Journey to the Tower

Shizuma looked around him. "So this is your group, huh?" he said appraisingly. "Not a bad selection, if I say so myself. So, you ready to hear my story?" Ryoko nodded. "Please," she said. He smiled. "Alright, y'all better sit down," he said. "This'll take a while."

"Around the time when Cruxis showed up in our world, I found them. They were posing as many things to learn about our world. One of the things they posed as was a street gang. They soon earned a reputation for being unbeatable. Naturally, I challenged them, and I won. I fought their leader, and won. Seeing my potential, he asked me to join his group. I turned him down, me being sort of a lone wolf and all, but his next proposal was irresistable. He told he where they were from and what they planned to do. I was a bit skeptical, but when he promised me I could rule the world, how could I refuse?

However, things became much darker once their operations began. Many unforeseen things occured, such as the plague. I feared for those I care about, and always lived in uncertainty of their conditions. And Cruxis began killing people too, often for no reason. I tolerated it, but it bothered me every day. Then, just recently, I was to take a trip to Symphonia and scout out the land. You should have been there. It was beautiful, and the people were so interesting. It made a fighter like me want to settle down and become respectable. I found Cruxis' plans one day. They were in one of the areas I had access to, and someone had left them out. I read about how Earth was to be destroyed, and what was going to happen to Symphonia. They intend to turn everyone into those lifeless angels I'm sure you've been told about. Internal discord also runs high. Those things sickened me. I knew I had to use my power and influence to stop them. So far, all I've been able to do is foil attempts on your lives, but it hasn't always been effective. The dragon-rider who speared the little guy was under my direct orders not to harm anyone. And the idiot back at the tower? Totally disobeyed my orders. People these days. Anyways, I have a plane that should totally cripple Cruxis and bring them crashing down, and I can describe it in one sentence."

Shizuma smiled. "And what is that?" asked Kuno. "Let me capture you and bring you in," he said simply. There was a murmur of surprise and disapproval. "Think about it!" he said. "It's perfect. I've always made sure I've looked like an obedient subordinate. They know nothing of my intentions. I've been loyal to them fully, and they trust me. If I capture you and bring you in, hey won't think twice about it. And if something happens in the holding cells, say, a lock breaks or a security door fails to shut all the way, no one will blame me. Then when they call me in to take care of you guys, I'll betray them openly when their trust in me is highest. I can ensure your safety until you reach the core. After that, things will be tough. If we can manage to get in the core, it'll lock us in there. Of course, everything is automated from the inside. They can't do anything to us, but on the same token, we can't get out. We have to know what we're gonna do once we get in there."

Yuan stroked his chin. "Sounds good to me," he said. Raine sighed. "Why am I surrounded by gullible saps?" she muttered to herself. "Did you say something?" asked Ryoga. Raine blushed. "Ah, no, it's nothing, really," she stammered. "So what are we gonna do once we get inside the core?" asked Ranma. "I mean, do we have any idea how to destroy it or stop it or whatever?" Shizuma sat up straight and slapped his knee. "Well," he said, "I did get a chance to see the plans, remember? They included specs on the core. Apparently, inside the core is a shaft, filled with molten metals swirling around a central rod. It's kinda supposed to imitate the inside of the planet, you know?" Raine wrote in her notepad. The group thought about what Shizuma told them silently. Herb rubbed his chin and stared off towards the afternoon sun. Ukyo played with a tuft of grass by her crossed legs while she tried to think of something. Genis felt like he was on to something, but he wasn't sure if it would work.

"Uh, I have an idea," said Genis. "Really?" said Colette. "Let's hear it," said Sheena. "Um, what if we could freeze the metal?" Genis suggested. Kratos let this sink in. "How would we do that?" he asked. Genis glanced around nervously, feeling a little stupid. "Well, I guess first we would have to cut off the core's source of heat," he said, "and then we could use magic, or a Summon Spirit, to freeze it." Botta nodded approvingly. "That sounds like it should work," he said, "however, we should have a back-up plan, in case our first plan fails." Zelos had a dark answer for this one, one he didn't particularly like, but he decided to venture it. "If all else fails," he said, "we could just let the metal out of the shaft. Cause havoc, save the world, right?" The group felt this suggestion weigh on heir minds. Even Lloyd and Colette felt depressed. "Well, don't worry about it too much," said Yuan. "That's only if we can't do it any other way. I'm sure we won't have to resort to that. So, if everyone's ready, let's be on our way."

Lloyd grumbled. "Why do we have to walk the hundred miles back to the tower?" he complained. Shizuma's brow furrowed. "Because," he said, "in the panic of your arrival, all the transporters leading to the tower were destroyed." Lloyd realized there wasn't much he could say to that, so he fell silent.

Presea looked disdainfully at her hands. She had forgotten to wash Genis' blood off her hands, and now she couldn't put her gloves back on. "Does anyone have some water?" she asked aloud. "Anything for the cutest girl I know!" said Zelos, handing her a canteen. Genis glared at Zelos angrily. She poured the water over her hands, carrying away the blood. When it was all gone, she capped the canteen and handed it back to Zelos. "Here," she said. Zelos carried it by a corner; it was covered in blood. "Ewww," he said, wrinkling his nose. Presea smirked at his reaction, and wiped off her wet hands on her dress. She then slipped her arms back into the gauntlets. She felt the familiar, reassuring weight and sighed. Presea turned as she heard a snapping noise behind her.

Ryoko threw back her head, chugging the beer as she walked. She lowered the can and breathed deeply. "Ahhh," she said. She relaized everyone was looking at her. "What?" she said. "Where did you get that?!" asked Asuka jealously. "I want some!" said Xiaoxing. Ryoko ignored the girl's pleas and blushed, scratching her head. "Well, you see, when stuff started getting crazy, the one thing my Aunt Madoka made sure she stocked up on was beer," she explained. Ryoko shook her head and snorted. "I got so wasted with that woman, it's a wonder I'm not a drunk because of her!"

"You sure you're not?" said Genis, which earned him a smack from his sister. Ryoko just laughed. "Riiiiight," said Shampoo.

Mousse walked next ot his wife, still feeling uneasy. They had all stored their weapons and helmets in the Wing Pack, along with the Rheiards and the EC, but Mousse felt unprotected without even a sword on him. He realized that they would not be allowed to enter the tower armed, but they were still a great distance from it. Someone tapped his shoulder, and he turned to find Lloyd walking behind him. "Uh, we were just curious," he said, "but my friends and I would like to know what those things you were using before." Mousse looked at them quizzically. "What things?" he asked puzzled. "You know," Lloyd said, pretending to hold something long with two hands, and making it buck in his hands. "Those things that make a really loud noise," said Colette. "Oh, you mean guns!" Mousse said, understanding at last. "Yeah, guns," said Lloyd. "What are they?"

Mousse thought about this a moment. "If I had one, I could explain it to you better," he said. Lloyd caught the hint and fetched one of them from the Wing Pack. It was a semi-automatic pistol. Mousse took it from Lloyd, ejected the clip, and triple checked the chamber before beginning to explain it to them. "This," he said, pointing to the gun, "is a gun. More specifically, it is a semi-automatic pistol, or handgun. A gun is a device that uses gunpowder to fire small metal objects, called bullets, to inflict wounds or damage on targets." Raine wrote in her notebook, obviously fascinated with this technology. "What is 'gunpowder'?" she asked. Mousse smiled, still amazed at some of the things they didn't know. They're from another world, he reminded himself. "Gunpowder is a highly volitile substance that explodes or catchs fire when exposed to a spark or a flame," he explained.

"Now, the way guns used to work was by stuffing a pack of gunpowder and a round metal bullet down a tube. Then the gunman would cock the gun, meaning he pulled down the hammer, something liked this thing, and then he would pull the trigger, which would release the hammer. As the hammer went up, a piece of metal in attached to it would strike against a piece of flint, sending sparks into the barrel, this thing here, which would ignite the gunpowder and send the bullet flying. It was called a flintlock. There were other variations, of course, but now we use a cartridge system, and with the advent of a little thing called an ignitor cap, and guns are far more efficient. See, inside this cartridge here, there is the bullet at the top, and gunpowder down at the down, sitting on top of the ignitor cap. Now, when I pull the trigger, it sends a little bar into the back of the cartridge, where the cap is, and basically what it does is pop the cap, which sends off sparks and blows up the powder which shoots the bullet. Then the gun shoves out the old cartridge and replaces a new one, and I'm ready to shoot again, all in about a second. This gun is called a semi-automatic because once it's cocked, squeezing the trigger once fires one bullet. To fire another bullet, I have to squeeze it again. On a fully automatic gun, you squeeze and hold the trigger and it keeps shooting until you let go or it runs out." Raine furiously scribbled notes down, intensely immersed in this subject. Lloyd and the other off-worlders listened in awe as he continued to explain about the use and history of firearms.

As the afternoon sun turned orange, fading behind the horizon, they reached the crest of a hill. Shizuma walked in front. "Ah!" he said, pushing aside some shrubs. "Now that's a sight I might miss when this is over." The others came up behind him, and gasped at what they saw.

The tall hill, or short mountain, overlooked a vast plain of grassy, rolling hills. About a hundred miles away there ran a ribbon of water, glimmering in the fading light. And, right in the middle of their vision, was the tallest tower the Earth had ever seen. Reaching up into space was a ridiculously thin blue tower, the same width bottom to top. It had three supporting pylons at the bottom, where it actually was thinner than the rest. The tower gleamed radiantly, its beautiful architecture astounding, though quite difficult to see at this distance. "It would be beautiful if the people who made it weren't evil," said Shizuma mournfully.

For a while the group just gazed at it. Then, entirely without humor, Ukyo said, "I think the Space Needle lost its right to that name." Everyone looked at her and laughed. She shook her head. "What?" she asked, confused. "What did I say?!"

Shizuma held up a hand, trying to keep his mouth straight. "Okay, everyone, listen up!" he said. "From here on out, we've gotta be extra careful. Members of Cruxis freely roam the plain. Feel free to talk when we're alone, but when you see one of them, you let the group know. It'll look natural if you look around some, so go ahead and do it pretty much all the time, so we can keep a lookout. I know there are some things you want to discuss. And when we come in contact with one of them, you remember to act like my captives, because, well, that's what we're pretending, right? We don't have any handcuffs, so we'll just have to have some of my fellow undercover agents pretend to guard you, okay? Oh, and you should probably give me the Wing Pack. Captives aren't usually allowed to keep their weapons and escape vehicles. So, any questions?"

Kodachi raised her hand. "Do we have to go right now?" she asked. When no one replied, she added, "I mean, it'll be dark soon, and uh, I was thinking, we could wait until it gets night, and then it wouldn't be so easy to see what we were doing, so yeah." "But don't the monsters see better at night?" asked Lloyd. "They do in the dark part of the world," said Shizuma. "Here, humans, half-elves, and the like are the main types of workers and guards, since it is daylight here a good deal. So, really, it would be a good idea to wait a bit. Good idea, uh, Kodari, was it?" Kodachi blushed slightly. "It's Kodachi," she said, "and thank you." Shizuma repeated her name to himself. "Sorry," he said, "but Ihaven't had the time to really introduce myself, you know?" Lime laughed. "Well, then," he said, "how 'bout some dinner?"

Raine felt it her obligation to cook tonight, and she prepared a dish of ramen. The group of offworlders looked dubious, and hesitated, but the others obliviously began to eat. "Uh, if it isn't good, you don't have to eat it," said Raine. "I'm not too confident in my cooking..." "I'm sure it's great!" said Akane. She sounds like I used to, thought Akane as she brought some ramen up to her mouth with her chopsticks. She chewed and swallowed. "Not bad," said Akane. The other Earthlings agreed that it was quite good. "Really?" said Raine. "I gotta taste this to believe it," said Genis, and took a mouthful. He swallowed it, and waited. Suddenly he looked astoundedly at the bowl. "Raine!" he exclaimed. "This is delicious! I'm so proud of you!" He hugged his older sister. "Congratulations, Professor," said Kratos.

Lloyd looked at his father. "No way," he said jokingly. "My dad? A sense of humor?!" He punched Kratos in the arm, who smiled and laughed softly. The entire group of Symphonians looked at Kratos even more incredulously than they did at Raine. "Was Kratos just laughing?" asked Colette. "I think so," said Yuan. They watched as Lloyd tried to tackle Kratos. Kratos dodged it and drew his sword. "Now you asked for it, Lloyd," he said and raised his sword up. Lloyd flinched, and Kratos stopped. He put his sword away, and sat down with a shake of his head and a chuckle. The Earthlings couldn't help but feel they were missing out on something, but fortunately Regal filled them in afterwards.

As they finished their meal, the last fading rays of light disappeared and the land was plunged into a very light darkness, due to the stars and moon, for a few moments. Then, one by one, concentric rings of lights turned on, far away, around the tower. The sight made something click in Hinako's brain. "Oh yeaaaahhh," she said. "Didn't Mr. Kratos say that the tower was way far away in a city? I haven't seen a city yet." "True, but the tower is so tall you are forgetting how far away we are," Kratos said. "Those lights could give you an estimate of how large the city is. We're still about a hundred miles away." Mousse stood up and sighed. "Well, then," he said. "It's about time we got moving, huh?"

The group followed a narrow trail down the steep slope of the mountain that had many switchbacks and large steps. "So, Shizuma," said Sheena to the man leading them down, "I can't help but wonder one thing; who is your leader now?" Shizuma stopped, looked back at her. Then he looked into the trees, and wiped his brow. "You know, I don't know his name," he said finally. "Huh. Yeah, I'm not sure what his name is, but he's tall and he's got blond hair. Blue eyes. Looks American. Actually, you know, once I think I saw a case of his that had two letters inscribed on it in gold. They might have been his initials." "What were they," said Sheena, an uneasy feeling creeping into her stomach. She prayed it wouldn't be those two letters. Shizuma thought a moment. "M, Y," he said at last. Shit, thought Sheena. A murmur went up from the Symphonians. Lloyd glanced at his friends. "I'll give you three guesses who it is," he said. "It's not possible," said Presea. "Indeed it would seem," said Regal. "What's up?" asked Shizuma.

"We know your leader," said Genis. "And he's dead," added Lloyd. "Those initials stand for Mithos Yggdrasil," said Raine. "He was he previous leader of Cruxis. Lloyd is right. We killed Mithos to stop him from taking away the Great Seed." Shizuma thought hard about this, taking a seat. "No," he said. "No. It's not Mithos." "What do you mean?" asked Yuan.

"I know who you're talking about," said Shizuma. "That guy is dead. Gone. There are portraits of him in the tower, especially in the head honcho's office. No. But I think I may know who our new leader is." "Who?" asked Lloyd. "And how?" wondered Sheena. "That case that my boss had," said Shizuma, "he said it was given to him by his father. I'm certain now. The current leader of Cruxis is Mithos Yggdrasil's son."

Kratos turned to Yuan. "I was not aware our companion ever had relations with a woman," Kratos said. "Nor was I," said Yuan. "Could it be possible he's a clone?" ventured Botta. "Unlikely," replied Kratos with a frown. "I remember Mithos specifically order research not to be done on cloning. Something that actually went against his moral code, I suppose." "I wonder who his wife was?" said Colette. "I don't know," said Kratos. "But we'll likely find out. Let's keep moving. We've got a ways to go."

The group continued on to the base of the mountain. Stopping at the foot of it, they reseted for a moment. Raine surveyed their surroundings casually, looking around at the landscape. Something caught her eye, and she looked over at it. She suddenly screamed, and put a hand over her mouth. She trembled, tears seeping out of her awestruck eyes. "What's wrong, Raine?!" asked Genis, concerned. "Hello, Raine? Raine?" He followed her gaze, and saw it. His jaw dropped. "What the...?" he whispered. Everyone came over to see what was wrong, and stopped short, staring at the object in front of them. All of them but Shizuma stared at it, mystified. "What do you think it means?" whispered Presea, as if it might hear her. "I dunno," said Lloyd, his typical wild imagination at work. Shizuma was the last to come over and look. "Oh, sorry," he said, wincing, looking away uncomfortably. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I should have warned you about that. Cruxis has been doing some work with light and molecule structure. I didn't think we'd actually see a sample out here, so I didn't tell you. I should have. Sorry."

What they stared at was not unusal in shape or size, or form. It was an sheet of construction paper, actually, caught under a rock. It was completely normal in every way except one, and in that way it had been indescribably altered. The property that had been altered was color. It is sufficive to say it was one no one there besides Shizuma had ever seen that color before; Cruxis had discovered it only recently. But, it was impossible to describe, so it won't be attempted. It would like trying to describe green to a blind person, like saying green is the color of grass. Too bad the person's never seen grass. So it would be to say to anyone who hasn't seen this color that tarslon (as Cruxis called it) is the color of a fryljard (a lizard-like creature in another dimension).

While the others stared at the piece of paper, Shizuma began to wonder about its presence. What was it doing here? He remembered how guardedly Cruxis had kept its little secrets like this and the three headed reaper monster. Why would they let something like this out in the open? He noticed Raine starting to creep forward towards it.

Now that he looked at it, it almost seemed put there purposely, as if it was meant to mark something. Raine edged towards the paper carefully, as if it might explode suddenly. Shizuma thought he rememebered that Cruxis had recently made a reminder about tarslon colored objects. Weren't they supposed to mean something? He racked his brain, trying to remember what they meant.

And then it hit him. Raine reached for the paper with trembling hands. "Lady, don't!" shouted Shizuma. But it was too late. She had tugged at the paper already, and suddenly her foot sank into the ground. "Huh?" she said. There was the sound of rocks splintering, and the ground caved in. Raine's yell of surprise was soon lost among the sound of falling rock and dirt. "Raaaiine!!!" screamed Genis, looking desperately down the yawning hole in the ground. "Professor!" yelled Lloyd as he joined Genis on the ground. "Dammit," he whispered. "Out of the way," commanded Herb from behind them. They scurried away from before him as he walked quickly up to the hole. He removed his heavy armored outer coat and laid it on the ground. Then, without a moment's hesitation, he dived in after her.

The wind whipped at Herb's face, but he did not mind. He concentrated his mind on his body and found his source of power, of ki. The familiar pink aura surrounded him, and he willed himself to move faster. All around him rocks fell from the sides, and he had to avoid these by split seconds.

He saw the cloud of rocks and dirt that fell from the opening, and headed towards it. With his keen dragon-vision, he could see Raine falling right above the mass of earth. She seemed undamaged. Terrified, but not hurt. He pushed the ki to make him move even faster, and the glow around him intensified a bit. Catching a glint of metal falling on the way down, he snagged it and quickly stored it in his pocket. It felt somehow familiar, though he didn't waste any time to look at it.

Raine was nearly in his grasp, and he extended his arms. "Give me your hands!" he yelled above the wind and falling rocks. She shakingly complied, and he grasped her hands firmly. Herb pulled her in and locked his arms around her shoulders. Then, reversing the direction of the ki, he stopped himself in midair. They floated there, and he examined her. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. She nodded. "Y-yes," she said. "Th-thank you." They looked down, watching the rocks as they fell. Abuptly, they appeared to strike the bottom about a half-mile down. But then, the rocks shifted somehow. "Are the rocks moving?" asked Herb. "No," said Raine, the truth dawning on her. "The thing they're laying on is."

They continued to stare as a red light appeared among the rocks below, and soon a great smoke began to rise from it. "I think we should move," said Raine. "Yeah," said Herb, still watching the fire, "yeah I think we should." Herb turned and looked up at the exit, nearly invisible in the darkness.

Firing up his ki, Herb launched himself upwards, and with an inhuman roar behind him, it suddenly got hotter. Raine looked down and saw a beast of immense size following them. It was wreathed in flame and smoke, and it had wings like a bat and a reptilian head. The whole thing looked like it was made out of the spewings of a volcano. "No rush, but you might want to pick up the pace a little," said Raine, eyes wide. Herb took the hint and powered up his ki, and the aura intensified and got deeper. He looked back, and to his dismay found the demon-like creature keeping pace easily. It seemed to make out of itself a flaming sword, and it cocked its arm to slash. Herb poured his energy into his speed. His aura deepened to a bright red. The sword struck the wall behind Herb and Raine, and a thunderous boom reverberated in the shaft, causing rocks to fall out. Herb didn't heed them.

"We have to go faster!" yelled Raine. Herb tried his best to comply, but he was already going at one hundred percent. "Well, then," he whispered to himself, "it's time to go one-ten." He drained power out of every system he could find in himself. He knew it could kill him, but he had to save the Professor. She was more valuable than him, he knew.

Herb could see the exit rapidly grow wider as he approached it. Just a little farther, and then you can rest, Herb told himself. He did not care if he never woke from that rest; he just needed it. Finally they burst through the exit, the ki surrounding Herb deep blood-red. Herb set Raine down safely on the ground. He seemed to see everything in slow-motion, and all the sounds of battle roaring seemed far off in the distance. He saw Raine before him, scared, but unhurt. He smiled. "My job here," he said, almost blissfully, "is done. Now, I may rest." Herb dropped to his knees, and slumped over onto the ground with a sigh. "Herb?" He heard Raine's voice very dimly as his vision darkened, and remembered one last thing. "It's in my pocket," he whispered. He felt something slide against his leg, and then a rain-drop against his face. And that was all.

Raine slid the object out of Herb's pocket. It was the Wing Pack. She might have a chance, she knew, if she worked fast. Quickly, she accessed the Wing Pack's inventory, selected her staff, and confirmed her entry. The box shot out a ray of light onto the ground, and Raine's staff materialized in it. She grabbed it and knelt beside Herb. He was not breathing.

She held her rod above him and chanted the words she memorized. "Rescue this soul from purgatory," she whispered. "Resurrection!" A white light came from her staff and engulfed Herb. His eyes opened, and he drew a deep breath. But still, she could sense his power was weak and fading. If Hinako was available, she would have had her siphon ki into him, but she was busy fighting the monster. A crack of thunder rumbled across the sky, and rain began to fall in sheets.

There was only one spell she knew that might work, and she would have to revise it a little. She recited the words, and said, "Powers of creation, grant him the breath of life, revitalize!" A blue aura surrounded him, and he breathed deeply again, and sat up slowly. He moaned, and almost fell backwards. Raine caught him, and propped him up. "How do you feel?" she asked gently, ignoring the rain and the battle raging behind them. "Bad," he said, clutching his head. "I have a migraine and I feel like I never want to move again, I'm so sore. But you saved my life." Raine smiled. "You saved mine," she said. "We're even." He smiled, and laid back, falling instantly asleep. She held him, and watched the battle end.

Herb burst out of the hole in the ground carrying Raine. A cheer rose from the group, except Shizuma. He knew what was coming next. Even as the firey beast erupted from the fissure, he felt confident that with their weapons they would, they would...

Shizuma patted himself down. Damn! he thought. What did I do with them?! "Uh, Shizuma?" asked Akane shakily. "Got our weapons?" "Working on it," said Shizuma with a frown. "Hold him of a minute, okay?" "You don't have the Wing Pack?!" exclaimed Genis. "Don't worry, I'll remember before long," Shizuma reassured them, unreassuringly. "Anyway, we can take this guy anyway!"

Ranma clenched a fist. "Yeah!" he said. "Come on, you guys! Hinako! Come here a minute. I got a plan." He whispered hurriedly his plan to her. "Okay!" she said when she understood it. Ranma advanced on the flame wreathed monster, positioning himself right where he wanted himself...

"Now!" he shouted, and began to run in a circle around the creature. "Aku, ja, byo, tsu, ma!" said Hinako, waving her arm in a circle. The demon's aura flowed into Hinako, causing her to grow. The beast fell to one knee, surprised. Ranma continued to run around in a spiral, until he was practically face to face with the humongous thing. "Hiryu shoten ha!" cried Ranma, driving his fist up into the air, as if trying to uppercut the monster but being too short to do so. The superheated air spun around by Ranma clashed with his icy cold spirit, and the swirling air formed itself into a massive tornado. The dragon, however, didn't seem affected at all. If anything, it was only angrier than before. It spread its wings and roared in their faces.

"Any time now," said Ryoga to Shizuma, who was busy tracing his steps of the day. Finally, he seemed to remember something. "Keep its attention a little while longer," he said, dashing off. Ryoga shook his head, and sighed. Whatever, he thought, as he saw something fall in front of him. He looked down, only to have something hit his head. Then, the whole sky tore open, and rain poured from the clouds that had quietly gathered in the evening. A hissing sound drew his attention. The first thing he noticed was that everyone was busy distracting the monster, and he felt stupid for just standing there. The second thing he noticed was that the dragon had gone out.

That was what it looked like, anyhow. The rain had evidently quenched its fires, and now it was something of petroleum. It looked like coal, dripping with oil. A great steam rose from it, and the red showing from cracks in the skin from its gullet proved it was not fully extinguished. Ryoga shook his head, clearing his thoughts. What am I still doing here? he wondered, and went to help his friends.

Shizuma slowed to a trot as he approached Raine and Herb. Raine was holding Herb in her arms, her eyes exaiming him. "Raine!" Shizuma shouted over the downpour. She turned her head to look at him. "Do you have the Wing Pack?" Shizuma asked. Raine shook her head no, and closed her eyes. Suddenly her eyes opened again and she snapped her fingers. She reached into Herb's pocket and produced the Wing Pack. She handed it to Shizuma, who took it gratefully, and dashed off to rejoin the battle.

Opening the Wing Pack, Shizuma ordered a shotgun of Mousse's. Directly ahead of him, he saw the oily reptile shake off several attackers, and threw almost everyone to the ground with a sweep of its tail. Then, it reared up and prepared to strike at Xiaoxing with a clawed hand. Shizuma aimed the shotgun at its arm, hoping the gun was loaded, and squeezed the trigger. The gun clicked. Frantic, he tried it several more times, but it only clicked. He could only watch in horror as Xiaoxing awaited her fate.

Xiaoxing held up her arms to protect herself, knowing she couldn't dodge the attack. She knew she would probably die, but she had to try to live, to help her friends. Through her arms she saw the claw rush in upon her, and she closed her eyes, terrified. Something flashed against her eyelids , accompanied by a loud crack, as if of thunder. Then there was no sound but the rain.

Tenatively, she opened her eyes and lowered her arms. Where the dragon stood, or had stood, there was now an oily spot on the ground that was quickly being washed away. She looked around for an explanation, and saw Regal, standing in an attack stance, arms out in front of himself. His eyes were wide, and slowly he returned to a normal standing position. Sadly, he looked at his hands, and smiled. "Regal," said Xiaoxing, "you are one who killed the thing?" He looked at her, and nodded. "Thank you!" she said. "That is amazing!" He glanced off to the side. "You are welcome," Regal said uncomfortably. "But, if you'll excuse me, I have...much to think about." With that, he turned and walked off to contemplate his actions, past and future.

The warriors stood still, at a loss for words. The rain poured down on their heads. "Well!" said Yuan with a cough. "I guess this we be a good time to make camp!" Shizuma shook his head. "No," he said. "If one of Cruxis spies saw us, our plan would be ruined. I am afraid we must continue. Get Regal and let's go."

Raine chose to retrieve Regal. She found him sitting beside a tree. He was gazing intently at his hands. Finally he sighed, and got up. "Alicia," he whispered, barely audible. "Today I fulfill my promise to you." With that he bent his arms and the handcuffs snapped off, broken as if they were cardboard. Regal turned to see Raine watching him. "Now I am no longer a burden," he said. Raine smiled. "I am truly happy for you," said Raine. Hesitantly, she added, "And I'm sure Alicia is too." Regal smiled, and nodded. "Are we leaving?" he asked. Raine said it was. Regal walked along with Raine back towards the others. Alicia didn't want me to suffer, he thought. So I hope she doesn't disapprove of me starting over. With that he slipped his hand into Raine's. She had no objections.

Raine nor Alicia.

The group trudged miserably through the mire. The rain had not let up for hours, and the mud was sloshing around their feet. Mint and Lime took turns carrying their master, Herb. The group looked as miserable as prisoners; just like they were supposed to.

Eventually, the rain let up, the skies cleared out, and their spirits brightened a little at the sight of the moon and stars. Raine remembered the qustion she had. "Um, Shizuma?" she said. He glanced back at her from the front of the party. "Why was that piece of paper there? And what was the hole with the dragon in it about?" Shizuma grinned, glad to have a chance to finally flaunt his knowledge.

As he told it, Cruxis was currently involved in several projects to find potential weapons for the assault on Symphonia. The color had been an accident, as a result of a the project that created that monster Cruxis called the Balrog. The animal's features were similar to that of the creature from Tolkien's books, and so the name had stuck. Unforunately for Cruxis, the beast proved to be rebellious, unwilling to obey its creator. After causing much damage, Shizuma explained, the Balrogs were captured and sealed off in several magi-technology sealed holes. They repressed the Balrog's powers and prevented it from flying out. The key was the tarslon colored objects. They marked the locations of the holes, as well as served as the locking mechanism for the seal. Since there was a limited amount of Cruxis half-elves left after their defeat, nearly all of them were promoted to higher ranks, making hem more important. For this reason, the keys were genetically coded to only open the seal if tugged on by a half-elf. That was why the ground had abruptly opened up after Raine tugged on the paper.

Raine, fascinated, wrote this down in her slightly damp notebook. Shizuma nodded, and smiled. "Any time, babe," he said. He surveyed their surroundings, and called the march to a halt with his hand. "We're coming up on the more esoteric defenses," he said seriously. "We may pass for a ways before we are noticed, but in any case, keep an eye out. We could meet a servant of Cruxis any moment from here on, so no talking, and try to look defiant. It's a good prisoner look for you guys. We clear?" "Yeah," said Ryoko, "but since when do you know the word esoteric?"

Shizuma flushed. "H-hey!" he exclaimed. "I know a lotta stuff! Ugh! Just, keep quiet, and, let's go!" He stormed off, and they followed him, shaking their heads. But they followed his advice, speaking only seldom and softly to each other.

Soon enough they came upon an outpost. "Keep cool," said Shizuma under his breath, "and remember to look defiant or hopeless. One or the other." As they approached it, a light turned on and blazed in their direction. They held up their hands to block the light, and came to a halt. "Who's there?" asked a gravelly voice. "Who do you think?" replied Shizuma coldly. An older human came forward into the light and squinted at them. Then he saw Shizuma, and immediately made a hasty bow. "My apologies, Commander Kusanagi," said the man nervously. "I meant no disrespect. It is my job to ask questions, you know. So, who do we have here?" He asked this last question with a gesture to the large group of people following him.

"You heard about the security breach in Japan?" asked Shizuma. He pointed a shaky finger at them. "These are them?" the man asked, incredulous. "And you caught all of them all by yourself?!" Shizuma smirked. "Well, I did have a little help," he admitted, and made a signal with his hands. Out of the shadows several cloaked figures emerged and stood silently, wraithlike, their armored hands resting on the hilts of swords whose points were driven into the ground. The sentry shivered. "I see," he said uncomfortably. "Well then, carry on. I knew you would be the one to do it, if anyone could. Go ahead and go. Shall I alert the other stations to your arrival?" Shizuma shook his head. "No," he said. "There's no need. They'll find out soon enough. Give them a surprise, too." The sentry grinned, saluted, and walked back into his guardhouse. A moment later, the light turned off, for which the cloaked warriors were glad. A loudspeaker crackled on. "Alright, sir," came the sentry's hard voice, "the energy shield is down, and you may proceed. I'll raise it after your rear guards pass through. Until next time." The speaker died, leaving the group of friends in near total silence. Then, Shizuma led them past a pair of tall vertical bars, connected by a horizontal cross piece at the top and the bottom.

"What are those?" asked Lloyd as they passed by the bars of metal. "Look behind you and you'll see it in a moment," said Shizuma. Lloyd looked over his shoulder. He saw the last black knight pass through them. A few seconds after that, a blue light began to emanate from both side pillars. They each sent a blue wave of energy to the center between them, where they collided and sent crackles of electricity back to the pillars and the top and bottom parts. Then there was nothing, and it looked as if nothing had happened. "That was an energy gate," explained Shizuma. "Now, nothing can pass through it. The guard must lower and raise the shield inside that rectangle for anything to pass through." Aoi peered up at the sky. "But there's no reason for a top piece," she said, "unless there is something above it. How far up does the shield go?" Shizuma scratched his chin, wondering how to answer that question.

"Well, think of it this way," he said. "Have you ever tried blowing a bubble inside of a bubble using a straw? It's kind of like that. There's a bunch of energy domes closing off this area, and they're arranged like bubbles within bubbles; the next shield is shorter and narrower. The Tower of Salvation is like the straw, because it penetrates the shields and goes way, way up high, where the shields can't reach. But it's okay, since the walls of the tower have no way to get in and are nearly indestructible."

Lloyd gazed up into the night sky. With every step, he felt that they were irrevocably drawing near to their goal. Lloyd didn't know why, but for some reason, this filled him with unease. Lloyd stared blankly ahead, unable to shake his feelings of doubt. They passed silently while the moon rose.

Besides going through a few more gates, the group marched from that point on uneventfully. They uncomfortably passed through the (almost)ghost town of Buda, and soon came to the outskirts of Austin. The tower loomed menacingly over them, and most had to make a conscious effort not to crane their necks.

Some of the buildings were occupied by minions of Cruxis, others were used for storage. A number of half-elves and humans stalked the dimly lit streets, whispering to each other as the party headed by their commander marched down the broad, broken road. Occasionally a floating vehicle would hover by and slow down to get a better look. Ranma was desirous of these.

At long last, they reached the tower. "Excellent work!" said the guard who checked Shizuma's retinal scan. "You captured the Key and the troublemakers! The boss will be proud for sure!" Shizuma said nothing, but grinned at him as he led his "captives" into the transporter. Shizuma dialed up the code for the detention center, and hit "SEND". Upon arrival, he dismissed the guards and called in a set of his own rebels. The knights he allowed to remain in a back room, and he locked everyone up in cells by twos.

"All right, you guys," said Shizuma. "We had best take a long rest before we try anything. Let's see, it's six now, so I'll come back around five, we'll work out our plan, and a six we'll launch it. Everyone cool with this?" They shook their heads yes. "Then I'll see you guys in eleven hours," he said. With that, he retired to some adjacent quarters, and slept.

Shizuma awoke at three thirty. He took a long draught from a bottle of energy drink, and realized he felt refreshed and up for anything. After washing up, he went over to his comm unit. He punched in a number, and pressed the call button. The receiver, a tall armored humanoid with four mouth parts, answered almost immediately. "What is it, Commander?" asked the alien in a deep voice, his English flawless.
"It's about the weapons you've supplied us with, Arbiter," said Shizuma.

"What of them?" asked the Arbiter.

"Is there a way to control the failsafes on them?"

At this the Arbiter laughed. "Sometimes I think you would make a great Covenant leader," he said.

Shizuma was confused. "Huh?" he said.

"What I mean is, you think the same way the Prophets do," explained the Arbiter. "Anyhow, yes, there is a way to manipulate the weapons."

"How?"

The Arbiter glanced around, as if to check if the coast is clear. "This is a closely guarded secret, you must realize," said the Arbiter in a low tone.

Shizuma straightened. "I understand," he said. "I swear on my honor to protect your secret. I know what they mean to the Covenant."

The Arbiter seemed satisfied by this, and he made what looked like a grimace to Shizuma, who understood it to be a smile. "Very well," said the Arbiter. "I trust you. You have done nothing to show dishonesty, and you have helped us greatly. In order to turn the weapons on and off, you must broadcast a specific signal on a precise frequency to shut down and turn on the weapons' reactors. I'll transmit these to you now. Hook up a data pad." Shizuma did so, while the Arbiter sat down and searched on a desktop computer for the files. "May I inquire as to the use of this?" asked the Arbiter when the transmission was done.

Shizuma cast his gaze downward. "Cruxis is a corrupt operation," he said quietly. "This information will help bring about their downfall." The Arbiter looked sympathetic. "I see," he said. "Your tatic is a well played one, however. Betrayal from a loyal, high-ranking official is hardly to be expected." Shizuma looked back up, a smile on his lips.

"That's what I'm counting on," he said, and signed off.

Lloyd woke last, as usual. Sheena shook him awake, and he fell off his bunk. "Wha?" he asked with his face mushed into the floor, still half-asleep. "Come on, it's five already!" exclaimed Sheena. Lloyd lifted himself slowly off the floor, smacking his lips, and blinking deliberately with half-open eyes. "What happens at five?" he asked sleepily. "Shizuma's gonna brief us, remember?" said Sheena, annoyed. Lloyd tried to remember what brief even meant. "He's, gonna, put underwear on us?" he asked. Sheena growled. "Rrrr, you're hopeless," she muttered.

"Alrighty mates, let's get this show on the road!" said Shizuma loudly as he entered the room. "We got one hour to come up with a plan. I've got means to implement it, but I'm gonna need you guys' help to think up a plan. Miz Raine, I'm looking in your direction in particular. So, anyone got any ideas? Basically, we have to stage a jail break, then I'll pursue you guys into the core, then we have to destroy it somehow." The "prisoners" thought quietly to themselves while Shizuma eagerly waited.

"How about this," said Ranma slowly after much deliberation. "Say you're in a meeting, then while you're gone, we'll 'steal' the key, knock the lone guard out, and free ourselves. The guard will also carry the Wing Pack, and we'll recover our equipment. Then, we'll sneak out, unnoticed by your guards who turn their backs on us. After that we go straight to the core, let ourselves in, and in doing so will trigger some sort of alarm. Then Shizuma will follow us in, and the door will close, trapping us inside for us to work out a way to destroy the core."

The others let this sink in. "How would we steal the key and knock the guard out?" asked Kuno. "Perhaps he could walk too close to a cell," suggested his sister. "And what will happen once inside the core?" asked Genis nervously. "I would assume there is no way out?" said Presea. "That would be an unfavorable situation." "Indeed," said Regal. Lloyd snapped his fingers. "Couldn't Sheena teleport one of us out to open the doors?" he wondered. "She used to do it all the time to herself, so..." Sheena shook her head. "I doubt it," she said. "If I can't see where I'm sending someone, they could land stuck inside a wall." "Well, it's true, that could happen if you tried to teleport into one of the surrounding machinery areas," said Shizuma, " But if you send us down the main entrance, it's a pretty straight shot. Just a long hallway from the thick outside wall to the core." "So there is only a small space between the outer wall and the first door of the hallway?" asked Sheena. Shizuma nodded. "No good," said Sheena, shaking her head again. "I'm not a precision teleporter. I can't guarantee that the person would land right in that small space. He might end up inside a door, or a wall, or outside the wall. And then we're screwed, since Ranma there is the only one who can open them. Brute force would be useless, right? Aren't the doors nearly indestructible?" "Yup," said Shizuma. "There isn't anything that could break them down, save maybe a miniature sun, or a high power laser, or something that could melt them."

"Could we fly out, perhaps?" suggested Botta doubtfully. Shizuma tilted his head and made a face. "Maaaayyybe," he said. "But the leftover electromagnetism from the core could completely fry the Rheiards, and we'd crash. just like that. That'll be Plan B, if all else fails."

"Now that we have Plan B," said Midori, "how about coming up with a Plan A?" Another minute or so of silence passed. "What about the exhaust vents?" said Aoi, who remembered their night at the cave. Shizuma slapped his knee. "I'll be damned, girl," he said with a laugh. "I completely forgot about them! Those actually shouldn't be too hard to get through! So, let me see, what would we have to do to get out through them?" He searched his memory, trying to remember the schematics he had seen. "Ah, yeah!" he said after a moment. "I remember know. All there is barring our way are two force fields, and a series of tough metal grates. Fortunately, they're mainly built to withstand heat, not force. So we should be able to break them down as we pass through." Raine pondered over the things he had said, and something was bothering her. "One thing I don't understand," she said finally. "How can we be in the core and not die?" "Well, it's not hot in there," said Shizuma. "The heat from the core has to go somewhere, so it's all channeled directly into, the, exhaust, lines..." He swore.

"Actually, I think this might work to our advantage," said Yuan. "What if we blocked off the vessels carrying the heat to the exhaust lines? Wouldn't the core overheat and destroy the tower?" Shizuma narrowed his eyes and smiled at Yuan. "I like the way you think," Shizuma said with a wag of a his finger. "And I know just how to do it, too. I recall that the only controls to anything dealing with the core are located inside the core, to prevent anyone screwing with them. Included among those are the force field controls, the heat venting controls. There might be a few lockouts, failsafes, and other security measures we might have to bypass, but I'm sure with my knowledge and Raine's hacking skills we can get through them."

"So," said Kratos, "what exactly is the plan?"

"All right," said Shizuma at ten 'til six, "let's review the plan one last time. First, I'll leave for a meeting in a conference room not far from the entrance to the core. I'll have one of my men cause a malfunction in the security cameras in your area, but turning off too many would cause suspicion. Anyhow, while I'm gone, Lloyd will pretend to faint against the jail bars. My guard will play along, coming over to you to see what happened. Then, you'll snatch his key from his left side, your right, and sock him in the face. He'll take it, so don't worry. Then unlock yourself and take the Wing Pack from his desk after you free the others with the key. Quickly distribute the weapons, and head for the core hallway. My guards will turn a blind eye to you as far as possible, but when some real guards show up, they'll have no choice but to attack in order to pull this off. Once you start taking enemy fire, press your switch. It'll activate a light on my transmitter, and I'll shut off their weapons. At that point, open the doors and I'll meet you there, where I'll chase you down after ordering my men to stay back. The doors will shut behind us, and we'll have the core to ourselves.

Once inside, Raine and I will hack the computers and shut down the force fields, and then the heat vents. Then we'll climb down the ladder and, with a little help from our friend Taro, break down the grates and go as fast as we can down the exhaust vents. However, when the core goes critical, we'll have to get on the Rheiards, at which point we'll fly down the shaft as fast as possible with Regal blasting down the grates. If everything goes according to plan, we'll get through this without much trouble, Cruxis will believe every step of it, well, until I lock myself in, and we can return the world to the way it should be. Ok, so, I'm going to go my meeting now, and uh, just, get ready. Good luck!"