Sascha faced her troops with apprehension. This search wasn't
going at all as planned. She was up to her knees in disgusting water, she
had had absolutely no luck in finding Merine, and to top it all off, she
was pretty sure they were lost. She looked awful; her hair had fallen out
of its usually impeccable upsweep, and hung in unkempt curls around her 
chin. The heat and stuffiness was causing it to stick to her face, making 
her feel even worse. There was only one thing to do at a time like this...
Blame someone else.

     "Oliver, you IDIOT!" she yelled at the hapless lieutenant, who 
cowered in surprised fear. "You SAID you could find the central 
headquarters of this dump, and now look where you've gotten us! The
sewers!" She smacked her fist against the cement wall for effect, then 
proceeded to utter a string of curses when the concrete didn't give way 
it. "Damn, damn, DAMN!" This was supposed to be easy... Rescue 
Merine from the clutches of the Returners, and... Her train of thought
trailed off as she noticed her soldiers suddenly become tense.

     "What? What is it?"

     "Returners!" yelled one of them, drawing his sword. "Protect
Lady DelAubre!" With this cry, the Imperial troops encircled her,
forming a protective ring.

     "Huh?" This was all happening so fast! She could hear the sounds 
of fighting, but couldn't see anything through her soldiers' backs. "What's
going on?" she demanded. "Let me out there!" One of them turned his head
and barked out a reply she couldn't make out. Unfortunately for him, his 
momentary inattention cost him his life as a Returner plunged a knife into
his heart.  Oh well,' thought Sascha,  at least it saves me the trouble of
killing him for insubordination...'

     Through the short-lived gap created by the soldier's death, she
caught a glimpse of the fray. Her troops, outnumbered, and exhausted
from hours of walking, were on the losing end. The rebels seemed to be 
coming out of the walls!

     Sascha made up her mind. This was a bad situation with potential
to become much worse. It would require... a sacrifice. Not her own life,
of course, but if her disobedient troops got in the way, well, she wasn't
going to cry. She pushed her way through the ring of soldiers, most of 
whom were no longer in any condition to hold her back. There was,
however, one obstinate fellow who had to be disposed of with a knife
to the back...

     Stepping forward out into the open, she surveyed the advancing
Returners. Seeing her, most of them stopped dead in their tracks. They
remembered Kohlingen, what had happened there... and who was 
responsible.

     "It's her!" one of them yelled. "It's Sascha the Beast! Get her!"

     "I don't think so, little man," she purred. "I had something else 
in mind... QUITRAL QUELULEAL!" She held her hands aloft as she spoke
the words of magic, and was subsequently bathed in a soft green glow. 
The Returners looked at each other, puzzled as to why nothing had 
happened to them. Finally, one of them spoke.

     "Hey witch!" he sneered, "looks like we're immune to your 
magic! You're gonna get it now!" With this threat, the frontal wave
of rebels rushed towards her.

     "Oh no you don't! QUEADOL MAGDOMILLA!" As soon as the words left
her lips, a storm of sharp gems was hurled down from above on the
fighters. Returners and Imperial soldiers alike screamed in agony as the
sparkling missiles ripped into their flesh. Any that neared Sascha,
however, disintegrated in a flash of green, deflected by the magical
shield the Returners had mocked. "Fools!" she shrieked insanely, as the
water at her feet began to redden. "See what happens to those who dare
to defy the Empire! To those who dare to defy ME!"

     When the hail of gemstones subsided, the front rank of rebels 
had been completely wiped out. The spell had also killed most of 
her own soldiers too, leaving only a handful of soldiers against about
twenty Returners.

     "Damn!" she cried. Why couldn't anything go right today? She
was really staring to get mad. Well, she would show them something to
remember; something to take with them into the afterlife. She would 
show them why she was the leader of the Empire! Taking a deep breath, 
she prepared to cast the spell that would send the remaining rebels 
hurtling into the Abyss... Evil Gate. But, as she opened her mouth to
chant the words, she caught sight of something that stopped her dead.
SomeONE, actually. It was a man, a Returner, fighting alongside a woman
with  disgustingly well-shaped legs.

     Time seemed to slow down as she stared at him. He was dressed 
stunningly in a beautiful violet cape, and his long brown hair flew about
his soldiers as he slashed at his Imperial opponent. The soldier in
question fell as if in slow-motion. When his body hit the ground, it
sounded like a thunderclap. The rebel whirled around, pulling his sword
from the fresh corpse. His eyes cast around for a new target... and found
hers. Sascha herself looking into his violet eyes and feeling something
very strange... 'No!' she thought.  Snap out of it, girl! This can't be
happening! He's a... a... Returner!' But she couldn't look away. The
stranger too, had dropped his defensive stance, and was staring back at
her with an odd expression...

     Then, suddenly, she felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck. She
had been hit! She felt hot blood running down her spine, frightening and 
sensual. She sank to the watery floor, still unable to take her gaze from
the entrancing stranger. As her world faded to black, the last thing
Sascha saw was him running towards her....