Teck: Hey all! I'm back, just dropping in again to check in on ya. Ok, this is an idea that I ran by my younger brother, and he thought it was a dumb idea. However, I thought it would be cool, and only JUST recently came up with a name. It takes place four years after the events of Spectrobes: Origins. So, I'm going to let you guys decide if this should become an actually story or not. If you do, leave a smile in your comments. Also, just so you know, I have to "INVENT" several things for this story, which, if it becomes a true story, will occasionally have Rallen and Jeena acting OOC, and will eventually center on Rallen and Jeena's relationship. So, Again, Enjoy, and let me know!

Kamen Rider Nova

EP1: CHRISTMAS CHAOS: FROST VS NOVA!

Play OP: "YA-YA-YA" - AAA

A quiet dusting of snow fell silently on the small planet of Kollin. It was winter, and everyone was rushing to finish their work so they could hurry home to their families. All except for three people, who walked down the man-made metal: a boy in a patrolman's uniform, with large white headphones on, from which you could clearly here EXACTLY what he was listening to; a pink-haired girl in an open white vest and headset, looking completely down; a tall, middle-aged man with a long, scruffy facial hair wearing a long, brown trench coat. All three were wearing winter coats and had an aura emanating from them of the worst holiday blues you'd ever seen.

"So, what are your plans for the holidays, Aldous? You have no home world anymore, and you have no one here, so I was just wondering…" the boy said, pulling one of his large headphones off his head, turning down his music so that he could hear the response.

"Honestly, Rallen," the girl said, turning to the boy and smacking him across the back of the head, "could you be any MORE carefree? You don't have to remind the poor guy!" She turned back to face the older man, and nervously said, "Sorry about him, Aldous. Apparently he still hasn't grown out of childhood. Please, just ignore him like I do."

Aldous shook his hairy head, saying, "No, no, Jeena, It's quite alright. I'm just surprised that Rallen still hasn't learned about common courtesy. Anyway, to answer your question, Rallen, I have no plans. I was going to find myself a good hotel room and just sleep the holidays away."

Jeena gasped, putting an arm around Aldous' large frame, then said, "Well, why don't you crash at my place? Though it'll be annoying, cause RALLEN'S gonna be there…" she moaned, hoping Rallen hadn't heard that.

"Don't worry, Jeena, I didn't hear a word of that. I'll find a hotel this Christmas, so you won't have to put up with me," Rallen said, his emotions finally getting the better of him as he turned and ran off.

"Wait, Rallen, where are you going?" Jeena called after him, starting to chase him. If it weren't for Aldous laying his hand on her shoulder to stop her, she might have caught him.

"No, Jeena, don't follow him. Right now all Rallen needs is some alone time. I'll gladly bunk with you. And don't worry about me, I'll sleep on the couch." Aldous smiled a big, furry grin, cheering Jeena up slightly.

Jeena started laughing, making Aldous ask, "What's so funny?"

"You look like a big, cuddly teddy bear, Aldous!" Jeena squealed, jumping on him like a schoolgirl. Aldous stumbled back a bit, surprised at the sudden action of his young friend.

Jeena smiled, then said, "The only thing that bugs me is what Rallen said a few years ago, after he beat Krux. You know, that thing about Krux being part human? And how he escaped? I wonder what Krux is planning…"

Aldous stopped smiling and took on a more serious tone when he said, "Well, whatever it is, that might be one contributing factor of Rallen's stress. He's had to deal with the Krawl threat on two separate occasions, and the last time he found out he's facing a Krawl-enhanced meta-human. There's a high chance that Rallen's thoughts were on when another attack would occur, or something quite similar. But, for now, we should let him be. He needs time to get himself together." Jeena simply nodded as she led the way to her small, two-bedroom apartment.

"So, I never really got to know much about you and Rallen. Why are you and Rallen not spending the holidays with your own families?" Aldous asked. He quickly realized that he may have hit a tender spot when Jeena's eyes widened, then darkened.

"I'd rather not talk about it," she said, a cloud of gloom hanging over her head. Aldous decided to stay off the topic until he could talk with Rallen, the joy that would end up being. Aldous' eyes rolled as he thought of talking to Rallen. Speaking of which, where had the boy run off to?

~ELSEWHERE…~

Rallen sat amongst piles of boxes, releasing a slow, steady stream of tears. Even though it was strictly against his style, he couldn't help but let it out.

"Come on, man! STOP CRYING!" he shouted to himself, smashing his left hand into a particularly strong box, smashing the crystal-like object embedded in his armour. "Oh, great, now I've done it. Why'd I have to get like this? Now I've gone and broken my Prizmod. I don't think this'll work as well now. I'd better bring this to Aldous. He should be able to fix it." Standing up, he walked back down the alley to where he'd left Aldous and Jeena, only to find that they weren't there.

"Aw, great, this is just wonderful. At least I know where they'd be headed to. I'd better get to Jeena's place," Rallen sighed, turning in the direction of his destination. However, he remained oblivious to the set of dark black eyes that watched him walk away.

~LATER~

Jeena sat at her table, pouring Aldous a glass of wine, sipping her own glass of milk at the same time. She'd have to be able to multi-task, or she couldn't call herself a technician. Aldous, however, was perfectly calm, a small tinge of red now beginning to creep across his face as the alcohol worked its magic. Jeena smiled at Aldous, secretly amazed that he'd already put away thirteen FULL glasses of wine, and was still almost completely sober.

"Wow, Aldous, you Giornians know how to hold your liquor! And you also apparently don't hold any belief for superstition…" she said, noticing that Aldous had just passed the thirteen drink count. Thirteen… the unlucky number…

"SORRY I'M LATE!" shouted a familiar voice as Rallen blew through the door, covered in a light coating of snow. In one hand he carried two bags of snacks, in the other a duffel bag. Jeena ran over and hugged Rallen, who, surprised, put his full arms around her.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Rallen, I shouldn't have said that. It was totally mean of me, and I should have just kept quiet. I forgot how hard things are for you at Christmas, and-" Jeena was cut off as Rallen Gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You don't have to apologize, Jeena. I should learn to control myself a little better. It's my fault. I'm sorry for making you worry about me. I'll keep myself better in check from now on, OK?" he said, smiling as he let go of her and took off his coat, bringing the food into the dining room and greeting Aldous with a hearty call of, "ALDOUS! YOU READY TO PARTY?"

Jeena stood in the hall, touching her cheek. Rallen had NEVER done anything like this before, so this sudden burst of affection and apology had taken her aback.

"YO JEENA, ARE YOU COMIN' OR WHAT? ALL THE GOOD STUFF WILL BE GONE IN NO TIME IF YOU DON'T HURRY UP!" Rallen shouted from the table as he and Aldous poured each other a hearty glass of wine. Jeena smiled. She was going to like this new Rallen, even if he had his issues.

"DON'T EAT ALL THE CHOCOLATES! THOSE ARE MINE! I'LL HURT YOU IF MY FAVES ARE GONE!" She shouted as she ran to the table.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, as all three acted like total children, playing, eating, and getting drunk. Several toasts were made, and several wine glasses were broken as the three toasted with enough force to break the door off an armoured car.

Around midnight, however, Jeena got up and stumbled off to her room, saying, "Alright, you five… I'm going to sleep… DON'T GO GETTING ANY IDEAS!" she took two steps into her room and collapsed onto her bed, half sprawled on her bed and half on the floor. Meanwhile, Rallen and Aldous, both almost totally drunk, continued to talk.

"So, Rallen, I asked Jeena earlier about why you two weren't spending Christmas with your families, but she just got totally depressed and told me to be quiet. What's the deal?" Aldous asked, and immediately, Rallen's carefree exterior became serious and sober.

"Well, the truth is," Rallen began, "Jeena and I are both orphans. We never knew our parents. I grew up on the streets of Korinan, a small punk town just a few miles outside of the capital. I knew from an early age that I'd have to get violent to survive, and eventually became almost murderous in every facet of my being. However, when I turned 8, I left to come to the capital, and met Jeena in an alley. After a few weeks with her, my murderous nature died away, and I became happy. I decided that as long as I was with her, I wouldn't have to kill anymore. As we grew up together, we noticed different things changing about each other: Jeena wanted to become a technician, and after being saved from a mugger by a patrolman at thirteen, I decided that I wanted to become one myself. So, we went to school, and both joined the Nanairo Planetary Patrol two years later. All we've ever had was each other, so we've become more like brother and sister than just friends."

When Rallen finished, he turned to Aldous, who now shared his serious expression. Aldous looked away for a second, then said, "That explains why you two are so close." Rallen nodded, then pulled out the duffel bag. From it, he pulled his broken Prizmod.

Aldous stared at it, then said, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO THIS? A Prizmod isn't supposed to break this badly!"

Rallen scratched his head nervously, then said, "I kinda smashed my hand into a really hard box in an alley, and I forgot the Prizmod was on my arm when I did, so… yeah. Can you fix it?"

"Well," Aldous said, looking at it with a worried expression, "I should be able to fix it in a couple months, now that Krux is out of the picture… at least temporarily…" Rallen sighed. If he'd only been a little more careful, this wouldn't have happened…

Suddenly, a blast erupted from behind them, shooting rubble and glass everywhere. Rallen and Aldous strained to see what was happening, but gasped as they saw the figure of one once defeated: A tall, blue-skinned, humanoid Krawl stood in a hole in the wall. Jeena ran out, and saw the rubble everywhere.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING? I THOUGH I TOLD YOU NOT… TO Get.. Any… ideas… Oh God," was all Jeena could get out before the figured rushed her and punched her in the stomach, winding her and knocking her unconscious. As it stood up, Jeena slung over its shoulder, and smiled a dark smile.

"Well, well… Rallen of the Nanairo Planetary Patrol, I haven't seen you in a long time. It's nice to see you one last time… before I kill you," The figure said, stepping into the light to revealing it to be Jado, one of the High Krawl that Rallen had defeated years ago.

"JADO!" Rallen shouted, grabbing his broken Prizmod and attaching it to his wrist armour, aiming it at Jado. It opened, but nothing happened. Jado laughed, taunting Rallen. Rallen, now angry, caught sight of a strange object coming from Jado's side, and lunged for it, but Jado was too quick, dodging away.

"Well, Rallen, I'll leave you to figure out your problems. Right now, I'm on my way over to your head office. It looks like Commander Grant and your little girlfriend here haven't got much longer to live. Good Bye." Jado faded into the darkness, vanishing completely out of sight.

"Rallen!" Aldous shouted, running over, and turning Rallen over to find him smiling. Asking Rallen why he was so happy, he gasped as Rallen produced the object he'd seen on Jado: a strange looking belt with a hexagonal hole in the middle, shaped kind of like a Prizmod. "Rallen, do you think…?" Aldous asked, before Rallen got up and slapped the belt on. He then donned the remainder of his armour and dashed out the door, heading for the NPP Headquarters.

His expression became, to a great extent, more evil, almost murderous. As he grinned, his eyes began to gain a deep red tint, and he said, "Don't worry Jeena. I'm coming for you."

About fifteen minutes later, Rallen arrived at the NPP headquarters and turned on his comslink.

"Can anyone hear me? This is Rallen of the NPP! Anyone, COME IN!" He shouted, getting barely anything but static. Suddenly, the face of an elderly man came on screen, and Rallen snapped to attention.

"RALLEN, IS THAT YOU? THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE! THE KRAWL ARE ATTACKING, AND THEY HAVE JEENA!" the man said.

"Commander Grant! At least someone answered me. I already know about the Krawl attacking, I just need a damage report, and I'll take care of things," Rallen said, his eyes temporarily returning to normal.

"They've destroyed almost everything. The only room they haven't reached yet is the central office, and that's where I am right now. Hurry, I hear footsteps!" Grant said, just as the transmission was cut off. Seconds later, the hologram turned on again, this time with Jado on screen.

"Hello, Rallen," Jado said, Smiling a darkened, shadowy smile, "As you can see, the entire NPP headquarters has been taken over by the Krawl, and ME! Now, if you want your commander and your girlfriend back, come to the Central Office on the second floor. And COME ALONE. I'll keep all my Krawl Sentries out of your path so you can get here in one piece. I want one final battle before I destroy you, your friends, and your home world! Oh, and you have five minutes. Hurry, Clock's ticking!" Jado laughed hysterically at the last part as he closed the call, leaving Rallen to absorb what he'd just heard.

"So, Jado," Rallen said to himself, his eyes going black, "You think you can toy with me?" He snarled angrily as he swung his Prizmod-free arm into the wall, putting a large bruise on his arm and a large hole through the wall.

"WELL YOU'RE WRONG!" he shouted, roaring in fury as he dashed forward. He knew his weapons wouldn't have much effect on the larger Krawl sitting around the place, but he also knew that the smaller Dust Forms of the Krawl around him weren't as immune. Slashing and blasting his way through as many as he could, he reached the elevator and entered to find a large plasmatic shadow standing within.

"WHAT?" Rallen said as the shadow nailed him on the head, knocking him out.

~SOON…~

Rallen awoke to a pounding head. "Ungh…" he groaned, sitting up to find himself on the Commander's desk.

"Huh-WHAT? How'd I get here?" Rallen said out loud as a sinister chuckle met his ears. Turning to find the noise, he saw a silhouette next to the door. One flash of light told Rallen all he needed to know.

"JADO!" Rallen shouted, while jumping off the desk as Jado stepped forward, laughing heartily.

"YES, Rallen. It's good to see you made it! After that little episode downstairs, I didn't think you'd come, so I sent Shadow to retrieve you. I didn't tell him to knock you out though…" Jado said as Rallen ran forward and punched him, sending Jado through a wall as Rallen's eyes began to turn black once again.

"I don't give a care about any of that, Jado," Rallen said, his body now seemingly more buff, "First you steal Jeena. Then you come and take the Commander hostage! If you've harmed either of them, I'll punch your clock a thousand times for each!"

He pulled out the strange belt from earlier and placed it around his waist. Then, holding a hand out, he yelled, "BELT, GO!" Nothing happened, and Rallen stared at it in confusion as Jado got up and hit him with a whip-like shadow punch from the hole he'd been in, knocking Rallen from his feet.

"AH! So that's where my belt went. I'll thank you to… nah, you know what? You keep that. You can clutch it tight as I send you to the afterlife, where your soul will be transmogrified into a Krawl. Then you'll be reborn as my servant!" Jado jeered, walking forward while pummelling Rallen from afar. Each hit shook the floor with enough force to level a continent, and soon enough woke Jeena from her unconscious sleep.

"Huh… Where am I? Wait, where's… RALLEN?" She shouted, seeing Rallen getting beaten to bits by a maniacally laughing Jado. Jado threw one last punch, knocking Rallen out, and then turned to Jeena.

"Guess what? Your boyfriend wasn't tough enough to take me, so I'll be taking you now, ok?" Jado said mischievously, grabbing Jeena's waist.

"No… DON'T TOUCH ME! RALLEN! RALLEN, HELP ME PLEASE!" she screamed, only getting Jado's insane laughter as a reply.

~WITHIN RALLEN'S MIND…~

Rallen's body floated in what seemed to be the expanse of space.

"Huh?" he said dumbly, staring around blankly at the empty lack of landscape around him.

"Hey, Master, You miss us?" Came a strange voice from nowhere, and as Rallen turned in place, he saw the first three Spectrobes he had ever evolved coming his way. They had been his favourite, as well as the forerunners of his team when ever he went into battle: a yellow Komadoros, an ice-blue Spikanor, and a purple/red Naguzoro.

"Guys! Where've you been?" Rallen asked, as he hadn't been able to take his best friends for a walk, or even FEED them in ages due to all his work. Suddenly, each Spectrobe began to morph, gaining more humanoid appearances. Soon, each creature looked exactly like him, but with tribal-style seal markings on their bodies. Komaki spoke first.

"Master, what's happened to you? You used to be so full of energy, always wanting our help for beating the Krawl. Now look at you. Near death, on the ground, bleeding profusely. You've fallen far in these last four years, Master," Komaki said in a tone of regal authority. Spikao stepped forward, pushed Komaki out of his way, and proceeded to talk.

"Dude, what the hell, man? How could you fail this horribly? You were riding the waves of life, all the way at the top of the biggest wave! Then, without warning, you crashed, burned, and didn't get back up! And why'd you get so mad about Jeena's question earlier? You know she didn't mean it!" Spikao shouted, shaking his head and clenching his spiked, claw-like fists while his large spiked tail continued to smack he ground repeatedly of its own accord. Stepping forth, Naguro, the seemingly more mature of the three, moved between the other two and maintained an air of utter calm as he spoke.

"Boss, I don't know what happened to you, nor do I want to know. But right now, Jeena is getting attacked because you refuse to get up. You need our help on this one, as much as you've continually refused to say throughout these last few years. Your enemy, Jado, doesn't know the extent of our knowledge, and therefore doesn't know the special abilities this belt will bestow upon one wielding the power of a Prizmod. If you wish to have us help you, all you need to do is stand up. We'll do the rest. Just give us your hand, boss, and we'll take care of this," Naguro said calmly, joining the other two in extending a humanoid hand toward Rallen. Rallen stared through a hole that had just opened next to him, and saw Jado attempting to force himself on Jeena. He could see Jeena struggling and crying, but he couldn't hear just how terrified she really was.

"JEENA!" he shouted, then, turning to his Spectrobe friends, continued, "You don't need to show me anymore. I'm going in. Guys, i need you right now. PLEASE LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH!" he shouted, grabbing their hands. Smiling, they nodded and pulled him forward.

~BACK OUTSIDE…~

"RALLEN! PLEASE HELP ME! PLEASE!" Jeena screamed as Jado lined himself up with her exposed body, and then screamed as he went in for the opening act. However, it never came, and, as she opened her eyes, she could see the same horrifying miracle as Jado: Rallen, despite massive, debilitating injuries, was finding the strength to stand tall and proud. However, something didn't seem right. Jado, sensing this, dropped Jeena, and chuckled.

"So, you managed to survive me, did you? Well, you won't survive this next hit!" He shouted, throwing one final punch at Rallen's body that never connected. Jado screamed in pain as Rallen, whose hand now had the head of Jado's shadow minion in a tight death grip, crushed the shadow's head, killing it. Jeena gasped, then remembered her current situation and ducked behind the desk, looking for something to cover herself with.

Meanwhile, Jado stood. His pain was now irrelevant. He'd lost his Shadow partner, and was down to half power.

"Curse you, Rallen! I'll crush you for that!" He shouted, throwing back his previously tightly closed cloak to reveal a belt similar to Rallen's. However, Rallen didn't even blink as Jado summoned up every Krawl in the area and used their essence to form a small, darkened crystal. "ENGAGE!" He shouted, and the belt announced, "Engaged. Enter user name and/or attack code."

Jado shouted, "JADO, HIGH KRAWL OF ICE! ATTACK CODE FROST!" the belt beeped several times and flashed, announcing, "ACCEPTED. WELCOME USER JADO."

"KURO HENSHIN!" Jado shouted as the Krawl energy within the crystal spewed forth, covering his body in hard, metallic armour, coloured dark blue and black, which connected to every part of his body.

"KAMEN RIDER SHADOW FROST," the belt announced as the Indigo-tinted eye lenses flashed, coupling with a small Red light near the top of the now formed helmet, and Jado said, "YES! MY POWER HAS RETURNED! I FEEL REBORN!" Rallen stood there, staring blankly at Jado's new form. However, after a few seconds, he smiled. Moving the arm that had his Prizmod on it toward the belt, and then, in a strange voice, said, "You know what, Jado? I can do that too. ENGAGE." The Prizmod flew off Rallen's arm and landed vertically in the empty buckle of the belt, and Rallen smiled again. Jado looked at Rallen's eyes, and saw them shift colors: one third of each pupil had turned yellow, another third had turned ice-blue, and the last third turned a shade of magenta.

As Jado stood there, stumbling back slightly, Rallen's Prizmod, still broken, opened, and a voice arose, saying, "ENGAGED. STATE NAME AND/OR ATTACK CODE PLEASE."

"Name: Rallen, Spectrobe master and Nanairo Planetary Patrol officer. Enter Code: Koma-Spika-Nagu." The belt flashed, and soon, three Spectrobe badges appeared, revolving around Rallen.

"REGISTERED AND READY. WELCOME USER RALLEN," The belt said, as the three badges fused together and shot back into the Prizmod, which closed.

"HENSHIN," Rallen said, and the newly made badge forced its way out of Rallen's body, slamming back onto him again as it returned. It shattered, refusing into a suit of armour similar to Jado's. However, along with the armour, three Spectrobes shot from with in and fused into the armour as well: Komadoros, fusing with the legs and beefing up the muscles of Rallen's legs; Spikanor, Fusing with Rallen's arms and back, forming large clawed hands and a large spiked tail while simultaneously increasing his arm muscles; Naguzoro, fusing with Rallen's Chest to beef up his torso muscles and add the visage of a large, fanged mouth to the chest armour. Suddenly, the armoured masks of each Spectrobe combined and began to spin wildly in mid air, before descending on Rallen's head and forming the lenses: Two large swirling vortexes of pure energy.

The belt flashed in time with the brown lenses and green light on the helmet, before announcing, "KAMEN RIDER NOVA: EVOLVED FORM." Jado and Rallen stared each other down long enough for Jeena, now wearing a spare set of battle armour similar to Rallen's regulation Officer uniform, to appear from the other side of the desk and stare in shocked astonishment as the two metal humanoids dashed at each other, one with a fist frozen of dark shadows, and the other with a fist raging with the power of light, throwing their individual punches.

Jeena watched in shock as the two armoured titans exchanged furious blows, each attack on a level stronger than the one before. Rallen, however, could tell that Jado was slowing down. Jado's last few attacks seemed to have been lacking, and were slow enough that Rallen had been able to counter them easily.

"ATTACH PART: NAGUZORO: NAGUCUBE!" Rallen shouted. Almost instantly, the Prizmod opened, and the mouth on his chest was replaced with what appeared to be a small plate of spikes. Jado attempted to kick Rallen, only to find his foot locked in the new chest attachment, which had extended into a bed of spikes. Screaming in pain, Jado backed away to find a small pool of dark blue blood under his injured foot.

"CURSE YOU RALLEN!" Jado screamed, tapping the crystal on his belt twice. Rallen, sensing a rise in power, tapped his Prizmod twice as well. As Jado backed up to the wall and propelled himself off it with a kick, Rallen back-flipped two feet from his original spot, and then leapt into the air. Just as Jado threw a twisting side-kick to Rallen's head, Rallen out-witted his foe with a combo attack No-one had thought him capable of thinking of.

In one motion, Rallen announced "ACTIVATE: GUARD LASHER", transforming the spiked tail lashing around behind him into a spiked foot guard that latched itself to his left leg. He tapped the Prizmod once more and over-charged his light energy into the guard.

"MAXIMUM POWER: FROST SMASH!"

"POWER OVERCHARGED: FALLEN DEVASTATION!"

Commander Grant woke up just as both fighters announced their attacks, and, as both warriors unleashed their final attacks, he edged next to Jeena to watch. He didn't know what was happening, but he wanted to know who had trashed his office this badly.

Unfortunately for Jado, his attack was overpowered by Rallen's and Jado was sent crashing into the wall behind him. As Rallen stood, the Guard Lasher reforming into the spiked tail, Jado stood, albeit shakily and reverted his normal body, though with far more injuries. Rallen looked at Jado, who immediately got up on his feet and vanished. As Rallen watched the wall where Jado had been, the room was filled with Jado's voice:

"You think you've won, Patroller? Not even close! I'm not finished with you yet! I may have had to separate myself from my shadow when Master Krux destroyed me before, but I managed to come back anyway! I'm going to fix you next time we meet, Patroller!" A high-pitched, insane laugh filled the room as Rallen reached for the Prizmod and twisted it off the belt, returning it to its place on his wrist. As the form dissipated, Rallen got tackled by a crying Jeena.

"RALLEN, YOU BATSARD!" Jeena cried, burying her face in Rallen's shoulder. Rallen wrapped his arms around her in comfort as Commander Grant stood, watching the two with a smile. He knew he should let them have their moment before he stepped up.

A few minutes later, after Rallen had contacted Aldous to come pick up Jeena, the Commander said, "Well, Rallen, I'd been keeping the Rift Rider Systems a secret from everyone but the Science department for the past couple years, but I was apparently quite wrong to do that. I was fascinated by your handling and mastery of the system in so short a time. As such, after yours and Jeena's promotion ceremony, I'll fill you in on the details of the-"

Rallen stopped the commander short by saying, "Actually, Commander, not to sound rude, but since I JUST beat Jado for the FOURTH time, I think you should properly explain what exactly this technology is, AND how Jado came to possess it."

Grant stood still, wondering what had come over Rallen when he saw the whites of Rallen's eyes start turning black. Panicking, he said, "Alright, Rallen, no need to lose it. I'll explain everything; just let Jeena get some… less revealing clothes on before hand so she AND Aldous can hear it too. And so you aren't quite AS distracted by her body. I would suggest NOT looking if I were-" Grant was cut short once again as Jeena delivered a powerful iron punch that sent Rallen flying, screaming at him not to look at her. Grant shook his head, and could have sworn he saw a small nosebleed appear on Aldous' face moments later, JUST before he received the same treatment.

~LATER…~

With the team back together, Grant sat down in what remained of his ruined swivel chair. He'd have to get a new one made, and they didn't make them the way he wanted, unless you paid an arm and a leg. Grant looked from Rallen to Jeena to Aldous and then back to Rallen, and then closed his eyes, inhaling deeply.

"Alright, you three are our top team. Therefore, it's time you learned of the Rift Systems. About the time Rallen and Jeena fell into the portal to the Kaio System, I rushed into a project, spearheaded by the top brass in the Science Department, called the Rift Project. In this project, a set of devices were developed that could utilize the innate abilities and/or powers of whoever used the system, as an alternate means of beating the Krawl. Seeing as we still had a few Krawl in the training room, we tested our new technology, and surprisingly it worked better than we'd dreamed! No matter what kind of Krawl came at our tester, it was effortlessly destroyed."

"However, the technology was slightly flawed, in that it would allow ONLY those who'd registered themselves with the individual system. After you got back and all the Krawl disappeared, it appeared as though we no longer needed them, so I had them placed in storage. But, several months ago, I'd gotten a report that they'd been stolen from the top secret storage vault; the vault that ONLY I and the top brass of each department know the location of. Because of this, I have been sending large squadrons to find and retrieve them," Grant finished, and Rallen nodded. That certainly explained the recent officer shortages.

"But Commander," Jeena piped up, "If Jado had two of them, wouldn't it stand to reason that the Krawl are already in possession of the devices? You sending men out to collect them would be suicide! You're practically sending these poor officers to their deaths!"

"Don't you think I figured that out, Officer Jeena?" Grant snapped, the strain of the situation now becoming too much to bear. For the duration of the discussion, Rallen stood perfectly still, quiet as a mouse. While everyone else discussed the possible effect of leaving the Rift systems with the Krawl, Rallen took in information and shared it with his spectrobes for ideas. After the folderol had ended, Rallen finally spoke up.

"Well, Commander, as it stands," Rallen said, his usually upbeat expression now replaced with a far more serious one, "I assume our next mission is to hunt down and reclaim the remaining systems, in effect succeeding, above all odds, where every other team has failed in the past, simply because we're the best shot you have?" Rallen opened a single eye, looking at Commander Grant solemnly, while Jeena and Aldous stared at Rallen in disbelief. Rallen, throughout their many adventures, had never ONCE caught on to the Commander's plan of action before anyone else… he usually needed someone else to explain it to him.

Grant nodded quietly, then said, "As you yourself have put it Rallen, You, Jeena, and Aldous are our best team. The three of you have accomplished inside of a one week time-span what it would take most teams of AT LEAST fifteen men to complete inside of a month. That's an accomplishment. Now, as it stands, YOU THREE are also the ONLY team who have ANY experience fighting the Krawl, AND, in addition, yours are the ONLY effective weapons the Krawl. You've taken down ONE of the High Krawl three times, another twice, and the other two once each. You've also destroyed two Xelles, AND defeated Krux TWICE."

"You are the only team effective enough to take down Krux' forces time and time again, while taking the LEAST calamitous damage. Sure, you've lost us a cruiser over in the Krawlosphere in Kaio, but that was easily replaced. You three are OUR BEST CHANCE of beating Krux once and for all, And I KNOW you three can do it!" Grant finished his speech by lowering his eyes to the floor and saying, "I wish there was more I could do on my own… but, as it stands, all I can do is ask you three to do what you always do. So, the order is thus: Get out there, and do what you're good at doing! Crush the Krawl and destroy Krux, should you run into him! UNDERSTOOD?" His booming voice was responded to with three salutes and shouts of "YES SIR!"

As Rallen and company left the room, Grant surveyed the area, and shook his head as a large chunk of the ceiling fell to the floor. "Damn it all to hell… Why'd it have to be on Christmas, Krux? Why'd you have to do this on Christmas?

~DAYS LATER…~

Rallen and Jeena stood on the center platform of the N.P.P. auditorium, waiting for Grant to award them their promotions. As Grant walked up, he slowly produced a small box.

"Attention, officers Rallen and Jeena!" Grant bellowed from two feet away, and, as he watched both snap to attention, continued, more softly, "For your continued decimation of the Krawl race over these past years, I hereby award you with Nanairo's highest honour, the Cosmic Arms, and bestow upon you both the honour of Interstellar Heroism! You are now to be regarded as heroes across the galaxy. You are also hereby promoted to Field Commanders, and are allowed to use whatever means necessary to accomplish your missions form here on. The only orders you two will ever receive form now on are thus: COME BACK ALIVE!"

Grant opened the box and removed from it two large, star-shaped medals depicting a planet with two gold star cruisers flying around them in opposing directions, laser cannons firing at a third silver ship, the enemy. He attached the two medals to their welcoming bearers, who beamed proudly as the weighty lumps of metal were pinned to their collars.

Rallen, however, surprised everyone when he stepped up to the microphone and gave a speech, something no one, not even the Commander, had EVER seen or heard him do.

"Ladies and gentlemen of N.P.P.," Rallen began, "It has been a great pleasure to serve with the lot of you. However, I will say this: We are heading back down the path of darkness. There is only one path to take: We have to get back on the path of aggression and beat the Krawl once and for all!" As Rallen took a breath, the room lit up in loud cheering, and he continued, "The time has come to find a genetic weakness in the Krawl that allows our weapons to beat them! The more men we can have out there, the better off we'll be in the final battle! If we can get several squadrons of us out there with weapons effective against the Krawl, we can beat Krux, AND the High Krawl, and finally rid ourselves of this problem for the last time!" As Rallen stepped from the podium, the entire room exploded in cheering. Jeena couldn't believe what had happened, but understood what he was saying. They had a LONG road ahead of them, and she intended to help as much as she could. However, it wouldn't be an easy road. She worried silently about what dangers would befall them in the future…

Play ED: "STEP you" - Ayumi Hamasaki

TO BE CONTINUED!

Teck: Hey all. Seeing as I've been writing longer and longer chapters recently, I decided to condense the first three chapters into one and change the name. Hope it's all fine for you guys! ^_^