First off, I want to express a sincere apology for waiting seven months to work on this chapter. I didn't mean to die out altogether, but I just forgot all about it after a while. Within the next few months I'm going to be revising all of my work and improving it accordingly. Making sure everything is written correctly, making sure what's to be funny is funny and what's to be serious is serious. Basically, you'll be seeing a lot more of me in the near future, especially if you double as a Zoids reader. I hope you guys don't think less of me for holding out on this chapter for seven months, so after review responses, you'll get your chapter.
Sora: Thank you! It means a lot to get such an enthusiastic review on this. And I don't quite know why I didn't have Garet test him, actually...
Vilya: Thank you as well, Vilya! Again, the enthusiasm is an excellent reminder of why I write. And yes, feel free to pester me about updating anytime you want! I could use some of that pizza you're sending to Triad... stomach growls
Ragnarok: Well, in FFTA, the Nagrarok is a fake of the Ragnarok, I do believe. That little comment was just to make Felix mad. And the psynergy was fun to make up. Thanks for the compliment, dude! And nice name format, too.
Shadow: Thanks for coming by! Get online sometime, I never see you anymore! )
Okay, and on with the story!
Alex was, while overjoyed to know something about himself, confused at why he was kept in the dark until he learned a basic attack and healing psynergy. Of course, Picard wouldn't tell him. That much was as painfully obvious as painfully obvious could be. So did he ask Garet? Sounded possible, but he decided to stay away from that. Garet seemed to be a warrior, not a thinker, or one to answer such a question. Alex decided if he could bet money on whether or not Garet knew the answer, he'd wager all he had. Then, only Felix was left in his potential group of talkers. Must remember to ask Felix all about it later.
As it turned out, when Alex finished that thought, the pair of Mercury Adepts were surprised to learn that the Mad Mole wasn't alone. Two pairs of eyes stared at them in the forest, similar to the horrible yellow eyes of the mole Alex had nearly gotten killed by earlier. He raised his right hand up to his neck and gently touched the spot where the aforementioned mole had tried to remove his head. He felt no pain, instead feeling a gentle coolness on his hand. His left hand slowly moved to his sword sheath, and, with his voice only barely above a whisper, he asked, "Picard, what do we do?"
On cue, two more pairs of eyes appeared, then four, then eight. Sixteen moles had appeared, clearly angry at the loss of their comrade. Each mole seemed to be twice as big as the one Alex had fought, with claws twice as long and probably three times as sharp. Alex deduced that he had killed a child, probably their pack's youngest. The moles began to close in so that there was only a small space between each of them.
Picard's eyes shifted to see that they were indeed surrounded by not sixteen, but twenty-four moles. "Alex, we've got a problem. These moles aren't anything like I've ever seen before. They're using a tried and true war method called a pincer attack. But how would a group of monsters know anything of war tactics? It's just impossible...they don't have that type of knowledge...they're just too stupid..." he mused, more to himself than to Alex.
"Stupid or not, they have us surrounded. Odds are they have reinforcements, as well. Should we attempt to run away, or do you believe we can take them?" Alex asked, wondering if there was a way to run away after starting the fight.
"Do not draw your sword. These monsters are smart enough to destroy you if you rush in hastily," replied Picard.
"So how do we get away?"
"I wanted to teach you this later on, but we will need it now. It's one of the Mercury element's most useful psynergies, besides the Ply and Wish series of psynergy. To explain it scientifically, once used, it becomes a rather large bit of ATP inside your body. It will allow you to speed up your movements on command, and since it's foreign energy, using it won't leave you very drained at all. Now, to do this, focus on your body. Slow your breathing to a low speed, calm your nerves, and imagine that you're running very fast. You will know when the time is right to call forth Avoid," he said, strangely worried but maintaining his calm demeanor all the same.
Alex said nothing, as he took in more air and released more air. The mindset of running at his slowly calming state caused the familiar feeling of the blending again. His breathing slowed down even more, and his nerves finally relaxed as much as they could. No sooner than he finished, he drew his sword and cried out at the top of his lungs, "Avoid!!!"
It was so strange to him. He could see the moles move as if it were in slow motion, and then the time flow returned to normal. He snapped back into reality just in time to avoid a swipe to the neck from another mole. He leveled his sword at the mole's neck, and charged headlong at him. With three feet separating him and the mole, he blinked. When his eyes opened less than half a second later, he was past the now headless mole with his sword point touching the tree. He turned around and started running again. His speed steadily picked up as he swung at another mole. He managed to take that mole out rather quickly, and stopped.
He noticed at this point that Avoid was the perfect way to escape, and if needed, regroup at Lama Temple. As he moved to get Picard and inform him of the plan, he noticed that Picard's hands were full for dealing with five moles at once and unable to break away long enough to call any psynergy. A glint of light caught his eyes, and Alex looked just in time to see a giant mole charging headlong at Picard.
He noticed that the mole was easily twice the height of all the others out there, which were human height as was, but as logical thought is usually the farthest thing from a fighter's mind in such a desperate situation, Alex disregarded the size difference, and did the only thing he could. He ran in the larger mole's path and just barely beat it to the punch. He raised his sword and deflected the mole's attack as he felt the remainder of his Avoid powers leave him. The mole jumped back quickly and began to again charge at Picard. Alex managed to discern that the mole he was fighting was more human-like than others, consisting of very human type fingers. A ball of psynergetic light formed in its hand, and it shaped itself into a sword. It and Alex clashed swords a few times, and, noticing it was useless to either fighter, quickly dropped their weapons and moved on to hand-to-hand combat.
Alex punched it in the stomach, but it didn't do much of anything. As he punched, he attempted to call forth Avoid. He managed to punch the mole three times quickly before he found the energy leaving him. He kept calling it forth, and it kept leaving. After a few minutes, Alex seemed to notice that the mole's movements began to increase in speed exponentially, as if...
...As if he were using Avoid.
Slowly, he figured out what was happening. His Avoid was being taken from him by that mole, consequentially hurting himself more than the mole when he used it. He ran as fast as he could to get his sword back in his arms and the mole's sword as well. He succeeded in getting the mole's sword, but the mole stepped on his own, shattering it to pieces. Alex noted mentally that Master Hama would be none too pleased with that. However, it was no time to be crying over broken swords. Alex carefully maneuvered himself so that a rock separated them, and called forth Prism. It hit the mole hard, causing it to stumble backwards. He then saw his chance to charge, running around the rock and stabbing the mole with its psynergetic sword. Unfortunately, the sword disappeared on contact, and the mole arose, unhurt.
Picard finally found an opening and landed a severe blow on two of the moles attacking him, and moved out of the cluster of moles, using a weaker Avoid to get behind them and kill them from behind. He rushed over to help Alex, but stopped for a moment, pondering the consequences. Under normal circumstances, he would have stayed back and allowed his pupil to fight on his own, but it didn't seem like an option to Picard as he saw the mole punch Alex in the stomach using his Avoid to add momentum to his attack.
Alex flew back into a tree, snapping a few branches off in the process. Upon further examination of his body, he saw a deep gash on his chest, possibly from the mole's claws. He rose to his feet rather shakily, supporting himself on a limb he broke off the tree. Once he got to his feet, he attempted to cast Ply on his chest, but was quickly thrown back down on the ground by the rampaging mole. Picard noticed that in the mole's charge, that it left a crucial weak spot open. As it landed, it stayed in that position. Picard cast Avoid on himself and charged at the mole in his accelerated speed. His sword pierced the mole under the left arm, passing straight through to the heart.
The mole collapsed, dead. Picard rushed over to Alex and cast Ply on him. Then he lifted Alex to a resting position on his shoulder. "Good job, my friend. Good job."
It was dark. Alex couldn't seem to move a muscle. He saw the light of Ply, and he felt Picard's psynergy washing over his mind. It was strange, and a little cool for his tastes, but he was grateful all the same. He opened his eyes just in time to see a man approach from behind the grove of trees opposite those he had been thrown into.
He was a blonde man, about Alex's height, dressed in strange red clothes that made him look like something of a thief. His movements were slow and unsteady, and his eyes looked empty. As he spoke, Alex could distinguish, although rather faintly, two voices.
"Good job," he said, sneeringly.
"Who...are you?" asked Alex.
"This body belongs to a man by the name of Dune, but you will refer to me as Hausen, soon to be the destroyer of humankind!!!" came the reply of the two voices.
"Destroyer...of humankind...? Why...would you..." With that, Alex collapsed to the ground in a heap.
"Alex!" cried Picard. "Hang in there, Alex!"
"Ha ha ha...it looks like your friend can't even stand on his own two feet. What kind of weaklings are you humans? You should never have been created," he said.
"What do you want with us?! Who do you work for?!"
"Your inquiry doesn't frighten me, Picard," replied Hausen. Picard's eyes widened in horror at this last word.
"How do you know my name?!"
"Fool. I know all," he said, horrifically calm.
"How?! How do you know?!"
"You need not know that now. All you need to know is that I am far more powerful than you will ever be, and to stay out of my way - should you survive this encounter, that is," he replied.
"So you want to fight?!"
"You fool. You wouldn't last two minutes. I am, however, interested in your student, Alex. You see, I have bigger plans for him. All it requires is a little manipulation and..." he trailed off at that point, assured that his point was made evident.
"You stay away from my student!" shouted Picard. Fire raged in his eyes as his left hand subtly gripped the sheath of his longsword.
"So determined. Child, remember your place in this world. You are weak, and I am strong. But I will let you live today."
"I won't allow you to destroy humankind, Hausen. I won't!" cried Picard, as his mind began to channel the mental energies of Megacool, and he secretly called upon Shade.
Hausen laughed heavily. "And I suppose you think you're going to stop me, is that correct?" he asked.
"Of course! You are not destroying the human race, and you are not going near my student! Is that clear?!"
"Child, you are such a fool. Have it all figured out, do you? Use your Megacool Psynergy to damage me, and rely on your Djinni for protection. Once you have me off guard, you'll summon Mercury, is that correct?" he asked. The subhuman mixture of voices masked an aura of extreme sadness. A cry for help, it seemed.
Picard's eyes narrowed, and his eyes shifted to his sword. He slowly rotated the sheath, so that when he attacked, he would hit this 'Dune' with the flat of the blade, and hopefully free him from Hausen's possession. Alex chose this moment to rise, rather shakily, to his feet. He knew the name 'Hausen' was familiar to him, but he couldn't place it until he heard the laugh.
Unfortunately, he was too busy passing out to put his finger on it.
ATP - Adenosine Triphosphate. The energy your body creates from the oxygen you breathe. This is actually the energy you survive on, rather than the air you breathe. I'd be happy to answer any of your questions on AIM, so please contact me if you wanna know what the heck I'm talking about.
And there is your chapter. Like I said, I'm finally back to updating stuff, and I'm not stopping until everything is done. By then, I'll probably have more story ideas, so there. See you guys soon!