I'm so sorry! This is so late! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry (goes on to apologize for rest of chapter)

Narrator: "Sigh. He's had a lot to do, lots. Considering that he's now in an advanced placement class that's basically college level, has been away most of the summer, can't get the pocket PC to work right, and some serious changes to his way of thinking have occurred, there's a bit of reason."

Riku: "Not really, but I liked the break."

Sora: "When will I be mentioned again?"

Narrator: "Later on, don't worry."

Riku: "Heh, you probably have to wait another few chapters."

Narrator: "Nah, later this chapter."

Riku: "Huh?"

Narrator: "The author's just putting this up as a preview of coming attractions so as to make certain his readers don't desire to slaughter him too badly."

Maioko: "Umm, but why do I act evil, it's kinda mean."

Acane: "Hey, that reminds me, I've gotta beat some sense into you!"

Narrator: "Wait, Wait! Hold on, story Maioko is different from the Maioko here."

Acane: "(about to stab at Maioko) Huh?"

Narrator: "Yes, the characters here are not affected by their story types, and vice-versa."

Acane: "Oh, so beating Maioko here won't do anything?"

Auron: "No, now put down your spear, you look like an idiot."

Acane: "… (Surprisingly enough does what he says)"

Riku: "… Am I missing something here?"

Disclaimer: "No, not really. Beep!"

Riku: "Then why?"

Narrator: "Just logic."

Riku: "… Huh?"

Sienna: "Sigh, men."

Disclaimer: "Author does not own… Final fantasy characters, this world actually belongs to him."

Sienna: "Que?"

Narrator: "Read on."

./6

./6

It seemed that it was nothing but steps, taken forward through the darkness. That's what each and every shift via dark portal felt like to Blasphemy. He found such a sensation being linked to that action as odd, but embraced it nevertheless. Another step taken and he'd reached the lowest point of the castle of his residence. He strode out of the portal calmly, with a strong dignity that would seem impossible to others who went through such things. Those of a dark nature, perhaps such as Oni, regarded movement through portals as a blissful or empowering experience, and their stance reflected it. Those with dignity that entered a portal were humbled and reasonably lucky to make it out without wetting themselves.

How Blasphemy strode out of those dark portals like a person who'd just won an Oscar walks off stage was mystifying, but otherwise irrelevant. However, perhaps its purpose was merely as contrast for Maioko's. She stumbled out backwards, dizzy, with no poise or dignity, holding her stomach and shivering as from Arctic winds.

Blasphemy"Don't worry, you'll get used to it... eventually."

Maioko"Urk, (Tries to shake it off) why the hell is it… Ugh. (Regaining some composure) So bad"

Blasphemy"Well, the way the portal works is to use the pure and raw energy of darkness itself to make a rift between you and your destination. Since the space in between is totally emptied, your destination is forced to connect directly with the present location. Stepping through is kinda like taking a random step forward, except for one difference. Instead of crossing a tiny distance, time, and energy amount, every cell in your body must pass light-years of distance, an indefinite amount of time, and all the darkness between you and your destination. Doesn't sound fun, does it? Gets worse for anyone of the light element to try it."

Maioko"Why is that"

Blasphemy"(Rolls eyes and shakes head) Sigh. Light and dark naturally oppose, so every cell is fighting that force. Usually kills them." With that, Acronos was spat out of the portal like bad milk. His body landed on the floor with a wet "Thud" and he didn't get up, move, speak, or even apparently breathe.

Blasphemy"Yeah… Kinda like that. Sigh, I expected more from him. Oh well, that's that. (Shrugs)" He turned away and began walking towards Maioko to further instruct her. In response she waited for a moment before holding up three fingers. Though Blasphemy was confounded by such behavior, Maioko counted down by seconds. Upon reaching zero, Acronos coughed and began getting up.

Acronos"Yeah, the whole 'me being light elemental' thing? It doesn't work. I'm justice, half dark, half light. No dice."

Blasphemy"(Relaxed sigh) Good. Do you realize how boring that would've been"

Acronos"… (Sarcastic) Horribly. Anyway, I "

Blasphemy"Came here to save Maioko in truly heroic fashion, eh"

Acronos"… (Rolls eyes, shakes head, exasperated sigh) You're still thinking I'm light. I'm not here to play hero, I'm here to beat you into the dirt. … And then take Maioko where she wishes to go, like I promised I would. If that's here, then so be it."

Blasphemy"Whatever. You'll get your chance to try and do that… After you deal with the world I'm sending you to." He opened up a vortex-portal that began pulling everything in with a flick of his wrist, and waved in a "bye-bye" manner.

Acronos resisted the pull valiantly, but realized there was no way for him to win against such force. So he did the next best thing: called his keyblade and caught the edge of Blasphemy's cloak with the sharp, backwards-pointing blade of his symbol and threw Blasphemy into the portal first. Since he'd had to shift his weight upward, he was now off-balance and barely resisting, but he tried to reach for Maioko anyway. Extending his hand as far as possible, he made every effort to try and get to her, as she seemed immune to the storm. With a half-smile that was almost a smirk, she slightly extended her hand. Acronos finally got in range, barely, and in one desperate effort, made his final grab for her hand. It was in range, there was enough force, he was right about to grab hold…

When Maioko pulled her hand away. The shock alone would have pulled him into the vortex, but as he flew in, completely out of control, he yelled out, with the syllables stretched:

Acronos"That's not so funny" And the vortex ceased with finality to it. Maioko, still standing there, closed the hand she'd pulled away into a fist and tensed it a few times.

Maioko"I dunno; it seemed funniest to me."

./6

Irvine"… Umm, okay, what just happened here"

Acane"I think we just found ourselves a new mission thing! Operation: Find Maioko"

Auron"You sound positively joyful."

Acane"Hey, can I help it if I like spending time with you guys? … No, don't answer that."

Tifa"Yeah, we all know Acronos told us to follow him in the gummi ship, but how are we even supposed to do that? Who else besides him knows how to fly that hunk of junk" A silence momentarily passes over the group until Tidus raises his hand.

Tidus"… I do, I guess."

Selphie"What do you mean! Do you know or don't you know"

Tidus"Yeah, I've flown before… The Legend of Zelda world, remember"

Kairi"The one we crashed on"

Tidus"Not really 'crash'… uhh, more like…"

Selphie"(With a bit of finality) We crashed."

Tidus"Well… Nobody else knows"

Selphie"… True I guess."

Tidus"Right. Well, I say we just take the thing and go." To this there was a general murmur of agreement.

Tidus"And to keep with tradition, Acane is still map-keeper, I guess I'm navigator, and "

Tifa"I'll be leader. (He shrugs) Well then, let's move out" They head to the gummi ship and Tidus jumps into the driver's seat. He begins typing in some commands and pressing some buttons…

Selphie"Now what"

Tifa"First we've got to locate Acronos."

Tidus"I'm already on that. Hey, I think I've got something." He flicks one final switch and the lights dim, and a holographic star chart appears.

Sienna"Better than anything we had."

Riku"Considering that we were on a wing and a prayer… yeah."

Auron"Just your heartless senses and teleporting? (They nod) Thought so."

Tidus"Hey! Okay, here's where we are. (Points to a small dot) And here's where Acronos is. (Points to a black hole). … Huh? Hold up, he's on the move. I think it's a teleport, maybe two people? Okay, following, following, following… All right, here's his current location. (Points to a larger dot) Acane, fill us in, will you"

Acane"Got it. Not a bad job, by the way. Hmm… Well, this could be a problem. We're talking about a world with a universe in it, but I don't think the barrier's up. Meaning it was sealed recently."

Riku"(Leans in to check which one) Nope, can't say we got that one."

Sienna"Which means that it's probably one that Sora sealed."

Acane"Most likely. Oh, and Tidus? It's imperative that you keep the locator on at all times since it's a pretty big world."

Tidus"Gotcha. We're on our way now."

The ride there was made rather simple and uneventful since there was next to no space junk and not a heartless ship in sight. Though it took quite a while, they made it to the world in one piece. During the actual way there, Tidus had taken some autopilot time to read up on reentry and landing for regular worlds and the ones like their target, so he got them through to the edge of that universe. With the speeds the gummi ship was capable of, they reached the planet Acronos was supposed to be on with ease. Once within the general area of the atmosphere, the asteroid belt circling the planet sprouted large guns that all aimed at the gummi ship. A mechanical response system broke through any encoding on the ship's systems and sent a direct response.

Response"Unidentified ship, report your license number and business here. Failure to comply will cause the defense systems to activate."

Tidus"Uhh…"

Tifa"… How about we, uhh, get out of here and try to find this stuff on a safer planet"

Tidus"Umm, works for me. Let's just leave and get this stuff they're talking about and come back and"

A general transmission came through, one that could be heard by everyone. Its message was quite simple, a jubilant whoop frequently used by cowboys. This transmission came from a very large ship armed to the teeth, and pointing all the guns at the asteroid belt. It opened fire at full force, taking out a few of the asteroids in the process. The defense system of the asteroids activated and began firing large blasts at the opposing vessel, doing minor damage. Unfortunately, the gummi ship was right in the middle of this, and Tidus was scared out of his wits, flying it about at full tilt, trying not to get blasted and destroyed.

Tidus"(Screaming) How the hell did this happen!" Fortunately for everyone inside, Tidus had had his fair share of recent flight simulation, and was able to dodge many of the shots, and the shields were able to take those that he couldn't. When he'd managed to get out of the direct line of fire, Tidus chose to be clever and make the most of the situation. Since the guards would be distracted for a while, he figured he might as well land on the planet while the landing was good. Tilting the ship into a decent, he took a moment to look behind him, along with the rest of the crew. Unfortunately, there was still a problem for them.

Selphie"(Slightly hysterical) That other ship, it isn't stopping, is it"

Auron"(Totally calm) Oh look, an escape pod just left."

Tifa"(Equally calm) It's probably kamikaze… filled with bombs."

Tidus"(Calculates) Gulp, umm, it's got ten seconds before it hits that really big asteroid. 10… 9… 8…"

Kairi"(Praying like crazy, hoping that her friends don't die, and that she might get one last chance to see everyone together)"

Yuna"(In a state of total shock)"

Acane"(Swearing merrily)"

Tidus"7… 6… 5…"

Riku"(Somewhat somberly) It's been nice Sienna."

Sienna"(Sniffles) Yeah."

Tidus"4…3…2…"

Irvine"(Places his forehead to the gun not the barrel, sort of in reverence and saying goodbye , twirls it and sheathes it, followed by kissing Selphie on the cheek, ending her hysterical panicking)"

Lulu"(Casts any spells that might help in any way, but finally gives up in futility)"

Wakka"… (After she finishes, and after a few moments, gives Lulu a one-handed hug from behind) It's been fun Lu."

Tidus"1… 0… OO, SHIT" Cue static.

./6

Meanwhile, Acronos was flung out of the portal and landed pretty hard on the ground.

Acronos"Oof! … Ugh… Where am I now? … Granite? Something like granite, can't be sure. Huh, sun? Hmm, somewhat pure air I guess. Where did he send me anyway "

He slowly picked himself off the ground for the second time in so many minutes. He noticed that he was on a sunny little street, with a few homes and a café nearby. It gave off a European feel as he looked around. There was a crowd of people around him, assembled and gawking. The fear in their eyes was easily visible, so he moved slowly and smiled in a friendly manner while putting up his hands to show that he meant no harm. Unfortunately for him, the time to make a good first impression was long past, as he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and consciousness lost its grip on him.

./6

Acronos woke up strapped to a chair in a dark room with a large light overhead.

Acronos" Oh great, I'm in an interrogation room. What next, cops "

The "cops" came into the room in a very generic manner and two stood near him, waiting and stalling. Acronos shrugged and began scanning the room, not about to be phased by simple suspense tactics.

Good Cop"So, why were you found teleporting into a city"

Acronos"(Decides to make a joke) I dunno, why was I"

Bad Cop"(Smacks him) Quit trying to be funny kid, this isn't a joke."

Acronos" Battousai"Kill him" Anger management issues? (Chuckles) I'll tell you guys what I know, but it probably won't be what you want."

Good Cop"… Just tell us how you did that."

Acronos"I actually didn't, an enemy of mine shot me in."

Good Cop"And how did he do that"

Acronos"Dunno, I'm not really sure how dark portals work."

Bad Cop"Just say how anyone in here was able to do magic! (Grabs his neck) Who are you working for"

Acronos"I don't work for anyone, asshole"

Good Cop"Let him go. (Bad Cop does so) We need to know how you were able to bypass the magical barrier."

Acronos"Barrier? What barrier"

Good Cop"How can you not know about the barrier? Where are you from"

Acronos"Uhh, off-world. Way off-world."

Bad Cop"(To good cop) Some other province not in our reach"

Good Cop"No diplomacy then."

Bad Cop"Plus, since he can use magic he's a serious threat."

Good Cop"Yeah. (Turns to a wall, most likely a one-way window) Gas him."

Acronos"What! W-what do you mean, 'gas me'"

Bad Cop"Standard procedure. Death spell, laced into oxygen, you get the idea. I give you a minute or two, but don't worry. I hear it's not painful, I think."

Obviously this wasn't exactly very comforting to Acronos. The bad cop shrugged and they both left the room and locked the door from the outside. A few moments later, Acronos pulled his right hand free, since he'd been picking the lock while his guards were talking. He then began picking the other hand's lock. He didn't have much time before the gas started pouring out of vents that had seemingly materialized out of nowhere.

Taking a breath of what clean oxygen remained, he finished picking the lock. An idea popped in and he used his symbol's absorption ability to drain the metallic locks of their essence, making them brittle enough to break. With only a few moments remaining before he needed to breathe, he grabbed the metal pole in the corner of the room. Then, to break the door he used a sort of Doryusen to send it flying out.

He zipped out of the opening and sealed it again to prevent gas from escaping and flooding the establishment. Immediately after that the halls burst into sound and light as the alarms came to life. Unheeding such distractions, Acronos moved on, but was stopped when the guards from earlier burst out of a nearby door, armed with knight-sticks. (I think that's what they call those weapons that police officers have). With a war cry they rushed forward. Acronos lowered into a stance with the weapon behind him, as he'd been taught once.

Acronos" Gotta get used to the weapon. "

So he moved slower and with less power, to figure out the balance, determine the movements, remember what he'd been taught, and come up with new things to use. Unfortunately, his test dummies didn't quite last as long as needed, but he figured he could make due and moved through the door they'd come from. It led to the technical room above the gas chamber, where the technicians cowered in fear and he shut off the gas to the first room. He then looked for a map of the area in the computer's data. He found and read it over, but then remembered that his computer should be able to handle it.

Upon noticing no computer on his arm, no trench coat on his back, and no dart-filled gauntlets on his hands, he got a bit nervous. The fog of instinct lifted and he wondered why he was using a pole instead of his keyblade. He put out his hand to summon it, but felt nothing. A bit confused, he tried again but to no avail. Putting his hands in front of him, he did a full-fledged calling of his blade, but only got a faint sparkle. A few mild curses escaped him as he stood there in shock and surprise. One technician stood up with a gun in his hand.

Tech"Aha! Without a weapon, there's no way you can get to me"

Acronos"Sigh, just put down the gun, I've faced down long-range weapons before, your arm would be broken before you finished launching your first shot. Besides, I'm not here to hurt anyone unless I have to, I just wanna get out of here."

Technician"Umm…"

Acronos"But could you tell me about this 'magical barrier' thing? It seems to be affecting even my keyblade."

Technician"… It was a recent addition, blocks everything that uses magical strength. Weapons, attacks, whatever."

Acronos" Devil"He's right, it affects transformation too." Battousai"No luck on using my form either. All I can do is give advice." We'll make due. "

He left without looking back, earning many sighs of relief from the technicians. He began the long and arduous journey to the outside with the pole gripped tightly in his hand. After leaving the first hallway, he looked carefully from side to side and ran ahead as far as possible. This led to a choice of either left or right.

Consulting his memories, Acronos had learnt that he was in a military facility of sorts underneath what appear to be a castle. There were only three ways out from here, as far left as possible, as far right, or up. All three directions were available at the moment since there was an elevator in front of him. Pressing the 'up' button elected a mechanized response saying that proper I.D. clearance was needed.

Acronos sighed and opened the door to the stairs, prompting an even louder alarm over him. With a sigh, he began running up the steps. When he began feeling slightly tired, he tried to open a door but found it locked. He didn't even bother saying anything, instead running higher up. About mid-way, a door was slammed open and a small platoon of guards stood framed in the door.

Acronos"Not much concern over property damage, eh" Opting to hold the pole more like a spear, (it's about 6' long, hollow, but thick and light), he began stabbing at them, aiming for pressure points. He was soon attacking at a rabid pace, making it impossible for the guards to keep up, and momentarily he'd taken them all out. He looked up the staircase and decided that finding another unlocked door would be difficult this high up, so he chose the one he'd just cleared.

As he passed the unconscious bodies, he stooped down to the one he'd guessed was their leader based on the fact that he'd lasted longest. After a bit of searching he came up with his security clearances. Acronos grinned and checked the elevator. It requested an eye scan as well, so he had to lift the guy up to the laser. After all this he finally got inside the elevator. Unfortunately he'd called it with a bunch more guards in it, so with a few spins and slashes of the staff, he knocked them out of his way as well.

Now quite bored from repeatedly beating down face-less bad guys, Acronos stepped into the elevator and pressed the highest lit number there. He then leaned against the wall with his pole next to him and rested a bit. After some time, the elevator slowed and Acronos stood up and grabbed his pole. With a soft 'ping' the doors opened and Acronos stepped out.

The alarm sounded oddly distant here, almost like a bad dream. It was a somewhat dark hallway Acronos stepped into, so he assumed the exit was probably near, or at least he hoped so. Finding only a single door on the opposing end, he opened it slowly and was greeted by the light of the sun. He stepped through happily, but the smile dropped a moment after. Instead of finding nature open to him, he'd stepped into a large coliseum-styled place with various weapons on the wall, and only two exits. Add to that the fact that a bunch of guards were all training in there. And the "sunlight" he'd felt was merely a very large lamp over the entire place.

Acronos"Uhh… Wrong door" The gate slammed ominously behind him. The warriors in there turned to him, brandishing various weapons. Acronos took up a stance with his staff behind him, prepared to attack. The gate in front of him slammed shut as well.

Acronos" Battousai, get their readings Batt"On it. … Hey hold up, these guys are pathetic! They're really low level, what's going on" " Placing his guard up and his staff at ready, Acronos rushed at them. He counted 15, with the weapons ranging from swords, daggers, and spears, to poles and axes. Two with daggers rushed at him, with a spear-toting one right behind.

He kept running, and when right nearby, switched to Shukuchi for a moment, making it seem like he'd moved to the side and disappeared, then reappeared right in front of them. This disoriented them enough so he knew they wouldn't block his next attack. To take advantage of the situation, he ran up to them and did a running jump, swinging his staff in the process and taking them out while turning in the air. He landed with the staff gripped in both hands, both hands facing away from him at the knuckles.

Since the spearman was still coming at him, Acronos just ran forward a little more and used the grip to plant a staff end in the ground and catapult over his head, still holding the staff like a big sword in the right hand. To again make use of the situation, he smashed the pole into his back, knocking him out. Acronos landed and shifted his grip to the middle of the pole, keeping it in front and to his right. He twisted a bit, slamming the butt into the stomach of a sword-wielder that had been coming at him with blade raised, and then turned and did a spin attack that jammed the right end into a axe-user's stomach, and the left front end into the head of the spear-user that had been aiming from his back-left.

Continuing with the staff spin, he settled it into a spear grip at his lower left and crouched into it, and then slashed upwards at his right side, taking out the sword-wielder that had been aiming for his stomach. At the apex of the spin, he shifted the grip so his left hand was in the middle facing up, the right was near the base facing similarly, and the staff was pointing at the ceiling. He then brought the remaining portion of the staff down on the head of the dagger user behind him.

Turning a bit to the left, he lunged forward in a series of stabs to the nearby spear, and turned to take count. Nine down in about as many seconds, sic remaining. On sword, three poles, two axes. They took up a triangle formation and rushed him, axes at back, sword center and poles on the sides.

Acronos just shook his head. They kept running, but were literally mowed down by a blade of air, jettisoned by Acronos' staff held like a long-sword. He cracked his neck and began to move towards the gate opposite the one he'd come be, muttering about annoying face-less wimps who just wouldn't leave him alone. That is until he heard clapping and began to look around quickly for the source.

Finally he looked up and noticed a glass casing above, with people watching from within. He couldn't really see since the light was blinding him. A voice came, a rather high, nasally one.

Voice"Impressive. You beat quite a few soldiers there, but don't get too relaxed. There are many more on their way." Several new gates opened up, and every single entrance was packed with guards in armor (current military style opposed to medieval).

Voice"See? Now, I know you should be at least able to count, so you can tell you're outnumbered. Give up peacefully and we might even let you live."

Acronos"(Chuckles after scanning the enemy) Weaklings, all of them."

He shook his head and got into stance. This made the voice quite annoyed and all the gates opened. Instead of allowing himself to be surrounded, Acronos located the gate near the most wall-mounted weapons and rushed it. One large Doryusen and a few air blades took care of them. Settling against the nearest wall, he checked what he was up against: 500 of them, each in varying states of armor, carting around different weapons.

One slight advantage in his favor was that they were at most at level 20 while he was at 67, and he was used to fighting crowds. However, such a high amount posed some difficulty, not insurmountable based on the factors, but difficult nevertheless. Fortunately, his rushed attack had made it so they could only attack in a half-circle and head-on, making it unnecessary to focus on multiple directions outside of view. Add to that the amount of weapons, and the chances were pretty decent.

High above Acronos, a portion of the ceiling jutted down and was surrounded by glass, making it an ideal viewing platform for the coliseum. Inside it were several people; a girl wearing a large and frilly white dress and a slight scowl due to it, a bespectacled man, several guards, and also some technicians and scientists. The girl looked down at Acronos with a bit of a smirk, watching him fight was very interesting, better entertainment than most other fights she'd seen. Judging by her outfit and the respectful distance everyone was at, you could tell she was a princess, but by her attitude, you might compare her to Dev!

Princess"Heh, this guy's pretty good. Hmm, how about something extra"

With that she went over to a computer and typed in a few commands. When it didn't start working, she smacked it. This caused loudspeakers throughout the coliseum to begin playing a type of rock music. The most prominent instrument was a drum for the moment, and this fit quite well with the scenery and the battle. To Acronos, this was yet another advantage, since he didn't have to tap out the Shukuchi beat anymore.

So they all waited for a little bit until the drum became shatteringly loud, and had built up quite a bit of energy. Based on the beat thus far, Acronos determined that there would be four strikes on the drum, followed immediately by another four, starting with a loud first. The loud noise would serve as a good distraction, so he waited for it… bang!

Rushing to his right in Shukuchi, Acronos began the quickly spinning slashes of staff attacks. The drums and the music seemed to coincide with his movements as he launched into a devastating series of attacks. Bang, bang, smash, crush, bang, smash, slash, slash, spin, dive, thrust, smash, bang, bang, bang, and bang! With a large chunk of their forces taken out, Acronos momentarily shifted to long-sword grip.

As he began the spinning, slashing, stabbing style, a new instrument popped into the music: a high-pitched one, a flute, or a recorder or something. It had longer notes in tune with Acronos' blade assault. Switching out of that, he launched forward with the staff as the lever, and landed a few kicks on an unsuspecting soldier, followed by a spin, and then another pole-vault kick. Noticing his nearness to a weapon, he grabbed it, finding it to be a chain. He swung it side to side a few times, and he ended the combo be slashing downwards to wrap around a soldier's blade.

Unfortunately, a smarter one came in from the side and cut the chain, allowing the one in front to jump up to execute a more powerful slice. To deal with this, Acronos jumped forward and smashed the lower end of the pole into the soldier that had cut his chain, followed by jabbing that same end into the jumping one's stomach. Acronos then did a few jump-spins to take out a few more soldiers, but this put him in the middle of a group.

Taking note of this, he gathered his energy into the end of the pole and slammed it into the ground, sending waves of his energy out in a circle, taking out most of the remaining soldiers. All that remained was to use Shukuchi to pick off those still around. Returning to a resting position, Acronos breathed heavily for a moment as the music climaxed and ended. He then cracked his neck and simply stood there as if saying he'd been right. Back above, everyone was in a state of shock, except for the princess, who was looking really happy.

Princess"Whoa. Kick-ass! I've gotta fight this guy."

Scientist"Might want to rethink that, he wasn't fighting at full strength. Probably even has moves and stuff ready."

Tutor"(The voice from before) (Panicked expression)

princess, you cannot fight someone like that! … Err, summon the Elite Guard"

Princess"(Grumbling to herself)"

Tutor"Well, if he by some miraculous chance manages to beat them, you may face him."

Scientist"You really shouldn't have made that bet, sir. He can dodge magic, and has an innate ability to put spirit into his attacks, umm, the whole 'unity of mind, body and spirit' thing. He's basically invincible."

Tutor"Umm…"

Princess"(Sadistic grin) Heh, heh, heh… (Goes to the microphone) Hey, rooting for you down there, 'cause after that, I face you."

Acronos"… She does sound like Dev or Maioko, doesn't she Everyone"Yes." " The gates opened again, and a few soldiers walked our, all carrying staves. Their armor was customized, so there was nothing the same about them aside from their weapon choice. They surround Acronos and he regarded them with a critical eye.

Acronos"(Looks side to side) … Not as many, eh"

Leader"Indeed, however we are far superior to our much more, ah, brute-forced comrades-in-arms."

Acronos"(Sarcastic) Really? Not much difference from where I'm standing. Maybe a ten, fifteen level difference."

Elite"Well, we have magic."

Acronos"… so? What's your point? What makes you better"

Leader"Formation! Remember the battle tactics" They surrounded him and only one took a step forward, staff held in the long-sword fashion.

Acronos"(Nodding) Fire elemental. Well, no more of you? (He readies his staff in front of him) … (Mildly disgusted) Please tell me you're not going to face me with that thing held only like that."

Elite"And what if I am"

Acronos"(Shakes his head) Ugh. You won't stand a chance."

Elite"Is that so? (Attack cry)" Smashing his staff into the ground, he sent up a pillar of fire towards Acronos, who simply moved to the side to avoid it. The fiery Elite became annoyed and launched a flaming energy blade. To counter, Acronos merely spun his staff rapidly; catching the flames within and then launching them back similarly. The Elite dodged, intensely surprised, and looked at back with wide eyes.

Elite"(Incredulously) You can use magic"

Acronos"Not any more. That was just turning your attack back at you." The Elite shook off his surprise and created pillars of fire from the ground that Acronos easily dodged. He then charged in and tried to attack, but Acronos easily dodged each and every strike, finally getting bored and landing a strike of his own and defeating the Elite.

This pissed his lightning-elemental friend off and he ran in with electricity running up and down his staff. Spinning it above his head, he sent lightning pillars forward, but to no avail. He tried sending floating orbs that would send out bolts after a moment, but these were dodged as well. The lightning elemental charged in for the attack, but Acronos whacked him away. He remained standing though.

Acronos"Hmm, tougher. That's good. You'll still loose." He then executed a combo.

From a middle grip at lower right, he turned, smacking the back end into the Elite's stomach, the front into the chest area, followed b two spins of the staff starting at lower right and ending at left, followed by a finishing blow in long-sword style from left to right. Most of the rest of them ran in after that, charging in a horde of magical energies.

Acronos zipped off and stopped at the wall, turning to face them. A few threw their staves laced with magic at him. Acronos noted a short, double-edged axe at his left, and a spear to his right. Placing the pole through a belt-loop, he grabbed both and threw the axe forward. It stopped the thrown weapons, but didn't hit anybody. Acronos then aimed up, and threw the spear.

As the Elites momentarily paused to watch the spear's ark, Acronos zoomed forward and grabbed a lightning pole. One jump later, all the Elites were looking at Acronos standing on the spear that had landed squarely on the axe's handle. He raised the lightning staff.

Acronos"Learned this from a friend of mine." With that he tapped it to the axe below him, sending electricity through the ground and taking out most of the Elites. A remaining earth Elite then began using his power to make a pillar shoot up from beneath Acronos. However he jumped high into the air before the spell even began.

Acronos"Not smart, Ryu-tsui-sen"

Instead of reverting to his usual downward slash, he used the Hiten Mitsurugi technique to smash the pillar down, and the fallout of rocks KO'ed all the remaining Elites save one. She was a wind-elemental and began attacking properly with the staff. However, when most of her blows were blocked, she launched a powerful downward wind slash, and Acronos disappeared. Knowing that the attack could not have killed him, she looked around and even up.

Just as her head tilted up, she felt a few taps from behind on her shoulder. Swinging the pole backwards in a stab as she'd been taught, she turned to see... Nothing? Again she looked around, but this time failed to look up. When she heard "Ryuu" from a short distance above, she merely scowled and didn't even bother. From there, Acronos turned to the Leader whom was standing nearby with crossed arms. He then uncrossed them and settled into a ready stance.

Acronos"You really should have trained these guys better, or at least given them their own weapons."

Leader"Yeah, I know, but staves are the only weapons with magical properties at the moment. Add to that that we haven't much time to train."

Acronos"Alright, but it's not much of an excuse. ... I'm hoping that at least you know how to handle that weapon."

Leader"Of course. I have obtained my position through my strength, not my leadership qualities, which are still new." His staff ignited into dark flames.

Acronos"Not bad, not bad. You'll be good, don't worry."

Leader"No, I will be great."

The dark Elite began spinning the staff above him, and this turned into a vortex, creating a powerful pull. Acronos resisted this as best he could, and finally saw his chance in the form of a kunai flying into the vortex. He grabbed it and aimed. His throw seemed to be forward, but in fact shot the kunai high into the air, where it cut the cord holding a light to the ceiling. The light fixture teetered momentarily, but fell nevertheless.

The sound of the falling object attracted the Elite Leader's attention and he tried to look up despite the vortex blocking the view. Unfortunately this wasn't the greatest course of action, due to the light fixture exploding into a blaze of light upon hitting the vortex, causing the Leader to hold his eyes in severe pain, maybe momentarily blinded.

Acronos"(Cringes) Oww. That had to hurt."

Leader"(After a few moments recovering) Yes it will"

Before Acronos could comment on the most likely incorrect grammar, the Elite had run up and delivered a few blows to the midsection with the staff empowered. This sent Acronos back, but he came back with a series of his own attacks. Problem was that the Elite was far better with the staff, and easily able to defend. So he jumped away at godlike speed to try something else, but the Elite Leader sent a dark shock wave at him. Acronos kept running in a strafing manner, trying to find an opening to attack from.

The Elite then threw his staff at Acronos in a buzz-saw manner, and he dodged it and began running in. When the staff came from in front of him, he barely managed to dodge. The Elite leader was controlling the staff so it kept flying at Acronos. Though he tried to escape it, or impale it somewhere, that flying disk just wouldn't leave him alone!

Finally he stumbled upon an idea and tapped out the Shukuchi rhythm on his palm, and then zipped towards a wall with it. Running only a step or two up, he jumped forward and used the super-powered Doryusen that created a dragon's mouth. It 'ate' the staff, but after a moment it exploded and the staff returned to its owner's hand.

Leader"Heh, not enough. ... Where- Argh" From out of nowhere he was hit with a Battoujutsu.

Acronos"Should've paid more attention, but not bad." (Narrator"Let's look at that again. (Rewinds) Hmm, appears that while the Elite leader was occupied with the dragon-thing, Acronos got over there and put his staff to good use. Got off a pretty good Battoujutsu there. Okay, enough of that.") He cracked his neck simply, looking almost bored.

Princess"Yes" With a reckless abandon she jumped onto the central platform and it began to descend. Her tutor ran to try and dissuade her, but to no avail since she merely kicked the platform into dropping faster. Acronos looked up at the platform and his eyebrow went up. As he jumped off with a smirk and looked at him, he couldn't restrain an Archangel/Battousai induced comment.

Acronos"(Looks her over) Dress, frills... Is this a wedding"

Princess"(Anime fall) No you idiot, we're fighting"

Acronos"You're gonna try and fight me in that? (Points to her dress)"

Princess"All right, fine. Be that way." She ripped the lower half of the dress neatly off, leaving it a miniskirt. Then she tore a thin strip of cloth from the shirt area, threw the tiara and heels away, and pulled her hair into a very familiar low ponytail...

Acronos" ... She looks so much like Maioko that it's scary. Arch"I have heard of clones on different worlds... (Shrugs)" Batt"Great, another traitor." What's that supposed to mean Chibi"Maioko-dono surely has her reasons." Devil"Somehow I doubt they excuse her actions." Arch"Who knows? She most likely has some insane logic dealing with a fear of one of us. Well, we shall endeavor to ask when we locate her." ... "

Princess"(Settles into a stance) You ready"

Acronos"Sigh. Equip a weapon first, my staff has long range."

Princess"My fists are good enough" She ran at him and launched several punches and a couple of low kicks. Acronos dodged each with ease and they both took a step back.

Acronos"Pretty strong, pretty fast, but your technique's lacking a bit. You leave yourself open in a few places and rely on you power to make up for it. Don't do that."

Princess"What are you babbling... Wait, isn't that what my sensei is always telling me? Uhh, this might be a problem. (Mocking) Well then, how do I attack"

Acronos"Hmm, not really my forte, but try like this." Though his movements were slowed so they wouldn't hit, she couldn't capitalize on any openings.

Princess"Uhh, well if you can't even hit me, what good is your style"

Acronos"Please tell me you noticed that I slowed my motions. (No comment from her) Sigh, just go get your weapons from over there."

Princess" Hey, they have kodachi! But how'd he know I'd go for them " She looked at him suspiciously and edged towards the kodachi, still in stance. When she reached the wall, Acronos was still standing there in the same spot, arms crossed and looking around with a bored expression. She slowly reached behind her for the kodachi… And fumbled it, causing them to fall to the floor with a clatter. Acronos sweat-dropped. She immediately reached down to grab them, causing him to turn away, lest anything accidentally be seen. She turned back with an embarrassed blush, so he looked back and shrugged.

Princess"Uhh, yeah, I'm better with these." Acronos shrugged again and gestured for her to attack. So she did, a whirlwind of blades. Though her technique wasn't the best, she managed to move in a way that didn't leave her open. Left-right slashes, followed by a high spin-kick and then a thrust-kick. Acronos grabbed the foot before she could retract it for another attack, but she noticed he had his eyes closed.

Acronos"Your technique's better, but watch how you kick. A miniskirt really isn't the best for your style."

She blushed momentarily, but decided to turn this to her advantage. Doing a spin to attempt to kick Acronos, causing him to let go, she shifted her strategy to using mostly high kicks and the occasional kodachi slash. Problem was that Acronos still dodged each strike, ducking and glowing with the movements effortlessly. Finally she launched a spinning double kick, to which Acronos simply shoved her out of the air before she could finish.

Princess"(Gets up) How'd you dodge my strikes! (Slightly nervous) Your eyes were closed, right"

Acronos"Yeah, of course. Just, I can hear you and react off of that." She fumed for a moment before returning to the mainly kodachi style. Deciding to at least try and get this battle over with, she used the kodachi technique Aoshi favored. This took Acronos by surprise, and he was only spared a gaping wound by the luck of pointing the pole towards her due to instinct.

Acronos"Sorry about that, you okay"

Princess"Ugh. What the hell is wrong with this guy " She tried the attack again, but this time Acronos tapped the offending kodachi away, knowing how to anticipate the move due to knowing it himself. She tried a different attack pattern, rushing in with rapid, continuous slashes. Acronos was put on the defensive, unable to dodge at such speeds. After a few moments he became bored of the defensive, so he stepped on her foot to draw her attention and hit her away. This aggravated her again.

Acronos"Stop getting so frustrated, you're only making it harder on yourself."

Princess"… Shut up and die"

She began spinning the kodachi at high speeds, pulling her arms back in a lower position, and seemed to be creating a vacuum. She then slashed forward, ending with her arms in an X in front of her, kodachi up and blades facing her. This seemed to create a rather spiky wind X that was heading towards Acronos. He smiled in an is-this-really-your-best way, and as the X neared, he put his hand up. When the X "hit", he began moving it extremely rapidly in a catching motion. The air blades passed and he raised his hand slowly, totally unharmed. He then snapped the hand forwards to show that he'd caught a bunch of darts.

Princess"OO (Eye twitch) W-what? How…"

Acronos"Heard and saw them coming."

Following another moment of gawking, the princess began the motion again, except that she held these spinning blades above, and slashed down so that the blade faced her target, this created a clear X, moving at a higher velocity. When Acronos had seen her blades held up, he'd lowered into a stance. As the X came at him, he jumped up and over it, high into the air. As he waited there for a moment, he decided to use a technique he remembered from FFIX.

Acronos"Spear technique: Jump."

Flinging his pole at her, he kicked in that direction as well. The princess watched and paused for the correct moment. It came a moment after Acronos' foot connected with the back end of the pole, speeding it up. She jumped back several feet, landing on one foot as the pole wedged itself a few feet into the ground. To get his staff out of the earth, Acronos jumped up, putting his weight down and sending a good sized chunk of rock at the princess, causing her to jump back again. After a moment of thought, she launched the lower, dart-fused X.

To this Acronos rolled his eyes and readied to catch the darts. However, he didn't see her connect the two kodachi and run at him with them set on the inside of her arm, ready to clothesline him. (I think that's the name for the wrestling move where someone bounces off the ropes and the other guy smashes their arm into their face. That's her goal, but with an edged weapon.)

Acronos caught all the darts again and barely saw her coming. Dropping the darts, he put his staff up so the handles met. The two of them placed both hands on their weapons and began attempting to overpower the other. After a moment, Acronos had a slight advantage, so the princess used a more cunning approach. She disconnected the two kodachi, pulling them upwards in an excellent position to impale Acronos from. Since he hadn't been expecting that, and had been putting most of his force forward, he went towards her, prime position for being stabbed.

He realized this and had to come up with something. The best his instinct-driven mind could figure was to turn the staff to his left, (where it was highest), so that her hands were turned to her right side only. This had his back facing her, so he jumped back, knocking her away.

Acronos"Phew, not bad."

Princess"(Mad as hell) Okay, that's it, no more mercy"

With a mighty war cry she ran forward and began slashing like crazy. Her version of Ars Arcanum had her slashing diagonally and horizontally backhanded at a pace that would have turned solid stone to dust had they connected. Fortunately Acronos had taken Battousai's warning seriously and began dodging side to side and occasionally backwards to avoid the horizontal ones. Stopping at lower right she switched the left-handed kodachi forward and jumped up while spinning extremely fast. The force of the spin propelled her upwards and cut a foot off of Acronos' staff.

When at the highest point, still with kodachi backhanded, she dropped rapidly, intending to impale them both through each of Acronos' respective shoulders and gore him. One small problem occurred though, Acronos' eyes flashed amber and when she came in range he stepped back, kicked her out of the air hard and forward, rushed forward at godlike speed, smacked her upwards with an attack similar to Dante's High Time move from DMC, and jumped upwards himself.

The eyes went back to normal and he began spinning, gathering momentum. As both of them began flying downward, he stopped all the spinning with his blade held above, placing the momentum into it, and executed his downward slash that had taken out many a powerful enemy.

The rate at which she was dropping tripled, but just as she was about to smash into the ground she flipped and landed on her feet, immediately bouncing off and landing somewhere else. She raised her kodachi, but faltered, barely able to stand. Acronos landed with his blade behind him, the position he'd slashed from. His eyes glazed over slightly as he opened up the conversation area inside his head where all the other residents of his body stayed.

Acronos" Battousai, why did you just make me nearly kill her Batt"Uhh… I was bored" Oh. (Nods. Goes behind Battousai and lightly grabs a metal baseball bat. He tests its weight and then calmly walks up behind him, raises the bat, and smashes it over his head) Batt"Oww! (Swears in many, many languages) What was that for" Being an idiot. Next time ask my permission. Arch"Well, technically he doesn't need it since he's older than you." … Shut up Arch. "

Princess"… It's… not over yet."

Acronos"(Raised eyebrow)"

He calmly walked over to her and stood right in front. She raised her kodachi slightly, trying to defend despite much pain. Acronos simply poked her forehead with one finger, causing her to fall over with swirls in her eyes. He just looked down at her calmly, blinking a few times, and then turned to fight the next opponent or leave. The tutor descended on the platform, extremely panicked, looking like a Chibi with the arms waving like crazy.

Tutor"(Stuttering like crazy) Ah, err, s-stop. Stop"

Acronos"Hmm? Okay, can I leave"

Tutor"(Surprised) Eh? Umm, why are you here, sir"

Acronos"Don't call me 'sir', and isn't the exit over there? (Points to a gate) Or one of these doors? (Slightly nervous since he can't remember where he came from due to moving around so much)"

Tutor"No, actually this the only floor without an exit to the outside world."

Acronos"(Anime fall and groan) Where is an exit"

Tutor"Downstairs and to the left, but why do you need one"

Acronos"To leave"

Tutor"Huh? Umm, it appears we have a misunderstanding. I'm led to believe that you are a vicious criminal."

Acronos"And I just got here, was knocked out, and ended up here. I want out."

Tutor"Oh. Well… why were you knocked out"

Acronos"I was sent here with a teleport, so I was knocked out 'cause it's against the magic barrier, or something."

Tutor"Oh, this is really a large misunderstanding. I apologize. We just wanted to keep our world safe."

Acronos"Does that really have to mean knocking people out for using magic"

Tutor"Unfortunately yes. There was a large war recently, and magic… Err, totally annihilated that world. It is currently uninhabitable."

Acronos"Ah. Well, that explains the barriers. Like nuclear weapons back at home. Look, I just want to get out of here. If you could just give me my trench, my computer, my gauntlets, and my stuff, I'll be out of here."

Tutor"Certainly, I'll have someone fetch them. Now, could you help me take the princess upstairs"

Acronos"Oh, yeah. (Double-take) Wait, princess"

Tutor"Yes, umm…"

Acronos"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Uhh, let me see if I have a, ah! Here it is, an elixir." He breaks the crystal containing the healing essence and directs it to her. She blinks a few times and jumps up with the kodachi ready.

Princess"Alright, second round"

Acronos"Umm… We're done."

Princess"Huh"

Tutor"Princess, this man has agreed to leave as soon as he gets his equipment."

Princess"Oh. Damn. Well, it was a good fight."

Acronos"(Rurouni smile) Yeah, I suppose." His pole then turned to dust from being used too much. He looked at it and shrugged indifferently, followed by a more apologetic smile and shrug towards the other people around him.

Princess"(Raised eyebrow) Uhh, why are you here"

Acronos"Well, I followed a guy named Blasphemy here. I gotta catch him. First I've gotta find my friends though."

Tutor"Okay. Let us wait for your equipment upstairs."

Acronos"Right. Uhh, could you send out an apology to everyone I hurt"

Princess"Sure, consider it done."

They took the platform up and then began walking behind the tutor, who seemed to know where he was going. Acronos looked around at his surroundings, taking in the neatly polished hallways, for now lit by simple electric lights instead of the blaring red alarms of before. The princess glared at him every so often, not exactly happy to have lost and then having to play hostess to the victor. After a few minutes they reached the room and the tutor turned on the lights.

Tutor"This is a guest room. I shall go inform the soldiers about your equipment while you two wait here. Have fun." With that he left. Acronos shrugged and headed over to what looked like a computer, or at least some sort of technological device. He examined it closely, scrutinizing it for an "on" switch. He located a sensor of sorts and waved his hand over it. A bunch of light screens appeared all of a sudden, startling him. With a cry he jumped back, falling over a chair in the process.

Acronos"W-what the" He turned to see the princess chuckling at his ineptitude.

Princess"It's called a computer, I thought you said you had one."

Acronos"I uhh, do. (Picks himself up) Just, it's not like that. What a technological marvel. "

Princess"Uh-huh. Well get used to it, that's all we have around here."

Acronos"Ah, right. …You know, for a princess you're not very princess-y."

Princess"(Raised eyebrow) … Deal with it."

Acronos"Right, whatever."

They just sat around for a while, until Acronos began fiddling away at the computer, and after a while of determining what was what, began searching through the databases, trying to get a history, or at least a map. Once he'd finally located a decent map of the surrounding area, the tutor came in, followed by a guard.

Tutor"I believe these are yours" He handed Acronos back his stuff. He placed his trench and gauntlets on, and grabbed his computer. The minute it was securely strapped to his wrist, it lit up and the android (mentioned in the Zelda chapter?) appeared on screen.

Computer"And where did you go to for so long"

Acronos"Out. I was unconscious; beat down some bad guys, or in this case soldiers, not a big deal."

Computer"Right."

Acronos"So how do we get out of here"

Computer"Dunno. Gummi ship probably crashed a while ago, so"

Acronos"Hold on, the gummi ship crashed"

Computer"Yeah, around here somewhere."

Acronos"(Disbelieving, slightly in shock) My friends were on that ship…"

Computer"Aw don't worry about it, I'm sure they're fine. In fact, the last transmission of the ship's computer stated that they were all still alive. Well, I got that after some analysis, but whatever."

Acronos"So you mean they're all scattered on this world"

Computer"Pretty much, yeah."

Princess"How do you plan on finding them"

Acronos"Sigh, that's a good question."

Tutor"(Slight smile, senses opportunity) Actually, we could help you."

Princess"Wait, hold on. As much as I like helping people, is there any reason we should do this"

Acronos"She's right, what's the catch"

Tutor"No catch, just… we could use someone like you in our forces."

Acronos"(Raised eyebrow) I don't do the soldier bit."

Tutor"Not as a soldier, more as a… mercenary shall we say."

Acronos"Really now A mercenary? I liked the idea, but to actually do it in real life "

Tutor"You'll be given your own separate missions, and in exchange we'll assist you in locating your allies."

Acronos" I have a feeling he wants a new super soldier more than a mercenary. "

Princess"You're just looking for another Enforcer like Tiburon, aren't you? (To Acronos) Look, tell you what, I'll get you a place to stay and stuff, and you can find your friends using our resources. You've just got to stop a few rebellions."

Acronos" I was right. I'm guessing not everybody likes this magic barrier, right"

Princess"Nope."

Acronos"Hmm… I dunno, it's a good offer… Batt"What, are you kidding me? Fight people and get stuff for free, what's not to like" Arch"I would warn you against digging too deeply into these people's affairs, situations such as this may end up quite out of control." Chibi"I dun like this tutor guy, but the princess lady is nice, she looks like Maioko-dono" Devil"Yeah, that's what she reminds me of, but is that a good thing? Anyway, they aren't lying, so you'll get what you ask for." Arch"Try this out, but be very careful, and leave the moment you've located all your friends, if not sooner." Fine, I accept."

Tutor"Oh good. I shall have you escorted to a briefing room where your assignments will be explained in greater detail. However, you must locate some more decent garb."

Acronos"What's wrong with what I'm wearing"

Princess"Are you kidding me, look at yourself! There's a rip or a tear on every bit of clothing! The end of your trench coat looks massacred, your boots are shredded and beaten into the shape of your foot, your gauntlets are barely scraps of metal being held together by string, your hair's a mess and I think you've got twigs in it, and the only thing not looking half-dead is that wrist-mounted computer you have"

Computer"Go self-repair ability."

Princess"How old are those clothes anyway"

Acronos"Hmm, these are the first pair, so… mm, a year or so"

Princess"(Look that means business) You're coming with me." She proceeds to grab his collar and begin dragging him out. When he asks where she's taking him, she responds that they're going to buy some halfway decent clothes for him. Upon hearing this, his eyes widen as he utters the dreaded word of shopping. He then begins clawing at anything to try and not be dragged shopping. The princess continues pulling him along, while the tutor watches with a sweat drop.

Tutor" Wasn't he just beating her a while ago? Sigh, kids. "

./6

Warning: gore ahead!

Whereas Acronos landed in a nicer section of the town, Blasphemy had been flung deep into the pits of the city, and landed calmly in a damp, rusted, run down sort of area.

Blasphemy"Slums. I suppose they're everywhere."

He walked forward for a moment, searching for an inn so that he could cast a teleport in peace. However, he soon became aware of eyes watching his every movement. He sighed and stopped. Calmly he awaited the first strike, and dodged it with ease when it came from behind. He found himself surrounded by mutated freaks of nature.

There were a few that seemed half man, half beast, some twitching with insanity, a few strangely deformed but otherwise human, and only one mostly human, but cloaked in a black shawl around his, or its body. All looked like they were suffering some effect of drugs, radiation, or otherwise making them the dregs of society. It came forward, and in a raspy voice, spoke.

No Name"Hello stranger. Who might you be"

Blasphemy"Just leave me alone."

No Name"But we can't do that. Not without extracting some… payment"

Blasphemy"I don't have anything you'd want."

No Name"Just some magic, or a token, (inhales) for a poor group of strangers."

Blasphemy"Get the hell out of here before I'm forced to kill you." The creature with no name hissed and they all began circling, drawing out crudely made weapons, or puffing out appendages.

Blasphemy"Heh, what an interesting group. It will be fun destroying you all." They pounced in slowly, the narcotics in their system slowing them down, but many an appendage and weapon came towards him in a flurry of bodily liquids and blood, as some of the creatures had no effective skin.

Blasphemy lightly drew his scythe as they came, and ducked away from them. He neatly swung the bladed weapon, drawing it through one's spine, and swiftly turning to behead another. They fell to the ground oozing pus and blood. Stabbing his scythe lightly backwards impaled yet another, and he flung this one into his fellows. A deformed humanoid swung a massive arm at him, only to find that Blasphemy caught it, snapped it in half, and ripped the arm off calmly, all with his left hand.

Managing to get out of the way of the torrent of blood, he swung around and felt the satisfying impact of his new bludgeon against something's skull, and saw brain tissue go flying. He threw the bludgeon at a more loosely constructed piece of work, only to have it explode gorily. He rolled his eyes and took count of the weaklings remaining. Most were falling upon themselves, some were standing, but none seemed to notice their comrade's deaths.

He shrugged nonchalantly and was instantly on the other side behind them. Those that had been somewhat in his way fell into pieces, neatly chopped up. A larger one began moving towards him from a wall, and he noted much blood and other questionable liquids en route, so he flung his scythe at the beast, landing the blade right between the eyes and impaling him to the wall. Blasphemy jumped over to his scythe as some beasts attempted to grab him, and after noticing that the one who he'd just impaled was still somewhat alive, he kicked its shoulder, slicing the skull open and freeing up his scythe.

As a few remaining ran at him, he released the lock on his arm chains and swung one hand at them to stop them, and swung his left to encircle one diagonally, and the other three together. With a twitch of his wrist, the left chain suddenly squeezed so tightly that, with a massive bloody explosion, the creature was cut in half.

The three in his grasp seemed to almost become aware of this and fear, but it was too late as Blasphemy twitched his wrist again. The squeezing was incredible, coupled with the added mass, that after a moment, their heads exploded like toothpaste tubes, eyeballs flying to and fro. Blasphemy snapped his chains back and looked them over like a collector would. Shaking his head, he determined that he would have to seriously clean his tools. All that remained was the leader…

A few minutes later, Blasphemy checked into an old inn and asked for a room and cleaning supplies. Gathering both at a small fee, (the few tokens he'd taken from the leader's cadaver), he went upstairs and began the portal. The darkness responded that it would take some time and that the portal would be outside. Blasphemy shrugged, went downstairs, paid the keeper, went outside, and began cleaning his weapons almost obsessively. Once it came, he neatly stepped inside and took one more step through the dark.

./6

Acronos had not managed to save himself from the princess' grip and was flung into a car brusquely, and the princess followed momentarily.

Princess"Driver, to the mall"

Driver"Yes ma'am." Acronos was startled to feel the car lift off the ground and the feeling of riding an airplane overcame him.

Acronos"What the hell…"

Princess"What, never been in a car before"

Acronos"Not a flying one."

Princess"(Raised eyebrow) You're really new around here, aren't you"

Acronos"You could say I'm from out of town. Uhh, way out of town."

Princess"(Shrugs) Whatever. We've got people from all over the universe around here."

Acronos" One of those large-scale worlds, like Earth Arch"Careful, that means a master's keyblade." Batt"What's there to be worried about? The kid's the only one who's ever been able to wield one of them." Devil"Don't be too sure about that, history has strange ways of making the impossible possible." Uhh, so… (Still mystified) can you give me some idea about where I am"

Princess"Sure, whatever. Could you give me your name though? I don't know, just for the hell of it"

Acronos"I'm Acronos."

Princess"… Acronos what"

Acronos"How much do you want to know"

Princess"(Shrugs) Full name, some history..."

Acronos"Uhh… Should I go about spouting my history Batt"Not a good idea in war time, or when a criminal, but you don't really need to worry." Arch"They most likely have planets undiscovered, so just keep it to absolute basics." My full name is Acronos Tegrarian, I was born on Earth, and I'm 16 years old."

Princess"That's it"

Acronos"Yeah."

Princess"Alright, sure. Anyway, about this place…"

Acronos"Right, but your name? Calling you 'princess' all the time would be odd."

Princess"Hmm, I'm Maeharenkasuneterash C. Erus, 14 years old, born here."

Acronos"Uhh… (Swirly eyes)"

Princess"Sigh, just call me Mai. All my friends do."

Acronos"Okay Ms. Mai."

Mai"No 'Ms.', enough with the titles."

Acronos"Right-o, Mai-dono."

Mai"(Raised eyebrow) … Whatever."

Acronos"(Rurouni smile)"

Mai"Sigh. Anyway, what don't you know"

Acronos"Everything. For instance, what's with the magic barrier? Science beat out religion or something"

Mai"Religion and science are the same thing, so that's not the case. The magic barrier's made to protect from what can happen."

Acronos"Hold on, science is religion"

Mai"No, more like, uhh…"

Driver"If I may interrupt, here, science and religion coexist, both attempting to answer the same questions and rationalize them the same way. I've been to a place where science and religion are rivals, and it's really behind. Instead of conflict here, there's resolution."

Acronos"Whoa… That's like, uhh, (has no words) Batt"Nice." Devil"I wonder, how far along are they" "

Driver"I mean, religion theorizes, science proves. There's an explanation for spiritual and magical stuff like monsters and Devils and stuff. Except that it's just, uhh…"

Acronos" Whoa…. I get it, thanks."

Driver"Phew. We'll be arriving in a minute or two."

Mai"That's good."

Acronos: "Hey, you never finished about the magic barrier. What do you mean by 'what can happen'?"

Mai: "Sigh. We have a monarchy/empire sort of thing here, except that rule is passed down to whoever proves that they are the best. Not just in money or stuff like that, but in philosophy, intelligence, mm, that kinda stuff. And of course, like any empire, we strive to increase our borders."

Acronos"How many have been killed in this process? And you never answered my question."

Mai"I'm getting to that! Anyway, not many were killed actually. We usually send out diplomatic relations and stuff, that solves most things quicker."

Acronos"But then what about what can happen"

Mai"Well, there were some evil, things trying to take over, well, everything. Really bad guys if you know what I mean. We had to stop them. I'll admit that there were some political and monetary concerns involved, but it was mainly because we were asked."

Acronos"Ah. I'm starting to see where this is going. You added the magic barrier to prevent them from ever gaining power"

Mai"Sort of. Mainly it was put in place to prevent any more destruction. When the final battle between them and us was fought, we kinda destroyed a planet so horribly with magic that it can never be inhabited again. That's mostly our reasoning behind the magic block. Problem is that it's not perfectly developed, so it's kinda all or nothing."

Acronos"Ah. How long will it take to fix"

Mai"A really long time. It'll take a large amount of magic to fix it, either all at once or over time. There's only one person with that kind of magic, and he's… gone."

Acronos"Ah. Umm, you mentioned a guy named Tiburon before" The car landed with a slight bump.

Driver"We're at the mall."

Mai"Thanks man." They exited the car and Acronos was promptly mystified. Everything around him was futuristic by Earth's standards, (think Episode Two from Star Wars, that place with the car chase), and he couldn't help but look around like a kid in a candy store. The Battousai part of him was scanning everything, trying to gain a feel for the surroundings, to understand the culture through media, (floating screens with many advertisements), while Acronos' regular side was just trying to take it all in.

Mai"Having fun"

Acronos"Whoa… It's like New York. Except… Uhh, is it always this dark"

Mai"It's nighttime, idiot."

Acronos"Heh, guess I was down there for a while."

Computer"No, you think"

Acronos"Lot of attitude for a small piece of hardware."

Computer"You try being stuck with a bunch of inept fools trying to disassemble you"

Acronos"Point."

Mai"Can we go"

Acronos"Right, sorry."

With that they headed into the mall/shopping center/really, really big place through the nearest entrance, which just happened to be right next to them and quite dark. After a minute or so, Acronos heard a squelch and realized he'd just stepped into something or other. Upon realizing that the area they were in looked a lot like a sewer drain, he figured he didn't want to know what he'd just stepped in.

Acronos"Err, Ms. Mai, why are we taking a sewer drain"

Mai"It's either this or go through the paparazzi."

Acronos"Avoiding publicity? Then why are you still wearing your dress" She stopped shortly, realizing that no matter what, there would be somebody who noticed her. Acronos, who'd been looking more at the floor, almost walked into her, but was able to stop.

Mai"Sigh. Alright, let's take the normal way."

She then led them out of the tunnel and up via maintenance ladder, and finally they were at the main entrance. Acronos felt his eyes go wide at all the stuff around. Everything plausible was through the mall, as the directional board proclaimed. Acronos looked on in utter awe. He personally hated the idea of shopping, but then again, he only hated shopping when it had to do with clothes or school stuff, generally the stuff his mom had dragged him along on. When shopping had to do with books or video games, that was an entirely different story…

Mai"Umm… Man, this is embarrassing. I should've changed when I had the chance, not only do I hate these dresses and being seen in them, but at least I could've worn something that wasn't shredded. Could you… do me a favor"

Acronos"Sure."

Mai"Err… could you go in there and get me a shirt or something? Uhh…"

Acronos"Got it. One T-shirt, coming right up." He began strolling in, but remembered he didn't have any currency. He stopped and searched his pockets for a moment, but Mai came over and handed tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a credit card.

Mai"It's cheap, so don't go buying anything expensive. I'll be over there. (Gestures to a bathroom)"

Acronos shrugged and headed into the closest store that looked like it sold anything resembling clothes. The writing style seemed off from anything he was used to, but his computer switched to slang translation and loosely got it to 'sale'. Acronos went in, looked around, raised an eyebrow, and left. Not quite a store from which he'd like to buy anything for a princess, or anyone else for that matter, and it wasn't because he hated the styles.

The next store seemed more promising, looking preppy more than anything else. He went in and tried to look around a bit, but the bright colors, large sums of people, and overall preppy style made him want to pull a Battousai and kill everything around. So he left, reasoning that if she was anything like Maioko, she wouldn't like that stuff. The next store was gothic, but he found an "I'm with stupid" shirt that he reasoned was okay, and got an extra-large version to provide a lot of cover. Deciding that perhaps not buying a lower half would be odd, he grabbed the least ripped pair of denim shorts in the store and got them as well.

He went over to the previously mentioned restroom and knocked. No answer. Inwardly he groaned. He knocked again but no answer came. He sighed and wondered how many bruises he'd get from entering. Deciding that the suffering might not be worth it, Archangel's "brilliant logic" came into play and suggested dressing like a girl for a moment. He'd seen many dresses, and Acronos had the hair length and his face could pass either way, so he only had a few problems. However, Arch's fun was ruined when Acronos mentally hit him with a mace for even suggesting it.

He wondered briefly what chemicals he had on him that might make a suitable gas that could get everyone out. A stink bomb sounded good, but did he have the materials? As he began the quest through his pockets, a girl came out and looked at him with an expression that clearly read that she thought him insane. Deciding to take the offer as it came, he, with as much dignity as he could muster at the time, (not much, mind you), asked her to go and get a friend of his.

She asked why he didn't just go in himself, but of course she mistook Acronos for a girl for some reason, nearly causing a spasm attack. However, since that might cause a nearby asylum to start looking for him, he merely sweat-dropped and just asked her to do it anyway. She shrugged and went in. A moment later Mai opened the door. She patted the child on the head and looked at Acronos. She promptly began sniggering.

Acronos"… Shut up."

Mai"I'm sorry, it's just so funny. (Sniggers) A girl… Anyway, you got my clothes"

He glared at her and handed them over. He then left. A while later Mai came out and noticed him at a book stand turning pages in a book like no tomorrow. Judging by the large amount of displaced books, she guessed he read really fast. It took a while, but she managed to drag him away from his precious books. She dragged him to a large central area, enormously high, filled with floating neon signs, people, and various music, noises, and all other forms of mall existence. Acronos was mystified and amazed, there were more people than he could count! Everywhere there was something new to see, a different sign, a different life, so many stories…

Mai"C'mon already"

Acronos"(Looking around, sort of in a trance) Whoa… How do you keep up with all this stuff"

Mai"(Looks around disinterestedly and shrugs) No one does. Usually people just go to what they know, but… (Sly grin) it is fun to try."

They walk over to a point and stop, Acronos being led around because he's too busy looking around to do anything but follow. Mai raises her hands and a floating luminescent screen appears. She types in a code, and mildly activates one particular icon. There is a brief shake as the point around them suddenly ceases to be connected to the floor and begins floating. Acronos looks around in shock, utterly surprised by this course of action, but when it begins going up, he relaxes, figuring that it's just a new form of escalator. Then it begins moving so fast that everything blurs around them. Acronos' eyes widen to saucers, immediately panicking at the speed, but later notices that there's no gravitational push from all the upward speed.

Mai"(Focused ahead) Yeah, I always hate this part."

Acronos"Gulp. (Calming down) Uhh, fear of heights"

Mai"(Blinks in surprise) How'd you know that"

As he opens his mouth to answer, the platform stops instantly, and begins moving towards one particular opening in the wall at a slower pace. (Okay, let me clarify all this. Can you think the leaning tower of Pisa? That's this structure, except bigger in every way. There are also multiple structures similar to this stuck together, making seven connected together in a ring of sorts. All seven towers are encased in an orb-like metal thing, except that the bottom half is cut off and extended downwards in a pillar to stay on the ground. There are several exits on many floors; plenty of windows and lighting, and the roof is currently clear so as to allow an outdoor-market ambience.

Since the easiest and least complicated method of having rooms in such a structure is that the entrances face the inside, they have a bit of a patio in front of the doors so that customers don't fall.) Once they reached the area in front of the door, they stepped off the platform, and Mai snapped her fingers so it reduced itself into a one square-inch square.

Acronos' eye twitched ever so slightly, and he opened the door for her. Mai nodded in thanks, evidently used to everyone doing that since she was a princess and all. They entered inside and were greeted by the owner with a nod and a wave. He then did a double take, noticing that it was Mai. (Umm, not to try and stereotype, and not that I have anything against them, but my idea is kinda to have this guy who runs the store himself be, well, gay. I dunno, the idea of a guy obsessed with fashion, with that kinda accent the stereotypical one is the one in my head, sorry , and him being the torturer of Acronos via fashion just seems funny to me. Oh well, just try and picture Mal if you want a simpler approach.)

Owner"Ahh, princess, it's you! How've you been? Anything you want in particular"

Mai"I've been fine, and I'm not here for me, err. (Jerks her head to indicate Acronos)"

Owner"(Gasps with eyes widened) You finally got yourself a boyfriend, but I can see why you took him here."

Acronos"(Slight blush) Uhh, I'm not her boyfriend, more like, err…"

Mai"Whatever; just help him, please"

Owner"Ah, on it! (He grabs Acronos and begins taking his measurements with a scanner) Well, aside from the clothes, you're not half bad looking. Hmm, get any hot dates lately"

Acronos"… … (Very mild eye twitch and slight glare)… I don't have a girlfriend."

Owner"Boyfriend"

Acronos"(Slightly annoyed look) Straight."

Owner"(Dismissive hand wave) Oh I'm just being silly."

Acronos"… … (Slight anime vein)"

Owner"(Finishes up) So. What're you looking for"

Acronos"What I'm wearing."

Mai"Mmm, no. Let's try some warrior looks."

Owner"I got it." He promptly shoves Acronos into a sort of dressing-room booth. Acronos looks around and at it, confused.

Owner"Let's try… techno" The booth begins spinning around Acronos, dizzying him. He shakes it off as the thing finishes and steps out. He looks down… and sees a skin-tight black bodysuit with technological designs going down it. Hands go in front and blood goes to face.

Acronos" Uhh, can we try something else"

Mai"(Looks down slightly with an amused smirk) I dunno; seems good to me."

Acronos"(Remembers that Maioko said something similar, and the logical portion of his brain begins working, causing him to zone out slightly as he starts making connections)"

Owner"(Shoves Acronos back in and winks to Mai) You'll be keeping that one, I guess. Now… ninja"

Acronos barely has time to wonder about the coincidence of ninjas before the machine began spinning again. This time he was spat out wearing all black again, except that while these clothes clung to the body, they were loose enough to not be embarrassing. A loose black pair of what seemed like sweatpants, a black shirt with a triangular opening at the neckline, held together with threads in several X's, a black strip of cloth hiding with mouth and nose, with the ends going to his lower back, airplane looking goggles with technological advancements holding his hair back, gauntlets with a texture that was guaranteed to be sticky, a few armor plates on the shoulders and legs, and leather padded shoes made for stealth. The suit then shifted in color so that it blended in very well with the surrounding light.

Owner"Did I mention that it's camouflaging? Not good for getting noticed, but, hmm. (Shrugs)"

Acronos"Camouflaging? Oh hell yeah, I gotta get this"

Owner"It's yours. Now, how about something more… knight" Tossing him in ended up with Acronos placed into snug, but strangely comfortable pieces of armor sown together by very tough ropes and hidden underneath a one-piece garment. He tapped his hand to the arm and noted the good range of movement, the overall strength, and unfortunately the heaviness.

Acronos"Not bad, but, err… I'm more speed than this."

Owner"How 'bout this" Say hello to samurai garb, except just a tad more mobile, and hair in the samurai-style topknot.

Acronos"(Pats hair, confused. Looks at himself and shakes head) No, not happening."

Owner"Well, what do you want"

Acronos"(Shrugs) What I was wearing."

Owner"Hmm… (Looks over Acronos' earlier clothes) I think I can make something work."

Acronos sighs and steps once more into the whirling changing machine, however this time it comes out closer to right. He steps out wearing a more silver-gray T-shirt, extremely dark blue pants, high boots, and a trench that looks oddly similar to the screenshots of the cloaked figures in Kingdom Hearts II. However, the trench has shorter arms, allowing him much more freedom of motion. The outfit came complete with shin guards, a male chest-plate sown into the shirt; fingerless gauntlets laced with metal, padded at the knuckles, an extra arm guard similar to the computer for symmetry, and a cloth around the chest made to hold a long sword, or a staff. Acronos looked over the outfit and was quite surprised since it felt great. This time he looked at a mirror.

Acronos" … I look… different Batt"Hey, your hair seems out of place." Arch"Indeed, your attire makes you seem more mature, older… More like Battousai actually. Why don't you clean your hair and put it into a ponytail? A high one, similar to Kenshin when he was Battousai." Archangel, I'm not Kenshin. Arch"True, but you have all but taken up his vow of not killing." Almost. I'll kill, but only if there's no other option, such as for a demon Hell bent on killing everything. Devil"Ahem" Hey, you'd do the same Devil"True, true." "

Owner"I've done it again"

Mai"Yeah, but…"

Owner"Right. Hey, go take a shower or something, your hair's… ugh."

Acronos"… …Got a sink"

The owner points to a corner with a normal sink in it. Acronos runs his fingers through his hair, or tries as they get stuck. He begins tugging at them, trying to free his fingers, but only succeeds at making himself look like a fool, so he pulls his fingers out and begins pulling the larger twigs out. He fills the sink up a bit, and then dunks his head in it. While underwater, he pulls out the remaining stuff in his hair, and combs it a bit. Grabbing a bar of soap, he roughly scrubs his hair a moment, and washes it. After that, he lifts his head, wrings out the water, grabs a black rubber band, and ties his hair in the high ponytail Arch suggested. He turns to them.

Acronos"There."

Owner"Ooh! That's absolutely perfect! What do you think"

Mai"… You seem different." Acronos looks at a mirror, and at himself. Briefly his mind runs over all the ways he's looked in the past, and what he thought he'd look like, and what he actually looks like now.

Acronos"(Softly) … I am different. I don't look like myself. I'm not acting anything like how I used to. I don't have my friends around me, I'm trusting strange people, and I'm going to be a mercenary, someone who's supposed to kill for money. No, I'll find a way not to kill, but still… Batt"Look, change is just a part of getting older. Besides, you have to admit you've been through some serious stuff." Hmm… Chibi"Why not change your name for a while? If you don't feel like yourself, why try to be" Yeah… I think I'll do that. "

Mai"So that's it"

Acronos"… Five more of these shirts, three more pants, and one more trench."

Owner"(Nods) Anything else"

Acronos"No, I'm good, thanks." Mai paid for the stuff, and grabbed something for herself while she was at it, and they left. She called back that platform and they got on.

Mai"Anything you want to see"

Acronos"No… I'm fine."

Mai"You alright"

Acronos"Sigh, I feel horrible about making you pay for all that."

Mai"(Raises eyebrow and taps against his skull with her knuckles) Hello, I'm a princess, I have money to spare"

Acronos"Oh, right. Sorry."

Mai"Sigh, quit it with the apologizing."

Acronos"Sorry, err…"

Mai"(Growls in frustration)" They headed out of the mall through the nearest exit, and found themselves at a place that rented cars. Acronos saw a random short person jumping on one of the motorcycles and zooming off at high speeds, and wondered…

Acronos"Hey, how old do you have to be to drive here"

Mai"Well, if you have some experience in flight simulations, umm…"

Acronos"I'm sixteen and I have a high reaction time."

Mai"(Shrugs) Yeah, you're probably old enough to drive, why" Acronos looked at the hover bikes out of the corner of his eye and a devious grin began to spread across his face…

./6

Meanwhile, back with another of Acronos' allies, Ifrit found himself summoned, waking from unconsciousness, somewhat sane, and nowhere near Acane. Hold on, somewhat sane?

Ifrit"Where am I? Hmm… Didn't Acane summon me… a few seconds before the crash by accident? Oh yeah, I liked the fire. Fire… Hey, wait, where's my fire? Fire, fire where are you! Oh damn… I HAVE NO FIRE! (Begins pacing back and forth, breathing heavily) Okay, let's take this calmly Ifrit. You have not had a chance to burn anything for several hours. Without the ability to control fire, you cannot burn a single thing without matches or a lighter.

Without burning anything, you will slowly become more and more sane, eventually burning out and being returned to Hell for an extended duration. My only ability right now is that my claws are still hot enough to burn anything they come into contact with, but they aren't good for serious burning like before. Hmm… I guess I'll just have to light a bonfire… Wait, why am I thinking instead of talking to myself, why am I thinking logically to begin with! Oh no, I'm starting to go sane " Ifrit began looking desperately around him, and noticed a forest in the distance.

Ifrit"YEAH I can get a serious bonfire going with that "

Rushing off towards it, he was still able to move faster than any human, animal, or monster, but he noticed two picnickers at the edge of the trees. He remembered that starting a serious fire wouldn't be easy without any fire control, so he'd likely need gas, or oil, or anything extremely flammable.

Ifrit" The oils in their skin should do nicely. Wait, Acane doesn't want me killing any humans unless absolutely necessary. Okay, I'll ask them for gasoline or something, and then if they don't have any I'll kill them and wring the oils from their flesh. … I'd better do it soon, that didn't sound as fun as it should have. He ran up to them and roared loudly. Making himself as big as he could and pulling his attack claws out, he threatened them.

Ifrit"If you want to live, you will give me all your gasoline and other fire-related items, NOW."

Male picnicker"Uhh, umm, alright…"

Female picnicker"Hey, he's just one of those bandits that can't use magic since the barrier. Let's just fight him off."

Ifrit"(Eyes flash and demonic aura flares into view) I AM NOT A COMMON BANDIT! I AM IFRIT, DEVIL LORD OF ALL FLAMES! (Very quietly and fast) Who can't use his powers fully for awhile."

Male picnicker"Uhh… Here" He starts to hand Ifrit a gasoline tank, but his girlfriend stops him.

Female picnicker"If you're such a (sarcasm is apparent here) high and mighty Devil, why don't you make us"

Ifrit"(Really, really, scary pissed off) GODDAMMIT, JUST GIVE ME THE ING FIRE BEFORE I ING RIP YOUR SKIN OFF FOR FUEL! (Promptly smashes his hand through the table and deep into the ground, creating a seismic wave and cracks extending from where he punched)" The dust clears as he pants from exertion and rage as his eyes burn all the shades of Hellfire. This time, both of them handed over their gasoline tank, matches, lighter, and all other flammable stuff. They then run away screaming.

Ifrit"You forgot your lunch! Oh well, more for me."

After eating the entire basket in one bite, (read: the whole basket too), he began cutting down trees in one slash and began making a pyramid out of them. Once he'd ripped a sizable chunk out of the forest, and still wasn't done, a squirrel jumped onto a stump in front of him and began chattering away rapidly.

Ifrit"You say I'm destroying the forest? 'Stop before you hurt anyone else'? Well, I need these to make a big fire or else I'll die. (Listens for a while) Hmm, 'use each half for a side'? I think I may just do that. Thanks Mr. Squirrel."

Luckily Ifrit only needed four more, so he cut down each in a one-two punch. Left hand punches center to break tree in the middle, right cuts diagonally to make it fall. With that, he cut one more tree, and began setting up all the brush and such. After another few minutes, his bonfire was ready to be lit. It took a few tries, but Ifrit soon had the whole thing lit. By this time it was night, so he looked on with pride at his creation… and walked right into the middle of it.

He absorbed all of the fire within it, and stored it away for usage when it was needed. He decided to find monsters, since they would be good fuel and would provide plenty of fire for him to absorb. About the time Acronos finished shopping, Ifrit was looking over a ledge at a congregation of tree-monsters. You can imagine his crazed grin as his pyromaniac insanity began again…

./6

BEEP! A flying car swerved out of the way just in time as something went past it at speeds that should not have been attainable. The driven muttered curses in its native tongue, but went on course nevertheless. 99 miles ahead, (read: a second or two), a large congregation of signs floated in the middle of the general flying area, forcing everybody to go around them until they could be fixed and set on their own way. There was the noise of a motor, a swish of air, and something thin and moving too fast to be seen did a back flip over all of them and continued on its way.

(Narrator"Get to describing it" Yeah, one problem with that… It's moving so fast that even author powers can't keep up. Narrator"Argh! Slow down time" Tried it. Narrator"Double Shukuchi speed" Not even half as fast. Narrator"… So who could possibly be stupid enough to pilot this fast" Well… Oh, I forgot I don't have to obey any laws of physics! Here we go, now I can keep up. Narrator"So we zoom in on… Acronos wearing a biker mask and a psychotic look, and Mai gripping him with closed eyes and screaming? Holy mother of God, Acronos is the one moving that fast" Yep. Proud that's my character…) so, as that author's note amply stated, Acronos had gotten the fastest bike there and made it even faster.

Currently he was going at, well, no speed limit. Also, since we passed the laws of physics a while ago to keep up, I don't think there even is a speed that qualifies as his. Hmm, let's just name it the "Hell Yeah" crazy fast. Now, the bad thing about this speed is that things are pulled along in the tug from that kind of speed. Good thing about that was that due to a higher level of technology, only smaller things were pulled along. Bad thing: those signs Acronos passed a few seconds ago count as smaller things. Good thing: where he dodges, they dodge. Anyway, after a few more seconds of driving at the "Hell Yeah" crazy fast speed, Acronos saw something up ahead.

Actually, it was more of a lot of nothing. In the brief moments that it took for this fact to be processed and accepted by Acronos' brain, he was already there. Upon getting there, his question was answered by the fact that the big nothing was really just the outside world beyond the city, and that the city seemed to be quite high up.

Acronos slowed his hover bike to a stop and looked around… Then he heard a noise, turned and saw the signs, his eyes widened, and he went up as far and as fast as he could to avoid the signs… and also because it was fun. Or, it would have been fun, had Mai not been tightening her grip the higher they went. A mile or so up and Acronos decided that being popped like an overcooked hotdog was not a good thing, so he lowered them down. And down, and down, and down…

Acronos"(Confused) … The city's floating"

Mai"(Still screaming)"

Acronos"(Yells) Mai, we're done"

Mai"(Still screaming)"

Acronos"Sigh. (Tugs her ponytail to notify her that they have stopped)"

Mai"(Blinks and slowly opens her eyes. Looks around slightly frightened) is it over"

Acronos"Yes Mai, it's over. We'll go slower from now on, okay"

Mai"… Phew."

Acronos"Umm, is the city floating"

Mai"Huh? Of course, the city floats over… wait. (Sees the city from the outside and looks shocked) How did we get here"

Acronos"By bike."

Mai"(Blinks and glares at him) How fast were you going"

Acronos"(Unsure) … … (Shrugs)"

Computer"… I clocked him at 356,400 miles per hour once."

Mai"… Considering that that's a big number, I don't want to know what that is."

Acronos" Crazy fast…"

Computer"No, this qualifies as "Hell Yeah" crazy fast."

Acronos"Oh."

Mai"How did we get here, the only way is by teleportation usually. Sigh, either way mom and dad are gonna kill me for being out this late."

Acronos"What do you mean, it's not really that late. Only around 9:10 P.M around here."

Mai"Yeah, but to get back…"

Acronos"(Raised eyebrow) We've only been traveling for a few minutes to get here."

Mai"(Blinks repeatedly) Only a few minutes? But how is that possible? The distance covered would have taken hours at any speed aside from… Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick…"

Acronos"OO Not on the bike"

Mai"Ugh…"

Computer"Where to from here"

Acronos"Umm…"

Mai"(Sounding a bit sick) Home."

Computer"(Some calculating) It'll take us until 11:00 to get there."

Acronos"At what speed"

Computer"70 mph."

Acronos"(Looks at Mai) Within reason, how much can we shorten that to"

Computer"(Calculating) At 80 mph we can get there by 10:30, I suppose."

Mai"(Still a bit sick, but recovering) Just go fast, I'll live."

Acronos"(Concerned) Are you sure"

Mai"Yeah, just go." Acronos shrugged and turned the bike into speed mode. With that he zoomed it off into the distance, covering 40 miles in four seconds, and then switching to a more rational speed. They reached the mall in good time, and found a driver waiting for them. Acronos landed the bike next to him.

Driver"Took you long enough. You okay"

Mai"Urk… heights aren't my thing."

Acronos"Sorry. No more high speeds for me, okay"

Mai"(dismissive noise) it's alright."

Acronos"(To driver) Could you wait for a second while I return this"

Driver"Where to"

Acronos"Umm… how about you follow me, I don't quite know the name, but I know where it is and how it looks like." After this minor matter was dispensed with, along with Mai being given stomachache medicine and calling her parents to notify them that she was returning, the Driver got them to the castle rather easily. Acronos looked out of the car, occasionally checking up on Mai, (he's a bit over-protective sometimes, and she looks like a younger Maioko. I would like to remind you that he swore to protect Maioko, so it kinda carried over a bit), and saw that the compound he'd been imprisoned in, and the castle above it were merely the tip of the iceberg.

The stone castle expanded upward into a technologically advanced monolith, but still managed to retain an elegant look to it. They entered a garage of sorts, cruised through a tunnel for a bit, and ended up in a large open room. Once they landed, everyone got out.

Driver"Have a good evening miss. You too."

Acronos"Thanks."

Mai"(Nods)" They walked over to an elevator and stepped onto it. The square they were standing on lit up and began rising.

Mai"Remind me never to go riding with you again."

Acronos"Right."

Mai"Anyway, we still have to get you a room."

Acronos"Any place is fine. (Shrugs) I can sleep on a floor if you need me to."

Mai"(Raised eyebrow) … I think there's a room somewhere. Hmm…"

Computer"Excuse me, but I have already analyzed the structure and have found several empty rooms."

Mai"Oh. Well, which is closest"

Computer"A broom closet."

Mai"(Scowl) That's not what I meant."

Computer"You said empty rooms, not bedrooms."

Acronos"(Sniggers)"

Mai"(Glare)"

Acronos"(Shuts up)"

Mai"Are there any decent rooms open"

Computer"… Define 'decent'."

Mai"(Thinks for a moment) … A guest room"

Computer"Five of those."

Mai"Hmm…"

Acronos"(Looks over) I like this one, it's got the most access."

Mai"(shrugs) Alright, whatever." The rest of the ride was in silence. Mai guided Acronos to the room that he'd picked out and left to go get some sleep herself. With Acronos, he slowly unpacked what stuff he had into the dresser, and pulled his sleeping bag out. He looked at the bed for a moment, lightly smiled, and dusted it off. He tossed his sleeping bag onto it and looked around. The lights were warm, and the old feel of the room was comforting, more human than the steel and lights of the strange world he was on.

After reducing himself to his boxers, he jumped and landed on the bed and tucked himself into the comfortable fabrics that had encased him so many times. Calmly he looked up at the ceiling and saw a faded hand-drawn picture of the planet they were on, doodled in crayon. There was a little signature towards the bottom, but Acronos figured he knew who'd done it without needing to read it (Hint: who else lives in this castle and probably was an outgoing child?). He put his hands behind his head and began to allow his body to relax. With a sigh, the smile faded from his face as he remembered exactly what his situation was. Closing his eyes, he allowed consciousness to fade and opened up a room for all his personalities to discourse with one another. There in that room in his mind they all either sat or stood as they saw fit.

./6

Acronos"Hey guys."

All"Hello."

Acronos"Well, I'm just here to worry about the day that passed, you guys can go to sleep if you want."

Chibi"Zzz…"

Acronos"(chuckle) Well, that's one."

Batt"Let's review what's been going on, alright"

Acronos"Right. So I've been flung onto this world by Blasphemy."

Arch"He called this a 'test' of sorts, no"

Batt"I don't think that's good."

Devil"It doesn't matter. We should focus on what needs to be done."

Arch"Right. Actually, this mercenary job that we were offered doesn't sound that difficult. The peasants can't be as strong as the soldiers, and they were weak."

Batt"Yeah, good pay, easy, safety, what's not to like"

Acronos"… We have to find our friends."

Arch"Yes, that is the most important thing."

Devil"Then we have to get out."

Batt"How though"

Acronos"I still have some gummi parts, I could build another ship if that's the case."

Batt"Heh, we can always steal one of theirs."

Devil"Yeah… let's save that for last."

Arch"But how about we focus on what this is doing to us? Child, how are you feeling"

Devil"Hmm, yeah, the whole lack of magic thing might do more harm than good."

Acronos"I'm fine, but I have a bad feeling about what might happen here."

Devil"What's so bad"

Acronos"I dunno, just…"

Batt"Are you worried about killing? We don't even have the keyblade for goodness sake. Wait, uhh, that's a bad thing. Maybe they sell sakabatou around here"

Arch"Why not with that staff you used earlier? Against multiple opponents, that is a good weapon, and you wouldn't kill any of them."

Acronos"Yeah but…"

Devil"Not a bad idea, the staff thing."

Batt"Hey, you're worried about what you're doing, is that it"

Acronos"Yes… sigh, I'm just worried that even if I'm fighting for what I believe in, this could all still be construed as sin."

Chibi"Zzz… Why not call yourself Zero? Zzz…"

Acronos"… (Blinks rapidly) Hmm, that is a good idea."

Batt"Not bad, I like it."

Acronos"Okay then, from now on, as long as we're on this world, my name is going to be Zero."

Devil"(Raised eyebrow) For how much you're acting like yourself"

Acronos"(Chuckle) Maybe."

Arch"Yes, let's use a different personality as well."

Batt"Yeah, more war-like."

Acronos"Very serious, very wise… bad-ass" There was a collective nod of approval.

Arch"Though you should keep your politeness up. It's a useful thing in an aristocracy."

Batt"Actually, it's not so much of an aristocracy or a monarchy, as a limited monarchy run by someone with sufficient moral values to survive a test."

Devil"What kind of a test"

Batt"Dunno, I only found that part out briefly. Oh, and the king right now owns a large business of his own, so it's almost like a cross between an American president and a British monarch."

Acronos"Cool. Well then, we wake up as Zero, defender of the crown."

Everyone else"(raised eyebrow)"

Devil"Leave off the 'defender of the crown' part."

Batt"(Chuckle) If you can make people call you 'Zero the invincible' or a god, then even I'll be happy."

Acronos"(Rolls eyes) Sigh, I'll try." With that they eased into sleep, a slight bit fitful as all sleeps in new places are, ready to awaken into a new day, and into a new life that could go any number of ways, but would most certainly shake the foundations of this world and change things, hopefully for the better. However, outside looking in was a dark figure, invisible against the night. He chuckled to himself, and jumped off the ledge laughing. Who is this man, and what does he have to do with things? By the end of this chapter, you'll find out.

./6

./6

Narrator: "And if the author manages to get everything to work in his favor, you'll find out exactly why this psycho nearly kills everyone. Whoops."

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-

Riku: "Enough already!"

Irvine: "It's okay, they'll live, just type quickly for the next few things."

Mai: "(Shakes head) Just get one of my motivators, that'll make you go faster."

… Motivators?

Mai: "Yeah, these big guys with whips and chocolate…"

Mal: "What was that about whips and chocolate?"

Sigh, (shakes head)

Narrator: "Hey, Kenshin is instructing Acronos on how to be an effective Battousai without killing."

Maioko: "Is that possible?"

Well, this is my story, so even if it's not, I'm making it happen.

Sora: "Hey, what's the next cliffhanger?"

What do you mean?"

Kairi: "You usually end with a cliffhanger of sorts."

Oh, umm… Probably Acronos being beaten seriously.

Acane: "Again?"

Blasphemy: "(rolls eyes) I sometimes wonder if he's passing or failing."

Oh, actually you'll be doing it, but under different circumstances, and trust me, you won't be happy. More like insane.

Blasphemy: "Huh?"

You'll see. Alrighty, now, if you still want to review, review for this chapter, seeing as I will be changing it and adding the next portion in. So, later people.