HypnoBishoujoLand: Black and White - Part 7

The Dasher arrived at the location Midori had directed them to, a small hill overlooking the town, where Midori claimed they’d find the entrance to a secret bunker. After Jake's blunder, he and Diana had had no choice but to reveal their identities on the drive over.

"So this is what happened as a result of that concoction of mad science, Diana-chan?" Midori had asked.

"Yeah. I wanted to do some good, so..."

"I am very proud to have you as a friend and sister-in-arms, Diana-chan."

"Huh?"

"Your decision to stand up to evil is a courageous one, and I sense you have lost much in your journey."

"I... yeah..."

"Then your positive karma will surely make things better for you soon."

"Yeah. Thanks, Emerald Flash."

"Any time, Katseye-sama. And you, Mato-kun. It was always you?"

"Yeah. Since the Black Cats first formed."

"Impressive. I looked into Captain Anime's exploits once we started working together. Your actions impressed me greatly. I always wished I could have learned who you were, and now... I find myself looking up to you even more now that I see the man inside."

"Uh... thanks?"

"Rest assured, I shall assist the two of you come what may, and we will defeat this evil once and for all."

"Yeah!"

Now that they stood outside the secret hatch, they were ready to go inside and bust some heads. The hatch was on the wall of a decommissioned building, which Diana explained was where a major battle of the war was co-ordinated from. As they were about to head inside, the hatch opened up and a large number of Black Cats emerged from it, followed by a group appearing from behind the trio. A neko Jake found familiar appeared from the hatch, accompanied by a blonde human with a neko-ear headband.

"Ah, Captain Anime," Felicia said as she emerged. "I should have known it would be you coming to stop us again. Well, you're too late. Even as we speak, Mistress Violet is having the psychic girl prepped for her role in Mistress' grand plan, and I will not allow you to interfere."

"Well, you don't have a choice because we're going straight through," Jake replied confidently.

"Things won't be so easy this time. Our numbers are greater-"

"So are ours."

"...Crap. A-Anyway, we still hold the numerical advantage, even if it's only enough to slow you down."

"You two go ahead, I will keep them busy," Midori whispered.

"You sure?" Diana whispered back.

"Please trust me, Diana-chan. I will keep them here and join you later."

"But there's a lot of them," Jake put in. "You sure you can do this alone?"

Felicia suddenly gasped as a sphere of energy struck her, leaving her stunned and confused.

"Mind if I crash this party?" asked a familiar husky voice from above. Everyone looked up to see a succubus in what looked like dominatrix attire. She wore a black latex mask that showed off her brown eyes and blood red lips, and also allowed her shoulder-length crimson hair to flow freely. Around her neck was a black collar with two chain links hanging from it. Her torso was covered by a black bustier with red accents and straps that left her midriff exposed, allowing one to see the straps of her thong. Over this thong was a red belt that connected to a pair of thigh-high black heeled boots via a pair of lingerie-style red straps. Her forearms were covered by black armguards with four red straps over each, and her nails were a matching red to her lips. In her belt was a long grey whip.

"W-Who are you?" Barbra stuttered.

"You can call me... The Scarlet Harlot!" The Harlot touched down on the ground before the trio of heroes. "Need some help?"

"Who-?"

"Seriously, Diana, it's me," Dawn replied, lifting up her mask for a second.

"I... really shouldn't be surprised by that. But why...?"

"Everyone else was doing it, so I thought I'd join in the fun."

"But, you’re tired out from that collar-"

"Nah, I’m fine. Had to borrow a little energy from the others-"

"Dawn!"

"With permission. Geez, you drain a person without permission one time…"

"Wait, Scarlet Harlot?" Jake cut in. "I've heard that name. So it's you that's been stopping a bunch of minor crimes in the last few weeks?"

"N-No. Obviously not. I-I just... took her name and... Please don't tell Sarah."

"Don't worry. You're secret's safe."

"Thanks, Captain. You know, I've always wondered how handsome you are underneath that helmet..."

"Can we focus please?" Midori interjected. "Harlot-sama, please go ahead with Captain-sama and Katseye-sama, while I-"

Dawn flicked Midori's forehead, stunning her. "You baka. You can't take them all yourself. Your last encounter with them proved that."

"Mmm..."

"You two go ahead. We'll catch up later."

"You sure?"

"Hey, the two of us make a pretty good team." Dawn summoned her claymore and rested it across her shoulder. "Now get going. And give that bitch one for me."

"Alright. Good luck. You ready, Kat?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay... Break!"

As Barbra finished shaking Felicia awake, the two were shoved aside by Jake as the four heroes rushed past, Jake and Diana leaping through the hatch and Midori and Dawn standing guard with their swords brandished.

"Don't just stand there, you idiots!" Felicia screamed as Barbra helped her to her feet. "Get them!"

As the Black Cats ran at them, Dawn turned to Midori and asked, "Are you ready for this?"

"Hai, Dawn-san."


* * *


The YPD was in chaos. Officer vs. officer, good cop vs. bad cop, defender of justice vs. abuser of justice. Sarah punched out an officer, trying desperately to find Ironside, who had disappeared in the melee. Tabitha was holding her own against a kuma officer and Jessica's group were able to take down quite a few of the crooked cops with the nonlethal beanbags fired from their weapons.

Sarah just caught sight of Ironside fleeing through a door across the lobby. She hopped over a desk, slid between an officer's legs - hitting him in the groin to assist a good officer - and delivered a diving clothesline from atop a desk to an officer that was in her way. She rushed towards the door, only for Karan to step out of one of the offices and block her way. She had purple eyes and Sarah could just make out a collar under her shirt.

"So they got to you too, Karan," Sarah muttered as she took a defensive stance.

"That's right. I belong to Mistress now. And soon, so will the whole world!"

"And you don't have a problem with the whole world being made mindless slaves?"

"Not mindless, Sarah. Free. Free from hatred. Free from conflict. Free from crime."

"Free from choice and responsibility."

"But think of how there will be only order under Mistress' rule."

"Order is meaningless if there's no one to appreciate it. Without appreciation for order and peace, it may as well not exist."

Karan sighed. "I really hoped you might understand, Sarah. I've always looked up to you as the model for all sentinels of justice to aspire to. But it looks like I was wrong. If you're going to stand in the way of Mistress' world of justice, I'm going to have to take you in for obstruction of justice."

Karan rushed at Sarah, who dodged her first punch, shoved her arm away on the second, and shoved Karan aside, though the younger office recovered quickly and moved to block Sarah before she could run for the door.

Sarah decided to go on the offensive this time. She leapt in, aiming for the ground just in front of Karan, who dodged just as Sarah punched a hole in the tiles. Sarah swung for Karan, intentionally high so she could dodge again, this time punching right through a window and taking out a chunk of its wooden frame. Her hope was that this display of power would scare Karan off, though she doubted it would. As she suspected, Karan held her ground, even in the face of such overwhelming strength. Seeing this plan was fruitless, Sarah decided she would have to try to incapacitate Karan somehow.

She reached for her sidearm and Karan rushed in to stop her. She went to grab Sarah's arm before she could grab the weapon, only for Sarah to move her arm and grab Karan’s before delivering a swift punch to the gut. Sarah probably could have ended it there, but her fear of harming the young officer held her back. Karan reeled from the blow, staggering back toward the door and pulling her firearm. If Sarah dodged the shot, she feared the bullet might hit someone in the melee behind her. Seeing little other choice, she held up her hands and began walking forward.

"Freeze!" Karan commanded, but Sarah continued along her path.

"Are you going to shoot me, Karan?"

"I-I will if you don't freeze!"

"I don't think you want to. If you did, you'd have pulled the trigger by now."

"I-"

"I think you know deep down that obeying Violet is wrong. I think you're trying to resist with all your might."

"You-"

"I'm proud of you, Karan."

"You... what?"

"I'm proud of how you've grown as an officer since you came here. You may be young, but you have a willpower very few have. Even now, while you think that you want to obey, the real you deep down is giving it everything she has to resist. She knows that real justice will never exist if we allow the world to be dominated by Violet, that true justice is something we have to fight for."

"I... no..."

"Karan? Give me the gun."

"No-"

"Karan. Please."

"I... no... ugh..." Karan screamed as she clutched her head in agony. Her mind felt like it was going to split in two. She felt like she was going to die... until Sarah delivered a swift chop to the back of her neck, knocking her unconscious in Sarah's arms.

"You did well, Karan," Sarah whispered as she lowered the girl to the floor and removed her collar, which she knew wasn't booby trapped thanks to a call from Lilly earlier. Sarah left Karan sleeping as she rushed off after Ironside, a sleepy smile forming on Karan's lips as she dreamed happily.


* * *


Mato continued to read through the code of the collars, fixated on something that he couldn't quite figure out. By now, Fawn and Lucia had recovered and were helping out however they could. Mato had quickly drawn up plans for a device to shut down all the collars and asked the girls to put it together under the leadership of Homeshield, allowing him to continue reading through the code.

"What is it, Grandfather?" the original Yuta asked as she passed by with some heavy materials.

"This code... Something about it seems so familiar."

"Maybe you've looked at similar code before. Like from a prototype Mommy made."

"No, no. I'd recognise Barbara's coding any... My God..."

The code wasn't Barbara's but Yuta's suggestion did open up another possibility that seemed so likely, it must be true. "Jake and the others are in great danger."


* * *


Ms. Violet considered a list of potential victims to bring in that she'd compiled some time earlier. There were a few she had passed on bringing in, under control or otherwise. Karmen Krymsyn of A.S.I.D.E. was one candidate, though her moronic hatred of men had made Violet worry about how she would act if she reached Phase 2.

Another was the stage hypnotist, Nadia, who had made quite a name for herself by attempting to enslave the entire Spirals night club. She had been left out due to Violet not really needing a hypnotist when she had her collars.

She’d have to bring her friend Cindy in at some point too, maybe as her hypnotized secretary. She’d left Mina Rose out because she’d heard the girl’s mother was a powerful mage and if she’d learned one thing, it was that the power of love was a truly terrifying thing. She traced a finger along the scar on her face as she remembered.

She was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of fighting. Three Black Cats were flung over the railings on the upper levels near the entrance hatch before Captain Anime and Katseye entered.

"Ah, the two great heroes," she said from her throne, cast in shadow so as to keep the lights in the room focused on the device, but also secretly so she could make a dramatic entrance to satisfy her own fetish for theatrics. "Welcome to my humble abode, from where the world will fall under my control!"

From their position, the two heroes could see that a set of stairs led down from their position into the large dome that was the main control area of the bunker. At the far end, up on a raised platform was the throne the would-be conqueror occupied. In the middle was a circular trench filled with lab equipment and various scientists, going about their work as if the pair weren’t there. Above this trench was a huge device that was shaped somewhat like a very thick street light. Computer displays, vents, blinking lights and various keypads adorned the device like some sci-fi movie prop, but Jake could sense this was the real deal.

Thick cables ran everywhere from the device, covering almost the entire floor. The device reached almost to the roof, the top being a large glass sphere with a leather control chair resting within. In the chair sat Allison, control helmet adorned and ready to go once the final preparations were complete. Although it lacked the huge funnel and other cartoonish design elements, upon seeing Allison, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place for Jake.

"This is… the amplifier Mato built for Freyka."

"Very astute, my young captain, except for one key difference," Violet said as she stood up from her throne, allowing him to see the white lab coat and the red shirt and skirt beneath. "This device is my own, built from the old man’s basic concept. The Rose's Thorn is twice as powerful as Mato's insipid device, and with the Rose's Thorn..." she stepped out of the shadows, "...the world will be mine."

"R-Rosemary?"


* * *


Midori disarmed a knife-wielding neko with a simple flick of her sword, then cut another's pistol barrel in half and struck both in the stomach with the hilt of her swords. Once the two were down, she spared a glance at Dawn, who blocked an enemy's pipe with her sword, before shoving them back, knocking the pipe from their hand and smacking them over the head with the side of the heavy blade, knocking them out.

Midori disarmed another opponent, but had to block a blow from behind, preventing her from finishing the first opponent. She jumped back into the second opponent, staggering him, before resheathing her sword and hitting him in the neck with the sheathed. The first neko had obtained a gun and took aim, only for Dawn to grab it with her whip and pull it away, his shock providing an opening for Midori to rush in and deliver a swift chop to the back of the neck.

Dawn's actions had left her open to a neko with a taser. As he fired, Midori threw her sword into the weapon's path, blocking its shot just in time and allowing Dawn to grab the neko around the neck with her whip. She pulled her whip with enough force to drag the neko into her tight embrace, where she kissed the neko on the lips and entranced her.

"Obey me," Dawn intoned. "Fight for me."

"Y-Yes, Mistress," the neko droned as she turned on her comrades. This turn of events bought the two heroes time to regroup as Dawn enslaved another pair of nekos to join the first.

"Enough!" Felicia shouted as she shot the three nekos with a YPD stun pistol, knocking them out.

"Let's try it this way then," Dawn said as she held out an orb in front of the nekos. Midori averted her eyes as some of the nekos began to go under. Most of them did not, including Felicia and Barbra. The one thing these nekos had in common were the collars keeping them obedient.

"I am not sure hypnosis will help us much here," Midori whispered as the collared nekos began waking up their brethren. Not only that, it seemed that the entire gang had been recalled as a horde of them were approaching their position.

"Yeah, guess we have to do this the old-fashioned way," Dawn replied as she grabbed a neko with her whip. "Get over here, you!"


* * *


"Hello again, Jake. Diana." Had Jake not been so stunned by Rosemary's knowledge of his identity, he would have noticed the venom in her voice as she said Diana's name.

"Y-You're the one behind this?" Diana stuttered.

"What, you expected anyone else? You and I are destined to do this forever, Diana. Every day since you stopped me, THIS SCAR has been a constant reminder of what you cost me," Rosemary shrieked, pointing to the scar on her cheek from where Diana's claws had dug into her flesh. "But that wasn’t enough for you people, was it? You had to go and banish my benefactor to another world, cutting off my funding and forcing me to more drastic action."

"You mean Lucius?" Jake asked. "He wanted you in his harem. As his slave. Lilith said so."

Rosemary seemed taken aback by this, but quickly became much more calm, collected and even smug. "Then I guess I should thank you for sparing me from such a fate... and sealing your own doom. Which this device, the world will be mine and you two will be nothing more than puppets, dancing on my strings until I get bored and have you fight to the death for my amusement. I may even let the winner be my sex slave as a reward. As you can see, the device is very close to being ready to activate and when it goes online, your doomsday will begin."

"Why is it always doomsday?" Diana whispered.

"Because Rosemary is a generic villain with no real motivation besides evil," Jake whispered back.

"Sh-Shut up while I'm monologuing!"

"Oh, right, playing the big villain like this is really exciting for her. My bad. Please continue."

"A-Anyway, this device will amplify Allison's psychic abilities, allowing me to tap into the mind of every single person on the planet, much like with that alien Mato helped. Except that this time, you won't worm your way out of it with your hypnosis."

"Wait," Jake interrupted. "If your plan is mass mind control, why not just send out a hypnotic signal when you hijacked the TV station?"

"..."

"..."

"...I hate you." Rosemary's face was beet red.

"I'm just saying."

"E-Enough of this! Nero, get him!"

"As you wish," said Nero as he jumped down from a catwalk and drew a sword from his back.

"I've got this," Jake whispered. "You go for Allison."

"Right."

The two heroes rush forward, Jake leaping onto the ground level and quickly blocking Nero's strikes with his armguards, and Diana nimbly hopping across desks and machinery to reach the entranced scientist.

"Not so fast, my little kitty," Rosemary uttered, pressing a button on her throne and activating an electrical field all around the Rose's Thorn. The device was too tall for Diana to reach the top without touching the electrified shaft, but at least Allison seemed protected in her bubble. Rosemary certainly was something else. "I have something special planned for you." Rosemary snapped her fingers and one of the masked Black Cats approached Diana, purple eyes kept behind a pair of intimately familiar glasses.

"Mom?" Diana squeaked pathetically.

As if to confirm her conclusion, Kitty removed her mask and adjusted her glasses. "Hello, Sweetie," she said, seemingly completely her usual self. "I see you've continued your heroing. Good girl."

"M-Mom!" Diana couldn't help herself and embraced Kitty tightly. "I-I thought you were... and then you..."

"Shhh, I know, Sweetie. But Mommy's fine. Here, let Mommy give you a present."

Diana's eyes shot open and she pushed her mother away. As she suspected, in her mother's hand was one of Rosemary's collars.

"Why are you resisting, Sweetie? Just take the collar and me and you and your father can be together in Mistress' service forever. We'll never need to be separated again."

"Mom... Don't do this... please..."

"Trust Mommy, okay? This is for the best."

"No... You're not thinking straight. You have to fight it, Mom."

"Fight what, Sweetie? I've never seen more clearly before. Why fight the inevitable? Just give in and it will be much more pleasant. For all of us."

"I'm sorry, Mom," Diana wept. "I'm so sorry I let this happen to you."

Kitty's expression seemed... almost pained at seeing her daughter like this. "It's okay, Sweetie. I'm fine. There was nothing you could have done to prevent this. And besides, this is all for the best."

"You... really think this is for the best, don't you?"

"Absolutely."

"Even if you know Rosemary made you like this?"

"Even then."

"Then... I'm sorry, Mom, but... I have to stop you."

Kitty sighed. "I understand, Sweetie. You do what you think is right, and I'll do what I think is right."

"This is going to be fun," Rosemary said from her throne as she licked her lips.


* * *


Sarah reached the roof just in time to see Chief Ironside climbing aboard a helicopter that was going to get him out of there. She rushed toward the chopper until a rifle was fired just before her, forcing her to stop. Up above, Delilah was flying with an assault rifle in hand. She descended to the ground and touched down between Sarah and the chopper.

"Freeze, Sarah!" Delilah commanded, taking aim.

"Delilah, get out my way! I have to stop Ironside!"

"You of all people should know what a serious crime attacking another officer - especially the Chief of Police - is. Surrender now and I promise to do all within my power to get you a lesser sentence."

"Delilah, this is madness. Ironside is corrupt. You're being controlled. He let it happen."

"Be that as it may, Chief Ironside represents the law, and those who oppose the law must be brought to justice. You taught me that."

"Delilah... What he represents isn't justice. He is the epitome of corruption, the very reason so many people distrust the police these days. Don't you see that stopping him will fix that?"

"I... No. The Chief's order is law and must be obeyed. If you insist on opposing the law, you must be stopped."

"Delilah... if you insist-"

Delilah was sent flying as a beanbag struck her in the chest. Sarah turned to see Jessica running up with her weapon. "What are you waiting for!?" the redhead shouted. "Stop that chopper!"

Sarah turned back to see the chopper starting to take off. She sprinted toward the chopper and was just able to grab the chopper's skids and keep it from ascending.

"What are you doing!?" Ironside barked at the pilot. "Move over the edge!"

As commanded, she pilot moved the chopper closer to the edge, hoping to leave Sarah dangling over the edge for easy removal. Slipping her heels off, Sarah dug one foot into the ground with great force, buying herself some time, which she used to think of a quick plan. She placed her other foot against the bottom of the chopper’s open door and pulled as hard as she could on the skid, eventually breaking it clean off. She quickly held it up into the rotor's path, breaking off each blade as they struck it. Unable to maintain flight, the chopper fell onto the roof near the edge and fell onto its side from lack of balance with one skid missing.

Before either could recover, Sarah plunged her fist through the cockpit's glass and threw the pilot across the roof before dragging Ironside out.

"It's over, Ironside," Sarah declared as she threw him to the floor.

"Over? No, no, we're just getting started," the inu said as he staggered to his feet and removed his hat, coat and shirt, revealing his muscular body. Jessica moved to support her as Delilah recovered from the beanbag and joined the chief.

All weapons were dry, meaning this would be settled hand-to-hand.


* * *


Jake blocked again. And again. And again. He knew his armguards wouldn't last much longer against this assault. He hopped back as Nero went for an overhead swing. Once the blade touched the ground, Jake forced his foot down on it, his reinforced boot soles preventing him from being hurt but such a dangerous act and also forcing the blade into the ground with their weight.

See his sword was a lost cause, Nero released it from his grip and hopped back to formulate a new plan. Jake released the blade, confident that Nero wouldn't get it free any time soon. He kept his distance, unsure of what other tricks Nero might have up his sleeves.

Nero quickly threw a knife at Jake, who, having heard about this trick from Dawn, caught it and threw it back under Homeshield's guidance. Nero had to dodge instead of trying his next tactic, and then had to guard as Jake rushed in and swung for him. Nero ducked under the punch and shoulder barged Jake against a large computer tower. Nero went to punch him but stopped short upon realising what Jake was in front of. Jake noticed this and held Nero tight, punching him repeatedly while keeping his back to the tower to keep Nero from fighting back.


Diana grabbed Kitty by the shirt and swung her around, sending her into a nearby desk. Before she could recover, Kitty was pinned to the table, Diana holding her wrists tight. "Look into my eyes, Mom," Diana urged as she activated her power.

"I'm afraid that won't work," Rosemary informed her with glee. "Not while that collar is on."

Diana quickly reached for the collar, but Kitty grabbed her hand and brandished another collar with her free hand. She reached out to clamp it around Diana's neck. Diana found herself powerless in the face of her mother, he will to fight now having been draining since she'd first seen her as Rosemary's puppet.

"M-Mom... Please, don't..."

"Don't worry, Sweetie. It'll all be over soon."

"I-I love you, Mom."

"I..." Kitty's hand stopped, trembling slightly as her brow furrowed, almost as if she was conflicted. "I-I love..."

Rosemary snapped her fingers and Kitty's eyes glazed over and her hand resumed its movement.

Panicking, Diana head-butted her mother, knocking her head back against the desk. Kitty slumped against the desk, her glasses broken and blood oozing out of her nose. Diana placed one hand behind Kitty's head and the other under her legs, and moved her to lie down on the floor. As Diana moved her, she felt like the hand behind her mother's head was wet all of a sudden. She moved the hand out from under her and found that it was soaked red.

"M-Mom? Oh, God. Mom!"

Jake glanced over and saw the blood trickling out from beneath Kitty's head. Nero delivered a swift kick upon seeing Jake's distraction. Jake caught Nero's foot and delivered a hard elbow to Nero's knee, coming just shy of breaking it. As Nero howled in pain, Jake gathered all him might and punched Nero hard in the face, sending him flying into a wall, slumping to the floor unconscious.

Jake rushed over to Kitty and had Homeshield scan her for injury. All eyes were on them; Rosemary, the Black Cat guards, even the scientists had stopped working to see what was happening.

"It's looking bad for her," Homeshield informed Jake.

"I can see that!" he snapped, having turned off his internal mic to keep Diana from worrying. "What do I do!?"

"I'm afraid without being able to look over her myself, I cannot be sure how to help."

Jake's stomach sank. Kitty was always so kind, not just to him or Diana, but to everyone. She didn't deserve this. There had to be a way to save her.

There is, Jake, said a familiar voice.

A-Allison?

Barbara wanted me to relay some first aid knowledge from her to you.

But... aren't you two-

Servants of the mistress, yes. We won't help you stop Mistress, but none of us want to see Kitty die.

Okay. Tell me what I have to do.


* * *


Midori struck down another Black Cat with her laser sword's stun function. Dawn caught one around the ankle with her whip and tripped him up before following up with an elbow drop to the gut.

The two regrouped back-to-back, making sure they couldn't be attacked from behind. "Not... bad, Kid," Dawn panted.

"Same to... you," Midori replied.

"These guys're... pretty tough."

"Too many... We might not-"

"Don't even think that!"

"Eh?"

"You and I... we have to keep those two safe. We can do this."

"H-Hai. We will do this."

"Are you two done?" called Felicia as she aimed a pistol at the two. "As touching as this little moment is, I can't let you interfere with-" Another orb hit her from above, leaving her once again stunned.

The duo looked up to see a familiar-looking succubus with red and black-streaked hair held up in a bun with a blue scrunchie, wearing a black business suit and dark glasses.

"Lilith-sama?" Midori gasped.

"Mother!?" Dawn practically screamed.

"Ohayo, Emerald-chan," Lilith greeted as she touched down beside them. "And how are you tonight, Dear?"

"Y-You know?"

Lilith seemed perplexed by her daughter's question. "I-Is this a joke? Are you trying to pull the wool over Mommy's eyes? This outfit is so... you. And Midori-chan is about the only person in Yoto who likes Sentai shows, wears green and carries a sword with her."

"Fair point..."

"But, Lilith-sama, why are you here?"

"Oh, I heard about the crime wave on the news," Lilith replied, casually backhanding an attacking neko unconscious. "I figured Sarah could get it resolved easily enough, especially with all the heroes running around. But when I saw Kitty on TV, I knew I had to come down myself to help out."

"W-Which heroes do you mean?" Dawn asked worriedly.

"Well, Captain Anime, Spiral Girl, Emerald Flash and Katseye of course."

Dawn sighed in relief.

"Oh, and the Scarlet Harlot as well."

Dawn collapsed.

"And I'm very proud of you, Dear," Lilith added, offering a hand to her daughter. "You shouldn't be embarrassed of the fulfilment you feel from helping people just because of your race or reputation. Embrace who you are and do what makes you happy. Okay?"

"O-Okay. ...Thank you, Mother."

Lilith took Dawn's whip and said, "Now, what do you say, we show these guys what happens to those foolish enough to challenge the Morgana-Katsumi family."

"Yeah!"

"Hai!"


* * *


Jake finished wrapping up Kitty's headwound with a torn off piece of fabric from her top. "That should do it," Jake said finally, eliciting a sigh from Diana.

"Jake, you... Thank you."

"Hey," Jake replied, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay now."

He moved to remove Kitty's collar, but Allison interrupted him. Barbara says you should leave it on to not mess with her blood pressure. It's best to leave it on until she's started to recover.

Okay. Thanks, Allison. And tell Barb thanks too.

D-Don't mention it. Please. We don't want Mistress to be mad at us.

No problem. If anyone here's not busy, could you get them to look after Kitty for a while?

Sure. I'll ask around.

Thanks. "Now," Jake said, turning back to Diana. "Let's get this bitch."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

Jake and Diana stood and approached Rosemary. "She survived? Shame. I was so looking forward to seeing the look on your face when-"

"God, do you always talk so much?" Diana snapped. "Maybe if you learned to keep your goddamn mouth shut and stopped being such a bitch, you might actually be able to make some friends and have an actual life instead of being a worthless waste of skin who has to resort to mind control to get what she wants because she's too pathetic and weak to achieve anything alone."

"I... You... Shut your mouth, you insignificant-!"

"Insignificant!? I'm insignificant!? After you've gone to such great lengths to burn my house down and abduct and pin the blame on my mom? I'm insignificant? Clearly, you've done nothing but think about revenge for half a year! Are you always this petty when things don't go your way?"

"You. Little. Bitch!"

"Sorry, I'm a cat, not a dog."

Rosemary let out a cry of hatred the likes of which Jake had never heard. He wasn’t sure angering the psychopathic genius was such a good idea, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

"FINE! Let's see how you like this!" Rosemary clapped her hands and another masked Black Cat Gang member stood between Rosemary and the two heroes. This one was female, wore a collar - Phase 2 if her purple eyes were any indication - and was evidently human, given the lack of cat ears. "These two are all yours, slave."

"Thank you for this opportunity, Mistress," the girl said, unmasking herself.

"Washina?"

Rosemary's smug smile returned at Diana's reaction. "What's this? Showing concern? I thought you hated little Washina."

"Diana... Please, fight me," Washina urged, taking out her headband and forming her bo staff. "I need to defeat you."

Jake placed a hand on Diana's shoulder. "Go ahead. I'll get Rosemary."

"Alright. Good luck."

"You too."

Diana pounced at Washina, while Jake rushed at Rosemary's position, where a number of Black Cats had regrouped. As Jake began punching his way through Rosemary's guards, Washina held up her staff to block Diana's strike, only for Diana to perch her hands and feet along the staff and swing downwards, her butt making contact with Washina's face, knocking her back without her staff, which Diana still held as she flipped and landed on her feet.

"Diana, please," Washina pleaded. "I have to defeat you."

"What, you expect me to just give up and let Rosemary win? I always knew you were-"

"Please!" Washina begged, tears forming in her eyes. "I need to beat you. It's the only way you'll ever forgive me!"

"W-What?"

"Nothing I do is ever enough for you to stop hating me. I know what I did was wrong... horrible even, so I know nothing I do can ever make you stop hating me. But, if I stop you... and you become one of mistress' servants... it's the only way you'll ever forgive me for what I did with Dark Eden. So please..."

Diana's expression softened. "I'm... sorry. But I can't."

"Why? I just want to be your friend. Why won't you let me-?"

"I forgive you."

"Wh... You... do?"

"Yes," Diana replied, walking forward. "I can see how much this means to you. I can see how much you've changed. I'm sorry for how I've treated you, Washina. I really do want to be your friend." Diana hugged Washina, who was stunned by Diana's understanding and willingness to forgive. It was something she never thought would happen. "I forgive you, so you don't need to obey her anymore." Diana gently reached around Washina's back and unstrapped the collar, letting it fall free to the floor.

"Thank you..." Washina whispered, lightly pecking Diana on the cheek.

"Oh, gag me with a spoon," Rosemary moaned, rolling her eyes.

Jake finished off the last of the nekos and replied, "That can be arranged."

He leapt through the air towards Rosemary, who simply pressed a button on her armrest. A pen tip-like cone at the head of the throne fired off a wave of energy, which killed Jake's momentum and dropped him to the ground, PAT armour disabled.

"How-?" Jake began, looking over his bare arms.

"Sakura sent me some very interesting files before you killed her," Rosemary replied, clamping a collar around Jake's neck and pressing a button to fire another energy wave at him. Jake stood up, suit fully restored. "Now, won't you be a dear and finish of your friend there?"

Jake turned back to Diana and Washina. "As you wish, Mistress Rosemary."


* * *


Sarah dodged an incoming punch from Ironside's right fist. She ducked under it and moved behind him to the left. He continued his motion, turning a full 180 and managing to make contact with the surprised Sarah's face. Sarah was knocked back a few yards, landing on her back and Ironside went for a diving elbow drop. Sarah positioned her body as if about to jump to her feet, only to push off from the ground, her feet striking his midsection just at the side, sending him spinning over her before hitting the ground hard.

Sarah jumped to her feet and ran towards him, jumping up to deliver a double knee drop. Ironside moved out of the way and Sarah's knees drove small holes into the roof. She quickly got to her feet as Ironside did the same.

"You're pretty good, McKnight," Ironside complimented, wiping some blood from his mouth. "I could use someone as capable as you."

"Not interested," Sarah replied flatly.

"Even if I offer you a large cut of the profits? The position of my second-in-command? Freedom to preserve justice as you see fit?"

"Nope."

"Don't you see that this is the only way to uphold the law in this corrupt cesspit of a country?"

"Assisting in mass anarchy, abduction and slavery is upholding the law?"

"Oh, wake up, McKnight. The world isn't all black and white. Sometimes, good people have to do bad things to do the right thing-"

"You never change, Ironside. All talk and no action. Shut up and fight."

"Fine. But you'll be wishing you'd taken me up on my-" Sarah's shoe collided with Ironside's face, interrupting him.

"I told you," Sarah shouted as she ran up. "Shut up and fight!" She delivered a swift jumping kick that staggered him back against the chopper.


Delilah flew in low to strike Jessica on the way past, but Jessica sidestepped and grabbed her wrist, using the dragoness' own momentum to spin her around before letting go, sending her spiralling out of control. Just as Delilah regained her balance, Jessica tackled her to the floor. Jessica delivered a number of good hits before Delilah head butted her, knocking her onto her back, allowing Delilah to gain the upper hand. She took up Jessica's position on top and began punching her repeatedly

Jessica grabbed Delilah's wrist as she tried to strike her again. She then wrapped her legs around Delilah's waist and forcefully rolled over so that she was back on top.

"You're... pretty good," Delilah panted.

"You too," Jessica replied much more easily. "Too good to be serving a corrupt piece of crap like Ironside."

"The chief is a beacon of justice. I must obey him at all times."

"He's trying to kill Sarah."

"No, he..."

"He's trying to kill her for trying to prevent the perversion of justice. Deep down, you know it's true."

"No. He's... She..."

"You know I'm right, Delilah."

"But... I have to obey..."

"No, you don't. Take off that collar and you'll see that I'm right."

"I can't. The collar must stay on at all- eh?"

Jessica held up the now removed collar with a smirk, staring down into Delilah's red eyes.


Sarah and Ironside both swung for each other, their arms colliding in a cross-counter. Ironside went to punch Sarah in the side with his free arm, but her greater speed allowed her to hook her leg around his and place her free hand firmly against his back. With all her might, Sarah lifted Ironside up into the air and slammed him down onto the roof with enough force to break a hole through the roof down into the lobby below. Ironside landed atop the reception desk and barely had time to register what had happened when Sarah's double knee drop made contact with his stomach, winding him greatly.

She pinned Ironside to the desk with her foot on his snout. Panting, she looked out over the other officers, who had all stopped fighting one another to see what was happening.

"All of you who were with him, surrender in the name of the law."


* * *


Diana kept her distance from Jake.

The hero rushed at her so she hopped up, kicked off from the back of his head and flipped onto the ground a safe distance from him.

"Please tell me you're just playing along, Jake," Diana panted, her heart racing.

Jake's only response was to throw a chair at her. She was just able to dodge, but this left her wide open to Jake's follow-up strike. After sliding along the ground from Jake's attack, Diana pleaded, "Please, Jake! You have to snap out of it! You don't want to do this!"

"That won't work this time, dear," Rosemary called out condescendingly, very happy that her device had also locked Mato's system out of the suit, preventing any sabotage. "He's in Phase 1; complete and total obedience. He can't hear you. He can't even think on his own. Isn't that right, Jake?"

"Yes, Mistress," he replied lifelessly.

"Good. Now, break her."

"Yes, Mistress." Jake lunged for Diana, but a sudden weight landed on his back as Washina's sneak attack was a success. She pulled her staff forcefully against his throat, hoping to make him pass out from lack of air.

"Jake, you can fight this," Diana urged. "You can't let Rosemary win!"

"She's right, Jake," Washina struggled. "Come on, fight her!"

Jake gripped Washina's wrists tightly, infusing her body with his powerful love touch.

"You know, Jake?" Washina said in a very friendly tone. "I’ve always liked you as a friend, but I don’t swing that way."

His body language displaying stifled irritation, Jake pumped more energy into Washina before throwing her across the room. Washina collided with Diana, sending both girls crashing to the floor.

"Ugh… that was weird," Washina moaned as she sat up, clutching her head. "You okay, Diana?"

Diana sat up, her eyes golden and a dopey smile on her face. "Jake…"

"Oh, no you don’t," Washina said, grabbing Diana by the back of her neck and pulling her back. "Wow, Jake’s love touch can transfer between people though contact? I fear what he’d do with that if he abused his power."

"Jaaake," Diana moaned, struggling feebly to break free.

Washina tuned Diana to face her and slapped her across the cheek.

"Wh-What… Oh," Diana mumbled, embarrassed.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Jake was now on top of them, ready to strike. Diana grabbed Washina's staff and shoved it into Jake's gut, hard. She knocked him back off his feet and into one of the trenches, buying them time to move.

The trench Jake landed in was the one where Barbara and Linda were working. The two had to stop as the armour-clad teen tumbled into their workspace. Barbara placed a hand on Jake's shoulder to help him up, but he simply ignored her and climbed back out. Barbara watched him go for a moment, while Linda simply returned to her work.

Allison? Can you hear me?

Yes, I can hear you.

This isn't right. Jake like this, fighting his friends...

Are you opposing the mistress' desires?

No! No, I just... I love Jake. Like a son. I don't want him to suffer like this.

But Mistress wills it.

But Jake...

We cannot disobey.

Allison, do you like Jake?

...In what way?

Any way. As a friend, as a lover, anything.

Well... yes, he's my friend.

Then how can you sit here while he tries to kill his friends?

I... I can't resist Mistress. None of us can.

I'm not resisting; I'm advising.

Barbara snuck out of the trench, making sure her mistress didn't see her, and hurried over to Rosemary's throne.

By now, Jake was swinging for Washina. She blocked with her staff, but the PAT suit's power boost proved too much as her staff split in two. Washina yelped as she ducked, Jake's fist striking the computer tower behind her and sticking in it. The suit protected Jake from electrocution, but Washina had to dive away.

She staggered to her feet and rushed as far away as she could before Jake could free himself. Upon finding a hiding spot, she looked down at her broken staff. It had been given to her by her mother when she was little. Now, it was merely another broken piece of her broken past.

Diana observed Jake from above, silently stalking him as he broke his fist free and set off to find the two girls. Diana needed a plan and fast. Jake was closing in on Washina's hiding spot and Diana nimbly followed him.

Washina took the initiative and attack Jake from behind when she had the chance. She struck him quickly with the two halves of her staff, finding her strikes coming much quicker than with the staff, but lacking some of the power that came with it. Jake seemed unfazed by her strikes and turned to stop her. She went to hit him again, but he caught her wrist and squeezed until she dropped her weapon. She tried a low blow with the other half, but he did the same again. Once she was disarmed, he threw her over his shoulder, sending her tumbling a few metres away.

"I'm bored of this!" Rosemary called. "Hurry up and finish them!"

"Mistress?"

Rosemary jumped as Barbara appeared beside her. "W-What the hell are you doing here? Why aren't you working?"

"I'm so sorry, Mistress, but please stop this!"

"Stop this!? You dare question me!?"

"N-No, Mistress. But... this is too cruel. You don't have to do this. Please-"

"Enough! Get back to your station or I'll have your mind erased completely!"

Barbara sighed in defeat. "So be it." She slammed her hand on one of the buttons on Rosemary's chair, sending out a wave of energy that disabled Jake's armour. Rosemary smacked Barbara away in anger, madly rushing to restore the armour. As she fumbled to do so, Diana leapt onto Jake's exposed back and quickly tore the collar off, leaving light scratches from her desperate claws.

Jake collapsed to the floor, passing out from Rosemary's control. Washina rushed over as Diana tossed the destroyed collar aside.

Enraged that Barbara had cost her so much, Rosemary opened a secret compartment in her armrest and pulled out a handgun. She smacked the recovering Barbara over the head, knocking her out cold, before taking aim at Diana.

"It wouldn't have come to this if you'd kept your filthy nose out of my affairs!" she screamed. "I hope you burn."

Rosemary pulled the trigger, but Washina shoved Diana out of the bullet's path.

"Ugh, thanks, Washina," Diana groaned as she sat back up. "That was a close-"

Washina was clutching her stomach, fresh red oozing out between her fingers. "You're... okay," the princess uttered before coughing up some blood and collapsing.

Diana rushed over and held her tightly. "Nonononono, this can't be happening. Please, Washina, don't die. I forgave you and made you my friend so you can't die... please..."

Washina weakly reached out her hand and touched Diana's cheek. "Y-You called me your friend," she whispered with a smile. "I'm really... *cough*  happy..." Washina's hand dropped to the floor and she stopped moving.

"Washina? Washina!? WASHINA!" Diana tore off her mask in frustration at her own helplessness and cried into Washina's chest, cradling her friend's body.

"I'm glad you could feel one last heart-breaking moment before you die. I wish I could have killed that little witch friend of yours too, but I think I can fit her public execution into my schedule after you're gone," Rosemary smirked, taking aim a second time.

Diana's cries turned to weak sputters before dying out completely. Her body started to shake as she thought of her destroyed house, her wounded mother, the brainwashed Jake, her dead friend. A fierce growl began emanating from her throat, fangs growing longer and sharper; fur quickly grew all over her body, despite Mato's device setting nekos to furless; her nose became a pronounced cat-like snout, and her muscles grew larger, tearing holes in the fabric of her costume, hands and feet growing larger, claws becoming longer and shaper, tearing through her gloves and boots.

"Wh...What is this?" Rosemary shook with fear as Diana turned, her blood-red eyes meeting hers.

"I'm... going to... KILL YOU!" Diana roared monstrously as she lunged at Rosemary.