A woman walking her dog through the park that day and the day before recognized Ying by the photo he had shown her. She had said that Ying had passed her with a kid and sent Zhou in this direction. That had led him to this church.
Zhou might have passed the church by, but as he came near the bushes, he found a ripped piece of a scarf stuck in the branches. He recognized it immediately � it was a pink version of the scarf he wore now, but the scarves were unique in that Ying had knitted them herself. He would know that pattern anywhere.
The front door to the church was locked, so he made his way around the building, finally finding an open door to the basement. From there, it was easy to make his way up into the center of the church.
And that was where he found the horror waiting for him. His precious Ying was tied to a cross, her hands and feet bound to it as if she were being crucified. Her beautiful naked body was covered in cuts that had long since stopped flowing blood.
�Ying!� he mouthed, but he could make his voice work. It was just as well, since her killers were still in the room with her. From the shadows, he could see a woman with silver blue hair in a gray military uniform of some kind. The uniform matched that of the blond man on the other side of the room, who seemed to be incased in ice somehow. Before the woman knelt a young boy. At first, Zhou thought that the boy was in trouble, that the woman was about to do something horrible to him, but as he focused on the kid, he realized that he held a richly adorned knife and that his hands were stained with blood.
*That- That little boy killed Ying?! No, it�s not possible!* Zhou�s mind couldn�t wrap around that concept.
�Well, done, Jian-wa,� the woman praised him loudly, confirming Zhou�s fears. She took a jeweled chalice from Jian-wa�s other hand � the one Zhou hadn�t been able to see a moment ago � and held it up. �You have brought us ever closer to our goals. Soon my love will awaken, and we will be able to fulfill our dreams.�
She took a long drink from the oversized cup, and Zhou had the frightening notion that it contained Ying�s blood. The boy (*Jian-wa,* Zhou reminded himself. He would remember the name for eternity) suddenly looked less sure of himself, but the woman caught this as well.
�Are you worried about that woman?� Jian-wa shook his head no, but it was with a bit of hesitation. �You shouldn�t be,� she said, lifting his face with a finger under his chin. �You know better than I that she is just a tool, a means to a justifiable end.�
�Yeah,� Jian-wa agreed quietly, though confidently.
But Zhou had heard enough. Hearing Ying referred to as a tool filled his heart and mind with flames. Losing all sight of reason, Zhou ran out of his hiding place, screaming as he rushed towards that evil woman, no more plan than to wrap his fingers around her throat.
He had had the advantage of surprise, but he had spent that with his enraged howl. The woman and Jian-wa looked shocked at first, but then the woman�s eyes narrowed, and she smiled cruelly.
�I don�t have time for a little distraction like this.�
He wasn�t near enough to her, but she reached out a hand and swatted him away like a fly, never even touching him. He hit a worn pew and blacked out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Mi-chan fiddled with the pink rosebud, trying to replace the blue one that had been in Haruka�s buttonhole, as she, Jian-wa, and Haruka raced back towards the ceremony hall. It was good to have use of her left hand back, but that didn�t make her appreciate Jasper any more.
Chibi and Kimahou were already at the entrance to the hall when the arrived. �What kept you?� Chibi demanded of his older sister. �I thought Kaiou-sama was going to have a heart attack.�
�Well, here we are. And we beat Puroko-chan and Tenshi-kun,� Jian-wa pointed out nonchalantly. His eyes met Mi-chan�s. �You�ll do fine, Neko-chan,� he said, an effective reminder of who she was supposed to be. �The wedding will be perfect.� He gave her a peck on the cheek.
�Yeah, it�ll be great,� Kimahou volunteered, giving Mi-chan a hug, then pushing her lightly through the entrance doors.
Mi-chan forced her heart to slow down and walked calmly towards the front. She gave Michiru a nod and saw her speak into her communicator watch. Mi-chan knew she was calling to Tenshi to let her know it was time. *Oops. It was my job to let her know that. Oh, well, so far it�s going well. Now I just have to fool the bride.*
Thank goodness Neko had decided to wear her hair up. Once upon a time, the twins had been indistinguishable if Mi-chan had her hair down and long sleeves covering her tattoo. But a little over a year ago, Neko had starting styling hers slightly differently so that it framed her face � just one more visual clue to separate the two of them. But today their hairdos were as identical as their faces, and nobody�d be the wiser.
She felt everyone�s eyes on her and made doubly sure that her mindshield was up and protecting her father from any thoughts beyond the �yay, I�m marrying Tenshi� ones she was broadcasting for his benefit.
Reaching the front, Mi-chan took a deep breath, ready for the next step. As long as she could fool Tenshi, everything should go perfectly from here on out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tenshi�s communicator watch was on the vanity when it went off. Puroko ran over and opened it up. �Hi,� she said in English the moment her mom�s face appeared.
�Neko-chan is in place. If Tenshi�s ready, we can begin,� Michiru told her.
�Hai! Hai! We�ll be right there!� Puroko closed the watch and turned to Tenshi. But Tenshi looked preoccupied. �What�s wrong?�
�It�s� nothing,� Tenshi answered hesitantly. �I just thought that Koneko would be connected to me for this.�
Puroko jumped onto the vanity chair to straighten Tenshi�s tiara and veil. �I thought you didn�t like to use ESP, though.�
�I don�t hate it,� Tenshi insisted. �It�s definitely okay for this. I told Koneko so this morning.� She started to bite her lip in concern, but stopped herself, which Puroko thought was smart considering she had lipstick on.
