Well, another 8 pages, hope it's not too late.

Riku: "(Snoring)

Narrator: "He got bored of taunting you and decided to take a break."

Sigh. Oh well, here it is.


/0

Tutor: "OO (Taken aback)"

Mai: "(Blinks) Well, (shrugs) that sounds as good as any."

Tutor: "Uhh, err… We'll have to do some tests… err, to see if it would work…"

Zero: "Whatever. Anyway, you said something about mission briefing?"

Tutor: "Oh, err, yes I did, didn't I? Well the king, Mai's father, decided that he would like to personally see you, but you slept in and he's off right now."

Zero: "So… what?"

Tutor: "Well, I assume that you should, err-"

Zero: "Get to the point."

Tutor: "(Surprised) Umm… well, what would you like to do?" Mai slapped her forehead behind him.

Zero: " Isn't a mercenary supposed to be reckless? (Haughty smirk) I'll take care of that mess for you."

Tutor: "(Really surprised) Umm… err, okay. Just…"

Zero: "Whatever, get it done." He turns on his heel and walks out. On the way, Mai runs and catches up to him.

Mai: "Hey, what was that back there?"

Acronos: "My idea. I'll keep up a different personality while I'm around here, so nobody will recognize me as myself."

Mai: "(Raised eyebrow) Whatever. Anyway, wanna get something to eat?"

Acronos: "(Nods vigorously)"

Mai: "(Shrugs)" They headed on their way to get breakfast.

Meanwhile, the tutor remained in the room, still a bit shell-shocked at Zero's behavior for one, and the strategy for another. He shook it off and went to the technical assembly room. He requested the computer to run the strategy through the usual simulation. It came back with a clean victory and no casualties for their own forces.

Tutor: "WHAT! No way, run it through again."

Technician: "Yes sir. ... Same results."

Tutor: "... Improve the enemy A.I, give them an advantage."

Technician: "Right. ... Almost a casualty this time, but victory was still obtained."

Tutor: "(Glares) Increase the intelligence and decrease our forces' strength, and add tunnels where he said there might be." After watching a rather bloody battle, their own forces emerged victorious with fewer casualties than other strategies attempted.

Tutor: "Sigh. We might not even need a commander with this kind of thing. I'll just go ahead and organize the troops as recommended."

/0 -(I hate this site's formatting!)-


An hour later, after eating, resting, and studying the world he was on, Acronos decided to take a walk around, maybe map out the place. He stepped outside his room and began looking at his map when a small, floating robot thing came up to him. It spoke in a simple voice of almost a young human.

Robot: "Sir, your presence is requested in the briefing room."

Acronos: "(Blinks and shrugs) Okay."

Robot: "Please follow me." They walked for quite a distance, turning several corners, left, right, right, middle, left, Acronos couldn't follow all the twists and turns made. They finally got to an elevator and took it down. While waiting for the elevator to finish its route, Acronos got bored and tried to start up a conversation.

Acronos: "Big place, isn't it?"

Robot: "..."

Acronos: "(Blinks) Uhh, the castle, I mean."

Robot: "... There are larger structures, though this one does present a larger scale than most."

Acronos: "Hard to get around?"

Robot: "I do not understand, who are you referring to?"

Acronos: "Umm, in general."

Robot: "It can be assumed as such."

Acronos: "… Alright…" The elevator finished its route and they got off. Following the floating metal orb around a little more, it stopped at a door.

Robot: "This is where your presence is required. Please step inside." After letting any worry pass through him, and setting up the 'Zero' persona, he stepped inside… to utter discord and chaos.

Zero: "(Are-you-kidding-me look)"

All the soldiers were randomly yelling, shouting, throwing things, etc, and the Tutor was desperately trying to calm them all down. Unfortunately he simply didn't have a loud enough voice to be heard over the din, and even if he could have been, Zero doubted they would have listened. Sighing, he walked through the crowd, almost inspiring a feeling of parting the Red Sea, and stepped up onto the podium the Tutor was on.

Zero: "These are your soldiers?"

Tutor: "(Shouting) Yes. I'm sorry, but they have almost no training in anything but magical weapons. This is the last branch of our forces, they're the largest, but definitely the least prepared."

Zero: "I'll take care of them." He stepped up in front and stood there a moment. Upon seeing no end to the chaos in sight, he rummaged through his trench and pulled out an old whistle. Taking a deep breath, he unleashed the full sound of the whistle until it simply echoed through a quiet room.

Zero: "There."

He turned back to the other and asked exactly where it was that they were being sent. He answered with the name Spartacus. More details were requested, and the city was described as having been exceptionally skilled in warfare on all levels since its creation very early on. They were warriors on a higher level than most others, and were capable of strategic counters and maneuvers, along with each soldier reportedly knowing at least one art for their weapon.

Zero: "(Raised eyebrow) And you're putting these guys against that? You needed a better strategy. … Give me two or three days, I need to train these guys how to fight, (listens to them talking again) and I need to teach them discipline. (To soldiers) Quiet!" They continued chatting on after that, ignoring him. This made Zero very mad since respect for the one in charge is one of the first things a good army needs. So, calling upon all of Devil's qualities, he roared out "I said: SILENCE!" shutting them up instantly. Zero turned and stood on the podium, fully in view, glaring about.

Zero: "That's better. I'll be frank with you; you're going to Spartacus. (This produced a worried murmur) As you are, you stand no chance. (Even more of a tumult) QUIET! I'm going to have to teach you how to fight. Your first lesson is discipline. Oh, and before we begin, do any of you have a problem with killing? (Many, if not all, raise their hands) I'll have to give you reversed-bladed weapons, but it'll be harder for you to use them. (No response) Let's begin training." He took them to the open battlefield he'd taken out 500 in.

Zero: "We'll begin with marching exercises so that you figure out how to take orders." From then until the day ended Zero drilled them on formations, attack moves, how to strike, when to strike, etc.

Zero: "Tomorrow I want you here at 7:00 A.M, no excuses. Anyone found late will do 100 push-ups. Dismissed." Everyone went to bed tired that night, since Acronos felt obligated to take part in everything he forced his soldiers into. Zero requested that the remaining forces assigned to him be there as well the next day, and so they were. About 10 soldiers were late, one by literally one second, but excuses weren't counted and he was forced to do the same. Once done, he stood up and glared at Zero and muttered under his breath. Something seemed familiar about this one's face, so he asked him what he'd just said. The soldier looked away and mumbled a little louder.

Zero: "Can't hear you."

Young soldier: "(looks straight at him) I just asked myself why we should follow someone like you."

Zero: "… (Smile) Do you really want to know?" Most of the soldiers who wanted only rest and not combat began catching on to the kid's zeal. A feeling of unrest passed through the troops.

Young soldier: "Go ahead."

Zero: "(Smirk)" Zero then grabbed the kid by the collar and threw him several feet away without even batting an eyelash. He tried to stick the landing, but one hand hit the ground before it was needed, and he ended up skidding on the other arm before sort-of rolling onto his feet. He gripped the arm, but settled into stance.

Zero: "It's because you're all really weak and I'm the only one who can teach you. If you want proof (pulls out his knife) I'll be happy to take you all on." The kid looked back and grabbed a broadsword, and rushed at Zero, blade raised.

Zero: " Decently fast, this kid actually knows what he's doing. Not enough to stand a chance, but I'll give him some leeway and not use any techniques. The idea that I'm even stronger if I win without them could inspire some loyalty amongst the soldiers. "

His opponent's first move was a sweep for Zero's legs, which he jumped over and kicked him in the head and chest. Easily landing a moment after the kick made contact, Zero spun rapidly and delivered the back of his fist to the side of his opponent's head, sending him flying. The kid got back up, and jumped forward so powerfully as to get to Zero with a jump-slash in one movement. He dodged it and hit the kid with the hilt. He took the blow and used the momentum to spin around for a strike. Zero parried the blow from him to the ground and hit his elbow into the opponent's chest. He followed this with a roundabout kick the opponent's head. He staggered to his feet from that, using the sword as support. He would've continued attacking, had Zero not begun clapping lightly.

Zero: "Very good, you almost stood a chance there. Faster than your friends, and strong of heart as well. Your abilities are far better than those without training. What's your name?"

Young Soldier: "(Defiant anger) My code is Arch-Tiburon, my name is Ark."

Zero: "You are?"

Ark: "14, trained since birth to be the best."

Zero: "They didn't do a very good job, did they?" Ark's face easily alerted Zero that his restraint was broken, so he knew when he was coming, and put him in a painful hold instantly. He whispered in his ear, almost hissing.

Zero: "One thing you need to know if you want to be the best is how to control yourself." He then let up and looked around at the soldiers.

Zero: "Anyone else want to try?" One ran at him, but was hit with the hilt to the back of the neck. Three more came from behind but were knocked away by one kick. Zero waited but no one came.

Zero: "Hmph, I'm not even using my preferred weapon. (Looks around again) Any questions?"

Ark: "Yeah. How about; now what?"

Zero: "Glad you asked. You see people, this what you're aiming for. Strong. Smart. Fast. Now, since many of you weren't here yesterday, we'll be going over formations." Ark continued glaring at Zero, while several glared at Ark. For three grueling hours they went over every formation Zero could think up for the situation.

Zero: "Now people, you know those formations we've been doing? (They nod) You're progressing quickly and I'm proud, but they're useless. (Groans, moans, and other reactions greet this) Formations are predictable, you're only to be in one if instructed so, that's it. Now, we'll be doing work on how to act out of formation."

Following this, he drilled them on how to learn battle plans, how to take on even multiple opponents at once, how to fight as a team, how to think strategically, and generally how to survive the battle to come. Next day was the same, training in how to use reverse-bladed weapons. Toward the ends of the day, the tutor came in to announce that the march needed to take place next day around noon. That prompted Zero to give them that portion of next day off, along with what remained. They dismissed and left the training grounds.

Acronos began heading over to his room, but on the way happened to see someone, probably Mai, talking to another person. He decided to stop over and give a quick greeting, and was shocked almost to gasping at what he saw. There he was, himself, talking to Maioko? No, that wasn't right, Acronos knew he was standing right there, and Maioko was still wherever it was that Blasphemy had taken them. Going closer, he remembered that Mai looked exactly like Maioko and his heart rate slowed a tad, but who was this other guy who looked almost exactly like him?

The differences were so minor that only someone who knew where to look would probably notice them. The hair was relatively the same, except that this guy had a few streaks of white here and there. He wore a chest plate and sweat pants with greaves instead of anything else, and had a broadsword hung on his back. His hands and lower arms were wrapped in bandages, but the rest of his arms had several scars where the shirt beneath the armor didn't cover them up. Being an extremely curious fellow, he chose to listen in closely on what they were saying.

(For lack of a better term I'll just call him 'Acronos): "But could he have been any worse?"

Mai: "(Shrugs) I dunno. Guess I'd better talk to him about this."

'Acronos: "No, no, no, that would be… chickening out. I'll deal with him."

Mai: "(Raised eyebrow) I hope you don't mean you're gonna destroy him."

Acronos': "Well why not? That's what you do with bad military commanders."

Mai: "I wouldn't say he's bad, he got everyone in line, didn't he?"

'Acronos: "True, but…"

Mai: "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll ease up after a while."

'Acronos: "(Shrugs) Eh, he won't have much time with Spartacus coming, (claps hands over mouth)"

Mai: "(Eyes widen) What?"

'Acronos: "(Rurouni smile and nervous laugh) Err, n-nothing."

Mai: "That reminds me, where did you say you were going?"

'Acronos: "(Shifty eyes) Err, nowhere. Just field training tomorrow."

Mai: "(Glares directly into his eyes) Really?"

'Acronos: "(Gulp)" From his vantage point over the corner, Acronos could see the clone blushing seriously while being seriously nervous at the same time. He restrained an immense urge to slap the other for two reasons; one being the sheer stupidity he was acting out of, not like he was that bad himself, right? (Narrator and Author laugh hysterically) Secondly, if his ability to interpret emotions and his own facial features wasn't failing him, this clone most definitely had a crush on Mai. The urge to slap upside the head was tremendous; if you're in love, just say so.

Acronos: " Batt: "Shouldn't you follow your own advice?" I would try, if I were in love. Arch: "Oh yes, you are too concerned over it being weakening." Nah, that's Battousai, I'm just not in love, probably because I don't understand it. Chibi: "Confusing! We stay away." " During his mental conversation, he'd missed a bit of Mai grilling his clone.

'Acronos: "Seriously, it's nothing, we're not going anywhere dangerous."

Mai: "(Scowl) You just said you weren't going anywhere at all."

'Acronos: "Err..."

Mai: "Sigh, well at least you're not going to Spartacus or anything."

'Acronos: "(Sweat drop) Yeah."

Mai: "Wait, you are!"

'Acronos: "N-no, of course n-"

Mai: "Okay, that's it, we have a problem now." She began storming off in the direction of Acronos' room, with the other holding on, trying to stop her.

'Acronos: "It's not that bad, you don't need to worry!"

Mai: "(Turns to him, very seriously) I'm not gonna let one of my best friends die."

'Acronos: "(Blinks) ... I won't die." The situation seemed to be getting more and more awkward, so Acronos neatly decided to step in and salvage what was left. He began walking toward them, and remembered his hair was still in its ponytail. That was unnecessary if he was only going to nap, so he pulled off the hair tie. Mai was the first to notice him.

Mai: "Hey Acronos, I've got a bone to pick with you."

'Acronos: "Mai, please, you don't need to... (Eyes widen) You look just like me!"

Acronos: "Actually, I was just saying that myself. So, what's your name?"

Ark: "(Raised eyebrow) You forgot already? It's me, Ark."

Acronos: "Wow, I didn't recognize you without that helmet-thing you were wearing."

Ark: "(Shrugs) ... You're Zero, right?"

Acronos: "Yep."

Ark: "There's a serious difference."

Acronos: "That's what I'm aiming for."

Ark: "(Shrugs)" Mai looked in between the two, rather surprised.

Mai: "Man, aside from your clothes and ages, you guys are the same person!" Ark and Acronos stared each other down, using their various abilities to read whom the other was. Then they responded at the exact same time.

Ark: "Not really."

Acronos: "Nope."

Mai: "(Blinks)"

Acronos: "Anyway, you had something to ask?"

Mai: "Oh yeah, why are you sending the guys to Spartacus?"

Acronos: "It's not so much that I'm sending them as they need a commander. Haven't you seen how these guys act?"

Ark: "Not doing a very good job, eh?"

Acronos: "(Shrugs) Nobody's dead yet. Oh, and don't try that on me, I don't get angry as easily as you." Ark scowled but restrained himself.

Mai: "... Well, can't you do anything?"

Acronos: "(Looks momentarily between Ark and Mai) They were going to be sent anyway, I'm only allowed to keep them alive."

Mai: "..."

Ark: "Umm..."

Acronos: "Aww don't worry about it, I'll bring this guy home. (Pats Ark on shoulder)"

Ark: "(Scowl) I'd make it home on my own."

Acronos: "Now, I nap." That ended the conversation and headed away.


/0


/0


Back to Maioko

The room that had housed the orb was now empty, as it always was when nobody was inside. No sound disturbed the sanctity of the room until a wind chime seemed to sound through. The quicksilver began flowing through the veins on the floor of the room to the center and slowly formed the all-seeing orb. Darkness began gathering next to the door of the room and soon a powerful demon stepped through.

Demon: "Finally, I, Lord of Yomi, have reached the most important place in this castle! From here I, the amazing Lord of Yomi, will find a way to use the power of this orb to defeat the horrible people who dared to come into my castle. Man, I, Lord of Yomi, am so amazing." Somebody please beat this guy down. He began to take steps toward the orb, but the door was slammed open and crushed him into his portal. Thank you. Maioko was the one to have done this and had a stormy countenance, a pink tutu, a rubber chicken, a bottle of Tabasco sauce, and an egg on her face.

Maioko: "(Wipes off egg) I hate initiations..." After shredding the tutu and throwing away the rest of the stuff, she walked up to the orb.

Maioko: "Alright, show me stuff. (The word 'stuff' is written on it) ... Should've expected that. All right, I want to see... Auron, no… Acane? Ick. Hmm, I guess I should meet up with Kairi, but not right now. (Idea) How about Lulu?" The exterior of the orb began shifting and swirling, and Maioko was slowly drawn into a dark vision of the present, past, and future.

She saw Lulu defenseless without her magic, and forced to rely on Wakka for protection, she saw him fight to the very last and finally understand the ideas of Kamiya Kasshin-Ryuu, giving himself completely to protecting the people he cared about and become an unstoppable force that left nothing in its wake.

She saw Irvine and Yuna forced into a similar interdependent relationship, both pining after the ones they cared about.

She saw death, she saw Kairi standing at the scene of what was once a war and weeping at the loss of life, the valor and pain, and the pointlessness of it all.

She saw Tifa beating her way neatly through figure after figure, waiting for one of them to get the idea that she was invincible and tell her anything of value.

She saw many things on the surface of that orb, but after a time felt rather than saw the room darken above her. There was light before, chapel windows that made the place all but holy in the darkest of ways, something that could have been so sinful that one could not help but look on in awe, respecting what the darkness was capable of accomplishing. Yet this was not the case of that room, there was no sin in it, it was not a place that darkness built to sustain itself, no taint of devil worship in this room, nay, there was indeed nothing at all to mark it as any less holy than the windows and solemn atmosphere might suggest.

This room was not of the darkness, in fact it was the one point needed most in this castle composed entirely of darkness, a point of pure light that seeks to maintain the balance between the two so that the constantly conflicting forces of light and dark remain conflicting, for if they were to cease the world upon which they did would end its existence in a most miserable manner, ripped apart at its very core, tainted either way by a supreme imbalance that seeks only destruction without any creation to compensate. This room was of the light, and the orb was of the highest balance, a point that saw using the darkness within all things, while maintaining a purity that could bring a long-suffering soul to tears.

The shadows above her seemed to make the roof end and bring an element of infinity to this place, concerning Maioko as to what might happen. She slowly stepped away from the orb and opened her senses to the essence of all things around her. For the moment there was only the shadow above, and the peace around, nothing sought to break the holy reverence in this place. (And if that demon shows up again to try, he shall feel the full extent of the wrath of an author! Narrator: "Well, he's dead…") Then the orb itself spoke! There was no humanity that could be given to this voice, no gender or mass, no accent or belief, nothing to link it to any human except that it sounded as though all the voices that had once inhabited Earth sought now to speak all at once in a voice that resounded within one's entire form, while barely edging past a whisper. It was clear and pure while having that strange resonance that a deep voice has that makes one truly want to listen. This orb spoke as the voice of Reason.

(Denotes orb) "You are part of the dark covenant now, correct?"

Maioko: "… Yes."

"Then you must be granted what the darkness desires." Before her eyes two handles arose from the orb's opaque surface towards her. Extending hands forth, she took them and withdrew new weapons. State-of-the-art as far as could be said, the kodachi were black with a rose motif as their basis. Perfectly balanced, weighted according to how she liked it, thorns rising out from the backs in a sword-breaking manner, and a fine-tuning that made the entire weapon sing, these were of her element.

"In penance for this, a piece of your heart must be taken, but it is certain you may use that." A fragment of her memories and her humanity slipped out of her grasp, along with any love she may have had. In its place, a rush of false reverence for the dark came forward, a tide of hypocrisy that could only bring about destruction.

Maioko felt this pain and, embracing it passionately, sent forth from her the newly created essence of an angel star, a heartless that still clung to its innocence though it had none left to give, nor could it take any for fear of negating everything it stood for. The one heartless in constant pain from discord within, the conflict of ideals within this species made it the only creature that could come from such a lost place as Maioko's heart.

"It has been done. You are now of the dark. Your desires can be satisfied, but it is doubtful that your heart's needs can be."

Maioko: "You already have, I wanted to be the strongest!"

"..." A tendril gradually formed, and attached itself to her heart.

"So you wish it, so it shall be. Though your heart's desire cannot be granted."

"To make you the best, you shall be given an entity of great power. One cannot harm such a beast." Within the chord there came a piece of darkness to her, and within it she felt death, and fear. At the end she struggled, being as it felt as though the cold hand of death were reaching for her, weaving its hatred to steal her soul. The dark entered and she felt her knees give way. Such an intense power! Such an intense cold! It felt as though all life were being taken from around her, and within as well!

"Grim Reaper." The orb intoned this name of the bringer of suffering. Managing to bring forward the old mask that had served her so well in the past, she spoke despite the difficulty.

Maioko: "Heh. Nothing to it."

"Your fear is allowed." Concerned more with surviving the new summon than the words of the wise, she took no heed of what was said and merely gripped her heart almost convulsively. After a few moments she stood erect, long past the pain and quite ready for whatever came her way. Then came a different but still similar voice surrounded her. A man's voice, subtle and calm, strong but compassionate.

"So much to do-"

"So little time."

"Take your time."

Maioko: "What?" She asked with suspicion.

"A test."

"To see who you are."

"Now."

"Be ready."

"Step forth."

"Find your strength."

Uncertain of what they meant but knowing of the need to test her weapons, Maioko raised them and relaxed into the position she had once been taught. Her muscles coordinated themselves into the correct manner as if they had been born like that and her mind opened itself to the next series of movements as if they had always been available. " So this is how the correct weapon should feel. "

The blades took off into a series of attacks, parries, and corrections known to her as a kata and then seamlessly worked its way into the next kata, flowing at all times, never pausing, never hesitating, always aware of which strength would be where, and how to counter from any direction. Ahh, the highest state of a human being is when they focus themselves so fully into something, be it weapon practice or otherwise, that they loose all sight of the imperfections that plagued them earlier and become the perfect creation fit for that one duty, that one point where all life becomes centered for a time. With a tight spin of the twin death-bringers, she sheathed them at a waist belt that she had been previously unaware of, but had known instinctively to move to.

"That was good."

"But what more is there?"

Maioko: "Anything you've got."

"So be it/So be it."

A door appeared, a gateway into another world, perhaps there to draw on some evil spirit capable of testing Maioko to her very core? No, the one who stumbled through was no evil spirit, though his anger tainted the core of purity he once had, and, were he to seek to return to it, would be more than capable of obtaining. In face and action, this was Acronos, but the readers shall be reminded of an earlier acquaintance by the face of that one, yes, I speak of Ark. He had entered the shroud of sleep and, desiring a test that both needed, the orb that could look through darkness had taken his spirit from its original dream and turned it to the place where this battle was to be made. He stumbled through this gateway, still asleep literally and figuratively, but upon feeling the cold sensation of his face hitting the stone floor he awoke rather abruptly. Still groggy, he rose with misted eyes, wondering why Mai would be in a dream of his.

Maioko: "(The fiercest glare one can imagine) You…"

Ark: "Yawn! Hey Mai, what are you doing here? … Uhh, you pointing those at me? Hey, I recognize that stance, uhh… whoa!"

Placing his hands up in the basic fighting stance all soldiers were required to know, he jumped aside to narrowly avoid the bull-rush/impalement technique, but was unable to fully dodge the cutting attack that came so rapidly afterward that it seemed the first technique had never ended.

Ark: "Hey! That was my shirt!"

Maioko: "I'll do more than cut your shirt, next time I won't miss." Ark displayed evident surprise, but upon the orb's ejecting a flambergé (A huge broadsword used by knights to rip through armor) that neatly placed itself on his shoulder, he assumed that the rules of this nightmare were that he had to beat Mai. Grabbing the sword and sheath, he threw the casing away while pulling the blade out and settled into stance.

Ark: "(Evil smirk) My usual nightmares are of the past, but this one might not be too bad."

Maioko: "Soon enough you won't have a past, or a future."

After briefly circling one another, this clash began. Ark's broadsword was the first to cut the air vertically, and Maioko used this obvious opening to cut at his stomach. The only saving grace for Ark was a newfound ability to front-flip over his broadsword that got him out of the way and allowed him to be far enough away to spin into an attack the instant his feet touched stone. Maioko dodged this with ease and used one of her kodachi to conduct the weapon into the ground while the other came around to impale the skull.

Ark ducked under the immediate strike and shoved his head upwards into her chin from the close position they were in. The momentum from all this allowed him a rather uncontrolled horizontal swing with one hand. Maioko, being the smart girl she is, used her two arms, outside on the outside of the arm and inside grabbing the wrist, to pull him to the ground in a position where she had his arm locked at the elbow and could easily break it. She took about a moment to let it sink in a bit and chuckle to herself, in which time Ark thought extremely rapidly. Using what mobility he had left in his wrist, he swung the sword over to rest edge first on her neck.

Maioko: "(Raised eyebrow) You're kidding, right? I'll break your arm."

Ark: "(In pain) I'll cut your neck." In the moment of hesitation she gave him, Ark managed to loosen his elbow and smack the flat into her chin again. Coupled with the bruise already there from his skull (Thick skulls for all of us, eh? Narrator: "We've already tried using drills on them. Points to broken drill bits behind him " Grins and laughs ), Ark managed to shock her enough to break out of the grip and pull back into a flat-thrusting stance, while she pulled back into backhanded both hands at sides, either side could strike.

Maioko: "Y' know, I've always wondered. Who would win, your Gatotsu or my strike?"

Ark: "What's a Gatotsu?"

Maioko: "All the better." She lunged into the strike, aiming to sever his head from body. Ark's immediate reaction was to jab forth in an attempt to stop her, but all she did was to use the blade length by flipping over it and Ark, landing behind him, and placing her edge to his throat before he could turn. Sensing defeat, Ark lowered his blade slowly.

Maioko: "Goodnight."

Ark: "Hope you haven't had a manicure." The pause allowed him to stab the sword into her shoe and get away. Maioko's eyes widened as she began looking down. She wiggled all her toes.

Ark: "(Blinks) I missed?" Gathering rage while moving, she was upon him in an instant, hilting him and smacking him around far too rapidly to counter. All Ark could do was take the beating until she sent him flying.

Maioko: "THOSE WERE GOOD SHOES!"

Ark: "(Blinking and bruised) Uhh, sorry?"

Maioko: "Bastard."

Ark's eye twitched. Next movement was a rush. The norm for Maioko had been to respond to force with force when angered, but perhaps tainting herself had enlightened her to a more productive route of attack. She guided his weapon away in such a manner as to run him into the ground. Ark sprung from the floor in a fury, slicing low before he'd even managed to get up. Again Maioko turned him and tripped him to the ground, placing her weapons to his neck. He managed to roll backward to avoid death, but she'd already been anticipating this and kicked him in the butt while he moved, sprawling him and bruising his ego. Ark got up rubbing a potential new bruise.

Maioko: "Why am I getting so annoyed over you, you're nothing."

Ark scowled and narrowed his eyes slowly. Feeling the rage building up, his hands and sword seemed to have an idea of their own, so he let them act. With a few movements to gather striking momentum, he raised the great sword over his head and crashed it to the earth on an angle. "Rising Fang!" the attack was announced as. A column of wind made a linear trail across the ground, cutting and ripping amongst itself, ready to engulf and shred whoever came in the way.

Maioko raised only an eyebrow and yawned while waiting for it, whereas Ark was very pleased to have learned an attack technique. She took a step out of the way and continued waiting for anything else. Thinking that perhaps something else was in order, Ark commanded the column to explode up and outward. Maioko merely noticed and moved out of the range. Before Ark was aware of anything else, Maioko had already reached him and was proceeding to beat him down mercilessly. The regal beating ended with a jump-spin, cutting three deep gashes on Ark's chest.

Maioko: "What a waste of my time." Ark began to try and get up, rather surprising considering the pain he should be in, but promptly noted a heel of a boot in his face and collapsed, returning again to the land of dreams and rest, or perhaps to awaken with a yell, confused at what happened.

Maioko: "Why did you do that?"

"You needed it."

"It was a test."

Maioko: "Enough, I'm done." With that the room brightened. Darkness abated, receding into the innermost sanctum where it would lay dormant until otherwise needed. Or should I say it merely took on a different form, housed within the one person who was able to accept and use it properly? Time passed and Maioko returned again and again, wondering what could draw her to this spot though she did not want or need anything it could give. The world was hers for the taking, why was she not able to pass through one room without the urge to use the orb's powers? She ignored it. Again and again she ignored it. Therefore, she did not see the world become someone else's, this one of hers, and the other…

/0

Hmm, I'm a bit lacking in author's notes today. Oh well.

Narrator: "Not our fault."

Nah, if it was, I might send you into a sun or something.

Narrator: "(Considers whether author is serious or not)"

Later then. Oh, and reviews would be nice, but I don't much mind right now.