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EPILOGUE: Zero Hour

Celestial Realm...

Tamamo twirled the flaming sword in her right hand. With her left hand outstretched, she created a flickering ball of flame.

Tamae, nearly back-to-back with Tamamo, looked down at the pole of her bladed spear. "Kitsune-sama. They are far more intelligent than the kaijin."

"These clay Jötnar are resistant to my flames," said Tamamo. "Harder to hack through, as well. They broke one of my tessen."

Tamae looked back up from the pole of her weapon. "And my naginata. How these Jötnar were defeated by the kaiju, I cannot fathom."

The remaining six men approached, cautiously. Tamae and Tamamo pressed their backs together, adjacent to a fountain-like device at the center of the room.

Tamamo relinquished the fireball from her left palm and grasped the hilt of her blade, two inches beneath her right hand. "They tried to kill the kaiju by hacking them to pieces. They became outnumbered."

"Hai, kitsune-sama. They did not have Evan to teach their warriors how to defeat the kaiju." Tamae broke the pole of her spear and thrust the bladed end into the nearest jotunn.

The large disfigured beast flailed, clutching at the blade jutting from its solar plexus. Tamae took the opportunity to withdraw her katana. She clasped it firmly in both hands. "Several short months ago, I would have never dreamed I could draw blood. You have given me purpose. I am grateful."

"You have given me shelter, hope, humanity, humility and a beating heart, which loves Conner-kun as much as my spirit." Tamamo smiled, adding, "And you have given me back my confidence to face these baka."

Tamae smiled inwardly. "Kitsune-sama. You should take the crystal to the Hallway of Reflection. Bring light back to the realm. With the deities cut off from their worshippers, they are weak. With the realm accessible to Earth, our new allies will be restored to their full potential."

"We will, Tamae."

"You should take the form of a fox and break through the pack. Gallop swiftly back to the Hallway of Reflection. I will hold these men off."

"Tamae, you would die."

"With the realm restored, you can bring Conner back when you require him. I will have served my purpose."

Tamamo grimaced. "Iie. I wish to stay on Earth with him and watch him father our children. We will not separate."

Tamae brought her left wrist up, wiping moisture from her eyes. "I would be honored."

"You are as much a part of this relationship as he or I. You have overcome great burdens and proven yourself to be brave in the face of any obstacle. I have come to love you as much as I love him. We stand together."

"If we both die..."

"We will not." Tamamo-no-Mae looked down at the floor, watching as the clay beings continued their cautious approach, inch by inch.

"I do not have the words to express how happy I am to hear you say that, kitsune-sama."

"Please, Tamae, we are one. I am Tamamo. As much your love as Conner, if you'll have me in your heart as such."

"Hai. We ... we are one," she repeated. Again she wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist. Her gaze lowered, watching how close the leirjötnar came. "Are you ready ... Tamamo?"

"Yes. They are close enough. It is time."

"Will it hurt?"

Tamamo kept her left hand held outward, with her flaming sword extended. She reached her right hand back, touching Tamae's elbow. "I do not know. I've never tried this with a human. While it is nearly impossible to access from within, on Earth, you will find it easy but tiring in this realm."

"I am ready." Tamae used her right hand to keep her sword held outstretched. Her left hand reached down, behind herself, interlacing her fingers with the soft right hand of Tamamo-no-Mae.

Their hands linked. The ancient kitsune summoned the energy force from both of their bodies at the same time. A dark aura engulfed both women.

The energy blasted from their bodies. It became a solid shockwave upon touching the air.

The outward push of negative-matter energy struck all the clay creatures in the room, blasting them apart. Their bodies, torn asunder from the outward pressure wave, shattered.

Clay clumps of flesh struck the walls and floor. The walls at the far ends of the room cracked. The floor tiles crumbled until resembling spider webs.

The flame of Tamamo's sword blade extinguished. She lacked the will to keep it lit. She released Tamae's hand, sheathed her sword and sank to the ground adjacent to the fountain-like object.

Tamae lowered to the ground and rolled onto her back, overheated. "Sick..."

"The cold sweats," Tamamo panted, "And stomach sickness is from having an empty belly. Your blood sugar levels are dropping and..." Tamamo rolled onto her side in an attempt to catch her breath. "Pardon..."

Tamae released her sword. The blade, slick with oils near the base, and mud-like blood at the tip, rolled out of her palm. "Gomen..." Her eyes rolled up into her head. Tamae lost consciousness.

Tamamo felt dizzy. She expelled the contents of her stomach onto the tile. "Too much..."

Silence.

Tamamo heard soft footfalls on the broken tile floor. She tried to lift her head but the vertigo and dizziness kept her still.

"Impressive, little one." A woman knelt between Tamamo and Tamae, placing each of her hands on their necks. "Ah, for a moment, I thought you sacrificed one another."

The woman picked up Tamae's katana and brought the blade to Tamamo's throat. "I could end your life now if it suited me. But you were loyal to me once. I have hope you will return to your senses."

Tamamo, fading in and out of consciousness, recognized the voice.

"I could kill your vessel. But you love her. The both of you owe me your lives. I have granted you the honor to serve me. We will discus it at a future time." She leaned down and spoke into Tamamo's ear. "My name means 'victorious,' because it is my fate. Your name merely means 'beautiful witch,' because that is your fate. When you resign yourself to your fate, you will be much happier in life."

"Fuzakeru na," Tamamo murmured, adding, "Busu," at the end.

The woman rolled Tamamo onto her back and placed the tip of the katana over her abdominal area. She eased the blade into Tamamo's skin, slowly.

The sharp pain caused Tamamo to groan in agony, but her body was too worn down to fight.

"Warugaki." She left the sword in place, reached up to the top of the fountain and withdrew a crystalline jewel. The woman dropped back to the floor and lowered to one knee besides Tamamo. "You will live from that wound. I have traded you an insult for an insult. I've cursed the blade before pushing it into your body."

"Spiteful," Tamamo panted softly, "coward."

"Perhaps. But victorious never the less. If you serve me, I will restore the part of your pride I have taken from you."

"Uso tsuki."

She lowered further, coming face to face with Tamamo. "I am not a liar. I have cursed you. I drove that sword through your womb. So long as you refuse me as your mistress, you will never conceive with Conner. If you inhabit Tamae's body, she will not conceive. So, you can serve me, and I'll grant you children with your mate ... or you can rebel, and watch him father a child with Tamae ... without you."

Tamamo lifted her gaze, looking into the face of Kiko Sigyn, the first fox spirit - mother of the race.

Sigyn smiled softly and kissed Tamamo's forehead. "I will see you when you are ready to become a mother. For now, I have a rendezvous with my husband on Earth."

Tamamo saw the magical jewel in Sigyn's right fist. Her eyes rolled up into her head. She passed out from the pain and the blood loss.

X

X

Some time later... Celestial Realm ...

"Please, be gentle with her!"

Tamamo recognized the voice belonging to Tamae. She tried to open her eyes but the ambient illumination made the kitsune's head hurt.

"Tamae, please, chill out." That voice belonged to the succubus. Tamamo heard a hidden tone of concern in the blond demon's voice.

"We're almost there. Everyone calm down."

"I'm calm, Reno. I don't know where Sekhmet is, or any god of healing for that matter. If we don't get her back to Earth, so she can dump into Tamae, she'll bleed out." Karla turned away, so that her voice sounded further out. She added, "Evan, can you fix the portal or not?"

"Karla, please," said Evan from somewhere off to the left. "This isn't glass on both sides. That lunatic chick shattered a lot of these mirrors, somehow. We could take her back to the pond, and come out through the big mirror in Sinopa's mansion."

Karla frowned. "Actually, that's not a bad idea. It's not much further."

Tamae placed her hands on Tamamo's face. "I was a fool. I should have demanded she escape while I hold off the Jötnar. She convinced me that we're one, and now she's been stabbed by Sigyn, and..."

"Stop. This doesn't help anyone." Reno spoke calmly - the voice of reason. Was it his police sensitivity courses? Was it his good nature?

Tamamo listened to her friends, while they bickered and worried. Consciousness began to flood her mind. Her eyes fluttered again, and the world came into focus, albeit slowly.

"Stop." Tamamo drew a labored breath, sighed, and repeated herself. "Do not argue. I am alive. That is all that matters."

Tamae leaned down and kissed Tamamo's forehead. "I was so worried."

"Sigyn," Tamamo murmured. "She stabbed me but she did not kill me. She..." Tamamo thought back on the woman's words and felt her emotions well up in her heart. Her eyes lifted to Tamae ... her host. The woman whose love she shared with Conner.

Tamamo swallowed it all down. Would she be forced to watch Tamae and Conner live happily together, without Tamamo's involvement? Or would she betray the trust and honor of her loved ones for a chance at motherhood?

"What?" Karla leaned down, looking over Tamamo. "You stopped in the middle of a sentence. She what?"

Tamamo frowned. "She saw I was still conscious. She wanted to wound my ego and cripple my pride. She drove the sword into my belly and bragged about leaving for the Earth realm."

Evan kept his hands over a nearby portal. "She broke the mirrors in this hallway from the other end. I don't know how she did it. We can see into them, but we can't pass through unless the surface is large enough for us to go through. She didn't shatter them, but she cracked them in a way we can't pass through until I repair them."

Tamamo sighed. She reached up, gingerly, and placed her hands on Tamae's face. They shared a kiss. "We will see Conner soon. The three of us have much to discuss ... privately."

Karla grinned. "Yeah right. Why don't you just bring Conner here and then you two can tag-team him. The more bodies the marrier."

Evan looked back at Karla and rolled his eyes. "She's been stabbed, Karla. Give her a break."

"Yeah, yeah. You've got a 'break' to fix, superhero. Get it done. We need to get back to San Francisco as soon as possible. If you can't fix it, we've gotta move her to the pond."

"No, we're not moving her unless we _have_to," said Reno. "She's still losing blood. She needs to get to Earth and get into Tamae's body - I get that. But moving her more, while she's bleeding out and unstable, that's not smart either."

"Well hurry up," Karla said.

Tamamo afforded her friends a gentle, genuine smile. "I am touched you care for me as a friend. I only hope I can honor that friendship the same way." She closed her eyes and sighed, wondering if her desire to mother a child with Conner would affect her ability to make important decisions.

X

X

_ _

Sunday, October 3, 2049 - 6:00am San Francisco, California ...

Laura and Nichole exchanged glances. "You've got to be kidding." Nichole punched the steering wheel. The SUV rolled to a stop. "We're at the community gates! Are you serious?"

Laura shook her head, amused. "Longest day ever. We save the city from a ten-kiloton nuclear bomb. We're held at Homeland Security for interrogation..."

"An USPRI agent lets us out," Nichole recalled aloud. "That guy was pretentious but I'm glad he got us out of there."

Laura laughed. "Don't forget the seven reporters that risked being arrested to come and interview us as American Heroes who saved the country from certain doom."

Nichole snorted. "I can't believe that one guy actually used the phrase 'certain doom.' What a chode."

Laura opened the door and slid out of the SUV. "See? Aren't you glad we kept the bikes in the back?"

"Yeah," Nichole replied with a weak smile. "There's just one thing that bothers me."

"What's that?"

Nichole slid out of the driver door and walked around to the back of the truck. She reached in for the first bike and passed it down to Laura. "I didn't say anything there, because if I repeated it, they would have kept interrogating us."

"What is it?"

Nichole passed the second bike down with a sigh. "I overheard someone after the USPRI guy got us out of the interrogation room."

"Don't keep me in suspense." Laura leaned one bike up against the SUV and straddled the other. She used her left foot to push the kickstand up. "Well?"

Nichole ran her hands back through her hair. "You remember how they confirmed it was a ten-kiloton dirty bomb?"

"Yes."

"Well, I heard the USPRI agent talking to the agent in charge of that office." Nichole slid onto the other bike and licked her lips. "I could have sword I heard the USPRI guy ask, 'So where's the other half of the twenty kiloton payload?' You know what that could mean? It could mean Aris Falcon has a second nuke floating around out there. We have to get back to New Atlantis and find it before he uses it on a populated city."

Laura swallowed. The two girls started pedaling. They circumvented the automobile gate and biked into the rich neighborhood.

Silence.

After a moment, Laura asked, "What if that first nuke was supposed to blow up to cover up their tracks and get rid of all the evidence? That way, nobody would know Falcon had a second bomb ... it would have been perfect. Thank God we stopped the first one from going off. Now the US Government will know there's a second one out there. They can do whatever it takes to find it and stop it."

"I'm just glad it didn't go off while we were standing next to it. Remind me to reward that boy for telling us to throw it off the roof."

"I never asked - was it on a timer, Nichole? How much longer did we have before it would have gone off?"

"I think they said it was designed to go off by remote. There was no timer."

An attractive woman in archaic clothing smiled at the two. She waved at them.

Nichole waved back. "Uh, hi."

"Nichole Parker, yes?"

"Uhm, that's right. Did you see me on the news or something?"

"My name is 'Sagan.' It means 'victorious' in old Norse."

Nichole arched her brows in confusion. "Okay, that's uh ... that's nice. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, sweetheart. Run along, now. There will be a celebration in your honor over the city shortly. Fireworks and such. You'll never forget it. Take care, Nichole Parker." The woman continued down the road, through the gate, and out of the community.

"Why did she say your full first and last name both times?"

Nichole turned her bicycle around and made her way back to the community gate, but the woman was nowhere in sight. Nichole scrunched her brows, shook her head and made her way back to Laura. "Did you hear her accent and see her clothes?"

"Yes, strange."

"Yeah. Like out of some sort of festival. Weird."

"Forget about her. Let's get a hot bath."

Nichole grinned somewhat. "She's forgotten. Let's go."

They pedaled back to the top of a hill. By the time they made it to the hilltop, they were walking their bikes. The street leveled off. They walked along the property line, to the main gates.

The girls left their bikes against the large fence and pushed it open. Nichole pointed to the broken electric magnet strip dangling where the gate would have met the frame. "I, uh ... I did that." They headed up the front walkway.

The front door opened with Vincent and Sinopa greeting Nichole and Laura at the entrance.

Sinopa bowed to Laura and Nichole. "I saw the both of you on the news. It just aired! After your media interview, they spoke to the assistant director of Homeland Security, who confirmed the two of you are heroes.

Laura replied with a tired smile. "USPRI rescued us. Homeland was about to make us disappear because neither of us have any sort of fingerprint or ID anywhere on file."

Nichole nodded in agreement. "They threatened repeatedly that we would be taken to clandestine detention if we couldn't produce a legal way to identify ourselves."

Sinopa nodded. "Then thank goodness USPRI still exists. I will make breakfast for everyone."

Vincent stepped aside and gestured for the two women to step inside. "I'm really proud of you two."

Nichole walked inside the house and stretched.

Laura followed and stopped in the doorway, next to Vincent. She leaned in and whispered to him, "Hey, kiss her, you dummy."

Vincent stepped into the doorway, facing into the foyer. "Hey, Nichole."

Parker turned around, expectantly. She tilted her head. "Yeah?"

"C'mere."

Nichole approached Vincent. They shared a kiss. She grinned against his lips and wrapped her arms around him.

Laura stood in the doorway, behind Vincent, looking amused.

Nichole broke the kiss and rested her head on Vincent's shoulder. She mouthed the words, 'Sneaky girl,' and lifted her eyes, spying downtown San Francisco in the distance, behind Laura.

She sighed, keeping her gaze on the distant image of the tall buildings. A tired smile spread across her lips, admiring the iconic skyline. Something she'd worked hard to save.

There was a flash. All at once, the morning sun disappeared.

Incredible heat came through the front door, followed by a scream from Laura..

Nichole heard shattering glass on all sides. She instinctively reached for Vincent, pushing his body down between herself and Laura.

A secondary shockwave of raw heat struck the mansion, bowling Nichole onto her back with Vincent and Laura spilled overtop.

Nichole kicked her leg up, catching the door. She kicked it shut, which deflected some of the heat.

Vincent scrambled out from overtop of Nichole, shouting, "Sinopa! Get downstairs! Now! We'll be there in a moment!"

A hot wind howled outside, but the sun was blotted out, casting everything into a synthetic night.

Nichole swallowed. Her mouth felt dry. "God it's dark," she whispered.

Laura agreed with a simple murmur. "There's a plume of debris blocking out the sun. Oh God, I thought it was over."

Nichole reached up and touched her wet cheeks. "Christ, I'm crying. We couldn't do it. We tried so hard."

Vincent grunted, getting to his feet. "Yeah, it's dark as hell. I thought you guys took the bomb to Homeland Security? I saw you guys on the news! They said the threat was over!"

Nichole swallowed reached her hand out until her fingers found Vincent's shoulder. "They seemed concerned when I brought them the bomb. I think it's possible the stolen nuke was used to create two dirty bombs."

Laura placed her hands on Vincent and Nichole's mid-backs. "We have to get to the bunker." The trio trudged together, still in shock.

Nichole brought her free hand up and touched the wetness on her cheeks. "God, I can't stop crying. I think I'm in too much shock to be upset. What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Oh, God." Laura's voice was adjacent to Nichole's ear.

"What?"

"I ... it's just..."

"Just say it," Nichole snapped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I can't see shit. It's dark as a goddamn tomb."

Vincent guided the girls through the foyer, into a hallway. At the end, they made their way to the stairs, leading to the basement.

Vincent scooped Nichole up into his arms and carried her down the steps. Halfway down, he cleared his throat and said, "Laura, your back."

She sighed in reply. "It's healing. I took the brunt of the blast, standing behind you in the doorway."

Vincent sounded upset. It was in his voice. "You shielded me from it. Thank you, Laura. I really appreciate it."

Nichole grimaced. "Laura, you were about to say something, upstairs. I said I was crying and you sounded upset. What's wrong? Is it your back?"

"No, it's healing."

"Then tell me," Nichole said, trying to keep from growing anxious with worry.

Silence. Vincent continued to carry her down the stairs. Her feet brushed the wall once or twice.

Nichole clung to Vincent. "Turn on the goddamn lights. Did an EMP knock out the electricity?" She brought her hand up and touched her face again. "I need something to wipe my face. I have tears dripping from my chin."

Vincent, in a sullen voice, said, "The lights are fine. We ... have a shielded generator here."

Laura sounded as though she was fighting back a tone of upset. She whispered, "Nichole, you're eyes ... they're ... they've ... the fluid is running down your cheeks."

"Yeah, I know. I need some tissues or something. Put me down, Vincent, I'll use my shirt."

Laura moved close and spoke into Nichole's ears. "Your eyes, they melted."

Nichole swallowed and touched her cheeks again. "I ... I'll heal."

"The burns on my back have already healed. Why haven't your eyes come back?"

Nichole swallowed again. "It ... it will happen. Just, it will happen. Any second now."

The seconds turned to minutes, and the unnerving darkness began to terrify her.

X

X

Celestial Realm...

A flash illuminated all the immediate mirrors in the hallway. Everyone averted their eyes. The powerful light flickered and disappeared.

Evan rubbed his face. "What the hell was that? This mirror is almost useless. I can't see anything in it now. It's all dark."

"Oh my God,' Karla said, her voice emotional and anxious. "Oh my fucking God. Oh, my God."

Reno walked down the hall to where Karla was standing. He peered into the mirror portal she stood in front of. He became still, jaw slack. In a soft voice, he whispered, "Is ... that San Francisco?"

Evan hurried down the hall to Reno and Karla. He peered into one of the portals and swallowed. "Kalen, Laura and Sinopa are there. Right now. They're there, in San Francisco right now."

"Kuda," Karla whispered. "Kalen, Sinopa..." Tears ran down her cheeks. "No, no, no. I thought Sigyn went through. Did she cause that?"

"I don't know," Evan said. He swallowed. "If it was Falcon, I'm going to end that man's life. Who would do such a thing? Why? Why San Francisco?"

Tamae gently tucked her head beneath Tamamo's left arm and helped her walk down the hall, so as not to put pressure on her abdomen.

They turned to face the mirror portal everyone was crowded around. The decadent mirror was on the wall of a hillside mansion, facing downtown San Francisco, giving the group a perfect view of a mushroom cloud over San Francisco, California.

Karla turned away, hiding her face into Reno's chest. She sobbed softly in mourning. "Sinopa, Kalen, Kuda - they were there when that thing went off. Oh God."

Evan balled his hand into a fist and bunched the wall adjacent to the portal. "We can't go back through the pond, now. We would die from radiation. I can't believe that just happened!"

Tamamo stared at the portal. She had a flashback to watching the same event in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Her heart ached.

Tamamo decided, in that moment, if Sigyn had anything to do with the blast, there was no way she could put a baby before the innocent lives taken from the detonation they watched. "Sigyn only recently went through the portal," Tamamo said in a soft tone. "There is no way she could have had time to organize such an event. If anything, it's possible she was killed."

"Good riddance," Tamae snapped. She looked down and licked her lips. "My apologies. I did not mean to make light of the deaths of innocent people. We can only hope it was Loki who helped bring her through, and that they both died."

Reno tightened his jaw. "If that's the case, then Falcon is most likely behind it. The question is ... why?"

Evan glared at the burning city he once called home. "I will get my wife and daughter out of that city, then I'm going to find him..." Evan ground his molars together in anger, frustration, and hatred. "...And I am going to kill that son of a bitch."

No one spoke.

X

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