Sailor Jupiter Interregnum 3

[Daniel Jess Gibson]

Sailor Jupiter Interregnum 3

Disclaimer - I do not own the characters of Ranma 1 / 2, NGE, Tenchi Muyo, or BSSM, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Gainex, and AIC Productions Naoko Takeuchi, respectively.

The previous chapters 1-19 and Sasami 1-3 can be found here


. . . The Japanese-built S-61 raced through the air. Like the American Sea King, Asuka thought idly, then focused on the young woman who piloted the craft and the odd crest on her shoulder patch. "You were looking for this thing, weren't you?"

. . . "We were looking for what depopulated a freighter on its way to Vladivostok from Sapporo," the woman replied, "As you can guess, the Soviets were a little put out that the freighter had to be boarded and stopped. They have not been forthcoming about what they discovered aboard."

. . . Asuka didn't want to comment on her opinions of the Russians. Instead she looked around the helicopter. Packed in like cattle, she thought of the cargo area, We set off in pursuit of the monster, and no one wanted to remain behind. Why? If I had half the brains I tell people I do, I would have left as fast as I could, and run in the other direction. She glanced at Kodachi beside her as the pair sat in the aft-facing jumpseats behind the pilot and co-pilot. I think only the two of us are properly scared. Tate looks ready to leap onto the thing with a sword in his teeth, the others are either too scared to do any good, or don't seem to understand what we're facing.

. . . "When does your ride get here?" the pilot asked, "I think we can get you a wig too."

. . . "What?" Asuka asked, irritated about having her thoughts interrupted.

. . . "I saw enough of the battle at the Diet building to recognize your face, from under the wig and the fuku. You may have looked and talked like them, but you didn't fight like them. If you had, you would have killed Beryl, and leveled the heart of Tokyo. I appreciate that you didn't do much urban renewal."

. . . "My 'ride' will be here shortly," Asuka replied. He just needed to find a babysitter, she thought. "As for the psychological warfare aspect . . . what eats Jellyfish?"

. . . "Gourmets," Tate-chan replied from inside his own world.

. . . You think you've reached an epiphany, she thought, You've just fallen in a hole. The same one Raccoon seems to throw himself in. Well, Tate-chan, you aren't nearly as stubborn or stupid as he is. You, I will get reunited with your love. If I have to drag this entire stinking universe into the woodshed and make it howl!
------------------------------

. . . Hotaru checked the kotatsu and made sure all the eggs were covered and warm, but not too hot. 'Coddled, not poached', she remembered the huge creature's instructions and shivered, He's too scary to be a cat! That's not a Mooncat, that's a space station!

. . . She pulled out her homework and began to read aloud to the eggs. Make somebody else suffer through English class, she thought, At least we got rid of that crazy size-changing English teacher before I had to take her.
------------------------------

. . . Tate-chan lamented, To be denied another chance at this monster! My blade and I wounded it grievously, and it fled when wounded. If I could land but atop it. If Asuka and I could smite it from above! he thought and considered the battle, We would give it no place to retreat to! It would be like the battles told only in legend! Such a feat would stir the blood of this flabby nation and remind us of our glorious history!

. . . "Get in closer," Asuka shouted into the helmet's microphone. There were not enough helmets to go around, so he was not privy to the other end of the conversation.

. . . From `Taisho` Langley's expression, woe betides our foe. While the fates might show mercy, he thought, She assuredly shall not. She also seems the only one who can track our dire foe.

. . . "We can't do that!" Third Rikui Imai shouted, "We can't attack without -"

. . . Tatewaki's blade before the woman's eyes silenced her. He didn't point it or touch her with it, just turning it over and over. Merely to catch the light. "You cannot, we can," he explained over the engine noise before he withdrew the blade. "Do not distract the pilot," he added loudly, and clearly enough those farther away could make out the words. I cannot make this too blatant a threat, he knew.

. . . The woman gulped and nodded.

. . . He spotted his sister pointing backwards and shouting. He looked back through one of the door windows in time to see an F-15J go down in flames, as two of the `flying saucers` closed on the helicopter. In the distance, two spiraling smoke clouds marked the fate of two other fighters. They have engaged our foes, and lost, he realized as he glanced around, And we are more vulnerable than I suspected. On an open field, I might be a match for such a foe, or both of them. Or if I leapt atop one . . . but from within this vehicle, crowded as it is . . . he didn't let himself finish the thought. He glanced at his sister. She replied with a small shake of her head. She has brought none of her weapons or chemicals, he realized, as he glanced around the interior, Nothing aboard will serve as an adequate substitute on such short notice. He looked at Asuka and had his heart torn by the agony of her expression. The situation will not allow me to offer words of comfort, that we shall fight nobly.

. . . A look of grim determination replaced her expression.

. . . Never have I gazed upon such fire of spirit, not the pigtailed girl, nor Tendo Akane, nor even Ami-chan possessed such a soul-inferno, he admired the power of the girl, This is no fire to warm a lover's heart. This has all the kindness and mercy of a forest fire, no malice and yet no mercy.

. . . Asuka released herself from the seat's straps, and moved towards the door. One of the soldiers attempted to hold her back. She casually shoved him back into his seat, hard.

. . . What she has become, shall not be denied, he thought as he released himself and followed, positioning himself behind her as she threw the side door open. He grabbed one of the restraining straps in an iron grip and wrapped his other arm around her waist. Perhaps whatever she has become has dispensed with such petty, human issues, he thought as the wind and noise tore at him, her hair whipping his face until he was certain it would draw blood, It may be hubris, but perhaps I can pull back a human to us.

. . . He felt the heat coming off her body, yet it was not a physical heat. The heat battered not at his body, but his mind, his emotions. The heat of anger, a fury at stupidity, a rage that evil profits and virtue does not, a bitterness at the wasted potential of prejudice, and hysteria at the institutionalized stupidity of 'we've always done it that way' and 'not invented here'. All this and more, he felt it all battering away at him, yet he refused to let go, Anger, hatred at everyone and everything in the universe, the kind of anger only a frustrated parent or a disappointed lover could have. The madness of one who loves too much and too deeply, and now has been hurt too often by that love. Tatewaki unashamedly shed silent tears at its sadness and beauty. He felt this anger and hatred crescendo thrice, and in each, he felt within it, a desperate sliver of hope. Somehow that this time it would be different, this time what she did would matter, he realized, as if it was his own rather than Asuka's thoughts, That this time she could save those she protected, those she cared about. He had no need to see the outcome. Even the maddest of gods would have fled such an onslaught.

. . . He pulled her back from the door, kicking it closed as he carried her back to her seat. She was unresisting, as if exhausted beyond life or caring. She glanced at him out of the shell, her expression filled and twisted by her self-loathing.

. . . I beg forgiveness, he berated himself, I have no words. He sat himself in the jumpseat and gathered her in, closing his arms around her. Perhaps I did pull back a human, he thought, A terribly wounded one. For all my turmoils and troubles . . . I have had not the tribulations I felt from her. He responding to her laying her face on his shoulder and weeping by supporting her head. The terrified soldiers buckle us in, he thought as he glanced at 3d Rikui Imai, She looked into Hell, as the foul Hibiki always claimed, and she escaped. She too has been scarred by getting a very good look. I understand, I truly do. He looked back at the girl cuddling in his lap. She is nearly as tall as I am, yet now seemed tiny, even fragile, he noted as he glanced around, I would assure these frightened soldiers that she shall not hurt them, if I could escape the profound revelation that concentrates my every thought. A momentous clarity that even the gods would envy. I had called her my 'pigtailed-goddess' as a tribute to her beauty and spirit, and that they had assured me that the sorcerer Saotome and she 'were of the same soul.' I had foolishly taken it to mean that boorish fool was first wedded to, then the same person as that coquettish paragon of feminine charm.

. . . I now discard both those thoughts out of hand. It is clearly impossible. The time I had seen the change, and had it rationalized away: Head injuries, my dear sister's potions, stage magic, some trickery by Tendo Nabiki, who alone seemed to be able to make the sorcerer dance to her tune. He let Asuka settle in her arms as he held her, reminding her that what she feared, isolation, was merely fear not fact. I have realized that my flattering tribute was closer to the truth than any has yet considered. Saotome, both of them, were the soul of godhead. It explains the ease with which defeat after defeat struck me down at Saotome's hands, both of them. It likewise solves the riddle of the pig-tailed goddess's reticence in relation to love, and the sorcerer's rejection of the fire of Tendo Akane. Mighty among mortals I might be, but that is as nothing compared to a god. Davis too defeats me with contemptuous ease, if he does not spin the world around me like a top instead. He, as did Saotome, wielded powers beyond those of mortal man. Likewise Asuka Soryu Langley has just demonstrated powers that would have leveled a regiment. They are gods! And they do not wish to be.

. . . What they required was never an arrogant mortal to challenge their might and cunning. They needed the human touch, he thought, They had been stolen from their homes, yet rather than lay waste to the cities of Japan, then the islands themselves, their energy and fury were spent on the hunt of the demons those fools had released in their search for Saotome. He frowned at the episode and their fervent denials. Even gentle Tendo Kasumi was not immune to the mad scramble. Until they replaced him as their son and heir with Hibiki. Bah! Even unclean Saotome was a greater warrior than Hibiki.

. . . Now they hunt these new creatures, without regard for any worship, any songs sung in their honor, or prayers offered to them. `Just` simple restauranteur , `just` a schoolgirl. The facade wears thin. Perhaps the House Kuno lacks the wit to flee what must surely befall those in the path of a god. If that is the case, I now understand why I and my oft-demented sister have been chosen. Asuka Soryu Langley could cast down foes a hundred times the match of both Tatewaki and Kodachi Kuno, with an ease that surpassed description. What she needs is a guardian of her soul. That innermost place where hope still reigns above anger, frustration and despair. That I - that we shall do. Against the evil that threatened to return one of their number to those who clearly were undeserving, they refused to strike with all their force. Turning that rage to protect the homeland of their tormentors, because 'it was what was done!'

. . . Tatewaki smiled, he held the girl in his arms, How often I had wished for Tendo Akane, or the Pig-tailed Girl to so accommodate themselves. Yet for Asuka, it is and shall remain different. As lovely and inspiring as she is as a woman, the Scion of House Kuno has a sacred mission! One I shall neither fail nor betray. Perhaps my sister would understand the chance we are being offered. Perhaps she would understand the responsibility, and embrace it firmly as I have.

. . . "Tate," Asuka said, "You're squishing me."
------------------------------

. . . The helicopter landed quickly. The troops poured out. I guess they don't want to be around me, Asuka thought as she scanned the skies, I shouldn't expect anything else. The people here don't know what to make of me, friend or foe.

. . . Koda-chan put her hand on Asuka's shoulder and pointed towards where the temporary command post had been set up.

. . . Asuka tried to ignore the fear behind the girl's smile. She knows too, she thought as Tate-chan led the way. "Commodore?" Asuka asked as the man looked up from the maps and reports.

. . . "Who else would have been put in charge of a monster that eats people?" the man said with a half-smile, "No officer with hopes of career advancement wanted the job."

. . . "Do you have Cabinet approval to use all these troops?" Asuka asked as she approached the map table.

. . . The man chuckled. "Soon, they promised me. I have an unofficial report that something else is on the way."

. . . "Nobody will tell me what eats jellyfish," Asuka said with mock anger, "So I called up someone who will eat nearly anything."

. . . "Perhaps not as you think." The man stood and walked to a map of the South China Sea on the tent wall. "We have another problem. A whole cluster of winged people who apparently can fly," he ignored the sick look on Asuka's face and continuted, "They are vectoring towards Tokyo. Fighters will attempt an intercept."

. . . "Call them back," Asuka said with alarm, "There's no weapon on a modern fighter that can engage those creatures."

. . . "You're forgetting the Vulcan cannon. Twenty mil works on nearly anything."

. . . The helicopter pilot arrived and saluted "Lieutenant Takarada reporting." She held the salute until he returned it. "We have a report of an unknown air - airborne object - coming from the south. Large, white - "

. . . "White? Not black?" Asuka asked.

. . . "Yes, ma'am, white."

. . . Where did he get off? Going after them . . . Asuka wondered, Oh, I know, and I'll bet Jeff is there too. So much for the Chinese invasion, and may God have mercy on their souls.
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. . . The sky at this altitude is a pleasant violet, the Scholarly Dragon thought, as he flew some hundred and ninety thousand feet above the Sea of Japan, And twenty miles below . . . He watched the sandy-brown object awaiting the cue to act. And twelve miles below him, he thought as he watched the `Chinese Invasion` approach the coast of Japan, They send their best, but it cannot be enough. Poor, brave fools. The flying humans, and the few `magical` sleds carrying still more warriors faced four F-15J's.

. . . And the results of the Chinese fighter attack are replayed with different weapons, different targets, and the same results, he thought as the smoke trails of a dozen radar-guided missiles crossed the thirty level miles between their launchers and their targets. There go the fireballs, and the missiles take the bait. Too small a signature from the people, and too big from the plasma cloud. Run away, your IR homers . . . no, you have to try, don't you? If it could draw off your Sparrows, what makes you thing your AAM-3's will do any better?

. . . He watched as this second wave of missiles raced after the decoys spewed by one figure amid the formation. Then the fighters closed to gun ranges. Against the Ki blasts and maneuverability of those targets . . . he thought as the fighters dodged and wove among the targets who fired from seemingly every angle. First, a fighter belched smoke and dove for the false security of the deck, then another simply went into a ballistic path. Crew killed, he thought as he watched the boy tip over and begin his dive, Couldn't wait, eh? Go rescue them, I can wait and adapt.

. . . The third fighter tried to drive the flying figures away from his wounded wingman, only to fall victim to the same attack. The fourth drove for the heart of the formation. Idiot, there is such a thing as an unwinnable . . . his thought trailed off as the fighter received so many hits it simply fell apart in the air, But you have thinned your screen to chase the cripples. Your pique will be your undoing. He tipped over and began his own descent.

. . . Far below, black breath slammed into the wall of flame, as the Phoenix-god struggled to maintain his fire-shield. And the others swarm in, the Scholarly Dragon thought and watched, knowing even as he accelerated, it would take time to reach the battle, Good, you tried and could not breach the defense, now you return to the plan. He thought of the rapidly twisting and turning dragon, as the Phoenix-god and the `dragon` prince called for more and more of their troops to drive it off. Troops who had been lobbing their parting shots at the crippled fighters limping home turned back to their true calling. Draw them off, draw them in, he thought as the sandy-brown creature seemed to squirm like an agonized earthworm, while in the proper scale, the maneuvers had purpose and fluidity.

. . . More and more warriors were drawn to drive the creature away, drive it down to the water, where it could be dispatched or captured. So, Prince of the Musk, you want it alive, and your comrade does not, he thought with a smile, But you have not caught it yet. And you have not considered that it might be a feint, wheels within wheels. You shall not have the girl against her will, I shall see to that!

. . . He opened his jaws and slavered at the change from triumph to terror he saw for a mere moment.
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. . . Asuka ran up to Stirogi as the dragon landed. "Not that I'm not happy to see you," she greeted the creature, "But I am confused."

. . . "He sent me," the dragon said and shivered, then looked around nervously, "I didn't squish anyone did I? He was most specific on that!"

. . . "Nope, you even missed the cars, congratulations, a truly terrifying landing with no property damage." Asuka patted the dragon's leg. "And don't worry about him, he's just an old curmudgeon."

. . . Stirogi stared at her, then in a loud voice proclaimed, "We need a doctor over here, she's completely delusional!"

. . . "I'm a doctor!" a man in a white lab coat said as he walked up to the pair.

. . . "If you say 'What's up Doc?', I'll tell him you ate somebody!" Asuka threatened. Great, she's learning Raccoon's sense of humor too, Asuka lamented.

. . . "I was just going to ask if I'd ever play the violin."

. . . "Could you play it before?"

. . . "No."

. . . "Then my prognosis isn't hopeful," the doctor said gravely, then turned to Asuka, "Just how many dragons do you have?"

. . . "Three," Stirogi said, "It's the clutch of eggs I worry about."

. . . "You're young, but I believe you'll be a good mother," the doctor said and turned away, presenting a nearly irresistible target.

. . . "She isn't the mother," Stirogi said.

. . . "Thank you," Asuka said between clenched teeth.

. . . "She tied me down and did - OW! OW! OW!" The dragon danced away from Asuka in full fury.

. . . "Wasn't there something else you wanted to kill?" Tate called from behind an armored car.

. . . Asuka damped down her anger and smoothed her blouse and slacks. "Yes, change to human form and follow me to the HQ tent." She turned and walked back to the map filled tent.

. . . My he's a controlled one, Asuka thought in disappointment as the Commodore simply bowed to the dragon-girl, instead of the more fear- or lust-based reaction of everyone else in the tent.

. . . "This is our target," the Commodore said as he set out a number of photos, "Langley-san wounded it -"

. . . "I can believe that," Stirogi said.

. . . "Raccoon's sense of humor is good in small doses," Asuka warned the dragon-girl in Chinese, "This is neither the time, nor the place."

. . . "But it has commenced moving again," the Commodore continued, "We'd like to intercept it outside the city proper, or to lure it out the sea, where you'll have more room to maneuver."

. . . "Has it shown any tendency to pursue anything?' Stirogi asked in a serious tone.

. . . "Nothing we've found," the Commodore replied.

. . . "Then I should fly out and engage it immediately. The other two should be here within the hour." Stirogi looked up to stare into the Commodore's eyes. "I can guarantee I can hold it that long."

. . . "Very good. Do you need anything?" the Commodore asked.

. . . "More information that you have to give," Stirogi said.
------------------------------

. . . "Tastes like chicken," the Scholarly Dragon said and belched hugely as they flew north.

. . . "Heartburn?" Jeff replied as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure the surviviors from both sides would make it to their respective mainlands.

. . . "I'll eat a coal car later."
------------------------------

. . . Stirogi looked at the rapidly dispersing fragments around him. "That was certainly anticlimatic!" he said as he checked himself over after the impact, "One headbutt and the monster goes away? I don't believe that for one instant."

. . . He turned as saw a pattern of disrupted space that he recognized as Jeffery's invisibility spell. That's big enough to cover both of them, he thought, I guess they wanted to sniff around. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought this was suspicious.

. . . He headed back for the parking lot, Asuka and a frizzy-haired man in the lab-coat were `discussing` events. He selected an empty space close enough to let him keep Asuka from killing the man.

. . . "Those stupid toys had nothing to do with that creature's defeat!" Asuka said, frightening everyone except her target.

. . . "What would a mere school girl know about planar-shifting high-energy physics?" the man said dismissively.

. . . Stirogi put the man on the other side of a car and turned his attention to Asuka. "I don't think it's dead," he said clearly, "Why would a monster throw a fight like that?"

. . . "It feared the power of our plasma weapons!" the man shouted at them as he foolishly hurried over to resume the argument.

. . . Stirogi carefully wrapped a light pole around him, hanging him too high for Asuka to reach him. "The others took a sniff around and left, I think they didn't find anything conclusive."

. . . "If the helicopters with the plasma guns, and your attack didn't disperse it -" The Commodore walked out from where he'd been `in conference`. "Why did it disperse itself?"

. . . "It feared our plasma weapons!" the man wrapped in the pole insisted.

. . . Asuka handed Stirogi a length of tape he put to good use.

. . . "If it was an animal, it might have decided the prey wasn't worth the effort to get at it," Stirogi said, "When I was little, I tried to eat a bear. It won. A few years later, I ate the same bear. That's what worries me. It may come back, it may go elsewhere."

. . . "What if it's not an animal, what if it's intelligent and following a strategy?" the Commodore asked.

. . . "Then I don't know what it may do," Stirogi said. Asuka's continued silence and look of extreme concentrate bothered him. "You aren't going to explode, are you?"

. . . "It . . . left the area. But it . . . hasn't completely gone . . . if that makes any sense," Asuka said and shook herself.

. . . The doctor approached the group, spared a glance at the struggling man some 10 meters off the ground, then concentrated on those on the ground. "First, we should organize a proper forensic examination of the entire village. Second, Commodore, you need to tell the Cabinet that phasing us out may not be the wisest idea right now. Third -" He handed Asuka a portfolio. "Consider yourself drafted."

. . . "I'm a German citizen," Asuka replied, and tried to hand the folder back, the doctor wouldn't take it.

. . . "You're a dead German citizen. You died in Stuttgart in 1944. You also should be in your sixties if you had lived," the doctor said, "You are not Anna Langley."

. . . "You can't do this," Asuka said, her temper building.

. . . "I figure you're some kind of spirit, fated to walk the Earth seeking battle against enemies that threaten all of Mankind, you sup on the perfection of humanity and feast on the glories of battle."

. . . Asuka shook her head. "You shouldn't listen to Tate-ch - to Tatewaki when he's like this," Asuka counseled, "He gets these flights of fantasy."

. . . "From someone who can throw anti-ship particle beams, call up dragons, and a few other things I've seen," the Commodore said, "It's as workable a hypothesis as anything else I've heard."

. . . "You'll join for one other reason," Stirogi said smugly.

. . . "Oh?" Asuka confronted him, fists on her hips. "You know me so well do you?"

. . . "I know you want to prove that idiot wrong," Stirogi replied with a smile.

. . . Asuka's fury searched the smiling faces, human and dragon, for a suitable target. Finding none, she relented. "What's the pay? And I expect some decent food, occasionally." She said as she opened the portfolio to look over the package.

. . . "What about you?" the doctor asked Stirogi.

. . . "You couldn't afford my food bills. You have to send men with boxes of sawdust to the mountains, and by the time they arrive back, half the ice is melted. It's not like you could make decent ice you know." The white dragon leapt into the air and headed home. He immediately felt two other dragons flying in formation with him, although he couldn't see or smell them. "She took the job."

. . . "Of course she did. I can almost see her extending her wings again. I'm glad that doctor reads fast," came the gravelly rumble, "I almost pity that thing. 'By the time I get to Phoenix she'll be rising, she'll find the note I left hangin' on her door'."

. . . "Don't ask, and don't encourage him," came the voice he treasured above all others.

[Ahye]

Hmm. It's interesting, it's mostly well written. But for some reason, it feels lacking in some way. Perhaps because all the fight scenes were off camera, so to speak. We hear about the results, but never see the battles themselves. I personally think it would have went better with those included. I feel like I want to comment more, because something about this chapter felt off, but I can't point specifically to any one thing that was wrong.

[Daniel Jess Gibson]

Hmm. It's interesting, it's mostly well written. But for some reason, it feels lacking in some way. Perhaps because all the fight scenes were off camera, so to speak. We hear about the results, but never see the battles themselves. I personally think it would have went better with those included. I feel like I want to comment more, because something about this chapter felt off, but I can't point specifically to any one thing that was wrong.

Part of it is that it's a bridge chapter, changing from one set of circumstances to another. Another part is that I wanted to set up the feeling that 'something is missing here'. Like the first scratch of the monster's claw on the glass of your bedroom window. I wanted you to feel what you are feeling, that there's more to this than I showed.

Sorry, that's what you get when I get a book on 'How to write fiction' for Christmas. I do experiments.

[Welsper]

Hmm... what was gender of Stirogi again ? From what I gather it is she , yet at end of this chapter , its suddenly he ?

Or they are ranma-like ?

[Daniel Jess Gibson]

Hmm... what was gender of Stirogi again ? From what I gather it is she , yet at end of this chapter , its suddenly he ?

Or they are ranma-like ?

Stirogi is a he, but Asuka and Jeff think he is a she, and Stirogi intends to do nothing to correct that. The Scholarly Dragon knows, but finds it too amusing that these two intelligent people have been fooled so easily and completely.

[Ptn]

Stirogi is a he, but Asuka and Jeff think he is a she, and Stirogi intends to do nothing to correct that. The Scholarly Dragon knows, but finds it too amusing that these two intelligent people have been fooled so easily and completely.

If he/she is a shape-shifter with male/female option, is there truly a gender to be determined?

Other than whatever the dragon wants to be at any given time?

[Welsper]

Seems so , I remember in SSC Jeff telling Nabiki that half of mage council ( human part ) would get a fit if they learned that half of dragons that were members of council were actually females (Mages were supossed to be males only). If dragons are as free to choose their forms as it seems here , that thesis suddenly is much easier to understand .

[Daniel Jess Gibson]

Stirogi is a he, but Asuka and Jeff think he is a she, and Stirogi intends to do nothing to correct that. The Scholarly Dragon knows, but finds it too amusing that these two intelligent people have been fooled so easily and completely.

If he/she is a shape-shifter with male/female option, is there truly a gender to be determined?

Other than whatever the dragon wants to be at any given time?

There's a big difference between being able to `cheat` by magic to seem to be something for a while, and actually being it all the time.

Seems so , I remember in SSC Jeff telling Nabiki that half of mage council ( human part ) would get a fit if they learned that half of dragons that were members of council were actually females (Mages were supossed to be males only). If dragons are as free to choose their forms as it seems here , that thesis suddenly is much easier to understand .

Stirogi is an expert shapechanger, most dragons don't have that ability. But it is hard to determine if a dragon is male or female without an extensive medical exam (and you'd better have the dragon's consent or lots of life insurance) or diagnostic magic.

Basically, Stirogi wants to be female, studied shapechanging to achieve that, and found it really didn't satisfy. He can't shake the feeling he's in the entirely wrong body. A reason why `he` can simulate a human female so easily.

[J. St.C. Patrick]

. . . From `Taisho` Langley's expression, woe betides our foe. While the fates might show mercy, he thought, She assuredly shall not. She also seems the only one who can track our dire foe.

Taisho... as in Taishou: General, Admiral or Boss? (as opposed to Taishou Era: "Great truth")

. . . "You couldn't afford my food bills. You have to sent men with boxes of sawdust to the mountains, and by the time they arrive back, half the ice is melted. It's not like you could make decent ice you know."

send

. . . "Of course she did. I can almost see her extending her wings again. I'm glad that doctor reads fast," came the gravelly rumble, "I almost pity that thing. 'By the time I get to Phoenix she'll be rising, she'll find the note I left hangin' on her door'."

nice use of lyrics.

[Daniel Jess Gibson]

. . . From `Taisho` Langley's expression, woe betides our foe. While the fates might show mercy, he thought, She assuredly shall not. She also seems the only one who can track our dire foe.

Taisho... as in Taishou: General, Admiral or Boss? (as opposed to Taishou Era: "Great truth")

General Langley

. . . "You couldn't afford my food bills. You have to sent men with boxes of sawdust to the mountains, and by the time they arrive back, half the ice is melted. It's not like you could make decent ice you know."

send

Fixed, thanks.

. . . "Of course she did. I can almost see her extending her wings again. I'm glad that doctor reads fast," came the gravelly rumble, "I almost pity that thing. 'By the time I get to Phoenix she'll be rising, she'll find the note I left hangin' on her door'."

nice use of lyrics.

Thank you. It seemed appropriate. More in SJ II.

[Spokavriel]

Cute paraphrase of Star Wars. So Miss Hinako came from Juban before going to Furinkan in your tale? Interesting....

The terrified soldiers buckle us in, he thought as he glanced at 3d Rikui Imai, She as looked into Hell, as the foul Hibiki always claimed, and she escaped.

I'm not entirely sold on the commas. Shouldn't you finish the sentence before cutting to the non voiced parts? I think you also have an as that should be has just before 'looked into Hell'

He let Asuka settle in her arms as he held her, reminding her that what she feared, isolation, was merely fear not fact.

I'm not sure all the gender pronouns are accurate. Wouldn't Auska be settling in his arms?

Davis too defeats me with contemptuously ease, if he does not spin the world around me like a top instead.

Just contemptuous no ly needed this time.

. . . Tatewaki smiled, he held the girl in his arms, How often I had wished for Tendo Akane, or the pig-tailed girls to so accommodate themselves.

It's hard to catch them all but there are allot of places where you clearly wanted the period instead of comma. You also made the Pigtailed Girl plural and lower case. Since it is being used in place of a name shouldn't it be in caps and singular in this instance.

Still waiting to see how things continue to develop between Auska and Kodachi.

[Daniel Jess Gibson]

Cute paraphrase of Star Wars. So Miss Hinako came from Juban before going to Furinkan in your tale? Interesting....

Thank you. She supposedly dealt with problem schools, Juuban probably was a problem school with monsters running around.

The terrified soldiers buckle us in, he thought as he glanced at 3d Rikui Imai, She as looked into Hell, as the foul Hibiki always claimed, and she escaped.

I'm not entirely sold on the commas. Shouldn't you finish the sentence before cutting to the non voiced parts? I think you also have an as that should be has just before 'looked into Hell'

I've always been told this was acceptable, although the fashion changes with time. Did you mean the 'as' should be removed? Because that is what I did to fix it.

He let Asuka settle in her arms as he held her, reminding her that what she feared, isolation, was merely fear not fact.

I'm not sure all the gender pronouns are accurate. Wouldn't Auska be settling in his arms?

Davis too defeats me with contemptuously ease, if he does not spin the world around me like a top instead.

Just contemptuous no ly needed this time.

You must not be a Southerner, they always knew Lee was necessary.

Fixed, thanks.

. . . Tatewaki smiled, he held the girl in his arms, How often I had wished for Tendo Akane, or the pig-tailed girls to so accommodate themselves.

It's hard to catch them all but there are allot of places where you clearly wanted the period instead of comma. You also made the Pigtailed Girl plural and lower case. Since it is being used in place of a name shouldn't it be in caps and singular in this instance.

Pig-tailed Girl is fixed. And I should be out of the hospital in a month or so.

I'm not sure if the comma usage is comma-splicing or just style differences.

Still waiting to see how things continue to develop between Auska and Kodachi.

They'll develop. But you'll have to be patient.