Crystal Tokyo, bright sunny morning 8 AM

Kalika stepped out of the house. "I'm going now, Lalita. And make sure that all of them get to school today.  Especially you, Justin. I don't want to hear that you've been skipping school again, you hear me?" she said, giving a small black haired boy a hard look

"Hn." the boy replied, scowling back at her.  Kalika sighed, and started off to work. Her work as a secretary wasn't all that fullfiling, but she needed the money. As she moved along the street, she had the nagging feeling that someone was watching her.  She was so preoccupied with the feeling that she bumped into someone when she ran around the corner of a building...

Jeremy felt the young lady bump into him and smiled down at her, "Sorry about that ma'am." He turned to head back down the street to his destination, the heels of his Crystal Guard uniform clicking on the sidewalk as he went.

Lucas was walking right behind Jeremy when he bumped into the lady. He watched and then shook his head when Jeremy walked on. Must be thinking about Ami again he thought.

He extended a hand to the young woman and helped her to her feet. "I must apologize for my friend. It seems his mind has not been on this planet lately. Here, let me help you with this." he said and started picking up the papaers that flew on the ground.

Gwenever spotted the young girl from across the street and saw the collision. He peered at her from under his black hat, Hmmm....something about that girl......  He turned and walked away when he caught a glimpse of the Imperium Knight.

Jeremy felt an evil presence and pivoted on his feet, looking past the young lady, his eyes focusiing on the man across the street.

Lucas handed the papers back to the lady. "Again I'm really sorry about my friend." he said as he took her hand and held it up as if he was about to kiss it. he brought it up and didn't even tough it with his lips as he smiled at her. "Good day, My Lady." he said with a small bow to her and headed off to where Jermey was. He popped him over the head witht eh back of his hand. "I know you miss Ami, but that's no reason to treat another female like that." he said and then noticed he was looking at something. "What is it?" he asked.

Jeremy gestured, "I sense something evil across the street. I just can't get a fix on it."

A little girl, golden curls blowing the the breeze, slowly skipped across the street and made her way down the sidewalk. Jeremy could hear the nursery rhyme she was singing. "The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout..." she sang softly to herself. She came up behind Kalika and fell into step with her. "And down came the rain and washed the spider out..." She tugged on Kalika's arm, drawing her attention. Suddenly the girl broke apart, instantly transforming into a spray of spiders riding on gossamer strands in the wind onto her body.

Kalika glanced down at the girl with an enquiring look when she tugged on her arm. Kalika let out a small scream when the girl broke apart into tiny spiders and started climbing on her. She hurriedly started brushing the spiders off the body, but more climbed on. "Somebody, help!" she thought. She really didn't want to try any of the spells on herself.

Lucas turned at the sound of the scream. "What the..." he started to ask and then saw the spiders. He ran to the woman and pulled her way from the girl and ran with her down the street. Once they stopped her finsihed helpping brush off the remaining spiders. "Are you alright?" he asked looking over his shoulder at the commotion he left behind.

Jeremy stepped on the spiders around on the ground and after he got a majority of them he looked at the corpse, "Pal, the times coming I finish you once and for all."

Ithil would have yawned had the millenia of unlife had not taught him great patience. Of all the people he had met, Jeremy was by far the most boring. Seemingly fearless, apparently without vice, and Ithil could have conquered a nation in the time it took to say one of his prepare-to-die speeches. "Such idle threats," he said, his skeletal hand resting on the globe. He gently carressed the sphere as the image faded away, leaving him in complete darkness.

Kalika finished brushing off most of the spider strands off her clothes and turned to Lucas. "I'm alright, thank you." She looked down on her clothes and saw that her clothes were more or less ruined. "I think I'll take today off from work." she mumbled.

And I'm going to get the bastard who did this and give him a good piece of my mind, she thought.

Ithil stared for a moment at the darkened orb, pondering what would make Kalika not reveal her magical aspect. "Perhaps a greater threat is in order." His orb began to shine again as he cradled it in his skeletal hand, letting him see through the eyes of one of his spiders. The tiny thing had crawled into her coat pocket, leaving her blissfully unaware of it's presence.

Lucas nodded to her and sighed. "Is there anything you need, Lady? I am willing to help if it is within my power." he said to her with a tint of worry in his voice.

Gwenever turned around once more at the sound of the distant scream...That girl... he thought, he turned and ran back to the corner and peered around it. There she was, still with the Knight and Lucas, and what peered to be a little girl with spiders pouring from her body. What the.... Gwenever watched curiously as they stomped and beat the spiders down. Now who or what did that.....? he wondered. I gotta get back to my castle and investigate this further.... He turned around once more and disappeared.

"Strange." he muttered and walked over to Jeremy. "I wonder why she was the focus of the attack..it would seem if they were going to terrorize people they would attack a large amont...not just one social worker." he said to Jeremy.

Jeremy nodded, "I know, but who can understand a madman?"

Ithil silently listened to them talk. He was always amused by the human's attempts to understand him. Evil needed no reason. "Be patient," he whispered even though Jeremy couldn' t hear him, "Your turn will come."

Kalika reached home, and went in. "Lalita? Are you here?" she called out, then remembered that Lalita had told her that she was going out for groceries that morning. She took off her coat and looking at it, gimaced. She dropped it in the corner, and went off to her bedroom to change into clean clothes.

As she took her clothes off something bumped behind her. A large spider, the size of a football, crawled into her room, it's three legs propelling it with eerie grace. Behind it, another two spiders crawled in behind her. They sank back, leaning on their single rear leg, before leaping in unison at her throat.

Kalika widened her eyes and dove aside. She grabbed her brooch from the nighttable and activated her amour. Quickly she opened the drawer in her nighttable and grabbed three throwing knives from it.  Well, what do you know, these do come in handy, she thought as she threw them towards the three spiders.

The creatures squealed as they dropped out of the air, knives embedded in their skulls. Yellow fluid dripped out of them as they convulsed and died. Through the doorway came a pair of animated skeletons, their bones crackling together as they moved. Behind her a swirling green vortex of energy opened, a gateway to some unguessable plane. "Give up now," she heard Ithil say in his dry,cracked voice, "There is no escape."

Kalika half turned and stared at the vortex, then narrowed her eyes. She traced a symbol with her left hand, leaving as glowing sign in the air. The wards she had set around the house kicked in, and both the vortex and the two skeletons began to have trouble keeping themselves together. She reached under her bed, grabbed three more throwing knives and dove out the window. It was pure luck that underneath there was some bushes, breaking her landing. She winced at the landing, and moved on, heading towards a nearby park. If there was going to be a fight, she would rather be the one to choose a location. Also, she would rather not destroy her house, and she was glad that Lalita and the children were out of the house right then.

Ithil watched as his portal vanished and the two undead crumbled. He wasn't frustrated, however. Three millenia of unlife were enough to teach him patience. He would let her run. He would let her run until she stopped, and that was when he would strike.

Kalika stopped when she reached the park. It was good place for a battle, nice and flat, so no one could sneak up on her from any direction. She frowned and thought, "Better ward this place first..." She closed her and traced a symbol with her hand, leaving a glowing sign in the air. She smiled as she felt a ward go up around the surrounding area. The ward should warn her of anything that approaches that had any sort of magical or super ability and lock down any low low level being...

Lucas stopped mind step and looked behind him at the park and then back at Jeremy. "Did you...nah..nevermind..its my mind playing tricks on me again." he said and continued walking.

Kalika half turned and spotted Lucas and Jeremy walking away from the park. Good, get away from here, she thought. She had no wish to involve the Crystal Guard or the Senshi in her own private batttle. She frowned, wondering when the next attack would come, it had been too long...

Jeremy turned to Phantom, "What is it?"

Lucas just shook his head. "I thought I felt something..something..strange...but I'm usually not the one to pick up on that sort of thing..you are." he said with a small chuckle. "Its more than likely just my imagination playing tricks on me again."

"I'm coming for you," Kalika heard Ithil say, though from where the voice came she couldn't be sure. The undead creature then leaned back and relaxed, returning his arachnid servants to their normal modus operandi. Except for the one concealed in her pocket, though. He would watch her, follow her, prod at her. "The terror will be so much sweeter when I do nothing," he told a nearby insect, "For then she will anticipate her doom day after day... after day..."

"Then show yourself." she snapped back. "Hide and seek is a game for little children."

He simply watched the glowing green orb through eyeless sockets. He had eternity. He could wait. To show himself now would be folly, and when life or pain were the stakes Ithil thought hide and seek was fairly interesting. So he would wait. He could wait for a thousand years if he needed. And if Kalika wanted to wait with him, that was fine by him.

Kalika gritted her teeth silently when there was no answer.  "Might as well go home if he isn't around." she thought.  Quickly she negated the ward around the park and left for her house.  "I'll have to be more on my guard next time..." she muttered as she left the park.

END