Many Meetings

"Ugh, nothing makes sense anymore," complained Lloyd. "No, it certainly does not," replied Kratos. "But just because it doesn't make sense does not mean its unimportant." Kratos had shown up almost immediately after the twenty-seven people had appeared on the other side of the transporter. Seeing as how Kratos was seemingly gone forever, destined to be the only one to stay with Derris-Kharlan as it floated through the lonely expanse of space as a comet, it was a bit of a shock to the offworlders to see him standing right in front of them on a world none of them belonged on.

"You know this man?" asked Asuka, warily eyeing the newcomer. Lloyd nodded. "Remember how I told you how my father left with Derris-Kharlan?" he said. The people from Earth looked at him in a dumbfounded way, as if he had stepped out of a legend. "Then," said Akane, "he's your father?" Lloyd nodded. "Biologically, anyhow," said Kratos. "I regret to say I was not there for the most important years of his life, but I am happy to say his foster father raised him well. Probably better than I could." Kratos seemed sad. "It doesn't matter that you weren't there," said Lloyd, putting his hand on Kratos' shoulder. "I know there were things you had to do that you didn't want to. It's okay. I think you're a great man, and a great father. You helped me when you could, and when I needed it. That's all that matters." Kratos smiled, a fond look in his eye. "Thank you, Lloyd," he said simply.

"Oh, yeah," said Lloyd, digging in his pocket. He took out a piece of paper and unfolded it. "Were you the one who sent this?" Kratos glanced at it. "Yes, that was me," he said. "So, then," said Kodachi, "it would appear you have some answers for us, yes?" "We'd like to know what's going on," said Midori. "I think I speak for all of us when I say we're quite confused." Kratos nodded. "I can and will tell you all I know," he said. "But we need to find shelter first. However, before that, I encourage you to look up." There was a mumble of confusion and then they looked up at the sky.

"Oh, wow," said Sheena, awestruck. "It's pretty," said Colette. "That's quite an understatement, from my perspective," said Regal. "I can't believe it," said Herb. "Neither can I," said Hinako. "I know it doesn't mean much coming from me," said Shinnosuke, "but I can't remember the last time I saw the stars." Indeed, that's all it was; stars. But the sky had been blocked out by the Great Darkness for so long many had forgotten what a clear night sky in the country looked like. "Where are we that we can see the stars?" asked Ryoko. "I thought the whole world was covered by clouds." "West Texas," said Kratos. "If you'll follow me, I'll answer your questions. At least, the ones I know the answer to." Kratos led them along the banks of a shallow, muddy river. Once Sheena slipped and her legs plunged into the water. "Augh!" she exclaimed. "It's freezing!" The water was up to her stomach and was still cold from winter. She tried to pull her legs out of the water but, to her surprise, she found they wouldn't budge. "Gah!" she said. "My feet are stuck!"

Lloyd went over to her. "I'll help," he said. "Ah, okay," said Sheena, trying not to blush as Lloyd put his arms around her waist and she crouched. "On three," said Lloyd. "One, two, three!" With a heave, they pulled her out of the water and sent her sprawling on the sand. Sheena stood up and brushed the sand off of herself, only to find her boots were missing. "Dammit!" she muttered. Lloyd handed her two wet, but fortunately not muddy, boots. "This sucks," she said, wrinkling her nose at the boots. "Well, let's get somewhere where we can rest and I can dry myself off." Kratos pointed down the river. At a bend in the river there was a slope of sand with a cave at the top. "We'll rest in there," he said. In a couple of minutes, they had ascended the sand slope and were in the cave.

"I'll get started on a fire and start cooking," said Genis. "Hey Genis," called Sheena. "Yeah?" he said turning around as a pair of pants, a shirt, and two boots smacked into him. "Dry those out over the fire for me, will you?" she asked. "Thanks!" Sheena said, ignoring Genis' grumbles of protest. Mousse allowed Sheena to wear his large coat while her clothes dried out, although Sheena quickly took it off, sacrificing modesty to be cool. The others soon noticed it was unusually hot in this cave, and it wasn't just because of the fire in the back where Genis was cooking. A number of the others stripped down as well, or at least removed outer coats or cloaks. Even Kratos began to sweat, something Lloyd had never seen Kratos do. Kratos removed his shirt with its shoulder pads and tails, but he retained an undershirt. It was everything the group could do to stop Zelos from getting naked and showing off himself. "But I wanna," said Zelos. "Say another word and I rip your vocal cords out!" interrupted Sheena. Perspiration now drenched her body and she slumped against the wall, her strength sapped.

"Why is it so hot in here?" she moaned. "I was about to tell you, but I was cut off," said Kratos. "We apologize," said Mousse, wiping his brow. "Would you please tell us?" "This cave is the ending of a heat exhaust line," said Kratos. "The actual structure which produces the heat is approximately three hundred and fifty miles away." "This structure must produce tremendous amounts of heat for it to be this hot, this far away," said Raine. "What sort of stucture is it?" Kratos was quiet for a while. "A tower," he said finally. "In fact, the temperatures get so high, the tower requires five exhaust lines just like the one we are in to safely vent the excess heat." "What do they do in this tower?" asked Raine, who finally had to remove the rest of her outer garments.

Kratos sighed. "Perhaps I should just tell the whole story, from the beginning," he said. "I think that would be best," said Kuno. As Kratos sat there, with all these people around him in a circle in their underwear, he had a sudden, inexplicible feeling he was at a sleepover, he believed they were called, and that he was supposed to tell the next story. And the absurdity of it all, the implausibility that this situation he was in would happen, just made him want to laugh out loud and roll on the floor. Instead, all that came out was a grin that wrested control of his mouth for a long moment before he looked at the ground and regained control. The others wondered what was going on in his head, but only Lloyd had any idea of what Kratos was thinking. Lloyd knew what Kratos felt: he was feeling it too.

Kratos looked back up, and began to tell the tale.

"A long time ago, the people of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla never knew about each other's existence, aside from the old legends of ancient times. They existed side by side, but never saw each other. Then, through the actions of a small band of rebels, Mithos, who had created the situation and was at the heart of Cruxis, was defeated. They then restore the two worlds back into one, as they were before Mithos used the Eternal Sword to divide them. Symphonia, as it was then called, became a place of peace and prosperity. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to the rest of the world, Cruxis was only defeated, and was not dead. The scattered remnants of Cruxis and the Desians united their forces, and fled. They soon found that there was no place in Symphonia for them. So, they left.

"Their leader proposed the idea that perhaps there was another world parallel to Symphonia, as Sylvarant was to Tethe'alla. They found it, and it was called Earth. Upon arriving on Earth, they were amazed by the technology and appalled at the destruction. They saw this world as unfit to rule, only to harvest. So they built themselves a tower. This tower is identical to the Tower of Salvation, except for a few retrofittings. When it reached completion, the leader of Cruxis turned it on, and ripped a gash in time. Think of it this way: time is like a sea, and everything that is possible to occur is on the surface of the water. Now, our worlds are like boats, sailing along a course in time. Based on the causes and effects of the present circumstances, the future will follow a certain path on the sea, in an area of likely occurances, like a current in the ocean. This current is normally hemmed in by 'banks', or limits on reality. What Cruxis did was rip a hole across our river, causing our boat to fall into the hole. Our worlds are on a course they're not supposed to be. What must be accomplished is, effectively, the plugging up of the hole from underneath, to push the water and the boat back into the river. The longer we continue on the course we are taking now, the less our chances of getting it back to normal. This course is dangerous, as it occasionally experiences, shall we say, jogs, or snags, due to the turbulence of the 'waterfall'. Snags like these come from turbulent systems, and they are responsible for the sicknesses in this world, and for Lloyd's and his companions' arrival. The darkness, however, is intentional.

What Cruxis is trying to do is to take over Symphonia. They consider it a better world, more peaceful, therefore easier to take and worth taking. In order to take over Symphonia, they have secretly begun massing here. By setting up the cloud cover, they can develop their night monsters. The clouds are also specially engineered to absorb sunlight. When they get saturated, they channel the energy to the tower, which recieves it and stores it for whatever they need. They will continue doing this until they have enough of what they need: enough soldiers, and enough raw power. When they are done, they will destroy this world like a piece of garbage. And so it is our duty to stop them. I will now take your questions."

Ranma raised his hand and spoke. "So, when we plug up the hole," he said, "what will happen to time? Will we go back in time or go forward?" Kratos sighed. "I feared you would ask this," he said. "Botta, or Mortimer, as you know him, told you that you'd go back in time, correct?" Ranma's group nodded. "The truth is," said Kratos, "is that we're not entirely sure. We, and by we I mean Yuan, Botta, and myself, we have found that outcome is the most likely, and would be best. However, there is a very good chance it will not. If you take my illustration about the river, then think of it like this. When we fix time, or "plug up the hole", our world will resurface in a sort of eddy. Due to this, there is no sure way to predict what will happen. However, simulations would suggest that the swirl would send us briefly back in time, then around the "scar", as Botta referred to it, I believe, and then continuing on. But there is also the possibility that will not happen, and we will simply continue forward from here." At the mention of this, many in Ranma's group visibly paled, although the others from Symphonia and the Shinsengumi weren't sure why. Kratos had a pretty good guess though. Botta had told them what he had said the night before they departed. Kratos hid a smile, then looked back up. "Anyone else?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Lloyd. "How come you're back? How'd you get back? And why?" "You saw the meteorite, yes?" said Kratos. Lloyd nodded. "I rode down on that. As for why, it was Cruxis' doing." "What do you mean?" asked Raine, intrigued. "Cruxis requires more than electricity," said Kratos. "They need mana. To obtain enough mana to challenge the world which contains the source of infinite mana, they realized they would have to reacquire Derris-Kharlan. Their leader devised a tractor beam to fire into space to catch Derris-Kharlan. What is truly amazing, however, is that they not only pulled it across a vast length of space, they made it cross the barrier between our two dimensions. That was an interesting experience, I have to tell you. To make such an immense piece of matter to cross over would take such energy..." He shook his head. "Well, that was the original purpose of gathering the solar energy. But, seeing the potential it had, they kept it going. A good thing for us, otherwise this world might have been discarded by now." Akane had been silent, staring down at the floor. "Why?" she asked quietly. "Why what?" asked Kratos. "Why didn't Mortimer, or Botta, or whoever, why didn't he tell us everything? Why did he hold back from telling us?"

Kratos looked at her kindly. "Would it have made a difference?" he asked. "Would you have made any other decision had you known that you might not go back in time once you completed your mission?" Akane was quiet. "I did not think so. Do not worry, and do not be mad at Botta. I instructed him not to tell you everything. I didn't think you needed anything else on your mind right then."

"What about me?" asked Ranma. "Was he telling the truth about me? Am I really the only one who can save the world?" Kratos grunted. "Yes," he said. "Why?" asked Hinako. "Why is he so special?" Kratos regarded her curiously. "It's interesting, really," said Kratos. "The only way to gain access to the core of the tower, where all the significant equipment is, is by undergoing a DNA scan. And not just any member of Cruxis will do. They figured that would be too easy. Anyone with sufficient forces could storm the tower, capture a member, and force their flesh onto the scanner. Instead, they randomly chose a human from Earth to be the key. And it wound up being you. So that way, even if someone got into the tower, they could not open the way into the core, which is practically indestructible from the outside. And only one person knows who it is, and he has undergone considerable torture-resistance training. He will not tell, and there is no other way to tell who it is. And the only way to reset the system requires the knowledge and the retinas contained in the head of their leader. I have heard of the technology they possess. There is no way to fool it, and no way to destroy it. Terrible, it truly is."

Zelos cocked his head. "Wait a minute," he said, "if only one person knew who it was, and he wouldn't tell, how did you find out?" Kratos smiled. "I thought you'd have figured it out by now, or at least our distinguished Professor would have," he said. "Botta was that one. Why do you think he made friends with Ranma? When Ranma got ill, he learned of it and went to go check on him. I ran into him on his journey. He was overjoyed to see me, and we hastily worked out our plan. He was in an important postion, and he was dying to use his information to bring down Cruxis. He had been with them since he faked his death, hoping to destroy them from the inside. Despite the dangers of betraying Cruxis, he followed through on the plan and was just picked up by Yuan a while ago. They will be joining us shortly."

Having said this, there were no more questions, and everyone either went to sleep or did something quietly. Ryoko was sitting in a corner, thinking, when the violet-haired girl, Sheena, Ryoko believed she was called, came sidling up next to her. Ryoko turned her head slowly to look at this girl. She, as well as most everyone else, was in her underwear. Sheena was just staring at her, her cheeks rosy, sweat dripping from her body. Suddenly she cracked an unsteady grin. Then she stuck her hands between Ryoko's arms and her body. Ryoko looked down in surprise as Sheena felt the curves of her body with her hands. "Ummmm," said Ryoko. Sheena began to crawl towards her slowly, and Ryoko backed up into a wall. Her heart pounded as this strange woman approached her until she was practically sitting in her lap. Sheena leaned close to Ryoko's face. "Ya know," said Sheena, "you've gotta pretty sexy body there, girl." Sheena was almost touching noses with her now, and Ryoko was alarmed to smell the musky odor of alcohol on her hot breath. Sheena's hand trailed on Ryoko's breast, and then suddenly began to squeeze and fondle it before letting it go a few seconds later. "Uh, thanks," said Ryoko, wondering what in the hell was going on.

Sheena's eyes narrowed. "You think you're the only one with a great body around here?!" she asked. "Just look at me!" Ryoko had to admit, the nineteen year old had quite an impressive figure. Sheena leaned towards Ryoko again. "You think you can take him from me?" she said. "Well you're wrong. With this body I'm gonna keep Lloyd around for a long time! And another thing, I, uh, urrgh...." Sheena trailed off and fell against Ryoko. She began to snore loudly against Ryoko's chest. Ryoko groaned. Why me? she thought. Lloyd came up, looking embarassed. "Sorry about that," he said as he picked Sheena up and slung her over his shoulder. "She's really a nice person. I guess we just can't give her too much whiskey. Can we, Ranma?" Ranma looked over Lloyd sheepishly. Lloyd glared at him, then walked away and set Sheena down somewhere to sleep. That's a relief! thought Ryoko. For a while there I thought she was coming on to me...

Sheena woke up a while later, still hotter than hell. Everyone else seemed to be able to sleep, but Sheena could not. Between the scorching temperatures, the alcohol, and her hot flashes, she felt like she was going to explode at any moment. She got up quietly, removed her underwear, and grabbed a towel, wrapping herself in it. I'll just go for a little soak, she thought. That'll cool me down. As she came to the exit, she was stopped by a hand. She looked down to see Kratos looking up at her. "Where are you going?" he said softly. "To the river?" she said. Kratos seemed indecisive. "Fine, but take someone with you," he said at last. "I'll go," said Lloyd, walking up in a towel. "I can't sleep anyways." Kratos nodded, then lay back down.

Lloyd and Sheena walked down to the river and took off their towels. Sheena eased herself into the water, which was refreshingly cold. She sighed, and ducked her head under, soothing her burning face. She came back up and shook her head. She didn't care the water was dirty. It felt great. Lloyd sat next to her, looking up at the stars. "I wonder," said Lloyd. "Wonder what?" asked Sheena when he didn't finish his sentence.

Lloyd looked at her. "I wonder what it must have been like for Dad, for Kratos," he said. "Having to be stranded on a comet, alone, nothing to really do, no one to be with, just watching the stars and stuff go by." Lloyd looked back up at the stars. "That must be tough." Sheena looked down at the water. "Well, there are the angels," she said. "They're lifeless, Sheena," said Lloyd. "They don't care about anything. They don't feel. They don't think. They wouldn't understand or care about Dad. He really was alone."

Lloyd closed his eyes. "I hope I never have to be alone," he said. When he opened his eyes, he found Sheena in front of him. She looked compassionately at him. "I'll never let you be alone," she said, and kissed him. Lloyd put his arms around her and kissed her back. "Thanks, Sheena," he said. He held her in silence. Lloyd continued to stare at the stars, and wonder.

Sheena realized she must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew she opened her eyes to find sunlight striking her in the face. She groaned and rolled over. She was staring at a rock wall. Lloyd must have brought me in last night, she thought. Looking under her thin sheet, she saw that Lloyd had not bothered to try and dress her; she was still naked. She turned back over to see that everyone else ws already up. She looked around for her clothes and saw they were clean and neatly pressed, sitting next to her feet. She took her underwear and put it on underneath the sheet, then stood up and dressed fully. She was amazed by how good she smelled. She took her bow and tied her hair back with it. She noted that her hair felt smooth and silky. Lloyd hadn't dressed her, or woken her, but had somehow managed to wash her. When she was finished, she went over to him and asked him if that was true.

"Yeah, it is, actually," he said with a laugh. "You were out last night. All that whiskey made you sleep like a rock, and I figured since you were all hot and sweaty, you might like it if you were cool and clean." Sheena smiled and hugged him. "Thanks, Lloyd!" she said. "That was really thoughtful." Lloyd blushed. "Nah, it was nothing," he said. Sheena sniffed his hair. "You smell good, too," she said suspiciously. "Did you use my soaps on you, too?" She drew back and looked at him, holding his shoulders. "Well, I figured you might like a clean boyfriend, too," he said with a shrug. Sheena burst out laughing. "That's fine, it's fine!" she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "And what about my clothes?" she said. "Genis washed them this morning while he and everyone else was bathing," he said, jerking a thumb in his friend's general direction. Sheena clapped her hands. "So everyone's clean?" she said. "Uh, yeah...." said Lloyd, wondering what was up. Sheena squealed with delight. "Cool!" she said, and skipped off to find breakfast. "What was that about?" he asked in confusion as Zelos came up behind him, eating a bowl of miso stew Genis had made. Zelos put down his spoon and sighed. "Even I don't know everything about women," he said.

Kratos finished his stew and set down the bowl. He wiped his mouth and stood up to speak. "Now that Botta and Yuan have arrived," he announced, "we will execute our attack upon the tower. However, it will be a long journey, so after you have eaten, I suggest you prepare for a long, long walk. The tower is some three hundred and fifty miles from here, in the ruins of a city called Austin, the capital of this state." Megumi whistled. "Three hundred and fifty miles," she repeated. "I had forgotten about that. That's a long ways to go. It'll take a good month to get there, at least!" "If we walked all the way," said Yuan. "We have brought enough Rheiards to accomodate all of you comfortably, two to a craft. However, we can only take them so far. Once within a hundred mile radius of the tower, we come within range of their flying sentinels, and soon after that, at ninety miles, we come within range of their outermost anti-aircraft turrets. We thought they'd be cocky enough to forgo such defenses, but apparently they've spared no expense to keep their stronghold safe. So, we'll have to land about one hundred and ten miles from the tower. If everyone will follow me for a moment, we'll show you how to operate a Rheiard."

Yuan and Botta led them outside, where they had set up a Rheiard to provide a demonstration. The group stopped before a small, motorcycle sized vehicle. "This is a Rheiard," said Yuan. "Although only half of you will be flying them," said Botta, "and some of you already can pilot one, this will be of benefit to everyone if you pay attention." Yuan went over to the Rheiard's controls. "It's a lot like riding a bike," he said, "but with some differences. First of all, here's how you start it." He rubbed his thumb back and forth against a small black switch. "See this switch? Push down and hold it to start the engine." He demonstrated, and the Rheiard roared to life. It began to float and spew multicolored fire from its tailpipe. "Push up and hold the same switch to kill the engine." He did so, and the craft powered down, setting down on the sand. He swung his leg over the seat and sat down. "Sit like this with your feet on these pedals. Grip the handlebars here, where the rubber is. Push gently on the left handlebar to turn left, right to turn right. The force of your push and the shift of your weight as you lean on it will make it turn. When you're going fast, only nudge it about an inch. That's enough to make it turn, going so fast. You'll need more when going slower. The left pedal is your brake, the right is the accelerator. Press and hold down the right one all the way, because that's all the speed you'll get out of 'em, and we need to go as fast as we can. This red button is only for crossing the dimensional transfer system, which we won't be using, so don't mess with it. If there's a question about any of your display panels, ask me in flight." Genis raised his hand.

"What is it, Genis?" asked Botta. "How are we going to ask you if we're flying?" Genis inquired. "Good question," said Kratos. "And here's the answer." Kratos tossed him a helmet. Genis caught it and examined it. It was lightweight and black, shaped roughly like a kendo mask, although it only went down to the level of the chin, and had no shoulder attachments. There was no visor, only the black plastic of which the helmet was composed. "That's a one way visor helmet there," said Yuan. "You can see out, but no one can see in. It's padded and fits easily on the head, but not too tightly. Air vents keep it cool in there, and it comes with a built in all way radio that communicates with other helmets in the area. They were custom built by us, and we designed them to be resistant to jamming frequencies and powerful blows. No one knows the signal frequency but us, however, given enough time, one could patch in, so we must talk in short bursts, only a few words at a time, and only as much as is necessary. We would work out a code if we had time, but we need to leave too soon.

"The controls for the radio are simple," said Botta. "Press the green button to talk, and it transmits to all other helmets. In case of emergency, flip up the yellow cover and press the red or the blue button. If you press the red button, the helmet with detonate in five seconds with a force comparable to a stick of dynamite. Press the green and the radio will destroy itself quietly." Kratos gave everyone their own helmet. "These visors will also protect us from spies," said Kratos, "although I'm not entirely how much protection they provide. Perhaps if caught alone, it would be useful. Anyhow, go back to camp, finish packing, and return here. We will issue Rheiard assignments to everyone then." The group returned to the cave, slightly sickened. All of them hoped they would never have to use the buttons under the yellow cover.

Mint sighed and smacked his lips. Riding the Rheiards had been exciting the first hour or so, but now it was getting dull. They only traveled at about ninety miles an hour, so it would be another hour and a half before they reached their destination, at the least. Lime, who was flying the Rheiard Mint was on, was similarly bored. Had he not been occupied with flying the craft, he thought he might have fallen asleep by now.

There had been silence for a long while now, and Ranma could sense everyone's boredom. He wanted to remedy it somehow: the quiet was deafening. However, he had no idea how to do this. Ranma slumped back in his seat, thinking. He racked his mind for a question, any question, that could start a conversation that would alleviate the quiet. He shot up straight, an idea striking him. He pressed the green button on the side of his helmet and held it down. "Hey," he said. "Hold that thought," said Yuan, tense. "What is it?" asked Kratos. Mousse nervously fingered his bundle as he rode on the Rheiard Lloyd was piloting. He had a bad feeling he would need the bundle's contents very soon.

Yuan double checked his radar display, hoping it was wrong. He frowned. It was not. "I've got something on my sensors," he said. "Looks a single scout. Behind us. Damn, he's closing in fast! Hard right, everyone!" Everyone leaned to the right, causing the Rheiards to turn. Suddenly there was a piercing shriek as the scout caught up to them. "Evasive maneuvers!" cried Yuan. "Attack at will!"

It was too late. The enemy had found its target. Hefting a long spear, the fell beast and its rider cut off the Rheiard Genis was flying and Megumi was riding on. Genis tried to turn, but he was not fast enough. The rider hurled its spear. It sped through the air, and slammed into Genis' shoulder, missing its mark, but striking a serious blow. Mousse stood on the Rheiard. He watched as Presea's Rheiard swooped in to catch Genis as he fell, stunned, from his craft, and he watched as the rider pursued her. He had to. He had to. He had to. He did.

Mousse plunged his hand into his bundle. Out of it he produced a long-bore rifle with a scope. He took of his helmet, set it down, and shoved the scope into his eye. Taking half a second to aim, he fired the gun.

He hit it dead on. The rider fell from its steed, disintegrating as it fell. "Lloyd!" he yelled. "Take us to the beast!" Lloyd complied, and Mousse switched his rifle for a pump-action shotgun. He clicked off the safety and aimed as he approached the winged monster. Lloyd pulled the craft in close, and the creature reared up to attack them. Mousse saw the open chest area and fired. The animal staggered, hit by the blow. Lloyd came back for another pass, his ears ringing, his mind uncomprehending, but his fighting sense was still intact. Mousse cocked the gun, spewing out the empty shell and loading a fresh one into the barrel. The beast flew staggered now, and Mousse aimed for the wings. He fired two shots into one wing, causing it to turn into a spiral, heading for the ground some five hundred feet below. Mousse leapt onto the dragonlike monster and pressed the muzzle of his gun into the back of the creature's skull. "Burn in hell, bastard!" he said, and squeezed the trigger. The head burst apart, and Lloyd, who stuck near Mousse, came in to get him. Mousse jumped back onto the Rheiard. "Let's go find the others!" he yelled. Lloyd nodded, and took them up.

After a quick circle, they found the rest of the Rheiards set down in a clearing in the forest. They rushed over to the others, who stood back, watching in morbid awe, as Presea worked on Genis. AS they came up, they saw her remove Genis' helmet. Hers was already off, and lay nearby. Everyone else had abandoned their helmets, too. Mousse paled as he turned his attention to Genis.

The spear had impaled him, going straight through his upper left chest. It had missed his heart, but the wound was still grave. Blood trickled from the wound, still held back by the shaft piercing the vessels. He did not appear conscious at all. Presea removed her gloves with her teeth and took the dagger from her waist. She made a few, precise cuts in the fabric of his shirt and removed it from the area of the wound. "Ranma, hold him up," she said softly. Ranma walked over quickly and supported the boy. Using her ax, Presea lopped off the barbed tip of the spear. The other end also had a wicked looking attachment on it, so it didn't really matter which end sh took off. "Sheena, the water of life," she said. Sheena took out her pack and looked through it. She found a bottle containing a blue liquid, and she handed it to Presea. Walking back over to Genis, she firmly grasped the spear with one hand, and held Genis' body with the other. Everyone still watched, bound by an inexplicable desire to see what happened. Presea hesitated, loosened and retightened her grip on the shaft. Hinako covered her eyes. Finally, Presea looked away, and yanked. With a meaty sound, he spear came out, and blood spurted from the wound. She dropped the spear and grabbed the bottle Sheena had given her.

Taking out the cork, she spilled a liberal amount on either side of the wound. She worked some more water deep into the wound, her face only flinching slightly as she thrust her hand into his flesh. Almost immediately, the wound began to heal. It was like watching a time-lapse video. Before their eyes they could see muscle repair itself, blood vessels reconnect, until it was a solid red mass in his shoulder. Finally the skin spread and covered the wound. By the end of the whole process, there was no visible sign that anything had ever happened to him. There was a ripple of murmurs originating from the Earth people. Presea splashed the remaining water on Genis' face. His eyes fluttered open. "Augh," he groaned. "Am I, uh?" "You're fine," said Presea with a smile. Then, without another word, she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. He embraced her, closing his eyes, entirely pleased that he had chosen a woman who could keep her cool and knew what to do in times like this. She had just saved his life, he realized, and that only made him kiss her all the more passionately.

While everyone else stared, then embarassedly left them alone, Genis and Presea continued to kiss each other. Zelos grumbled. "Why couldn't I be the one with a spear in my shoulder?" he complained to himself. "A little pain, then a I get to make out with a girl!" He sighed. "Some guys have all the luck." "Luck?" came a voice from behind him. Zelos nearly jumped out of his skin. "Whoa!" he said. "What was that about luck?" asked Colette. Zelos tried to catch his breath. Colette just stood there, smiling. Jeez, she's cute, he thought, but why does she have to do that?! "Uh, I was just saying that Genis had bad luck," said Zelos. "Being caught at the back of the group and getting hit by the spear and all." Colette thought about this a moment. "Well, I guess you could say we all have bad luck, and Genis had good luck," she said. When Zelos stared at her strangely, she added, "Well, I mean, it was bad luck we caught by that guy, and then someone would be hit by that spear. And then you would be saying someone else has bad luck. So no matter what, that thing would have attacked one of us, and it was good luck for Genis that he didn't get killed, and that he had all of us with him to take care of him." Zelos shook his head and smiled.

"That is just why I love you, Colette," he said. "You always look on the bright side." Colette blushed. "Well, so do you," she said. Zelos blinked. "Hey, you're right!" he exclaimed. "That's another thing we have in common! Wow, it's like we're meant for each other!" Colette smiled. "Hehe, yeah, I guess you're right!" she said. Zelos was caught off guard. "Well, I wasn't expecting that," he said. Colette bushed bright red. "Then I'll bet you weren't expecting this," she said. With that, she reached up, took Zelos' face in her hands, and brought it to hers, kissing him on the lips. Zelos' mind reeled. When she let him go, he fell over backwards. He sighed. "Wow," he said. "You're a great kisser, you know that? And that means a lot, coming from me. I've kissed a lot of girls in my time. I don't think I'll ever find out everything about you." Colette bent over him. She winked and stuck her tongue out. "Nope, not until we're married, you won't," she said, and skipped off. Zelos propped himself up on one elbow, watching her go. "I'm quite certain I'll never understand her," he whispered to himself. Then, breaking into a smile, he could not help but laugh until his sides hurt.

"Guys," said Colette. Everyone turned to look at her. "We're not alone," she said quietly. Yuan wasted no time. "Helmets on!" he hissed. They complied. "Don't be alarmed, but you're all about to turn black," he said over the radio. Pressing a button on the side of his helmet, the entire group began to shimmer and fuzz. Suddenly, the fuzz snapped into focus, and everyone was covered in something black. It seemed to be a projected image, for it had no weight, and when the group touched themselves, all they felt was their clothes or skin. "We couldn't obtain any cloaking devices, but this should give us an advantage," said Botta. "Oh, and don't worry about anyone hearing us. The helmets are soundproof." "Shh!" said Yuan. "Don't forget, if we talk too long, someone could break our signal. Now everyone, draw your weapons, hide, and stay alert! No more talking for now."

The group slunk back into the woods, and waited. There came a faint rustling sound, barely audible, but Colette heard it like it was branches breaking. Out into the clearing stepped a man (presumably). The person wore a fashionable outfit; jeans, black t-shirt, and a white coat. On his feet were boots, and covering them, metal greaves. He wore gauntlets made of the same material. Out of the whole group, only Kratos, Yuan, and Botta had seen it before. Cruxis was its sole maker.

To top it all off, the man had on a helmet, similar to the ones Yuan and Botta had provided, but its faceplate was white, and the rest was a deep blue.

The man stopped, surveyed the surroundings, and bent down. He examined the dirt closely. Standing up, he flicked an unseen switch on his mask. "I know you are here," said a mechanical voice coming from the man. It obviously was his, but was being masked. "Show yourselves, and perhaps I'll go easy on you." No one moved. "Let me talk to him," whispered Ryoko over the comm, quiet through instinct. "I have a plan." Yuan considered this. "Fine, but be careful," he replied. "And to talk to the outside, tap the chin of the helmet once, twice for voice masking like he's doing." Ryoko tapped the chin twice, and stood up. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the clearing.

The man turned slowly to acknowledge her presence. She stopped five feet from him. "Where are the others?" he asked. "There are no others," replied Ryoko. "Thanks to you, they're all dead now." The man seemed to think this funny, for he laughed, his voice sounding tinny with the voice-alteration. "I see," he said. "What makes you think I killed them?" "Why else would you be here?" asked Ryoko. "You're looking for survivors, aren't you?" "Not survivors," said the man. "Survivor. There is only one I am looking for, and I am certain this person is not dead. If you will not tell me where he went, then you must die." Ryoko smirked behind her mask. "Then I shall die," she said, drawing her sword. "Tap the chin once more to revert back to silent mode," whispered Yuan over the radio. She did so. "I can take this guy," she said, watching him tighten his gloves. "Anyways, if it looks like I'm in trouble, you guys can help me out." "Somehow," said Shinnosuke, "I get the feeling he knows we're all here." "Yeah, but what can we do now?" said Ranma. "Let's see how this plays out."

Ryoko's heart pounded. She knew this would be a tough fight. She knew, in the pit of her soul, she might not be able to win. But, she thought to herself, that's okay. We've learned that lesson, before, right Ryoko? That's what friends are for. Something nagged at her. She felt something like deja vu, an indescribable feeling that she knew this person. But when she tried to pin it down, it slipped away. Oh well, she thought, too late for that now. I've got a match to fight!

She lunged forward, striking in a vertical slash. The man blocked it easily and sent a punch at her face. Ryoko dodged and attempted to cut out his legs from under him. Her sword clanged off his greaves, and she kicked herself mentally. Physically, the man kicked her, sending her into a tree. She moaned with pain, but got up, wincing only slightly. "Okay, Ryoko, time to get serious," she said to herself.

She waited for the man to make the next move. He moved in slowly, then took another jab at her face. She dodged to the left, and the man brought his right leg up to knee her in the gut. She twirled gracefully out of the way and dealt an upward slash to his raised knee, causing him to flip over backwards. Apparently, he had on some under armor, for no blood stained his jeans. Ryoko stepped in quickly and placed the tip of her sword on the back of his neck. She tapped her chin once, forgetting to set the voice masker.

"One move and I put steel in your brain," she said. The man's body tensed. Probably scared stiff, Ryoko thought gloatingly. Before Ryoko knew what happened, a loud metallic clang rang in her ears, and her sword was nowhere to be seen. The man jumped up and caught the surprised Ryoko by the head. Megumi started to get up. "Nobody move," said Yuan over the comm. Ryoko's heart pounded. Holy shit, I'm gonna die, she thought. Tears streamed down her face, her teeth chattered, and her legs trembled with fear. It was all she could do to keep herself from vomiting in horror. No, please, no, don't let it end like this, begged Ryoko of whatever gods were listening. The man grasped her helmet and pulled it off her head. The balck disappeared, leaving Ryoko exposed.

Try as she might, Ryoko could not pull herself together. She began to collapse, and the man caught her. Her knees knocked, and she sobbed pitifully. The group's hearts were in their throats. Ryoko looked up at the man, her vision blurry. He stared down at her. "What are you doing here?" he said at last. "How did you get mixed up in all this?" Ryoko could not reply, and only kept weeping. The man made a sound of disgust and looked away. "Pull yourself together, girl!" he said loudly. "This isn't at all like you, Ryoko!" Ryoko stared up at him in wonder, eyes still blurry and red. "Feh," he said, and set Ryoko down. She sat down and stared up at the man as he put his hands to his head. Who could it be? she wondered. With a flash of insight, she realized who it was, and as his helmet came off, her suspicions were confirmed.

"Shizuma?!" she cried. Shizuma Kusanagi shook his mane of black hair and looked down at Ryoko. "I guess death is scary, huh?" he said. "I've seen it too many times to be afraid anymore. So, you wanna tell me where the others are now, huh babe?" Ryoko's face hardened. "Why?" she asked. "Isn't it obvious?" he said. "Your group goes raising hell with the most important human on Earth and you expect us not to do something about it? Now tell me, or maybe I really will kill you." Ryoko's face urned to stone. She saw her sword next to her. She stood up, grasped her sword and pointed it at him. "I'd love to see you try," she sid coldly. Shizuma looked at her. He began to laugh. "That's more like the Ryoko I and know and love!" he exclaimed. "However, I have no intention of fighting you, so put that sword away. I have an ulterior motive for coming here, and if you'll listen, I'll tell you what it is." Ryoko uncertainly lowered her weapon.

"And what motive is that?" she asked. Shizuma laughed. "I thought you'd never ask," he said.