Title: Seibaa Marionetto J: Final Emotion
Category: Anime/Manga » Saber Marionette J
Author: GataFairy
Language: English, Rating: Fiction Rated: T
Genre: Adventure/Drama
Published: 07-19-01, Updated: 04-16-03
Chapters: 6, Words: 11,563

Standard disclaimers apply
Song translations found in the Bandai DVD(Collection 2)

Recommended Musical Selections:
(Stars(*) indicate preference)
I'll Be There(full) - Saber Marionette J**
Super Duper Love Love Days - Card Captor Sakura
Hiru no Tsuki(full) - Outlaw Star*

Gata's notes:
This is VERY AlternateUniverse. It takes place during and after the plasma storm of Program 13, but the Shogun's dead, Otaru knows about Lorelei, and the incident with Squirrely already happened. AND, I'm using Earth. *hides* Um.. I'm not using the Baiko-Hikozaemon/Tamasaburo-Ieyasu bit.(Mostly because I started writing this when I'd only seen Eps 10-17 and it'd spoil my plan if I used the actual show stuffies) I'll use Japanese pronounciations at times:
Buroddoberii, Raimu, Laimu, Buloddoberii, Cheri, Ruchs, Panta, Tigeru, Fausto, etc.
I think it adds to the feel of the show(and in this case, fic)
If you can find the "Super Duper Love Love Days" translations... can I please see them?? Thank you.

Lime kept running.
"I have to get the wood block print!!" she called back to her sister marionettes. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the paper. She lunged to it, caught it, and held it close to her.

"LAIMU!!!!"
Lime was pushed out of the way. She fell several yards from where she was, and now all three marionettes stared in awe.

The plasma bolt struck him. The flash lasted a few long seconds, and when it was gone, there lay Mamiya Otaru.

The Saber Marionettes were momentarily frozen in position. Lime was the first to break free of the shock.

"OTARU!!!"
She ran to him, followed by Cherry and Bloodberry. Lime lifted him up, gently shaking him as she frantically called to him.
"Otaru! Otaru!! OTARU!!!!"

[Begin Opening Animation Sequence]
[Begin Theme Song: "Successful Mission"]
[English Subtitles: "Yes"]
«Seibaa Marionetto J»
{I came to this land to protect you.}Kimi o mamoru tame kono chi ni
{I was born to be with you.}Kimi to deau tame umareta
{The moment I awoke...}Mezame tashunkan
{...I was surrounded by prisms.}owari hajimeru PRISM
{I'm here to love you now.}Kimi o aisuru tame ni ima
{I was born to hold you.}Kimi o idaku tame umareta
{Lies and truths...}Uso mo shinjitsu mo
{...are all within ourselves.}subete jibun no naka ni aru
{The days I abandon my true feelings...}Kokoro okizari ni shite iru hibi ni
{...won't get to me.}makenai
{Tenderness and caring...}Yasashisa(yasashisa) itoshisa(itoshisa)
{...can be ours again.}mo ichido tori mo dosou
{Day in, day out, like a puppet on a string.}Ayatsuri nin kyou na manichi no naka de
{Wandering in the void between zero and infinity.}ZERO to mugen no haza ma o mayotte iru
{The strength to severe the tangled wires...}Kara mata ito o tachikiru chikara wa
{...is still sleeping inside of you.}kimi no kokoro no naka ni mada nemutte iru
[End English Subtitles]
[End Theme Song "Successful Mission"]
[End Opening Animation]

Japoness' three favorite marionettes nervously awaited the doctor that was attending to their beloved Mamiya Otaru. The door to the room were Otaru was opened, and all three looked up. They all stood, and the doctor shortly bowed.

"You are with Mamiya Otaru?" he asked after rising.(The Japanese use last names first)

"Hai," they replied in unison. (Hai="yes" and many other forms of "agreeing" with the speaker's statements)

The doctor sighed.
"Mamiya-san is well, but, he is in a coma."("Name-san" is "Mr. Name" or "Ms. Name" or "Mrs. Name" etc.)

"Lime," Cherry said softly. "I don't think we can do that. It's more of a.. an almost dead state."

"He's not dead," Bloodberry said. "He's unconscious. But he can still wake up, right?" This she directed to the doctor. "Right?"

The doctor nodded.
"There still is hope," he said. "But he'll have to stay with me here."

The Saber Marionettes sighed and eventually agreed. Slowly and one by one, they exited the building.

He looked as if he was the barer of bad tidings. And he was.
"Cheri, of the Saber Marionettes, I believe that you are the most prepared to hear this," he said. "Cheri, Mamiya-san doesn't have much of a chance."

Now was when Cherry looked saddest. Her eyes became shiny, shaky.
"You mean... he may.. die?" The response was a nod.

"He's expected to live only several more weeks. However, there *is* a chance for him."
"What is it? I'll do anything!"
"You must return to Earth and find a rare flower by the name of 'Kaeru'."(Kaeru in Japanese means "to return". I found it appropriate for this "flower")

"In due time, yes. But only if you see it fit. Returning to Earth alone is highly hazardous."

"I understand," Cherry said with a nod. "Thank you, Sensei." She then left to the appartment shared by herself, the other two Saber Marionettes, and Otaru.(Sensei literally means "teacher". However, it is used for anyone who is a "teacher"(or is highly skilled) in his or her field.)

*Otaru-sama..* Cherry thought. *Otaru-sama, please hold on. I'll get you a kaeru. I promise I'll get you a kaeru, even if I have to die for it!*

«"Kasahari Appartments"»
Cherry, head held low, slid the door open, walked in, and closed it. She looked at her friends. Bloodberry was sitting in a chair, looking like she didn't want to be bothered, and Lime looked sad. But Cherry was even sadder than Lime.

*You be that way, Laimu,* she thought. *Innocence is a precious gift. Embrace it, for we must all give it up someday..*

"Ahh, don't cry, Lime," Cherry said. "There's still a chance for him. If we get a kaeru he'll be fine."

"Jii-chan was sick like him," Lime said. "And he woke up around New Year's Day. Maybe Otaru will too."(Jii-chan is subbed "Grampa". She means the Shogun)

Cherry couldn't hold it in any longer. It angered her to see them so ignorant to the truth.
"We don't have that much time!!" she said.

"I mean that Otaru won't live for that long. If we wait too long to get a kaeru he'll die," she said. *I'm sorry, Laimu, Buroddoberi. I'm sorry I said it so meanly. I'm sorry I-*

Lime's eyes went wide and overflowed with tears.
"Otaru?! DIE?!?!!!" she said. She went up to Cherry and grabbed her by the top her kimono. "He CAN'T DIE!!! He WON'T!!!" She started to cry when Cherry didn't respond.

*Raimu.. I'm so sorry..*
What Cherry didn't tell Lime she read in Cherry's expression.

"IIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screamed, throwing herself onto Cherry and hugging her tightly as she was overcome by sobs. "IIE!!! IIE!!! OTARU CAN'T DIE!!!! IIE!!!!"(Iie means "no")

"Laimu.. Laimu, I'm sorry," Cherry said, her own eyes filling with tears as she tried to calm Lime. But it was no use. The child-like marionette just kept crying.

Cherry looked up. Bloodberry was standing near them. She had long since shed the anger that she had used to hide how worried she was, and was now experiencing what the "young" marionette in Cherry's arms was feeling.

"Y-yes?" Cherry asked as she lowered Lime and herself to the ground, prompting Bloodberry to continue.

"Is he.." she continued in a voice that was nearing the peak of emotion. Her eyes filled with tears. She tried to fight this feeling back. "Is he really gonna die?" She covered her mouth with her hand at the final word, sniffling, tears falling down her cheeks.

"If we don't get the kaeru..." Cherry trailed off when she met Bloodberry's gaze. "Oh.. Buloddoberi.." She began to shake her head, tears coming down her own cheeks. "I'm so sorry..."

Before she began to silently weep, she held out her hand to the tall marionette with intense reddish pink hair. Bloodberry took it, then collapsed onto the floor in sobs. Cherry held both her friends now, she herself crying, but in far less degree than her companions.

"So, the Seibaa Marionettes are heartbroken because their Mamiya Otaru is dying..." Panther said slyly. The ostrich-cam had recorded the marionettes on it's database. The Saber Dolls had watched it.

"And they apparently don't know that they'll die if he dies," Luchs said with a smirk. "Maybe we should be the ones to tell him."

Tiger let out a small maliscious chuckle.
"C'mon girls," she said. "Let's go." *This should gain me favor with the Fuhrer.*

After much bickering, the the three famous marionettes were allowed underground, where they were led down a VERY long corridor. Cherry scanned the surroundings.

*We're already outside of Japoness' frontier.. at the fields...* she thought. *That's odd.*

They eventually emerged above ground on a plateau that overlooked Japoness. Hikozaemon provided them with the Shogun's transportation system: an old ship. He explained what to do, and bid them farewell.

Otaru's marionettes turned, only to find Faust's Saber Dolls on the plateau with them.

"Is that any way to treat a guest?" Panther said sarcastically. She, as well as her companions, wore smirks on their faces. "Especially guests with important information."

"Luchs, Panta, I'll take this one," Tiger said. "Information that will very well change your existence."

"Oh really."
"Hai, Buroddoberi." Her eyes became smaller as her pleasure in this mission grew. "See, we know about your beloved Mamiya Otaru, and we just thought it'd be nice to tell you what can happen as a consequence of such an occurrence."

"Big words," Panther whispered to Luchs. Luchs replied with a nod and sweatdrop.

Tiger narrowed her eyes at Lime.
"Fine." She couldn't help but smile with enjoyment. "If you lose the love of that one man, Mamiya Otaru, you'll die."

There was silence. Tiger continued.
"Without the love of one man, those who posses a Maiden Circuit will cease to exist."
"The only one of you with a glimpse of survival would be Lime. But of course, Ieyasu is *also* dead."

"Leave him out of this!!!!" Lime yelled.
"Ahh, I see I've hit a circuit?" Luchs said. She snickered.
"Silence!!" Bloodberry cried. "If that's true, how can *you* three still be alive and well?!! Faust doesn't love you!! He uses you!!" She paused at their dubious expressions. "You're just too damn blind to see that!!"
*-**-*Seibaa Marionetto J*-**-*Seibaa Marionetto J*-**-*

"Fausto-sama would do no such thing!!" Tiger shot back.
"Oh?! Well how do you explain his passing you to Commander Gettel?!" Bloodberry returned.
"He took us back!"
"*After* you completed a mission! What kind of love is that?!!!"

The Saber Dolls looked at eachother. Was the Saber Marionette right?
"How *are* still we alive?" Panther asked. "Gettel certainly doesn't love us... and.. Fausto-sama-"
"We can*not* doubt the fuhrer!" Tiger said. "How else can you explain that we're still here?!"

Cherry stepped forward with determination.
"Otaru-sama has a big enough heart to love thousands of marionettes with Otome Kairo."(Maiden Circuit(s))

The three dolls turned to face the sabers. Tiger took a step to Cherry. Her eyes were cold.
"Your Mamiya Otaru absolutely despises our Gelhardt Faust, Gartlant, and anyone coming from them. And that includes the Saber Dolls. We are alive because the fuhrer has *not* stopped loving us."

"Are you even sure he ever *did* love you?" Cherry asked calmly. Tiger's eyes went wide, then thin with anger as she slapped Cherry. But Cherry neither flinched nor became angry. She placed a hand on the Saber Dolls' leader's shoulder and continued. "You know I'm right.. don't you.."

Tiger lowered her head to hide her eyes.
"You're wrong, Saber Marionette," she said with a very small smile and a hint of nostalgia in her voice. "Fausto-sama loved us. He loved us when he was a child, as have all the previous leaders of Gartlant. It was only that day when he was given the memories of his past that he stopped demonstrating that love openly." She closed her eyes as she remembered chasing the young Faust 10th in the lorelei garden, his joyous laugh, and her kissing his wound when he wouldn't stop complaining about the pain. She opened her eyes again and lifted her head, revealing to Cherry and the surrounding marionettes her tear-filled eyes.

"Tigeru.." Cherry said, moving her hand down to take Tiger's. She was slightly shocked at feeling Tiger's grip tighten around her hand.

"But if he has stopped loving us..." Tiger continued, "...*that* I do *not* know. And then... then, *maybe* what you say is true." She let go of Cherry's hand and looked back at the other Saber Dolls, then at Cherry again. "And what do *you* propose we do?"

"You're insane," Panther said. "We can't just go up to him and say something like: 'Hey, Fuhrer, we got a problem. See, we wanna know if you love us, or if it's Mamiya Otaru's love that keeps us alive. Oh yeah, and one of his marionettes told us this.' It's obvious *why* you'd want us to do it. He'd have us kicked out of Gartlant in the blink of an eye for that. Then we'd be dead for sure. Then again, that *is* what you want."

Luchs nodded in agreement.
"Don't think for a minute you could get your phony plan past my circuits," she said. "Maybe Tiger's, but never mine."
"I agree," Panther said. "Well, Tiger, seems *you'll* be the one to tell the fuhrer of *your* failure. Because I certainly won't let him think it was me!"
"And neither will I," Luchs said.

Tiger looked at them. She was now confused with all this new information and the act of kindness from the lake blue-eyed marionette.

Panther held her arms in an X in front of her, revealing the blades at the sides of her hands; Luchs made her hands fists, knife-like blades coming from the spaces between her fingers. They gave Tiger cold stares. Tiger, in turn, sighed and grasped the handle of her whip. With a heavy heart, she pulled it out and took a stance before Cherry.

Cherry examined her eyes.
*She doesn't want to fight... because she knows the truth now.* Her eyes widened. She called to her sister marionettes, looking at each respectively.
"Raimu. Buloddoberi. Forget this. Forget this fight. Forget these unreasonable feelings that we insist on holding on to."

They sighed and turned to leave. Panther jumped forward at them. Bloodberry turned and knocked her away.
"We can't leave now, Cheri," she said, eyes thinning. "For Otaru."

Cherry sighed heavily, made a fist, and faced the Saber Dolls again.
"Our purpose isn't to fight you!! It isn't my fault that you reacted this way to the truth!!"

"STOP!!!!!!" Lime screamed. Everyone stopped. Lime continued. "Why are you fighting?!! Please just let us get Otaru what he needs!! Just LEAVE US ALONE!!!"

After some thought, Tiger put away her whip.
"They're donefor anyway," she said to her partners. "Go."
"Tigeru?!!" Luchs said doubtfully.
"Go!!" Tiger repeated, this time with more authority in her command. With some hesitation, the other two sabers left.

"What about you? What do *you* want?" Bloodberry retorted.
"I want to know if what you say is true," Tiger said. "If Mamiya Otaru could keep us alive if needed."

*She's being sincere,* Cherry thought. "You're welcome to come with us," she said.
"Cheri?!" "Cheri?!!" came the protests from her companions.
"We're going home now," Cherry told them. "We need to discuss things." *You two need to accept Tigeru, and Tigeru has to learn many things about herself, life, and.. Otaru-sama..*

[Begin End Animation]
[Begin End Song "I'll Be There"]
[English Subtitles: "Yes"]
{When you're said, when you're blue...}
{...don't go off to be alone.}
{I'll alway be by your side,}
{just think of me.}
{Strength is a very important thing...}
{...but tears are important, too.}
{With a dried up heart,}
{you can't do anything at all,}
{you can't feel a thing.}
{Tell me, why do people hide...}
{what they really feel inside?}
{Take what you can do, what you want to do...}
{...one step at a time.}
{I love the way you don't care...}
{...how you were programmed to live.}
{I would follow you anywhere.}
{I'll never, ever let your hand go.}
[End All]

YOO-HOO! It's me! Gata!! That's right, your author!! ^_^ Well, Cherry's being real nice, but can Tiger really be trusted? And, what's this?! The Saber Dolls are coming to Japoness?!!!! -_-; ugh.. oh NO!! And Otaru needs that flower, Saber Marionettes!! Will Tiger gain Bloodberry and Lime's trust?!
Next on Saber Marionette J: Gata-style: «"The Light is Truth! Unison of the Maiden Circuits?!"»
Sukiyaki!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Standard disclaimers apply
Song translations found in the Bandai DVD(Collection 2 and 3)

Recommended Musical Selections:
(Stars(*) indicate preference)
I'll Be There(full) - Saber Marionette J**
Izayoi - Saber Marionette J**
Hiru no Tsuki(full) - Outlaw Star*

Gata's notes:
AACK!!!! The lyrics last time... I made a mistake in the romanization: it's "mainichi", not "manichi". Mainichi is everyday. ^.^ And it's Buraddoberii(with an "a") and Cherii, extended "i". The theme song clip here is with the second chorus translations, so it's a bit different than before. Due to a review, the Japanese stuff I use will be put up here instead of down there, in order of usage:

"Kakka" is subbed "fuhrer" or "commander". Used with a name ("Fausto Kakka") it's a title ("Commander Faust(o)"). Well, I'm pretty sure it is.
Arigatou=Thank you
"Ne" varies in meaning. It's like "hey" but at the end of a sentence it can mean "Isn't it?" "Right?" etc
Mina=everyone. With a title attatched ("-san", "-sama") it indicates politeness level, "-sama" being the most polite
Ban gohan=dinner
Jyaponess is the Japanese spelling for Japoness. It'd be JIyaPONESU if you take it literally. But it's read Japoness or Jyaponess.
Lynx is another name for Luchs, and most probably the actual name. (I read that at a site, and I tend to agree with it)
Ikimasou=let's go

Previously on Seibaa Marionetto J: Final Emotion:
Tiger: "I want to see if what you say is true."
Cherry: *thinks* "..and Tigeru has to learn many things about herself, life, and Otaru-sama."

«"Kasahari Apartments"»«"O-Taru"»
Otaru's marionettes went about in their usual daily routines, though not as happily as before. Lime was out playing, Bloodberry was at work, and Cherry stayed home. Tiger was also at the appartment. She was sitting on her legs, hands on her lap, head down, eyes downcast.

*Kakka...* she thought. *I haven't betrayed you.. I've just..* She constantly fought back tears. *I'm always on your side.*

Cherry sat beside her and placed a tray of food on the floor in front of her. Tea and soup, with a few slices of bread, and a few rings of pineapple.

Cherry smiled.
"You're welcome," she said. She stood and brought a tray for herself, then sat beside Tiger again. She looked at her. "How is it?"

Tiger smiled as she brought her spoon to the small bowl for another sip of soup.
"It's wonderful, Cherii," she said. "It seems so plain, but it's not at all." She brought the spoon to her mouth and savored it's flavor again. Then she placed the spoon on the napkin beside the bowl. She faced Cherry again. "Cherii?"

"Still unconscious," Cherry replied solemnly. "But I'm positive that he'll be fine."
"That's right.. You're going to get him that flower." Tiger stopped herself from saying more. "I'm sorry," she said quickly.

Cherry made fists, tightly grasping her apron in doing so.
"It's fine, Tigeru," she said. "You're right. I'm just.. very worried."

Tiger momentarily stared at the Saber Marionette. *Fascinating.. She's so strong, even though her master is.. dying..*

[Begin Opening Animation Sequence]
[Begin Theme Song: "Successful Mission"]
[English Subtitles: "Yes"]
«Seibaa Marionetto J»
{I came to this land to protect you.}Kimi o mamoru tame kono chi ni
{I was born to be with you.}Kimi to deau tame umareta
{The moment I awoke...}Mezame tashunkan
{...I was surrounded by prisms.}owari hajimeru PRISM
{I'm here to love you now.}Kimi o aisuru tame ni ima
{I was born to hold you.}Kimi o idaku tame umareta
{Lies and truths...}Uso mo shinjitsu mo
{...are all within ourselves.}subete jibun no naka ni aru
{The days I abandon my true feelings...}Kokoro okizari ni shite iru hibi ni
{...won't get to me.}makenai
{Tenderness and caring...}Yasashisa(yasashisa) itoshisa(itoshisa)
{...can be ours again.}mo ichido tori mo dosou
{Within the eyes of a puppet on a string.}Karakuri nin kyou no hitomi no sono oku
{Heart shaken by a dream that someone else contrived for me.}Shikumareta yume ni kokoro ga yureteru
{The courage to discard the rusted screws...}Sabi tsuita NEJI o sute saru yuuki ha
{...is starting to awaken in me.}boku no kokoro demou mezame hajemete iru
[End English Subtitles]
[End Theme Song "Successful Mission"]
[End Opening Animation]

«“Hikari wa Shinjitsu! Otome Kairo no UNISON?! Yakuwari I”»
«“The Light is Truth! Unison of the Maiden Circuits?! Part I”»

Bloodberry heaved a sigh as she swung her towel over her shoulder and slid the door that read "O-Taru" open. Once inside, she was greeted with the deliscious smell of Cherry's cooking, and the warmth of a fire that Tiger was tending to. She looked at Tiger scornfully, then closed the door, after Lime had come in, and walked to her room.

Tiger sighed. She'd noticed someone came in. She'd heard the person stop and keep going.
*Maybe I should go back..* she thought.

"Hai, Raimu?" Tiger said, not looking away from the flame in front of her.
"Don't you think the fire's ok by now? It's pretty big, and it feels hot from here." Lime was standing a few feet away from Tiger.

Tiger smiled. It *was* hot. She was sweating and hadn't noticed it. She lay down the hollow bamboo stick beside the small fireplace and stepped back.

Lime giggled softly. *She's not so bad,* she thought. *I think she's nice. Maybe she can help us when we get to Earth!!*

Just then, the door abruptly slid open, and there stood the figure who opened it, hand still on the door, breathing heavily, and looking utterly helpless.
"SAY IT ISN'T SO!!!" the person said in a voice that was incredibly similar to Hanagata Mitsurugi's, specifically when they had been to Gartlant and he'd screamed "C-cruel! It's too cruel!" to his captors.

Hanagata just walked in, taking huge, slow steps. He came close to the four marionettes who were on their way to the table.
"OTARU-KUUUUUUUUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled. "It.. CAN'T BE!!! He was so brave! So strong!! So-- Heeeeeyy.." He looked to the dinner table. "How come you set the table for four, Cherii??" He suddenly lit up. "For ME??" His eyes got starry. "Ahh! Alas, I get to sit at the place where Otaru-kun usually does!! The marionettes, the marionettes have taken me into consideration!!!" Rivers of tears came down his cheeks. "I feel so loved!!"

Bloodberry glared.
"It's not for you, Hanagata," she said. She continued despectively: "It's for *her*." With this she motioned to Tiger. Hanagata looked at her, and when he recognized her, he went into one of his classic "hero" modes.

"A SABER_DOLL?!!!" he almost yelled. "Why is SHE here?!!! She MUST be sent BACK to Gartlant AT ONCE!! Who KNOWS if she's REALLY here to SPY on US for that IDIOT FAUST!!!!!"

Tiger looked genuinely hurt. She wanted to punch him. No. She wanted to kill him. For speaking such things about her master. But she contained herself. It was hard, but she managed to stay calm. She bit her lower lip and made her hands fists, one of them coming near her face as she observed the strength she'd put into keeping her cool.

Cherry slapped Hanagata.
"How can you be so cruel?!!" she scolded. "You're acting very thoughtlessly, Hanagata! Do you honestly think we would've let her come here if she were going to spy on us?!!"

"Hannie-chan! Stop it!" Lime said. "Tigeru is very nice! She's not the way she was. And she can change, too!"

All the while, Tiger had her head down. She tried to fight back tears and sobs.
*What am I doing here?!* she thought. *I don't fit in here... they're fighting.. because of me..*

"Now, if you're only here to be annoying and mean to *anyone*, I suggest you leave, Hanagata," Cherry said firmly.

Hanagata gave her a cold look.
"FINE!" he said. "But Otaru-kun wouldn't approve!" He left with that.

Cherry sighed. Lime shook her head. Bloodberry was glaring at Tiger.
"Don't act so innocent," Bloodberry icily told Tiger. "Just because you're acting all sweet and hurt doesn't mean you're tricking me into thinking that you'd not betray us for Faust."

Tiger chocked back the sobs, some of them escaping her lips as gasps. Tears came down her cheeks, falling to the floor as she slowly lost her battle with herself.
"I.." she began. Another half sob escaped. "I want.." Knowing she would soon the fight to keep herself from crying, she ran off to the room Cherry had said she could use, beginning to weep on her way there.

Lime looked as if she felt Tiger's pain. Cherry was overflowing with compassion towards Tiger and anger towards Bloodberry. Bloodberry just stared at where Tiger had stood.
*-*-*-*Seibaa Marionetto J*-*-*-*Seibaa Marionetto J*-*-*-*

Cherry made her hand a fist and whirled to face Bloodberry.
“How could you do that?!” she said. “You have no clue what she’s going through!! You had no right!!”

“I had every right on Terra II!!” Bloodberry said. “You know who she’s loyal to, and you know she hates Otaru!! You're so blind, Cherry!! You're so damn stupid!!”

“Cherri.. Buraddoberii..” Lime said ever so softly. “Please.. stop it..”

“So,” Bloodberry continued, directing herself to Lime. “The Saber Doll’s gotten to you, too? Hmph.”

“Buraddoberii,” Cherry said, more calmly this time. “Why can’t you accept her? Accept her as she is?”

“Because she’s tried to kill Otaru, and I can’t forgive that.”
“Buraddoberii, she wants to change. Don’t you remember what happened outside of Jyaponess? Don’t you remember how hurt she looked when you told her about Fausto?”

Bloodberry was silent for a moment.
“Whatever,” she mumbled. She took her towel to her room. There, she could hear Tiger crying in the other room. For a moment, she felt pitty for the Saber Doll. “No,” she told herself. She walked back to where Lime and Cherry were, then to the door. “I'm goin’ out,” she said flatly, and exited the appartment.

Cherry sighed.
*She’ll get over it...* she thought. *She has to. We can’t leave to Earth unless we’re all together on this...*

Lime stood at the door to her and Tiger’s room. Tiger lay on her floor bed, silently sobbing into her pillow. Lime slowly and quietly walked in.
“Tigeru?”

Tiger’s head snapped in Lime’s direction. Lime walked to the bed and knelt beside the Gartlant marionette.
“Buraddoberii’s gone. Cherii’s serving dinner. Come on before it gets cold,” she said, smiling warmly. Tiger faintly returned the smile, then looked shock when Lime suddenly pulled her up by her arm. Lime’s giggle got Tiger to laugh, and together they went to have dinner with Cherry.

Luchs and Panther were at their room in the Gartlant “castle” they resided in.
“That was so STUPID!” Panther fumed. “I can't believe she fell for that!! Stupid saber. Not to mention that *other* stupid saber.. Mamiya Otaru's stupid saber... Damn it, they're all stupid!!”

“Tiger isn’t dumb. She wouldn't just *leave* if she didn't have a good reason.”
“Unless, of course, Mamiya’s marionettes influenced her. Which I wouldn’t doubt.”
“Don’t you get it, Panta? She has to have a good reason as to why she left! Unless.. unless *you’re* right.”
“I say we go see for ourselves.”
“I agree.” Lynx stood. “Ikimasou.”

[Begin End Animation]
[Begin End Song: "I'll Be There"]
[English Subtitles: "Yes"]
{When you're said, when you're blue...}
{...don't go off to be alone.}
{I'll alway be by your side,}
{just think of me.}
{Strength is a very important thing...}
{...but tears are important, too.}
{With a dried up heart,}
{you can't do anything at all,}
{you can't feel a thing.}
{Tell me, why do people hide...}
{what they really feel inside?}
{Take what you can do, what you want to do...}
{...one step at a time.}
{I love the way you don't care...}
{...how you were programmed to live.}
{I would follow you anywhere.}
{I'll never, ever let your hand go.}
[End All]

Hi!!! It's me again! ^____^ Wellness, I'd forgotten to put up this little bit, so I replaced it!! ^.^;;;; Sorry sorry!! Anyways, Faust makes an appearance, but that's all you're getting about him! Hehe.. Now the appartment's gonna be lucky if it survives!!
Next on Saber Marionette J: Final Emotion: «"The Light is Truth! Unison of the Maiden Circuits?! Part II"»
Sukiyaki!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Standard disclaimers apply
Song translations found in the Bandai DVD(Collections 2 and 3)

Recommended Musical Selections:
(Stars(*) indicate preference)
Enrai--Saber Marionette J Program 13: "My First Kiss Tastes Like Plasma"***
Hesitation--Saber Marionette J Again**

Gata's notes:
Weeeell, this is going differently than what I'd planned...^.^;; I guess seeing the end of the series changes it! (Especially the Hikozaemon thing... Sorry!!!) . There was an error in my Japanese. "Let's go" is spelled "Ikimashou," not "Ikimasou." (And to think I did it TWICE!) Well, are you learing Japanese??? ^.^;; I'd say it's pretty complicated, but it CAN be done, everyone!! ^.^ Have fun! Oh, another tip: try to imagine the Japanese voices in this. It works much better. (Besides, I can't get used to English dub Faust. I mean, he's also dub Nichol in GundamWing!!!! ¯—¯(º) Well.. I think that's all.

"Ikou" is the non-polite way of saying "Ikimashou"/"Let's go."
"Ue-sama" is the Japanese version title that is subbed "Shogun"
"Gomen nasai" - "Sorry/I'm sorry" (Gomen=sorry/I'm sorry, Gomen ne=sorry/I'm sorry)
"Wai" - "Yay!"
Konnyanachiwa - Hey hey ho!!!(subbed as that in Cardcaptor Sakura)

Previously on Seibaa Marionetto J: Final Emotion:
Panther: I say we go see for ourselves.
Luchs: I agree. Let's go.

«pretend there's italics here»
“You'll remember the location, right?” asked a man with short black hair.

“Yes, I will,” answered one that looked exactly like him. "And.. if I don't survive.. I'll leave it inscribed on my medalion. Someone will find it, and someone.. will return.."

The first man held his own medalion as the second one held his.
"Good luck, Brother," the first said.

An embrace of sibling love was their good-bye, and afterwards the first lay down in a bed attatched to a machine. The second put the codes in the computer, activating the device. Beeps came, and both saw the screen confirmation:
[Suspended Animation Life Support System: Ready]
Another button was pressed, and a glass lid covered the first man. The twin brothers' eyes locked in a silent good-bye, and then the first man's eyes closed as the compartment was filled with a gas.

"Good-bye, my dear brother.. my best friend..."
And so the second man walked away. Above ground. To barren Earth.
«end italics»

[Begin Opening Animation Sequence]
[Begin Theme Song: "Successful Mission"]
[English Subtitles: "Yes"]
«Seibaa Marionetto J»
{I came to this land to protect you.}Kimi o mamoru tame kono chi ni
{I was born to be with you.}Kimi to deau tame umareta
{The moment I awoke...}Mezame tashunkan
{...I was surrounded by prisms.}owari hajimeru PRISM
{I'm here to love you now.}Kimi o aisuru tame ni ima
{I was born to hold you.}Kimi o idaku tame umareta
{Lies and truths...}Uso mo shinjitsu mo
{...are all within ourselves.}subete jibun no naka ni aru
{The days I abandon my true feelings...}Kokoro okizari ni shite iru hibi ni
{...won't get to me.}makenai
{Tenderness and caring...}Yasashisa(yasashisa) itoshisa(itoshisa)
{...can be ours again.}mo ichido tori mo dosou
{Within the eyes of a puppet on a string.}Karakuri nin kyou no hitomi no sono oku
{Heart shaken by a dream that someone else contrived for me.}Shikumareta yume ni kokoro ga yureteru
{The courage to discard the rusted screws...}Sabi tsuita NEJI o sute saru yuuki ha
{...is starting to awaken in me.}boku no kokoro demou mezame hajemete iru
[End English Subtitles]
[End Theme Song "Successful Mission"]
[End Opening Animation]

«“Hikari wa Shinjitsu! Otome Kairo no UNISON?! Yakuwari II”»
«“The Light is Truth! Unison of the Maiden Circuits?! Part II”»

«italics»
On the Mesopotamia, people walked about. Suddenly, an explosion. Unexpected technical difficulties. They crashed into a mysterious planet. The survivors grieved over the losses of the people, one of them being the most affected. The one who had lost his love.

Days later, a survivor examined the reckage of the ship. Something glimmered in the sun. He inspected it and read aloud what he could make of the writing on it.
"--n of my dear br--"
The rest was illegible. He shrugged, taking the item with him.
«end italics»

"Fausto-sama," Hess addressed. "Our sensors show that two maiden circuits have left the Gartlant borders. The third one never came back from their last mission."

Faust closed his eyes as he let out a silent and short laugh.
"They were merely puppets," he said. He grew serious again. "How is Saber Beast Leopard doing?"

Tiger took her time to take this in. She didn't want to go and feel pitty for them. She just wanted to know.
«"*After* you completed a mission! What kind of love is that?!!"»
The words still rung in her head.
*Fausto-sama..*

At the clinic, Lime went to see Otaru alone, after Tiger's insistence, and after Lime made Tiger promise that she'd come in with her later.

Lime sat beside Otaru's bed. She was smiling.
"Otaru," she began. "Otaru, I'm not sad anymore. Well, what I mean is that I'm not crying anymore. I still miss you a lot, and that makes me feel sad, but I have something to be happy about now. Otaru.. Otaru, Tigeru came back with us!! She's really nice, Otaru. Cherii told her that you could love lots of marionettes with otome kairo. Oh, that's right! I didn't tell you before. Well, in case Buraddoberii or Cherii didn't tell you, Tigeru's really sad. Buraddoberii told her that Fausto didn't love her and the Saber Dolls. Tigeru kept saying it wasn't true, but Buraddoberii convinced her."

She paused to take a look at the sleeping Otaru's face. He looked so.. distant.
*I know you can hear me, Otaru! I know you can!!*
"I think Tigeru is afraid of dying," she whispered. "She said that without the love of one man, marionettes with otome kairo would die. She came here.. to learn.."

Her eyes filled with tears, but she still wore her smile.
"I really don't believe Faust is bad, Otaru," Lime said. The fight she was having with her tears was clearly evident in her voice. "I think he's just not thinking straight. Bu-but even if he *didn't* love them, you do, ne? Ne?? They can't die, Otaru!! They can't die just like you can't!! Because they're not bad! They're not bad, and Fausto isn't bad! I believe that, Otaru!!" Her voice lowered now. "And I know you do too.."

Outside the room, Tiger let tears fall down her cheeks. She heard it. But it wasn't just the fact that she heard it. It was the truth behind what she heard and her amazement at Lime's words that sent her emotions soaring.

Tiger walked into the room.
*-*-*-*Seibaa Marionetto J*-*-*-*Seibaa Marionetto J*-*-*-*

Cherry hummed as she stirred the pot of sukiyaki. The smell filled the air of the appartment. She thought she heard the door slide open, so she stepped out into the main room. Seeing two figures, she dropped the stirring spoon in shock.

The workers imperial palace of Japoness went about in their daily routines. The imperial guards were no longer mere guardians. They had been given the thoughts and thinking patterns of Hikozaemon and Shogun Ieyasu.

"Have you considered showing the medallion to the Motherhood Maiden Circuit?"
"Yes, I have."

Baiko awaited the response. Tamasaburo looked up and spoke her verdict:
"She will be able to decifer the inscription. Hikozaemon, retrieve the medallion and take it to her."
"Hai, Ue-sama."

Cherry set the table for six and began to serve the sukiyaki into the bowls. Bloodberry sat, head held low, and took the chopsticks in her hand.

"Gomen nasai, Tigeru," she said softly. "I.. didn't think of how you'd feel. And.." Here she met Tiger's shocked gaze. "And I hope that you can find what you're looking for."

"Waaaaii!!!!!!!!" Lime cheered. "No more fighting!!!! Waaaaiiiiiii!!!!!! Otaru would be so happy!!!"

The mention of Otaru drew a sudden silence out of the smiling marionettes, despite Lime's giggling.

"Enjoy, everyone!" Cherry said with a smile. It was a truely beautiful moment. Gartlant's three maiden circuit-equipped marionettes each sitting between two of Japoness's marionettes with otome kairo. They were eating in peace, when suddenly the door slid open. All looked in the direction of the door.

[Begin End Animation]
[Begin End Song: "I'll Be There"]
[English Subtitles: "Yes"]
{When you're said, when you're blue...}Sabishii toki, setsunai toki
{...don't go off to be alone.}hitori de ochikonaraide
{I'll alway be by your side,}Kimi ga soba ni goku kanazadzukiru
{just think of me.}kanjite
{Strength is a very important thing...}Tsuyoi koto wa taisetsu dare
{...but tears are important, too.}dakedo namida wo hitsu you sa
{With a dried up heart,}KARA KARA kawaii dake mono ja
{you can't do anything at all,}nanimo dekinai wo
{you can't feel a thing.}nanimo kanjirarenai
{Tell me, why do people hide...}Hito wa kaze dou shite hontou mono
{what they really feel inside?}kimochi to go ji komeru no
{Take what you can do, what you want to do...}Dekiru koto wa reta yukou
{...one step at a time.}hitotsu ........kedashii
{I love the way you don't care...}PROGRAM.......
{...how you were programmed to live.}......kimi da suki
{I would follow you anywhere.}Dokomademo......
{I'll never, ever let you(r hand) go.}Todoke zutto zutto hanasanai.
[End All]

KONNYANACHIWA!!!!!!!!
So, how's it been so far?? Good?? WAI WAI!!!! ^________^ The story has only just begun!!!! Be prepared as the group of marionettes must uncover a secret-- a secret that can save Otaru's life!!! What?? The medallion was STOLEN?!!! HEY! Who could do such a thing?!!!
Next on Saber Marionette J: Final Emotion: «"The Secret of the Medallion! To Earth, for Otaru's Life!"»
Sukiyaki!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Standard disclaimers apply
Song translations found in the Bandai DVD(Collections 2 and 3)

Recommended Musical Selections:
(Stars(*) indicate preference)
Enrai--Saber Marionette J Program 13: "My First Kiss Tastes Like Plasma"***
Izayoi--Saber Marionette J Program 24: "The Maidens’ Voyage"

Gata's notes:
Ahh, now we're getting somewhere! Think of my notes as the episode previews! Or.. not. ^.^;; If you can get your hands on Izayoi I'm pretty much sure you won't regret it. It's amazing, and I'm inclined to think that it's Lime's image song. (Since Hayashibara-san is singing squeakily.) Then again, I heard that "I'll Be There," ballad version, is Lime's image song. (It sounds great as a ballad.)

Standard disclaimers apply. I really *should* put this in html, but… I'm so lazy! Short because I wanna get to the point. Definately not my best; see previous sentence.

Nihongo: (Japanese(language))
Baikou: another spelling for Baiko
Tamasaburou: another spelling for Tamasaburo
Minna: everyone
Yoshi: All right
Bai: What it sounds like. "Bye"

[Begin Opening Animation Sequence]
[Begin Theme Song: "Successful Mission"]
[English Subtitles: "Yes"]
«Seibaa Marionetto J»
{I came to this land to protect you.}Kimi o mamoru tame kono chi ni
{I was born to be with you.}Kimi to deau tame umareta
{The moment I awoke...}Mezame tashunkan
{...I was surrounded by prisms.}owari hajimeru PRISM
{I'm here to love you now.}Kimi o aisuru tame ni ima
{I was born to hold you.}Kimi o idaku tame umareta
{Lies and truths...}Uso mo shinjitsu mo
{...are all within ourselves.}subete jibun no naka ni aru
{The days I abandon my true feelings...}Kokoro okizari ni shite iru hibi ni
{...won't get to me.}makenai
{Tenderness and caring...}Yasashisa(yasashisa) itoshisa(itoshisa)
{...can be ours again.}mo ichido tori mo dosou
{Day in, day out, like a puppet on a string.}Ayatsuri nin kyou na mainichi no naka de
{Wandering the void between zero and infinity.}ZERO to mugen no haza ma o mayotte iru
{The power to severe the tangled wires...}Kara mata ito o tachikiru chikara wa
{...is still sleeping inside of you.}kimi no kokoro no naka ni mada nemutte iru.
[End English Subtitles]
[End Theme Song "Successful Mission"]
[End Opening Animation]

«“The Secret of the Medallion! To Earth, for Otaru's Life!”»
«“MEDALLION no Himitsu! Chikyuu e, Otaru no Inochi Tameni!”»

Baikou looked at Tiger, then at Cherry. Cherry answered.
“Their memories and thought paterns, Shogun's and Hikozaemon's, were downloaded into Baikou and Tamasaburou,” she said.

Baiko looked at the group again and repeated her message.
“The Shogun wishes to speak with you,” she said.

Tamasaburo looked regal. She stood as poised as she always had. Her inability to smile was not a restriction, for she needed not smile. When she saw the approaching crowd, the narrowing of her eyes was her only expression. Baiko stepped aside to let the group of marionettes face the Shogun-marionette.

Baikou nodded and went to get the item. Tamasaburo continued.
"During the last days that people were on Earth, the ones that were alive fled to the spaceships that were heading to find new places to live. One day, after the Mesopotamia went through difficulties and a part of it landed on Terra II, I found a medallion with an inscription on it. However, I was unable to read it. It was chipped and damaged. So, Cherry, I would like to see if your circuits can aid you in finding out what it said. It may have been important."

Cherry nodded. Moments later, Baiko returned. Her expression was the same as always. Maybe her eyes showed some hint of worry. But if anything, it was her voice that portrayed the emotion she felt.
"Ue-sama!" she said. "It's gone!"

****
"Who in the world would take something from Grampa like that? How rude!" Lime said as she, Cherry, and Luchs walked down the streets of Japoness.

"Well, Lime, not everyone is very nice… as you should've noticed by now," Luchs protested. "Obviously."

"Luchs…" Cherry said in a warning tone of voice. "If you really want to pull together to do this, then you need to accept her as she is."

"She's like a child, but she's much more mature than she seems. Trust me," Cherry continued.

****
His face was hidden by shadows. His sword, with the little light it reflected, cast an eerie glow in the shadowy corner he stood in. He turned his head; his red earrings scraped his skin. Three marionettes passed by…

*This isn’t my objective… What will this do for me anyway,* he thought. *However…

****
Bloodberry, Tiger, and Panther searched in absolute silence. Panther was still very uneasy around Bloodberry, and Tiger just didn't feel like saying anything. Bloodberry felt somewhat uncomfortable too.

Bloodberry and Panther shook their heads. Tiger turned to the right and muttered a curse. "Where's Luchs when you need her…"

"This is getting us nowhere," Bloodberry muttered. "We should just split up and—"

Tiger, Panther, and Bloodberry looked at eachother and nodded. The three ran off in the direction of the voices.

Rubens cursed his misfortune. He had intended on keeping the marionettes at bay for longer, worrying about their masters *and* the medallion that could save his life. But he had forgotten—something he rarely did—about Luchs' tracking abilities.

"STOOOOOP!" yelled one of the Japoness marionettes. It was that childish one. She was so annoyingly loyal to her master. Much like the saber dolls, know that Rubens actually considered that…

He took a sharp turn and jumped to a nearby roof. He took the prized medallion from his pocket and dropped it to the alley. They'd find it easily there. It was a pity, having to finish this personal mission so quickly. But what lay ahead for them would prove useful to him later… And so, Rubens took his leave.

"Lime!" Cherry called. She and Luchs stopped behind her. Cherry looked from Lime to the alley and back to Lime again. "Why did you stop?"

Luchs scanned the area for anything out of the ordinary. Something on the floor caught her attention. She walked to it, bent down, picked it up, and examined it. Then she stood and walked back to the other two.

Lime's face brightened up. She jumped in happiness.
"YAAY! Now we can get Otaru back!!"

****
Tamasaburo wasted no time in telling Cherry to decifer the inscription on the medallion. It was a tedious process, and the long wait made everyone, even the saber dolls, who had no connection with Otaru, were feeling anxious. Finally, after much work, Cherry declared the message contained in the heirloom-quality item:

"There was no space left on the Mesopotamia, and all the other ships had left. My brother was left behind. Here is a map to the location of my dear brother."

Cherry finished reading. "The map was stored in a chip that, luckily, was unaffected by the explosion."

"You should leave as soon as possible," Tamasaburo said. "Hikozaemon has already made the preparations for your leave.

If Tamasaburo and Baiko could've smiled, they would have then. They both nodded.

Cherry turned to the Gartlant marionettes.
"You don't have to come, you know," she said. "This is… for Otaru-sama and I realize he's your enemy."

Both of them looked at Panther, waiting for her to finish the thought. The blonde sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I guess he's not so bad…"

The six marionettes with maiden circuits boarded a spaceship in a field far from Japoness. Luchs and Cherry operated it, and they took off. Soon, they were far enough to see Terra II completely, from above it. Or were they beside it? Or under it?

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
[Begin End Animation]
[Begin End Song: "I'll Be There"]
[English Subtitles: "Yes"]
{When you're said, when you're blue...}Sabishii toki, setsunai toki
{...don't go off to be alone.}hitori de ochikomanaide
{I'll always be by your side,}Kimi no soba ni boku kanarazu kiru
{just think of me.}kanjite
{Strength is a very important thing...}Tsuyoi koto wa taisetsu dare
{...but tears are important, too.}dakedo namida mo hitsu you sa
{You can't do anything...}KARA KARA kawai ta kokoro ja
{...with a dried-up heart.}nanimo dekinai yo
{You can't feel a thing.}nanimo kanjirarenai
{Tell me, why do people hide...}Hito wa naze dou shite hontou no
{what they really feel inside?}kimochi wo to ji komeru no
{Take what you can do, what you want to do...}Dekiru koto wa retai koto
{...one step at a time.}hippozu tsu aru ke ba ii
{I love the way you don't care...}PROGRAM sareta ikikata ni
{...how you were programmed to live.}nagasarenai kimi ga suki
{I would follow you anywhere.}Dokomademo tsuite yuku yo
{I'll never, ever let your hand go.}Kono te zutto zutto hanasanai.
[End All]

Konnyanachiwa!
Was that terrible? Ah, well… I got into SMJ again, so you can expect more updates for this one! I'll try to finish fast. ^-^ Thank you so much for putting up with the Japanese and for actually *reviewing* this! The next chapter may be in html, but I kinda like this format… It's easier! ^.^ I love you all!

Next, on Saber Marionette J: Final Emotion:
«Uchu wa Sugoi! AAH!! Insei yo! Insei yo!»
«Space is Amazing! AAH!! Meteors! Meteors!»

AN:
That's it! No more song clips. They annoy me and take up space… ^.^;; Lets see… Mm… Nope. Nothing to say. Except that "insei" is one word for "meteor." There were two others, but I guess this one stuck. ^.^; OH! And in the opening theme, it's "mawari" and not "owari." (I just found out the day I posted chapter 4 so gimme a break! ^.^; I forgot to revise it.)

I'm using Cherry as a sort of pillar because when I started this I always thought that she deserved Otaru the most. (Now I'd rather not think of that. ^^; Heh!) And since she's the embodiment of "motherhood", it all works out just fine. ^.~

Japanese stuffies:
Ryokai—equivalent of "roger" or "aye-aye" or any form of acknowledging information. (I've been watching Crest of the Stars… leave me be, please ^^)
Luksu—what "Luchs" sounds like in Japanese. ^^
Ii yo—"ii" means good and "yo" gives it more emotion.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
«Uchuu wa Sugoi! AAH!! Insei yo! Insei yo!»
«Space is Amazing! AAH!! Meteors! Meteors!»

They'd been gone for about an hour, and already Lime was complaining. Cherry sighed. It was going to be a long journey. Very, very long.

"Well *you* don't have to be so persistent. Look out a window and see for yourself if you can find Earth anywhere ahead of us."

With a giggle, Lime left for a window, dragging Hanagata with her. Yes, they'd let Hanagata come along for the ride. He might prove useful… or not. Either way, he was there, and it was too late to send him back. Behind Cherry, Tiger looked on with interest at a chess game being played by Panther and Bloodberry.

"Move king's rook to queen's bishop 5," the short red haired saber instructed her blonde comrade.

"I can do this myself, thank you very much," Panther retorted, moving the piece to king's knight 3 instead.

"Do you mind?" the cherry red haired Japoness saber irritably said. She picked up the queen's knight and moved it to queen's bishop 2 just to irritate her.

Tiger shrugged.
"Fine then," she said carelessly. "Panther knows what move to make next."

Panther nodded, evil grin on her face. She moved her king's bishop to queen 7; Bloodberry gasped and Panther smirked.

The red haired Gartlant saber chuckled lightly.
"Do you really want to play me?"

Bloodberry rolled her eyes.
"Fine," she said resignedly as Tiger sat down and began to set up the black pieces.

Some sniveling heard at the window drew Luchs' attention away from a computer screen. Lime was blinking at the blonde boy who was doing the sniveling.

"O~ta~RU~!!" he wailed. "Otaru, why??? You were so brave, so superb, so amazing!!! WHYYY!!!"

Lime punched him against the wall; it took Hana a few seconds to peal himself off of it and sit on the floor. Chibi Otaru faces circled his head.

Cherry smiled to herself at the innocent marionette's way of looking at things. *We could all use that optimism,* she thought.

"We've just entered an asteroid field! Large objects in our path… Unable to change vessel course!" she informed.

"Cherry, Luchs, have you been watching those space battle series again?" Bloodberry asked, assuming that Luchs watched them as well.

Cherry blushed and sweatdropped, turning her gaze to the front of the craft. Luchs did the same.

"Now's not the time to talk about that," said the purple haired saber. "We've got meteors in our way, and according to history books, there's an asteroid belt on the way to Earth, so we're in for a rough ride."

"If we get through this, that is," Luchs muttered to herself. "We'll have to elude them."

"Hai," Cherry agreed. "Luchs, take over the controls and guide us through this first bunch. I'll plot a course for the remainder of our passing through this field."

Tiger made no comments about the situation as she moved her chess piece.
"Checkmate."

Bloodberry blinked in shock and looked back at the chessboard.
"WHAT?!" She sighed profoundly. "Again."

*-*-*-*AN: Let's just ignore the fact that it probably takes AGES to get from Terra II to Earth and add to that the AU rules AND the Law of the Quickness of Getting from Place to Place. (Lol. I don't think anyone put that one up…^~)*-*-*-*

Having successfully passed the asteriod field, the trip continued smoothly for the next few days. There *were* the occasional cat fights between the marionettes themselves or between one of them and Hanagata, but that was overlooked when they just *had* to celebrate the safe passing of the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. They were close to Earth now and they were ever-so-excited about it. (Mostly because they were tired of living in confine for so long, but also because they were closer to getting the kaeru back for Otaru.)

Later, (much later, by the way) they could make out Earth in the distance. Just as Cherry and Luchs had set the course for their landing, the monitors beeped. Luchs' eyes widened as she read the information aloud.

"Ah! Even if we switch, we may still get caught in meteor's gravitational pull! Either that or we'll suffer damage to the craft!" Cherry informed after completing the calculations.

"Luksu! Calculate our chances!" Tiger ordered, stepping forward with determination.

"She watches those shows, too?" Bloodberry asked Panther. The blonde nodded and shrugged.

Cherry and Luchs needed a leader right now, so they weren't complaining about the redhead's commands.

"88.39% chance we'll suffer minimal damage to port stern output," said Luchs. "56.72% chance we'll get caught in the meteor's gravitational field."

Tiger pulled out her sword/whip and pointed the unactivated device to the right.

The purple haired marionette looked at the blue haired one beside her. Luchs nodded. Cherry carried out Tiger's orders.

"We'll die if we meet with it," the redhead mused aloud. "Cherii, accelerate to pass over the meteor when we're four seconds away from it!"

The next moments were tense for everyone. Tiger's eyes were narrowed. *Come on. Stick to your course. Come on, insei! Come on!!*

"Minna, brace yourselves!" The redhead pulled back her arm —the one that held the sword/whip's hilt— and pointed forward. "Cherry! Now!!"

She opened her green eyes one at a time and looked around. Most of them were on the floor, still covering their heads. Two were seated at the controls, and one tightly clutched one of their seats, eyes shut tightly as she leaned agaisnt the wall.

She shook her head of dark blue hair and looked at the outside. She could see the large space rock soaring away from them. A smile appeared on her face, followed by a giggle. They were safe.

Slowly, everyone —at different rates, of course— recovered and brushed themselves off, looking around just as she, Lime, had done before realizing what had happened. Smiles appeared on their faces.

"We're ALIVE!!!! AHAHAHAHA!!!" Hanagata literally cried, rivers of tears streaming down his cheeks.

Panther smirked and let out a short snort-laugh, then looked at Tiger, who was smiling like Cherry and Luchs were doing. The blonde walked to the three at the "bridge".

"Well, I guess those space battle series really came in handy, ne?" Here she chuckled shortly and winked. Tiger, Cherry, and Luchs blushed a bit but were too happy about surviving to be insulted.

Everyone turned to see what Lime was pointing at. It was Earth! They had accelerated quite a lot, and apparently they had been out longer than they imagined. Earth looked like a toy from where they were. Smiles, sighs, and random expressions of relief spread to everyone on the ship.

"Ii yo," Tiger whispered. She pointed her unactivated weapon at the sphere. "To Earth!"

AN: Well, is it as weird as I think it is? ^^;; I'm sorry if it was weird. It's just that I got my last 2 Crest of the Stars DVDs on Tuesday and finished watching them today (Thursday). (They're only 3 eps a disc, but I had stuff to do online AND I wanted to keep the mystery and magic alive a bit longer. ^.~) I had the BGM for "Battle of Gosroth" in my head while I was writing that. *weeps* Sad, sad ending! But lovely nonetheless! (Bandai would love me if at least one of you bought the series after my propaganda for it… ::blush:: ;D ^^)

Next, on Seibaa Marionetto J - Final Emotion:
«Chikyuu, Kaeru no Planet»
«Earth, Planet of the Kaeru»

AN:
Lemme see… Standard disclaimers apply… Yeah. That's all. And, this was REALLY hard to write. ^^; Oh! By the way… I once had this idea… You might pick up on it as you read, but it's not what you think. I'll explain it later. ^_^

No one really knew what to expect. They'd looked at pictures in history books and watched old, old, OLD films about Earth, but still nobody knew what they'd see. And even though it had been the more obvious possibility, the shock was still immense. They were greeted by a barren wasteland of rocks and mist. It looked like it was impossible for someone to be living here. But that wasn't what the medallion said.

Cherry made use of the memory chip in the medallion. The map showed on her field of vision. Using that, she made the calculations for the route they would take. *North is that way,* she thought, looking to the horizon. *That would make east over there…*

"There's a cave over there," Cherry finally said, pointing to a faraway stretch of land dotted with tall, craggy hills.

The trek was rather long and boring if not precarious. A river with gray-colored water stood -- literally stood, since it didn't seem to move, though it did very slowly -- at the foot of the hill on which they stood. The seven marched down and jumped over it -- Luchs carrying Hanagata -- with much ease.

Once past the river there was a small stretch of land between them and the cave where everyone supposed the flower was. The climb was… interesting, to say the least.

"I… can't… do this!!" Hanagata complained, fearfully looking up and down the rock face. "I wasn't made for this kind of traveling!!"

Panther rolled her eyes and sighed. "You WIMP," she muttered. Just as she was about to pick him up by the scruff of his neck and hurl him up the hill, Luchs walked between the two blondes.

Hanagata gulped again but nodded, not wanting to anger her. In fact, he was rather pleased that he didn't have to do any work. Heck, he even blushed a bit when he wrapped his arms and legs around her so he wouldn't fall. He swallowed once more, sweating profusely.

The six — or seven if you're counting Hanagata — climbed up the mountain at different speeds. Cherry was the least prepared for this sort of expedition, and what she was wearing wasn't appropriate.

*This is so hard!* Cherry thought, grunting as she grabbed a rock embedded into the hill. She used it to pull herself up, but her weight was too much for it. She screamed as she slipped and started to fall.

Bloodberry reacted quickly enough to catch her sister marionette before she fell too far. Cherry looked up, surprised, her face scratched from the half-fall. Bloodberry was grinning proudly. Cherry smiled and nodded in determination and the red-haired saber swung her back up to a safe place.

They got to a level horizontal area on the hill. They turned around to look at all they had traveled over already and decided to take a break. When they'd arrived on Earth the sun had been high in the sky. Now only a few of its rays could be seen on the horizon. Stars gleamed just above them, and soon they dotted the whole dark sky.

Cherry stared up at the expanse, smiling softly. Lime saw her and sat beside her, looking at the purple-haired marionette curiously.

"Hm? Oh…" Cherry shook her head, still smiling. "Well, the constellations here are different from the ones we see on Terra II." She pointed at three stars almost in a straight line. "See that? It's Orion's belt. And over there —" she pointed in another direction "— is Ursa Major, the big bear."

Lime's eyes were shining. She giggled. "They're so pretty! And there are so MANY of them!"

Cherry nodded. "We can't see the stars so clearly in Terra II because of all the lights. But they're there. We should go out into a field someday and take a star chart with us."

Cherry was lost in her reverie. *We'll have a picnic, and Otaru-sama will be there with us!* She sighed. *Otaru-sama…*

They had been carrying backpacks with them with supplies for the trip. They pulled out their blankets and pillows to sleep under the stars of the Earth's sky.

Hanagata curled up under his Otaru-decorated quilt, staring at the barren landscape. He was used to being carried around by Bloodberry or even Lime, but having had one of the Saber Dolls offer to do that was weird. Suddenly a very strange feeling hit him.

He hmphed, frowning. *No way. Never! SHE should apologize to US for everything she's done.* He hugged the blanket around himself tighter and shivered. He tried to get the situation out of his mind by thinking of Otaru. With those happy thoughts in mind, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Tiger woke up early the next day. The sun hadn't fully risen and there were still stars on the horizon, but it was light enough to call it morning already.

The crimson-haired saber marionette stared at Cherry's face. The scratches from yesterday were still there.

"Hai… It's force of habit." She smiled. "Besides, if I didn't, no one would ever eat." She frowned. "Not anything *healthy,* at least."

They remained silent until the most of the sky was lit up. The mountains cast long shadows on the plain they'd crossed the previous day. Everyone but Hanagata was awake now. He was sleeping in a messy heep of a blanket and pillow, a dazed look on his face, a drop of drool hanging from the side of his mouth. Cherry set some food aside for the human boy, knowing they would probably have to wake him up right when they were going to leave.

Suddenly, as Cherry put a lid on the separate bowl, she saw what was left of breakfast in the pot start to vibrate. She frowned, put away Hanagata's food, and stared at the pot. The fire was already out. She leaned in to get a closer look.

…and the Earth shook violently. A rock hit Hanagata on the head, waking him up

"QUIET!" Bloodberry yelled, smacking him and picking up his stuff along with hers. She heaved it into a bag which she tossed aside.

The Earth stopped moving then. Everyone looked at each other. Cherry sighed wearily.

However, it wasn't over yet. From the tip top of the mountain burst forth a dragon-like creature. Its screeches sounded synthetic, and it was obviously made of metal.

Everyone took a fighting stance while the human fled to the back, hiding behind a rock that was conveniently located behind Cherry and Luchs.

Bloodberry smirked as the metallic roar resonated through the air again. "Piece of cake," she muttered as she jumped to meet the dragon in the air.

The android animal swooped down at her and opened its mouth wide. Instead of fire, it shot out a plasma beam. Luckily for Bloodberry, she had jumped hard enough to find herself hovering above the blast for a few seconds before she was able to land her kick to the back of the dragon's head.

Panther went next. She slashed at its wings with her hands. Luchs, from behind, threw miniblades at strategic locations, such as the eyes, inside the mouth — she nearly made one out of five shots —, and to its belly.

With one of its eyes down, Lime proceeded to run and jump to it. She grabbed on to its tail.

Bloodberry nodded. She didn't need to ask Panther and Tiger for help. The three jumped at the creature. Panther and Bloodberry clung to its tail, bringing it down a bit. Tiger activated her whip and tried to pull it down by the neck.

The creature thrashed. It began to shoot plasma beams out of its mouth into the air and, when it could, to the ground.

Cherry stayed behind to protect Hanagata and make calculations. At one point she noticed the creature's mouth was open and it was just screeching. A grin flickered across her face as she grabbed a nearby rock.

"I'm going to jump and carry you with me," Cherry seriously and quickly explained. "You have to get that into the dragon's mouth!"

Hanagata nodded and suddenly found himself being carried almost to the edge of the cliff. Then Cherry jumped. He had only one shot… It had to be perfect…

*Otaru-kun…* He gulped. Then, realizing the intensity of the situation, got very serious. *I'll do it! I can do this! I…*

And he threw the rock as the dragon screeched and thrashed violently, making Lime lose her grip and fall.

The rock landed right where it was supposed to. Cherry landed and ran to the fallen Lime. Hanagata slumped to his knees, staring at the still-thrashing metallic dragon.

The three saber marionettes who still hung on to the dragon let go. Upon landing they ran into the cave, picking up their belongings, Hanagata, and Lime as they did so. They fled into the darkness.

Suddenly, the dragon let out a final pained roar followed by a particularly powerful blast of plasma energy. When the beam died out, it hovered in the air for a few minutes before exploding.

The blast hit the rocks atop the mouth of the cave, and it collapsed, sealing the marionettes and human inside.

Everyone remained silent for a minute, thinking about their current predicament. Hanagata didn't know who he was close to, but he held on to her tightly. He was scared of the dark and was even more afraid because Otaru wasn't there. He gulped.

^_^ YUP! I'm BACK! MAN this was a hard chapter to write! But it turned out fun. ^_^ (Note: Rick-san, love ya! Your 90210 fic inspired me! I love it! ^_^) So… the idea I once had was… going to be put in here, but it didn't turn out quite the way I expected. It's actually BETTER than I expected!

SO! Here's what to expect for the NEXT chapter! (For which I give no guarantees! Woo-hoo! ^_~)

The marionettes and human boy explore the cave and find a hidden mystery, a product of Earth's obscure history!

Next chapter!
«Nemutte no Hito! Dare? Soshite Are wa Nani?»
«The Sleeping Person! Who Is He? And What Is This?»