip. "Yup," she repeated.

"Tania..." I cautioned.

"Hush cousin," Tania sniffed. "I can see why you'd be accommodating to this... tourist, she is pleasing, in a rough and randy way, but we have standards."

The redhead sipped while giving a long, patient look. Then she winked at me and put her cup down

"Tania, remember what happened the first time you ran into Dresden?"

"Dresden's not here," Tania smirked, but the hand holding her cup did shake a tiny bit. "Isn't that why you're here, little demon? To find her? I suppose we should thank you for making Dresden more like us. Well, without the class," she sneered looking down her nose at the shorter woman.

The redhead chortled and ran her hands down, smoothing out her leather coat. "Oh, to be that young and inexperienced."

"You can't be much older than me," Tania sniffed.

"Experience." Ranma's eyes flashed. "Read. The. Room. Did you notice how your bodyguards are tensing up? Poor Riley's been silently trying to get you to shut up with his mind. The curse of the NCO saddled with a dumb officer."

My cousin spun around and stared daggers at Riley and his partner. "Is that what you think I am?"

"No, Ma'am," Riley said, pokerfaced. This time he tried to make his statement sound respectful.

"I wonder what he did to piss off Lara to get stuck with you. Hopefully it's temporary." Nodding thoughtfully, the redhead's attention went my way. "But Tania has already got the cleanup and cover up going. We good here?" she asked me.

I eyed the demon. Was she signaling she wanted to leave? Or that she thought Tania was not worth her time? Or was she trying to defuse the situation?

"I thought you were looking for your... sister," Tania stated. My cousin had regained her composure, armoring herself in smug.

The short demon nodded.

"The question is what will you pay for it?" Tania stepped closer.

Ranma leaned forward. "What do you have?"

Eyes shining, Tania's lips parted and she ran her nails over the redhead's forearm.

Feeling my cousin's Hunger from here, my own demon rose up.

Ranma had only experienced the nips and grumbles of my Hunger; she was now getting the full sex, drugs, rock and roll. Eyes glowing violet, she purred as her mouth parted.

Grabbing the wandering arm, she pulled my cousin in closer, and with a twist of the wrist slammed her body to the taller, thinner woman. Both moaned and with a louder purr, Ranma sidestepped and shoved Tania onto the counter.

Tania's little cup went flying.

My cousin's face just missed the two extra cups as her nose smashed the surface. The redhead pressed against my cousin and both gave little pained gasps as Ranma ground her hip into my cousin. One of Tania's arms was pinned between her body and the counter, while the other, the one she had caressed Ranma with, was in some kind of arm bar behind her back

Riley and his man immediately began to move.

"Stop!" Ranma ordered as she twisted the wrist she had a hold on and levered Tania's elbow to an even more extended position. "Don't drop those cups! Use both hands!"

The raw authority in her voice made me almost want to pick up a mug.

She met Riley's eyes. "Right now we're just having some rough foreplay." She pressed harder against my cousin. "Nothing you haven't seen before, eh?"

"What do you think you're doing?" Tania gasped.

"Oh, I didn't know you were a vanilla," Ranma teased as she ran her fingers down Tania's arm, mirroring my cousin's actions, but Ranma had the tips of her claws out and left tiny beads of pale blood in her wake.

"Who do you think you are?" Tania demanded.

Focusing on the two humans, Ranma ignored her. "Riley, I expect you and your buddy to keep two hands on those shiny mugs. If you let go, I'll assume you're trying something clever, and it won't go well for you."

The redhead gave a thin smile. "You'll have to explain to Lara how you let your ward get killed due to her own stupidity."

"If you kill me Lord Raith will make you pay," Tania said with more confidence than a woman with her face on a counter next to spilled sugar packets had any justification to.

"No." Ranma lazily ran her fingers down Tania's neck. She leaned closer and gave a hungry purr, her voice husky and throaty, a deep contra-alto. "Lara sent you. Knowing what Thomas told her. Knowing I am here"

Tania's cocky grin grew a bit as she tried to turn her head. "So what? You're no Dresden. You're not even a wizard, just some itty bitty wannabe."

Meanwhile I nudged my cousin and shook my head no. "Don't..."

Glancing at the pale blood on her fingers, Ranma rolled her wrist. "Ah so you're the canary tonight. Not your mooks. "

"Canary?" Tania gasped.

"Yes canary. You test," Ranma pointed with her finger. "Canary die? Nobody cries. Lara sent you."

Her purple eyes went up to me. "Should I be flattered or insulted by this offering?"

Trying to retain some dignity, Tania snorted. "You think you can act like Dresden, your big sister isn't here to protect you stupid bitch." My cousin arched her back and tried to squirm out of the redhead's grasp and flick Ranma's claws aside.

The demon's eyes lit up as her hand shot out, grabbing my cousin's other arm by the bicep, twisted and levered it down while her foot kicked out Tania's legs.

This time my cousin's face hit the front of the counter and her nose broke as the redhead dragged her down, Tania's legs flailing behind her, slumping to her knees.

I was reminded of the adage about not wrestling with pigs. Because clearly, Ranma did not mind the mess of spilled sugar and coffee and relished going down to the floor with Tania by taking out her knees and pinning her to the tile.

"How's the coffee boys!" Ranma shouted, turning her gaze to Riley and his partner.

The two men had taken a step forward.

"Keeping a firm two handed-grip?" Ranma's tail had appeared and had snaked out in front of Tania's face.

"You crazy bitch!" Tania shrieked. Then she looked at the tail and blinked in confusion.

"I warned you," I muttered, thankful that I had drunk half of my coffee. Though the counter was soaked and dripping, and I had to lean forward to get a good view.

"No, I'm not Dresden," the demon purred, her attention back to my cousin. "This is the part where Dresden would have some sort of quip, some nerdy line."

There was a rustling noise as filaments extended from the spade-shaped fins on the tip of her tail. It just barely brushed against Tania's temple and black hair was sliced away. The writhing filaments cutting like dozens of strands of razor floss shaved away a patch of her scalp just above the ear. A blood started to freely pour out.

And the redhead's hunger... rose. Her eyes flickered as she smiled and gave a deep and very satisfied purr.

"Ranma," I growled, my own Hunger pushing against me. Another sex demon having that kind of release next to me was something my Demon knew exactly how to handle.

"Yes?" the little redhead asked, not looking up. Her purple eyes seemed curious as she squeezed against the taller woman she had in a bone-breaking embrace.

"You've made your point," I glared at her, barely keeping my Hunger in check as my eyes turned silver.

She looked up. Her eyes locked onto mine. The sickly scent of our too-pale blood filled my nose pushing out other scents. Ranma, for her part, continued to stare, and inhaling, gave a languid, anticipatory smile.

My Hunger knew she was no doe. There was a challenge to her that was....

My Hunger responded, and if anything, the demon's smile grew while Tania moaned and whimpered.

The redhead snorted and withdrew her tail. "Honestly." She then licked the back of Tania's neck, up to her shallow head-wound, and, murmuring the happy noises a chef makes when satisfied with the flavor of a marinade, popped back to her feet full of pep and excitement.

I mopped up a bit of spilled coffee, then tossed her a clean towel. "Tania... Tania... Tania... Ranma is the big sister."

Trembling, Tania lifted herself up and winced as she put a hand to her head and use the towel to stop the bleeding. "Like you'd risk the wrath of the White Court." She sat on the floor, looking vaguely bewildered.

"Like Lara'd care. You think she'd risk my wrath?" Ranma went back to leaning on the pillar as she licked bits of blood off her tail. Moaning, the demoness rolled her shoulders and seemed to flex from the balls of her feet to the tips of her horns which had just emerged.

This time I raised an eyebrow. Lara not wanting to go after Harry's sister out of fear of upsetting Harry? Sure. But if Ranma thought her own skills were.... I looked at the redhead's expression. She was utterly serious. And utterly insane.

I shook my head. "You're not that crazy...." She had to be bluffing.

"Your wrath? You can beat up some young White Court vampire but you think you can dictate to Lara? Do you know her place House Raith, in the White Court?" Tania demanded.

The redhead glanced to me with a sharp smile.

"Not again..." I warned.

"Fine how about some banter? Just like Harry?" the demon asked me.

She glanced over and gave Riley a wave. "You guys can stand at ease."

"Do you want to bring family into this? Running under the protection of stronger relatives?" Kneeling down, Ranma then gave a rumbling chuckle and pulled up Tania's cheek.

"Little Hunger. Your Court calls humans kine, livestock, and you pat yourselves on the back for being able to survive hidden. You take pride in your ability to hide from mortals."

The redhead purred. "My Family openly rules an empire of millions and millions. We invaded worlds as legion, literal legions. I was at my grandmother's side as nations fell before us. Our fleets would darken the skies in conquest. Do you know why we took in Dresden? Killing the Red Court. My grandmother would call that a good start."

Her eyes burned violet. "Do not lecture me about wrath."

I had to keep a straight face. The... redhead was lying. Oh, maybe not in the strict sense, but I knew the elimination of the Red Court wasn't why the redhead had turned Harry. But, by asking the question like that...

Great, no wonder the Leanansidhe liked her.

I'll give my cousin this, Tania met the redhead's gaze. Though arrogance can be a supplement to bravery.

"But you're not here with a fleet," my cousin smirked

"No, I'm not," Ranma released the girl. "We've already got our foothold." she bowed her head to me.

I glared at her.

"You have a task Tania, of House Raith," Ranma snickered at the term. I then got a look from her.

I blinked.

Tania was also confused. Riley seemed a bit less tense and had motioned for his partner to relax. I suppose he was used to folks giving Tania "lessons".

The redhead sighed. "Look, Tania, you practically oozed with pride that you thought Lara had information."

My cousin's expression turned calculating.

"And I don't want to deal with an incompetent, so if Lara has info we can meet directly. If not, I've got other options." Ranma shrugged.

I kept a straight face. I was pretty sure the redhead's options would amount to shouting down the street. Or even worse, bugging the Carpenters, Butters the Polka Knight, that ectomancer Mort, or any one of Dresden's other associates...

Watching the demoness preen as her ego roiled about her, it was obvious that she was not her sister. Dresden was a detective. Dresden could investigate and find things.

Ranma... she was more like a guided missile. Maybe one of those fancy ones you could lob at a general area and it would follow a moving convoy to hit a specific vehicle. Maybe the ones that released rotating blades like some ballistic, self-delivering, Ginsu Cutlery sampler pack.

Whatever the warhead, she was devastating... if she could find her target.

No wonder she was chummy with a mercenary company. She literally had an army of mooks to do her legwork... and then clean up in her wake.

My stomach clenched as I saw her looking between Riley and myself. Oh no... I was her mook. And if my gut was right, she was going to ask Lara for more stuff.

Languidly leaning back, the redhead gave me a bright, big, almost feline, smile as if she expected us to have all sorts of fun. At least she had not brought me a dead bird or some other thing.

***********

I lounged in the passenger seat of Thomas' truck. "Riley seems nice. Shame, I didn't get the name of his buddy."

The vampire eyed me. "Was that true what you said?"

I resumed looking out the window and murmured.

He exhaled. "About the legions, and conquests. I know the part about you turning Dresden didn't go down quite how you said it."

I looked out the window. Maybe he'd let it drop if I pretended to be aloof enough. We went down the exurban road a few more kilometers.

"The Invasion was a shit show." I spat. "Oh, we dispatched the native leadership, took artifacts and books at will, but our allies...."

"No trust among demons?" Thomas's tone was wry

My eyes flashed. "Yes, I was betrayed and eaten alive. Grandmother... took exception to that. Or mission of conquest turned to one of extermination."

"The other demons?" he ventured.

My smile was sharp. "House Vephar had considerable land holdings. Prime estate on our Homeplane, far more valuable than the rock we were invading."

"So, you're not the pathfinder for an invasion of this world?" he half joked.

I snorted. "Please. This world is a sack of vipers. And that's just the supernatural powers. And then there's the adjacent NeverNever lands. Conquest isn't worth it."

Thomas mulled that over. It was not a denial on my part. Honestly, I would be shocked if Grandmother devoted a serious fleet to this world, and given the human and supernatural strength a serious fleet would be required.

I guess it depended on how much help my little sister needed. And for how long... it was the same problem all over, it was one thing to deliver a force, it was another to keep it supplied in the field for an extended period.

"But you just happen to turn my brother, the White Council warden and Winter Knight?" he asked.

Flicking back some of my hair, I chuckled. "Blame him for that."

Thomas drummed the wheel. "Fair."

***********

I drove my SUV through the gate and down the driveway towards Chateau Raith.

Well, driveway is a gross understatement. The road itself is better than half a mile, and that's not counting the winding curves though the well-tended forest between the wall and the mansion itself.

Ranma lounged in the front passenger seat. Despite her offer when the night started, she seemed to have little interest in the wheel. I suppose if she wasn't using a vehicle to ram someone, she didn't care about driving. There was a languid satiation about her, because unlike me, she had at least fed a bit during and after the battle.

At least she didn't puke up everything she had eaten in the warehouse.

Her diminutive form allowed her to almost sprawl in the large chair. However, her eyes were constantly tracking. Even before we reached the gate she looked about with a studiously casual air. Her interest grew and I saw her looking at the cameras and wire on the wall surrounding the property.

It was a rather Harry-like gaze. Similarly, she didn't seem intimidated by the size of the place even as we continued to drive for minutes without the mansion even being visible. Like Harry, she had a cocky confidence, but the redhead's was less devil-may-care and more "have a plan to kill everyone you meet".

There was a reason I had advised against my sister meeting... well... I suppose Ranma counted as a quarter sibling. Step-sister? I don't know. Genealogy's tough enough in the White Court without having to bring in the bizarre quirks succubae brought to the table.

Empty Night, that was also the problem. Ranma and her ilk were very attached to the term succubus. They felt it was their word.

Given the whole seductive bat-winged demon chicks with horns and tails, they had a pretty good argument. Problem was that House Raith thought we were the pinnacles of temptation and seduction.

And well... from what I had seen, while Ranma and Harry did have the ability; they were also some of the most clumsy and artless succubae I had ever seen. Sure, Ranma could use her mojo on Tania but it also looked like the redhead was about to eat her, and not just in the sexy euphemism way.

Now from what Harry had said, she had relatives who were much better at the succubus-act. But they weren't here.

Empty Night, not only was Ranma about as inept of a temptress as Harry, but she was even less diplomatic.

It was a terrifying concept.

In fairness, when Harry first met Tania he, at the time Harry was a he, choked her out, and not in the sexy euphemism way. That was after a brief shootout. Tania had stolen a child and tried to taunt Dresden about it.

Yeah, mouthing off to a demon who managed to get the better of the Black Court in hand to hand combat, was not the dumbest thing my cousin has done.

Honestly, I would not be surprised if Lara and her sisters had started a deadpool on when Tania would get in over her head. They were my sisters too, but since I hadn't been invited into said bit of gambling, if it did exist, I was not feeling terribly fraternal.

I guess I should be happy that Ranma only tossed Tania around and nibbled a bit

The redhead's utter lack of "give a crap" would have been incomprehensible if not for seeing how she dealt with Black Court vampires, necromancers, Stygians, and curelessly haughty relatives of mine.

That attitude would work for her... until it didn't. And there were plenty of creatures in this world that could take her out.

No wonder the redhead usually had minders to keep her out of trouble when on a mission. She was a walking diplomatic incident. Made worse because apparently she was a freakin' Demon Princess of some kind. I still don't know how much she was exaggerating, but if even a tenth of what she said were true about her family...

And here I was driving her right to my sister, the de facto leader of the White Court. I glanced back over at the demon.

Yeah, there she was cataloging every tree, shed, dip in the road. Her gaze even lingered on a few of the camouflaged defensives I knew about, and some places that I thought were just empty bits of cultivated forest.

*************

Oh. Fine. Consult Appendix N for diagrams, maps, overheads, and detailed notations on the Raith Family Estate. That will give you a proper analysis. Or at least something a certain blonde sister won't turn her nose up at.

Not that said stoic sister would be so uncouth, even if she was given the task of editing her big sister's rough ramblings.

I had to give the Raith credit. The compound had considerable defense in depth. There was an impressive perimeter security system and periodic surveillance to actively ward against infiltration.

However, the very high tech nature of these systems eliminated many magical countermeasures that could compliment defensive protection and warning. Which is of-note given the high likelihood of facing magical-based attacks.

And yet, to one of a paranoid bent, a-hem, that implies there actually are counter-magical systems that I did not detect. I got the feeling that there was something in the fancy forest between the gate and the house, but it would have been rude to stop and check. My horns certainly buzzed enough with the snap and crackle of magic.

Besides, the very density and sophistication of high-tech security systems acts as failure-based magical detection system.

The security detail would know something is going wrong when all the fancy cameras sensors start flaking out. Hell, some of the little gizmos I detected looked like nothing more than wireless repeaters.

Perhaps the overt magical systems present are inactive until needed, or of a type that does not degrade electronic systems. Consulting with local experts and subsequent intelligence has determined that the magical defenses of the property are likely to increase.

A further appendix, that I certainly will write, will show that manpower could be an issue given effective monitoring of such an extensive perimeter would require a large and alert contingent.

Observations are incomplete. I doubted I was going to get a complete tour.

But they indicate that garrison levels are platoon size, and mundanely staffed and equipped. Small arms and crew support weapons are likely. The Raith do seem more than sensible when it comes to hiring talent, favoring combat-experienced troops hired out of the service.

Riley and his friend did not seem to be atypical for the caliber of men Lara hired.

Training and alertness are of good quality, and are integrated in a support role with NH residents. I could spot small arms emplacements and smell explosives positioned at critical bottlenecks.

Heavier weapons were not readily obvious. Despite this, vehicle mounted heavy machine guns are well within Raith's capability and budget. Additional sources are to be explored for the procurement of man-portable missiles or other systems, though the interest in having systems hardened against magical interference will limit their options.

The mansion itself has signs of retrofitting to add hardening and defensive positions. Egress tunnels, safe rooms, and other hard points were not observed, but given the resources given can be expected. Tunnels are especially likely given mentions of caverns on the property.

The perimeter systems and sheer distance (250 meters at minimum) from wall to mansion point to the necessity of a quick assault. Allowing time for the defenders to prepare would dramatically increase the difficulty in acquiring any targets. (Not to mention the capabilities of most relevant targets. See Appendix N.2).

Given the limited roads exiting the property and the relative lack of traffic adjacent public roads, one does wonder what countermeasures they have to protect assets when in convoy.

The Raith contingent has the capability to travel with heavy escort, but as earlier events have shown, they do go about with minimum guard when the situation requires it.

End Chapter 3

And Ranma shows a bit of her... diplomatic side. Though don't think for a second Lara didn't know what she was doing sending someone like Tania to meet with someone like Ranma. Which does little to settle Thomas' mood.

I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf. Special thanks to J St C Patrick for going through this so it can be a Christmas treat. There's one last bit that's being worked on.

And on my Deviant Art page is some Holiday themed art and more art of the whole BlackSkyvian Fleet project

https://www.deviantart.com/sunny-temple