What to you do when your loved ones disappear?

Panic? Search frantically? Call the police?

Four weeks ago, six young girls disappeared in Tokyo. They were traced to Gothametropolis York, and were last seen three weeks ago. Then they were abducted for a second time, this time by a loathsome Elder Creature.

Five young men have been searching for their girlfriends.

One young man is searching for his betrothed.

Who knows what torments are befalling their loves?

An outraged shriek of "You pervert" echoed through the Many-Angled(1) Fortress of the Manga Shoggoth. It was followed by the sound of female giggling.

Ebony shook her head. The Shoggoth always liked company when watching Anime (and splitting itself into two didn't really count). Currently, it was playing host to six distressed(2) Japanese schoolgirls who (from the sound of it) were watching Oh! My Goddess! Volume Three(3).

She entered the viewing chamber. Seven girls were lounging in front of the multiple screens - two identical twelve-year-olds, being pampered by a group of five girls in rather grubby Japanese school uniforms. They were indeed watching Oh! My Goddess!

She smiled. The Skuld Fan Club were doing a wonderful job of taking the girls' minds of their troubles. Well, some of their troubles, anyway.

Her attempt to sneak past into the chamber where the Shoggoth was currently residing (on account of having several females camped out in its viewing room) was ruined when one of the twins looked up and, with a shriek of "Ebony!", ran over to give her a hug.

The five schoolgirls were at her in a second. They were very polite (of course), but they wanted to know (a) when they would be able to go home again, and - more importantly - (b) when would they be able to wash their clothes - Ebony had provided basic washing facilities, but no laundry.

She avoided the questions as best she could. She had a plan, and fresh laundry had nothing to do with it. Quite the opposite, in fact.

As expected, Ebony found the final member of the sextet(5) in the chamber, talking with the Shoggoth. Ito Sakura(6), stepdaughter to an up-and-coming (although now deceased) Yakusa. Whose stepfather had her kidnapped into prostitution in revenge for her mother leaving him. Who was spending an awful lot of time in the company of the Shoggoth this past few weeks.

Ebony concealed herself in the shadows by the entrance tunnel to listen. She was keeping a very close eye on Miss Ito...

I do not understand. Your friends have been clamouring to go home since they were told that Ebony had a plan for returning them with thier honour intact. Why do you wish to stay? Your stepfather will no longer be a problem(7), and your maternal genetic donor is obviously worried about you.

"Well... The last thing my stepfather did before my mother... left him, was to arrange a marriage for me. My reaction was one of the reasons my mother left him."

Arranged marriages are traditional. Of course, the younger (Ebony was not sure, but she suspected a hint of irony there) generation seem to have taken up the more romantic (she was damn sure of irony there) ideas from the West. Is it such a bad thing?

"Well... He is good looking, comes from a good (and rich) family, and is generally regarded as a 'good catch'. His family don't have the... connections my stepfather had. It's just..." Sakura paused. "The best way I can describe him is 'Kuno'(8)."

A little harsh, I think. noted the Shoggoth.

"Not really. The same romantic poses, the same flowers. I grant that he doesn't carry a sword around and challenge me to single combat each morning, but that's about it."

And this prevents you from going back? If your - at this point, Ebony quietly whispered something - mother opposes the merging, surely it will not take place.

Sakura appeared to deflate slightly. "Well, it's not as simple as that. With my stepfather dead and the government clued in to his connections, money is going to be tight. Mother is old-fashioned enough to recognise a 'convenient alliance'."

And so you want to stay here and become a priestess.

Sakura looked down, trying to hide the blush. "Am I that obvious?"

Just a little.

"I could be very good at it. I could learn the worship bit very quickly, and We Japanese understand respect and obedience." She hesitated, reluctant to speak evil of one of her rescuers. "I have heard Ebony-san arguing with you. I don't think she understands the the concepts."

I am sorry. Ebony is one of the best High Priestesses I have ever had. I cannot replace her..

"Ah well." she sighed. She stood up, and went back to the Viewing Chamber. She did not notice Ebony emerging from the shadows.

I think you said you were waiting for a suitable period before returning the girls. Has that period passed yet?

"Yes, they have." replied Ebony. "Just waiting for the word."

Aardvark, wasn't it(9)? What do you need?

"How about an Elder Creature's cavern somewhere in Japan?" replied Ebony, handing over a roughly sketched plan.

She looked down the corridor leading to the Viewing Chamber. "Worship, respect and obedience?"

The last things I need in a High Priestess. The sooner she is out of here, the better.

"Right! Oh well, better get started."

The biggest problem, of course, was how to get the word to the potential rescuers. A short visit to one of the local Shinto priests resulted in a little discrete string-pulling, which in turn resulted in two groups of visitors to a local shrine.

This gave Ebony a chance to dress up as a shrine maiden, and deliver a carefully worded(10) fortune to one of the five searching boyfriends. The fortune was delivered without the boys noticing anything.

The same trick almost worked with Sakura's betrothed. He took the fortune all right, but read it before leaving.

"Beautious shrine maiden who dispenses clues," he asked, "how is it that you are not Japanese?"

"Is it that obvious? What gave me away?" Ebony responded.

"Dusky maiden, I am Tokugawa Ichiro, betrothed of Ito Sakura." He gave her a very serious look. "Perhaps you should explain what is going on."

A few moments later, Ebony and Ichiro were ensconced in one of the local cafes. He seemed, Ebony noted, to be polite, formal, and - when the explanations were given - quite reasonable. Reasonable enough, she thought, to be trusted with the whole truth.

"So", she asked. "What do you intend to do?"

"Most Holy Ebony, Miss Ito is my betrothed, and thus, my responsibility. It is my duty to rescue her, or die in the attempt. You say that those responsible for her... dishonouring... have been punished?"

"Yes."

"Then there is nothing more to be said on the matter. What do you wish me to do?"

Ebony hesitated.

"Would you still say this if you found that she didn't love you?" she said at length.

Ichiro was quiet for a moment. He looked at the tabletop for a while.

"I realise that arranged marriages are a little old-fashioned, and seem not to leave room for love. However..." He looked up. "I believe in the western tradition, the bride and groom are asked if they will love each other, and are required to answer 'I will'. They are not asked if they do love each other, but if they will."

Ebony looked at him in surprise.

"I did a little research." he admitted. "I know that young girls these days think in terms of romance, so given that we were to be married I tried to woo her beforehand. It appears that my attempts were misguided."

"The rape was not her fault. Her feelings are not entirely her fault. She cannot make any decisions whilst in the thrall - however benevolent - of this Elder Beast."

He fixed Ebony with a determined stare.

"I ask again. What should I do?"

Ebony gave him a couple of suggestions.

It made the front page:

Missing Schoolgirls Found in Dramatic Rescue

Saved from the clutches of an Elder Creature

Last night, the six schoolgirls that went missing last month were dramatically rescued from the caverns of an Elder Creature.

The girls, who have been named as Matsushita Noriko, Saito Matsuko, Fuse Yoshiko, Tsurimi Yukiko, Hirasi Haruho and Ito Sakura, were originally feared kidnapped by a prostitution ring. They were traced to the chthonic temple by the determined efforts of their boyfriends, who staged a daring assault on the caverns, led by the fiancé of one of the girls, Tokugawa Ichiro. Tokugawa's fiancée, Ito Sakura, was rescued from an inner cavern, just as she was being attacked by the creature. Tokugawa managed to fight the creature off and carry his fiancée out of the caverns, despite having his backpack ripped off by the pursuing creature.

The boys sealed the creature in the caverns with explosives as they fled. A local priest has placed seals on the entrance, and the JSDF(11) are expected to destroy the caverns properly sometime in the next few weeks.

The girls are recovering with their families.

Within the innermost cavern, in the stygian gloom, one of two figures examined the discarded backpack. The other figure was having a coughing fit.

Are you OK?

"[Cough] Just the [Cough] dust."

The Shoggoth did something. Whatever it was, the dust dropped to the floor of the cavern. Ebony wheezed for a few moments, then the fit subsided.

I did warn you about the dust. Cave-ins are seldom clean, even without explosives.

"'S OK." said Ebony, her breath slowly returning. "What's in the backpack?"

The Shoggoth dipped its pseudopodia into the backpack, and came out with two packages.

Ranma ½, boxed, mint condition. it said. And I think this is for you...

Ebony carefully unwrapped the second package. A small African statue, intricately carved from a chunk of hard, black wood.

Whatever his other faults, you can't accuse him of being ungenerous. noted the Shoggoth. Why did you want me to assume my full form back there?

"I think that little Miss Ito needed a little lesson entitled 'the grass is greener'."

The Shoggoth scooped Ebony up and transported itself back to Antarctica. Shortly thereafter, so did the caverns.

It was, as they say, some time later.

Sakura was enduring a visit from her fiancé. She was still pretty shaken up from her experiences in the cavern, and was not much for small talk. She was having too much to think about.

Besides, she thought, Ichiro's conversation was all too predictable. Roses (an admittedly fine bunch had been presented), poetry and undying love. That was why she...

"Now that you are safely home, we can discuss the arrangement between out families."

...really hated...

"I know you were not pleased with the arrangements, and had hoped to woo you to my side. However, now that your stepfather is dead, there is no-one to force the engagement. If you wish, I will talk to my parents and break the engagement."

He rose and bowed. "There is no need to rush your decision. Good night."

Ichiro was almost to the door when a sobbing female dived across the room and latched itself to him.

He smiled to himself. Ebony's advice had been spot on.

Non-ecluidian Footnotes:

The names in this story were derived by picking random named from lists of common Japanese names and family names. The only name I generated myself is Tokugawa Ichiro, which (hopefully) means "First son of the virtuous river".

(1) Although not as many as usual, and mostly lower than 360°
; - the Shoggoth tended to tone it down a bit when it had guests. Welcome ones, that is...

(2) Distressed as in kidnapped for a brothel, raped and then abducted by an Elder Creature. Although they were quite happy about the last of those.

(3) Ebony is not as obsessed with Manga and Anime as the Shoggoth. That doesn't mean that she is totally ignorant.

(4) The twins, aka The Skuld Fan Club, made a cameo appearance as the Evening Sacrifice in "what i did on mi holidays".

(5) A group of six. You have a dirty mind.

(6) Since this story based in Japan I have adopted the Japanese method of naming, placing the family name first.

(7) Having one's read ripped from shoulders, leaving a slime-covered body has this effect.

(8) Kuno Tatewaki is a character from Rumiko Takahashi's hugely successful Ranma ½ series. For details on the character, see here.

(9) The Shoggoth is trying to make a joke here: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was..."

(10) As in "Your girlfriends are being held by an Elder Creature in a cave at this location. Come and rescue them tomorrow at 8:00pm sharp. Bring the press and destroy this note before anyone else sees it". Ebony wasn't taking chances.

(11) Japanese Self-Defence Force.