A Place in the Sky

CHAPTER 1: A NEW HOME

SECTION 1: HOLD

"That's strange, I don't feel any different."

Scheris's eyes glided over the streets and buildings of the vacant city. Her short blue hair sown like sapphire and her gold and white hair barrette glistened in the sunlight. She stood there wearing her usual HOLY uniform, unfortunately this wasn't a usual situation.

"So this is what it's like? Pretty boring if you ask me. If only Ryuho was here then it wouldn't be so bad. Then again I did come here so that Ryuho wouldn't have to."

Scheris sat down on the street curb, put her elbows on her knees, and rested her head within the palms of her hands. She released a deep sigh.

The once crowded streets and noisy side walks were now empty and silent. A few individuals still lived within the surrounding walls of the city, but life now was different.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Scheris asked herself aloud, she seemed to make a habit of talking to herself.

"Well for starters you could get up off the sidewalk. You just might see some familiar old faces if you looked around."

Scheris froze like a corpse in ice, while her mind went whirling.

"That voice sounds so familiar, but how could that be? It just couldn't be... not here." She thought to herself.

Cautiously she began to slowly turn around. It wasn't as if she was afraid of what would happen, but rather that she was afraid of what might had happened.

Immediately after she had turned around, her jaw dropped. Then here eyelids began to slowly separate themselves from each other. Her eyes bulged as she stood there, in front of the HOLD building, completely and utterly dumbfounded.

"What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost or something, so to speak."

Commander Zigmarl sat in his chair staring blankly at his desk.

He was a young man but looked like someone much older due to circumstances somewhat beyond his control. His shoulder length brown hair was brushed out of his face making the wrinkles on his forehead more visible.

There was a mixed array of papers sitting before him, worker profiles, report folders, a few photographs, a couple old receipts. It seemed ironic, even satirical that the pieces of paper that once held so much importance now meant nothing at all, and those papers that were meaningless seemed to somehow mean so much.

They were all just memories now, no real meaning but that. But what else was there but memories in this place?

His office door flew open.

"Commander Zigmarl, you wished to see me?" The pink haired man took a deep bow to go with his theatrical entrance. He was a tall man of African decent who often loved to make his presence known.

"Ah yes, Unkei, would you like to take a seat?" Commander Zigmarl asked as he held out a hand directing the man to the chair in front of him.

Unkei took the seat.

"Unkei, why do you come here to work with HOLY still?" Zigmarl asked the play write.

Unkei thought about this question for a few minutes. He had asked himself this question everyday and it seemed that he knew the answer but didn't know how to put it into words.

"The same reason as you." The pink haired man finally responded.

The Commander's eyebrows rose at this response. Why were any of them here still? What made them return?

Zigmarl let out a deep sigh, then nodded.

"Very well, you may go continue your duties now."

"Was that all Commander?"

"That was all."

Unkei rose from the chair and walked over to the door. He hesitated for a moment as he looked down at his HOLY uniform, then looked back at the Commander. Zigmarl was, once again, staring at the papers on his desk. A small frown appeared on his face as Unkei walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Zigmarl stopped and leaned back in his chair and took a long look around his office.

"Is this all it really is?" The commander asked himself, "There must be more to this place then I'm seeing."

Commander Zigmarl then rose from behind his desk, and left the room.

Section 2: The Streets

"When I'm running, and really in a pinch, he will come save me, for him it's a synch."

The singing of the little boy echoed through the crisp air over the desolate streets.

"Why, hello there," an old man said to the singing child, "what's your name?"

Startled, the little boy jumped up and backed up against a wall.

The old man gave a friendly smile as he looked over his half-moon spectacles at the boy. Tsume was a far from being an intimidating man. His hair was white from age and conservatively cut short. He wore a blue plaid button-up shirt with khaki slacks. Something about his presence gave a soothing effect, but the child was frightened none the less.

"It's alright, I'm not going to harm you." Tsume said as he bent down to the boy's height, "Who's that you've got there?"

The little boy looked down at the doll in his right hand, it looked like some form of robot.

"My friend." The little boy finally answered.

"Ah," the old man replied, "I see. I bet that this friend of yours is very special and not like any ordinary friend."

The boy held the robot doll up to his chest and wrapped his arms around it. "He is special. He is my undefeated hero." The boy said, as he begin to gain more confidence. "He always helps me."

Tsume gave a warm smile to him. "That's wonderful, but who are you?"

"My name is..." he paused for a moment as if not sure whether or not it was safe to answer, "Emergy Maxfell."

"I thought so." Tsume said in his gentle voice as he stood up. "Emergy, would you like to go with me somewhere, perhaps to get something to eat? You have a lot to learn from me right now and it seems that I have a lot I can learn from you."

Emergy sat for a moment thinking over this offer. He looked back and forth between the doll and the old man. Finally deciding that Tsume looked like someone that he could trust he agreed to go with him and the two headed down the street together.

Section 3: Back at HOLD

Scheris stood in disbelief, as she gazed at her visitor's face.

"You're here too? But how? What happened?" Scheris asked, her mind seemed to be working faster then she could speak.

He was a tall, lean, strong young man. His posture was casual yet confident as he stood there in his HOLY uniform. As he looked at her he pushed up his pink shades so that his orange slicked back hair held them on top of his head.

"I made a choice, same as you." Cougar answered.

Scheris blushed, he was obviously referring to what had happened in the cave between her and Ryuho.

"So," Scheris began as if not sure what to say next, "why did we come here, and what happens next?"

Cougar's eyebrows rose at this question, "Isn't it obvious?" he asked.

She just stood there on the deserted sidewalk looking up at him. Cougar always knew things that no one else except for the commander himself ever knew.

The speedster just gave a slight smile after a few minutes. "Don't worry. You'll find out soon enough." Cougar then slid down his glasses onto his nose and flicked up the stray bang that hung in front of his face.

The two then turned their gaze to the HOLD building as if the answers were within its walls, even though they knew that this was something way bigger then HOLY, HOLD or the battle between the mainland and the Lost Ground.