FanFic: FTH: The complete version! R&R

[Jeren]

OK, so this is it. I decided to consolidate all of my FanFic writings onto one thread. (Besides, I can't find my old threads anymore!) So if I'm repeating myself, don't hold it against me. Oh, yeah, this fic is about 9 or 10 chaters long, so if it gets boring, send me a private message (no flaring please) and I'll see what you need. I will post chapter one here. Please R&R!

For the Hunt: Pioneer II

Leon walked alone in the crowded Shopping District of Pioneer II. He had been on leave for only two days, and already he was checking in with the Hunter’s Guild on a daily basis to see if any new quests had opened up. He was getting restless. His fellow HUmars hardly ever spoke to him anymore. Not that Leon minded. The HUmar that he did know, with the exception of Jeren, were cocky and arrogant. He preferred that they avoid him. He walked out of the Shopping District and decided to make his way over to the Hunter’s Guild.

When he arrived, he found Jeren just leaving the building. Jeren had long, platinum blonde hair and green eyes. As Leon walked up to the door, Jeren stopped him

“You’re back again? I thought you were going to give it a rest for awhile after that last quest.” Jeren said as Leon stopped beside him.

“I don’t call trying to goat some one out of a weapons obsession a quest.” Leon said bluntly. Jeren nodded.

“You know, Leon,” Jeren said, “Alia is right. You are treating leave is if it’s an off-week in the Ruins. You need to work less. All that stress can’t be good for you.”

“I’ll think about it.” Leon muttered as he walked into the Guild.

It was late that night that Leon returned. He had finished his trip through the mines after the research of some guy called Osto and he was ready to fall asleep on his feet. He had just begun to fall asleep when the com box next to his bed went off.

“This sure as hell better be important.” Leon groaned as he activated the screen.

“Trust me, it is.” It was principal Tyrell. “I’m afraid your leave has been suspended. We have an emergency situation.”

“I’ll be right there.” Leon told him as he buckled on his armor.

Five minutes later, Leon arrived at the Lab, the central nerve of Pioneer II. Jeren was already there. He, Principal Tyrell and Commander Natasha, who ran the lab, were gathered around a set of display consoles. As he entered, Jeren was loading Photon shells into his Varista.
Leon could tell the situation was bad.

“What happened?” He asked.

“A whole hoard of Dimenians came up through one of out telepipes. They’re causing utter chaos in the Residential District.” Natasha answered.

Leon went over to the labs storage system and entered his personal password. After selecting a few other things, monomates and the like, Leon retrieved his Lavis Cannon from the storage system. Jeren had finished loading his Varista and had unsheathed his Elysion. He had the Yamato slung across his back.

“Let’s go.” Jeren said grimly. He and Leon walked out of the lab and took a telepipe to the Residential District.

It was truly utter chaos. The Dimenians were leaping from building to building and sometimes even jumping on the hover vehicles that passed by. They were jumping like neither of the two Hunters had seen before. Suddenly, one of the Dimenians spotted them and gave a cry. The game was up. Before the others could react, Leon had unleashed a wave of energy from the blade of the Lavis Cannon. It struck the Dimenian on the head and it went down with a groan. That set off a chain reaction. The other Dimenians began to rush at them, leaping across whatever was in their way.

Jeren and Leon split up. Jeren dashed away into the roadways, jumping from car to car then the opportunity came. A dimenian came up on him from behind. He lashed back with a kick right to it’s torso which sent it plummeting down to the ground 100 feet below them. He Jumped onto a hover car that had been abandoned moments before and now stood floating in place. All at once, a Dimenian jumped from behind him, over his head and onto a floating truck, more than 50 feet away. Jeren unsheathed his Yamato and sprang into the air. At precisely the right moment, he cast Rafioe straight behind himself. It worked. The shock of the initial explosion combined with the jolt when the car exploded a microsecond later hurled Jeren onto the truck with the Dimenian. The creature lashes at him with it’s blades, but Jeren struck back, dealing a crushing blow with both his swords to the thing’s skull.

Leon ran from building to building picking off any Dimenians that he met along the way. He jumped from the top of a building to a bride about two stories below. Four Dimenians were clustered on the bridge, waiting for him. He felled the first one seconds later. The others started to circle around him. But Leon moved in such a way that they could never really surround him. He killed two more with the Lavis Cannon and struck the third a lethal blow with his fist. As he entered the building on the far side of the bridge, he encountered three more of the beasts. He dispatched these and took and elevator directly up to the roof. As he exited the elevator, he spotted a Dimenian perched on a ledge. It had not seen him. Leon sorted through his tech disks. Yes, a simple Zonde, if executed correctly would do nicely. He loaded the disk and took careful aim. The impact of the technique hitting it’s legs knocked the dimenian off balance and it fell like a stone.

Things proceeded like this for quite some time. When the Dimenians were finally exterminated, Jeren and Leon reported back to the lab to report the results of the expedition. Both Principal Tyrell and Natasha rewarded them for their efforts and Tyrell extended their leave. After that fight, Leon was finally ready for it.

.... To be continued.

[Jeren]

Here is chapyer 2 in the seires: enjoy!

For the Hunt: Ancient Secrets.
Authors note: The Quest “Ruin Secrets” is not a playable quest in Episode 1, so don’t try looking for it. It was created of this fan fic alone. If it does exist, well, then that’s really freaky.

Alia checked in at the Hunter’s Guild as she always did. The thing she didn’t expect was that this simple vent, which she did every week, would begin a chain of horrific events that would touch not only her, but those close to her as well. It was about a week after the Dimenians got into Pioneer II via a malfunctioning Telepipe. She hadn’t known at the time that two people she knew were responsible for saving Pioneer II. She had found out, though. It was inevitable. She was Jeren’s half sister. When Jeren’s father died, his mother had remarried on Jeren’s advice. He had only been 6, but he recognized that she needed someone else there to support her. So she had married Dradis Thal, Alia’s father. Jeren also took the surname Thal to make it feel more complete. Dradis was a newman, as was Alia but he was a FOnewm and She was a HUnerweal. Never the less, she and Jeren had gotten along very well considering their differences.

When she returned to the Hunter’s Guild after lunch, She found her brother, Jeren and his friend Leon (Yes, they are the same characters in For the Hunt: Pioneer II) waiting for her inside the building. She embraced her brother and greeted Leon warmly.

“What’s the occasion?” She asked.

“Oh, so now I need a reason to come see my sister once and a while?” Jeren shot back, a half teasing way. Alia looked at him in that way of hers that could fore the truth out of the most hard-minded Android. “all right,” Jeren admitted, “We came to see if that quest, ‘Ruin Secrets’, is still open.”

“You know that’s a four-person team quest.” Alia responded.

“And this would be a problem why?” Leon asked in his usual blunt way. At that moment, Siri came running up to the Guild and dashed inside. She straightened her hat and brushed the hair out of her eyes.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” She said apologetically. “I couldn’t get a bus from the Shopping District.” Siri was a RAmarl, and very pretty. She was 16, the same age as Leon and a year younger than Jeren and Alia.

“Ok, you got me.” Alia said, laughing. She followed The other three to the guild counter. As Jeren singed up for the quest and got the mission briefing, Leon, Siri and Alia each retrieved their weapons. Leon was using his ever-faithful Lavis Cannon, Siri was using the Yasminkov 7000V and Alia was sticking with her Kaladblog. Leon also got Jeren’s Elysion for him.

As the four of them walked to the Telepipe, they finalized their plans for the mission. A research team hand disappeared without a trace in the ruins. Moreover, they never sent any transmissions. However, according to the Lab’s database, they hand received two messages from the team. But both Tyrell and Natasha said that no messages were received. The four of them were going down to The Ruins to see what they could find. They never knew what this seemingly simple quest would turn into.

They arrived in the ruins at dusk. They had done some pre-quest research and they were well prepared. As they entered the first room, something sent a chill up Alia’s spine. She couldn’t tell what was wrong at first, but then it hit her.

“Where are the monsters?” She whispered. Leon drew his sword, looking uncomfortably around. Siri raised her Yasminkov cautiously. But it soon be came evident that the ruins were clear. Not a Dimenian, Claw or Chaos Bringer in sight.

“What happened? There used to be no end to them.” Jeren murmured.

“I know. I don’t like it.” Leon whispered back. It became clear as they preceded that all of the first level was empty save for the occasional rodent. They stopped in the second level, finding it to be empty as well. Jeren and Siri began to set up camp for the night, Alia as looking for traces of something on the ground and Leon was examining one of the crystalline monuments in the room. Alia came back and sat down. Once Leon sat down, she told them what she ahd discovered.

“It’s almost as if there were never any monsters at all. I checked the floor and there isn’t even a trace of any type of blood. Dark monster or even Human or Newman. Nothing.” Alia told them. “If the monsters left, they did so of their own will. But if they didn’t, then something removed them without shedding any blood, theirs or its own.”

“This is beginning to be much more than we bargained for.” Siri said grimly. No one said anything, but they all knew she was right. Jeren looked like he was lost in a dark world of his own and Leon was just sitting there with the expression of a person who has just been slapped.

They went to bed shortly after. The ruins were completely silent with not a sound to disturb their sleep. Even so, Alia woke up around two in the morning. She come out of the makeshift tent that had been put up to find Leon sitting outside in front of the fire they had built. The Lavis Cannon was across his lap and his Suppressed Gun lay at his side, a shell already in the chamber. Alia came up beside him and sat down. Leon never even acknowledged that she was there until he spoke to her.

“Can’t sleep?” His gentle voice still made Alia jump. She hadn’t known that he knew she was there.

“How could I.” She responded. Then, “Have you been awake this whole time?” Leon nodded. Alia lay her head on his shoulder. “You should try to get some sleep you know.” She told him.

“I have to stay awake in case the Dimenians and the rest come back. It would not be safe with all of us asleep.” He said softly. Alia nodded, her head still on his shoulder. She fell asleep a little while later. Leon stayed awake. He was keeping watch over all of them, but her most of all.

.... To be continued.

[Jeren]

Ok, on to chapter 3.

For the Hunt: Ancient Secrets-Part 2

The team stirred at dawn. True to his words, Leon never had fallen asleep and was making breakfast when the others woke up. He had carried Alia back to her bed after awhile so she would be more comfortable. Jeren woke first and was drawn out of his tent by the smell of food cooking over an open fire. Siri came out of the girl’s tent and Alia followed not long after. They held a conference over breakfast and agreed on their next course of action. Jeren wanted to proceed west in favor of making it to the third level of the ruins. Siri and Leon thought that further exploration of their current position, (Ruins 2 if you are keeping score) would lead to some answers. Alia wanted to return to the first level and conduct a more thorough investigation there.

They eventually decided to move forward. Leon packed up the tents and Siri extinguished the fire. They moved out and soon began to once again become aware of how quiet things were. As things progressed, it began to grow hotter and hotter. The air on all sides of the party was getting unpleasantly warm. Jeren reloaded his Varista and Alia had the Kaladblog ready at all times. As they reached what seemed to be by far the largest room, they were ambushed by what seemed like all the Dimenians that the Ruins could possibly contain. It was an all-out melee. Jeren, Alia and Leon were fighting back with their swords, striking stroke for stroke and Siri rained a deadly shower of Photon Bullets into the thickest clumps.

The fighting lasted nearly four hours. At the end, all of them were worn out, and the Varista, Suppressed Gun and Yasminkov were all out of shots. The entire party was in need of medical attention. Alia went around administering Reseta where it was needed and healing herself in the process. They agreed to take a break before continuing.

As they entered the third Ruin, some two hours later, they were once again attacked. But this time, the enemies were all La and So Dimenians. They moved from room to room, fighting for their lives every way they turned. Jeren moved among them, doing massive damage by hurling Rafioe after Rafioe into the clouds of enemies. Leon, not minding the cost to his health, was launching wave after wave of energy from that Lavis Cannon. Siri had put away her Yasminkov and was using a DB Saber borrowed from Alia with great results. Alia herself was moving among them, her Kaladblog tearing into the bodies of her enemies. They fought their way into a room with four doors and a massive column in the center. They fought their way to the far door from where they entered and rushed inside and took the Telepipe, not one of them stopping to think where it might lead.

They came out in a lush meadow, and looking around, saw a great spire in the center of the field. They all went toward it, as if drawn by some unseen force. As they reached it, the meadow suddenly went to hell. The ground around them became barren and rocky instead of grassy and thriving. And the ground was covered with spinning blades. These were dispensed easily. But what followed was worse than they could have dreamed of. A huge monster sprung from the ground and rose to an enormous beast. They all knew what it was. Dark Falz. This battle would decide the entire fate of Ragol.

But the thing spoke to them, with a voice that echoed in each of their minds.

“Who are you who think yourselves fit to end me. I, the the very form of Death itself. You are either very brave or very stupid. I have killed beings more powerful than you. You are nothing to me. The Red Child thought herself ready. She died. And so will you. The only thing I have yet to decide is, who first? You will all die here. But the last will ahv to watch the others go!”

Dark Falz raised it’s arms, for all the world like a tower of Death made tangible. Then it fired a beam of pure energy at Jeren, Siri, Alia and Leon. It’s aim was true. It’s victim never felt a thing. Alia was dead before she hit the ground.

.... To Be Continued

[Jeren]

Oy! Anyone who has ever taken one of those family vacations that last a little too long will understand why this chapter is so late.


For the Hunt: New existence.
Author's note. Yes, Praxsus is one of my characters, he does not use a Tsumikiri J-sword in the game because I don’t have one(I wish I did. Hint hint.) but he would be cooler if he did. He is also not a member of a certain group, because that is impossible in the game. Also, Black Rose is not one of my characters. His costume is like that of Heathcliff Flowen’s from Ep. 2, but in black.

Praxsus wandered alone on the shore of the island that housed the Control Center. He was a tall imposing FOmar with black robes and silver hair. His Tsumikiri J-sword was slung across his back. The young Hunerweal Anna came up beside him and knelt in the sand. Praxsus took her by the arm and raised her gently from the sand. Anna bowed her head and closed her eyes. She waited for the blow to fall. But Praxsus embraced her, telling her that he was just glad she was still alive. She looked up at him, gratified. He let her go and she ran off toward a large building in the distance. It would have been hard to tell from that exchange, but Praxsus was the leader of Black Paper.

Praxsus returned to the control center with troubling news. Black Hound had been defeated. As Praxsus entered his command center, he found Black Hound leaning insolently against a wall. Praxsus merely nodded to him and gestured two his empty hands.

"Where is the Soul Eater?" He asked emotionlessly. Black Hound flinched. "The Hunter who defeated me took it." He said. Praxsus nodded and turned to leave. On the way out he glanced at the RAmar in the corner. The glance spoke volumes. The RAmar reached down and removed his Bravace from it’s holster. He pulled the hammer back and fired. Black Hound crumpled to the floor dead.

As the afternoon wore on, it became evident that a replacement would need to be found for the now deceased Black Hound. It was for this purpose that Praxsus called Anna to his side.

"What is it?" She asked. Praxsus smiled at her boldness. "Recall Black Rose from the seabed. I need him to replace Hound." Anna looked shocked. "Bu-but, surely," she stammered, "Black Rose is overkill for the situation that Hound was in command of! I know that Black Hound was defeated but Black Rose is nearly four times as powerful! He would rip the caves to shreds!"

"I understand that you are nervous about contacting Black Rose, but he is the only remaining person who is up to the assignment."

Black Rose was a HUmar. He wore all black and had long, blood-red hair. His weapons of choice were Sange and Yasha, twin katanas, one held in either hand. Aside from Praxsus himself, Black Rose was the most deadly unit in Black Paper’s arsenal. He would make short work of their Central Dome operation.

* * *

As Alia’s body hit the ground, Siri screamed. Jeren rushed to her side and Leon, filled with rage, grabbed his Suppressed Gun from its holster and began firing at Dark Falz. When it’s ammo was depleted, he ran forward and began to slash at Falz’s body with his Lavis Cannon. Dark Falz discarded it’s lower body and began to circle around them, pummeling the group with fire, ice and Dark energy. Both Leon and Jeren were now going at the monster, but siri was kneeling next to Alia’s body sobbing. As Leon and Jeren struck again, Dark Falz fell to the ground. But it regained it’s balance! The three of them found themselves standing on a massive glyph with a hole in the center, though which Dark Falz assailed them endlessly. As the fight became longer, Jeren was becoming tired quickly. He energy was almost spent. Leon was unable to move because Dark Falz had him in a Soul Bind. The bind broke and Falz set it’s sights on a new soul: Alia’s. It hit her dead body with it’s energy and absorbed her soul into the raging miasma of energy within itself.

But at this, Siri straightened up. She turned slowly to face Dark Falz, her Yasminkov in her hands. She slowly raised the rifle. Her hands were completely steady. Dark Falz reared up to perform the killing technique again, but Siri acted first. She squeezed the trigger of her Yasminkov. The shot passed straight through Dark Falz’s head. The thing fell in through the center of the glyph, hit the ground, and died. But it’s last blow struck the Telepipe that had just materialized. The Telepipe exploded. The blast destroyed the Glyph and sent the party tumbling to the ground. As each one hit they were slowly knocked unconscious.

Siri woke up hours later with the feeling of some great thing having happened, Then she saw where they were. In the center of a barren crater with no visible means of escape. But lying nearby lay the body of a young woman. It was Red Ring Rico. Siri moved slowly over to her and felt her wrist. She was still alive, but barely. Then, Siri remembered. All of the memory of what had happened came back to her. Dark Falz, Alia. Everything. Siri began to cry uncontrollably. Leon emerged out of the mist that had formed and put an arm around Siri’s shoulders.

"We looked everywhere. There’s no sign of Alia’s body. She’s gone." His voice shook, as if he was holding back all of the tears he had ever cried. Siri buried her face in Leon’s shoulder and wept uncontrollably. As the mist burned off, they could see Jeren sitting alone on the other side of the crater. He was sitting very still, staring off into the distance.

Just at that moment, the air off to the left began to shimmer as if in a heat haze. Someone was coming down the telepipe from the Ruins. A young man dressed in black with blood-red hair and carrying two katanas emerged. He strode out into the center and stood before Leon.

"What is this!? We were told that this was some sort of container for some treasure!" The young man said, clearly annoyed.

"You have some sorry excuses for sources, then don’t you, Black Rose." It was Jeren. He was looking at the newcomer with nothing but hatred in his eyes. "You don’t give up much, do you?"

Black Rose stared. His eyes widened as he recognised Jeren. "I try to keep up, Jeren." He shot back cooly. As Black Rose prepaired for battle, a voice stopped everyone in their tracks.

"Soren? W-w-what are y-you doing here?" It was Rico. Her voice was shaky and weak but she was trying to sit up all the same. Black Rose looked down at her and recognised her instantly.

... to be continued.

[Jeren]

Sorry it's takin' so long to post these! Here's chapter 5.

For the Hunt: Her childhood friend.

"Rico! What are you doing here? What happened to you?" Black Rose knelt by Red Ring Rico’s side. Rico smiled weakly.

"I came here looking for answers and all I get is a brush with death. I don’t think my luck is changing." She smiled grimly. "I always was the unlucky one." Black Rose smiled at her words.

"But how did you get here? Why did you come to this place?" he asked. She groaned.

"I was looking at the native animals in the forests surrounding Pioneer 1 when I stumbled on the caves and mines beneath the surface of Ragol. They looked like they had been made recently. While I was in the caves, the attack on the central dome happened. When I got back down to the Mines, all of the machines had gone crazy! Even the control unit, Volt Opt, had been affected. After I defeated it, a passage way opened in the wall that took me down to an excavation site. It crossed my mind that Volt Opt may not have been malfunctioning, but was set to defend the dig site I had found.” Rico paused for breath, leaving the others looking stunned. “As I went through the Ruins, I saw all of the weapons and vehicles that the soldiers from Pioneer 1 had left. I became increasingly worried. Then these Delsabers ambushed me and brought me here. I was able to leave capsules with messages to anyone who came to find me. They brought me to this place, and then..." Rico trailed off, "That's all I can remember."

Black Rose got to his feet. He looked around at what remained of Leon’s party and the desolate battlefield. He turned and began to walk away. "That is sure some tale. But even if you haven’t changed, I have. I need to report back to Praxsus." He took out a compact version of the transmission pieces used to communicate on the control center and turned it on. "Black Rose to Black Paper." Static. "Black Paper, are you there?" He tried for five more minutes before giving up. He turned to face the rest of the party.

"I am afraid that each of you will have to accompany me back to the control center. You too, Miss Tyrell. I cannot afford to have you retain what you have seen today in your minds. It is .... for the best."

* * *

It was warm. Almost to warm to be pleasant. She felt the heat burning at her skin like an open flame. She tried to move to avoid it, but every way she turned, the heat was there. She didn’t know where she was. But it was not pleasant. 'Is this hell?' she wondered. 'Have I died and gone to hell? And if not, where am I?' The answer was far more terrible than she could ever know.

* * *

It had been deiced that Black Rose would come with them. He had been bossing them around so much that Siri had gotten tired of it and hit him in the head with her rifle. He was now being dragged along the ground by Leon, protesting loudly al the way. He had woken up but Jeren had hit him with Rafioe a couple of times until he was ready to behave. Siri was helping Rico walk by supporting her when she needed it and Jeren wa walking behind Leon, occasionally hitting Black Rose with the flat of the blade on his Elysion when he complained to loudly, or whenever Jeren felt like it.

They had struck out away from the battlefield on foot an were now some distance away. They had been walking for five hours when Black Rose said that he needed a break. Jeren just hit him again but Leon said he would like to stop too. Jeren, by force of habit, hit Leon on the back of the head. Leon turned around at stared at Jeren for a spilt second. Then he brought up his Akiko’s Frying Pan and hit Jeren squarely in the face. Jeren collapsed saying, "Actually, I break don’t sound bad here either." Leon sat down with something close to a satisfied smirk on his face. Siri sat with Rico, talking to her in a sympathetic tone. "I don’t understand," Rico said, "He seemed to be happy to see me, but after my story he turned cold. Almost like I told him something he didn’t want to hear." Siri nodded.

"You may have. He is with Black Paper, a mercenary group. Jeren and I have met him before. He’s dangerous." Siri shuddered. "But how did you know him so well?"

"His family and mine used to be friends before my father became Principal and I left for Ragol. Father always told me that we would probably meet again sometime. What a place for that to happen."

"I can’t say I know the feeling. Well, maybe. There was this guy. Me and Alia..." Siri stopped and tears began to fill her eyes. Rico put an am around her.

"What happened?" She asked gently. Siri sniffled.

"Alia was killed back there, fighting that thing. She never even had a chance to defend herself. I can tell that her death has affected Jeren most of all. He isn’t usually like this. He is usually kind and gentle." Siri said. "She was his sister," she explained. "They were closer that I have ever seen, even though they were only step-siblings." Siri’s eyes began to tear up again.

Jeren sat alone and ate what little he had with him. His eyes were watching Black Rose, who sat eating as if he had not eaten in days. Jeren got up and started walking again. Everyone except Black Rose took the hint and began leaving too.

"Where are we going?! I haven’t finished eating yet!" Black Rose protested.

"Shut up, and move your ass." Jeren responded as he walked by. Black Rose got to his feet. When the time came, he would make them pay.


-To be continued

[Jeren]

Sorry it's takin' so long to post these! Here's chapter 5.

For the Hunt: Her childhood friend.

"Rico! What are you doing here? What happened to you?" Black Rose knelt by Red Ring Rico’s side. Rico smiled weakly.

"I came here looking for answers and all I get is a brush with death. I don’t think my luck is changing." She smiled grimly. "I always was the unlucky one." Black Rose smiled at her words.

"But how did you get here? Why did you come to this place?" he asked. She groaned.

"I was looking at the native animals in the forests surrounding Pioneer 1 when I stumbled on the caves and mines beneath the surface of Ragol. They looked like they had been made recently. While I was in the caves, the attack on the central dome happened. When I got back down to the Mines, all of the machines had gone crazy! Even the control unit, Volt Opt, had been affected. After I defeated it, a passage way opened in the wall that took me down to an excavation site. It crossed my mind that Volt Opt may not have been malfunctioning, but was set to defend the dig site I had found.” Rico paused for breath, leaving the others looking stunned. “As I went through the Ruins, I saw all of the weapons and vehicles that the soldiers from Pioneer 1 had left. I became increasingly worried. Then these Delsabers ambushed me and brought me here. I was able to leave capsules with messages to anyone who came to find me. They brought me to this place, and then..." Rico trailed off, "That's all I can remember."

Black Rose got to his feet. He looked around at what remained of Leon’s party and the desolate battlefield. He turned and began to walk away. "That is sure some tale. But even if you haven’t changed, I have. I need to report back to Praxsus." He took out a compact version of the transmission pieces used to communicate on the control center and turned it on. "Black Rose to Black Paper." Static. "Black Paper, are you there?" He tried for five more minutes before giving up. He turned to face the rest of the party.

"I am afraid that each of you will have to accompany me back to the control center. You too, Miss Tyrell. I cannot afford to have you retain what you have seen today in your minds. It is .... for the best."

* * *

It was warm. Almost to warm to be pleasant. She felt the heat burning at her skin like an open flame. She tried to move to avoid it, but every way she turned, the heat was there. She didn’t know where she was. But it was not pleasant. 'Is this hell?' she wondered. 'Have I died and gone to hell? And if not, where am I?' The answer was far more terrible than she could ever know.

* * *

It had been deiced that Black Rose would come with them. He had been bossing them around so much that Siri had gotten tired of it and hit him in the head with her rifle. He was now being dragged along the ground by Leon, protesting loudly al the way. He had woken up but Jeren had hit him with Rafioe a couple of times until he was ready to behave. Siri was helping Rico walk by supporting her when she needed it and Jeren wa walking behind Leon, occasionally hitting Black Rose with the flat of the blade on his Elysion when he complained to loudly, or whenever Jeren felt like it.

They had struck out away from the battlefield on foot an were now some distance away. They had been walking for five hours when Black Rose said that he needed a break. Jeren just hit him again but Leon said he would like to stop too. Jeren, by force of habit, hit Leon on the back of the head. Leon turned around at stared at Jeren for a spilt second. Then he brought up his Akiko’s Frying Pan and hit Jeren squarely in the face. Jeren collapsed saying, "Actually, I break don’t sound bad here either." Leon sat down with something close to a satisfied smirk on his face. Siri sat with Rico, talking to her in a sympathetic tone. "I don’t understand," Rico said, "He seemed to be happy to see me, but after my story he turned cold. Almost like I told him something he didn’t want to hear." Siri nodded.

"You may have. He is with Black Paper, a mercenary group. Jeren and I have met him before. He’s dangerous." Siri shuddered. "But how did you know him so well?"

"His family and mine used to be friends before my father became Principal and I left for Ragol. Father always told me that we would probably meet again sometime. What a place for that to happen."

"I can’t say I know the feeling. Well, maybe. There was this guy. Me and Alia..." Siri stopped and tears began to fill her eyes. Rico put an am around her.

"What happened?" She asked gently. Siri sniffled.

"Alia was killed back there, fighting that thing. She never even had a chance to defend herself. I can tell that her death has affected Jeren most of all. He isn’t usually like this. He is usually kind and gentle." Siri said. "She was his sister," she explained. "They were closer that I have ever seen, even though they were only step-siblings." Siri’s eyes began to tear up again.

Jeren sat alone and ate what little he had with him. His eyes were watching Black Rose, who sat eating as if he had not eaten in days. Jeren got up and started walking again. Everyone except Black Rose took the hint and began leaving too.

"Where are we going?! I haven’t finished eating yet!" Black Rose protested.

"Shut up, and move your ass." Jeren responded as he walked by. Black Rose got to his feet. When the time came, he would make them pay.


-To be continued

[Jeren]

Sorry it's takin' so long to post these! Here's chapter 5.

For the Hunt: Her childhood friend.

"Rico! What are you doing here? What happened to you?" Black Rose knelt by Red Ring Rico’s side. Rico smiled weakly.

"I came here looking for answers and all I get is a brush with death. I don’t think my luck is changing." She smiled grimly. "I always was the unlucky one." Black Rose smiled at her words.

"But how did you get here? Why did you come to this place?" he asked. She groaned.

"I was looking at the native animals in the forests surrounding Pioneer 1 when I stumbled on the caves and mines beneath the surface of Ragol. They looked like they had been made recently. While I was in the caves, the attack on the central dome happened. When I got back down to the Mines, all of the machines had gone crazy! Even the control unit, Volt Opt, had been affected. After I defeated it, a passage way opened in the wall that took me down to an excavation site. It crossed my mind that Volt Opt may not have been malfunctioning, but was set to defend the dig site I had found.” Rico paused for breath, leaving the others looking stunned. “As I went through the Ruins, I saw all of the weapons and vehicles that the soldiers from Pioneer 1 had left. I became increasingly worried. Then these Delsabers ambushed me and brought me here. I was able to leave capsules with messages to anyone who came to find me. They brought me to this place, and then..." Rico trailed off, "That's all I can remember."

Black Rose got to his feet. He looked around at what remained of Leon’s party and the desolate battlefield. He turned and began to walk away. "That is sure some tale. But even if you haven’t changed, I have. I need to report back to Praxsus." He took out a compact version of the transmission pieces used to communicate on the control center and turned it on. "Black Rose to Black Paper." Static. "Black Paper, are you there?" He tried for five more minutes before giving up. He turned to face the rest of the party.

"I am afraid that each of you will have to accompany me back to the control center. You too, Miss Tyrell. I cannot afford to have you retain what you have seen today in your minds. It is .... for the best."

* * *

It was warm. Almost to warm to be pleasant. She felt the heat burning at her skin like an open flame. She tried to move to avoid it, but every way she turned, the heat was there. She didn’t know where she was. But it was not pleasant. 'Is this hell?' she wondered. 'Have I died and gone to hell? And if not, where am I?' The answer was far more terrible than she could ever know.

* * *

It had been deiced that Black Rose would come with them. He had been bossing them around so much that Siri had gotten tired of it and hit him in the head with her rifle. He was now being dragged along the ground by Leon, protesting loudly al the way. He had woken up but Jeren had hit him with Rafioe a couple of times until he was ready to behave. Siri was helping Rico walk by supporting her when she needed it and Jeren wa walking behind Leon, occasionally hitting Black Rose with the flat of the blade on his Elysion when he complained to loudly, or whenever Jeren felt like it.

They had struck out away from the battlefield on foot an were now some distance away. They had been walking for five hours when Black Rose said that he needed a break. Jeren just hit him again but Leon said he would like to stop too. Jeren, by force of habit, hit Leon on the back of the head. Leon turned around at stared at Jeren for a spilt second. Then he brought up his Akiko’s Frying Pan and hit Jeren squarely in the face. Jeren collapsed saying, "Actually, I break don’t sound bad here either." Leon sat down with something close to a satisfied smirk on his face. Siri sat with Rico, talking to her in a sympathetic tone. "I don’t understand," Rico said, "He seemed to be happy to see me, but after my story he turned cold. Almost like I told him something he didn’t want to hear." Siri nodded.

"You may have. He is with Black Paper, a mercenary group. Jeren and I have met him before. He’s dangerous." Siri shuddered. "But how did you know him so well?"

"His family and mine used to be friends before my father became Principal and I left for Ragol. Father always told me that we would probably meet again sometime. What a place for that to happen."

"I can’t say I know the feeling. Well, maybe. There was this guy. Me and Alia..." Siri stopped and tears began to fill her eyes. Rico put an am around her.

"What happened?" She asked gently. Siri sniffled.

"Alia was killed back there, fighting that thing. She never even had a chance to defend herself. I can tell that her death has affected Jeren most of all. He isn’t usually like this. He is usually kind and gentle." Siri said. "She was his sister," she explained. "They were closer that I have ever seen, even though they were only step-siblings." Siri’s eyes began to tear up again.

Jeren sat alone and ate what little he had with him. His eyes were watching Black Rose, who sat eating as if he had not eaten in days. Jeren got up and started walking again. Everyone except Black Rose took the hint and began leaving too.

"Where are we going?! I haven’t finished eating yet!" Black Rose protested.

"Shut up, and move your ass." Jeren responded as he walked by. Black Rose got to his feet. When the time came, he would make them pay.


-To be continued

[darthsaber9x9]

very nice!