HypnoBishoujoLand: Darkest Before The Dawn Part 5

The trip was a long one. Lucius’ company headquarters was a good few hours behind Yoto, after all, so it was still night time when they got there in the jet. Lilith spent the trip explaining Lucius’ background. He was apparently a defence contractor in Penombre, Elfland - the City of Shadow - so named for the large mountains surrounding the valley the city was built within. His company, Scitalis Industries, apparently sold weapons to various nations around the globe.

What no one but he and his wife knew, however, was that all of his company's weapons had a built-in failsafe that only he could activate. It seemed that, once he had the three succubi brainwashed and loyal to him, he planned to assault the rest of the world, his three hypnotic beauties - and the masses they would enslave in his name - against an arsenal of weapons that he secretly controlled.

"During my time... by his side... I was sent to forge alliances with various forces around the globe. Most of them didn't work out. But a few of them did. Like Rosemary..."

"WHAT!?" the others responded.

"Who is Rosemary?" asked Lilly.

"One of the Professor's assistants who turned out to be a Saturday morning cartoon villain," replied Jake.

"And a colossal bitch," added Dawn.

"And a big meanie head," said Lucia.

"Why? What did she do?" asked Lilly.

"Oh, you know," said Jess, skirting around the issue, "usual evil villain mind control stuff. Diana kicked her ass though."

"Why Diana?"

"Because she is a super hero," said Lucia. "She was all 'Zoom', 'Kapow', and Meanie Rosemary was all 'Argh, I am defeated', and Diana was all 'Yay, I won!'"

The others looked at her with expressions of mass confusion. As the others tried to move the topic away from Rosemary to keep Lilly from finding out what she did to them, Lilith cast her mind back to her first encounter with Rosemary.


* * *


A little over a year prior, a business suit-clad Lilith knocked on the door of the hotel room Rosemary was staying in. Rosemary answered, though the door chain kept it from opening very far. Rosemary looked her visitor up and down before saying, "Yes?"

"Rosemary, is it? I am Lilith. I was sent here by my husband, Lucius Blake, to work out the details on his proposal."

Rosemary furrowed her brow. "I was expecting Lucius himself."

"He is a very busy man; head of a multi-billion dollar corporation, you understand."

Rosemary sighed. "Very well." She closed the door and unchained it before opening it again. "In that case, come on in." She ushered Lilith inside and closed and locked the door again. The room was fairly well lit, with the large window showing a rather nice view of the city at night. There were documents strewn about the floor, detailing plans for mind-controlling headbands and a secret base in the middle of a jungle or desert. There was also a laptop on the bed, though Lilith couldn't get a good view of the screen from where she was.

"Shall we begin then?" Rosemary asked as she walked past Lilith and sat on the bed with her legs crossed. It was only now that Lilith got a good look at the woman. She had dark purple hair done up in a very teacher-like style, alluring green eyes, purple lipstick and nails, a little above average-sized breasts and was wearing a pair of oval-lensed glasses and a lovely purple nightie that was just clear enough to see the darker purple lace underwear beneath.

"Of course," Lilith replied, pulling a chair over and sitting down. "My Dear Husband has recently become aware of your... morally questionable activities, and wishes to extend a formal invitation to become business partners."

"And just what can your husband offer me?"

"Resources. I see you have a lot of plans here and I can tell they won't be cheap to produce."

"You have a point. But what would he expect from me, assuming I agreed?"

"A few pieces of technology you create. Mind control collars, for instance. As well as slaves for his workforce."

"And how exactly does he plan for me to transport these slaves to him?"

"We can arrange the transportation. All you need to worry about is providing the slaves and the technology when my husband requires them."

"Hmm... And this funding, will it-?"

"Be limited? No. So long as you can provide what we ask for, you will not need to worry about funding."

"Sounds very tempting. I suppose I can agree to those terms. A lot of funding coming my way certainly sounds like it would help my 'research'." Rosemary smirked as all the wonderful ideas of what to do with the money flashed through her mind.

"Oh, and there is one other thing we must ask of you before our agreement becomes final."

"I knew there'd be a catch. Go on then, out with it."

"For our own plans, we require the blueprints for a certain succubus containment device that Professor Mato built. I helped him design it but it must have gone through a few modifications and revisions since then and we simply must have the latest version."

"If you helped him build it, why not just go for it yourself?" Rosemary asked suspiciously.

"Do you really think a succubus showing up out of the blue, asking for a succubus containment device, wouldn't raise questions?" In truth this wasn't the only reason; Lucius also wished to see just how cunning Rosemary was before potentially adding her to his harem. Not that Lilith minded all that much at the time.

"I suppose so. But how exactly am I expected to infiltrate his mansion? His defences are infamously deadly... even if they've never actually killed anyone."

"Oh, I'm sure you can find a way," replied Lilith suggestively. She slowly got up off the chair and moved closer to Rosemary.

"What are you doing?" Rosemary demanded.

Lilith chuckled. "You think I can't see that lovely little body of yours underneath that nightie you're wearing?" She ran a finger around Rosemary's breast, eliciting a moan from the scientist. "I happen to think you're quite attractive, my dear. Don't fight; just give in to the pleasure."

She kissed Rosemary's neckline and worked her way up. Rosemary found a strange enjoyment in the kissing but she was stunned when Lilith kissed her on the lips. This snapped Rosemary out of it and she tried to push Lilith off, but the succubus was physically stronger than she was. Soon enough, though, Rosemary found that she no longer wanted to resist; the kiss was so powerful, so pleasurable, Rosemary didn't want it to end. But Lilith pulled away after a while, and Rosemary was devastated. She wanted more, needed more of the kiss.

Lilith wagged a finger in front of her face. "Ah-ah-ah. Not yet. First, you must promise to obey us, to be our little pawn in my husband's grand designs. Only then may you have more."

Rosemary's mouth was dry. She needed more. "Y-yes... I will..."

"Good. Then here is your reward." Lilith began kissing Rosemary again and the scientist was overcome by the euphoric feeling she derived from it.

But Lilith eventually pulled away again. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for now."

"Please, no. I need-"

"Sleep!" Lilith commanded and snapped her fingers. Rosemary's suggestible state left her with no choice but to obey and fall into a deep trance. "Now now, no begging... unless I ask for it. Now, I'm going to snap my fingers and you're going to awaken with no memory of our kiss or of you being hypnotized. You will remember only that you agreed to our conditions and that the deal will go through. Do you understand, my dear?"

"Yes, Mistress Lilith," Rosemary replied in a dull monotone.

"Ooh, I get all tingly inside when someone says that. Now..." She snapped her fingers and Rosemary's eyes opened. She shook her head in confusion before Lilith's suggestions filled in the blanks.

"I look forward to working with you, Miss Lilith," Rosemary said almost automatically.

"And I with you, Dear. So sorry but I must be off. You'll be receiving word of our plans soon. Ta-ta!"

Rosemary felt a strange sensation deep within herself. It was as if a sense of lust she had never known before had built up within her and she could not contain herself much longer. "Wait!" she cried out.

Lilith smirked before putting on a polite expression and turning back around. "Yes? What is it?"

Rosemary felt embarrassed by what she was about to say but she had no other options. "You don't... need to get back right now, do you?"

"What do you mean?" Lilith asked coyly.

"W-well, it's cold out right now. Would you not rather... stay the night here where it's warm?"

"Warm? Or hot?" Lilith's husky, sexy tone drove Rosemary wild.

She threw off her nightie and replied, "Hot. Very hot."

Lilith smirked and removed her own top. "I think this will be the start of a beautiful friendship..."

And indeed it was as Lilith would be sent to visit Rosemary a number of times in the following months, using her vast array of seductive and hypnotic skills to influence Rosemary as per her husband's instructions, making the woman more ruthless, more evil. Only the most cruel-hearted and evil of women had a place as Lucius’ associates... and in his harem. Lilith had hated herself for her role in Rosemary's further descent into villainy, which had nearly brought Lucius’ plan to fruition. Diana had no idea what she had truly prevented all those months ago, but Lilith was eternally grateful to her.


* * *


"Lilith!" Jess called, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You okay? We need you to be ready. We'll be there in a few minutes."

"R-right." She slapped herself on both cheeks to keep herself focused.

"This is the place?" asked Jake, staring out the window at the approaching skyscraper.

"Yes, that's the one. Scitalis Industries, the city's biggest source of power, electrical or otherwise."

"Huh? Are they signalling for us to land?" asked Jessica. Jake squinted his eyes and could just make out a person on the roof of the building, waving a pair of flares around.

"Looks that way," replied Sarah as the people below moved away to allow them to land.

"Lucius will be waiting for us," Lilith explained. "No doubt, he'll have sent the Harpy Squad to intercept us."

"Why not shoot us down then?" asked Jake.

"He wants Dawn and I to survive so he can control us. Bring us in for landing, Jessica."

"Right." Jessica brought the craft down onto the helipad while the group put in their anti-hypnosis contact lenses and ear filters. They had no defence against contact-based hypnosis so they would need to play it smart. As the group disembarked, they were surprised to see the leader of the Harpy Squad standing before them.

"Dusk? You are the Harpy Squad leader?"

"Of course, Mother," her daughter replied coldly, idly tossing the flares aside. "Though you will be taking over once Father has shown you the true path." There was no trace of Dusk's usual sultry, playful side. She was practically a different person now. He attire, along with the rest of the Harpy Squad was a skin-tight black jumpsuit with jagged four inch heels on their boots. "Hello, Sister. Do you like the new me?"

"Dusk..." Dawn replied in horror. "What has he done to you?"

"Exactly what he will do to you two. As for the rest of your friends..." She snapped her fingers and her three compatriots stepped into the light. "...they can all die."

The first of the trio had long black hair and blue eyes. Her wings and tail were also jet black.

The second seemed strangely familiar, though Jake was sure he didn't know any blonde succubi. Her blue eyes and black wings and tail seemed familiar though.

The third was unfamiliar to Jake. She had short purple hair with a black headband along with equally purple eyes and wings. Her lips were painted purple and she wore a pair of skull earrings. In addition to their matching jumpsuits, each woman also sported a black collar around their necks and glassy, hypnotized eyes.

"Eros? Twilight? Lydia?" Dawn asked in horror.

"Twilight?" Jake asked in shock. "From Mato Land?"

"You know her?" asked Dawn in surprise.

"Yeah, she was working for... whoever was behind that incident," Jake replied, being sure to keep his and Barb's secret.

Lilith said nothing.

Dawn turned back to Dusk. "What have you done to them?" she demanded.

"Oh, I simply used the succubus containment unit we created with plans stolen by Rosemary to capture them so we could use the mind control collars she provided and turn them to our cause. Father says they don't need full conditioning like we do." Unlike her compatriots, Dusk's eyes were clear and filled with hate, a sign of just how far she had fallen.

"But... but why...?"

"Why them? To break you. What better way to torment a person than by turning their own friends against them? Eros, your first real friend; Twilight, a friend of recent times; and Lydia, my own friend whom you always thought was cool... they are my slaves and will obey any commands I give them. Isn't that right, slaves?"

"Yes, Mistress Dusk," the trio replied robotically.

"And my first command... is to kill Dawn's friends!"

"Yes, Mistress."

The four began brandishing their weapons and Lilith took charge. "Dawn and I will go on ahead, the rest of you-"

"No," replied Dawn. "I'm staying here. You take the brat and go clean up your own mess. I'm staying to save my sister."

"Aww, how sweet of you, Dawnie," Dusk mocked. "But I think you'll find that it will be I who saves you from your weak, aimless existence."

Lilith looked back and forth between her two daughters, unsure of how to proceed. Midori placed a hand on her shoulder and comfortingly said, "Lilith-san, they are capable fighters. Please believe in them."

Lilith nodded in response.

Midori then turned her attention to Dawn and held out some pieces of paper for her. "Here. If you can place one of these sutras on their foreheads, it should paralyze them nonfatally."

"Since when do you do things non-fatally when it comes to demons?" Dawn asked.

"Since... one of them became my friend..." Midori replied uneasily.

Dawn smiled and kissed Midori's forehead. "Good luck in there... Midori-chan." Midori returned the smile.

Jessica prepared a flashbang behind her back and nodded to Lilith. Lilith spared on last look at Dawn and said, "Be careful, Dear. Your sister's come a long way since you were children."

"Aww, is mommy worried your sister's going to beat you up?" Dusk taunted.

"Actually, I was talking to you." Dusk was stunned by her mother's words and Jessica took advantage, throwing her flashbang. The four mind controlled succubi didn't react in time and were blinded by the flash. Lilith and Midori ran inside while Dawn flew in and punched Dusk in the face, the others right behind her.

The enslaved succubi recovered quickly and fought back. Lydia flew into the air and threw a fireball from her hand. Lilly deflected it into the open air and fired a shot back at her, which Lydia narrowly avoided. Lydia and Lilly' eyes met and the succubus mentally marked the magic user as her target. She threw another fireball at Lilly, who knocked the blast aside with a deflective shield.

Lydia prepared for another attack but her wrist was grabbed suddenly from behind. "Hello, Lydia, nice to meet you," Lucia said cheerfully.


Twilight was quick to grab Jake and throw him to the floor. She pinned him in place with her foot on his chest, the heel digging into him a little. "Submit," she said monotonously, none of that seductive tone she'd had last time present.

"Actually, I'd prefer it if you could give in instead," Jake responded, reaching for his pendant. Twilight applied more pressure, causing Jake to cry out in pain.


Sarah and Jessica were about to face off with Passion, when Sarah noticed Jake's predicament. Without a word, Sarah turned Jess around and shoved her in that direction. Understanding perfectly, Jessica headed over and shoulder checked Twilight off of Jake and helped him to his feet.

"Your concern for your friends will be your undoing," Passion robotically told Sarah.

"Like it was yours?" Sarah snapped back.

Passion seemed to consider these words before responding, "You are quiet perceptive, Officer. I was indeed summoned here by Mistress Dusk and enslaved to her will. As will you be soon." Passion summoned her shadow sabre and took a fencing stance.

"I never did get you back for releasing Dawn, did I?" said Sarah as she took out her stun baton and flicked her wrist, extending the rod to about equal length of Passion's sword. "Reinforced like my cybernetics," Sarah commented as Passion's body language looked almost quizzical, despite her facial expression. "Have at you!"


Dawn had Dusk pinned and held an orb in front of her eyes, hoping to hypnotize her quickly and get this over with. "Look into the orb, Dusk. Look into it and see how alluring it is. See how beautiful the colours are. You cannot look away. You cannot look away from the beautiful colours."

"The colours are beautiful..."

"Yes, they are."

"They are so alluring..."

"That's right."

"It is difficult to look away..."

"Yes, it..." Dawn caught herself staring at the orb and realised what Dusk was doing. She dissipated the orb and shook her head clear. Dusk took advantage and forced Dawn off before rolling away to gain some distance from her sister. "Pretty clever," Dawn conceded.

"Not as clever as this," Dusk replied, pulling a whip free from her belt; the same one she had used at Umi Beach.

"A whip? Really? That's kinda creepy to use against your own sister."

"As father wished it would be," Dusk retorted, smiling gleefully.

"Okay, first of all, ew. Second, I have this," Dawn replied, brandishing her demonic claymore.


* * *


Lilith flew through the halls with Midori in her arms. Midori had tried to protest but Lilith had insisted that she keep up her strength for the battle ahead. They encountered a number of mind controlled guards along the way, all of whom were quickly dispatched nonlethally. Lilith let Midori go when they reached the double doors to Lucius’ office.

"Are you sure he will be in here, Lilith-san?" Midori asked.

"Trust me, I know my husband all too well," Lilith replied before kicking the door open.

The room was grand; marble floors, a large window with a lovely view of the cityscape, velvet curtains and an ebony desk. Lucius himself was stood over the fireplace with his back to them. Lilith groaned as she took in the view. "You always did have a thing for theatrics. What did I ever see in you?"

"Power... is what you saw," he replied, turning to face them. Midori had expected him to be some huge fiery demon, but was surprised at how human, and good-looking, he appeared. His swept back reddish-black hair had gray stripes on the sides, making him appear middle-aged - which could be centuries for a demon - and he wore a goatee and had thick, bushy eyebrows. The only indication that he was not a human was the crimson spear-tipped tail slipping out from under his black suit jacket, the pair of shadowy wings sprouted from his temples and the three further pairs from his back. "And that power is what you craved. Not for yourself, but to be under its thrall. You wanted nothing more than to be my obedient little slave, so why resist now?"

"Power? Is that what you think this is about? Sure, maybe that power of yours is what attracted me to you, and maybe a powerful succubus such as I found the prospect of being dominated rather enticing, but this isn't about power or desire; this is about our daughters, you f**king bastard!"

Lucius raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "So that is how you broke free... you love for your dear, sweet daughter. You should know that there is no way to restore her to her prior self. She is willingly obedient to me, now and forever, and nothing you can do will ever change that."

Lilith flew into a rage and attacked.


* * *


Lydia was having a hard time with her battle. Not only did she have to contend with Lilly's powerful projectile magic, she also had Lucia flying around her, trying to distract her. Her collar kept her frustration suppressed, kept her calm. Even so, this battle was not going well for her. She observed both opponents closely and waited for her moment to strike. As Lilly fired another magic bolt at her, Lydia grabbed the nearby Lucia's wrist and swung her into the path of the attack, causing it to hit her directly between her wings.

Lucia let out a cry of agony and fell to the roof below.

"Lucia!" Lilly cried and used her magic to slow Lucia's descent. Lydia took advantage and flew in at high speeds, punching Lilly in the stomach so hard, she was knocked off her feet and into the Mato Flier, causing the jet to lurch off the helipad and onto the roof below. The drop was minor but the impact may have caused unseen damage. The attack helped the group though, as they now has more room to manoeuvre. Lilly was on her hands and knees, clutching her aching stomach as Lydia approached, her fist ablaze. She punched Lilly square in the jaw, knocking her to the floor. Lydia stood over Lilly and raised her flaming fist to strike again.

Her wrist was grabbed from behind and she turned to see Lucia, now clad in a metal bikini of some kind with her eyes completely white. "I will not allow you to harm my friends any longer," she said in a tone unlike what she had used earlier. Even the collar had trouble suppressing the fear Lydia was feeling as the angel swung her around by the arm and launched her into the air. Lilly lay in awe of Lucia's splendour as she angel took to the skies once more.


Twilight had one foot planted on Jessica's back, pinning her to the floor. Her hands were cupping Jake's face, staring into his eyes. Jake found himself paralyzed, remembering just how seductive the succubus was.

"Submit, Jake Mato," she droned. "Subservience is a mere kiss away. You will not even be aware as you slay your friends." She leaned in to kiss him on the lips.

"HYAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!" screamed Jess as she pushed herself up, the force of her action knocking Twilight off balance, forcing her to release Jake and stumble back. "Not so fast, you brainwashed bimbo!"

"Bimbo?" Twilight repeated. Indeed, the blonde hair, large breasts and inability to think for herself did give off this impression. She lunged for Jess, who braced herself and was only moved a few inches by the tackle. Twilight looked up and went in for her follow-up attack, a quick kiss on Jessica's lips. Jessica was unable to react in time and soon found herself unable to resist. "Destroy him," Twilight commanded as she released Jess.

"Yes, Mistress Twilight," the soldier replied obediently.

Jake quickly pushed the button on the watch to activate the PAT suit.

It didn't work.

"Ah, crap."


Sarah deflected Passion's strike and countered, her baton jabbing into Passion's chest and delivering a quick shock. Passion quickly backed away, her chest stinging but of little concern in her trance. She went for another jab but Sarah sidestepped and struck her outstretched hand, the shock forcing her to release her sword. Sarah had her on the ropes now. She found that Passion was surprisingly ill equipped to deal with her, likely because of her trance dictating her actions as opposed to her own natural reflexes. Sarah decided to jab at the collar next, short circuit the thing and free her, or at least knock her out. As she did so, something came flying out of nowhere and knocked Passion out of her reach.

Lucia landed next to Sarah in her warrior form and Sarah found that it was Lydia that had crashed into her compatriot, likely thrown into her by Lucia.

"Lucia! I almost had her!" Sarah complained.

"I apologise, Sarah," Lucia replied in a tone that Sarah found unnerving.

The two succubi quickly recovered and took advantage of the situation; Passion flew up into the air to lure Lucia away from Sarah, while Lydia began casting fireballs at Sarah. Now against one well versed in swordplay, Lucia had to struggle a little to keep up. Sarah, meanwhile, was now against an opponent with a great range advantage... that is, until she drew her sidearm and began firing stun bolts at the succubus.


Dawn blocked as Dusk cracked her whip towards her. The whip wrapped itself around the sword and Dusk pulled it. Dawn kept hold of the sword with an iron grip, determined not to be disarmed. An idea suddenly struck her. Keeping a tight grip on the sword's hilt with her right hand, she used her left to rub the whip up and down the blade, cutting deeply into it. Dusk realised what she was doing a tried to pull it free but Dawn refused to yield. Dawn finished cutting through and a good seven inches of the whip were cut off, removing a decent portion of Dusk's range advantage.

"Not bad," Dusk had to admit. "But not good enough." She hopped forward and swung her whip again, the time wrapping around Dawn's forearm. She pulled it firmly, pulled Dawn in close. Had Dawn been out to kill her sister, the battle would have been hers there and then. Instead, she used her free arm to go for a clothesline. However, Dusk seemed to have the same idea and both sister knocked each other over simultaneously. They both rolled away in unison and staggered back to their feet.

"I guess mother was right after all, Dawnie. You have improved. Not that you had much ability to improve from..." Dusk smirked but Dawn already had her response lined up.

"Still kicked your ass easily enough a year ago." Dawn smirked and Dusk became angry, the brainwashing evidently making her much more aggressive and quick to anger. "What's the matter? Is baby gonna cry?" Dusk lunged at her.


* * *


Lilith lay defeated beneath her husband's loafer. She cursed herself for letting him play her like that. She knew he was a master of manipulation - and not just the hypnotic variety - yet she still let him get under her skin and drive her to act rashly. It had taken him a single move to bring her down like this and she was powerless to get back up.

"Always so easy to control," Lucius taunted. "I told you you loved it." He then turned his attention to Midori. "A Nipponese demon hunter, eh? Think you can fare any better than my dear wife?" Midori unsheathed her sword and prepared herself to fight. Lucius drew a dagger from his belt in response. The dagger was ornate, clearly of demonic origin, with the shape of a black skull with red jewels for eyes carved into the hilt.

While the dagger had a relatively short blade, Midori could sense a great power within it; somewhat similar to that of her own sword. She cautiously raised her sword into a defensive stance and observed his actions. He stayed in place, likely wanting to remove his foot from Lilith's back only when he had a good opportunity to strike at Midori. As such, striking first was her best option. She took a deep breath and lunged forward.

She swung her sword for his neck and he blocked the strike with his dagger, the small blade being surprisingly resilient despite the perceived greater weight of Midori's sword. She tried to use her sword to force him off of Lilith but he held fast. She pulled back and swung low. He had not choice but to jump to dodge, allowing Lilith to roll out of the way. Midori went for a quick follow up swing before he touched the ground but he ducked under it and grabbed her by the throat.

Midori found herself helplessly drawn to his eyes, in much the same way she often was to Dawn's. But this was more powerful; with Dawn, she was sometimes able to resist, even if only temporarily. Now though, she had no will to resist, and soon enough, none at all.


* * *


Lilly quietly used some healing magic on herself to recover from her winding quicker. She caught sight of Lucia duelling Passion in the air while Sarah was now facing Lydia and having some trouble between shots of her gun. Lilly hurried over and fired a quick shot, which Lydia gracefully dodged.

Lilly reached Sarah's side and said, "Sorry about that, Sarah. That girl can hit hard."

"No problem," Sarah replied. "Her aim kinda sucks anyway."

Lydia's rage began to build. She held out her hand and threw a fireball.

"Counterspell!" Lilly cried, putting up a shield in front of it.

"Finger of pain." A long stream of fire, vaguely finger-shaped, arched forward.

"Counterspell!" Lilly again blocked the attack.

"Raging inferno." A huge torrent of fire burst up all around them.

"Counterspell!" A dome of magic protected them from all sides.

"STOP THAT!" Lydia screamed, a few sparks coming off the collar around her neck.

"Is she getting angry?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah," Sarah smirked, coming up with an idea. "I guess she's too immature to be able to keep her emotions in check!" she said loud enough for the succubus to hear her.

Lilly smiled as she got the idea. "Yes! A childish brat like her could never reach our level!"

"In power or looks!" Sarah added.

"SHUT UP!" Lydia screamed, throwing fireball after fireball after fireball at them, all blocked by Lilith. Her barrage began to slow as both her outburst and her overuse of her magic began to take a toll on her.

Seeing an opening, Sarah held up her gun and Lilly touched her catalyst to the back of the barrel. Sarah pulled the trigger and Lilly infused the shot with magic, causing the stun bolt that emerged to be supercharged. The shot struck Lydia and electricity arced across her body as she screamed in pain. She fell unconscious and plummeted downwards. Lilly used her magic as she had with Lucia and gently guided her to the ground. As she did so, Sarah was off helping the others.


The entranced Jessica had Jake in an armlock. He had no doubt that she could break his arm in a second if she wanted. She'd been quick. Too quick for him to get the PAT suit working. Twilight stepped out in front of him, her hips swaying seductively as she walked. "Surrender as your friend has," Twilight droned as she took Jake's face in her hands and went in for the kiss. She was suddenly tackled by Sarah, also distracting Jess, allowing Jake to get his hand on her arm and use his love touch.

Jessica's grip loosened and Jake got free. She simply stood there like a zombie, as if her mind couldn't decide which trance to fall into. Jake leaned in and whispered, "Fall into my trance, Jess. It's safe being under my power. You're my friend, right? I'll wake you up straight away, just give in to my power for a second, Jess."

It was subtle but Jake could see the change in Jess' expression; she seemed more relaxed, at ease with her own mind, a dopey smile spreading across her lips. "Oh, Jake, you're my hero," she said lovingly and kissed him on the lips. It was nice. There was a nice, yet unfamiliar taste to it, likely from Twilight, though it had no power anymore. Jess pulled away and stared lovingly into Jake's eyes.

"Uh, wake up please," Jake managed to say and Jess' eyes returned to normal.

"Ugh, why does this always happen?"

"The being controlled by villains thing or the making out with me thing?"

"The former, obviously. The latter isn't so-"

"Freeze. You two are under arrest for disobeying the mistress." The two turned to see a hypnotized Sarah with her weapon drawn on them, a slight purple tint to her lips. The two could only sweatdrop in response.


Lucia and Passion clashed high above them. Lucia had the advantage in versatility, her dual sword style allowing her to block the succubus' demonic blade with one sword and follow up with a counterattack with the other. However, the advantage in experience was definitely Passion's. Somehow, Lucia could tell that Passion had been in a number of swordfights and grown accustomed to such a thing. Lucia had only ever been in one to her knowledge. And she'd lost.

Despite Passion's skill, she still had to deal with Lucia's dual blades, which made it difficult to land a blow without leaving herself open to a counter. She struck at Lucia, who blocked and followed up. Passion fell back but was lightly grazed by the attack. She fell from the sky.

"No!" Lucia cried and charged down after her. She caught Passion and held her close.

"Got you," Passion stated as she stared into Lucia's eyes. It seemed that the succubi's powers had been augmented as, despite the anti-hypnosis contact lenses, Lucia became lost in Passion's eyes and was soon in her power. "Obey me now. Fight your friends."

"Yes, Mistress Passion," Lucia replied an as dull a tone as the one that commanded her.


Dawn received a punch to the face. Dusk received a kick to the midsection. Dawn received a whip to the face, cutting her cheek. Dusk received a shallow gash in her arm from Dusk's sword. Both sisters stood panting from their battle. Both acknowledged that the other was more powerful than they had been the last time they fought. Dusk managed to grab Dawn's sword with her whip and pull it loose from her hands. However, Dusk was unable to keep a grip on the whip, which flew out of her hand with the sword.

Both sisters were now down to just their bare hands and needed to find a way to outdo the other. They staggered towards each other and punched each other in the cheek. They pushed away from each other and nodded, silently agreeing that their next attacks would be the last.


* * *


Midori stood entranced beside Lucius. Lilith had managed to get back to her feet across the room. "Now, slave, defeat her," Lucius commanded in a low, irresistible tone.

"Hai, Lucius-sama." Midori stepped forward and drew her sword, pointing it towards Lilith.

"Midori! Remember your training!"

Midori stood stock still as Lilith's words reached her ears. Everything suddenly became clear and she swung for Lucius. Her entranced step forward brought just enough distance between the two for a surprised Lucius to jump back and sustain only a centimetre-deep gash across his chest. The room seemed to become a little brighter too.

Lucius looked down at his chest and mildly damaged suit, then back up at the two women. "Impressive. Post-hypnotic suggestions and triggers. But how will she escape a trance if you are the one to put her under?" He formed an orb in his hand, swirling energy red as blood and black as night, and held it out, aiming to entrance Lilith. Midori was quick on the draw and swung for his wrist. He had to release the orb and draw back in order to not lose his hand.

He noticed then that the gash in his chest was starting to sting. "Your blade... I have heard of this sword. That of the Katsumi family of Nippon. To think one such as you would aid a succubus to slay me."

"Mine is a clan of honour and justice. Lilith-san is a family friend and has helped me to become stronger. I shall repay my debt to her through blood. Yours, to be precise."

Lucius chuckled deeply. "Friends with humans, are you? And murderers of your kin at that? You really are soft, Lilith."

"Shut your mouth!" Lilith spat back. "My kin? My only kin are my daughters, not those murderers and pillagers you call friends!"

"Indeed? Then show me what feeble power your kin have given you."

Lilith summoned her demonic rapier into her hand while Midori held fast with her own katana.

"The Kastumi Blade and the Phantom Sabre?" The blade of Lucius’ dagger doubled in length as he ran his finger along the edge, feeding it his demonic blood. "Now, this is interesting..." His suit absorbed light from around the room until they were stood in near total darkness.


* * *


Lilly managed to cut the collar off of Lydia's neck with a slow but precise cutting spell, after scanning the thing and finding that there would be no negative consequences of removing it. Once that was done, she turn back to see where she could help next. Dawn seemed to be on equal footing with her sister, Jake and Jessica were faced with Twilight and an entranced Sarah, and then there were Passion and Lucia flying straight for them.

Lilly fired a shot to get the attention of the two flyers and without slowing, the two made a beeline for Lilly. She set up a force field around herself to block their attacks. She then concentrated and use a lot of her magic reserves to summon a trio of blue magical swords to hold the two off until someone else was free to help her out.


Twilight stood beside Sarah, who had her weapon trained on Jake. "Kill him," Twilight commanded.

"Yes, Mistress Twilight," Sarah replied. She fired.

Jess shoved Jake out of the way, taking the stun bolt directly in the stomach. "Jess!" Jake called as he stood back up.

Jess simply smiled and gave a thumbs up. "Gonna take a lot more than that to take me down. Come on, Sarah, you don't need a gun to beat me, do you?"

"No, I do not," the entranced officer replied, tossing her gun aside. Whether this was her way of resisting Twilight's power or simply her pride showing through, Jess could not say. Regardless, the two friends engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Jess - the hardened military woman - had as much experience fighting unarmed as Sarah did, but with much harsher moves designed to kill or incapacitate, the kind that human rights people would never allow an officer of the law to use.

Meanwhile, Twilight lunged at Jake and pinned him to the floor, straddling him in an all-too-familiar way. "Have we done this before?" she asked lifelessly.

"Yeah, it went something like this," Jake replied, grabbing her shoulders and using his love touch. The collar seemed to keep her lovey-dovey feelings in check but he was still able to bring her down into a relaxed trance regardless. "Phew. Okay, Twilight, can you hear me?" There was no reply. "Figured as much. And you don't trust me like Jess does so I can't coax you into my trance like I did her. Still, at least you're out of the fight. Now... how do I get you off me?"


Dawn formed an orb in her hand, ready to make her move. Dusk formed her own, mirroring her sister's actions. Knowing that neither of them would simply stare into the other's orb, both sisters charged in, aiming to force their orb into the other's body. Dusk's arm was held back to thrust forward when the time was right. Dawn, meanwhile, held hers at arm's length as she kept pumping more and more energy into it to make its effect more potent. As the two were almost close enough to touch each other, Dusk began to thrust her orb forward while Dawn closed her eyes and squeezed her own. She squeezed it until the pressure was too much and the orb burst.

The flash was intense and Dusk was unable to look away, finding herself in a dizzy stun trance. Dawn took advantage and grabbed Dusk's orb arm and bent it at the elbow, forcing Dusk orb into her own stomach. Dusk fell that much deeper and collapsed into Dawn's ready arms. Dawn slowly lowered Dusk and held her in her arms.

Dusk's eyes suddenly shot wide open and she began screaming in agony at the top of her lungs. Dawn took a firm hold of Dusk's cheek and forced her to face her.

"Look at me, Dusk. Look at me! Look into my eyes, Dusk! My eyes!" Dawn instantly let her eyes sparkle with more energy than she'd ever poured out of them. "I'm here, Dusk. Dawnie's here! It's going to be okay, just focus on your sister's eyes! They're so beautiful, they make all the pain go away! You don't feel any of it anymore! It's gone!" Dusk's screaming slowly became less intense as her sister lulled her deeper and deeper into her power. Her screaming soon stopped but Dawn could tell she was still in pain.

"Is this because of Father's commands? Tell me, Dusk!" Dusk simply nodded. "Every word our father ever said to you was a lie. Every. Single. One. Forget them. Erase them from your mind. His commands and suggestions are too weak to control you. Sleep now and let his hold over you slowly unravel. Your sister is here to give you strength. Cast off his dark influence and become the real Dusk again."

Dusk's eyes glazed over and closed as she slept peacefully in her sister's arms. Dawn fell back on the asphalt and stroked Dusk's hair. "Good job, Sis. Good job."


* * *


Midori had trained to fight in the dark; it was a key skill according to her grandfather. She could feel Lucius’ dark presence before her, as well as that of his blade and his suit. She could see him in her mind's eyes.

Lilith could sense Lucius’ energy was well, being a creature born to drain energy from others. Not to mention, she had spent decades with this beast and knew his presence better than anyone.

Both women, damn near able to see Lucius in the pitch black room, prepared their weapons and struck.

Lucius blocked Midori's strike and Lilith attacked from the other side. He hopped back and moved the blade to block her attack. As he regained his balance, both swordswomen struck simultaneously. He backflipped and managed to narrowly avoid both attacks. They were getting closer and more accurate with each successive swing and would soon actually hit Lucius if he didn't do something. He threw up an orb in Midori's path. It was too close to strike or deflect but not too close for her to quickly dodge it. She did so, allowing Lucius to focus on Lilith, whom he blocked and kneed in the gut.

She stumbled back and Midori jumped back into the fight, swinging intentionally wide. He followed up with a jab, which Midori deflected just as planned before going for her own jab. He brought his foot up and kicked her sword hand, forcing the blade to the side, just narrowly missing his side. With her sword lunging to the side, Midori was in too close and Lucius grabbed her with both arms. He forced an orb into her back, putting her back under his power.

"From now on, Lilith's little trigger will no longer-"

"Remember your training!" Lilith countered.

Midori's eyes shot open and Lucius jumped back, narrowly avoiding her next attack, though his blazer and tie were not so lucky. The room became notably brighter as a result of the damage to his suit. Not wanting to risk losing this advantage permanently, Lucius dusted off his jacket and casually removed it along with his tie and shirt, likely trying to frustrate them by giving off a nonchalant air. With his bare chest exposed, it became clear that he only truly had one pair of wings, the others being an illusion cast by the suit.

Midori looked back to Lilith, who made a discreet gesture with her hands: all right hand fingers extended with the left index finger in the palm, followed by all the right fingers closing around the left index. This was one of the attacks Lilith had suggested to Midori along the way and the samurai girl knew her role.

She attacked again, keeping Lucius busy while Lilith formed orb after orb and threw them all around the two combatants. Once the two were surrounded by twenty hypnotic orbs, Lucius finally noticed them. Lilith closed her open palm and the orbs all flew directly toward Lucius, colliding in a brilliant flash of hypnotic light, which Lilith had to close her eyes and look away from to avoid being entranced by it. Even so, the bright light had penetrated her eyelids and made it hard for her to see.

She heard clapping. A slow, condescending clap that made Lilith's blood run cold. Her eyes finally recovered and she saw Lucius clapping, standing beside Midori, who was lying on the ground, eyes glassy and thoroughly entranced.

"No! Midori!"

"I'm impressed, Lilith. That attack would have surely entranced me, had I not pulled the samurai brat into my place and avoided the orbs at the last second. Though, such a powerful attack must have taken her rather deep. I imagine even an atom bomb could not wake her now. And it's all your fault."

"My... my fault? M-Midori-chan..." Lilith's knees buckled as the realisation truly hit her. She had failed. She had failed the girl that had put so much trust in her.

"Had you not been so arrogant and confident that your attack would hit, you might have considered the possible consequences; tried a different tactic. Perhaps one that wouldn't have put this girl into such a coma."

He was right. She'd been arrogant, believing so unquestioningly in her own ability, that she had failed to consider the risk her plan had posed to Midori.

"You have failed her, Lilith. Just as you failed Dusk. Just as you have now failed Dawn."

"I... failed them..."

"Yes, you failed them. Is there a single person whose life you have not brought to ruin through your hubris?"

Lilith remained silent. She had no answer.

"Had you simply remained by my side, none of this would have happened. Had you simply obeyed me when you had the chance, the poor girl might have been spared such a cruel fate."

Again, Lilith said nothing. His every word was true. She had achieved nothing by running away. All she had done was curse Midori and Dawn to cruel fates by seeking them out.

Lucius was right in front of Lilith now and used a finger to raise her chin to look into his eyes, her own already glassy and lifeless. "But there is hope for you yet. You need only join me once more. Do this, obey my commands without question, and I will allow the girl to live on as your minion, to aid you in aiding me in my conquest."

Her mind muddled and lost in a sea of despair, Lilith could only respond, "I will obey you... Master..."


* * *


Lilly was struggling to maintain her magic. She had used a lot already and maintaining the shield and three separate magical swords was no easy task. One of her swords was destroyed by Lucia's flaming swords and she fell to one knee as the strain was becoming too much. She had to release the swords and try to maintain the shield.


Jessica held Sarah in an armlock to keep her from fighting back. Jake was on her quickly and once again used his love touch. Sarah's struggling ceased as she, like Jessica before her, was soon stuck between two trances. Jake was about to begin coaxing her into his power when Jess turned her around and began making out with her. Jake stood in confusion as the two friends made out, admittedly not that uncommon a sight, but still odd in these circumstances.

"Oh, Jess, I knew you'd save me," said Sarah dreamily.

"Of course, Sarah. Anything for you."

Jake concluded that his love touch had gone through Sarah, into Jess, and perhaps thanks to Twilight's power interfering, had made the two love each other instead of him. He wasn't complaining though. "Uh, girls? Is now really the time?"

Both girls turned to face him. "Aw, sounds like Jake wants to join in," Jess giggled.

"Mmm, let him then," replied Sarah, licking her lips.

I'm going to hate myself for this later, Jake thought before commanding, "Sleep!" Both women's heads slumped as they fell into an obedient sleep. "Wake up now." The two awoke and were confused a moment before they both began blushing and avoiding eye contact. Jake rolled his eyes. "Look, can we go help Lilly now?"

The three looked over just as Lilly's shield shattered.


Dawn forced herself to her feet, determined to help the others. Dusk's sleeping form gripped Dawn's hand tightly. "Sorry, Sis, but Dawnie has to go help her friends. I'll be right back, I promise." Dusk's gripped loosened at that and Dawn quickly headed off.

Lilly was lying on the ground, too tired to even sit up. Passion and Lucia were standing over her, ready to finish her off. Both brought their swords down on the tired woman. Their blades stopped mere inches above her as they connected with Sarah's baton and Dawn's claymore. The two defenders shared a glance before bringing their weapons up with enough force to stagger the two attackers. Jake quickly picked Lilly up and carried her to safety while Jessica stood a little further away with Sarah's stun gun primed.

Lucia flew high and Dawn followed, deciding that hypnosis would stop the rampaging angel. Sarah engaged Passion once again, this time with her best friend backing her up. Sarah leapt towards Passion, though a little off to the side intentionally. Just as planned, Passion dodged to the side and Sarah quickly moved so that Passion was stood between herself and Jessica. Jess fired a shot directly into Passion's back. The succubus turned to face Jess and with incredible speed, flew towards her and tackled her to the floor.

She began punching at Jess, who held her arms up to block as best she could. The odd hit got through but she managed to keep most of the damage to her arms. Passion grabbed both of Jessica's wrists and pinned them to the floor above her head. She stared into Jessica's eyes hypnotically. Jess felt herself losing her will as she fell into those deep, blue eyes. Something suddenly blocked her view of the eyes. After shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she saw that it was one of Midori's sutras.

Sarah pushed the frozen Passion off of Jessica and helped her friend to her feet. Sarah leaned in close to Passion's ear and whispered, "Caught you," with a smirk. Dawn landed nearby with an entranced Lucia in her arms.


The four succubi were soon lying together side-by-side on the asphalt. Jess was checking Lilly over, thought the mage brushed it off, saying she would be fine after a little rest. As Dawn cradled her sleeping sister in her arms like a baby, Sarah walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks," she said simply.

"Sure," Dawn replied, equally as stoically.

Jake messed around with the watch on his wrist until finally... finally, it activated and Jake's body was encased in the cool, black armour of the Mk.II PAT suit. "I forgot how cool this one looked," Jake mumbled.

"What was that?" asked Sarah.

"Uh, I was just saying Captain Anime looked way cooler in this than that dumb pink armour he usually wears."

Jake laughed nervously but Sarah shrugged it off as there were more pressing matters at the moment. "Alright, is everyone ready to go on?" she asked.

"I am," replied Jessica.

"Me too," said Lucia.

"I'll just... stay here," Lilly replied tiredly. "I wouldn't be much good to you in there anyway in my current state. "I'll stay and look after these girls, maybe get those collars off while I'm at it."

"Okay then," said Sarah. "Dawn? What about you?"

"I'll stay with Dusk," she replied.

"But we need you, Dawn," Jessica said.

"She needs me," Dawn said adamantly.

"I'll look after her," said Lilly. "She'll be fine here with me, Dawn. You go help your mother."

Dawn and Lilly exchanged a look. Both smiled and Dawn nodded. "Thanks. Dusk, I'm going to go kick Daddy's ass now. Lilly - Mina's mom - is gonna stay here with you, okay?" Dusk squeezed Dawn's hand tighter. "You'll be okay, Dusk. Lilly's super tough."

"Dusk?" Lilly whispered as she moved closer. "I'm Lilly. You'll be safe here with me, I promise. Your sister's going to go make sure your father never bothers you again. You believe in her, right?" Dusk's grip loosened and she nodded slightly. Dawn put a hand on Lilly's shoulder and the mage could feel some of her strength return.

"I've given you some of my energy," Dawn explained. "Keep her safe."

"Will do," said Lilly.

Dawn kissed her sister's forehead and whispered, "Sleep tight," before she and her friends headed off to face Lucius.