"Would you care to explain this?" Mao asked holding up the sheet of paper with a brief tactical assessment of the situation on the plane as she faced Ranma outside the apartment they'd been running the watch on Kaname from.
Ranma was dressed in a dark-colored clothing that seemed comfortable and easy to move in, while fitting to the appearance of just someone out and about around town.
"Later," Ranma said. "I'm assuming you got the word out?"
"We'll talk about it on the way," she said, grabbing her basic gear and moving out the door. "We'll need to pick someone up, and then straight to work. Some people are going to want to talk to you."
Ranma nodded and moved aside to let her lead the way.
They were driving down the Tokyo streets within minutes, Ranma grimacing as she realized she could move much faster through traffic on her own.
"We found the plane's transceiver, they're in North Korean air space now, flying west," Mao said.
"How's soldier boy going to act on this one?" Ranma asked.
****
As Ranma and Mao talked events were going on in the plane.
"While they're in air?" Mao's voice asked as two teens started circulating in the aisles. "Sousuke is probably trying to identify the terrorists and looking for any devices."
Sousuke's face was serious as he walked up and down the aisles eyes scanning the people and items around him.
"Can he be subtle?" Ranma's voice asked.
A man in a dark suit noted Sousuke moving about and frowned before sitting back in his seat complaining about kids wandering about the plane.
"In this situation?" Mao asked. "He should be good. What about your kids."
"Deimosu should be looking for somewhere quiet and out of the way," Ranma said. "If he can get to the luggage hold that would be perfect."
The scene focused on Deimosu walking back toward the restroom and the elevator Sousuke had told him about. There wasn't much else he could do, his magic knowledge was limited and he couldn't start a fight while they were in mid-air.
"Eija will be looking for the terrorists too," Ranma said. "She'll stop supressing senses and start looking. And she can get places no one would expect."
Eija passed without attention, sunglasses off her face and the red of her irises filling out into her sclera as she opened her senses. She looked reflexively down at her hands and noted uncomfortably the red that splattered her own hands and then looked away at the people around her.
"You have a third kid, don't you?" Mao asked as the scene drifted toward the green-haired Satomi.
"Naiki's probably useless," Ranma's voice said reluctantly. "Will be until she gets off the plane."
Naiki had her eyes closed and had thoroughly destroyed the arms of her seat, much to the discomfort of the kids sitting next to her.
"Hopefully, she'll stay unaware until the plane lands," Ranma thought to herself, not speaking aloud. "If she decides she has to fight in that state, she might destroy the plane."
****
"Care to explain the butterfly now?" Mao asked, the scene switching back to her car.
"A spirit charm," Ranma said. "It carries a message to a specific person."
"Spirit charm?" Mao said. "Is that like a spell?"
"A small one," Ranma admitted.
"So how did your daughter know what was going on?" Mao asked. "This sit-rep says the passengers are unaware."
"They killed someone," Ranma said. "Eija can feel that."
Mao looked at Ranma carefully.
"What are you people?" Melissa asked as she pulled the car to a stop besides the third member of her team.
Whether Ranma would have answered or not was left unknown as Kurz pulled himself into the car.
"What's up Sergeant Major?" he asked. "Was I just getting set for some R&R. Hey wait, isn't that...are you looking for a threesome then?"
Both women turned to look in the back seat, a dark look on their faces.
"It was just a joke," Kurz said nervously.
****
Tessa looked at the situation report and slumped in her quarters, she really should have known this was coming.
Actually, she had known.
She'd felt the situation was dangerous and she'd done to take countermeasures. Now they had a plane of hostages over North Korea to handle.
All the relevant past reports were sitting in front of her.
She'd pegged Ranma Satomi as a possible Sensitive. Given Sergeant Sagara's other reports she should have done so for her children. And that certainly increased the chances that someone would try something.
"This is my fault," she said quietly. "I shouldn't have relaxed."
A knock pulled her eyes to the door and she gathered herself together.
"We've recovered Urzu-2, Urzu-6 and the freelancer," Commander Kalinin said. "They're in the briefing room."
"All right, Commander," Tessa said. "I guess I should go meet her."
She pulled herself together and walked out to the corridors heading toward the briefing room. As she walked in, the red-head was standing near the modium with her arms crossed.
"Miss Satomi," she said in a polite manner. "I wish we could be meeting under different circumstances."
The woman looked up at her as she approached and then squinted.
"Don't worry about it," the woman said. "I meet most people this way. You're the same as the tomboy?"
"Tom...you mean Miss Chidori?" Tessa said. "Yes, we're both Whispered. I understand you get headaches around us?"
"Anytime I meet something I haven't seen before," Ranma said. "Enough exposure it goes away. What's up with things? Melissa over there said you're tracking the plane."
"We think they'll be landing soon," the Captain said. "Near the West Korean Bay. We'll be in position soon."
"Hope you don't mind if I insist on taking part," Ranma said.
"I understand your feelings," Tessa said. "But I don't think its necessary."
****
Kaname couldn't help but watch nervously as Sousuke walked about the plane, worried he'd cause an incident at any moment. Then she noticed him moving to the back of the plane, towards the restroom. That in itself wasn't much, but the way Eija Satomi moved to quietly in the same direction raised certain questions in her mind.
"Excuse me, Kyoko," Kaname said. "I think I have to go interrupt a club initiation."
"Huh?" Kyoko said. "What club?"
"The mile high club," Kaname muttered as she started stomping off toward the back of the plane.
She was walking out of the passenger area when someone grabbed her from behind and shoved her against the bulkhead.
"What are you doing out of your seat?" the tall man in front of her said darkly as he reached into his jacket for a gun.
A second man behind the first growled at his friend.
"What are you doing, we haven't landed yet," the second man demanded.
"Looks like the target's trying to hide to me," the first said.
"Target..." Kaname said nervously.
"Idiot," the second snapped. "Close your mouth."
"Just call it in to the psycho up front," the first said, not looking over his shoulder to note his partner silently knocked senseless from behind. "This means we don't need the dog and pony show later."
Kaname blinked as she saw that her rescuer was Eija, and then blinked again as Sousuke appeared and shortly had her first attacker out of action.
"Chidori, are you okay?" Sousuke asked.
"I'm going down," Eija said quietly, turning to face the two.
Kaname flinched as she saw the red that flooded Eija's eyes.
"Affirmitive," Sousuke said as he shoved the unconscious terrorists into the elevator after tying them up. "Take Chidori with you, your brother and I will handle the rest of things up here."
"One moment," Eija said, taking out a vile of red liquid and handing it to Sousuke. "I only have one dose, so you'll have to split it. It'll only last about two minutes, so wait until I start."
"Just do your thing," Deimosus said, coming from further back in the plane nodded in agreement and moved aside to let the girls past.
Kaname was quiet as she was led to a service elevator down into the cargo compartment. Then she exploded.
"What the hell is going on?!" she demanded. "These guys called me a target!"
"Someone's highjacking the plane," Eija said quietly. "They killed one of the pilot's about half an hour ago when we had that jolt."
"Why would someone highjack a plane just to get at me?" Kaname asked.
"I don't know," Eija said, taking a deep breath and as the red retreated from her sclera back into her iris. "But we're trying to stop it."
As she spoke the Satomi girl opened her purse and moved into a wide open space with a large, ornate circle drawn on it in chalk. She stepped around and over the chalk carefully, examining the features cautiously.
"How are a bunch of high school students going to stop this?" Kaname demanded.
Eija sat down and took a deep breath as she started focusing her thoughts.
"One moment, I have to do something," Eija said.
And then, briefly the world turned to negative colors again as the girl started chanting.
"Angel of Night, hear my prayer," she intoned...
Above, darkness crept through the plane as windows mysteriously clouded and light shut off until it seemed as if the plane was flying through darkest night.
"What the hell is going on?" Kyoko demanded.
Naiki twitched as she looked about, resisting the urge to blast outward with her power. She wasn't far enough gone yet to not realize that she'd blow the plane out of the sky that way.
Her nose told her blood had been spilled, and that was hardly comforting, but it wasn't a crash yet. At the same time, she was listening under the cover of complaining students to the grunts and thuds of someone systematically taking people out throught out the cabin.
Sousuke himself marveled as he walked through the aisles, perfectly able to see. What's more, the enemies he'd marked out and some others mentioned by the Satomi girl where easily marked out by red marks.
Strangely, the same red marks were on himself and the Satomis.
He wondered what was in that vial, it had tasted somewhat like blood.
The terrorists were aware that something was going on but in the dark, they were too slow to react and at too much of a disadvantage.
The darkness started to recede behind them as they reached the front cabin and moved in.
"What's going on?" a voice was demanding.
Sousuke froze as he took in the man standing there impossibly before him in the darkness. And yet there he was, almost scarlet under the effect of whatever sort of drug the girl had given him. Even the man's breath seemed to come and go in red mists.
"I don't know," the pilot said. "I've never had a malfunction like this before. It's like we've flown into a patch of night."
And then Deimosu moved. Gauron sensed the motion in the dark and dodged aside, swinging his gun around, only to have it disarmed by another unseen assailant. He was trying to counter another move before when he was knocked to the ground and he heard the click of a gun, most likely his own.
Finally the darkness receded completely, taking away with it the red visions Sousuke had been seeing on the terrorists and others.
Gauron smiled as he saw before him two teenaged boys, his eyes fixating on one of them.
"Well, Kashim," he said. "How about that."
"You know this man?" Deimosu asked.
Sousuke remained silent.
"Congratulations, kids," he said, smiling. "You've retaken the plane. You only have one problem."
"And that is?" Sousuke asked.
"I believe this plane was only fueled for Okinawa and back," Gauron said. "Isn't that right, co-pilot?"
"We're running on fumes now," the co-pilot commented. "I'm going to have to land at the nearest airport anyway."
"And guess where our destination is, eh, Kashim?" Gauron asked.
Sousuke grimaced as he watched the military airstrip below them come closer into view.