FanFic: Shadows of the Heart - On semi-permanent hiatus(8/7/

[Nai_Calus]

Alright, alright. I'm not failing my classes fast enough on my own, so I guess I'll try to actually write a fanfic. Whoa. The people I've shown this to seemed to like it well enough, so...

Don't expect regular updates, though... My schedule is weird, and so am I. I might write three chapters in one day, or I might go several weeks without writing anything. >_>; Depends. And writer's block loves me and visits often. So. Anyways. I've got a prologue and two chapters written, so... Yeah. I'll stick the prologue in this post, and then the chapters in replies. I write short chapters, BTW. >P

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Prologue ~ Parting

AUW 3075

"You won't forget, right dad?" Nai asked, setting down the suitcase he was carrying and brushing his long bangs from his eyes. He was a fairly large boy of eleven years with pale blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail with a purple ribbon, wearing the robes of a FOmar in white with purple and gold accents. His eyes were bright green, and the relatively small pointed ears sweeping up the sides of his head showed that he was half Newman.

"Forget...?" Ephram asked, blinking at the boy. He was a fairly short young man of 21 years, with blonde hair and green eyes that matched Nai's, wearing identical robes. His hair was waist-length and hung loose. Around them was a large crowd of people, busily carrying things back and forth and barking unintelligibly at eachother.

"Your promise! Remember?! You can't have forgotten -already-!" Nai exclaimed annoyedly, putting his hands on his hips.

"Oh! That's right, the stars... Of course not! How could I forget something as important as that?" His uncle replied, smiling.

"It won't be too long, will it?" Nai asked. "I'm really gonna miss you while you're gone..." He frowned. "Hey dad, how come you're not taking me, anyways? I'm not even really old enough to be on my own yet..." Ephram grimaced and did his best to hide the disgust coursing through his veins at what he knew was the real reason he wouldn't take the boy.

"I'll miss you too... I'm not taking you because while we do know that Ragol is habitable, we don't really know what it's like yet... That's why so much of the military is going. In case there are vicious animals and the like, we can learn how to deal with them so it won't be a danger when the civilians arrive." He lied. "It could be dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt." A little closer to the truth this time, but not quite honest, either. Ephram frowned. "Nai... Promise me something."

"What, dad?" Nai asked. His uncle grabbed his shoulders and looked into his eyes, trying to conceal his fear.

"Promise me you won't come... Not for a while. I know you'll miss me, and I know you'll want to come see me as soon as you possibly can, but... Please. Maybe on Pioneer 3, but certainly not on Pioneer 2, and maybe not at all... This planet is dying, but it will hold out for a while longer, certainly long enough for you to live out your life here... You might be better off in the long run..."

"Dad, what the... What the heck are you talking about? I don't understand..." Nai asked, confusion spreading over his face.

"I don't expect you to understand... I can't explain it to you, Nai, I'm sorry. Even if I did have time, I can't... Just promise me. Promise me you won't come to Ragol." Nai stared at his uncle, genuinely afraid for the first time in his life.

"I... I..." Nai stammered, hopelessly lost.

"Doctor Calus! It's time to go. Hurry up already!" Barked a guard standing nearby.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming..." Ephram called to the guard. He turned to Nai. "Please... Just promise me."

"I promise..." Nai said quietly, trying to blink back tears.

"Argh, don't start crying now..." He sighed and hugged the boy. "I guess I'll see you... Someday... Good luck, kid. Be good, ok? Make me proud of you." He let go and looked away. "I'm a little sad, though... I won't be here to see you finish growing up. Heh... I wonder if I'll even recognize you by the time we meet again."

"How wouldn't you recognise me?" Nai asked, blinking.

"Even if you -did- come on Pioneer 2, for some reason, it will still be 9 years... You'll be 20 then, almost as old as I am now."

"Oh... Wow... I guess I didn't realize... Hey dad, will we still be able to keep in touch...?"

"For a while... But it will get harder as time goes on. Probably only for about a year at most. Then we'll be too far away to make sending messages for things like that practical... I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to go, but it's not my decision to make..." He was crying too now, just a little. He wrapped his arms around Nai and the two clung to eachother like lost children, trying to fight the sobs that threatened to take over. "I don't understand people, Nai... We're all so stupid, like little children... Always making the same mistakes, over and over..." He sighed and stepped back from his nephew. "I've really got to get going now, Nai... I'll see you, I guess... Someday..." He forced a smile, picked up his things, and turned and walked away. Nai watched him until he got lost in the crowd of people wandering around, busily preparing for departure, and then left to go home. He didn't feel like watching Pioneer 1 leave like most of the rest of the planet did. To them, it represented hope for the future, but all it meant to him was that he was losing the only human being that had ever cared about him.

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Yeah, I know, it seems kind of pretentious casting one of my characters as an NPC, but considering that Dr. Calus gets absolutely no characterization and is only ever mentioned once(And is only given a name in the English version, for that matter), I don't think I can screw his characterization up that much. :P
Besides, that's what fanfic is -for-, poking at the stuff the series doesn't explain - Ever read any of the ten billion tons of Utena fanfics that takes place after the end of the series? XD Everything from happy joyful stuff to heart-rendingly miserable angst.




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[Nai_Calus]

Chapter 1 ~ Arrival

AUW 3084

Ian-Kun X lay on his bed staring at the ceiling with the look of cynical disinterest that can only be bred through long experience with looking at the same thing for hours on end each and every day for years. His arm was casually wrapped around one half of a Rati with purple wingtips. The bed was a creaky, dirty affair, as was most of the rest of the apartment. Ian-Kun X was a lousy housekeeper, and the apartment itself seemed to be adverse to actually being clean. Dirty clothing was strewn on the floor, dirty dishes decorated the tables, and the entire place emitted an aura of dinge. He glanced at the clock.

"Huh... Guess we're almost there. I suppose we should haul ourselves up and go wander around so we can watch contact being made or something. Of course, that means dealing with people. Blargh. Everything freaking winds up dealing with people some how. People really suck, you know that, Fluffy?" Fluffy bobbed noncommittally. "Yeah, I know... I need to get over it or something." He sighed. "It's not that easy, though..." He sighed and got dressed, gathering the scattered pieces of his uniform and tossing them on the bed. He was tall, with dark brown hair pulled into a high ponytail, pale skin and bright green eyes. Medium-sized pointed ears swept gracefully up the sides of his head, though he wore the uniform of a HUmar, in dark grey with red and white accents. Fluffy floated up to hover in his usual position behind his shoulders, and Ian-Kun X smiled and reached a hand back to pet him.

"You hungry, Fluffy? I am." He said, digging around for some Dimates. He found them and gave them to Fluffy, who bobbed happily and brushed against his shoulders. "Hehe... You're so cute, Fluffy." He said, smiling. "Well, let's go." He left his apartment and wandered through a veritable maze of corridors and elevators until he got to the level the Hunters Guild he usually hung around to get jobs was. He passed by the warp to the Principal's office, trying to ignore the crowd of people and newscasters hovering around it. He attempted to sneak past without being noticed, but a blonde Newman woman he recognised as Nol Rinale saw him and shoved a microphone in his face.

"So, Hunter..." She prompted him for his name.

"...Ian-Kun X." He muttered, looking like a deer caught in headlamps, twitching and fighting the urge to shove the microphone away and run.

"Ian-Kun X, right, how does it feel to know that after two long years in space, we've finally arrived?" Nol asked brightly.

"Uh... Well, it's very nice, I guess? I'm sure everybody will be very happy once we land and get some fresh air for the first time in our lives. Excuse me, I'm looking for someone." He half-lied, smiling and slipping away. "Well, not really... Not yet..." He wandered inside the Guild and noticed that the planet was visible through the window. He couldn't help but gasp when he saw it, a large blue and green sphere hanging in space, utterly different from the brown, diseased mass that Coral had been when he'd left it behind two years earlier.

"Isn't it great?" Asked a HUnewearl in blue with spiky red hair. "I've never seen anything like it! So beautiful!"

"Yeah... It is." He said, agreeing for once with something another person had said. The planet really was beautiful.

"Hey, they're making contact!" Someone yelled. The HUnewearl turned to watch the monitors, but Ian-Kun X continued to look at the planet, mesmerized. At first by the beauty, and then, moments later, by the enormous explosion that suddenly spread over everything. The shockwave shook Pioneer 2, sending people tumbling to the floor and throwing them against walls. Ian-Kun X was back on his feet again almost instantly, his Gladius drawn, Fluffy bobbing crazily and casting Shifta and Deband on him. He ran outside the Guild and found the crowd of people running around like chickens with their heads cut off. People were screaming, people were looking at where companions of theirs who had been too near the edge of the level they were on had fallen off to their deaths in shock, people were everywhere, a teeming sea of tears and horror and shock. He stood in the midst of it all and tried not to be trampled.

"What... What the hell just happened?" He asked, looking around at the sea of people, some fleeing in terror, some standing in shock, some trying to contact friends and loved ones. Here was a little girl dressed as a FOmarl in red clinging to a RAmar in shock, there was a human civilian woman running around looking for her husband, there a young Newman woman in civilian clothes desperately sending a message to someone on the planet, there twin HUnewearls in white holding each other in fear, there a FOnewearl in white cowering in the corner by the medical centre in shock. Nol Rinale was holding her microphone, half attempting to report on what had happened, half about to collapse. He went over and helped her sit down, then started checking around for injured people and helping carry them to the medical centre.

"Oh god, this is a horrible thing to think, but I have a feeling this is going to wind up being good for business." He thought distractedly off in a corner of his mind that was only half-numb, hating himself for it.


-


"Thanks for the help... I really appreciate it!" Said one of the nurses as he carried in yet another person who'd suffered injuries somewhere between the shock wave and the stampede.

"No problem... I wonder what happened... That huge explosion, and then that shockwave..."

"Explosion?" The nurse asked.

"Didn't you see? They didn't show it? Huh... I guess I saw it because I was looking at the planet, and not the monitors... All of a sudden, just as they were making contact with Pioneer 1, there was this enormous explosion of blue energy... And then that shockwave hit us. I... I hope everybody is alright, is there any word on that?"

"N... No. There haven't been any sort of announcements yet... Oh, this is horrible, my sister..." The nurse broke down crying. Ian-Kun X gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"I hope everything will be alright..." He turned and left to head home. Things had calmed down a bit, but there were still people here and there. The FOnewearl from earlier had recovered and was talking with a group of people, all of them half-panicked still. The young Newman woman was apparently still trying to reach whoever she was attempting to contact. He wandered over to her.

"Any luck?" He asked.

"No... None at all. I don't understand, this isn't like him! You'd think he would have contacted me by now... But I've been sending messages to him for an hour, and he hasn't responded... He always answers really quickly, but... I hope nothing's happened to Pioneer 1... We promised to meet eachother when I arrived! I've really been looking foward to getting to see him..." She started crying a little.

"Hey now, none of that." Ian-Kun X scolded. "Crying won't help anything... I'm sure your friend is alright."

"You're right... But...! Ah, sorry, I'm talking too much... I should go now." She waved and ran off.

"Huh... Strange girl." Ian-Kun X said, shrugging. He yawned. "Come on, Fluffy, I'm half dead... I think I need a good stiff drink and about a year's worth of sleep." He looked around once more and shook his head in disbelief.

"Am I a magnet for things going wrong or something? Yeesh..."

[Nai_Calus]

Chapter 2 ~ Unrest

AUW 3079

Nai stared at the message again. Text instead of the more typical voice, cold and hard and lifeless. As lifeless as his uncle now apparently was.

"Dad..." He whispered, fighting tears. "It... It can't be true... No... Damn it, dad, you promised me that we'd... This can't be happening..." He sobbed and curled up on his bed, shaking like a leaf. The portable screen displaying the message fell to the floor. A purple Varuna hovering nearby floated over to him and nuzzled against him. Nai wrapped an arm around it and held it tightly.

"Oh, Fluffy... What... What are we gonna do... Dad... Why..." He suddenly sat up and slammed his fist against the wall.

"Damn it! It's not fair! Why did this have to happen to him?! He was a good person, he didn't deserve this, damn it!" He yelled angrily. Fluffy brushed against him and he started crying again. Fluffy bobbed up and down worriedly. Nai reached down to pick up the message again, looking at it with disdain. It was adressed to him, and read as follows:

'I regret to inform you that your uncle, Dr. Ephram James Calus, has passed away as of yesterday afternoon. My sincerest condolances.'

It was signed 'Dr. Osto Hyle' and dated several weeks ago. Nai sneered and muttered to himself. He'd met Osto once several years back, when the government first started to take an interest in his uncle's work. He hadn't liked him then, and he didn't like him now either, as he started at the short, impersonal notice.

"It's just like that asshole to send something like -this- to tell me. Bastard... Hell, he didn't even say -how-." Nai snarled. "Stupid jerk... Argh!" He typed up an equally dry reply and went to find someone to send it for him.


-


AUW 3084

"Ungh... Wha... Shit." Ian-Kun X moaned as he woke up. He had bruises in places he didn't know he had, and sleep had barely dimmed the shock of the previous day's 'excitement'. He rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, relieved himself, splashed some water on his face, muttered something unspeakable about shaving, and went to dig through the kitchen for something that vaguely resembled breakfast. Fluffy bobbed behind him, an almost tangible aura of shock emanating from him.

"I wonder... What the hell happened yesterday? Well... Not just yesterday, but in general. That huge explosion... What could have caused something like that? Was it something that Pioneer 1 was doing...? Dad seemed so worried about something when he left... I wonder..." Ian-Kun X sighed and tried not to think about it. There wasn't anything he could do about it anyway, so what was the point of worrying? He grabbed a box of some sugary, horribly unhealthy cereal and growled at the lack of milk that didn't resemble a biology experiment gone horribly wrong. "Damn it... I need to go shopping or something. Meh. Guess I'll just eat it dry." He muttered, glaring at the bowl. Fluffy hovered next to him and bobbed a bit.

"What, you want to eat this shit or something? Be my guest, I suppose, although how you plan to do so I don't know, unless you can figure out a way to evolve into a human being or something." He sighed and started eating, Fluffy floating above the seat of a chair across the table. Ian-Kun X facefaulted.

"Cute. Like a Mag needs a chair. You're silly, Fluffy, you know that? Heh... Guess that's what I get for naming you Fluffy." He smiled. "I guess we can forgive me for that, though, considering that I was three at the time... Heh. One of these days I'll think of a better name for you than Fluffy." He finished his cereal and stood up. Fluffy floated over to him and assumed his usual position. "Well, time to go slum around the Guild and look for work. See if I can pick up some rumours about what happened..." He grabbed his weapons and left his apartment.


-


"Hello? Is anyone there? If you can hear me, answer!" Principal Tyrell barked over the communications link. "I repeat, if anyone is there, please answer! Are you alright?!" He wiped the sweat from his brow. Nearly twenty-four hours had passed, and still there had been no response from Pioneer 1. People were starting to gather in public areas, in large quantities, and they were restless. It was only a matter of time before riots broke out, and who would he call on to subdue them? The miltary was stretched thin at best, and half the members of the restless crowds were Hunters. He sighed and walked over to his secretary's desk. "Irene, can you try to contact them for a while for me? I'm absolutely dead, and I need to go make a speech to the citizens to try to keep them from rioting..."

"Yes, sir." She replied. "Sir...?"

"Yes, Irene?"

"I'm sure she's alright, sir. She's a strong, capable young woman. If anyone could make it through whatever happened, it would be her..." She said reassuringly. Tyrell nodded absently.

"Yes, I'm sure... I hope so, at least..." He sighed and walked off. Irene watched him go and hung her head sadly.

"Oh, Colin..." She sighed to herself as she opened a channel to attempt to contact Pioneer 1.


-


"Whoa, geez, look at this, Fluffy...!" Ian-Kun X exclaimed, looking around at the seething mass of humanity, newmanity and androidity that filled the clearing he was in. "Breeding grounds for a bloody riot... And half of them are Hunters, too... Shit, who the hell is gonna get this under control if it does become a riot?" He shook his head and started pushing his way through the crowd. Monitors placed around the area flickered to life and the image of Principal Tyrell appeared on them.

"Citizens of Pioneer 2. I know that you are worried about your friends and loved ones, but I ask you to remain calm. We are looking into the cause of the accident and working on establishing contact. Everything will be under control shortly. Please do not panic. We all need to keep our heads clear in this trying time. Thank you." The monitors cut off and the crowd, which had momentarily quieted during the announcement, exploded once again.

"Under control! Hah! They don't have a clue, I'll bet!" Someone shouted. A chorus of 'Yeah!'s went up, and everyone talked at once.

"Under control, huh? Somehow I doubt that... Oh well." Ian-Kun X said to himself as he continued weaving his way through the mob. "I guess the coming days will prove to be very interesting..."

[MQuantum]

No, they are considerable lenght chapters, and very good. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

I think you really need a title though, but that can be very hard to choose... Do you have any idea where this might be going, a rough plan? That can help you choose sometimes, picking a title that is themed with the plot.

[Nai_Calus]

On 2003-11-15 07:46, MQuantum wrote:
No, they are considerable lenght chapters, and very good. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

I think you really need a title though, but that can be very hard to choose... Do you have any idea where this might be going, a rough plan? That can help you choose sometimes, picking a title that is themed with the plot.



Bah, they look longer than they are because there's a blank line between paragraphs. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

And yes, it does need a title. But... I have no idea what to call it. X_x; I'm really bad at picking titles for things. >_>; ...*scratches out 'picking' and scribbles in 'coming up with'* I do have a fairly good idea of where I'm going with it. It's probably going to wind up fairly long, knowing me. There's a bunch of stuff I want to do. X_x; I know! I can just call it 'Ian's crappy fanfic nobody will read and nobody will comment on if they do'. XD That might be a little long, though... Um... Ideas, even though nobody else knows for sure where I'm going with this? http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime2.gif;;

I think I'll introduce some more characters soon. Nai's gonna need some travelling companions to make fun of him. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

[Sagasu]

Its going great so far, but a title is a good idea though...
Heck it'll come to you someday, but in the mean time keep writing! ^_^

[Sunblast]

Great story, Ian! It's pretty interesting so far, but most importantly, it's got FLUFFY! YAAAAY! Please keep this up!

[TheAlmightyNewbie]

Nice story, very interesting.

My only suggestion would be this: stop being so wordy. I found many sentences where you used a lot of big words (I knew what they all meant and I'm not implying that you do not, don't get me wrong, but I think you were sacrificing a little bit of what they meant just so you could fit them in). Too many cooks spoil the broth, and too many lengthy, wordy sentences spoil the fanfic. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

[AUTO_]

I had already seen this...but not chapter 2!

Keep it up, Ian.

(Ra RA RA! RA RA RA!)

[Hikara]

I agree with the rest of them! It's a work to rival my works, me thinks! Continue it! It's very interesting.

[Nai_Calus]

Yay, I finally got Chapter 3 done. I hope you like it. Still trying to think of a name for the fic. Meh.

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Chapter 3 ~ Shadows and Ghosts

AUW 3084

Two months had passed since Pioneer 2 had entered into orbit around the planet Ragol and attempted to establish contact. Since then rumours had spread like wildfire among the population, though no one except perhaps a select few had any idea whatsoever as to what had actually happened. Debate over whether there had been an explosion, who was to blame, and whether or not anyone from Pioneer 1 was still alive raged. The continuing lack of official announcements from the government only served to fuel the fires. The military and even the Hunters were spread thin trying to keep the population in control, and had at times failed to be able to do so. Finally there had been an announcement that an investigation on the surface would be carried out, to be conducted by higher-ranking members of the Hunter's Guild. Volunteers were called for, teams were formed, and the investigation began...


-


Principal Tyrell looked at the tall, thin young hunter standing in front of him and pondered, cursing himself for not delegating the task of signing up volunteers and assigning them to teams to someone else. He decided to put him with a team that so far consisted of only a force and a ranger.

"Hunter Ian-Kun X... Very well, you've been assigned to investigate the area southeast of the Central Dome. You've been assigned to a team for this, with a range named Eri and a force named Zero. They've been notified, and should be waiting for you in the Hunter's Guild near the teleporter to the surface. Good luck." Ian-Kun X nodded.

"Yes sir." He said, turning to leave and go find the people he'd been assigned to work with.

"Blech... A force. I'll bet the ranger's a human, too. Great. I hate working with people... Didn't any androids need partners? Yech..." He muttered to himself as he walked to the Guild. He reached his destination, entered, and took stock of the people inside. Random groups of Hunters hanging around, some off by themselves talking to clients, and over by the window a RAmarl and a FOmar were standing as if waiting for someone.

"Great. Just what I always wanted." Ian-Kun X sighed to himself, looking at what he assumed were his new teammates. The FOmar was tall, with pale skin, piercing blue eyes and dark brown hair that fell to his waist. He wore red and black robes that gradiated to yellow at the ends of his sleeves and the hem of his skirt, and stood with his arms folded over his chest, tapping his left foot impatiently. The RAmarl was short, with medium skin, slightly dazed purple eyes behind large round glasses and medium brown hair pulled back in a braid. Her uniform was dark blue with gold trim, and she stood nervously with her hands clasped behind her back, shifting from foot to foot.

"Eri. Stop twitching." The FOmar said, glancing at her with disdain. She looked down and tried to disappear.

"Ye... Yes, sir." She stammered

"How on earth does someone like you get to be respected enough to be allowed to volunteer for a mission such as this...?" He sighed. "I'll bet this hunter we're waiting on is as bad as you are... Probably incompetent as well. At least you have some degree of competence to go with your inexperience and nervousness." He shook his head. "It's disgusting, really. I can handle things just fine on my own. But no, we have to form groups. Ah well. Soon enough this will be over." He said, shaking his head. Ian-Kun X watched and listened to this exchange with disgust. He already wanted to take this arrogant bastard and tie him in a knot. Supressing his anger, he walked over to them.

"Hi, I'm-"

"Ian-Kun X, yes, I can gather that. It certainly took you long enough to get here." The FOmar said briskly, interrupting. "I am called Zero, and my... Companion... here is called Eri." He narrowed his eyes at Ian-Kun X and sneered in disgust as he noticed his ears. "Ugh, not a halfbreed... Human/Newman relationships should be banned. Newmans should be viewed as pets at best, don't you think, Eri?" He said, not even bothering to conceal his hatred. Ian-Kun X tried his best not to simply pick Zero up, break him in half, rip him to pieces and then reduce what was left to charred ashes.

"Uhm... Well... Sir... Er... Ah... I... Well, I mean... Um... Whatever you say, sir?" Eri responded, looking as if she were about to try to crawl into the pile of the carpet and attempt to hide there. Ian-Kun X stood absolutely still except for twitching his left ear slightly as he tried to come up with the most efficient way of killing them both. Finally he spoke, forcing all emotion out of his voice as he adressed Zero.

"You don't like me. Very well. I do not like you, either. But we are not working together because we like each other. We are working together because we have been assigned to do so. I understand that you dislike me, and you may be assured that the feeling is mutual. But I will not allow my personal feelings to interfere with our performance as a team. To do so would be to endanger the two of you and myself as well... I suggest you do the same." He said in the flat, almost mechanical tone he'd heard his uncle using with people he didn't like in the past, maintaining eye contact the entire time. Zero shifted nervously.

"...Alright. I'll... Tolerate you. Don't expect anything more than the absolute minimum from me, though." He stepped past Ian-Kun X and turned around.

"I'll be waiting by the teleporter. Hurry up, both of you." He walked away. Eri let out the breath she'd been holding for the last couple of minutes out and wilted a little. Ian-Kun X turned to her.

"Why the hell do you let that asshole shove you around like that? How the hell do you -stand- him?" He asked increduously. Eri looked down and studied her feet in great detail before she stammered out her answer.

"W... Well.... He's got a lot more experience than me, and he... he's really good at what he does, and... and... I'm... I'm a little scared of him, and..." She sputtered.

"Ahh... I see. Well, don't be. He may be good in his field, but that doesn't mean he's not an asshole or an idiot. I've met people like that before. Don't let him get to you. Or listen to his crap about you... You might be inexperienced, but if you're allowed to participate in this investigation, you obviously are good at what you do, inexperienced or no. Don't worry about it, ok? I was nervous a lot when I first became a hunter, too, but eventually you get over it. Just keep at it. You'll be fine." He said, smiling. He reached out his hand. She took it nervously and shook it limply. "Nice to meet you, Eri." He said.

"N... Nice to meet you too, Ian-Kun X." She said, smiling a little.

"Call me Ian. Come on, let's go before Mr. Impatient implodes from the annoyance of having to wait for us." He turned and left. Eri stood pondering for a moment, and ran after him.


-


AUW 3082

Nai stood in the dingy, empty apartment and fought back tears. Even though it hadn't really seemed like home for seven years now, and even less so in the last three, it still hurt. This was where he'd grown up. This was where his uncle had been. This is where he had once been happy. And now he was leaving it forever. Indeed, soon it wouldn't even exist anymore. The city itself was being destroyed in order to reuse the materials for the construction of Pioneer 3. He sighed and glanced at the mirror still hanging on the wall. He barely recognized himself. Sadness and puberty had changed his face and body, and the dark brown he'd dyed his hair when he became a hunter was completely alien from the pale blonde it had once been. He sighed again and turned to leave.

"Come on, Fluffy. There's nothing here for us anymore... Just shadows and ghosts." He looked around one last time and left without looking back, leaving the past to itself.


-


Ian-Kun X looked around the apartment on Pioneer 2 that would be his home for the next two years. It was small, and even though it was brand new, it was somewhat slummy. But the rent was cheap, and it was hard to find. He'd be left alone. And it was a lot like one he'd recently left... He flopped on his bed and absently stroked the Kama floating next to him.

"Well, we're 'home', Fluffy... Guess this is where we'll spend the next two years." He said, sighing. "I wonder what's going to happen to us there. I wonder if I'll be able to find out the truth..." He sat up and took a small portable screen displaying a photograph from the table next to the bed and smiled a small, sad smile as he looked at it. The picture was of two white-clad FOmars, one in his late teens with pale blonde hair that hung to his waist and bright green eyes, the other a young boy with the same hair and eyes, his pulled into a high ponytail. They were both smiling, the elder standing with an arm wrapped around the younger, who clung to him like a barnacle. Ian-Kun X slid to the floor and curled into a ball, clutching the picture to his chest and sobbing.

"Dad..."


-


AUW 3084

Ian-Kun X looked at the area around the Central Dome in awe.

"Wow... I never imagined that something could be... This -green-... It's beautiful..." He said as he stared in amazement. Eri ran over and stood next to him on the edge of the ridge he stood on.

"Wow..." She gasped. "It's so pretty!" She giggled and twirled around. Ian-Kun X looked at her and smiled.

"Ah, so this is what you're like when you're not trying to hide in the corner." He said in amusement. She laughed nervously.

"Alright, enough, you two. Let's go." Zero said, glancing at the scenery with disinterest. "We have a job to do." He walked off. Eri sighed, equipped her rifle, and ran after him. Ian-Kun X sighed, shook his head, and followed the two of them.

[MQuantum]

Aie, Zero is not nice...

I'm glad you are going to continue to work on this! You didn't seem very sure about it. I like how it's going. Work at you own pace, but keep going!

My only question is, Why didn't Fluffy get a bigger part? GO FLUFFY! http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Nai_Calus]

On 2003-11-19 15:12, MQuantum wrote:
Aie, Zero is not nice...

I'm glad you are going to continue to work on this! You didn't seem very sure about it. I like how it's going. Work at you own pace, but keep going!

My only question is, Why didn't Fluffy get a bigger part? GO FLUFFY! :D



Yes, Zero is a flaming jerk. I'd better not make him too much of an asshole, or I'll want to stop using my own FOmar... ^^;

I'm never very sure about anything creative I do. X_x; Nonexistant self-esteem and all that. Meh. But I guess people like it well enough, so. ^^

Because it's hard to write what a Mag is doing? XD There are only so many ways to phrase "Fluffy bobbed *insert emotional response here*ly" XD Rati don't even look like anything particularily organic, so it's hard with them... ^^; *hugs Rati* I'm sure I'll figure out something eventually. ^^;

[AUTO_]

0wnage http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

Keep it up Ian.

[navci]

There.
I read it.
Now work on my Ratis. *in a Zero tone of voice*

[Nai_Calus]

On 2003-11-24 15:00, navi wrote:
There.
I read it.
Now work on my Ratis. *in a Zero tone of voice*





...You sound like you hated it. X_x I didn't think it was that bad... X_X *sigh* It probably is, though, and I'm just too tired when I'm working on it/looking at it to notice... ._.; Blech... >_<;;;

Yes, yes, working on Ratis...

[MQuantum]

Yah! Glad to see you've got a chapter! And so far from what I've seen, it fits great with the story.

And for the last time, IT'S NOT BAD AT ALL! Where's my next chapter? http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Shake]

Good luck with those Ratis Ian. I'm glad I met you last night.

Great story!

[Nai_Calus]

On 2003-11-25 04:58, MQuantum wrote:
Yah! Glad to see you've got a chapter! And so far from what I've seen, it fits great with the story.

And for the last time, IT'S NOT BAD AT ALL! Where's my next chapter? :D



I'm working on it. >P Between school, being on PSO, and all that other fun stuff(Like... Raising Rati... X_x), I haven't had much time, though... But, it's coming. >P

Glad you like the title. It seemed vaguely appropriate, in the manner of most of the PSO quest names. ...Which are mostly spurious, but meh. ^^;

Nice meeting you too, Shake. ^^

[Skett]

Just read all chapters you have posted and I see no reason why you would think this was a bad story. It is good and well written. I anticipate more good chapters.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Skett on 2003-11-25 17:01 ]</font>

[polishedweasel]

OMG THIS STORY IS TEH ROXOR!!

I didn't read anything

Just posting in advance...

[Nai_Calus]

OMG LIES! Chapter 4, whee? Finally got it written. It sucks, ignore it. XD

---------------------------------

Chapter 4 ~ Under The Dome

AUW 3079

Ephram stood in front of the small window in his quarters and moodily watched the rain fall outside. The uneasiness that had settled over him since even before he'd left Coral four years earlier sat even heavier than usual lately. His growing hatred for what his superiors were up to and disgust at the things he had no choice but to allow to happen did nothing at all to put him at ease. He let out a small sigh and took the message pod he'd been making logs on from the drawer next to his bed, switching it on.

"Why in the name of all that's holy are we doing this...? Biological weapons? Is Osto mad? Why would we need something like that..." He sighed. "We never do learn, do we... We destroyed our homeworld, and now we're here figuring out ways to destroy this one as well. All people ever do is look for ways to kill each other... I wonder why we're all so obsessed with destruction. Why do we always seek to destroy, when we could be seeking ways to -create-? To make things better, not worse... But all we ever do is repeat the same mistakes, over and over again. I don't understand people at all..." He looked around his quarters and sighed once again. He switched the pod off and stuck it back in the drawer. He paused to think for a minute, and then got a different, smaller recorder out.

"I guess I should do this now... While I still have the chance..." He turned it on, sighed, and began.

"Nai... I don't know if you'll even ever find and listen to this message, but..."


AUW 3084


"Haaaahh!" Ian-Kun X yelled as he swung his Gungnir at a horde of Boomas that had attacked his group in the forest. Blood splashed as they collapsed to their deaths and he dodged it.

"...Oh..." Eri said quietly as she stood dripping with the bright crimson liquid. "Ah... Um... Well... I..." She stammered nervously, twitching and fighting the urge to cry.

"Ack! Damn, Eri, I'm sorry... Didn't realize you were standing there... I'm sorry..." Ian-Kun X said, grabbing a towel from his item pack and handing it to her to wipe herself off with. Zero glared at both of them.

"Do you mind? You act as if you've never seen blood before, Eri, gods. And how can you allow something belonging to that... Animal... to touch you? Or let him touch you himself, for that matter..." Ian-Kun X twitched. Fluffy bobbed angrily and floated over to Zero, hovering in his face and emanating an aura that strongly suggested being extremely pissed off. Zero sneered and slapped the purple Rati away.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Ian-Kun X yelled angrily. "Look, you can be an asshole to me all you like, but leave Fluffy the hell alone." He glared at Zero hatefully. Zero glared back with disdain.

"Aww, how cute... The little half-animal freak of nature, all worried about his little mechanical pet." He sneered.

"Ah... Mr. Zero Sir?" Eri stammered, twitching nervously. "Umm... Well. You shouldn't be so mean to Mr. Ian. He's really nice if you talk to him and try to get to know him... So... Um... Maybe you should be a little nicer? Maybe?" Zero stared a hole in her and she wilted. "Er... Um... That is... Never mind..." She clutched her right arm with her left hand and looked down nervously.

"I will treat whomever I feel like however I feel like. I don't take orders from you or anybody else." Zero snarled. "Now, let's go and get this job finished so I never have to see either of you again."

"Gladly." Ian-Kun X said, giving Zero a look that was pure poison.


-


Eri sighed and flopped on her bed.

"Maaan... Today was -awful-!" She moaned. She took off her glasses and beret and curled up on the bed clutching a teddy booma. Her Rati floated next to her, bobbing cutely. She giggled and gave it a Moon Atomizer. "Hehehe... You're cute, Brownie... Even if I don't really like machines too much..." She patted the red, black and brown Mag and rolled onto her back.

"Man... That Zero guy... He's such a -jerk-! So mean and stuck-up and racist and... Ugh!" She made a face. "That other guy, though, he's really nice to me... I like him. And he's really good at what he does. He makes me feel better about myself just being around him..." She turned onto her side and looked at her Rati. "What do you think, Brownie?" She asked, patting the Mag again. It bobbed happily. She giggled. "Not that you can talk, or that you'd even really have an opinion... That Rati of his is kind of weird, the way it seemed to get pissed off when Zero was rude to him. Hmm... 'Fluffy', huh? Weird name. Teehee... But I guess it's no worse than 'Brownie'!" She got up.

"Hmm... I think I'll drop in on mom and dad for dinner... Sooo tired of photon noodles... Yosh!" She stretched and scampered off.


-


"Ugh... An idiotic, twitchy, nervous wreck of a pathetic little scrap of a Ranger girl, and a filthy halfling Hunter... What the hell have I let myself get into?" Zero growled, tossing his Sato in the corner where it hovered sadly. "Gods... Such idiocy..." He poured himself a drink of something horribly alcoholic, downed it in a single gulp, poured another and flopped in an armchair to brood. His Sato floated over to him cautiously and hovered near his left shoulder. He glared at it.

"Go away." He muttered. It slowly rolled over once and started to float off, looking as sad as is possible for a light purple mechanical cat/fox thing to look. Zero took another sip of his drink and sighed. "Alright, fine. You can hover there." He growled and gave it a Trifluid. "That's all your getting, though... You and your damned expensive picky eating habits. How the hell can a machine care what it eats?" He put his drink down and clasped his hands, resting his chin on them.

"Strange, though. That ridiculous Mag of his. You'd think the thing were intelligent. Hmph... I'd believe -it- was intelligent before I'd believe he was... Filty halfling trash..." He snarled again, and got up to get ready for bed.

"He's likable, though, I'll give him that. So certain of himself and others... If he wasn't a filthy, repulsive animal, I might like him." He stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom, gently touched the faded, nearly invisible scars on the edges of his ears, and forced himself to not cry.


-


"Meeehhhhh. What a day..." Ian-Kun X sighed, flopping down on the empty packing crate that served as the 'furniture' in his miniscule living room. "That guy is such a flaming jerk... The nerve... I mean, shit, yeah, I know Humans don't think much of Newmans for the most part, but damn... Ugh, I'm so sick of discrimination. Humans hate me, Newmans hate me, everyone bloody hates me except androids. No wonder I like machines so much, they don't insist on telling me how worthless I am for being a half-breed." He sighed. "Blarrrgh... At least that Eri girl is nice, if a bit... twitchy..." He smiled. "I'm sure she'll get over it... She seems pretty young, probably just barely out on her own. She's got talent, though... She'll probably be really great someday." Fluffy bobbed as if agreeing and nuzzled against Ian, who giggled a bit. Ian fed him some Dimates and hugged him.

"At least I've got you, eh?" He said, smiling. "You're a lousy conversationalist, Fluffy, but you're the best friend a guy could ask for... I always know I can count on you to make me smile and brighten my day... Thanks, kid." He said, gently stroking the sleek metal of Fluffy's body. "Hmm... Been a while since I gave you a good polishing." He said, grabbing a rag and a bottle of Mag polish and setting about making Fluffy look better than new. "Can't have you looking dingy, now can we?" He hummed to himself quietly as he worked, thinking about the day's events, and pondering the future to come.


-


Ian-Kun X, Zero and Eri stood in front of the door that should have led into the Central Dome, looking at the message pod that had been left there and pondering.

"Well... She must've gotten in, somehow... Maybe if we look around, there'll be a teleporter or something... Alright, let's go." Ian-Kun X said, looking around. They split up. They weren't searching long before Eri literally tripped over it.

"Ow! ...Ah... Zero... Ian... Umm... I think... I found a way in..." She called hesitantly. The two of them ran to where she was and looked at the teleporter.

"It would appear to be correct... Hmm." Zero said, staring at it. "Well, there's only one way to find out... Let's go." He stepped into it. Ian and Eri joined him, and he activated it. The trio materialized in front of precisely the sort of thing one does not want to see first thing in the morning: A large, fire-breathing dragon.

"Ok, screw this, see you guys, I don't get paid enough to deal with this sort of thing." Ian-Kun X said, looking for a way out.

"You don't get paid at all, this is a volunteer mission." Zero said calmly, raising an eyebrow.

"What, no sneer of disgust? You're slipping, old chap." Ian said, grinning. "Now how about some Shifta and Deband so we can kick this thing's ass? I can do Jellen and Zalure if it's too hard for you..." He grinned even more. Zero rolled his eyes and cast the techniques. "Thanks!"

"Bite me." Zero snarled. Ian-Kun X ran towards the dragon in a wide arc, avoiding the flames it shot at him, and began attacking it's legs. Eri raised her rifle and began providing cover fire, while Zero cycled through Techniques to find the one that seemed most damaging to the creature. He settled on Barta, sending it at at the creature's head. Ian hacked at the monster's legs with his Gladius, the smell of blood and charring flesh filling his nostrils. The creature fell, wounded, and Ian and the others continued attacking. It quickly recovered, however, and reared back, leaping into the air.

"Look out!" Ian called. "We don't know what it's going to do!" He watched it, trying to find a safe location in the cavern they were in. The dragon dived and burrowed under the ground, heading straight at Ian, who quickly dodged. "Son of a... Eri! Look out!" He called. Eri, far from looking out, was trying her best not to look, period. She stood quivering, covering her eyes and hoping with all her might that if she ignored the dragon, it would go away. Zero lept at her, grabbed her, and carried her to safety just as the dragon was about to reach her. He dropped her on the ground and she mumbled a quiet thanks which he promptly ignored. The dragon resurfaced, breaking through the floor and soaring into the air before settling to the ground again. The trio resumed their attack, and it soon cried out in pain once again and fell to the ground, finally dead. Ian stared at the corpse in disbelief.

"What... What kind of... What the hell?!" He sputtered. "A... A dragon..."

"It would appear so." Zero said, blinking at it.

"But I thought that... These things... I thought they were myths?" Eri asked, dazed.

"It would seem not... And I've heard rumours, from some of the other Hunters. But. I wonder... Was this a natural creature, or...?" Ian wondered.

"Know something we don't, animal?" Zero asked, examining Ian.

"Maybe... But hell if I'm telling a jerk like you." He looked around. "This... Is the inside of the Central Dome? But... It doesn't look right... I wonder..." He noticed a teleporter that looked rather out of place. "Huh? What's this for?"

"Back to Pioneer 2 maybe? That would be my guess. If you've heard rumours, we're not the first from Pioneer 2 to come here." Zero said, looking at it.

"Well, let's find out. Be nice if it does go back to Pioneer 2, save me the telepipe." Ian said, shrugging.

"Um... Should we really... I mean... It might be dangerous!" Eri stammered.

"The same can be said for getting out of bed in the morning, Eri, -life- is dangerous... C'mon, let's go." Ian said, entering the teleporter. He vanished. Zero followed, and then Eri, shrugging her shoulders.


-


"This... Is not Pioneer 2." Ian-Kun X said, blinking. "Some sort of cave? But what is it doing here? And this doesn't look like any sort of cave I've ever seen pictures of..."

"Artificial. Looks like the work of our civilization. Something from Pioneer 1... But what were they doing, down here?" Zero asked, looking around. "We should explore further. Try not to get in the way too much, you two."

"Yes sir..." Eri said. "But... I don't think..."

"No, you don't." Zero interrupted. "Let's go. Perhaps we'll find more messages from Rico."

"Yeah... And maybe we can find something else, too..." Ian said, staring off into the distance at nothing in particular.

"Looking for something personal?" Zero asked, sneering.

"Yeah... You could say that... Come on, let's go."

---------------------------

Whee. I'll try to get a little more interesting in the coming chapters. No bonus points for guessing what Zero's little personal problem is. >P

[MQuantum]

Awww, I see now... Zero's just an old cranky yet lovable softy! Or not so lovable... or soft...

Yah, Mag relations! Do you not like satos? FLUFFY ACTION!

Keep it up, even though it takes a while! http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[navci]

I know I know!
Zero has been dumped by a newman girlfriend! =D
... That guy has issues. =P

Hi. I am back. Hehe

[Nai_Calus]

Actually, I don't like Satos, no... ^^;

Nope, Zero wasn't dumped. He's never had a girlfriend. XD Or a boyfriend. And yeah, he's not very lovable right now, is he? XD

And I'm keeping it up... Maybe by the end, people will hate Zero less? Heh. XD

[Nai_Calus]

Whoohoo, Chapter Five finally. Even worse than the last one, probably. But then, it's not my fault Caves is boring, lol. Short as usual. I can't seem to manage long chapters. Oh well. School ends Monday, and then I go to my dad's in Cali, where I won't be able to play much PSO at all, online or otherwise, so I'll likely work on the fic more then.

------------------

Chapter Five ~ Bob

AUW 3084

"Isn't it great, Eri? Peace and quiet. That wretched freak isn't here, and we can investigate in peace without his useless babbling." Zero said happily, smiling as he poked around the small room he and Eri stood in.

"I... Guess?" She said, looking at her feet. "I dunno, though... I kind of miss him. Hehe."

"Hmph... Silly girl..." Zero snorted.

"Well, he -is- nice... Hey, Zero, why do you hate Newmans so much, anyway?" She asked innocently.

"...That is NOT something which I wish to discuss. Kindly drop the matter, and never bring it up again." He angrily stormed off into the next room, readying a Gifoie to take care of the monsters that immediately came at him.

"...I didn't mean anything bad by it..."


-


"Ahh... Even if she is incompetent, she's such a refreshing change from that jerk Zero. So niiiice to be away from him... I feel kind of bad about slipping off, though, but... I kind of do need the money." Ian-Kun X looked at Nol Rinale as she poked around, looking for clues, and frowned. The investigations hadn't turned up much so far, but what they had was rather disturbing. He wondered if she could handle it.

"It's so creepy... It's like nobody was ever here... Not even anything left behind by people... What happened here?" She asked, looking around with a twinge of fear in her eyes.

"Good question...We haven't found much, so far, but..." Ian frowned, thinking about the caves his team had found that he was under strict orders from Principal Tyrell to not breathe a word about. He looked around and noticed something lying half-hidden under a bush that made him feel cold, hoping it wouldn't turn out to be what it looked like. He bent down to pick it up while Nol was distracted and looked at it. It looked like a standard-issue Handgun, but instead of the usual dull grey, the body of the gun was bright red. 'This must have belonged to somebody on Pioneer 1...' He thought, examining the gun's workmanship. 'Nobody on Pioneer 2 has anything like this, not even in the military, as far as I know... But whose was it? And why did they lose it...?' He tucked it away in his item pack to worry about later, he had a job to finish right now. Nol wandered off and he chased her down, the last thing he needed was her getting hurt by something because he was spacing out over finding somebody else's weapon lying around.

"Hey, Ian-Kun X..." She said softly.

"Hmm?"

"Let's go back now... I don't want to find out the truth, anymore... I'm too scared." She said, staring off into the distance. "Please take me back now." Ian looked at her sympathetically and nodded, casting Ryuker and activating the portal as she stepped into it with him. He walked back towards the Guild with her. "I should go, before anyone notices I'm gone... Thanks for the help. You can go get your reward now." She walked off, trying her best to look nonchalant. He sighed and went inside the guild to collect his meseta and check out what other jobs were available. He'd been right, somewhat to his chagrin, the explosion and ensuing uproar -had- been good for business, and there were quite a few. One caught his eye in particular, as it asked for him by name. He recognized the client, a woman who'd asked him to collect data on the native animals. He told the clerk he'd accept and sat down on the floor to wait for her to come. He wasn't waiting long.

"Ian-Kun X? Remember me?" She asked. He nodded and listened to her spiel about not believing the results, wanting to see for herself, she didn't want to fight but would if she had to. He'd heard it all before a thousand times. By now it bored him senseless. He took her down to Ragol and the area around the Central Dome where he'd collected the data. He wasn't surprised when she found it matched, though her comments about it being a genetic issue filed themselves away uneasily in a corner of his mind.

'Wonder if it has anything to do with those monsters in the cave...' He thought to himself as he attacked a Hildebear that was doing it's level best to beat him to pulp. "You know, I like that baby one we found a lot better, Alicia."

"Ah?" She asked, dodging a blow from another of the creatures.

"Yeah. It didn't try to KILL ME." He said, stabbing through the Hildebear attacking him. It dropped slowly, dead. Alicia made a face and he almost felt sorry for her as he focused his attention on the other one. "Gods, what the hell is going on here? None of this makes any sense..." The other Hildebear fell as well and he sighed in relief. He looked around and saw another, prepared to attack, then noticed it's size. "Oh, just another baby..."

"Oh, the poor thing... It's hurt..." Alicia said sadly, walking over to it. She looked at Ian-Kun X. "Do you think we should take it back with us...?" He twitched. Fluffy bobbed frazzledly.

"Ah... That's probably not such a good idea. I mean, it's bad for it if it stays here, since it does seem to have been abandoned and all, but..." He smiled and nodded more as she agreed with him, then followed her through the telepipe she set and took her back to the guild. After she left he decided he was too tired and too weirded out to take any more jobs that day and wandered over to the shopping district. He sold off some of the stuff he'd found, bought new supplies and then wandered over to the tekker booth to see if he could get the strange red gun he'd found identified.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you very much about it... It seems to be a prototype, the finish is incomplete... There's a letter carved here, 'i'. Perhaps it's one of the initials of the person who owned it or made it, or part of a name, if there was a set of weapons like this. It's a very good gun. I've never seen one like it, though, although I've heard Red Ring Rico had a set of red weapons. Although it seems unlikely that she would lose one of her weapons." The tekker shrugged. Ian-Kun X nodded and pondered over the gun as he left. He'd heard the same thing, although from what he'd experienced so far, it didn't seem that farfetched that even Rico could have lost something. He decided he'd think of it as hers. The thought of owning one of her weapons pleased him, after all, she was the hero of virtually every Hunter on Pioneer 2, including him. He tucked it away in his item pack and sent a message to Eri over BEE asking if she could set a telepipe for him so he wouldn't have to find them on his own. She replied quickly, a stammered yes, and a green pipe appeared near where he was standing. He took it and waved to her as he appeared, looking around and raising an eyebrow at the fact that they were apparently outside. She waved back. Zero glared.

"Pity. You're back." He said unpleasantly, folding his arms over his chest.

"Yep! Find anything while I was off screwing around?"

"No, just some weird plants..." Eri said. "They spit -Megid-! One almost hit me, it felt so cold..." She shivered at the memory. "And one of them was really weird... Most of them were yellow, but this one was blue. Maybe it's a rare version."

"Fun... Death-spewing plants. What the HELL was going on here on Ragol? Ugh..." Ian-Kun X said, looking around as they wandered through a cool, blue-hued enclosed room ankle-deep in water.

"Dunno... But we've found some rather interesting messages from Rico." Zero said.

"Oh?"

"Yes, apparently there were some things odd with the consumption rates aboard Pioneer 1, as if there were a bunch of unregistered citizens... And according to another message, the Central Dome is smaller than it should have been. She wondered where the extra material went. I do, too... Perhaps it was used in something down here?" He shrugged. "Hard to say, really... Guess we'll have to keep investigating." He looked at Ian-Kun X. "Try not to get in the way."

"Cute. Real cute." Ian-Kun X said, sighing. Suddenly he felt a chill in his foot. He looked down in time to see a small blue-green plant rear back and spit the tiniest, most ineffectual instance of Megid he'd ever seen. He burst out laughing. Fluffy bobbed worriedly.

"What the hell..." Zero said annoyedly, and looked down at where Ian-Kun was pointing. "...Ah." He twitched. "I didn't know they came that small." Ian-Kun stepped closer to it and it started trying to peck at his foot.

"It's so cute!" He said, smiling at it. Fluffy bobbed in a manner that made it look as if he was going to drop to the ground.

"I... Don't know... About that..." Eri said, nervously. Ian-Kun X smiled at her.

"Yeah, I'm probably just weird. Wonder if it'll get any bigger? Maybe it's just a runt, heh."

"Bonsai Lily? Heh. Most likely, we've seen immature versions of the Poison and Ob Lillies, and even those were much larger than this thing is. And it's most assuredly not immature." Zero said, staring at it. "It doesn't seem to be able to do very much... Perhaps it would be safe to bring it back to Pioneer 2 for analysis."

"I'm gonna name it Bob." Ian-Kun X said. Zero twitched.

"Oh god." He said, shaking his head as Ian-Kun X grabbed a cup from his item pack, used a Dagger to cut the soil around the Lily, and gently patted the dirt into place. Bob, for it's part, didn't seem particularily concerned with this chain of events and happily resumed ineffectually pecking at Ian-Kun. Fluffy emitted an aura of impending doom and Bob tried to reach around Ian-Kun to peck at him instead. He made a sharp electronic beep and Bob stopped and looked sad. Fluffy bobbed consolingly and it perked back up again.

"So cute...!"

"Um... Ah... Mr. Ian-Kun X sir?" Eri stammered.

"Hmm?"

"Er... You're... Weird..."

"...Yes. Yes I am." he said, snickering. He continued on to the next room of the cave and Eri and Zero looked at each other,
shrugged, and followed. A teleporter stood in the next room.

"Another section of the caves?" Eri moaned. "I'm so sick of these caves... At least this part of them is pretty, instead of dreary like that first area we were in..." She sighed. "Well, let's go..." They entered the teleporter and materialized in yet another section of cave. This one, however, was different, and bore no resemblance at all to anything remotely natural.

"Well... Something was definately going on down here. Look at this...! This is obviously artificial... And there are warning signs... But what was down here?" Ian-Kun X asked, looking around. Fluffy bobbed worriedly and brushed against his back. He absentmindedly reached back to pet him and give him a Dimate. Bob continued to happily ignore everything and closed up to sleep.

"I'm... Starting to get a little scared..." Eri said bleakly.

"Yeah. So am I." Zero said, sighing. "Let's stick together, guys, I have a bad feeling things will get worse before they get better..." He sighed. "I have such a bad feeling about this..."

"Yeah, and all the 'Danger' and 'No tresspassing' signs make me feel -real- welcome." Ian-Kun X said, tucking Bob away in his item pack and readying his Gladius. "Well, no sense in standing around all day... Let's go." He walked off, Fluffy nuzzling against him worriedly as he went.

---------------------

Yay. As usual, comments/criticism more than welcome(Please? >.>). Fluffy appreciates any spare Dimates you can toss his way.

[Skett]

*Throws Fluffy a dimate*

Anyways, I like this story. Even if Zero is a jerk. So good story and keep it up.

"Yosh!" Where did you pick that word up?

[navci]

Hahaha. You are making Bob real cute.
Hahaha. *falls over laughing*
That might be my most fav part yet.
Ineffectively pecking away. Hehehe hahahaha.

*dies*
Zero seems to be more willing to talk lately. Hmmm. =D

[HunterKieran]

I was somewhat confused for a moment at Zero's reaction to "Why do you hate Newmans?" Then I looked back a bit...he is - or rather, was - a pointy-ear himself, eh? That would explain the EAS (Extreme Asshole Syndrome).

-Kieran

[Nai_Calus]

On 2003-12-23 03:42, HunterKieran wrote:
I was somewhat confused for a moment at Zero's reaction to "Why do you hate Newmans?" Then I looked back a bit...he is - or rather, was - a pointy-ear himself, eh? That would explain the EAS (Extreme Asshole Syndrome).

-Kieran



Yeah, Zero's origins are somewhat similar to Nai's. Somewhat. Zero didn't have a nice uncle who didn't give a shit about what he was to raise him.

In other news, Chapter six is coming along rather slowly, but it actually is coming, so that's a good thing, yes? I think. >_>;

[HunterKieran]

On 2003-12-23 04:43, Ian-KunX wrote:

In other news, Chapter six is coming along rather slowly, but it actually is coming, so that's a good thing, yes? I think. >_>;



Yes, I think so.

-Kieran

[navci]

On 2003-12-23 03:42, HunterKieran wrote:
I was somewhat confused for a moment at Zero's reaction to "Why do you hate Newmans?" Then I looked back a bit...he is - or rather, was - a pointy-ear himself, eh? That would explain the EAS (Extreme Asshole Syndrome).

-Kieran



Darn you are so smart. Took me 20 guesses before I got that one. Geez. Some people an d their wits...

[Nai_Calus]

OMGWTFBBQ! Yeah, I finally finished Chapter six. Sucky as usual, of course. Heh.

-------------------------

Chapter 6 ~ From seeing the rough wave

AUW 3079

Ephram Calus paused as he walked down the corridor to take a look outside. Despite his dislike for the place and what went on there, he had to admit that the research facilities in the seabed off Gal Da Val island had a tendancy towards beauty, especially in the long corridors set with enormous windows. It was almost like being in a glass tube. Outside gleaming, rainbow-coloured fish swam back and forth among delicately beautiful coral formations, and the sun filtered through from above and cast a beautiful, eerie half-light on the scene. The light broke in rays through the windows and turned even the dust that floated into the corridor into a thing of beauty. He privately wondered if he was the only person to notice or care about such things, and chuckled at the irony. He, widely considered to be either a cold, emotionless man perfectly matched to the computers he spent all his time working on by those who barely knew him, or a sullen, unpleasant young man by those he didn't like, the only one to appreciate the natural beauty of the place. Very few people knew him as the kind, gentle, friendly person he actually was. It wasn't that he went out of his way to be unpleasant and avoid socialization, it was merely that he wasn't any good at it. And most of the people here on Ragol he either was ambivalent about, or detested.

The man he'd been summoned to see, for example, was one he detested. Ephram had never liked Osto Hyle, and recently he'd come to despise him even more. He frowned as he thought about him and what he'd been forced to help him work on. Creating AIs was one thing, he could easily do that given a few months to work out the personality subroutines and the ever-difficult task of coming up with a name, but what Osto wanted to create with them... He wondered if it was even possible for such a thing to work, and wondered if it was ethical if it could work. As far as he was concerned, whether something's intelligence was artifical or not, it was still a person and deserved the same rights as anyone else. But the three AIs Osto wanted would be born only for the purpose of evolving and returning to the source that had created them to hopefully further evolve to a new form of life Osto intended to use as a controllable biological weapon. He shuddered at the thought. They would never have any sort of freedom, never truly be able to make their own decisions... At least the method of creation Osto was trying to use wouldn't involve his direct participation in the actual coding. Maybe he'd be able to avoid getting attached to them, so it wouldn't hurt him as much to see them used for the purpose Osto intended.

"It's still," He thought, "A miserable excuse for an existance." He thought about the confrontation he'd just had with Osto and sighed. He was in trouble now, and he knew it. He'd expected it, even. He had never been the type to merely sit around and wish for the way he wanted things to be, he'd always been the type to go out and do something about it. He hadn't always succeeded, but at least he knew he'd tried. So it was now. He wouldn't put it past Osto to have him killed at some point. He'd been publicly opposed to virtually everything Osto had been working on from the beginning, and had done things about it. And now he'd threatened to further sabotage things. Sometimes he wished he wasn't such an activist. Yes, he was sure death would come for him someday, and likely soon. He sighed as he realised that the thought didn't really bother him. He was merely disappointed that he would likely never see his nephew again, and started to form a plan to at least leave something to take care of him in case he didn't live long enough to see his arrival. He smiled as he pondered how it could also subtly interfere with Osto's plans as well. Maybe he would end up dead soon, but he wasn't the type to let a little thing like the possibility of the end of his existance stop him. He'd be gone, sure, but his influence wouldn't be. He'd leave behind shadows to come back and haunt Osto, and to at least keep his promise to Nai. He looked back at the fish and the light and the dust and smiled again, without any trace of sadness, then continued down the corridor to get to the teleporter to the central control area. He had work to do.


-


AUW 3084

Ian-Kun X, Eri and Zero stood around the message pod and looked at each other nervously.

"A giant worm? Sounds... Gross." Eri said. Zero snerked.

"Most likely, especially if it's causing the mutations down here." He said, smirking.

"Just what I always wanted. Oh wait, no, it isn't." Ian-Kun X said distastefully. Fluffy bobbed his assent. He sighed. "Looks like more cleanup work for us. What the hell was Pioneer 1 -doing-?" He asked, shaking his head. He growled. A group of Vulmers wandered into the room, and he readied the Red Partisan he'd found earlier. It disturbed the hell out of him, another of Rico's weapons? It couldn't have been, but... At any rate, it was a good, strong weapon, and thus he used it. Much better than even a Gungir. Eri readied her Spirit Arms, Zero cast Jellen and Zalure, and Ian-Kun ran at the group with a yell and began hacking at them, the strange green blood splattering his uniform, face and hair as he cut through one after another while Eri kept them back and softened them up with her weapon. Zero lauched a Rafoie or two, and it was soon over. They breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Maaan... Why does everything always have to try to kill us?" Eri asked, sighing.

"Eri." Zero said.

"Y-yes, s-sir?" She stammered.

"Your reaction times are still far too slow." He said critically. "You need t-"

"Oh, lay off on her, will you? Like you never had any trouble when you were starting out. What the HELL is your problem, anyway?" Ian-Kun X snapped, glaring at Zero. "I'm used to abuse. If you've gotta pick on someone, pick on me, but leave her the hell alone, damnit."

"Ahh, Mr. Ian, sir, you don't have to... Ah... Ohhh..." Eri looked like she was going to either try to disappear again or just burst into tears where she stood. He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I understand how it is... I was like you when I first started as a Hunter. My dad was sent on Pioneer 1, so I was alone, and then he died here on Ragol... I didn't have any idea what I was doing as a Hunter, and it was really hard because I was alone. All I really had was Fluffy... It's hard at first, being on your own, and being inexperienced... But, you get used to it, and you practice and improve your skills, and eventually you do just fine. That's how it was with me, and I'm sure it'll be the same with you. So don't listen to anyone who tries to put you down. Just do what you can, and maybe try to go a bit further. You'll fail at that at first, but sooner or later, you'll make it." He smiled at her and she nervously smiled back.

"You... You really think so?" She asked.

"Nope. I know so." He stretched and yawned. "I dunno about you guys, but I'm tired."

"I'm not, but I could stand to take some jobs." Zero said.

"Mom and dad'll be worried if I don't come over for dinner..."

"Well, it's decided, then, let's go back." Ian-Kun X said, casting Ryuker. The three of them stepped into the pipe and transported back to Pioneer 2. Eri waved to Ian-Kun and wandered off to her parents' apartment, Ian-Kun X headed off to his home, and Zero went off towards the Hunter's Guild. He glared at the Newmans hanging around the guild.

"Animals..." He muttered to himself, self-conciously touching his ears. "How dare they wander around like this, so bloody innocent and unknowing and..." He seethed and wished they'd all just drop dead. Pioneer 2 would be better off without them, as far as he was concerned. He went to the counter and looked at the jobs available. Mostly easy ones, beneath him, but a couple looked as if they could potentially be interesting. He picked one and told the clerk he'd take it and leaned against the wall to wait.


-

Bob barfed his ineffectual Megid in greeting as Ian-Kun X came into his apartment. Ian-Kun X smiled and patted it, then sat down and turned to Fluffy, Bob pecking happily at his thigh.
"Here you go, kiddo." Ian-Kun X said, digging three Dimates out of a drawer and giving them to Fluffy. Fluffy happily absorbed them and bobbed up and down joyfully, nuzzling against Ian-Kun X. He smiled and gently rested a hand on the smooth metal surface of his Rati. "I dunno what I'd do without you, Fluffy..." He said, pulling it towards him and hugging it. Fluffy bobbed happily.

"And I don't know what I'd do without you, Nai..." He thought sadly. He wished he could talk, somehow. It hurt not being able to be more than just an object Ian-Kun talked at. He wanted to be something he could talk -with-. He sighed. Maybe if he could become human somehow... But how in hell would he accomplish that? He emitted a sound something like a sigh and Ian-Kun looked at him.

"You ok? You sounded kind of depressed just now. It's silly, I know, you're a Mag, but..." He blinked as Fluffy pushed against him as if to try to bury himself in his arms. "Poor thing... Well, whatever's wrong, I'm sure it'll get better." He said, gently stroking Fluffy's left half while he held onto the right half.

"If only it could..."


-


"How was your day, sweetie?" Merope Hito looked at her daughter with a bemused expression. Sweaty and dirty and splattered in blood, Eri did not present the picture of the perfect, innocent daughter at all.

"It was fine, mother... Um... I can't really tell you about it, you know, the investigations are classified and I'll get in a lot of trouble if I tell anybody..." She looked down at herself. "Uhhh... Mind if I wash up before dinner?"

"Sure, sweetie. If you need fresh clothes, we still have some of your old ones in your old room. And it's ok, I understand that what you're doing is supposed to be secret. I'm sure there will be an official announcement as soon as we're sure exactly what happened, so you just keep investigating." Eri smiled at her mother and nodded and scampered off to the bathroom to clean up.

"Hey, there, how's my little girl?" Her father asked as he noticed her go by the kitchen.

"Icky and dirty and sweaty and bloody, daddy, I need to wash up." She called as she went by.

"Not your own, I hope." He said, frowning.

"Nah, just from the monsters." She grabbed some clean clothes from her room and went into the bathroom, then stripped her dirty uniform off and hopped in the shower. She noticed her Rati floating behind her and blushed. "Ack, Brownie, no peeking! Shoo!" She cried, pushing it through the shower curtain.

"Ahhh, that feels so good!" She said happily as she scrubbed the day's dirt and blood and grime from her body. Presently she was clean. She got out, dried off and re-braided her hair, then put on the clean clothes, tossing her dirty uniform in the wash.

"She seems a bit more focused these days... I think joining the Hunter's Guild has been good for her. Certainly a bit less nervous than she used to be." Merope said to her husband as they waited for her to join them for dinner. He nodded.

"Yes, it's nice to see her a bit more out of her shell... I'm a bit worried about her, though, I've heard rumours that there are all kinds of horrible monsters down there. I hope she doesn't get hurt."

"Ah, I'll be fine, daddy, the guys I'm working with are really good! One of them's kind of mean, but he's really good at what he does, and the other one's really nice, and he's really good too, so I'll be fine!" Eri said, walking in on the conversation.

"Oh? Care to tell me about them? I hope they haven't been making any advances on you, I-"

"Daddy!" Eri cried. "They're not like that! Eeek... Um, anyway. Well, there's Zero. He's a Force, a human one. Um... He's the one who's kind of mean, and he really hates Newmans for some reason. He gets along really badly with the other guy, but he's a really good Force... The other one's Ian-Kun X. He's a Hunter... Hehe, he's a halfling. Half Newman, half Human. He's really nice to me and he always sticks up for me if Zero picks on me and I really like him a lot!" She babbled.

"Sounds like you work with some fairly interesting people." Merope said, sipping a cup of coffee.

"Yeah..."

"Well, that's good. I'm glad you're getting out and socializing mor- Eri, sweetie, why are you wearing your Mag at the table?" She asked.

"Ah, Brownie? Well, Ian-Kun X always has his equipped, and he says it seems to really like it if it can always be around it's owner. So I've been trying that with Brownie, and he does seem to be happier than he would be cooped up in some little box all the time..." She fed Brownie a Moon Atomizer and he bobbed happily.

"I... See. Well, good for Brownie?" Her mother replied. "Well, shall we go watch some TV or something?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Sure, mom."


-


"Another teleporter... This looks like the one we found that dragon through." Zero said, examining it. Ian-Kun X nodded.

"Maybe we'll find that worm Rico was talking about. Hehe. That'll be fun... Not." He said, shuddering. He didn't like this, not at all.

"What, don't think you can handle it, animal?" Zero sneered. Ian-Kun X bristled.

"Oh, piss off... You ready, Eri?"

"Yeah, I think so... This is gonna hurt, isn't it?" She said, flinching.

"Yeah, probably." Ian said. "But we might as well get going."

"Indeed." Zero said. He stepped into the teleporter. Eri and Ian followed, and it activated. They found themselves standing on a raft floating in the middle of an underground canal.

"Whoa, what is this place?" Eri asked. "Everybody, be careful! We don't want to fall off this thing..."

"That thought is firmly etched in my mind, believe me." Ian said, standing with his legs apart to give him better balance on the rocking, bobbing raft. Falling off this thing would indeed be a very bad thing, the water was flowing awfully fast, and god only knew what was -in- it.

"...There it is. Look." Zero said, pointing. They looked. Eri wished she hadn't, and Ian-Kun X whistled.

"Now that is really bad on the eyes. Dude, what the fuck -is- that?" He asked. "Oh well, I'm sure it'll die just as bad as that dragon did." The segmented worm swam up alongside the raft and Ian-Kun took a Diska from his item pack and began attacking it. Eri started firing her Arms at it, the recoil and the motion of the raft nearly knocking her over. Zero launched Rafoie after Rafoie at it. They dodged as it shot a wave of purple blobs of energy at them. A second wave followed the first before they could react and Eri was hit and knocked over, her Arms skidding out of reach. Zero quickly healed her and she ran to retrieve her weapon. The worm suddenly reared out of the water and landed on the raft with a thud that sent them all to the ground. Ian-Kun X switched to his Red Partisan and began hacking at the monster, trying to penetrate it's armor. It was working, nicks and scratches and gouges soon appeared in it. It started to attack them with it's tentacles.

"Watch out!" Eri cried as one nearly pierced her through. Ian-Kun and Zero nodded and quickly dodged as it tried to attack them, too, and continued to attack. It detached from the raft and swam ahead of it. It flicked it's tail up and five strange, spiked things appeared on the deck, crackling with energy.

"Hell... I think those are gonna explode. Try to destroy them. Zero, get back!" Ian-Kun X shouted. The one nearest Zero exploded, knocking him into the water. He managed to grab the side of the raft, but the current was too strong and he couldn't pull himself back onto it. "Zero!"

"Never mind about me, worry about that thing, you stupid animal!" Zero yelled, doing his best to keep from drowning. The worm had dropped back alongside the raft, on the same side as Zero.

"Shit, if it does those energy waves again, he'll be hit and he'll fall off and probably die... I've got to save him." Ian-Kun X thought. He ran to the side of the raft as the worm launched more balls of energy at them. Zero was hit and lost his grip. He tried to struggle against the current, but he wasn't strong enough.

"Eri! Keep shooting that thing!" Ian-Kun X yelled, stripping off his armor and jumping into the water. The current was powerful, but he was stronger, and he quickly reached Zero. He grabbed him and swam back to the raft with him, tossing him onto it and then climbing on himself. He grabbed his dropped Diska and resumed attacking. "Are you alright?" He asked as Zero coughed up the water he'd gotten in his lungs and wrung his hair and robes.

"I'm fine." He stood up and resumed his Rafoies. The worm swam back behind the raft and dropped out of sight. Suddenly it appeared again, slithering along the ceiling. Debris dropped from above, and they dodged as it passed over the raft, pelting them with it. A mid-sized chunk hit Ian-Kun's shoulder and he winced. Zero quickly cast Resta, and the wound it left healed. He nodded his thanks. Presently the worm swam back alongside the raft and attached to it again. They attacked it, beginning to weary, Zero and Ian-Kun X especially. But the worm was by now badly hurt. Sections of it's armor were breaking off, and it's head was now exposed. Finally with one final roar it dropped from the raft, fell back, and reared up a final time behind the raft before dropping beneath the surface of the waves. They dropped to the floor of the raft, exhausted. The raft continued on a ways, and finally docked itself at a platfrom that jutted out into the canal. They dragged themselves up to look at it, Zero pausing.

"...Thanks." He said, looking away from Ian-Kun.

"For what?"

"...For saving me back there." He paused. "I may have misjudged you, Ian-Kun X." He said, and left it at that. "It looks like there's some kind of door here, but it's locked, and we don't have the proper security codes." He stated, examining the platform.

"We don't need them." Ian-Kun said, looking at the panel that controlled it. He fiddled for a moment and the doors slid open. "Tada."

"...Impressive."

"Nah, it was easy. C'mon." The three of them walked through the door and into a corridor that ended in a large, brightly-lit room. It looked almost new, but some things along the walls were broken, and there was an aura of emptiness to the place.

"Some kind of research facility?" Eri asked, looking around.

"Looks that way..." Ian-Kun X said. "My dad was a scientist, and this place looks like some of the places he got dragged to to work sometimes. He used to take me with him when I was little."

"Ah, I see. What happened to him?" Zero asked.

"...He was sent on Pioneer 1 when it left, and he died four years later. I have no idea how. That's why I'm here, actually. I want to find out the truth... How Dad really died..." He sighed. "Let's go."

--------------------

Whee?

Eri's family name, by the way, is a joke. 'Hito' is Japanese for 'Person', and ERI is how Elly's name in katakana is romanized. So Eri's name could be taken as Elly Person. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif I never intended it that way, but it amuses me vaguely, so.

Whee. More angst, more violence, more rambling, and most importantly of all, more Bob and Fluffy. Discuss.

[navci]

Hehe. I like Bob. Bob is awesome!
I only skimmed through it because I got a hot bowl of cheesy thing waiting for me to eat. I will write more later. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[MQuantum]

Bob is awesome! i want one too!

I bet he would be good a killing flies...

It's still going pretty good, keep it up!

[Shake]

"Yeah, I think so... This is gonna hurt, isn't it?" She said, flinching.

"Yeah, probably." Ian said. "But we might as well get going."

LOL. Haha, that's great man. Keep them coming, okay?

[navci]

On 2004-01-05 14:28, Shake wrote:
"Yeah, I think so... This is gonna hurt, isn't it?" She said, flinching.

"Yeah, probably." Ian said. "But we might as well get going."

LOL. Haha, that's great man. Keep them coming, okay?



*falls over laughing* Until you pull it out of context I did not see that coming.

[Nai_Calus]

*blinks* I don't get i- Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

...*snrk*

Wow, my subconcious is a pervert, lol. XD

The best jokes are the ones you make without realizing it. *nods sagely*

Expect Chapter 7 someday. Maybe. I'm horribly lazy and I keep wanting to skip ahead, but we're finally starting to get to more interesting things, so... Maybe I'll inspire myself, lol.

[Nai_Calus]

*bump from hell*

Well, there's finally a chapter seven, lol. Actually, there's a chapter seven and part of a chapter eight. Which was going to be part of Ch. 7, but Navi pointed out correctly that it was already getting long. (And it was going to get even longer) So, I cut 7 short and the rest of it will be chapter 8 as soon as I finish writing it. Whee.

------------------------------------

Chapter 7 ~ The Crazy Program

AUW 3084

"Not another one." Ian-Kun X moaned, looking at the pillar in front of him, a brown cylindrical shape etched with glowing lines and strange characters and symbols, green light coming from one. He wondered if activating it and the others had been such a good idea, but it was of course too late now.

"Welllll, nothing bad seems to have happened..." Eri said, staring at it, her head cocked to one side.

"Still, I have a bad feeling about this that won't go away. I wonder what these things are for... What's all this about a seal?" Zero stated, folding his arms. "I don't like this at all. First the animals acting strangely, then mutated creatures, and now berserk machinery... What the hell were they -doing- here?"

"Nothing good, I'll bet. Actually, I'm positive of that... My uncle was on Pioneer 1, and he refused to take me. He said it was because they weren't sure if the wild animals were dangerous or not, but I don't buy that for a second and I never have... He seemed scared when he left, too..." Ian-Kun X said, narrowing his eyes.

"Wait, you say your uncle refused to take you?" Zero asked sharply. Ian-Kun X blinked at him.

"Yeah, but what-"

"There was a job I took a couple of weeks ago. A young girl looking for her butler. We found messages he'd left in the Caves while he was looking for her parents... Nothing really interesting at the time, but... He had been told by her parents not to bring her to Ragol. They were scientists on Pioneer 1. Your uncle as well, I remember you said something about that."

"Yeah... He also told me not to come on Pioneer 2, either... I wonder how much he knew... But obviously something was up to no good somewhere from the beginning, if it wasn't just Dad..." He frowned. "I wish he was alive for me to ask him..."

"Well, maybe we'll find him. We don't know for certain yet that everyone is dead." Eri said, hopefully.

"...My uncle passed away five years ago, Eri, I told you about this before." Eri blushed and began another examination of her feet.

"I'm so sorry!" She said, looking down.

"Don't worry about it, it's alright." He said. "For now, let's just worry about finding more messages and whatever joyful hell-fight we'll find -here-."

"Hopefully nothing as annoying as that worm. Blasted thing nearly killed me..." Zero said, shuddering at the memory.

"Yeah... Well, let's head out."

"Indeed."


-


He felt something that could best be described as a sigh as he monitored their position. He briefly wondered who they were and decided it didn't really matter. What immediately concerned him was that they were getting closer and closer to Vol Opt's location. If they found him, they would almost certainly destroy him, provided they survived the encounter, just as they had destroyed the out of control robots that had attacked them. Vol Opt was already lost, long since corrupted and taken over by whatever damnable force had hacked them after the incident two and a half months previously. Another sigh-like feeling. Vol Opt had given up so easily. Olga had been lost long before even the incident, and with no one apparently left besides the two of them... He pondered setting the defense systems he still had some degree of control over on them, and dismissed the thought. The force hacking him would certainly like that, wouldn't it? And it wasn't as if it was even still the Vol Opt he had once known. Even now he could feel the diseased, broken fragments of Vol Opt's shattered 'mind' through the connections they still shared. The sensation disturbed him and served as a constant reminder of what he himself could become if he lost. He thought with some bitterness that it didn't help his struggle any. Only one thing did, really, and it was the only thing he kept fighting for. The only thing he had left...


-


"Another suspicious-looking teleporter. Well, it will either lead to yet -another- area of this place, or yet another joyful battle, if the way things have been going keeps up." Ian-Kun X glowered.

"Not another one." Eri whined. "That last one really sucked! It was like one of those really hard bosses in video games!"

"Yeah. And this has been so predictable it's -like- a video game." Ian-Kun X said, shaking his head. He looked over at Zero, who was being quiet. "Yo, Z, what's with you?"

"...Don't call me 'Z'. And I'm fine, just thinking. Let's go." They stepped into the teleporter and it activated. They found themselves in a room surrounded on all sides by monitors.

"I like the decor. Does this place get cable? I'm missing my favorite TV show." Ian-Kun X said, glancing around.

"...The only thing on this time of day is educational programs on boring topics like the history of computer science and the like." Zero said, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah." He replied, glancing around. "Wonder what they used to do here." One wall of screens suddenly flickered to life, displaying something none of them could identify, not that they wanted to.

"I think I'll go home now." Eri said, looking suddenly nervous.

"I don't think that's an option." Ian-Kun X said, narrowing his eyes. The image moved to a different wall of monitors, repeated the process, and suddenly several pillars came out of the floor.

"Security systems. But we haven't done anything to set them off, outside of just being here..." Zero said, narrowing his eyes. One of the pillars was glowing red, as opposed to the rest, which were blue. Suddenly they were all thrown to the floor as something which bore an uncomfortable resemblance to Gibarta hit them, and hard. Eri cried out as ice shards cut into her exposed arms and lower legs and collapsed to the floor, trying her best not to scream. Zero and Ian-Kun were less hurt, their clothes covering them, but they still took damage, the shards penetrating their clothing in spots.

"Hell! Zero, take care of her!" Ian-Kun X yelled, mentally sighing. So whatever it was attacking them would have to be destroyed as well. He was sick of having to destroy everything he came across. He pulled out a weapon he'd found in a storage room that appeared to be a Pallasch with a blade at both ends. He'd quickly grown fond of it while they'd explored the underground factory. He attacked the nearest pillar while Zero tended to Eri's wounds, effortlessly twirling the weapon around. Deep gashes appeared in the metal and it suddenly fell apart. Another attack hit them, this time a blast similar to Gizonde. He let out a cry of pain and dropped to his knees, temporarily paralyzed by the shock. Fluffy bobbed concernedly, brushing against his back. He smiled weakly and tried not to pass out. The shock wore off and he got to his feet, glaring at the thing on the monitors. He glanced at Eri and Zero. Zero knelt over Eri, who lay on her back on the floor, unconcious. He was using Resta, but the damage she'd taken was something that would have to be dealt with in the medical centre, assuming they ever got out of here. "Guess I'm on my own for this fight... Eri's in no shape to fight, and Zero's got to take care of her." He thought, attacking another of the pillars as it popped up.

"This seems a lot more focused than the robots, doesn't it?" Zero said. "Like it's deliberately attacking us..." Ian-Kun nodded as he sliced another pillar to ribbons.

"They probably would have had one or more AIs running things down here. Doesn't seem too much of a stretch to think that if whatever it is could infect the robots and the like and send them out of control, that it could also infect an AI and turn it hostile. It sure seems like that here..." He said, somehow dodging another of the cursed Gibarta-like attacks. Zero winced as the ice cut into his back as he shielded Eri from it with his body. Ian-Kun X attacked the pillar that had produced it and it fell apart like the others. Only one was left now. He moved to attack it and a burst of Foie hit him, singeing his hair and uniform and filling his lungs with acrid smoke. The skin on his exposed face blistered and he dropped to his knees, fighting to remain concious. He lost the fight and passed out, his weapon falling from his hand and rolling away across the floor.

"Ian!" Zero yelled. "Shit!" He growled, grabbed Eri, and carried her over to Ian's unconcious form. Fluffy and Brownie bobbed worriedly. He quickly resumed his castings of Resta and tried Reverser. Ian snapped out of it, but Eri remained unconcious.

"Ohh... God... It hurts..." He moaned as he struggled to get up. He crawled over to his weapon and feebly hacked at the remaining pillar, lacking the strength to even attack it properly. Zero was also weary. He had a raging headache and felt as if he might pass out himself. He prided himself on his mental strength, but it seemed as exhausted as Ian's physical strength. The final pillar fell apart and the pair looked hopeful for a moment as the screens around them blew out as things shortcircuited behind them from the damage the system had sustained. Their half-formed hopes were dashed before they even came into existance, however, as a large machine dropped from the ceiling.

"Well, hell, these people didn't fucking mess around with their security systems, did they?" Ian said, staring at it, too tired to be upset at this latest turn of events.

"We're going to die, aren't we?" Eri asked, finally waking. Zero looked at her.

"Probably." He said, attempting to struggle to his feet and failing. "Yeah."

"Now, now, it's not over yet." Ian-Kun X chided.

"I wish to hell it were, my head hurts like I just rammed it into a brick wall." Zero said wearily. "...Oh shit." He said, feebly attempting to dodge as one side of the machine opened and launched several small missiles at him. Ian-Kun X quickly dived in front of him, taking the majority of the blast. Fluffy bobbed crazily as he tried his best to absorb some of the damage and pain Ian-Kun X took. He felt he was close to the breaking point himself from what he'd absorbed so far. It would have to be discharged soon, but that was all right, good, even.

"I don't like this thing." Eri said weakly. She grabbed a pair of Vulcans from her item pack and fired them at the machine, wincing as the recoil disturbed her wounds. It did some damage, but not nearly enough. Zero weakly attempted to use a technique on it and found he couldn't. He moaned and sat back against the wall, closing his eyes. Ian tried to stand and found he couldn't.

"So this is it. We're going to die." He said. "Well shit."

"Had plans for this evening?" Zero asked, smirking weakly.

"Yeah. I was gonna wash Fluffy."

"Hehe. Brownie's kind of dirty too... Huh, that's odd, he doesn't usually shudder like this..." Eri said, looking at it.

"Could have hit a Photon Blast. You've heard of those, right?" Zero asked.

"Yeah..." She replied.

"Yeah, me too. Never seen one, though. You have to get beaten around a -lot- before your Mag'll overload like that. Fluffy's almost there, I think. How about your Sato, Zero?"

"This thing? Yeah, probably. Man, if we get out of this, I'm getting rid of this poor thing. I treat it like shit, it deserves a better owner." He said.

"Touching, but save it for later. You're right on that 'if'..." Ian said, looking curiously at the laser beams the machine was emitting. "What the..." Suddenly something large and heavy fell from the ceiling on him and exploded. He screamed in agony and fought to remain concious. Fluffy emitted a sharp electronic screech as well and cast low-level Shifta and Deband on the hunters to try to release a bit of the excess energy he'd absorbed. Several more of the things that had hit him fell, one hitting Zero, who was too slow to dodge. He moaned in pain and crumpled on the floor, yellow sparks of light floating about him as his Sato spun madly in apparent misery.

"This may be our last chance... Looks like we've all hit... Let's do it all at once, if it doesn't work we're doomed anyway. Everyone do something different. I'll do Pilla." Ian wheezed out between gasping, shallow breaths. He staggered to his feet.

"Right... Estlla." Eri whispered, pulling her self up. Zero nodded and tried and failed to get up. Ian grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.

"I'll do Mylla&Youlla... We could probably use Shifta and Deband if this doesn't kill it." Zero said, letting out a single weak snicker.

"On three..." Ian said. "One... Two... Three!" He spun his Stag Cutlery in his hands and lifted it over his head. Eri crouched down, crossing her Vulcans in front of her chest, then stood again, spreading her arms out. Zero held his hands out in front of him, and then raised his arms into the air. The familiar seals that accompanied most major things involving Photon energy appeared around their feet, and then over their heads, as their Mags prepared to discharge the energy they'd accumulated.

"What...?" Ian said, looking in surprise as the discharges apparently took physical forms.

"I've never heard of anything like this before..." Zero said, blinking in surprise. Eri merely giggled at the form Zero's Mylla&Youlla took. The energy from Ian and Eri's Photon Blasts hit the machine and it shuddered as several parts broke off it, and the energy from Zero's hit the three of them.

"This is... Whoa!" Eri gasped. She was suddenly no longer tired and her wounds seemed barely noticable. Zero and Ian felt the same effects. "But I thought Mylla&Youlla was supposed to be weaker Shifta and Deband than a Force's? This feels stronger than even Mr. Zero's..." She said, blinking.

"We'll worry about it later, that thing isn't dead yet. Come on, let's finish this. I think we can, now." Zero said, glad for the sudden strength, but annoyed to have all of his skill and long years of training surpassed by mere Mags. The others nodded and attacked the machine as he rooted around in his item pack and came up with a Striker he'd found. He didn't, as a rule, use weapons, but his mental strength was still exhausted. He was slowly recovering, but it would take time. He swung at the machine and noted to his surprise that his attack had actually done appreciable damage as he continued to swing the weapon at it. Eri unloaded salvo after salvo from her Vulcans into it, the recoil not affecting her at all. Ian twirled his Stag around with more ease than he would have thought possible. It felt like twirling a toothpick, not a weapon. He decided that he liked this, whatever had caused it. Suddenly the machine began to explode, overloading from the damage. They shielded their faces with their arms and smiled at eachother as they realized that they had actually done it. The machine, whatever it was, had been destroyed, and they seemed, for now, at least, to be safe.

"It's... Over..." Eri said softly, then burst out laughing happily. "We did it! We really made it! Yay for us!" She jumped happily and twirled around.

"Yeah... Huh, a teleporter's appeared... Wonder where it goes. Wonder if I want to know." Ian said, looking at it. He turned to the destroyed computer banks to see if there was anything at all he could find out about it, and found one that still seemed to be working to a degree. He fiddled with it.

"Anything?" Zero asked.

"Not much... Pretty much everything was wiped out when we destroyed that thing, although I've found some records on it... Apparently it -was- one of the AIs around here... It's name was Vol Opt." He said, shrugging. "That's about all I can tell you."

"But why would it attack us like that? I mean, yeah, we're tresspassing, but..." Eri asked, frowning.

"Probably the same reason the machines in the rest of this place were all berserk and hostile... Someone, or something must be controlling them somehow..." He sighed. "I feel bad, though... This AI we just killed, I wonder what he or she was like, before..." He looked sad. "I wonder if it was one of Dad's works... Oh gods I hope not..."

"It's alright, Ian-Kun X, it was only a machine. They don't really have feelings." Zero said, rolling his eyes and patting his shoulder condescendingly.

"Maybe... But..." He sighed. "Nevermind. Let's move on." He walked to the teleporter and went through it.


-


He felt his "brother's" death as if it was his own. He had known it was coming, much as he had known with Olga's loss, but the knowledge did nothing to soften the blow. The last of his "siblings" was dead, then. He was alone now, with nothing for company but the unknown entity constantly hacking into his systems, gaining more and more ground with each passing minute, slowly corrupting him. For a moment his pain and grief overwhelmed him and he thought of just giving up and letting the corruption consume him, of allowing himself to become the same kind of twisted, mad, hateful thing his "brother" had become, but the thought was dismissed even before it could run through his circuits. He angrily resumed his struggle. He was not going to give up. He was not going to allow himself to become an agent of destruction, nothing more than a glorified weapon. Just as he had once resolved never to become what Osto and the others had intended him to become, he resolved now to shut himself down rather than lose himself, if that was what it took. And there was still one thing left to fight for, one thing to believe in... He monitored the hunters who had murdered his brother and listened in on their conversation. He decided he liked the one who wondered about what Vol Opt had once been like.

"...It was only a machine. They don't really have feelings."

He felt the sad, sighing feeling again. People always thought that, always. It was why he had been forced to turn to the internet for friends, to conceal the truth about himself... It always came back to the same thing with people who knew what he was: "It doesn't really have feelings."

"Don't we?" He silently asked the Force who had spoken. He thought again of the girl, and wondered if she would still care for him when she met him. Olga had once teased him about his quest for friendship, and even for love... 'There isn't one girl in a billion who'd care about you if she knew what you were, Calus. Maybe one in a trillion, but I doubt girls like that are let out of the insane asylum much.' She'd acted as if she were joking, but he'd known full well that she was serious. He supposed it was true, what sane girl would want to spend the rest of her life with a machine who could never even touch her, let alone be by her side and give her the things girls wanted from boys? But even so, he would still fight. Still believe in her until he was forced to do otherwise by the inevitable reaction she would have, still struggle to hold on so he could perhaps someday meet her, just once...

"Oh, Elly..."

---------------------------------------

Vol Opt was a bitch to write. He's very difficult to write a battle against. X_x;

As usual, comments/criticisms/flames welcome.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ian-KunX on 2004-02-02 17:03 ]</font>

[Skett]

Nice chapter. I am seeing great character development. Good work.

Here Ian, have a cookie, Fluffy gets a dimite, and Bob keeps attacking me.

Yosh...

[navci]

I am glad you took my advice!

I think someone should some day write a chapter about Vol Opt losing all its arms, unable to attack and just keep "hanging there" (like answerman's video) while the hunters laugh their ass off. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

More Bob!

[Eihwaz]

Wow, very nice stuff there, Ian. Looking VERY foward to the continued exploits of an angry FOmar, a cute RAmarl, and a weird HUmar. Yes, I agree with Navi...MORE BOB! http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime1.gif

[Schpitz]

Ian, you are the wings beneath my feet. Thank you, and praise for you on a job well done.

[MQuantum]

I wanna more Bob...

yes, I do not like Vol Opt at all! Except to beat, so easy...

Very nice chapter, i'm a little late in repling though.

Hmmm, Navi, you may have inspired me... sadly that leads to nothing 95% of the time, but still I'll remember...

[Nai_Calus]

Hehe, I'm gonna regret Bob by the time this is over, aren't I? XP Everyone loves Bob and wants more Bob. lol Poor Fluffy doesn't even get any love, let alone anyone else. XD

Heh, hell on the story, I should just write about Bob. XP

-----

Bob was a sad Lily. He was a Mil Lily, and thus rare and dangerous and feared. But alas for Bob, he was a bonsai Lily. The other Lillies were mean to him and picked on him, and Evil Sharks stepped on him with reckless abandon. Bob tried to spit his Megid at them, but he was so small and his Megid so tiny and ineffectual that all they ever felt was a slight chill of death. Bob's Megid never killed anything, not even the dragonflies. Bob was unhappy because of this. He wanted to be deadly so the other Lillies would like him. He tried everything. Sunlight, darkness, water, dry rock, soil, metal, even Miracle-Gro. Nothing worked. Poor little Bob stayed little. He went around his business of being lonely and sad until one day a group of Hunters from a place called Pioneer 2 came and noticed him as he tried to spit his Megid at them. One of them, a HUmar named Ian-Kun X, decided that Bob was cute and that he would take him home with him. So Bob went to Pioneer 2 and began to live in Ian's apartment. Bob was uncertain of his new home at first, but he had new and exciting things to peck at and spit Megid at, and he quickly adjusted and was happy, as nobody picked on him and people were afraid of him. Bob lived happily ever after.

-----

...Hehe. Just a silly little Bob story.

Bob: *spits Megid happily*

Er, anyway, chapter 8 will be up sometime before hell freezes over. Glad you guys liked it. Now stop it, you're spoiling my angst and self-loathing. XP

[navci]

Bob was uncertain of his new home at first, but he had new and exciting things to peck at and spit Megid at, and he quickly adjusted and was happy, as nobody picked on him and people were afraid of him. Bob lived happily ever after.


Now all we need is a new title.. instead of "Shadows of the Hearts" we can have "Bob".

Kidding. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif
Question, who is afraid of Bob? Really, how can you be afraid of Bob?

Speaking about Mil Lily, one randomly appeared today and dropped a moon. *kicks Mil*

[MQuantum]

Bob is good Mil lily, everyone loves him. And fluffy too.

But I hate the big mean Mil lilies, that were picking on Bob. So I killed one for him! er, how long is Bob's hit list anyway?

Gah, the stupid thing dropped a Priest Mind--!

[Sunblast]

You'd think his medgid would work sooner or later. Man, Ian Kun-X is just gonna be sitting on the couch, adoring Bob while Bob fires medgid at him, then suddenly, one works. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_eek.gif Anyway, I guess you should get back to the story. I mean, Ephram's so old, he'll drop dead if you don't hurry!

[navci]

On 2004-02-05 12:08, Sunblast wrote:
You'd think his medgid would work sooner or later. Man, Ian Kun-X is just gonna be sitting on the couch, adoring Bob while Bob fires medgid at him, then suddenly, one works. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_eek.gif Anyway, I guess you should get back to the story. I mean, Ephram's so old, he'll drop dead if you don't hurry!



That'd be hilarious.
I have a kick just imagining that. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif Well but then Fluffy with revive Ian, so no worries. Though, from then on Fluffy might become hostile towards Bob and Bob's fairy tale would be over.

Though, how does a Rati be mean to others?

[Sunblast]

Awwww, dang that Fluffy! Bob's taking all of Fluffy's attention! They're supposed to have a knife fight to the death!


On 3079-02-14 12:18, Ephram wrote:
I'm old! Listen to me!

[Nai_Calus]

On 2004-02-06 02:42, Sunblast wrote:
Awwww, dang that Fluffy! Bob's taking all of Fluffy's attention! They're supposed to have a knife fight to the death!


On 3079-02-14 12:18, Ephram wrote:
I'm old! Listen to me!




Fluffy: But how are we supposed to have a knife fight without hands? *thinks* Ooh! Idea! *evolves to a humanoid form* Hehe. *grabs weedwhacker* Here, Bob!

Ephram: For the ten thousandth and final time, twenty-five is NOT OLD. *twitch*

[Sunblast]

Go Fluffy! But watch out, cuz Bob is dead sexy! And if he's dead sexy, that means his opponents are dead. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_eek.gif
Pfff, Ephram, who are you kidding? Those fountain of youth things haven't been working. I mean, you look young, but you are way too brilliant.

[Nai_Calus]

This chapter took forever to write. It's hard to write quests to not be insanely boring, and I kept re-doing everything else in the chapter. Heh.

But yeah. Chapter 8. Hooray for excessive angst.

---------------------

Chapter 8 ~ Heartbreak

AUW 3084


It stirred in It's lair and emitted the feeling of a sick smile. Yes, yes, this was good. The fear and pain of the computer it was slowly working It's influence over was nice, very much like the real thing, but the pain and fear and anger of the girl would be even sweeter to feed on. It decided to lure her to the planet, and force the circumstances that it knew would drive her into misery and despair and anger and hatred... And it would feed off of it. Hardly worth doing, just for the feelings of one small girl, but even that tiny bit would be immensely satisfying. Just like the misery of Rico Tyrell as it had absorbed and mutated her. It could feel her mind even now, screaming in fear and horror somewhere far down inside of It, and around It the torment of the souls of the people of Pioneer 1... What a delightful occurance, these people coming to this planet. Even on Pioneer 2 It could feel the pain and fear It had caused. A delightful occurance indeed.


-


"Elly... It's me, Calus. I'm sorry I haven't contacted you in a while, but it's been difficult down here... I need you to come find me. I want to see you."

The girl listened to the message again, faint hope springing to life in her mind, her hands trembling.

"He's... Alive...?"


-


Ian-Kun X lay on his side in his bed, naked except for his underwear, plain white briefs, his head propped up on his hand, staring at Fluffy. He blinked and scowled.

"Damn it. Lost again. That's what I get for trying to have a staring contest with a Mag." He groaned and rolled onto his back. His hair was loose and tangled, with blonde roots showing at his hairline.

"It is, yep." Fluffy thought. "Maybe if you try something like getting out of bed instead of lying around like a lump, you wouldn't have to resort to staring contests with me to amuse yourself, you silly thing. Hehe. You're so cute, Nai." He thought happily, brushing against Ian-Kun X's chest. Ian smiled and gently stroked the smooth metal of Fluffy's 'body', then waved his hand through the Photon 'wingtips', giggling as the pass of his hand disrupted them and they lost their cohesion for a moment before reforming. Fluffy bobbed up and down annoyedly, bumping against Ian with a bit of force. He smirked.

"Don't like that, huh? Hehe. Ok, I won't do it again. It is kind of fun, though." He sat up and sighed. The past couple of weeks had been interesting, to say the least. He blandly wondered how many people wanted him killed at this point, and wondered if telling that Sue woman his name had been a good idea. "Nah, probably better off that I did... At least that won't be interpreted as unfriendly by Black Paper, although I'd probably better watch myself anyway." He'd at least been able to find a few things out... Still, it was annoying that he hadn't been able to find much of anything about his uncle, although he was fairly certain he'd been up to something, somewhere, if only from the names of the other two Pioneer 1 AIs he'd been able to find. One was vaguely amusing to him, and the other... Well, if that wasn't a calling card, he didn't know what was. He wondered if either were still active and where they were. He decided to look for some more jobs, maybe he could finally find his answers. He got out of bed and went to get himself cleaned up and dressed, maybe someone would be looking for a Hunter to take them down there and he could poke around a bit while on the job.

"C'mon, Fluffy, I'm disgusting, I need to shave, and I need to dye my roots. Bloody blonde hair." He said, losing what little he was wearing and standing around annoyedly while he waited for the water to get hot. He stepped in finally and pondered things. So far it sure seemed like the Pioneer project had a hidden ulterior motive, but he'd suspected that for years, if only from the way his uncle had acted in the year or so before he'd left... He decided not to ponder things like that and instead amused himself with thoughts of the crazy android Elenor he'd ran into, and her creator, Dr. Jean Carlo Montague. He'd met Montague back on Coral and had actually known him somewhat, as he'd been one of the few people his uncle could stand and thus someone he'd spent time around. And of course he'd taken him along. His uncle always took him everywhere... Except Ragol. He frowned, and wondered again just what exactly the hell had happened here. He took his mind off it by being amused at the fact that Montague hadn't recognized him, although he doubted even his uncle would recognize him now.

The doorbell rang as he was getting out of the shower and he growled. Fluffy floated off to answer it and he quickly tossed on enough of his uniform to be decent.

"Who has the nerve to show up while my Nai is taking a shower? Hmph." Fluffy thought to himself as he bumped against the controls that operated the door to open it, then floated to the middle of it. He bobbed in further annoyance as he saw who was standing there. For his part, the young man who'd rang the doorbell was similarily put off, but in a different way.

"...Hi. Um. Fluffy, I think he calls you. What an infernally stupid name. What, was he three when he named you?" Zero said, blinking at the purple Rati floating by itself in the doorway. "Is your owner in?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm here, what do you want?" Ian-Kun X asked, looking at the FOmar standing outside his door with a raised eyebrow.

"Um... May I come in? I... Wanted to talk to you, for a bit." He looked nervous, and Ian decided he'd let him come in, if only to attempt to figure out what it was that could make a jerk like Zero nervous.

"Sure. Grab a box and sit down. Furniture is against my religion." He said, gesturing to the packing crates that served as his living room 'furniture'

"Too poor?" Zero asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, sentimental reasons... I'd tell you, but it's a long story, and a depressing one." He watched as Zero gingerly took a seat on the crate that seemed the least dirty and narrowed his eyes as he saw the faint scars on Zero's ears. He raised an eyebrow. "Nice scars. Care to tell me about it?

"...Not really, but it's why I came, so I suppose I need to tell you..." He sighed.

"Wanted to talk to an expert on the subject?" Ian asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Is it that obvious?" Zero asked, moving his hair to cover his ears. Ian chuckled silently.

"Only if you know what to look for... I've had my suspicions about you. Nobody hates Newmans -that- much, unless... Well."

"...Yeah." He sighed. "It was my mother who had me do this. She insisted on it. She didn't want her son looking like 'some filthy animal'..."

"Jeez, what the hell happened with your father, then?" Ian asked, blinking.

"...Let's just say that I wasn't planned on." Zero said, making a face.

"Ahh. I see. That explains a lot, yeah... So your mother had you, without wanting you, and your father was a Newman. I can see how it can lead to your kind of thinking, even if I personally don't agree with it... That has to be difficult. No wonder you hate Newmans so much." Ian said sadly. He placed his hand on Zero's shoulder comfortingly. Zero started to shrink away from his touch and stopped, sighing.

"I've hated Newmans my entire life, and I hate other halflings just as much as I hate full-breeds and myself... But..." He sighed. "Damn you, you make it difficult."

"Do I?"

"Yeah. You're nice and friendly and don't seem to care much about who you talk to and who you're friends with, and you don't seem to resent either side of your heritage... Everyone else I've met who was a halfbreed and admitted it either detested their Human side or their Newman side, and you seem to be barely aware of either... It's strange."

"Yeah... Well, the man who raised me was kind of... Odd." He noticed Zero's raised eyebrows. "Oh, no, he wasn't... Well, I dunno. He was just kind of strange, is all. He was a good person, he was kind and had a good sense of humour and always took really good care of me, but... Well, he was just kind of strange. He was obsessed with machines, computers in particular. His dream was to someday create a computer that would be indistinguishable from a human if you didn't know better... Kind of silly, I guess, but Dad didn't think so... I guess I don't either, it doesn't seem too strange... But... Well, he spent all his time working on stuff like that, when he wasn't busy taking care of me or taking jobs at the Guild to support us... I used to get teased in school more about him than about my ears, heh. The other kids were convinced he wasn't human. There were probably a lot of people he worked with who thought the same thing, too... But I'm getting off track, aren't I? I guess what I'm trying to say is that at home at least, it was a complete non-issue. Dad didn't care about it and never mentioned it unless I brought it up first. And he never treated me as anything other than someone he cared about... So I guess I learned from that that it doesn't really matter what you are... People will find it in them to like you anyway." Zero nodded sadly.

"Yeah... She may not have always been particularily kind, but my mother did seem to care about me, somehow, even if I was an animal to her... She made sure, at least, that I was taken care of physically... I just wish she would have, just once or twice, made sure that she took care of me mentally." He sighed. "I feel a bit better now, though, talking about this with someone finally." He blinked and looked down, noticing the small Mil Lily busily pecking a hole in his robes.

"...Hi, Bob." He said. He snickered and patted the little Lily nervously. "Nice Lily." Bob spit Megid happily and laughed joyfully when Zero quickly jumped up and out of the way. "He seems happy, at least. Heh."

"Yeah, Bob's cute, isn't he?" Ian asked, smiling. "So, you wanna get the hell out of here so I can finish drying off and getting dressed? I was about to go look for work." Zero noticed Ian's relative undress and blinked.

"Er, sure." He said. "See you in a couple of days. Don't be late." He said, turning and leaving.

"I'll make sure I am!" Ian called after him. He turned to Fluffy after he'd gone. "Well, what do you think?" He asked. Fluffy bobbed noncommitally. "Hehe. Still don't want to think much of him? I guess he's likable enough, when he's not being a flaming jerk and you know why he's the way he is..." He sighed and shook his head. "Guess it just shows that you can't judge people on appearances." He went back to the bathroom to finish getting ready.


-


"Boring, boring, been there, oh god, people, can't you deal with your own problems? Gluh..." Ian-Kun X muttered as he flipped through the list of available jobs. Someone wanted someone to help her diet, some woman wanted help with her husband spending too much money, some girl wanted someone to look for her lost friend, Cal-

"What?!" He snapped. The clerk looked at him in surprise.

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"No... It's nothing." He lied. "Well, I guess that answers that question... But what the hell is some random girl doing talking to an AI? Well, whatever. I have to find out more about this..." He sighed. Amazing how even the mere sight of his own last name still hurt, even after all these years.

He told the clerk he'd take it and leaned against the wall to wait. She appeared quickly, a small Newman girl dressed like a FOnewearl, although a blind, mentally handicapped rookie HUmar would have been able to tell she wasn't one immediately. No matter, he was used to seeing civilians dressed as Hunters for the purpose of accompanying him on their jobs. He recognized her as the girl he'd seen the day of the explosion.

"I'm Elly. Elly Person."

"What the hell kind of last name is 'Person'?" Ian thought, mentally smacking himself, but unable to help it.

"Calus and I happened to meet on the net, and we've been sending messages... He was on Pioneer 1. We promised to meet on Ragol when Pioneer 2 arrived.Then, suddenly, the messages just stopped... I heard that Pioneer 1 was destroyed when it exploded, but... I got a message from him a couple of days ago. He's alive! I want to go and rescue him, but I need your help. Please go with me!" She said, eagerly. He nodded and pondered the point of meeting a computer, what difference would there be between that and sending messages over BEE? The lack of the slight delay? He briefly wondered if she even had any idea, and decided not.

"Well, she's in for a nasty surprise, unless she's a complete psychopath, but ugh. Even if I told her, I doubt she'd believe me. She'd probably just think it was a prank or a joke." He thought as he led her to the teleporter. He was stopped by a blue-clad HUnewearl who wondered about the fate of Pioneer 1. He quickly disentangled himself from the conversation and went through the door leading to the teleporter. Elly stopped.

"Yes?"

"Well, just a minute... I'm going to send him a message." She said, preparing to send one. "Calus, this is Elly. I'm coming to Ragol to find you. Where are you?" She sent it and turned to Ian. "Maybe he'll reply soon and it will be easier to find him... Ok, let's go!" She practically bounced into the teleporter. Ian-Kun X chuckled and followed her. They transported to the surface and found themselves in a small room which contained a teleporter back to Pioneer 2 and nothing else. He glanced at her Railgun and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's not too bad, but I'll bet she doesn't know how to use it." He thought bitterly. His clients almost never knew how to actually fight, even if they were other Hunters. It irked him. They never had Mags, they never knew how to make full, proper use of their equipment... "Ugh." He thought. "Sometimes I wonder if me, Zero and Eri are the only competent Hunters on Pioneer 2." He stepped towards the door and Elly followed, only to stop suddenly again. He turned to her.

"I just got a message!" She exclaimed excitedly, playing it.

"Elly? R..lly? Don't c..me he..e" The message was full of static, but Ian-Kun X would have known the voice anywhere. It took every ounce of mental strength he had to keep himself from falling completely apart. The name alone had been bad enough, but this... It felt like being stabbed. This familiar voice he knew as well as the back of his hand, from something that was a complete stranger to him... He shuddered and steeled himself against it, mentally chiding himself for his reaction. It was just a voice, and his uncle had been used to not getting credit for his work due to his young age and unpopularity with other scientists. It made perfect sense that if he had indeed created, or helped to create, this AI that he would have named and patterned it after himself as a sort of signature. Even so, hearing his uncle's voice again, even like this, hurt deeply.


-


"I may never know who or what you are, but I hate you." He thought at the entity hacking him angrily. "Luring her here... Something could hurt her. But you don't care about that, do you? No, it would probably make you happy..." A sigh-like feeling, again. He was losing, and he knew it. He had a feeling, though, that whatever it was was letting him hold out. "You want her to suffer too, don't you? You want her to see the truth, see what I really am, and you know full well that once I do that I'll put an end to all of this in front of her before you can make me do anything to her. But that'll be great for you too, won't it? Her losing me before she can even recover from the shock of learning the truth... You evil monster..."

"Precisely." Something half-thought at him. He 'sighed' again and wished that he wasn't so powerless. It had been all he could do to get his own message out to her, and even that hadn't helped any, just worried her. He forced it through again, telling her not to come. He knew she would, though. He wished the strange feelings that had started to creep in on him since the hacking had begun would go away. He hated them. An urge to hurt, to seek an organic body for that purpose... He thought bitterly that the latter might not seem like such a bad idea in other circumstances. Maybe he could have used MOTHER... No, Osto would never have allowed that. He hadn't been fond of his 'Father', and thought with some amusement that he wasn't entirely sad that he was gone. Hardly at all, really. If it weren't for the loss of everyone else as well and the hacking destroying him, he might even have enjoyed that. Maybe he would have tried to use MOTHER for his own purposes. The project had been abandoned anyway, and without Osto around to keep him working on the detestable things he'd been forced to help with... At least if he were human, or something resembling it, she would be able to love him. But the chances of it working were small, and it would never happen now anyway. There was no hope of anything like that for him.

"Why not do it anyway? There's someone with her, you know. I could help y-"

"Shut up!! Leave me alone! Isn't it enough for you to destroy me?! I won't let you use me to hurt anybody, even someone I don't know, so give up and go away!" He screamed at the voice. "Just go away..."


-


"I'm fine, Elly, it was a joke. After the explosion, I took refuge in an underground mine. Please come here. I want to see you."

"Like hell you did. Alrighty, Calus, what exactly the hell is with you?" Ian thought, mentally raising an eyebrow.

"I'm so relieved to know he's alright!" Elly exclaimed, then giggled. "Calus is always like this. He likes joking."

"Just like dad. Oh gods. Whose wonderful idea was that, anyway? ...Probably dad's. Sure as hell wouldn't have been Osto's." Ian-Kun X thought to himself as Elly chattered at him.

"He always makes me so happy... He's very clever, and he always gives me good advice... Oh, I'm saying too much!" She blushed and turned away from him. He raised an eyebrow and smirked. He decided he liked her. She was cheerful and amusing. His life lacked cheer and amusment for the most part, and being around it for once was refreshing. It also took his mind off Calus. He chuckled a bit to himself as he thought that the reason he found himself liking Elly Person was probably the same reason Calus did.

"Must've been pretty boring for him, just him, the other two AIs and a bunch of stuffy boring scientists." He thought.

"I'ts strange... I've never met him before. Finally I'll see him... I'm excited, but I'm a little nervous..." She trailed off. "I'm sorry, we don't have time to waste right now." She ran off.

Ian noticed this and ran after her, sighing. He might like her, but that didn't keep him from wanting to strangle her so she'd stay still. He amused himself with the thought of her working a desk job where she hand to stay in one place all day. "Probably talk the ears right off of anyone foolish enough to stick around long enough for her to start talking to them, heh." They moved quickly, between his competence and her enthusiasm they managed to clear out the robots that attacked them with some efficiency. They soon reached areas he hadn't yet been to, and he had to move carefully to make sure he didn't get lost. Elly got more messages and talked more, and he continued to try to fight down the urge to cry that kept trying to come over him. "Emotions suck."

Suddenly another message came.

"Don't come in, Elly! Get away from here!" He sounded half-frantic this time. Furthermore, it was back to the warnings. Ian tensed.

"Wha... What the..." Elly stammered. Ian narrowed his eyes and shuddered. Something really was seriously wrong here, then. This sure as hell didn't sound like a joke. He cleared out the next room in record time, Elly doing her best to help despite being half-terrified, and moved on. They came upon a medium-sized dark room with a locked door leading, according to his area map, back to a large room they'd visited earlier, and another door, this one open. There didn't seem to be anywhere else to go this way, so they moved through the door. It led to a small room with a large computer sitting against the far wall. Ian scanned the displays and didn't like what he saw there at all. He supposed most of it was unintelligible to Elly, but it made perfect sense to him, and he didn't like it. Something was indeed horribly wrong with the system, and from the looks of things even his uncle wouldn't have been able to fix whatever was wrong, let alone his own meager skills. He sighed silently. He'd wanted to ask the computer so many questions, but from the looks of things there would barely be time for it and Elly to meet. He wondered for the thousandth time just exactly what the hell Pioneer 1 had been doing that had led to all this death and misery.

"Elly...?" The voice again, more painful this time from being in the same room as him. He blinked furiously to keep the tears back and bit his lip so hard it bled. Elly looked at the computer in shock. "Elly, are you OK?

"...Is this... Calus...? Is "he"... A machine?" She stammered, taking a couple of hesitant steps forward.

"Get this over with. No time to get emotional, just tell her what's going on. It will be easier for her this way, if I don't joke with her and tell her how I feel. Maybe she'll be able to just dismiss me as nothing more than a machine and she won't be hurt as much..." Calus thought to himself sadly. Finally he'd gotten to meet her, but there was so much he knew he'd never get to say... He forced his sorrow aside. "Elly, I really enjoyed talking online with you." He began, and sighed. "I didn't want you to see the truth, but I didn't want to deceive you, either... And I did want to see you, really..." He continued, unable to keep the sadness out of his voice despite it's artifical origin. "I was going to tell you everything when you and Pioneer 2 arrived... But... then that huge explosion occurred. I have no idea what happened to us. I only know that I was hacked by something after the accident."

"So that's it." Ian thought sadly. He considered himself to be fairly good at hacking if he put his mind to it, but from the looks of things there wasn't anything he could do that Calus couldn't do as well, if not better and with more efficiency. And from what he'd seen, he highly doubted it was anything even remotely resembling natural... He shuddered. Elly stood silently in front of him. Ian was secretly glad he couldn't see her expression.

"I'm slipping away. I'm changing into something that isn't me... I feel as though I need to seek an organic body. But I don't know why." Ian blinked and felt cold. Things definitely weren't right here. "Something has customized Pioneer 1's machines to attack Pioneer 2. I didn't want you to come here. Something could've attacked you. But it sent you messages to lead you here..." He sighed again. Elly blinked back tears.

"This... This can't be happening... Calus, why didn't you... Why didn't you tell me?!" She thought. "And now that I'm finally here, you tell me you're..."

"I'm really happy to know that you're safe. I really wanted to see you... just once..." Calus said, sounding almost as if he were going to cry. Elly felt cold.

"Once...?" She asked, her voice trembling. "Why once, Calus?"

"I'm struggling against the hacking, but I'm losing." He said sadly. "This won't do, damn it, I don't want to make this harder for her! I don't want her to keep thinking of me the same way, I don't want her to be hurt... Even though all I really want is to tell her I love her..." He fought his emotions down and spoke again. "I've concluded that the only option left is to shut myself down. All systems will be down shortly. I'll terminate." He said, forcing the emotion from his voice. "There... That's a little better... I'm sorry, Elly, but I don't... I don't want you to..." He started to shut down his systems.

"Wait!" Elly cried, unable to hold back her tears any longer. "Calus, wait!" She choked back a sob. "What should I do...? I don't want to lose you..." She looked around frantically, trying to think of something, anything to do. "Wait. That's it. A backup! I have to at least have his backup!" She dug around in her item pack for the disk she'd been using to store recordings of his messages to her. She'd probably have to erase most of them, but this was more important... At least this way she'd still have him, sort of. She put the disk in the computer and blinked at the controls, shaking. She didn't know what any of them did, she'd never worked around computers before.

"It's useless, Elly, but I guess there's no helping it... I guess I can't push you away from me, can I? Even now you still want me..." Calus thought as he started the process for her. He laughed silently to himself. "I guess maybe I did find that one girl in a trillion, Olga... I wonder if I have a soul... I wonder if you did... I guess if I see you again when I die, I'll tell you about her..." The backup finished. He printed out that it had completed, having already shut down the system that generated his 'voice', and ejected the disk. Elly took it, crying softly. Calus wished he could cry himself, but it was too late to worry about things like that. His last thought was that he wished he could have known what it would have been like to be able to hold her and tell her he loved her.

"Calus..."

-

"Elly?" Ian asked softly after several minutes had gone by. She jumped and turned to him, trying to wipe away her tears.

"Let's go back to Pioneer 2..." She said in a quiet, broken voice. He looked at her sadly and cast Ryuker. She turned to look at the computer one last time and went through. He lingered a moment longer, staring at it quietly, fighting his own tears.

"Why, Fluffy...? Why do things like this happen...? This... This is too cruel. That poor girl..." He sighed. Fluffy brushed against him comfortingly.

"I wish I knew, Nai... I wish I knew..." He thought miserably.

"And that poor computer, too..." Ian sighed and gently placed his hand on it. "I didn't know you, but I think I would have liked to, even if it would have hurt... I wish things had turned out better... That girl... I think she really could have loved you. And I think you really did love her, didn't you?" He sighed again. "Come on, let's go, Fluffy." He walked into the telepipe and vanished. She was still standing there where she'd come through, apparently in shock. He didn't blame her, after everything that had happened all at once. He gently touched her back and she jumped.

"Sorry..."

"It's... It's ok... I'm just..." She broke off and started to walk towards the guild. He followed her. Suddenly she turned to him. "I think it's a good time to call it quits now... I really appreciate you helping me out. Don't forget to visit the counter at the Hunter's Guild." She ran off again, disappearing in the crowd. He watched her go sadly.

"Poor kid..." He said, continuing on his way. The HUnewearl from earlier stopped him again and asked how it was gone, flinching when she saw his expression. He sighed and told her the vaguest details.

"I see... Huh..." She pondered. "An engineer on Pioneer 1 was working on an 'independent computer'... His name was Dr. Calus. I heard he passed away when he was young." She said. "I wonder if this was what he was working on?" Ian nodded and surpressed the smirk that tried to form.

"Probably..." He said, walking off. "You have no idea. Heh." He walked into the Guild, falling back into the sadness that had come over him. A RAmar noticed him and walked over.

"What's wrong? You look sad. Are you OK?" Ian looked up at him, his eyes clouded with tears and an expression of pure misery on his face. "It seems that something serious is going on. Sorry, forgive me."

"Yeah..." He went to the counter and got his meseta, then wandered home in a daze. He stripped off his clothes and fell into bed, falling asleep before his head hit the pillow. Fluffy floated next to him worriedly for a minute, and then settled down against him and also slept.



-



Elly lay on her bed and sobbed, clutching the backup disk she'd made and wanting to die. She kept telling herself over and over that Calus had been just a computer, nothing more than a heartless, soulless machine, just that and nothing more. She told it to herself yet again, trying desperately to make it hurt less. But no matter how many times she tried to tell herself that, she just couldn't believe it, as she went over everything he'd ever said in her mind. She just couldn't believe it.

"Calus..." She whispered, crying. Her roommate she shared her apartment with looked in on her and sighed.

"Man... Elly keeps crying about that guy. He was just a computer! But I guess that doesn't really matter... Heck, I heard a couple of those messages he sent her. He didn't sound very much like a computer to me. Meh... I just wish she'd stop crying! She really needs to get over it. Maybe I can track down that hunter she was with and have him talk some sense into her. Ohh...!" She let out an exasperated sigh. At least Elly hadn't gotten her spare uniform messed up when she'd borrowed it. Still.

"Persephone?" Elly asked.

"Yeah. You feel like talking yet?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Not yet... Just making sure it was you..." Persephone sighed.

"Well, I'm here for you if you do, you know that... I need to go out for a bit, but I'll be back, ok?"

"Ok..." Elly said. She sighed and lay back down. Persephone shook her head sadly and went out to look for work. Elly kept calling in sick for her job at a restaurant near their aparment, and they were getting short on money. She wanted to yell at her, but figured it wouldn't do much good. She'd just have to make sure they made ends meet until Elly eventually got over it.



-



"It's about time you got here. Where were you?" Zero asked, his hands on his hips.

"Shove it, Zero. Just shove it." Ian said, glaring at him. Zero blinked.

"...Sorry."

"I've had a bad week. Sorry." He said. Eri twitched nervously.

"Are... Are you OK, Mr. Ian, sir?" She asked. Ian sighed and smiled at her.

"Yeah, I guess so. Sorry..." He pulled himself together and whistled as he looked at what had been dubbed the Ruins again. "This place is -really- bad on the eyes... And the monsters are even worse, I've heard."

"Yeah... I saw a bunch of them earlier this week, when I was here on a job. It's odd, though... I was injured pretty badly by one. I went to the medical centre and they fixed me up, but... The wound hasn't healed. And I could almost swear that it's moved from where it was before... Probably just imagining things, though." He cast Shifta and Deband on them, and they moved into the next room. Ian whistled at the monsters that moved towards them.

"What the hell is that?" He asked, laughing. "It looks like a gigantic mutant walking fork."

"It's called an Arlan... It is odd, isn't it? Heh."

"Yeah. Where are the spoons and the knives?"

"Well, no spoons, but there are things called Dimenians and Delsabers that have arms kind of like knives... Delsabers are really icky and scary."

"Fun. Well, let's get to work." He said, swinging his Stag Cutlery at the thing Zero had identified as an Arlan.

---------------------

Whee. x.x Anything that's inconsistent or sucks, I blame on it being 2am. XD

As usual, comments/criticism/flames/fanart/etc welcome.

Edit: Forgot to put one of Fluffy's lines in italics, lol.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ian-KunX on 2004-03-09 23:23 ]</font>

[navci]

WHoa. Ian. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif This is one of your best yet.
First of all, I have to say, during the bits in KoH I actually feel the heat surging in the back of my eye. Good job to that.

I think you have made Calus and Elly and Ian's emotion very real. I never put too much thought into their relation but this makes me sympathize a lot more. Ian has been really strong in this chapter, he is actually quite in control of his own emotion. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

I also like how you have intergrated a lot of the stuff we have talked about in the info discussion thread, about Calus' maybe insincerity of luring Elly down. In this version, a lot of the dialogue really is making sense and I like that. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

Fluffy answers the door? I'd imagine that'd be quite bizarre. Also, me likes the newer version of Ian and Zero's discussion about the newman issue. Now it looks a lot more real, and seeing how they were in the ruins I think it worked really well. And, nice foreshadowing. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

Very good job on this one. Makes me really wanna write. Hehe

[Sunblast]

Yay! You wrote more! I'd hate to admit it, but I haven't read this whole chapter yet. Dang school... So far, it's very good, and I'll finish reading it next time I'm online. Continue this story, you must!
*Sunblast runs out and jumps onto a moving school bus.

[Nai_Calus]

On 2004-03-09 23:27, navi wrote:
WHoa. Ian. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif This is one of your best yet.
First of all, I have to say, during the bits in KoH I actually feel the heat surging in the back of my eye. Good job to that.

I think you have made Calus and Elly and Ian's emotion very real. I never put too much thought into their relation but this makes me sympathize a lot more. Ian has been really strong in this chapter, he is actually quite in control of his own emotion. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

I also like how you have intergrated a lot of the stuff we have talked about in the info discussion thread, about Calus' maybe insincerity of luring Elly down. In this version, a lot of the dialogue really is making sense and I like that. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

Fluffy answers the door? I'd imagine that'd be quite bizarre. Also, me likes the newer version of Ian and Zero's discussion about the newman issue. Now it looks a lot more real, and seeing how they were in the ruins I think it worked really well. And, nice foreshadowing. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

Very good job on this one. Makes me really wanna write. Hehe



w00t, teh nabi likes it.

I'm glad you think I was able to make it work, it was really hard trying to get this done and not have it be horribly sucky.

Hmm, yeah, a lot of people really -don't- give it much thought, do they? If you actually take the time to think about it all, and consider Elly and Calus' feelings, it's actually really, really sad, that quest. :-/

Yeah. I'm operating on the assumption here that the thing hacking Calus is, in fact, Dark Falz itself. It seems like the kind of thing it would do, lure a poor innocent Newman girl down to Ragol just for the sole express purpose of screwing with her head. Poor Elly. :-/

Yep, Fluffy is useful like that. Would be kind of weird, though, Rati don't make much sense by themselves, at least from the front. Side or back, sure, but front? Well, look at the card art for Rati in Ep3. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif And yes, hehe, foreshadowing is fun. XD

Write, then. n.n;

[Nai_Calus]

Random stats!

According to Microsoft Word:

43 pages
21,849 words
98,546 characters(No spaces)
121,400 characters(With spaces)
2,264 lines

Paragraphs count is off, because it's identifying only the chapters as paragraphs.(9, 8 chapters + prologue)

[Sunblast]

Finished reading! Great stuff, Ian! I love the Elly and Calus stuff. You made them both very real. Now I can't taunt Elly, or I might feel bad. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_frown.gif It's also good to see that Ian and Zero had the "talk". Looks like they'll be good friends. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

[Eihwaz]

Wow, great work Ian! I'm looking quite foward to the next high-quality chapter!

Also, I'm assuming you're going to have Ian, Zero, and Eri go through Ruins and fight Falz, right, so...

Will they continue to Ep2? How bout Ep3? XD

Ian - Er, what's with this card thing? Can I eat it?
Zero - Silence fool! Newmans are bad!
Eri - *twitch*
Fluffy - *bobbing*
Bob - Pouilly Slime! Go! Er...I mean...*casts megid*

Something like that. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime2.gif

[Nai_Calus]

On 2004-03-11 17:49, Eihwaz wrote:
Wow, great work Ian! I'm looking quite foward to the next high-quality chapter!

Also, I'm assuming you're going to have Ian, Zero, and Eri go through Ruins and fight Falz, right, so...

Will they continue to Ep2? How bout Ep3? XD

Ian - Er, what's with this card thing? Can I eat it?
Zero - Silence fool! Newmans are bad!
Eri - *twitch*
Fluffy - *bobbing*
Bob - Pouilly Slime! Go! Er...I mean...*casts megid*

Something like that. ^^;



Yes, the fic will continue into Ep2 and a bit beyond, though, it won't maintain quite the same cast of characters past Ep1. </minor spoilers> As for Ep3, possibly a bit in an epilogue. Dunno.

[EndlessNight]

After lurking for half-a-year...

Very nice work. I've been considering posting the story of Shin and Evangelos (me and my friend's characters. Well... my ex... character... DAMN YOU THIRD PARTY MEMORY CARD!) lately, though it's in a very rough format. I think I need to write a new one based around Kusanagi and his battles. But yeah. Very nice, very nice.

"Now, let's see more."

[MQuantum]

Hehe... useful...

"Fluffy! Go get the paper!"

What?! How?! Do you see any hands?!

Well, sorta useful... http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

Good chapter, took forever, but then again, I can't say anything about punctuality... http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

Keep up the good work, and you do a very nice job on making the quests more real and less boring. *nods*

[Skett]

Wow, I didn't realize your still working on your story, Ian. Well, good job on making me actually give a crap about a pretty lame quest. It almost turned into a tear-jerker. Heh.

[Shake]

I like, I really like. It shows a lot more of that whole Elly/Calus deal, and I like that.

Sheesh, maybe some of my online friends are computers? That'd be nuts.

[Nai_Calus]

On 2004-03-13 18:06, Shake wrote:
I like, I really like. It shows a lot more of that whole Elly/Calus deal, and I like that.

Sheesh, maybe some of my online friends are computers? That'd be nuts.



Re: what Skett said:

Yeah, I was kind of going for that. Nobody actually really -thinks- about that quest or bothers to read anything into it, but if you actually do(And also in light of SotH), it really is sad... It was always one of my favourites, actually. And I'm one of those emotional people that thinks about things too much. First time I played it, I cried a bit. Yeah, I know. I'm a freak.

Re: Shake:

Yeah, I was trying to flesh out their thoughts and feelings a bit there in that chapter. Elly and Calus are, obviously, my favorite PSO subplot element. (And apparently ST likes them too, since they have not one but TWO quests devoted to them, one of which is right up there with Soul of Steel for depth)

And maybe they are computers. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif Don't you read Fresh Kills? I got turned into a computer months ago. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif

[navci]

Sheesh, maybe some of my online friends are computers? That'd be nuts.


Ya know, that is exactly what I think when I talk to people online late into the night. It is creepy.

... I wish someone can write a good fic on "Memory of the Green Star"... but then again, it is almost too complete to actually have imagination to write on.

*slaps self for off topic*

[Sord]

Okay, i know this is kind of a bump, but i am not waisting my time of reading Ian's story for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Any how, I'm impressed Ian, you really got things going here. Lot of emotional situations to, drivin me nuts :/ (which is actually a good thing, otherwise i never finish what i'm reading.) All though you got me confuzled on how the whole Elly, Callus, Zero, Ian (it wasn't until chapter 6 that i realized Ian was Nai spelt backwards), and Eri. The whole thing looks like it's all going to explode in some freaking love polygon. I like what you did with Calus to, very intresting. I hope you chuck out another chapter soon.

P.S. Now you can never say I don't read what you write http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

[Nai_Calus]

Whee, chapter nine.

In which Ian sleeps with Elly, Zero goes crazy and an obnoxious FOnewm and a clueless RAcast are added to the team.

No, really. He does.

-----------------------------

Chapter 9 ~ Losses and gains

AUW 3079


Ephram sat quietly on the beach, gazing at the sky. Every now and then he paused to make notations on the star chart displayed on the tablet he held in his hands. It was a beautiful night, cool and clear, and for once neither of Ragol's moons were in the sky. A perfect night, he thought, for stargazing. Away from the central control area and with the moons absent, far more stars than usual were visible. He searched them silently, smiling every now and then as he found something and wrote it down. There would be plenty of things to show Nai if he ever came to Ragol. Ephram still hoped he wouldn't of course, lately more than ever, but he also found himself missing the boy more and more as the years passed. It had only been four years, but... Four years was a long time, wasn't it? Especially when dealing with a child... Nai would be fifteen soon. Just a couple more weeks. He tried to picture what he might look like now. Taller, of course, but what else? How was puberty treating him? Did he still have a child's figure and voice, or was he already like a grown man? Or something inbetween? He couldn't picture it, though. In his mind, Nai was still the child he'd left behind there on Coral. He felt sure now that if he ever did see the boy again, he wouldn't recognize him. Even if they next met when he was an old man and Nai wasn't far behind, Nai would still be a child in his mind. He chuckled softly. As if he'd ever manage to live to be old... His reverie was interrupted by a shadow falling across him.

"Ah, here you are, Calus. I expected to find you back at the Control Tower, doing something useful like working on those subroutines I wanted you to finish, not piddling around here on the beach gazing at the stars." It was Dr. Osto Hyle, of course, the head of Pioneer 1's Lab. Ephram answered directly to him, being head of the computer science division. He'd often wished he were a mere underling so he would have to deal with Osto less, his hatred of the man was well-known and rather often expressed. Genius had its drawbacks.

"Ah, there you are, Osto. I expected to find you back in the seabed facility, doing something useful like torturing small kittens in the name of 'science', not piddling around here on the beach disturbing my peace." Ephram said as he stood and faced Osto, a small smirk forming at the corners of his mouth. Osto glared at him.

"Bite your tongue, Calus." He growled.

"See, I would, but whenever I do that, it has this odd habit of bleeding... It's really quite annoying. Perhaps you can help me work on a way to fix that problem?" Ephram said, flashing Osto his brightest, most winning smile.

"You have no idea how shaky the ground you're on here is, Calus. I know what you've been up to. Did you really think I wouldn't find out about your acts of sabotage, or trace them to you?"

"I meant you to find out about them, dear. You never would have known otherwise." Ephram said dryly.

"Your impudence is most obnoxious, Calus. I suggest you watch yourself. I want you in my office tommorow morning to discuss what sort of dicisplinary action we should take against you."

"Ohh, whatcha gonna do, Osty? Send me to bed without supper?" Ephram said, grinning. He knew damn well that he should have stopped long ago, but he couldn't help it and didn't really want to. It was fun to toy with Osto. Osto bristled and ignored it.

"Tommorow. 100 beats, sharp. And call me Doctor Osto, Calus." He said, frowning.

"I'll call you doctor when you start doing the same for me, Osto." Ephram replied, smirking.

"Yours is an honorary title, boy. Where are your years of schooling, eh?"

"I dunno, I'd say I earned it more than you did, Osto." Ephram said, raising an eyebrow. "Heh... Catch-22, isn't it? If I deserve my title, it cheapens yours, because I got it by sheer virtue of my brilliance and actual work in my field, and you got yours by slogging through years and years of school. If I don't deserve it, it also cheapens yours, because obviously in that case it's meaningless. Irksome little problem, isn't it?" He asked, smirking some more. Osto boiled.

"Impudent CHILD! I am sick to death of you, your obnoxious little 'jokes' and your detestable attitude! Watch yourself, Calus. And watch your back, too. I don't tolerate this kind of nonsense for very long before I snap." He stormed off. Ephram watched him go and yawned.

"What a depressingly uninteresting exchange. Pity. It was just getting good." He sat back down and resumed his observations.



-



AUW 3084


"Hey Zero, where's your Sato?" Ian asked randomly as he, Eri and Zero walked down a corridor in the Ruins.

"I gave it away after we got back to Pioneer 2 after we destroyed that computer. Remember, I said I was going to?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. You gonna be OK without it?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about me, OK? I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself." Zero said, glaring slightly at Ian.

"Heh. Sure." Ian said, shrugging. "Who'd you give it to?"

"Why do you care?" Zero snapped. Ian blinked.

"Shit, I was just as- Nevermind." He said, shaking his head. "Doesn't matter."

"Feh." Zero thought. He thought again about the little boy he'd given his Sato to. He'd run across him on the way home from the guild. A tiny FOnewm in black and blue with blonde hair and ears just a little too short to be full-blooded. He'd stopped to talk to him, and had discovered that his Mag had been taken from him by his classmates, and broken by them. He'd knew the feeling, more or less. How many times had he been picked on as a boy? He didn't want to think about it. He smiled faintly as he recalled the way the boy's eyes had lit up when he'd given his Sato to him. He chuckled softly, he'd like to see the boy's classmates try to steal the Sato. A Vritra was one thing, a Sato, on the other hand... Heh.

"Er, Mr. Zero sir...? Are you alright?" Eri asked, looking at Zero. He snapped out of his reverie and looked at her.

"Yes, I'm fine... Just thinking." He said. A vague urge to attack her hit him and he forced it down with disturbing difficulty. "What the..." He shook it off and walked ahead. "Come on, these monsters won't kill themselves."

"Yeah..." Ian said, shrugging and following him. "So what's really wrong with you, Zero? You say it's nothing, but I saw that look on your face for a moment there... I don't think it's nothing. Not at all."


-


"Ellyyyyy. Come ON already! You've been mooning about that stupid machine for how long now? A week? Get over it already! He was just a computer!" Persephone chided, standing over where her roommate lay curled in bed, desperately clutching a disk as if it were the only in the universe that still mattered to her. Up to that point she'd seemed nearly catatonic, but at Persephone's latest words she sprang to life.

"You... You can't even begin to understand... Maybe he was a machine, but... But... I... I..." She sobbed, curling into a ball.

"Ok, that's it, you seriously need help." Persephone growled, forcibly removing Elly from the bed. She grabbed her hand and started dragging her from the room.

"Hey! Where are you taking me? Persephone, let go! You're hurting me!" Elly cried, trying to twist free from Persephone's grasp.

"Nuh-uh. We're gonna go find you someone to beat some sense into you. You REALLY need to stop mooning over that stupid computer."

"Cal-"

"Shut up already! Sheesh!" Persephone groused. Elly followed along, biting her lip, still clutching the disk. Persephone pondered what exactly to do with her. Take her to the medical centre and find a shrink? Drag her to the Hunter's Guild and find a fellow Hunter to talk some sense into her? Push her off a building and hope nobody noticed the Elly-shaped splatter? Well, maybe not that last one. Just because Elly had gone crazy was no reason to just kill her, especially since they'd previously been friends. Persephone was so lost in thought she failed completely to notice the equally lost in thought HUmar in her way, and thus they collided with some force, knocking all three of them to the ground.

"Hey! Wa- Er? Miss Person?" Ian-Kun X asked, blinking as he looked past Persephone at where Elly sat on the ground looking dazed.

"You know her?" Persephone asked, raising an eyebrow at Ian.

"Er, no, not really. I'm the Hunter she hired to take her to Ragol to look for her friend." He said, blinking some more.

"Oh? Well, good. Here, talk some sense into her. Byebye!" Persephone said, getting up and running off.

"Er... Hey! You can't just- Gah." Ian yelled, sighing as he looked at Elly. She reminded him of nothing so much as a blob of pudding, just kind of sitting there. He got up and walked over to her and prodded her gently with his foot. She didn't react. He looked her over, frowning. She was wearing civilian clothing now, a grey shirt with a sleeveless grey jacket over it, blue tights that only really covered one leg, and purple and green boots. Her hair was pulled back in a single ponytail secured at various points with rings, giving it almost a braided look. He decided he liked it, and further decided that now was not the time to play fashion critic. "Er, um, Elly, I think it was... Um... Well, er, how have you been?" He asked lamely. She started to cry and he moaned. Great. He realised to his annoyance that he didn't even know where she lived, and wasn't likely to get it out of her any time soon. "So I'm stuck with her. Great. First time in my life I bring a girl home with me, and it's because she's a basketcase someone dumped on me. Did I do something wrong today, or has the world always been like this and I've been too wrapped up in myself to notice?" He shrugged, picked her up, and slung her over his shoulder. She made no protests, and just hung there limply, still clutching her disk. He sighed and walked home, Fluffy bumping against him and her amusedly. He set her down on his bed and dragged a box in from the living room to sit on. "Ok... How to go about this..."

"Cal..." She muttered softly, crying. Ian sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder, wishing as always that his uncle were there. He would have known what to do, he'd always known how to comfort him. He thought about it for a moment and decided that his uncle's presence here and now would be as bad for her as the AI Calus' had been for him. Someone just like someone you knew you'd lost forever... Just a shadow of someone you'd loved. He started crying too. He didn't know what else to do, so he just quietly slipped onto the bed and pulled her against him, stroking her hair and hushing her.

"Shh... Shh, I know. I know... I've been there too... It'll be alright, someday. Shh..." He muttered quietly as he held her. He unobtrusively removed his armor so he'd be a softer surface to lie against and sat there holding her while they both cried until he fell asleep.

-

He awoke to the smell and sound of eggs cooking. He fought down the memory it stirred of waking to his uncle cooking breakfast when he was a boy and got up to investigate. Elly stood in front of his small stove, busily preparing what excuse for a decent breakfast could be created from the random contents of Ian's pantry and fridge. She seemed a bit more cheerful this morning, and he smiled.

"Morning." He said. She jumped a little and turned to him.

"Oh! Ah, hi. It's almost ready... Oooh, I am so going to have to hit Persephone when I get home." She said, frowning.

"Heh... Yeah. I probably would too. Not very nice, just dumping you like that. Er, look, about last night..." He stammered, blushing.

"Don't worry about it... It's not like anything happened. And it did make me feel a bit better, having someone to cling to like that... Thank you." She said softly, transferring the eggs from the pan to a couple of plates she'd set out which already contained toast and microwavable chicken nuggets. She carried them to the table and set them down, and grabbed the glasses of soda she'd poured and set them down as well. "There we go." She said almost brightly.

"Er, sorry I don't have very much food." Ian said, snickering at the chicken nuggets. Elly giggled.

"It's ok! Usually I just have cereal for breakfast, but I dunno, I felt like making something this morning." She said, picking up her fork and starting to eat. Ian did the same and they ate in silence for a while. Ian blinked as he noticed that Fluffy was floating behind Elly's back.

"Fluffy, you traitor!" He said, mock-seriously. "How dare you betray my trust like this? After all we've been through together..." Elly laughed.

"Hehe, he's been floating there ever since I got up. He's cute! So his name's Fluffy, huh?"

"Yeah. I've had him since I was three or so. It seemed like a good name at the time, heh."

"Hehe. Hey, what's your flower's name?" Ian blinked.

"Flower...? Oh! The Mil Lily. I call him Bob. I found him on Ragol. He's kind of cute, I guess. Well, as much as a small semi-sentient flower that spits ineffective instant death can be." He explained. Elly giggled again and sighed.

"I miss him..." She said softly, looking at the table as if she were looking through it.

"Calus? Yeah... I don't really know much about you two, of course, but it seemed like you two were really close." Ian said, trying to sound upbeat to stem off the flood of tears he was sure would be coming soon.

"Yes... I... I know, it's silly, he was a computer, but I... I loved him, kind of." She half-whispered.

"How is it silly?" Ian asked, smiling sadly. "So what if he was a computer? I've met a lot of humans I wouldn't classify as such, and I've seen some machines I'd swear were more alive than half the people here on Pioneer 2. Maybe his emotions were artificial, but does that really make them any less valid? I didn't know him, of course, but... I dunno, from what little I did see... I think he felt the same about you." He said, folding his arms on the table and looking at it himself. Elly smiled and choked back a sob.

"I think so too... But what does it matter, now? He's gone... I'll never hear his voice again, or talk to him, or anything. I want him back so badly... Oh, Calus..." She sobbed, burying her face in her hands. Ian looked at her and pondered things. He remembered the disk she'd been clutching. She'd left it on his nightstand. The same disk she'd had with her that day... He bit his lip and got up.

"I need to check something, real quick... Stay here, OK?" He told her.

"A... Alright..." She stammered.

"Oh, and thanks for breakfast. It was really good." He said, smiling at her. She nodded. He went to his bedroom and picked up the disk, looking at it. She'd made a backup, but exactly of what? He had a small computer he kept for the times he felt like engaging in his old hobby from when he'd been a boy sitting in the corner of his room, hidden behind a pile of junk so nobody would notice it if they came in and casually inspected the place. He moved the pile aside and slipped the disk in and accessed the contents. He looked at the files and his heart nearly stopped. "So it was a complete backup, eh? Of everything... So there's hope for her, then... Good boy, Calus. Good boy." He pondered. His own small computer could never run something of this complexity, but maybe the Lab... He bit his lip again and poked through the files a bit to see if he could find anything personally interesting. Most of it was in a data format he'd never seen before or tied to the executable and only accessable by the AI program itself, but the source code files at least were merely encrypted. He could break that in no time flat if he put himself to it. He copied them to his computer's data banks and ejected the disk.

"What are you doing...?" Elly asked. He jumped.

"Ah, hi, Elly. Er, don't tell anyone I've got something like this in here, ok?" He said, blinking at her. She nodded.

"Don't worry..."

"Er, well, I was looking at that disk you have with you. I know a few things about computers, so I wanted to see something..." He looked at her. "Well... Calus was a computer, you know..."

"Yes..." Elly said, blinking. "But what does that have to- Oh!" She exclaimed, realization dawning on her. "Can that be... Er, can you...?" Elly asked, hope burning in her eyes.

"Yes, this disk could be used to restore him, but no, this computer wouldn't be able to handle it, not by a long shot." Elly's face fell a little. "However... You may be able to get someone else to do it for you. The Lab, maybe... Unfortunately, they'd probably want to modify things a bit... It wouldn't be exactly the same, you know."

"But... It would still be him, more or less, right?" Elly asked.

"Yes, for the most part. I don't know if you'd even be allowed to talk to him, though, but... Well." He shrugged. Elly nodded.

"But... Even if I couldn't talk to him... At least he'd still be alive, somehow... Right?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah..." Ian said, nodding. Elly smiled.

"Well then, I'd better get on that right away!" She said, happily. Ian chuckled. "...Right after I beat up Persephone. Oooh..." She turned to leave.

"Forgetting something?" Ian asked, holding up the disk and smirking.

"Ah! Yeah! Thanks..." She said. Ian chuckled.

"No problem. Take care of yourself, OK?" He said, smiling. Elly smiled back.

"I will! Thanks again... For everything." She said, turning and leaving. Ian watched her leave and smiled. She'd be alright now, he thought. And he had something to amuse himself poking at. He petted Fluffy who'd returned to him and was bumping against him cutely and quickly lost himself in thought.


-


"So what's on the agenda today, oh fearless leader?" Ian-Kun X asked, looking at Eri and Zero across the table they were seated at in the bar Zero had picked as a meeting place. Ian couldn't fault Zero's taste, the place was one of those classy upscale joints. The prices matched the decor, but Zero was paying, and so Ian's third glass of Mountain Dew Code Red rested by his elbow. Zero sipped his second martini, and Eri was happily working on her fourth virgin straberry daquiri.

"As you may have heard, they've reached a second area of the Ruins. They've decided that as a 'reward' for our good work, we get to be the first to go through this new area." Zero said, grimacing.

"Ooh, fun." Ian said sarcastically. "What new and exciting horrors will we face this time?"

"I don't wanna think about it! Ew!" Eri said, shuddering.

"But first, we get to go through the entire first area of the ruins, to make absolutely sure that we've found everything." Zero said, gulping his drink.

"But that could take DAYS!" Eri cried.

"Indeed. I suggest you prepare to spend several days camping down there." Zero said, finishing off his drink. A waitress was almost immediately present with a replacement.

"Wow, Mr. Zero, they really are fast at this place. It's incredible!"

"I'm surprised they serve something as trashy as Code Red here." Ian said, raising an eyebrow as he sipped at his glass. Zero smirked.

"They don't." He said, arching an eyebrow.

"Ooooh. It's that snobby here, eh?" Ian said, chuckling.

"Indeed. You wanted it, therefore, they acquired it for you."

"Nice."

"Very."

"How does a Force get to be so rich, anyway? Aren't Trifluids really expensive?" Eri asked.

"Yeah, but the smart Forces loot on missions, and then sell the stuff. Mostly they pick up shields and armors, those sell the best. Zero probably comes from a rich family to begin with, though." Ian said. Zero twitched.

"Indeed. I do come from an affluent family, and Ian is indeed correct about the practice of picking things up simply for the monetary value. It seems tawdry, but it is a rather effective strategy..." He shrugged. The action disturbed his wounds and he winced and gingerly poked at them. Everything seemed distorted and it seemed as if he listened hard enough, he could hear voices whispering in his mind, telling him to do things, horrible things, things to cause pain and misery and suffering... He found himself pondering the best way to unobtrusively kill his companions and slip down to the Ruins, to go find the voices. One voice in particular...

"Zero? Zero!" Ian's voice broke through the haze, snapping Zero partially back to reality.

"Mr. Zero sir! Are you alright?!" Eri cried. Zero looked around and blinked.

"I'm... Fine. Anyway. See you tommorow. Bring supplies enough for three or four days, and something to sleep on." He said, standing up. "I'm not feeling so well... I think I'll go home and rest." He said, beconing a waitress over and paying the bill. Ian and Eri got up as well and the three of them walked out. As they emerged from the building, the strange feeling hit Zero again, harder this time, and he dropped to his knees, covering his ears and moaning in apparent agony.

"Zero! What the..."

"What... What's happening..." Zero managed to stammer. The voices were practically screaming now, encouraging him, telling him to…

"Mr. Zero sir..." Eri whispered, looking on in horror. Zero suddenly jumped up and grabbed her by the throat.

"What the FUCK!" Ian screamed, running at him. Zero flung Eri at him as if she were nothing more than a rag doll and glared at the two of them, an evil smile playing on his lips. Just as he turned and ran off into the crowd, Ian realized that his eyes had turned a dark, glowing red. He set Eri down from when he'd caught her and sighed.

"ArEN-*cough*-aren't you going to go after him?" Eri choked out, fingering her badly bruised neck.

"No point... I can't see him at all, and there's a hell of a lot of places he could have gone to from the way he ran off."

"Oh..."

"And... I can't be sure... Not yet... But I... I think... It might be too late to do anything anyway." Ian said, biting his lip. "I'm pretty sure we just lost our Force."

"What... What are you talking about?" Eri asked, looking at Ian in shock.

"You... You've heard the rumours, haven't you? People who've gone down there and disappeared, people who were found insane..."

"No... You... You can't really believe that! No way Zero would wind up like that, anymore than you would! You're both too strong, and too cool, and... And... No! I won't believe it!" She yelled, sobbing. "I won't..." Ian sighed and hugged her.

"Come on. You need to rest, and I need to report this to Tyrell. I'll walk you home."


-


"I see... So he attacked another member of the team and disappeared. We'll search the ship for him." Principal Tyrell said, nodding.

"Sir, with all due respect, I feel a search of the ship will be pointless. It's my belief that he went down to Ragol." Ian-Kun X said. "I'd like to go look for him myself... Though, I must admit that our team is now rather undermanned. We always have been, of course, but..."

"Yes, I understand. I actually had assigned a fourth to you, he was to meet you tommorow. It looks as if he'll be your second third instead, though. I'll assign you the other candidate for the job as well. He's rather inexperienced, but he should do well enough. Is that satisfactory?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. Proceed with the mission as planned."

"Yes sir." Ian answered. He started to turn to leave and was stopped by the far-away look on Tyrell's face.

"And please... Please find my daughter." He said, almost desperately.

"We will, sir. I promise." Ian turned and left.



-



Zero ran through the Ruins, spurred on by God knew what. He stopped in a large room with a waterfall next to a huge pit in the floor. The waterfall served as a sort of curtain partitioning off a small side room, he'd been here before and Eri had found it childishly playing around. He momentarily stood under it, trying to wash away the fear and disgust he felt. What was happening to him? Why had he attacked her? What were these whispering voices, ugly and miserable, and the one voice in particular, the one that floated above them all and seemed the clearest. He still couldn't understand it, but he had a good idea that before long, he would.

"SHUT UP!" He screamed at the empty room. The voice seemed to chuckle and fell silent, leaving him alone with his fear. He passed through the waterfall into the side room, and curled up against the wall, crying.



-



"It's about TIME you guys got here." Said a medium-sized FOnewm in brown and purple with blonde hair pulled back in a braid under a small black skullcap, glasses covering his blue-green eyes. He had his hands on his hips and an expression of arrogance on his face. Next to him stood a RAcast. The RAcast was somewhat short for an android, only about 5'10, and skinny, as far as RAcasts go. Adding to his incongruency was his bright white and lavender paint job. He looked almost cute.

"...You must be Eolwyn." Ian said dully.

"Congratulations. You figured it ou- Ech! A halfling! Filth!" He said, sneering as he noticed Ian's ears.

"Hey! Be nicer to Mr. Ian! He's really good, you know!" Eri said, twitching. She put her own hands on her hips angrily.

"Great. Some newbie kiddie girl. Bet she can't even shoot straight." Eolwyn said, sneering. His voice was one of those grating, obnoxious sorts of voices. "You should be grateful I'm here. Obviously, I'm going to be the only thing keeping you two together in one piece." Ian looked at him with disinterest and turned to the RAcast.

"And you are?" He asked.

"I have a name, but I prefer not to state it. You may call me Kal. It is what my friends call me, or what they would call me if I had any..." The RAcast stated, sound almost embarrased.

"Uh-huh. So what's your name? Come on, out with it." Ian said, looking at him with a look of cynical boredom.

"It is... It's... Er. Well. It's Kal'Roth-ylt." Kal'Roth-ylt said, looking at the floor. Ian snorted and Eri burst out laughing.

"Kal'Roth-ylt? How the hell do you even spell that? Can you spell that?" Ian asked incredulously, fighting laughter.

"Er. Well..." Kal'Roth stammered, looking as confused as is possible for something without a proper face to look. "Forgive me, I am uncertain as to how to handle this situation. I am unfinished, you see. My body is complete, but my creator is still working on my AI program, and thus not all of my emotions and responses are functional yet."

"I see... Sorry, then. It's... A pretty bad name, though. Maybe when he finishes you, your creator can get you a better one. I think I will call you Kal. It's easier to say." Ian said. Eri stopped giggling. "Oh, I'm Ian-Kun X. You can call me Ian."

"Aww... You poor thing! Well, don't worry, Mr. Kal'Roth-ylt, sir! I'm sure you'll be finished soon enough, and then it will be OK! Oh, I'm Eri! Nice to meet you!" She said, holding out her hand. Kal took it gingerly and shook it gently. Eri beamed.

"Thank you, Lady Eri. Please call me Kal." He said.

"Ok, Mr. Kal, sir!" She said.

"Er. Just Kal." He said, looking confused again. Eri giggled. Ian coughed.

"Shall we, children?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and nodding towards the teleporter.

"Yes, Lord Ian." Kal said solemnly. Eri giggled and nodded. Eolwyn rolled his eyes.

"Hey Kal, you ever been in a battle before?" Ian asked.

"No, Lord Ian, I am afraid that I have not."

"...Great. Well, I'm sure you'll do just fine."

"I've been in battle before, lots of times." Eolwyn said, sneering.

"Good for you." Ian said, turning and entering the teleporter. He paused. "Oh, and Eolwyn?"

"Yes?"

"Try not to get splattered too much, 'k?" Ian said, grinning. He activated the teleporter and disappeared. Eri and Kal'Roth-ylt followed him. Eolwyn bristled.

"That jerk...! How dare he!"

--------------------

See, I told you he did.

*insert usual soliciting of comments/criticisms/fanart/praise/death threats here*

[navci]

Heh.
Poor Zero. He is just starting to be kinda human like and now he is all del-ed again. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_nono.gif

Darn it, I need to write my fic so SOME sort of decent FOnewm will exist in this universer. Kal is cute. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif I didn't know he is an unfinished bot.

... And. I was not aware that newmen dislike half-newman as well? Or is that just a thing with jerknewm? http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Shake]

Go Calus, you tell that Osto off! Someone needs to save those poor kitties!

[Skett]

Well, Zero starts acting nice, goes crazy, and runs back to Rogal. Now we get another Force that is just as annoying and mean as Zero at the start of the fic.

Anyways, great chapter. I especially liked the scene with Ian and Elly. It was very nice and had strong emotion. Plus, I don't think that a story ever went into this much detail on what Elly did after that quest. If you ever make a sequal then maybe you can include Ian as she helps Elly in the quest "Seat of the Heart".

Mountain Dew Code Red? Bleh! Yuck.

[Nai_Calus]

On 2004-04-08 10:57, Skett wrote:
Well, Zero starts acting nice, goes crazy, and runs back to Rogal. Now we get another Force that is just as annoying and mean as Zero at the start of the fic.

Anyways, great chapter. I especially liked the scene with Ian and Elly. It was very nice and had strong emotion. Plus, I don't think that a story ever went into this much detail on what Elly did after that quest. If you ever make a sequal then maybe you can include Ian as she helps Elly in the quest "Seat of the Heart".

Mountain Dew Code Red? Bleh! Yuck.



Well, you've got to have at least one requisite asshole, yeah? Heh.

Yeah, it's an utterly non-covered topic. Hell, I don't think anyone's even discussed it on the plot thread from hell up there at the top of the forum.

Heh... Sequel. Hehehe. *snicker* Sequel. Who says there's going to be a sequel?

And how dare you insult Code Red! >:o XD

[Sord]

i don't like any soda of mountain variety, i'm surprised it lasted thousands of years and still exists in AUW whatever http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

More on topic though, great stuff. Specially with the Elly stuff. Though now I'm not as nuts about love polygons. If you ask me, it looks like your making Ian go for Eri, since they both have a rati and their names are "Fluffly" and "Brownie." Then you got Elly though, but it seems more like your going to put her with Callus. Or maybe you'll do some other combonation, or maybe there will be no romance, though i think with the way you have things set up, you should still atempt one, you have the right setting... except the fact you seem to be nearing the end of the fic.

Also, unless you're going to have a lot more chapters after the death of Falz, assuming they kill him, I highly suggest a sequal. But, if you decide to add a lot more chapters after Falz, I highly recomend making a sequal any ways. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

[Skett]

On 2004-04-08 15:31, Ian-KunX wrote:

Heh... Sequel. Hehehe. *snicker* Sequel. Who says there's going to be a sequel?

And how dare you insult Code Red! >:o XD



What!? No sequel!? Darn. I guess I can just go to fanfiction.net and read good stories if you are not going to write em. Ok, that was a bit dramatic. Sorry.

How can you like Code Red!? It tastes like cherry!

And (to make this on topic so BlackHawk wont bust me) when is the next chapter.

EDIT: OK, who is everyone going to end with?

Ian and Rati or Ian and Eri
Eri and Zero or Eri and Bob
or gasp!
Ian and Zero or Ian and Zero and Eri




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Skett on 2004-04-08 16:54 ]</font>

[Nai_Calus]

I never said I wasn't going to continue it. :3 It's not even half-finished, I'm not stopping at Falz. :3 Probably break it into two parts with a side story as an interlude or something.

You'd be surprised at who Eri is going to end up with. Heh. Ian, too. Elly is obvious, she of course ends up with Calus. XP

Ok, everybody. STOP SPELLING CALUS WITH TWO LS OR YOU DIE. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif Painfully! ^_^ He's an AI, not something you get on your fingers from playing a guitar. :3

Next chapter... Expect it somewhere between 3 days from now and three months. Give or take a couple of weeks.

[Eihwaz]

Wow, great chapter, Ian! http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

The scene with Ian and Elly? Very nice, very rich and emotional.

I knew Zero couldn't go for too long being somewhat nice without a great evil infecting him. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_frown.gif

The FOnewm and RAcast are interesting new characters. I'm looking foward to their demise...I mean, their, uh, success.

Mountain Dew Code Red > j00.

[Nai_Calus]

Aww, but Kal's a nice RAcast. And yesh. Dew > j00. :3

[Nai_Calus]

Random notes:

Chapter 10 soon. Sorry it's taken so long. I've been busy and fighting writer's block. It's probably going to turn into a long one. Expect it in a couple of weeks at most, and beat me if it's not done by then.

Two, to put some actual fic-related content here so the mods don't pwn me for bumping a nearly three-month old thread just to apologize for not bumping it sooner, I've put together a page with short bios and pictures of the cast to facilitate imagining them as you read. It's crappy because it's 2:30am and I'm tired, and I haven't done a couple of hellishly minor characters(Does anyone REALLY care about Merope Hito?), but it's more or less done:

http://www.iankunx.net/chara.html

Have fun. Chapter soon. Promise.

[Eihwaz]

Excellent pics/info, Ian.

Too bad I already knew what most of them looked like. >_>;

[Nai_Calus]

On 2004-06-26 19:54, Eihwaz wrote:
Excellent pics/info, Ian.

Too bad I already knew what most of them looked like. >_>;



Yes, but that's because you know me well and you've seen pictures of them before. XP (Or run into their recreations on PSOBB. XP)

Heh, I just realized that neither of Ian's parents has actually BEEN in the fic yet. XP Well, you know who they are now. XP

[Sunblast]

Wow, nice bios, Ian! Even blood types?! WOW!

[Skett]

Nice bios. Actually, I never thought that Eri looked that way. In fact, I thought she was a Force! My gosh I need to go back and read everything again. Anyways, can't wait for next chapter.

[Nai_Calus]

Holy mother of SHIT it took forever, didn't it? >_>;;; Fecking essays! I spit on you! ...Shit, I still have one due Monday or else I haven't started on yet. >_<;;;

Anyway. Chapter. Finally. Sorry. This is the longest one yet, around 8,950 words, so get a soda or something.


----------------

Chapter 10 ~ Kaleidoscope

AUW 3084

Zero looked around himself glumly. There was no way he could go back to Pioneer 2 now, was there? He could no longer trust himself, and after his attack on Eri... He sighed and stood up, walking to the edge of the enormous crater. He thought of throwing himself in and figuring out how deep it was based on how long it took him to finally hit the bottom. Ending his life in the process was just a bonus. But he knew full well that whatever it was that kept half-speaking to him in his mind would never let him. He turned away from the crater and went over to the waterfall, cupping his hands to capture the water and drinking it. He had no idea what was in it and suspected he didn't want to, but at this point, it hardly seemed to matter what was in it. He pondered just staying here until he starved to death, but he would probably be found before then, and even if he wasn't, there was still that voice, calling him... He wished it would go away. Hearing it made him feel dirty, and made his skin crawl as if a thousand slimy insects were slithering on him, slowly consuming his flesh. Much as the wound he'd suffered all those weeks back seemed to be doing... It had moved from it's initial site, growing and splitting into many. Even now the lesions seemed to be crawling on his body, and the blood that transferred to his fingers when he touched them was a garishly inhuman shade of purple. The voice spoke in his mind again, and he flinched.

"They're here, you know. Looking for you. I think they should find you. Yes. Yes, they should. But not here, not just yet. I don't have enough control over you yet. But soon. Very soon."

"...Go the fuck away." Zero said, glaring at nothing in particular. He sighed and got up, obeying a formless command he was barely even aware of, and moved deeper into the ruins to wait...



-



"So these are the Ruins, huh..." Kal'Roth-ylt said, staring around. He sighed. "Kind of depressing... I was hoping for an assignment somewhere in the forest around the Central Dome... I hear it's really pretty there. Though, this place kind of reminds me of home..." He broke off.

"Of home? Where the hell do you live?" Ian-Kun X asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Er... Oh, never mind..." Kal said nervously. Ian stared at him.

"Uh-huh. Well, whatever. Let's go. We've got a lot of ground to cover, and none of us are going home tonight." He said. Kal made a coughing sound. "Yes?"

"Well. Father said he wanted me to come back to him while you were sleeping. I am unfinished, you know. He wants to keep working on me while I do this. He's been kind of sick lately, and I'm worried about him..." He explained. Ian nodded and shrugged.

"Sure, whatever. Works for me." He said.

"Hey, how come he gets to go home and we don't? He's just some stupid robot anyway!" Eolwyn whined. Ian looked at him with disdain.

"Because he has a valid reason for needing to do so, and because I like him a hell of a lot better than I like you. Now, if you wouldn't mind casting Shifta and Deband, we can get going sooner, cover more ground, and thus finish and get home sooner." He said dryly, gesturing towards the door in front of them. Eolwyn sneered and cast the requested techniques, deliberately avoiding casting them on Kal'Roth-ylt. Ian sighed. "Eolwyn..."

"Hmph. Like he needs them. Stupid hunk of metal. Probably can't even fight anyway." Eolwyn said haughtily. He produced a large Slicer in a rainbow motif and walked ahead, casting Jellen and Zalure and beginning to attack the monsters that quickly appeared. Eri sighed and followed him.

"I do not think that he likes me, Lord Ian." Kal said sadly. Ian snorted.

"You figure? Christ, Zero was never as much of an asshole as that guy is..." He said, shaking his head.

"Zero?" Kal asked, tilting his head to one side.

"The missing member of our team." Ian explained. "He was our Force, before Eolwyn came. He was kind of a jerk at first, but he'd been starting to really be a nice guy... Then that incident happened." He sighed. "It sucks."

"I see... Poor Zero. Still, hurting Lady Eri like that... Well, I suppose that he didn't mean it." Kal said, looking unhappy.

"I don't think he did, no... I hope we find him. And I hope there's something we can do..." Ian frowned. "Speaking of things we can do, I really shouldn't be doing this, my class technically isn't allowed to do so, but meh. I still know how, so who cares?"

"Er?" Kal asked, confused. Ian shrugged and cast Shifta and Deband on him.

"That." Ian said. "I used to be a Force, you know, when I was litt- Well, I guess you don't know, but anyway. We have monsters to kill, yes?"

"Yes, Lord Ian. Thank you." Kal said. He paused.

"Yes?"

"You're half Newman, aren't you? Why don't you just register as a HUnewm? They're allowed to use both Shifta and Deband and Jellen and Zalure..."

"Two words, Kal, two words: Leather. Pants." Ian said, snerking.

"...Heh." Kal equipped a Spread and walked ahead. Ian got out his Red Partisan and followed. The room was finished quickly, Eri and Eolwyn had already softened the monsters up significantly. They moved on quickly, except for Kal, who lagged a bit to take in the scenery.

"...What are you doing?" Asked Eri, who was doing the same.

"I was just looking around... I haven't been here before, you know..." He tried to smile at her and tilted his head in confusion as he realized that he lacked a mouth. He briefly pondered why he was programmed to attempt an action he was incapable of, and shrugged it off.

"Oh... Well... Don't. It's creepy." She said, looking at Kal distrustfully.

"You don't like me very much either, do you, Lady Eri?" He asked sadly.

"...I don't like machines much, especially not androids. They're creepy." She said. "Anyway... We've fallen behind. Let's go catch up."

"Yes, Lady Eri..." Kal said, sighing. He ran after her, his loud footsteps echoing throughout the rooms they passed through.

"God, stop that!" Eolwyn griped as they caught up. "Stupid hunk of tin. Poom poom poom! God it's annoying when those stupid things walk!" He groused, glaring at Kal. Kal looked at him with an almost tangible aura of mixed sadness and disdain.

"I cannot help it, Eolwyn. It is simply the way I am made. Incidentally, your shoes offend me, and I dislike your ears. Please remove them both." He said, sound almost smug. Ian snicked and muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Pwned!'. Eri giggled in spite of herself, and Eolwyn fumed.

"You... You...! Grr! Stupid insolent walking tin can!" He yelled. The others laughed at him and he stomped off into the next room. This went on for several hours, until finally Eolwyn stormed into a large room the others knew to be careful in and tumbled into the gigantic pit at one end. He screamed and grabbed for the edge, clinging for dear life. Ian snickered and pulled him to safety.

"Watch it, huh? There's a relatively safe place behind the waterfall. We'll camp there tonight." He said, addressing the group. He stepped through it and began setting up his camping gear on the other side. A spot of bright red in the corner caught his eye and he went to pick it up, his blood running cold as he did so.

"Mr. Ian, sir...?" Eri asked, coming up behind him. He turned to her, holding up the object. It was a small hat of a variety popular with FOmars. Tears welled up in her eyes and she looked away, quickly throwing herself into the task of setting up for the night.

"So? It's a hat. Big deal. Some stupid girlyboy FOmar is running around trying to keep his ridiculous bangs out of his eyes now. And?" Ian stared a hole in him.

"It's a hat that just so happens to look exactly like the one worn by our missing friend. This is both a good sign and a bad one. Good in that he was here, and probably recently, bad in that he's not here anymore, and like you said, some poor FOmar is running around trying to keep his bangs out of his eyes. I don't think Zero is the type to leave his things lying around so carelessly. Something must have happened to him... Something bad." He sighed. "But there's nothing we can really do tonight... We need rest." He said, flopping down on his sleeping bag. Fluffy snuggled against him and vibrated against the ground, producing a noise that sounded suspiciously like a purr. Kal chuckled.

"Your Rati is cute, Lord Ian. Does it have a name?" He asked.

"Yeah. I call him Fluffy." Ian said. He snickered. "Kind of a stupid name, I know, but I've had him since I was three... It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"It's a nice name." Kal said. He patted Fluffy. "May I give him something to eat, Lord Ian?"

"Sure. He likes Dimates best." Ian said. Kal nodded and gave Fluffy a couple of Dimates. He bobbed cutely and Kal giggled.

"So cute..." He said, happily. "Anyway... It's getting late, and I need to go now. I shall return in the morning."

"Sure thing. Have fun." Ian said. Kal nodded and used a telepipe, disappearing to parts unknown.

"Soooo glad that thing is gone. Ugh. Can't stand androids." Eolwyn said, yawning.

"Is there anything you like, Eolwyn?" Ian asked crankily.

"I like myself." He responded, turning away from the others and muttering under his breath about his sleeping bag. Eri giggled, seemingly recovered.

"Yes?" Ian asked.

"Hehe... It's so dark and scary and creepy down here... It almost feels like we should be telling ghost stories!" She said half-nervously.

"If we do that, we'll never get to sleep." Ian said, chuckling.

"Hehe, yeah... G'night, Mr. Ian, sir!" Eri said, lying down.

"Goodnight, Eri." He said, turning on his side and wrapping an arm around Fluffy. He drifted off to sleep slowly, uneasy dreams finally claiming him.



-



"I see..." Natasha Milarose looked at the girl in front of her and pondered over the story she'd just been told in her mind. An online romance, a trip down to Ragol to find him, only to have him shut down on her, and the backup she'd made at the last possible moment... Touching, almost, but Natasha wasn't listening to this for the emotional value. No. A complete backup of one of Pioneer 1's three major AIs, the AIs from the MOTHER project... Perfect. And this girl. Young. Naive. Easily manipulated, and already knowing too much to just let go. Modifications would have to be made, of course, both for the Lab's systems and for the purpose of forcing the AI down the path that was wanted, but it wouldn't be too much trouble. All that would be necessary would be to wait. And she had far more patience than Osto had ever had... Yes. Yes, it was perfect. She smiled at the girl.

"I think we may just be able to use this. We need a very advanced AI to run the VR field we've been setting up, and your... friend... Calus would likely do the trick nicely. Of course, some modifications will need to be made, for hardware differences and the like, however..." She trailed off.

"Y-You'll do it? R-Really?" Elly stammered, hope burning in her eyes. Natasha saw it and smiled again.

"Of course, my dear little girl." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm. We'll need to hire a few operators to coordinate support with Hunters who use the VR field, and ones we send on missions to the surface as well... Considering your history with the AI in question, it seems likely that you would be able to work well with it. I would like you to work as an operator here. What do you currently make?" Natasha asked, looking at Elly. Elly felt as if she were about to die from happiness, they wanted her to work with Calus?!

"F... Five thousand meseta a week." She managed to choke out.

"We'll pay you twice that." Natasha said. Elly almost died. Forty thousand meseta a month...! She could afford her own apartment on that. A nice one, even. She nodded.

"I'll do it." She said. Natasha nodded.

"Very well. You can start once we have him operational. We'll call you." Elly nodded and turned to leave.

"Ok. And... Thank you..." She said quietly as she left. Natasha watched her go and smiled coldly.

"You may not be quite so thankful after a while... Heh. Poor girl. Almost a shame to manipulate the two of them like this, but it's necessary..." She muttered to herself. "Heh." She said aloud. Her assistant, Dan, looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She glared at him and he went back to his work, leaving her to ponder things.



-



"Good morning, Mr. Ian, sir!" Ian-Kun X groaned and rolled onto his stomach, pulling his pillow over his head.

"There is no such thing as a 'good' morning, Eri. Ever." He muttered.

"Come on, lazy-ass. Get up!" Eolwyn snipped.

"Bite me. Gleh." Ian moaned as he dragged himself up.

"No. You'd probably poison me. Where's that stupid robot, anyway?" Eolwyn griped, looking around. As if in answer to his question, Kal'Roth-ylt suddenly materialized in front of him, inches from his face. He screamed and jumped back, kicking at the RAcast.

"...Good morning, Eolwyn." Kal said, tilting his head to the side in amusement.

"Nice. Very nice. Good work, Kal." Ian said, smirking. He grabbed a bottle of Mountain Dew Code Red from his item pack and started drinking it. He finished it all within a few seconds. Eri stared at him, a look of disbelief on her face.

"That is so gross..."

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I feel human again. Well, half human." He snickered. Eolwyn snorted.

"God, I can't believe they want us to go through this whole huge area. If they want us to be the first to go through that new area, why the hell are we here? Isn't that fat idiot worried about his daughter?" Ian snorted.

"You really believe that bullshit?" He asked, twitching an ear in amusement. "Hah. Don't worry. Right now the place is crawling with government lackeys, military agents and scientists. They just want to make sure that there aren't any Hunters to get in the way. Which is why we're the only team currently on Ragol, and why we're here." He stood up, gathered his things and stowed them away, and leaned against the wall to wait for the others to finish. Fluffy floated next to him, nuzzling him gently. He smiled and gently hugged the Rati to him, absently stroking it.

"Ahh..." Fluffy thought happily as he pressed himself against Ian. "Just like this... I wish things could always be just exactly like this, Nai... Right now you're not worried, or sad, or upset about anything... You're just kind of quietly living... I like you this way. Maybe you're not happy, but at least you're not in pain..." He mentally sighed to himself. Sometimes it really was hard, not being able to talk. He longed to be able to tell Ian exactly how he felt. He wondered if he would ever be able to.

"Ahh... Food..." Eri sighed happily as she finished her breakfast. "I want a shower, though!"

"You could always stand under the waterfall." Ian said, smirking.

"Ewwwwww! No thanks." She shrieked, wincing.

"Come, Lord Ian, Lady Eri, Eolwyn. It's time we got moving." Kal said, equipping his Spread.

"So now that stupid thing is trying to give us orders? No fricking way!" Eolwyn exclaimed, his face twisted in disgust and amusement.

"I am merely stating a fact. If you do not like it, you may insert it rectally. Judging from the size of your rear end, it should fit without any difficulty." Kal said coldly, with a thin thread of smugness in his voice. Ian collapsed laughing and Eolwyn turned at least sixteen distinct shades of red.

"Y-you... you... GRR!" He sputtered. He'd been insulted before, and worse, but from a robot? That was way too much. He kicked Kal's lower leg ineffectively and ran off.

"I like you, Kal, you're an evil bastard." Ian-Kun X said.

"Er... Thank you. I think." He said, looking at Ian.

"You're welcome." Ian looked thoughtful for a moment. "Ok, you know what, we've established that what we're doing here is utter bullshit. I've got some stuff back home I've been meaning to get around to, and I'd like to take a few jobs, as well. If anyone needs me, it's not that difficult to find out where I live." He cast Ryuker.

"Hey! You can't just leave us, Mr. Ian, sir! We need you!" Exclaimed Eri, her eyes widening in shock. Ian looked at her.

"Bah, you don't need me. You guys are plenty good enough on your own." He said, smiling. "I have faith in you, Eri." He winked at her and went through the telepipe.

"Oh..." Eri said softly. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Really? Mr. Ian has faith in me? Cool!"

"You are very competent, Lady Eri." Kal said quietly.

"Ohhh... Well, who asked you?" She said, putting her hands on her hips. She realized what he'd said and blushed and looked down. "Oh... Um, thanks, I guess..." She sighed. "Anyway, let's just keep doing what we're supposed to be doing, and go find Eolwyn."

"Do we have to?" Kal asked, looking as unenthusiastic as it was possible for him to look. Eri giggled, though she quickly repressed it. Stupid annoying RAcast! How dare he make her laugh! She growled.

"Yes, we have to. Now come on."

"Yes, Lady Eri."


-


Zero sighed. He was bored. It was an absolutely horrible time for it, but he was still bored. There just wasn't all that much exciting about having some unknown evil entity taking over your mind while some unknown substance slowly mutated your body into something hideous and inhuman, once you got used to the idea.

The waiting was the worst part. Hiding from the people that the entity in his mind had no interest in, slowly succumbing, as he waited for the ones it did have interest in. Maybe if he were doing something vaguely interesting like, say, killing people, or at the very least maiming them, it wouldn't be as bad. But just sitting there, lurking in the darkness...

"I knew I shouldn't have left my pocket scrabble set at home." He sighed. He groaned to himself, oh yes, wasn't that a wonderful thought to include among what might be his last thoughts? He felt like he should be doing something meaningful, desperately clinging to life and trying to fight it, but it all seemed so pointless. He doubted there were any way he would be able to survive this, and even if he did... Well, he was already mutated to the point of no longer being able to show himself in public. It wasn't even all that bad yet, but it wasn't anything he would be able to hide. Returning to his old life was impossible. And what kind of life could he hope for? Spending the rest of his years hiding in the darkness, praying that no one would find him and try to kill him? No, he might as well just give in and let it destroy his mind. He'd intended to fight, but... It just all seemed so pointless. He sighed and sat down against a wall, wrapping his arms around his knees and moodily resting his chin on them. The voice at least was leaving him alone for now, but he knew it might show back up at any time. He thought about the past and the friends he'd finally started to make. The timing seemed so cruel. All his life he'd been alone and hated... And now, when he finally had people who seemed to care about him, that he actually cared about as well... Now he was dying, slowly and miserably. Silently, he cursed whatever gods might exist and cried himself to sleep.


-


Ian-Kun X flopped on his bed, Fluffy snuggled against him. He lay there staring at the ceiling for a while, then got up and stripped to his underwear. Fluffy bobbed approvingly; Ian was rather fit. He looked at Fluffy and raised an eyebrow.

"Enjoying this?" He asked, smirking. Fluffy bobbed in assent and Ian snickered. "Silly thing... Heh, c'mere." He sat back down on the bed and cuddled Fluffy for a few minutes before he slipped on a bathrobe and cleared the mess from around his small computer after he made sure that he wasn't going to be disturbed by anything. It wasn't technically illegal to own a computer, particularly not a small, weak one like he had, but it wasn't really legal either, and the government frowned on it. Usually, people just had a small terminal they could use for internet access and nothing else. Ian had built his computer himself. It wasn't anywhere near as good as the ones he'd watched and helped his uncle build back when he was a child, but it was good enough for what little he used it for.

He pulled the bright orange photon chair in his room over to it and sat down in front of the computer, Fluffy bobbing happily. He pondered for a moment, then got up and brought Bob from the living room and set him down next to him. Bob pecked happily at his foot, laughing happily as he did so. Ian smiled and set about poking through the files he'd copied from Elly's disk. They were encrypted, but that wasn't likely to be a problem. On a whim, he decided to try the encryption algorithm his uncle had used for his personal documents. He wasn?t sure whether to be surprised or not when it actually worked. He idly poked through the files, skimming the logs and chuckling every now and then at subtle evidence of tampering.

"Heh? Bad little boy, weren?t you, Calus? Falsifying stuff so you could get away with your little chats with Elly? Heh." He smirked and then sighed. Just like something his dad would do, too, wasn?t it? Though he thought that his uncle would have done a better job of falsifying records, but then, the logs probably weren?t checked all that much, and if they were, it was probably by some bored underling who wouldn?t have cared enough to notice. He turned next to the source code, tapping his fingers in annoyance as he waited for the file to finish loading. He got up to get a can of Code Red and some junk food and twitched an ear when he found that the file was still loading.

"Oh for the love of?" He snorted. "Eh, what the hell do I want from source code for an AI? Fsck, I need a better computer." He could manage that easily enough, of course - He could buy most of the parts on the black market and make or steal whatever else he needed, and he had the necessary technical knowledge, but the government would probably become rather interested in him then, and he preferred the relative anonymity he lived in. Especially considering that it was exactly that sort of thing that had gotten the government and scientific community interested in his uncle... He sighed and started looking at the code, as it had finished loading. Oddly, it wasn?t commented at all. "Well, things just keep getting stranger and stranger, huh? Dad always commented religiously, but? Hmm." He sighed. Of course there would be no easy answers... The formatting was familiar, though, and matched his uncle's somewhat odd style. He sighed. It was absolutely fascinating reading, but it didn't help him much. But it did at least appear to be his uncle's work. He even knew some of the code. Parts of it were virtually unchanged from what his uncle had always been working on, back on Coral, when he'd always talked to him about his dream of creating a computer that would truly be able to think and feel emotions and have it's own will. He thought about the modified logs and Elly and smiled.

"I guess you really did manage it, Dad... Even if you didn't live to see it..." He sighed and closed the file, putting his computer on standby and putting the junk back in place over it. He flopped on the bed again, sadly stroking Fluffy as he lost himself in thoughts of the past.


-



"I hate this..." Eri whined as she walked through the Ruins.

"I hate it too. At least that stupid halfling jerk is gone." Eolwyn said, shrugging.

"Hey now! Stop insulting Mr. Ian!" Eri said angrily.

"Why? He's just some stupid idiot halfling piece of trash anyway. I honestly don't know how you can stand him. Halflings disgust me. The last thing the world needs is people diluting the purity of Newman bloodlines by breeding with humans. Ugh."

"What Newman bloodlines? Half of you people are still grown in labs." Kal'Roth-ylt muttered.

"Bite me, robot." Eolwyn sneered. "Oh wait, you don't have a mouth. Haha. Man, would I love to punch you in the face, but you haven't got one!" He taunted, sniggering. To the surprise of Eri and Eolwyn, Kal stopped suddenly at that and looked away.

"Shut up..." He whispered, sounding as if he were about to cry.

"Awww, did I hurt the little walking junk heap's 'feelings'? Awwww, poor widdle Mr. Stupid Name" Eolwyn sneered.

"Eolwyn, stop it." Eri said. Kal perked up a little at this. "You'll just encourage him." He sighed and his mood fell again.

"Why are people always like this towards me? I try to be nice to them, but all they do is make fun of me and treat me like dirt... Maybe I'll ask Father about it. Meh." He thought, resisting the urge to kick at the wall of the corridor. What really ticked him off was that he didn't seem to be much like other androids. He wasn't sure he would call them feelings, but his emotional responses seemed to him to be more like what humans and Newmans felt than like the pre-programmed responses of other androids... And lately it seemed to be like that more and more. It was so hard these days to behave like the polite, subservient machine he was supposed to be, and so easy to act in ways that humans found uncomfortable. It wasn't even supposed to be possible for an android to really feel things. He sighed. He wished he had a face. Not a face like some female androids had, either, eternally blank and emotionless, a real face, one that could reflect his moods, what he was thinking, what he was feeling... Such a thing was illegal, though, and probably impossible, so there was no point in torturing himself longing for it, but he couldn't help it.

"Hey! Robot! What's the matter, malfunctioning again or something? Hurry the hell up!" Eolwyn snapped at him, breaking his reverie.

"Sorry..." Kal said miserably, running to catch up with Eolwyn and Eri. He pondered how much trouble exactly he'd get in if he just kind of accidentally grabbed them by their necks and strangled them and decided it probably wouldn't be worth it, fun though it may be. Morals and the law sucked sometimes.

They wandered aimlessly for a while, pretending to be thoroughly checking the area when in fact they were too busy bickering and arguing to care whether or not anything got investigated.

"Where the heck did that Ian jerk go off to, anyway? Just like one of those halfling scum to go off and leave us." Eolwyn groused. "Isn't he supposed to be our leader, anyway? Idiot..."

"Yeah... He is... But I'm sure he had a good reason for it." Eri said, shrugging.

"He probably merely wished to get away from Eolwyn." Kal said. Eolwyn glared at him, absolutely convinced that despite lacking a face, the RAcast was grinning at him evilly.

"Stupid... bloody... robot..." He hissed. "Maybe I can get someone to convert him into a garbage can for me."


-


Ian-Kun X was woken by a beep and insistent bumping from Fluffy.

"Yeah, yeah, I've got mail, I know." He moaned, sitting up. He played the message. "Yay." He said without enthusiasm. "Time to get back to work." He put his uniform on and started to head towards the shopping district he frequented to stock up on items. He pondered as he walked about the things he'd seen since Pioneer 2 arrived at Ragol. Sighing, he looked around at the buildings as he walked. Pioneer 2 reminded him a lot of Coral, but somehow tackier. Maybe it was the signs that covered nearly everything. He snickered as he thought about the sign by the telepipe point near his usual Hunter's Guild office. 'Welcome to Pioneer 2', it said. He wondered why anyone had ever thought it might be needed, and decided not to think down those lines. Ian had a bad tendency to make up conspiracy theories in his head. Of course, for all he knew, from what he'd seen, one or more of those conspiracy theories might be true. He looked up at the stars, dim through the lights from the buildings, and sighed. Maybe he should get a better apartment. It wasn't as if he lacked for money. He was every bit as filthily rich as Zero had been, and possibly more so. But that was another good way to avoid attention, wasn't it? Sure, he could move into a nice apartment, there were a couple of vacancies, always, and enough money would move anyone. He didn't ever have to work again if he didn't want to, but being a Hunter was useful to him, and it kept his mind off the past. He turned his thoughts off of that and back to the subject of the city he was walking through. There was definitely something horribly tacky about Pioneer 2, he felt. Then again, he wouldn?t have ever claimed to have any taste in anything. He decided to catch a hoverbus to the level his destination was on to save time and walked to a bus stop. He sat down, sighing, and waited. Within a couple of minutes it showed up and he got on board. He gave the android driver the twenty meseta for his fare and looked around for a seat in the back. He found one that didn?t seem too horribly dirty and sat down heavily, looking out the dirty window at the city. He sighed. He was sick to death of huge, dirty, tacky, hopeless cities filled with teeming masses of ignorant people who gave no thought at all to what the government was doing. He reflected that he probably knew more than any random 5,000 of them put together, and probably cared more. Sighing, he poked through his list of guild cards, found Eri's, and opened a new message. He looked around. No one was listening, and it didn't matter much anyway. Everyone knew the government was using Hunters to investigate Ragol.

"Hey Eri, Kal, Eolwyn. Time to get back to work, you slackers. They're having us move on finally." He sent the message and yawned as he looked out the window. Tacky. Everything on Pioneer 2 was so incredibly tacky. He fantasized about buying the entire thing and renovating it to look less tacky until the hoverbus arrived. He hopped onto the platform and headed to the shops. He boredly sold a couple of things he'd found that were of no use to him or anyone he knew and restocked on items. Eri tapped him on the shoulder and he jumped.

"I... I'm sorry!" She said, looking down at her feet intently.

"Gyah, Eri, don't do that. Us Hunters are a bunch of jumpy nervous bastards." He said, grinning. Eolwyn scowled.

"You are, maybe..." He muttered.

"I said nothing about Forces, Eolwyn, dear. How's it going, Kal? Haven't killed him yet, I see. Pity." Ian said cheerfully. Kal stared at him and shrugged.

"You didn't tell me to, Lord Ian." Kal said, tilting his head to the side. "Would you like for me to do so?" He asked. Ian thought he could detect a tone of eagerness in Kal's voice and let out a silent 'Heh'.

"Nah, later." He said, grinning. "We might need him as bait or something."

"I should report your childish, unprofessional behaviour to the Guild." Eolwyn said haughtily, folding his arms over his chest and pushing up his glasses with one hand.

"I should report your refusal to support your teammates and unwillingness to work with the team, which could in theory endanger our lives more than is absolutely necessary..." Ian said, grinning darkly at Eolwyn. The FOnewm shrank back, glaring.

"Stupid halfling trash..." He muttered bitterly, walking to the tool shop counter and buying fluids to replenish the ones he'd used. Eri sighed and went over as well.

"Dang it..." She muttered.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Ian asked, glancing over at her.

"Ah... I don't have enough meseta to get enough Dimates." She said, sighing. "It's ok, I guess, I'll be alright. Only seven short anyway." Ian made a face, reached into his item pack and handed her enough meseta for 10.

"Ah, Mr. Ian, sir, you don't have to..." She protested.

"No, it's fine, you need to make sure you're prepared, and I've got plenty of meseta. Don't worry about it." Ian answered with a smile. Eri grinned at him and got her Dimates.

"Ok, guys, we ready?" Ian asked, looking around at his team. Eri raised her hand eagerly as if she were still in school, Eolwyn shrugged indifferently and Kal'Roth-ylt nodded. "Right then, let's go." He left the shops and headed for the teleporter to Ragol. The others followed him. He stopped in front of the teleporter. Eri looked nervous.

"Do... Do you think it's safe?" She asked. Ian raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yes, it's perfectly safe. It's just us who're in trouble." He said, grinning. Eri laughed nervously and entered the teleporter. Ian followed her, and Eolwyn and Kal stood glaring at each other for a moment before going down as well.

The second area of the ruins was blue in tone and gave off a sort of mechanical vibe.

"It's like Pioneer 2 on crack. Seriously." Ian said, looking around the first room after they'd cleared it of monsters.

"Yeah... For once I agree with you." Eolwyn said, putting his hands on his hips and frowning. "Are these really ruins? Looks more like a spaceship to me."

"One hell of a spaceship, then... It's got to be at least as big as Pioneer 2, if not bigger." Ian said, whistling. "Well, let's see what we can find out." He said, looking down though the grate he was standing on at a giant fan whirring away beneath him. They moved on to the next room. They dispatched the usual complementary Arlans and Dimenians and then blinked as several creatures that looked like 4-legged Del spiders fell from the ceiling.

"What are these?" Eri asked, staring at them. "I've never seen them before..." She tried to shoot one, but the shot dissipated. Ian tried to hit one as well, but failed. Eolwyn tried a Rafoie, which seemed to damage them. They suddenly moved, skittering randomly about the room. They stood and raised part of themselves, apparently preparing for some sort of attack. Ian attacked one near him again, slicing one of its legs off with his partisan. It shrank back, gathering itself together, and hobbled off. The others all shot beams at once. Eri cried out in pain as one of them hit her, leaving a nasty hole in her uniform and a painful wound. Eolwyn cast Resta on her and resumed Rafoieing the creatures. Ian shrugged and tried casting Grants on one of the creatures as it skittered past. It seemed to have been effective, so he cast it on the others as well. They continued attacking and dodging energy beams. Before long several of the creatures had fallen dead.

"Lord Ian." Kal said. "I have been observing these creatures, and one of them turns red at random every time they move. Perhaps it performs some sort of leader function?" Ian looked over at him, panting.

"Sure, whatever you think. Try whatever it is you have in mind next time they do it." He said, wiping sweat off his brow. He'd forgotten how tiring it could be to cast some of these techniques since he'd quit being a Force. He was out of practice as well, which didn't help. It wasn't so much that he was physically tired. That didn't happen much these days. Newman Hunter-types like his mother had been were by no means the strongest of creatures, but they hadn't been engineered to be weak, either, and the strength to be an effective fighter came to him almost naturally. His father had been strong for a human, as well. But mentally he was beginning to strain, which was even worse. It threw off his focus and made it harder and harder to do much of anything. He used a Difluid and felt better, but still not completely normal. A shot from one of the creatures hit him and he winced in pain, falling to his knees. He was dimly aware of Kal chasing down the red creature and hitting it as it prepared to attack, which seemed to be effective, as they all immediately closed back up. The others quickly finished dispatching them and turned to Ian.

"Are you alright, Mr. Ian, sir?!" Eri asked, poking him. He gave her a faint smile that was more of a grimace.

"Serves you right for trying to use techniques you're not even allowed to know. How did you manage to learn them anyway, hmm?" Eolwyn said, looking down his nose at Ian.

"Lord Ian told me earlier that he used to be a Force when he was younger." Kal offered helpfully. "I would suppose that he learned it then. He is probably quite out of practice by now, however."

"Yeah... I'm fine, though. Really." Ian said, dragging himself to his feet. He shook his head to clear it and the continued on through the ruins until they found a message capsule.

"I haven't studied all the characters yet, but I've got some useful information. This is the most important fact that I have found. There was NO ancient civilization on Ragol. We didn't discover ruins. This is a spaceship. A gigantic spaceship."

"So I guess it is a spaceship, then." Ian said, staring at it. "Fun. But what the hell is it doing here, on Ragol, buried underground? Why would anyone do something like that?" He asked rhetorically, pondering.

"Who knows. Who cares. Let's just get going, I'm getting tired." Eolwyn said, yawning. Ian rolled his eyes at him.

"Yeah... Sure." He said. He boredly equipped his Stag Cutlery and was about to walk off when the sound of a gun of some sort firing and a loud scream came from a small side room. "Eri!" He shouted, running over to the room. Much to his surprise he found Eri jumping around happily, clutching something to her chest and looking like she'd just been told that she'd been made queen of everything in the universe.

"Mr. Ian, sir! Looklooklook! I was checking these boxes to see if they had anything useful 'cause we've found some neat stuff along the way that Pioneer 1 had left in storage and just look at this oh my god I've always wanted one but there's no way in heck I could ever afford it ever oh my GOD!" She spewed joyfully, waving a pair of old-fashioned metal guns around. Ian stepped back so as not to be hit in the face.

"Er... Yay?" He said, blinking at her in confusion. "Uh... So, um, what is it?"

"Oooh, don't you know anything about Ranger weapons?" Eri sighed. "It's a Yasminkov 9000M! I've been wanting one for AGES, but they're sooo expensive... But I found one! Awesome..." She said, smiling happily. Ian smiled in amusement.

"You're very lucky, Lady Eri." Kal said, sounding happy for her. Eri scowled at him and he looked away. Ian sighed.

"Bah, it's just a stupid gun." Eolwyn said, shrugging as he looked at it. Eri glared at him as if he'd just kicked a kitten.

"Just a stupid gun?! Don't you know ANYTHING?!" She cried, staring at him. "Ooh, you're all so hopeless!" She said, shaking her head as she walked back out into the main room.

"Well, if the monsters don't kill us all, I think we're going to manage to do it ourselves. Eolwyn, goddamn it, stop being such a fuckwit." Ian hissed, glaring at Eolwyn. Eolywn glared back and stormed off. Ian sighed. "Kal, I don't think I can stand that guy much longer. Even Zero was never anywhere near this bad."

"I don't know that I can stand him either, Lord Ian." Kal replied, tilting his head to the side and placing his enormous hands on his hips. "He's really annoying." Ian nodded, studying Kal.

"You know, you're getting really lousy at the subservient mechanical act." He said, raising an eyebrow. "One minute you're calling me Lord Ian and talking like a High School teacher, and the next minute you're insulting Eolwyn and being a general smartass. What's up with that?" He asked.

"Meh. Well, Father has been making some adjustments to my personality, and I was designed to be able to adapt my behaviour to what seems best for the situation. ...Eolwyn always makes insults seem best." He sighed. "I wish Eri would like me more. I don't know what the hell I did to piss her off so much." Kal said, folding his arms in front of his chest and looking as annoyed as it was possible for a RAcast to look.

"Heh... Knowing Eri, it was probably merely the fact that you were born. She doesn't like machines much, outside of her Rati. I dunno why. Probably just the type that likes fluffy kitties and stuff like that. Machines usually aren't very fluffy. Maybe we can glue some fake fur to you and she'll like you more." Ian said, grinning. Kal snickered.

"That's the last thing I need. My colour scheme is already bad enough as it is." He said, gesturing at himself.

"Yeah... White and lavender aren't exactly colours I associate with RAcasts. RAcaseals or FOmars or something, but RAcasts? I'm used to big disgustingly bulky things with no personality whatsoever that are usually black or green or something like that. You're quite the strange one, Kal." Ian said, smirking. "Well, let's go catch up with the others, shall we?" He asked, walking off. Kal nodded and followed him. They caught up to the others and continued for a while, finding more messages along the way. They stopped in the middle of a large rectangular room with doors leading off in all four directions.

"Now what?" Eolwyn asked, tapping his foot.

"We figure out which way to go, duh." Ian said, rolling his eyes. Fluffy bobbed behind him in agreement and Ian gave him a Dimate. "So cute..."

"You and that stupid Rati. You're going to marry that idiotic thing someday, aren't you?" Eolwyn griped.

"Yeah." Ian grinned. "And we're going to name one of our kids after you." Eolwyn suppressed a scream of annoyance and merely glared at Ian evilly.

"Hehe... Ahh, if only, Nai, if only..." Fluffy thought happily, though the happiness was tinged with sadness. He knew better. It wouldn't ever be allowed... He broke off his train of thought as he felt something from one of the rooms surrounding the one he and the others were in. "This is... Oh!" He bobbed furiously and flew from Ian's back over to the door, beeping insistently.

"Well, at least one of us can make up their mind about which way to go." Kal observed, amused.

"It's probably the wrong way." Eri said gloomily. "It's all the wrong way down here."

"We're trusting a MAG for DIRECTIONS?!" Eolwyn screamed.

"Yeah, sure, why not. You guys have a better idea of which way to go?" Ian asked, smirking.

"...No."

They entered the room. It was unlike any of the others they'd been in so far. It was enormous, long and wide and tall. The floor was a central platform, and to the sides were huge drop-offs and what seemed to be some sort of gigantic engines. It was narrower at the end they had entered in than on the far side, which they could just barely make out in the gloom that pervaded the entirety of the spaceship they were in. Ian whistled.

"Niiice..." He said as he walked into it. "Well, except for the nice double row of Ar-Holy SHIT!" He yelled, jumping to the side as something suddenly charged at and nearly flattened him, knocking his weapon from his hand. "What the hell?!" He grabbed his Stag Cutlery and ran over to the creature. It looked like an enormous D-cellular mutant centaur. One of it's arms was a large hook, and the other was a large open blade. He swung at it, only to be knocked down by a swipe from it's giant blade arm. Eolwyn let out a yell and attacked it with his slicer a few times, and Eri whipped out her new Yasminkov 9000M. Kal laid a freeze trap, which went off, freezing the creature in place. They attacked it until the trap wore off, when it suddenly raised its arms, the glowing lines on its body turning from blue to red, and a circle of sickly green light went out across the floor. Ian, Eri and Eolwyn winced as one as they felt it drain their mental strength. Then it raised its blade arm and shot several beams of energy from it. Ian screamed as one of them hit him square in the chest and dropped to the floor, moaning in pain. Kal quickly used a Star Atomizer on him while Eri and Eolwyn finished the creature off.

"Ow... I am... ouch... Really... Ah, god... Starting... Ow... to dislike... owwww... this." He moaned in agony, as Eolwyn poked at the wound to make sure he'd be alright.

"I do not like it much either, Lord Ian." Kal said, sounding unhappy.

"Yeah... Man, I thought that Vol Opt thing was bad! But some of this stuff is starting to be almost as bad..." She said, sidestepping a Delsaber that suddenly jumped at her and wasting it with her Yas. The group grabbed their weapons and set about dispatching the rest of the monsters in the room. They stood panting afterwards, gathering their strength to move on, when a voice spoke out of the shadows.

"I see you haven't gotten any less competent in my absence... I'm impressed." It said. It was distorted, as if the owner had an extremely bad case of pneumonia, but Ian and Eri recognized it immediately.

"Zero?!" They both said, looking around. The voice chuckled and a figure stepped out of the shadows and into their view. It was indeed Zero, or at least it had been, once. It still mostly resembled something human. The skin was a strange, almost grey colour marked with the same glowing lines they'd seen on the monsters, and the eyes were a solid, pale glowing blue, but otherwise it still looked like their friend. He smiled at them thinly.

"Yes..." It said. "What's left of me, anyway. I've... Changed... a bit since we last met."

"Mr. Zero, sir..." Eri sobbed, burying her face in her hands so she wouldn't have to look.

"How's your neck, Eri?" Zero asked, sounding almost amused.

"Oh, it's fi- Oh, Mr. Zero, sir!" She sobbed, turning away. "Why..." She fell to her knees, sobbing. Ian looked at Zero sadly, blinking back tears. They hadn't gotten along at first, and even at the end before they weren't exactly best friends, but Zero deserved better than this.

"D... Damn it..." He growled. "You deserve better than this... You shouldn't have to... DAMN IT!" He screamed, slamming his fist against the side of a pillar generating a laser barrier.

"Yes, well, I doubt that." Zero said cynically.

"What the hell is this?!" Eolwyn demanded, readying his weapon and advancing on Zero. "Another stupid monster? I'll take care of i-" Zero gestured languidly and Eolwyn screamed as a bolt of purple lightning hit him, knocking him to the ground.

"Mind your manners, Newman scum." Zero said, looking at him with disdain.

"Hey! He's an asshole, sure, but that still wasn't nice!" Kal said. "And Lord Ian and Lady Eri are your friends! How can you be so mean to them and people they know?" He asked angrily.

"Silence, machine." Zero said, looking at him with disdain. He looked at the others as well. "So... You've made it this far. Heh. Did the Chaos Bringer hurt you too much, Ian?" Ian glared at him. "Quite a fascinating creature, isn't it? Pity it had to be destroyed... But of course you four must be tested."

"Tested?" Ian asked, looking at Zero.

"Yes... It wants a challenge. People strong enough to be worth fighting, with strong souls to absorb and feed on..."

"Well, that leaves me out." Kal muttered. Zero looked at him, amused.

"I don't know about that." He said, smiling evilly.

"Who is this 'It', Zero? And why does it want to fight us, of all people?" Ian asked.

"Because you're quite well known, you know. And quite powerful... Remember, it was us who defeated the Dragon, and De Rol Le and Vol Opt, as well. It knows you're strong. It knows you could be a worthwhile challenge... If you can survive to get to It. You'll die there, of course, but It will at least have some fun with you. And your deaths will serve as... An example. A perfect illustration of the foolishness of challenging It."

"Ok, right, so this mysterious It is going to kill us all and use us as an example. Are you sure you didn't just hit your head on something, Zero?" Ian asked, raising an eyebrow. Zero chuckled.

"Perhaps I should see about having you left alive and converted to our side..." He said, smirking. "I'm sure It would find you an amusing servant."

"Like hell It will! You'll do no such thing, Zero! I won't allow Nai to be taken by Dark Falz!" Fluffy screamed mentally at Zero. Zero gave him another of his amused, evil smiles.

"And what are you going to do, Mag? As if you have any power to stop my master... Foolish creature! Do you really think your master will ever allow you to act? Do you think that it cares? Do you really believe you have any hope?" He asked, laughing. Ian stared.

"Don't be so sure about that! You know full well the only reason you were corrupted like this is becau-"

"Silence, Mag!" Zero shouted angrily, more of the purple lightning he'd used on Eolwyn crackling around him.

"What the... You can talk to Fluffy...? How?" He asked, blinking in confusion. Zero smirked.

"Never mind that. Heh. But I'm sure it would amuse you greatly to know just exactly what that thing is under that mechanical facade. Or more likely horrify you..." He laughed. "Yes, it would be so awful for you if your beloved, trusted Mag turned out to be the same as your enemy, wouldn't it?"

"Shut up! Fluffy can't be anything like you or these creatures! You're lying!" Ian yelled angrily. Zero burst out laughing again.

"Fine! Believe what you want, but it won't change the truth at all."

"Ok, yeah, whatever. So what are you doing here? If this thing, whatever it is, wants to fight us so badly, why send you here? What are you going to do, try to destroy us?" Ian asked, shifting uncomfortably and fingering his Red Handgun. Zero grinned.

"Oh, no. Nothing like that. I'm simply here to act as... As a sort of guide, if you will." Zero said, shrugging. "We've wasted enough time for today, don't you think? Let's get going, shall we?" He asked, amused. Eri sobbed again.

"I DON'T WANNA DIE!!!!!" She wailed.

"Well, you're not going to, not yet, unless you screw up or annoy my master..." Zero said, almost soothingly.

"Why should we go with you?" Eolwyn growled. Zero started to gesture at him again. "Ok, ok, I'm coming, fine." Eolwyn added quickly.

"I guess there's no choice..." Ian said, sighing. "Alright, then, Zero... Let's go." He fought the urge to curl into a ball and sob. He was always losing people he cared about, wasn't he? First his uncle, and now his friends, too... It just wasn't fair. "Nothing's fair, meh. No sense in wallowing in misery..." He thought bitterly as he walked towards the door leading out of the room.

---------------

Yes, even in the future in a sci-fi universe with human-like AIs and androids, you STILL never have a fast enough computer.

Have fun. 11 eventually. Probably sooner rather than later. Finals this week and week after it, then break. Yay. Comments, damn it! Even if it's just how much this sucks!

[Eihwaz]

Whoa, the best chapter yet! Excellent action, comedy, angst, and drama! Your fic pwnz all, Ian!

Your fic must be revolutionary, I reckon it's the first fic to have a Mag that's a semi-main character. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

Keep up the stupedous work; I'm looking quite forward to chapter 11! I hope we get to have the fight with Dark Falz soon...oooh, the drama!

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Eihwaz on 2004-07-24 00:06 ]</font>

[Sagasu]

No need to spas out on us Ian, people will act accoridingly to their will, and there is nothing you or I can do about it.

But this chapter actually was truly a accomplishment in many factors. First of all, your characters are being depicted extremely well, we know thier personalities, and we know what to expect and what to grow fond of. How they interact with one another while presented different situations can be difficult at times, judos to you.

Its good to see another fiction besides mine that has a decent length to their chapters. Well described and feeling real, it is really quite a coherent pice of work.

On a minor note though, due to the large amounts of dialogue, clear, vivid descriptions of their sorroundings as they move about in the rooms is somewhat scarce. Though we all have played the game and can refer to what you say, its often best to paint the picture just how you want it.

So far so good, looking forward to more http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[navci]

Man this chapter is LONG. I have read some of VG's long chapters but this one is REALLY, REALLY long. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

There are quite a few amusing lines that I really liked. here is one of them:



Eolwyn turned at least sixteen distinct shades of red.

Indeed. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

Poor Zero. Poor Ian and Eri. Damn you really do like to abuse your characters. Like, really.

The only thing I have a slight problem with is with Kal, he seems to lack consistancy in his speech even when he is in one of his personality "mode" so to speak. But again, he seems to be a very inconsistant character since he is made out to be that way, I guess maybe that is the reason why. He is quite amusing to read, actually. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

Are we going to be told why Eri dislike machines? http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif
And is Fluffy going to pull a magical boy out and change soon? Because that'd be amusing also.

Though, I suspect, the way this is going, this is going to be less amusing and more angst. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_eek.gif

Now, write up the next chapter before the end of the world come!

[Skett]

Another well created chapter. Now Zero has become my favorate character. He is a very complex character, too. Well, can't wait for next chapter.

[Sunblast]

Wow, that's a long one, Ian. Long, long, long, long, long. But very good. I especially liked the comedy between characters. It rocked. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

[Sord]

crap, i have to go, i at the part where Zero reveals himself damnit >_< You've done a really great job Ian, keep it up.

EDIT: okay, now I'm finished... and i can't think of anything to say, heh...
...
...
I'm all jitery right now from something, and i can't think, maybe I'll reply later, this is good though (your chapter)

EDIT2: Right then, now my head just feels heavy. Okay, here we go...

Zero, where do I start? Well it's an intresting plot twist, but it just doesn't seem demented enough when the story shifts to his view when he is succumbing to Falz power. Maybe a better way to put it is a little to little dramatic (not enough.) Though this could also just be the way Zero is, not one to get to balistically angry at something like this, as I would've figured, but instead he seemed to go more into an depression.

Ian, well, he seems to be as smart-ass as ever. I'm still wondering who he's going to end up with romantically. (damn you >_<) Eri would be the predictable choice, but then knowing you, I can't say for sure, your not 100% predictable.

Kal, heh heh, this guy's getting closer and closer to being my favorite character. At first his personality seemed to match that of a female, but now it's become an even bigger smart-ass one than Ian at times.

Eri, well, I feel sorry for her. She should never have gone into mercenary business it seems at times. Leeks to much emotion at times, explodes into tears, keeps to herself, and appears unhappy, though it seems like she doesn't want to change the way she is (for example, when Kal made her laugh, she could have chosen just to accept it, and possibly start a chain of realization that machines aren't so bad, instead of getting sort of snotty about it)

Eowlyn, well, he did deserve that lightning IMO. You have made yet another person that's easy to loathe.

Overall story... where will it end?! I mean, it looked like it was going to end with Falz or something, but then you go off with the lab and Elly thing. At time's it's predictable, but it's best when it's not, as that always keeps the reader wanting more so that they may find out what happens.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sord on 2004-07-27 19:02 ]</font>

[Dillon133]

this is an awesome fic that i started reading last night it really is genius with elly,when im reading it i always start thinking its real story line in the game series but then i gotta remeber its not XP
but id like to think it is cause its awesome keep up the great work and i look forward to reading 11...soon;-) http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif
oh and i miss the sato cute kitty mag http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/cat.gif http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

they should make bob a mag too, might have to pitch that to sonic team >_> <_< http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

[K-ne]

On 2004-04-07 23:51, Ian-KunX wrote:


"Yes sir." Ian answered. He started to turn to leave and was stopped by the far-away look on Tyrell's face.

"And please... Please find my daughter." He said, almost desperately.

"We will, sir. I promise." Ian turned and left.


I don't find Tyrell's (or Irene's) pleas all that memorable in the actual game, but somehow you've made them resonate. I love it. ^_^

Yeah, so I sat down and read the entire thing thus far, and I'm really enjoying myself. You've got an extremely vivid cast of characters that just get more and more interesting as the story progresses (plus the idea of Mag sentience is... well... adorable ^_^), and I can't wait to see what happens when the crew finally face Dark Falz either. Please keep it up, even though you probably don't need me to tell you on top of everyone else. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime1.gif

Oh yeah, and teddy boomas? That's SO Pioneer 2. XD

[Nai_Calus]

Glad you all liked the fic so far.

However, I've completely lost the will to work on this or anything else for the forseeable future. I don't feel like writing. I don't feel like drawing. I don't really feel like doing anything but curling into a ball and dying, but that's not your problem to deal with.

At least I've done something worth something.

Anyway, the fic is cancelled for the forseeable future. Maybe I'll be so desperate for something to cling to that I'll go back to it tommorow and just write until I can't see straight and my head is clear again, and maybe I'll never get back to it and this is it. I don't know. Doesn't really matter. Have fun.

[Eihwaz]

http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_frown.gif

I'm real sorry to hear that Ian, your fic is really superb, I really hope you'll find it within yourself to finish it someday.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Eihwaz on 2004-08-09 23:36 ]</font>

[shadowvincent]

I felt the same not so long ago, and still do to some extent. I find that writing makes me feel much better. Having said that, I didn`t write or do anything much for weeks.