"Okay, paper parachutes and airplanes are pretty cool," Ranma told Yomiko. "Done that before?"
"Once, Ma'am," Yomiko said, lifting a tear to her eye. "Shall we get started?"
Ranma nodded and looked about the parking lot that they found themselves in.
One of several winged forms swooped in and landed in the area, dropping off a passenger before walking up to Ranma.
"How long do you and your feng shih need to be undisturbed," the woman said calmly.
"This might take a good few hours, Kiima," Ranma noted. "Can your people keep us covered until then?"
"Remember, Satomi," the woman noted coolly, not dignifying the question on her ability with an answer, "We will need certainty that the foolishness north of us does not contaminate our home."
"Don't worry, no radiation spill on aisle Jusendo," Ranma assured her. "Yomiko, receive any visitors she doesn't."
"Understood," Yomiko said, nodding as she picked up a book and started flipping through it with ridiculous speed.
The red-head pulled out her tools and materials then, walking towards the collected other feng shih and starting to discuss placements and locations.
***************
The building connected to the parking lot was a large factory labeled as Kanada-Tek Paper Products.
Belfangan Groseaux and his group were one of dozens of US and Mithril forces scattered throughout the region of the invasion. Judging their strategies based on what Gods such as Lind and Athena told them about the plans to eliminate Mantles in the first taking of Asgard by the rebels.
They filtered into one of the thickly populated neighborhoods during the cover of night, basing their plans on satellite surveillance that the wall blocking teleportation in and out.
"You'd think the Gods would be more aware of things looking down on them from above," one of his troops said.
"It's been a couple of million years that we'd thought about things like cameras as adverse psychic scrying," the Asgardian noted. "I'm sure they destroyed any camera they thought might peek at them, but once the wall went up, they stopped looking up."
Belfangan nodded at that, there was always the trap as a soldier to only look at things the way they existed for you. These rebels just sounded like they were more prone to that trap than normal.
"Okay," the Lieutenant said, "One Mantle looks idle, that's your target Raiden," the Asgardian Demon nodded, "Looks like ten other Gods hanging around loosely. Damn, I see an armed human guard."
A puff of smoke appeared behind him, and he turned about, looking toward the Demon that appeared there, a gun at her head almost instantly.
"One of Mara's!" she said quickly and quietly, raising her hands.
Belfangan nodded and his troops held off.
"How'd you see us?" he asked.
"Accident," she said. "I'm watching the same group."
"Any more of you?" he asked. "We're told that she didn't leave that many of you behind."
"We can teleport about the nation," she said, relaxing. "Makes it a little bit easier to cover large areas. Mostly we're finding groups that are trying to fight back and coordinating between them. And there's something you should know..."
"Does it have to do with the armed humans down there that seem to be very much not resisting?" Belfangan asked, looking down toward the target area.
"Yes," she said clearly a bit deflated at having her thunder stolen. "They've got a couple of cults in the area. People that want immortality or think the Gods are things you should worship."
"Got information on how many down there?" the lieutenant asked.
"At least twenty, maybe as many as forty," the Demoness said. "There aren't all that many of them, and they're generally dregs, but it does complicate things."
"How about the enemy as a whole here?" Belfangan asked.
"Roughly a third of Zeus's people," she said. "More than twenty thousand Gods ranging from high category three to high category two. An unknown number of cultists. Under Nike, her Rea...excuse me, Domain his Victory, so this could be touch and go."
"Your coordinating right?" Belfangan asked.
"Right," the Demoness said.
"How many of you on Kyushu?" he asked.
"We're down some because to these cultists," the Demoness said. "But we have some JSDF and American intelligence types, two other Shadows, a handful of exorcists, mostly young. And a scattering of soldiers or old veterans. What are your numbers on power users?"
"Asgard is fielding three thousand, five hundred category one," Raiden said. "Nifelheim is putting in three hundred Rakshasha with a two thousand Shadows and Gehenna Complex in support. The humans have around five hundred Ainur. Maybe thirty category ones. And about three thousand assorted mortal power users."
"That's not enough," the Demoness said quietly. "We have less category ones than they have Mantles and the rest of us will be flooded in Gods."
"Maybe on their own," Belfangan said with a smile. "Were you in Tokyo for the Demons?"
"Not really, no," the Demoness said.
"If you remember your history, girl," Raiden said. "It was mortal weaponry that drove the Gods and Demons both away in the days of the silthine."
"You're not dropping nukes are you?" she asked a bit nervously.
"Not that much firepower," the Asgardian Demon assured her.
"Let your people know that stuff is coming," Belfangan said.
"Going now," the Demoness said, "I hope you're not being foolish in this attack." She vanished into a puff of smoke.
"Now, revised," the tall black-man said. "Mostly the same idea but more targets."
******************
A burst of smoke atop the mantle was the first visible move by the infiltration team and the first clue the Gods had that an attack had started.
Raiden appeared atop the Mantle hand outstretched and instantly the operator inside scrambled to start up the aura enhancing nature of the Mantle. He was far too slow, however, as Raiden drew mana from Yggdrasil, converted it to pishogue to be usable by him and even with the extra step involved, the blast of red lightning that tore through down through the sky tore apart the Mantle underneath.
Moments before the vehicle exploded, the Asgardian Demon vanished again into a puff of smoke.
He appeared in the middle of an open field, entering a stance with a summoned spear, smiling grimmly as the other collected Gods considered whether or not to attack him when Yggdrasil backed him rather than them.
"Don't stand there, destroy the traitorous reptile!" one shouted.
As the Demon attracted attention, heavy assault rifles ripped open into the backs of the Gods, tearing some apart and sending others diving for cover.
While that fight was going on, the majority of the Mithril team were filtering through the neighborhood, finding and removing cultists well before the loud fight happened.
*****************
Nike leaped up into the air, wings spreading as she felt heavy use of chi and mana mostly, with increasing use of pishogue all over the island she was responsible for.
This wasn't simply more harassment by the handful of saboteurs and Demons stirring up disloyal mortals. No, this was an attack by fully powered Immortals with the support of working Networks behind them.
And the first attackers were already on the island and taking hold of the places where most of the human population had been directed together.
The winged Goddess was more than a little surprised. She'd been expecting the first strike to come from the mortal ships that were now amassing and getting ready to fire. Looking out towards them, she grimaced as she caught sight of distant puffs of smoke and water. They were too far out for their cannons, but those things they called missiles: massive explosive spears, could be launched from that far out.
Grimacing she swooped down to the ground into a group of her soldiers.
"Move now unless you're disloyal to my father," she shouted. "Victory is on our side."
*************
Akane watched the missiles flying up through the air above her ship, moving in to give cover for the mass of troops that would be landing soon. A lot of the AS pilots in the transports around them were less than thrilled about taking on opponents that could practically ignore conventional ASes, but the lack of real armor underneath the aura at least made it possible.
Out ahead, Akane watched as some of the swarm of missiles were taken down by blasts of energy and power. But several still got through, and it was only the first salvo.
There was probably a billion dollars worth of ordnance flowing into Kyushu ahead of them on precisely directed paths. When her ship and the others got close enough, then a more traditional naval barrage would begin.
She looked to her side and noted the water rising significantly between her ship and one of the transports.
Immediately, she lashed out with a raw blast of chi into the bulging water, sending it crashing back down and flattening out. Out of the water came an irate figure that landed on the deck of her ship, pointing her out.
"You there, mortal!" he shouted. "You dare challenge the Gods. This land belongs to us!"
"Really," she said. "You don't look a thing like Amaterasu."
He snarled and started to step forward, apparently eager to continue the banter when the first security personnel opened up on him, slashing across him with the sub-machine guns that they had used until recently in hunting and fighting pirates.
The first salvo didn't kill the toughened God, but forced him to hide behind cover. He started reaching out towards the water around him and Akane could hear her boat creaking.
Leaping forward, she landed behind his cover and with a loud cry reached out to grab him with the pillar breaking grab of the Yamasenken.
Before he could call the waters could overly damage her ship, she felt his back break in her arms. Tossing the God to the ground, she still watched him carefully, crawling for the edge and toward the water.
Her security crew swarmed over him then and knocked him cold.
"Take him downstairs," Akane said. "There should be an onmyouji to seal his powers and then see how injured he..."
She stopped as she looked out toward the island and saw an approaching Mantle. Turning back toward her bridge she called out.
"Turn! Get ready for a broadside on that target!" She paused to point out a deck gun and call out to the gun crew there. "Hold fire on that gun until I tell you specifically, then let loose!"
"Aye, Commander," the gun grew said, reminding her of the promotion.
The destroyer turned to face its side toward the incoming Mantle as she returned to the bridge and the intercom.
"All missiles, all guns, on that target," she shouted. "As accurately as possible, and watch the friendly fire. Now!!"
The destroyer shuddered as each cannon roared out and the racks of missiles launched outward. It was small compared to the old days of battleships and cruisers, but even now when a ship unleashed everything it had, the result was impressive.
Akane tapped her fingers and watched as the Mantle glowed blue and the bursts of smoke and fire around it seemed to do little more than make pause in the flight driving it out over the water. But she was satisfied to see that it distracted the God-craft away from the transports and onto her boat, which continued to blast the vehicle with almost every gun and missile it had.
Once she saw the aura crack and a lash of fire whip out to sear across the Mantle, but then it was coming in down on top of them, pushing the forward of her ship almost down under the water before it righted itself. The machine towered over the deck, gloating in it's superiority.
"Fools, did you really think that such a show could stop a weapon made by the Gods?" the pilot demanded as he opened the cockpit and stood out to stand over them.
"Deck gun," Akane said calmly into the intercom as the Mantle's aura faded out in its pilot's apparent glee.
"That might have harmed one of your primitive chi-enhancing vehicles," the unseen God continued. "But..."
The deck gun took advantage of that moment of vulnerability and unleashed a near endless stream of bullets into the Mantle, just about cutting it in half and knocking it over the side. A moment later it exploded into a pillar of water.
The vehicle's pilot found himself fortunately tumbled to the deck of the ship and looking up into the barrels of several weapons pointed his way.
"Get us back on course to get in range for a proper supporting barrage," Akane commanded. "Assuming we still have ammo after that."
*******************
Ryuu watched the threat to his wife's boat from several ships away before turning back to his task. Akane was serving double duty as a ship commander and the chi user, but all he had to focus on was countering anything weird the Gods might send within his reach.
And then to basically act as armor or anti-armor when they got to shore.
The rebel Gods under Zeus had to hold the island, because other wise, that gave the lot of them an opening into the dimensional wall and the hundreds of category ones on their side could spread out amongst the rest of Japan wherever they wanted. It would still be difficult given the sheer number of rebel Gods, but
He was surprised when the first attack directed against his area came from the shore defense batteries, missiles for the most part. But he didn't hesitate.
Even if there were anti-missile boats in the fleet, it would be a bad idea to simply assume that they'd be enough.
The wave of vacuum blades whipped out from him out into the air, intersecting with missiles and continuing on as they sliced through. Dissipating somewhere out over the water.
****************
"We still do not have contact with the teams inside the engagement area," Mardukas told Tessa. "There seems to be a sort of electromagnetic field interfering with communication."
"Is it affecting the missile's course?" Tessa asked in concern.
"Not yet," Mardukas said. "But we're still aiming mostly for shore. The US and Japanese are reporting the same issues. Missiles are to be aimed as closely within the bounds of the effect as possible until then. Most air strikes are held back until it can be cleared."
"Miss Geisthexe is out of contact," she noted idly. "Kali is on Kyushu. Mrs Morisato should be acting in cover on one of the ships, see if you can contact her, I need to ask a question about the amount of power Zeus should have and the amount this all would take. My suspicion is that this is a lot more than he should be able to do right now."
"He could be manipulating it through these Mantles," Mardukas noted.
"Possibly," she said, tapping her fingers. "But the phrasing I've always heard is 'able to compete with' a category one. This feels a bit too subtle for the implication."
****************
The Naval barrage had scattered all over the shoreline, adding to the missiles and turning the air into a mass of thick dark smoke that held above everything. The barrage only slowed as the transports started to reach land.
Naiki came up onto the land reluctantly out of the water. Like Hecate, someone had tried to corrupt some of the wildlife into monsters. It wasn't something she'd ever do to the sharks she appreciated.
Feeding the monsters to the sharks in the area she was responsible for was another matter.
"I don't think this is going to be a safe beach for swimming for a while," noted one of the soldiers passing her off one of the transports she'd been swimming alongside.
"Depends on whose doing the swimming," Naiki said.
American M-9s started to come up onto the beach from the water with Naiki. A little ways down the beach, she saw one of the four remaining Demonic Carapaces, all of which were being used in this action somewhere. Probably piloted by an Asgardian capable of full power, though.
They were under attack almost instantly, a tank in between a group of soldiers obliterated by a blast of raw power as gunfire started to sparkle down on the attackers.
Naiki grimaced as one bullet struck her and bounced off, not high enough caliber to be a problem for her and she focused instead on the Mantle coming down the street at them.
Stomping her foot down first, she sent a crack of opening earth outward across, hoping to set the vehicle off balance. Immediately she stepped forward into the highest form of the yamasenken that she was practiced in.
A burst of wind pushed into her vacuum blades then, scattering them and washing over Naiki and the soldiers behind her like a typhoon. The M-9s coming up staggered against the wind as did Naiki, though the tanks held better and unleashed a barrage of fire at the Mantle, causing it to erupt into fire along a blue glow of an enhanced aura.
The distraction did end the wind, however, and Naiki reached outward.
"Disciple of Smoke, your apprentice seeks your power," Naiki called out, the start of spell.
The thick smoke swarmed in and clustered about the Mantle like a winter blanket, obscuring its vision.
The tanks fired again, with the M-9s adding their own fire and, as the Mantle tried to clear the smoke away, dissipating its protective aura to do so, it was cut to pieces.
However, a number of other Gods came swarming in wielding swords and spells and other power, exchanging fire with Naiki, the soldiers about her and other people.
***************
Sayoko, Melinoe and Meryl found themselves seated at the head of a table in the Imperial Palace as hundreds of Gods and Goddesses allied with Zeus and the rebels sat around loudly celebrating something.
The three looked about with something like disgust to note the number of women who would probably sleep with Zeus at little more than a suggestion that he wanted them. Though the disgust was still deeper for the rapist who apparently felt it necessary to have lovers that needed conquering.
Throughout the room, human servants were moving about, almost completely ignored by the Gods in the midst of their party.
"Everyone," Zeus called up. "Right now, the usurpers of our rightful home are attacking our new stronghold with these new Immortals and the remnants of the Demons. They're throwing mortals at us as if it would make a difference."
He paused and took up a chalice, much better than the cups these waifish Japanese had, and drained it as the Gods around him chortled.
"Even worse," he called out. "They're taking direction from mortals! As if the mortals had a rightful authority."
There was a chorus of boos and heckles then.
"Clearly," Zeus said. "They'll find the situation otherwise when they cross blades with my daughter Nike."
This was met with a chortle of laughter.
"But just to be sure," Zeus said. "I've called for some aide from some recent additions to our ranks."
He smiled and came up behind Meryl who flinched as he gripped her shoulders. A shiver worked through her as he held her, mixing horror and pleasure in her eyes. She gripped Melinoe's eyes tightly and held her mouth closed to prevent from crying out.
"This Demoness, apparently made a living at a mortal company," he said. "And she's thrown off the shackles of these unworthy to join my court."
Zeus moved on to Melinoe, and gripped her shoulders the same way.
"And another of my daughters, until recently confused by the weak policies of her mother's colleagues," he said. "And lastly."
And here he grabbed Sayoko in a way that seemed outwardly sophisticated while having none of feeling of it, he pulled her out of the chair and directed her to face the others.
"My own wife has fled my company and taken up with the usurpers of our proper place," he said. "Kami-sama's weak following. It seems proper that, in the age of a return to old glories, that the new queen should reflect the newest of the Immortals. What do you have to say to this, Sayoko Mishima?"
It was most likely just a spit in the eye of Hera, and Sayoko knew at she stood there with all the dignity she had.
"A wouldn't be the queen of a man who can't satisfy a woman," she said coldly.
Zeus's smile did not fade as his following laughed at the commentary, but Sayoko did scream out as he gripped her arm hard and put her, with false gentleness, back into her chair.
"Obviously that doesn't describe me," Zeus said, gripping her shoulders as she tried to recover. "Now, to aid my daughter, I've...asked for their help in certain ways."
Eyes started to drift to the signs of recent bleeding on the marks of all three women.
"I've arranged for a toast after this," the mad God said, pointing toward the servant closest to him. "You there, start pouring for the toast. Nobody drink just yet, we'll have this in a moment."
The servant, of average height for a young man and sleight of build, almost like a woman, nodded quietly, bowing low as Zeus looked past and into the sea of approving faces.
"Let's get started, shall we?" Zeus asked, moving to stand behind the three as they cringed, trying to prepare for what was coming. "The sooner for the toast."
Zeus reached in through their minds, not bothering with the trick of making it even seem pleasant, and into Nidhog and Silmaril, and past some of the immediate blocks on him in Yggdrasil.
The celebrating quieted briefly as the three women shrieked in clear pain.
The servant took a sharp intake of breath and gripped the pitcher of wine intended by someone for the toast tightly.
************
As Zeus reached out, Sayoko felt herself fall back into the mindscape and watch as he pushed through her into Silmaril and through Meryl into the clutter of Nidhog. In her writhing, she was still aware of this, just as she was aware that Yggdrasil was closing tightly around Melinoe as Zeus pushed in to his home system through her.
And she realized briefly, the connection went two ways.
Wincing and shaking in her mental self, her very soul, just as much as her body was, she pushed herself backwards deeper through Zeus's being out the other side and finding a solid wall of singing and data there.
Another twitch of Zeus's mind brought her crying out and dropping to her knees outside the wall.
**************
"We confirmed it was Melinoe," one of the Goddesses around Peorth said. "Zeus was trying to access through her. We've already shut it down, but he may have gotten a limited curse through."
"There is some activity on Zeus's link," another noted. "But...that's chi."
"What?" Peorth asked, moving over to look at the information in question. "I need to see this for myself."
******************
Sayoko brought herself up to her feet again and tried to take in the wall in front of her, trying to understand it. Another burst of pain ripped through her and she hunched over tightly.
Sayoko Mishima, a voice gasped.
Breathing heavily, she looked up to see a rosy aura across the other side of the wall.
I know you... Sayoko shook her head. How do I build one of these?
Peorth bent down in the mindscape as Sayoko cringed and waited for the other woman to meet her eyes.
I'll lead you through it, she said.
************
Thor stood in victory over one of the fallen Mantles after having pounded it into submission with the help of the mortals around him. He was looking about for more targets when a sudden pain wrapped over him, dropping him to his knees for a moment before he pushed himself back up.
Though clearly even that was an effort suddenly.
It was being repeated across all the fields of conflict along the shores and cities of Kyushu.
****************
In the DaDanaan, Tessa clutched at the arms of her command chair and cried out in surprise at the attack out of nowhere, head pounding vehemently.
"Captain," Mardukas called out, coming to her side.
"I'm...fine..." she said shaking visibly and sweating. "Mardukas, take the...helm."
Eija was pulling out an injured soldier and starting to work on stopping his bleeding when the virus struck her and she paused, gritting her teeth.
Suddenly she was very thankful of all those years when casting spells was so painful, it let her set that aside and focus on saving the soldier's life before she moved aside and tried to focus on the pain instead.
************************
Kaname winced in the mindscape of Nidhog as Eija's pain ripped through her.
Eija, what's wrong? she demanded.
Some....kind of attack, the girl responded.
Mara and the other Demons with Kaname paused in their examination of the terrain around them to look at her.
What's going on, Kaname? Mara asked.
You can't hear her? Kaname asked.
She's not in front of us, Mara said. What's going on?
Mara! one of the Demons said, pointing out into Nidhog toward the distance where a storm of lightning shaped mana was spreading outward.
I saw something like that in Silmaril, Kaname said. I thought it was Deimosu.
Oh joy, Mara said and then looked toward one of the Demons. All right, you go back to the physical World and tell the lot of them at the consoles to redirect efforts for now.
The collected Demons nodded as Kaname gritted her teeth, so to speak and led the Demons with her back toward Silmaril. Mara and the other Demons traveled with her, finding that the link between Nidhog and Silmaril was indeed infested.
Push through, carefully! Mara said.
Kaname wasn't sure how long it took for Mara and the handful of other virus experts to push through the virus to where Naiki connected with Tessa, finding the two of their forms fading painfully into the mindscape slowly.
Clear them, Mara said quickly.
And then they were standing the middle of a forced clearing in the lightning around Naiki and Tessa's minds recovering slowly from the attack.
Naiki, Tessa said. Back to the fight...
I'm going, the Demoness of Torrent said fading back to the real world.
What is the manner of attack, Tessa started to say. I'll...
Excuse me, Mara said. If you're clear, you're needed back in the battle too. We're the virus people, let us handle this.
Reluctantly, Tessa nodded.
Fine, Miss Geisthexe, she said. I leave it to you then.
Tessa faded out of the mindscape then and Mara and the Demons started the process of pushing through the edge of the attacked area into the clear to find they weren't the only ones there.
And they weren't the first there.
It's limited to the minds at Kyushu right now, one hesitant soul that Kaname recognized as Sarah said. But it's growing.
It is getting a sustained amount of power from an outside force, another figure noted before looking around. This...this whole mindscape thing is...pretty awesome.
Focus, Rodney, a third figure noted before glancing back towards Kaname and the Demons with her. Who's this?
I'm Kaname Chidori, the Ainur responded. This stuff is in Nidhog too, these guys came to see if they needed to do something here.
Shadows under Mara Geisthexe, one said, indicating the named Demoness. Virus experts.
Really, Rodney said. That'll be helpful. We can do more damage.
I'm supposed to go on to Yggdrasil from here, Kaname said, looking toward Mara for confirmation.
Not alone, Mara said. Eija is going to be on the edge of this on Yggdrasil's side.
She pointed out two of her Demons and gestured toward Kaname.
Help her clear the way, she said before turning to the other Ainur. Major Carter, right?
Right, Sam said. Is this in Nidhog too?