Chapter Two
A lone figure, dressed in nondescript civilian clothes, casually walked along the deserted streets of Crystal Tokyo, not too far from where the 'raid' had taken place. He'd heard the sirens earlier, as well as seeing the massive activity, but shrugged it off. He'd seen weirder things happen in his years of living, especially all of the new troops that Serenity put into her army.
The man shook his head, as he adjusted his sword sheath, and loosened his windbreaker's collar. He'd gotten into an altercation with a few of them last night, and though he'd disposed of them quickly before they could report in, they hadn't died.not in the normal sense, anyway. They'd fallen and failed to get up, sure, but instead of bleeding, they'd simply turned into dust and vanished. It was a puzzle, to be sure, and the man detested puzzles.
"Like I haven't got enough to figure out, what with Serenity acting the way she is," the person spoke to himself softly. He'd often lent an ear to anyone who wanted to gripe about conditions in the city, and for the most part agreed with what people said. But the one thing he couldn't come to grips with was that it was Serenity acting like this.
'It's impossible. There's gotta be some other explanation. Plus, I just have this weird feeling...' he thought. Just as he reached the alley corner, he turned and ran smack into a green blur turning in the opposite direction. Both crashed to the ground with grunts of pain.
Shaking his head, the man looked up to see if the other recipient was okay.and felt his mouth drop in astonishment.
"Guardian Jupiter," he whispered in awe. Like all of the citizens of Crystal Tokyo, he'd heard of or seen the Guardians before, but always at a distance, even when he.the man shook that thought off, clambered to his feet, and extended a helping hand.
"My apologies, m'lady. I hope you're not seriously hurt." As he pulled her to her feet, he could feel a familiar feeling in his gut. 'Oh, no, not now.' he thought. Now was definitely not the time to start getting butterflies in his stomach. He'd thought that once he quit the military, he'd gotten over his crush on Jupiter. Apparently, he was wrong.
Jupiter looked at him, and smiled, but there was something in her eyes that indicated urgency. "Thanks, citizen, but I have to be going now." She stopped herself before continuing on, and looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Wait.why are you out here? Don't you know it's after curfew?"
The man shrugged. "I never was exactly one for playing by the rules. Besides, I apparently know this city better than Serenity's troops, since I've never had trouble losing them.mostly."
Jupiter nodded, and was about to say something else, when a blue energy bolt whipped by both of them. Both whirled to peer at the source, and saw that one end of the alleyway was filled with soldiers who slowly crept in their direction, unaware how to take them into custody.
Jupiter stepped in front, talking back to her companion, "Get out of here! I'll hold them off!" That said, she prepared to fire a Sparkling Wide Pressure attack.
She had just started to charge up when the man casually sauntered forward, and pulled his broadsword out of its sheath, making a metallic rasping sound. He took two more steps forward, and tapped the sword on his shoulder as he addressed the opposition.
"All right, that's far enough, guys. Just turn around and walk away."
His words failed to have the desired effect, and in fact, caused the soldiers to charge forward, hoping to overwhelm their targets with sheer numbers. Jupiter prepared to attack but realized with a vague frustration that she couldn't hit the troops without hitting her attempted hero. Then she saw something that indicated he might not need it.
As soon as one of the frontline soldiers swung his sword at the man's head, he burst into action. Within seconds, most of the troops were dead, and those at the back had stopped their relentless approach to study this new threat. The man grinned tightly, brought his weapon up over his right shoulder, and with a visible tensing of his muscles, swung his sword in a diagonal slash at his remaining opponents. A powerful aura of energy formed around its edge and released a crescent shaped energy beam that sent its initial target flying across the street. The others, too, collapsed as the remaining energy struck them in turn, though it appeared to be weaker than the first blast. Soon after they hit the ground, their armor and bodies turned into dust and scattered.
Jupiter realized at this point that her mouth was hanging open, and she closed it as the man turned to look at her with a serious, commanding gaze.
"Are there any at the other end, Guardian?"
Jupiter mentally shook herself out of shock, and turned to look, answering a second later, "No."
The man quickly re-sheathed his sword as he walked to her. "Well, they'll be here soon. Come on, we'll be safe at my place." So saying, he took her hand, and guided her along the back alleys, until they reached a nondescript two-story house. Jupiter stopped as he opened the back door, and realized something.
"Wait a minute. You obviously know me, but I can't remember you. When did we meet?"
The man stopped, then slapped the palm of his hand up to his forehead. "Gah, that's right, I didn't even think about that. Sorry." Turning around, he gestured to himself with a casualness one didn't see often. "My name's Serin. You probably wouldn't remember me, since I kinda kept low during my stint in the military." As he spoke, he stepped aside, and gestured Jupiter to precede him in.
"Military? Then what are you doing here? The barracks are next to the palace." She stepped in a little bit, took a deep breath and detransformed, realizing that if she had to stay here for a while, it might be best to lay low in her civilian form...even though if the troops were sent by Serenity, then it would be a moot point.
Unseen behind her, Serin shrugged. "I used to be, but I left about the time Serenity.changed." He walked by her, and pulled some drinks out of his fridge. "Did you want something to drink?"
Makoto shrugged. "Milk, if you've got it."
"Coming right up." Serin poured a generous glass of milk, then looked up at her as he handed the glass, cursing the way his hands were trembling. 'Oh, sure, I can handle my sword with the skill of a master samurai, and I can take on an entire squad of soldiers by myself, but I can't handle being around women. Although.she is pretty.and.I'm obviously not over my crush.' Quickly, he clamped down hard on that thought, glad that he hadn't reacted with so much as a twitch.
"Serin?"
Serin shook his head, and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Just.thinking."
Makoto accepted the glass gratefully, and ran her eyes over her protector as she drank. He was in good shape, and though he was dressed in normal, everyday civilian wear, he had somewhat good taste in clothing.even though his green windbreaker was a tad too dark. His eyes, however.she looked at his eyes, vaguely amazed at how similar they were to Serenity's before...
"Guardian Jupiter?"
Makoto blinked out of the daydream, a little embarrassed. 'You're not supposed to be looking for a date, ya know Let's not forget that your friends have been captured.or that your former best friend is trying to kill you, or worse.' her mind whispered sarcastically.
True enough, but that didn't mean Serin had to stand on tradition. "Sorry. And you can call me.Makoto." She blinked as she realized that she had given her true name to this man, someone she'd barely met! Still, there was something magically calming about his eyes.something that made her trust him.
Serin smiled. "Makoto.a beautiful name for a beautiful lady."
Both blushed at about the same time, and looked away. Serin quickly came up with a change in topic.
"So.Makoto-san.what were you doing out in the alleyways after curfew?"
Makoto sobered, reminded of her original mission and the events that led up to it. "Well.I don't want to burden you."
Serin shrugged. "I'm a good listener. But let me take a guess: you and the other Guardians were the reason behind all the police and military activity just moments ago, right?"
Makoto nodded. "Yeah. We were attempting to discuss how we were going to deal with Serenity's changes, and one of our advisors hit upon what we think may be a solution." Makoto hesitated again, not altogether comfortable with involving Serin in her problems, but another gaze at his eyes calmed her fears. ".Artemis said that some time ago, there was an event here on Earth called the War of Nations. And in the middle of it all, a paladin filled with the full power of the Light rose up to destroy the darkness at the center of the entire conflict." She sighed then, and lowered her head sadly. "But before we could set out on our journey, Serenity's Enforcers and soldiers captured everyone but me. And that was only because Luna and Artemis told me to leave."
Serin nodded sympathetically. "Leaving behind trusted comrades is.difficult. Believe me, I know.all too well," he muttered with a dark look to his eyes.
Makoto smiled wanly, and added, "But in order to find this paladin, I have to get out of the city, and that's next to impossible."
Serin looked thoughtful, and then smirked mischievously. "Not exactly. I can get you out of the city quite easily. I only ask one thing in return."
Makoto looked at him, and then nodded for him to continue.
Serin laid it on her. "I want to go with you."
Makoto blinked, unsure that she'd heard him correctly. "Say what?"
"I want to help you out in finding the answers behind all of this. Puzzles fascinate, yet at the same time irritate, me, and I see this as a very intriguing one, to say the least," he reiterated.
Makoto shook her head. "I don't think you understand. You see, the other Guardians were captured. We're on our own, and the odds are against us succeeding."
Serin got a wicked glint in his eyes. "Never quote me the odds. Besides, didn't the demonstration in the alley give you a good indication that I can take care of myself?" He laughed shortly. "After all, who knows? We might actually be able to pull it off. I've heard of instances where the odds are so slanted against success, that success is practically guaranteed.
Makoto thought about it. On the one hand, he was right. He was more than capable of taking care of himself. And it would be handy to have some help. Plus, there was something.something she couldn't quite put her finger on, that urged her to take him with her. And though there were also good reasons for refusing to let him come, it was her unnamed feeling in the end that won.
"All right. Welcome aboard."
Serin grinned. "Great! Let me get a few things, and then we'll be ready to leave." So saying, he left the room.
Makoto glanced about her companion's dwelling as she awaited his return, a little amazed at the cleanliness in it. Suddenly, a picture on the corner of the counter caught her eye. Walking over, she gently picked it up, a bit surprised to see that it was a picture of her, in the castle garden. Judging from the way she was smiling in the photo, it had to have been taken a great deal of time ago.
Flipping the photo over, she saw the date and a little scribbled note in the corner: "The beautiful fighter of Jupiter enjoys her day off." Makoto barely suppressed a laugh at that, though the written declaration of how Serin felt (at least, she assumed that this was his handwriting) gave her an unusual, pleasant internal feeling. Though one might say she was simply developing an infatuation with him as she did every cute guy who crossed her path, the young brunette knew that this feeling was different. Before she could analyze it much further, however, she heard Serin's approaching footsteps, and hurriedly replaced the photo. She had just returned it to its original spot when she heard her companion in the doorway.
"Well, Makoto-san, I'm all set, and.is something wrong?"
Makoto shook herself, and tried desperately to appear casual. Turning, she flashed him a bright smile. "No, nothing." Her smile disappeared into shock shortly afterwards as she saw what he had recovered.
His civilian clothes had been replaced by a green jumpsuit(still a shade too dark, Makoto thought idly) which had armored plates attached to it at several junctures; most notably in his front, from the shoulders down to the waist. A couple of plates covered the front of his upper legs, but aside from those, every other part of his body was left free to maneuver.
Makoto thought for a moment that he looked even deadlier now than he had been dealing with her pursuers earlier.
Serin peered at her for a few seconds more, then, feeling a bit self- conscious, glanced down at himself. Trying to take the humorous bit in this, he asked with a smile, "Um.do you like it?"
Makoto blinked, then chuckled. "It's.pretty chic, actually."
Serin's smile froze at that comment, but he was unsure how to respond. After a few moments, he shrugged, and gestured for her to follow him. A few seconds later, he had opened a false wall, revealing a heavily modified motorcycle. Serin slowly walked it out, and prepared to open the front door when his face got an odd look, and he looked through the peephole. What he saw made him grimace, then toss a helmet to his comrade.
"Put it on, and hold on tight. This could get a bit bumpy."
Makoto glanced at the door briefly, then did as she was told, wondering why she had a bad feeling about this. 'Of course. Haruka used to say that all the time when she was about to do something crazy. Maybe he knows more about us than he's letting on.?' Whatever, she knew that her best chance of getting out of this alive was with Serin, and all she could do at the moment was hope that he knew what he was doing.
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Outside, two troopers approached the front door, a little uncertain as to how they were going to handle their assignment. The taller one, with a name tag that read "Wedge", turned to his comrade and said, "So, uh...you wanna tell him he's under arrest? Or do you wanna try and cover me?"
His short, rotund companion, whose nametag read "Biggs", shook his head. "I think you should knock and tell him he's under arrest. That way, I've got an extra split second of life if he decides to fight."
Wedge glared at his comrade, and muttered, "Thanks a lot." As they reached the door, they heard an odd sound coming from the other side. They looked at each other briefly, and then placed their ears to the door to listen.
"What's that?"
"I don't know."
A mere second later, Serin and Makoto, on his hawg, crashed through the door, flattening both soldiers, and scattering the others who had just positioned themselves on the street and sidewalk. The motorcycle fishtailed and squealed as Serin attempted a sharp 90-degree left-hand turn, which was abruptly silenced as Serin regained control and sped off at top speed. The remaining troopers who had scattered and were unhurt jumped on their hover bikes and in the transport truck nearby, giving chase immediately thereafter, followed by the other ambulatory soldiers who were slightly slower to recover. Silence descended on the area for a brief moment before one voice croaked out from beneath the rubble of the front doorway:
"That was the sound.of a motorcycle roaring out onto the street."
"Oh."
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Serin roared through the streets of Crystal Tokyo, pushing his engine to the limits, trying to reach the city border before they were caught. As if to punctuate this thought, a laser bolt whipped by his head, impacting against a wall to knock loose a good chunk of the masonry.
Glancing back, he saw that they had to worry about five hover cycles, along with a transport truck. Serin grinned tightly at that. The truck would be no problem; he could get rid of it right.NOW!
With a quick shout to his passenger to "Hold on!" Serin whipped his bike around in a vicious 180-degree turn, and ended up weaving through the now oncoming troops. A brief second later, he heard the screech of brakes and the squeal of tires behind him.
.And WHAM, there was the sound of something heavy slamming into the transport, along with heavy crunching and tearing sounds that indicated the transport was, in all probability, now inoperable. Serin laughed exultantly, feeling good.
And realized all too quickly that it wasn't over yet, as another laser blast singed the helmet on his head. Glancing back quickly, he noted that all five of the hover cycles had been good enough to match his little stunt, and were coming up fast.
Serin took the next intersection left, and then another left into a tight alley. Utilizing his instincts, he managed to stay in the center of the passageway as he arrowed along.
'The only benefit to this is that they're stuck in single file.' Serin thought. Then he smirked as he saw a ramp leading up to a dumpster on one side of the alley. The end result of it was that there was barely enough room for a person to walk through on the other side, much less for a cycle to pass. Flipping a mental coin, Serin turned the handlebars in the direction of the ramp, and accelerated toward his goal.
Makoto gasped in shock as she saw what he had in mind, and held on tight as she shut her eyes. A faint bump, followed by a feeling of weightlessness, along with a harder thump, informed her as to the success of Serin's plan.
The driver in question glanced back at their pursuit, and a wide grin on his face suddenly appeared. Behind them, several crashes told of the hover cycles either misjudging the gap on the side of the dumpster, or failing to utilize the ramp properly. His expression suddenly soured, though, as he saw that three of the cyclists actually managed to make it through the obstacle. They immediately began speeding up upon hitting the ground, as if the loss of their comrades freed them of excess weight.
Biting back a curse, Serin tried to coax more speed out of the shuddering hog as he exited the alley's confines, despite the fact that its tachometer was climbing higher and higher into the red zone. Taking a right onto the next street, his eyes suddenly widened as he saw his chance.
Up ahead, slowly pulling out into the street, was an eighteen-wheeler semi-trailer covering the entire road. Smirking in glee, Serin ripped the cycle's throttle up to full, and accelerated toward the obstacle. Barely hearing Makoto's shout (it was probably something extremely unprintable anyway:)), Serin twisted his cycle in a sharp 90 degree right hand turn, so it, and by extension, he and Makoto, were heading toward the trailer in a broadside manner. Letting his reflexes take over, Serin leaned the bike away from the obstruction, so that when it passed over their heads, they were almost parallel with the ground. As soon as they were on the other side, Serin gunned the engine again, arrowing away as fast as he could. If it hadn't been for the roaring engine, he would have heard three smaller, yet no less painful sounding, crashes from the other side of the vehicular barrier. As he continued on in a fairly leisurely manner to the eastern border, Serin became aware of a sharp pain in his sides. Confused, he glanced down to see Makoto's fingernails digging into his flesh at the unprotected joints of his armor. Turning his head back far enough that he could talk to her without taking his eyes off the road, he muttered loud enough for her to hear, "Sorry 'bout that," sounding anything but.
Makoto nodded, and relaxed her grip, resolving to never again ride on a motorcycle with this guy. 'He's even worse than Haruka!'
A lone figure, dressed in nondescript civilian clothes, casually walked along the deserted streets of Crystal Tokyo, not too far from where the 'raid' had taken place. He'd heard the sirens earlier, as well as seeing the massive activity, but shrugged it off. He'd seen weirder things happen in his years of living, especially all of the new troops that Serenity put into her army.
The man shook his head, as he adjusted his sword sheath, and loosened his windbreaker's collar. He'd gotten into an altercation with a few of them last night, and though he'd disposed of them quickly before they could report in, they hadn't died.not in the normal sense, anyway. They'd fallen and failed to get up, sure, but instead of bleeding, they'd simply turned into dust and vanished. It was a puzzle, to be sure, and the man detested puzzles.
"Like I haven't got enough to figure out, what with Serenity acting the way she is," the person spoke to himself softly. He'd often lent an ear to anyone who wanted to gripe about conditions in the city, and for the most part agreed with what people said. But the one thing he couldn't come to grips with was that it was Serenity acting like this.
'It's impossible. There's gotta be some other explanation. Plus, I just have this weird feeling...' he thought. Just as he reached the alley corner, he turned and ran smack into a green blur turning in the opposite direction. Both crashed to the ground with grunts of pain.
Shaking his head, the man looked up to see if the other recipient was okay.and felt his mouth drop in astonishment.
"Guardian Jupiter," he whispered in awe. Like all of the citizens of Crystal Tokyo, he'd heard of or seen the Guardians before, but always at a distance, even when he.the man shook that thought off, clambered to his feet, and extended a helping hand.
"My apologies, m'lady. I hope you're not seriously hurt." As he pulled her to her feet, he could feel a familiar feeling in his gut. 'Oh, no, not now.' he thought. Now was definitely not the time to start getting butterflies in his stomach. He'd thought that once he quit the military, he'd gotten over his crush on Jupiter. Apparently, he was wrong.
Jupiter looked at him, and smiled, but there was something in her eyes that indicated urgency. "Thanks, citizen, but I have to be going now." She stopped herself before continuing on, and looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Wait.why are you out here? Don't you know it's after curfew?"
The man shrugged. "I never was exactly one for playing by the rules. Besides, I apparently know this city better than Serenity's troops, since I've never had trouble losing them.mostly."
Jupiter nodded, and was about to say something else, when a blue energy bolt whipped by both of them. Both whirled to peer at the source, and saw that one end of the alleyway was filled with soldiers who slowly crept in their direction, unaware how to take them into custody.
Jupiter stepped in front, talking back to her companion, "Get out of here! I'll hold them off!" That said, she prepared to fire a Sparkling Wide Pressure attack.
She had just started to charge up when the man casually sauntered forward, and pulled his broadsword out of its sheath, making a metallic rasping sound. He took two more steps forward, and tapped the sword on his shoulder as he addressed the opposition.
"All right, that's far enough, guys. Just turn around and walk away."
His words failed to have the desired effect, and in fact, caused the soldiers to charge forward, hoping to overwhelm their targets with sheer numbers. Jupiter prepared to attack but realized with a vague frustration that she couldn't hit the troops without hitting her attempted hero. Then she saw something that indicated he might not need it.
As soon as one of the frontline soldiers swung his sword at the man's head, he burst into action. Within seconds, most of the troops were dead, and those at the back had stopped their relentless approach to study this new threat. The man grinned tightly, brought his weapon up over his right shoulder, and with a visible tensing of his muscles, swung his sword in a diagonal slash at his remaining opponents. A powerful aura of energy formed around its edge and released a crescent shaped energy beam that sent its initial target flying across the street. The others, too, collapsed as the remaining energy struck them in turn, though it appeared to be weaker than the first blast. Soon after they hit the ground, their armor and bodies turned into dust and scattered.
Jupiter realized at this point that her mouth was hanging open, and she closed it as the man turned to look at her with a serious, commanding gaze.
"Are there any at the other end, Guardian?"
Jupiter mentally shook herself out of shock, and turned to look, answering a second later, "No."
The man quickly re-sheathed his sword as he walked to her. "Well, they'll be here soon. Come on, we'll be safe at my place." So saying, he took her hand, and guided her along the back alleys, until they reached a nondescript two-story house. Jupiter stopped as he opened the back door, and realized something.
"Wait a minute. You obviously know me, but I can't remember you. When did we meet?"
The man stopped, then slapped the palm of his hand up to his forehead. "Gah, that's right, I didn't even think about that. Sorry." Turning around, he gestured to himself with a casualness one didn't see often. "My name's Serin. You probably wouldn't remember me, since I kinda kept low during my stint in the military." As he spoke, he stepped aside, and gestured Jupiter to precede him in.
"Military? Then what are you doing here? The barracks are next to the palace." She stepped in a little bit, took a deep breath and detransformed, realizing that if she had to stay here for a while, it might be best to lay low in her civilian form...even though if the troops were sent by Serenity, then it would be a moot point.
Unseen behind her, Serin shrugged. "I used to be, but I left about the time Serenity.changed." He walked by her, and pulled some drinks out of his fridge. "Did you want something to drink?"
Makoto shrugged. "Milk, if you've got it."
"Coming right up." Serin poured a generous glass of milk, then looked up at her as he handed the glass, cursing the way his hands were trembling. 'Oh, sure, I can handle my sword with the skill of a master samurai, and I can take on an entire squad of soldiers by myself, but I can't handle being around women. Although.she is pretty.and.I'm obviously not over my crush.' Quickly, he clamped down hard on that thought, glad that he hadn't reacted with so much as a twitch.
"Serin?"
Serin shook his head, and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Just.thinking."
Makoto accepted the glass gratefully, and ran her eyes over her protector as she drank. He was in good shape, and though he was dressed in normal, everyday civilian wear, he had somewhat good taste in clothing.even though his green windbreaker was a tad too dark. His eyes, however.she looked at his eyes, vaguely amazed at how similar they were to Serenity's before...
"Guardian Jupiter?"
Makoto blinked out of the daydream, a little embarrassed. 'You're not supposed to be looking for a date, ya know Let's not forget that your friends have been captured.or that your former best friend is trying to kill you, or worse.' her mind whispered sarcastically.
True enough, but that didn't mean Serin had to stand on tradition. "Sorry. And you can call me.Makoto." She blinked as she realized that she had given her true name to this man, someone she'd barely met! Still, there was something magically calming about his eyes.something that made her trust him.
Serin smiled. "Makoto.a beautiful name for a beautiful lady."
Both blushed at about the same time, and looked away. Serin quickly came up with a change in topic.
"So.Makoto-san.what were you doing out in the alleyways after curfew?"
Makoto sobered, reminded of her original mission and the events that led up to it. "Well.I don't want to burden you."
Serin shrugged. "I'm a good listener. But let me take a guess: you and the other Guardians were the reason behind all the police and military activity just moments ago, right?"
Makoto nodded. "Yeah. We were attempting to discuss how we were going to deal with Serenity's changes, and one of our advisors hit upon what we think may be a solution." Makoto hesitated again, not altogether comfortable with involving Serin in her problems, but another gaze at his eyes calmed her fears. ".Artemis said that some time ago, there was an event here on Earth called the War of Nations. And in the middle of it all, a paladin filled with the full power of the Light rose up to destroy the darkness at the center of the entire conflict." She sighed then, and lowered her head sadly. "But before we could set out on our journey, Serenity's Enforcers and soldiers captured everyone but me. And that was only because Luna and Artemis told me to leave."
Serin nodded sympathetically. "Leaving behind trusted comrades is.difficult. Believe me, I know.all too well," he muttered with a dark look to his eyes.
Makoto smiled wanly, and added, "But in order to find this paladin, I have to get out of the city, and that's next to impossible."
Serin looked thoughtful, and then smirked mischievously. "Not exactly. I can get you out of the city quite easily. I only ask one thing in return."
Makoto looked at him, and then nodded for him to continue.
Serin laid it on her. "I want to go with you."
Makoto blinked, unsure that she'd heard him correctly. "Say what?"
"I want to help you out in finding the answers behind all of this. Puzzles fascinate, yet at the same time irritate, me, and I see this as a very intriguing one, to say the least," he reiterated.
Makoto shook her head. "I don't think you understand. You see, the other Guardians were captured. We're on our own, and the odds are against us succeeding."
Serin got a wicked glint in his eyes. "Never quote me the odds. Besides, didn't the demonstration in the alley give you a good indication that I can take care of myself?" He laughed shortly. "After all, who knows? We might actually be able to pull it off. I've heard of instances where the odds are so slanted against success, that success is practically guaranteed.
Makoto thought about it. On the one hand, he was right. He was more than capable of taking care of himself. And it would be handy to have some help. Plus, there was something.something she couldn't quite put her finger on, that urged her to take him with her. And though there were also good reasons for refusing to let him come, it was her unnamed feeling in the end that won.
"All right. Welcome aboard."
Serin grinned. "Great! Let me get a few things, and then we'll be ready to leave." So saying, he left the room.
Makoto glanced about her companion's dwelling as she awaited his return, a little amazed at the cleanliness in it. Suddenly, a picture on the corner of the counter caught her eye. Walking over, she gently picked it up, a bit surprised to see that it was a picture of her, in the castle garden. Judging from the way she was smiling in the photo, it had to have been taken a great deal of time ago.
Flipping the photo over, she saw the date and a little scribbled note in the corner: "The beautiful fighter of Jupiter enjoys her day off." Makoto barely suppressed a laugh at that, though the written declaration of how Serin felt (at least, she assumed that this was his handwriting) gave her an unusual, pleasant internal feeling. Though one might say she was simply developing an infatuation with him as she did every cute guy who crossed her path, the young brunette knew that this feeling was different. Before she could analyze it much further, however, she heard Serin's approaching footsteps, and hurriedly replaced the photo. She had just returned it to its original spot when she heard her companion in the doorway.
"Well, Makoto-san, I'm all set, and.is something wrong?"
Makoto shook herself, and tried desperately to appear casual. Turning, she flashed him a bright smile. "No, nothing." Her smile disappeared into shock shortly afterwards as she saw what he had recovered.
His civilian clothes had been replaced by a green jumpsuit(still a shade too dark, Makoto thought idly) which had armored plates attached to it at several junctures; most notably in his front, from the shoulders down to the waist. A couple of plates covered the front of his upper legs, but aside from those, every other part of his body was left free to maneuver.
Makoto thought for a moment that he looked even deadlier now than he had been dealing with her pursuers earlier.
Serin peered at her for a few seconds more, then, feeling a bit self- conscious, glanced down at himself. Trying to take the humorous bit in this, he asked with a smile, "Um.do you like it?"
Makoto blinked, then chuckled. "It's.pretty chic, actually."
Serin's smile froze at that comment, but he was unsure how to respond. After a few moments, he shrugged, and gestured for her to follow him. A few seconds later, he had opened a false wall, revealing a heavily modified motorcycle. Serin slowly walked it out, and prepared to open the front door when his face got an odd look, and he looked through the peephole. What he saw made him grimace, then toss a helmet to his comrade.
"Put it on, and hold on tight. This could get a bit bumpy."
Makoto glanced at the door briefly, then did as she was told, wondering why she had a bad feeling about this. 'Of course. Haruka used to say that all the time when she was about to do something crazy. Maybe he knows more about us than he's letting on.?' Whatever, she knew that her best chance of getting out of this alive was with Serin, and all she could do at the moment was hope that he knew what he was doing.
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Outside, two troopers approached the front door, a little uncertain as to how they were going to handle their assignment. The taller one, with a name tag that read "Wedge", turned to his comrade and said, "So, uh...you wanna tell him he's under arrest? Or do you wanna try and cover me?"
His short, rotund companion, whose nametag read "Biggs", shook his head. "I think you should knock and tell him he's under arrest. That way, I've got an extra split second of life if he decides to fight."
Wedge glared at his comrade, and muttered, "Thanks a lot." As they reached the door, they heard an odd sound coming from the other side. They looked at each other briefly, and then placed their ears to the door to listen.
"What's that?"
"I don't know."
A mere second later, Serin and Makoto, on his hawg, crashed through the door, flattening both soldiers, and scattering the others who had just positioned themselves on the street and sidewalk. The motorcycle fishtailed and squealed as Serin attempted a sharp 90-degree left-hand turn, which was abruptly silenced as Serin regained control and sped off at top speed. The remaining troopers who had scattered and were unhurt jumped on their hover bikes and in the transport truck nearby, giving chase immediately thereafter, followed by the other ambulatory soldiers who were slightly slower to recover. Silence descended on the area for a brief moment before one voice croaked out from beneath the rubble of the front doorway:
"That was the sound.of a motorcycle roaring out onto the street."
"Oh."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Serin roared through the streets of Crystal Tokyo, pushing his engine to the limits, trying to reach the city border before they were caught. As if to punctuate this thought, a laser bolt whipped by his head, impacting against a wall to knock loose a good chunk of the masonry.
Glancing back, he saw that they had to worry about five hover cycles, along with a transport truck. Serin grinned tightly at that. The truck would be no problem; he could get rid of it right.NOW!
With a quick shout to his passenger to "Hold on!" Serin whipped his bike around in a vicious 180-degree turn, and ended up weaving through the now oncoming troops. A brief second later, he heard the screech of brakes and the squeal of tires behind him.
.And WHAM, there was the sound of something heavy slamming into the transport, along with heavy crunching and tearing sounds that indicated the transport was, in all probability, now inoperable. Serin laughed exultantly, feeling good.
And realized all too quickly that it wasn't over yet, as another laser blast singed the helmet on his head. Glancing back quickly, he noted that all five of the hover cycles had been good enough to match his little stunt, and were coming up fast.
Serin took the next intersection left, and then another left into a tight alley. Utilizing his instincts, he managed to stay in the center of the passageway as he arrowed along.
'The only benefit to this is that they're stuck in single file.' Serin thought. Then he smirked as he saw a ramp leading up to a dumpster on one side of the alley. The end result of it was that there was barely enough room for a person to walk through on the other side, much less for a cycle to pass. Flipping a mental coin, Serin turned the handlebars in the direction of the ramp, and accelerated toward his goal.
Makoto gasped in shock as she saw what he had in mind, and held on tight as she shut her eyes. A faint bump, followed by a feeling of weightlessness, along with a harder thump, informed her as to the success of Serin's plan.
The driver in question glanced back at their pursuit, and a wide grin on his face suddenly appeared. Behind them, several crashes told of the hover cycles either misjudging the gap on the side of the dumpster, or failing to utilize the ramp properly. His expression suddenly soured, though, as he saw that three of the cyclists actually managed to make it through the obstacle. They immediately began speeding up upon hitting the ground, as if the loss of their comrades freed them of excess weight.
Biting back a curse, Serin tried to coax more speed out of the shuddering hog as he exited the alley's confines, despite the fact that its tachometer was climbing higher and higher into the red zone. Taking a right onto the next street, his eyes suddenly widened as he saw his chance.
Up ahead, slowly pulling out into the street, was an eighteen-wheeler semi-trailer covering the entire road. Smirking in glee, Serin ripped the cycle's throttle up to full, and accelerated toward the obstacle. Barely hearing Makoto's shout (it was probably something extremely unprintable anyway:)), Serin twisted his cycle in a sharp 90 degree right hand turn, so it, and by extension, he and Makoto, were heading toward the trailer in a broadside manner. Letting his reflexes take over, Serin leaned the bike away from the obstruction, so that when it passed over their heads, they were almost parallel with the ground. As soon as they were on the other side, Serin gunned the engine again, arrowing away as fast as he could. If it hadn't been for the roaring engine, he would have heard three smaller, yet no less painful sounding, crashes from the other side of the vehicular barrier. As he continued on in a fairly leisurely manner to the eastern border, Serin became aware of a sharp pain in his sides. Confused, he glanced down to see Makoto's fingernails digging into his flesh at the unprotected joints of his armor. Turning his head back far enough that he could talk to her without taking his eyes off the road, he muttered loud enough for her to hear, "Sorry 'bout that," sounding anything but.
Makoto nodded, and relaxed her grip, resolving to never again ride on a motorcycle with this guy. 'He's even worse than Haruka!'