FanFic: Twilight's Legacy (Chapter 33)

[Xaeris]

Let's see...well, first up, hello everyone. I've visted PSOW a lot for reference, but never really checked out the forums. Now that I'm here, I figure I want to take a stab at sharing my story here. It's ah, fairly long, at a total of 82 chapters, or episodes as I prefer to call them.

Now, I would post them all at once, but there's a tiny, tiny problem aside from the massive case of carpel tunnel syndrome I'd develop. See, 3-25 do not exist at the current moment. "But Xaeris, how do you have the rest then?" Well, funny story. ...Actually, it's really not. Gods, am I still babbling? On with the story! Oh, one thing though. My narrator has something of an attitude. Probably due to the fact I don't pay him, but that's a matter to ponder another time. So yeah, don't hold it against him.

Episode 1: The Phantom Menace

Nah, I'm just screwing ya.

Episode 1: The Handsome Swordsman of Legend

Heh, wow, I could do this all day. But seriously...

Episode 1: The Boy that Killed Adolescence

Okay, okay, really, I'll stop.

Episode 1: Image of a Hero

What? That is the title.

3084 AUW. It is but a short month before Pioneer 2 arrives at Ragol to meet its destiny. The inhabitants of the ship still live in the bliss of the hope in starting a new life on a new world. It will be a month before those hopes are dashed and replaced with the fear of extinction. But it will also be a month before an adventure that will ultimately give birth to new hope begins.

"Out of my way."

A young man, perhaps fifteen, walks down a dimly lit and narrow hallway. He would keep walking were it not for the big purple obstacle in his way. The HUcast approaches from the other end of the hall forcing the boy to stop in his tracks and meet him in the middle.

"So you?re really going?"

"Yeah."

The boy takes a finger and plunges it into his hair behind him at the small of his back. He twirls it around to spin some strands of hair around it before growing bored and dropping his finger. He folds his arms and gives his attention to the HUcast's protests.

"We're just about to meet up with the Pioneer 1 group and you want to quit? The real work is about to begin and you're just going to give that up."

"It's just like I told Grahart, Kireek. I'm going to find a better purpose for my life."

The boy puts his arms back at his sides and walks forward past the HUcast who stands aside. He doesn?t so much as look back until he...um, stops and looks back. Kireek produces a red weapon capsule and turns around to face the hunter over the several feet he?s already walked.

"You humans and your philosophy."

Kireek presses a button on top of the thermos sized capsule and it produces a sheathed katana. He tosses it to the hunter who catches it in mid air with one hand by the base of the sheath. He looks at it with a confused expression for a few moments, and then looks up at Kireek.

"Do what you want. The day you can unsheathe that sword will be the day you understand just how pointless your quest for meaning is."

With that cryptic remark, Kireek turns and walks in the direction the boy was coming from. The boy places a hand on the sheath and hilt of his gift and attempts to unsheathe it with no result. He frowns, clips the weapon to the back of his black battlesuit so it hangs horizontal to the ground and continues his way out. Before he has taken more than five or six steps, he's greeted by men bearing weapons with the clear intent to stop him. With a sigh that could move heaven and earth, he draws a different blade.

"It's going to be bloody..."

With the translucent purple sword ready to go, he breaks into a run with not a single emotion present on his face. So, let's see, a level fifty bajillion hunter with the best equipment in the game right from the very start...yeah, that's usually a sign he's not sticking around long.

****

So, one month from then, a similar looking person is standing before the teleport to Ragol. The large gate peels back for him as if to reveal what?s behind door number two. Once his fascination with the dancing red circles has passed, he removes his yellow section ID clip from the recess that received it and walks forward.

"Well, here goes!"

Right, so after Forest 1 loads, the boy is deposited by a narrow stream in a tight clearing with a path leading out into the open. He looks around to get a feel for his surroundings, drawing in whatever surprises might come at him. Silly boy. He's in a hallway. Nothing happens there.

"I wonder...what am I really doing?"

The hunter lights up a saber and waves it about lazily in the air as he walks out into the open. As soon as he does, the ground next to him begins to stir. Instinctively, he jumps back and points his saber at the dirt. The earth gives rise to what a teddy bear would look like if it were designed by Marilyn Manson. Similar creatures rise from the ground all around the field.

"What the...meh well. It would've been boring to just hear myself ponder, moan and whine."

He runs at the one that first showed up and makes a horizontal cut across its mouth. The booma is none too pleased to have its chopper ripped open and responds with a swipe of its claw. The hunter throws his guard up so that his forearm receives the impact of the blow. Still, he's forced to jump to the side so that the force of the attack doesn't knock him off his feet. As he lands, he thrusts forward into the booma's stomach, finishing it off.

"Well geez, now that was just sad-"

Cocky as he is, he didn't bother to make note of the fact that the other three boomas weren't just waiting for their buddy to get sliced down all this time. He's knocked to the ground by the swarm that is now bickering over who gets first bite on his body. The boy doesn?t take this lying down and shoots up through the middle with a rising slash, taking out the one that hit him. He lands at the backs of the still living ones and rectifies the use of that adjective by stabbing them both through the back of their heads.

"Damn, that actually hurt. The hell was I thinking only coming down here with a bodysuit? And...eh? What's that?"

The HUmar, it would seem, walks over to a now lit up capsule by a gate. As he bends down to activate it, he removes a small green orb from the compartment in his left forearm. He flips a switch on the orange capsule and crushes the orb in his hand. As a mist surrounds him, he listens to the message.

Is this on? *ahem* Greetings. I am Red Ring Rico. For whoever's listening to this, I will be investigating the cause of the explosion. I'll try to leave notes for you to follow on as best I can, but the animals around here seem to have become savage, making it hard...

"She sounds cute."

The mist clears up as the Monomate finishes its job. Our protagonist walks through the door and continues through the forest. Even though he encounters more boomas, the expressionless blank gaze on his face refuses to lift as if glued on. Eventually, he comes to the largest clearing in the area and decides to take a break in the shade.

"Ugh, this is hardly any better. I mean, it beats killing random people, but Christus, this is boring and pointless. Maybe Kireek had a point..."

As he ponders that memory, a rappy drops from the tree and waddles up to where he is sitting. The HUmar looks to his side and has a short chuckle as he regards the deceptively cute creature.

"Hey there. Guess there are some friendly things in this godforsaken place after-"

So yeah, the rappy pecks him in the arm. He curses and rolls away to jump to his feet. The rappy waddles forward, but gets a saber in the beak from one very annoyed hunter. Before he can make with the expletives, several more rappies drop from the trees to surround him.

"Hey, ow! Get away from me you inbred chickens!"

The boy leaps out of the swarm while popping his last Monomate. With a hiss, he pushes his left palm forward and releases an icy stream of mist that's enough to scare the birds away. Before he can relax though, he feels a hot, wet sensation in his back. A wolf has leapt behind and had a taste of him. He falls to the ground, groaning in pain. The wolf moves in for another pounce, but instead of flesh, gets a saber in the mouth.

"Ugh..."

The HUmar shoves the limp wolf to the side off his blade. Sadly, he's still on the ground, unable to move. His breathing is slow and quite audible. Unable to do anything else, he loses consciousness.

****

Fast forward to the hospital bed. A weary boy (dear god, I can?t wait until I can just give his damn name) opens his eyes to see a nurse staring right back at him. He moves a hand to his head and groans with his teeth showing.

"Good, you?re okay. You had a rough time. You should be more careful from now on."

"Uh...thanks. How'd...how'd I get here?"

He's hopped out of bed and grabbed his saber from a nearby table. The nurse puts a finger on her chin as she tries to discern his experience from the many similar ones she probably experiences everyday. She snaps her fingers and nods.

"Another hunter brought you in. Carried you here all by herself. We were all surprised."

Jesus, how embarrassing.

"Oh, well...thanks for patching me up. I'll go now."

****

The patched up kid walks out from the Nurse's Station only to suffer a new injury by having a HUnewearl crash right into him as he walks out. They fall to the ground in a mess...well, actually, just the HUmar. The HUnewearl braces herself with a step back and watches as he falls to the ground. She then bends over a bit to make closer examination of the boy who's trying to steady his spinning head.

"Oh whoops, sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going! Here, let me help you-"

Her outstretched hand is lightly shoved away by the boy's forearm as he gets to his knees. He shuts his eyes, lets out a breath of air, and then gets up to his feet. As his face comes into view, the HUne's eyes light up as if in recognition.

"Oh, you're-"

"Eh?"

"Ah...nevermind. Were you just being treated?"

The hunter winces and rubs his neck in embarrassment.

"Yeah, I guess I was."

"And now you?re probably going to go back down, right?"

"Uh, probably."

The HUne clasps her hands together with a bright smile much to our hero's confusion. He rests his weight on one leg and puts a hand on the hip on the same side while she bobs up and down.

"Well, you didn?t let me help you up and I feel bad about knocking you down-"

"You didn?t knock me down. I just tripped, that's all."

"Uh huh. Anyway, you seem like you could use some help. So, I'll graciously deign to assist you! My name's Keneteks, friends call me Ken! How about you-?"

Ken opens her eyes from whatever fantasy she was having to find that the boy has already started for the teleporter with his back turned.

"Hey!"

"I don't need 'help.' Go away."

"Tch, fine, be that way jerk!"

The boy waves a hand in goodbye without looking back and steps into the porter field. Ken turns away and our protagonist takes this moment to turn around and catch a last glance at her. More specifically, her retreating derriere wrapped neatly in a tight pair of green short shorts.

"Maybe some eye candy wouldn?t have been such a bad thing...meh well."

****

Twenty minutes later find him in Forest 2 easily enough. The rain serves only to drive in the feeling of pointlessness he is experiencing as each drop reminds him that he's alive and not doing anything.

"This is silly. What the heck am I supposed to find in pointlessly fighting like this?"

Currently, he is facing down a Mothvist. He draws his saber and swats down every mothmant it throws at him as they descend from the air. He's worked his way to the sac and plunges his saber into it, causing it to writhe wildly until it falls over and shrivels up.

"Eh?"

From the orifice that he carved, he sees the hint of a red capsule sticking out. Needless to say, he walks right over and pulls it from a gooey mess. From it, he gets a pair of daggers that don't look at all different from a pair of Edges. Aside from the letters carved on each handle anyway.

"Huh...battery's dead. And the handles are long worn out. Still...guess I'll hang onto them."

He places them back into their red box and continues forward. He walks down a narrow path which opens up into a larger clearing with two ways to go at the end. Before he can make a decision, he's presented with the choice of which wolf to kill first as two Savage wolves and a Barbarous wolf leap out from the foliage.

"Payback time fools."

The hunter ducks beneath the barbarous wolf that leaps out at him and sticks his saber up, cutting the wolf open as it sails overhead. Witnessing the quick defeat of their leader, the other two wolves howl in shame. Just enough time to catch sabers to the head. The battle concludes and our hero bends over to suck some wind.

"Egh...this stupid forest keeps throwing things at me...and nothing new ever happens...hello..."

In the jaw of one wolf, he finds a slightly chewed on, but otherwise good orange capsule. Popping it open, he finds a slicer. Yeah, yeah, slicer in the forest, hacker, n00b, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, he takes it in his left hand and flings it around some.

"Hey, this thing is pretty cool!"

Like a child with a new toy, he flings blades left and right with an uncontrollable laughter. He takes a moment to stop and note that he's still holding his saber in his right hand. With a moment of thought, he nods and decides to use both. At the same time.

"All right, let's find something to try it on!"
With a new, if short term purpose, he runs toward the end of the clearing and decides to go west, leading him into an opening that's below the central dome landing. He hasn't stepped into the room yet though as he has spotted the HUne from earlier. She is seated by a switch for a nearby gate and is accompanied by a green Sato mag. Instead of rushing right in, the hunter chooses to sit right where he is and stay out of sight and listen in.

"Oh Sato...this is just so lonely. It's like it's impossible for me to make friends. No matter how hard I try...even that last one I carried back for nothing.?

The boy smacks his own face realizing that it was Ken who went to all the trouble of dragging him back. With a quiet sigh, he continues listening.

"I wonder what is about me?"

Tuh, listen to me go on about how I want a better purpose for myself in life and I still act like the same jackass I've always been?

That thought is cut short by the abrupt entry of a hildebear into the room accompanied by a few goboomas and a gigabooma. Ken winces at the interruption in her train of thought and motions for her sword at her side.

Well, that changes now. I don?t get to be a selfish jackass anymore. Here we go.

The horde of enemies approaches Ken and she prepares to go about the task of swatting them all down with her sword. Before they enter beatdown range though, they're all momentarily stunned by the thrown blade of a slicer. Ken looks to the entrance to see who was the source. The source is long gone from that spot and is now descending from the air in between Ken and a gobooma to slice it down with his saber.

"It's you?!"

"How are you madam? All your base are...ah, screw it. Fight."

The boy weaves between the approaching boomas and heads straight for the big one, the hildebear. He leaps over a meaty fist swung at him and lands inside the arc of the swipe. He lands what he expects to be a killing stab, but the giant is hardly affected and flings the hunter away with another punch. He slams into the wall right where he started where Ken is swinging away at the boomas.

"You okay?"

"I'm pretty sure that broke a rib, but otherwise, dandy."

He hops up and stabs a gobooma leaving only a gigabooma and the hildebear who is beating its chest to contend with. Ken leans forward, bracing her sword on the ground to cast Resta which sews up the rib that is claimed to be broken.

"Whew, thanks."

Deciding to deal with the lesser danger first, the HUmar (so close to a name, so very close...) leaps to the gigabooma's side and spies a decent sized cut. In what will be known to be a rare use of his brain, he hops into its guard, places a hand on the cut and fires a stream of Barta directly into it. The monster?s motions slow to a crawl until its insides are frozen. One roundhouse from his temporary companion is all it takes to reduce it to shards of its former self. And that leaves the hildebear.

"So, what's the plan?"

The kid looks to his ally with a confused look on his face while stepping back from the approaching beast. She too is backing up with her guard up.

"Plan...? You sure formed a high opinion of me pretty fast. Well, let's see...I'll distract it, you try get a clean shot at its back."

The distraction runs forward and to the side of the bear who turns to face him. He flings throws blades off his slicer from a safe range as it approaches in order to irritate it. Everytime it comes close, he cuts his assault short and runs away.

"D'oh!"

Yup, he tripped on a twig. The hildebear comes right up and prepares to land a pummeling swing when the boy sees a green blade poke out from its chest and then retract. The hildebear falls over in a crumpled heap and our hunter sighs in relief. He sits with his hands resting on his knees and his body leaning forward.

"Um, hi."

At this time, the pubescent hunter looks the HUne over. His attention is drawn mostly her fishnet stockings but he eventually manages to look up and note the small smile on her face. He coughs in an effort to cover his butt and stands up. As he does, he realizes that she stands equal with his own 5'5 frame.

"Hi...uhm...about earlier."

"Hmm?"

"I'm...sorry."

Ken blinks and then grimaces.

"I'm sorry too."

"Eh? For?"

"I shouldn?t have acted like you needed help. You can handle yourself pretty well I see."

"...Yeah...say...there's probably more stuff like that on the way to the Central Dome. If you help me, I'll help you. Sound good?"

Ken just nods enthusiastically while the HUmar scratches the back of his head as if that question expended a great amount of strength. He turns for the warp that's tucked in the back of the area and begins to walk towards it.

"Hey wait, what's your name?"

Finally! As if it were a moment at which time should halt out of respect and the wind should blow for dramatic effect, the boy turns his head and throws a smirk on his face which goes quite well with his emerald green eyes.

"My name's X. Nice to meet you...Ken."

X: Um...the hell is this?

Keneteks: Well...I think we?re supposed to do an episode preview now.

X: Huh. Well, okay. I kill more stuff. The end.

Keneteks: Try harder than that!

X: Ugh, fine...so, we triapase through Forest a bit, only to find that Ken is a total ditz and didn't bring map.

Ken: Hey, you're not the master of foresight yourself Mr. "I forgot to bring Telepipes!"

X: ...Yeah...next time, on Phantasy Star: Twilight's Legacy!

Episode 2: Teammates

X: Don't miss it. ...Bleh, that sounds bland. I don't think I'll be saying that again.

By the way, if someone could share with me the wonderful secret as to how to copy and past something from Word into this window without having to manually replace all the quotes and apostrophes, that'd be just grand.

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[CupOfCoffee]

Nice. Usually when a story is so close to the actual plot of the game (at least, it seems that way so far), it's boring and bland, but yours totally wasn't. Kudos on making your characters feel so real, and the comedy was great too.

[Xaeris]

Ha, thank you for the nice comment. I do try. Hmm...no one wants to share the secret of the apostrophe with me I see. Oh well, guess I'll stumble on it eventually.


Episode 2: Teammates

"We're lost, aren't we?"

Nighttime creeps up on the forest as the sun leaves the horizon. The rain has thankfully let up, but that does not make the fact that several laps around what used to be the residential section of the Pioneer 1 colony have yielded nothing but more battles any less annoying. And to add to that irritation, the questionably dressed HUnewearl walking behind our hero has just asked the bleeding obvious.

"It's not being lost if you had no idea where you were going to begin with."

Ken lets out a defeated sigh and continues to follow along while playing with her braids to distract attention from the current lap they're running. X, on the other hand, sees yet another orange capsule releasing a beacon of light. Deciding to give in to his curiosity, he walks over and nudges with his foot, activating it.

"Hildebears are very strong and durable. Be careful of the fire they spit from their mouths and try to aim for the back."

X raises an eyebrow while grabbing his black hair hanging at the small of his back. He looks at the burned and frayed ends while considering Rico's advice.

"Gee, that might have been handy to know while fighting the last six bloody hildebears."

"Hee hee, it was funny when that last one lit your hair on fire and you were running around like a moron."

As the memory registers in X's head, he smacks himself in the head and shakes it away. With some under the breath muttering, he waves it off as nothing and stomps forward with a bloodshot look in his eyes. Ken chuckles and jogs up to catch up with him.

"Say X, I've noticed something."

"That high heels and fishnet stockings don"t make very good armor?"

X receives the blunt end of deactivated sword to the top of his head. Ken has a blank stare on his face while X blinks.

"Yeah...if this going to be a recurring thing, I think I'm gonna be needing a helmet..."

X clutches his head as the throbbing pain sets in and falls to the ground. Ken, with a huff, puts her sword away, folds her arms and looks away.

"Gah, my head..."

"Anyway, what I noticed was that whenever we make a bit of progress, we find one of Rico's capsules."

"Such pain..."

"The way I figure it, she also meant to leave a trail as well as leaving advice in them."

"Man, I really need an asprin..."

"So if we follow them, we might make some more progress."

"I hope this doesn't leave a mark."

Ken turns to X to see what exactly he?s doing. He's been nursing his wound the entire time. Understandably pissed, the HUne grinds her teeth.

"Did you even hear a word I said?!"

X looks up and places a finger at his chin while accessing his recent memory.

"Eh? Oh...something about progress and capsules."

"...Ugh...right."

"But it..s kinda late. And I bet all sorts of crazies come out at night. And I'm sure you have your nighttime job to be getting to. Already dressed for it and all."

As if called by the lords of narrative coincidence, a bartle walks across the background. Lucky for our low level heroes, it just keeps on walking. Ken nods in agreement. For the next minute, the two stare at each other expectantly until X finally speaks up.

"Uh...mind using a telepipe? I didn't think to bring any."

"Oh...I didn't either."

"..."

"..."

"Okay, so...if I don't have any telepipes and you don't have any telepipes..."

The sounds of foreheads being smacked goes off in stereo as one really long walk home starts.

"Hey X, what did you mean by that nighttime job remark?"

"You...don't know?"

"No, I'm only a year old so there's a lot of things I still don't get."

Now, growing up in space tends to broaden one's suspension of disbelief. But that remark causes X to reel anyway as he examines Ken once again to ensure that no one slipped a pair of beer goggles on him when he wasn't paying attention. To his dismay, it's the same HUne.

"You're...you're just a year old?"

"Uh huh!"

"..."

"What?"

"I...no, it's nothing. It's just that I knew that newmen grow fast, but...it's just different when you see it yourself."

"Hee hee...so, what does it mean?"

"...Damn. Well, you see..."

One explanation plants the blunt end of a sword in X's head once again.

"Dammit all."

****

Back at the teleporter on Pioneer 2, the two prepare to part for the night. Ken spends a few seconds digging out a PDA from her back pocket much to X's delight. When she finally gets it out, X is prompted to remove his from his left forearm compartment.

"Okay, let's trade guild cards so we can pick up where we left off!"

"Uh, sure."

The ends of the PDAs lock together as they transfer the information. A few seconds later, the data for each hunter appears on the screens. Ken puts her device back in her pants and smiles.

"So long! Call me when you go again!"

And with that, she runs off, leaving X with the usual serious expression on his face. He glances at the ground before picking his head up and walking home.

****

Our beaten hunter walks into his extremely tiny dorm to crash for the night. It's a studio dorm, needless to say to you college students, with the bed at the other end of the room and a desk and laptop near the door. And that's about it.

"Well, that was fun."

He falls back onto his bed after shedding his spandex and curls up in the sheets. Once he's securely nestled in, he leans over and grabs the sheathed katana Kireek gave him.

"I wonder what this is...the day I can unsheathe it, I'll realize how pointless this is, eh? Hmm. Guess I'll never find out then."

And with that blatant dare of fate, he drops the katana at the side of the bed and goes to sleep.

****

The next morning, X exits the communal shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. You ever been in a communal shower? The kind used by what are essentially children? No? Good, keep it that way. It's for the best. Anyway, he throws on his black outfit and clips his yellow ID to the center of the outfit.

"Okay, first things first."

X takes his saber and slicer and secures them at his waist. He nods and exits his dorm. On his way down to the exit of the building, he busts out his PDA and has a look at the lone guild card in its inventory.

"...Eh, we were just together yesterday...she probably doesn't want to go again so soon. Don't want to seem clingy. Yeah, another time. I'll just go by myself today."

As this series goes on, if you keep reading, you will come to form the opinion that X is a moron. Invariably. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

****

Back in the forests, X has worked his way back to Forest 2. He doesn't get much further than that before having to fight his way through once again. Some boomas and a wolf see to it that he'll have to draw his weapons.

"Doesn't matter how many of you there are; ants are still ants."

Apparently our boy has gained some levels. That or he's just a cocky idiot. I'd take even money on both really. X runs in headlong and starts with a rising slash at the booma at the head of the pack. The bear suffers a gash in its side and falls to the back as its friends walk around it. X pulls up his slicer from down at his left to his upper right side to launch a blade. Just as quickly, he takes his hand off the handle and replaces it so he can pull it back down to launch a second blade before the slicer has even started to fall. The weakened booma goes down while the others suffer injuries that slow them down greatly.

"Like that? Didn't like that, huh?"

X leaps back while the monsters make their approach and lets the quickest of them take the lead. The winner of that race receives a thrust to the gut toppling it over and setting X up to chain into a roundhouse slash that takes care of the remaining two boomas.

"Huh...wasn't there a wolf...?"

X ducks underneath a pounce and indeed finds the unaccounted for barbarous wolf in front of him, taking its time to try another attack. X smirks and holds his saber behind him while pointing his slicer at the wolf.

"Well, if you want a piece of this hotness that badly..."

X fires a Foie at the wolf that quickly torches it into a sizzling heat. Tech resistance? What tech resistance? Right, so X swings his saber at the ground in front of him while twirling his slicer.

"Heh heh. Better luck next time chums."

****

An hour later finds X on the landing of the central dome. He looks at the warp he just left to ensure he has a way back in case things go awry, and then walks forward.

"Hey, aren...t you forgetting someone?!"

X looks back to see Ken rushing up from the warp with a still activated sword in hand. X rubs the back of his head in embarrassment as she makes it to him with a tone of indignation in her voice.

"You jerk, what are you doing?!"

"Oh, hey Ken...well, I just didn't think you'd want to-"

"I said 'call me when you go again' didn't I?! Look at you, you already had most of the fun all to yourself! Tch, why are you so stupid?"

"...Heh heh...sorry."

Ken calms down a bit and tucks her sword closer to her waist. X nudges his head towards the door and she nods. And off they go.

****

X wipes some blood off yet another orange capsule before activating it. Ken lazily bats her sword on the remains of a hacked up Hildebear.

"It's no use. It might be better to find another way in."

"Gee, Rico sure was the genius of her peers, wasn't she? She saw a broken door and figured 'hey, maybe there's another way into this gigantic Central Dome! Let me go find it!? Ye gods."

X gaze turns to the distance to see the boss teleporter warmed up and waiting for passengers. X places a hand on the hilt of his saber that's clipped to his waist in preparation and begins to walk towards it.

"Hey X?"

X turns to see Ken following, but rather slowly with a downcast expression. He doesn't turn completely despite noticing this, but merely keeps his head looking over his shoulder.

"What?"

"I feel...I feel as if we're headed into great danger."

"Yeah, I can feel it too."

On that remark, X continues to walk towards the teleporter much to Ken's fury as she screams after him.

"Is that all you can say?!"

"You get huffy real easy ya know. ...Look. So we're about to jump into an unknown situation where we might get killed. There's nothing to worry about."

"That...that makes no sense!"

X steps into the teleporter's field and turns back to find that Ken is having some trouble doing the same.

"If you fight all your battles thinking that the outcome is a foregone conclusion, then I can see why you'd be scared. But nothing's decided until somebody's on the ground."

X picks his pinkie into his ear and twists it around some while looking off into the sky with an eye wincing.

"And as far as I care, as long as it can bleed, I can decide that it's the one that's going to be sucking dirt."

Wonder what X will do when he gets to the Mines. Meh well, no matter. Ken considers X's words carefully. After a minute, she clutches her sword close to her body and walks into the teleporter along with X.

"Right. Anyway, this looks like a service entrance or something. Guess they used this to ship big things in. Should work fine."

"I'm ready for whatever happens. Let's go!"

"Mm."

****

In the battlefield, the master of the den descends to meet its visitors. It lands with an earth shaking quake that nearly knocks the hunters off their feet. With a thundering roar, the fire it spits out spills along the ground and dissipates a few feet away from where X and Ken are standing. As it begins to stomp forward, X folds his arms while placing his weight on his left leg. Ken holds a hand up to her chin with concern while holding her sword against the ground.

"So..."

"So."

"...Try not to get your hair caught on fire this time."

"Screw you Ken."

X takes the lead and dashes straight forward to meet the dragon head on. He dashes underneath the dragon?s descending jaw just narrowly avoiding getting chomped in two. He turns on his heel and shoves a saber up its jaw to see what he?s dealing with. The tough skin puts up some resistance to piercing, but the saber manages to get through.

"Hey, this guy isn't so-"

The dragon responds by stomping forward, dragging X who is still clutching his saber along for the ride. Needless to say, X is none too pleased at this turn of events and is doing his best to keep his feet on the ground.

"X, you idiot, turn off your saber!"

"Oh...duh."

And X does just that, dropping himself to the ground. He rolls out of the way of the dragon's approaching feet and pushes himself up to a stance. Ken runs over, steps right over him on her way, and goes for the dragon that is only now turning around to make another attack. It rears its head back to gather flames into its mouth and tries to brings it back down to spit them out. I say try because Ken has her sword up horizontally to catch the dragon's head on its descent by the base of its jaw. An impressive feat, but she's clearly struggling as she holds it there.

"Ugh, maybe this wasn't such a smart idea?"

"Hang on a sec."

X runs to meet her at the side and casts his hand forward to use a technique. A resonating dull red glow appears on the dragon's limbs and Ken's struggling arms stop quaking.

"Hey, he's not so strong anymore...what'd you do?"

"Jellen. I don't know the specifics myself, but it's supposed to make the space around the target denser...blah, I should really look that up sometime. Anyway, hold it there a tick."

X runs around to the side of the dragon and stabs his saber into its leg. The dragon falls over with a roar and in a heap, allowing the two hunters to go to town on its head.

"What is this thing's skull made out of?!"

"Quit whining and keep swinging."

"How are you so calm?!"

"Several reasons. But I'd say the main one is that your sweat is making your shirt see through. ...Hey, ow, hit him, not me!!"

On that, the dragon gets back up to its feet, roars, stretches and jumps into the air where it takes flight. Both hunters' heads turn upwards to consider how this changes things. It doesn't take either one long to figure out that moving out of the way of the balls of fire headed their way might not be a horrible idea.

"X, what do we do now?!"

"Ya know, I'm still having trouble figuring out why you keep deferring to me for the battle plan. I'm the guy who gets lost in Forest."

"You said we weren't lost!"

"Yeah, I say a lot of things..."

Keneteks: Well?!

X: Chrissakes, stop asking me. Anyway, needless to say, Mr. Dragon gets it in the eye and the adventure continues. And into the Caves we go. Straight shot to De Rol Le, right?

Keneteks: I doubt it...we do need some kind of plot other than an Episode I run...next time, on Phantasy Star!

Episode 3: Of the Four Hunters, Zoke

X: That's...that's not a title. ...Bleh. Don?t miss it.

[CupOfCoffee]

Haha, awesome. Your story is hilarious, and the dialogue-heavy style you use is perfect for letting the audience meet your idiosyncratic characters.

The only suggestion I could really make at this point besides the appostrophe thing (which, by the way, is solved by writing in Word Pad instead of MS Word... or, if you just want to fix what you've already written, cut/paste your stuff into Word Pad and then use Control + H to find and replace the things that turn into ? with what they're supposed to be) would be to maybe crank up the plot a little bit. So far they've only gone out and fought stuff in the forest, and while that's a good way to get the ball rolling, something a little more exciting should probably happen soon.

Anyway, great so far. Keep it up.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: CupOfCoffee on 2005-09-03 20:21 ]</font>

[Xaeris]

Ah, thanks much. That does take a good amount of the work off. Anyway, I do see the plot picking up soon, so no worries.

Episode 3: Of the Four Heroes, Zoke

One HUmar and one HUnewearl are doing their best to stay underneath the dragon as it floats in the air high above them. The downward force coming from its flapping wings forces them to squint as dust flies up from the ground.

"Shoot, left, left!"

X's suggestion comes at a good time as a hail of flame falls from the air and showers the ground the two were just standing on before jumping in the advised direction. Their heads turn up to see the dragon flying into an arc aimed straight at the ground while tucking in its wings. They're confused, yes, but they clear the area of impact all the same.

"Gah, damn."

X holds his saber forward and launches a spray of frost and mist to counter the spray of lava produced by the dragon's impact. The low level Gibarta succeeds in defending him against burns and allows him to focus on just where the dragon is. Ken lowers her sword which she used as an umbrella and joins in the search.

"Think it ran away?"

"Yes Ken. The giant dragon thing took a few love taps and decided we were too much trouble to eat. That's why that huge mass of land is heading straight for us at a stupidly high velocity. Genius."

X lazily points his saber at said oncoming mass of land. He then hops out of the way leaving Ken to fend for herself by tucking and rolling out of the way. Chivalrous sort, is he not? The dragon burrows right by and into the wall. It comes around again, only to be dodged once more.

"Huh...where is it now...?"

Ken was braced and prepared to dodge a third time, but the moving mass of land is nowhere to be seen. X, in a crouch, looks about the room with an examining glare on his face. Suddenly, the quaking ground lets them know all too well where the enemy is. They don't get the opportunity to move before the dragon shoots from the ground and blows them off in separate directions. On landing, X tumbles and bounces a few times while being scalded by the spray of lava. Ken shares a similar fate, but doesn't bounce. Decent sized patches of burnt clothing and blackened skin have them reaching for monomates, but they're good to stand up regardless.

"Well, damn."

X futilely fires a Gibarta after the ascending dragon who swoops into another arc to crash into the ground. Again, the two dodge the initial impact, but are filled with dread at what they know is coming.

"X, we can't take another hit like that...well, you can't anyway."

"...Screw you Ken. Anyway, just follow my lead."

X folds his arms and closes his eyes, remaining perfectly silent. Moments later, his eyes snap open and he hops back to allow the dragon to charge from the ground he was just standing on. Not stopping with that, he jumps forward towards the dragon"s rising body and grabs onto its leg. Ken, seeing the plan, races forward and just barely manages to grab onto the end of the flailing tail before it"s out of reach.

"Okay, please tell me your lead doesn't involve us falling to our deaths..."

"Oh, did I say follow my lead? Sorry, hadn't planned on how you were gonna get down."

"X!"

Not really paying much more attention, X climbs up the dragon's leg and hoists himself on its back as it reaches the height of its flight. He traces his fingers across its back, looking for the series of bumps that would be its spine. Once he finds it, he smirks and prepares to stab with his saber.

"Check and match!"

X shoves the saber into its back, eliciting a deep growl and the dragon's thrashing descent to the ground. Both X and Ken hold on tight as it crashes and skids along the ground. Once it comes to a stop against the wall, X hops off and brushes himself off. Ken jumps down and pokes the still thrashing enemy a few times to ensure it's down for the count.

"X, I'm not sure that makes-"

"Check. And. Match."

"Fine...you wanna head back?"

"Yeah...this is the sort of thing you have to write paperwork for."

****

Back on the ship, the two emerge from the teleporter onto a Pioneer 2 whose afternoon is just ending. Ken jogs in front and turns back to X.

"So long! Call me when you go again!"

X raises a hand in brief farewell as she runs off. He stretches and begins a long walk to a computer terminal where he can do said paperwork. He finds a booth with a seat near a park and decides it will do.

"Okay, where to start?"

A few hours later, X emerges from the warp to the principal's office where he has just dropped off his report in diskette form. Satisfied with his work for the day, he starts the walk back to his dorm where he plans to crash quite soundly.

****

The next morning, and considering it's 11:50, that's being technical, X awakes and sits up in his bed. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he gets out from under the sheets and stands up to stretch.

"Okay, need a plan for the day...hmm? Oh, a message."

X's battlesuit is sloppily slung on the bed post along with his PDA in the side pocket. The top of the PDA blinks blue periodically, indicating that there is a stored message. X snatches up the device and presses some keys to bring up the message.

"A summons to the Principal. Well, I guess I don"t have anything to do. And an excuse to see the hot receptionist is never bad."

****

X appears at the back of the path that leads to Principal Tyrell. Once he shows his summons to the soldiers that bar his path, he's free to walk forward to the desks. He pays a cursory glance to Irene who briefly smiles as he goes by. He's in front of Tyrell who nods and clears his throat.

"Hunter X, thank you for coming."

"You're welcome."

"Er...yes. Let me get to the point. About your report..."

X rests his weight on his left leg while placing his left hand at his waist. He regards the principal shifting uncomfortably with the words with momentary confusion, but then shrugs it off.

"Did I miss some details?"

"No, no, it's not that. It's just that those message capsules you said you found...was there anything else from Rico?"

"No, just the messages."

"...I see...very well. Moving on, a series underground caverns has been found to extend from the site where you defeated the dragon. We're sending excavation teams now. If you care to join them, you have clearance, as does the newman that assisted you."

"Righto. That all?"

"Yes, you"re dismissed."

X nods and turns to leave. Before he gets very far, Irene calls out to him. Not one to turn down a pretty lady, he walks over to her desk to see what she wants.

"Ah, X, was it?"

"That"s the name me mammy gave me."

Meh. Not really.

"Well, Principal Tyrell isn't in any position to ask you, but...those messages from Rico. Could you please try to see if you can find anything else from her in your search?"

"Ah, sure."

Irene answers a call and mouths a silent thank you to X. He shrugs and heads for the exit.

****

"Things from Rico"all I found were those messages. "Or did I?"

X reaches for the compartment in his forearm to retrieve the red capsule from the other day. He doesn"t bother to open it, he just holds it in his hand while thinking about what"s inside.

"Well, I guess they could just be a pair of edges"

X's thoughts are interrupted by a pair of hands placed over his eyes from behind. He tilts his head as he notes the soft skin and barely contained giggling.

"Guess who!"

"Wow, I didn"t know hildebears could talk!"

X receives a sharp heel to the rear as he turns around with a snicker. Ken stands there with her arms folded, tapping her foot.

"Hey Ken. I was just about to call. Ready to head down?"

"Sure, let"s go!"

****

Down in the caverns, two hunters warp in to be greeted by the excessively warm environment. Instantly, X leans on the wall, quickly exhausted by the humidity.

"So..it's hot."

"Jesus X, you're such a wuss."

X's head swivels from the insult just before he gathers enough focus to snap his spinning head upwards at Ken with an annoyed glare on his face. With an exhausted sigh, he stands up straight and takes a few breaths. Ken waits calmly through it all as she waits for him to regain his bearings. As she does, Sato floats about her silently, drawing small amounts of attention.

"Hmm...say X, where's your mag? I just noticed you don't have one."

X pays a cursory glance to Sato which has come to a halt on Ken's head. He looks away and rolls his eyes as he answers the question.

"They don't really like me. Here, watch."

X holds his finger to the miniature fox. Sato leaps from its mistress' head and floats over to X's face to deliver a tail whip right to the nose. It then retreats behind Ken's waist, shivering all the while. Ken giggles while X grunts.

"See?"

"Ah...another thing though. You don't have an arm gauntlet like normal Humars."

X tilts his head as he's at a loss for just what his companion is talking about. Seeing the lack of understanding on his face, she leans forward, much to his delight, and points at his left forearm which lacks the bulky bracer that stock hunters use. The sound of comprehension briefly escapes his lips as he proudly circles his left forearm in front of him.

"Oh, that thing. I'm ambidextrous. I don't have a weaker arm that needs the nerve augmentation. What's with all the questions?"

X walks into the first room of caves, prompting Ken to turn the conversation into a mobile one. She skips along until she's caught up to his side and slows to a walk.

"Oh, I dunno. It's just that...you seem different from normal humans."

"Mm."

Within an open room of caves, the two survey their surroundings. The room is quiet save for the sound of simmering magma off in the distance. Expectedly, it is rather empty as well. The greatest points of interest are the two closed, man sized flowers in the corner. X strides up to one and looks at it with his arms folded in front of him.

"Huh...flowers in this place? You'd think they'd have wilted by now."

"Uh, X...I think you should get away from those..."

"Eh?"

As X turns to look back towards Ken who is equipped with a pensive expression, the lilies' petals open up to reveal their poison spitting stamens. X, picking up on the changing air, or sudden slight motion of wind or psychic precognition or however the hell it is characters in these types of stories know when to dodge without so much as looking, jumps out of the way of two poisonous loogies and runs up to Ken. He whips his head back to see the lilies mocking him with that odd laugh they do and lets out a sigh relief.

"Okay, what the hell."

Somehow, the point blank manner he says that with manages to turn it into a statement, not a question. Ken presses a hand against the hilt of her sword as X lurches forward at the still laughing plants. Seeing that they won"t be pulling their roots out of the ground to walk on them, the two hunters relax and leave for the next room.

"..."

"Wow, five seconds without a single word Ken. What's eating you?"

"Oh, ah...it's nothing. Don't mind me, tee hee..."

"..."

Now, ignoring the fact that whenever one of your party members says "it"s nothing", it's *always* something, the two enter one of the joining hallways. X presses a button at the side of the door, making it open from the middle. On the other side is another pair of hunters opening the opposite door. One is what looks like a RAmar, wrapped in the usual attire of the job save the earmuffs. The man's mustache and beard give the man the look of someone who's just fallen face first into a pile of ash. His partner, a RAcaseal, is the standard model encased in the french maid shell. The two groups pass by wordlessly, even as X's head goes right by the RAmar's shoulder. Before our group can exit, the strange team calls out.

"You there, boy."

X allows a barely audible grunt through his lips as he stops in his tracks. Ken turns around with a spring in her step and bobs once on her heels. The RAmar and RAcaseal turn as well. The RAmar strokes his mustache as he looks X over.

"You carry a katana."

"Do I now? I hadn't noticed. All this time, I thought that was banjo strapped to my waist."

"Ha ha...what a sharp tongue you have child. Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Zoke Miyama."

Now, Ken looks as if she"s been punched in the gut upon hearing the name. She holds hand to her mouth as she exclaims possession of god at being in the presence of a legend. X, on the other hand, looks as if the person who's just introduced himself may as well be a janitor. Whether that's due to ignorance or...no, no, definitely ignorance.

"And the loverbot?"

"...Her name is Shino. She's served my family for generations."

"As a loverbot."

Similar to the trick he pulled before hand, the statement has the slightest inklings of being a question coming out of his mouth. Zoke lets out an exasperated grunt as Shino stands there, unfazed by X's comment. After a moment, Zoke clears his throat.

"Moving on, what say you to an engagement?"

"Um...even if I did go for guys, we did just meet and you're way older than I am-"

X receives a harsh backhand to the back of his head from a very annoyed Ken. Wincing, he sees her standing there with a completely blank look on her face aside from the vein on her forehead that looks as if it's ready to blow.

"It means he wants to fight you, you nitwit..."

"Oh. Thanks Ken."

X blinks for a few moments as he considers the proposal. Then, he shakes his head to decline, much to Zoke's surprise. X brings a hand behind his flowing river of hair to rub the back of his head with a smile on his face.

"I really don't have any reason to fight you. So...not gonna. You understand."

Zoke merely chuckles, much to our young hunter"s confusion.

"Ha ha...your attitude belies your maturity young one. However, I cannot accept no for an answer. If it is a reason you require..."

In a flash, X has drawn the inactive hilt of his saber from his left forearm and powered it up. Simultaneously, Zoke has removed two katanas from their sheaths, taken them into each hand and charges X. X pushes Keneteks away with his free hand, sending her tumbling to the ground as he swings his saber upward to deflect the initial two headed stab.

"Hey, what the hell?!"

"You aren't going to use the katana...?"

"Tch, I'll kick your ass how I see fit old man!"

"Ha ha...so be it."

By now, Shino has already taken refuge a good few feet from the foreseeable battlefield. Ken's grip on her sword wavers between solid and weak as she considers whether or not she should or can, for that matter, but in.

"Oh...X, rah rah, c'mon-"

X suffers blunt blow to the chest as he staggers backwards. He recovers his footing in time to hold up his saber to block a follow up slash. He pushes on the hilt of his saber to knock Zoke's right arm away only to be presented with the left hand to cope with once more. X ducks and shoves his heel upwards and plants it into Zoke's chest, knocking him off balance. X clutches his bruised chest while looking back towards Ken who"s still cheering.

"Okay Ken, let me save you some trouble. Unless you're going to cheer with the twins on display, don't bother."

Ken huffs indignantly as she turns away with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She draws just a teeny bit of pleasure from Zoke landing a blow on X's sword bearing shoulder. Without skipping a beat, X throws his saber to his left hand and takes advantage of Zoke's surprise to release a slash to the chest. The ranger's body armor suffers a searing streak of molten plastic even as X crosses his saber over in the other direction to bite into Zoke's torso.

"Impressive! A shame you won"t use the katana."

Deciding not to press his luck, X hops back after the second hit just in time to avoid a cross cut from Zoke's two blades. Grunting slightly, X holds his wounded right arm into the air and gathers flame onto the center of his palm. He then directs it at the ground before Zoke and fires. The ensuing dust cloud billows around the old man as he squints for his vision. The shadow that descends upon him is his clue to look up to see X at the apex of his jump. The young hunter throws his saber like a javelin at Zoke's left shoulder, disabling it quite easily. With nothing more than a prolonged grunt of pain, Zoke reaches for the switch and turns off the photon blade to dislodge it from the hole in his shoulder. X lands on his feet and considers his next.

"Maybe that could"ve used a bit more planning...saber's all the way over there now. Ah well...one good hit to his temples should do the trick."

X takes the sheathed katana hanging on the back of his waist and holds it straight forward in his left hand while he holds his right hand close to his body. Zoke's face lights up in acquisition of what he sought and his resolve is renewed. Keneteks sees the sheathed blade in X's hand and begins to swagger on her feet a little. At the same time, the sheath begins to glow a deep purple, like black.

"Huh? The sheath is shining?! ...No...it's the blade inside!"

Along with it, the blades that Zoke holds in his hand begin to shine as well. Once the resonation dies down, Zoke sheathes his katanas prompting X to do the same. Ken recovers from her brief spat with epilepsy and jogs back to her partner's side. Zoke pops a Trimate and stands defiantly in the mist as he ponders.

"Yes, so it is the real one..."

"Eh?"

"Young man, what's your name?"

"...X Launcher."

Zoke nods and beckons for Shino. The android maid walks over calmly to Zoke's side as he drops a green capsule on the floor. It bounces once and cracks in midair releasing a flash of light. Once it clears, a shimmering yellow portal surrounds the pair.

"X, that sword you hold is called the Agito. Take care never to unsheathe it...otherwise, you'll suffer an unbearable tragedy. We'll meet again. Farewell."

****

A few minutes later, X lies against the wall of the hallway as Ken tends to his bruises as best her Resta can. Her hands move about his bare torso, caressing each blister and bruise she can fine.

"Whew...thanks."

"I don't get it...why are you not bleeding?"

"He used the blunt side of his swords."

"Oh...um...how are you feeling?"

It suddenly dawns upon the two the nature of the situation they're in. X coughs and frantically gets the top of his jumpsuit back on as his wounds are pretty much healed. Ken stands and wipes her hands with the slightest hint of a blush on her face.

"Well, why don't we call it a day? You still look tired."

"Ah...sure."

X: Aww, how touching. I think I may puke.

Keneteks: Really X, do you derive some kind of subsidence off being a jerk?

X: Well, it certainly doesn't feel bad...aside from the shots at my head anyway. So, next time, a day off is in order and...dammit, this is gonna be a chick episode, isn't it?

Keneteks: *sigh* Next time, on PS: Twilight's Legacy!

Episode 4: The Burning Appassionato

X: Oo, special move. Bout freaking time. Don't miss it.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Xaeris on 2005-09-07 18:35 ]</font>

[Xaeris]

Episode 4: The Flaming Appassionata

So I changed a letter. Big whoop. Moving along, on Pioneer 2, a shimmering column of green light spreads into existence in between two shops on a random shopping strip. The passerbys pay it little mind even as a weary HUmar supported on the shoulder of his HUney companion emerge from it. In the safety of civillization, the two drop their guards with a breath of relief. X pulls himself off Ken's shoulder and falls at the waist, using his hands on his knees for support. After a short examining glance, Ken looks off into the sky through the dome of the ship. She claps her hands together as if to drown out the sound of X's heavy breathing.

"Hey, it's still early. After you get patched up by the nurse, why don't we get lunch or something?"

At the prospect of food, the boy quickly ceases his bellyaching and jumps up to an erect stance. From the back of his waist, he retrieves his PDA and flips through the menus with the use of a button on the side. After a few moments of this, he puts it back on his waist and points south briefly.

"Okay, nearest nurse's station is about half a mile yonder. Let's move."

"Sure, but you think you can manage that far? I could probably carry-"

A deathgaze shot to Ken quickly silences her kind offer. She giggles nervously and moves her upturned palms side to side across her face. X clears his throat as he looks away with a disgruntled expression and begins to walk, albeit limpedly. Ken sighs and skips after him, ever dutiful.

****

Fifteen minutes later, X sits off the side of an examining table with the top portion of his outfit unzipped and lying next to him. Across from him is an uncomfortable looking chair with Ken seated on it. The two sit in steady silence which is broken only by the occasional wince and grunt from our valiant protagonist. Yup, they don't come any braver than this guy right here. Fearless, he really is. Could look death in the eye and make it blink.

"D-do...you think they'll need to stick me with a needle...?"

Yup, fearless. On that note, a nurse walks in with a small cylinder in one hand and a clipboard held against her chest. She smiles warmly even as she huffs for breath suggesting she's been rushing for some reason. Ken pages through her magazine without a care in the world as X sweats in anxiety over the shot he's antcipating. The nurse allays his fears by shaking up the liquid filled vial and then releasing the lid which sprays a white mist on X's body. His internal injuries are healed in a matter of moments much to his pleasure as he stretches gingerly.

"Sorry we couldn't heal you at the desk. Your injuries were too complex for the standard nanites."

"Yeah, no sweat, thanks. So...that all?"

Before the nurse can answer, a blood curdling shriek echoes from the hallway followed by the sight of a hovering hospital bed flying by the doorway accompanied by a multitude of medical personnel. Though it was brief, both hunters caught a glimpse of the patient and are currently showing signs of upset stomachs. Ken has a hand over her mouth while X is wearing a look of uncharacteristic focus.

"Holy...what was that?!"

The nurse shakes her head sadly as she peeks her head out the door.

"I was with him a few minutes ago. He just came in with an unbelievable amount of lacerations; it's as if someone carved him up like a turkey. I...don't think he'll make it. ...Well, anyway, you're all done. Be more careful next time."

"Ah...sure."

I'd know that MO anywhere...

****

A half hour later, the two are dining in a fairly casual place; a step above a McDonalds and just a wee bit below an Applebee's. X has rolled up two slices of pizza on top of each other and is taking garishly large bites as if it were perfectly normal in a public place. Surprisingly, Keneteks has a similar manner of eating, made obvious by the way she's eating her medium rare steak with her bare hands.

"So X, what are we doing after this? Back to the Caves?"

"Ah...actually, I think I'm calling it a day. Injuries still smart, ya know?"

"Oh...well, okay."

Now, while the answer itself was rather disappointing, it would seem that Ken is more offput by the distant manner X responded in. His eyes have drifted off to the side and his face has lost its usual vibrancy. She looks down at her plate with the look of a kitten that's just been bat on the head with a rolled up newspaper as X continues to lose himself in his thoughts.

Ffft, I'm an idiot. How could I have forgotten? I don't have any right to hang out with people like a normal person. I better break this off and head right on to business after.

I'd let you in on the rest of his thoughts, but they consist primarily of Linkin Park lyrics.

"Well, I'm about done. Goodbye Ken."

X gets up from his seat and removes a thin plastic card from his pocket. He slides it into a slot at the side of the desk to pay the bill and makes for the door. Ken simply smiles weakly, but the lights up as she remembers something.

"So long! Call me when you go again! ...I mean that..."

X is out of range by the time she gets that last part out.

****

A skip, hop and a teleport later, X appears in the teleport hub for one of the other sectors of the ship. With a groan and a sigh, he ventures into this dilapidated area of the city, being wary of potholes and exposed electric lines in the ground. Despite the unsavory atmosphere, the look on his face is one of determination as if he's completely unware of his surroundings. But that's not the case.

"Oh Vega, such a cesspit. Wouldn't be right any other way."

Moving along, X has finally reached a vacant lot. The shimmering shine of what should be a well kept floor is not present, replaced by a dull glare in the cracked ground. On the opposite end of the lot stands a purple plated android with ornate scythe in hand. X frowns and casually strolls on up.

"Kireek."

"You found me. Well done."

X raises an eyebrow in confusion before setting his weight on one leg and tilting his head to scratch it.

"Found you? This is where Black Paper conducts all its deals. Wasn't hard. Though I do admit I was expecting someone else who would know where you were. But hey, this works too."

Kireek heaves his Soul Eater into both hands and calmly (as calmly as an android can anyway) walks towards X.

"You realize your disbanding was rather unfortunate for me. Your workload was given to me and I find dispatching such weaklings...boring. You were so much more suited to the role of assassin, don't you think Zero?"

"...That's not my name anymore. So you are the one that carved up that man?"

X's hands are dropped at his waist as his head swivels slowly and deliberately in order to keep Kireek's movements in check. So far, the android hasn't made any false moves, but that does little for X's apprehension. Kireek continues to pace back forth, running his hands up and down the hilt of the pole of his scythe.

"Yes. What of it?"

"Well, it occurs to me that having knowledge of a crime syndicate and not doing anything about is almost as bad as being its whipping boy. So, I'm here to kick your butt."

"Crime syndicate...I see your rank wasn't high enough for high command to let you in on even that much."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

Kireek suddenly dashes at X with scythe raised. X draws his saber from his forearm and holds it up in front of the oncoming attack. The photon blade successfully guards the blade of the Soul Eater, but the power behind the attack is more than enough to send the boy staggering backwards. Yet, it's barely enough to scratch his ego as he steadies himself and swings his saber in front of him to check the distance between himself and Kireek. The HUcast wards away the blade with a twirl of his weapon as he backs up.

"It does not matter. The mission of Black Paper is no longer your concern Zero. As you have too much information to our dealings, I now have orders to eliminate you."

"Big words coming from someone who might have been a toaster if he had been put in a different pile."

X presses the offensive even as Kireek forces him to back up as he blocks and parries. An overhead slash by X is warded to the side by a twirl of the scythe. It's quickly pulled back and turned into a stab to the chestplate. That's just as easily parried by Kireek thrusting the hilt of his scythe upwards to catch the saber's blade and take it along for the ride. X backflips in a short retreat, drawing his slicer into his left hand on the way down. Before he's even stuck the landing, he's thrown two photon projectiles at his attacker. They're sliced in midair effortlessly as Kireek continues to stalk his prey.

"Your katana still has yet to be drawn. Still searching for your 'purpose'?"

"Fft, I don't need some rusty old relic to beat you!"

"And what will you accomplish by beating me Zero? Redemption? Justice? Do any of these things really matter?"

"Tch, you sure do muse a lot for a lego set."

Kireek puts a great amount of power into a horizontal slash as seen by full motion through out his body. X ducks beneath it only to be forced to jump right back up when Kireek attempts a sweep at the ground. X then cartwheels backwards when the android makes a vertical strike at where he was standing. X sees his opportunity to strike as Kireek requires a moment to pull his weapon from the ground. His slicer glows brightly as he dashes back in. But rather than throw a disc, he uses the illuminated end as a slashing object and tears it through Kireek's left arm. Sparks fly as a gash is made in the appendage giving X the perfect opportunity to run back and survey his handiwork.

Dammit, put everything I had into that hit and did barely more than scratch him...hmm...the S-Parts he's using don't have any fire defense. I can probably make him overheat...but shoot, my Foie's too slow to hit him.

"See? The solution to all your problems is quite simply strength. For whatever ideals you try to cultivate, strength is-"

"Oh my god, shut up. I'm trying to think. How rude..."

"Yes, I suppose it no longer matters. You will never have the opportunity to draw that katana and discover the one single truth."

Meh, what does a toaster know about life? Now...if I can just...

"X, you jerk!"

X groans in annoyance as his train of thought is derailed once more. X looks behind him to see Ken running up in a huff. Before he can open his mouth to raise a concern, he receives a sharp thwack to the head from his partner.

"I followed you. I knew you weren't tired!"

"...Then you heard everything?"

"Yes."

"Then you understand why we can't hang out anymore. Quick, get going, I can cover your escape no prob-"

Keneteks rushes Kireek with her sword raised above her head much to X's chagrin. Kireek meets the attack by raising his Soul Eater and catching the sword in the middle of the hilt. As strong as the HUney is, Kireek possesses more than enough strength to make her struggle in the deadlock. X grunts and runs in to her side and crashes his saber on the same area where Ken has attacked. Together, the two force Kireek to drop his guard and back up to avoid the descending blades.

"Ken...you don't have to do this."

"What? Hang out with a former assassin? It's okay."

The two continue to put up on offense that forces Kireek back as he parries the harmonized attacks. The two fight side by side, yet don't interfere with the other's attacks. Not for one second is either concerned with accidentally interrupting or hitting the other. As the attacks flurry on, Kireek actually begins to show a bit of frustration as his blocks lose fluidity and become more savage.

"This much better! You two are actually something of a challenge! Much better than the fools I'm forced to dispatch daily!"

Finally, Kireek finds his opening and swings his scythe vertically into the hunters' guards, knocking them backwards on their rears. They quickly get up and bare their weapons forward, considering the next move.

"X, I don't care what kind of danger you might get me into, or what you've done. So please...always call me when you go, huh?"

"We might end up running into people with grudges against me..."

"Then we'll beat 'em up!"

"And you might hear about the not so wonderful things I've done..."

"I'll just make you say you're sorry."

"...Well then, Kireek, I guess you and your precious strength aren't so special after all. Why don't we christen this special occasion?"

X throws his slicer back against his waist, freeing up his left hand. He traces it over the blade of his saber, concentrating as hard as his mind will allow. Two fierce spheres of flame flicker into being around his saber, engulfing it in a raging pyre. By the time he's done, the blade is indistinguishable amongst the flame as he thrusts it forward in preparation. X dashes at Kireek with his flaming blade held out to the side. Kireek puts up a useless guard as X strikes and projects a wave of flame on the android.

"Appassionata!"

The flames around both the sword and opponent die down leaving a pulsing green saber and a purple android leaking steam from his joints. X sheathes his weapon and smirks as he watches Kireek jerk about periodically. Ken claps her hands at the sight of the pyrotechnics as she walks up to share in the sight.

"tHIs TiME...yOU wiN..."

Kireek takes his leave with the use of an internal emergency telepipe capsule. A column of blue light expands from within him, whisks him away, and closes shut just as quickly. X sighs in relief, happy to be rid of the threat. Ken allows him no respite however and taps him on the shoulder with a sardonic grin.

"Appassionata?"

"Hmph. It's a complicated move. My muscle memory needs a trigger."

"Yeah, sure. So...friend of yours?"

"...You could say that. What did he mean though?"

"Mean?"

"Yeah. He practically laughed at me when I called Black Paper a crime syndicate. What else could it have been..."

X stands in careful thought for a few moments before Ken pokes him in the ribs, eliciting a sharp yelp. She pouts as he winces and rubs the wound, ignoring all other wounds suffered from Kireek's attacks.

"There you go, becoming all broody and angsty again."

"Your nails are sharp dammit..."

****

Later, the two have returned to strolling in the much classier Antares sector admist the streaming crowd. They come to a halt outside X's dorm building and prepare to part for the day.

"Okay X, Caves, first thing tomorrow monring?"

"Yeah, sure. And...ah...nevermind. See you tomorrow."

"Okay, so long! Call me when you go again!"

Ken runs off leaving X to enter the building by himself. As he watches her retreating figure, his lips curve into a rarely seen, genuine smile.

X: Appassionata! Appassionata!

Keneteks: That's going to get annoying really fast, I can tell.

X: Mm. So next time, back to Caves. Might not be a standard dungeon romp this time though. Place is littered with hunters who like to pick fights. You want my weapons? Well come get them fools!

Keneteks: Uh huh...next time on PS: TE...

Episode 5: The Width of Paper

X: Clever. Don't miss.

[Xaeris]

Well, those views mean someone's reading, so on the story continues.

Episode 5: The Width of Paper

The weary hunter walks into his room with reckless and uneven steps. As soon as he's within range of his bed, he allows gravity to work its magic and pull him down down face first onto the mattress. As the fatigue of the day's tasks is finally allowed to make itself felt, X allows his body to hang loose as he takes in deep gulps of air. After a few minutes of reveling in repose, X turns himself over to lie on his back with his hands held behind his head. The look on his face is his default expression; a blank stare into the beyond.

"Ugh, my body aches. ...Heh, feels kinda nice. All things considered, this hunter stuff is pretty decent. Still..."

He rolls over onto this side and wraps his arms around his waist as he contemplates the battle he had with Kireek. The words shared admist the clashing blades play back in his head over and over. The words that have the most effect on him cause him to wince and curl up tightly.

"What point is there in fighting a one man war? Yeah, that wasn't one of my better ideas. Well, from now on, no more worrying about that. I'll just...why am I talking to myself?"

"Yeah, I'll just live on and do whatever I can as long as it's on the way. That's a good way to go through life."

As he's convinced himself that he can relax, at least for the time being, he sits up on the bed and digs his hand between the mattresses. As he fishes around, the expression on his face becomes steadily frustrated until it lights up in joy. He pulls out the magazine he was searching for and flops right back down on the bed. Now, what kind of magazine do teenage boys keep between mattresses?

"Nothing like a good lingerie catalog to ease the mind!"

Oddly, he's content to just flip through with both hands on the paper. Maybe he's just looking for a cute two piece? Anyway, as he rifles through, the page and his eyes land on a particular model, tanned a beautiful golden brown. Through wavy curls of black hair poke a pair of black tipped cat ears; clearly the kind that belong to newmen. X titls the catalog a bit to the left so that the corner points towards the ground. Whether if he trying to discern the color of the nightie being modeled or if he thinks tilting the page will somehow accentuate already nice curves is anyone's guess.

"Bleh, who am I kidding? This is what inspired the word...dammit, I'm doing it again."

"Right, so yeah, this is what inspired the word unattainable. As it is, I should just be grateful a girl like Ken even talks to me, even if she is kinda plain."

X tucks the catalog back to its place and begins to disarm himself. His saber and slicer are taken off and unceremoniously thrown to a spot by the door. The air lock knob on his bodysuit is twisted and the skintight hold the spandex had on him is instantly loosened. After that too is thrown to the door, X hops into bed and breathes one more sigh of relief before he drifts off into sleep.

****

The next morning, at 10:30, a rearmed and reclothed hunter paces back and forth in front of the Ragol teleporter with a look of ever growing annoyance. Every now and then, he halts his pace and holds up his PDA to see how much time has elapsed since the last time he halted his pace to hold up his PDA and see how much time has elapsed. It's a redundant process really.

"Gods. The one time I actually call and she's late. Women; can't live with 'em, can't trade 'em in for a bustier model."

No later than that sentence is finished does X receive a blunt blow to the head. Instantly, he falls into a crouch, clutching the growing bump on his head. Ken stands in front of him with bloodshot eyes and her sword held upwards in her hands quite loosely. X hops back to his feet and strokes a hand through his hair once as he surveys his ally.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Um...you look kinda tired."

"I didn't get much sleep."

"Oh...you want to put this off 'til later then?"

Ken shuts her eyes and shakes her head vigourously much to X's confusion. Moments later, she stops and her eyelids snap open to reveal brightly shining pearls completing a smiling visage. One of X's hairs comes loose from beneath its hairband bond as his exasperation is made clear.

"No, I'm fine! Let's go!"

"...Right."

****

"Ken, how you holding up?"

X shoves his saber into an approaching Pal Shark, causing it to flail its armps (fins?) widly. X solves half that problem by pulling the saber to the right and severing the respective arm. Flying on the momentum from the vicious decapitation, X turns on his heel and turns the force on a Guil Shark that was attempting to flank him along with the Pal Shark. The enemy gets cleaved from the shoulder to the waist, stopping it in its tracks. Some green blood squirts onto X's face as his spin comes to a halt. He bares his teeth briefly at what's probably a familiar sensation of blood trickling down his cheek.

"Oh, I'm fine..."

Ken holds up the blade of her sword to block the blue projectile spit at her from the nano dragon in the sky. She has to backpedal a few steps on impact, but otherwise, the burden is shouldered fairly easily. Soon, a slicer flechette is flung by X at the dragon's wing. It hits and while it does negiglible damage, the dragon has to descent just far enough to get stabbed in the gut by the catgirl. It flops onto the ground in a writhing heap as Ken and X walk towards the next room.

"Okay, so what have we found so far?"

"What, you mean aside from the great genius Rico leaving capsules telling us how to fight enemies we've already encountered? Not much."

X's annoyance at the capsules shows quite clearly, if not through his sarcastic comments, then from the grinding of his teeth. Ken stays a few steps ahead and claps her hands together rapidly and lightly in an effort to keep the mood light. All it does it cause another one of X's hairs to come loose. As the pair steps into a new room, their heads swivel around in order to survey the surroundings. Surprisingly, there are no enemies present; just a wide open circular room with a door continuing east on the side. Keneteks cheers and runs right on in while X walks in carefully.

"What's wrong X? There's nothing in here!"

"...Quick, do you smell anything?"

"Huh?"

Ken holds her clasped hands together at her chest and takes a deep whiff. Her nose twitches, precursing a a rather hearty sneeze. X frowns and reaches for something on his utility belt. Anti trap spray perhaps.

"Eww, there's some kind of spicy powder in here..."

X chooses not to respond and instead produces the object he was looking for; a thin green disk with a plastic eyepiece on one of the corners. He holds the eyepiece up to, what else, his eye and clicks a button on the disk. Right after that, he grunts.

"Traps. Lots, and lots, of traps."

"Oh, that's a Trap Vision...?"

"Yeah. Hm...I think I can hit them all. Don't move."

X lowers the Trap Vision and holds up his right hand. It promptly begins to crackle with yellow lightning as X charts out the path of the technique in his mind. Once done, the lightning leaps from his palm and strikes every trap in the room within nanoseconds of each other, triggering what appears to be one large explosion. X sighs and falls to one knee, exhausted by his own Gizonde. Of course, Ken rushes up and holds him by the shoulder while leaning over to examine him.

"Are you okay? Need a fluid?"

"If you have one."

Ken slips a hand into her back pocket and moves her fingers about in search for the elusive monofluid. After a brief struggle with the tight short shorts, she pulls out her hand with a small green sphere held between her fingers. X takes it and throws it into his mouth. With a single crunch, the fluid inside leaks out for him to swallow. A moment later, he spits out the useless shell and stands on his feet.

"Eww, X, that's disgusting!"

"Fft, I don't care what they say. That stuff doesn't digest well in the slightest."

"Disgusting...but that was a really good Gizonde!"

"Meh, it was okay..."

"Okay?! You got better range on that than a lot of Forces do! Hey...come to think of it, that Gifoie you used to light your Apassorata..."

"Appassionata."

"Whatever. That Gifoie had two balls of flame, right? That's a level 16 disk at least!"

"Uh, yeah...really, it's nothing special. Let's go."

X puts some nitro in his step and takes off to the next room. Ken tilts her head, shrugs and follows after him."

****

Not too much later, the two hunters find themselves in a dark and misty cavern. X grumbles and waves his hand over his head to keep the mist away.

"Oh bloody hell, I just permed this hair...c'mon, let's get through this fast."

"Um...right."

Not three steps later does one of Ken's ears start twitching. She looks in the direction of the sound source and walks over. X follows, albeit reluctantly. Ken crouches by the metal door and gestures for X to do the same. Again, he does so reluctantly.

"I hear people talking!"

"Didn't anyone ever teach you it's rude to eavesdrop?"

"Oh, like you did to me that day in Forest?"

"...Touche."

With that, X shuts up and listen in. While the content of the conversation is pretty much lost through the sturdy door, but he does pick up on some important names. After a few minutes, he stands and pulls Ken away to another door and drags them through.

"What?!"

"I dunno the details, but there's some of Black Paper convening behind that door."

"Oh, so maybe they were talking about weapons then..."

"Eh?"

While Ken gets through an expression of confusion as she tries to figure out what the grunt was in respect to, a blue puddle slides about the room they've just entered.

"Oh right, you have human ears. Well, they were talking about some 'copied stuff' they had stored somewhere around here."

"Copied stuff...that would be...hmm. Say, let's go find it."

"Uh...okay. But why?"

Before X can answer, Ken brings up a foot and shoves it into his torso to knock him away. Just in time to get him out of the way of the Pouilly Slime that's formed intself into a diving spear of water aimed right where he was standing. X draws his saber and stabs in retribution only to have his blad go through a hole in the slime's body that was opened up at the last moment. The slime drops back into a puddle and slides away from the pair.

"Well geez, there's just all kinds in here."

The slime returns in between the two and forms into its natural form. Obviously, the two strike, but fail to strike anything solid as their weapons are either caught and slowed by the creature's viscous form or miss altogether by the slime creating openings for stabs to go through. The slime forms the blade of a halbered on one of its spikes and extends it towards X. The kid is caught off guard and suffers a moderate slash to the arm. X swings his saber in frustration at the appendage as it retreats, but fails to inflict any harm once more.

"Dammit, it has no body!"

"Well, we could try techs..."

Ken punctuates that thought with a weak Zonde which does indeed strike. The slime becomes rigid momentarily, then becomes fluid again. Additionally, it spits out a loogie of water which gives rise to a second slime.

"Great job Ken."

"Shut up!"

X suffers another slash, this time to his left thigh. He steps back from the attack and falls to a knee as he allows the initial pain of the wound to pass. Ken continues to strike with her swords, but of course, does nothing to damage the enemies. X holds up his left hand, giving rise to two blazing spheres of flame that distort the air around them. He sheathes his saber into the circle of rotation, anoiting his sword for his special attack.

"Insert some cliche about burning you to a crisp here...and...Appassionata!"

X dashes forth and waves his sword over the first slime. It's reduced to steam seeping from where it once stood. Not skipping a beat, X turns around and shoves his still lit sword into the second slime, evaporating it as well. With a flick of his wrist, he douses the flame on his saber, deactivates it and places it back on his wrist.

"Do you really have to scream that?"

"Like. I. Said. It's a complicated attack; my body needs a trigger to go through the motions. Now c'mon, let's go find that stash."

"Hey X, wait...that last slime dropped something."

Ken walks up to the site of the creature's death and picks up a corroded red capsule that was in the process of being digested no doubt. She opens it and a flash of light churns out a gigantic red sword. X raises an eyebrow and walks up to examine the weapon.

"Huh...it looks like...yeah, there's letters on this one too."

"Letters?"

"On the hilt."

Ken examines the hilt as X produces the pair of Red Daggers he drags around. Ken "ahhs" once she finds the 'a' inscribed on the Red Sword. X points to the hilt of his daggers and the 't' inscribed on them.

"T&A...hmm, if these belonged to Rico, she sure did think a lot of herself."

"You're an idiot...do you respect anyone?"

"Hmm...do the people that publish Newoman Montly count?"

"Ugh...anyway, these two are probably part of a larger set. Too bad I can't use this sword though..."

"You can't? Why not?"

"The photon blade is uneven. It probably got decayed from being in that slime's body for so long. I wouldn't be able to keep my balance."

Ken tucks the capsule away into her pants and X does the same with his. And off they go.

****

"Eureka!"

Like a kid on Christmas morning, X runs into an antechamber stacked with boxes as far as the eye can see. He takes his slicer and flings a few projectiles to free the contents of some of the boxes. As expected, dozens of red capsules fall to the ground much to his delight and Ken's surprise.

"X, what is all this...?"

"Duped weapons."

"Duped?"

"Yeah. See, nanotechnology comes in varying degrees."

Now would be a good time to stick one of them graduate hats on your mental image of X.

"The simple kinds heal simple injuries and repair minor damage. The more complicated kind can be used to take simple things, trash, and turn them into whatever they're directed to. In this case, oodles upon oodles of special weapons."

"Really?! Wow, how come I've never heard of this?!"

X kicks around a stray red box as he rubs underneath his nose with a finger with a smirk on his face.

"Because, it's been illegal for centures."

"Why?"

"Well, think about it. You can turn trash into whatever you want. Say...gold."

"Oh...well, no one has to know if we take some of these weapons right?"

X throws Ken an accusing glance as she smiles brightly with her hands clapsed together. He looks away and rolls his eyes as he kicks the red box he's playing with away.

"You don't wanna do that. There's a downside to using this stuff. The nanomachines still reside within the weapons. Prolonged contact with them will result in them reaching out and destructing your body into a weapon as well. You never know when a weapon will reach it's limit and backfire on you. There's a story that goes of a man who used a duped Demolition Comet. One day, it backfired."

"What...happened to him?"

"Turned his wiener into a Flight Cutter."

"..."

X slices open a few more boxes until he happens upon a certain red box with a very stylized 'z' on the front. Content with his find, he clips the capsule to his left forearm and goes back to searching. Not three seconds later does he turn up what appears to be a lithium battery. Fully content, he returns to Ken at the door.

"What was that box you picked up?"

"Just a momento."

"Uh huh...so, if all these weapons are useless, why are you so happy that we found them?"

"'Cause now I get to blow them up!"

Ken's balance is thrown off momentarily by the absurdity of the comment, but she picks herself up before she falls over. She gestures in confusion as X takes out his slicer and begins fiddling with some mechanics on the hilt. He scratches his head as he's run into a roadblock while messing with the circuits.

"Say Ken, the resonate frequency of a one star weapon is 7900 kHz right?"

"Er, yes?"

"So, if the frequency were to rise logarithmcally, how long would it before it matched the resonate frequency of a ten star weapon?"

"Um...seven minutes!"

"Thank you."

X shuts the case of the hilt and throws his slicer into the middle of the boxes. Keneteks now takes a moment to ponder the significance of that calculation. Doesn't take her very long given the way she begins gesturing frantically a few seconds after she started thinking.

"X, do you know what you're doing?!"

"Making all the weapons in here achieve their resonate frequency, causing a chain reaction using my slicer as the catalyst. I imagine the explosion will be very big."

"Argh!!"

"Hey, relax. If you're good at math, we have seven minutes to get a mile away."

On that remark, X flees the room. Ken shouts a profanity and follows X out the door.

****

Three minutes later, X and Ken lose their balance due to a tremor that echoes through out the caverns. X throws another accusing stare at Ken who blushes as she reconsiders her math.

"Ah...I might have forgotten to carry a 1..."

X rolls his eyes and continues through the room they were in. It's a room known and beholden to all of us; a bright misty room with water cascading down the walls. X has ventured several steps towards the other side when a thought occurs to Ken, which she is more than happy to voice.

"X, what are you going to do without your slicer?"

"Eh? Oh right."

X takes out the battery he pilfered earlier and the box containing the Red Daggers. He takes only one of the daggers into his hand and opens up the hilt case. Inside, he finds the problem he anticipated when he found it and removes the dead, charred battery. In goes the fresh, new battery. The hilt is closed and X takes Red Dagger into his left hand along with his saber into his right. He lights up both weapons and demonstrates the two handed style similar to the one he used with his slicer.

"Just the one dagger?"

"Well, I only have one battery. Those things are expensive. Besides, daggers are only good for parrying anyway."

X shuts the red box and puts it back where it belongs. Once he's done that, a shrill voice calls out from the opposite end of the room. Ken, due to more sensitive hearing, is far more affected than X by what sounds like nails on a chalkboard. X looks up while Ken writhes on the ground with her hands clutched on her ear. There he sees a HUnewearl in white shorts and a top with pale blue hair. X stands, knowing a threat when he sees one.

"Hey cutie, what can I do ya for?"

Well, I'm sure you've already put the dunce cap back on his head so I won't bother telling you to. The HUnewearl frowns and stomps forward as Ken gets to her feet. She's quickly put back down when the newcomer raises her voice once more.

"Hey, you guys destroyed my stash!"

"Ah...so those were yours? So sad."

The catgirl hisses and produces a pair of Bloody Arts. X raises an eyebrow as he makes note that the Bloody Arts are fairly bloody. The HUnewearl smiles as X narrows his eyes and busts out his own weapons.

"Well, that saber is a piece of junk, but that other thing looks like a nice piece of work. I'll just take them off your hands!"

"Funny. Ten minutes ago, I was dealing with the results of an illegal techonology that could outfit a small army. Now, I'm dealing with some punk mugger. Black Paper sure has its hand in a little bit of everything."

X: Kids, the moral of the story is that violence solves all problems. If it's not getting the job done, you're not using enough.

Keneteks: Please don't ever have children...so, next time, the brat here proves to be the least of our problems as we end up fighting some demon monster, get split up and find another giant slimy disgusting thing to fight!

X: Next time, on PS: TE!

Episode 6: Lonely Hunters

Keneteks: Don't miss it!

X: Get your own line.

[Dre_o]

Wow, your story is long...... just like mine. Don't you hate the feeling you get when it seems like no body's reading?

Overall, nice work

[Chrishu367]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Do you think that five chapters is long? XD

[EJ]

Zero! X!

If I see the name Sigma anywhere then.....well you see my point.

So far so good but I still have it hard to believe someone like him was a assassin beside that special move he has that I saw someone yell out once in a game he much of a former assassin >_>

[Elvendar]

Apassionata sounds like something out of Harry Potter.

Constructive Criticism:
My brain couldn't really stand to actually read through the story itself, so I mostly skimmed. I hope you can gather something constructive out of that! :/

[Xaeris]

Oh, I guess Kireek didn't make it all that clear. X handled some of the easier work. You know, the kind where you say hi and stab 'em in the gut when they're waving back. No one ever suspects the prepubscent twerp, right?

As for X/Zero, I love the X series and the significance of the pun is made clear several chapters from now. But hey, I can reassure you that's the extent of the references. No Sigmas here. In my story anyway.

As for Appassionata, I originally plagirised the MMX series (Appassionata was originally Ryuenjin for example), but I decided to rename them here with their own theme. Here, the theme is musical; appassionato means passionately in Italian. Flames, passion. Seems to make sense. Then I stuck an 'a' on the end instead of an 'o' since X strikes me as the type that thinks of his sword as a female.

Well, that was fun. Always nice talking with readers.

[Fossil]

That 5 chapters is nothing. X just isn't delivering it all in one big batch. http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif

[Magus_84]

Nice work, X. I look forward to more. Are you planning on posting up to Successor here? If so...I might consider editing and posting Rise of Zionus. But my usual verbose tendencies make me dread editing and posting that.

Oh...and Sigma shows up much, much later, in a story that's connected to this one, yet not written by X. It has some of these characters in it, it's just set about ten years after Season 1.

Anyway...yeah. Looking forward to more, as usual.Your particular brand of literary crack is as addictive as ever.

[Xaeris]

Episode 6: Lonely Hunters

X holds up his Red Dagger to ward away the incoming slash from his attacker's Bloody Art. The force of the clash does nothing to rattle him as he calmly finds a path to weave through each vicious slash. Every now and then, he parries with a sharp swipe of the dagger which throws a wrench into the HUnewearl's assault everytime he does it. Her annoyance visibly accumulates in her face, seen by clenching of the teeth and squinting of the eyes. All the while, Ken nibbles on a bar of rations, figuring that X can handle the scrub. After a full minute of being dodged, one of the Bloody Art daggers is caught inside the crescent of X's Red Dagger.

"So, what's your name anyway girlie?"

With a scream that carries the slightest inklings of a growl, the girl thrusts her caught arm only to have X's arm flail lazily along with it as the deadlock between their weapons is fairly tight.

"A-anna..."

"Well Anna, no offense, but..."

With a turn of the wrist, the bright neon blade of Red Dagger carves a swath through the mugger's weapon. It falls to the ground in several sizzling shards which promptly make hissing sounds once they hit the water. Even though Anna still has one good blade, X turns off his weapons and proceeds to put them back where they belong. Once done, he moves a hand up and away through his hair causing it to cascade over his cheek as he turns his head to address his dance partner.

"You kinda suck. You should get out of the business before you try to mug someone who'll stab your face."

And with that bit of advice, X strides over to Ken who gets up from the crouch she was in to greet him. Palming the used wrapper of her power bar off into his hands, she starts towards the path continuing through the area. X just sighs in exasperation, drops the wrapper and follows after her. Neither of them gets through the door when a horrid shriek returns their attention to the path behind them. The sight that assaults their eyes is certainly not a crowd pleaser considering it's Anna...melting. She has fallen to the ground, clutching her sides as she can only watch the color drain from her arms as they drip into the shallow film of water on the ground.

"X, what did you do?!"

"N-nothing...what the hell is this...?"

Before either of them can make it over to cast a futile Resta, Anna's entire body has liquefied and joined the water on the ground. Now, while this is sinking in, the patch of water on which she was just standing suddenly becomes a dull, putrid shade of purple...like if you puked grape juice. It rises and takes form in the same manner a slime would, but here instead, it takes the shape of a vaguely human figure lacking a lower body. Without a word exchanged, X and Keneteks bust out the hardware and take their stances.

"X, what is that thing?!"

"Okay, really, you need to stop asking me this stuff; if I had the strategy guide for my life, do ya really think I wouldn't skip straight to the getting laid sidequest?"

"Argh...fine, but we still need a plan."

"I...damn...uh...I dunno, just fight the thing like a slime and wing it as ya go along."

Practicing his own sermon, X lights his sword ablaze with a shouting of the magic word and runs in to score what he hopes will be a one shot kill. Of course, reality just isn't that kind. The mutated Anna thrusts a hand forward which morphs into a tendril and drills into the patch of ground that X was just about to set foot on. He hops back and retakes his stance, recognizing that the standard bum rush isn't gonna do it. Anna thrusts her appendages forward at each target forcing them to scramble. Ken sensibly chooses to dodge with a jump forward, leaving her in the perfect position to spring forward and take a slash with her sword. Like the slime from before, the attack has little effect, being little more than a ripple in the puddle.

"Ken, get clear!"

Once the request is complete, X gathers some electricity on the fist carrying his dagger and thrusts it forward. A crackling, multi strand stream of Zonde rockets towards the target and strikes it in the face. Ken follows with her own Zonde, calling the single bolt from the heavens. While the slime monster seems to have lost some cohesiveness given the reformation takes several seconds, she still recovers in time to thrust a needle at the still recovering X. He holds his sword horizontal to his chest and blocks the sharp end of the attack, but the force is enough to knock him backwards on his rear. As the tentacle comes around for a second try, it's blown away into mist by a quickly shot Foie from Ken. Seeing that X is fine, she returns her attention to Anna and swings once again, only to find nothing but water once more.

"There has to be something solid in there to hit..."

"Something solid...that's it!"

"Huh?"

X crouches and slams his dagger bearing fist into the ground. A stream of icicles arise from white mist to charge at Anna. Each one is just shy of a foot in length as they erupt from the from his hand on their path to the enemy. Once Gibarta reaches the target though, it fails to hit its mark as Anna merely opens a hole in her body to allow it to pass through. As Ken is on the path of the technique, she too is forced to dodged with a spirited leap. X just curses.

An ice tech will do it, I know it...but dammit, my Gibarta's too slow-

X is interrupted mid thought by a blinding pain in his temples alerting him to the fact that he's expended quite a bit of TP in those last two attacks.

"X! Are you okay?"

X murmurs some profanities as he rises to his feet with a pair of fingers rubbing the side of his head. Ken runs through some tentacle strikes in order to get to his side and prepare a Resta. X shakes his hand to keep her from using TP.

"No, no, it's not that. I just don't have as much technical energy as I'd like..."

X grabs Ken around the waist with one hand and jumps back to skirt them away from yet another drilling tendril.

"How's your Gibarta? Think you can freeze it?"

"Uh...no, sorry, mine's not strong enough to freeze water..."

"Gah...how about Rabarta?"

"I...don't know it."

"Oh for the sake of..."

"Hey, at least I can learn Shifta!"

"...Do you know Shifta?"

"...No."

"...Right then. Anyway, I only have enough TP to try that one more time, so hold her still, okay?"

"Right!"

Ken runs right back into the lion's den as X puts his dagger away and holds his saber vertically against his chest. With a deep intake of air, he steadies his breathing and runs his free hand just above the length of his blade. And then, he waits.

This requires a hands on approach. It can dodge flying icicles, but let's see how this goes down!

Ken apparently hears the sudden splashing of water and turns to see X charging in, full burn. Soon after he's begun his run, he takes off into the air, keeping his momentum horizontal towards the target as if he were long jumping. His hand holds his saber in the air as frost gathers about it.

"Glissanda!"

As if the echoing shout of convinction were the trigger, the frost solidifies into a gigantic lance of ice over eight feet in length and two feet in girth. Make the appropriate joke about compensation for yourselves. Anyways, the ice lance envelops Anna completely, turning her into a solid statue of ice just as intended. X slumps to his knees, fraught with mental fatigue as Ken finishes the job and smashes the statue to bits.

"We won, we won!"

"My head...could you stop the room for me? I'd like to get off now..."

X falls face forward on the ground with a throbbing headache as Ken reaches her hand into her back pocket.

"Hang on, I'm sure I have a fluid in here somewhere..."

X turns over to get a much nicer view of Keneteks standing over him. As she fishes about, X tilts his head back and forth to try get a better gander at a certain area of interest. After a moment, he smirks, apparently having found it.

"Say Ken, you like rappies?"

"Huh? Oh, I think they're cute...why do you ask?"

"Oh...no reason. Nice underwear while we're on the subject.."

X rolls over just in time to avoid a crushing foot stomp to the head. He chuckles as Ken furiously chucks a trifluid at him and waits for him to get up. As he sits up though, the sound of a crack spreading is extremely audible. X looks down to see that last foot stomp was all the floor needed to fall prey to the weaknesses made in it by all of Anna's missed drill attacks. Quick as a fox, he leaps away just as the floor gives way. Ken isn't quite so quick and falls along with the floor, much to her dismay and X's lament. He runs over to the edge of the 3 foot wide hole and looks down to find the third section of Caves not all that far down.

"Ken, you all right?"

"Ungh...oww...I hit my fanny..."

"The Antares kind or the Polaris kind?"

"Uh...Antares I guess."

"Oh, that's not so bad. Well, I'll find another way down. Hang tough."

"Okay!"

X walks away from the hole and towards the door. On the way, he moves the trifluid towards his mouth to restore much needed mental strength. Sadly, he drops it as a hot, stinging sensation finds its way to his hand.The orb cracks and releases its wonderful ether filled fluid into the water. He turns around to see a masked RAmar holding a lockgun at him.

"Gekigasky? Hiya, what's up man?"

Well, that's just fan-****ing-tastic. The only thing that could make this day better is a wax job for my no-no region.

****

Below, Ken has already ventured away from the area of impact and is having a look around the new area. The lesser humidity is pleasing to her as she can now walk around without that uncomfortable feeling of dampness. The entire area carres a feel of far greater human intervention than either of the previous two areas did with its wire bridges, neon signs and multiple consoles.

"I wonder if Rico came by here..."

As she rounds a corner, the answer to her question lights up as its proximity detector is made active. Keneteks walks over to the memory device, kneels and flips it on.

I had seen it with my own eyes! That large creature had injected its sap into the native animals, mutating them. Do I act like a scientist and examine this never before seen metamorphisis or am I hunter confronted with unknown enemies?

"She really was down here all by herself...I wonder if that thing she saw did that to that girl?"

Ken gets up and continues on. Her steps don't bring her to anything much more interesting than some common enemies which are easily dispatched. But even as easy as they are to defeat, the look of apprehension on her face is clear as day.

"Sure is quiet...I guess his constant chatter has a purpose after all."

****

"I have-"

"Orders to kill me, blah, blah, blah. I heard from Kireek. Well, let's get started."

X takes his saber from his forearm and holds it forward as the green blade extends. As it reaches the length, the hilt begins to vibrate, much to X's confusion. Before he can pull it back to examine it, however, it blows apart into a dozen pieces every which way. X curses while Gekigasky takes some shots without so much as a remark on the odd occurance.

Damn, thing couldn't handle all those Appasionatas and Glissanda...and no TP either. Just wonderful...

X's eyes look towards the monofluid on the ground. Deciding on his only course of action, he makes a move for it, but only to be cut off by purple shots from the RAmar. X curses and turns in the other direction only to be cut off once more.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate rangers?"

"..."

"Screw you too jackass."

Thnk, think...

X backflips to avoid some more bullets, just barely staying ahead of Geki's aiming device. As he hits the ground, he takes off running in an attempt to buy himself some more thinking time. It's working quite well as each of the bullets impact the water mere centimeters behind his retreating feet. But a man can only outrun a gun for so long; a bullet strikes X in the thigh and sends him sprawling to the ground in a grimacing mess. Without turning around to face his sniper, X pushes himself a bit off the ground and allows the blood spilling from his thigh to go seen.

****

"He sure is taking a while..."

During this time, Ken's been following capsules. The particular trail she's on has led her to an ornate monument with an intricate design on the front. Yes, so it's in Caves 3. What's a small liberty or two? Moving along, she walks closer to the gray fixture and knocks a fist against it to find out what it's made of. Much to her surprise though, the thing whirs to life and the design resonates a bright blue. She steps back in shock, making sure there aren't any traps accompanying this device. Satisfied by the lack of explosives and enemies, she steps up once more and activates the message capsule by it.

It's another one. It's diffcult to deciper the symbols...but I think this one says DUUM...DIMM? Hmm...I need more tools.

"Another one she says? Where was the other...oh whoops, there's a nano dragon..."

****

"All right Geki, level with me for a sec. That girl..."

"...What about her?"

X smirks as he finds that Gekigasky is willing to rap for a little bit. He allows himself to fall to the ground, but still does not turn his head.

"You know what I mean. The hell was up with that sci fi stuff?"

"...We've been finding some strange stuff around here lately. Has to do with all those mutated monsters you see. We wanted to know what it was capable of..."

"So, you tested it on the newbie?"

"Right."

"Classy."

Gekigasky raises his lockgun and takes aim at X's head. He adjusts his shoulders to prepare a steady shot while X slowly turns his head towards him.

"Like you're in any place to judge. See you on the other side Zero."

X jumps up to his knees and places his hands in the water. A large sheet of fine ice erupts from the water and deflects the shot. Gekigasky's shock is visible, even through his mask as a gap appears where his mouth should be. X smirks and runs around the wall of perfectly translucent to a different spot.

"What?! How? You didn't have any TP!"

"I didn't. But while I got you gabbing your head off, I had a drink. See, a trifluid is pretty concentrated. Even the diluted sip I got from that drink gave me a good boost!"

X puts his hands back in the water and creates another wall of ice, but this time not right in front of him; it pops up somewhere else in the room. Two more castings go off before Geki regains his bears and tries shooting at the spry little hunter. With one shot, it looks like Gekigasky has X dead in his sights. However, the shot goes through a wall of ice and whizzes right by X's head into a cavern wall. X smiles brightly.

"But-"

"I'll make this easy for you; the ice is a prism. Prisms refract light. Refracted light messes up your aim. Your messed up aim doesn't hit me. You not hitting me allows me to kick your ass. Your kicked ass is nice. So, the simplifed equation reads: ice is very nice."

X giggles like a stoned hyena as he runs behind some more of the ice walls he's put up around the room. While they're nearly invisible to the naked eye, his own TP locked in the crystals makes them appear perfectly clear to him. While Gekigasky tries to shoot him while he's between walls, he doesn't quite know when that is so all that results in are missed shots and a HUmar cackling maniacally. After a few rounds of this, X draws the sheathed Agito from his back.

"Heh heh..."

"What's so funny you damn kid?"

"Well, it's just that...this entire time, you hadn't noticed that I've been getting closer and closer. See?"

X places his free hand in the water and disperses all his constructs. As water returns to its natural form on the floor, the true face of X's plan is revealed. Every single wall was strategically placed closer and closer to Geki, allowing X to slowly steal away a ranger's most valuable asset: range. X waits patiently as all this dawns on his adversary. Once it does, he barely just has enough time to react to a lockgun being pointed directly at him from six feet away.

"Huh, well you don't have your little trick anymore now! Let's see you dodge a bullet at this range!"

He's barely begun to grip the trigger by the time he feels a sudden blunt sensation against the back of his neck. X follows through with the swing of his blunt katana and pushes the knocked out Geki to the ground. Once the motion is complete, X's pupils dilate from their contracted state, allowing him to see what the hell just happened.

D-damn...did I do that? So fast...and what the hell is that sound in my head...laughter? ...Okay, I've lost too much blood. I'd better fix that.

*****

"Hey."

"Hiya!"

Twenty minutes later, X and Keneteks have reunited in front of a large teleporter. Ken gets up from her seat to examine X and see if a Resta is needed. The obvious leg injury prompts a quick casting, erasing the limp from X's walk.

"Yay, I was worried you wouldn't find me."

X holds up several hundred meseta's worth of coin charges to return to Ken. She smiles and takes them back. The look on X's face is one of exasperation as he's had to stop and pick up each one on his way.

"The meseta trail was kinda hard to miss. Anyway, where are we?"

"Well, I'm not sure...but I think we can see what's been causing the mess around here if we go through. You ready?"

"Heh heh...this is a change from the girl who was trembling in Forest."

Ken throws a punch into X's shoulder eliciting a fake yelp. Without a word more, they walk in to be whisked away to yet another decisive battle. But, that's just gonna have to wait for next time.

X: Hmm...

Keneteks: What?

X: I forgot, my saber broke.

Keneteks: What?!

X: My saber broke. Are you deaf? Next time, on PS: TE...

Episode 7: From Seeing the Rough Wave

X: It's always nice when the game provides a title for you. Don't miss it!

Keneteks: How are you going to fight?!

X: Beats me. I'm sure I can deus ex machina something up.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Xaeris on 2005-10-11 17:06 ]</font>

[TheGingerOne]

This is going really well.

The people on this board are a tough crowd to please mind.

Lighten up people, this stuff is cool.

Keep it up X.

[Xaeris]

Episode 7: From Seeing the Rough Wave

X and Keneteks are deposited on a raft floating about pronely in an underground canal. Each one gets a chance to have a look at their surroundings, and doesn't see much more than an endless stream of water on either side. X looks down to see what's keeping them from swimming and sees the surface glass bottom raft. In addition, he sees some green boxes strewn about with faint traces of blood on them. With a brief frown, he walks over to a box and discovers it to be a Trifluid. It goes without saying he pops the pill in his mouth.

"Doesn't seem like we're the first ones here."

"Of course not silly. I mean, duh, someone had to build this, right?"

"I mean we're not the first ones here from Pioneer 2. This blood's fresh, can't you smell it?"

Ken takes a deep whiff. Not catching the scent that X is directing her towards, she tries again to no avail. She shrugs and shakes her head.

"No, I just smell gas..."

"What are you accusing me of?!"

"I mean the flammable kind."

"...Oh."

With a sudden jerk, the raft whirs to life and begins to start down the canal. Ken is caught off guard and staggers momentarily before sticking her sword into the ground for support. X merely needs to place a foot back to brace himself at the sudden start. Once they're both accustomed to the momentum, X returns to examining the blood stained boxes.

"I wonder who did this..."

"Uh...X?"

"Yeah?"

X turns around from his crouched position on the floor to see Ken pointing behind the raft's path, up at the ceiling. X turns his gaze in the same direction and sees what has Ken so freaked. It is of course, De Rol Le barreling down the canal, clung to the ceiling. As the worm gets closer, the loudening echoes of rocks crashing into the water alert the hunters to what's up.

"Well, that answers that question. Ready Ken?"

"Y-yeah."

As the falling rocks begin to accost the raft, the two act. X bobs and weaves in between shadows, successfully dodging all the debris headed his way. Ken opts for a slightly more blunt approach and either bats or smashes all the rocks falling on her spot with her sword. Though it's a clumsy process as she spins and twirls on her heels to get them all, it proves effective as she too comes out unscathed. Once De Rol Le is in lead of the boat, it drops into the river and matches speed and place with the raft.

"What...is that?"

"Huh...this must be that thing that transformed all the monsters like the capsule said!"

"There's a story I'd like to be hearing afterwards."

For now though, X snaps his fingers against his chest and readies a technique. As De Rol Le is out of melee range at the time being, it's really the only option for attack. X holds his hand forward and focuses on his target. With a wave of his hand, Rafoie is cast...about twenty feet behind the water snake. X snaps his finger with a clear look of frustration and tries a second time. It's a bit closer, but his tech is still lagging.

"Dammit, we're moving too fast, I can't hit it!"

De Rol Le dips into the water momentarily and comes back up with its purple orbs flying across the raft. Again, the two hunters apply their unique flairs to dealing with the attack. X just jumps over the first hurdle. Ken braces for a hit, eats it, and returns to attack position looking none worse for the wear. X attempts another Rafoie and actually grazes his target this time, eliciting a moan of pain that echoes through the corridor. In response, De Rol Le speeds ahead of the craft and throws its tail up to release its thorn bombs into the surface of the raft.

"Dammit, take those out! If the raft goes, we're screwed!"

X dives straight into the thick of it and slashes the top of the center bomb off with his Red Dagger. Ken attends to the two in back with swift swipes of her sword, splitting them across the middle leaving the two in front to be handled. A Gifoie takes them out in one shot with no issues, leaving one to wonder why he just didn't do that in the first place. In the frantic rush, De Rol Le took cover and is now nowhere in sight. So, Ken takes the opportunity to ask a question.

"X...how'd you know..?"

The author left him a note on his bed this morning? Maybe not.

"Eh? Oh. Well, it was just a guess really...I figured that thing is poisonous just like all the lillies you say it made. Most poisons, exposed to nitrogen will make an acid of some kind. I felt the TP signature of a Zonde series spell pulsing from those spikes which would split the elements of the air into the nitrogen needed, making plenty of acid to eat the ship."

X rubs his free hand against the side of his head and then shrugs with a toothy grin.

"Of course, that's just my guess. What do I know about chemistry? For all I knew, slicing them open like that might have just blown 'em up, killing us both!"

"You are...argh."

On that note, a sudden rush of water alerts Ken to jump away from the side of the raft where she is standing for De Rol Le breaks the surface of the water to dive onto and clamp on the boat. X reaches for his saber only to remember that it's broken and he has no melee weapon to work with but a dagger, which we all know is a chick weapon.

"Ah damn, that's right..."

"X, get in here!"

Ken's already gone to work slashing away madly at the worm's body, not having given any thought to just why it's clamped onto the raft currently. While X considers his move, he notes something embedded within the crevice between the worm's ridges. Before he can scrutinize it further, it's discovered just why De Rol Le leapt onto the raft. A tentacle shoots from its neck and stabs at Ken who just barely manages to stumble away in time. She swings her sword behind her to kill her falling momentum and gets right back to hacking away small flakes of the worm's armor.

"That almost hit me!"

"Yes, I know. I was sorta watching."

X makes his decision and runs from the object he saw stuck in the crevice. On his run over, he just narrowly avoids two tentacle thrusts. In fact, the second one went straight through his hair, shaving a few strands. X is none too pleased.

"All that's the bloody line. My hair is sacred ground you disgusting piece of..."

X grabs at a dull red glow in De Rol Le's body and pulls out a partisan. But not just any run of the mill partisan. This just happens to be the Red Partisan, complete with an unfinished hilt and inscripted letters near the base. Though it should solve his weapon problem nicely, he frowns.

"Damn, it was a partisan. Chick weapon. ...Oh well, beggars can't be choosy."

X stows his Red Dagger away to his belt and takes up the inactive Red Partisan at the middle of its handle with his right hand. Apparently he didn't get the memo that's it a two handed weapon. Anyways. He thrusts it at De Rol Le's head and lights up the photon blade, embedding it into the worm's mask. X pulls the partisan back and jumps back just in time to avoid having an antenna shoved through him. Looking over to Ken, he sees that she's exposed quite a bit of soft flesh on her end and is now trying to hold back a vomit reflex as green blood squirts in her face with each swing.

"Gross..."

"Suck it up."

Appassionata should work with a partisan...I hope. Damn chick weapons. Just as flaky as their namesakes.

With that bold claim, X extends his arm and begins to twirl his partisan. His face shows considerable strain and focus as he works his fingers through the delicate motions of the twirl. Sure enough, the arc of the twirl lights aflame in prep for Apassionata.

"Wrapped in crimson flames...Appassionata!"

X slashes across one, spreading a blanket of flame across the body. The mask absorbs the lion's share of the heat and begins to simmer red. X slashes vertically and spreads the same blanket, causing the glowing to become more intense. Satisfied, X twirls the Red Partisan held behind him to lose some of the excess heat. After a few moments, he stops it in a flash, complete with a large ice lance affixed to the blade.

"Glissanda!"

X shoves Red Partisan complete with ice lance into De Rol Le's mask. The icicle melts quickly, but not without working its magic; cracks appear in the worm's skull and fall off to reveal the true face of De Rol Le, teeth and all. And much to our hero's annoyance, the very top of the Red Partisan, the piece that holds the photon blade, begins to vibrate. In seconds, it explodes into several shards rendering the weapon useless.

"Dammit!"

"X look out!"

X turns around to see an antenna coming around from behind. Now he really has something to worry about as he does manage to sidestep what would be a hit to the vitals, but takes it in the side instead. His eyes open wide in shock as De Rol Le retracts its tentacle and lets him drop to the ground. As the offending appendage is removed, a squirt of blood pops followed by a slowly pulsing stream of blood. X struggles to get up from all fours, but is having some troubles with that.

"Guh...kk..."

"Just...hang on!"

Ken runs right up to him and kneels beside him to examine the wound. It's a gash about an inch wide and three inches long. All told, it's making quite a mess of the floor. And yet, Ken lets out something along the lines of a sigh of relief.

"Looks like everything just got pushed aside...that was lucky."

"Lucky!?"

Ken looks around to notice that De Rol Le has taken its leave once more. Knowing this to be a bad thing, she starts to panic a bit as she frantically scans the area for the enemy. Her keen ears pick up the sound of rocks being dropped into the water once more and she stands up with a gasp.

"Uh oh..."

"Uh oh?! What 'uh oh'?!"

"Well you can't dodge like that and I can't cover us both...wait..."

Ken sniffs the air, picking up a familiar scent. She takes care to follow it back to its exact source and ends up looking up at the ceiling. More specifically, at the pipe that De Rol Le rides during that rock fall attack.

"X, do you have any TP?"

"Uh, not really...used up most of it in that combo."

X's breathing has become haggard as the pain of the wound sets into his mind. Ken pumps her fists in frustration as her plan goes into the pooper...or does it? X turns over and begins drawing a finger through his spilt blood.

"What...are you doing?"

"I saw the tentacle coming at the last second so I started casting Rabarta hoping to get a shield up. Got interrupted in the middle of the process so the tech energy in my blood left along with it when I got skewered. Just tell me what to do."

Ken looks up to see De Rol Le just feet away from the raft. She turns back to X and damn near shouts her command.

"Quick, use Zonde on that pipe!"

Having just finished corralling his blood into a nice neat circle, he slaps his hand on it and targets the tech where Ken points. Electricity sparks both on the puddle and along his arm as it jumps straight up to the section of pipe De Role Le is about to cross. The pipe expands and bursts in a large continually growing explosion that occurs right beneath the belly of our crustacean friend. A sizzling carcass falls into the canal and floats as a dead body would. Ken claps her hands at a successful battle until she notices X lying on the floor, looking far more hurt than before. Ken runs over, concerned, and turns him over to find a much larger wound than before.

"X...?"

"S-sorry...I lied. There wasn't as much energy in that blood as I thought so I had to add some more."

"You cut open your gash more?! You idiot! Why?!"

"Well...we won right?"

Ken grinds her teeth and begins to apply Resta. The wound attempts to close up, but soon gives up and returns to its original state. X grunts in pain from the attempt. Keneteks' hands begin to tremble as she's used to Resta being a fairly good cure all. She bats her palm against her mouth rapidly as she scrambles for a way to heal up the gash before it's given up too much blood. X remains there breathing heavily, more or less aware of the grim nature of the situation. Just then, a light bulb goes off in Ken's head and she tears off a piece of her top. A portion of the left shoulder to be specific; enough to leave enticing bits of flesh bare. She folds it into the size of a napkin and places it in X's mouth.

"Okay X, bite down. I'm going to cauterize your wound with a Foie."

"!!!"

"I know, I know, but Resta works better on burns than missing pieces of flesh. Just bite, it'll be over soon, I promise."

Ken lights up a ball of fire between her palms and looks at the destination. She sighs, and thrusts it down over the wound to work its magic. X's teeth go down hard on the cloth as he exercises every iota of will in his being to remain still. Within seconds, the task is done and Ken applies Resta to an unconscious X. The end result is a twisted looking scar, but hey, it's intact.


****

Several hours later, the HUmar awakes in a small room with a decidely...girly tone. There's pink and white as far as the eye can see, an overstuffed teddy bear at the side of the pillow and a distinct scent of potpurri. X experimentally gets up and touches his wound to check on its condition. Much to his satisfaction, all that occurs is a dull ache. He gets out of bed, confirms that he's fully dressed and exits the room.

****

As he decends a flight of steps, he's greeted by a man who looks to be in his fifties with a fairly imposing frame. Seems he was quite the bruiser in his day. X slows his pace as he comes up to the man. However, he shuts X's guard down with a warm smile and extended hand.

"Ah, so you're awake. Welcome to my humble abode X."

"Ah...thanks."

X takes his hand, shakes for a second and then tries to get a grander sense of his surroundings.

"Oh, I thought the room you were in would be a tip off. This is where Kennie lives. I'm her...I guess you would say father! Ha ha!"

The bass of the man's laughter sends a vibration through X's belly which he rides through with a blank stare of exasperation. He chuckles nervously for a moment and then decides that this is as good a source of information as any. And so, up comes the dialogue box with various topics of conversation for X to pick. Of course, he starts with names.

"Well, you know who I am. What's your name?"

"I'm Doctor Arthur Raddic. You can just call me doc though! Ha ha!"

"Ah...sure thing doc. So...you're Ken's dad?"

"Righto! Well...you noticed she's a newman, right?"

"Ears are kinda hard to miss, yes."

"Well, I'm the one who made her! Pretty impressive, right? Ha ha! ...Mind if I ask you a question son?"

"Go ahead doc."

The doc adjusts his lab coat over his suit and bends forward to see eye to eye with X over the 10 inch height difference separating them.

"Is this really the sort of relationship you want to pursue?"

"Pardon?"

"You must know that newmen can die at anytime; it's unpredictable. Why, what if she up and dies tomorrow? Wouldn't that put you through grief?"

Well I know that I most certainly don't need this sort of grief...

X folds his arms in thought for a moment as the doc reclines to full height and allows X his thinking space. After a few more seconds, X nods, having assembled all the words in his answer properly.

"It's as you say. She can die anytime. But the same is true for me as well. Ya see, we're both hunters. Everytime we head out, we have to understand that it might be our last day under the sun. Hell, I almost bit the bullet myself today. So...it's okay."

The doc folds his arms behind his back and throws a hard gaze at X. X returns it with his determined stare hid behind stray locks of black hair. After a few minutes pass like this, the doc takes his hands out and begins clapping and laughing heartily.

"Oh my, you're defintely a live one m'boy! Well, you two kids have fun out there ya hear? Ha ha!"

What the hell? He just got through telling me his daughter might die at any time and now he's saying have fun as if we're going to a movie!

"Yeah, sure. Say, where's Ken?"

"She went out to get some things to make soup. Thought it'd help you heal faster. But between you and me, my daughter is a sweet, sweet girl, but she can't cook to save her life. Just swallow and pretend as if your throat isn't on fire. Ha ha!"

"R-right."

"Anyway, she won't come back for another hour or two so you oughta get started on that report thing you hunters have to fill out. You can use the computer in the study! Ha ha!"

What a weirdo.

****

X feverishly types out the approximate events of the journey through the cave. He makes careful note to point out the message capsules found as Tyrell seems to have particular interests in those. Overall, it's a pretty good report that's rather meticulous. The only thing missed is the mention of the Red Sword and Red Partisan found. The sword is still with Keneteks and the broken partisan is in a capsule at X's waist.

H, A, T...well it's nice they finally spell something, but somehow I doubt that's the full picture. Guess I'll just keep an eye out for more. Now...I've broken two weapons using my special techs. Flimsy things. I need to get a replacement-

X's smoothly running train of thought is interrupted by the scent of some demonic concoction wafting into the room. He looks up to see Ken entering with the soup the doc warned him about. A single bead of sweat traces down his head as she hands it to him with a bright smile.

"Good, you're up! You fainted from the Foie so I brought you back to my place. You met my dad by now, right?"

"Uh...yeah. I did."

"Ha ha-"

"Please don't laugh...my tummy just settled."

Ken sticks her tongue out and foists the bowl to X. He sighs and dips a spoon in to find out what he's in for. While he does that, Ken bends over to have a look at the report just about ready to be shipped out. Just then, X gets an idea.

"Say, you might wanna change shirts."

Ken looks down at hers and notes that the fabric covering up one of her more vital assets is torn. She freaks out and dashes out the door up to her room to get change. In this time, X runs to the bathroom, dumps the majority of the soup and returns to his seat.

Whew.

X: And that concludes today's adventure. Hurrah. What's lined up for next run?

Elly: Hi!

X: Eh? A one shot character for a quest? Well, all right.

Keneteks: I dunno X...I sorta get the the feeling you'll be seeing a lot of her.

X: What, this little geek? Please, she probably spends all her time in her room with her computer. Anyways, next time on PS: TE...

Episode 8: The Mousey Addition

Elly: I'm still here!!

[Xaeris]

Episode 8: The Mousey Addition

"All right, I should get this to the Principal."

X saves his report to disc and stows it in his pocket. As he gets up from his chair, Ken returns from her closet to model a new outfit. She's pulling up a pair of red shorts higher around her hips to secure them. The red top and black stockings are already on of course so all that leaves are the boots to retrieve from the closet. Once those are on, she twirls around for X who's just staring with a blank expression.

"How's this outfit?"

"It's fine. In fact, pretend I already made a boobie joke. I'm going to the office, then home. See ya Ken."

X looks around to chart his path to the door, then makes for it. Before he gets very far though, Ken steps ahead of him and turns his attention to a window. It is currently very dark out and the stars are in full display.

"X, it's late. The Principal's Office is closed and your place is a thirty two minute walk from here."

"That's...precise."

"Uh, right. So why don't you stay the night and you can take it tomorrow?"

Well, I'll miss my 'collection' to get me to sleep...Miss Rachel, I'll miss you most of all, but...

"Hmm...okay, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Think I'll just turn in now then. Where am I sleeping?"

*****

Okay, back to the girly room. The two stand at the doorway a minute later, each with different expressions on their faces. Ken's is one of presentation and satisfaction in answering X's question. X's is that of exasperation and confusion as one of his eyes are twitching quite frequently. Ken walks in and opens the closet near the bed and pulls out a pillow and some extra sheets.

"Okay, I'll sleep beneath the sheets and you can sleep above them with this blanket!"

"...Uh...hey, tell ya what. Give me that pillow and blanket and I'll just sleep on the floor."

X walks up, takes the objects and flings them unceremoniously to the other side of the bed and heads on over. Once he's spread out the shag to make out a nice spot for himself, he lies down and waits for the lights to go out once Ken is in bed as well.

"Night."

"Goodnight...X, it's really no big deal. The bed's big enough for two people..."

"Ha ha...are you kidding? The floor is great! Shag is comfy too. Yup, a blanket, a pillow and a hard surface are all a man really needs to- holy ****, is that something crawling on me? Oh hell no, move over Ken."

****

The next morning, and I do mean morning; it is 7:30, the two are awake and about to leave. Ken is as cheery as always while X looks as if he's only on his feet through the power of some almighty puppetmaster. She provides him with some momentum in the direction of the door with a light push and his legs take over to walk his sleeping head in the general direction of their destination. Twenty minutes later, the two are in the Principal's Office delivering a joint oral report to the head honcho himself. Somehow, X woke up at some point between Ken's House and the Principal's Office; probably with the aid of some women's morning aerobics class.

"And that's basically how it went. We have fairly good reason to believe the worm we encountered is dead. Just throw some table salt into the canal and call it a day."

The Principal nods mutely, clearly disregarding the suggestion at the end.

"Well, allow me to confirm your suspisicion that you were not first from Pioneer 2 to encounter that creature. One of the survey teams we sent reported seeing a shadow in the waterway before their communications ceased. ...Good work on coming back alive you two."

Still doesn't explain the Red Partisan...

"Well, we try. So, what now?"

"The canal leads further into an underground mine. Given the technology within, the only logical assumption is that it was contstructed by efforts from Pioneer 1. Your new task is to venture into the Mines and investigate."

"...Investigate what?"

"We're not sure. You're still looking for clues as to what happened to Pioneer 1's population. And one more thing."

X and Ken's heads tilt at the sound of Tyrel's voice becoming grim. He turns to Irene and nods. While his secretary begins to search for something in her desk, Tyrell readresses the waiting hunters.

"There's something...foul afoot. I realize that this is a big imposition on my part, but I no longer wish for you two to answer to the Hunters' Guild. You will also, no doubt, encounter military down on Ragol; you are not under their jurisdiction either. I'd like for you two to operate as free agents. I think at the end of the day, that's the only way we'll get to the truth."

"But clearance!"

Keneteks' grievances with the matter are about to be settled with the section ID clip that Irene hands to X. X takes it from her hand and examines it carefully. After several seconds of this scrutinity, he finds nothing distinguishing it from an ordinary Yellowboze ID. The principal sees his confusion and takes it as his cue to explain.

"That ID contains an A class code. With it, you're no longer bound by the Hunters' guild. Do you accept my request?"

"I'm in. How about you Ken?"

"With you all the way X!"

X nods and flips the ID clip like a coin. He removes his old Yellowboze clip, snatches the new one from the air and slaps it on. Once done, something dawns on him.

"Er...there's only one. Ken needs one too; I'm not carrying out this fool's errand without her."

The principal nods, again, ignoring X's trailing comments.

"I normally only issue one A class clip a month. Issuing two in the same day would raise eyebrows. However, I had Irene make some modifications to yours. If you hold the backs of your ID and another ID against each other, your ID will download the code into the other. Try it now."

X shrugs and unclips his ID. Ken reaches for her collar and scratches at the Redria clip awkwardly as she has no view of just what she's doing. After several seconds, she manages to get it off and does a few little jumps of joy. X forces a weak smile and swipes the ID from her hand impatiently, much to her indignation. X claps the ID clips together and lets the infared do its trick. Ken catches the ID thrown back to her and sticks it back on her collar. The principal nods.

"Very well. Dismissed. ...Ah...could you-"

"Yes, yes, message capsules from Rico, we know. We'll find her, don't sweat it."

****

"We're A class now X! What do you want to do?"

"I'm still feeling groggy. I think I'm gonna grab a nap at my place. Meet up at around...noonish?"

"Oh, okay, sure. So long, call me when you go again!"

****

Okay, so I didn't handle a night without my...articles as well as I imagined. No biggie. Just go home, get reacquainted with the girls and I'll be good to go.

X is having these less than pure thoughts on his way down a lightly travelled street. The dome has taken its usual light blue color to simulate the morning light as the sun has not quite come into full glory yet. So, X walks down a calm street in the middle of the morning without much on his mind. Which can only mean there's something horribly wrong with the universe, so the universe seeks to correct this by throwing him a curveball. Cue the FOnewearl than bowls into X from behind. X falls over to the ground face first allowing the girl to tumble on top of him on the same manner. Having had a soft landing, it's easy for her to recover, sit up and look at the injured human with concern.

"Omigod, I'm sorry, are you okay?!"

"I'm fine. You're very soft."

Clearly pressed for time, the girl in the red dress and blue undergarments hops to her feet, fires off another rapid apology and races off. X stands up, blinks, and scratches his head wondering what just transpired here. An answer is provided in the form of a pair of hunters running up to him. One is a tall and lanky looking RAmar. The other is a fairly tall, just barely hitting 6'0 feet HUmar with a solid build.

"Hey kid, did you just a see a girl run by here?"

"...If I did?"

"So you did see her! Listen up squirt, you tell us which way she went right now or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?"

X makes no moves for any weapons (he doesn't have any) but simply looks the RAmar in the eyes. His green eyes flash and pierce providing the only animation to his solid, annoyed expression. The RAmar backs up a step to which X does nothing. The HUmar looks at his partner in confusion as he backs away from what appears to be an average child.

"What, don't tell me you're scared of this little half pint!"

"...Half pint. Ha ha, I get it. It's a short joke. Clever. But I'm not sure I heard the entire thing. Mind saying it one more time to my face?"

The HUmar snorts a chuckle, walks up and leans in to do exactly as X requests. Except, no words come out. Whatever in X's eyes scared the bejeezus out of his friend is now obvious to him as well as he backs up cautiously as well.

"D-dude...this kid's seen some ****...let's just back off!"

"Yeah!"

"Wait a second."

X points at the deacticated gray hilt at the HUmar's waist. Unlike the hilts for standard sabers, it comes with a crossguard and an odd looking, one foot long diamond centered in the middle. The HUmar is quick to take it from his waist and present it with shivering hands.

"Yeah, that's it. It looks nice."

"T-take it! Please..."

"Why, I think I will. Let this be a lesson to you; harassing women is not gentleman like. Now...out of my sight weaklings."

X snatches the hilt and lets the two novice hunters run off. X huffs and has a look at his take. Activating the blade causes the diamond to be released from the tiny clamps that keep it centered and risen above the crossguard a few centimeters by a stream of electricity. The saber itself then activates, giving rise to a red blade. All things said and done, it's a Kaladbolg.

"Hmm, this might hold together for a few techs. Better than nothing at all anyway. Now...hmm, damn, should've asked them what they wanted with that girl. She was kinda mousey so that couldn't have been it...if I run fast, I might be able to catch up."

And so, X takes off down the road, full sprint. Now, one might ask how he could catch up to someone not knowing which way she took at each available option. However, to X, the way she picks at each junction is exceedingly obvious given his ex-profession. People being pursued always veer to the closer side, the disturbed pebbles on pavement are a clear tip off and above all, the scent of Chanel no. 8k1 on this one is as strong as they come. Eventually though, he comes to a FOnewearl, but not the one he was looking for. This one is much meaner looking, dressed in red outfit with black trims with her short hair combed over each side with two barrettes sticking out from the top of her head.

"Uh, hi. Have you seen a FOney, about 5'3'', kind of a sandy blonde run by here? She was wearing red."

"Tuh. Maybe I have. But I'm not letting you get the bounty! It's mine!"

"...Huzza?"

X jumps to the left of a streaking ball of Foie. He then dives forward to get out of the way of a bolt of Zonde. And lastly, he's caught the midst of a hail of misty ice that is a Gibarta. The FOnewearl begins to cackle maniacally in a high pitched shriek thinking that's the end of it.

"None can stand in the face of Lady Wrath!"

Once the Gibarta fades, one annoyed looking X is standing quite well. Granted, his shoulders are covered in snow, but otherwise, he's fine. With a grunt, he brushes the snow of his shoulders and has a look at what sticks to his hand.

"Are these snowflakes? My, what a weak Gibarta."

"S-silence! Suffer!"

"Lady Wrath" summons a bolt of lightning once more to strike X. This time, X doesn't bother dodging. He simply allows it to strike him in the head; specifically, his hair. All that results are a few strands standing up and parting from each other as they've been charged with static electricity. X licks the palm of his hand and shoves them right back where they belong. He then turns a stink eye to Lady Wrath and walks up. Before she can do anything else, X grabs her by the wrist and holds her up to eye level.

"Okay kiddo, level with me. What's your name?"

"A-Abagail..."

"And how old are you?"

"10 in newman years."

"Okay Abagail. Tell me, don't you have school or something?"

"Yeah, but it's boring..."

"I agree. Still, it's the only way that you're going to get your Gibarta to actually shoot icicles someday. So c'mon, I think your day as a real live hunter is over, don't you think?"

"Yeah..."

"Okay, run along now."

X lets go and the FOnewearl takes her arm and rubs her wrist. She bows to the hunter for a lesson well learned and runs off, wiping off her black lipstick along the way. X shrugs and sighs whimsically as he continues searching for the other FOnewearl. Five minutes later of following the scent and various other clues leads him to a bench along the railing of a park. She's seated on one side, bent over, heaving for breath. X walks up and has a seat on the other side, making the FOney aware of his precense and putting her on guard.

"You're after me too!"

"No, you're really not my type. You're sorely lacking the A in T&A. And your legs are kinda scrawny. 'Sides, if I was really after you, I would've beat you over the head with a blunt object by now. So, what's up? My name's...X. X Launcher."

"I'm Elly Person. I'm just a resident on the ship; not a hunter like you are. Recently, I've been...talking with a friend of mine. From Pioneer 1. And since a few days ago, all sorts of weird people have been after me. It's gotten really kinda scary...then I found out there was a bounty on my head for anyone who could bring me in for questioning! That's why I can't go to the police..."

"Well, you are having contact with someone from Pioneer 1. I guess that'd interest them. Bounty seems kind of excessive though. Oh well, no worries. I'm much too lazy to bother. But ah, are you just going to keep running around...they'll catch you eventually."

"..."

"Did I say something wrong...? ...Oh right, right. Yeah, my bad."

X lies back on the bench and gives himself a view of the entire area. His timing for doing this is exceptionally good as it's just in time to eye a certain purple HUcast approaching the bench from directly ahead. X leans forward right away and places a hand on the hilt of his new Kaladbolg, ready to go. Elly notes him in attack position and looks ahead to see what his stare is so focused on. When she sees Kireek exuding all his threatening aura, she begins to shiver a bit and make a move for something concealed in the back waist of her dress.

"Elly Person, you are in possession of means to communicate with the Calus. You are to surrender it and come with me."

"The" Calus...? Whatever...

"Sorry jackass, but the lady's with me."

"Zero...excellent, now I can rend your limbs in retribution! Prepare to see your limits splattered on the floor fleshbag!"

"Fleshbag. Cute. Okay Elly, get back. You don't need to run anymore."

Elly looks to see X lighting up his saber and swinging it down to his side. Her face contorts in confusion as the hand clasping something at her back relaxes and returns to its usual place at her side.

"But..."

"No particular reason. You're in a spot of trouble and it happens to be on my way. Now, kindly get out of the way of the stabbity."

X jumps in with a diving stab that hits its mark and shoves the red blade into Kireek's side. Kireek, however, either does not notice or does not care as the damage does nothing to slow his downward slash with the Soul Eater. X activates the Red Dagger in his left hand and just barely manages to deflect the slash by slamming the crescent into the pole and diverting it's course. As it slides off the dagger, the scythe lands into the ground beside X, leaving Kireek open for a stab to the back. Needless to say, X takes this opening and stabs Kireek in the back. And yet again, Kireek fails to register this and slams the back of his elbow into X's nose, drawing the first blood.

"Okay, ow. Really. Just ow."

"What a pathetic weakness you humans have; that pain. It slows your actions and clouds your judgment...it's no wonder your movements are so imprecise and sluggish."

"Androids should rule the world, blah, blah, blah...hey, let me show you the payoff for that little 'weakness'."

X snaps the fingers holding Red Dagger and gets the technique going. The floor for a thirty foot radius flashes a pale blue for a spilt second. X shakes his head and gets his hair moving about as he now has nothing else to focus on. Kireek scoffs and takes his Soul Eater horizontally into his hands.

"This is your payoff? A mediocre light show?"

Kireek takes a step forward and finds that this traction is shot by the film of ice X's Rabarta coated the field in. Kireek manages to get up and balance himself with some struggle, but as his feet are missized compared to the rest of his built body, his balance is fragile on such a slippery surface. Kireek only grips his Soul Eater harder and bears it towards X, knowing full well he can't move either.

"So?! You're immobile as well!"

"I bet you'd like that. But then that'd make this little trick kinda stupid, don't you think?"

X's lower legs are wrapped in fire, right before he dashes over to Kireek. His flaming feet melt the ice beneath them before they even touch the ground, providing a much more tractable place for his feet. He's crossed the distance inside of two seconds and thrusts his Kaladbolg. He keeps going and doesn't stop until he's a good distance behind Kireek; about five or six feet. Along with him has come a small barrier detatched from Kireek's left arm. X smiles, seeing it bounce over, along with him. He then frowns when he notes something burning. He has a look at his shoes and finds that the plastic has been warped fairly badly. He freaks and dispels the Gifoie swirling around each of his legs.

Well, least I know how long HUmar shoes can withstand fire; not very long. Oh well, least I hit what I was aiming for.

"Lemme guess; you hooked yourself up with a Flame Barrier thinking I'd try to use Appassionata again, right? Yeah, who's the smart now one Linux boy?!"

"Oh, I believer you're still the fool here."

"Guh?"

X finally notes the beeping coming from Kireek's severed shield. X nudges it to turn it over and finds very much to his dismay there's a brown capsule with a red center attached to the barrier.

"Bugger."

The trap detonates, sending a gray liquid into the air, the bulk of which splatters on X. It hardens quickly, encasing him in a thick layer of ice, from feet to neck. Kireek does not delay with taunts or laughter and instead just gets straight to it by rushing the immobilized X to hack him down. He hasn't made much distance when a shot soars by his head, forcing him to stop. Two more shots, both ill aimed, fly at him, forcing him to back up. Elly is quick and takes the short time to run to X and light up a Foie in the hand not shakingly holding her Varista. She holds the ball of fire up to X's right hand and watches as the ice melts agoninzingly slow.

"Your techniques are stronger in your right hand, right?"

"Yeah, thanks...damn, watch out!"

The ice has melted just enough for X to tear his arm free and point Kaladbolg at the charging Kireek. A Zonde shoots forth from the blade and temporarily stuns Kireek. X then points his Kaladbolg and taps the saber on the ground to conjure a Gifoie. As soon as the twin blazing spheres appear, the ice is dispersed leaving him free to fight once more.

"What are you doing?"

"I was thinking...you were right; they'll catch me eventually. But I don't want to just wait for it. I want to find out why!"

"Fair enough. He's getting back up. This'll end it!"

"Wait, before you do..."

Elly places a hand on X's shoulder for a moment and imbues him with a perodic flash of red dots. While the effect is obviously unclear from the pretty lights, X can feel the enchanced strength the Shifta has granted in his arms. He experimentally swipes downward with his sword and the air is rushed out of the way quite audibly. X smirks and points Kaladbolg forward to baptise the blade in the flames of Gifoie. Kireek lets out a mechanical roar before taking one last chance to take a stab at X.

"Okay, go for it!"

"Yeah...wrapped in crimson flames, Appassionata!"

X strikes Kireek in mid charge, lighting his frame...aflame. Yeah. Anyway, for the second time, heavy steam billows from Kireek's joints, leaving him no choice but to retreat one more time. The telepipe closes after him leaving a victorious duo and a thunder of applause. X looks around to notice the fight as attracted a crowd of rubberneckers who haven't had the thought of calling 911 cross their minds. Everyone loves a spectacle. X chuckles nervously and quickly makes for an exit, followed by Elly.

"Well, that was fun. Guess you're going now Elly?"

"Actually...you know when I said I wanted to find out why?"

"...Yes."

X begins to walk a little faster, sensing what's coming. Elly matches pace and hops onto a railing running alongside the road they're walking on right now. She holds her balance with ease and keeps pace with X while getting a few inches above his head to amplify her proposal's power. Or so she thinks anyway; no one told her the kid had height issues.

"Well, I was kinda hoping you'd take me with you! You're a hunter; I'm sure to find what I'm looking for if I hang out with you long enough! Come on, you saw me, I won't be a burden! Pleaseeeeeee?"

"Ugh...well...I guess having Shifta around would be useful..."

"Huh? You can't use Shifta?"

"Er, no, of course not. I'm a HUmar. My PDA's not authorized to read the disc."

"Huh?! I thought you were a FOmar!!"

"Where'd you get that silly idea? I'm not wearing a dress and I actually hit the thing I'm aiming at when I'm standing three feet away."

"But your techniques...well, if you say so. So, you'll take me?!"

X stops dead in his tracks and removes his old Yellowboze ID clip from his pocket. He takes his new ID clip and claps the back ends together. The A rank data is transferred to his old clip which he hands to Elly.

"There, you're with me now. Welcome aboard."

X: Huh. That didn't end quite the way I was expecting. Oh well. Three's better than two I guess.

Ken: What's she doing here?! X, you don't need to run around recruiting half dressed harlots if you want Shifta! You should've just asked me to learn a disc, I would've tried!

Elly: Oo, look at the cutie Canadines in Mines! Aww, they're all so cute! I just want to touch one! Caress one...

X: ...Sometimes, I swear, I'd just trade them in for some dogs...next time on Phantasy Star: Twilight's Legacy.

Episode 9: Team Dynamic

X: Don't miss it. I guess. It's not that bad a line.

[Xaeris]

Chapter 9: Team Dynamics

So, at noonish, as X and Keneteks agreed, X saunters up to the Ragol teleporter with Elly in tow. Ken is seated on a bench with her head resting in her palms when our enigmatic HUmar waves to catch her attention. As he nears, she gets up and waves back to indicate he is seen and being awaited. Once he's close enough, she jogs up and closes off the final distance.

"Hi X! Um, what happened to your nose?"

"Let us just say it had an unfortunate collision with and object of a greater fortitude than it is fortified."

X pinches his nose and pulls at it, presumably to allay some discomfort. While he does that, Keneteks leans on one foot to get a better look at Elly who is standing behind him, a few inches off to the side. Elly shrugs with a nervous smile while holding both her hands together behind her back. Ken blinks with a completely unphased expression on her face and turns back to X who has just finished fiddling with his nose.

"Who's this?"

"Hmm?"

X swivels his head and torso around behind him to see Elly making the same gesture towards him as she did towards Ken. A look of minor epiphany overcomes X's face as if he had forgotten she was there.

"That's Elly. Ran into her on my way home. There was stabbing action. Anyways, she has something to look for down on Ragol so she's tagging along."

"Oh...well, it's nice to meet you. I guess."

The last two words are muttered at a barely audible level, so it quickly sails over X's head leaving only Elly to wonder what kind of muttering that was. She doesn't get to ponder it too long as Ken has already walked up to grab her hand in between both of hers and start shaking it. Elly's concerns are momentarily put at ease in the time between this friendly gesture and the moderate discomfort she feels in her hand from the pressure of Keneteks' handshake.

"I-it's nice to meet you too."

"Well, if you two ditzes are done with intros, let's head on down!"

"Sure thing X."

X says this from within the dancing red waves of the teleporter. The girls look up, acknowledge that they're going and head in to follow him down to the Mines. Elly rubs her hand lightly on the way while Keneteks walks into the teleport field with a bright smile and not a care in the world. As soon as Ken enters the teleporter, Elly takes out her PDA and texts a message with the speed of a tween on LCD. Once done, she hops in as well.

****

A sterile, brightly lit environment greets the trio. X cautiously takes the first steps on the glossy floor to test how much traction he has and finds he may as well be ice skating. After a few seconds of thrashing, he finds his equilibrium and takes a few more steps to cement his sense of balance. The girls follow and almost immediately find their balance on the slippery floor with no issue. X sighs in annoyance.

"Bloody hell."

"Sorry X. I guess cats just have better balance than monkeys."

"Bleh..."

Ken pats X on the shoulder while he kicks his foot against the ground, clearly having forgotten his compromised traction. He falls flat on his rear with a resounding thud while Elly is attending to her PDA.

"Hey, I got a message. It's from Cal!"

"Whoop de freaking do. What's it say?"

Ken pulls X off the ground by his arm and holds him until he's got his feet planted firm on the ground once more. Elly seems to be preoccupied with the message so the answer is slow enough in coming that both hunters can get their weapons out. X picks up the hilt of his Kaladbolg from his left forearm and takes his Red Dagger into his left hand. Keneteks produces a large red sword from an orange capsule and swings it about excitedly as it is a new weapon.

"Eh? Heck is that?"

"My dad gave me some allowance so I bought a new weapon. I didn't really care about the extra effect or whatever so I just picked some random Claymore. It's much better don't you think?"

"I guess. Elly, what's that message say?"

Knocked from her daze, Elly looks up from her PDA with a more than concerned expression on her face.

"There are some letters missing, but I'm pretty sure it says...'don't come, stay away."

"I see. Hundred meseta says you don't want to do any such thing."

"No...it's weird. I've never met him, but I still feel so close to him. I really want to see him!"

"Figures. Well, let's just pick a random direction and get going."

X takes a step forward and slips flat on his face. The girls run up with no trouble whatsoever, pick up either arm and get him back on his feet yet again. With a rather unamused expression on his face, X shakes the daze from his head and anchors himself on a wall by leaning on it. He picks up a foot and places his hand on it with a focused look on his face.

"All right, this **** ends now."

A yellow flash discharges from the hand holding his foot. X places that foot back on the ground and takes the other one in a similar manner. A second flash is discharged and a second foot is planted back on the ground. X walks around the small chamber experimentally once more and this time, has no trouble. Elly blinks in confusion and points at X's feet.

"What'd you do?"

"Magnetically charged my shoes with Zonde."

"But...they're made of synthetic polyplastic..."

"Yeah, so? There's some traces of metal leftover from the manufacturing process."

Ken watches as X takes some magnetically grounded steps towards the larger room that awaits. Elly tilts her towards Keneteks', sensing that she's thinking the exact same thing as X walks off out of hearing range.

"But the level of Zonde needed to generate that much magnetic energy from so little material..."

"Is enormous..."

****

"Weird. These machines look like they're off."

X refers to the two rows of neatly arranged Gillchics arranged on either side of the room. Even when nudged with the Kaladbolg they fail to respond. So, Ken does the perfectly rational thing and knocks over an entire row of them with one good swing from her claymore. X sighs in exaperation while Elly is texting off another message. Not having any particular idea where to go, X has a closer look at the Gillchics by cutting some limbs to get an idea for the material used in their construction. Ken's Sato dances about her head idly throughout all this. Finally, another message comes to break the tedium.

"It's dangerous he says..."

"Dangerous? What, am I going to catch TB from these broken rustbuckets?"

Right on cue, the Gillchics that haven't been damaged spring to life and stand upright. They commence walking towards the group of three as a single, harmonized unit with an unnveringly slow pace. X snaps his fingers and immediately fires off a Gizonde which charts itself a web of a path through the machines. Still very much harmonized, all the Gillchics rise back up at the same time and continue walking towards their targets.

"You just had to say something, didn't you?!"

"Well how the hell was I supposed to know that machines are insecure about their body image?! Gah...stay in the back and occupy anything that me and Ken aren't attacking. Let's go Ken!"

"Right!"

The Gillchics prove to be little match, being that they're mere grunt enemies. Minutes later, X kicks off one last severed limb to the side and surveys the room to make sure they're not getting back up. Satisfied, he leads the way into a connecting hallway while Elly works her PDA once more.

"He's still saying it's dangerous! Cal, please hang on, I'm coming to see you!"

"Yes, because we all know that emphatically shouting your feelings will convey your message to an unknown location."

X takes out a Trap Vision leaving Elly to fume. Ken pats her on the shoulder in consolence while X goes about the task of detonating each trap in the hallway.

"Oh don't mind him, he's always like that. So this Cal guy, friend of yours?"

Elly folds her arms and calms down a bit while considering the gravity of the situation Calus may be in. She nods mutely upon hearing Keneteks' question and holds her PDA in both hands with a look of nostalgia in her eyes.

"Yeah, we met on the Net. He's really clever and funny; he's always giving great advice. But suddenly, all his messages stopped and I heard about the explosion in the Central Dome."

"Oh..."

"But he can't be dead! I've been getting messages from him lately, so I decided to come see him...oh, another message!"

X throws out one last Foie to blow up the last trap on the hallway and looks back to signal that its clear. Ken tugs Elly's hand briefly to guide her down the hall as she's texting off another message with glee.

"Oh good, Cal says it was just a joke! And he's giving me directions to where he is!"

"Yeah, great joke Cal...ya know what else is funny? When smartass punks get Kaladbolgs through the throat."

****

"Oh, what's that? It's adorable!"

Several rooms later, the trio has just entered another room from a hallway. Except this time, instead of having Gillchics greet them, a Canadine has zipped in front of Elly's nose. She claps her hands together in glee and runs a hand over the smooth paintjob of the Canadine's green body. Apparently, she's completely oblivious to the fact that they've been killing everything that moves up until now. X holds out a half outstretched hand with minor concern as she continues to pet the thing as if it were a squirrel.

"Uh, Elly, I'm not sure you should-"

"Such smooth curves...it's so cute...kind of sexy..."

"Er...r-right."

Weirdo.

A yellow spark starts to generate in between the Canadine's claws. In a flash, X is in the air and chucking a lance of Gibarta at the pipsqueak robot. The icicle finds its mark in the Canadine's maw and drops it to the ground without a struggle. X sighs in relief as he was just in time to keep Elly from receiving a severe jolt, both neither girl is too pleased.

"Hey, why'd you do that?! It wasn't attacking us!"

"Yeah X, this is just like that time you attacked that rappy I was petting!"

"..."

Oh for the love of bloody Christ, how is it I end up with nothing but ditzes?

****

And yet another few rooms later, the trip finds its unwitting end in a dead end room with nothing but a computer console. Keneteks looks around for some kind of hidden path, but turns up nothing but the way they came.

"Elly, are you sure we came the right way?"

"Yeah, these are the directions..."

"And I believe this is your friend. Personally, I was expecting some 40 year old pedo, but this is much funnier."

X lazily points his Kaladbolg at the computer's screen which is displaying words. Elly runs up to the screen, hunched over the keys, reading frantically for an explanation. X walks back to the door and waits in the archway while the **** hits the fan and splatters a bit. While he's fairly calm about it, Ken stands in the archway as well, but with a look of empathetic concern.

"Calus, is that you?"

Elly reads the words on the screen in silence this time. X and Ken wait patiently as Calus tells Elly the entire tale of how the machines came to be hacked and started attacking humans. Nearing the end, Elly looks absolutely downtrodden as Calus tells her of his plans to shut himself down. Suddenly, her face lights up from downtrodden to just plain old melancholy.

"I know, I'll take a backup. I'll always have that at least..."

"Then I guess I'll just be taking that backup little girl."

The trio looks clear across the previous room to see that archway housing an unwanted guest. A man of 6'3 is wrapped in a blue cape. As he starts to walk across the room, the cape opens to reveal he's in a RAmar's armor that protects a solid frame. X takes passive agressive ready stance and stares down the man with a calm expression. the man pays him no heed and rubs his beard.

"Grahart. Was wondering when you'd show up. Hey, I got a theory to throw at you. Let me know if I get anything wrong. See, the way I figure it, the government wouldn't put a bounty on a girl completely out of the blue. It's more likely that some rogue black ops group is acting outside its jurisdiction as evidenced by the fact that a member of a terrorist organization was contracted to retrieve the girl. He failed, and...here we are."

"Heh heh...perceptive as always Zero. However, there's one minor flaw in your analysis. You see, I'm just here for the AI."

"Uh, X...what's going on?"

"Don't worry about it Ken. Just worry about the solution: violence. Should solve our problem nicely. If not, then we just use more."

"X? Is that what you're calling yourself now? Fair enough. Now, tell your friend to surrender her backup or you will all die."

X tosses his hair and turns his side to Grahart with a smirk on his face. Elly clutches her PDA and backs up a few steps, waiting to see what goes down.

"Hmm...nah. How about you just get out of my way?"

Grahart tosses open his cape and reveals the Yasiminkov 3000 he's holding in his right arm. Apparently, he doesn't get memos about two handed weapons either. X ducks and dashes beneath the first shot and charges the adversary. Grahart leaps back into the previous room, a small square room with the remains of some boxes scattered around the floor.

"Gee, you still make love to them antiques, don't you?"

"Hm, it seems you picked up your own little piece of the past."

X jumps off to the side to avoid another shot. Grahart is effectively keeping him out of attack range with these purposefully aimed and timed shots. While considering his next line of attack, X remembers the Agito strapped to the back of his waist when Grahart makes that comment. He pays it a cursory glance, and then shrugs.

"This piece of junk? It's just for show. C'mon, only tools and poser hunters use katanas. I wouldn't be caught dead using this thing."

If only he knew. Looking at the sidelines, Ken's on standby with her claymore, observing the battle closely for the slightest shift in the tide. Elly is knelt by the door, considering all that she's learned in the past few minutes. An audible and heavy sigh is a clear indicator of what she thinks of all this new information. In a lame attempt to get her mind off it, she looks up to Ken, then at the battle.

"Shouldn't you be helping?"

"It's just a one on one fight. He should be okay..."

X makes the umpteenth attempt to dive into attack range, but is forced again to abort. But this time instead of having dodged the bullet, it finds a path through his side and interrupts his diving momentum. He lands, jumps away and kneels as warm blood seeps from the abnormally for a gunshot wound. Grahart smirks and fires a shot aimed at the ground before X. X jumps away as he's quite defensive right now which serves only to irritate the wound.

Damn, that was the place the worm pierced me; it wasn't 100% yet...this sucks. Oh well, least the cocky 'tard didn't take a direct shot.

"Not so cocky now are you? I would just finish you off now, but you could probably dodge like the little gnat you are until your Resta shored up the wound. So instead..."

Grahart presses the nozzle of his gun on what looks like a laser fence control switch. However, as there are no fences in the immediate area, it serves a very different purpose. X feels a tugging sensation above him. On the ceiling, he sees an array of crates clung to the ceiling in some mysterious manner. A manner that is not so mysterious once X realizes that his katana is experiencing most of the pull.

"Damn, a magnet!"

So that's why he fired that pathetic shot! He was corralling me to this spot!

Before the idea to release the clasp on his katana enters his mind, X's back is clung to the ceiling where he is unable to access the mechanism to release his katana from his body. So, he thrashes about uselessly while Grahart chuckles and takes aim for a headshot. Of course, there's the issue of the ladies on the sideline that the RAmar has neglected. He is reminded when his shot is deflected by a Varista's bullet impacting on his barrel. A hole in the ceiling is made by X's head, causing a single bead of sweat to trace down his forehead.

"Oh, I forgot about you two. My sincerest apologies."

Ken holds up her claymore in front of her body to block the three shots. Recognizing that if X could not get in range, she won't have better luck, she opts for a long range assault with Foie. As the ball of flame moves at a slow to moderate clip, it is easily dodged by a hasty sidestep. Ken takes the opportunity to enter the room and run to the adjacent side for a better foothold. She fires another Foie which is just as easily dodged. However, instead of tracking Grahart, her eyes seem to be following the Foie that smacks into the wall below X. She nods and returns her attention to Grahart. Elly stumbles in as well and applies a Shifta and Deband to herself and Keneteks as she prepares a shot.

"Ken, what are you doing? You can't hit that guy with a technique!"

Keneteks says nothing, but her eyes flicker back and forth between Elly and the spot. After a few seconds, Elly picks up on what she's getting at.

"Right..."

Elly casts Rafoie, picking a box shard on the ground near Grahart as the target. He is caught in the explosion and is forced to use his cape as shelter from the dome of flame. He comes out intact even if his clothing is somewhat singed. He spreads his cape out into the colder air to get the scent of smoke out and chuckles.

"Well, you kittens have some bite after all. Why, your meager techniques might acutally burn away my beard with a few more tries. Please, take another attack. I'm in no rush to end this."

Ken and Elly nod to each other and take their next turn. Or so they would were it not for some yelling coming from the ceiling where X is looking as if he's ready to have a coronary.

"What the hell are you two doing?! Take that backup and go!"

"X, the selfless knight thing is so last century. Just sit tight and we'll have you down in no time, k?"

"Graah..."

Elly whips up a Gifoie which she weaves into a thicker circle by waving her arms in the arc of fire. Ken thrusts her claymore into the middle and imbues her blade with the full brunt of the technique. Ken takes a deep sigh of focus as it's fairly taxing to keep the Gifoie in check on her blade, but she gets through it and charges Grahart who simply smirks. He takes several steps off to the side expecting to just narrowly avoid the flaming slash. Much to his surprise, Keneteks doesn't change her bearing at all and continues straight through to the wall which she strikes with the mobile Gifoie.

"Has the pressure made you crack...?"

Ken turns a bright smile to Grahart as X falls from the ceiling with a resounding thud. While it's certainly a positive turn of events, X is none too happy to have been dropped on his touche. With some groaning, he releases the clasp on his Agito and chucks it off to the side for the time being.

"What?! How?!"

"Didn't anyone ever tell ya Leo? A magnet loses charge when heated."

X generates a small icicle in his hand and flicks it at the wall. Not surprisingly, it melts as it still retains much of the heat it's gained from the fire attacks directed at it. Now, the more important thing to note is that the section of wall that melts the icicle is nearly white hot. This streak of heated wall shows its color straight up to the ceiling where X was just held. Grahart grunts in annoyance and points his Yas straight at X. But before he's even got it upright, X has flung another icicle into the nozzle of the gun. X chuckles as he waves his fist bearing still two more makeshift ice shuriken in the two remaining finger gaps.

"Come on, you don't think I went to the trouble of making small icicles just to explain their plan, did you?"

"You obstinate little child...I'll kill you!"

X winces and drops his icicles in his left hand. He clutches the offending injury in his side and finds that he's bleeding freely once more. Still, he doesn't seem to mind too much, even as the blood of the would dribbles on his hand. Grahart is rushing X with his rifle in held in two arms, ready to use it as a blunt striking object. X ducks beneath the first swing and responds with an iron left palm into the side. Grahart shoves a heel into the side of his head while he's down there, knocking him on his back. X rolls backwards before the butt of the Yas 3k also finds a place in the side of his head. X throws a punch into Leo's head, successfully landing the hit in his right eye. Grahart doesn't let it kill his momentum and takes the opportunity to thrust the stuffed up Yas 3k into X's chest like a bayonet, using the icicle as the blade. X winces and jumps back out of range to examine the injury.

"Stupid boy. You think an inexperienced whelp like yourself can beat me in melee?"

X lazily waves a finger over the pencil sized wound and heals up the pierce. Ken takes a step forward to allow X more time to recuperate, but X blocks her advance with an outstretched hand.

"Aren't you curious?"

"Huh?"

"Why I went to the trouble of punching you when I have a perfectly good saber here?"

"Tuh. Because you're clearly a fool."

"Well that would be exactly what I wanted you to think. Who's the real fool here? Anyway...no, see, I needed to get some of my blood on you."

Grahart looks himself over to indeed find that some of the blood X's attacking hand was doused in is on his body. Some on his side, quite a bit on his right shoulder and a whole freaking lot on the right side of his face.

"So, what of it?!"

"Well, there's technical energy flowing through your own blood right now, beneath your skin. On top is mine, with stagnant technical energy. Now, if I were to send a like charge through my blood right now, the energies would attract each other to become apart of the same TP pool. So, what I'm wondering is this; would my blood be pulled through your skin or would your blood be ripped out through it?"

"Y-you're bluffing!"

"You'd think. This ends now Grahart. Goodbye. Don't let the angels smack ya on the ass on your way to hell."

X drops his Kaladbolg and grips his right forearm with his left hand. Holding the paired hands in front of his face, he folds his right hand into a fist save for his index and middle finger.The two fingers start to move up and down, opposite of each other as X focuses for this next trick. Sure enough, the blood on Grahart's face begins to curdle as he's showing visible discomfort.

Elly: You're sure you're a HUmar...?

X: Okay, let's go over this again. Do I wear a dress?

Elly: No...

X: When I use a projectile, does it land within a ten mile radius of the target?

Elly: Yes...

X: All right then. Next time, on PS: TE, Grahart is none too pleased about the artificial parts he'll be needing to replace the organs I ripped into tiny shreds. Tough.

Episode 10: The Dazzling Rinforzanda

X: Goodie, my last move.

[TheGingerOne]

That's a nasty move.

Keep the story coming. http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

[Xaeris]

Now that it comes to mind, if someone could drop me a hint as to how to make the "Fanfic" in the topic title bold like all the others on the list, that'd be dandy.

Edit: Silly me, forgot to update the title. -_-;;

Episode 10: The Dazzling Rinforzanda

Grahart collapses to his knees whilst clutching his face. His side has already been split open like a Thanksgiving turkey and spilt enough blood to seep through the rather thick material of his armor. X keeps up the alternating motion of his fingers while the skin of Grahart's face curdles and ripples in disgusting form. X frowns to keep himself from hurling while the girls put up considerably less resistance to the gag reflex.

"Don't throw your life away. This is going to hurt a whole damn lot, it's not worth it."

"Give up to you...?!"

Grahart raises his rifle and shakily levels it at X's forehead. X sighs and turns his head slightly towards his partners standing behind him.

"You might want to look away."

Not needing to be asked twice, they do just that as X abruptly quits his hand motion and clenches his hand into a fist. The final stroke is made though it is obscured beneath the hand clutching that portion of Grahart's face. Still, the sudden surge of red fluid that seeps beneath the hand is clue enough as to what happened. The solider falls in a flat heap on the ground, defeated. X lets out a breath of air through puckered lips and wide eyes while turning around to face his teammates.

"Sometimes, that's just what it takes. I'd understand if you didn't want to be associated with me anymore-"

Keneteks lightly slaps X on the cheek to interrupt him. X blinks with a blank expression on his face while Ken sighs in frustration. Elly seems to be thinking over X's offer, but it's clear Ken's mind is made up.

"We've been over this remember? Besides, it's not like you really want to be rid of us. Look at you, all relieved I'm sticking around."

A single strand of hair twitches up on X's head as the slightest features of a disgruntled expression creep up on his face. Still, there seems to be a sliver of a smile in his lips so there may be truth to what the HUney says. Elly nods, also having made up her mind. She holds Calus' backup data in her hands, pointed towards X. He looks down at it, clearly confused, then looks up at Elly who is smiling.

"I don't think any less of you if that's what you're wondering. And thanks to you, I can keep Calus with me. So I'm happy to go along with you!"

"...Okay, thanks."

"Hey look, he's blushing!"

"Oh, he totally is!"

A few more of X's hair strands frizzle and pop out from beneath his hair band as the girls point at his cheeks, giggling like stoned middle schoolers. ...Which is kind of a redundant description, but whatever. After a few seconds, X lets a hiss escape through an exasperated face.

"I'm not blushing! Bloody hell, I just killed a man, why would I be blushing?!"

"Oh wow, he's getting even redder!"

X grunts in minor annoyance as the girls continue laughing at him. The lightheartedness of the situation is short lived; X finds an icicle between his feet, directing his attention to the door once more. He looks there just in time to find a FOnewearl dashing from the archway over to Grahart's body and slinging it over her back while still crouched on the ground. An icy stare is directed towards X's group as she places a hand forward to cast a technique. X merely blinks while he tries to identify the nature of the attack on his life.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't take your clothes."

X refers, of course, to the fact that this FOney is dressed up in little more than a bikini with an open skirt thrown on as little more than an afterthought. Wordlessly, she opens up a shimmering green column of light beneath her feet and is enveloped in the Ryuker's field. She and Grahart are whisked away to parts unknown, leaving no trail to follow as the tube closes as quickly as it opened. Elly jogs up to the site of the Ryuker and searches the ground to find absolutely nothing.

"Wow, they're gone. Vanished."

"Yes, well Ryuker does that...I wish I could finish with a sarcastic remark, but I'm kinda dizzy..."

With all enemies gone, the adrenaline in X's system is free to windle down, and cease shielding the hunter from the full brunt of his wounds. He falls unconscious on the ground, irritating his side gash once more and spills a half pint or so of blood. While Elly panics and begins expending gobs of TP on Resta, Ken follows with what's become standard procedure by now and tends to the HUmar.

"Stop doing that."

"How else do you expect to heal that gash?!"

"Huh? Oh, didn't even notice that. Could you get me a fluid?"

"How could you not notice that?!"

Keneteks snatches the Trifluid that Elly is fumbling with from her belt and inserts it in X's mouth. She gestures for Elly to manipulate X's jaw into consuming the medicine while she works on mending the gunshot wound.

"See, the thing you need to understand about X is that bleeding a few gallons won't stop him. Snapping a few ribs won't stop him. And you know, I'm pretty sure a shot to the crotch would only slow him down. No, it's exhausing his energy supply that puts him down. When he wakes up, he'll say, and you can quote me, 'bloody hell, my head feels like a Hildebear mistook it for a bongo."

****

"Bloody hell, my head feels like a Hildebear mistook it for a bongo."

Keneteks holds out a hand which Elly grudingly places some meseta in. X pays no heed to this as he sits up and cradles his head by the temples. With a pain filled sucking of wind, he looks up at his caretakers with a groggy demeanor.

"How long have I been out?"

"About twenty minutes. How you feeling?"

"I repeat: Head. Hildebear. Bongo."

"Gee, sorry for caring."

X pops a Difluid into his mouth and happily chews away as the fluid eases the headache pounding against his skull. Once his headache has become a less pressing matter, he looks up at his friends to see they're not looking quite as cheery as usual.

"Er, what's wrong? Did I break wind while I was unconscious or something?"

"No...X."

"Hmm? What is it Ken?"

"Well, me and Elly got to talking. We didn't do much against Grahart back there. We were...useless."

"Eh? Don't be silly. Had it not been for you two, I'd be quite dead right now."

Elly and Keneteks trade looks of grudging agreement before getting back to the heart of the matter. X has a slightly less confused look on his face as he gets a better idea of what this about, but his brow is still furrowed beneath his bangs.

"Still, we were hoping you could...you know, teach us."

"Teach you."

"Yes! Teach us! Teach us..."

"Oh mighty Force!"

The girls get on their knees and begin bowing elaborately. X instantly throws on an irritated face at being called a Force and silently fumes with his head bowed. The girls barely contain their giggles as they continue their display much to our hunter's chargin. Finally, he looks up, just barely keeping his twitching eye in check.

"Fine, I'll teach you a thing or two. My body can't handle a trip through a telepipe right now anyway. But on one condition."

"What?"

"Never call me a damned Force again."

****

A few minutes later, X's headache has let up enough to allow him to stand. In a cleared rectangular room of the Mines, the lesson begins. X has his hands on his hips while he stands opposite his students. After a few moments, he begins speaking. If you still have that professor's cap handy, you can put it back on his head.

"Okay. First, why don't we go over what technical energy is. A fundamental understanding of it it required if you ever want to do anything worthwhile with it. Technical energy has had several names over the centuries; aura, spirit energy, ether, chakra, ki...but we're just gonna stick with technical energy, or TP for short. TP is a latent energy laced on the body's nerves. With the proper mental commands, this energy can be ejected into the air."

"What happens then?"

X turns to Elly with quieting stare which...quiets her. He then puts his hands behind his back and continues.

"Technical energy directly affects the molecules of whatever the target is depending on how it was ejected. The technique disks used to learn canon techs like Foie or Resta have all their commands worked out nice and neat so you don't need to know this. It's akin to memorzing that 2 plus 2 equals 2 as opposed to understanding why 2 plus 2 equals 2."

"4."

"Huh?"

"2 plus 2 equals 4 X."

"4x? Well that'd make x 1."

"Uh, no, I was saying...you know, just forget it."

"Sure thing Elle. Anyways, Barta, for example, works by slowing the movement of water molecules in the air and condensing them into varying forms of ice. Foie does the exact opposite. Zonde splits the molecular bonds releasing electrostatic force and so on and so forth. By understanding this basic principle, the commands that go into a technique can be varied and improvised to create techniques of all sorts of shapes and power."

"Uh...I don't get it."

X looks at Ken to make sure it was she who chirped that. He then snaps his fingers and produces a small arc of electricity that jumps from the tip of his thumb to the tip of his index finger. He holds it towards his partners to make sure they're getting the most out of this demonstration of a weak Zonde.

"Okay, so that's a weak Zonde. But-"

X holds his right arm out and generates a much larger spiral of electricity that's coiled around his forearm. After it's gone through a few revolutions, the electricity leaps off his arm and converges into the shape of a dragon's head. The jaw opens and crushes a random crate into a few dozen blackened shards. X kneels, visibly drained by the effort as the girls have trouble comprehending what they just saw.

"Wow...why don't you do that more often?"

"'Cause, it's not practical. At one point, there were more techniques going around than you could count. For example, there was a technique used to cure sleep called Arows. Also, there was one for paralysis, called Rimpa."

"That's silly, Anti cures everything!"

"Exactly. At the time, Anti was just a spell that cured toxins. However, a technique was refined to cure any abnormal status within the body. Needless to say, the other situational techs fell into disuse with this Anti available. And when it was decided to make techniques available to the common person, only the most efficient technique archetypes were made into disks. That lightning tech I used just now did more damage than any Razonde I could pull, but the TP ratio is horrid compared to Razonde."

"Oh I get it..."

"Good. Then I'll get on with it. In your body, there are 218 points where technical energy can be ejected. Anything about that number strike you as...familiar?"

Both Elly and Keneteks' heads turn to the ceiling as they think of other things were 218 is an important number. While they do this, X works on another tasking, knowing full well this may take a while. He grabs two item capsules from the crate he blasted open and empties them of their useless contents. Working a tiny dial at the base of each container, he cycles through their color settings. After three twists, he reaches a transparent setting and leaves them there. At around this time, Ken snaps her fingers in epiphany and offers the answer.

"That's the number of bones in our bodies!"

"Right. Well, 219 in mine on some occasions, but usually, yeah, 218. Bone marrow, in addition to making white blood cells, also makes technical energy. By literally using every bone in your body, your imagination is the only limit for what you can do. There are Forces who have practiced and refined unique abilities using this exact principle, so watch out. Anyway, that's enough of me yapping. Time for some practical exercise."

X walks up to his partners and hands each of them one of the transparent item containers. They're being held vertically, with the lids open.

"Okay, here's what I want you to do. I want you to condense water into those containers. Then, cause a whirlpool by stirring technical energy through it."

"Why...?"

"The exercise serves three goals. First, by using a Barta weak enough that it doesn't make ice, you're learning how to control the amount of energy you're using. Second, by having to aim for a specific point for the water to fall into, you're learning how to focus on a specific point rather than just guess and hope it heads in the general direction of your target. Lastly, by stirring the water, you're manipulating the motion of ejected energy. Well, get to it. I'm going to catch up on some reading."

****

Half an hour later, the girls are soaked from missed attempts at the second goal. However, they're persistent and have yet to show frustration. X sits off against a wall, holding a graphic novel in his hand with his other hand cradling his head. After Elly soaks herself for the seventh time, she looks over at X and the book he's reading.

"Hey X, what's that you're reading?"

"...It's a series about a shy dorky guy that ends up being abducted to an alien planet where the male:female ratio is 1:15. These girls, unlike the ones at home, find him attractive and fight over him. Hijinks ensue."

"Oh, that's...kinda nerdy."

"Maybe. But I can sympathize with the guy."

"Huh? You feel shy and dorky?"

"...Forget I said anything. Go back to work."

X returns his attention to his novel while Elly aims another deluge of water into her cup. Of course, she misses horribly and only succeeds in soaking her top. X looks up at her, then at Ken who is in a similar state.

Maybe I should tell them that this exercise is a bit advanced for them and I only suggested it so they'd get their shirts wet...

Ken dumps a good load of water on herself, missing the cup, and begins heaving audibly as that was some rather cold water. It goes without much saying that X is absolutely mesmerized by the up and down motion of his friends' chests as they shake off the cold and attempt the task once more.

On the other hand, that'd be just plain stupid.

About an hour after that, X throws a telepipe on the ground to tear the attention of the girls from their exercise. By some miracle, they've each managed to get some water in their buckets and were staring at stagnant water as they focused as hard as possible to get it to move. But, sadly, it's time to go home now.

"Yeah, do that on your time. Let's go."

****

Evening has just begun to descend on the ship as its place in Ragol's orbit is just starting to be obscured by the moon. A party of three exits a shimmering blue pipe just outside an empty cafe. At first, their steps are casual and without concern, but as they come to see they've entered a lightly trafficked area nowhere near the usual appearance area for telepipes, X stops in his tracks and faces the girls who are equally confused.

"That's weird...the coordinates were set for the usual place."

"And then were intercepted to transport you here, to the site of your death."

Attention is drawn towards the empty cafe; specifically, the array of tables situated outside, behind a fence. It turns out the place isn't completely abandonded as there is a woman sitting at one of the tables. She rises and approaches the group, allowing them to ID her easily once she gets close enough. X lets out a short chuckle and points with an oblivious smile on his face.

"Hey, you're the scary FOney from before! So that's why you ran away, to put some clothes on?"

Indeed, compared to before, she's much more conservatively dressed. The binki is now accompied with stockings, sleeves and something that actually covers up the midriff. Go fig, newmen wearing clothing. However, what's more striking than that is the white facepaint liberally slathered on her visage. X's eyes are fixated on it for a few moments before being drawn back to the usual area of interest on a female.

"So you remember me. Good, this will be quick. Hand over the backup or die."

"I pick hidden option number C, kick your ass and find some bubblegum to chew!"

Ken slaps her own face and taps X on the shoulder.

"Uh, X...C is a letter..."

"So? What'd I say?"

"...Nevermind."

"Right. Anyway, you two get moving. I'll handle the priss here."

"But-"

"You have bigger problems. I bet she's just the diversion; I doubt she'd come to fight all three of us by herself. Take the backup and they'll split up too. We divide and conquer, get it?"

"Okay, got it."

"Good. Take care of each other."

Elly and Ken nod, then run off without further question. They'll have their own problems, but that'll just have to wait for next week. As expected, the opponent does not follow and chooses to face off with X. X cracks his knuckles, then draws his weapons. The girl calmly takes an Ice Staff: Dagon from her back and twirls it in her left hand before going into an attack-ready stance.

"So tell me, you have a name? I would just call you pasty faced priss, but that's a bit long."

"If you have to know, it's Eris."

"Iris?"

"Eris."

"Erris?"

"Eris..."

"Eeris?"

"Eris!"

"Oh, Eris. Why didn't you just say so?"

"...You're just as annoying as the stories say, Faux FOmar."

"Is...is that my title? ...I don't like it."

X decides that this should go quickly and opts for the headlong dash. Surprisingly, the seemingly defensless Eris does absolutely nothing to get out of the way. Her lips curve into a smirk as X nears and takes an overhead swing. Kalabolg strikes her forehead dead on...and has no effect. The blade is stopped on her forehead without having so much as made a scratch. X's eyes flare open wide in confusion, but narrow just as quickly to lead him into a roundhouse slash at her side. This attack meets with the same fate of ineffectiveness. X winces and jumps back to avoid a Zonde aimed at the spot he was just standing.

That was...weird. She doesn't have a Deband up...

"What's the matter? You look disturbed."

"Not disturbed. J-just...um...shut up."

Eris smirks and spreads her arms out to conjure a technique. In an instant, a dozen large icicles congeal in a circle in the air above our hero. As if with a reflex, he responds by swinging his Kaladbolg in an arc and giving rise to a protective field of Gifoie. The needles thrust themselves towards X and enter the field made by the three balls of fire circling X. Once they make it through, their tips are dulled, but they still have more than enough mass to cause X quite a bit of discomfort on impact. With his body bruised all over, he kneels momentarily, but gets right back up to consider his next move. That turns out to be a multi strand bolt of Zonde that strikes Eris' shoulder, but like his melee attacks, has zero effect.

"Understanding how pointless it is now? Why, I imagine Kireek and Grahart have already caught up with your friends by now. They don't stand a chance."

"Huh? But I killed-"

"Not close enough. I retrieved him just in time for the doctors to install cybernetic attachments to his face. It's quite the mess, but he'll live. More than I can say for you."

Eris waves her hand forward and unleashes a Barta that races towards X. The erupting icicles race ahead with rapid succesion, reaching up more than a foot off the ground. X's eye twitches just before he jumps to avoid the section of the path that'll hit him. Unluckily for him though, that section of ice erupts over six feet off the ground. He barely manages to twist himself in the air and pull himself out of the way of that one. When he lands, he takes off running towards Eris and tries once more at a melee assault. Each wild strike is easily rebuffed on contact, only adding to X's frustration. After five or six hits, X's sword lights on fire as he prepares one of his signature attacks.

"Appasionata!"

Eris' eyes go wide as she actually makes an effort to dodge this attack. X sweeps his sword from overhead into a forward arc which Eris backs up out of with a jump. X recovers with the swing and regards Eris with narrowed eyes as he considers this development.

She shyed away from the fire attack...why? Think...

"Agh, j-just give up! You're going to die here, one way or another!"

Too bad she's psychotic. She is pretty hot. ...Hmm, is it cold in here...? ...!!! That's it! Okay priss, let's do this.

X jumps backwards and to the left out of the way of another Barta. This dodge puts him on top of one of the cafe tables where he secures what he needs; he snatches a salt shaker off the table after putting his Red Dagger away. With it clenched between three fingers, he uses the other two to focus his technical energy in the same manner he did when using his blood draw trick on Grahart. After a few seconds, he thrusts the hand forward and fires a torrent of nine Foies. Eris sneers and laughs.

"You had to focus to pull off such a meager trick? You humans are so sad..."

Eris puts her hands together and pulls them apart to create a screen of water several feet in front of herself. The balls of fire streak towards her and through the wall, right on course. However, when the flames pass through, Eris gets a nasty surprise. The flames are extinguished as expected, but the small white icicles concealed within them are unaffected and continue towards her.

"Ice within flames?!"

Eris doesn't get to dodge and each icicle strikes a different area of her body and shatters into fine dust. Eris bears the brunt of the assault with ease and looks up in triumph mixed with a slight bit of confusion. X responds with nothing but a smirk, causing the confusion on Eris' face to overcome the triumph. On cue, small explosions rack her body, knocking her back and forth vigorously. After a few seconds, the explosions subside, leaving large chunks of ice to slide off Eris' body and onto the floor. Her eyes open wide with shock upon seeing her ice armor shattered.

"How?!"

X drops an empty salt shaker onto the ground and chuckles, prepared to make with the long winded, mid battle explanation that we all love. With a wink, he waves his finger forward in the air with a smirk.

"Easy. I zapped the salt with a Zonde, took the resulting sodium, used it as the medium for Gibarta, wrapped them in some Foie and sent them on their way. Then, since sodium is highly volatile with water, it of course blew your ice armor to hell on contact. ...Hmm, you know, when you say it out loud, it does sound excessively elaborate."

Eris' eye twitches madly as she fires a random Foie. As it is carelessly cast and thrown, it's easy for X to bat away with a swing of his saber.

"Hey, c'mon, the sound of my voice is soothing and I'm not done yet."

"Argh...how did you even know what my armor was?!"

"Yes, I guess that is the real trick."

Eris scrapes off what's left of her armor and prepares a technique. While X dashes over, his arms are afflicted with a red surge of resonating spheres. Once X arrives in front of Eris's face, he blows a kiss and smacks her in the nose with the hilt of his sword, the force seemingly unaffected by Jellen. X spits out the shell of the Sol Atomizer slipped in his mouth and proceeds to press his offensive with a gut punch that knocks Eris for a loop.

"You condensed an ultra dense, thin layer of ice on top of your skin. At first, I thought I was barking up the wrong tree since Zonde didn't work on it, but then I remembered that you retreated when we first met. That made no sense, seeing as I was visibly weakened."

The FOney retrieves her second wind with a spinning of Resta and looks up with disdain at X who has his free hand held out with an upturned and open palm, as if daring her to approach.

"But, when you put the two facts together, it makes perfect sense. Had you made yourself an ice armor right there to fight me, you would have been using impure water, which would have made you vulnerable to electric attacks. You had to go find a pure water source first."

"Perceptive little snot...but that still doesn't explain how you knew!"

X weaves in and out of a firestorm of Foies thrown angrily and recklessly. The gravity of the situation is greatly lessened now that he can do damage so he's being fairly casual about this. His hair suffers a few burnt split ends, but otherwise, he comes out unscatched. He wouldn't agree though, as he's holding those split ends with a sad look in his eyes. He shrugs and turns his attention back to his opponent.

"Yes, you probably think you went to a lot of trouble to conceal your body's signs that you were wearing a ludicrously cold coat of armor. An unnewman like amount of clothing to cover up your constricted veins, facepaint to conceal your pale cheeks...but you forgot one thing, and this my dear priss, is the crux of the matter."

X takes advantage of Eris' pause as she waits for what it was she was missed. He cartwheels in and brings his foot down on her head and swings it back up to catch her in the chin and knock her back. She staggers while cradling her chin and looks up at X reverting back to his "come get some" stance.

"Your nipples. They're sticking out like pencil erasers."

Eris looks down and sees that the little snot speaks the truth. Completely losing it, she screams and conjures up one more technique. A bubble of ice congeals around her, providing what would seem like a perfect defense. X lets out a breath of air and prepares for the last run.

It's been a long, hard, pain in the butt, but there's no way she can dodge this. I just hope the others are holding up okay on their end.

A spear of ice shoots from the front of the bubble towards X. He sidesteps and pulls his blade through the air across him. As Kaladbolg moves across his chest, the blade is imbued with a crackling purple light that threatens to spill right off the blade. Sweat flows down his forehead as he struggles to keep lightning in one place with a steady flow of energy. He exhales and starts running towards the target which produces another ice spike. X jumps into the air and spins out of the way of the third spike. On the way down, he smashes another one with his flame laden fist. Finally, he's close enough to attack.

"Rinforzanda!"

He shoves the blade against the bubble and forces the lightning to extend like lance. Cracks appear all around the point of entry and something reminiscent of a scream can be heard from inside. X withdraws his saber and examines it to make sure it won't be blowing up on him. It remains intact, so he deactivates the blade and sheathes it.

X: Okay, I'm on vacation for an episode. You two have fun.

Elly: Right! We have our own problems to fight, and then there's the cooky professor.

Ken: Yeah, I really hate the way he laughs...oh well, next time, on PS: TL...

Episode 11: The Crazy Program

X: Oo, there's a boss fight if I ever heard one. Well, you two have fun. Don't miss it!



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Xaeris on 2005-11-11 16:37 ]</font>

[TheGingerOne]

So how come X never gives these lessons later?

Looking forward to next weeks episode.

Keep it up.

[Xaeris]

My apologies for the delay. I could give you a bunch of excuses about how class has been a pain, or how I had to spend a week in a place with no Internet...but truth to tell, this thing is late because this chapter was as boring as hell to write. Necessary plot progression and all.

Oh well. 12 should be up after this within 24 hours so I can catch up. As for 13...well, I can't think that far ahead.

Episode 11: The Crazy Program

Let's rewind a bit and go see how Keneteks and Elly are making out. They've jogged a fair distance from the site of the battle and slow their pace to recover some breath. While Elly hunches over to suck wind, Ken whips her head around, scanning the immediate area for anything out of the ordinary. Seeing nothing, she charges ahead much to Elly's dismay. Elly takes one more deep breath and pushes on after her.

"You think he's okay?"

"Don't be silly, he's fine. I'm worried more about us-"

As if on cue from some cosmic script, a small brown capsule is thrown onto their path. Ken stops on a dime and grabs Elly by the collar as she stumbles by in a sad attempt to stop. They jump away from the damage trap's explosion and frantically look about for its owner. From an alley, Kireek calmly walks out toting his scythe on his shoulder. Ken grimaces briefly and reaches for her Claymore's capsule as the android approaches. Elly's ears twitch, drawing her attention behind her to see Grahart strolling up from his own ambush point. At this time, the girls are now flanked on both sides.

"Well ladies, I think you can ascertain for yourselves that you're surrounded. No one needs to die; just hand over what you know we want."

Elly tightens her grip on the PDA she's cradling in her arms and regards it silently. Ken steps forward and places a hand on her friend's shoulder with a look of anger pointed at Grahart.

"We keep on saying no! Get the hint buster!"

Grahart strokes the metallic plate now attached to his eye with a frown. He grits his teeth and unveils his rifle from beneath his cloak. Kireek picks up on the signal and takes his scythe from his shoulder into both hands.

"So be it..."

As Grahart raises his rifle, Elly flails a hand forth hurriedly. Once she sees blue loogies flying through the air, she calms down a bit and watches anxiously to see if she's alterted the technique properly. One of the blue projectiles hits the nozzle of the soldier's gun and frosts up around it, causing a blockage in the barrel. Grahart roars in frustration at having his precious weapon jammed up for the second that time that day. Elly looks to her side to see Ken being forced to backpedal after blocking a rather fierce swing from the android half of the assailing pair. Ken falls onto her behind, but quickly springs up, none worse for the wear. She takes a cursory glance at Grahart struggling with his Yasminkov, then turns to Elly.

"Copycat."

"Hey, worked the first time..."

"And of course, as the old saying goes..."

The two look to Grahart to see him discarding his rifle to the ground and producing a pair of Red Mechguns from behind his cloak. Elly freaks and jumps behind a perpendicular partition separating this section of the ship from a several thousand feet drop down the rest of the ship. The shots follow her, leaving Ken to shrug and raise her Claymore just in time to guard an overhead shot from Kireek.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...well, you know how it goes. I brought some spares with me this time."

Once the first volley of shots dies down, Elly peeks her head around the corner to see where Grahart is. A second hail of bullets quickly prompts her to duck her head back in and cover her ears. Keneteks, on the other hand, is holding her own fairly well, matching her android opponent blow for blow. Well, that is for the time being. Her arms shiver more and more with each passing blow as her body fatigues from the protracted encounter. Deciding a more offensive approach is necessary, she takes a slash at the Soul Eater. The piece that connects the blade and shaft takes the hit and allows the blade to fly loose to the ground.

"Ha, how about that?!"

"Irritating...I rather liked that weapon."

Not one to be deterred by something as simple as having his weapon broken, Kireek shoves the shaft of his broken weapon into Ken's gut, eliciting a sharp grunt as she falls to her knees. Checking on Elly once more, she's still playing whack-a-mole with Grahart, looking for an opening to shoot with her Varista. Clearly, she's not very optimistic as she's wincing.

"What am I supposed to do...?"

******

Let's check on X. He's seated on the floor with shattered pieces of ice strewn all about. In front of him is Eris, lying on the ground unconsious, presumably as a result of the rather large burn wound in her upper torso. After X has taken several breaths through closed eyes, he concludes his respite and rises to leave. His steps are sloppy and carry a slight limp, but are forced to serve the purpose of carrying him to his next destination all the same.

"Think I may have overdone it there...it's like there's an elephant sitting on my head. Blah, no time to whine."

*****

As another deluge of red bullets pass over her head, accompanied by a disturbing cackle, Elly looks down at her PDA carrying Cal's data. The look in her eyes is wistful, suggesting that she's just about given up. But like a glint of light, a thought briefly flickers in her mind. She opens up her device and begins typing furiously, drowning out Grahart's taunts and laughter from her mind. Her face twists from experimental uncertainty to bordering breakthrough then to oh so sweet eureka.

"Well, here goes..."

She holsters her computer and jumps out, completely exposing herself to the soldier. Smooth as silk, she whips out her Varista and draws her bead. Grahart simply chuckles and points one of his mechguns forward for the kill.

"Too slow."

Grahart takes his aim in a fraction of the time Elly needs and fires...right over her shoulder. He's shocked and Elly is unfazed by having bullets whiz by her head, very much in the moment. She fires and scores a direct hit on Grahart's shoulder, disarming him of one mechgun. It drops to the ground with a resounding clank as the free hand goes to clutch the wound. Elly turns around to see if the other half of her scheme worked and is delighted to find Ken dodging Kireek's attacks with confused ease. Deciding not to look the gift horse in the mouth, Ken grabs Kireek's arm as it goes by her chest and throws him right on Grahart several yards away.

"Grahart, it would appear our systems have been compromised. I will retreat for now."

"...Argh....this is absurd..."

And the deployment of a telepipe later, they're gone. Elly claps her hands in glee as Ken walks over, looking an explanation.

"What...was that?"

"I hacked into their systems! I needed to do something simple so I just adjusted their visual systems to compensate collected data by moving everything one inch to the left."

"Clever."

The girls look to their rear to see a ragged X finally arriving at the site of battle. Elly rubs the back of her head and sticks out her tongue in embarassment at what's probably the highest kind of compliment X can give; a one word sentence fragment with no sarcastic tone. Ken folds her arms and grudgingly concurs. While she's folding her arms, her gaze is momentarily averted to the lone Red Mechgun sitting on the ground. She walks over and plucks it from the ground to examine it for letters. Sure enough, she finds the "ff" on the bottom of the grip.

"Hey X, it's another one!"

"Oh? What letters are on them?"

"Ah, looks like two 'f's."

"H, A, T, F, F...still missing letters...wonder what the whole thing spells."

"Heh heh, I believe it spells Heathcliff."

Yet again, a newcomer arrives on the scene. Well to be fair, there's probably a few walking by, but our goofily dressed newman friend here is the only one gutsy enough to approach. And goofily dressed, I assure you, is quite the understatement. X places a hand on the hilt of his Kaladbolg and turns towards the FOnewm with a relaxed air about him, opting to bluff his way through this.

"Sorry, party's over. And we didn't even order a clown."

"Heh heh, yup, just as sharp tongued as they say Mr. Faux FOmar."

"...I really, really, hate that title. Who are you anyway?"

The newman adjusts his goggles and stands up straight on his platform shoes. With yet another irritating chuckle, he smiles smugly.

"Well, I'm Dr. Jean Carlo Montague!"

"You're a doctor? Was the PhD a treat in your bag of kitty food?"

"Heh heh...that's funny. You're a funny boy. But I digress! First, let me say I'm not your enemy, so relax. You really shouldn't be standing anyway; judging from the lack of pigment in your hair and irises, you've expended far too much technical energy."

Elly leans over and peers into X's eyes to find that, indeed, his usual emerald green rings have faded into a dead looking ice blue. Ken pulls on a few strands of X's hair from behind, causing a sharp yelp from their owner, and sees that they too have lost sheen and luster to become a mere dark shade of brown instead of true black. X mumbles a few words under his breath and kneels to conserve some power.

"Now, after seeing your lady friends her fight, I've decided I could use your help with something. Mind coming to my lab where we can speak in private? I can fix up that nasty case of technical leukemia you've got while we're at it."

"Huh? X, what's technical leukemia?"

"I'll explain later. In the downtime, let's go with the quack."

*****

The ship's orbit has brought it behind the dark side of the moon, simulating evening, by the time the group of four get to Montague's lab. The place is a mess of mechanical parts, circuit boards and various other electronic equipment. The studio is circular in shape with plenty of open room in the middle. Montague strolls right in as he's fairly used to the place while the other three carefully watch their steps to ensure they don't puncture their feet stepping on a motherboard or something. Not that anyone ever does that. ...Yeah...anyway.

" Heh heh, all right my Force friend, over here."

"I'm not a Force...do you see me wearing a man dress?"

"Really? You aren't? Seems like such a waste. Oh well. Heh heh. Get undressed and hop in the tube here."

The request to hop in the tube is clearly lost somewhere on the path through his ear as the part before it has clogged the road. X raises an eyebrow at the doctor, ignoring the glass, human sized tube Montague is standing next to.

"Well the electrolytes will have an easier time getting to your bone marrow if they don't have to pass through that spandex, that's all. Ah...you can keep your underwear."

"Geh...fine. Hey Elly, you asked what technical leukemia was, right?"

"Well, yeah-"

Elly stops her sentence to avert her gaze as X strips off the tattered top half of his black outfit. Ken scratches her cheek, blushing fiercely as she fakes a visual fascination with the ceiling.

"It's what happens when someone uses too much TP over a short period of time. The bone marrow becomes exhausted and temporarily loses its ability to produce any more technical energy. Any further demand for TP while in this state causes it to be taken straight from the body's vital store: its very life energy. That's why my hair and eyes look kinda dull; the energy that gives me natural black hair and my eyes their emerald shine was taken for Rinforzanda."

"Rinfor...whatever. Will you be okay?"

"Yeah, fine...usually takes a week to recover on my own...but doc says he can get rid of it faster. Let's see what he's got up his sleeve."

X kicks off his pants. Not having heard about what curiosity does to cats, the girls sneak a look at what kind of underwear our hero sports. As one may expect, he's in a pair boxers with yellow smilely faces plastered all over. He walks up to the tube and climbs up the ladder to the opening in the top. Once he's in, the opening in the top is closed with a sliding pane of glass. Seeing an oxygen mask dangling on the side, X shrugs and slips it on just in time for the liquid to start rushing up from the bottom. Within seconds, the tube is filled with a pale green liquid that allows X to float within his trappings. X notes that the liquid is extremely dense as even his hair is floating upright.

"Heh heh, this is my patented Mana Bath. The liquid is filled with some things your bones need to restore what was lost in your reckless expenditure of TP. You'll be back to full strength in about eight hours. So, take a nap. I'm going to ask your friends to do me a favor."

X says something but it comes out only as muffled sound and air bubbles. Rolling his eyes, he takes the doc's suggestion and closes his eyes. The two catgirls watch him float around for a few moments, and then turn to the doc to see what it is he wants.

"Ms. Person, you're probably wondering why you've got what seems like every armed person on the ship after you, yes?"

"Yeah..."

"Heh heh, well, that has to do with my request. On Pioneer 1, there were three experimental AIs used by the military. I know for a fact that at least one is associated with an old colleague of mine. I'd like you to use the AI in your possession to negotiate with this AI and download its log. You might even find out more about...Cal, was it?"

Elly bows her head in consideration of the request, overlooking the obvious point that Ken is quick to bring to the table.

"Wait, that doesn't tell us much! Where is this thing even?"

"Heh heh, it's named Vol Opt; you can find it deep within the Mines. You've been there. So, how about it?"

Ken looks to Elly who nods her assent. The HUney shrugs with a smile and looks at X who's fallen into deep sleep, rather comfortable in his position.

"Well, I guess it beats waiting around for him to wake up. Let's go!"

*****

Using the same trick used on Grahart and Kireek, Elly makes a complete and utter cakewalk out of most of Mines. Deep within the dilapidated and dimly lit portion of Mines, Elly stands in the doorway punching in the same series of keys for the umpteenth time. The haggard expression on her face matches the exhausted expression of boredome on Ken's face as she hacks down yet another ring of Canadines.

"You know, I'm glad it's easy and all, but maybe we should let the next enemy have a chance? You know, keep us on our toes? Awake maybe?"

"Okay, I won't hack the next one. Wonder what it'll be...oops, here it comes!"

A green armored tank materializes into the room and immediately roll forward on its clearly audible motor. Keneteks bears her sword at her side, ready to take defensive measures, but Elly looks rather disturbed.

"Something wrong?"

"I dunno...most of the machines here have been cool. Cute like the Canadines or sexy like the Sinows...but this one just doesn't do anything for me. I mean, I guess it might be cool to someone..."

"Er...right."

*****

Now, since it's obligatory for all main protagonists to experience premonitionary visions while in a sleep induced by injuries, let's get that out of the way now. In a black and empty void, a normally clothed X walks through without a scratch on him. He looks around, already knowing full well where he is, but examining his surroundings all the same.

"Wow, I was in worse shape than I thought. I don't normally end up here if I'm not near comatose. Meh well, might as well kill time until I can go."

Before X can go about whatever activites a horny teenager may engage in on the plane of his own mind where his imagination is the only limit, a large eye opens right above and in front of him. X only blinks as the pupil and purple iris focus on him and then narrow. X closes his eyes, focuses for a moment, then opens them to see that the scary looking foreign object is gone. He doesn't get to relax though as a raspy voice sounds throughout.

"Your grand purpose among these meager insects...is soon to commence, my dark knight. A test of your fortitude is all that is needed."

"Oh, heh, I've had this dream before. Yup, any minute now, the entire cheerleading squad of the Alcyone Rangers will be here to assist me in my grand purpose!"

In a flash of purple light, the void gives rise to an actual enviroment, but not the flowers and butterflies kind. No, instead it is a marble yard with black, billowing skies above. Aside from the ornate runes printed on the stones, there is nothing in the area save for the statue in the dead center of the circular space. X walks up to it and notes with some amusement that it's a statue of himself.

"Huh. Nose is a little big, but pretty good. Now, if this crazy dream could stop..."

X wakes with a start in his tube. The doc looks up from working on the shoulders of one of his RAcaseals to see what's got X spooked.

"Something wrong?"

"No...just a weird dream. How long has it been?"

"I'd say around three hours. Your friends are pretty deep in by now I'd guess."

*****

A stripped down Garanz pursues Keneteks around the room, firing entire payloads of missiles, denying her the opportunity to mount a counterattack. Elly fires away with her peashooter, but isn't registering more than blemishes on the green plates of armor. Frustrated, she fires a random Barta which carries a slightly greater effect, but nothing to write home about. Ken turns on her heel and runs straight at the tank as it fires another barrage.

"Ken, what are you doing?!"

Not having the luxury of being able to answer, Keneteks can only demonstrate. She dives beneath the bullets, which promptly change course as she scrambles over the Garanz and drops behind it. As expected, the missiles strike its exposed areas directly and reduce the tank into a smoldering pile of wreckage. What's not expected is one of the missiles straying off course and still tracking Ken. She freaks and ducks, allowing the explosive projectile to sail into the wall and blow a hole in it.

"Hey, look..."

Elly draws Ken's attention to the hole in the wall blown by the Garanz. Through it is a small room possessing the usual junk crates. In addition however, there is also the third monument complete with message capsule. Recognizing them for what they are, Keneteks walks in and absent mindedly activates the monument while opening the message log.

Why have these machines gone berserk? What were the scientists here working on that could lead to something as horrific as that worm? I have so many questions...and this monument only adds more. What are they...?

"Well, we can be sure the worm didn't kill her at least...I was worried when we found that Red Partisan on it."

"What?"

"Oh right, you weren't with us then. Don't worry about it."

A half hour later, the wonderful, mystical red boss teleporter is found overlooking a nasty looking drop into nothingness. Used to this by now, Ken walks into the field of the red waves, leaving Elly on the outside to her apprehensions.

"What's wrong? It's just a computer, nothing to worry about right?"

"Yeah...I guess you're right. It's just this feeling I have."

"Oh don't worry about that. Sometimes jobs really are just this easy!"

****

Oh my dear Ken, if only you knew better. The two appear in the control room admist the dozens of screens. Elly walks forward towards a randomly selected screen and starts typing. Ken drags up the rear and lingers in the center of the room, looking around aimlessly. After a few moments, text starts to scroll down the large screen in front of Elly.

"Well, there isn't anything about Cal here...but I do have its log-"

Elly's PDA vibrates, indicating she has a simple mail. Not seeing any need to add anymore to her sentence, she leaves it at that and attends to the message. Ken walks over and leans over her shoulder to have a read as well.

"Oh, it's from Cal. ...Get away? Is this another joke?"

As if on cue, the battle begins. the screens flicker and on the screen in front of the pair, Vol Opt appears. The two back up in shock as the AI begins its stroll around the room. Ken takes a swing at the panels it just left and slices all the monitors in one clean swipe without too much trouble.

"What is that?!"

"I...I don't know! Should we...break it?"

"Yes! Hit the screens, go, go, go!"

Elly spins up a Shifta and Deband while Ken runs to head off Vol Opt at the next set of screens. Again, she breaks some more expensive equipment, but the yellow cocoon in the screen does not cease moving. Instead, the screen flickers once more, removing the image from the monitor. Five red pillars rise up from the corners of the room and grab Elly's attention from what she's typing.

"Ugh, I can't hack it! Everytime I come close, this thing completely changes its address protocol! It's like grabbing at ghosts!"

"Well, it is AI right? Ack, Elly, on top of you!"

Elly looks up to see a contraption hanging from the ceiling. Not sure what to make of it, she gets up and steps away from the center, keeping her gaze affixed to it. As she isn't watching where she's going, she bumps into one of the pillars. Whipping around, she sees its face going back and forth between a red and blue light. Figuring it's as good a target as any, she loads a few shots into it with her Varista. Ken follows up with a running stab, impaling it with her Claymore. She then pulls it to the side with a grunt and sunders the thing in two. Much to the girls' delight, the contraption on the ceiling retracts as do the other columns.

"Right, the one that's blinking red has to contain the main command string."

"...Huh?"

"The command program that targets us and is distributed to the other dummy class proto...just stab the red ones."

"Right!"

The rest of the first phase of the fight proceeds as most battles with Vol Opt do. Screens are hit, Gizondes are suffered, pillars are missed, and the other usual stuff. By the time the electrical damage is bad enough to ignite something and tear a flame through all the computer equipment, the girls are moderately burned and suffering from bad hair days. Otherwise, they're okay. The miniature explosions die down to leave a scorched room which has had its finish annihilated. The floor's been torn to shreds to reveal the yellow material beneath while the computers that were once embedded in the walls are dim, cracked pieces of garbage.

"Well, I guess that's that..."

"Yeah...hey, look!"

Ken points up at the ceiling to direct Elly's attention towards the red contraption that was there during the first phase of the battle. It's still intact and this time, it appears that it's almost pushing through the ceiling. This is much better clarified when the ceiling gives way and a large red tank, resembling a HUcast's head falls through. The "face" of the tank lights up and whirs to life as it acquires its targets.

"Oh poo..."

Ears perk up as the sound of rushing air seems to come from the back of Vol Opt. The source is revealed when a volley of missiles round the corner to the left, aimed directly at the fleshie targets. It goes without much saying that they start running. Of course, these are missiles we're talking about, which easily catch up and strike the ground right behind the retreating newmen. They're blown forward by the resulting explosion and slammed against the nearby wall. Ken recovers first and stands herself up on her sword, considering this turn of events.

"We can't outrun that!"

"Maybe...yeah, it should work."

Elly puts her hands together and pulls her hands apart to cast another technique. The red glow around their hands and the resonating spheres around their waists get a new friend; green flames wrapped around their feet. Keneteks experimentally takes a step and topples over from the poorly coordinated move. Elly hops to her own feet and zips over to the next wave of missiles to lure them into crashing into Vol Opt's armor. The impact causes a large dent, but not much else.

"It's a variation on Shifta that places the gravity shielding effect on the legs instead of the arms; so we can run a lot faster now!"

Ken nods and tests out the new technique in a different fashion; she leaps into the air effortlessly and lands on the top of Vol Opt. Finding that it's just as well shielded as it was down below, she growls and shoves her sword in anyway. An appendage falls from the ceiling and rushes towards her position on Vol Opt's head. Hearing the rushing air, she pushes herself off back towards the ground right before the pillar crashes into the head, causing far more damage than her stab just did.

"Elly, we can't really hurt this thing. We have to make it self destruct or something."

"Yeah, I see what you mean...agh, why is this so hard?"

Vol Opt swivels fixates its gaze on Elly. The top of the lens begins to blink green, faster and faster, until it spits out a green ball of loose energy. The green sphere easily finds its way to Elly and splatters over her, and hardens into a brown encasement. Turning out to be claustrophobic, Elly begins screaming incessantly as she struggles to break out of her prison while Vol Opt charges the attack that's rarely ever seen.

"Elly, calm down! I know it's bad..."

With a clean swipe, the brown cage is easily broken leaving Elly to fall into Ken's free arm and be skirted away from the bright green blast. Elly's still sobbing a bit, but that's quickly stopped with a light slap to the cheek.

"But we'll get through this. I can't tell you how, but you just have to believe me!"

Ken looks to her shoulder to finally notice that Sato is spinning madly.

"Huh, Sato? You're sure? ...Well, okay."

Ken places a hand in front of her eye and focuses on her tiny, silent partner that's aided her this entire time. A crest, decorated with ornate designs and barely discernable words appears on the ground below her and rotates. With a final motion of her arm, Ken summons the PB Blast, Golla. The reindeer/elk/Bullwinkle/whatever appears above Vol Opt in the air and prepares its stomp on top of its visual unit. With a blanket of lightning accompanying the foot stomp, the plate of armor covering the more vulnerable core is easily ripped through and discarded onto the ground.

*****

"Ungh..."

The doc looks up from his work on a RAcaseal to see X in a state of pain within his capsule. He runs up to check the vitals; no abnormalities are found so he simply assumes it's another bad dream. If he only knew.

*****

Vol Opt is stripped of its armor, but it is still functional. Keneteks is more than happy to run up to deliver another few hits, but Elly stops her just short of the swing with a grab of the shoulder.

"Wait, if you hit the power supply, it'll explode!"

"Uh, then what do you expect us to do...?"

"...Let's see..."

Elly looks up to see the often ignored cables hanging from the ceiling, boring into Vol Opt's head. She nods and takes a shot at one. As expected, the tank shuts down with an audible hum, throwing dead silence into the room. Well, dead silence save for Ken's incredulous gasps.

"You...you could've done that the entire time?!"

Elly giggles nervously, places a hand on the back of her head and sticks a tongue out in embarassment.

"Heh heh, whoops."

"Agh...eh? Hey, look at this."

Ken points her Claymore at a small hole, maybe a few feet in diameter, in the ground. Looking down shows a dim yellow glow in the shape of an upside down cone. Ken pokes her head in it to affirm her suspiscions, then dives on in to suffer the thirty foot drop. Her legs absorb the blow with no trouble, which is more than one can say for Elly who looks rather frazzled upon landing.

"What'd we come down here for?"

"It's one of Rico's capsules..."

Ken runs up to it and activates it to see what message this one holds.

There, I've translated the symbols, or what's left of them anyway. I can enter now...I'm not sure if I really want to, but this is all that's left for me now. Pioneer 2 will never find me...Pioneer 1 is gone and I'm all alone. *sigh* I suppose there isn't any worse fate for me lying in there...

"I can't imagine feeling that lonely..."

"Ken, I think she went through here."

Ken looks down the tunnel to see Elly standing by the door with three colored seals on it. They're all glowing faintly, pronouncing the symbols inscribed on them as spoken about in the capsule. Elly places a hand on the door, prompting it to slide open at a painfully slow rate and an extremely audible whine. By the time the bulk of the path is revealed, Ken has walked over to where Elly is standing to look into the awaiting darkness. Before they can swallow their apprehensions and walk in however, a red glow appears at the end of the tunnel. It grows increasingly larger as its source careens towards the open door. Elly and Ken get the hint and dive out of the way as an indiscernable figure streaks through the door and flies through the ceiling not experiencing any kind of resistance.

"What...was that?"

****

From within his capsule, X's eyes snap open.

"Trouble."

X: Well, it was a nice vacation while it lasted. But it looks like I'm gonna have to make up for the time off with one crazy hard fight with someone everyone knows decently well! Next time, on TL!

Episode 12: Versus the Queen of Hunters

X: Don't miss it! This is gonna be rough...

[Xaeris]

Episode 12: Versus the Queen of Hunters

It's a lovely night on Pioneer 2, as it always is. After all, it is a spaceship with a clear view into an endless sea of stars. One sector, however, is about have its night turned not so lovely. The sound of thunderous rushing echoes through the ship as a flaming silhouette descends on the skyline of Deneb sector. Water begins to flood the streets from a large hole in the middle of the sector, probably from a busted main pipe. The initial flooding is slow, but as time passes, it rapidly accelerates as further damage is incurred by the initial tear. The quiet night is soon turned into a wild panic as civillians evacuate from their flood homes. That evacuation is only hindered by the firestorm being unleashed from above by the now cackling figure.

"That's right...feel the terror..."

****

X is still in his tube, but now he's awake and watching the television that the doctor flipped on. Montague stands next to the tube, watching the news as well. Of course, their focus is the disaster going on in Deneb. A short newman girl stands in front of the camera from a position with the flooded Deneb in the distance. With a clearing of the throat, her report begins.

"I'm currently near Deneb where an unidentified force has commenced an attack originating at 3:05 AM. The military has been mobilized, but their efforts are hindered by the mass flooding of the area. Close quarter units are unable to get within range while the attacks of artillary units are being deflected by some form of electromagnetic interference. Casulties are reported to be in the low hundreds currently. Further details remain undisclosed at this time. I'm Nol Rinale."

The news continues with some talking heads, but they don't offer much useful information. Instead, X searches around the tube, most likely for the switch to open the thing. The doc looks at him and chuckles before flipping off the TV.

"Oh come on, what are you gonna do? First of all, you still have two hours left in there. Second, you're just one person. Last, you heard her; the flood would keep you from even getting to attack."

"Just let me out."

The doc sighs and presses the button at the base of the capsule. The liquid drains and the glass rises to allow X to step out and shake himself dry. Montague removes his spandex from a nearby table and throws it over to the HUmar's awaiting hands. X hasn't placed more than a leg into his black outfit before he catches a whiff of it. Finding it to be unsually clean smelling, he looks to the doc for an explanation.

"Oh heh, Elenor took the liberty of washing your suit."

"Elenor?"

"Oh, one of my girls. Guess you didn't see her on the way in. Anyway, just what are you planning to do?"

"I'm...not sure. I have no idea what I'm up against here, but what's important to remember is that this thing can't be all that strong."

"Eh? How do you figure?"

"Well so far, it's gone to the trouble of ensuring it can't be attacked by no hunter, ranger or force. There's no reason to go to that trouble if it can't be damaged through conventional means. So, it's just a matter of getting it to bleed."

"But you still can't get in range! And besides that, you're technical reserve is probably only at 60% right now..."

"That's what you think. Hmm...teleporter is probably cut off. Got something I can use as a ride? Oh, and be a dear and tell the girls not to follow me."

*****

Half an hour later, X arrives through the flooded streets of Deneb, riding on a hoverboard. The smirk on his face is damn near giddy as he soars through the waterways towards his destination. He ascertains he's fairly close when he starts spotting snipers on the roof. His guess is made certain when a woman in red flies right above his head and matches speed with him. He looks up and sees eye to eye with something that looks human, but has the air and demeanor of a demon. The shiver that goes down his spine is covered up with a smirk as he makes with idle banter.

"Hey, you there. I don't suppose a little lady like you is the cause of all this fuss?"

"Why yes, I am. Perhaps you've heard of me? My name is Red Ring Rico and I've come to share my pain with all of you."

A look of shock overcomes X's face as he recognizes the famed hunter through her sardonic sneer and the dim blanket of flame she is wrapped in. However, he frowns shortly after as there is something out of the ordinary that he can't properly place. The ride winds down in a flooded clearing, presumably above what was once a park given from the few branches sticking out of the water. Rico ascends into the air on her own power while X brings himself to a dead hover over the water. He draws both his weapons into his hands and looks up into the air, waiting for an opportunity to make his move.

"You weren't hoping to play hero with that little thing were you?"

X backflips off the hoverboard and into the water as a Rafoie engulfs it. It, of course, blows up, leaving X in the water on his own. X chuckles and shrugs as he treads water.

****

"Ah, Lieutenant, what would you have us do in light of this development?"

Grahart stands on one of those rooftops with snipers holding a pair of recently used binoculars. He makes a few inaudible rumblings as he hands off the binoculars and turns to the solider who has requested orders.

"As much as it kills me to admit it, the boy probably has some means of attack planned. Tell all units to standby and observe. Perhaps some weakness in the woman will be revealed..."

"Yes sir!"

****

Back in Montague's lab, the girls burst in to see Montague watching the tube. Elly carelessly chucks the data log on the table and has a look where X used to be. Seeing that he's not there, she slaps her face and turns to Montague to see that Ken is already wringing his neck.

"He went, didn't he?!"

"Y-yes...can't...breathe..."

"Gah..."

Keneteks lets go and releases her frustration with a foot stomp to the ground. Elly, being more calm, does the talking for the two.

"We heard about what's going on. Figures he'd go..."

"He proabably said not to follow him too, right?!"

"Heh heh, you got it. But you don't really need to worry. Seems he's not doing too bad."

The doc points at the screen which is now focused on the battle site. While it's not a perfectly clear image and there's certainly no audio, one can discern what's going on. Lucky for you, you get a much better seat for the action.

****

"Well no, of course I didn't expect win this by skating around on a hoverboard."

X takes a deep breath and leaps straight up out of the water. After an unnecessary backflip, he lands on the surface of the water as if it were solid ground with his hands held out and his eyes closed. Ripples shoot across the water at a rapid pace from where his feet touch the water and his face is racked with focus and he steadies whatever trick he's using. After a few seconds, the ripples even out to periodic waves and X opens his eyes to face the enemy.

Whew, it worked. I would've looked silly if my theory to tighten the water tension beneath my feet with a Rabarta didn't pan out. Of course, that's just the first step. I still have to defeat...the greatest of hunters. Well, always did wonder how I stacked up.

"Walking on water? Well, aren't you the blasphemous little punk. Still, what good is it? I'm the owl and you're the rat."

"Oh come on, do you really think it'd be that much trouble to douse the flames you're using while you're in midair?"

"..."

"Oh I'm sorry, was that supposed to be a secret? My bad. So, why don't you play nice, and stay close to the ground where I can kick your butt good and proper?"

"Not like it makes any real difference."

****

"How is he...walking on water?"

The doc rubs his chin, deep in thought at X's peculiar ability. Once he's formed a hypothesis, he snaps his fingers and waves a finger in the air to answer Keneteks' question.

"Heh heh, elementary my dear! Water, is a polar molecule. In liquid form, the molecules attract each other, determining the density, or in the case of surfaces, surface tension. Normally, water only has just enough surface tension to support certain kinds of bugs. However, by gathering a large quanity of water to one spot using a modified Rabarta coming from his feet, he's increased the tension at whatever spot he's standing several times over. "

"That's...that's not elementary at all!"

"Yeah, I don't know any grade schoolers that would understand a word you just said...and wouldn't it just be easier to freeze the water over?"

"No way. This is a much more dependable method of walking on the water, especially if you're dealing with someone who can melt ice. That, and this is much more TP efficient...if he can hold the technique that is. He must have a killer headache by now."

****

Rico calls up a Gifoie to surround her. Rather than spreading out as usual however, it lingers around her, no more than a few feet from her body. And rather than one or two spheres of flames, this is a coherent barrier of flame that surrounds her on all ends. X raises an eyebrow and brings his Red Dagger bearing hand to his face, then flings it forward to launch two pencil sized ice needles. The needles melt into mist several inches before they even meet the flames. X winces and decides on the headlong assault anyway.

"Idiot. Why are you even bothering?"

Much to X's surprise, once he's close, the flame barrier reaches out from opposite ends as tendrils to strike him. Though X is caught off guard, he reacts quickly enough; he stops dead in his tracks and jumps back a few steps.

The hell? It's like it's alive...

"Glissanda!"

A large mass of ice flash freezes around the Kaladbolg which X thrusts towards the converging tendrils of flame. Much to his dismay though, his ice based tech does not douse the flame. The fire bends around X's sword and strikes him directly none too gently. Once the stream of flames passes, X backsteps sporting severe burns while Rico is smirking.

"Water won't work, but I'm sure you figured that out."

"Guh...heh, they didn't call you the Red Ring for no reason, eh?"

"They were all so willing to adore me then, support me. But where were they then..."

"My, you're an angsty one."

X, once more, charges his opponent. And again, once more, the flames leap out to meet him. This time though, X moves sevearl degrees right without so much as slowing down. The flames pass by...and turn right back around and approach from above. X panics and jumps above Rico, enticing the flames behind her to join the pursuit. X tries Glissanda once more and is much annoyed to get the same result. His outfit is charred and melted in several places, revealing patches of burnt skin. As X backsteps, reeling from the pain, his foot crashes through the surface of the water. Reacting, he pulls it up and steadies it on the water.

Damn, this is hard...losing focus...

"It's the perfect defense. Inextinguishable flames that shape and mold themselves to defend against any kind of attack. You'll never get through, no matter how many times you try."

"...You asked me why?"

"What?"

"You asked me why bother. I feel like telling you why."

X reaches into his hair and removes the hand band that forms his pony tail. He stows it on his belt clip and brushes his molded hair out into a mane. Once he's done, the ripples that have been peridocially coming from his feet stop completely, leaving the surface of the water completely undisturbed. The look on his face is one of absolute calm, despite the severe burns on his body and the pressure pounding within his head.

"I don't get to pick and choose what to do with my life these days. I gave that right away a while ago. My life is for everyone else. So don't be too confused; you threaten people, I have to fight you. That's all there is to it."

"..."

"Anyways. You'd like it if I thought your flames were inextinguishable, wouldn't you? But so far, all we've determined that water isn't doing the trick. And all that tells me is that your flame isn't oxygen based. No, I'm guessing it's oil based, which is why my ice techs only split the flames; oil and water and all that. Also explains that horrific scent."

"Fft, and this is useful how?"

"Oh, it's very useful once I figure out what the fuel source is; the dust in the air. Most dust is just dead human skin, which of course, still retains some of its oil. Target it and poof, you have yourself a raging oil based fire that can't be doused with water."

"..."

"I take it by your stunned silence that you're completely smitten with my perceptiveness and deductive reasoning skills not to mention my boyish good looks and piercing green eyes. Yes my beauty, I have both brains and brawn...but alas, the fates deemed that our stars be crossed and that our fates be orchestrated with the symphony of a thousand clashing blades. Now, all that's left to do is ignite the entire supply..."

"As if you have that kind of power; you'd exhaust yourself before you could detonate it all!"

"You'd think."

X raises his hands to the sides of his head and snaps. Dozens of Rafoies go off in the immediate area in a chain reaction, sounding off like a bag of cooking popcorn. After a few seconds, the explosions die down as does Rico's flame barrier, leaving her wide open. X tosses his hair and points his sword forward.

Well damn, that took more energy than I thought. I must be down to a third by now. And I still haven't done any damage...

"Well milady, let's dance."

Appropriately, a Red Saber is drawn and finally, a proper melee starts. Rico proves to be rather good with a saber as each of X's slashes is met with equal force and guides him into another slash. When an opening at X's torso is finally gained, Rico takes a stab at it only to meet with air as X pushes back on his feet and allows himself to drop beneath the surface of the water. Rico floats above the flood, scanning the water for any signs of where he is. She gets a sign in the form of a sharp poke up the rear that lifts her off her feet and several feet forward into the water. She looks behind herself furiously to see X stifling giggles with his weapons in between clasped palms and an unpturned pair of index fingers.

"Hey, if you're gonna attack like a ninja, might as well attack like the best."

****

"That idiot..."

****

"You little turd!"

"Heh heh, yeah...thanks for wearing underwear by the way."

Now, in the average fight, a good guy would wait patiently while the bad guy gets back to their feet. X is not that good guy. While Rico rises, he charges his blade with lightning and runs head on. However, he does not forgo the standard "call out the name of your attack at the loudest possible volume you can muster" tradition; that would just be blasphemy.

"Rinforzanda!"

The lance of thunder scores a direct hit and knocks the huntress back to her feet, leaving a sizzling hole in her sword wielding arm. X swipes his blade across the water and readies his next move.

"Okay, whatever you are: level with me."

Rico picks up her head from the water to reveal glowing red eyes and extremely sharp fangs. With a hiss, a scorpion tail bursts from the from the body as the skin gains a pale purple color. X would pay more attention to the transformation were his Kaladbolg were not vibrating ominously.

"Ah damn..."

X chucks the weapon into the water where it explodes like all his swords. He sighs and curses his own luck as he turns to see his fully transformed opponent that no longer looks a thing like Rico. It hisses constantly while its tail rattles at the end of each sentence.

"How did you know?"

"A human only has 216 TP points. You were pulsing in excess of 300. That indicated you were hiding appendages, which of course, makes you a monster. Just didn't imagine how ugly you'd be. What the hell are you?"

"The envoy of the end, the architect of anarchy, the master of mayhem-"

"Okay, shut up and forget I asked. One more alliteration out of you and we'll have to call this a musical. Where's Rico?!"

"Very well...you may call me Dark Falz. We have her...and soon, we will have all of you in our grasp of despair..."

"You sure do-"

X doesn't get to complete his smack talk as the tail coils around his body and takes him for a ride. He is flung about the air like a rag doll until he is slammed into the surface of the water with deadly force. X picks himself up and steadies himself on the water, albeit wobbily. He exhales and twists a knob on the Red Dagger to turn the curved blade into a straight edge. Without any hesitation, he stabs it through the palm of his right hand, spilling loads of blood over it. He winces and forces back tears as he focuses on yet another trick. The blood is is drawn up out of wound and into the shape of a serrated blade that runs along the back of X's forearm to his elbow. It is then encased in frost and mist until it is a hardened dark red blade. X extends the arm outwards and regards his opponent with a cold stare.

"*****, I wasn't done talking! You don't interrupt a man's taunt! It's poor form!"

The creature thrusts its stinger at X who jumps over it and swipes his arm downward and slices it clean off. Purple blood flies all about as the monster draws its tail back with a hiss.

"Yeah, I don't think you'll be doing that again."

Falz's tail swishes back and forth in front of him, slowly growing and growing until it's reformed perfectly. X curses. Though he should really have saved it for what comes next; Falz slowly extends a clawed arm and gathers up dark energy, launching a Megid. X curses a second time and braces himself. To do what? To catch it, what else? The sphere crashes into X's outstretched palms where it is stopped, but not without a whole load of struggle for our hero. The ball forces itself on him as he exterts technical energy to hold it at bay. Carefully removing his right arm to make sure his left arm can hold it, he suddenly pulls it back and smashes his palm into the Megid, dispersing it completely.

"I can feel your fatigue, your anguish...it is pain for you to even breathe, no? You can't do that again, can you?"

"Go to hell!"

X rushes Falz like a fool and his arm blade flips so that the long end is now pointing outwards. Once he's in range, X slashes downward across Falz's face once and slashes upwards in a clean motion. The scars made by the cut regenerate just as the tail did eliciting more curses and resulting in a tail slap across the chest that sends X backwards, skidding across the water. As he floats in the water, he gets a look at the night sky. He notes that the sun is just starting to emerge from behind the moon to begin morning.

Christ, I've been fighting for two hours? It's almost daytime.

"It's the perfect stage, don't you agree? Admist a cleansing tide everything will be washed away into nothingness..."

X dodges another tail thrust which crashes into the water and causes a surge of rising water. Suspisciously however, the water bursts into hundreds upon hundreds of fine droplets. Not considering this, Falz strikes again getting the same result. This repeats three more times before Falz figures this is ridiculous.

"Enough. I shall strike you dead with Megid! Prepare for the embrace of the void!"

This is it...c'mon sunshine...

Fate decides to throw X a bone and the purging light of the morning peers into the ship just in time. The background becomes like a string of a dozen Aurora Borealii making for a beautiful stage to conclude the battle on.

"What manner of sorcery is this?"

"Everytime you struck the water and sent it into the air, I dispersed it into fine water droplets that lingered in the air. When the sun showed up...well, you know what a rainbow is.

"So you wanted the stage of your death to be pretty? I suppose I can allow that."

X chuckles and extends left arm into the air with an upturned palm. Shimmering white light comes into his existence, clasped in his hand. X pulls his hand back and holds the Grants.

"Being a HUmar, I can't cast Grants on my own. But only because I can't conjure the energy. If enough light energy is already present, say, in the form of a crapload of rainbows, then weaving it into the tech is a piece of cake. Shall we finish up?"

X disperses the blood blade on his right arm and draws his sheathed Agito from his back. Yes, it's still there. He runs the glowing light over the covered blade and imbues with the shimmering white light. Falz grunts and holds his palms forward to fire Megid. X charges the projectile head on and slices it through as if it were leaf in the wind. He continues his charge and brings his holy sword down on Falz's head, leaving a searing cut that does not regnerate. X slashes again across the middle, down the side, over the torso and ends up standing away from Falz with his still glowing sword pointing up and tucked beneath his arm. Falz is still reeling so X is free to charge the final strike as he gathers all the light from the still present rainbows and extends the length of the spectral blade several times the length of the Agito. With that, the color drains from X's hair leaving it white as snow as does the color in X's eyes, making them ice blue again.

"Vivace: Final Justice!"

The force behind the shout carries the attack name far across the sector. Everyone there knows that somewhere, evil is about to eat its own ass. X flips the blade across his back and brings it down in a two handed slash down the middle, not experiencing any resistance from Falz. The light fades leaving X holding his sheathed katana and nothing of Falz. No longer sensing the hostile prescense, X finally allows himself to fall into the water and float there.

X: Get me a bus sized asprin. Stat.

Ken: What were you trying to prove?!

Elly: Well, the important thing is that he's okay, right?

Ken: No, the important thing is that someone gets me something to hit him over the head with pronto!

X: ...**** this, I need a vacation.

Episode 13: A Day Out

X: Oh joy, it seems the universe doesn't hate me so much after all. Don't miss.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Xaeris on 2005-12-03 10:27 ]</font>

[TheGingerOne]

Nice work. ^_^

Good to have you back X.

[Xaeris]

Episode 13: Their Day Out

After a few minutes, X places his palms on the surface of the water and pushes himself back to his feet. He looks around, scanning the area for any further signs of the enemy, but finds nothing.

That faint Razonde that deflected all the snipers' shots is gone...I guess that means 'Falz' is gone too. And not a moment too soon; my body feels like hell. I should gete back...

X turns to leave and takes a few steps before notcing a red capsule bobbing in the water. Always one for shiny red boxes, he walks over and scoops it up to have a look at what's inside. What he finds is a fully functional Red Saber along with the "He" inscription. Deciding to think on it later, X puts the weapon back in its storage and stows the small capsule on his belt. With the weakest efforts gone into his water walking technique, he leaves with very audible footsteps breaking the surface of the water.

*****

An hour later, X is having a nice mana bath while getting read the riot act by his partners. Of course, just because he hears Ken calling him a blithering idiot doesn't mean he's really listening. Rather, he's just floating there with half closed eyes as his hair and eyes slowly regain their usual color. Eventually though, he does open his eyes and respond to some of the words coming out of her mouth. Perhaps to allay her concerns, perhaps to make her shut up. Who knows?

"Look, the reason I asked you to stay behind is really simple. Do you know how to walk on water?"

"Well, no-"

"Exactly. Besides, you're making a way bigger deal of this than it really is. Come on, I was never in any real danger. I had that battle choreographed from first stab to last slash!"

Keneteks rubs her temples to alleviate a migraine and walks away from the ever cocky HUmar. With the coast clear, Montague walks up to X's capsule and knocks his fingers against the glass to make sure X's attention is still grounded in this world. The annoyed glare the doctor gets assures him and elicits a chuckle.

"Heh heh, well, that last one did a number on you, but you didn't damage your energy production facillities this time. Another hour in there and you should be good to go."

"Good. If I see anymore liquid today, I may just have to hurt someone."

"Heh heh...say, I've got a question."

"Shoot."

"You're a Hunter, right? I mean as in class designation."

X folds his arms and floats upright in his capsule, staring at the ceiling as if this question required thought. Not three seconds later he turns his sights back on the doc and nods once.

"Born and raised."

"And...you were never a Force? Not even once?"

"Well, I did apply to the academy once, but they kicked me out because I wouldn't wear a mandress and could hit things more than five feet away without invervention from celestial beings."

"Right..."

*****

An hour later, X takes his spandex into his hands and is quickly reminded of the fact that it is still in shreds from the last fight. He does, however, manage to salvage the thankfully indestructable pants portion of the suit and throws that on. Montague snaps his fingers and points one of his RAcaseals over to one of the closets to retrieve something. In moments, Elenor silently hands the top half of a FOnewm costume to X. Needless to say, X raises his eyebrow at the idea of wearing something that does such a detriment to his butt region.

"...Elly, do me a favor and hold this."

"Okay, but what-"

While Elly holds the jacket, X slices off the bottom portion in one clean, lightning fast stroke. X takes the white jacket back and slips his hands through the frilled cuffs while Elly stands there with a frazzled expression, not quite having absorbed the fact that certain death came within inches of her stomach in a flash.

"Thanks."

"S-sure."

"Well, I'm stopping by my place to get a new suit. Elly, you should tag along; the military presence will be in full force after the chaos this morning and Leo's unit is still looking for you."

"I'm coming too, I'm coming too!"

"Yeah, whatever, more the merrier I guess. Well doc, thanks for the baths. You got what you need from us?"

"Yup, With this, I can figure out what Osto was up to...ah, but don't mind me. What will you do now?"

"Hmm...you know, I really don't know...another thing to figure out I guess."

*****

The door to X's cramped, studio dorm slides open to admit him and his two friends. X wastes no time in discarding the frilly garment he borrowed from Montague and diving into his closet. On the rack, he's got about a dozen jumpsuits. Half are black and half are white. He takes his ID clip from the tatters of his old outfit and affixes it to the recess in one of the white suits before taking it off the rack. He puts it on with some difficulty given by one of the pants legs and evens out the wrinkles.

"Much better."

X steps over to his dresser and takes a laptop from the top. After flipping it open and clicking a few icons, he commences typing. As he sets himself down on the bed, Ken leans over to see just what he's working on.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Typing a report. If you two don't mind, can you tell me what you saw in the mines? I need this to be complete."

And so, the story of Vol Opt is told to X and he types furiously to get it all down. An hour later gives rise to true daybreak, replacing the pale sunlight of the early morning as well as the end of X's paper. Being the type to call it a day after the rough draft, X shuts the laptop and lies back on his bed as he allows the weight of his healed injuries to melt away.

"Something wrong X?"

"Eh, you two are still here?"

X looks up to see his stray cats still lounging in his room, clearly having nothing else to do. Of course, having her precense question, Ken is incensed and smacks X across the chest. Unfortunately for him, that's one of the sore spots caused from being scorched and thrown into a wall. He curls up and groans in pain while clutching the offending area while Ken instantly becomes apologetic and spins off a Resta.

"Oh, sorry, sorry!"

"Agh...don't sweat it. The pain is really no big deal. It's just that after the fight and you're recovering from the pain of your wounds...you just kinda begin to dread the fact that you'll be in combat again and torn open yet again..."

Looking up with a solemn expression, X sees both Ken and Elly's moods have been dampened, leaving them both looking almost guilty. He sweatdrops, instantly perks up and waves off his last comment with frantic waving of the hands.

"Of course, those are just moments of weakness! They pass in no time, really! Hey, c'mon, why don't we...um...get breakfast! Yeah! Let's go!"

*****

"Geez, would you two please stop moping? Now *I'm* starting to feel bad."

On the way to someplace to eat, X leads the way with his hands in his pockets looking back towards his companions who haven't said a word since his revelation. With an annoyed sigh, he turns back to the path in front of him and mumbles something to himself about how dogs are less moody. However, he doesn't return his attention soon enough because just as he goes back to watching where he's going he bumps into a tall newman woman walking in the opposite direction. He falls on his rear while the purple haired woman doesn't even need to take a step back.

"Watch where you're going brat."

She steps around him and continues walking. X swivels her head to watch her leave with something clearly bothering him lingering in his mind.

What a malevolent aura...that's gonna be a tough one someday.

X hops back to his feet. No sooner than he's done that does a young child, maybe six or seven, cross his path, followed by another child of the same age. They're both holding sticks and swinging them at each other like swords, enacting a battle of some kind. X is about to step around until he catches wind of some of the dialogue.

"You are possessed by evil! Vivace: Final Justice!"

"Hey, you said I could be X this time!"

"Nuh uh!"

"...The hell are you two doing?"

The boys look up to see a very confused X. The drop their sticks and point in disbelief at the person they're seeing. Once it's sunk in that this is indeed X, they begin to hop up and down excitedly. X looks back towards the girls for an explanation which Elly offers.

"Well, the media managed to get most of your battle on film. Audio picked up near the end..."

"Ah..."

X returns his attention to his pint sized admirers who have moved on to examining X's body. X's head darts back and forth as they circle all around him seeing what makes this HUmar tick. One pokes him in the abs while another tugs his ponytail. While some would be irritated, X doesn't mind; in fact, he looks slightly amused.

"Hey, can you show us Vivace?!"

"Yeah, yeah, the Final Justice one!"

"Um...not right now."

"Aww, why not?"

"What? You mean you two don't know the second law of special attacks?"

By now, X is smiling a bit and crouched down to see eye to eye with the children. The kids shake their heads, not knowing this rule that X is talking about. X nods and snaps his fingers.

"The strength of a special attack is equal to the strength at the time of its last use minus x, where x represents some value. That is, to say, that each time you use an attack, it becomes weaker for the next time. So I can't just go around spamming Vivace!"

"Oh...hey, what's the first law?"

"Jesus, what do they teach you kids in school? The first law of special attacks is that the strength of an attack is directly proportional to the volume its name is shouted at."

X pats both kids on the head at once and rises to his feet. They pick up their sticks and resume their mock battle. X chuckles and shrugs and looks back to his allies who have now walked up to close the distance they've been keeping.

"Well, if you two are done being angsty, let's go drop off this report."

As you will learn, ladies and gentlemen, this is the pot calling the kettles black.

"Right!"

*****

X dumps his third report, which once again leaves out information on the Red weapons, on Irene's desk. She pages it through to ensure that X didn't pad it out with random doodles and then places it in her inbox. X looks around the office and sees the principal nowhere in sight. Irene, without looking up, fields his concern while typing some unrelated document on her computer.

"The principal is with the council currently. They're voting on...something."

"Uh huh."

"Oh, the design is so sleek! The curves, the shine..."

X looks back to see Elly on the other end of the office where an inactive HUcast's frame is stood up by the wall. A strand of hair comes loose in exasperation as he notes that she's on the verge of fondling the thing. Again, Irene fields that issue too, not looking up to see the little freak running her hands over the android's chest.

"That's a prototype model sent here for the principal's consideration and approval. The lab is hoping to commision a small series of that unit's type."

X walks up to examine the HUcast in a less creepy fashion. That doesn't keep Elly from fawning over the thing though.

"It's just so secksy, don't you think X?!"

"...Whatever. ...Huh. It's Bluefull. Poor bastard. I'm surprised they didn't decommission it and start over from the beginning."

X turns his back to the HUcast to address Ken with a quick bout of idle banter. Elly continues to rub her chin against it with stars in her eyes right up until X suddenly jumps and whirls back around with his hands grasped on his sheathed Agito strapped to his back.

"What the...it feels as if something tried to snatch my sword..."

"I didn't touch it..."

"Huh...I...guess I'm just imagining things."

X regards the HUcast one last time and notes that its hand seems like it's moved from where it was last. Dismissing that as impossible, he shakes his head and turns to leave, followed by his friends.

*****

At an eatery of some kind, X stuffs pancakes down his throat, happily oblivious to the gasps and dreamy sighs he's getting from random other people in the restaurant. The mood's improved greatly since the morning as everyone is eating at a mirthful pace. X knocks Ken's fork away from the last waffle to which she responds by stabbing his hand with said fork. X winces and sucks the wound while Elly consolingly pats him on the back. A few minutes later, a fresh batch of waffles arrives at the table.

"Eh? We didn't order anymore."

"Compliments of the chef. He wishes to thank you for your service this morning."

"Oh, really? Ha ha, no sweat!"

X's expression is uplifted again as he helps himself to some more grub. Seems like his winces of pain were due more to the lack of waffles than the stab to his hand.

"Meow."

X ceases stuffing his face for a moment to look at his friends. They both shake their heads, indicating that no meows were made by them. He looks over the edge of the table to see a white furry kitty pawing at his legs. He blinks, shrugs, then spills some milk onto a spare plate and sets it down. The kitty goes to town on the free food.

"Hey X."

"Hmm? What is it Elly?"

"I was just wondering...what are we going to do now? You said we'd figure it out."

"Isn't it obvious? We go through that door you two mentioned. I'd say whatever it is I fought came from there, meaning Pioneer 1 must've messed around in there too. Of course..."

"Of course what?"

"You know you two don't need to tag along anymore. This only gets more dangerous from here on out and it doesn't really concern you anymore Elly. And-"

X's sentence is cut off by a second stab to the hand. X uses his own weak Resta to close the small holes and turns to Ken, looking fairly indignate.

"What is your fascination with causing me pain?!"

"X, stop trying to ditch us. It's getting old. Right Elly?"

"Right!"

"...Why do I bother fighting these things..."

****

"You don't mind do you?"

The group is standing outside of Keneteks' house in the suburbs. Elly shakes her head while X shrugs, not really caring. Nodding with a smile, Ken opens the door and strolls in, followed by her guests. They enter to be greeted by the cacophony of a baby's crying. Ken and Elly plug their ears, while gritting their teeth while X merely snaps his finger to cause a small, but loud bolt of Zonde to temporarily deafen himself. The doc, the other one, comes down the steps with a newman baby in hand to greet his daughter. Ken drops her hands at the sight of the tiny child and runs up to have a closer look, completely forgetting about the bloodletting sound it's letting loose.

"Daddy, who is she?"

"This is a result of one of my colleague's projects. He asked me to take care of her for a few days since I have more experience with newmen children. Ha ha!"

Despite the fact that X's hearing is severely hampered, his stomach still rumbles at the sound of the doc's laughter. He shivers and walks up to see the child as well. Cute little thing she is, even if the purple hair is uncommon.

"Yeah, how do you turn it off?"

"See, that's the thing! She's been screaming since yesterday, hasn't even slept! Ha ha!"

"...Hmm, girls, do you sense anything?"

"Sense?"

"Yes, sense. If you're paying attention, you can feel someone else's technical energy pushing against your own. The force of the push is dependant on the strength of the energy."

"Oh, is that what this headache is?"

"Yes...I usually hold back for your sakes, but this twerp's giving even me a migraine. I doubt her little body and undeveloped mind can contain the amount of energy she has...doc, what the hell was your colleague trying to make?"

"Ha ha, sorry son, but that's classified!"

"Right...anyway."

X removes a hairpin from his hair and cleans the oil off of it. With it in hand, he begins to search for a spot on his skin. Finding a freshly healed injury everywhere he looks, he begins to grow annoyed at his lack of places to cut himself. Finally, he settles on point in the middle of his forearm and draws blood. Taking a dab of it with his right index finger, he mentally maps out a spot on the child's belly. With a few quick and easy strokes, he draws a small pentagram on top of her belly button. It glows momentarily before growing dull again just as she finally stops crying.

"What did you do...?"

"A blood seal. Using some of my own energy, about half of hers is restrained, letting her function normally. Catch is though...I can't get that energy back without cancelling the seal."

"How much did you use?"

"Meh...if I had to give you a number, I'd guess 10%. Hey doc, tell your colleague not to make anymore of these, eh? She was crying bloody murder because had I not sealed her now, she'd be dead in another day.

"Ha ha, I'll pass that along! Say, why don't you hold her?"

"Hey, yeah X, you should!

X blinks, folds his arms and huffs with an incredulous look on his face.

"Are you high?! You keep that drooling poop machine away from me."

Before X can take any steps backwards, the baby reaches over from the doc's arms and holds X's right arm for support. She pulls herself up and looks into X's eyes with a piercing blank stare causing X to sigh and take her up into his arms. He shifts uncomfortably as he struggles to find a way to hold her that keeps her drool off his clothes. And when he finds that, he then has to contend with the issue of having his hair pulled by the curious newman.

"Meh...I guess you're not so bad when your face isn't all curled up...yeah, okay, I'm done. Take her."

****

Several hours later of random recreational activites puts the group walking back towards X's place with our intrepid hero acting as a pack mule by holding various bags. Despite having clearly lost whatever argument led to this, he grumbles at his situation as he brings up the rear. They pass by a newstand which draws his interest with one particular magazine. He diverts course and walks on over, dragging the other two with him.

"Oh joy, the newest issue of Playhunter! Aw hell yeah, and it's even got my favorite girl as the cover model!"

The magazine is purchased, right after X reminds the clerk that he risked life and limb to save Deneb and a technicality such as age should be ignored out of respect. Somehow, X has rearranged all the girls' bags into one hand leaving one hand free page through his tastefully dirty magazine. Amazing what feats hormones can inspire.

"I don't see what the big deal is...what's she have that I don't?"

X looks up with a raised eyebrow at Ken's question as if she just questioned a fundamental basic of the universe.

"You're asking what Miss Rachel has over you? Well, let's see, wide hips, a slim waist, long legs, a firm rear, height, bouncy DDs...shall I stop while your self esteem is still hovering above anorexic levels?"

"...Jerk..."

*****

For whatever reason, X's room is now accomodating three people. Elly browses the web while Ken stares wistfully out the window. Of course, X is sitting in the corner with his magazine. His attention is disrupted when Ken calls out to him to ask a question. When he looks up, he finds her holding a thick red, text heavy book.

"Hey, this was under your bed. What do you need with a chemistry textbook?"

"Uh...um...that's purely for the purpose of hiding my...literature. Yeah."

"...Oh. I guess I thought you were smart for a minute there. Silly me. But why is there a doggy eared page then?"

"...Uh...because that's where I..."

A knock sounds at the door. X happily drops the conversation and gets up, drawing the borrowed Red Saber from his belt. He darts to the side of the door and presses the lock to allow it to slide open. Viewing the girls' panicked reactions, he jumps into the doorway to see Grahart standing there. After a few moments, he relaxes and puts his weapon away, much to his friends' confusion.

"Relax. If he were here to kill us, he wouldn't have come up through the main desk which would have a log of his entry. He's here for something else."

"Perceptive."

"I used to do this for a living. So, what do you want?"

X stands aside as if to invite the enemy inside, but Grahart shakes his head and remains where he is.

"Despite what you think, I have the best interests of the ship and its populace at heart. As a result, I'm here to thank you for a job well done solidier."

Grahart salutes. X shrugs and returns the salute, but with the wrong hand. Realizing his mistake, he switches hands and coughs uncomfortably. Grahart turns to leave, but the questions that X has won't allow him to do so.

"Hey wait! Just what was Pioneer 1 working on that has you guys so interested?"

"...The migration of Coral's population was only a secondary goal of the Pioneer project. That's all I can say. But I can tell you that if you plan to venture into the Ruins...be careful."

Grahart adjusts his cape and strides off. X gives up on whatever more questions that cryptic response formed and defeatedly closes the door.

*****

"...Okay, remind me again. Why are you sleeping here?"

"Well, it's late and I don't feel like going home; dad will just wake me up to feed that kid in the middle of the night."

"Well, like you said X, they're still after me. This is much safer than my place."

"Right..."

X is on the floor with nothing but a thin sheet and pillow for comfort. The girls share the twin sized bed making for cramped accomodations, but they manage much better than the shivering hunter on the floor. X claps off the lights and commences his first regular night of sleep in some time now. Well, he probably would if he weren't muttering about how a man should be able to sleep in his own bed when he's in his own room. Much later in the night, X is on his feet and staring out the window at, what else? A bright full moon. He hears some stirring in the bed, but doesn't turn to see who it is getting up. A few seconds later, Keneteks joins him at the window.

"Not tired?"

"Meh. Just a lot to think about."

"The moon's really nice, isn't it?"

"Eh? Oh right, I guess this is the first full moon you've ever seen. It's kind of close though; seems like a battlefield with all those craters."

"X, do you ever think of anything but fighting?"

"What are you talking about? Half my brain functions are devoted to mental images of girls in mud wrestling matches."

"No...I mean, do you really ever think of anything else? I wish you'd smile more often; like you did with those kids today."

X turns away from the window and grasps for something else to stare at that keeps his eye contact away from Ken's face. She doesn't budge from her fixation on the moon and settles in by resting her head in her palms.

"Look, I'm just not meant to be all that happy, okay? I...don't deserve it."

"I don't think it's something you work for. I think it's just something that finds you. And you're hiding from it."

"...And how pray tell am I hiding from it?"

"This morning...I thought for a second that you were really telling us...me, how you felt about something. But then you felt you had to cover it up because you saw it made us sad. But that just made me sadder. I don't just want to be someone to protect to you X...I want you to trust me."

"I...I trust you!"

"I wish you'd let me know it more often..."

X lets out a short gasp as he struggles for words. Deciding on a huff, he turns his back on the moon and winces.

"Why are you getting all weird on me anyway...?"

"I dunno. It's just like...staring at the moon, all the things I want to say spill right out. I like this full moon thing..."

"...Well, tell you what."

X finally turns around to look Ken straight in the face.

"We'll see them all together from now on, okay?"

X: And that ends this chick episode. Next time, things die like god intended.

Keneteks: X, I've had a lot of fun with you.

X: Er...okay?

Keneteks: Yeah...next time on Twilight's Legacy...

Episode 14: The Secret of the Orotiagito

X: Huh. Well, with all that mass foreshadowing, it's probably something cheesy like happiness, right? ...Right? Hello?

[Xaeris]

I've pretty much made peace with the fact that feedback comes in the form of views around here. However, this episode is, how shall we say...special in that something rather important to me in my concept of the story goes down. Thus, I'd appreciate whatever comments float in your head during this chapter. 'Course, I won't hold it against you if you don't.

Episode 14: The Secret of the Orotiagito

The next morning in the Hunter's Guild, a recently awakened trio enters through the doors to find the place is already packed with a few dozen other hunters. After weaving through a few feet into the crowd, they stop and decide to look ahead to see what all the fuss is. The guild clerks have hopped onto the top of their counters to issue instructions pertaining to what has this huge crowd drawn.

"We realize you all have great interest in the new area discovered, but for the time being, the Principal has limited access to A and S class hunters. Please form a line in an orderly fashion to obtain the coordinates for the teleporter."

And like the Red Sea, the crowd of hunters parts to allow their best to converge in a line towards the middle. The girls join the lemmings, seeing as X can get the coordinates for all three of them. So, he stands at the back of the line while everyone else engages in gossip about the high rank hunters on line to obtain entry into Ruins. Elly, however, is clueless, not being a formal hunter but Ken is more than happy to fill her in.

"See that human girl with blue bangs? That's Azuria Lashele, the Rapidkill Sureshot. Supposedly, not single shot from her mechguns ever misses. No one knows how she does it though."

"Ah...hey, who's that newman with the jester hat and goggles?"

"Hmm...oh, that's Lethas Leraul, Sparkshield. Matching a field of Razonde with the frequency of any opposing weapon, he's impossible to attack with a melee assault."

Elly tilts her head, clearly not having been familiar with all the talented hunters in the world beforehand. As the line trudges on and some unremarkable people pass, quite the large bruiser walks by the two. Elly leans in not quite believing what she's seen before turning to Ken for yet another profile. Ken folds her arms and introduces the man looking quite unimpressed compared to her enthusiastic explanation from before.

"That's Sophoroth Lockheed, the Demon of Vega. He's just some jerk who thinks he's king of the world because of his weapon."

"Huh? What's his weapon?"

"A really big nodachi he calls his TJ Sword."

"Oh...hey, who's that? She almost looks too pretty to be a hunter!"

"...Elly."

"Yes?"

"That's X."

Elly squints to see that X has his arms folded and his head bowed so that he'd be difficult to be recognize on first glance.

"Oh...say, what do people say about X?"

"A lot of people just call him a punk kid, but no one denies that his technique mastery surpasses that of most Forces. X Launcher, the Faux FOmar."

Keneteks has regained that bright chirp in her voice after giving X's profile while it sinks into Elly's head just what kind of company she's keeping. At about this time, X is having the necessary coordinates scanned into his section ID. It's a process that only consumes a few seconds and X turns to return to his crew. On the way though, he gets shoved on the back of his shoulder causing him to stumble forward a few steps. He looks over his shoulder to see the burly Sophoroth not making any effort to hide he is one who did the shoving.

"So you're that prissy little hunter they keep talking about? You're even more of a girl than I thought you'd be!"

"...Do I know you?"

"Name's Sophoroth girly boy."

"That's great."

X turns his head and resumes walking away only to receive another shove. This time, his face shows some irritation as he turns his whole body around to face the antagonizing HUmar.

"You want something?"

"Yeah...everyone keeps saying you're all that, but I want to show them what a little ***** you are! A real hunter doesn't use any of those girly little techniques!"

"...You. Fight me?"

"Yeah! You think I'm scared of you?!"

"...No. No, I don't. After all, fear is a function of intelligent lifeforms. Well then, "n00b of Vega," give me your best shot."

By now, a clearly audible murmur is going through the crowd as Sephy wannabe HUmar #3413 makes for the hilt of the TJ Sword on his back. Once he gets his hand on it though, he finds himself in a position that would make it a bad idea to move any further. You see, in a flash, X has gone from a relaxed stance with his hands in his pockets to frozen in mid roundhouse kick with the tip of his foot barely inches way from Sopho's neck. Furthermore, an ice needle has congealed on the tip of that foot, extending far enough to just lightly depress the skin on his throat. Mind you, X's hands are still in his pockets. Once X is satisfied that everyone understands the implications of the situation, he brings his foot back down.

"Fighting you would be a waste of my time and your life. Go harass something more on your level. A crack addled rappy should do it. Make sure to blindfold it."

X turns around and makes for the door, and this time, no shoves come. He passes the girls who separate from the crowd and tag along onto his back. All the while, X is hiding the slightest of smirks beneath a few strands of hair.

I am so freaking awesome. "Fear is a function of intelligent beings," that's some lucid stuff **** there.

*****

One teleporter ride later, the group enters Ruins 1. The scent of stale death instantly accosts the noses of the hunters and they quickly commence coughing. Once their noses have become accustomed to the foul stench, their lungs get a break. While Elly shakes her head clear and Ken looks around to get a feel for the surroundings, X experiences the unsettling feeling of thoughts that aren't his own.

Welcome dear knight. The bloodstained path will reveal itself to you. Follow it to your destiny.

...Huzzah?

"Something wrong X?"

X breaks out of his inner dialogue to find Elly's hand on his shoulder. He blinks and shakes his head with a smirk.

"Nah, I'm good. Let's go."

The first few rooms are empty save for the ever ubiquitous crates and the occasional message capsule containing Rico's recordings of her fears and speculations. Of course, things are about to pick up. From a door on the waterfall end of the room, the team enters the ever so lovely waterfall chamber of Ruins 1. Elly's attention is taken by the water rushing down into the bottomless maw below while Ken instantly fixates on the injured newman halfway across the room. X doesn't pay much mind at first, figuring Ken's Resta can do the job, but then he spies a glance at her pink hair and tanned skin.

"Sue?"

X joins Ken by the injured HUne to have a look at her wounds. There are two deep lacerations across the midriff accompanied by various moderate scrapes about the body. At the precense of hunters, Sue stirs from her unconscious state and instantly recognizes the pony tailed HUmar crouched above her.

"Zero. Long time no see."

"It's X now. What happened to you?"

"Behind you..."

Sue falls unconscious once more to leave X's attention free to look behind him. And there, he sees Kireek raising his Sou Eater. Nonplussed momentarily, his instincts kick in and get him to shove off his feet and out of the way of the vertical slash. When he lands, he looks back to get a clear view of his assailant. X frowns and rises to his feet to make with the taunts.

"Kireek. 'Sup man? Still at it huh?"

"tHe mIStrEss wiSHes to GREet you..."

"The hell?"

Your destiny...your soul...they are all my will.

Kireek rushes X with a speed that catches him unawares and takes a horizontal slash at him. X stumbles to get beneath it and ends up on his rear. From there, he has to roll out of the way to dodge a seamlessly connected vertical slash. X hops back to his feet just as Elly runs up to join him on the front line.

"X, something's wrong! I can't hack him! There's some kind of foreign program in there...but here!"

Elly spins off her support techs in addition to her custom green enhancement that finds its place around X's lower legs. X kicks a foot against the ground experimentally to see just how much faster he's become. Ken, already used to it, draws her Claymore and gets into a ready stance on Kireek's opposite end, waiting for X to gear up. X whips out his Red Dagger and the Red Saber he procured from Falz and gets into his own stance. Before he signals the attack though, he does something rare; he compliments Elly.

"You've been practicing I see. Not many people know Saner."

"Hee hee, well..."

"Ken, go!"

X leaves Elly in the dust as he dashes towards Kireek to complement Ken and form an assault from two flanks. This doesn't prove to be an effective strategy as one poke of the scythe's flat end is enough to knock X backwards en route and a roundhouse slash interrupts Ken's assault as well. She gets right back up and attempts a swing from the side. Her Claymore manages to bite into metal, but as she removes it from the gash, the circuits regenerate with a dark ooze spewing from the cut. Kireek then scores a shallow slash across the dumbfounded Keneteks's stomach, backing her up.

"He's so much stronger..."

"So?! I haven't been sitting around playing paddleball either! Appasionata!"

X's blade lights on fire as he swings towards the android. Kireek whips around and swings his scythe through the air long before X's attack comes close to striking. The displacement of air proves fierce as it stops X in his tracks and extinguishes the flame around Red Saber. Slightly annoyed, X punches his Red Dagger bearing hand through the air to let loose a torrent of Zonde that strikes Kireek's head dead on and blows off the top right piece of it. Before he can make with a bad taunt though, it regenerates in the same manner the previous wound did.

"...Nobody panic."

"N-no one's panicking..."

"Good."

Though they aren't panicking now, they do show some slight signs of apprehension when Kireek swings once again through empty air to produce a spectral wave of energy that rips through the ground towards X and Elly. X grabs Elly around the waist and jumps off to the side just to be clipped by the energy wave. Elly gets away with some minor scrapes on landing, but X has lost his left sleeve, leaving his burn covered arm out in the open air. Red Dagger was dropped, but he makes no move to retrieve it.

"nEed sOUls..."

With Kireek distracted, Ken is free to make more attempts at attacks at Kireek's back. However, they simply result in the same ineffective results and leaving her open to Kireek's counterattack. The pole of the scythe lands on her shoulder with the blade itself resting on her shoulderblade. Kireek pulls it through the entire way resulting in quite the bloody mess which causes Keneteks to stumble to the ground in the haze. X, obviously, isn't happy.

"Bastard!"

X rushes forth carelessly and slashes several times, ignoring the punches that Kireek uses in an attempt to get him to back off. Once punch lands directly in his face, but he simply pushes his head forward to get it out of his face and continues stabbing. With this volley of slashes, a few of the cuts made actually remain, but for the most part, they just fix themselves right up. After about the sixteenth slash, Kireek finally sweeps Soul Eater beneath X's feet and sends him falling to the ground. X drops his sword beside him as he lies on his back, propped up on the back of his shoulders. He winces as he sees Kireek raising his scythe for the final blow.

"X, no!"

In a flash of green and a slight splatter of red, Keneteks appears in front of X with her hands outstreched. X's eyes go wide as the scythe is obscured from sight on the way down. The slight jerk of Ken's body tells him what he needs to know just before she falls backwards beside him. X scrambles up and props her up in his arms just barely managing to hold back sobs.

"Why did you do something that stupid?!"

"I'd...I'd gladly spill my heart...for you X..."

Do you wish to take revenge? Then let your soul...break.

X's heavy breathing slowly turns into low growls and hisses as the look on his face achieves a look of anger that one wouldn't think his face was capable of. Flakes of skin burst off revealing glowing blue lines across his face and cheeks. The burns on his left arm fade away in a dark mist as a serrated arm blade bursts from the back of his palm and his fingernails sharpen into claws. With a look of pure hatred, X points all that energy towards Kireek as the process repeats for his right arm.

Whatever! I just want to kill him! Just take whatever you want if I can have that!

X's right blade flips around to point the pointy end forward, prepping him to push off towards Kireek in a flash. He slashes across the android's chest, leaving a glowing blue trail where the blade was, digging into a mass of circuits and metal. As the HUcast's parts fly away, the wound fails to regenerate; in fact, it worsens even after X's blade has left the body. X follows up with a punch to the head that knocks Kireek several yards away into the nearby wall which he is halfway embedded into. As X stalks forward, Elly rushes up to assess Keneteks' wound. After several seconds, she lets out a relieved sigh and starts work with a Resta.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine as soon as I stop the bleeding! He just hit an artery, no major organs...you'll be fine..."

Ken turns her now pale blue face towards X to see how he's doing her. Through hazy vision and pained breathing, she reaches a hand out towards him as if to grab him, but of course, finds him much too far away.

"He...seems so distant..."

"Huh?"

"He's not right..."

Back to X, Kireek stabs the blade of the Soul Eater into X's side, the same one that's been gutted several times now. As he rips it out, he finds that this time, it's X doing the regenerating. He stands there, slouched with his arms held loose at his sides, as the blood turns dark and melts into the cut, making it whole once more. With that, X's head flips up with a manical grin as he stabs Kireek in his free arm and severs it messily. He jerks the blade around until the cut is whole across the limb and it drops to the ground in a shower of sparks. Keneteks and Elly watch in horror as this version of X fights ever so savagely and without the finesse of the person they usually do cheerleading routines for.

"X...Elly...get that..."

Ken's gash is closed, but she is still understandably lacking strength. But she does manage to point to the Agito which fell off during the transformation. Elly suppresses her confusion, nods and runs to retrieve it. Ken holds the blade in its sheath above her, staring at it with a disturbingly serene look on her face. Elly only watches as she draws it close into embrace.

"I can see it so clearly...calling to me because I'm on the brink of death. I've always wanted to really help him somehow...and with this, I can. Give this to him. And please...make sure he isn't too sad."

"What...what are you going to do?!"

Keneteks places a hand on the hilt and braces the other on the sheath. While the blade puts up a great amount of resistance, the katana is slowly and surely being unsheathed. With each inch that is exposed, Ken's face becomes paler and paler while the sword's glow intensifies greatly.

"I said I'd spill my heart for him. And that's what I'll do. If my life is what it takes to be useful to him...then I'll do it. Because...I love him."

And with that, the blade is completely drawn and Ken's arms fall limp with the sword in hand. Elly gasps in understanding, understanding that her friend is now dead. Not failing to comply with her last wish, she scoops up the katana and sheath spilling tears all the while. X continues to wail on Kireek mercilessly, laughing like a maniac all the while.

"Death, souls, they'll all be mine! An eternal night of void will-"

X turns to find Elly holding the unseathed Orotiagito. As he stares at it, the glowing scars on his skin fuse back to normal while the arm blades disperse into blue sparkles, leaving his normal arms intact. X shivers uncontrollably as he reaches out for the katana from which he feels such a warm and familiar precense. Fearing the worst, he whips his head over to see Ken's pale body lying on the ground and all of her esscense being emit from the katana.

"What...what...no...that voice I was hearing...it's gone. Not even a whisper."

You...gave your life to seal that horrible precense around me? It's my fault...I shouldn't be alive right now.

"dIE!"

"You...you wretched doll!"

X turns around and takes a single slash at Kireek as he approaches. The Orotiagito cleaves him clean in half, leaving nothing but a dead pair of empty shells that fall to the ground with a hollow clunk. X's heavy breathing has yet to let up as he holds the katana, still feeling an amazing warmth coming from it.

"You're really gone..."

X dashes over to Ken's body and wraps her fingers around the sword's hilt. Frantically, he shakes them around, trying to push the energy back in with zero effect.

"Take it back! Take it back damn you! Let whatever happens to me happen, but don't die!"

After a full minute of this, X drops her hand and the sword and begins to sob openly as Elly stands closeby, already having been crying the entire time. X slams his fist into the ground in time with his tears, unable to do anything but expel his aggression. After several minutes, an unwanted guest enters the room. Of course, at a time like this, anyone would be unwelcome. X turns his head up with a scornful expression as Zoke walks up.

"Then...you've discovered the secret."

"..."

"To unsheathe the Orotiagito...a sacrifice of life is required. My wife...she gave her life to unsheathe it for me once in my darkest hour. But I rejected the katana and soon, the shine of the blade faded and the blade resealed, as if nothing had happened."

"..."

"Don't let her gift to you be in vain. That sword is her life; use it to guard yours, as she would have. That's all I have to say. You can do as you like. Come Shino."

Zoke continues through the battletorn room to the other side leaving X to continue slamming his fist in the ground. But after a few more minutes, he notes that the shine of the blade has indeed begun to dim. The tip of the katana inches towards the open sheath as the seal renews itself. X's eyes snap wide open as he rushes towards the Orotiagito and grabs it by the hilt. A black energy expels itself from the sheath and disperses in the air as X accepts the Agito, halting the restoration of the seal. X looks at the blade and sheathes it. He then pulls it back out to ensure that it's still unsealed. He nods and straps the katana to his back.

"She gave her life to protect my soul. Keneteks...I accept."

The Orotiagito lights on fire and X soars into the air as he would when using Appasionata. Except, instead of screaming Appasionata...

"Ryuenjin!"

The flame extinguishes itself and turns into a lance of ice that congeals around the blade and drags X back down to the ground like a Glissanda. The ice shatters on contact into a dozen shards as X looks up with a look of resolve.

"Hyouretsuzan!"

X picks the blade from the ground and stabs it forward, releasing a spear of electricity that produces a crack of thunder that rumbles throughout the ruins like a Rinforzanda.

"Raitonken!"

X returns to an attack stance and holds the hilt of the Orotiagito in both hands over his shoulder.

"This is my promise to you. I'll live my life for the both of us. So please...give me the strength to go on, to live. ...Full Moon Memory!"

X draws the sharp end of Agito across his chest, drawing blood onto the tip. The blade reacts with a swirl of green energy drawing out a swirl of blue energy from the blood. The energies circle and intertwine near the end of the blade. X pulls back and swings forth to release a life sized sphere of light, half green and half blue. It soars forth at an incredible speed, impacting into the wall and taking out much larger portion than what was physically hit. X sheathes his katana and walks forth to continue.

"Let's go Elly. I have a promise to keep."

X: I'll cherish this katana for as long as I live.

Episode 15: On His Own



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Xaeris on 2005-12-13 11:45 ]</font>

[TheGingerOne]

Wow.

That was pretty deep. I even felt a little moved, but maybe I'm just soft.

It's nice to see how X grew into his world saving self. The tecnique transformation was a cool way of showing it.

I also liked the tie-ins with the other stories aswell. JiEin's part was funny.


If you like I could try to expand on this, I just need to read it through again.

[Keiko_Seisha]

Awww, poor Ken, I was wondering how she was gonna go, but that was just tear-jerking.

Ok, maybe not that much, but nice job so far X, as I've said on GFAQs. And it's good to see our old MMX-stolen moves again... -Cough- Which means no renamed moves later on.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Keiko_Seisha on 2005-12-14 17:26 ]</font>

[Xaeris]

Ah, that magical time in between semesters where I don't have a care in the world. Goodie.

Episode 15: On His Own

It's been a few minutes since both X and Elly have composed themselves. The tear streaks are still moist on their faces as they walk through the stagnant air of Ruins, dealing with the minor threats that prop up in their faces. Despite being minor though, X has no compunctions about relieving large chunks of anger on the Dimineans stupid enough to stalk towards him.

"Rargh, get out of my way you worms!"

Once more, X drags Orotiagito across his chest and swings it forward releasing a small spritz of red fluid along with a blue and green spiral of energy that easily clears out what's left of the cut and severed dark creatures. While the spirit is willing and restless, the body falls to its knees and begins sucking wind while X looks ahead with little else but scorn and malice in his eyes. Elly pops yet another Difluid into his mouth to restore the expended energy.

"X, you need to calm down. I can barely see your pupils..."

X stands and begins to take control of his breathing. As it slows and loses its raspy quality, X's pupils emerge from the cold blue circles by which they were eclipsed. He grits his teeth and sheathes his katana.

"Sorry. But I'm a little more than upset, I'm sure you understand."

"I know..."

"Fft, what are we even doing down here?"

"Looking for Rico..."

X turns a glance to Elly to ensure that she isn't joking. Seeing the pensive expression on her face, he scoffs and looks away, bowing his head.

"Right, Rico. Well, I just decided I don't really care that much. I'm going back."

X swipes his hand across the air and opens up a Ryuker. Elly, striving to keep the time she's left alone in the bowels of hell at a minimum, she scampers for the warp as well.

*****

"But why?!"

Elly struggles to keep up with hurried and furious strides, doing a hop and skip every few steps to keep pace with X. Our angsty hero ignores the maiden's protests and continues to stomp through the streets looking none too pleased.

"X, wait! Pay attention to me! You can't just up and decide you don't care anymore!"

"Sure I can. 'I don't care.' See? That easy."

*****

The next day, the two stand, dressed in black, in the middle of a park. X has just begun to walk away with a downcast expression with Elly following in similar spirits.

"Well now I'm even more depressed...it's as if we buried a pet."

"Couldn't be helped. With no body to cremate and burial sites being reserved for humans, a memorial is the best we could do. Even 'daddy' didn't show up...suspiscious."

The two emerge back into the urban areas of the ship. X stops abruptly and just barely turns his head over his shoulder to look at Elly who jumps at the cold feeling in his eyes.

"Go away."

"Wh-what?"

"It's better if we both just pretend we never met."

And again, X picks up his pace of hurried strides. This time though, Elly has to jump between running and jogging to keep up as she tries to figure out what brought the anti-social out in him. Seeing that he's ignoring her from the side, she manages to jump to his front and block his path with outstretched arms. X stops and averts his gaze, still harboring a cold expression.

"You said you'd stay with me until I found what I was looking for! Are you just going to break your promise?!"

"I suck at protecting people. You saw that. Now like I said, go away."

The angsty child places a hand on Elly's shoulder and shoves her off to the side in one harsh motion. He then places his hands in the pockets of the trenchcoat he's worn for the day and continues on his way. This time, the newman doesn't follow. If X hears the distant sniffles, he doesn't care. Following him, we arrive at his room where he plops onto his bed and lies there, belly up, with his hands folded behind his head.

"Call me when you go again!"

"Do you respect anyone at all?"

"You jerk..."

X winces at the memories that have begun to whirl about his mind of their own will. He shuts his eyes and rolls over in a vain effort to dump the thoughts, but they just keep on coming.

"I'm looking for a friend."

"Is he always like this?"

"...Jerk..."

X grabs his pillow and clenches it above his head as if these thoughts were accosting his mind from the outside.

"I'll help you if you'll help me, deal?"

"I'll stay with you until you find what you're looking for then."

"Ditzes..."

"I was so stupid..."

Finally, and mercifully, X begins to feel himself drifting off to sleep. He gladly embraces the drowsiness and shuts his eyes. Before he checks out completely though, he can still hear two distinct voices repeating themselves.

"Happiness is something that finds you X. Quit hiding from it."

"I won't let your gift go to waste."

*****

The next day, our angst filled HUmar is strolling aimlessly about the ship. As fate would have it, he passes by one of the Ragol teleporters. He regards it solemnly for a moment before continuing on his way. Before he gets very far though, one of the guards calls out to him. He stops, sighs and turns to see what the soldier wants.

"Hey, what are you still doing here man? Haven't you heard about all those grizzly deaths in Ruins? You need to get down there and see what's up!"

"...I'm not interested."

"Eh? Well, okay, guess that's your choice. Just figured you'd be along since one of your partner IDs was already logged in as having beamed down."

"..."

"I'll stay with you until you find what you're looking for then."

"...God dammit."

X dashes into the red field and beams on down to Ruins.

****

After a standard arrival in Ruins 2, the hunter begins to walk forth casually despite the occasional red streak of blood on the ground or wall. Due to the efforts of previous hunters before him, his path through the gloomy chambers is unharrassed by the enemies of the other day. That is, until, he gets to the largest room of the area, the cargo hold. Ahead of him, in the middle of the room, he sees Zoke incapcitated on the ground with Shino standing over him and Elly knelt beside him.

"There you are."

Elly looks up to see X who's just made it over to the gathering. She stands with a weak smile as she tries to see if that coldness is still about the human. Finding none, or at least much less of it, her smile widens.

"Hi X."

"Why are you down here?"

"I want to know why Ken had to die. That's a good reason, don't you think?"

X blinks and folds his arms as he considers that. He grimaces at the utter simplicity of the reason and smacks himself in the head.

"Yes. Yes, it is."

The two turn their heads to the murmuring from the ground. Zoke has regained some strength and he's about to expend it on the words he's going to say to our heroes. X kneels in the rare moment of sincere consideration for his fellow man.

"I spent so long looking for the true Agito after my wife's soul faded from it and I discarded it. I never had to chance to see the blade again; to beg forgiveness for spurning her gift. But now...I suppose I'll be seeing her soon. I don't suppose I could ask you to go back to Pioneer 2 and urge the Principal to move the ship away...?"

"Sorry, but no. I have to go and find whatever mutated Kireek."

"For revenge?"

"No, not revenge. For an answer."

"I see. Ha ha...well then, please, accept a gift from this old man. My Sange is broken, but the Yasha should work well enough for you. It's at my side. Good luck...and farewell."

With that, the god of equipping RAmar's head falls limp. X bows his head in respect for a moment and then moves over towards the Yasha. He picks it up in his left hand and finds the feel and weight of it to be adequate. He gathers up the sheath and clips it to to the back of his waist so that it forms a sort of flattened butterfly pattern with the Agito's sheath. Just as he's about to stow the blade though, he notices something odd.

"Huh."

"What's wrong X?"

"Blade's on the wrong side."

X holds Yasha in front of him at eye level. Elly shakes her head to indicate a lack of understanding.

"Because of the forging process, a katana will always end up slightly curved. The blade, or the sharp end, of the katana is always on the outside edge. However...here, it's on the inside. This should be a ridiculously fragile weapon...yet when I channel TP through it...it's stronger than anything I've ever used. Go fig."

Let's see, I think I can dual wield...never really tried two swords at once before though. The Yasha will withstand my elemental enchantments better, but the Agito's better for standard stabbing.

X holsters his new katana and gestures for Elly to follow. When she doesn't do so, he turns to see what's holding her up. When he sees Shino being overcome by mist and leaking purple electricity from her joints, his hands instantly go to his weapons. However, it doesn't appear the loverbot is in any shape to fight as she's swaying back and forth. The two hunters relax, but tense up again when Shino begins speaking.

"Hello again blasphemer."

"...Falz? Then you-"

"Yes. Just as I seized this doll here, I seized Kireek and fed on the souls of the fools who tread here in my prison. I am the one you hate, the one you desire to kill. If you wish to meet my true body, come to the deepest portion of the catacombs."

With that, Shino's body falls limp on top of Zoke's. X clenches his fists in anticipation and takes off like the wind through the Ruins. Elly imbues herself with a Saner and has a much easier time of keeping up with the HUmar. While the enemies of the Ruins return in full force, they don't prove to be much of a deterrence. During the downtime of running through halls, the two piece together fractured conversations.

"X, how are you feeling?"

"Better. Um...sorry about what I said."

"Oh, don't worry about it."

X charges into a room and smacks a Belra in the head with Raitonken, accompanied by the standard shout. The lightning splits the head in two and renders the enemy an unmoving husk of its former self. He kicks off the Belra's chest and launches himself through the air at a crowd of Dimenans and family creeping towards Elly. As he falls, he swings a Ryuenjin through the air and engulfs the Dimenans in a cloud of flame. They fall dead to the ground, but the La and So Dimenans are unphased. Elly roots the remaining few enemies in place with Rabarta, icing up their legs. X slashes each one through, one by one, as they writhe helplessly.

"Hey, what is it you're looking for?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you already found Cal, yet you're still guilt tripping me with that. So what is it?"

In the next room, a trio of Gunners spawn at the opposite corners of the room. They slide and converge on the center of the room where they begin to charge their lasers. From the door, the two fire off a pair of techs, Foie and Barta. X's Foie is a quartet of swirling fireballs which spiral about each other en route to engulfing a Gunner's laser and incinerating the irritating enemy itself. Elly's Barta is a stream of icicles that erupt from the ground, each one shooting forth closer and closer until it strikes the target and pierces it through. The last Gunner gets its laser off, which X easily reflects with a backhanded slash. After that, a double Zonde clears the room.

"Your technique has gotten better. Anyway. My question."

"Oh. Well...I guess you could say I was looking for someone who really cares."

"Please don't paraphrase lyrics from that song. I hate that song. Anyway. Fine, I'll stick around 'till you get that. But I'm taking off right after, got it?"

"Ha ha...got it."

Next, is a Dark Bringer. X opts for a headlong charge and slashes with Agito overhead. The strike is rebuffed by the Bringer's shield arm and countered with a sweeping swing with its gun arm. X falls flat on his back and rolls to the side to avoid being stomped on. He then rises to his knees and takes a slash at the Bringer's underbelly, drawing a spray of purple ooze, which he's none too pleased to get in his hair. Before it can return the slash, it's gun arm is knocked off course by Varista shots. X takes the breather gratefully and flips back up to his feet. Curiously, the Bringer braces itself and holds its gun arm forward. The mystery is easily unraveled once it begins drawing yellow energy into its cannon. X cuts himself on the shoulder with Agito and begins charging his own attack. The blue green wave easily overcomes the yellow megid en route and wrecks the dark horseman with no trouble at all.

"X...why do you always cut yourself before using Full Moon Memory?"

"Because I have wounds crawling in my skin? No, seriously, the attack is the result of two repelling energy fields pushing each other apart and creating a rupture between them. The rupture is the wave; anything that comes into contact with it is caught between the two forces and squished on a molecular level. What you see is the photons in the air being crushed together onto a single wavelength. That's why the sword glows."

"Okay, but-"

"Ken's energy, bound in the Orotiagito provides the first field. The energy in my blood, bled onto the blade's surface provides the second. The two swirl around each other until they've found equilibrium on opposite ends of the sword. Swung forth, the fields are flung forth. That's the Full Moon Memory. Well, let's go."

After a port to Ruins 3, the two find themselves in the midst of decidely different decor. Mucus drips from the ceiling as cysts on the walls throb as if alive. The air reeks of a putrid musk that puts Elly and her sensitive nose just barely on the verge of puking. Additionally, both of them act as if there's some sort of hidden pressure in the area by the way they wince and hunch over.

"Augh, it's like we're in the belly of the beast."

"I never thought you the type for cliches X."

"Quiet ditz."

****

So, let's fast forward through a guantlet of battles. The two stand weary and exhausted at the start of the infamous long hallway that leads to the final chambers. X sucks it up and enters, but Elly has more trouble gathering herself. X looks back, takes a single look at her and turns his gaze back forward.

"Okay Elly, that's it for you. Go back."

"What?!"

"As we get closer, the density of technical and photon energy in the air increases. I've been having some headaches resisting it. Meaning you must be near comatose at this point. Go back."

"How do I know you're not just trying to ditch me again?"

"Notice that last time, I said 'go away.' But if you need the extra reassurance..."

X fishes in his hair for a few moments to release the clasp on his hairband. He extracts it from each strand and holds it forward. Elly tilts her head, but accepts the rather girly looking item.

"That hairband belonged to my mother. It's the only connection I have to my childhood; names, faces, I don't remember any of it. That's the only fact I'm certain of. You can be sure I'll want it back. Now take off."

Elly nods in complete understanding of X's gesture and opens a Ryuker. X smirks and signs a V with his fingers to reassure her as she leaves for the ship. X lets out a deep breath of air and resumes his march down the hallway. As he walks, he places a hand on the hilt of Agito.

"It'll all be made right soon, just wait."

****

The place closest to heaven it's called. X pops in at the alcove across from the tall white monument in the middle of the grass field and blue skies. Obviously confused, having just emerged from a pus filled hellhole, X advances cautiously. After a few steps, his foot trips against a red capsule on the ground. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he picks it up and opens it to see what's inside.

"She made it this far..."

Indeed, the Red Slicer is what's contained in the box. X stashes it with the other 5 Red items, incorrectly assuming the set it complete. You get a cookie if you've been keeping track and know which one he's missing. He steps onto the white monument and stops at the white altar. This close, he can see Rico's ghost sitting idly on the altar.

"Er..."

"I'm sorry."

With that, the grass fades away to reveal a collection of tormented souls embedded in the ground. The wailing moans echo through the area and have a visible disturbing effect on our hero as he draws his weapons. Spinning spikes come into existence from thin air and float around aimlessly. X strikes them down as they come near, gradually growing frustrated at striking down nameless enemies.

"Show yourself!"

As if a command from the heavens, the monument cracks and explodes in a golden light, felling all the Darvants in one go. From it, comes a dark chariot, with the heads of three dragons with the mutated form that was once vaguely human riding atop them. The vast difference in size does nothing to phase this HUmar as he psyches himself up for the real fight.

The anguish has sufficiently tempered your soul...

Eh? Crazy dream voice? But I'm awake. Go away.

Destroy this apparition and complete yourself...

"I really need to stop thinking..."

X: This is going to be one of those days...

Episode 16: Retribution of the Azure Soul

Elly: Liberate the Red Captive, hunter!

X: ..."Hunter?" The hell was that?

[TheGingerOne]

It's the sword that's missing isn't it?

Or am I wrong?

And you aren't forgeting your numbering are you X, its just that your up to the Big Boss at only 16, there's still ten more after that to make the full set. Then again I can't remember what number you origionally started at, anyway keep them coming.

[Xaeris]

It's the handgun he's missing. And the other 8 episodes are for Episode II. I actually have less episodes to work with than I'd like...meh well.

Episode 16: Retribution of the Azure Soul

Well, let's kick things off. X darts across the field of bones with long strides, not anxious to touch feet on the withered remains of the departed. He holds the base of his sheathed Orotiagito to keep it from jiggling on his back as he jumps around like a grasshopper on crack. By now, the question of just how he's going to kill something so big has dawned upon him, yet, does nothing to worry him telling by the smirk on his face.

Okay, let's do an attendance check. Badass protagonist hunter with two katanas, a smart mouth and a confident smirk; check. Big ol' ugly thing with three heads spitting spinning spike things at me; check. Deus ex machina style device to save me the trouble of having to actually get near the thing; absent. Shazbot.

X draws the Agito as he sticks the landing on a jump and charges forth through the torrent of spikes. With wild slashes, he strikes down the darvants as they attempt to converge on him. Easily having cleared a path to head number one, he shoves the katana into its mouth and moves it about to land what are probably little more than papercuts to such a large beast. X pulls the sword through the side and retreats with frustration at the ineffective attack.

Well blue hell, it bleeds, but it's like making in a pinhole in a dam...

X has a look at Orotiagito to find purple blood congealing on the still gleaming blade. He frowns and wrings it off in annoyance as he considers his next attack. Sadly, that'll just have to wait as his mind is first occupied by the fact that Dark Falz has just raised its hands into the air. He doesn't need to sit on that thought for long as a series Rafoies race along a path towards him. Quickly, he throws up a free hand and erects an ice barrier...which provides little defense and does nothing to keep him from being blown to hell as the explosions tear through him.

"Well screw you too!"

Hmph, I can't strike the main body from here. Those spikes keep me moving...it's barely all I can do to complete this thought...

Just as that thought is completed, X looks down to find ice shards exploding from the ground. With a curse, he covers his vitals by clutching his body with his hands and jumps away. The shards score him across the arms and legs, but otherwise, no significant damage is done. X draws Yasha and brings up a wisp of flame to dance on the edge. That wisp quickly grows into a nice sized ball of Foie which he flings at the target. Silly goose. The flame strikes one of the heads dead on for zero effect; not so much smoke is caused by X's attack. It seems it was useless.

I see. So that's your weakness.

X bends slightly at the knees and holds Yasha behind his back and Agito out in front. He charges, striking down darvants as normal. As he nears his objective, a crack of thunder sounds as Yasha develops the crackling field of lightning of Raitonken. X takes it from behind his back and shoves the katana into a mouth again. This time though, he gets a roar of pain from the beast as the face melts and disintegrates in large portions, leaving a headless stump.

Whatever this thing's shell is made of, it's easy to see why fire barely registered an effect. Fire + ionically bonded material = phail. Energy + ionically bonded material = winnar. Now, two more times and I can go home.

Obviously a bit more desperate, Falz bids more darvants in X's direction. Used to their movements by now, X opts to dodge them instead of striking them out. He barrels beneath a small batch, kicks up to his feet and charges through a narrow gap left open by the carelessly spinning loogies. X stabs again with Raitonken and happily shouts the name as the second head melts into a putrid smelling dust. He spins on his foot to race for the third one. Too bad he doesn't see another stream of explosions poised to cross his path.

"Fft, like that'll stop me."

The Rafoies do indeed intercept X en route. They burn away the top left portion of his spandex, leaving his left arm bare in the wind. His pace doesn't slow one bit however as he pushes through the firestorm to his last target. Raitonken sounds in the air a third time as X stabs and rids himself of the last head on the chariot.

****

Let's go check on Elly. She's returned to Pioneer 2 via Ryuker and is currently in custody of the military. Apparently, she got jumped the second she emerged from the pipe. She marches solemnly with the soldiers until they drop her off at the teleporter to the Principal's Office. She looks around, confused, until one of the soliders pipe up.

"Our orders were to bring you and your companion here. The principal wishes to see you."

"Oh...all right."

Moments later, Elly has gone up and walked down the hall to come into range of Tyrel who is standing to greet her.

"Miss Person, I'll be frank. We're facing a dire crisis. Where is your friend?"

"X? He's still in Ruins...he told me to come back up because it was too dangerous. What crisis?"

Tyrel sighs heavily and drops into his chair. He sits forward and folds his hands on the table with a grim expression on his face while Elly tilts her head further in confusion.

"We provided some of our scientists with some samples of the artifacts in the Ruins..."

****

Back to X. Falz roars and extracts itself from its dead chariot. X expels an annoyed breath of air as he prepares for round 2 of the battle. Falz sets itself at the edge of the field and starts its circular stroll as X runs over to see what he's up against. As soon as he's close enough, he strikes the body with a Raitonken, but the lightning is simply absorbed with little effect.

Well shoot, that's no good.

Before he can make a retreat, our hunter is accosted by a hail of icy mist that rips him through and ices him over, immobolizing him. Much to his dismay, darvants rise from the ground all over and tear him up relentlessly. He struggles to break free of his icy encasement, but those efforts don't bear fruit for several seconds; time enough for him to have suffered severe lacerations across his chest and arms. He falls forward in a puddle of blood and convulses in pain, looking none too pleased.

I mean, now, that's no good.

He gets up to his knees, but slips back onto his face. The second attempt to get up is more succesful, putting him on his feet, taking shallow breaths. His eyes are half closed as he weakly places a hand on his torso and works a Resta. The wounds are closed, though his weak Resta can't account for the bloodloss.

Dizzy...that was a lot of blood. I can't live through that again for another few minutes.

X dives out of the way of a stream of explosions only to wince in pain on landing. Deciding that the defensive will just get him killed, he throws caution to the wind and runs dead on for Falz. His eye is on the pulsing purple sac below the main twisted body. En route, he's torn on which element to use for the attack. Forced to decide, Yasha becomes a lance of solid ice and X thrusts it into the purple core.

"Hyouretsu!"

For whatever reason, he left off the "zan." No matter. It works all the same. The icicle pierces the purple flesh and seizes the pulsing of the sac, causing Falz to roar once more. The monster zips away, extricating itself from X's blade and halts a quarter ways around the arena. X winces at the prospect of straining his battered body by running over, but he sucks it up and does exactly that. On his way, a stream of Rafoies comes to greet him. Once again, he attempts an ice barrier, but this time, he puts full strength into it and erects a solid crystal wall that glistens, even in the dim light of the dark sky. The Rafoies are stopped there, leaving a much smaller melted mass that has served its purpose. X continues running.

"You know, I still haven't the damnest clue what in blue hell is going on here, but I'll be damned if I let your ugly twisted face beat me!"

X ices up another Hyouretsuzan and holds out his free wrist to brace the heavy mass of ice on. Once close enough, he dives in for a second thrust and deals the same pain once again. Falz runs away, but this time, X manages to chuck a Gibarta at it, landing several icicles in the pulsing core, compounding its injury.

Yeah, that's right, run. Feel the burn! ...Or frostbite, I guess.

By now, Falz's movements are haggard. It hasn't moved nearly as far as it did last time, only drifting a few yards to the side. It holds its hands up and from its back shoot purple beams of light into the sky. X follows them up with his eyes, trying to discern where this is going. While he's looking, Falz falls over in its standard death throes. Before X can cheer, the purpose of the purple beams comes back to smack him in the face. He freaks and covers his head with his arms while arcane light rains from heavens, assaulting his body.

****

Again, let's go see Elly.

"What do you mean the entire thing is a tomb?! And X is fighting some demon that wiped out a civilization?!"

Tyrel nods grimly, unable to look up. Elly is making no efforts to remain calm as all the principal has told her sinks in. Irene speaks up, to continue the tale the principal is unable to.

"So you see, we have to mobilize all our available forces to defeat it, as we have no idea how to restore the seal. If what little confidential data we've received on Pioneer 1's encounters are correct, then their military was unable to defeat in excavating the Ruins. Where...did you say your friend was?"

"...He's fighting it right now..."

"Oh dear..."

****

X is lying on a glowing white ring, recovering consciousness. Whatever was left of the top half of his outfit is in tatters, leaving his chest bare. Sensing he's not out of danger just yet, X hops straight up to his feet the second he's regained a thread of awareness. He looks around and finds himself high above the original battlefield, admist an unnaturally colored sky. The prime attraction, however, is Falz's perfect form floating in the middle. X looks down to read the inscriptions on the resonating ring he's standing on. They all say "Dark Falz."

"Huh. Narcissist much?"

The only response he gets is the image of a woman appearing in Falz's chest cavity. That woman would be an unconscious Rico stretched out spread eagle. X takes a deep breath and preps himself for what he believes to be the last tier of the battle. Having been given a small reprieve, adrenaline has died down in X's system, allowing him to feel the extent of his injuries. He narrows his eyes and focuses through, keeping his eyes on the objective. After a few more deep breaths, he's blocked the pain once more and holds out Agito.

"All right, let's-"

Falz shoots forward and smacks X one with the infamous greeting slash. X gets knocked flat on his back as he tries to figure out what just happened.

"Okay...let's try that again."

X hops to his feet and shakes his head. Falz flies up into the air and sends blue spheres of light to seek the flustered hunter out. Not needing any further signs, X takes off and runs down the ring to avoid getting plowed by the energy attacks. Not able to look up, he's only assured he's dodged the last one when a shimmering white light surrounds him. Recognizing it for Grants, he scrambles to do something to block it, but fails to keep the light from converging on him and burning his body. X gets up only to receive yet another greeting slash that puts him back on the ground.

Okay, that went better.

He gets up one more time. Again, Falz dashes forward to smack X one. This time, however, X ducks and pulls Yasha from its sheath, blanketing it in flames as its exposed to the air. X shoots straight up, bringing his sword along for the ride and tears the katana through Falz's extended joint, severing it. The arm blade falls and fades into sparkles of light as it's separated from the host body.

"Yeah, what now?!"

Falz floats there idly, as if to answer the question. On further inspection, the woman in the chest cavity seems to be focusing, almost straining. X, not one to look the gift horse in the mouth, strikes slashes Falz across the head with Agito, drawing blood. He doesn't leave it at just one slash though, following with a volley of acrobatics that lead him into several more slashes and stabs. About halfway through, Falz becomes multicolored and X's attacks stop having an effect.

"Bull****."

Falz floats up into the air again and releases another hail of blue balls. ...Ha. X, exhausted from his barrage of slashes is only able to dodge the first one, ending up in the path of the second which strikes into his side and knocks him down. He grunts and stumbles to his feet, holding up his free hand to do his signature finger motion. As expected, the white light of Grants comes once more. This time though, X thrusts his hand to his side and releases a healing wave of Resta whilst jumping out of the field of Grants, avoiding the tech entirely.

Whew. Grants homed in on the Resta energy, instead of me.

Yes kiddies, X did in fact use a Resta dodge. Falz drops back to field level and holds out its good arm. A projection of X's body rises up from his form and is drawn to Falz. Before it separates from X though, the Agito shines in X's hand, preceding the return of that projection to X's body. With his soul still very much in his possession, X holds the blade of the Agito to his face and stares into the gleam.

Thank you. ...Yeah, I know.

"While this sword shines, I hear a voice...a voice that tells me to defeat you! Here I go!"

X flips the sharp end of the katana towards his body and pulls it across his chest. While he wasn't exactly carrying a surplus of blood, he can spare enough to cover the Orotiagito in it and charge his special. In both hands he holds the hilt as as the red liquid is expelled into a swirling orbit around the blade. Once it's made enough revolutions, X swings it forward and releases the green wave with deadly force. Falz is overtaken easily and scattered into shards of light that fly all around. Black moaning wisps also free themselves flying around, looking for a host.

"Huh?"

Obviously, the find X. The black shining wisps soar towards him and into his body, eliciting a sharp pain with each one that hits him. In addition, with each one, a shining blue crack appears on the left half of his face as his body mutates into...something else. Before it goes on for very long though, the Agito shines again, expelling the lost souls and reverting X to normal. X drops to his knees, unconscious.

****

That seal...needs to be dealt with.

****

Perhaps an hour later, X awakes in the same field of grass he entered. Before him is the monument, with Rico sitting on the altar. X winces and rises to his feet, deciding his body's in good enough shape to be moving.

"Thank you."

"Ah...yeah. Well, everyone's waiting for you. May I take you back?"

Rico looks away and shakes her head sadly, much to X's confusion.

"I don't have much time. I want to ask a favor of you."

X blinks and approaches the altar where he takes a seat beside his fellow hunter.

"A favor?"

"Yes. Mr. Flowen made me those red weapons you're carrying, and a handgun as well. Could you take them to him please? Help him...like you've helped me?"

"Okay. I can do that."

Rico nods and thanks and disappears in a burst of yellow light. X regards the spot she was sitting briefly, then bows his head, finally understanding the true extent of his body's injuries. He gets up and limps back to where he can get a signal to cast a Ryuker back. The rather long walk gives him time to think about what he's just been through.

[i]I don't feel as if I've really accomplished anything. What was that I fought? Why was it here? What was its purpose? ...Bah...I killed it. That's what matters. Ken. I hope you rest a little easier now.

****

"Here's my report."

A day later, X dumps a disk on Tyrel's desk. Tyrel is more concerned with the fact that he's seeing X alive, looking none worse for the wear. X waits a moment for the principal to compose himself before delivering the grim news of his daughter. For the second time in his life, he's legitmately sincere when he apologizes for the outcome.

"I see. Good work Launcher. You can expect your class promotion sometime today...now..."

"I understand. We'll be going. Let's go Elly."

Elly nods and follows X out the gate. Left alone with his secretary, Tyrel bows his head to grieve for his child. After several minutes of silence, the principal begins to page through X's report on his battle. He shakes his head in astonishment at the detailed feats outlined in the report.

"Just one man...Irene. Send my authorization for their proposal. It seems those Ji units may have their purpose after all.

****

"...The hell is the matter with you? You're awfully happy."

X refers to the fact that Elly is practically skipping. At X's question, she halts and fishes around in her pocket with a smile. Once she finds the object of her search, her smile brightens to a peak before falling back into a simple radiance. She holds out X's hairband which he regards, confused.

"What's that?"

"Your hairband stupid! Your mother's momento."

"Eh? Oh, I just made that up so you'd shut up and quit worrying. Heh, it totally worked too. Thanks."

X snatches his accessory from his dumbfounded ally and ties it into his hair. He walks off and waves a hand in farewell without looking back.

"Well, see ya around Elly."

**************

It's been...two months. We see Elly in her own apartment typing feverishly. She isn't doing anything noteworthy until an IM pops up on her screen. Curious, she engages in conversation with the stranger. As it carries on, she finds that this stranger is more and more familiar with each word. Finally, the stranger gets to the meat of his message. Elly, being the ditz she is, is happy to read aloud to no one in particular.

"Pass the adaptation exam so we can see each other? ...Cal?"

She types a message to question the stranger's identity, but he's already offline. That's not important as she's already convinced herself that it's Calus and is now searching for information on government's webpages for information on the adaptation exam. As she reads, her heart visibly sinks in the difficulty of the exam's challenges. That is, until she reads one last thing.

"The exam will be administered to two man cells? And I know just who can be my teammate! Cal, I'll see you soon..."

X: Let me be sure I have this right. You want me, to single handedly fight off a bunch of scrub hunters, so you can go cyber your internet friend, for all you know, is a 40 year old virgin living in his parent's basement?

Elly: That's not...will you do it or not?!

X: Tch, fine. Next time, on Twilight's Legacy...

Episode 17: Embark, a Journey Anew

Elly: Yay! X, I bet you'll find someone in here too!

X: Fft, right. Like a hot HUney's really just gonna drop into my lap...

Episode




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Xaeris on 2006-01-12 01:30 ]</font>

[TheGingerOne]

Another triumph, X.

I had totally forgotten about the handgun...

I'm going to guess at this next place being where he meets Redneck, Slacker and Jeya. Or are you going to write over your old episodes and update them?

[Xaeris]

Episode 17: Embark, a Journey Anew

"Quit knocking, I'm coming..."

One drowsy X is stumbling towards his door with his blankets still wrapped around him. As he moves towards the door, the sheets untangle and drop messily to the floor. A glance at a clock would reveal it to be nine in the morning, more or less explaining why this hunter acts as if he's been woken from the dead. On his way, he takes the bottom half of his suit and slips his legs into it to remedy the fact he was equipped only in his boxers. With that, he slides his door open and sees Elly standing there, looking cheerful as always.

"And what do you want at this godforsaken hour?"

"Uh...it's nine o'clock...most people are awake now X."

"Yeah, well, most people are tools. ...Huh. New outfit?"

Elly does a little twirl to completely display her Episode II outfit, missing pant leg and all. In spite of, or perhaps due to, the fact it's early morning, X's gaze is fixated on the bare slender leg that isn't being covered.

"What do you think?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, it's nice. What do you want?"

"I have a favor to ask!"

X stands aside and allows Elly entrance into his small studio where she can explain herself in detail. Elly, to X's dismay, has a seat on his bed leaving him with only the wall to lean against.

"You remember that log me and Ken got for Montague?"

"From that crazy military AI you fought? Yes."

"Well, Montague extracted the coordinates of a top secret research facility on a newly discovered island on Ragol. Now the government wants to send hunters there to check it out."

"Right, I think I heard about that. Go on."

"But they only want to send a limited number, so they're putting all applicants through an exam."

“And this has what to do with us?"

"A few days ago, I got a message from Cal. He says that if I can get down to that facillity, we can see each other again!"

"Okay,. then what's this got to do with me then?"

"The exam is given to pairs of hunters."

"Ah ha. So you want me to do the heavy lifting then."

"Please?"

X folds his arms and looks off to the side with a bored gaze. He then sighs, chuckles and pushes his foot on the wall to stand himself up. He nods, much to Elly's glee.

"Okay, I'll do it. When's the exam?"

"In two hours!"

"...Freaking ditz. Fine, get out so I can get dressed."

"Oh wait, I had some fabric left over from when I was making my outfit so I made something for you too. Try it on!"

Elly hands a small package to X and leaves the room as requested. X opens it up and out comes a few scraps of clothing. He raises an eyebrow and begins searching for a set of instructions as to how to put the thing on.

*****

A few minutes later, X emerges in his new duds. The bottom half is standard; a pair of black tights. The top half is where the effects of creative liberty can be seen. There, he's still wearing spandex, but the right sleeve is absent, only scarcely made up for by a black wristwrap. The left sleeve is more complete, but it comes up short at the hand, only covering the back of his palm. Of course, he doesn't look completely ridiculous as he's also got a denim jacket with both sleeves severed.

"Huh. I like it. But there's no place for my ID."

"Where is it?"

X holds out his ID clip which Elly takes and affixes into a recess installed in the collar of X's jacket. X 'ahhs' at the quirk of his outfit that he missed. He shrugs and clips his swords onto the back of his waist.

Guess I need to get a different colored scrunchie...oh, and a new wallet to match this thing.

*****

In the lab, an assembly of hunters stands before the ramp where a redheaded middle aged woman stands above them. Her eyes crtically scan the room of hunters, taking apart each slouch, each gesture, each insignificant facet of their beings. After turning her head slightly with a look of disdain, she folds her arms and starts to address the group. Before she's gotten too many words out, X and Elly come through the teleporter in back, gasping for breath.

"I told you we didn't have time to get noodles!"

"Well next time, drop the ridiculous favor in my lap after I've had lunch!"

X stands up straight and arranges a few rogue strands of hair back into place. Elly gets her hands off her knees and slowly comes out of hyperventilation. The woman overlooking the mass of hunters curls her face into a frown as she watches X casually fix himself.

"You. You're late."

"Brilliant deduction Nancy Drew. Now, you better hurry to the old clocktower before the smugglers get away with the goods!"

"..."

"So was that the end of that thought?"

The woman smirks and carries on without another word about the pair's tardiness. Elly looks as if she's about to have a heart attack from having nearly had their chances at the exam blown, and X is as cavalier as ever. The other hunters have disengaged from the minor distraction with the exception of one FOnewm whose gaze is still affixed to X. X throws him a return stare, causing the Force's own gaze to dissolve and turn away.

"Welcome hunters. I am Natasha Milarose, General Chief of Pioneer 2's Research Facillities. The lab will be starting its own research on a newly discovered island, Gal Da Val. We are not unaware of Pioneer 1's mistakes so we will be doing research in a small area, to minimize risk. We will need capable hunters..."

Natasha's eyes find X all on their own, to see him playing with a paddle ball. Only when the string snaps does he notice that the Chief is waiting on him to continue. He shrugs and surrenders his attention. Elly still looks rather blue in the face.

"In order to put together a specialized team of the best hunters, we will be administering this adaptation exam. As you know, you will be taking this exam in two person cells. The exam will take place in our new Virtual Reality system. Your goals are simple; get through the area and defeat the Gol Dragon at the end."

"Kill a dragon? That's it? Fft, I did that when I was still a scrub."

"Hmm hmm...Mr. Launcher, I believe you'll find quite the challenge in this exam. You see, in order to activate the teleporter to enter the final area, all teams require both a Yin ID and a Yang ID. Each team will start with one of those IDs. The other ID will have to taken from another cell."

Hmph. So only half the teams that enter will even have a chance of passing. Big deal.

"However, here we have 11 cells. An odd number. Since you were late, you will start with neither ID and will have to obtain both."

Natasha smirks while X's eye twitches. Elly is still blue in the face. In a sudden snap, however, X relaxes and shrugs.

"Fine, whatever. Let's start this thing!"

"You'll be using that teleporter field over there to enter. You will be dropped randomly about the field. Please enter in groups of four."

With that, the hunters migrate into the hall and form a nice orderly queue where Elly takes the opportunity to begin berating X.

"You just had to open your big mouth!"

"Tch, you worry too much Elly. So I have to take out four scrubs instead of two. It's the difference in stepping on four ants intead of two."

Their group enters the field. They stand off against another cell that's eyeing them silently. Though normally X isn't one to pay a great amount of attention to other hunters, one of the opposing team has grabbed his eye. She is a tanned newman running her hand through straight black hair. One would think it's not at all odd for X to stare, but you see, he's staring at her face instead of the many other points of attraction on this particular HUney.

Is that...nah.

****

Our team arrives in a small chamber of an abonded temple. The contractor's budget was apparently deficient as the room sports no walls save for the one with the door that leads into a hall. X takes a few steps forward before noticing Elly hasn't budged an inch. Looking back, he notes that she is breathing heavily once again, and staring at the ground.

"...Elly, I promise, we'll pass."

"Huh?"

"I'm promising you right now. We'll pass this exam."

She visibly calms down and takes the few steps to catch up to X's side. X adjusts his collar and leads the way into the temple. The first room they enter immediately spits some Dimenans and a Hildebear at them. X grunts in minor annoyance and pulls out the Orotiagito.

"I'll take out the Dimenans. You handle the teddy bear."

"What?!"

X leaves no room for discussion as he stalks past Elly towards the approaching Dark creatures. Elly whimpers, then sucks it up to take out her Varista.

****

"Have the statistics been calculated?"

Natasha stands over a seated technician who's crunching a few last numbers in relation to the request. After a few seconds, he nods and tilts the screen for her to see.

"Yes ma'am, the program has calcuated the battle statistics for all taking the exam. There isn't much out of the usual really. The Hunters have high ATP, the Forces MST, etc. However, you may want to see this..."

The screen splits into two visuals. On top is a pair of stat webs as seen here at this very site. On the bottom is live footage of the Gol Dragon's battlefield with two HUnewearls standing over a vanquished beast. One is the one X was staring at before. The other is of similar build, but with skin as white as snow. Currently, they're having a casual conversation.

"A cell has already completed the exam?!"

"Yes...the team they took the Yang symbol from was decimated in seconds. Also, look at their stats."

"Their ATP is far outside the normal parameters for HUnewearls. You don't suppose that they're..."

"Maybe. Keep them under surveillance. Hmm...show me the statistics for that loud young man and his partner."

"You mean the late cell? Ah, I tried that before..."

The man types in some keystrokes and a similar display comes up on the screen. When the stats are calculated however, the most horrific buzzing noise comes from the console. Elly's web looks like the standard for a FOnewearl, except for maybe better than average ATA. X's web however...

"Seems like a standard FOmar to me. Better aim maybe. Can't imagine why he thinks so highly of himself. Hmm? What's that field in red?"

"The green portion represents an actual value. The red portion represents potential value. In most cases, the red portion appears as an outline around the green portion, but here, this boy's red portion takes up the entire web. It's as if there's some kind of black box the system can't calculate."

"I see..."

"And other thing...you called him a FOmar. His registration is as a HUmar."

"Curious child..."

****

"Hey X, have you ever had a girlfriend?"

X turns his head to Elly at his side while they walk through a ceremonial room stacked with pillars. By now, X's Agito is stained with all the colors of the rainbow from slaying so many Dimenans, Grass Assassins and Rappies. X raises an eyebrow at the question and turns away with a sneer.

"What sort of silly question is that?"

"Just trying to make conversation."

"Fft. Well, no. I'm only fifteen, remember?"

"Really, you're fifteen years old?"

"Er, yeah, we never discussed this?"

"No! You always seemed like eighteen or nineteen to me. Ha, I'm biologically older than you!"

"Really? Could've fooled me. You have the chest of a thirteen year old."

Elly scowls and turns away. X just chuckles and smirks.

"Oh come on, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sure Calus will love you; I hear them Inarnet predators love themselves some kiddies."

Elly slaps X on the arm eliciting only more laughter. X winds down his laughter with a whimsical sigh and draws his Orotiagito. Elly stands at attention in confusion at the seemingly random action. X points to the row of pillars on the right side of the room to draw her attention to the human woman in army fatigues camped out there. Seeing that she's been spotted, the RAmarl steps out, mechgun in hand.

"Oh hey, I remember you. Ken told me about you...you're Azuria Lashele. You're supposed to never miss a shot with your guns or something..."

"I'm flattered you've heard of me. That is indeed my talent. Now, Monsieur Launcher, if you would kindly hand over any IDs you've gathered I'll be on my way."

X blinks while the blue haired woman aims her mechguns at him. He then shrugs and scratches the side of his head.

"Oh, right, the IDs. Completely forgot about those."

Elly slaps herself in the face while Azuria frowns. The RAmarl pulls the trigger on her mechguns, spewing a bevy of red lethal dots. X holds out his left hand to the side and in between in his fingers appear a collection of old fashioned lead bullets. Both females present stare, clearly shocked. Elly, out of confusion, and Azuria, out of incredulity. X chucks the bullets away and gladly takes the opportunity to hear himself speak.

"The Rangers in the academy have a saying. 'A moving target is easier to hit than a stationary target that knows you're aiming at it.' I guess because the latter's movements are unpredictable compared to the former. The initial spray of bullets is no more than a light show, a distraction in order to get your target moving. Then, now that you have a target whose movements you can trace, a second spray of bullets is fired nearly milliseconds after the first from a concealed barrel in your sleeve, connected to the same trigger. That's why you never miss; you put your target exactly where you can hit them. That about right?

X leans forward into a battle stance, all set to return the favor. Azuria recovers from her shock and begins to laugh with the back of her hand covering her mouth.

"Oh mon cher X, please do not think so ill of me; I'm not so foolish as to fight such a wonderful man who can catch bullets! Au revoir ma peche!"

With that, Azuria retreats. X is now simply blinking, completely lost.

"...'Goodbye, my peach?"

"She could be your girlfriend!"

"...Be quiet Elly. Besides, she was like twenty five."

Elly sticks her tongue out momentarily, then becomes thoughtful. She places a finger on her cheek and looks up, going over that encounter.

"Wow, that was really cool how you caught those bullets!"

"Meh, I didn't really catch them."

X holds up his hand to reveal sparks of electricity in the gaps of his fingers, forming a magnetic net.

"Of course, the more badass your enemy thinks you are, the better, as you just saw. Well, let's go."

****

Elsewhere in the Temple, a random team is making its own way through. It doesn't really matter who they are, but for grins, we'll say it's one RAcast and one human male wielding a saber. In a room they enter, they find a man in white robes, with white hair with the most chilling pair of red eyes either of them have seen. Of course, being rather oafish, they ignore whatever instincts are telling them to run and proceed with the exam.

"Hey you! Give us your ID if you don't want to get hurt!"

The man in robes merely holds a hand out, followed by an explosion that starts a chain reaction of firestorms in the area. The robed fellow then disappears in a snap of light as the cell is consumed by the billowing flames that have inexplicably propped up in the field. Just then, X and Elly come through the door, X frantically trying to put out the flame in his hair. Elly throws a Barta at it, handling the immediate crisis, but leaving the overall problem unsolved.

"The hell?! Place just started going to hell out of nowhere!"

"X, look..."

X sees the two hunters lying on the ground admist the flames which have died down a bit. He runs up to the fleshie and begins searching the body.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for an ID. If it was the explosion that did this, then it should still be on- ah, here we go."

X plucks out a small, flat, plastic object in the shape of a wisp. It's black, with a white dot on its head. X pockets the Yin ID and gets up from the bodies to face Elly who's looking downcast.

"Eh? Remember, it's just VR. I'm sure they're fine. And hey, 'one man's tragedy...' as they say."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

****

After slaying several more monsters of the ruined temple, the two find a console and a teleporter. X hands Elly the yin so she can get to work on making the teleporter do what it's supposed to. While she types, the occasional explosion disturbs her focus. X looks above the railing of the hall and into the shimmering sea set ashine by the simulated sunset. The scenery lowers his guarded mindset and allow his eyes to idle over to Elly who's working at the console. After looking at her for a few seconds, the takes his gaze away and shakes his head.

Guh, geez, I have weird thoughts. Guess I've gotten used to having company.

"Okay, it's open. Here's the ID back."

"Huh? Oh, all right."

"Um, why are you blushing?"

"Am I blushing? Can't say. Let's go."

****

"X, why can't you use Shifta?"

Now, the pair is down the hallway leading from the last teleporter. The field is now modern in design, sporting sleek metal and resonating lights. The decaying condition of the field persists from Temple into Spaceship and now frayed electric cords spurt electricity onto the ground. A random arc strikes X in the back, shocking him. He grunts in annoyance and pops a Sol Atomizer while answering Elly's question.

"Still trying to keep yourself calm?"

"Just making conversation..."

"Bleh, such a horrid flavor...anyway, attack techs are different from support techs. Support techs require delicate manipulation of organic molecules while attack techs require a more savage grasp on the matter. When specializing in one, you usually sacrifice ability in the other. I'm...not exactly what you'd call gentle when it comes to techs, so I'd probably accidentally break a bone if I tried to cast Shifta."

"Oh...hey, what about FOnewearls? They're really good at both!"

"Right. A childish and innocent mindset can excel at both kinds of techniques since they don't really realize how much destruction they're wreaking with an attack tech, thus, don't hold back. Heh, it's funny."

"Hmm, what?"

"Attack techs cost less energy than Resta. I just find it funny, that it costs less to destroy than to heal. But that's just my twisted little mind. Anyways, you've seemed to find your way into support techs yourself. It's a much better road, trust me."

"..."

The two emerge from the hallway into a rectangular room hosting nothing of interest. X steps forward only to be blown further forward by a Rafoie. Recognizing an ambush for what it is, X gets up ignoring minor burns to check on Elly. She too, is just fine, but is held at gunpoint by Azuria. Deciding that she couldn't have been the source of the Rafoie, X looks around for her teammate. He doesn't need to search for long as a goofily dressed newman pops up from a pile of boxes at the side of the door.

"Hello there Faux FOmar! It seems you've stumbled into our little ambush!"

"..."

Azuria takes Elly to the corner, still holding her at gunpoint, leaving room for her newman ally to walk up across from X. The FOnewm adjusts his goggles and properly introduces himself to X, who is standing there with no emotion in particular.

"I'm Lethas Leraul, also known as the Sparkshield. It's nice to meet you face to face. Now, how about that ID?"

"..."

"Oh come now, you must recognize a hostage situation when you see one. Even if it is just VR, do you really want your friend here to experience the sensation of getting shot in the head? And the field's been acting pretty buggy! Who knows what might happen to her if she dies here?"

"X, don't give it to him!"

Lethas looks back to Elly who hasn't quite accepted the fact there's a gun at the back of her head. She's squirming away from Azuria, but her arm is held by the Ranger's free hand, keeping her from getting very far. Lethas adjusts his goggles again and tips his hat with a smile.

"So you do have it! Good. Heh, look at you. You're totally pissed off, yet you're not enraged liked a normal person would be. No...let me guess, you must have already gone through every single way my electric shield works and are already deciding on a way to kill me?"

"...That's about right."

"Right, right! Now, I'm wondering...for most people, the motive would be obvious. But for a souless killer like you, I have to wonder. Are you angry because you actually care about your friend, or is it just the principle of being caught off guard that's pissing you off?"

"...Do I know you?"

"Ha ha...well you see, Zero...you killed my father!"

Lethas has gone from jocular to angry in less than a second and is now indignantly pointing a finger at X. Elly has quit squirming and is now looking anxiously towards X, clearly not wanting to believe what she just heard. X...is standing there with a hand on his hip and looking away, rather bored.

"Right, I remember now. Oreaphas Leraul, age 34. Father of two, scientist by day, peddler of illegal synthesized drugs by night. Black Paper authroized his assassination due to lack of protection payment. Let's see, I believe...that was my fourth kill. My hands still shook when I drove a blade into still breathing flesh. The sick look on his pale face is still quite fresh in my mind. If I remember right, I caught him in the middle of supplying a batch of his narcotics to a pair of teenagers. Clearly addicted. I only caught the tail end of the conversation, but from the sounds of it, they had pawned off a good deal of their possessions to get their fix."

X drops his emotionless stare and looks Lethas dead on with narrowed eyes.

"Bastard got what he deserved. In fact, every single mark I've been given got what they deserved. I don't shed any tears from the scum I've killed. I feel sorrow for letting myself completely miss the significance of the fact I was taking life. To me, those lives were just...bugs. And that's pathetic and something I can't forgive myself for. But for the lives themselves? Fft, I'd do it all over again, knowing what I know now. They were scummy bastards, every single one. If you want revenge, then all I can do is laugh at you."

Elly processes this while holding her breath. Deciding it's decent enough, she sighs in relief, knowing her friend isn't a demon of some kind. Lethas is less pleased with this answer, angrily ripping out an Ice Staff: Dagon, and thrusting it forward.

"Azuria, take that girl out of the room. I don't care about the ID right now. I just want to kill him!"

"O-oui Lethas."

After the girls leave the room, Lethas begins to cackle, much to X's annoyance.

"I won't be using my sparkshield on you. I'm sure you already know how to beat it. Instead, I'm going to use my real talent!"

With that, Lethas disappears. X lurches forth in momentary confusion before an icicle lands in his shoulder. He winces as he reaches for it and pulls it out. After that's done, he looks around the room, looking for his opponent. His search shows Lethas behind him by several yards. Not wasting anytime, X runs over and draws his katana, slashing the newman through. However, it's not flesh his sword bites into; it's thin air. X, off balance, stumbles forward and looks behind him to see a Foie coming at him. X ducks and rolls out of the way to see Lethas above him. He stabs up and again, hits thin air.

"The hell?!"

"What's the matter? Having trouble finding me? This is a technique I made using Grants. With full control over the photons in the area, I can make myself appear wherever I like. You have no idea where to hit me!"

X receives a barrage of icicles to the side causing him to fall over, clutching the offending area. A quick spinning of Foie handles the protruding intrusions and a Resta closes up the punctures. Still, X is left with his big problem. He jumps back on all fours to avoid a fireball streaking in on where he was sitting. He gets up to his feet and holds up his sword and moves it a few inches to either side to block an incoming hail of Gibarta.

"Yes, very skillful, just what I'd expect. But you'll slow down eventually. Your injuries will get the better of you. And that's when I'll shove an icicle right into your throat."

Jerk talks too much. Hmm. There's an idea.

"Please, you couldn't hit me with the broadside of a barn."

Trite, but it should do the trick.

"Cocky, aren't you?"

There!

X chucks a Foie at the source of the sound behind a gathering of crates. The boxes are blown to hell to reveal a small audio device still playing. X curses and resumes a visual scan.

"Do you take me for an idiot? Of course the sound of my voice would give me away. That's why I'm speaking softly into a microphone. This little device here does the talking for me, keeping me from giving myself away. Go ahead, it's okay; let me see the hope fade from your eyes human!

I don't like him...

X: Funny, we don't normally end on cliff hangers.

Elly: What cliff hanger? You mean that? Please, you're always on top of things. No mystery here. You'll pull out some elaborate contrived tactic to figure out where he is and finish him off.

X: Your faith in me is as warm as ever. Next time, on Twilight's Legacy...

Episode 18: The Yin and the Yang

X: Don't miss it.

[Xaeris]

Episode 18: The Yin and the Yang

As I often like to, let's stop in on Elly before we watch X pull out his usual contrived and impractically elaborate victory. With her head still held at gunpoint, Elly stumbles into an adjacent small chamber of the spaceship simulation. Azuria follows after her, casually stepping over some debris caused by the still malfunctioning field. When they come to a stop, Elly whips around, face to nozzle with Azuria's gun and does what she usually does to keep calm; she makes conversation.

"Your heart doesn't seem like it's in this."

"It is not...I do not like to see Lethas like this, and I dislike taking hostages. It seems like such a cowardly tactic."

Insert joke relating to her French accent here.

"But if Lethas deems this necessary, then I shall assist him. It is the same with you, no?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it is."

Elly snaps her fingers at her waist producing a minor Grants. The light is focused on the tips of her fingers so no damage is dealt, however, the flash of light caused is intense enough to hinder Azuria's vision for a few seconds. In the time she's rubbed her eyes back into focus, Elly has both hands on her Varista, pointed at Azuria's forehead. With the RAmarl's gun still pointed at Elly's face, that puts the two at a standoff. Well, so it looks anyway; Azuria hands are calm and unmoving, not disturbed even by her breathing. Elly's hands, on the other...hand, are shivering due to lack of experience, despite a look of fierce resolve on her face.

"Hmm, you hold your gun like a novice. You should not hold it with such pressure; you may sprain your wrist on the recoil."

"..."

At that moment, the same man in white robes from before comes through a solid wall, adjacent to the pair. Azuria takes a hand from the mechgun she's holding and takes a second one into that hand to point it at him. A few beads of sweat roll down her face, but otherwise, she's keeping calm despite this new introduction. Elly's eyes flicker over to him every second or so, unsure of what to focus on. Before any dialogue can be exchanged, the room rumbles and an arc of electricity erupts from the wall to course through Azuria and bring her to her knees, then flat on her face. Elly, no longer hosting a gun in front of her face, falls to the ground on her bum, relieved after the entire experience. She looks up at the stranger who still hasn't said a word and is now turning to leave through the same wall.

"Wait! Who are you?"

"Elly...please get to the end. We can talk more there."

"Cal?! Wait, Cal!"

Too late, he's already gone through the wall by the time Elly scampers to his feet and stumbles after him.

****

Hmm. Azuria's tech energy just fell below conscious levels and Elly's still up. I'll be damned. The ditz did it. Now, if only it were as easy to sniff this little rat out. He's covered his bases pretty well; those stupid images give off tech energy too. Meh well. No defense is perfect.

X is standing in the middle of the room, looking rather haggard. By now, his jacket is sporting black scorch marks and his black vestment is torn across revealing a scrape caked with dry blood. Yet, this doesn't really seem to bother him. Actually, he just smirks.

"Okay Lethas, it was fun, but I need to catch up with my friend. What say we end this?"

X reaches for a compartment in his belt and slips out a red cylinder. Clasping the thin shaft in one hand, he presses his thumb on the top and releases the conents of the rare container. In it, is your average, crummy Fire Scepter: Agni. Next, he flips his currently drawn Yasha and cuts off a few strands of hair and wraps them around those fingers. The katana goes back in its sheath, leaving X with nothing but a weapon he can't equipped and some hair.

"Ha, has the pressure gotten to you? Really, after all the hype, I wouldn't expect you to crack into a nutcase!"

"Hmm hmm..."

X wraps the strands of hair around the base of the scepter and takes it up into the gap of his upturned middle and index fingers.

Now, let's hope the programmers of this place were as thorough with the design of this place as I'm giving them credit for.

"I bet you're curious. Well, sit tight. The explanation as to how your ass will come to be nailed to the wall will follow shortly."

X drops to his knees and presses the scepter against the ground. The hair wrapped around it loses color and turns white while the ends of the scepter crack and let loose a torrent of flame along the ground, across the field. X gets up and kicks the broken wand aside and surveys his surroundings. All he sees is the still very fake image of Lethas standing there mocking him.

"Ha, is that it?! You can't touch me with that! All right, that's enough; now I'll finish you off..."

X stands there silently with his eyes closed, attuning his senses to the area. His breathing remains calm and steady despite the surely approaching attack that threatens to finish him off. Then, as spontaneous as a flash of lightning, he crystallizes small ice needle in between one of the gaps of his fist, spins around and flings it into seemingly thin air. The needle is stopped several feet from the throw, followed by Lethas losing concentration on his technique and reappearing knelt on the ground with the ice shard in his side.

"Feh, one little shuriken and you're down? Pathetic."

"B-bastard! How-"

"Heh, you smell that? It's the smell of victory! Or more precisely...the smell of burning rubber."

X points to Lethas' platform shoes whose bottoms are indeed quite molten. X then drops a second ice shard on the ground where it melts before even making contact.

"If I couldn't see or hear you, then my only option was obviously to sniff you out. Then I remembered those gaudy as hell shoes you were wearing. Of course, I can't generate enough fire energy to heat up the entire bloody floor. So, I released what was in some Fire Scepter that was in a random box on the way here."

"Released?"

"Fft, you don't even know that? What a half rate Force you are...any wand is basically a stick which someone channelled a lot of TP into over some period of time. Something like an Agni staff takes a few weeks to make. Break the confinement by coiling around an opposing force, say, what's stored in someone's hair, and boom, you have a nice explosion."

And here I thought that thing was going to be even more useless than the few dozen Gae Bolgs that dropped. Just goes to show; nothing sucks more than a partisan.

Lethas moves both his feet in front of him and takes off his boots. Barefooted, he hops up and refocuses his energy to phase out from sight and put up another distractionary image. X stares straight ahead with a blank stare for a few seconds before moving his hand in the motion of a lazy backhand slap. Lethas is knocked out of his technique once more and flies backwards on his ass.

"Ugh..."

"Idiot. I might not be able to sense you with that stupid light trick, but why don't you have a closer look at that icicle? But don't move it. It's the only thing keeping your aertic artery from gushing a few pints of blood."

Lethas looks down at his side to examine the shard of ice and immediately finds something peculiar about it. You see; it's red. Still seated, he looks up with confusion and anger on his face, as if to silently demand an explanation. X shrugs and turns away from what is no longer a threat, to admire the scenery.

"Like I said, I can't sense you, but I can sense my own energy, frozen or not. So, I let you bleed me a little so I'd have something to fling at you. Honestly, did you really think some punk brat of a Force with half learned lessons could actually hit me with a technique if I didn't wish it?"

"Argh, so then you had this planned from step 1?!"

"Planned is such a simple word for how perfectly I've just played you. I prefer orchestrated. Or choreographed. Yeah, I like choreographed. Suggests an art form...then again, it is kinda fruity...geez, language is tricky..."

By now, X is scratching his cheek, looking up at the ceiling, not paying so much as a lick of attention to his fallen opponent. Noting this, Lethas takes the opportunity to leap up and jump at our hero who is currently distracted by the task of finding a suitable word for his ploy. X sidesteps and slips his hand into Lethas' vest as he sails by. After plucking the yang ID from the enraged newman, X pockets it for himself and turns to leave.

"Sorry, but you're just going to have to forget about revenge, however unfair that may seem. This world doesn't operate on the principle of equity; you might luck out and you might get screwed, no karmic system to it. Later."

Fft, 'aertic artery.' Not my finest work of BS, but he bought it. As if I could aim for a specific blood vessel on a freaking invisible target.

****

"X!"

Elly stands up from a still unconscious Azuria to greet her partner. X smiles a toothy grin and holds up the completed yin-yang. Elly squeals with glee and throws her arms against a now uncomfortable looking HUmar. X weakly places an arm around her waist and pats carefully, as if not to awake a beast.

"Yay, you did it, you walking case of deus ex machina you!"

"Fft, you know what they say. Can't spell deus ex machina without sex machine!"

"Never at a loss for words, are you X?"

Elly steps off allowing X to admire his handiwork on having gathered both IDs needed to advance.

"Guess not. Nice job beating the RAmarl by the way. Let's go."

"Huh? Oh, right..."

And so, the two move on through the relatively harmless Spaceship.

****

"I see. Most definitely her child."

Natasha is still at the operator's desk, overlooking him and his viewing panel. Despite the awkward angle, she hasn't leaned over once and is instead standing with her arms crossed and a look on her face that does not betray a single thought. The operator at the console looks straight ahead, as if looking behind him to the chief could only bring bad things.

"Operator. Queue up the special thing I asked you to prepare for this exam."

"Certainly ma'am. But if you don't mind me asking...why them?"

"It would be rude of me not to hold the son of my dear departed friend up to...appropriate standards, rest her soul.

****

"Hmm, well that's not conspicuous."

Back in the simulation, a set of doors has slid open to reveal the standard large teleporter currently inactive. On the wall beside it is a console installed into its face with a circular depression. X smoothly places the complete emblem into the recess, bringing the panel to life. Instantly turned away by the large amount of text that pops up on the small screen, he leaves the activation of the port to Elly. Within seconds, the teleporter springs to life, bouncing red waves upwards.

"Goodie. Let's go."

"Right!"

"Huh. You're confident."

"I really want to finish this exam!"

"Right. Well, let's finish up. I'm bored."

****

Instead of the tranlucent field of hexagons that serves as the lair of the Gol Dragon, the pair is treated to a beautiful sunset boatride back in the Temple. The raft begins its course down the shimmering waterway. It's all very calm and atmospheric until the water behind the raft begins to break and churn. X walks to the back of the craft and looks over at the water with a disgruntled expression.

"Why is this familiar...?"

The answer to that question comes when the rehashed version of De Rol Le jumps the surface and swims alongside the raft. Elly's already checking the data to see what they're up against while X has drawn both his swords into his hands, ready to remix it up.

"It's called Barba Ray...no other data known."

"Of course. Might have been easy otherwise. S/D/S plz."

Elly doesn't bother faking annoyance at the abrupt manner in which X asks for support techs and casts all three in quick sucession. Now that they're glowing with the colors of the rainbow, the battle begins. X zips over to the edge of the raft in a flash and immediately begins flinging fireballs. Each one hits Barba Ray's shell with zero effect, not causing so much as a scorch mark. Next comes the tempest of lightning strikes that also fail to have any effect. Lastly, the water Barba Ray is swimming through freezes into spikes and rams into its armor. The spikes are crushed on impact and fail to pierce the shell.

"Bull****. Fine, I'll slice that thing off the old fashioned way!"

Before plans on how to follow through with that thought can be made, large blue tadpoles leap up onto the edge of the ship and launch themselves at the battling pair. Elly steps lightly back and forth as they come, none too anxious to come in contact with the icky pieces of snot. X takes the more direct approach and slices them down as they come.

"Eh, what's up with that one-"

A gold tadpole hidden among the vanilla Pig Rays runs through X's legs and drops him to his knees. He falls over with limpness in his arms, wincing, not comfortable at all.

"X, are you okay?"

"A-anti..."

Elly puts her hands together to ready an Anti, but before she can get it off, a flurry of bright spheres comes her way from the side. Understandbly, she breaks casting to dive and duck beneath the energy blasts, only suffering moderate damage as they pass overhead. Even though the burns on her legs are second degree at best, she yelps in pain and falls onto her legs as a second wave of lights comes her way. Before they can make contact and strike a much more severe hit, X has hurled his paralyzed body into hers, knocking her out of the way and taking the hit. Quick as a cat, Elly turns over and places her hands on X's chest to cure his affliction and the damage he took.

"Thanks..."

"It's okay. You're not as used to taking a hit as I am. Still, I need a way through that shell..."

"How about Zalure?"

"Do it."

Elly puts her hands together and holds them forward to project the enfeebling wave. It goes as standard at first, placing a screen of blue dots around Barba Ray who is now swimming behind the craft. However, that is quickly followed by the rapid decay of Barba Ray's shell, like paper burning in a flame. The shell develops glowing holes that grow into one another and flake off entire pieces of its armor. Seconds later, the worm is completely exposed much to Elly's confusion and X's delight.

"Wh-what just happened?!"

"Remember when I said support techs require delicate manipulation of organic molecules? Well, you screwed up, to put it simply; guess you're still frazzled from taking that hit. But it's cool, it's cool. We lucked out; you cast Vol by accident."

"Brose...?"

"Well, someone might be a picky bastard and say Vol, but the idea is the same; you basically tore its armor apart on the molecular level. I've never actually seen it cast before though. I'll help you practice later, but right now, I'm about to dump a bucket of industrial rock salt on this thing!"

Before X can act on that thought, Barba Ray has submerged and positioned itself under the raft. Its tendrils shoot through various points on the raft, then spread to the edges, cutting the thing apart. The raft breaks and dumps the two in the water, in Barba Ray's domain. Always happy to be a blasphemous punk, X jumps out of the water and lands on its surface.

Well that's no good. Guess I'm on my- huh?!

Elly too, is standing on the surface of the water, albeit wobbily and with a high frequency of ripples shooting from her feet. She manages to steady her balance, though the ripples do not cease.

"O-okay, I'm ready!"

"Uh...yeah."

Wow. She must really want this.

Barba's shadow in the water now circles the pair over a fairly wide radius while they come to their bearings. It breaks the surface and charges a beam on its mouth. The two jump in opposite directions as the laser rips through the water with a blindingly bright light. Of course, neither of them is expected the thing to be set on auto fire, spitting out two more shots which are just narrowly dodged through lucky stumbling.

"Great, now what?"

"..."

X's only response is the sheathing of Yasha and the flipping of Orotiagito inward. The sharp end cuts his forearm down the middle, dribbling fresh red fluid onto itself and intiating the low hum of the Agito's special. Elly stands back, knowing exactly what's coming.

"No armor, wide open...yeah, this oughta do the trick."

One Full Moon Memory later, Barba Ray's sizzling carcass is floating in the water beside an exhausted X who's still maintaining his water walking technique despite being seated comfortably on the river's surface. Elly, on the other hand, is jogging around frantically, seemingly searching for something. X's eyes follow her derriere as she runs around, sufficiently pleased with the after battle show.

"Oh, where is he...maybe we still have farther to go..."

Behind Elly, the man in white robes from before materializes in a convergence of bright wisps. X stands to attention. Whether because he's genuinely concerned or because the man was obscuring his very nice view, we will never know. Elly turns around and upon seeing the man, sighs in relief.

"Elly, I'm glad to see you."

"Cal! It really is you! I'm so happy to see you!"

Elly throws her arms around Cal in gleeful embrace while he stands there, oblivious to the nature of the gesture. Regardless, Elly is still as giddy as a stoned schoolgirl. X crouches and watches, having cleared away Cal as a threat. Well, the battling kind of threat anyway.

"I can't stay on this field for very long. Please, listen carefully. I've become so frustrated at the barrier that separates us; I want to take on your form. I want to be human."

"But...how?"

"I'll download myself onto your portable navigation system. Please take me to Gal Da Val; I can direct you what to do from there."

With that, Cal leaves in a dispersion of light, leaving hunter and technophile on the field to finish up. Elly wraps her arms around herself in a vain attempt to fill a feeling of loneliness while X slinks inwards, feeling none too chipper himself.

Fft, I can't compete with that. God, what the hell was I thinking? I know I'm not supposed to be happy; so why the hell don't I accept it? Oh well, it could be worse; she could actually know why I actually put up with all this nonsense for her sake. That'd be awkward.

"Um, X...let's head back."

"Huh? Oh. Yeah...sure."

"Something wrong?"

"It's nothing."

A few minutes of walking down the waterway leads the two to the standard dropoff point where they encounter a hovering green capsule.

****

"Well then, I wonder what his answer will be."

****

While Natasha listens in, the capsule plays a recording of a question, asked as if it were the most profound and philosophical issue in existence.

"What does the symbol that granted you access to this field mean?"

"...What does it mean? What the hell kind of stupid question is this? Fft, it's a black and white wisp that emo kids wear to complement their crosses and dog collars. Whatever silly thing you think it means, from opposites giving birth to one another to vernal equinoxes, you don't need a bloody little design to represent them. I'd like to think that my mind isn't so frail that I need to reduce whatever convictions I have to trite designs."

X turns his head away in a puff while Elly looks on with the exasperated stare that's come to be normal whenever X opens his mouth. Seconds after answering the question, the two are taken from the VR field, concluding the exam.

****

"Well done, you pass."

X and Elly stand in front of the chief as she addresses them from up the ramp. Elly is jittery on her feet, anxious to get to Gal Da Val while X looks as if he wouldn't care someone shot him in the back of the head.

"Though I must admit; I really didn't expect you to succeed. Not after the handicaps."

"You mean the lack of an ID, the special boss and the dumbass question? Yeah, well...can we go now?"

"Yes, you may. Though I have a question for you X."

"Hmm? What's that?"

"How is your mother?"

"Beats me. If I really did have a mother and didn't crawl out from a hellpit as so many suspect, then I haven't seen her in over ten years."

"I see...dismissed."

****

Outside the lab, in the hall of the teleporter to Gal Da Val, Elly stands ahead of X, looking at her transport to her next destination. X leans on the wall with his arms folded, looking just as emotionless as before. Elly turns to X and smiles while making sure her gadgets are securely fastened to her waist.

"Well, let's go!"

"You're going alone."

"Huh...?"

"I said I'd stay with you until you found what you were looking for. You found it. Now go claim it."

X gets off the wall and walks back out into the ship while Elly stands there unable to speak, only whimper. She sucks in a few quiet sobs before turning around picking her head up right before X heads out the double doors.

"No."

"...What?"

"I said no. I want you to come. I know it's selfish, but...I need you."

"...Tch..."

Amazing abilities of perception, sharp wit, stunning good looks...I suppose it's only fair I wasn't blessed with a rational portion of a brain; I'd be perfect otherwise.

"Fine. But this is the last time."

"Are you mad at me...?"

"No, of course not."

"Then why do you want to stop being friends?"

"...Let's just go."

****

Fast forward to the third floor of the East Tower. So far, it's been a rather uneventful trip. A few merrilas here and there, but otherwise, it's quiet in the mist filled halls of the research facillity. At each new piece of real estate, Elly looks hopefully, waiting for any instructions from Cal. X follows behind, dragging his limbs, still not enthused about his precense here. On this floor, there's a Recobox in the corner. Of course, it spits out a Recon which floats over to Elly.

"Omigosh, it's so cuuuuttteee!!!"

X regards it for a moment before striking it with a Zonde bolt and disabling it. On the way down, its saw sputters in and out of its concealment, freaking Elly out seeing as she was about to hug it.

"See? I really do need you! I was about to hug it!"

"Looked more like you were about to dry hump it."

"Finally, you cracked a joke! I was getting worried."

"Hmph, I bet..."

"What's up with you?"

Before an answer to that can be offered, fate throws X his very first bone. In more ways than one. From the ascending end of the hall comes a female newman, lightly treading the terrain, not paying attention to anything in particular. Again, X's attention finds her face and focuses, trying to place the resemblance. While he's doing this, the woman spots the pair, specifically our boy, and strides over with a smirk.

"You, kid."

"Hmm? Oh, uh, yeah?"

"You're X Launcher, the Faux FOmar, correct?"

"Darn tootin'. And I finally figured out why you look so bloody familiar! You're Leah Rachel, the supermodel! God, that's been gnawing at me for a while now. But uh, why are you here? And what's up with the eyepatch?"

Indeed, Leah is wearing a rather odd accessory for a model, an black eyepatch on her left eye. She blinks while tilting her head with an unamused glare pointed at the sole human in the room. X blinks and scratches the back of his head, not quite sure what to say.

"Hmph, not a single one of those pictures ever captured my full face."

"Huh...now that I think of it, that's true. They sure do play a lot of camera tricks. For example, what are those, C cup? I swear, all this time, I thought you were a DD. Yeah, silly me."

X is laughing heartily with his hands on his hips and his head held in the air even though Leah's one eye is twitching madly. Elly is sporting her standard glare of exasperation the entire time X is laughing like a buffoon. The only thing that snaps him out of it are the words that come next.

"And as for why I'm here, put simply, I'm here to kill you. Painfully. Slowly if I can manage, but definitely painfully."

"What? Hey, c'mon, it was just a joke!"

X: Hee hee...

Elly: What on earth are you giggling about? She wants to kill you!

X: There are far worse ways to die. Besides, I'm always on top of things, models especially. This'll be cake...

Elly: I dunno X...I don't think this one will be easy...next time...

Episode 19: Destined Encounter: Birth of Resolve

X: Come to think of it, I do I get that entire destiny vibe from this...

[Xaeris]

All righty, you guys remember the deal with 14, how it was important and it would be nice if you guys said something? Well, same deal here as the title should imply. So, let's get to it. Really, sometimes I look at that view counter and wonder just who is it that's reading this thing.

Oh, and important to note, this is the beginning of my usage of submitted characters. When I first wrote this, I asked the audience at the time to throw some characters at me to use. So here, the white skinned, purple haired homocidal newman woman is such a contribution of my friend, MercuriusRed, a name which has no meaning to you since he does not post here. So...yeah.

Episode 19: Destined Encounter: Birth of Resolve

I'm sure you're all willing to suspend disbelief and let slide the fact that a model who's also a hunter wants to kill our hero for no apparent reason. But for kicks, let's rewind to earlier in the day and look at this day from someone else's perspective. That morning, in one very upper class sector complete with trees, streams, and otherwise rare and organic structures, there is an apartment. A very nice place; spacious enough to fit two floors even. Down spiral staircase runs a rather tall newman struggling to place her top in a position where it won't fall off.

"Ack, coming, coming..."

With one final tug, the backless shirt is secured leaving her to fiddle with her eyepatch for the rest of her way to the door. She presses her palm on a small black pad to the side of the door, causing it to slide open to reveal another newman in equally scandalous, but red, attire. Those newmen don't like clothes it seems...god bless them.

"How are you not ready yet? I called you fifteen minutes ago."

"Well, I had trouble deciding on shoes. I decided on the open toes, but I'm not sure-"

"Honestly Leah, how can your pre battle concerns focus on which pair of heels you should wear?"

"Look, I don't criticize how you obsess over which weapon to bring, do I?"

"That's hardly the same thing..."

The woman steps aside to allow Leah to exit and they both head for the exit to start whatever they have planned for the day. On the way out of the building, the conversation turns to the subject of just what they do have planned for the day. While the yet to be named newman is looking rather upbeat with a smile carrying the slightest bits of wickedness, Leah's eye is half closed and downcast, making her look rather bored.

"I still don't see why you need me along..."

"Like I said, the exam is for two person cells. You don't really need to do anything, but I thought this would make a nice day out. Really Leah, you could be more excited sometimes. We'll find you a nice human ego to crush and you'll be much better off for it!"

"I guess..."

Several minutes later, they're out in the street. Leah has stopped by an automated vendor to procure a magazine while her friend looks on impatiently.

"Today Leah."

"I'm coming...here we go."

"I still don't understand your fascination with that human. So he beat that thing that attacked a couple months ago, big deal. Had a real man, like say, Lethas, gotten there first, the result would've been exactly the same."

"Uh huh. But you see, the difference between mine and yours is that mine understands the concept of a fashion sense."

They've resumed their walk to the lab, except now Leah is flipping through her magazine while the other woman keeps watch for the two of them.

"While it would be nice if male hunters everywhere grasped the concept of ordinary pants, I must say the skintight spandex does more for me than the clown pants or mandresses."

"Uh huh. Well, focus, we're here."

Now, the two have arrived into the assembly in the lab, on time unlike a certain pair. They take a spot near the front and remain silent as they wait for the event to get started. Natasha begins the introduction that was missed the first time around.

"Welcome and thank you all for coming. The task I'm about to inform you is a task that was begun by Pioneer 1. I will not delude you as your government has; the simple fact of the matter is that Pioneer 1 was engaged in experiments of an extremely dangerous nature. Given most recent excavations of the now cleared Ruins area, we can only ascertain that much of Pioneer 1's military met its end there. So, we must proceed cautiously-"

Just then, one long haired HUmar and his wheezing FOney companion come running in and join the ranks of assembled hunters. From there, the scripted dialogue follows. Leah's friend leans in while X makes with his witty retorts to gossip a bit.

"Hey, there's your boyfriend. Mouthy, isn't he?"

"Oh stop...but he definitely does like to talk..."

After Natasha finishes, the temporary group of four takes place in the VR transmission field while the computers make preparations to calculate the variables that will make up their avatars on the VR field. During this time, Leah returns X's piercing stare with her own, even if it is only with one eye.

She's right...he is annoying. Still, something about him...

****

Now that they're down in the Temple, the two are free to break out their weapons. The unnamed woman clips a silver gauntlet around her right arm and activates the red blades, completing a true Nei's Claw. She then looks to her companion who has drawn a dazzling saber of silver and is swinging it about artfully, with a genuine smile on her face.

"If you're done..."

"Right, right, let's go."

Unlike the journey of our starring couple, this little frolick is quick and uneventful. By the time they've downed the Gol Dragon, the field has only begun to decay. Leah futilely attempts to engage the teleporter to leave the fallen lizard's lair while her friend is still standing at the corpse, poking it with her foot with a sort of morbid amusement.

"Shoot, it doesn't seem we can leave..."

"Hmm, well that's no big deal. There's plenty more fun to be had here I'm sure. Those two chumps we fought were barely a workout. Maybe we can go find your boyfriend..."

"Quit it with that..."

It only takes a few minutes of backtracking through Spaceship for the girls to find whom they're looking for, but they're in the wrong room. Their view only comes from the bare glass walls that allow sight several yards over into the next cargo bay where X is currently engaged with Lethas. At this point, X is under heavy assault, still not having bust out his trump card yet. The contemptuous pale skinned woman has a seat on the ground and watches with glee.

"You can hear what they're saying?"

Leah's elfin ears twitch as do her friend's. She has a seat beside her friend and watches as well. The fight reaches its turnabout in short time eliciting a gasp of incredulity from what's her face and a murmur of slight annoyance from Leah. The former stands, snarls and curses while turning around in a huff. Leah gets up more calmly and idly plays with a few strands of hair while considering what just happened.

"Blah, that incompetent idiot. Never send a man to do a woman's job..."

****

Around an hour later, a lunch is being shared and enjoyed. Well, by Leah anyway; the other is tearing into her rappy wing as if taking out a savage frustration on it. Leah nibbles at her fish calmly while watching her friend with idle amusement.

"Slow down you porker. What's wrong with you?"

"That brat...cocky little turd. You know I hate snots like him."

"Hmm...I disliked him too."

"Oh?"

"There's something about him...something that makes me want to wring his neck-"

"Good, go with that thought!"

"Huh?"

"I was just going to do it myself, but this is exactly what you need. I'll go extract the data I need from Gal Da Val; you go kick that little turd's butt. It'll be good for you."

****

Okay, back to the present and to the point of view of our usual protagonist. He's lurched slightly forward with a smirk on his face, as per usual. Seeing that smirk, Leah's face turns further into a look of contempt as she draws the Lame D'Argent and steadies her hand on it. X pops a trio of ice needles in the gaps of his fist and flings them at his would be opponent. The middle needle is promptly plucked from the air and used to knock the other two away. She then snaps the one she's holding in her hand while still staring down X who is now wide eyed.

"...Huh. Well that's a first. Elly, you better mosey on. This might take a while."

Elly cautiously takes a few steps forward into the lead. X rests his hand on the hilts of his sword and nods to nudge Elly onwards. She takes a deep breath and runs past Leah who doesn't take her gaze off X even as Elly runs right past her shoulder. Once she's clear, she stops and looks back to X who has yet to move from his spot. He raises a hand and waves her off.

"X, promise me you'll be okay!"

"Yeah, yeah, I promise..."

Elly nods and runs up to the warp to head for the next floor. Once she's gone, X relaxes his stance and draws his Yasha into his left hand. With a toss of his head, he flings a few strands of hair in front of his face and flashes the model a smirk complete with a flash of glimmering white teeth. She points her own sword forward with a finger outstretched on the hilt, clearly not expecting too much of a fight.

"You're completely contrary."

"Say what?"

"You act completely confident, yet you sent her away. You're worried, and you refuse to show it."

X bows his head to the right with a chuckle and leaves it there for a moment as he considers that. Shrugging it off as one would expect, he looks back up and charges ahead with Yasha held towards the ground in a single hand. Before X is in swinging range, Leah slashes horizontally at him. Surprised to find that their attack ranges are inequal, X hops back to avoid the swing and lands in a crouch. He darts to the side and jumps forward to try again. Once again, he is forced to evade before he can make a slash.

Dammit, her arms and that sword are longer than mine...

"What's the matter shorty? Can't get inside my guard?"

"Eh? No, I'm really more stressed about the fact I won't be getting inside your pants...though it's really not fair to call those pants. I mean really, don't those shorts choke off bloodflow?"

"Completely insincere..."

Leah dashes at X and takes the offensive. All X can do is raise Yasha to catch the incoming veritical slash on his hilt guard and ward it away. An audible heaving sound escapes his lips as he shoves it away, showing him to have expended notable effort on the parry. He gets little reprieve though, as he's forced to do it twice more. Not wanting to tempt fate by trying to parry a fourth strike, X takes a small hop backwards, then a nice big leap to cement the distance between the two.

I need to do something about the difference in our reach...

X grabs length of hair and flips the sharp end of the Yasha to sever it. He's left with several black strands of hair which he begins to wrap around the Yasha's blade. Leah simply looks on for the time being as the human fritters away with his endeavor. A few seconds later, Yasha is wrapped in several black stripes of the boy's hair and held out proudly in front of him.

"Wow, you really are a pathetic little boy. You're so scared you've already switched to defense?"

"Defense, maybe. Scared? Hell no. Attack me and see what happens."

And Leah does exactly that. She crosses the distance between the two as quick as a cat, her upper body bowed over as she runs. X enjoys the free shot of cleavage, but remains focused. When she comes into her strike range, X dodges left and counterattacks with a swipe of the Yasha's sharp end, severing several inches off the top of the Lame D'Argent. As the chunk of steel slides off and drops to the floor, Leah turns a furious eye to X who is crouched and preparing his next attack. But first, the explanation. He loves that so much.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. It's not my fault you lack depth perception and completely overestimated the distance."

"That's impossible! I've trained for months to overcome that!"

"I figured. That's what my hair was for. The stripes created an illusion that made my sword look longer than it really was. You then jumped into full attack lunge sooner, revealing your opening to me much sooner than you should have. Now, without futher ado...Ryuenjin!"

X leaps into the air with Yasha ablaze while Leah can only follow him visually. On descent, X brings Yasha down for an overhead strike only to receive a nasty surprise. Leah smirks and throws her hands up to catch the blade of the katana through the flames. X make no attempt to hide his shock while he's held in midair for a moment by his own sword. He doesn't need to worry for long though, as his hand is then grabbed off the hilt and used to spin him around like a merry go round before being flung across the room. When he lands, he bounces once then skids into the wall, out one weapon. Leah looks blankly at the Yasha she just ganked off of X for a moment, then casually throws it behind her. Picking up her own sword which she threw to the ground moments before the attempted strike, she places it in her sheath. X groggily picks himself up and steadies himself on the wall while the stars in his eyes begin to fade.

"Wh-what just happened?"

"Unfortunately for you, you whore out Ryuenjin so much, there are enough eye witness accounts for anyone who listens closely to figure out the flaw."

My technique...has a weakness? Surely, she's bluffing.

Leah holds out a hand in front of her face to examine her nails while she mimics X rather annoying habit of explaining tactics. A vein pulses on X's forehead, as he's clearly not amused by his own character quirk.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. It's not my fault your Ryuenjin consumes so much oxygen that it'll suffocate if stopped for even an instant.' Something like that, right?"

"Har har, very funny. Now stop primping; I'm still good for another round."

"Ugh, you don't get it, do you? Your top concern right now is staying alive. My top concern is not breaking a nail while I work on breaking your face. Your defeat was foregone the moment we met."

A flash of anger appears on X's face for the most fleeting of instances, like a single cel out of a hundred. Leah catches it and is interested for a moment, but upon seeing X's cocky smirk, her infuriation returns. X draws the Orotiagito into his right hand and proceeds to charge into melee range, confident he can put up a competent assault this time.

Okay, so the cost hurt like hell, but our reach is even now. I can definitely hit her this time. ...Isn't she going to take out her sword...?

No X. No, she's not. In fact, even when you're in melee range and start pull your Agito across to strike horizontally, you will still find the Lame D'Argent securely tucked in her sheath. Instead, she'll step inside the sweeping arc of your bladed attack at the last moment and palm you in the chest so hard, your lungs will expend their supply of air, knocking your ass to the ground, gasping like a fish out of water.

"Need a minute?"

"If you don't mind."

The HUne waits patiently for X to work his way back to his feet. X remains seated for a few seconds while he carefully takes breaths of air to get his lungs working in sync again. Once that's done, he stands, sheaths the Orotiagito and leaves his hand on the hilt as he confirms his decision.

If she's going to stand right in my face, I won't be able to slash her...this is my best option I guess. Besides, I bloody refuse to wuss out and fight an unarmed woman with a sword...and have my ass kicked on top of it.

****

Well, Elly, theoretically, is doing something. So let's go check on that, boring as it is. She has just arrived at the top of the tower and is now cautiously venturing about the room, wary of the glass covered vortex in the middle. Her PDA chirps up causing her to frantically remove it from her side. Coincidentally, she's pointing it at the green vortex, giving rise to an image of the FOmar from the VR exam. Elly looks up with glee, even if it is just an etheral image.

"You came..."

"Of course! It's for our future right? Hee hee...so, what's all this?"

Elly, of course, refers to the room in general which is not comprised of several different consoles as usually seen in laboratories, but one coherent console that surrounds the vortex.

"This is MOTHER. The one that gave me existence. This is evolution, created by father, for all of us."

"All of us?"

"Yes. It was made to allow all things to reach their next plane of evolution. It would have been complete...if only had that mad fool not been so obsessed with his timetable..."

"Mad fool?"

"Dr. Osto. MOTHER was growing gradually, but not fast enough for the doctor. He sold itself to 'it' and pursued a new path of evolution, abandoning MOTHER. He took my sister and attempted to meld her with a human..."

"Who's your sister?"

"The AI Olga. She was charged with the task of running the Seabed facillity. She's active even now, but her state is...something alien to MOTHER and I. You met my brother already, Vol Opt. The three of us rose from MOTHER as the first steps in ascended evolution. And now, I seek to take the next step...so I can have a body like yours, so I may feel what you feel."

"Cal..."

****

Okay, 'nuff of that. Plot is boring, back to the stabby.

"You're actually going to try to fight me with your hands?"

"What, and risk getting VD ridden blood on my hands? Let's not suggest silly things. No, what I had in mind goes something more like this..."

X holds his hands in front of his chest and touches the middle fingers together. He then pushes his palms into a temple, touching all his fingers fingers together, then retracts almost all his fingers to make a joined fist save for his index fingers and thumbs, which form something resembling a gun. Once he's done, a large blanket of flame blossoms in all directions from the point of his origin, that being his hands, and bulges at the center. From the center comes a coherent deluge of flame rushing towards the belligerent newman who is currently sporting a look of minor shock. The Foie overtakes her and obscures her form for several seconds while the technique runs its course.

It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes...

While X sings horribly off key in his head, the technique finishes up. And he looks quite irritated to find Leah still standing in one unburnt piece with her arms held out in front of her. In fact, even her clothes aren't singed. That probably disappoints our hero most of all. Leah relaxes her guard while X takes a closer look at what just happened here.

Hmm, now that I'm actually paying attention, her technical energy isn't stagnant like a normal person's...I can feel it moving, circling her. Throwing a technique at her is like throwing a feather into a hurricane. Or a goose in my case, but still futile. Wonderful. But...it's been up the entire fight; does she even realize she's doing it?

X lets that thought go as he still has the matter of an opponent to deal with. Leah, now looking slightly annoyed as seen in the pouting of her lips.

"Well, your title is well deserved, I'll give you that. All right kid; I'm going to show you something I bet you're curious about."

"Bewbies!"

At that random exclamation, Leah loses it and lets her face be fully consumed in her current irritation.

"You are a child! Ugh, no, even children have the excuse of innocence. You, quite simply, are the worst kind of man there can be! An insincere, insecure little twit who hides behind bravado to shield some pathetic inner shell of a person! You don't show fear, you don't show anger, and I'll bet you've never smiled a sincere smile in your life! Not even to that scrawny little runt that was with you!"

I knew there had to be more to it. I don't dislike him because he's human. I dislike him because he's insincere; I hate that.

I...what does she know...

Despite having mentally brushed off the words, their sting is still felt as one can see on the now vaguely dejected expression on X's face. He sucks it up in a flash and grits his teeth as he focuses on the battle. Leah flips up her eyepatch to reveal her second eye. While her first eye is like that of any human's, the pupil of her second eye is quite different in that it is shaped like a cat's; a vertical slit in the middle of a blue iris.

"That's what your eyepatch is for, that's all? And you're calling me insecure? If you were hoping I'd keel over and die because ze gogglez do nuthing, sorry."

"Hmph. This eye allows me to see technical energy. It gets annoying, so I keep it covered when I don't need it."

I see...I was having trouble understanding how this pencil armed runt could put any power in his attacks; his energy is mobile...he must focus it to the point of impact when he strikes, like a natural Spirit special. Well, nice to have that mystery solved. Now, all that energy locked in his eyes...I wonder...

Leah takes the offensive and rushes X headlong. X takes an attack stance and prepares to risk that VD infested blood on his hands. X roundhouse kicks, no stranger to the wonders of our lord, Chuck Norris. He misses and his leg sails over Leah's head allowing her to step in and throw a punch. X hops back pushes the fist away with his left palm and returns the favor with a return jab. He hits his mark, her face and winces on impact. Ignoring the fleeting sensation of pain, he follows with a left hook which lands into a raised forearm. Again he winces and this time, the sensation of pain stuns him for the split second necessary to receive a punch to the face. He skids on his feet and staggers backwards, clearly none too comfortable with that.

"You're used to getting stabbed and shot, aren't you? Piercing kinds of pain. But blunt pain is a much different sensation, don't you think? Your body isn't conditioned for it, obviously."

As if to demonstrate the point, when X looks up, he's treated to another punch, this time in the gut. As expected, as much as he tries to push through, he feels doubles over and begins spurting up blood from his mouth. The coughs are none too helpful to this predicament, dumping several more drops of his precious life fluid on the ground. Before he can consider a blood seal though, that blood is quickly evaporated by a Foie.

"Too bad. Fame has really worked to your disadvantage."

Not nearly as composed as usual, X throws a punch without thinking. ...Well, okay, that's about par for course, but still. As if he were trying to return the favor, that fist lands in her midriff. Instead of the expected result though, he pulls his fist back, wincing all the while. Leah takes his balled hand and has a look at the fractured structure to see what went wrong. Aside from the fact he was punching what was essentially a brick wall anyway.

"Silly boy. Your thumb is supposed to go on the outside."

With that little piece of advice, Leah jerks X's arm towards her and backhands him in the face, causing him to slip to start falling with his back towards the ground. Before his bottom hits the ground, Leah throws her leg up over him and catches his neck under her knee, leaving him to support the rest of his body with his legs in this rather awkward and extremely air constricting position.

"I'm not really in the habit of screaming attack names like you are, but I guess I call this the Amorous Embrace of the Cobra. You're about to go from heaven to hell in three seconds. But before that..."

Why isn't this nearly as fun as all those videos I downloaded led me to believe...?

Leah lights up a Foie in the palm of her hand and holds it up to X's face for a few seconds before letting it go out. While he's reeling from the heat flash, Leah backhands X one more time while keeping her lock on his neck; the result is a nasty case of whiplash as he falls to the ground. Regardless, he pushes his head back into position, that not nearly being primary on his list of concerns at the moment. His now ice blue eyes are twitching fierecly as if they've been separated from something important. Presumably the small contact lens type objects Leah is picking up from the ground.

"Hmm, just like I thought. That isn't your natural eye color, is it?"

N-no! My Shinkichigan! Crap, I need to make a new one!

"Who would've thought you need contact lenses? But these aren't ordinary lenses, are they? You had to make them yourself out of pure ice and you have to keep them maintined with a steady current of energy; that's why there was such a large surplus in your eyes. I don't suppose you'll tell me what they're for?"

"..."

"Okay fine. I'll just take a few guesses and you can tell me if I'm right or wrong. I imagine you could use the breather; you need time to fix the most severe of the damages caused by that last attack."

"...Dammit..."

"You see, before we fought today, I had a look at your file. They're supposed to be confidential, but you'd be surprised what kind of info you can get if you show off a little cleavage and wear hot pants. So, I find out you have some hereditary disease called...what was it...retinal pigmentosa...whatever. I looked it up, and found out it means the cells in your periphery are degenerate; that you can't see anything that isn't right in front of you. Tunnel vision. Of course, I'm guessing you came up with these lenses to deal with that; it's really masterful work. Probably came up with some random gibberish speak to call it too."

X finishes off his Resta and experimentally swivels his neck. Aside from some moderate pain, it's working all right. X's face flashes a frown for an instant, just like before, then relaxes.

"All right, fine. Jesus, you sure do like to talk. Yes, you're right. To cover that weakness, I made those lenses you're holding now; they're very carefully crafted to refract and reflect all light into my fovea, the center of my eye. As a result, I can see the 180 degrees in front of me perfectly, as if it were all right in front of me; I actually see better than normal people when using the Shinkichigan."

With that, X begins to laugh, much to Leah's confusion. His eyes turn back to deep green, restoring his eyesight.

"Of course, I'd be an idiot to not practice how to make the silly thing on a whim. Though hey, kudos, this is the first time I've ever actually had to bother. Shall we resume our dance?"

"Argh..."

Dammit, the new one isn't perfect...the proportions are a bit off...and they're freaking freezing, I must've screwed up on the makeup...

X grabs the hilt of his katana, but keeps it sheathed. When in range, he uses a quick draw slash to land what may be the first decent blow of the match to Leah's arm. Leah grabs the bleeding wound and sews it up only to leave her side wide open to another quick draw slash. X follows with a knee to the gut, which does cause him to wince on impact, but Leah feels her half of the blow as well, doubling over.

"You can't get inside my attack range if I don't reveal it until the last moment! This ends now! It's been real."

Leah shoots a glare at X which stuns him mid slash. Agito is dropped in the instant that X loses his grip on reality in general. It's back just as soon as it left, but it doesn't change the fact he's currently disarmed.

That creepy eye...it was like I had no energy there for a second...like I was dead...shazbot.

The curse of nerds is in reference to the fact that Leah has taken advantage of X's stunned moment and is now charging him. She jumps into a pounce, which by itself is more than enough to keep X off guard, and plows into X, knocking him on the ground. Quick as a cat, she flips up and arranges her body perpendicular to his, resting her legs above his chest. X attempts to get up, but finds his upper body pinned down pretty well.

"This one is the Amorous Embrace of the Tigress. You better enjoy these next two seconds because you're about to bawl like a baby."

Again, not nearly as cool as the videos.

Leah grabs X's closest arm, by the wrist with both hands and pulls it up through her legs. With one quick and clean motion, she pulls back and to the right. Now, X's bicep is held securely in her thighs, so this motion does not agree with our hero, like, at all. His arm snaps at the elbow, allowing it to be twisted into a clearly unnatural position. X's eyes open wide in shock, his mouth opens wide, yet no sound comes out. It's a mute scream with the slightest undertone of intermittent gasping.

"Has it sunk in yet, you insincere idiot? You...are about to die."

Elly: X?! Shoot, guess I'm on my own for the preview...well, he's in a tight spot and there's no tricks left in his sleeve to pull out! It's going to take an entirely different person to give this fight a happy ending! So don't miss it, next time, on Twilight's Legacy...

Episode 20: Destined Encounter: Birth of Resolve, Part II

[TheGingerOne]

Well, I wasn't expecting their meeting to go quite so badly. It's certainly a different situation to when we first met Leah.

I'm having a guess here but are Z's abilities any different to X's? Or is it more his mind set?

I'm now going to go back and read from 27, it's been a while since I last did.

[Xaeris]

Ha, I finally figured out that damned Fanfic thing in the thread title.

Episode 20: Destined Encounter: Birth of Resolve, Part II

I've been stabbed, shot, burned, flash frozen, and electrocuted over the course of my short life. Now, while those were all very unpleasant experiences, I can safely say that it really doesn't get this bad. There's just something about seeing your own arm bent so horribly wrong that makes it hurt that much more. And the man hating harpy stomping her damn heel into my back isn't helping this along. Odd. A rational man would be consumed by fear, hate and suffering right now. I never would've thought myself to be one thirds rational.

The third that X is referring to can be easily discerned as suffering considering he's not being at all stingy with short gasps of pain. Leah has gotten up and is now standing behind him, much too happy to shove him back onto the ground each time he makes an attempt to rise. He takes a glance at his twisted arm and then turns away, the sight of the broken bone causing him further pain. He taps his head against the ground a few times in a vain effort to distract some focus from his major injury, then lets it lie there on its side.

"Aww, are you crying?"

"Don't...flatter yourself. That's...that's just the Shinkichigan melting."

After managing the heavy effort of getting those words out, X grips his left arm above the elbow and takes a steady breath. He then pushes his forearm back into place in one quick motion before the pain can catch up with him. Once done, he's writhing on the ground like a fish out of water while letting out a loud and steady scream. Once the pain recedes after a few seconds, X's body quits convulsing and allows him to put his hand back on the wrecked arm and apply a stream of ice to it. Barta does its job and places the entire length of the arm in a jagged, makeshift icepack.

Okay, seeing straight again...there's only one dimate in my belt. I'd better hang onto it...who knows how much worse this'll get...

This time, Leah allows X to get up to his knees. X stops there for a few more seconds, still having bits of his mind to gather. As this is taking too long for her liking, Leah grabs the top of X's head by the hair and hoists him up to his feet, much to his discomfort. When she lets go, he manages to stay on his feet, but sways to the sides still very dazed by the experience.

"You must think you're special, right? Still being able to stand after all that and all."

A palm thrust to the chest puts X right back on his ass, this time, sputtering blood from the mouth. He lets his head fall back while he moans in further pain, annoyed at the prospect of having to get back up again. Leah walks over to his side and bends down so her lips are beside his ear. X tries to turn his ear away, but another grabbed tuft of hair forces him to hear her words.

"Well, you're not special. You're human, nothing special at all. You know what else can run around after being beaten to a pulp? A cockroach."

"Ha ha, you said cock..."

Leah turns her head away with shut eyes and a slightly annoyed expression while pulling X's head up off the ground by its hair and slamming it back into the floor. X simply moans in pain while Leah continues ranting.

"So before you die Faux FOmar, I just want you to understand this; you're not unique, you're not special; you are just a normal little bug too stupid to just lie still and die!"

The last few words are sounded into a deaf ear as X is now semi unconscious from blood loss and now in a half dream, half delirous state. While he lies there, a small glowing blue crack bursts in his left side. Leah rises with a start and jumps back while staring at said crack.

"Is that...?"

It's all right...she only wanted me, so Elly will be okay. It's no big deal if I die here.

The crack branches out into several more, reaching out in all directions. X's eyes are half open, oblivious to his body's transformation along with his thoughts. He lies there, unmoving while he reassures himself before his time of death.

There's no one to miss me. I didn't have anything particularly important to do.

The cracks have overtaken the entire left half of his body save for his face. From his neck, the growth has decreased in speed greatly, but is still creeping up from beneath his chin.

And, it's not like this is unfair...I've taken my share of life too. ...So dammit, why does this bother me so much?!

The spread of the cracks halt at that very moment, as if waiting on his answer. X recovers full consciousness and rises to his knees to throw Leah a glare. It's not filled with hate, or even anger really; it's determination in its purest form. Leah grinds her teeth at X's sudden ability to stand without shortness of breath and leans forward.

Irritating. I live a completely purposeless existence and yet I want to live; that makes no sense at all! Dammit. Well, don't give up on me yet Ken. I need to live a little longer.

The cracks recede back to the waist at X's beseechment of his Orotiagito. Even as the last crack closes up, Leah is still wearing her gaze of aprehension, disturbed by something else. X leans forward still bearing a steady gaze on his opponent and reaching his good arm at the hilt of his katana.

He's different. He's not smirking. And those eyes...I can see straight into him now. Doesn't matter though; his energy is still near empty.

X draws his katana and holds off to the side. Before he can prepare a charge, he coughs up a bit more blood which is deposited on the ground in front of him. After clearing his throat with raspy breath, he puts one foot forward and takes off into a dash. On the way, lightning gathers onto the Orotiagito as he begins to pull it forward to lead into a Raitonken. Leah merely blinks and waits for him to run into range where she fakes a flinch. Instinctively, X moves his blade to the side causing the bright crackle of electricity to die down. He frowns and curses as his thrust is then interrupted by a one handed throat grab. Still, he hangs onto his katana, even when he is then shoved against the wall behind Leah.

"Raitonken, a zonde series attack. In order to maintain the current, you have to slice the air at a specific angle. The slightest deviation interrupts the flow and cancels the charge."

One of X's legs is flailing wildly across to little avail seeing as he's being held an inch above it. Leah moves her face into X's so close that Eskimos would blush in embarassment. Though our hero has gained a slightly different outlook on life, some thoughts just don't change.

Hmm, smells like peaches.

"Did you think just because you stood up and decided you want to live that the outcome of this battle would change? It doesn't matter if you're a depressed loser or a hot blooded lunatic; weakness is weakness."

"Wow, you're cynical."

Leah's normal eye twitches as she grabs the hunter by his wrist along with his neck and throws him overhead towards the balcony. X recovers in midair and flips himself around to land on his feet on the railing. After balancing himself in his crouch, he stands up and considers his next move while Leah turns around to face him while checking her nails again. Orotiagito returns to its sheath as X's wrist is no longer able to accomodate the precise and delicate workings of its wielding.

She's thinking too calmly. I need to fix that. Let's see, how to piss her off...think, think...hmm, got it.

"I have to admit, that perceptive thing is pretty freaking annoying. I should really apologize to everyone I do that to...but first, let me tell you what I see in you."

"Huh?"

"Well, this entire time, you've been ranting about how I'm insincere, a weakling human, a normal and unspecial snowflake, yadda yadda...so let me tell you what sucks about you. I think that's fair."

"..."

"Heh heh...."

"What's so funny?"

"Right! Here you are, beating the crap out of a poor teenage boy like myself, all the while ranting about issues that obviously stem from something much deeper than whatever grievance you have with me. The insincere thing I guess. When I reel, when I shout in pain...it makes you feel good, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?!"

"Well, I guess I'm just thinking that it's kind of sad, trying so hard to find worth in your existence, evoking the easiest of reactions from people to confirm it. You parade your body in front of a camera to evoke lust, you batter whoever you can fight to evoke pain and anger...and you berate and provoke them to make them hate you."

At that, Leah's eyes go wide as if something's struck her heart. Her hand instantly goes to her chest as she lurches forward grinding her teeth. X, seeing that he's struck a nerve presses on.

"And it all makes you feel like you've had an effect on people, even if only for a little while. You see, you don't hate me because I'm insincere; you hate me because you can't see the hate in my eyes that you feed off of. You think I'm hiding it, but the fact is that it isn't there. I don't hate you. I pity you."

"You...you bastard!"

Okay, this is it! This is where the tide changes! I've fought as a means to an end for a lot of things...but never have I wanted to simply win like this.

Leah makes to move towards X, but finds that one of her legs is anchored down. She looks down to see a pentagram drawn with blood partially obscured by her shoe. She furiously tries to pull her foot up, but finds it's experiencing quite the attraction to the bloodseal etched on the ground. X lets out a tired chuckle as he bows his head and prepares for the final charge.

"That seal roots you to the spot by attracting your energy supply!"

"But when-"

A quick flashback to when X was held up against the wall would reveal that wild flailing of the leg was not so random. Before his charge, he had purposefully stepped in the little puddle he coughed up, then drew his leg across the ground to make his seal. X balls his good hand into a fist and bends forward at the knees.

"You little punk! Just go to hell!"

"All right, let's go you stupid skank!"

X takes off in a burst and covers the distance between them in a blink. In this last desperate gambit, he's thrown everything he has into his fist and his body shows it. His gums are bleeding from the pressure of his clenched teeth, the cracks in his eye lenses have become visible, but that doesn't keep him from letting out a letting out a forceful scream as he throws his punch. So it's rather disappointing when said punch gets caught; but at least Leah is visibly struggling at the legs. X doesn't retract his fist, but just forces himself against the wall in front of him.

"God...dammit!"

"G-get away from me!"

X bows his head to the left, tossing his hair in front of his face. He then pulls his head back up in one rapid motion, bringing the full length of his hair for the ride. When Leah notices the clear gleaming edge, it has already scored her across the neck, forcing her to the ground. After clutching her throat, she pushes herself up on her knees and free hand, gasping for breath in critical condition. X has a look at his now numb right arm, then at the frigid, sharp casing his hair is laced in. With a bit of fumbling, he manages to fish out the dimate in his belt. Before he cracks the small sphere to release the nanite filled mist, he turns to Leah who is now collapsed on the ground still trying to stop the bleeding.

"And that's what we call the win. kthx gg no re"

"Guh, uh...blood won't stop..."

"..."

X looks at his broken arm. Then the dimate. Then Leah. Then the blood on the ground. Then the dimate again. He sighs and shakes his head.

"Just once I'd like to think with the right head..."

X throws the dimate at the ground beside Leah where the mist gets loose. In a few seconds, the wide gash closes up and brings Leah from the verge of death to simply being overtaken by shock. With adrenaline fading from his system, X is now limping as any faster motion causes his insides to catch ablaze. He stops at Leah's side and takes a moment to note her expression before speaking. She looks completely out of it, staring at the ceiling with one hand still at her throat. X is breathing just as heavily, with an exhausted look on his own face.

"Listen. I can tell that deep down, you don't really mean half the crap you say. So instead of living a lie, find a better way to feel better about yourself; then maybe you'll actually smile in those shoots of yours. No one likes a frigid face. And barring all that? Deal with your self esteem like a normal woman and learn how to be bulimic or something."

With those words, X proceeds to continue up the tower. On his way to the warp to the next floor, he bends down, albeit painfully, and picks up Yasha from the ground. Both his arms hang limp in the air as he drags his body the rest of the way up. Once he's gone, Leah gets up to her knees and leans forward with hand still on her neck. Her eyes soften and like from a leaky faucet, a tear rolls down her cheek. After that one, the rest follow without trouble.

****

"I will leave myself here. I don't know how long it will take, or if it will succeed."

Back up at the top floor, Cal has positioned himself over the center of the green vortex that is happily spinning away in the floor. Elly's PDA is being held at her waist with both hands, barely withstanding the stress of the pressure she's putting on it.

"To be honest, I was unsure if this was a risk I wanted to take when I could stay here and communicate with you..."

Elly walks up to Cal, aware that it's only an image, and stands face to face with him as he pours out as much soul an AI program is capable of.

"But I definitely want to be close to you. So I'll take this risk to see myself to my next evolution...I'm sorry for what I've put you through. I hope I can make it all worth it when we meet again."

Elly puts a hand forward a second too late just as the image blinks away. Left alone, she sinks to the ground and wraps her arms around her legs as she copes with the persistent feeling of loss. She doesn't get much time to start sobbing though as our battered and bruised hero falls forward into the ground not two seconds after arriving. Elly gets up with a sniff, runs over, bends down and turns the body over. After checking for a pulse, she begins to apply a stream of Resta while a slow stream of tears flows from her eyes at an equal pace. After a few seconds, X regains drowsy consciousness and looks up.

"Ungh...you found what you were looking for?"

"Y-yeah...yeah I did."

"Good, I'm glad."

X lips widen into a smile while his eyes soften to complete the never seen before expression; a genuine smile. It only holds for a couple of seconds before he falls back into a half conscious state. Elly's stream of healing is interrupted momentarily by her surprise, but she picks it back up.

He's different now. I wonder what happened to him...

After several minutes and two trifluids worth of Resta energy, X is conscious and standing on his own power once again. While he's regained feeling in his right arm, his left arm is still quite broken and useless. The rest of his wounds are patched up of course, save for some tenderness in the places he was punched. Elly futilely throws another Resta at the broken arm, which of course, remains broken.

"Forget it, that injury's too complex for you. Most Forces actually. I'll just have to visit the Med center when we get back."

"What happened to you? Did that mean looking woman do all that? Oh X, I'm so sorry! If I didn't make you come with me-"

"Don't worry about it. It was a good experience."

"...Huh? Well, if you say so. ...I'm sorry, I don't have any fluids. But your eyes are still green..."

Elly has just now noticed that X's hair is white as snow, yet again. X grabs a length of hair and moves it in front of his head to see that he is indeed out of TP.

I guess that hair ice blade trick took what was left. Bugger. At least my lenses haven't melted yet.

"Eh, no worries; it's a clear shot back."

****

One warp away from the Control room pops the pair onto a ninth floor with a platoon of soldiers lined up in three rows. X puts his good hand in his pocket and sighs in annoyance as the leader of the pack emerges from the ranks to the front. X's shoulders sink when he sees Grahart.

"Can I...help you?"

"You're here. I guess that means the lab decided to go through with its investigation despite our specific orders not to. Well, then yes, I suppose you can help me X. You can help me, by dying!"

"I was thinking something more along the lines of answering a question or giving directions."

"Right now, we are near the site of Pioneer 1's greatest breakthroughs. I cannot have civillians bearing witness to them; such compromised information would only hinder our plans."

"You mean the public would get pissed if they found out that 'Coral's imminent destruction' was a load of hooey and was only an excuse to drag us all to this rock of a hellhole."

"Ha ha...perceptive as always. Men, prepare to fire!"

As if she knows exactly what X is intending to do, Elly steps to his side where he can throw his arm around her waist and make a break for the railing. The soldiers aim their rifles, but X has jumped off towards the first floor. Grahart growls in frustration and orders the men to head back downstairs through the warp while he takes a small number of soliders with him into the control room.

"Now, let's see what the MOTHER project came up with..."

****

"I never would've imagined he'd beat you..."

Right now, Leah is walking with the support of the purple haired woman from earlier in the day. She's looking fairly downcast, having been given a lot of think about on top of the defeat. Her friend shakes her head with a smile to reassure her as they move towards the exit of the tower.

"Hey, don't feel bad. If you couldn't kill him, then who can I expect that result from? Besides, I got what I really came for."

"Didn't run into that android that's been hounding you lately?"

"Jiji? Nah, I was hoping he'd come out to play, but no such luck. Anyway, since you couldn't kill him, let's go to plan B..."

****

"Um X, if you don't mind me asking...just how did you plan on landing?"

"Pray."

X!"

"Fine, fine...but when you're burning in hell due to lack of faith, don't come whining to me when I'm secksing up hawt angels."

"You? Heaven? Ha."

"Fft. Anyway, do a water walk."

"There's no water-"

"Do the damned water walk."

Elly grumbles and focuses the necessary TP to her feet while X rearranges his hold on her as if he were performing a spear dive; Elly's feet leading the dive. Sure enough, their fall slows greatly and when they hit the ground, it's with a moderate, unpleasant force, but no serious injuries are incurred. The landing itself, however, could've used some work, as X's chest is now serving as a seat cushion.

"Oh, sorry!"

"It's okay. Like I said the first time we met; you're soft."

"...Hee hee..."

"Heh heh."

"How'd that work anyway?"

"The principle behind water walking is simply making the matter directly beneath your feet denser. You're pretty good at molecule manipulation, so it works well enough for you that you can do it in midair too."

"Oh...how'd you know I'd be able to make it strong enough though?"

"I guessed."

"X!"

"C'mon, let's go. The faster I get this arm fixed and my hair dyed, the better. I'm getting tired of black. What do you think of me as a blond?"

"I...don't think it'd work for you."

****

Outside, it is now nighttime. Elly is momentarily captivated by the sight and sensation of rain and thunder, but quickly gets over it having remembered they're being pursued. As they run to return to the teleport landing for CCA, the sky is pierced by a shrieking cry, like that of a bird. The two stop and look towards the long bridge that heads off in the opposite direction as that is the source of the scream.

"What in blue hell was that...?"

"X, they must still be chasing us!"

"I'm sure..."

The two jump apart to avoid a bolt of electricity that falls from the sky and makes a nice five foot wide crater in the ground. X looks up to see the sihouette of a giant winged creature circling over head. Another strike falls from the sky, forcing Elly to jump away. X takes off towards the bridge, opposite the way they want to go. Elly, of course, protests while she chases after him.

"X!"

"If it struck the teleporter while we were in mid port...it'd be ugly. We have to lose it first."

"Oh fine..."

X: Okay, let's do a status check. No mates. No fluids. Broken arm. No TP. Fight with Gal Gryphon. Yeah, I'll say it. This sucks hardcore.

Elly: Yeah, and there's not much I can do...I don't see how this gets worse.

Leah: Hi.

X: ...Oh come on! Damned skank...

Leah: Oh, like I want to be here jerk?

X: Skank.

Leah: Jerk.

Elly: *sigh* Next time...

Episode 21: The Jerk and the Skank

Elly: Don't miss it...

[Sgt_Shligger]

wow!!!! that was really goo! I spent about 5 hours readingit from beginning to end in the last 4 days. I love the characters they actually have personalities-- bu the one thing i don't get is how X can even lose a fight- he has an unsealed Oriaggito so how could he be close to losing? He beat Falz alone but he coodn't own Leah? Well i guess that woodn't make for a good fight though--- but otherwose i enjoyed the story from beggioning to end and am looking forward to the next installment.

[Xaeris]

Episode 21: The Jerk and the Skank

"Is it still up there?"

"Gee, I dunno. That lightning bolt we dodged three seconds ago might have just been static. You know how wool can get in the rain."

Despite a spirited and sarcastic remark, X's pace is greatly slowed as he pants heavily, trying to keep ahead of the gryphon flying overhead. Since the situation is understandably dire, Elly ignores it and focuses on the more pressing issue of X's fatigue. Currently, they're inside the Central Command area's gates, running about frantically, paying little more than bare minimal amounts of attention to the infrared gates. After diving forward to dodge yet another thunderbolt, the pair crawls over to a pile of boxes for a breather.

"Shoot, this thing sure is persistent for a little snack like us. Ungh..."

"X, are you still hurt?"

X pulls himself to a seated position up against one of the crates and clutches his chest with his good arm. Elly places her hands on his upper body to search for the offending wound, but X shakes his head. Before he explains, he takes a few deep and ragged breaths, broken up by rough sounding coughs.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Save your energy."

"...X...are we really going to be fine?"

"Huh? That's a silly question. Of course, we'll be dandy. Have I ever lied...huh...have I ever broken a...shoot...look, we're going to be okay, just trust me."

Elly's closed lips squirm about as she tries to make herself believe that. X stands in a single, albeit jagged, motion and looks up into the sky to see the giagantic beast descending from flight. He notes his surroundings, filled with all sorts of little annoying obstacles and shakes his head. He then looks over the railing and into the river that flows below to see various platforms dotting its surface. One in particular, is larger than the rest, easily the size of the field that this battle is normally fought on.

"Must've been an airpad when this place was still active...we'll fight there."

X jumps onto the railing and uses it as a launch point to jump towards the area in question. Elly runs up to the railing, takes second to see where X is headed, and vaults herself over. X lands and crumples at the ankles, grunting at what's clearly an unpleasant sensation. Elly pulls herself onto the platform with some strain and immediately checks on her partner's condition again.

"X, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I'm just used to using TP to buffer jumps and falls. Okay, here it comes."

As Gal Gryphon comes in for a landing, the water in the river is displaced far up into the air and onto the main area of CCA where it splashes and shorts out the security equipment. When its feet touch ground, the pad rocks violently, causing more water to splash up onto the edges. X fails to keep his balance and lands on his seat, but gets back up quickly enough. Elly, seeing this, clasps her hands together as they shiver.

"You know, you think I'd question why I'm facing down a gigantic chimera, but at this point, I've just come to accept that I encounter weird things."

With that, X draws Orotiagito and runs at the altered beast. Without TP, his only viable option is to hack at its ankles; so, he does. Of course, a normal slash by a katana on Gal Gryphon is about the equivalent of a papercut. So, the chimera ignores him and strides forward at an impressive pace for such a large creature. Again, the balance of the duo is compromised, but they manage to hold steady long enough to get out of the way of the path Gal is ripping up. After two laps around the airpad, it comes to a stop and falls in a heap to catch its breath. Ever opportunistic, X runs to its side and begins stabbing freely at its belly.

"Shoot, this thing is like a sack of bricks...and dammit Elly, quit standing there! Attack!"

Everytime Elly puts her hands together to cast something, the sight of one of X's ineffective stabs kills her resolve and brings back her shivering. X grunts in annoyance as Gal Gryphon rises once more and takes flight. As it flies away, X takes the short reprieve to run over and see what's gotten into his normally semi useful teammate.

"Elly, snap out of it! What's with you?!"

"This could be it...this might be end..."

"Huh? We covered this. We'll be fine, I swear."

"X, you don't have any energy left! Your slashes don't have any effect! We're...we're going to die!"

On that last sentence, Elly's voice cracks as a few tears begin to slip down her cheeks. X is taken aback momentarily before his face hardens in determination. He looks up to check on Gal Gryphon's progress and finds it on the return half of the flight.

"Why even bother..."

"Argh, fine, be useless. But stay out of the way."

With that, X shoves Elly over the edge and into the water just as Gal Gryphon's wingspan passes over the battlefield. The waves are brought high over the platform while the wind blows X off his feet while the water crashes over him and soaks him and his wounds. Ignoring the irritation, he looks over into the water at a floating Elly to dispense instructions.

"New plan. Swim as far as you can until you can get a telepipe out of the EMP field this stupid thing is emitting. I'll hold it here."

"X..."

"I know you don't believe me when I say it, but I'll be fine. I don't blame you really. After all, Ken trusted me to the very end; look where that got her. Get going."

"I-"

"Forget it, just go!"

X weaves his way through a web of randomly thrown electric currents thrown by a grounded gryphon. Again, he scores some papercuts across the beast's legs, resulting in little effect. Elly shuts her eyes and does as told, leaving the field. After X backflips over the last shots of thunder, the chimera falls for rest once more. X stands across from its face, gratefully taking the opportunity to suck wind while he considers what to do.

I'm pretty sure I have no TP left...but damn, I have to try; lord knows I can't hurt that thing with a letter opener. Let's see, an ice spike to the throat should do it.

X makes to slam his fist into an open palm only to be reminded that one of his arms is still busted and the open palm isn't there to greet the fist. So he opts for his usual method of focusing and makes with the alternating up and down motion of two fingers. A puddle of water arises beneath Gal's throat as it should and begins to congeal into a thrusting ice spike. Just as it's about to solidify however, X's face contorts in pain and he falls forward with familiar blue cracks spreading about the left half of his body. The technique fails, having lost the focus behind it, allowing Gal Gryphon to rise unharassed while X lies on the floor, writhing in simmering agony.

Dammit! Agh! Not again! Can't move...

While X spends valuable seconds getting his inner demon issues under control, Gal Gryphon readies its most powerful attack and the bane of many people who don't keep Resist/Storms in their banks. Really, this thing is like a lovetap with 75 ETH, but I digress. As X rises with the recession of his glowing blue cracks, he looks up to see the purple thunderbolts falling from the sky. With a curse, he goes about the labored task of dodging them. In his haggard state though, the movements are too slow to completely remove him from the burst effect field of each bolt, knocking him off balance each time.

"Not yet...you stupid, oversized inbred rappy! You hear me?! Not yet!"

Even though the uselessness of melee attacks has been well proven, X rushes right back in and proceeds to hack away wildly, inflicting papercut after papercut. Gal's only response is an earth shaking roar from its open beak. It is in this moment that X's eyes snap open in realization.

Of course. Ha, sometimes I forget that I'm a hunter, not a force. All right, here comes a turnabout!

The chimera rears back in preparation to begin another lap around the field. Just as it's about to charge, X slashes upward as it aims its head at the ground. He then proceeds to get the heck out of the way, just in time to avoid having his head doused in warm, red fluid. Gal Grpyon's severed beak falls to the ground, along with the tongue inside it. Needless to say, the resulting gushing of fluid is enough to make even our former assassin cover his mouth with the back of his good hand and look away.

Doesn't matter how big it is. Make it bleed enough and it will die. I can't believe I forgot how vulnerable the tongue is; guess I should spend a little less time on the techniques...

X limps away, having spent what's left of his muscles on that final jump and slash, and has a seat at the edge of the field to watch Gal Gryphon go through its death throes.

Wow, this is actually kind of entertaining. Wonder if that makes me a sadist?

After several minutes of thrashing and blood letting, Gryphon is finally subdued to the point of immobility. X, figuring the battle is concluded, gets up and gets ready to cast Ryuker when the sound of several rifles behing charged interrupt him and draw his attention upwards back towards the main floor of the area.

"Bugger."

On the railing are about half a dozen of the soldiers that were pursuing X and Elly, lined up and ready to open fire, execution style. While X's protagonist powers get to work on devising him a way out of this one, a slim newman strolls up from behind and to the middle.

"Oh hey! Uris, was it?"

"Okay, now I'm sure you're just doing that on purpose."

"Aeris? Hey, that'd work out well for me, me being equipped with a katana and all!"

"...It's Eris."

"All units, prepare to open fire!"

"Hold your fire. I'm acting commander for the moment."

"But ma'am, Commander Grahart's orders were to-"

"I don't care! Last time, this little brat made a complete joke out of me! I'm going to shove an ice spike into his-"

Eris looks back to find that X isn't quite as stupid as she thinks and took the momentary confusion to Ryuker himself away. She hisses and turns away in a huff while the Ryuker tube closes.

****

"Stupid ditz."

A haggard, but high spirited X is on Pioneer 2 attracting stares to his beat up and bleeding form. One can only make the practical assumption he's on his way to the med center.

Let's see, today, I fought robots, a giant water snake, giant apes, giant bugs, giant plants, a giant bird, faced down a military shooting squad and yet, the vast majority of my injuries were inflicted by a hot ass model I've been ogling ever since I figured out that boys and girls have different naughty bits. Life's funny that way.

The twin doors of the med center slide open for X as he comes near, drawing the attention of the chatting nurses. Once he's inside the doors, he waves weakly and finally quits ignoring his body's cries of agony.

"Hey ladies. You remember me. I'm gonna faint now, but I don't think I'll be asleep too long, so ah...skip the catheter, 'kay?"

X's eyes then glaze over as he falls forward on his knees, then on his face.

****

One half hour makes it an even nine o'clock. One conscious HUmar lays in a bed with bandages and gauze wrapped around various areas of his body. Why any of this is necessary in an age of nanodocs is anyone's guess. Regardless, Elly is seated by him, leaned forward, while he reads a comic book looking perfectly serene.

"I'm...I'm sorry X. I didn't trust you when you needed it most..."

"Eh, forget it. You're not used to that kind of situation. It was a natural reaction."

"..."

"Well, if you really want to make it up to me, you can type up the report. I don't feel like it."

"S-sure..."

"Oh, and I'm kinda thirsty. Mind getting something from the vending machine?"

Elly stands and cleans off her bottom while nodding. X returns to his leisurely reading, giggling lecherously. Outside, in the hall, Elly takes a can of soda which the machine just materialized and turns around to take it back to the room when she spots a familiar face heading down the hall from the opposite direction. Like a shot, she races down to meet the woman and block her path. Or so she thinks.

"Wh-what are you doing here?!"

"Huh...who are...oh right, you're that little mousey girl that was with him."

Leah shifts some weight onto one leg, places a hand on her waist and smirks in amusement at Elly who has her arms outstretched to block her way.

"Little girl, don't be silly. Move."

"No! You've done enough today! I'm not letting you anywhere near him!"

"Fine, be that way."

Leah takes her hand from her waist and points a finger forward at Elly's forehead. Slowly, she inches it forward towards the near trembling newman until it's pressed on her forehead. After a few seconds, she removes it to reveal an ugly black bruise on Elly's forehead. Elly stumbles on her feet and falls to her knees, lightheaded. Leah steps over and continues on to her destination where she finds only an empty bed.

"Huh...? He shouldn't be up and about-"

X drops from the ceiling behind Leah with a small ice needle in hand and held at her throat. Leah remains perfectly calm, as does X. All in all, they look as if they might as well be playing checkers.

"Hi. How'd you know I was coming?"

"Heard Elly down the hall. So...whatcha doin'?"

"I came to visit."

"Uh huh. And you saying that wouldn't have anything to do with the fact I have a pointy object at your throat per chance?"

Leah offers no words for response and instead offers up a single daffodil at eye level with X. He regards it for a moment, and then lowers his dagger.

"You know, most people bring balloons. I would've liked balloons."

"I bet. What's the word on your arm?"

"Eh? Oh, they say it needs to sit in this cast for a week while the nanodocs fix up the nerve connections. So, what are you really here for? Somehow, I doubt you came just to wish me well."

Before Leah can offer an answer for that, Elly stumbles through the doorway, looking fairly dizzy and frantic. X looks her over for injuries for a moment, and only finds the bruise on her forehead.

"X!"

"Relax, no threat here. Yet, anyway. You better sit down. She gave you a minor stroke. Anyway skank, you were saying?"

"...Did you...did you just...did you just call me skank, just now?"

Each fragment of that question is coupled with a confused change in facial expressions and hand movements. X waits on her patiently to process his insult.

"If it dresses, talks and poses like a skank, it's probably you, yes."

X tilts his head to avoid a fist to the head.

"I don't like you..."

"Yeah, I get that a lot. So, whatcha here for?"

"..."

Leah throws a glare at Elly who jumps in fright. X stands there dumbfounded for a second until he reads the intent.

"Ah. Hey Elly, mind giving us a minute?"

"What?! But-"

"Relax, I'll be...oh right, that doesn't work on you. Look, just wait outside. It'll only take a minute."

Elly attempts to protest, but the words die in her mouth. She nods mutely and exits the room, allowing the two to converse in private. X takes note of his still broken and bound arm and decides to have a seat on the side of his bed. Leah props herself on the wall and waits for our hero to get himself arranged.

"I wanted to ask you something. You said I should find a better way to feel good about myself."

"Did I? I guess. I say a lot of things."

"Well, you did. I wanted to know, how do you do it?"

"Eh? Um...I don't really. I've become pretty much used to the fact that I'm forever meant to be an angsty whiner."

"Then how can you say-"

"Listen skank, what you do with your life isn't exactly on my list of concerns. If you came to me for life advice, then you're even more pathetic than I originally thought."

Leah grinds her teeth which are now bare to the air. She moves towards X with a raised hand, presumably to strike with a slap, when a scream catches their attention. X narrows his eyes and leaps towards the door in a single bound and slides it open to see Elly backing up and firing shots from her Varista, presumably with little effect. When he looks down the opposite end to see what's got her so spooked, his face contorts in anger and rage. Without hesitation, he steps out into the hall and faces down the opponent.

"Kireek! You god damned mockery of life! By the time I'm done with you, there won't be enough left to melt together a paper clip!"

With even less consideration for his energy supply and health than usual, X surrounds his exposed and unprotected fist with flame. He then dashes down the corridor, leaving a trail of billowing smoke in his wake as a signal of the sloppily constructed flame. Before his fist can make sweet contact, the sharp end of the android's trademark scythe bites into his side, stopping him cold. Kireek hoists X effortlessly into the air and throws him back to from where he charged with a light rain of blood. While it's not as if this would stop him in even normal circumstances, this enraged version of X hops to his feet as if nothing happened and attempts a second charge.

"Kill you..."

This time, X leaps above the intial sweeping arc and fires off a roundhouse kick in midair with his forward momentum. When his foot is stopped by Kireek's armored head, he drags himself forward on the short moment of hangtime and punches the android in the chest. Despite being backed by a minute amount of energy, pure anger gets the mass of flesh and bones through the metal casing and into wires. Except, now, he's stuck. Kireek grabs X by the neck, pulls him out, and throws him back. This time, X struggles to get up, having landed on his broken arm and in no small amount of pain.

"God...god dammit..."

Kireek pulls his Soul Eater back, still not having said a single word this entire time. Black mist gathers onto the blade as he swings it forward. At the swing's finish, the mist flies forward in the shape of a condensed sphere, not unlike a Megid. X is still immobile and unable to move as the projectile races towards him, causing him to curse some more. Before it makes contact however, a sharp wind blows in from behind and dissapates the attack along with blowing off a few small sections of Kireek's plate armor. Leah steps forth with her arms crossed and the Lame D'Argent held downwards. The look in her eye reads of annoyance as she looks at the attacking android.

"How troublesome...hey you. Girl."

"Y-yes?"

"He's in no shape to fight. Get him away from here. I'll deal with this."

"R-right..."

Elly slings a half conscious X on her shoulder and slowly drags him away while the fight gets underway.

X: Odd.

Elly: What?

X: I always figured myself a shonen protagonist, so it really shouldn't surprise me that I have the "befriend your enemies by beating sense into them" ability, but still...anyway, next time on TL...

Episode 22: Date Night

X: ...Huh...well about damn time Elly showed me some legitimate gratitude. Don't miss it.

[Sgt_Shligger]

Nice.... you ntoed that it was all written out but not typed? Is this all on paper?

[Xaeris]

Hmm, I suppose it's about time I explained the story. See, when I wrote the first installment of this story, it was to celebrate my character's ascension to Lv 200. It was originally meant to be a one shot, in which X defeated Olga Flow. Since it was written as if it were the final chronicle in his story, I titled it Episode 26, since most anime last a single season, or, 26 episodes. On the board I wrote it for (GameFAQs), it was received rather well, so from that, I continued into a multi chapter installment, up to episode 52. I called it season 2, as a sort of joke.

That too, was received rather well, but at the same time, there were lots of people who asked for the previous episodes, 1-25, not being privy to my little joke. Still, I continued on with a third season, that went up to 84. Finally, I caved and decided to give the masses their season 1, written for the first time ever, here at this site. And of course, I have 26-84 archived and squirreled away on my laptop. However, it's not as simple as posting them all in one go when I finish off 25. See, as the story continued...it evolved a little. In order for season 1 to properly connect, season 2 has to experience a bit of retconning. For example, season 2 X is not nearly as smart as season 1 X. Like, not even a fraction. It's frightening. Anyway...

Episode 22: Date Night

Once Elly has gotten X around the corner of the hallway, Leah takes her attention away from the two and gives her complete, undivided attention to the silent and crazed HUcast she's currently staring down. Unlike X, who gladly gave into rage, Leah takes a moment to size up her opponent. It's nothing completely out of the ordinary; just a purple plated HUcast with black shadowy tendrils seeping out from the joints.

"I understand that you might not like the jerk, but you won't be killing him today. So if you're still planning on throwing your life away, let's get this started."

Kireek begins to walk forward at a sluggish pace, dragging his Soul Devourer on the ground beside him. With each step, his pace quickens until he's in all out dash with his scythe tearing through the wall in its way. Once in range, Kireek pulls the scythe from the wall and swings it from above in an attempt to strike through the skull. That attempt is abruptly halted when the scythe is caught on a quickly raised forearm. The metal covering that holds Kireek's double handed swing at bay is holding up surprisingly well as Leah uses her other hand to line up a stab. With a thrust of her blocking arm, Kireek staggers backwards on the momentum of his parried weapon and shows his back to the Lame d'Argent. That doesn't end spectacularly well for him as the blade is shoved through his back and ripped back out just as roughly. With a sputter of electricity and flailing limbs, the android goes down to the floor.

"Wow, that took less time than I thought. Wish I hadn't sent them off; the jerk would feel stupid if he saw how easy that was...huh?"

The shadowy tendrils seep out in greater quanitity and rise to the cavity made by the previous attack. Within moments, the gap is closed by fresh material and Kireek rises to his feet, looking none worse for the wear. Leah lets out a huff of air through a small part in her lips and places a finger on her forehead. A blue flash spreads from that point through her entire body, surrounding her with a resonating light blue glow.

Casting Deband for this punk...ugh...oh well, at least he can't dispel it. And...nah, I shouldn't need Shifta.

Kireek resumes his attack and proceeds to strike with two handed slashes one after the another. Rather than hop around like a gnat like certain wannabe Forces, Leah holds her ground and moves her sword to act as a wall for each swing. When an opening finally presents itself, Leah punches with her free hand into Kireek's face, knocking him backwards. Aside from a few shards of metal falling from the face mask, no lasting damage is dealt.

"Well, this is obviously going to take a while. Why don't you say something?"

Kireek responds with yet another slash which is stopped by a raised arm. The HUney closes her eyes, winces, then plants her foot into Kireek's chest. The heel on her shoe digs into the plating and serves as her grip as she flings the android into the wall with a movement of her leg. Sadly, the heel breaks off from the shoe and remains embedded in Kireek's chest as he crashes into the hospital wall.

"Dammit! Oh well, that pair was out of season anyway..."

While Kireek's possessed systems recover the damage done by that last counter, Leah bends over and breaks the heel off the other shoe to even out her stance on the ground. When she's done, Kireek has risen with repaired systems and is now stalking forward to attack once more.

"Oh this is just getting silly..."

Agh, I can't do enough damage and it's not like he can hurt me. This could go on forever...guess I'll have to use Shifta. What a joke.

****

Around the hall, Elly is applying Resta to X for the kajillionth time that day. He sits against the wall with a blank and near unconscious look in his eyes while Elly tries to repair the most recent damage done to his body.

"What's wrong with you?! Your arm is broken and you barely have any tech energy; what were you thinking charging in like that?!"

"I wasn't. I...I just saw him, and snapped. It brought me back to that moment in the Ruins, where...where...I just wanted him melted into scrap. Dammit...I better go see how that skank is doing."

****

A red burst envelops the hallway once Leah gets a Shifta off. Not wasting a second, she intiates an assault and strikes with a full body swing at Kireek's side. The Soul Devourer is held to block, but doesn't provide much in the way of defense as the shaft is sliced in two. The Lame d'Argent continues through to Kireek's side where it tears in halfway, and then takes out a pretty good portion of the circuitry inside when it is pulled out. Much to this HUne's frustration however, regeneration takes place as normal, weapon included.

"I just fixed my nails too..."

With a scowl, she tucks her sword through her belt to sheathe it, then bends at the knees to prepare for an Embrace. Deciding to execute it Tigress style, she pounces and knocks Kireek flat on his back while she lands on his chest, seated. Still in mid attack, she puts her hands together, flat, and the red flow of energy that is currently spread throughout her body converges onto her right forearm. With the brightly glowing arm, she punches the immobile Kireek right in the face, flattening it into paste along with leaving a fairly decent sized crater in the ground. Wincing, she stands up and examines her hand, looking fairly annoyed.

"Just once, I'd like to use Shifta without breaking a nail...oh well, at least it ended there."

Still out to make himself annoying, the remains of Kireek's head begin to gather and curdle in what looks like a molten puddle of purple soup. After a few seconds, a brand new head bursts from the concoction, allowing the android to rise yet again.

"H-huh?"

Dammit, that Shifta used all my TP!

Right that moment, X drops in front of her and immediately lets loose a technique from his good arm. In a flash, the entire hallway is flooded in a deluge of flame that rushes through for several seconds before subsiding. Our boy is hunched over while doing this, clearly not completely up to speed. Still, the result is impressive in the form of a steaming, dripping mess of a HUcast.

Great, that used everything I had regenerated. If that didn't do it...

"Come to Flowen's final resting place...if you desire my death."

With that, a black pool opens beneath Kireek's feet and draws him in with a piercing wail. X grits his teeth in frustration understanding full well that he's in no condition to follow. Leah briefly turns an annoyed glance at him, and then stands up while clutching her right arm.

"I didn't need your help jerk."

"I didn't do it for your sake. For all I care, you can go die of whatever VDs you've got swimming in you skank."

"Are you trying to get your head knocked off?!"

X turns his eyes to Leah for a quick once over before walking back towards Elly.

"Don't kid yourself. That altered Shifta you cast tore the muscles in your arm, didn't it?"

"..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Hmph, it's nothing I can't fix when I get some energy back. More than you can say for your arm. See you jerk."

With that, Leah stomps off in a huff, leaving X to wallow in the agony of the migraine he's currently sporting. He gestures for Elly to follow as he enters his room to gather up his things and go.

*****

"Mr. Launcher, you're checking out?"

The front desk area is rather ragged looking from Kireek's forced entry into the place. However, the nurses maintain a calm business front as they check X out of the hospital. X nods to the question while poking an uprooted tile with his foot.

"Ah...yeah."

"Very well. You're in suitable condition. You can remove the cast in five days."

*****

"X, why did Kireek retreat? He had the upper hand..."

"The nanomachines that kept on reconstructing him were confused when I warped the shape of his body with fire. Rather than having to just reconstruct missing mass, they had to work with existing mass that was mishapen. They couldn't handle it."

Right now, it's nighttime on the ship as it is currently positioned behind Ragol which is in front of the sun. However, there's a beautiful and bright full moon up in the sky above them which they have a full view into through the clear dome of Pioneer 2. X's pace is sedate compared to his usual brisk jog; his attention is on the moon rather than the path in front of him. Elly pays periodic glances at the sky while keeping easy pace with her companion, not needing to wonder what's on his mind.

"X...I need to go back home for something. Could you meet me in a half hour?"

"Huh? Um, I guess. What for?"

"I want to talk to you about something. We'll make a date of it, okay?"

With that, Elly jogs off leaving one dumbfounded HUmar.

A...did she say a date?

******

Later, X arrives at a narrow bridge in the middle of a small park that overlooks several sectors of the ship. He looks around to find no one, shrugs, and has a seat on the ledge to admire the array of lights complemented by the moonlight. After a few minutes, he takes his PDA from his waist to look up the time and find that it has indeed been a half hour.

"Hi X, I hope I didn't keep you waiting."

X casually turns his head around and is completely caught off guard by the sight of his gussied up companion. Apparently, she took that half hour to go throw on some makeup, a spaghetti strap dress and even found a minute to let down her hair. She has a seat on the ledge along with X whose eye is twitching madly.

"N-no, just got here...so...ah...sup?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something important."

"Well, talk away."

"We've been through a lot..."

"Something a little less cliche please."

"Ugh...what I'm saying is that we've done a lot of fighting. At first, all I could do is stay back and watch you...when a fight started, you always jumped to this entirely different level to meet the occasion."

Elly is shuffling her feet as they hang in the air while X looks off into the distance, taking in what she's saying. Seeing that this is something of a difficult task for her, he chimes in to move the convesation along.

"Well, that's to be expected. I've been at this for a long time."

"But recently, I've felt like I've been keeping up. I've practiced with my techniques everyday, just so I wouldn't be dead weight for you to carry all the time. But I'm still useless, aren't I X?"

"Huh?"

Elly looks down and slinks her head into her shoulders while the tone of her voice grows more and more despondent. X is thoroughly confused judging from the look on his face and has now stopped paying attention to the scenery. Right now, he's going over this in his head, trying to figure out what she means. Of course, she explains it herself first.

"That fight with that monster; you were out of energy and had a broken arm, but you still kept going. All I could do was sit and cower while you jumped to that level like you always do...even in your worst state you're still so much stronger. So, I've come to a decision."

Silence reigns for several seconds while Elly chokes on the coming words. X looks on with anxious anticipation seeing as what was just said did not set the prettiest of stages. Elly takes in a deep breath and looks into X's face with a glare of conviction.

"I've hit my limit. X, I'm saying goodbye."

"Huh?!"

"I know we only agreed to do this until I found what I was looking for, but to be honest...I never wanted it to end. I wanted to keep going with you, wherever we went."

"..."

"But we're just too different. X...I don't want to be someone that's useless to you, so, I can't go with you anymore. I...had a really great time with you X."

Silence retakes the conversation as the two break eye contact and stare off into the night. It's several minutes until X says something without moving his gaze from the moon.

"You weren't useless you know."

"..."

"I mean, sure, you do choke in battle sometimes, but...you did something very important for me. Something I hope you'll keep doing, even after you leave me on the field."

"What's that?"

"You were my friend. That's all. I'm grateful."

With that, X cautiously raises his good arm and places it around Elly, as if he's not sure of the execution of a proper hug. He gets a good sign when he complete it though, as Elly leans in and sighs. X sighs as well.

"I...had a great time too."

"So, what will you do now?"

"Hmph, I'll find 'Flowen's final resting place' and get to the bottom of all this nonsense. Or at least kill Kireek. I'm definitely getting that much."

"Yeah, I figured...I just wish you had someone to go with you. Someone who could keep up with you..."

"Meh, what can you do...say, question."

"Yes?"

"Did Ken say anything before she died?"

Elly's face turns a pale white as her mind goes back to that moment in the ruins, the one of Keneteks' passing. Her face goes through various contortions, as if there were more to the task than simply remembering what was said.

"Because...I love him.' Oh, I can't tell him that...it'd kill him to hear it...guess I don't have a choice.

"Just 'goodbye."

"I see."

X goes back to staring at the moon while Elly lets out a relieved breath of air. For the next half hour, they manage to do absolutely nothing but sit there in silence. After that, X comes to his senses and rises to his feet to leave. Elly, despite this having been her idea, throws on a solemn expression as she rises as well. X searches for words to leave on, but finds there aren't any that can do the job, so he contents himself by smiling awkwardly and turning to leave.

"X, wait!"

"Eh?"

X turns around with perfect timing to receive a pair of lips planted on his own. His eyes are twitching several blinks a second while he just stands there, confused as all hell. Eventually, Elly breaks away leaving X still very much confused as to what just happened here. She blushes and turns away shyly allowing X to blush freely without embarassment.

"Sorry, I just felt like doing that."

"I...yeah.."

Everything I wanted given and taken all in a single moment. Great, now I'm depressed.

*****

The next day finds X awoken, out of bed and in the laboratory. He, of course, is alone, a fact which Natasha is none too pleased to point out.

"Where is your partner?"

"Um, she quit. Don't worry about it."

"I cannot allow you to-"

"Flowen."

Natasha halts in mid reprimand at the drop of that name. X lets out a silent breath of air in relief of having avoided a lengthy and annoying lecture on why he can't go to Gal da Val by himself. Having given Natasha a moment to collect herself, X continues on with his business for the morning.

"So, anything you care to tell me?"

"Did you find something?"

"No, sorry. But I just heard from a little birdie that Flowen is dead."

"What?! That can't be true! We just received a live transmission from him this-"

Natasha covers her mouth, obviously indicating that was top secret information. X smirks, pleased that this is going to be simpler than he imagined. Natasha sits down in her chair in frustration and beckons for X to come around the side to view her console. When he does, Natasha hits a button to play a recording at a barely audible volume.

"I am...powerless, yet...I have...everything...in this dark abyss...I wait for the savior of...the red captive...my destruction...at the bottom of...the deep abyss...I wait...Heathcliff...Flowen..."

Savior of the red captive child...that would be me. Fft, fine, I'll give you your wish Flowen. I'll fulfill my promise to Rico while I'm there too.

"Where did that come from?"

"...A facillity underneath the surface of Gal da Val. We've located it, but there's a security system preventing direct access via teleporter. The closest entrance is in a jungle type area, northeast of the location. Will you be going? We were going to release this information under the pretense that we needed some data from the security console there...but ultimately, we would have needed someone to venture into the Seabed facillity."

"Always happy to be an errand boy."

But shoot, I have to pay a visit to the doc and get a mana bath before I go down.

*****

So, that afternoon, X beams down into the humid jungle and instantly starts whining about the moist ground that's screwing up his shoes. Before he ventures out from the teleporting pod, he addresses the issue of how to equip his weapon. Leaving Yasha in its sheath, he picks up the Orotiagito and slings it behind his neck and across his shoulders, while holding the hilt of course. With his other arm in a sling, the entire package looks rather familiar. Having settled that, he runs out into the jungle, more or less focused on his ultimate goal.

"Irritating..."

X, of course, refers to the gees that have descended upon him and are currently pissing him off. Rather than fight them and eradicate the entire bunch, he proceeds through the foilage and cuts down only the ones that get in his way.

"Sure is quiet...I guess I was used to having company..."

"Well gee, what am I then? Chopped rappy?"

While X does acknowledge an additional precense, he refuses to turn around to see who it is, despite the fact that he already knows based on voice recognition. After a few seconds, he grudgingly turns his head to see Leah emerging from the path he just came from. He sighs and sets his sword against the ground, seeing that he's not going anywhere for a few minutes.

"Ugh, what the hell do you want?"

"My, you're irritable today. What happened? And where's your little friend?"

X grinds his teeth in annoyance while Leah saunters up into a more conversational range. Examining the look on his face, she gathers what she needs to know and smiles knowingly.

"Oh, I see. She dumped you."

"Wh-what? No, shut up, that's not how it happened...I...why the hell am I explaining this to you? What do you want?!"

"Uh huh. Well, I didn't get a proper answer to my question yesterday, so I'm here to try again."

"Huh? I could've sworn I told you to screw off."

"Yes, exactly. You see, you're a very weird person. One minute, you're a completely dense and insincere fool. The next, you're a sharp witted genius. And the minute still after that, you're an angsty little whiner whose throat I want to pour bleach down. And I don't even want to think about the times you're some unholy combination of the above."

"Is this going somewhere...?"

"Well, I got to thinking. Lots of people feel good about themselves by helping others. But, there are very few people I don't intimidate just by looking at, so the people I can help is a pretty small population!"

Oddly, Leah is looking awfully cheerful in contrast to X's now twitching eye.

"See, you have the problem of not knowing who you want to be, so you go through a lot of different personalities at the moment they're best suited for."

"Wh-what the hell are you babbling about?! Why are you here?!"

"I thought about, and ended up deciding that I'm going to help you figure out what kind of man you want to be! Don't worry, turning little boys into men is my speciality."

"..."

"...Shut up."

"Don't worry. That was too easy anyway. At any rate; screw off."

X slings his sword back on his shoulders and turns to continue on into the jungle. His progress is halted not two seconds later when his ear is grabbed, preventing him from moving any further.

"Ah ha, I don't recall giving you a choice in the matter. What's the problem anyway? Most little boys would kill for an opportunity like this."

"Uh huh. Well, you'll have to forgive me if I choose not to spend a lot of time around someone who broke my arm."

"Are you still on that? That was almost an entire day ago. Life is too short!"

Your life maybe.

"Ugh, lady, you're ****ing manic. At least my angst is consistent."

"Yeah, yeah, come along now."

"Hey, ow, ow, you've still got my ear!"

X: The hell? Are you going to drag me the entire way through Jungle?

Leah: Well, I'm taking your ear. Rest of you can come along if it likes. Next time, on Twilight's Legacy...

Episode 23: The New Dynamic: The Ultimate Attack and Defense!

X: What the...okay, no. You are a bloody support character. You do not steal my, the main character's, lines!

Leah: Don't miss it!

X: Argh!



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Xaeris on 2006-03-05 18:10 ]</font>

[TheGingerOne]

If you want to explain the loss of intellect just have him hit on the head a couple more times than normal. Or some other humerous incident that could result in the loss of brain cells. Like severe alcohol intake at the celebration party or whatever.

[Xaeris]

My apologies for the hiatus. Block plus motivation loss makes for a nasty combo.

Episode 23: The New Dynamic, the Ultimate Attack and Defense!

Before we can explore this new dynamic, the scene zips back up to the ship for a while. On the first day of her new life, Elly looks rather lost. Through the streets, she drags her feet, not having anywhere in particular to rush to like she used to. Every now and then, a busier passerby bumps shoulders with her, but her reaction is nonexistent, her mind having wandered off to entirely other things.

I'm sure this was the right decision...but what am I supposed to do with myself now?

Yet another person bumps into her shoulder while walking by, knocking loose a disc carried in her jacket. She scoops it off the ground in a smooth motion and looks in the direction of one of the teleporters.

Right, this is the report X asked me to do for him...I may as well go hand it in now.

And with that temporary purpose in mind, she takes off for the lab through a series of short distance warps. The entire trip takes a few minutes even though it has taken her over several dozen miles from where she started. After taking a look around the sterile, dimly lit surroundings to confirm her location, Elly walks up to the main desk where Natasha is seated and working on some papers to hand in the data on the Tower. At first, Natasha holds out her hand to receive the disc with no acknowledgment for its courier, but a stray glance prompts her to look up and address Elly directly.

"Oh, you. You're the one who quit, yes?"

"Yeah, I...guess so."

"Hmm, all right. Thank you for the delivery."

Picking up on the slight bit of disdain undercutting Natasha's voice, Elly bows her head and walks off, putting that lost look back on her face. Before she's gotten down the ramp however, the curses of one of the attendants grabs her attention. Looking at him, she sees that he's banging on his computer, screaming various obscenities at it. After pausing for a moment, she walks over to help; whether it's the computer or attendant she wants to help is anyone's guess.

"Um...what's the problem?"

"Huh? Oh...this stupid piece of junk just froze up out of nowhere!"

"It doesn't look serious, I think the cache bus just got overclogged...a dump should fix it. Here, let me."

Elly swings around the desk, prompting the attendant to get up and make room in order to avoid a collision. Some swift keystrokes clear the screen and moments later, the computer has rebooted, returning all things to be good and dandy. The man just rubs the back of his head in confusion while Elly walks off, looking lost yet again. Another shout calls her attention, this time coming from Natasha. She's risen from her desk and walked down to ramp to converse with her directly.

"You seem to know your way around a computer system."

"Uh...yes..."

"Hm hm...tell me, would you like to help your friend in a manner more suited to your talents?"

"Huh?

*****

"Behold the movements of the graceful tigress and you'll be in love; there's no escape from Leah's rapture!"

So, our new hunter pair is just finishing off a small group of apes. X pulls his katana out of a flailing gibbon and shoves onto the ground with his heel. With a half closed eye, he turns his attention to Leah who has just finished off her own pair of monkeys and is letting out a gleeful hum.

"You know, we had a decent chuckle the first two times, but on the seventeenth iteration, it just pisses me off."

"Well, it's better than your line, 'that was more fun than a Catholic schoolgirl with no gag reflex.' Honestly, how did you even come up with that?"

X tucks his sword back into its sheath and readjusts his arm in its cast. Careful not to step on any of the remains of the freshly defeated enemies, he doesn't answer the question until he's good and clear of them.

"Stole it from some guy. ...Why are we having a conversation? Don't talk to me."

"Gee, what's your problem now?"

With a dead look in his face, X spins on a heel to face his forcibly assigned travelling partner and bring his still broken arm into full view. Leah rolls her eyes while putting away her own weapon and waves a hand in the air as if to absolve the arm from sight.

"You're still on that? God, you're such a woman. Fine, if you're going to whine about this the entire way..."

Leah walks up to X, and places both hands on his cast while moving her head about it in examination. X just stares on in confusion while she makes an assessment of the damage. After a few minutes of dead silence, Leah's hands begin to glow green. X is still staring on in confusion, though it's been upgraded from mere detached confusion to astonished confusion. After several seconds, the glow dies down and the HUne begins to apply pressure to the cast. It cracks and shatters into dust fairly quickly, leaving X's healed arm exposed to the moist air.

"There, how's that?"

X experimentally works his elbow, slowly at first, then progressing to the normal blur required for his sword tricks. Satisfied that his arm is healed, he lets it down against his side and ponders.

The nurses on the ship couldn't fix this with nanites...this sort of healing isn't the kind of thing someone can learn with just hard work; what kind of newmen do they make these days?

"Yoo hoo? I asked you a question."

X snaps out of his moment of deep pondering to find that one of his katanas have been snatched is now held rather high above Leah's head. A slight vein presents itself on X's forehead once he notes that it's his cherished blade, the Orotiagito.

"Give that back."

"Come get it."

"No, just give it back. I'm not playing this game with you."

"Aww, what's the matter, afraid you're too short and you'll look just silly?"

"Oh please, that's just ridic-"

Like a coiled spring, X thrusts his hand into the air, gets on the tips of his toes and waves his hand around frantically for something to grab onto. However, Leah's hypothesis proves to be sound and he comes up a few centimeters short. Our hero gives up, exhausted, and plants his hands on his knees while sucking in wind. As he stands there, a slender tanned hand comes into his view, offered for a handshake.

"Listen, I fixed your arm, and we obviously got off on the wrong foot. Is there really any reason we can't get along?"

A witty one liner is about to launch for X's tongue, but when he shoots his head up to deliver it face to face, he finds himself doing something rare; rethinking what he's about to say. Looking at pink, pursed, smiling lips accompanied by a narrowed...eye and tilted head, this HUmar finds himself momentarily incapable of spitting out whatever quip he had whipped up.

I may come to regret this...

X places his hand in hers; instead of a shake, they just hold it while X stands himself upright. Once he does, they break and X places a hand on his hip to introduce himself with style.

"I guess not. We didn't introduce ourselves properly. I'm X Launcher, quite easily the greatest of HUmars. There's no truth that I can't perceive!"

X pounds his chest once with a cocky smirk and closed eyes while his temporary ally stands there looking rather unimpressed. X opens up one eye to guage the reaction and resumes a relaxed stance once he sees his theatrics meet a dead audience.

"Anyway, I'm Leah Rachel, though I'm sure a perverted little jerk like yourself knows all about me."

"Yeah, 'cause I read the magazines for the articles...fft, let's get a move on skank."

*****

"Hey skank, what's up with your ID?"

Currently, X is planting his heel into the face of a gibbon that has leapt from the bushes. When it lands on the moist ground in a flailing heap, X follows up with a quick skewer through its chest so he can attend to its friends which have also emerged from the cover. A firelit swing of Ryuenjin makes the apes wary about coming close and makes them opt to circle our hero instead.

"Hmm, what do you mean?"

Facing the opposite direction, standing a few yards away, Leah disrupts the flight of a small group of gees with a forceful, air moving swing of her sword. One of the gees falls from flight to meet a messy demise at the clawed swipe of Leah's free hand. The others zip around and proceed to shoot their stingers as they always do; it proves to be of little threat as they all get swat away like baseballs.

"Well, the color. It's the Purplenum design, but it looks like someone threw bleach on it."

X has sliced one of his stalkers through and is facing down the other two. One spits out an arc of electricity which is easily dispelled by a quickly conjured wall of flame while the other leaps in to swing at X's head. X dashes forward a step in a flash, ducking him beneath the swing and allows him to cut through the monkey's chest, leaving one more to go.

"Oh, that. The black and white of it represents the fact I no longer share the ideals and goals of the Guild organization. That's all."

Leah is on her last gee which she is now walking up to. It fires one more stinger, which is caught and snapped in a free hand, before it is knocked from the air and squashed underfoot like the bug it is.

"Eww, I knew I shouldn't have worn open toes today..."

"I see."

X sheathes his katanas and cups a hand over his mouth, aiming it at the last monkey. It is beating its chest, mourning the loss of its comrades, completely unaware that it's about to join them. With a relaxed look on his face, X releases a torrent of flame from that cupped hand and roasts the gibbon right there on the spot. He holds a steady stream for a few seconds before releasing the technique to reveal a charred pile of ash that was once the enemy. With the victory in hand, X more than gladly takes his turn to do the victory quote.

"Ah, they fell as red headed children before a druken stepfather."

"Did that fire really come from your mouth?"

"Nah, it was just a Foie. I thought looked cooler that way."

*****

"Your techniques are pretty decent for a human."

Leah refers to the Rabarta that X has just cast that has one shot every Sinow Spiegel in the surrounding radius with an ice spike through the hull. In fact, the surrounding teen foot radius is covered in a field of ice spikes jut out in every direction. Our pair stands in the center, where X stands with his arms folded, not having broken a sweat to cast that.

"...My mother taught me. I think."

"You think?"

"I...I don't really remember. I just have that feeling...forget it, it was just a passing thought."

"Fine. But speaking of your childhood, what kind of mother names her kid 'X' anyway?"

"...It's not my real name. It's one I gave myself."

"Huh? Why?"

"C'mon, we have a lot of ground to cover."

"Fft, sure, avoid the question..."

****

Just a stone's throw away from the security console in Jungle East, the duo stands in the slanted pond that houses the siege of merrillas beholden to us all. The once clear water is muddied by the gallons of green blood that has mixed in with it, along with the bodies of the walking flowers themselves. Being more or less done, X searches for the path that'll lead them further towards their goal while Leah stands hunched over the one clear patch of water in the entire pond, looking at her reflection.

"X, wait!"

"Huh? Oh for Christ's sake, are we stopping for your hair again?"

"I can't help it, it comes undone so easily."

"Well duh, that's because you're forcing it against its natural state."

Now, a layman might see this and think that neither hunter has noticed the fact that the big daddy of all the merrillas, a Mercius, has made its appearance at the top of the pond. But no need to mind that just yet.

"Huh?"

"You've pulled your hair out straight. It's not meant to be straight."

"Oh, and yours is?"

X lets out an annoyed grunt and walks over to where Leah is frantically trying to even out her strands. Since she's still hunched over, X has no method of making eye contact, so he contents himself by talking to her derriere instead.

"Yes. My hair strands are round; meaning my hair is predisposed to being straight. Yours, however..."

X plucks a lock of hair from Leah's head, eliciting a sharp yelp and a punch in the shoulder.

"Okay, you might think those hits are just cute little girly punches, but they hurt dammit."

X leaps into the air to dodge the homing sphere of energy that has been spit at him. On landing, he examines the hair he pulled, not paying much attention to the source of that last attack.

"These look oval. Your hair should be wavy. Take a curling iron to it and it'll stay in place, just like mine does. ...Oh, is that still there?"

Finally, X pays some attention to the giant walking flora that's been trying to kill him and Leah for the past couple of minutes. A snap of his fingers freezes the water beneath it, rooting its...roots, to the water, rendering it immobile. X nods in satsifaction, drops the hair into the water and walks off towards the exit. Once Leah confirms the now languid movements of the Mercius, due to its now dead roots, she shrugs and follows after X through the photon gate that leads upwards.

****

And yet another time jump later, the pair is now in a small alcove in the shade, housing a terminal and several boxes scattered on the sides. X's finger lazily taps on the same key repeatedly, producing no result. While X works uselessly at the terminal, Leah goes through the boxes to see what goodies she can find; sure, no one ever found anything that great in a box, but hey, it might have Hit%.

"Okay X, tell me, what are we here for exactly? That old crone dispatched all the teams to 'recover the black box from the terminal,' but something tells me it goes a bit deeper than that."

"Supposedly, there's an underwater facillity with all the sounds of plot thickening echoing through it. I need to get the coordinates from this terminal, but dammit, I have no idea how to work this thing..."

"Then listen up!"

X picks his head up at the sound of the familiar voice and pushes himself from leaning on the console to see where it came from. Looking behind him, he just sees Leah shrugging. The voice chirps again and this time, Leah points to X's hair. His hand goes up to the ID clip tied in his hair, pulls it down for X to see that it's blinking in rhythm with the voice.

"...Elly?"

"Hi X, how are you doing?"

"Uh...fine. Um...what are you doing?"

"Oh, you'll never guess what happened! I went by the lab to drop off your report, then I ended up helping this guy with his locked up computer, then Miss Milarose made me your operator! I'll be managing your teleports, your tech equipment, your-"

"Okay, shut up and make yourself useful then. How do I work this thing?"

"Same as usual...point your ID at it so I can get a visual."

X does as requested and in a few seconds, Elly starts giving instructions as to how to crack the computer's security and look for the data. It only takes a few minutes for the coordinates to be extracted and transmitted back to the lab. During this time, most of the crates have been opened and Leah is now sorting through all the junk, looking for something of at least situational use.

"Hmm. Flight Cutter. This might come in handy. Let's see...oh, an Ice Staff: Dagon. Jerk, you want this?"

"Huh? Oh...meh, I guess. Throw it here."

X snatches the red capsule from midflight and inserts it into a pocket on the inside of his jacket. At this time, Elly reopens the link with further instructions.

"Okay X, we have the coordinates for the Seabed facillity! I can send you there right now, if you want."

"Hmm...all right, might as well get it all done now. Bring the skank with me too."

"Skank?"

X turns the ID to face Leah, who waves at it with a blank expression. A short pause follows before exclaimations come bursting through the link.

"X, are you crazy?! That horrible woman nearly killed you!"

"Granted. But-"

"He doesn't have a choice, really. Now, little girl, you're kind of bothering me, so why don't you leave us with some alone time and wait until X needs you for something, kay? I mean, you dumped him after all. It's only fair you let someone else have her fun."

Leah blows a kiss in the face of the ID, then pokes a finger on it to shut the link in the middle of incoherent screaming by Elly. X just sighs and places the clip back in his hair.

"You really shouldn't tease her like that. She's easily excited."

"Heh heh..."

*****

"What the..."

Now, a ruined facillity that's been abandoned for several months would probably present an off putting sight to most people. But the lightly flooded floors and flickering lights aren't what have X trailing off in mid sentence. Rather, it's the fresh corpse laying face down in the water in front of him. Turning it over, he's able to better identify it as a male human hunter from the ship.

"There are some lashes and welts on his body...but he was killed by bullet wounds."

Leah walks up and kneels beside X to examine the body along with him. She plucks a bullet from one of the wounds with nail and holds it up to her face with a scrutinizing glare.

"This is the type of ammo pellet that carries the photon charge for a Visk rifle."

"Standard military issue..."

"Right. Seems like our very own military has issues with us being down here. So before we get started, we should get our intentions straight."

"Pardon?"

Leah stands up from the corpse and saunters into the doorway, looking out into the ruined corridors with her back turned to X. X rises as well, but maintains his position, quite unsure as to where to move. Still not facing him, Leah folds her arms across her chest, and then finally turns her head back to him looking none too amused.

"If we encounter hostile military personnel, I'm killing them. I need to know right now if you're going to play boy scout and get in my way."

"My, aren't we harboring vengeful wrath. I'd ask why, but...I'm pretty sure I don't care. Well, do whatever your conscience will let you live with. Let's go."

It's a fairly uneventful romp through the upper levels of Seabed. Walking squids and invisible robots just don't have the impact they used to, after all. Before they make the jump to Lower where they will undoubtedly come across some of the freakier stuff, Leah spots a door on the side of one of the hallways they're walking door. X gets a few steps ahead of her before seeing she's fixated on the thing and isn't following.

"Something wrong?"

"I think this is a bathroom...ah...wait here."

A single bead of sweat runs down the side of X's face while Leah goes off to powder her nose. He then finds a comfy spot on the wall to lean on and takes the time to focus and gather up his thoughts. Unfortunately for him, even the sanctity of his own thoughts don't provide respite as he's pulled into the darker levels of his mind to the scene of where he hears the voices that are not his own.

Aw cripes, not again...

Rejoice, for your seal, will soon be broken.

...Seal?

Before that thought gets scrutinized any further, X finds himself on his normal level of consciousness once more. After giving the hallway a once over and finding no one, he shudders and sinks further into his slouch on the wall.

"Angst, relationship issues, mental issues...why, if it weren't for the fact that there are people trying to kill me, I'd be a normal teenager."

After X has spent another minute or so relaxing in his now clear state of mind, the lavatory door opens up and his partner walks through. Before she gets off a greeting though, X glares at her momentarily, then whips out his katana and leaps forward with a horizontal slash. Leah stops it on the guard of her quickly raised forearm and pushes the blade away to shove X off balance.

"What's with you?!"

"Who are you?!"

"...Huh?"

"I asked, who are you?! You're obviously a fake."

"...I repeat; huh?"

X briefly points at Leah's shoes before making with his usual keen eyed observation.

"When Leah and I were up in the jungle, she stepped on a gee, splattering green goop on her shoes. That goop, dried, was still there when she walked in. But I see your shoes are sparkly clean."

"...Is...that what you're basing this on?"

"Er, yeah?"

Leah folds her arms, shuts her eyes, and clenches her teeth, as if trying to contain a great rage within in herself. The attempt is mostly successful, as the only manifestation of that rage that escapes is a swift punch to X's gut. He goes down like a sack of bricks, moaning, but in no great amount of pain. Leah then bends down to make eye contact with the HUmar and tell him what's up.

"I washed them you little doof. God, you're an idiot."

"...Oh. That makes sense...I guess."

"Ugh...really jerk, you're the type of person whose life would be so much simpler if he just didn't think so damn much."

"Hmm...maybe..."

And so, they continue on without another word exchanged on the matter. At the end of the hallway, they come across a door, standard as the rest of them, except the actual door is off its hinges and wedged in the doorway, offering no apparent way through. X walks up and attempts to knock the door away, but it holds firm, due to the force of the wedge and the sheer weight of the door. He takes a few steps back and turns away as he considers the next move.

Shoot. All right, all right, I guess we can just go back to that intersection and take the door we didn't want to go into...but that entire room had all those security gates sweeping the area. So, we'll have to go back to that security console earlier on the floor to turn it off. But damn, the bridge leading to it was out. And it was so close too...okay, but the room next to that entire area was flooded. Maybe if crack a few of the windows, I can move the flood over and just swim across to the console. Yeah. That should work. Okay, we better get moving. That's a lot of ground to cover-

"X, what the hell are you daydreaming about? Let's go."

X turns around to see that the door set on the side and Leah is on the opposite end of a rather scraped up and pretty much ravaged doorway. Our emasculated hero babbles in incoherent disbelief for a few moments before slinking in defeat and walking through.

****

So later, in Lower Seabed, dogs have been put down, machinery has been dismantled and specially trained, elite military personnel has been made to look like cannon fodder. All is fairly quiet in the next room as the pair walks down a ramp that leads to a flooded level which must be crossed to get to the other side. As usual, some squids surface from the water and a morfos congeals from wisps within the shadows. Leah moves hand onto the hilt of her sword, but X is already on the job, eager for the chance to salvage his ego.

"I got this one, no sweat!"

X sticks his katana into the morfos from below as its charging its beam and points it in the direction of the oversized fish, sweeping it back and forth. The makeshift beam weapon clears the entire room away, leaving X with only the task of ripping his blade out, then slashing the mobile wall in half.

"Wow, I've barely had to lift a finger since we've got here. I should show you up more often."

"Shut up..."

It is at this moment that the two finally take their first stock of the room. Looks normal enough. Dim lighting, rust on the walls and boxes scattered about the place. Yet, the two exchange glances and nod before shouting in perfect unison...

"It's a trap!"

Sadly, the two didn't notice the fact that several of the boxes were oddly fresh looking compared to the properly waterdamaged crates in the room. Those boxes explode, releasing a blue mist that quickly spreads about the room. X and Leah cover their mouths to little effect and start coughing and hacking violently. While they do that, a subtle laughter echoes through the room as the hostess walks in through the door and views the two poisoned hunters from the top of the ramp. By this time, the mist has cleared up and the two have stopped coughing, but still look rather haggard from the ordeal. Still, something as small as that would never keep our protagonist from being a jackass.

"I want to say Erin..."

"Eris! My name is Eris, you little punk! And I swear by all that is holy, you're going to remember that name and take it to your grave!"

"Oh right...well, what do you want?"

Eris tosses her hair and smirks with impunity as she speaks from her viewing platform.

"We can't have hunters like you snooping around here, gathering information you'll probably be much too careless with...the secrets of this facillity are far too delicate to...Leah?!"

"Oh, hello Eris. Funny meeting you down here."

"I'll say. When did you open a baby sitting service?"

"Hey!"

X hisses in annoyance while the two carry on a catty conversation that's thinly masked by pleasantries. During the exchange, X just raises his eyebrow in minor confusion now and then.

"You two know each other?"

"It's a work thing. She's kind of mad at me; you see, I got the cover shoot on the swimsuit issue of Hunting-"

"I was robbed! What'd you do Leah, bribe the editors?!"

"Look, if people would rather see a tanned, curvy HUnewearl than some scrawny, pasty faced FOnewearl in a two piece, who am I to argue? But why even argue this? We have a horny teenage boy right here. Let's ask his opinion."

"What? No, leave me the hell out of this if it's not going to involve a mud wrestling match-"

X turns aroundm busts out the Yasha and stabs forward with Raitonken. Though he misses a direct hit on his target, he does manage to drop the cloaking of the Sinow Zele he was aiming at. Despite having made a successful attack, X looks confused, having expected something a little different.

"Just a Zele? I could've sworn I felt a human precense..."

"That you did."

"...Grahart? You're in that contraption?"

"It's just one of the many weapons the Pioneer 1 Lab devised! The mobile armor, Sinow Panzer!"

"Ah, so you're just in some generic mobile armor? ...Could you save me the trouble of blowing it up and just shout, 'it's a gun-'? That'd really speed things up."

Let's see, two on two...seems like fair odds. Now, a plan...a plan...is unecessary.

X: Good, finally something to take seriously. I was getting bored.

Leah: Yeah...I'm worried though. They're coordinated and have experience working together. You, on the other hand, still call me skank.

X: Woman, we could know each other for half an eternity, and your name would still be 'skank' to me. Don't sweat it. Next time...

Episode 24: The Abyssal Clash

Leah: Don't-

X: Miss it! Stop doing that!

[Sgt_Shligger]

Wait, so the 26th episode is already written and so are a bunch of continued ones? If so, are you going to post the 'new' ones aand the 26th or just leave them for us to find?

[TheGingerOne]

X is re-doing 26. As for the others if X doesn't post them I've got half of them saved and I could point out where to ask for the rest of them.

Another exciting episode. I spotted a couple of spelling mistakes though.

I've just gone back and re-read some of your older storys, it's interesting to say the way the writings changed. There's far more dialogue in these newer installments, more to the conversations, aswell as X's new found intellect.

[Keiko_Seisha]

I have all of X's original episodes, minus a few movies I was too lazy (hrm, I guess that's good enough of an excuse) to copy and paste into a wordpad file... >_>

I have no further comments, other than I hope this block of yours lets up soon.

[Xaeris]

Episode 24: The Abyssal Clash

To reset the scene, our adventurous duo stands amidst the murky waters of one of Seabed's flooded areas. They are currently flanked by high ranking military personnel, with Grahart clad in a large suit of mobile armor on the wet end and Eris on the raised, dry end. Despite the seemingly unfavorable odds, neither HUmar nor HUnewearl looks particularly worried.

"So, Grahart, where'd you get the new toy? Council expanded your budget?"

"As if those idiots could understand the need for this technology. No, this was salvaged right here, the last few gems of progress Pioneer 1 made before disaster struck."

"Ah huh..."

X places his hands on his hips, not quite ready to initiate the battle yet. After turning his head to check on Eris briefly and confirming she won't be making any sudden moves, he looks at Leah who simply shrugs.

"Go ahead, gab away. I'll be ready when you're done."

"You're too good to me...all right Grahart, why don't you go ahead and explain just what the need for this technology is. I just don't consider a day started without a dramatic manifesto read to me by a megalomaniac."

Though Grahart's head is covered by the hull of the suit he is occupying, the momentary pause is easily read as a moment's hesitation. After that moment, the soldier stomps a foot forward in the ground with conviction. X shifts his weight onto another leg, unimpressed by the preparatory display.

"To erase anomalies like yourself and that woman from this world!"

"That woman...oh, you mean the skank. Continue."

And Grahart does exactly that, right after X receives a jab to the arm.

"As long as inhumans like you exist, there will always be a need for weapons like these; to equalize for normal humans. How can they live secure lives with threats like you constantly looming over them? It is with these weapons that they can be offered safety from the unbalanced scales that the evolutions of nature and man have pitted against us!"

"Mm hmm, mm hmm, intriguing, yes, most intriguing. Very intriguing indeed...except one tiny detail. Insignificant really. I'm, kinda, ya know...human."

X twirls a finger in his hair while that comment sinks into the silence of the room. After a few moments, a hollow echo of laughter begins to come from Leo's Sinow Panzer. X stops playing with himself and waits impatiently for his opponent to get over his laughing fit.

"You, you think you're human?"

"Um, yeah? Oh no, don't tell me, is this the part where you make the astonishing revelation that I'm actually an android in synthetic flesh...?"

"No, that's not quite what I meant...X, you do not know what it is like to be weak. Nature decided to make an imbalanced field and gave a fool like you the best set of hands! You have the power to pursue whatever path you choose with impunity, and what does the whole of humanity have?! They must serve as the stepping stones of those who trample upon them towards their own goals! Isn't that right X? Or am I mistaken? Was or was not your pretty little friend in green killed in battle while battling alongside you?!"

"Huh?"

"You selfishly pursued your own childish goals and she was swept up in the ensuing casualty while you live on to continue marching along. Does that seem fair to you, that someone else served as a casualty for your own ends?"

"I...that's..."

Just as X begins his descent into self pity, he's sharply backhanded across the cheek by his ever agreeable ally. Having his attention, Leah leans forward to make eye contact with the shorter hunter and impart a little sense into his head.

"Are you seriously believing this nonsense? So far, all I've heard are the rantings of a weakling with an inferiority complex."

"Yeah...yeah, you're right. She didn't die because I was strong...hell, it was the opposite! Damn you Grahart, don't mess with my head!"

"Hmph. I almost forgot about the newman. As horribly as nature skewed the scales, man proved itself to be much more inept in that respect. We hoped to create a new generation, one that would ascend onto a higher, equalized plateau of evolution, for then we could live vicariously through our children, who would have no need to envy one another...forging true peace. Instead, all we have to show for our efforts are newmen like you!"

X scratches the back of his head, finding yet another discrepancy in Grahart's ramblings.

"Um...you don't seem to have this issue with...what's her face."

"Eris you punk!"

"Right, Iris."

"You...don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

"You do know who that is, right?"

X briefly glances at Leah whose gaze has remained fixed and solid on Grahart this entire time. After looking her up and down once, he shrugs and shakes his head.

"Uh, well, she's some skank...name's not really important. Not sure what you're getting at- ow, dammit! If you're gonna hit me, at least pretend you're a girl dammit!"

"Fool...you noticed her ID, yes?"

"Yeah, it's greyed out. What of it?"

"She's a renegade hunter, the product of one of Pioneer 2's very own experiments. If you've spent this long with her, then I'm sure you've noticed she's hardly a normal HUnewearl. And you've probably also noticed that her attitude towards humans is anything but amicable."

Fft, there's the understatement of the year, give the man a silver meseta...

Rather than press on what Grahart is getting at here, X turns his head to the side to pay his companion a cocky smirk, stirring her ire.

"Wow, so you're like some kind of super special ultimate HUney and I still beat you. I'm awesome."

"Rrr...don't let it go to your head. You weren't exactly skipping away when it was done."

"That was only because I wasted my dimate on you..."

The two stare each other down with fiery glares for a few moments before the mechanical whirring of Sinow Panzer's joints prompts them to get ready to get things started. Swords are drawn from their sheaths and brandished in the moist air as the two assume their respective combat stances. Still flanked, they hop back a step and end up back to back while waiting for the opposition to make the first move.

"Ha ha...I hope you won't be thinking this will be as easy as usual X! This armor was one of the many results of the collaboration of the finest minds on Coral! Your simple mind won't be able pierce its secret!"

"Um...it just looks like a Sinow Zele to me dude..."

"For most intents and purposes, that's what it is. But it has one piece of technology that will be the cause of your death! Chronos Shift...well, I suppose I'll begin with a demonstration."

"Good, good...I'll work on some facial expressions to suggest I give a damn during the explanation that's sure to follow..."

As a normal Zoa or Zele would, Grahart bounds forward with his fists raised in the air behind him. Leah steps forward in preparation to counter the aerial bash with a punch, or a judo flip or something. However, what she was planning will remain a mystery as both X and Leah are knocked flat on their backs by the attack with Grahart standing in their midst. X spins himself on a headstand and reorients himself to hop back onto his feet. Leah opts for the more conventional method of getting on her knees, then standing up.

"Okay, what the hell, you had that didn't you?"

"I should have...but then it's like I blinked for a really long time..."

X lets out a grunt and takes a swipe at Grahart who has graciously placed himself in melee range with that last attack. But, X gets a two fisted bash in the back of the head before his swing makes it even halfway through its arc. Not bothering with flashy acrobatics this time, X just climbs to his feet and stares the suit down, looking none too pleased at this turn of events.

"Horsecrap! There's no way you can be moving that fast!"

"Ha ha ha...yes, this is the Chronos Shift technology. Time is compressed around me asymptotically; it doesn't matter how fast you are if time will not move for you!"

Normally, X would have his moment of epiphany about now, having heard the enemy's process and having hatched his own counter process for the occasion. He might be smirking as well. In this particular instance however, there is no moment of lucid clarity or smirk of confidence; X is hunched over with his arms hanging in the air as he stares in what looks like abject confusion. Leah notes the expression and offers up a bit of help.

"Asymptotically means tending towards zero, but never hitting it no matter how long-"

"I know what it means."

"Huh? Then why-"

"Because that is the stupidest gimmick I've encountered yet! Believe me, I've encountered my fair share of elaborate ****s and giggles, but this one isn't just in a league of its own; it ****ing makes its own damned league- no, it's own god damned ****ing sport, hires a bunch of teams, shoots them all up with steroids, then throws them at each other in a pit match to the death! I mean seriously, what the hell?! Did I get knocked on the head and wake up in my own bloody comic book or something?!"

"Um..."

"Fft, well, whatever the gimmick, whatever the magic Grahart, you should know; there is no truth that can elude these eyes."

In addition to Sinow Panzers next charge, a crackling of thunder reminds our duet that Eris is still there watching the battle. X smacks the incoming bolt of Zonde away with a firelit blade, then reaches into his jacket to pull a few icicles into the gaps of his fist. He flings the trio of shuriken at Eris, getting the expected result of having them all melted mere centimeters from her face. X smirks and turns his attention back to the field where he sees Leah has suffered two hits from the time hopping Leo.

"Dammit...looks like I'm actually going to have to take this guy seriously."

And off comes the eyepatch. Before the weakness of the Chronos Shift can be analyzed though, a sphere of flame is conjured between the two and rapidly expands to its burst point. Rafoie blows the two apart and into the opposite walls, leaving them with moderate headaches, yet mysteriously intact clothing.

"You know, Chronos Shift isn't all we found down here. In addition to technological advances, the scientists were much interested in technique advances...particularly, the mutations in evolution that presented itself in less than .01% of the population. Abnormally high rates of mental strength coupled with the ability to perform unique energy manipulations; they called them 'Limit Arts,' and went and found a way to copy them into bodies not normally born with their own...I think you'll recognize this Limit Art quite well X."

Eris congeals a small pin sized icicle from the air and turns her wrist towards her face. In goes the pin and out comes a trickle of blood. As she does this, she has a brief coughing fit. It passes without issue. X raises an eyebrow, recognizing his own imitation of an emo teen when he sees one. The red fluid is wiped onto a thumb, then onto the floor in the shape of a pentagram. The sarcastic words that come from X's mouth should be obvious, but just in case...

"Craaaawlllling in my skiiiiin..."

A FOney with the bloodseal technique. You'd think I'd be worried...

"Don't feel so special now, do you?! This is the miracle of the work the scientists have done! They've taken the esoteric and extraordinary and put it in the reach of normal people!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, whatever..."

I'm more concerned with where the hell they got a sample to extract the DNA from...I mean, if it's hereditary-

X gets to be on the receiving end of a time skipped choke hold, so it's no surprise his thoughts come to an abrupt halt when he goes from pondering quietly to being held in the air by his throat. Leah runs in to slice an arm off, but is interrupted by a fierce wind that pins her down from above, then tosses her into the air in the path of a few dozen ice shards. When she hits the ground, it's in a light spray of blood, contributed mostly from the torso.

"Isn't it a lovely wind technique Leah? They even managed to reverse engineer a few of the techniques that have been lost to time. That was Gizan, like it?"

"You haughty little..."

Grahart throws X into Leah as she rises, knocking them both flat into the ground, both looking rather beat up. That fact is unimportant to the rain of ice spikes falling from the air, forcing them to mount some evasive actions. X finds himself a few gaps in the large projectiles and bounds his way to the top of the storm, jumping from side to side. Again, Leah opts for the less acrobatic approach, holds her ground, kicks, and smacks away all the ones headed her way. X lands from his evasive feat at her side and sizes up the positioning of his opponents, then assesses the situation.

"So, what do you think?"

"Well, I'd say it looks pretty bad."

"Hmm, you think?"

"Not really. Just thought I'd spare your ego, but you seem to be as okay with this as I am."

"Aww, you're so considerate when you're not twisting my arms in unnatural directions..."

"Well of course; a woman must be amicable to one of her adoring fans, right?"

"Ha ha, I have no idea what you're talking about, really...ahem...all right, let's show these tools the score."

"You have a plan?"

"It could be called that by an extremely generous and optimistic person. Me, I think of it more as an 'intuitionally projected chain of events."

"...Well, I suppose that's better than having you think. Let's do it."

"Huh? Don't you want to hear it?"

"I'm sure it's fine."

X shrugs, then reengages the enemy that has so kindly stood idly by during that little exchange. Instead of charging however, X sheathes his blades and busts out the capsule containing the Ice Staff: Dagon he picked up earlier. Before he can release its power though, platings on Sinow Panzer's hull slide back to reveal an arsenal of vulcan and gatling guns which begin to rotate. X cuts his conjuring short and instead gets a wall of Razonde ready to catch all the bullets...right as Grahart does another time skip and appears what should behind X with his turrets blazing. But, the bullets do not bite into flesh, making swiss cheese out of our hero; rather, they all get caught in the electric net as planned, since X has turned around.

"What?! There was absolutely no time for you to react!"

"Ah, but there was time to preact! ...Ow, what was that for!?"

"Don't make up words."

"Egh...anyway muzzle boy, as the saying goes; fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...well, still shame on you because you're a jerkwad. Anyway, the point is that you obviously know that catching a few bullets is no big deal for me. So, you would obviously use Chronos Shift to try and fake me out. So, I set up the shield in the opposite direction right from the start. And of course, you didn't see I had turned around during your little romp in the twilight zone because, and this is just a guess, there's no light in frozen time, is there? No moving photons, and all that jazz."

"Plus, the Chronos Shift technology was obviously scraped, given the mediocre state that thing was in when you first showed up. Most likely due to a major flaw, just like the jerk here explained. And I'm guessing the same is true for the scrawny little bimbo's stolen move up there. Struggle against it all you like, but in the end, you're both just rejects of life clinging pointlessly to whatever scrap of strength you can find, no matter how double edged it is."

"...Jesus skank, that was harsh."

Needless to say, Eris doesn't take that lying down and furiously hurls a Megid at the two. X gets ready to smack it away, channeling energy into his arm, but it proves unnecessary. Leah spreads her feet across the ground and up comes a flash of light in a three foot radius that disperses the Megid into shadowy wisps. In the light's wake, the floor beneath the affected area is resonating yellow in the style of a Shifta spell.

"Huh. That was...different."

"I'll explain later-"

"Not in the middle of a fight? Le gasp."

"Cute. Take your shot!"

"Right."

X twirls the Ice Staff he was about to release between his fingers and moves it about his body as he works on breaking the containment seal. While he does that, his free hand works on another technique, as seen in the fact that high frequency ripples have produced themselves in the water.

"Hey, 'bimbo', I liked that technique, so I'm gonna copy it! Hope ya don't mind!"

Eris tries to express her fury, but coughs on the words in another coughing fit. Now, X says he's going to copy Eris' technique, but that's not quite true; he's improvising.

Let's see, first, she split the converging forces at the sternum, pooled the energy from that splitting into the shoulderblades, stored them there until the energy from the mandibles caught up...god, no wonder this stupid technique line fell into disuse. Anyway, that should make Razan...

True to his thoughts, the ripples quickly become a small tempest, hurling water into the air in sprays from all directions. His target is not Grahart or Eris however, who are both merely momentarily stunned by the gale force that X's Razan has conjured. Rather, X now shoves the glowing Dagon into the air, releasing all its ice power into the tempest, quickly making a fierce blizzard out of the room.

"Are you done yet fool?! Enough of this nonsense, I've stood by too long watching you work your light shows; I'll fill you full of holes right here while you're not zipping around like a little gnat!"

And Chronos Shift is activated once more. However, the result is quite different this time. Rather than appearing behind X or Leah and smacking them in the back of the head, Sinow Panzer does not move an inch much to the frustrations of its pilot.

"What did you do!? I couldn't move!"

Sometimes it just doesn't seem fair that I'm so pretty and quick witted.

"Oh that's easy Leo. See, if you freeze time, you freeze motion. Tell me, what happens when you freeze water? You get ice; a denser object-"

"X, ice floats in water..."

"Shut up skank, I'm having my smart moment. So, by supersaturating the air with this lovely blizzard here, your frozen time wonderland becomes an unavigable block of ice that you can't move around in. So...that makes you a normal Sinow Zele now."

Slice. Done. Sinow Panzer falls forward with sparks coming from the slash mark in its chest. Onto Eris.

"Eris, quickly!"

"Yes commander!"

Eris puts her hands together and pulls them apart revealing a flickering flame which she clearly intends to melt X's ice storm with. In mid cast however, she has another coughing fit with far more serious symptoms this time around; namely the blood being hacked up. X scratches the side of his head, enjoying the sight of a "intuitionally projected chain of events" come together.

"Oh give me some credit; of course I made arrangements for Eris to become disabled right about now. Remember those icicles I threw at you at the start of this fight?"

"H-huh?"

"Yeah, you'll remember I didn't make them on the spot like I normally do. So, the question is; where'd they come from? So now I ask you to remember when you ambushed us with the gas."

"!!"

"Ha ha, yeah, you got it. I got rid of it all by making it into those three shuriken I threw at you. You, of course, melted them inches from your face, inhaling all the gas without realizing it. Corrosive stuff. Why, I imagine your lungs look absolutely dreadful right now. Hmm...you know, it seems unfair that I'm asking you to remember all this when I can't even remember your name. ...Erish?"

"Ugh..."

Eris falls over from her painful heaves, putting an end to the fight. Weapons go back in their sheaths while X laments the loss of a perfectly good wand...until he remembers he's a hunter, not a force. 'Sides, it's not like the things aren't like roaches in where you can find them.

"Hmm, that was actually pretty good."

"Yeah...now explain the shiny thing you did while I try to get Eris out of critical condition."

"...You do know her name."

"Of course. What, do you think I'm that stupid?"

"You're...hell forged evil."

X lays Eris on her back and assesses where his point of entry should be. Once he's decided that healing through the chest is the only way to repair such critical damage, his fingers falter above the clasp of Eris' top. After a few seconds, he stands and gestures for Leah to do the healing instead, then turns away.

"Uh...you do it."

"That's a surprise...well, fine, I guess it wouldn't kill me to help her out a little. Anyway, that technique I used; I don't know if it's one of those Limit Arts she was blabbing on about, but basically, it stabilizes the molecules in the effect range so that technique energy can't be forced upon them. Basically, no technique can be cast in the area. Think of it like a reverse silence. Still, projectile techniques cast outside the area can still get in."

"...Wait...if you had used that on me during our fight..."

"Yes, I suppose you would be very dead right now, wouldn't you?"

"..."

"You're wondering why? Come on jerk, a woman has to keep a secret or two; that's what makes the relationship interesting."

****

Minutes later, Eris has been healed to the point to where she's out of danger, but is still harmless. Grahart is still stuck in his contraption with the helmet taken off, being in no apparent danger despite the still sparking slash in Panzer's chest. Having settled all matters, X and Leah make for the door. Grahart grinds his teeth momentarily, then calls out to the pair.

"Wait."

"Geh?"

"...The woman is right about this power being a double edged sword. I see that now. For that reason...you must help him."

"Him?"

"Flowen. He's the last and the greatest of the things developed here...but what he's become...if the power I have in this suit is a double edged razor, then surely what he has is a double edged chainsaw. Maybe we were wrong about pursuing power to guarantee our equality...but can you honestly tell me that you don't strike out on your path with no regard for those you may step on?"

"...Yes, I can. The abilities I have...I want to use them to carry those who can't walk on their own two feet. And that is what I will use them for, to carry the weak and knock the obstacles out of their way so they can reach their destination! ...Just like with Elly, right?"

"Heh heh...you're right...that's so right...I can't believe I didn't see that. Then good...you'll run into many who would oppose your belief..."

Leah rolls her eyes and looks away.

"Who would deny one's right to live based on merely on the circumstances of their birth. You'll fight these people?"

"Yeah. Definitely."

At this, Leah's uncovered eye winces as she sighs in exasperation.

"Good. Ha...you're the spitting image of your father..."

X raises an eyebrow at the mention of daddy and quickly starts looking for what's about to kill Grahart, seeing as he's just given an obscure and mysterious hint as to the main character's lineage after being beaten in battle. Just then, the slash that X inflicted earlier flares up and causes a reaction the power supply, consuming Sinow Panzer in a localized explosion, leaving nothing but dust.

"...Proceed to heaven."

****

An hour later, the two are at Olga's teleporter. X looks it up and down and decides it looks ominous enough to take him to where he needs to go.

I still don't have the Red Handgun...oh well.

"All right skank, thanks for the company, but I'll go it alone from here. It's probably pretty dangerous in there."

"Mm hmm...all right. But first, give me your hand."

"Huh? Okay."

X holds out his hand, which Leah takes hers. She rubs it softly for a few moments before squeezing down hard, rubbing the knuckles against each other, putting X in no shortage of pain. She then chucks the limp hand at his forehead, effectively smacking him there.

"I'm going with you. Make your peace with it."

"Sheesh, at least the other girls were nice about it..."

X: Okay, I beat Episode II and we all live happily ever after. Everyone wins.

Leah: You did listen to Grahart's death speech, right?

X: There were parts I chose not to hear.

Leah: Right...next time...

Episode 25: A Broken Blade, a Bolstered Conviction

Leah: Don't miss it!

X: Just two more episodes and I'll be rid of her...

[Xaeris]

I had to cut today's chapter a bit shorter than I would've liked; I wanted to get something up before the chaos that is finals week. So, just look at it this way; the cut will spillover into a super long 26, right? Right.


Episode 25: A Broken Blade, a Bolstered Conviction

Currently, the two hunters are still standing in the flooded room, staring down the teleporter which serves as the only means of further progression. Despite the obviousness of the path though, X has his arms folded and his feet planted firmly on the floor, not budging an inch. His newman teammate lets him dwell in his thoughts for all of three seconds before deciding to rouse him back to the world of the living.

"What are you expecting to find on the other side of this warp, anyway?"

"Well...that's the thing. I don't really know."

X relaxes his stance, drops his arms to his side and tilts his head as he compiles the sum total of what he was pondering in the past few moments.

"Ever since Pioneer 2 landed here on Ragol, ever since I embarked on this new way of life, I've felt kinda lost. I mean, sure, I've always had some kind of short term goal, but in the big picture, they just don't seem to add up towards any real goal. For example, right now, I want to kick Kireek's ass; that's why I'm down here. But why him? Why does this place even exist? So much stuff has happened and I've never really gotten the chance to consider anything but the things right in front of me...I'm...I'm just confused..."

X places a hand on his face and turns his head down as he groans in frustration at the awkwardness of his own words. Before his thoughts reentagle themselves, he feels a hand on his shoulder drawing him out of his self reflection.

"There you go again, thinking too hard. That thinking expression really doesn't suit you. A face like yours is meant to be empty and air headed at all times."

"But-"

"Look, jerk, sometimes, life is just about survival. You walk along and deal with whatever obstacles are in your way; do that, and any problems you have will eventually present themselves for you to solve. No need to go out of your way. So, stand up straight..."

Hands go on either sides of X's torso and adjust him to do exactly that.

"And take a step forward."

X is shoved forward into the teleporter's field in which he staggers for a few steps before regaining his balance and turning behind himself with a semi annoyed expression on his face.

"You're a crazy skank, you know that?"

"And you're a cocky jerk, you know that."

X holds his annoyed expression for a few moments long before briefly looking down into the water with a smile and turning away to activate the teleporter.

"Hey, you smiled!"

"Huh? I always smile."

"No, no, you always smirk. There's a difference. One pisses me off. The other doesn't."

Before X can make a comment on that, his ID clip blinks again. Knowing what means this time, he casually reaches up to his hairband and removes the clip from his place to open the comm link.

"Yes Elly?"

"Hi X! I just wanted to give you a heads up, there's an extremely large condensation of photon in the area...I've pinpointed it to the test subject disposal area according to this map. I don't know what it is...but X, please be careful."

"You know I can't make any such promise."

"Right, right...well, don't die then!"

"That, I can do. Later Elly."

*****

If you don't like watching fourth walls get demolished, I suggest you skip down to the next set of asterisks. For the rest of you, X walks up to a glowing halo by the side of the teleporter and sticks his hand in it.

"Okay, let's save the game. No one likes replaying 11 hours because of a cheapshot game over."

Create a new save file in slot 1?

->Yes
No

File 01 Disc 1 11:28:31
Lv 29 X, Leah
Test Subject Disposal Site

"Okay, all done. How are you on items?"

"No fluids, no mates."

"Egh, me either...and I'm still wearing this Frame from when I started the game. Whoever's playing this file seriously sucks."

*****

After an instaneous trip through the teleporter, the two arrive on a field familiar to most people. The platform the pair is standing on grumbles to life as it begins its rapid descent down miles of tunneled shaft. But before the main festivities start, a small distraction is offered for X in the middle of the platform in the form of a certain purple plated HUcast.

"Well that's convenient."

X draws just the Orotiagito, deciding to make the ensuing carnage a little ironic, and rushes headlong to slash Kireek in two. When katana meets metal however, X receives the surprise of absolutely zero resistance as the blade goes through what turns out to be nothing more than a projection. He turns his misplaced momentum into a cartwheel and balances himself within seconds.

Yes, let your anger flow, douse your mind and soul in the flames of malice. Hollow out a place for me, puppet.

Who are you?! Get out of my head!

The inner dialogue ends on that note as X's attention is drawn back to the field where Kireek's image disappears in a burst of black flames, clearing the stage for the real fight. A strange, barely intelligible grumbling comes from the top of the shaft, directing both X and Leah's attention to the coming demon.

"You killed my goddess..."

"Wh-what was that?!"

"Sounds like Satan singing emo at a kareoke bar...here we go."

And Olga Flow, in his first form, dives in from the top of the shaft with a blood curdling roar that shakes the halls around. Despite the weird and unsightly stuff they've seen so far, X and Leah still take a moment of pause to stare at the sheer horror of the mutated beast. They snap back to life when they're presented with a greeting volley of light green spheres sputtered from the cannon on Olga Flow's arm. X jumps back and begins to weave his way through them, but finds this particular attack a bit tricky and ends up getting burned by one on the chest. The damage is nothing serious, but he's momentarily stunned by the shock regardless. Leah, who was clear of the range, has no problems to deal with and need only confirm X is fine before redirecting her attention to Olga Flow.

"Great, how are we supposed to hit that?"

X answers that question with the flinging of a few foies, all of which either miss or produce little effect on impact.

"You know, sometimes I wonder why I still bother. When was the last time that even worked...?"

Flow roars and zips around to the other side the elevator and swipes with the Dark Flow. Leah gets struck in the side and is knocked down like a sack of bricks by the blade that doesn't so much as slow down on contact. The newman moans, lets out a low growl and rises to her feet, undeterred by the heavy attack.

"Uh, how did you...like...not get cut in half?"

"It might be a sword, but it's a big sword; to targets as small as us, the edge is actually pretty blunt. So, what's the plan?"

"Ah ah ah..."

"Right, right, what's the "intuitionally projected chain of events?"

"Well, I'm thinking the Ipce-"

"Ipsee?"

"Ipce. Acronym. Keep up. Anyway-"

"You're supposed to pronounce each letter individually in an acronym."

"You know, I don't think now is really the time for this..."

X's thought is proved quite correct when Olga Flow holds out the Dark Meteor towards the elevator and begins to fill the nozzle with bubbling green energy. Instinct drives the hunters to start running, and run they do, just in time to avoid the coherent green beam of death that has killed off many a hunter that didn't keep near the damned center. Of course, X has never been one to fight a boss battle by the status quo, and this is no exception.

"X, get behind me!"

"Huh? But-"

"Do it!"

X grudgingly ducks behind Leah who then activates the technique demonstrated before against Eris. A small bastion is provided in the center through in which the beam cannot ignite the photons, saving the two some running time. Sweat begins to pour down her forehead as her stamina is strained to its limit by Flow's seemingly unending beam. X eventually sees the need to intervene, scoops up the skank in his arms and leaps out of the way just as the technique and beam break.

"Damn, I didn't think it'd go that long..."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just grateful I wasn't completely emasculated there. I mean, really, 'get behind me.' Do I look like a girl or something?"

"...Yes. It's either the hair or the fact that puberty has yet to bless you with a deeper voice."

"Screw you skank. Screw you."

So far, Olga has played the battle by the books. So now comes the curveball. He soars high into the shaft, leaving our dumbfounded hunters no clue what to expect. Then, he comes diving down fast, smashing his arms on the platform, knocking it on its side so that anything standing on it, say a wise cracking protagonist and his scandolously dressed company, would slide right off into the surely death inflicting fall below. Leah reacts, quick as a cat and shoves a fist into the sideturned platform and creates a handhold for herself. X is a bit slower to react and falls several feet before acting, but does stick Yasha into the platform to make a handhold of his own. However, lacking that kind of arm strength, the stab is quite loose and shallow, threatning to throw X into the abyssal deep. Speaking of the abyssal deep, Flow is camping out below them, charging up another green beam of death to fire upwards into the shaft, obliterating everything in its path.

"Shoot, think I'm gonna fall..."

"X, don't let go!"

"Oh gee, is that all I have to do to keep myself from falling? And here I was about to let go to see if that would help..."

X's hands slip and down he goes. An Ipce is hatched on the spot wherein X draws the Orotiagito and charges up the Full Moon Memory on the blade. Instead of projecting the wave as normal though, X hurls the glowing blade downwards into the nozzle of the Dark Meteor.

Please let this work...

When the energies collide, the resulting reaction of bright green lights shooting in all directions blows off the arm carrying the Dark Meteor, halting the attack. Now, X is left with the simple problem of falling several meters per second towards the ground. A casting of Zan uses the shaft to X's advantage and produces a fierce updraft which scoops X in an upward current, blowing him back up to the platform which has now righted itself. X braces himself for a rough landing and so, is surprised when he finds lands relatively softly in outstretched arms.

"You are determined to bust my balls, aren't you?"

"X, I promise, if they ever do descend, I'll be there with a mallet."

"Did I use 'screw you' already? 'Cause...I mean that, like, now, I mean that. Agh...anyway, I think that handles that. And it looks like the elevator's reaching the bottom."

****

The two arrive at the second battlefield where they find yet another flooded room, a severed arm and an unmoving husk leaking purple ooze. X nods in satisfaction at his handiwork and goes about looking for a way out.

"Well, it's been real skank, but we're done here."

"Hmm...X, I don't think we're done yet."

X turns around to find that Flow's lower body is mutating into walking appendges and affixing itself to the main body. As phase two Flow is formed, X takes a few steps forward with an exhausted look of frustration. As Olga Flow gets to his feet with Dark Flow in hand, X reaches for one of his own katanas only to remember that he is currently unarmed. He looks back to the elevator to see if he can retrieve the Yasha from its emdedded state, only to have to stare in lament as the elevator has already begun to rise back towards the surface.

The Agito has to be around here somewhere...I have to find it.

"Great Caesar's ghost!"

"...You're an idiot."

"It felt like a great Caesar's ghost type moment."

"Ugh...anyway, we have a big problem here. I mean, where do we even start, it's giant...do we hack at its ankles?"

"What? No, what kind of newb goes with a plan like that? Real men knock giants flat on their asses and stab 'em in the eyes."

Olga Flow begins his standard game of hop skotch and takes a small hop over to the two hunters, producing a tremor that, in X's words, knocks them flat on their asses. They're fortunate and manage to roll out of the way of the Dark Flow which is stabbed right where they were lying half a second before. Flow removes the sword from the ground and proceeds to stalk about the field, producing similar tremors, which are now withstood now that the two are used to them.

"Geez, is this guy a professional walker or something? What elaborate steps...

Though neither hunter is directly affected by the tremors, they still must dodge the debris that falls from above as a result. As such, it is quite the task for either of them to get close enough to Flow to even take ineffective shots at his ankles. So, X decides to whore out what apparently is his favorite element one more time and freezes the shallow flood with a wide Rabarta while Flow is in mid hop. Much to our hero's chagrin though, the ice simply cracks beneath Olga's weight rather than slip him up and land him on his behind.

"Hmm. Well, this is certainly a quandry."

"What are you doing?! You're a hunter, act like one! Where's your sword?"

"Well, one is probably several miles above us and the other is lying around here in the water-"

Another hail of debris comes from above and interrupts that thought. A particularly large piece is falling towards X's position, leaving him with only the option of jumping straight up, and ambling across its bottom and onto the side. Deciding not to waste a golden opportunity, he jumps to the next piece of debris that hasn't fallen quite as far as a stepping stone towards Flow's head.

Hmm, wait, what am I going to hit him with...

"X, catch!"

Heeding the command, X catches a red capsule thrown at him from the ground. Opening it up on the jump to the next piece of debris pops a flat hollow disc into his hand. Recognizing it as the Flight Cutter found earlier in the Jungle, X flips the switch that activates the four light green blades that extend one foot out and grasps it by a piece of disc between two of the blades.

It's not a sword, but it's sharp, pointy and not a partisan; just as good.

X makes the final leap at Olga Flow's head and goes to town, swinging the Flight Cutter at his head, keeping afloat just on the momentum of his attacks. Each slice cuts across the skin and spills lively purple gunk into the air, some of which gets on X and makes him go eww, but most of which just falls into the water. The cuts themselves do not remain though; they sew themselves back together just like with every other Dark attribute monster X has faced so far. After a few swings, Flow eventually gets the idea to swat X away like a bug, knocking him backwards into the air.

"Oh like hell you did..."

A sharp gust comes from behind at the HUmar's beckoning, lifting him upright and back towards his target where he recommences his assault. This time, he keeps it brief, lights each blade of the Flight Cutter aflame and spins the disc from the inside. Once he's got a nice revolution speed going, he flings it and allows himself to drop back to the ground while the Ryuenjin enchanted Cutter tears into Olga Flow's head and takes off a fairly decent chunk. When X lands, he collapses at the knees being unable to handle the shock of the landing. While he tries to get his legs to move again, a displeased Olga prepares to take a swing at the immobile hunter.

"Bugger."

Just before the Dark Flow makes contact, X is swept up and skirted out of harm's way. Leah places her fingers on her lips, then on each of X's knees, healing the shattered kneecaps.

"Baby's boo boo all better?"

"Hell. You. Go."

A demonic roar resounds throughout the corridor, attracting the pair's attention to Olga Flow's now open chest cavity which is dripping with purple electricity. At first, it seems like nothing to be worried about when purple beams shoot into the air, but X finds this all too familiar and starts looking for a place to dodge to. If he found one, it was too late since Heaven's Punisher has already struck both its targets dead on, striking them down, then several more times on the chest.

"Argh..."

Perhaps a minute later, X regains consciousness from the sensation of the water splashing up on his face. Looking up, he finds Olga Flow still thrashing about madly with his sword. More importantly to him however, is that looking down, he finds his cherished katana drifting up against his waist. Reinvigorated, he snatches it up and hops up to his feet right before he notes the condition of the Agito. A visible hairline fracture travels down the length of the blade.

Damn...it has one more shot left in it. I better make it count. Where's the skank?

X looks a few feet behind him to see Leah getting up on her feet, equally wrecked and ravaged by the attack.

"Well, don't you look like a pile of crap."

"I wouldn't talk Mr. Shirtless..."

"And yet, my pants and your shirt are still intact. Little wonders never cease. Anyway, listen up, I need to get in close to finish this. But I need an opening. Think you can manage that?"

Leah wipes a trickle of blood from her mouth with her hand while looking at X, then takes a look at the mad giant rampaging wildly.

"You just need me to hold him still a minute?"

"That's all."

"No problem. Final charge?"

"Let's do it."

X takes the Agito's hilt into both hands and leads the charge with it held against the ground. The splashing of water catches the attention of the giant demon who turns to address the threat. The Dark Flow is brought upwards in preparation for the incoming swing that would intercept X and end his all too short life. Instead of that outcome however, Leah leaps over the lead X was keeping and holds up her sword to cut the attack short and hold the translucent blade at bay while X runs in past the sweep of the arc.

"Nice skank!"

"Hold on a sec..."

Leah tucks her Lame D'argent beneath the Dark Flow and hoists it up, knocking the giant blade loose from Olga Flow's hand and into the air. After dropping her own sword, she catches the Dark Flow by the blade, spins around and smacks Olga in the chest with the hilt of his own sword, knocking him backwards on his ass.

"Well, that was more than I could have asked for..."

X bites his thumb and wipes a streak of blood onto his cracked katana. The energies reverberate within the blade one last time as X pulls it back for the swing.

One more time...please Ken, just once more...

As X swings forward, the katana shatters, just like any other weapon that's been enchanted too many times. The green wave is still conjured and rushes forward to consume the prostrate test experiment in a violent roar of energy. Once the wave clears, all that's left is yellow wisps rising into the air and one exhausted, white haired X collapsing on his knees, clutching his broken katana.

That's it...that's all I got...

X raises his left arm into the air to see skin flaking away as blue cracks burst into each other, forming a network of pulsing webs. The arm is lowered while X simply allows it to overcome the left half of his body.

I don't know what this feeling is...it's so cold...nothing's holding it back anymore. And...for what? I broke the Orotiagito, I broke her...for what? Ungh...it doesn't matter anymore, does it?

X falls over into the water as the feeling of coldness spreads throughout his being while Leah observes from afar, looking none too surprised, all things considered. X staggers back to his feet and takes a few steps forward to the site of Flow's corroding corpse to meet with the spirit that stands amidst it, holding a much smaller version of the Dark Flow.

"You are...?"

"Ah, you're the savior, aren't you? She must have asked you to come here as well. I thank you."

"...She wanted me to give you these."

X's left arm is now limp beyond his control, so reaching for the red capsules on the left side of his belt proves awkward with his battered right arm. Still, he manages to pull six capsules out and unceremoniously throw them onto the ground before Flowen.

"Sorry, couldn't find the handgun."

"It's all right. She inscribed those letters onto the weapons as a show of respect...but whether one or all of them are missing, I remember that child very well. And that is all that matters. Maybe it was those memories that made me accept that madman's proposal...for Coral's future. I was such a fool...anyway, don't worry that you could not fulfill her request to the letter; you carried out the essence of her wish."

"Her memory huh..."

"My time here is up. The rest, is for you."

With that, the spirit disperses, leaving X with something to think about.

She really has been with me all this time...but not in the katana. But where it counted most. And she still is there, driving me...that voice that tells me to get up after I've been hit, that urge to win...it's been her. And it's also been me. I've been reading too much into all of this too long; the Agito was just a sword; it was I who gave it meaning. I just need to put that same meaning into my own life. But I don't know how...so I can't die, until I can die a meaningful death.

X raises his arm once more and glares at it, looking fairly annoyed.

All right, look, you're in my head, and that's fine. But you're a guest in here; behave yourself, capiche?

With that, the cracks recede, reverting X to normal and dropping him to his feet from the exhaustion. Leah is frowning at this development while grinding her teeth.

"Ugh, he still doesn't have enough malice for the transformation to be sustained...how bothersome. Oh well, back to square one."

X: All right, one more episode to wrap everything up and I can rest easy!

Leah: You're kidding right? You don't honestly believe that that's the end of it?

X: Look, I'm sure my bubble will be burst, but until it needs to be, I'm gonna happily blow it.

Leah: Egh...

Episode 26: It Hasn't Even Started Towards the Fan Yet

X: Christ, even the title is against me on this...

[Xaeris]

Woo hoo, finals are over, and I'm back home...sure, I have to find a summer job to avoid incessant nagging, but home is home.

Episode 26: It Hasn't Even Started Towards the Fan Yet

One human hunter falls on his behind and happily sighs a breath of relief, easily ignoring the fact he has soaked his pants on the floor. His newman, sorta-ally opts to stay on her feet, keeping her arms folded while pacing a short path in the arena. X's fingers slip around in his hair as removes his ID clip and moves it in front of his face.

"Elly, come in Elly. ...Ditz, pick up."

X shakes the badge some more and eventually gives up when he still gets no response. He puts the clip back and shakes his head.

"No signal. Something must be interfering."

"Well, we are pretty deep under. We should get back up, so let's go to the elevator."

X nods in agreement, and slowly pushes himself to stand. Once Leah is sure he'll be standing up, she removes her gaze and heads back towards the elevator shaft that served as their entrance. X limps behind her, clutching his left arm, the feeling of numbness not quite having subsided yet. While Leah works at the console's controls, X shivers a bit and wraps his arms around his bare chest.

"Kinda chilly down here."

"Being several thousand feet below sea level without a shirt on will do that...problem."

"Solution."

"..."

"What, I thought we were playing association?"

"Idiot...no, the controls aren't responding, that elevator's not coming back down."

X slaps his hand against his forehead and considers the next course of action while turning away to examine the surroundings. It's basically an empty glass aquarium at the bottom of the sea. There's nothing around to suggest any existence of an emergency exit; no life vests, no oxygen tanks, not so much as a service entrance.

"Well, guess this will just have to be unnecessarily complicated."

"Huh? What are you-"

X charges up a splatter of lightning on his palm and hurls it at a nearby wall where it connects and fizzles out with no effect. X raises an eyebrow curiously while Leah sets her face in her hand, shaking it in annoyance.

"X, glass insulates electricity."

"Huh...oh right, it does, doesn't? Hey, I'm getting pretty good at this not thinking thing."

X tilts his head and rubs the back of it while chuckling, partly in nervousness, partly in amusement. Leah rolls her eyes and moves towards the spot X was aiming.

"Ugh...I'm assuming you want this wall gone."

"Yes'm."

The newman knocks on the glass with a nail to get a feeling for its integrity. On the fourth knock, she leaves her finger on the surface, balls the rest of her hand into a fist, and slams it all of two inches into the wall. At first, no effect is registered, but after a few seconds, the glass erupts into a web of cracks upon which the sea exerts its might. The wall falls and in comes the deluge.

"All right, now what?"

"We wait. Need to float to the ceiling."

"Hmm...oh, I see now."

It doesn't take long; it's been no more than a few minutes by the time the two are treading water with their faces a few inches from the ceiling. X nods at Leah who then performs the same trick on this section of glass. Once its cracked, the Force in denial acts quickly and casts a snap Razonde. After that, he encases himself and his partner within a bubble of ice just as the ceiling breaks and dumps the weight of the ocean on them. From there, it's simple as the bubble floating to the surface. After a few moments inside the small space, Leah begins knocking a finger against the ice. After several knocks, X does some knocking of his own, which is then returned in kind. How fortunate they both know the Coralian equivalent of morse code.

<What was the razonde for?>

<It was saltwater. Had to get rid of the salt so the ice would float.>

<You're thinking again.>

<Sorry. Thanks for not wasting air though. If you want to stop breathing too, that'd really help.>

<Jerk.>

****

A clear bubble breaks the surface of the sea to reach the open night air. A funnel of flame cuts a hole in the makeshift craft, allowing its two passengers to swim out into the clear, starry night. Getting to the shore only takes a minute of swimming, during which X attempts to make a connection with Pioneer 2 again.

"Yo, ditz, come in."

"X! You're okay!"

"Well obviously. Be a dear and beam us up."

The sounds of some keys being hit reach through the clip while the two climb onto shore and rest their weary bodies on the sand. After several more seconds, the distinct sound of a certain operating system freezing up pierce the air, telling X what he needs to know before Elly even says it.

"Um...there's an error. I think it happened during that high concentraton of photons...I'm not sure how long it'll take to fix, maybe an hour."

"Ugh, an hour, are you kidding? Fft...fine, I'll wait. Over and out."

X places his clip back where it belongs, sets his hands behind his head and looks up into the sky. From Ragol's surface, the stars shine brightly along side the half moon that looks as if it's being dipped in dark chocolate. He sighs a moment before a cacophony interrupts the simple tranquilty of the moment.

"In the night, dream delight..."

"Oh god no, please, I hate that song."

"I can see you standing there..."

X plugs his ears and turns around, encouraging Leah to sing even louder. So, our hero just has to cope for the next few minutes while she entertains herself with the pop sensation of the ship. Eventually, the newman loses interest in tormenting the hunter and decides to focus on something else, letting X unplug his ears.

"I'm hungry..."

"That would make two of us...well, we have a while to wait. Might as well see what we can find."

X gets up on to his feet, only reminded of his mortality with a sharp pain in his side, knocking him back on his behind. X groans in moderate pain now that the pain dulling effects of adrenaline have completely worn off. None too swiftly, Leah saunters up to him, kneels by him and rests her hands on his chest to work a channeled Resta which mends whatever inside him is broken.

"Let's see, two cracked ribs, a small cut on your lung sac...my, you really walked around like this? You really are stupid."

"Go to hell skank."

"Uh huh. Well, I suppose you'll be fine, but you shouldn't move. You stay here, I'll go find something for us."

Once again, X feels pain, but this time, it's the wound on his pride as he's left at camp while the woman goes off to gather.

*****

Around a half hour later, the HUney comes back with various fruits in her hand and slung on her back while X is closer to the shore with a stick of some kind. Leah sets the provisions down and walks up to see what he's doing when she spies the stack of fish beside him.

"Oh, hey skank. You're back. What'd you find?"

"Huh? Oh..."

She hears the question, but is more concerned with the fish X has caught. She kneels by the stack, and examines the fresh specimens while explaining what she spent all ths time doing.

"I went to go get some fruit, but then it occured to me that I'd never actually seen any fruit before. So I just grabbed whatever and figured you could tell."

"Ah, ship baby. Well, let's go have a look."

X heads over to the fruit pile, leaving Leah by the fish. One by one, he goes through each of nature's gifts, tossing them aside out for one reason or another.

"Let's see...poisonous...bitter...indigestible...poisonou s...more poiosonous...causes the runs...even more poisonous...expands in your stomach...lethally poisonous...huh. Where on coral did you find a sugarcane field?"

X turns his head over his shoulder to address Leah, and stares in exasperation at the newman who now has a fish in her mouth. X rubs a hand against his forehead as he starts with the most pressing thing wrong with this picture.

"You know, you're supposed to cook that."

"Mm mmph."

"...Right. You know, nevermind. I'll just cook mine."

X sets up a fire easily enough, being a walking glowstick, and spears one of his catches through to roast in. His partner happily chomps into her raw share of the catch, apparently not much concerned with the reasons we cook meat.

"Hey, X."

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to do now?"

"...Dunno. I can't really say...the entire reason I went down there, Kireek, and he wasn't even really there. It's like he was just bait or something."

"I see."

Before this conversation continues further, X's ID clip starts to blink and beep in his hair. He sets aside his fish to get it out and open up the link.

"Okay, I've got your coordinates? Ready?"

"Give me a sec."

****

One teleport later, both hunters walk into the lab. Elly is quick to greet the human and is just as quick to show concern when she notes that his shirt is missing. Instantly, she throws an accusational glare towards the newman with him.

"What did you do to him?!"

"Ha ha...you're cute."

Leah presses her finger on Elly's forehead much like she did last time, sending her into a daze. Leah takes the opening to walk past and out to the warp that serves as the exit from the lab. While walking, she's careful to put some sway in her hips while waving the back of her hand at X.

"See you jerk."

X raises a hand in farewell despite the fact she can't see it, and lowers it to address his dizzy friend.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, fine...what about you, how did it go?"

"Fine...I'll tell you the rest tomorrow. I'm beat."

"Okay, g'night X."

****

The next day, at lunch, hunter and operator sit in a cheap diner eating noodles at the bar. X tells the story of Olga Flow's defeat both between and within bites, ensuring Elly's amused disgust.

"So yeah, I copied this new technique off that crazy FOney. It's really nifty, I mean, sure, you can't really use it to hurt anything, like 'zomg, ur hair is messed up now, i pwned u11' but you can use it for aerial recoveries, midair combos, as a tailwind for a speed boost..."

"It sounds like you were fighting really hard down there..."

"Well, you know how it is. Giant monsters aren't going to stick themselves in the ass with pointy objects. But enough about me; how is it in the lab? You get a nice lunch break at least."

"Oh, it's wonderful! Natasha can be a bit mean sometimes, but I get to work with Calus the entire day! I can be with him until he comes back, it's like a dream."

"Hmm..."

"Oh, that reminds me though, Natasha got your report and said the principal wanted to see you. Guess he wants a copy too."

"All right, I'll handle it later."

"Oh, and there's this really gorgeous HUcast working at the lab now. You two would get along really well I think."

"I doubt that..."

"But you both have so much in common! You like katanas, he likes katanas, you have the real forge of the Agito, he'd...like to own the real forge of the Agito someday. And he's such a secksy hunk of metal!"

Having said that, Elly lets her eyes glaze over as she recedes into a daydream, much to X's visable discomfort.

****

Somewhere else on the ship, in a much more upscale establishment of dining, two newmen sit outside under a parasol having drinks. Margueritas it would seem. One is familiar to us, sporting her eye patch as always, the other is seen much less, but still familiar with her head of purple hair and snow white skin.

"So, how'd it go Leah?"

"Great. It was touch and go near the end for a while there, but he actually pulled out a good move there."

"Hmph. So, you think he trusts you?"

"He's hard to read sometimes, but I'm pretty sure he does. The poor fool. You can start the next phase anytime you feel like it."

"I already had the paperwork done; I just need you to fill out these forms, and you'll be all set. Be 'good' to him."

****

In the afternoon, X walks into the principal's office with a disk of his report. Once he's through the warp, he finds a medium sized RAcast with a rifle blocking his way. X raises and eyebrow and takes a step to the side to go around only to be blocked once more. Tyrel calls out from the end of the hall for the RAcast to stand down, which he does.

"Um..."

"That's something from the lab, one of the new Ji series of androids. We just call that one Vic; he guards this area. You like him?"

"Uh, he's fine for a walking fridge I guess. So you mean there's more of these things?"

"Indeed, three others! They're tasked with the role of subduing hunters who've gone maverick. It's nothing for you to worry about I'm sure; you don't strike me as the type to become a maverick hunter X."

We'll just let that pun sink in for a moment for those who can appreciate it.

"...Yeah. Anyway, what did you want?"

Tyrel sits back in his seat and folds his hands with his elbows on the table. X braces himself for whatever grim statement the man is about to make by twirling a finger in his hair and walking up to the desk.

"Well, it has come to my attention that you will be sixteen in two days."

"Uh...wh-what do you mean?"

"Crap, the don had those papers specfically forged for me before I left Black Paper; how in blue hell did they find out?"

"You know what I mean; being a minor, you require a parent or guardian."

"..."

"I know, I know, you and I both know you don't really need one, but laws are laws. Out of respect though, I wanted to tell you myself."

"You just wanted to laugh at me."

"Ha ha...well, maybe a little. But mostly, I wanted to make sure you'd have the most agreeable living accomodations for all that you've done for us. Given your tastes, I think I picked rather well for you."

And perfectly on cue, the sound of heels tapping across the floor cause X's ears to perk up, and instill the fear of god himself within him.

"Crap...no..."

Our boy refuses to turn his head around to confirm his fears, but the sound of a recently heard voice cause shivers to run down his spine.

"All right, I'm here to pick up my guardee- oh, hi jerk."

"****."

X turns around and lo and behold, it is his favorite travelling companion, the skank herself.

"CRAP****!"

"Well, that's all, you two are dismissed."

****

X stomps away from the warp in a huff, cursing the luck that never fails to amaze him with a new low. Leah is in a much better humor, walking along behind him with her hands held together behind her waist. She's practically humming while X grunts now and then.

"Oh c'mon, it won't be so bad."

"What the hell are you even doing enrolled in a foster program?! How'd you even get approved?! You'd screw up any other kid for life! Literally and figuratively!"

"Now, now, you're thinking too hard again. Listen, why don't we get a few of your essentials, then we can go home and I'm sure you'll warm up to the idea."

"No thanks, no VD for me tonight."

"...I meant you'd see the apartment."

****

And now, we move to the sector of the ship that will serve as the setting for a large portion of next season, Antares. The second X steps out from the teleporter into the sector he's never been to, he instantly recognizes what an upscale place this is; just to exit the chamber, Leah has to present proof of residence and wave him in. The paths are lined with the rare commodity of flora and water is used as decoration in the fountains. Leah walks though, obviously having seen it all before, but X steps cautiously, taking in all the extravagant sights.

"You...live here?"

"Yup. See, told you that you'd warm up to it."

X rolls his eyes and follows Leah up to a building which requires the swipe of a card to open up its doors. X jumps through before they close and leave him stranded. Once inside, he finds that the sights don't stop as he sees the most extravagant of luxuries one can have on a colony ship; wooden furniture. While they wait for the elevator, Leah goes over a few things.

"Okay X, just so you know, I have every intent of treating you as a full adult. I understand you're only here on technicality and have no need for someone to be babysitting you."

"...Oh...well, all right. ...Thanks."

X rubs the back of his head, having experienced his first pleasant surprise in quite a while. With that, the elevator opens to take the two up to the room.

****

On the sixteenth floor, the two get out, have a short walk down the hall and stop at a door; number 1615 for anyone who keeps track of ridiculously insignificant details like this. Leah presses her thumb on a black square where a doorknob would be, and the door slide open to reveal a dwelling that would not be anyone's first mental image of an apartment. For one thing, it has two floors, connected by a spiral staircase. Next, it's extremely spacious, the living room especially, whose space is magnified by the large window to the outside that serves as an entire wall.

"Holy..."

"Okay, let me show you your room. Upstairs."

Leah walks up, followed by X, who's rather enjoying what's currently in his view. They get to the top, hang a left around a corner and reach a door which is opened to reveal a decent sized room whose floor is covered with pairs and pairs of shoes; a few sandals, and even a pair of sneakers, but mostly heels of various types. X's mouth hangs slightly open in incredulity while Leah considers what to do about the room's current stock.

"Well, I'll stack these in my closet."

"Okay."

X bends down to pick up a pair in order to get started when his arm is grabbed short and used to pull him back up. Leah shakes her head while X tilts his head in confusion.

"Yeah...okay, I don't have many rules, but I do have a few, and here's the most important; you, never, touch, my, shoes."

Normally, X is a fairly defiant sort. Threats and the like are just fodder for him to twist into innuendo of some kind. Yet, in this particular command, there's an undertone of terror that reaches through even his dense skull and gets him to nod mutely. At this, Leah smiles and lets him go and walks out of the room.

"Good! Let me show you the bathroom."

She's ****ing nuts.

****

The bathroom is rather clean, which is unsurprisining considering one person can only make so much mess. X is fixated more on the size of the chamber, which is easily the size of most living rooms, not even counting the walk-in closet sized shower and room for two tub. Absent mindedly, he slides a mirror cabinet open just for the sake of opening things and receives a rain of D batteries on his head. Unharmed by the falling objects, he's more suspiscious of them as he bends down to pick a few up.

"Oh, um...those are for...the fire alarm."

"...Uh huh."

"Really!"

"Oh, I believe you. For the sake of whatever scrap of innocence I have left in me, I believe you. What's next?"

"Hmm...oh, the kitchen."

The downstairs reveals a pretty ordinary looking kitchen; one that looks like it's rarely used at that. Still, seeing as X has spent the last few years in a tiny studio dorm, the sight of a fridge is plenty to impress him. Leah snatches a few envelopes from the counter beside it and addresses our flabbergasted hero.

"Well, that just leaves one more thing."

"Hmm?"

Leah slaps the stack of envelopes against X's chest. He, of course, takes them into his own hands while Leah smiles sweetly.

"The hell are these?"

"Your half of the bills."

"...Say what?"

"Hey, I said I'm going to treat you as a full and equal adult here. So, that means you get to do big boy stuff like pay bills. Anyway, you better get job hunting, or go questing, or do something."

I knew there was a damned catch.

"Anyway, you said you'd do something about my hair, remember?"

"Huh? Oh, right, sure..."

****

And the morning of the next day soon arrives with X waking up in his new quarters. It's uncomfortably early for him and he is only awake as a result of the morning light invading his room and leaking into his eyes. With a grumpy sigh, he digs himself out from beneath his covers and falls off the side of the bed to jolt himself awake. Once he's extricated from his bindings, he gets dressed in his usual outfit, having spare copies just like any good protagonist.

"All right, stuff to do. First, let's go stop off at 'daddy dearest.'"

X walks out of his room and down the steps, looking about with an exploratory gaze, still not quite acquainted with his new surroundings. The one thing he is familiar with, near uncomfortably so, is sitting on the couch, eating yogurt from a cup.

"Oh, you're up. You don't strike me as the early morning type."

"...Unbelieveable...at any rate, I'm not. I'm just restless in places I'm not familiar with. Anyway, later."

"Okay, bye. Oh, and thanks for the new 'do! You're pretty handy with a blow dryer!"

X takes one looks back to his roommate who is now sporting a wavy hairstyle more appropriate to her hairtype. He smiles weakly before letting his face fall once more as he carries himself through the door.

"...Kill me, strike me dead now lord..."

****

Back at an old setting, X rings the doorbell with a none too amused look on his face. After several seconds, he gets no response, so he just knocks as hard as his fist will allow. This does prompt a response and the door is opened by Dr. Raddic.

"Ah, X! Good to see you my boy, how can I-"

"Can it. I'm here for one question, and one only. Where were you when we had Ken's funeral?"

"Oh, Kenny. Well, why don't you come in?"

"...Fine."

X walks in along with the doctor who has a seat at a chair by the door. X opts to stand with a hand on his hip.

"X, I told you before; newmen can die at anytime. It's not wise to go getting attached to them. She was a sweet girl, but ultimately, she was just second in a line of improved newmen I've been working on."

"...Second? What happened to the first?"

The doctor sits back in his chair and chuckles at the memory while X's face curls up in its annoyed frustration.

"Well you see, I made Kenny as an improvement in the behavioral department. Her older sister had a really violent and resentful temperment you see; I couldn't get her to do anything she didn't want to and all that power at her command...it was a really frightening result. So eventually, she just left to do her own thing. Definitely a failed experiment. Kenny was an improvement, but she lost most of the power in the first design, so I can't call that a success either-"

"This is sick. These are people you're talking about."

"See, there you go again, making a mistake that'll only cause you heartache in the end."

Before X can open his mouth to protest, a child pokes her head out from Ken's old room with a curious look on her face. X's own face crashes in both shock and disgust at just how quickly his old ally was replaced by the good doctor. The doctor nonchalantly motions for the child to head back into her room.

"Go back to bed sweetie, it's still pretty early."

"..."

And X just storms out the door in a huff. Once he's several minutes away, his mind wanders to consider some of the other information traded in that exchange.

"Violent and resentful temperment...looks like Ken...really strong...nah."

****

A different doctor's dwelling opens its doors to X and its android maidens greet the hero at the door. X takes one look at them, raises an eyebrow in annoyance and walks on in to see the doctor himself. Montague is working on yet another biomechanical contraption, with various MAG parts beside him. X taps him on the shoulder to draw him away from his microscope and waves once he has his attention.

"Yo."

"Hey, X! Just the Force I wanted to see, heh heh."

"I'm not a...ugh, forget it. I just came by to say hi, but what do you need me for?"

"I'm working on the best mag ever created here, but I've run into a problem heh heh."

"Stop that."

"Its energy source is mostly biological in nature, but there are a few inorganic components to it, and inorganic chemistry was never really my bag heh heh."

"Uh huh. What do you want from me then? I can't help you with that."

"Oh c'mon X, I know you like to play the idiot savant, but it's just a few balancing and enthalpy issues I'm having so far. C'mon, help me out! Didn't all those baths mean anything to you?"

"...Okay, I'll do it, provided you never, ever word it like that again."

"Deal!"

****

A few hours later, X finally finishes up, amazed at how "a few issues" can easily turn into dozens upon dozens of miscalculated figures in Montague's work that needed to be recalibrated to work as intended. At any rate, he's happy to be done and walks out to the paved path to head to his next destination. As he steps out of the doorway however, a woman bowls right into him, knocking them both to the floor. X moans in minor annoyance, fairly used to this occurance by now.

"Oh, Monsieur Launcher!"

"Egh? Azuria? Where the heck are you in such a rush to?"

X gets back onto his feet and offers a hand to the RAmarl, currently dressed in civillian duds, to help her to her feet. She accepts and is pulled upright where she can answer X's question.

"Mon salon...ah!"

"What?"

"My hair! Elle est une disaste!"

"Jesus, what is the deal with you women and your hair?"

Azuria turns towards X and pumps her arms furiously as she explains in a huff.

"I am the owner of the finest salon on this ship! I can't go in looking like this! I'd lose face!"

"...What happened to your accent?"

"Ah? Oh, er...quel surprise!"

"...Yeah. Anyway, calm down, it's not even that bad. Heck, I won't even need more than my comb to fix it. Watch and learn."

And true to his words, X has Azuria's hair going from a wild mess as it was struck from the fall to looking even better than it did before. Heck, it even sparkles a bit for the sake of effect. X spins his comb on his fingers and shoves it back into his jacket as if it were a holster.

"Monsieur Launcher...savez-vous que je dois avec personnes qui do hair better than I do?"

"So fake...how didn't I see it before...um...you shoot them?"

"Ha ha, no. I offer them a job."

"Fft, a job cutting hair? Sorry, but I'll have to-"

"But it would be so easy for you! And the hours could be in the afternoon."

"Still, I have to say-"

"It pays 70 thousand meseta a year."

"Well, it's really tempting, but I-"

"You'd get to look down the shirts of models while their heads are over the sink."

"Can I start yesterday?"

****

After a very long day, X opens up the door of his new home just to find a rather peeved looking newman there to greet him. X scratches the back of his head as he creeps in through the very small opening before addressing what's obviously a concern.

"You left the toilet seat up."

"Did I? Well, okay. What's the problem?"

"I tried to sit on it with the seat up!"

"...Okay. So why are you mad at me?"

"Because you left it up!"

X blinks repeatedly for a few seconds before setting his jacket on the couch, then resting an arm on the back of it while he considers this exchange. Once he has it all compiled in his head, he stands upright, folds his arms and nods sagely as he parrots back what he's heard.

"So, let me be sure I have this right. You're mad, at me, because you wet your ass, doing a flying butt leap, without looking, and somehow, it's my fault?"

"...Put the seat down!"

"You know what, you're absolutely right. The next time you go to the bathroom, I promise, the seat will be down."

"Good."

****

About an hour later, X is seated at the sofa with a magazine lying on the coffee table in front of him and a marker in his hands. Most people are content to just look at magazines with pictures of girls wearing lingerie; X, however, feels the need to make notes for whatever reason. He's in the middle of considering one picture when the sound of stomping comes from the direction of the steps. He smirks with anticipation, but quickly wipes it off his face when his roomie comes into view.

"Something wrong? The toilet seat was down, wasn't it?"

"Oh, it was. But hey, guess what? Somehow, mysteriously, there was plastic wrapping beneath it!"

"Huh, go figure. Well, maybe next time, you'll...look before you leap."

"You...little...argh."

"Heh heh...aw crap, now I'm doing it."

Finally, that's one for me. I was really worried for a while there that I'd be one of those heroes who's all awesome and badass at first, but eventually becomes whipped by his female support. Thank goodness I'm back in the game.

"...And what the hell are you doing? What's the marker for?"

"Huh? Oh, it's just a little hobby of mine. I like to find where Photoshop was used to work its magic; hones my perception. For example, on this beauty here, there were clearly sag lines, here...here...and...here. See, you can tell because the light on the area that wasn't shopped is slightly shaded, suggesting it was in the very fine shadow of wrinkled skin."

"Oh. Ha ha, yeah, Tulia really regrets getting that tan. Turned her skin to hell. Heh, but you'd never find anything like that on one of my shots!"

"Ha ha...."

X turns the page to work on another specimen, but Leah is still stuck on that laughter. She bows her head down by X's, seeing as she's standing behind him and narrows her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You made a joke. I laughed."

"It wasn't a joke."

"Leah, everyone has to have their shots doctored, no one meets the ludicrous standards of beauty men have; usually, they just settle for anyone willing to touch them. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"But I've never had any doctoring done to my shoots!"

"Oi...fine, we'll do this the hard way."

X flips the catalog a few pages to hit a pic of his very own roommate advertising a lovely two piece bathing suit. Leah smirks in satisfied vindication at both the very nice picture and the fact that there isn't a marker on it.

"Ha! See, you couldn't find a thing!"

"I didn't get to this one yet. You can watch while I do it. First, let's start with the obvious; your abs were airbrushed out."

X knocks the end of his marker against Leah's midriff, meeting with a resistance which is quite familiar to his fist. He then gestures towards the girl in the picture whose tummy might as well be made of dough. He then draws the striations where they should be.

"I...I must've been exhaling."

"Uh huh. Right, then if the sun is clearly hitting you from the right, then why would your entire midriff be equally lit?"

"Uh..."

"Now, I'll admit, before we met, that was all I could usually find on your pics. Now that I actually know you, the rest of the doctoring is much easier to find. For example, you're usually pissed off, and like they say, your face will eventually freeze that way."

X then draws a few short lines around the eyes where the effects of constantly narrowing them in annoyance should be rearing their ugly heads.

"The striation separating your bicep and trcieps from your deltoids..."

X draws a faint line where that should be and moves towards the middle.

"Your bustline's enhanced in the pic. Two cups, easy. Oh, and there was a bit of cameltoe, but that was probably unique to this shoot, I'm sure."

"..."

So, X goes on to mark the hell out of the picture. Though he finds a small wrinkle here and there, most of his markings fall into the category of definitions as opposed to anything else. Once he makes one final stroke, he closes the mag and tucks it into his arm. Looking back, he finds his roommate looking rather pissed, not at him for once, but more at the catalog. In a rare moment of giving-a-damn, X offers a bit of condolence.

"What can I say? Most men like their women looking soft and harmless. Anyways, that's enough for tonight. I'm going to bed."

"Yeah...hey, X."

"Hmm?"

"Welcome home."

"...I guess two years won't kill me."

Leah: Most of them anyway.

X: Huh?

Leah: Uh, nothing. Tell the nice people about season 2.

X: The basic gist of it is, in order to make up for this total chick episode with its lack of action, I stab a lot of things. Oh, and that thing where my skin keeps cracking? Yeah, that finally sees payday. Next season...

Episode 27: A Reason to Run and Fight Once More

X: Don't miss it.

[Sgt_Shligger]

Oh snap. It's over. Where can i find the next season? I already asked this....

[TheGingerOne]

Well, the title X has put up there is different to the one I have saved. So it may be that he's going to re-write it.

But now I think about it, I don't remember the whole skin cracking being invovled so it looks like it'll be re-written.

[Xaeris]

Okay, that's enough slacking off. Time to kick this rocket off once more. By the way, assume the exchange rate on meseta to the dollar to be 1:1. It's easier that way. Oh, and the following is meant for one person who's reading this, the rest of you need not ponder its meaning: yes, he's still red. Get over it.

Episode 27: A Reason to Fight Once More

Fate assigns roles to men. Few are destined to do great things and accomplish feats to that resonate throughout history for centuries. Most are assigned to be mediocre, the extras in the play of life. And still others are created to be the avatars of evil and chaos which plague humanity. Most stories tend to revolve about those who reside in the first or third category. This is not one of those stories. Rather, this is the story of boy who might have been one of those to succumb to the vile machinations of life, but instead, kicked fate right in the 'nads, swiped the pen from its hands and wrote himself a better story.

It's been two years since a cocky, even if rightfully so, human lad defeated Olga Flow. However, we do not open with him; rather, this chapter of the grand legacy begins in the Principal's Office where two androids stand before Tyrel who sits at his desk. One android, a slim HUcaseal, holds up thin screen, the width of which requires her to stretch out her arms to their full span. The other android, a fairly tall and built HUcast, holds a remote while he gives a presentation of some kind.

"Thirty nine hours ago, this message was posted on the net on various sites. It's fairly lengthy; the basic points of it are to establish the knowledge that the poster is under surveilance and to instruct her readers to assemble at the designated place and time as a display of strength to the Pioneer government."

The HUcast hits a button to move onto the next slide which is an overhead camera shot of a park filled to its capacity with people. Tyrel's eyes go wide at the sight, prompting the android to wait a few moments before continuing.

"This was the scene eleven hours ago at Deneb's Sector Preserve. I and the other Ji units were present in case a situation broke out, but nothing came of it. As it was a peaceful assembly, which is a right granted by Coral's constitution, there was nothing for us to do. The enemy no doubt was careful to make this assembly peaceful, as its purpose was most likely solely a display of support for the newmans."

The HUcaseal pushes the sides of the screen to get it to fold together into a pocket sized piece of plastic and attaches it onto hip. The other android hands her the remote which she also stows while he concludes the report.

"As you know, the enemy's ultimate goal is to forcibly cause a coup which will remove humans from power and no doubt eradicate a great number of their population. As it is now, the amount of support for her position is growing steadily with no sign of tapering off."

Tyrel bows his head forward on his raised and folded hands and considers the report that the agents have delivered to him. The look on his face is solid as he considers the nature of the situation. After a few minutes of dead silence, he finally manages a comment.

"This is an unconventional war. If we take any action now, then we'll only strengthen the support for her movement."

"If I may make a suggestion, the best course of action would be a strike on their morale. Currently, these newmen and androids rally around the enemy, believing her strength is superior to any human, making her a symbol of their perceived superiority. Though I could engage and defeat her covertly, such a defeat would do little to their morale, myself being an android."

"So what you're saying is, a public defeat at the hands of a human-"

"Precisely."

The HUcaseal finally perks up and turns her head to her fellow agent, her plastic ponytail shaking with the sudden movement.

"But JiEin, where could you possibly find a human who could pull that off? She's given you a tough fight everytime you've encountered her, so what kind of human has a chance."

While that fact sets in, Tyrel's face becomes grim for a few moments before he experiences an epiphany.

"Oh, there's one person..."

****

The scene shifts to nighttime in the room of one certain hunter. He tosses and turns in his bed, flailing the sheets about as he combats something within his dreams. A casual observer would just have to assume he's fending off monsters or some such. We're not casual observers, so let's have a peek. Within the confines of an endless field of black, a woman in pink is being repeatedly struck by the claws of a demon. Each strike hits mercilessly upon the woman's saber as her clothes and chestnut hair fly about from the impact.

Stop...

X's beef with this little scenario is his seat in the audience; he experiences this battle from the eyes of the demon, as if it were his own claws digging into the woman's flesh and savagely thrashing her. After a seemingly small eternity of watching this beating, the dream begins to lift from X's mind. Before he's ejected back into consciousness however, he catches one glimpse of a blue haired man watching on the sidelines, helplessly...then he snaps awake in bed. After a rapid confirmation of his surroundings, he lets out a deep sigh and sits in the morning light as it leaks onto his forehead.

"That dream again..."

X lifts his left arm out from underneath from the covers to see that it is covered in the glowing blue cracks that he's become so annoyed with. Rather than show shock or surprise, he simply groans and stares at the arm until the cracks recede, leaving his regular skin intact.

"And I always wake up like that...it was fine every now and then, but that's the third time this week."

With another heavy sigh, he kicks the sheets off and moves to the closet to grab his trappings for the day. First, on goes a black bodysuit, not dissimilar to the suits standard to most HUmars. Then, he slips on a pair of denim pants over that, the hairband with his ID clipped onto it into his hair, and lastly, the jacket Elly made for him years ago. One of the cuffs is a bit frayed and a button is missing, but he wears it like a second skin all the same.

"Well, can't worry about it now. Things to do."

"X, breakfast! Get your ass down here!"

"Oi..."

Our boy grudgingly heads out the door and follows the voice downstars to the table where he finds two pancakes, a glass of orange juice and his roommate, hurriedly fixing her top while clutching a pop tart in her mouth. As X walks over, he decides to choose which thing he should help with. He grabs the tart and holds it up for her to nibble on while she zips up the top of her outfit.

"Morning skank."

"Hey X."

"So, where are you in such a rush to that you can't be bothered to wear something your size and just stuff the chest?"

X ducks beneath a punch.

"Why do I bother...anyway, I'm late to a shoot. Gotta run. But hey, I'm free during your lunch break. Want to get something?"

"Eh? Oh, I'm already meeting Elly for lunch. And uh, she's kinda scared of you..."

"That's fine. See you tonight."

With that, X shoves what's left of the tart into her mouth and watches as she runs out the door in a huff. After blinking once, he lets out a breath through an expression of exasperation and sits down to eat his rather decent tasting breakfast.

****

The sign over the first stop of the morning reads 'Naura Sisters' Cake and Sweets Factory.' X strolls on in with a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder and encounters the cheerful greetings of the sisters who wave him on in past the mile long line and behind the counter.

"X, another shipment so soon?!"

X sets the bag on the floor and stretches his limbs which are apparently sore from the trip. Having completed this sequence without anyone having gone near the bag, X gestures for one of the sisters to pick it up. One of them does so and reveals the dozens upon dozens of stalks of sugarcane harvested from Ragol's surface. They all bounce with glee, much to X's unexpressed glee.

"What can I say? It grows very nicely down there."

"Thank you so much! Business has really been booming and the sugar rations really haven't been helping-"

"Don't worry about it. So long as I get my ice cream discount, I'll keep going down to Gal Da Val for the stuff. Speaking of which, I could go for a scoop. Seventeen meseta, as always..."

****

A few minutes later, X dumps an empty cone into a trash can and steps up his pace as he walks through the sector. The path is moderately trafficed with people on their walk to work and well lit by the sector's prime location next to Pioneer 2's transparent dome. Every now and then, someone points at the kid in awe, but for the most part, it's a rather calm walk to his place of employ. On the way, he encounters a trickle of pint sized newmen all headed in the same direction. Deducing them to be kids on their way to school, X moves over to the side of the road to allow the hyperactive munchkins room to run down like toddlers on crack. One kid, though, isn't running and bouncing like her counterparts; in fact, she's dragging her feet with her head bowed at the ground as she goes by X.

Geez, what's her deal? Meh, maybe she didn't have breakfast.

The purple headed child trips and falls face first on the ground, dropping the laptop she had clutched against her chest as well. X sighs, walks over, and with one arm, hoists her up while picking up the laptop with the other.

"Watch where you're stepping kiddo."

The girl looks up into X's eyes for a brief moment, then turns her head back down at the ground and speaks at a volume just barely above a whisper.

"Thank you..."

Before X can even say 'no sweat,' she's off like a shot with the rest of her classmates. X raises an eyebrow, but shrugs it off and continues along.

****

Around two hours later, X is sitting in a salon chair, spinning around, amused by making himself sickeningly dizzy. Like a buffoon, he does this while carrying a pair of shears in his hand. After a minute or so of this, one of his coworks places a foot on the pedal of the seat as it goes by and stops his fun right there. With an annoyed, sigh, X looks up at the pink headed newman girl that apparently requires words with him.

"God X, you're like a little kid sometimes."

"Yeah, yeah...whaddya want Rupika?"

X whips out a comb and begins going through his hair while Rupika produces a magazine in X's face for him to look at. Once he backs up his face to get a decent look at it, he rolls his eyes at the title this tabloid is sporting for the week.

"He has a taste for newmen flesh, all the dirt on X and his newmen fetish!' Ugh. Well, they're getting creative at least. Used to be just 'X and Leah, having seckors."

After that piece of morning amusement, X makes one final stroke with his comb and then goes about plucking and separating each hair from the teeth while Rupika looks on, obviously confused. After several minutes, all the pulled hair is extricated from the tool and spun onto a spindle which then goes a pocket in X's jacket. X then returns to spinning around like an ADD addled infant. Once again, Rupika stops his fun to address her question.

"What now?"

"Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"Spin your hair onto that thing? There must be dozens of yards on that thing by now..."

"Don't worry about it."

"And back to spinning he goes."

****

At the very nice Antares apartment, the door opens, allowing one of its residents to enter. Two years hasn't made much of a man out of our boy. He's still of diminuative stature, standing at 5'7'' and his gender is still fairly ambiguous looking from the back. He casually throws his jacket onto the hook by the door and allows himself to collapse on the couch where he promptly begins relaxing. That is, until the phone at the kitchen galley begins to ring.

"Bugger..."

X gets back up walks over to the screen on the wall to open the link and accept the call. Imagine his surprise when he sees some guy in a ski mask standing in a background that looks like a bank of some kind. X just blinks once and goes about the call like any other.

"So...hello. What thing can I help you with that I'm sure I really don't care that much about?"

The man moves the camera to confirm X's suspiscions about the setting with the sight of ATM machines and several tied up patrons and employees. One hostage in particular stands out from the rest, being Leah who, in addition is tied up with rope of all things, but also has her mouth duct taped. Big shocker. The camera then returns to the bank robber who then makes his demand.

"All right, here's the deal. Ten thousand meseta in unmarked cubes."

"What? Ten thousand meseta! Well damn, you got it buddy! Ha ha, that's great! Where do you want to do it?"

The robber is clearly taken aback at X's eagerness, but quickly hops on board.

"Here, at the bank. You come down with the money and we'll exchange her unharmed, got it?"

"Huh, what? Dude, I'm paying you to keep her. Fft, forget that. Later."

And X presses the button to end the call. Before he's made it four steps away, the phone rings again. X picks up and opens the link to a very pissed off bank robber.

"Don't **** around with me kid! We want ten thousand meseta-"

"I'm sorry, I don't have 10k for you. But tell me, have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior?"

"What?!"

"No? Well then, may your soul burn in hell. Good day sir."

And X hangs up again. And picks up, again.

"You ****ing little brat, I oughta-"

"Congratulations, you're the 137th caller! You just won two tickets to Guild Clash, '88! Tell our listeners the station that made it happen!"

"Argh!"

Yet again, X hangs up and picks up.

"So...what are you wearing?"

And X amuses himself in this manner five or six more times until one last call on which our robber friend is terribly frustrated and gasping in extreme annoyance while X just stares at the screen with a semi amused smirk on his face. The robber slams his fist on the table in front of the monitor and gets his face up into the screen.

"Listen up you little-"

At this time, X's face turns deadly serious as he peers into the screen, cutting our poor buffoon off in his tracks.

"No, you listen. That woman you have hostage is only your hostage because she consents to be. She's probably getting wet off the idea of being a helpess damsuel in distress or something equally ludicrous. When she finds out that I have no intention of getting off my lazy ass to come get her and participating in her stupid little fantasy, she will go about letting loose her aggression on the closest deserving target, i.e, you. Now, I dunno how many of you there are; two, five, ten, a hundred. Doesn't really matter. Faces will be broken either way."

By now, buddy boy's face is deathly pale. X has a finger twisting in his own ear as he waits for all this to sink into the fool's skull.

"So, the way I see it, the onus kinda falls upon you to convince me to save you dumb ****ers from your own god damned stupid selves."

"..."

"Nothing? Well, you guys have fun with that then."

****

A few hours later, X is on the couch engaging in one of his favorite pasttimes with a lingerie catalog. ...No, not that one. The one with the marker. He's working on a particularly well done doctoring job when the door flies open and a very pissed off newman stomps in. He pays her little mind even as she walks up to him and punches him in the shoulder.

"Dammit X, when I get kidnapped, I expect you to come rescue me!"

"Why would I want to do that? Last I checked, I haven't consumed any drugs. Besides, you came out okay."

Leah places her hands on her hips and thrusts them to the side, the frustration on her face not receding in the slightest.

"That's not the point! It's the principle of the matter!"

"That principle being...?"

"A lady should not have to exert herself when an able bodied male, adult or child, is available to do the work."

"Yeah...nah."

And once again, X is punched in the shoulder. Rather hard actually; enough to leave a bruise. So, he does the only rational thing a man could do in this situation; he hits back. This, of course, doesn't fly that well and nets X a punch to the chest which knocks him over the back of the couch. He jumps back over the seat, but before he can launch a counterattack, he is pounced on and tackled right back onto the ground. Ten minutes of grappling and punching follow before exhaustion takes over and leaves the two gasping for breath.

"A lady shouldn't sweat..."

"Get off me. I'm roasting..."

*****

Back to the principal's office, JiEin is addressing the principal once again. Androids aren't exactly built to show apprehension so he speaks calmly despite the grievances present in this meeting with Tyrel.

"Sir, I just don't think this is a great idea. I just spent the day observing this boy you were talking about and he seems...how to put it..."

"Brash, irresponsible, rude, and just all around reckless?"

"To put it lightly. I just don't see how he's supposed to defeat her..."

"Ha ha, you worry too much JiEin. He generally figures these things out on his own somehow. You have your own concerns; I've got a mission for you, to start getting things in order for the grand event!"

X: What's that I smell...oh damn, the **** is on track towards the fan again. I get no peace...oh well. Next time...

Epsode 28: The Name of the Enemy

X: So, do I get to stab something? ...Huh? What do you mean "I'm not in the next episode?"

[Xaeris]

Let's see, nothing to say really...leave comments?

Episode 28: The Name of the Enemy

It is morning, as these things often start out. The ship's largest windows have just started to peer in the direction of the sun, filling the air with bright, piercing light. Just another day really. On this morning, Leah is already downstairs making preparations to leave while X is snoozing away happily in his bed, no doubt dreaming of illicit fantasies. Since our hero is being fairly boring right now, let us focus on what his roommate is doing. She's putting on a pair of blue leg warmers on top of a black workout outift which, ironically, is composed of more material than any of her usual outfits. And yet, somehow, she's rationalized the use of heels with this outfit as well. After she's done pressing the creases, she turns her attention to a hanging mirror and blows herself a kiss while thrusting her hips at the image.

"This should make a few of those neanderthals drop the dumbells on their feet...hey jerk!"

The scream at the end of that thought results in some light stirring in the form of soft moaning coming from upstairs. Seeing that she's not going to get an in person appearance, she contents herself with yelling to X's room.

"I'm going now. You sure you don't want to come?"

After a bit more moaning, topped off by some annoyed groaning, the response comes, still without a visual appearance.

"I've said it before, I'll say it now and I'll probably say it again; my workout regimen calls for me to only work out on days that don't end in 'y'."

With that, the newman sighs in disgust and heads for the door.

"Lazy bum...fine, you've got scrambled eggs in the fridge, ninety seconds at 70%. I won't be back 'till late."

"Yeah, yeah..."

****

Outside the door, Leah is greeted by the nameless purple newman who I have to come up with a different pronoun for everytime I need to refer to her. Once she's out, the two begin walking down the hallway to exit the building and head off for their daily morning workout. The mystery woman has the slightest of smirks on her face, piquing Leah's curiosity into what has her so happy.

"Well you look cheerful this morning."

"Oh, do I? I guess it's because I'm happy. Just about everything is in place; once I get a few more things in place, we'll be all set."

"A few more things? Like what?"

The woman places a finger on her chin and allows her gaze to wander towards the ceiling while they enter the elevator. She then nudges her head towards Leah and smiles.

"Oh, just this and that. But there is one thing I need you to get for me."

The elevator doors open and let the girls out into your standard looking weightroom. The woman throws her towel up onto the rack of a treadmill and leans on the side of it while waiting for her friend to get ready as well.

"You know, a round of aerobics really wouldn't kill you."

"Sorry, but I only do aerobics on days that don't end in 'y."

She says this while setting weights on a bar, eliciting a tired sigh from the other woman, followed by a brief expression of thought.

"Hmph. Brat rubbing off on you much?"

"Oh he says something funny every now and then. It's really too bad he was born human; you'd like him otherwise."

"Fft, unlikely...need any help with that?"

"No...I think I'm going to go light today. Anyway, what is it you need me to get?"

True to her words, Leah sets a ten pound plate on each side of the bar and leaves it at that. While she curls, her friend explains her request in better detail while she does a full sprint on the treadmill.

"An hard disk that contains the protocol for detaching sectors from the main body of the ship. I figure it'll make a handy trump card. Of course, you can't find that sort of thing lying around on the net; it's in a military office in Celestia."

Even at this point, the woman has shown no signs of tiring, not even shortness of breath as she casually explains this and sprints at full burn. Leah, on the other hand, has a preturbed look on her face as she listens to this and does her reps.

"Is that all?"

"Yeah. I'd do it myself, but I have to check in with Eris on something. Plus, I'm pretty sure the government's spies have been tipped off; Jiji will probably be there and I really just don't feel like it today. That style of his is a pain to fight against; I think you'll be a more suitable match for him."

"Fine...anything else?"

"Hmm...how's the brat? Do you anticipate him being a problem?"

"X? Fft, that lazy jerk hasn't lifted a finger to do an ounce of training since he beat Olga Flow and when we fought, he came out by just a thread. You'll have no problem."

"How boring...well, I sent Lucius over to say hello for me. We'll see how he does. ..I know you said you were going light, but you should at least turn the thing on hun."

"Huh...?"

Leah sets the bar down on its end and examines a small LCD panel near the middle. On doing that, a wave of realization comes over her face followed by a light giggle as she fixes the problem she was having.

"Ha ha, whoever was using this last was sort of a wimp; it's not even set to 5G. Guess I should do that set over at 30 where it belongs."

****

There is a classroom on the ship that houses one rather important child during the day. Of course, she is completely unaware of this fact. If she was, then I'd find this too boring a story to tell. Currently, the pinted sized newman sits at her table doing some calculus problems along with the other children at her station. The other three are chattering away, helping each other solve the current problem, leaving the girl isolated on her end of the table. Her head is bowed over her monitor as she punches in the keys at a morose pace. Eventually, the teacher, a familiar face, calls for time.

"All right, that's enough math for today; we'll spend the rest of the day on techniques."

Cheers resound throughout the room; after all, what kid wouldn't enjoy learning how to hurl fireballs from his hands? Well, there is one. The purple headed child moans and bows her head down even further upon hearing that, as this is clearly not her favorite subject. The other kids at her station then turn their attention to her and immediately make with the merciless teasing.

"You can't even make snowflakes Ayame!"

"Yeah, you're a crappy FOnewearl Ayame! Lame Ayame, lame Ayame!"

Though the pronunciation is butchered, it's still a functional rhyme and that's all kids really need. Ayame's lip quivers as she suffers the abuse, which the teacher does nothing to alleviate. Hell, in fact...

"Well, we may as well start with the worst show. Ayame, come up here and do a Gibarta. Quickly. I'd rather not waste time."

"Y-yes Miss Eris..."

Much to the amusement of the entire class, Ayame slowly stumbles out of her seat and walks up to the front of the room despite the jeering. She takes a deep breath, and presses her hands together as if she were praying to the powers that be. Eventually, a cold breeze manages to move a few of Eris' hairs. The class gets a kick out of this much to Ayame's further embarassment, but the teacher is not at all amused given from the look on her face.

"Ugh, pathetic. You'll be recycled at this rate. Sit down. Ioz, come up here and demonstrate to the class what a real ice technique looks like."

Ayame winces as the boy named Ioz gets up out of his seat without a word and swiftly walks to the front of the room. With a wave of his hand, an array of icicles shoots out through the aisles. Eris smiles in satisfaction as she melts them with a snap of her fingers.

"Very good Ioz. By the way, I'll need you to stay after class today. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"..."

The boy nods mutely and before returning to his seat, shoots Ayame a glare with his blood red eyes. Ayame jumps in fright and slinks away as he walks past her and back to his seat. She lets out a shuddering sigh before braving the walk back to her seat admist the name calling.

****

"Why are you torturing yourself like this JiEin?"

Elly sits at her console with two hunter profiles displayed for the crimson plated android standing behind her. As one might expect, one is of the dashing human hunter, X Launcher while the other is of "the enemy." The headpiece selected for JiEin's body lacks the standard features of a normal face such as lips and a nose, but by the way he has his arms crossed, one could tell he is not at ease.

"Because, if this plan blows up in our faces, it'll further bolster the growing insurgency. Its potential benefits are equalled by its potential risks. I'd like to get an idea of just how much of a risk we're taking on this man. Go over it once more for me please."

Elly sighs and brings up detailed windows that cascade over the hunters's portraits and drones off the information, having done this a few times already.

"Well, first is X Launcher, the Faux FOmar, A-rank HUmar, section ID Yellowboze. Birthdate, July 16th, 4070...hmm, that's a week from now, I should get him something...

"Skip the unimportant details please."

"Right, sorry...possesses a license of competency in all known weapon types excluding cards, handguns, rifles, shotguns and mechguns. Ironically, he did go to the trouble of obtaining a launcher license."

"Hmm...just A rank?"

"Well, yes, according to this, he was reccomended for promotion two years ago, but the Guild declined, stating he lacked the necessary leadership experience. I don't think it's too important here."

JiEin nods as he raises his fingers to the side of his head and presses the spot where an ear would be on a human. Elly pauses and looks over her shoulder at him, but he motions for her to continue.

"Two conversations at once is no trouble for an android. Continue."

"Right! Okay, on the other hand, Neifirst, the Scorned Scourge, maverick A-rank HUnewearl. Not that it matters much, but her license competency is in all hunter type weapons, nothing else. When you compare their combat stats..."

Elly hits a button and brings up their statistic webs as recorded from when they took the adaptation exam.

"Neifirst has the obvious edge in just about every area except for dexterity, mental strength and agility. They're about equal in the first and X has large advantages in the second two. ...I have to tell you JiEin, I don't think this is very useful-"

"All right, understood. I'll intercept her."

JiEin closes his link and looks down at Elly who takes that as her cue to continue.

"Well, what I was saying was is that X has a way of devising ridiculously elaborate schemes and making them work, but that's not reflected here; I mean, I don't see an intelligence or cunning score. If you really want to assess the odds, I say you should just go meet him."

"Hmm...that's actually not a bad idea. I'll have a fight with him and see if he lives up to his hype. Thank you Elly."

"Wh-what?! No, that's not what I meant!"

That last bit comes too late seeing as JiEin was already halfway to the warp when he came up with his take on Elly's suggestion. By the time he thanked her, he was already on the pad, off to some unknown destination.

****

Okay, I know I said he wouldn't be in the episode, but this'll just take a minute, I swear. Our boy is in the salon at which he works, spinning in his chair in the way that never fails to amuse him. The robot sweeper running beneath his chair saves him the unsightly task of cleaning up after himself, freeing up his time to pursue more noble ventures.

"X, do you have to read that here?"

Rupika, of course, refers to the graphic novel in X's hand, the cover of which is a pretty newman woman covered with nothing but a bedsheet and lying on on the piece of furniture it is most suited to. X looks at Rupika for a moment, then returns his attention to his novel before making a response.

"Well, no, but technically, I don't have to talk to you either. Yet here we are."

"Ugh...well, I'm taking my lunch break. You going to take yours?"

"Hmm...yeah, I could eat some grub."

Before Rupika can pounce on the opportunity to ask our hero to lunch, X produces a lunchbox from his station's cabinet and gets up to head for the door. Rupika lets out an annoyed grunt, recognizing that box as the kind that always contains his prepared lunch, oh so lovingly...well, maybe amicably, crafted by his roommate.

"Hey X."

"Hopefully you've delayed the entry of food into my mouth for worthy cause."

"Those tabloids do just make everything up about you, right?"

"Most people enjoy the use of their genitals. Most people also dislike burning sensations. Most people dressed as...casually, as my roommate, harbor some amalgation of VDs. With these three assumptions in mind, how on earth could you not figure out the answer on your own?"

"Ugh...why are you always so mean to me?"

"Because you make it so easy."

And with that, X steps outside and has a seat on the steps outside. He looks from side to side, across the refreshing green scenery of the trees that dot the path to the purely ornamental canal that runs right in front of the shop. After a few moments, the object of his search peers its head out from some shrubbery and trots up to X's feet. The white cat has a seat while X pours some milk into a dish.

"There you are. Usually, you're here before me."

"Meow."

"Mm."

****

In a dimly lit room filled with terminals, Leah is leaning over a terminal admist several knocked out and slain military officers. While the disc she's insterted into the drive downloads the data, she occupies herself by wiping some blood off her nails. While she's doing that, one of the soliders beneath her feet stirs and slowly inches his hands towards a pistol on the ground.

"Oh, did I miss one? Shoot."

Leah gets down on her knees and cups the poor man's neck with one arm and pushes it to the side with the other. The result is a quick snap and a limp body. Leah lets go just as the download finishes up, much to her delight. She takes the disc and turns to leave, only to see that the doorway that led her in is now blocked by the silhouette of a HUcast.

"Well aren't you a big boy."

"I am JiEin, Pioneer 2 Secret Police. You are under arrest for trespassing and compromising classified data. I'll have to ask you to come with me. ...Of course, if it were really that simple, I suppose they wouldn't need me."

JiEin reaches for his weapon capsule on his waist as Leah takes out her sword and charges in for the assault. The overhead strike from the Lame D'Argent is intercepted by...a calibur, of all things. Leah frowns as she takes note of the fact that her attack has not just been blocked by a vanilla sword, but a vanilla sword being wielded with one arm. She's none too pleased when she gets a punch to the stomach with the free arm. She steps back to reconsider her line of attack while JiEin sets his attack stance.

"You must be Jiji. Neifirst talks about you all the time."

"So then it's at her request you're here?"

"That's right."

A small brown grenade materializes in Ji's hand and is then thrown at Leah's feet. Before she can kick it away, it detonates and releases a sticky gray liquid all over her body which quickly hardens into ice. JiEin relaxes his battle stance and walks up to the immobilized HUney to slap on the cuffs while she struggles to get her feet free.

"It's useless; this freeze trap releases several dozen gallons of liquid nitrogen over a small area. Right now, you may as well be encased in solid lanconium. You have the right to-"

JiEin gets cut off by a punch to the chest which dents his plating and knocks him back several feet. Leah takes the arm which just busted loose of the ice and uses it to shatter and brush off the rest of her body. Obviously, she's none too pleased about having had a subzero liquid shot all over her. JiEin recovers his balance and swings his sword at Leah's side, impacting on her sword which was moved to guard the hit. This doesn't fluster him in the least as he takes the blade away and rapidly assaults the other side far faster than a sword should be able to move. Leah is struck by this attack and staggers while holding her bleeding wound.

"You may have broken the ice, but the frostbite persists; you won't be able to fight with your reflexes dulled to such a point."

"Hmm...now I see why Neifirst asked me to fight you. An attack like that, combined with your unique style of using a sword would definitely put her at a disadvantage."

Leah has a look on her body which is currently suffering from the symptoms of severe frostbite; specifically, her skin is as black as ash and beginning to flake off, as if it were burnt. She grits her teeth, then smiles nonchalantly as she stands and sticks her sword in the ground.

My skin tissue is completely dead; there's nothing to regenerate...I guess I'll just have to shorten my life a bit more.

Leah puts her fist in her palm and closes her eyes for concentration. A pink glows spreads over the darkened skin, brightening it back to a vibrant creamy white. Once the healing is done, Leah relaxes and places a hand on the hilt of her blade which is still stuck in the ground.

"That's not something a normal Resta should be able to heal..."

"No, you're right, it's not. Resta prompts living tissue cells to divide themselves to repair the damage. Of course, if there aren't any alive to divide themselves, it'd be worthless. So, instead of a regeneration technique, I had to use a creation technique. Genesi restores a body to its pristine state as determined by its genetic blueprint. ...Of course, Genesi doesn't take into account the fact that I like a tan. Do you have any idea how long I'm gonna have to sunbathe to get it back? Thanks a lot, dumbass..."

Plus, I'll die just a bit sooner now from subtracting my body's TP generation capacity...oh well, my life was never meant to be that long in the first place.

JiEin charges in, hoping to catch Leah off guard, but instead, he is the one caught off guard when Leah takes her sword and throws it into the floor in front of his path. As he stops to avoid tripping over it, Leah hops forward onto the hilt, with the balance of a cat, and holds her fist up in front of her face.

"But hey, here, let me show you a more conventional technique."

The fist takes on the standard red glow of Shifta right before it's thrust into JiEin's chest, busting right through the plating and leaving a very nice cave in of a dent. Leah hops off her sword, picks it up, then nudges a finger into JiEin causing him to fall over. JiEin struggles to get up on his feet, but the warped metal in his chest is impairing the use of something important in his motor functions, so on the ground he stays.

"Well, I'd like to play more, but if I need to go get some things to make dinner. Otherwise, I have to hear that jerk ***** about not having dinner ready...ta ta."

Leah daintily steps over the fallen husk and towards the door while JiEin puts in a medic call while contemplating his position.

"Guess I'll have to get started on that paperwork...I'll also have to have Elly put in the papers to have authorize the use of 'it' the next time we meet..."

****

X is in his chair, doing you know what. While he's doing that, Azuria walks a few steps by him and stops while looking out the door. Her attention seems focused on a man in a brown trenchcoat who is staring right back at her. After a few moments, X stops spinning and looks up at his boss to see what her problem is. After following her stare, he takes note of the man as well. Having better eyes than she does, he picks out an item of interest...then goes right back to spinning.

"X, I'm stepping out. Watch the shop."

Azuria heads out the door, securing one of her mechguns at her side as she heads out to greet the man. The man folds down the collar of his coat to better reveal his face and the smirk that's on it.

"Hmph. You're not the one I wanted. Go back in there and get the moptop."

"I am afraid...non. I cannot have hooligans loitering about my shop, especially renegade hunters. Prepare to-"

"Hold it."

X comes sauntering up from behind Azuria, much to her surprise and the mystery man's delight.

"Monsieur X, what did you come for?"

"Well, I was just going to let you handle it...but you know, I got a tiny bit worried. And perhaps it's a good thing I did. This isn't just some scrub renegade Azuria."

At this point, the greyed out section ID clip on the lapel of the trencoat is in full view. X frowns and runs a hand through his hair as he considers the situation.

"This, is Lucius Oraphla, one of the few newmen rangers around. He's the one responsible for the incident in Spica sector that resulted in the death of several hundred humans. Supposedly, he's never taken a scratch in battle."

The RAnewm chuckles and undoes the top few buttons of his trencoat to reveal his entire body beneath the coat, dressed in standard RAmar attire. His face is caked in warpaint with his red hair matted over his eyes, making for a rather ugly visage to stare at. X takes a few steps further to get in front of Azuria and stares down the renegade his his arms folded in his jacket.

"So, what's your business here?"

"I'm here to greet you on behalf of a very special lady. She seems to have it in her head that you're worth a ****, and should be treated more carefully than the rest of you human scum. I'm going to prove her wrong right here; killing you will be no sweat."

"A special lady?"

"Oh, she'll be all over the news in a few days. Not that it matters for you of course."

"You seem to be hellbent on the idea of killing me."

In the blink of an eye, X congeals two icicles in the cracks of his fist. Like a shot, Lucius immediately hops backwards and to the left to get out of the way of the flung shuriken. That act of evasion puts him in the canal where he hits his waterwalking. X frowns in annoyance at how commonplace the technique has become, but then joins him in the water. Azuria runs up to the railing, leans over it and calls out to X with information he is clearly not privy to.

"But monsieur X, you are unarmed!"

"Well, A, thanks for telling him that."

Azuria winces.

"And B, kicking this guy's ass with a weapon would be flattering him. I'll be fine. When's my next appointment anyway?"

"Er...at 4:30, so dix minutes."

"Ten minutes, plenty of time."

X: Oh yeah, time to kick some ass! Whew, I was getting restless there!

Ayame: Hi...

X: The hell do you want kid?

Ayame: Next time...

Episode 29: She Who Shall Succeed

X: All right kiddo, I'll excuse it this because you don't know better, but for next time, you don't steal my lines.

Ayame: Um...don't miss it?

X: Oi...

[TheGingerOne]

The cast seems to be all there now, unless I'm mistaken about Keiko.

[Xaeris]

Not much to say here...

Episode 29: She Who Shall Succeed

Last we left, a battle with a fairly predictable conclusion was about to get underway. In fact, it's so predictable, this episode opens up having skipped straight to it. Two ice needles are lodged in Lucius' back, precisely where his kidneys are. He stands on the water with his eyes open wide in shock and pain while X stands behind him with his fingers still on one of the needles, just having placed it there. The look on his face is calm and nonchalant, as if he may as well been sticking a toothpick into a hero sandwich. Floating in the water are a few spent ammo cartridges and some bloodied ice needles, being the only evidence of the fight that look place.

"I'd been meaning to get that accupuncture license. Azuria's always saying how we need to branch out from haircare. Hope you didn't mind being my test dummy."

Lucius turns his head to begin spurting obscenities at the human who then pulls out the needle. That shock of pain is enough to shatter Lucius' concentration on his waterwalking technique and drop him into the canal water. X then bends at the knees, congeals yet another ice needle and holds it up to his opponent's forehead where he smiles and taps it for effect while alternating between his forehead and the side of his neck.

"And that's game. Now, you get a choice here; your bounty says you can be brought in dead or alive-"

"Fft...fine, I surrender."

"A fine choice."

Just as X congratulates Lucius on his excellent decision making skills, he notes something moving below the surface of the water near him. X winces and jumps back to avoid what he perceives to be a trap only to give his defeated enemy the exact opportunity he needed. Lucius pops the telepipe he was readying and makes a hasty retreat much to the annoyance of our hero who allows his needle to melt in his fingers.

"Drat, I was careless. Oh well. With an injury like that, he'll be pretty harmless."

"X, your appointment!"

"Jesus woman, I still have eight minutes, chill out."

"You need time to heal! How do you expect to hold a pair of scissors with your shoulder like that?"

X's eyes wander to the shoulder in question, his right, and look at the damage sustained. It's hardly anything serious, but it is bleeding. X grumbles and clutches his shoulder as he walks with Azuria back into the salon.

I can't believe that fool managed to graze me. That's careless, even for me.

Now, some of you may wonder if the battle was really so easy that it could be skipped in such a manner or if the author is just that incredibly lazy. To you, dear reader, I can only say that is a question you have to answer for yourselves.

****

The classroom from earlier is currently empty save for a teacher and pupil. Eris sits on her desk at the front of the classroom while a grumpy looking newman boy stands before her with his arms folded. Eris smiles briefly at the boy's ill humor while swinging her legs as she waits. Eventually, their wait is ended when Neifirst walks into the room from a door far off to the side of the desk. Eris gets down and greets her before gesturing to the boy who has done nothing to acknowledge the new entry.

"Hello Neifirst, this is Ioz, the one I was telling you about. I think you'll find him perfect for your purposes."

Neifirst turns a glance towards the grumpy child and leans her head in with a scrutinizing glare. Ioz holds his ground unflinchingly as Neifirst performs her examanination. After a few seconds, she stands back up and strokes a finger against her pale cheek.

"Tell me kid; what do you think of humans?"

Ioz looks up briefly without changing his scornful expression and replies to the question.

"...Disgusting."

"Aww...he's just adorable. All right Eris, I'll take this one off your hands. You'll handle the paperwork?"

"Of course."

"But what ever happened to that kid you first told me about, the result of that project?"

Eris' face turns annoyed as she grits her teeth in frustration. Ioz still has yet to register a lick of emotion on his face as he listens to the nice ladies move on to a conversation that no longer concerns him.

"That girl is nothing but a failure. No one could make a half decent Force out of her. She'll be recycled on the next quarter, I'm sure of it."

"I see. ...Well, if that's all you needed me for, I'll be going."

****

A few hours later at the apartment, wounds are hastily being treated by sloppy spinnings of Resta. None of the cuts and scratches would have arisen from the attacks JiEin subjected her to, suggesting that wasn't the least of her activities today. Regardless, bright sparks spill across the ground with each casting as she isn't bothering to tie the energy in. Just as she gets off the one that removes the last bit of evidence to physical harm, X walks in the door. She looks over at him and immediately at his shoulder sensing that something is amiss.

"God X, your Resta sucks. That's easily among the most slipshod jobs I've ever seen. The hell happened to you?"

X is about to make with a snide remark when he notes his roommate's severe change in skin tone. He looks her up and down, then raises an eyebrow.

"I could ask the same question."

"I asked first."

"Hmph. I met up with some punk and got a bit careless. No biggie. Your turn."

X walks over to the couch where he immediately crashes and lounges. Leah walks over and takes off his jacket, then pulls his shirt aside to show off his injured shoulder. It's just as she says; his Resta does horrible work. While the wound is closed, the dark bruising indicates some internal bleeding not healed by the technique. Leah moves two fingers across her lips and then places them on the wound, mending the wound right down to the muscle fiber.

"Baby's boo boo all better?"

"Fft...so why exactly are you so pale? You could pass for a milk carton right now."

"A what?"

"Egh...before your time. Now quit dodging the question."

"Oh, well, uh...there was a makeup accident."

"...A makeup accident. The makeup girl screwed up so bad that she got your entire body?"

"Yes...she was...applying some body paint and the bleaching brush got away from her."

The roommates stare blankly at each other while the explanation hangs in the air, waiting to be accepted by X. Eventually, he shrugs and leans back in his seat, rotating his renewed shoulder.

"Okay then. So, you're not gonna stay like that, are you?"

Leah smirks places a finger on pursed lips while she leans on X from above, much to his annoyance.

"Aww, you like me better when I'm bronzed?"

"Like I like a rotten apple better than I like a worm eaten apple."

"Pfft, you're no fun. Anyway, no, I'll have to spend the next two or three days sunbathing. If I hurry, I can soak up the last hour or so of sunlight."

As X turns his head up to inquire as to what she means, he throws his hand up to catch a bottle that's been chucked in his general direction. After a look at the label, he raises an eyebrow and turns his head back to his roommate.

"Make yourself useful and put some of that suntan lotion on my back."

X's eyes go between the bottle and his roomie, as his mind struggles to resolve the obvious disconnect between his hormones and his good sense. After a few seconds, our boy finally decides to heed the advice of his good sense over his hormones.

"...Nah."

Leah turns her head over her shoulder and smiles ever so sweetly at her roommate. X returns with a brief, unnerved smile while she takes one of his hands into hers and rubs it, gently.

"X, we've known each other for a while, wouldn't you say?"

X's face is shot with nervous confusion as he takes note of the soft hands caressing his. Forcing down a stammer, he manages his answer.

"Er...yes."

"Then you have to understand..."

Leah clamps down on X's hand causing even him to bite his lip to prevent the scream from getting out.

"How I can't figure out how you have yet to know how to discern when I'm telling, not asking."

Leah lets go and allows X to go about applying a Resta to his spasming hand. Wincing, he turns his head towards her and smirks while he heals up.

"And you, in turn, should understand why I can't seem to get why you think I'd be perfectly content to be whipped and take that lying down."

In this situation, rational people might grin and let it go. Some even might take the sage old advice of turning the other cheek. All in all, reason calls for a person not to provoke the sleeping tiger. So, it should really come as little shock that X opts to poke Leah in the eye. This, of course, nets him a punch to the face, which he happily refunds. It's not long before both hunters are on the ground, gasping for breath after a heated brawl.

"Dammit, get off me skank, you're heavy."

"Screw you jerkass..."

****

So, let us fast forward to the next day when our favorite hunter is starting his morning right; with a protein wafer on the table. X picks up the rice cake like object, frowns and takes a bite. His face shows its disagreement as he chokes it down, considering what could have gotten him such a lousy breakfast today.

"Oh right, she said she was going to spend mornings sunbathing..."

In the middle of that thought, a ding prompts X to reach for his PDA in his jacket and check his mail. As he reads it, he frowns even more on top of having to eat the detestable object in his hand. After popping the last bite in his mouth, he heads toward the door to head out for the day.

"Wonder what the old man wants."

****

Upon entering the Principal's office through the warp, X lightly pounds a fist on the chest of the RAcast gaurding the entrance as he goes by and heads up to the desk as casually as he always does. Tyrel looks up to confirm the hunter's presence and quickly ends the call he has going on his video phone to address matter numero uno.

"X, glad you could make it."

"Mm."

"Same as ever...I'll get to the point. As you should know, the annual hunter license exams are coming up."

"And for someone who has his license, such as, I dunno...myself, this concerns him how?"

"The exams as they exist now were put into place after you got yours. Are you familiar with the prerequisites for the exam?"

X rubs the back of his head as he searches his memory for that obscure piece of data. After a few moments, he comes up with something seems more or less right.

"An applicant needs to have a certain amount of supervised hours of hunter duty under a registered hunter, right?"

"Yes. Twenty to be exact. In turn, all active human hunters are required to take two applicants on as subordinates per exam period. Surely, you've figured out where I'm going with this."

"I have. And I'd rather not."

Tyrel chuckles while holding a palm out towards X. Before he can question it, Irene takes her cue to get up from her desk and obtain X's PDA from him. Connecting it with hers, she uploads some kind of file and hands it back to him. Understandably confused, the principal nods and explains.

"I figured I'd save us both some time and hand you the waiver papers in person. Fill those out and you won't have to take on any subordinates."

"Ha. You're always looking out for me old man."

"Still...I hope you might reconsider. You're an excellent Force-"

"Hunter."

"...Right. And I'm sure there are two fledglings out there who would greatly benefit from your guidance...if they could tolerate your...um...unique demeanor."

While Tyrel makes his request, X has been reading through the form, applying his John Hancock to each place that asks for it. Eventually, he comes upon a questionable clause which gives him pause. He looks up once at Tyrel, then back at the PDA, then up once more with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

"I have to visit one classroom and obtain a signature from its teacher. What, you're hoping I'll take pity on the scrubs?"

"Something like that. Hop to it now. That's due this afternoon."

"Frizza frazza..."

Grudgingly, X turns and heads for the warp to leave.

****

"Where to go...I guess I could head to that school near the apartment where I see those kids head everyday."

Despite the fact that this thought suggests intent, he's already acted upon it and is standing outside the mentioned building. Navigation proves to be a simple enough task as he finds his way to the head office situated to the side of the entrance. After explaining his predicament to a receptionist, she loads a visitor ID onto his PDA and waves him through the doors.

"So ah...where should I go?"

"Hmm..well, Miss Escarre's class should be in its technique rotation right now. You can go there; room 201."

"All right, thanks."

A trip up a set of stairs puts X face to face with the entrance to his destination. After swallowing a sigh, he groans and walks in to interrupt the class in progress. Though he was expecting to be the only surprise there, it is returned in equal amount when he sees who it is that's teaching. He strides over to the desk to greet the teacher who has stopped speaking and is looking back towards our hero.

"Aris!"

"Eris."

"That's what I said."

"...What are you even doing here? Can't you see this is a place of learning?"

"What am *I* doing here? I could ask the same..."

X produces his PDA so Eris can go through the clause that concerns her and her class. She snickers lightly as she reads, much to X's annoyance. After she's done, she thrusts the PDA back to X who takes it with a weak grin on his face. Finally, it occurs to the two to see how the class is taking his sudden intrusion. The kids are all speaking in hushed whispers, excitedly chattering about their special unexpected guest. Eris lets out a disgusted sigh and turns her attention back towards X.

"Fine, I'll sign your stupid form. But, it says you have to observe an entire class."

"What? Oh geez...tch, fine. Heh, never pictured you to be the teaching type Erisch."

"Time changes people...you can sit at the desk. I'll be standing anyway."

X has a seat and allows Eris to begin her learning block on techniques. First up, she calls the creepy red eyed kid to come up and perform a technique. When Ioz makes it to the front of the room, his eyes settle on X's and pierce straight into him while our hero raises an eyebrow and turns his head to the side a little.

"Ioz. Set the bar and use a Razonde."

"Very well..."

A circle of electricity snaps into being around Ioz and charges the air around, him, causing the hair of both adults in the room to rise up a bit. Eris beams with pride while X licks his palm and pushes his hair back into place, looking fairly unimpressed. While Ioz heads back to his seat, Eris calls up some random fodder student while addressing X.

"Hope he didn't change your mind. He's already spoken for."

"I bet. Speed this up will you? I provide enough of my own depression that I don't need to see a bunch of scrub forces in the making."

And so follows the rest of the class in a demonstration of average techniques. Nothing mindblowing really; the most notable thing was the miscast Megid that forced X to get up and slice in half with his palm, much to the amazement of the class. Finally, Eris points to her final student, a purple pigtailed girl sitting in the back by herself.

"All right...use Foie."

Ayame walks down grudgingly to the front and faces the room as she summons up every ounce of energy in her being to perform a successful technique. As she does, X sits up from his relaxed position and watches closely. The result is anticlimatic at best as what is produced is a puff of smoke from her hands. X's face is incredulous in its exasperation while the kids erupt with laughter. Ayame slinks back to her seat while Eris apologizes to her guest for the pathetic display.

"Ugh...sorry you had to see that. She's absolutely hopeless. I guarantee she'll be recycled by the end of the term."

"Oh, 'recycled.' Is that the latest PC euphemism for killing useless newmen? I dunno, I kinda liked 'purged."

"Hmph...all right class is out for the day. I'll sign your forms now X."

"Huh? Oh...er, okay..."

X hands over his PDA, not looking in Eris' direction but at the kids leaving the room through the door. Eris is preoccupied looking for the space to give her stamp of approval so she doesn't notice the conflicted look in X's eyes as he watches them all go. After a few moments, he sighs and snatches his device back from Eris' hands. She looks up in confusion as X acts on his decision.

"You there."

All the remaining children in the room look up in surprise as X calls one of them out. Seeing the need to clarify, he thinks of a discerning feature to draw the kid he's looking for.

"Um...the one with the purple pigtails."

Ayame points to herself with wide eyes while the others whisper incredulously at X's choice. Soon, they rationalize and lick their wounded egos by figuring that X is going to tell Ayame how much she sucks as she strolls up to a slightly irritated looking HUmar.

"What's your name kid?"

"A-Ayame..."

"All right."

"Wh-what?! Are you joking?! You saw how weak she is, she has no talent as a Force!"

X ignores that and bends at the knees to bring himself to eye level with Ayame. Her head is slinked in her shoulders and her eyes are diverted to avoid eye contact as X tilts his head to try to get a better look at her. He smiles one of his rare genuine smiles and taps the kid on the shoulder gently to get her attention.

"Ayame, would you like me to show you how to cast a technique properly?"

"I-I'm no good at that..."

"Don't be silly. You could be very good at it. You just need a decent teacher, which up to now, you haven't had the privilege of having."

"You little-"

Still ignoring Eris as she goes into a rant on that insult, X presses on.

"So, how about it? It won't take long."

"Okay..."

X rises back onto his feet and gestures for Ayame to follow as he leaves the room. She scampers after him with a bit of vigor, but still looks fairly downcast. A ten minute walk takes them to narrow bridge with a grand view of the buildings of several sectors below. Confirming that this is a good spot for what he has in mind, he steps over to allow Ayame some room on the bridge.

"All right. Cast Foie will you?"

"Okay."

X raises an eyebrow at Ayame's receding reluctance, but then chalks it up to the lack of the hellions badgering her. Still, the replenished confidence doesn't do much for the technique, producing the same puff of smoke as before. X nods as he takes note of what just happened here while Ayame simply sighs and slumps her shoulders.

Yes, she's definitely the same child I sealed those years ago.

Since it has been a while and I just wouldn't be parodying shounen anime properly without a flashback, here's the excerpt in question from episode 13.

~X removes a hairpin from his hair and cleans the oil off of it. With it in hand, he begins to search for a spot on his skin. Finding a freshly healed injury everywhere he looks, he begins to grow annoyed at his lack of places to cut himself. Finally, he settles on point in the middle of his forearm and draws blood. Taking a dab of it with his right index finger, he mentally maps out a spot on the child's belly. With a few quick and easy strokes, he draws a small pentagram on top of her belly button. It glows momentarily before growing dull again just as she finally stops crying.~

But...I built the seal to decay over time. It shouldn't be restraining her this much. If I could just get a look at it...

"I'm sorry Mister X..."

"Huh? Oh, don't worry, that's fine. Hey kid, tell me. Do you have any strange markings on your belly?"

"What? Oh, you mean my fairy mark!"

By now, Ayame has developed the demeanor of most normal children and is bouncing. Still, X is more troubled by what she just called his bloodseal.

"Your...fairy mark?"

"Yeah, the doctor at the lab said when I was born, a fairy gave me a mark because I'm special! Wanna see?"

"Uh...sure."

"A 'fairy'? God dammit."

Ayame lifts up her shirt to reveal her belly and the dull flesh colored marking on it. X leans in and examines his work of years past and instantly locates the problem. He frowns and stands back up while grunting in understanding.

Hmm, it's easy enough to fix. But...that obstruction could only be placed by someone who knows what they're doing...who...well, I guess it doesn't matter right now. I'll fix it.

X cuts his thumb on his incisor and dabs the tip of his index finger in the small drop of blood.

"Tickle tickle."

X scratches the appropriate area on Ayame's belly causing her to giggle. While she's distracted by that, the place where the pentagram has been broken is bridged by fresh blood and effectively repaired. It's only a few seconds before the new addition dulls in color and fades out of notice with the rest of the seal. X lets up on the tickle monster bit and faces back over the bridge.

"Try the Foie again."

"Uh...all right..."

Ayame casts Foie. What happens this time is not a puff of smoke. It's not a fire ball. No, this time, what pops out is nothing short of a minature sun that soars into the air and bursts several yards away into hundreds of Foies, each of which burst into sparks which fall towards the ground harmlessly. To anyone below, it might look like someone set off thousands of fireworks at once. Ayame is blown away by the magnitude of her own technique while X stares in his own disbelief.

"Holy crap, I knew the blocked up technique energy would come out in a rush on the casting of her next technique...but there was that much? Damn. Glad I brought her here. Anyway, her energy should be okay now. She'll show up those punks, no problem."

"That was just a little relaxation technique. From now on, you'll be a good Force, I'm sure of it. Later kid."

Before making an effort to leave, X puts a hand on his hip and looks at Ayame in the eyes. She returns the look, not avoiding eye contact this time. Though she should be thrilled, she regards X with a sad frown, confusing him.

"What's wrong?"

"Why are you so sad Mister X?"

"...What?"

"You don't look happy...your eyes are like mine when everyone's being mean to me."

"...Heh heh, you're pretty sharp kid."

X regards Ayame a while longer, realizing that he's filling up with a feeling that he hasn't felt in quite some time now. He folds his arms as he stands through this overwhelming emotion and Ayame just continues to look up at him with her wide eyed stare.

"...You wanna come with me kid?"

"Huh?"

"If I train you with all my life, you're sure to become an excellent nin-, er, Force."

"Why?"

"All I ask in return...is that you be happy, okay? It's hard for me these days, but when I see your smile...I feel...happy."

"O...okay!"

Currently, Ayame's eyes are welling up with tears, filled with the same emotion that X is talking about. X walks up to Ayame, places his hand on her shoulder and pulls her close to his side, looking out towards the sunset with the second genuine smile of the day on his face.

"Okay, then from this day on, you are my apprentice. You'll have the finest techniques with which to call forth a bright future, that's my promise! C'mon, I'll treat you to some ice cream to celebrate."

"What's ice cream?"

"Dear Christ, do I have a lot to teach you..."

Ayame: Uncle X, Uncle X, can I do the preview?!

X: Uh...sure, knock yourself out.

Ayame: Since Uncle X needs to have two subordinates, we have to go find another! I wonder who he'll pick...next time!

Episode 30: Zero TP, the Faux FOmar Falters

Ayame: Don't miss it!

X: Hmm, that wasn't half bad kid. But you need to trail off on your 'next time.'

Ayame: Okay!



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Xaeris on 2006-07-09 19:18 ]</font>

[Magus_84]

I liked this update, though I think I already told you this. I've got the outline and around 80% of the character notes done for the new stuff. A revamped version of Episode 1 should be up Friday. Can you get on AIM at some point?

Even if not, good work on this one. I'm looking forward to the next one. See ya around.

[Abaru-FP]

I loved almost everything about this story, and I only have the personal gripe that it reminds me way too much of a cartoon network anime screenplay (Naruto anyone?). Your characters are great, but I can't help but notice that their developement seems really skewed. X stars off as an average kid getting his ass kicked in forest, and about a month later hes walking on water and using his bloods energy to kill people? Seems sort of...fast o_O

That sounded more negative than I intended it to...Anyway, I love the story, the characters, and the style (once I stop being too critical). Please, keep it up http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Xaeris]

I'm grateful for the feedback Abaru. Yeah, I really can't say much in defense for myself concerning the transition from level 1 to 170 inside three chapters. It was intended, but I do admit the explanation is barely there. I'll have an opportunity to explain it later in the season, but until then, I have to plead for the benefit of the doubt. Without further ado...the update!

Jesus, hard to believe I'm still only on episode 30...I can't help but feel like I miscounted. But of course, that's impossible. That never happens. Anyways, this place came alive with fanfics, good ones too. This is just the kick in the pants I needed; not like I can let myself be shown up here. More fight scenes, more drama, more wiseass remarks, everything I've got from here on in! Go!

And don't mind the changed title. I slightly underestimated the timeline I had going and the event the old title described is pushed back to next episode. The appropriate changes have been made.

Episode 30: Zero TP, the Faux FOmar Falters

Before this installment goes into detail as to how our version 1 HUmar tutors his young apprentice in the ways of techniques, it is necessary to rewind to earlier in the day to see what his ladyfriend was up to. Hey, an excuse to narrarate in past tense; this should be amusing. Hours before X stirred out of bed, Leah was making preparations to reclaim her proud caramel tan by stuffing the necessary provisions into her duffel bag; some suntan lotion, a bit of reading material and a towel to lay on. A happy tune found its way to her lips as she strolled out the door towards the roof to let the sun perform its labor. Shortly, she emerged from the roof's single door and surveyed the area, content to find it empty.

"Well, no one's around...still, this feels awkward..." she said, to no one in particular. It was a thought born from a premonition to which she might have wished she paid more attention. Regardless, she proceeded to set up her towel after finding a smooth place to lie and then, undress. She did not get beyond undoing her top before feeling her nagging premonition once more.

"Ugh, I'm being silly. The only one who might come up here is the jerk and he'll sleep for a few more hours, easy," she assured herself in order to continue undressing. As usual for her clothing, getting the shorts off proved to be a miniature ordeal as the fabric refused to release its grip on her thighs. Still, all battles come to an end and so did that one, without having destroy the opponent, she remarked in amusement. Fully certain of her solitude by then, she lay her glory out to the sunlight to be bronzed anew.

"Ah, it's so warm...wonder how often I'm supposed to turn myself over...oh well, guess I can just wing it," she decides, as the last of her concerns melted away in the light.

"Oh, whoops, I guess I can't neglect the space in between the girls." Realizing this small error in her session, she sat up to cup her hands beneath her mammaries and pull them apart...right when her ears picked up the sound she could possibly dread most at this moment; the sound of a shutter clicking. Searching the area frantically, her ears guided her eyes to a window in the adjacent building. It was only a mere instant before her eyes met with the voyeur's and narrowed menacingly upon them. The poor fool recognized his plight through the lens near instantly and took off like a shot out of sight. But our heroine was not one to let such an act go entirely unpunished; at least not willingly. Quick as a cat, she rose to her feet, wrapped her towel around her frame and charged across the rooftop and alley with one graceful pounce...one which had its grace robbed by the unceremonius crashing through the window. A quickly spun Resta easily mended the cuts to her arms as she ran to give the photographer chase.

"Come back here you sick little man!" It came out like a snarl through what appeared to be an empty office building before work hours. The mousey little man darted down the halls of cubicles, desperate to put some distance between himself and his enraged predator. Unfortunately for him, the path around obstacles is much longer than the path through them. It was only a few seconds of pursuit before the hurrying man with his eyes searching behind him ran into one very pissed off newman and hit the ground like a sack of bricks.

"All right, hand over the camera, say you're sorry and I'll let you off with just a few cracked ribs." Instead of taking this ridiculously charitable offer, the man scrambled at his side, fumbling for some sort of device, which he was able to find. His panic button let out a high pitch shriek, unheard by human ears, but to the fine tuned ones of a newman, it was like a thousand nails on a thousand chalkboards. Leah released her grip on the fool's collar, needing that hand to cover her other ear, allowing him the opportunity to scamper off around the cubicle on the corner.

"Oh that's it, you're about to die very painfully!" She found that threat to have fallen on no audience when she rounded the same corner, seeing only a receding Ryuker spell. Rage came to an overflowing boil, releasing itself as a shattering punch to the nearby wall. And that, was Leah's morning.

****

All righty, that's enough of my take on a Harlequin novel for one episode. Back to the present, X sits on a stool in the Naura Sisters' Sweets Factory eating a bowl of ice cream. On the stool at his right, propped up by two phone books, sits his new charge poking her bowl of ice cream with a spoon, treating it like a slime that might shapeshift at any moment.

"Um...I'm not sure about this mister X..."

"I know it looks strange, but I promise you that it's food. Give it a taste."

Ayame casts a scrutinizing gaze upon her chocolate fudge, then looks to X who's placing a spoonful of his vanilla in his mouth. Following the example, she takes a scoop, far bigger than her mouth can accomodate, and puts it in her mouth, dribbling the excess down her cheek. While X takes a napkin and wipes it off, the girl lets her tongue cast judgment upon the food. The verdict is obviously apparent as Ayame rushes to get another scoop in her mouth.

"Er, you shouldn't eat that so fast. You'll get a-"

After the fourth shovel, Ayame drops her spoon and clutches her head. X sighs, slumps his shoulders and lets out a brief chuckle.

"Headache..."

X snaps his fingers to cast Anti, alleviating the girl's head pains. Not bothered by the experience, she recommences eating the treat.

"Ice cream is good mister X!"

"No kidding. We're going down to Ragol after this, so eat up."

"Kay."

After a few more minutes, X pays the fifty meseta tab and leaves with his apprentice skipping in tow. Out on the streets, X gestures for Ayame to get in front him. She does so without question and X looks more relaxed being able to watch the scatterbrained runt walk in zig zags in front of him. Something eventually catches her attention though, prompting her to stop and point.

"Hey mister X, what's that?"

X follows the line her finger presents to a statue standing proudly outside what looks to be a government building. X waves his hand forward to prompt Ayame to head on over to it while he walks, examining the familiar looking face of the statue. He places his hands at his hips and bows his head as he assures that he has the youngin's attention.

"This is Flowen Heathcliff. He was regarded as the hero of the military. His valor in battle emboldened the least of men and brought pride and honor to the title of 'solider.' He-"

"You're just reading off the plaque!"

X winces and looks down to his pouting apprentice with a smirk and pats her on the head.

"Nothing gets by you kid. ...This is a statue of a good man. That's all you need to understand. Let's go."

The trip to the Ragol teleporter is filled with yet more questions which halt their stroll for seconds at time. By the time they actually get to the pad with its red bouncy waves, Ayame is beaming with new knowledge while X is looking exhausted. With a heavy sigh, he removes his ID clip from his hair and walks over to the guard to present it as he's surely done many times before.

Jesus, this kid is filled with questions. Doesn't anyone talk to her?

"Uh...sir..."

X raises an eyebrow in confusion upon seeing the apprehension on the guard's face, then follows his gaze to the bouncing young lady behind him. X's brain takes a few moments to put two and two together and come up with an answer as to why this might just look a teeny bit bad.

Oh geez, he doesn't think I'm one of those people that...eww. Christ...okay, maybe...

"What seems to be the problem soldier? My niece here is looking very forward to seeing a real live forest."

Ayame nods enthusiastically with her hands clasped together below her chin while X does precisely the same. The solider sighs in a bit of relief and waves them in towards the teleporter.

****

A deep breath of fresh air is taken in as soon as X steps foot on moist soil. Though not usually one to appreciate nature, even he'll take a minute to revel in genuine nature after being cooped up and surrounded by a synthetic environment for two years. He stretches his arms into the air and shakes his head in the crisp spring air.

"Okay, first we'll-"

"Whee!!"

Ayame takes off into the forest like a shot, completely overwhelmed by the verdant environment. X just stands there with a finger in the air, looking rather confused while the FOney runs and hops around like a bunny on meth. Watching her for a few moments, he shrugs and scratches the side of his head.

Hmm, I suppose she never has seen a real forest before. Guess I'll let her jump and scream a bit before we start.

So, Ayame proceeds to tire herself over the course of the next fifteen minutes. Sufficiently out of breath, she returns to X who found an old crate to sit on and read one of his graphic novels. Before chirping for attention, she bends down to get a look at the cover of the book, which is, of course, a pretty newman woman tugging at the frills of her lacy underwear.

"Uncle X, why is the lady on your book only wearing underwear?"

"What the- you're done already? Er...well...the thing is...I'll tell you when you're older, okay?"

"Okay Uncle X!"

"...You don't need to call me uncle anymore kid."

Ayame stares blankly with her big blue eyes, clearly not understanding the statement. X sighs, puts his book away and stands up to begin the lesson.

"All right, before you can do anything worthwhile your technique energy, it is important you have a feel for it. That is to say, you need to be able to tell how much you or your opponent has at any given time."

"Um...okay...how do I feel technique energy?"

X smiles, then reaches his fingers out to tug on one of Ayame's ears.

"You hear it. That's why you have these oversized ears. Of course, you need some practice first..."

X lets go of the ear and bends over to scoop a pebble off the ground. As he gets back up, he throws his stare into some nearby bushes, scanning them for something of his interest. After a few seconds, he throws the pebble straight into the plantlife, hitting his mark square on. Out from the bushes comes a frantic rag rappy with a bump on its noggin. Ayame squeals in delight at the sight of the cute creature as it passes by while X simply watches the chicken stumble about. Once again, he bends over and this time, picks up one of the rappy's feathers.

"Technique energy produces a very subtle vibration as it travels through the air. Normally, you wouldn't be to pick up such a frequency-"

"Amplitude."

"Eh?"

"You're talking about sound, right Uncle X?"

"Uh, yes."

"Well, amplitude is the one that measures how disturbed the medium is. Frequency is the one with how fast it's happening."

"..."

X stares at his 'niece' with a grimace as she sways back and forth where she's standing, despite just having corrected the walking physics textbook.

"Uh, that's right. I was just testing you."

"Oh! Did I pass?"

"Yes, splendidly. Good job."

"Yay!"

Ayame hops up and down with joy while X pushes a palm at the side of his head and lets out a small chuckle.

What a cute kid.

"Okay. Anyway, here's your exercise. Take this feather."

X extends the feather from Ayame to take, but not before stroking beneath her chin with it. After a bit of giggling, Ayame takes the feather for herself and swings it around, seeing how light it is.

"And drop it. The idea is to fine tune your senses to pick up those subtle vibrations; this is just an easy, energy free way to do it. When you can tell me what kind of sound a feather makes when it hits the ground, you'll be ready for real technique training."

"Okay!"

And so, the exercise begins and continues well up until sunset. Even as X turns the last page of his graphic novel to finish it off, Ayame is still dropping the feather and sticking her ear towards it to listen.

"All right kiddo, let's go. You can practice at home. I'll come by after school tomorrow and we can pick up then."

"Okay."

****

X opens the door to his home and finds what has come to be a fairly common sight; Leah sitting on the couch with her arms folded and looking overall pissed. X sighs then breathes in the strength and courage necessary to deal with it tonight.

"So...how was your day?"

Leah turns an evil eye over the couch causing even this HUmar to reel back in the very rare sensation of fear.

"I hate men."

Is it the third week of the month already? No...that's next week. Huh. Well, whatever it is, this is going to be an uphill battle.

"Okay...so...what happened?"

Leah lets out a huff of air while X throws his jacket to the side of the door and strolls up to a spot behind the couch at her side. After unfolding her arms and sitting up straight, she tells X what kind of morning she had. Now, she most likely wasn't expecting sympathy, so X had some leeway in choosing a form of reaction. And yet, he chooses oh so poorly in laughing hysterically. Leah stands up, turns around, grabs our puberty challenged human by the shoulder with one hand and hoists him up the six inches to eye level.

"It's not funny."

"Oh, you don't think so? Maybe you're not telling it right. A decent chunk of any funny story is in the delivery you know. Here, let me try. Ahem. So there you were on our roof, nekkid, and just when you were about to fondle yourself-"

A few minutes later, X regains consciousness.

"My, aren't we hysterical today. Calm down, those pictures aren't worth anything-"

A few minutes later, X regains consciousness.

"Oi. What I meant was...well, you'll see when it comes out."

"...When what comes out?"

"The new issue of Huntress. I imagine they'll make a special edition for tomorrow. Shoot, I might actually have to get up early tomorrow so I can get one..."

"What are you talking about?!"

"Huh? Oh, that guy you described. Yeah, he's a freelance photographer. Pretty nice guy; I usually let him take a few action shots of me for the Guild catalog...anyhoo, last time, he said something about getting the shot of a lifetime. Pretty gutsy guy, I'll have to give him a pat on the back when I see him next."

X manages to catch the punch this time.

"Right, so don't worry. Those pictures won't be worth anything for a very good reason. Don't worry, you'll see. Say, why don't I help take your mind off it? Let's do something together, my treat."

Leah raises an eyebrow in suspiscion as she retracts her fist. She tilts her head away as she searches the offer for the usual trick or sarcasm and is even further disturbed when she finds none.

"Er...why are you being nice?"

"I'm in a good mood."

"Well that's a first. Well...okay. Let's see...how about a game of basketball?"

"Tch...yeah...I was thinking something that didn't involve physical contact."

"Oh geez, are you still moaning about that one game?"

"You broke my arm in four places."

"God, you're such a woman. I healed it didn't I? Besides, it was your own fault."

Leah places her hands on her hips and turns her head away in a huff, seeing absolutely no logic to X's aversion to playing basketball with her. X lets out his own puff of air through pursed lips, seeing that they clearly have different perspectives on this matter.

"That was a blatant foul!"

"Well maybe next time you'll remember who outweighs the other by thirty pounds when you try to block me on a layup!"

"Tuh, you sound so proud of it."

"Well X, you are just that freakishly underweight."

The two take a moment to snarl at each other while staring each other down. Before it escalates into the usual roughousing though, Leah pokes her roommate in the forehead, stopping him dead in his tracks, then turns for the stairs while X looks on in confusion.

"It wouldn't do for us both to have black eyes before going to dinner X. We're gonna go somewhere nice. You did say your treat, right?"

"...Bugger."

****

The scene is the outdoor seating area of a pretty nice restaurant. Our couple sits at one of the tables by the waist high fence where they engage in their usual banter. It's dinner and a show for everyone outside that night. Now, I suppose we could start this a few minutes before the event of interest, where we have X fumbling trying to figure out which fork is the one he's supposed to use for the grilled rappy or Leah teasing him about not being able to drink the wine...but yeah, we're just gonna skip to the part where X peers over his menu to find a ripper thrown into the table.

"What the...?"

X takes a glance at the ripper's angle of incidence, then turns in its direction of origin to find a white skinned newman woman standing atop the fence, staring scornfully at him. While his attention is averted, Leah waves happily at her friend who smiles briefly in return, leaving our hero none the wiser.

"So..."

Now, for a story whose readers have trained significant suspension of disbelief, having dinner interrupted by a dagger flung into your table is probably nothing to dwell on. However, for someone whose beliefs are well rooted in reality, or what passes for it in this universe, this sort of event is the kind of thing to give one pause. X's eyes go back and forth between the ripper and Neifirst as he tries to resolve in his mind why this could be happening.

"Do I know you?"

Neifirst smirks, but waits patiently for X to get out of his seat and face the enemy before beginning her introduction. Once he's ready, she holds her forearm in front of her face and narrows her eyes while taking out a weapon capsule with her other hand.

"My name is Neifirst. I'll be brief; talking really isn't my strong point. I hate humans. I hate everything about your disgusting kind, the way you walk, the way you breathe, I even hate the way you blink."

Perhaps it's coincidence, or perhaps it's X being a jackass, but he blinks twice right then and there.

"Right...well...sorry?"

Neifirst deploys her weapon capsule and out pops a Silence Claw. She slips the gauntlet onto her forearm and fastens the buckles as she crouches into a ready stance.

"In time, I'll throw your insignificant kind out of power. However...you're the current champion of humankind faux FOmar. Defeating you will make a nice demoralizing trophy and an adequate diversion in the meantime."

X blinks a bit more. He then scratches his nose as his head is bowed at the ground as he tries to make sense of this all. After a few seconds, he notices that all the other patrons are have their eyes glued to this encounter, none of them bold enough to so much as twitch a muscle. Perhaps that's his inspiration.

"Oh, I get it! Geez, if the management wanted to put on a show, he should've asked."

X throws his head up and tosses his hair with a smirk. He cups his chin and turns his head away to set the scene for everyone watching.

"Very well scorned wench; I, the white knight, er wait, no, no, let me start over...ahem, I won't allow you to defile this beautiful starry evening with your breathings of contempt! I shall strike you down, like leaves before a sundering squall, with these blades of firm conviction...oh wait, I didn't actually bring my katanas...ah screw it, let's start."

Neifirst is more than happy to comply as by this point she's simmering over with rage. She hops off the fence and makes a beeline straight for X. X leans over the table, grabs the two roses in the vase and flings them at Neifirst as he might a pair of his usual ice needles. Neifirst does not halt her charge, but simply holds up her clawed arm to block the projectiles easily enough. However, with her field of vision blocked, he doesn't notice X met her halfway and is now at her side backhanding her in the cheek. Her momentum is halted and she staggers backwards two steps while X hunches over to ready for the next move.

"So you have some teeth after all mouse."

"...Mouse? Yeah...I'm not liking that name."

"But it's what you are. Before me, you're simply...prey."

"Oh gee, the 'I'm a hunter and you're prey' bit. There's something that hasn't been done before."

X takes a moment to look back towards Leah who rolls her eyes and contents herself to continue eating dinner. Not hers though; she's finishing off what X left. Returning his attention where it belongs, he just barely manages to back out of the way of a viscious claw swipe that still manages to scrape off some skin. Neifirst doesn't allow him reprieve as she follows the swipe up with a volley of swipes and punches that force X to constantly give up ground in order to avoid.

Holy crap, she swings fast! Can't keep up much longer...

After parrying one of the swipes, X thrusts his palm into Neifirst's face and lights up a spark of Zonde. The lightning doesn't connect, but the blinding flash of light is enough to stun the enraged newman in her tracks and give X the opportunity to counterattack. He skips forward to her side and delivers a left hook with all his body weight. ...So it shouldn't be a surprise that he barely manages to turn her chin. Neifirst returns the favor with a kick to the stomach, the unexpected nature of which causes X to double over and leave his head wide open. Of course, she takes the opening and grabs him by the hair and drags him forward in front of her.

"Argh!"

This rare scream of pain coming from the cocky human is well warranted, as Neifirst has her Silence Claw shoved through X's back, right around where his kidney is.

"Familiar?"

"Ungh..."

Neifirst briefly licks her lips before ripping the claw out from X's back. The curved blades make this process just as unpleasant as the stab going in. With nothing to hold him up, X starts to fall over, but is grabbed by the arm and taken into a spin. After around a dozen revolutions, the HUney lets go and sends X flying at the wall. In mid flight, X tucks himself into a ball, busts off a Resta and sticks the landing on the wall like a spider. He then pushes himself off the wall into the air and cups a hand in front of his mouth, aiming directly at the source of his current troubles below.

"..."

No witty remark here; X is much too incensed. Instead, he launches his flamethrower of a Foie which cascades upon Neifirst like a waterfall. Even as he falls, he keeps the Foie focused on her position and only turns it off when he hits the ground. When the smoke clears enough and he only sees a smoldering husk, he instantly does an about face, lights his fist on fire and uppercuts Neifirst square in the jaw.

"SHORYUKEN!"

Always wanted to do that.

Despite his relatively happy thought, X is not in the best condition right now. Though Resta has closed his wound, he's still bleeding internally jugding from the dark ugly color of the area. More importantly though, his temples are throbbing to the point of causing him to wince every so often. Neifirst, on the other hand, despite having taken a good hit or two, looks fresh from the salon, even considering she just got doused in a hailstorm of flame. Speaking of which, X takes a glance back at the smoldering husk and assures that something did get hit by his Foie; just not Neifirst herself.

"What the hell are you?"

"I'm what happens when humans try to play god; that's all. Hmm hmm...aren't you a little young to be going gray?"

X raises an eyebrow in confusion before grabbing a lock of his hair and pulling it in front of him to see what she's talking about. When he sees that his hair is white, he just barely manages to contain his freak out as he drops his hair and stares at the enemy a bit more nervously.

Bullcrap, how can I be out of energy already?!

"It's my limit art, Arcane Diffusion. Physical contact with me transfers the target's technical energy to me. It's like I said mouse; to you, I'm a natural predator."

Again, she licks her lips and prepares for one more charge against a now defenseless HUmar. X grits his teeth and reaches into his jacket, but his next move proves unncessary as Leah is now in front of him to defend the next attack. Neifirst yelps in surprise as Leah grabs her outstretched wrist, pulls her in close and right hooks her in the jaw. The enemy is knocked back several feet into the ground and requires several seconds to recover her bearings before getting on her feet. She wipes the blood from her chin and regards Leah silently for several seconds before letting out a low growl and taking off her Silence Claw.

"Hmph, I guess this isn't a proper place to kill you mouse. The audience isn't anywhere near big enough. Next time though, try not to hide behind your girlfriend there. It's disgraceful, don't you think?"

And with that, Neifirst runs off into the night, leaving X to sink the depth of his injuries. In fact, he falls unconscious right there into Leah's arms.

"You idiot..."

****

Later that night, X awakes to the sound of the television. Remembering his fight, he experimentally tests his side to guage the pain. Finding little more than a dull ache, he sits up and shakes his head clear, trying to remember the precise details of what happened.

"Oh, you're up."

X turns his head to the side and finds Leah sitting by him in her hip length nightie, flipping channels nonchalantly. With a groan, he bows his head and places his hands on his ears as he mentally berates himself on his pitiful performance. Though his ears are covered, he can still heard what's being said on the TV and he hears something that prompts him to uncover his ears and shoot up to attention.

"Eye witness accounts report him being defeated quite handily-"

"It was a lucky shot!"

X slams his fist into the coffee table and then slumps, the sting of defeat having yet to fade.

"...Thanks."

"Eh? What for X?"

"...For saving me. I...was out of moves. If you didn't stop her, I'd be..."

Unable to finish the sentence, X's fists fall limp as he allows himself to fall back into the couch and wallow a bit more. Leah shuts off the TV and slaps X in the back of his head with the remote. X winces and looks in Leah's direction, clearly annoyed, while she stares back with her hands on her hips, looking fairly indignant.

"Quit acting like a little baby. Where's the cocky little jerk I know that'd be ranting about how he'll get her next time? Besides, that was hardly a legitimate fight."

"How do you mean?"

"Your katanas idiot. You didn't have them."

X folds his arms and considers that. He plays the battle back in his mind and inserts his katanas into his hands and imagines all the possible scenarios. After a few minutes, he begins to chuckle, realizing that his roommate is correct. He nods and slams his fist into his hand and smirks with renewed vigor. Standing, he makes some imaginary sword strokes with an imaginary weapon.

"Yeah, I'll definitely get her next time!"

On the last stroke, X turns his eyes towards Leah and makes note of what she's wearing for the first time that night. He relaxes his stance and continues staring, like he were trying to develop x-ray vision. Leah tilts her head, crosses her legs and smirks. X narrows his eyes in annoyance, but produces a comeback instantly.

"I was just wondering if you were cold."

Leah looks down and X chuckles.

"Made ya look."

"Rrr...now there's the jerk I know...well, I'm going to bed X. Goodnight."

"Yeah...night skank."

****
Despite her words, Leah is not asleep within the half hour and instead, is on the videophone in her room. It's a portable version laid out in front of her on her bed while she lies on it with her legs in the air like a junior high student talking with one of her friends. And that's not entirely far from the truth considering who she's talking to.

"So, what did you think Neifirst?"

"Hmph, that was hardly worth my time. It's a good thing you stopped me from killing him; I was getting carried away."

"Hee hee, well, he'll do that to you. So...four more days huh?"

"That's right. You've been such a great sport about all this; just hold on a bit longer, okay?"

"Yeah, sure..."

Leah folds the phone over to end the call and turns herself to lie on her back. After a heavy sigh that moves through her body, she removes her eyepatch and places it on the nightstand, making preparations to go to sleep. While putting her phone away, she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror and sharply turns away, unable to look.

"Only four more days...it's been like a dream, I don't want it to end. X, I really hope you're ready..."

****

The next morning takes us to X who is not only awake unusually early, but actually at his job, working. And by working, I mean sitting in his chair waiting for his next appointment while paging through the latest copy of Huntress. Rupika strolls by with her own copy, but lets out a confused sound every few seconds, obviously trying to get our hunter's attention. Eventually, he gives in, if only because the idea of a female looking at a magazine like this is just ripe with comments for him to make.

"What?"

"Well, these pictures..."

"What about 'em?"

"I can't see anything."

"Hilarious, no?"

Indeed, the pages that would be of most interest contain nothing but a rooftop and an extremely blurry image that would make scrambled Skinemax look like Degas.

"Had Leah bothered to read the back of the suntan lotion bottle, she would've seen it contained an agent that causes this effect when the photo goes through a printer. It's a required ingredient in all suntan products since a certain...scandal back on Coral."

"Oh...so why did it even see print then?"

"Well, the photos themselves are unaffected. It's when it sees magazine pages they get blurred. So, I imagine the people in the editing office creamed themselves a few times, put them in the original copy and sent it off to the automated printing press. Since the magazine copies are sealed in the process, they were on newsstands long before anyone noticed."

"Oh..."

"...Why did you even buy one?"

"Er, uh-"

"Forget I asked."

"Meow."

X looks up from the magazine to see where that sound came from; looking towards Rupika yields him a shrug. Looking towards the ground, he sees his favorite white kitty scampering into the salon waving her paw at him. She then turns around and trots over to the door, stopping briefly to meow again.

"I think she wants you to follow her."

"Oi..."

As X gets up, the kitty runs off out of sight of the doorframe, causing X to groan and pick up his pace to see what the fuss is over. Once he gets out the door, his pet is nowhere to be seen. He slaps himself in the forehead and prepares for an annoying search when he sees a young newman girl, perhaps fifteen by human standards, standing outside the salon. He clears his throat and walks up to her not thinking the least bit lecherous thought seeing as this is jailbait in its finest form.

"Excuse me, did you see a white cat around here?"

"Ah yeah...about that."

"Huh?"

X: Why can't I have normal problems? You know, things like rent or girl trobules? Why do I have to be the one that puts up with nonsense like this? I mean, really, who else has pets that shapeshift? Oi...next time on Twilight's Legacy...

Episode 31: The Fake in White

X: Maybe I should stop doing previews...

[Marter]

Again a gread story.

[Keiko_Seisha]

Awws, now I have to wait till NEXT episode. I'd give my feedback on GFAQs as usual, but I can't access it where I'm currently located. As per the usual, good job X, keep 'em comin'.

[McLaughlin]

After reading it all in a day or so, I have to say; I'm thoroughly enjoying your story. It's interesting, entertaining, and narrated in present tense. Don't see that very often. Keep em coming! Is this really posted on Gfaqs too? I need to stop by that board more often...I don't usually receive a warm welcome...Meh.

[Keiko_Seisha]

It USED to be posted on GFAQs, but now X has decided to keep posting it here (since this works a lot nicer than GFAQs).

[McLaughlin]

Oh I see. Good, that board scares me >_>

[Xaeris]

It's just as Keiko says, it works better here. There are just some things in this rewrite I wouldn't get away with if I tried them on that site.

I'm grateful for this rush of feedback. Well, maybe rush is a bit of an overstatement, but it's enough to let me know that I'm not just writing this for my sake. And that knowledge gives me inspiration, hence the quick update.

Episode 31: The Fake in White

With his fist against his hip, X hunches over slightly while the girl in front of him lightly scratches her cheek, looking up innocently at the sky. Assuming that she's waiting on something, X humors her for a few moments before growing impatient.

"So, what about my cat?"

At that, the girl's face twists into a frown right before she shoves it far into X's comfort zone.

"Hey, I'm not 'yours'!"

"...Pardon?"

Realizing that she has let the cat out of the bag, she clamps her hands over her mouth as if that could take it back. Seeing that X's eye hasn't stopped twitching in confusion and that his mouth is slightly agape in trying to process her statement, she gathers that he did indeed hear that correctly. Sighing, she takes her hands off her mouth, but follows up with a bright smile and a smack to the side of her own head.

"I was hoping to go into that more subtlely, but it's out!"

X tilts his head, maintaining his confused expression perfectly. Whether the expression remains due to the first statement or the girl's almost teeth rotteningly sweet demeanor is anyone's guess. Regardless, he tucks his hands in his pockets and starts to walk past her without another word, clearly choosing to dismiss this entire encounter as a figment of his imagination. The girl catches him by the arm before he hits full stride, having sprung to action to action in a huff.

"Wait, hear me out!"

X looks down at the girl with a haggard look in his eyes and replies very simply.

"Hear what out? Basically, you're trying to tell me you're a cat, which clearly, you are not."

"Well...okay, just watch."

Tentatively, the girl loosens her grip on X's arm, making sure he won't be walking off. Seeing that he isn't going anywhere, she tucks her arms around her body and crouches towards the ground. X, hands still in his pockets, looks on, looking as confused as ever as she seemingly shrinks before his eyes. The metamorphasis only takes a few seconds longer, leaving the sight of his pet kitty in place of the chatty young woman. X blinks as several questions bounce around in his mind, each battling for the right to be asked first. Eventually, a victor emerges.

"What happened to your clothes?"

"...That's your first question?"

"Oh, you can talk in cat form. Nifty. Well, whatever. What do you drag me out here for anyway?"

"Aren't you going to ask how I did that?"

"Meh...we all have our unique talents."

The cat jumps into the air, does a backflip and shifts back into humanoid form prompting X to tilt his head once more in a futile attempt to make sense of it. The girl puts her hands together and smiles awkwardly, instantly putting X on his guard and shying away.

"Well, I heard you were taking on subordinates to supervise hours for!"

I am? Oh, right, Ayame...geez, word travels fast.

"Er, kinda-"

"Well, I'm here to tell you why I should be your second!"

X rubs his palm against the side of his head with a disgruntled expression on his lips while the girl nods incessantly, tossing her blue bangs up and down without rest. After a few seconds, X assumes a more serious demeanor in folding his arms and slinking his neck into the collar of his jacket to conceal his lower face.

"Why on coral would you want to be my subordinate? You've been around me for two years, albeit in kitty form; you know I'm a jerk. Why would you willingly subject yourself to that kind of command?"

At that question, the girl cradles her chin in one hand, looking off to the sky, not quite sure what to make of the statements put forth.

"Uh, I don't get what you mean. You've always been nice to me. I mean, sure, you make fun of Rupika, but she really does make it kinda easy..."

Well...I guess my asshatery is usually reserved for women...I am pretty decent to children and animals...

"Well..."

"Pleeeeeeease?"

"Agh...I may regret this..."

"Yes! Thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah...meet me here at 2:50. By the way, I'm assuming you have a name? Or shall I just call you pussy?"

"...I think I liked you better when you thought I was just a cat. My name's Keiko Seisha."

****

Elsewhere, on a rooftop of a familiar apartment building, one HUnewearl has yet to learn the lesson concerning sunbathing in one's birthday suit out in the open. Of course, her session is intruded upon once more, but not quite in the same manner. Leah, currently having her eyes shut, is only to the apparent stranger's precense when his shadow cascades over her eyelids. Sensing the change in lighting in a flash, her eyes snap open and her legs spring to life as she thrusts a fist forward only to have to stop it centimers shy of her target's nose.

"Ugh, god dammit 'Ioz', you shouldn't walk in on a lady in like this."

The boy merely grunts in half disgust, half annoyance and waits as Leah gets her towel around her body.

"Stupid wench; I'm not vulnerable to the lures of flesh. ...Status."

"Ugh...did you have to come to me in kid form? Taking orders from a runt half my size is irritating."

"Status."

Leah sighs while tying the knot on her towel, and then addresses the punk kid in front of her.

"Everything's ready. Some emotional stress and X's seal will come undone. It'll happen in three days. Just fight in the exam that Neifirst has been getting you ready for and you'll have a good seat. ...Shouldn't you be in school?"

The question is asked with a mocking tone that clearly reaches Ioz and causes him to frown in disgust and turn away.

"Hmph. Eris canceled class for the day after that no talent little wench lit her hair on fire. Someone undid my handiwork...well, it's unimportant now. At any rate, I'll leave the rest to you."

Ioz takes a few steps forward and fades away into thin air, leaving Leah by herself. After a drawn out sigh, she begins to gather up her things to go downstairs to the room. Her supplies are picked up slowly and lethargically, and dumped haphazardly into her bag. Once having taking much longer than necessary to gather up her things, she heads for the stairs with her head pointed at the ground in front of her, a downcast expression plastered on her face.

"I suppose it can't be helped. It's not like there's any turning back now."

The time to indulge in her self pity is not something that will be granted, sadly. When she enters her room, waiting for her across the room is one HUcast; specficially the one she met while running Neifirst's errand. Though he's presumably been standing there a while, his eyes blink a few times upon her entry, indicating moderate surprise. For the second time that morning, Leah gets into battle stance with a greatly annoyed look on her face. JiEin shakes his head without making a motion for his weapon, and instead, holds a hand up calmly in a gesture to stop.

"I'm not here to apprehend you."

"Oh, sure, I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Technically, the place you attacked isn't supposed to exist; pursuing action through normal legal venues would prove more costly to the Pioneer 2 government than it is worth and dispatching covert ops would raise far too many suspiscions once you suddenly disappeared from the public eye."

"Oh..."

Leah quits bearing her teeth, but stays hunched over with her hands clenched into fist, still not quite convinced that this visit is just a friendly housecall.

"Then why are you here? Ego still hurt from the last ass kicking?"

"I wouldn't term that a defeat in the traditional sense..."

"Right..."

"I'm here to see your roommate."

"X?"

"Do you entertain other gentleman callers here?"

Leah blushes fiercely with an indignant expression and relaxes her guard.

"You sure have a lot of lip for an android."

"Since you are Neifirst's subordinate, then you must be aware of the challenge she issued."

"Oh right, she sent that today...X should be getting it soon. What about it?"

"It is absolutely vital that X wins. I am here to assess the chances of that outcome."

"So...you're going to challenge him to a fight?"

"That's correct."

The HUney frowns and places a hand at the side of her face while she winces at that prospect. JiEin merely stands where he is in all his red glory, waiting for some new element to enter the equation, seeing as Leah's entry did not result in combat.

Oh boy...I give X about 50/50 odds here, but even in the scenario of a victory he'll incur unnecessary injuries. It's not like I can't heal them, but with his ego in its currently fragile state right now, I'm not sure I should let this fight happen...unless.

"All right Jiji. You want to fight X at full strength, right?"

"Yes, that'd probably be best."

Leah puts her hands together and purrs sweetly, absolutely reveling in the idea she's just hatched.

"Well then, I think I can help you out with that..."

****

"Ah bugger, what now...excuse me a minute."

X sets his scissors down and excuses himself from the pretty readhead he was working on. A few steps over to the coatrack allows him to pull his ringing PDA from his jacket and have a look at the simple mail that has pulled him from a perfectly enjoyable client. Before even reading the message, he already has an idea of what it is by the name of the sender.

"Irene? A summons to the Principal no doubt...hey, Azuria, I'm taking off after I finish with my appointment here."

"But monsieur...oh mon dieu...very well."

****

Half an hour later, X appears through the warp he's been through so many times. He throws an uneasy gaze in the direction of the RAcast guarding the warp as usual, then advances towards the Principal's desk. Tyrel looks up at the sounds of footsteps to see who it is and immediately ceases work on his papers when he confirms that it is X.

"X, thank you for coming."

"Sure. What's so important that you had to summon me out here in the middle of a workday?"

"Before that, how are you feeling?"

"Eh?"

"I heard you had a run in with Neifirst last night and it didn't go quite so well."

X turns his face into his collar and shuts his eyes in frustration at the memory. He only requires a few seconds to recompose himself and turns back to Tyrel with a forced smile.

"Oh, just a few lucky shots."

"Of course. Well, I was wondering if you'd like a rematch?"

"Huh?"

"You're familiar with the hunter exam being held in three days, yes?"

"Sure."

The principal nods and folds his hands on his desk. Silence comes over the room save for the sound of Irene furiously typing away at her desk, oblivious to the conversation that X and Tyrel are having. A few moments pass before he resumes briefing X on this opportunity.

"Well, it's customary for an exhibition match between two actual hunters to be held once all the examination matches are concluded. Just a little something to rally the newbies for what's to come. She's volunteered to participate-"

"I accept!"

The principal lets out an amused sigh, clearly having been expected to cut off.

"Very well. Your fight is in three days. By the way, I heard you ended up taking on some subordinates after all."

"...Yeah...I'm...gonna go now."

X dashes off into a jog for the warp, leaving the principal to continue his other work. Before he digs himself in too deep however, Irene extricates herself from her keyboard just long enough to throw in her own comments. To get Tyrel's attention, she holds up a disk in her fingers and waves it absent mindedly.

"Was it really okay not to tell him what's at stake?"

"He didn't need to know that this battle has the potential to incite or avert a revolution. That sort of pressure would only impede him. Trust me, it's much better this way. Had I shown him the message Neifirst's courier dropped off, he'd have much more to worry about than just his pride."

"I guess...but aren't you worried that he might not take this as seriously as he should? After all, it's like JiEin said; he did lose the first time. What better result will he get in three days?"

"Ha ha...don't undestimate what a man can do in three days Irene. Besides; he is her son after all."

****

Later in the day, quite a while after the ship has started to turn its clear ceiling away from the system's star, X arrives at Ayame's school a few minutes early only to find his 'niece' sitting patiently on a bench outside. Noticing that X has slowed down, the kitten on X's shoulder leaps off and scampers ahead while X takes his sweet time walking over. Finally looking up and seeing uncle, Ayame's face lights up as she hops off the bench and runs up to throw her arms around his legs.

"Uncle X!"

"Why are you still calling me that...?"

Not having heard the question in her euphoria, Ayame continues to bounce up and down excitedly. After a few moments, she notices the cat. Like any child, she's instantly fascinated by the cute creature doing laps around X's feet. So, she gives chase with her hands outstretched towards the kitty, trying to scoop it up from behind. Having been in the grubby hands of children before no doubt, the cat continues doing laps, keeping good pace ahead of the FOney. After several run arounds, X gets dizzy from this game of tag and picks them both up by their collars.

"Okay, why don't you two save that for when we get down to Ragol?"

"Okay..."

"Meow..."

****

"So then, Miss Eris asked me to cast Foie. So, I did, except, I don't think I aimed it right. Is it bad if I light someone's hair on fire?"

"Well, you're definitely aiming all your Foie techs facing away from me, that's for sure."

It's another sunny day on Ragol, though X has chosen to take his subordinates to the jungles today. An uncomfortably warm and humid environment immediately promps X to shed his jacket and sling it over his shoulders. Keiko wrings herself out before shifting to humanoid from to escape the heat trap that her fur creates. At this Ayame jumps and points with her lips pressed together, as if trying to keep a secret.

"Oh wow, you're really a person?"

"Hee hee, yeah! X didn't tell you?"

Keiko bends at her knees to converse with the child on her level. Ayame prattles on about her favorite kinds of cute fuzzy creatures, never sticking to one particular aspect for very long. Surprisingly, Keiko keeps up and manages to humor the kid while X stands in the background with an eye twitching. As the conversation keeps up, he eventually presses his palm against his face and drags it down in bemusement.

Christus almighty, do I have some kind of ditz attractor gland in my body somewhere? I've met so many women recently and they're all freaking scatterbrained! What are the bloody odds?! Oi...

At that thought, X reviews all the females he's met since he turned over a new leaf two years ago. Of course, there's not a single contrary example to that thought. Elly's affinity for machinery built for the express purpose of killing surfaces immediately to his mind, but Rupika's fascination with occult and celebrity magazines isn't all that far behind. Azuria's faux accent makes him chuckle at the absurdity of it as he recalls a few examples. And Leah; no particular aspect. Just plain Leah pops into his head. And lastly...

It still hurts after all this time, but it's okay. Hmm...I've met a lot of crazy people and, I don't think I'd trade a single one of them for anything. Even the skank. Though sometimes, I wonder what I'd have to exchange for a mute version.

"Uncle X!"

X is broken from his reverie by the shouting of his niece. She and Keiko are several yards ahead running into the jungle, overtaken by the fresh and crisp atmosphere. X freaks out at the idea of them running into the place alone and takes off after them like a shot. Several minutes later, the three are gathered around a small fire, all of them soaked. The girls are munching on fish while X catches his breath, looking fairly exhausted.

"Thanks for getting us out of the river X!"

"Yeah, thanks Uncle X!"

"It really didn't occur to either of you that you don't know how to swim before jumping into the river to get the fish?!"

Both girls shake their heads no, causing our HUmar to drop his head in exasperation.

Every now and then, I wonder how I might die. Impaled on a sword, shot in the eye, roasted alive...but no, now it's clear that my fate is to die of a heart attack.

"I think our clothes are dry X."

X tugs on his shirt to find that it's still a bit moist, but manageable. Keiko picks up her gray leg length stockings by the fire and snaps them in the air to find that they are quite dry. After slipping them on, she slaps her rear to see how much water is expelled from her hot pants; none comes out, proving to be satisfactory enough of an answer.

"I guess so. How about you Ayame?"

Ayame preens her skirt and jumps to her feet, not really caring so much about how wet she is. X and Keiko get up as well, leaving X with the simple task of dousing the fire. While he conjures some ice into his hands, he turns to Ayame.

"All right Ayame. Tell me. What sound does a feather make when it hits the ground?"

X dumps the ice into the fire, extinguishing it with no struggle. Ayame pops her fist into her hand, excited to have a right answer to something for once.

"It sounds like a scratching noise!"

"Correct. No matter how soft something looks, examined at the very finest levels, it will be coarse. Rough. And of course when it comes into contact with something, the collision will be equally rough. Some might say this is representative of everything in life. I say those people are emo. Anyway-"

"Hey, I thought we were doing hunter missions?!"

X looks over to Keiko to make note of her increasingly impatient expression. He shrugs and starts looking for something on the vines overhead.

"Tomorrow. Right now, I'm teaching Ayame about techniques. You might as well hang out. You could learn something."

"I'm not here to be a student! I just need to become eligible for the hunter exam! And it's in three days!"

X regards Keiko calmly; none of his usual exasperation or annoyance is present on his face. Instead, the only thing that comes to existence on his face is the question that comes from his lips.

"Why do you want to be a hunter?"

"It's...i-it's silly."

"...Ayame."

"Ya!"

"Go near the river and shoot Foies until your TP is drained. Come back when you're finished."

"All right..."

Ayame heads off to the river to complete her busywork, leaving X and Keiko alone to continue their conversation. X holds a fist against his lip, leans for a bit and waits for Keiko to shed her uncertainty to continue. In a few seconds, she reaches into pocket and takes out a torn photo to present to X. He looks at it while she holds it in her hand, but she shakes it gently in order to prompt him to pick it up. Doing so, he gets a closer look. The picture is of a young human boy, maybe eight or nine. It looks like there's something wrapped around his waist from the left, but that part of the picture is missing.

"That's my brother."

"He's human."

"I know. You see, I grew up in an orphange. Still live there actually. He was like a brother to me. He was really amazing; you had to see it! Oh, wait, getting ahead of myself. The man who runs the place is an expert swordsmaster who teaches us all how to wield weapons. I'm pretty good with a katana, but he was amazing! And not just that either, but he could throw just about anything with pinpoint accuracy."

"I see. What happened to him?"

"Well, one day, he just left...by now, he's probably some high ranking hunter or ranger. That's why I want to be a hunter; if I do, I'm sure to cross paths with him again soon! Right...?"

"I guess."

"You're helpful...say...I don't suppose you've met anyone who might have looked like that about ten years ago?"

X looks at the picture once more; he sees nothing noteworthy. Just your average kid with black hair and green eyes. ...Yeah. Anyway, X hands the photo back.

"Sorry, never met him."

"Okay..."

"But Keiko, I'm not here to teach you anything. Just think of it as picking up a few helpful tricks here and there. Tomorrow and the day after, we'll rack up all the hours you need since it's the weekend and Ayame has no school, I promise."

"Well, okay..."

Just in time to pick up the tail end of the conversation, Ayame comes back with zero tech energy flowing through her aside from what's essential to keep her hair purple and the like. X looks her over and nods in satisfaction.

"Excellent. Without your excess energy running through you, you can learn how to use what sustains your body as a projection of yourself. It should be obvious how to do it when pointed out without the extra noise from your usual TP pool. To start out, tense the muscle you want to use."

Ayame nods, not quite understand what uncle means, but having complete faith in him nonetheless. She hops into the air; it's an unimpressive jump, something any child could manage. Once more, she jumps, just a bit higher this time. On the third try, she's a regular grasshopper and on the fourth, she leaps so high, she panics and catches a branch at the height of her jump. Being too scared to let go, she looks down and yells.

"Uncle X, please get me down!"

"Hey, this is a good time to work on using your energy to enhance your grip strength!"

"Uncle X!"

"Don't sweat it kiddo, adversity builds character."

"Waaahh!"

"Anyway...as for you. You seem to be a bit more advanced in your tech training. In fact, you seem like you have affinity for a very different kind of technique style than I do. And I know just the perfect exercise. Aren't you lucky."

X throws an ice needle up at the vines above him and is refunded a small, odd looking blue fruit with thin skin. He tosses it to Keiko, who is caught unawares and fumbles with the fruit for a moment before grasping it in one hand. X takes a second to check on Ayame who he sees is clutching to the branch with her eyes shut, hanging on for dear life.

"There's water in that fruit. Using Barta, your job is to draw out every single drop of it through the skin, and leave the insides intact."

"What's the point of that?!"

"If you want to make use of your line of technique affinity, you're going to have to learn absolutely precise water control on the molecular level."

X takes the fruit and secures it in his palm before executing a demonstration. Over the course of the next few seconds, beads of water coalesce on the skin, shriveling the fruit into a much smaller husk of its former self. Once he's done, X chucks the fruit away.

"And yours is going to have to be better than that; it's not supposed to shrink. Ideally, what you should be left with is a lighter version of what you started with. Anyway, you can practice on any kind of fruit, but try to stick to things with thin skin.

Keiko snaps a fruit from the vines and tries her hand at it. It explodes. With a groan, she takes another and tries it again. That one explodes too, but not quite as spectacularly. X leaves her to that and gets ready to attend to Ayame.

"All right kid, I'm coming to- oh for crying out loud!"

Ayame has hoisted herself up onto the branch and is now surrounded by a few gibbons which she of course regards as potential playmates. X practically runs up the tree.

****

"Uncle X, why'd you have to beat up the monkeys?!"

"Ack, it exploded again!"

These damned kids are going to kill me.

Several hours of diligent practice later, the three have returned to the ship and are now seated in the Sweets Factory where they patiently await their servings of ice cream. X's outfit is in tatters from his scuffle from the gibbons and his eyes are bloodshot from what he's endured today. Keiko's garments are covered in the juices of various types of fruit, yet she's looking fairly happy about the progress she's made.

"The heck are you so happy about?"

"This fruit! This time, the skin didn't come off the pieces when it burst apart!"

X turns a cursory glance at the pieces on the floor and finds that Keiko's observation is indeed accurate. Still.

"You have no talent whatsoever."

Keiko sticks her tongue out and simply beams at her small triumph. X sighs and has a look at his niece who is covered in dry mud from jumping around in the jungle all afternoon. Of course, she doesn't really mind; she's happy just to be getting ice cream.

...Heh heh...I actually feel pretty good.

One of the Naura sisters places the bowls before our group who all offer their thank yous and dig in. X has chosen to go with his usual vanillia and Ayame decides that chocolate fudge is a definite winner everytime. Keiko tentavely bites into some peach cream and soon finds it as agreeable as her two teammates do. She digs in like a machine, causing X to weakly raise his hand forward in warning.

"Er, you don't want to do that-"

"Ack, headache!"

"...No one can say I don't try."

Once the snacks are just about completed, X reaches for check and registers it at a slot at their station. Next, he slides his meseta card into that same slot, and gets the receipt. Giving in to curiosity, he has a look at just how much this little outing cost him.

Holy...one hundred two meseta? Let's see, seventeen per scoop, Ayame had three, Keiko had two and I had one...yeah, that's about right. Oh well. Come to think of it, even after I pay my share of the rent and buy my comic books, I don't have much to do with the meseta left over. It's nice to have something...or someone, to spend it on.

X looks up from the receipt and soaks in the smiles he sees as the girls savor their last few bites of ice cream. He lets out a barely audible chuckle and gets off his stool, facing the exit.

"Okay, tomorrow, meet me in the Antares Hunter Guild, six o'clock sharp. In the morning."

Understandably, both girls groan, but it falls on deaf ears as our boy makes to leave. Before he gets far however, Keiko's grabbed him by the shoulder to halt his progress and run in front of him to block his path. Putting her hands together in the same way she did when she requested the first favor causes one of X's face to fall in exasperation. Still, he hears her out.

"X, could you...please show me Ryuenjin?!"

"...Why?"

"Please, just do it!"

"Ugh..."

X removes a no frills saber from inside his jacket pocket and activates the green blade. With a flick of his wrist upward, the blade lights aflame. It's not as fierce as a Ryuenjin he might attack with, but it's enough to get the idea across. Keiko's ears twitch as she watches the execution of the technique and watches the saber flicker. After a few more seconds, X flicks his wrist again and extinguishes the flame, then throws away the saber which promptly explodes.

"Okay, got it!"

"...You're a weird kid."

****

The day has been long and X is more than a little anxious to get some rest. Wearily, he opens the door to his apartment and already starts making plans as to which direction he'll be flopping on to the sofa. Unfortunately, he finds one more tribulation awaiting him when he has a look around for his roomie. She is currently by the glass window with rather sturdy looking chains binding her around the waist. Next to her is JiEin, with an S-Beat's dagger held up at her throat. X briefly assesses the situation. Judging by the fact he's hunched over and ready to fight a few seconds later, it seems he's deemed this a serious threat.

"An assassin from Black Paper?"

"Er...yes! Yes, that's correct."

"Huh, I figured they put me on the backburner by now. Oh well."

"If you attempt to flee, I shall kill the girl."

Leah gasps, really hamming it up. X rolls his eyes and cracks his knuckles as he takes a few steps forward.

"Not the most convincing argument I've ever heard not to flee, but I guess it'll do. Let's begin."

X: How did you even manage to get yourself captured? You know what? Nevermind, I don't really care enough to suffer the sound of your voice. Next time...

Episode 32: Steel Versus Flesh

X: Do I really need to get a male party member? I had a pretty good thing going there...

Leah: Don't miss it!

X: What did I just say?

[McLaughlin]

Wooo. Another great chapter http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

I'm kinda afraid to post my fanfic now, with all these great ones around. Maybe I'll let things die down a little...Anyway, great job!

[Xaeris]

So, we're doing the alternate perspective thing again for a bit. My narrator seems to enjoy the vacation time. Short chapter today; the seriousness here needs to be isolated from the light heartedness of next time.

Episode 32: Steel Versus Flesh

There I was, my arms bound against my torso with a set of rather heavy chains encircled around me. Nothing I can't snap like dry spaghetti of course, but these were the best restraining devices that JiEin had with him when I suggested my plan. I giggled a bit when he said that these are normally used for other rogue HUcasts. Honestly, you couldn't hold a rabbit in these things, but I digress. The point is, it's convincing enough for X...well, so I thought anyway. But that's getting ahead of myself. Let me set the scene first. By then, it was nighttime and X didn't bother turning the light on when he got in; must've been really tired. Anyway, there wasn't much light save for what came from outside through the wall window. So needless to say, it was really the perfect stage for my little fantasy. The perfect stage, a good villain, a damsel in distress...the only thing wrong with it was the hero. If he had followed his normal routine for attacking androids, then it would have been over before I could have any fun. Thankfully, Jiji is a bit tougher than average.

"Away."

Oh, whoops, I should probably explain X's "normal routine for attacking androids." First, without moving his arms, he congeals a pair of those ice needles he loves so much within the gaps in his fist. The logic program installed within battling series of androids prompts them to dash straight ahead in order to close the ranged gap and close the option which X has to toss projectiles. This runs them straight into the ice spike conjured in front of them, impaling them through the chest, striking the power core. This series of events is so reliably predictable, the routine has a 100% one shot rating. ...There's a first time for everything. Rather than go with the program, Jiji didn't move; instead, he stood right where he was as the Rabarta erupted from the ground harmlessly in front of him and quickly melted. Though it meant X would actually have to do some work, I sighed in relief, just a little bit.

"You didn't move."

"The flaw you were trying to exploit does not exist in my program."

"I see."

At that point, I thought it was just in my imagination, but X seemed rather...cold. I mean, normally by then, he should have made no less than three cracks on JiEin's Bluefull ID. But, I shook it off; I mean, he did seem pretty tired after all. Without another word or even change of expression, he took two steps over to the wall and felt around with his hand. See, that's where we keep the weapon vault. It's a small cubby embedded in the wall that can only be opened by one of our fingerprints. Inside are the swords we've hoarded over the years. I should really clean that thing out sometime...anyway, the door slid open and let him slip his hand inside to take out one of his katanas. It was sheathed, but considering it and the hilt were wooden, it was obviously the Yasha.

"Oh X, you're taking out the Yasha for me!"

"Shut up."

Now, X being rude to me isn't the sort of thing that's going to make headlines. Still...when he usually is, his face scrunches up and his eyes narrow in annoyance; it's actually kinda cute, like a barking puppy trying to be threatening. When he said it that time though, his face still hadn't changed expressions and his voice didn't jump up to soprano pitch like it usually does when he's annoyed. Instead, he just put the Yasha up to his face and drew the katana a few inches out of its sheath, allowing the gleaming edge to obscure his face.

"If you were really holding her hostage, you'd have gagged her the minute she started complaining."

Ugh, damn that perceptive thing he does. I sighed, figuring that'd be the end of my fun. I just figured that Jiji would get his fight with X at full strength just like he wanted and maybe, just maybe, X would stop being a douche for five minutes and rescue me. A girl can dream...

"Who are you?"

"Well, I suppose the cover is blown...I am JiEin, leader of the Gerechtigkeit. I am a government agent charged with the responsiblity of keeping the peace in the form of subduing maverick hunters. You've officially been registered to fight in the exam exhibition against Neifirst. I am here to guage for myself whether or not you can truly succeed. I would've preferred to fight you in a situation where you would be putting forth maximum effort, but-"

"Don't worry. I'll be expending the amount of effort necessary to kill you. "

I felt something in the air right then and there. It was like an expulsion of pure malice when X made that statement. His eyes were still green, of course, but look them, partially obscured by his katana, they looked as empty as glass. Something inside of him snapped, or eroded or did something, but this wasn't the reckless, happy go lucky idiot I was used to. JiEin, probably oblivious to this seeing as he didn't really know X, simply accepted that and withdrew his large calibur from its capsule.

"I don't see any reason for you to expend an effort like that."

"I dislike androids. I only put up with your kind in public. Here in my own home...I'll break and throw you into the wind."

"If your prejudices can spur you to full strength, then so be it. Let's begin."

JiEin wasn't a particularly large HUcast, but he wasn't small either. He was kinda tall, but I'm still eye level with him with my heels on. Very sexy shade of red, but that's irrelevant. Anyway, it was surprising to see him hold up his calibur with one hand, preparing to use it exactly like that. I didn't get much time to consider it seeing as he started his attack right away. He pushed off his feet and crossed the room in a few strides, using the seat of the sofa between them as an easy stepping stone to the aerial advantage.

"Kaiser style, Rechtsempfinden."

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I resolved that it was the nature of the style to use the sword one handed. I was more concerned with the diagonal strike he was attempting to level on X's head. Of course, X hopped to the side to attempt a dodge, but the sword halted its momentum and shifted itself to follow him and strike him in the side. The blow, in its blunt nature, knocked him further off the side and into the kitchen galley.

"The Rechtsempfinden's strength is that its momentum can be altered at any point in the swing. It cannot be dodged."

I've fought X, so I know for a fact; he's about as durable as a porcelin doll. It might have been a single hit, but already, he had to struggle briefly to get back on his feet. Once he did, he took the Yasha from its sheath completely and threw the wood away into the kitchen. I heard a crash shortly afterward. I cursed under my breath, knowing damn well it was tea kettle I like. It was a gorgeous little thing I picked up at...oh, whoops, sorry.

"You can stand...though an attack like that shouldn't have put you in such a shape. If this is the paragon of human excellence in battle, then-"

"Shut up. Freaking doll; I don't want you hear you speak. Just the sight of you is enough of a mockery of life for me."

"Well then...here comes the second."

Jiji charged X again, preparing another horizontal slash. This time, X stood his ground and held the Yasha up against his side, probably hoping to block it. That plan didn't turn out too well. The force of the collision pushed the Yasha's sharp end into X's arm and sent him stumbling into the room at the side of the sofa. Again, JiEin took his position across from X, ready to strike again.

"Though I wield my sword with one hand, you should not underestimate the force the Kaiser style allows me in using it. Someone as physically weak as you is incapble of blocking the Rechtsempfinden."

The laceration on X's arm wasn't anything serious. Even his lousy Resta was able to sew it up with minimal complications. I was still worried about the change in mood. It was like the air felt heavier with each audible breath he took. When he spoke, his voice sounded like it was laced with pure, yet calm rage. I couldn't imagine what had placed him in this kind of mood.

"Come."

"Please put forth an honest effort this time then."

Again, he charged. That time, X swung his blade up to meet the calibur head on. X is pretty good at parrying. Even with his bare hands, he can deflect a punch from me if he's really trying. But, on this attempt, it just didn't take; right before the moment of contact, JiEin stopped his attack, resulting in X striking a stationary sword, resulting in no parry. Then, JiEin pushed his sword down against the Yasha, cutting the sharp end into his chest. After that, he shoved his sword the the side, taking X along with it, ripping the Yasha against his chest, causing blood to fly over the ottoman. I knew white was a bad color for that thing.

"Parrying is an action that relies on using the momentum of an attack against itself. As I said, the Rechtsempfinden's momentum can be altered at any point in the swing. It's a simple action to trick the enemy into parrying preemptively. It cannot be parried."

I was still tied up by the way. Maybe I should've stopped them right then and there, but after getting beaten by Neifirst, his ego was in much too fragile a state for me to be saving him at this point. He spun a second Resta to close the wound on his chest, but given the severity of that rather messy cut, there was probably still some internal bleeding. It was too dark to see at the time though. After a few seconds, he got back up, but was still clutching the scar on his chest, still feeling the sting of the slash.

"This sword and style are the tools of justice I use to carry out my duty. As you stand now, you are unable to put a scratch on either. If you fight Neifirst, you will undoubtedly lose. In the interest of the peace, I will have to disable you to disqualify you from the match, as a voluntary withdrawal would look just as compromising."

Jiji's kinda overblown, but I heard the translation; he was going to strike X with a crippling blow on the next attack. At that point, I knew I was going to have to step in and do something. So, I began break free of my bindings...perhaps "like dry spaghetti" was a bit of an underestimation. They were actually giving me a bit of trouble. I was still a few seconds away from bursting free when JiEin started the last attack. X held his blade forward and waited in a position to block.

"That's worthless, I'll crush your guard!"

The calibur struck the Yasha, but instead of pushing through X's guard like it did last time, it was unable to secure a grip. It was as if the Yasha became much more slippery...X spun around, sliding the Yasha across Ji's calibur and came around from the side and took the open shot at his side. It was a perfect hit, biting into into the armor and toppling JiEin over onto the coffee table. As X recovered from the attack and pointed his katana against the ground, I was able to see the trick; a light film of ice had encased the blade. As good as an attack the Rechtsempfinden is, apparently, Hyouretsuzan beats it. I had worked my chains down to the point where I could break free in a single flex if I needed to, but I decided to wait and see if X would pick up the fight from here. He didn't disappoint.

"JiEin...don't you think it'd speak rather poorly on me to be unable to think of a counter to an attack I'd already seen three times? ...Let's continue."

JiEin righted himself back onto his feet despite the gash spurting electricity in his side; seems X didn't hit anything vital. X sought to rectify that by striking overhead with a two handed slash to the head. JiEin held his calibur up, easily absorbing the blow and setting him up for the punch to X's stomach. X let out a huff of air and jumped back, avoiding a cleave down the middle. X flung an array of his ice needles while JiEin was picking his sword up from the ground, only to have them bounce harmlessly off JiEin's shell. Honestly, what the hell was he thinking?

"That wasn't at all rational. You may be able to pierce an android's shell when faking them out with your first tactic, but flying ice won't do much to me thrown simply like that."

I should really try to remember that anything that X does in a fight that looks useless is always, always a setup for something sinister. They all hit the ground as X was running back in and melted immediately into a puddle. Right on the carpet. Who does he think has to clean this up? Anyway, X thrust Yasha forward, but not at JiEin, but at the puddle. Instantly, I saw was coming and shut my eyes so I wouldn't be blinded by the incoming flash. The lance of lightning extended from the katana and struck the puddle. Unfortunately for JiEin, one of the shuriken did not land on the ground, but in the gap of his armor between his foot and angle. Being close enough to the puddle, Raitonken's current was easily carried from there into the armor, travelling up JiEin's leg and greatly hindering its functions. Still, that didn't keep him from returning the favor with a Rechtsempfinden to the shoulder for which X was unable to prepare a Hyouretsuzan in time. The heavy strike knocked him onto his knees, eliciting a grunt, but still, he was able to get back up.

"Sleep and die..."

Die...the way he said "die"...it was like a loud whisper that made me shiver. And still, I was clueless as to what had him this worked up. Honestly, he'd gone that long without a joke, something was seriously wrong. He dashed forward and threw a swing a JiEin's head which was blocked by his sword. JiEin thrust his calibur forward at X's legs, probably hoping to knock him off balance, but X leapt over that and came down with the Yasha like a hammer. The katana hit its mark on JiEin's head and made a pretty deep impression, but not so deep that JiEin couldn't palm X in the chest before his landing and throw him across the room near the window and near me.

"X..."

"Quiet. This is between me and him."

X got up, albeit gasping for air, and leveled a stare at JiEin. If androids could narrow their eyes, I imagine this would have been the perfect time for it.

"My task is to secure the safety of this ship and its populace. It doesn't matter what sort of challenge you present; justice shall always guide my sword to victory."

"Argh, shut up. You are a tool, you are no different from the sword I'm carrying right now. You are the extension of someone's will used to execute it. Something like you, something that can have an impact on this world, something that can take life at no cost to its creator should not exist. At best, your kind is a tool of the government used to fight and kill. At worst, your kind are loverbots...toys. Anyone who disagrees...is a fool."

JiEin didn't respond to that. He just used his free hand to remove something from his other forearm's trap compartment. He lobbed it over to X who ran over to meet it in midair...I'd like to think he did that so he wouldn't detonate it near me...but that's just wishful thinking. Anyway, it detonated before X could slice it in two and released a purple mist over his head. At least it wasn't a freeze trap; there's no way he could counter that. It didn't seem like it did anything initially, but when X tripped while stationary, I knew it was a very debilitating trap that JiEin threw.

"It's a modified confuse trap. The mist is composed of various microscopic metals all carrying differing magnetic charges. By now, they've found their place in your skin."

Instead of explaining the rest of the trap for X's benefit, he charged and smacked X's face with the back of his fist. Normally, X would've gotten back up with a flip or a headstand or something showy. Instead, he laid on the ground with his limbs moving spastically. At first, I thought that the effect of the trap was some kind of muscle spasming agent. But as I saw him keep attempting to move, I realized that the problem ran much deeper than that. The magnetic agents had caused X's nervous system to become confused, sending electric signals to the wrong places, resulting in his sporadic movement.

"As you can see, it's much more disabling than a standard confuse trap."

X stopped moving for several moments, seeming like he had given up. Then, I got a look at his forehead; it was looking flushed. It didn't take me long to figure out that the idiot was raising his blood temperature in order to cancel the charge on the dust that had seeped into his skin. Sure, he regained movement, but the internal damage he did to himself was going to be a pain in the ass to fix. It wasn't even full movement either; the act of damn near boiling his insides had deadened the same nerve cells he was trying to fix.

"You're making this much more difficult than it needs to be."

"Come."

Despite becoking JiEin, X ran over to meet him instead. X leapt off the ground, but didn't gain any altitude; just brought his legs off the air to increase the momentum of his slash. JiEin was happy to participate in the clash of swords and met his slash head on with his own. The result wasn't exactly pretty; Ji's hand was severed, still grasping it sword and went flying over to the wall. X landed behind him, drawing Yasha towards his body, flipping the blade over to place the blunt side facing outward again.

"Again. This time, I'll take off your head."

"Don't assume it's over with something as simple as that!"

"I see the concept of self preservation is foreign to the Gerechtigkeit."

"I am a Ji unit, the thing which I am driven to preserve most is the peace! I would never flee from an enemy at that cost!"

"A tool that chooses pride over life...they build you to be rather expendable."

I always thought androids were supposed to be rational and cool headed. So it was a surprise to see JiEin run at X disarmed...well, dishanded I guess. It looked like victory was certain, but just as X was about to intercept JiEin's charge with the final slash, I saw a spurt of blood erupt from X's wrist. Of course, he dropped his sword, allowing me to see that JiEin had extracted the S-Red blade concealed in his other arm. I had completely forgotten about that thing. Probably not having the energy to waste on another Resta that would do nothing to restore function to his arm, he just let it bleed spurts in pulses. Instead, he congealed a few of his ice needles in his other hand and held them up to his eyes, ready to finish the fight.

"This will be..."

"The final blow."

And that was when I decided enough was enough. I had broken my bindings and rushed in between the two of them as they converged on each other. I hit JiEin with a roundhouse kick that knocked him hard into and through the wall. Thank goodness it wasn't a wall shared with neighbors. I twisted around and punched X down on the shoulder, driving him into the ground. Partially to interrupt his killing momentum, but mostly because he pissed me off. JiEin was able to pick himself up from the ruined drywall and reassess the situation.

"...X, you cannot defeat Neifirst; you're only human. Take those injuries and use them to withdraw."

And out the door he went; guess he figured that having to go through me would be too troublesome...or impossible. Either way, he left, allowing me to attend to the idiot. By this point, the gash in his arm had leaked no less than two pints of blood, rendering him just barely on the verge of consciousness. That, of course, was the first thing I worked on before anything. Resta closed the wound and prevented any further blood loss; that was the easy part.

"Dammit X, stay conscious..."

"Ungh..."

To give him a bit of incentive, I sat by him and propped his head up on my breasts. I slipped my arms over his shoulders and clutched him around the chest, doing my best to keep him awake while I poured my heart into the strongest Resta I could manage. It would have been much simpler if I could use Genesi on him, but the technique is specialized for me. That, and his ideal state is when he was fourteen; I think he'd be mad about shrinking five inches. He whines about our height difference as it is.

"L-leah..."

"Oh no you don't! You're going to be fine, just shut up and stay awake!"

I theorize that the only time that X might ever refer to me by name and not "skank" is when he's on the verge of death, so you can understand why I freaked out.

"N-no...I was just going to say...it's warm."

They say that the sensation of a Resta technique varies depending on how the target feels about the caster. A Resta coming from a stranger feels like cold pins and needles while a Resta coming from a friend feels like a warm embrace. So...I was happy. I hugged him a little closer and continued channelling energy, searching around his body for damage to be repaired. It wasn't a difficult search. Nerve damage is pretty tricky science, so I had to be careful about how much energy I used to heal each area. I was very deep in focus when I heard a muffled groan.

"Huh? Oh, what's wrong X?"

"Can't breathe..."

Broken from my trance, I finally noticed that I had his head pushed up excessively firmly in my cleavage. I'm pretty sure I blushed fiercely and loosened up to give him some breathing room. We had to sit there for close two to hours for me to repair most of his damage, but to me, it seemed it went by in minutes. There was just one big problem; something in his left arm was preventing me from restoring nerve functions in short order. It was still healable and I could do it, but it'd have to be over a period of a few days; maybe in time for his fight, but maybe not. He sure wasn't going to be happy when he woke up. Yeah, he had fallen asleep when I was almost done; it was safe by then.

"X...what in the world came over you...?"

I had questions I wanted to ask, like why JiEin made him so angry, and there was a lot to clean up...but right then, I just wanted to hold him. In two days, we'll become bitter enemies. So for now, I'll stay here with him. Hmm...I could probably steal a kiss...

"Ken...I'm sorry..."

God dammit, even in his sleep he can ruin a good mood...

X: How can a chapter with that much asskicking be such a chick chapter?! Feh...maybe I'll have better luck next ep...

Episode 33: Scrub Duty

X: Don't miss it.

Keiko: I'm not a scrub!

X: You keep telling yourself that.

Edit: Nothing big, just removing the evidence that I would highly benefit from multiple proofreadings...

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Xaeris on 2006-07-16 23:35 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Xaeris on 2006-07-27 16:30 ]</font>

[Keiko_Seisha]

I am not a scrub!

I liked the style, again, and such.

[Marter]

Good Story.
I am not a Scrub.
http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif
Addicted until the end of this story.

[McLaughlin]

Wow. Good chapter!

[Xaeris]

Episode 33: Scrub Duty

The events of the day begin dim and early at the godforsaken hour of five o'clock. That is not to say our hero has awoken however; far from it actually. He's still deep within the maze of his subconscious, dreaming. And as with all his adventures within his psyche, he is an active participant, moving about as if it were a living world. Though 'living' might paint too pretty a picture; the environment he walks around in is a shade away from pitch black and the only sounds he hears are the crunching of bones underfoot and he walks through.

"Sink into your hate."

X stops briefly at the sound of the raspy, disembodied voice and looks around for its source. Unable to find anything in the dead world he's currently in, he attempts to take a step forward to resume his walk, but staggers when that leg falls through the ground. Trying to pull it from what now looks like black ooze yields no result as his other leg is now also sinking and drawing him in.

"Allow it to move you, drive you...become you."

He struggles, but it's futile and he continues to sink into the darkness. Once his head has been consumed, he abruptly awakes from his nightmare in his room. Swallowing hard, he first confirms his surroundings; it is indeed his room, even if the light pouring through the window is oddly colored due to the abnormal hour. Next, he has a look at his body. As expected, his left side is covered in glowing blue cracks, looking much worse than usual. After the shock wears off, X wills his body to mend itself. The cracks recede, albeit slower than usual, and X experimentally tests his limbs. It goes without saying that he's less than thrilled to find that his left arm refuses to function in the slightest. Though it is annoying, he does get himself out of bed despite his handicap. Clad in only his boxers, he stands by his bed and looks at the ground, recalling the still vivid events of his dream; he shudders.

"Just a dream, just a dream..."

Oh I assure you little boy; this is no dream.

X jumps into an attack-ready stance at that, but of course, there's nothing to be attacked. Twitching, he relaxes his body, but his mind is still on edge. He shudders again and moves to open the door, and finds that while his right arm is operating, the motions of his hand are dulled and awkward. Frowning, he opens the door and has a look at the living froom from upstairs.

"Oh, you're up!"

Leah's downstairs, cleaning up the mess from last night. Currently, she's scrubbing some blood from the carpet beneath where the sofa usually is; said sofa is being held above her head. While most would probably gawk, X manages a brief expression of amused exasperation before heading down the steps to assess the rest of the damage. After he's done that for a few seconds, Leah finishes up her scrub job and and sets the furniture down to address her roommate.

"How are you feeling? Your arms are no good I bet."

"Uh, yeah. My left arm won't work and my right hand isn't responding well."

"Well, you have heavy nerve damage in your left arm and right wrist. I can't heal it all at once because nerve cells don't have the same capacity to divide as other cells. Your wrist, I can have fixed by duel time. Your arm, on the other hand...er...is another matter."

Leah strokes a hand down X's left arm to ensure that it is still disabled in the manner she believes it is. A light blush brightens upon X's cheek as he feels the soft fingers move across his unfunctioning arm, but he manages to maintain his composure.

"I might be able to fix it...but honestly, I'd make plans under the assumption it won't be working."

"I see..."

X considers Leah's advice silently for a few moments before she becomes fed up with watching him think and pokes him in the ribs to get his attention.

"So, are you going to withdraw?"

"What? Ha, yeah right. No, I've already got an idea of what I'm going to do, it'll be fine."

"Huh. Well, if you say so. ...So, good morning. Would you like some breakfast while you're up?"

Leah puts very audible emphasis on certain words, smirking while pushing a finger against her chin. It takes X a second to put the emphasized words together, but when he does, he immediately doubles over, turns around and blushes fiercely.

"Go to hell skank."

"Heh heh..."

Twenty minutes later, the two hunters are sharing breakfast, with X now having a pair of pants on. He still has the features of a receding scowl on his face, though it might be hard to tell whether it's because his mind is still preoccupied with his nightmare or if he just hasn't quite lived down his embarassment. At any rate, he chews through his scrambled eggs.

"Hey, you're actually up kinda early. What's up?"

"Taking some kids on a few quests."

"Ha ha...but no really, what are you up for?"

"...Seriously, I took on some subordinates. I'm getting them their hours today."

"You took on subordinates? You, the guy who calls any hunter incapable of slaying dragons with a toothpick a scrub?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. Well, okay. It's odd to see you go out on a weekend though. Usually, you just sit in your room and do nothing until it's time to go back to work. Kinda geeky in a way."

"..."

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine in the morning. Anyway, have fun; remember, both your arms are useless for combat."

"I have my legs and hair. That's plenty."

"Of course..."

****

It is now 6:05 outside the Antares Hunters' Guild where both Ayame and Keiko are seated with their backs propped up against each other. X comes sauntering up rather calmly with both his arms limp inside his jacket's sleeves. Keiko is quick to shoot up to her feet and point a finger accusingly.

"You're late!"

"Jesus, it's five minutes. I had some trouble getting dressed."

Who the hell knew that getting an arm through a sleeve is hard when it's not working?

"You said 6:00 sharp! I've been here since 5:30!"

"Yeah...I have a saying. 'Being late is a waste of your time. Being early is a waste of my time."

Keiko groans in frustration while Ayame hops up to her feet and walks up to X, still rubbing sleep from her eyes. X rubs her on the head and walks by the two to enter the guild without saying another word on his slight tardiness. Ayame is quick to follow with a quick in her step while Keiko is still moody, but follows behind all the same. Since it's rarther early in the morning, the guild is fairly light on traffic with only a few hunters by the desk.

"Okay, what are we going to do first?! Expose a crime syndicate? Rescue a celbrity hostage?"

"You sure cheered up...why don't we see what's available first?"

X walks up to the desk and greets the clerk,and then requests a listing of available quests.

"You know X..."

"Eh? What is it Leyla?"

"Recently, there have been a lot of disappearances of hunters down on Gal Da Val. Maybe you could-"

"I'm sure it's just some gibbons getting the better of some cocky scrubs. I don't have the time, nor desire, to go look right now."

"Well...then how about the simulator scenario, Towards the Future?"

"No...I'm looking for something to break in some newbies."

"Oh, subordinates! I have just the thing then."

The guild clerk does some typing on her end to change the display on X's side of the screen. X reads over the mission's details and considers them briefly. He turns his head back to Keiko and Ayame, then back at the screen, still thinking. After a few minutes, he nods and hits the accept key with his partially functioning hand. Keiko runs up to try and get a glance at the mission details, but the screen goes blank before she gets there. So instead, she defers X, excitedly hopping up and down.

"So what are we doing?!"

Before X can make with an explanation, a tapping on his shoulder distracts him. He swivels on his heel and upon seeing nothing in his line of sight, he averts his gaze downward to the group of three newman girls, maybe 13 or 14 by human standards, looking up at him hopefully.

"Er...yes?"

Though prompted the answer, the trio giggles nervously while two of them spurs on a third which appears to be the leader. After much prodding and poking of the shoulders, the one in the center finally pipes up.

"Mr. Launcher, we're going out on a quest...would it be all right if we touched your hair? It's supposed to be good luck!"

X's eyes narrow and his lips part in exasperation. All the same, he sighs and turns around to offer his long stream of black hair to the newmen. They clap in glee and begin running their hands through the luxurious, well kept strands of hair. They only indulge themselves for a few seconds before bowing in appreciation and running off towards whatever quest they're going to. X places a hand over an eye and sighs once more before returning his attention to his subordinates, who, curiously, are no longer in front of him. Instead, he has to turn around to find them also stroking his hair.

"Wow, it really is as soft as they say!"

"We'll have lots of good luck now, right Miss Keiko?"

...Oh for the love of...

****

A few minutes later, the group is outside en route to the sector teleporter which they will be using to head to their quest destination.

"So Uncle X, what are we doing?"

"Oh right, I didn't say. We're going on guard duty."

"Huh?"

Given Keiko's previous illusions of grandeur, it's understandable why that would confuse her. So, X nods and proceeds to explain.

"This quest will be putting us in the employ of Vanguard Inc, in Polaris sector. Recently, they've developed a type of trap for androids; it clamps down on the target and seals its TP. As you'd imagine, this makes them a target for...lots of invested parties. The prototype is in the final stages of testing; our job is to protect the involved designers until they can commit the full design of the trap to paper for mass production."

"I...why would you accept a mission like that?!"

"Yeah Uncle X, that sounds like it's bad for us."

"Heh heh...I can see why you'd think that. I didn't choose this mission at random; hopefully, you'll both learn the lesson here by the time we're done. Come along, step lively now."

****

Elsewhere, other people are doing things at this godforsaken hour. For example, let's check in on JiEin, who still has one severed hand. Right now, he's sitting by Elly's usual place in the lab, staring at his stub. Elly strolls in through the warp, humming a delightful tune right up until she sees the condition that JiEin is in. She lets out a sharp yelp and hurries up the ramp to examine the condition of her favorite android.

"Ack, JiEin, what happened?! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I apologize for bothering you at this hour, but as you can see, I need repairs."

Elly nods and rubs her palm against her eye while she makes an assesment of the job. After a few seconds, she reaches under her console and pulls out a toolkit which she sets on her seat. Leaning over, she rifles through the various tools looking for the first she'll be using.

"All right, I think I can do this here; I should have enough polyform for the nanobots to construct a new hand. But what happened?"

"Well, it turns out your friend's a bit stronger than I initially figured."

"Oh no...you fought X and he went berserk, didn't he?"

With a pair of pliers, Elly starts snipping some of the frayed wires sticking out of JiEin's stub. At the question, JiEin nods and recalls the encounter.

"Yes actually, he seemed to harbor a great hatred for androids. You expected this?"

Elly sighs as she snips the last of the wires and strokes her fingers over his arm, looking for comfort as she conjures something painful within her mind. After a few moments, she replaces the pliers and takes a small sander, which could easily and very tragically be mistaken for a toothbrush and starts sanding down the jagged edges of the stub.

"Two years ago, X and I knew this girl. We were all very good friends until one day...she was murdered by an android. X did his very best to find the android, but in the end, he wasn't able to kill him himself. Over time, he started to rationalize it for himself, saying that the nature of an android would have prevented him from ever taking revenge. That's...that's why he hates you; 'you're creatures that act human, yet can't interact with humans."

"And I take it you never attempted to tell him just how pathetic that sounds?"

"He deserves it."

"Pardon?"

"Her death hit him really hard and it took him a long time to find some peace with it. I won't take that from him. ...Well, I've cleaned off your arm, time to apply the foam."

Elly puts the sander back and picks up an object that resembles a can of whipped cream. After a brief shake, she squeezes the trigger and releases a healthy amount of foam onto the stub. A few seconds out in the open air causes the foam to curdle and congeal while Elly produces a dropper and relases a single drop of nanite solution into the hardening cloud. Right there on the spot, the foam begins to chisel away at itself into the shape of a hand. It's not even a minute before the process is complete and JiEin's hand is restored and function; still needs a paintjob though.

"If you say so. At any rate, he's incurred heavy injuries himself, so I doubt he'll be competing."

"Oh, what you do to him...?"

"I imagine at least one of his arms is useless right now."

"That all?"

"Er, yes?"

"Yeah, that's not gonna stop him. He's stubborn like that. ...JiEin, where's your sword?"

"Oh shazbot."

****

"I still don't see what lesson you want us to learn X."

"Well if you did, I wouldn't have to teach it, now would I?"

"Ugh..."

It has been about an hour since the group of three have left Antares and the morning still has yet to agree with our hero who is currently struggling to stave off sleep. His bouncing young apprentice, on the other hand, is doing just that; bouncing in front of the chair X is seated on. It should be mentioned that they're currently waiting in an empty lobby of a one story building.

"Okay kid, while we wait for this lady, let me teach you a technique."

"Yay, a technique! What are you going to teach me?"

"The wind, or Zan, element. It's not so much a technique I'm teaching you as it is an entirely new medium for you to play with. That said; tell me, what do you know about wind?"

Ayame stops bouncing, takes a moment to compile her knowledge and then excitedly runs with the question.

"Wind is a phenomenon found generally on planets with atmospheres, caused by the uneven heating of the surface and the planet's rotation; the two factors combine to cause the circulation we call wind. ...I think that's right."

X stares with his mouth agape and a slightly incredulous look on his face while Keiko sits on his shoulder in kitty form, managing the cat version of the same expression. Eventually, X nods to reassure Ayame.

"Y-yeah, that's right."

"Yay!"

"...School sure is different from when I was a kid...anyway. Zan is a two point technique combining Barta and Foie. Basically, you cause an uneven heating of the air. Since the winds we're going for are much more extreme than just a little summer breeze, the difference in heat has to be that much more severe. Give it a try; spread your arms out and use either technique on either side."

Ayame nods and does as requested. She shuts her eyes tight to aid in her concentration of maintaining two opposite techniques and eventually, starts swirling her arms for a tiny bit of additional help. Silly as she looks, her efforts eventually produce a slight ripple in her hair. Having felt it, she opens her eyes and looks to her uncle for approval.

That's about what I expected from Ayame.

"Eh...it's okay for a first try. Practice while we're on this quest."

"Okay...can I see you do it Uncle X?"

Not having the use of any of his fingers to snap, X nudges his head slightly to the left and straight from the blue comes a fierce gust of wind that knocks Keiko off his shoulder and causes Ayame to stagger and tumble to the ground.

"Wow..."

"Admittedly, I have a lot more practice than you, but you should be able to manage that by the end of the day..."

X's attention slowly diverts to Keiko who is now in humanoid form, attempting to use the same technique to little result.

And that's about right for Keiko.

"Zan's effectiveness is greatly decreased on the ship. You wouldn't be able to use it here Keiko; try again next time we're on Ragol. Well, that's it for now. It seems our client has arrived."

X nudges his head over to the woman emerging from a door across the room to direct his subordinates to stand at attention. X stands up as well to greet the woman as she walks up adjusting her glasses on her nose. As for general appearances...well...

I'd hit it.

Should sum it up well enough.

"You're the hunter that accepted the job?"

"Yeah, that's right. You seem surprised."

"Well...I was expecting an android, certainly not a human and most definitely not the Faux FOmar..."

"Is this going to be a problem?"

"No, no! I'm just surprised, is all. I'm sorry, I've been rude; my name is Dr. Noin Madeline."

X nods and takes a moment to confirm that his wards are at his sides. They return his glance, anxiously waiting to be introduced.

"I'm X Launcher and these are my subordinates, Keiko Seisha..."

"Hi."

"And my darling niece, Ayame."

"Hi!"

After another readjustment of her glasses, the doctor turns and makes to head back towards the door she came from, gesturing for her hired guards to follow. Before any of them make it more than two steps beyond the door, Noin turns around and cuts off their path.

"From here on out, this is a clean area, so if you'd kindly put on some of the cloaks on the wall there..."

On the wall to the side are several cheap looking plastic capsules. X picks one at random and pops it open to receive a white drape which looks much like the one Noin has over her own clothes. Taking the hint, X pulls it over his head, albeit awkwardly in his condition, and gets it over his shoulders.

"There are sleeves..."

"It's fine like this."

"If you say so...ah, are you having trouble there dear?"

"I got it, thanks!"

Ayame's gotten hers on, though as one might imagine, it's far larger than her size so quite a bit of it is dragging on the ground. The second she attempts to take a step forward, she trips on the folds of the drape. That doesn't deter her though as she picks herself up and continues walking. Noin raises a hand to suggest something, but X halts her attempt with a slow shaking of his head.

"Just let her...ready Keiko?"

"All set."

Dr. Madeline proceeds to lead them through a brightly lit hallway with various people working at their own tables. As they walk, Ayame suffers repeated falls, none of which the recoveries are assisted by her uncle. See, he's too busy deciding how he feels about Noin's backside; it's tough to form an opinion because of the drape covering her body, but god bless him, he's still trying.

It looks like she has nice curves under there...gah, this is worse than those robes FOmarls wear.

"Mr. Launcher."

"Eh? Oh, yes?"

"I'll thank you to stop staring at my ass."

"Huh? Oh, no, you've got me all wrong. I'm, uh...keeping an eye out for enemies."

"Uh huh."

"Really! A good hunter has to be aware of his surroundings at all times. Very exhausting mentally."

"Of course...let me tell you some more about your quest. I'm the director of R&D here at Vanguard. As you know, we've developed a new type of trap that androids can carry around to disable the use of technique energy. The basic principle of it is in its contents; a ground up version of a unique type of crystal. When it comes into contact with a wave, it resonates to the direct opposite frequency to dampen it. Sound waves, light waves, radio waves, any kind."

"So basically, it's a Silence trap."

"And coincidentally, that's what we've named it. You're rather perceptive Mr. Launcher."

"Call me X. And uh...are you really supposed to be telling us all this?"

"Well, everytime you press the A button, I have to say something."

"...I think I'm in love."

"Mm. Here's my personal workspace."

At the back of the room is a steel table like any of the others, with an array of tools and materials spewed randomly across it. If one looks closely, he would even see some faint coffee stains and powdered sugar dried on it. Of course, our hero sees these things and takes another look at Noin's figure, completely at a loss for where the donuts get put away.

"I worked on this device day and night for the past three weeks. Finally, I have one working prototype. Would you care to try it Mr. Launcher?"

"Pass."

"This is where you come in. These crystals are synthetically produced; the process is explained in a file I keep on my computer here, a remote terminal. As a result, it's secure, but I can't simply e-mail it to the production lab."

"Fine, we escort you to said lab. That's a two hour job, tops. Why is the job registered for both today and tomorrow?"

"Well, if I might ask, why did you take on this job?"

"I don't need to answer that."

"Then I don't need to answer your question."

"Tuh, sassy aren't you. Fine...okay kids, listen up. We're guarding the pretty lady here for the next two days."

"Okay!"

"All right. And that'll be all the hours I need?"

"Sure."

Keiko: So, we're definitely fighting assassins next time, right?!

X: What's this 'we' garbage? I'm crippled. You're fighting them.

Keiko: What, just me?

X: Well yeah, you can't expect me to let a child fight people with murderous intent. What kind of irresponsible guardian do you think me? Next time...

Episode 34: Dead Air

Ayame: Don't miss it!

X: Better.

[McLaughlin]

I thought you died O_o Excellent chapter.