Chapter 12: Investigation

Mina, T-65, Anne, and Miguel were all gathered at the Hunter's Guild. Mina had called the with a request in mind.

"So, what's up?" Miguel asked the FOmarl. "Did you find someone that wanted four hunters?"

"No," Mina answered. "I called you because I'm giving you all a quest."

"Didn't see that one coming," Miguel said dryly.

"Couldn't you have just asked?" T-65 suggested. "We're all friends here."

"I did ask one person," Mina began, "but she isn't here yet. As for you all, a quest will make sure that you don't back out too soon."

"Sounds like we're going to do something dangerous," Anne smiled with interest.

"I'm sure it is," Mina said cryptically. "I want you all to join me down on Ragol. As you've noticed, there are too many inconsistencies: no marks of an explosion, no people, killer animals, etc. I think it's time to find out exactly what happened."

"How do you plan to do that?" Anne asked, putting her hand on her hip.

"We need to get into Central Dome," Mina said, looking at Ragol through the window. "It seems to be intact, so there might be a possibility that everyone is inside or under it."

"And then we can get to the bottom of this," Miguel said dryly.

"I'm all set to go," Anne said readily.

"Who're we waiting for?" T-65 asked. "GA?"

"She's at work," Mina answered, turning back toward them. "We're just waiting for one of my former college buddies. She's going to help me do the investigating, while you three handle most of the fighting. Her name is Nadja Dennen."

"Is that her?" Miguel asked, pointing to a FOmarl that just entered the Guild. She was about the same size as Anne. She had white hair and a relatively plain, but fair face with doe-like blue eyes. Her dress was a faded red and black pattern and she had on a small decorated cap.

"Yep," Mina said, before waving at Nadja. "Over here, Nadja!"

"Hello, Mina," Nadja greeted. "Are they coming with us?"

"Mm hmm," Mina nodded. "This is Anne, Miguel, and you've met T-65." They all greeted Nadja.

"I'm ready to go," Nadja said with a touch of enthusiasm.

"Excuse me," said the lady at the counter. "The Hunter's Guild has received some data from the Lab that should be useful to you. We're handing out these data disks to all hunters going to Ragol. Please download them to make your quest as successful as possible."

"These should definitely help," Mina said. "Now let's get going."

Chronos had already gotten enough money from quests that day to satisfy him, so he decided to visit a club that Anne and Miguel had mentioned. Instead of trying to awkwardly dress in street clothes, he had taken Mina's suggestion and dressed in the clothes that he had worn on his home world. He was wearing loose-fitting robes that were similar to his hunter uniform, except they were much more plain and had pants. Before heading to the dance floor, he decided to sit down at the bar to get a drink.

Sitting next to him, was a raven-haired human lady in a black, sleeveless dress with a high collar. Next to her was an unusually large Newman in black clothes. The tanned Newman suddenly got up and whispered something into her ear. She nodded and he walked away. When the large redheaded Newman glanced at Chronos, the FOmar realized he had been staring and quickly turned back to his drink. The lady didn't seem to pay him any mind and actually appeared to be bored, staring straight ahead. As a group of men started to walk over, her expression changed to slight irritation.

"Hey, pretty lady," said one of the shorter men, a Newman. "Let's say I buy you a drink and we go back to my place?"

"No thank you," she replied politely with a low voice, not looking at him.

"Move over, shrimp!" said a larger human. "She wants someone who can actually afford a drink. She wants a big guy like me. Let's go babe."

"I'm fine where I am," she said with a little more force.

"I told ya Con," said another human. "You may be a big guy, but ladies like 'em big where it counts. And I think I'm just the guy for her. How about it?"

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not nice to talk that way in front of a lady," she said, making her annoyance much more visible. "Now, please go away and leave me alone."

"Feisty," one of them taunted. "Oh, are we bothering you?"

"Yes," she replied curtly. "Be gone or…"

"Or else what!" the largest one said, forcefully turning her around to face them. "I don't like your attitude, bitch!"

"That's enough!" Chronos shouted, standing up. "Do as she says and leave her alone!"

"Stay out of this pretty boy!" the man warned. "You wouldn't know anything about getting some, so leave it to the professionals."

"I will not allow you to mistreat this woman any longer," Chronos said defiantly. "Go find some willing whore in Sector 8. Understand that when a lady says no, she means no."

"I think someone's askin' for trouble," said the Newman.

"If you wish to fight me," Chronos began, "let's do so outside."

"That won't be necessary," the lady interrupted. "I did not come here to see a fight."

"That is why we shall fight outside and out of sight," Chronos explained, staring a hole into the group. "I believe that the nearest alley is fitting enough."

"We are so gonna' kick your ass," said one the men rubbing his knuckles.

Down on Ragol, Mina and Nadja looked for clues to solving the mystery while the Androids went ahead clearing the path and searching for a teleport.

"This is the sixth one we've found," Mina said to Nadja in astonishment at all of the message pods from Rico they had found. "How did we miss them before?"

"I suppose they blended in," Nadja replied. "How many of these should we record?"

"Just the ones with useful information," Mina suggested. "Especially about her whereabouts, the animals' behavior, and the explosion."

"Hey!" Anne called out from a gate. "We found the transport and some more pods."

"Lead the way," Mina said. They trotted through the gate, through a large area, and through another gate. Upon entering the last area, they found Miguel and T-65 surrounded by wolves.

"Glad you could make it," Miguel joked, swinging his Sword at the nearest wolf.

"Do you need any help?" Mina asked, ready to zap them all.

"Naaah," T-65 said, gunning down several Savage Wolves. "We're fine." Then, a pair of Monests landed as the wolves dwindled in number.

"But then again," Miguel said casually, "you're always welcome to join in." Mina complied by firing off a series of electric bolts from her body, literally frying all of the Mothmants and knocking over the Monests, which were actually convulsing from the shock. With a swipe and a shot, Miguel and T-65 destroyed the nests.

"You didn't tell me you could do all that," said an amazed RAcast. He had never actually seen his creator fight before.

"What level are you anyway?" Anne asked, amazed at Mina's power.

"Me?" Mina asked innocently. "I'm only level 33."

"Only?" Miguel questioned.

"She's been a Force for quite a while," Nadja giggled. "Let's get to that transporter."

"That means she could kill us right now," Miguel whispered to Anne.

"Miguel, I could kill you right now," Anne whispered back.

"I believe that this will suit us perfectly," Chronos said to the group of five men he had led into an alley. "If you wish to reconsider, there is still time for you to apologize to her." The five men burst into laughter.

"Buddy," said the smallest one, "you're a riot. It almost makes up for what you tried to do. But no matter what you say, we're still gonna' give you the beating of your life. All we gotta' figure out is how: together or just one on one."

"You're welcome to attempt either," Chronos said, "but the walls are too closed in to effectively attack in a group."

"I'll take care of this," said the largest one. "The name's Deuce and I'll make sure you don't forget it, boy." Deuce began his attack by charging at Chronos. Chronos merely sidestepped and tripped his opponent, causing Deuce to stumble straight into a metal wall.

"Cheap bastard!" Deuce yelled, regaining his senses. He swung a fist at Chronos. In response, Chronos grabbed Deuce's arm and twisted it behind his back. Deuce groaned in pain and anger. When he tried to elbow Chronos with his other arm, the FOmar caught it and proceeded to twist it in the same fashion.

"You may surrender at any time," Chronos reminded him. In response, Deuce head butted Chronos, catching him off guard and allowing Deuce to use his arms again. He immediately threw a punch, but Chronos caught it. Instead of twisting his arm like before, Chronos twisted the man's entire body, sending him to the ground. Deuce groaned even more as he got up. Instead of waiting for another attack, Chronos took the offensive. He started with a kick to the gut, then a double kick to the stunned man, and finished with a heavy punch to his chest, which knocked Deuce back a few feet.

"Holy crap!" said one of the men in the group. "He beat Deuce!"

"Let's get 'em!" said another. "He can't take us all on." And so they ran in an attempt to overwhelm Chronos. But as he had said about the cramped space, there wasn't enough room for even two people to attack at once.

"Fools," Chronos commented, readying himself. Then he noticed that they were taking out steel knives. He couldn't use any of his own weapons or Techniques since the unauthorized photon energy would be noticeable by unwanted authorities. Plus that would just be too easy. Furthermore, he didn't carry weapons around the city like that. As soon as the first person was in reach, Chronos knocked him back with a kick to the chest. He sidestepped a swipe of the next knife-wielding aggressor and punched him in the face.

"Die!" said the next attacker, lunging at Chronos. Chronos had no choice but to catch the knife by its blade before slamming the attacker into the wall and elbowing his face. Only one more remained, the Newman. Deciding to attack at a safe distance, he threw his knife at Chronos before charging. Of course, Chronos easily dodged the blade and used an open-palmed strike to the Newman's face.

"Now what have we learned?" Chronos asked the fallen men, not sure if they were even conscious. "Show respect to a lady…and never judge a book by its cover."

"A disaster occurred. Things were shaking, then something broke through the surface. And then it exploded in the Central Dome! I don't know what to say... For 7 years, we've tried to adjust and improve the environment. What was it? Was it related to the accidents we've had recently?"

"Did you get that?" Mina asked Nadja. "Something came from underground when the explosion occurred."

"Is it always raining in Forest 2?" Nadja asked, noticing that it was always cloudy. "Do you think you should look into that?"

"Now that you mention it," Mina said, noticing that her hair was already wet. "I should have brought a hat. Oh well, it's only water. But I'll definitely check that out."

"Should we go help your friends?" Nadja said, listening to the battle ahead.

"You worry too much," Mina laughed. "They'll be fine."

"Boomas at 6 o'clock!" Anne yelled, firing her Handgun. "I'll take the vanillas."

"I'll take the raspberries," Miguel said swinging his huge Sword. That left T-65 with the regular Boomas, which were easy to pick off since the Hunters were drawing the most attention. When the enemies got too close to Anne, she switched back to her Daggers and sliced them to pieces one at a time. She was quick enough to make quick attacks while taking minimal damage. Miguel was strong enough to easily swing his Sword into several enemies at once, taking down his opponents quickly. Soon enough, all of the Boomas were dead.

"Right on schedule," Mina said walking through the gate. "How is everyone so far?"

"A few scratches here and there," commented Miguel, flipping a red switch. "How're you?"

"Hey, Nadja," Mina said, as she raised her hands to heal everyone with blue-sparkled Resta. "There's a pod over here too."

"What does it say?" Nadja asked getting ready to record another message.

"Watch out for Hildelt's lightning attack. I prefer NOT to get electrocuted."

"I don't remember anything about a Hildelt," Mina said, thinking. "Have any of you?" None of the others had ever heard of such a thing.

"Maybe it's related to a Hildebear?" Nadja suggested. "It spits fire, and one time I remember coming across a different type that had a blue face and breathed ice. Maybe this Hildelt is just another member of the family."

"Whatever it is," T-65 interrupted, "I don't want to ever meet it." The other Androids nodded in agreement. They all walked through the next gate and found that notoriously dangerous long path that usually held many animals. Before going there, they went through the gate to their left and were met by a variety of Boomas. Before anyone could attack, Mina wiped them all out with another dazzling zap of Razonde. Their bodies convulsed sickeningly on the ground for a few seconds, even though they were dead.

"Are there any pods in here?" Mina said walking in. She immediately jumped back as a Hildebear landed in front of her. Nadja cast an icy wind into the beast while T-65 started shooting. It was Mina's flurry of icicles that killed it.

"You need to be more careful," Nadja said, relieved.

"Here's another one," Miguel said, pointing to a pod.

"If you can't hit a Hildebear, try standing in front of it. Of course, I don't miss."

"Is she mocking us?" Anne asked, feeling insulted.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Mina said. "She is supposed to be the best hunter around. So, it wouldn't be too inaccurate for her to assume that the receiver isn't as skilled as she is…or was…"

"So," T-65 said hesitantly. "Who's goin' down the path to draw out the animals?"

"You mean who wants to be bait," Miguel corrected.

"Let's go in the typical fashion," Mina suggested. "First Hunters, then Forces, and finally Ranger." The group followed suit. When they had walked far enough down the path, they could see a pack of Wolves waiting for them. Instead of charging the wolves, the group let T-65 shoot them from a distance. It was easy to kill them since they hadn't spotted the hunters yet. The gates unlocked, surprising the hunters.

"That was way too easy," T-65 said in disappointment. "Usually a little bit of everything comes out to get you on this path."

"Maybe they're concentrating on another area," Anne said, turning off her Daggers to save energy..

"You all go ahead," Mina said, walking towards an open laser fence. "I need to show Nadja something." She led Nadja through the laser fence and instantly spotted the monument. Learning from previous mistakes, she took out her Soul Assaults. As they approached the monument, a horde of Gigoboomas appeared behind them. Mina turned as soon as she heard them roar and fired.

"Mina, use ice!" Nadja said, killing one with Gibarta. "That new data we got says that they're weak against ice just like Hildebears."

"Right, ice!" Mina said, using her own Gibarta to kill several. Another blast of ice was enough to finish them off.

"Have you noticed how the animals have been getting more coordinated in their attacks?" Nadja commented. "At first, they just came out of nowhere and attacked. Now they're coming in groups and ambushes."

"Maybe this monument will have some answers," Mina said, pointing to the monolith. "Just listen to Rico's message."

"I heard that this tall column was built to commemorate the immigration of Pioneer 1. But... it may just be me…but it doesn't look very new. And these patterns... aren't they characters?"

"So what do you think?" Mina asked her friend.

"It's definitely old," Nadja said feeling the monument. "At the minimum, several hundred years old. Assuming that it didn't perpetually rain like this, it may be well over 2 thousand years old. I can't tell exactly. And these markings…they're some of the most archaic forms of writing I've ever seen."

"Can you read it?" Mina asked, intrigued.

"I wish I had a camera!" Nadja continued elatedly, not really hearing Mina. "I could study this for months. Then I could find similarities between this and other calligraphies! You just don't know how exciting this is! Such a vast wealth of history we have, yet no one knows it all. Sure, they may have a library or collection, but…"

"Nadja!" Mina shouted, snapping Nadja out of her euphoria. "We can talk about the history of the universe later. Right now, we need to concentrate on the present. Now, can you tell me what this monument says?"

"I recognize some of these markings," Nadja said, kneeling to get a closer look, "but it's really difficult to translate… They look similar to the Esper language. It's saying something about light and darkness…a pairreincarnation or rebirthinfiniteruleunlimitedseal… I'd kill for a camera!"

"Hmm," Mina thought. "I think we should move on."

"Sorry, Mina" Nadja said, leaping up and opening a Telepipe. "I can't help myself! If I don't get a camera or something to record these, I feel like…I'll just explode!"

"Don't go yet!" Mina pleaded. "We haven't gotten to the dome yet."

"You'll be fine without me," Nadja said, jumping up and down excitedly. "Oh, I can't wait! You don't know what it's like to get off on history."

"Nani?!" Mina exclaimed. "What're you saying?"

"You just don't understand how much I love history!" Nadja explained impatiently, warping back to the Pioneer ship.

"Arrrgh …She's just as bad as Claire!" Mina ranted to herself in frustration as she walked to catch up to the Androids. "Getting off on history… That's just weird."

The dark-haired woman had not moved from her spot and was still enjoying the same drink, looking bored. Then, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Madame," Chronos greeted. "I don't think they will be giving you anymore trouble for a while. I think they've learned their lesson."

"You didn't have to…" she turned to talk to him, but paused when she saw the swollen Newman in front of her.

"Say what you have to say," Chronos firmly said to the Newman.

"On behalf of me and the others," he said timidly, "I would like to say…that we acted rudely…and…uh…very ungentlemanly-like. So…we would just like to say that…we apologize for any inconvenience that we may have caused you…so uh, sorry…"

"Now, move along," Chronos ordered, watching the defeated man walk out of the building.

"You went through all that…for me?" the lady asked, astonished.

"Yes," Chronos replied with a smile. "Everyone should be treated with the respect that is due to them."

"Yes…well, thank you," she said, moving her long hair out of her face. It was then that Chronos saw her hauntingly narrow, yet alluringly wide purple eyes. He also noticed two blue dots on her forehead and that the tips of her hair were red as blood.

"Is that an emblem?" he asked, looking at the symbols on her forehead. "Seeds of Power?"

"…Yes," she said, surprised that anyone knew what the emblem meant. "Are you, by any chance, from Dezolis?"

"Yes," he replied, sitting next to her. "Only Dezolans and a few Forces wear emblems like that."

"And only a Dezolan," she continued, "would call the planet by that name instead of Dezoris."

"I believe introductions are in order," he said respectfully, switching into his native dialect. "Chronos Ranzo is my name. And you?"

"Megumi Ite," she said politely.

"Tell me now, Miss Ite," he began. "Why do you not smile? You seem so idle, so restless, as if there is nothing of real interest to you."

"Precisely," she replied wryly. "The only attention I seem to attract is the likes of those scoundrels. No others will to approach me, perhaps intimidated by my appearance. I'm quite aware of how narrow my eyes are."

"Pardon me, but I can't see anything wrong with you," Chronos said, returning to his drink. Megumi didn't know what to make of this gentleman. Few people would stand up for others against such odds and succeed. Few would even find her approachable.

"Would you care to dance?" she asked, standing up. She was almost as tall as Chronos.

"Uh… very well," he agreed. "But I must warn you, I'm not particularly adept at dancing. That goes especially for fast music."

"Personally," she said, "I choose only to slow dance. And a slow dance is what we shall have." She then waved over someone that Chronos couldn't see. Then he noticed that it was the large Newman who had walked away before. She whispered something into his long ears. He nodded and walked away.

"Who is that large fellow?" Chronos asked curiously.

"He is my bodyguard," she responded. "Now let's dance."

"But what about the slow dance?" Chronos asked, noting that the current music was a fast techno beat. As if to answer his question, the music faded out and faded in with a slow bluesy sort of beat.

"Hmm," Megumi mused. "The Real Folk Blues… one of my favorites. I hope you don't not mind a song in Nihongo."

"Not at all," Chronos said walking out onto the dance floor.

"That was more like it," T-65 said, having just finished off a trio of Hildebears with Anne and Miguel.

"It doesn't look like we'll be out here too much longer," Anne commented. "We're only a teleport and a jog away from Central Dome."

"I don't think it's going to be that easy," Miguel said unsurely. "That is, unless a certain FOmarl decides to fight seriously."

"What're you getting' at?" T-65 asked protectively.

""I'm just saying that Mina's more powerful than she lets on," Miguel clarified. "If she stopped holding back, we would've been done with this a while ago."

"She's just being the scientist that she is," Anne said understandingly. "Besides, who wants her to hog all the experience? She doesn't really need it." Just then Mina walked through the gate looking peeved.

"What happened to your friend?" Miguel asked, noticing her absence.

"She left," Mina said bluntly, raising her hands to cast Resta on them. "Are there any pods here?"

"Right over here," T-65 said. "You're gonna' like this one."

"Pioneer 1 may have damaged the ecological system of Ragol before we were aware of it. So, the native creatures tried to remove the invaders. That's one supposition. But what about the explosion!? I need more information. I have to go do some research."

"That's an interesting theory," Mina said, recording the message. "There's nothing left to do but move forward."

"Just warnin' you guys," T-65 said as they approached the teleport, "last time I went up there, everything came at us. It was worse than that path." One by one, they were transported to the platform beside Central Dome. As soon as they appeared just about everything did come out. Wolves leaped over them from behind, all sorts of Boomas broke through the platform floor, a Monest began its decent towards the middle, and a flock of Rappies dropped all around.

"Split up!" Mina ordered. She literally started her assault with a bang by using her explosive Rafoie to kill a dozen of the enemies. T-65 frantically shot whatever was closest to him as he ran to the left. Anne attacked from the right with her Daggers, struggling not to get overwhelmed as she erratically blocked and dodged strikes. Miguel charged straight into the fray with his Sword.

"Do your thing, little buddy!" Miguel said to his Mag, Varuna. "Farla!" There was a grinding noise as the blue, claw-like machine spun around and created a geometric inscription of light into the ground below Miguel. Time seemed to stand still for a moment, as everything around him seemed to get darker. Then a giant neon pink and yellow colored serpent appeared above Miguel. It screeched and then started spinning around Miguel in a circle, as its body seemed to become engulfed in fire. Anything that was within a few feet of Miguel was burnt to a crisp, as the ring of fire spread away from him and dissipated.

"Kick ass!" T-65 yelled, with this being his first time witnessing a Photon Blast. "I can't wait to use mine!" The only enemies that remained were a few wolves and Mothmants that had escaped the range of the Photon Blast. They were quickly disposed of by Mina's electrical attacks and the shots of Anne and T-65's guns.

"That went well," Mina said, healing everyone with another Resta. "It just goes to show how invaluable a Mag is." Just then, a light emanated from Miguel's Mag as it started to change shape. It turned into what looked like a pair of blue wings.

"Hmph," Miguel sounded. "I guess it was only one feeding away from evolving into a Rudra."

"I don't think I'll be able to use a Photon Blast today," Mina said, picking up a Difluid from some supply boxes. "Shato barely collected any energy." They made their way through the final gate just as a trio of Barbarous Wolves jumped in front of them. Mina eliminated them with a chained bolt of electricity from Gizonde. The space was too cramped for anyone to attack with weapons without hitting someone.

"Hildebears, straight ahead," Anne said, jogging out to attack them. Instead, the one Hildebear leaped over to her, knocking her back. She leapt forward, slashing at it with her Daggers. Miguel soon joined in. Both blocked its initial swing with their shields. T-65 began shooting with his Rifle, aiming for its head. Mina had to get closer to attack with Zonde since an overhang from the Central Dome prevented an attack from above. It was the only attack she could use without hitting someone else. As soon as the Hildebear died, the next one had already stomped its way over and spat a fireball at the Hunters. Miguel took the hit for Anne, using his Sword to take most of the damage. T-65 was already blasting away while Anne started slashing and Mina moved in for a better angle. Just before the ape brought down its powerful arms onto Anne, an ice trap exploded, freezing it. Miguel shattered it with a slice of his Sword.

"That was my last trap," Anne said, a bit winded. "Check the door." The door to Central Dome was giving off a lot of electrical discharge. Before checking it, Mina activated another message pod right beside it.

"No. It won't open. It might be easier to look for another way to get in."

"Well," Miguel said sarcastically, "there's always that ominously large, red transporter over there."

"Hey!" T-65 said suspiciously. "That wasn't there before! This is just gettin' creepy!"

"This might lead us to our answer," Mina said nervously. "We're almost finished. But I can't shake off this feeling of foreboding."

"Maybe the door was sealed on purpose," Anne suggested. "You know, to keep the animals out."

"No," Mina shook her head. "That door is broken. Something damaged it so that it would be hard to ever open again."

"Are you sure?" Miguel asked. "You make it sound as if someone is doing this on purpose."

"I wouldn't rule that out," Anne said, folding her arms. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that this is a trap. But as long as we're getting some dinero for this, there's no reason to bitch out now." She walked to the transporter.

"I'm game," T-65 said, walking over to the transporter.

"No sense in turning back now," Mina said, joining them.

"Then it's settled," Miguel said, walking over to the transporter with false optimism. "Just you wait and see. This'll all just blow over with all our questions answered and then we can start looking for a good spot to land the ship."

"Sorry," Chronos apologized, awkwardly stepping on the woman's feet. He found her brown, leathery shoes to have a medieval uniqueness. They had a somewhat crude look, appearing pointy and having bumpy ridges, yet they also looked soft and comfortable. "It's been some time since I last danced with someone."

"Just follow my lead," Megumi assured him calmly, "and you'll do wonderfully. Step to the music as I do."

"Okay," Chronos checked, watching his feet to match her own.

"You have to hold on to me," she said, grabbing on to his back.

"Right," he said, hesitantly placing his hands around her shoulders. "Is this okay?"

"A bit lower," she advised with the same calm demeanor. She took his hands and placed them around her waist, much to Chronos's surprise. "Relax…and just move to the flow of the music." The music was soothing even though Chronos couldn't understand a word of it.

"This music is quite good," Chronos said approvingly.

"I'm glad that you like it," she responded. "To be truthful, it is a sad song. It is about a heartbroken woman who is distraught with her current situation, yet hopeful of a better future."

"I would hope that she gets that better future," Chronos said thoughtfully. "It reminds me of another song that I heard recently."

"What would that be?" she asked.

"I believe it's called Can Still See the Light," he answered. Megumi noticed off to the side that the Newman was trying to get her attention in a low-key fashion.

"Your dancing is better than what you thought," she complimented as she let go of him and walked off of the dance floor. "I must take my leave now. I thank you for what you did. You've improved my outing and I hope to see you again."

"How do I know that I improved your day," Chronos began, "if you still haven't shown even a hint of a smile?"

"Guldo," she said expectantly to the Newman. Then turning back to Chronos she said, "He will provide you with my phone number and address. That is how you know of your achievement." She then made her exit.

"Here," the Guldo said gruffly, handing Chronos the information. Then he followed Megumi out as well.

"Okay," Chronos said, unsure of what just happened.

The first person to materialize was Anne, then, T-65, Mina, and Miguel. In front of them was a stone red wall with blue glowing minerals. They also noticed that it was uncomfortably hot. Apparently they were in some sort of cave.

"Where are we?" Mina asked out loud.

"¡Mierda!" Anne screamed from behind them. They all turned around to see what she was so excited about. Mina gasped while T-65 was in awestruck silence.

"Definitely didn't see that one coming!" Miguel exclaimed. Hovering yards away from them was a huge, reddish-brown, single-horned dragon. It landed on its sharp talons with an earth-shaking crash and let out a monstrous roar.

Boss: Dragon the Infernal Lizard

"The data calls it Dragon," Mina said, glancing at the device under her left sleeve.

"I could of guessed that much," Miguel said.

"It's coming this way," Anne said. "It doesn't look too happy." The Dragon was steadily stomping its way over to the group.

"What do we do?" T-65 asked frantically. Their Mags seemed to answer his question by making spinning around and making odd sounds. All four hunters then started glowing with red and blue light.

"They're using Deband and Shifta!" Mina announced. "They're powering us up." Suddenly, the Dragon stopped its approach and seemed to breathe in deeply. "Just go for it!"

"Scatter!" Anne ordered. Mina and Anne ran to the left while the male Androids ran to the right. The Dragon blew fire to the spot where they had been and started to spew it at a wider angle to hit them. T-65 made the mistake of trying to aim his Rifle and was knocked over by the force of the flames. Miguel helped him up and they continued to run to the side of the Dragon. Meanwhile, Anne and Mina were speedily making their way to the Dragon dodging flames the whole way.

"I'm surprised you can keep up with that dress on," Anne said to Mina, who was just behind her.

"I'm surprised you can run at all with those heels," Mina said back to her.

"You've got a point there," Anne said, just before leaping into the air. As she flipped through the air, the heels retracted into her boots as she landed with her Daggers ready to strike the Dragon's clawed feet. When the Dragon started walking again, she had to be careful not to get stepped on as she tore away at its feet. By this time, T-65 had begun shooting, and Miguel was beginning to hack away at its feet.

"What are dragons weak against?" Mina thought, looking through her data files frantically. "Strong against most elemental attacks. For fire breathing dragons, ice is most effective." Taking the data's advice, she used Gibarta to shoot ice at the Dragon's body. This was the first attack that seemed to actually cause the Dragon pain since it began to stumble.

"Watch out!" T-65 warned. "It's takin' a fall!" They all moved out of the way as the Dragon fell forward and slammed into the ground. It seemed dazed from the shock its head took upon hitting the ground. Miguel and Mina took this chance to continue their attacks.

"T-65!" Anne barked getting his attention. "Let's use our Photon Blasts! Aim for the head! Farla, attack!"

"Right!" T-65 acknowledged, remembering his Photon Blast. "Alright, Kalki…uh…use Estilla!" An inscription formed beneath both Androids and the Mags made the grinding noise. Farla the Serpent appeared above Anne while a strange, neon purple colored dolphin appeared above T-65. The two beings seemed to acknowledge each other's existence and looked toward the fallen Dragon before them. Estilla appeared to swim toward the Dragon as Farla began to spin into fire. Both struck the Dragon, which seemed to give it enough encouragement to get to its feet despite not having any real arms.

It roared in aggravation and flew into the air. Learning from its mistake, it spat fire all around the cave from above. Anne nimbly dodged the fire with ease since she was no longer wearing her heels. T-65 stood under the Dragon, attempting to get off a few shots. Miguel and Mina were having a harder time escaping the fire.

"You can't escape that easily," Mina said, using Zonde to pester the Dragon with lightning bolts. The Dragon stopped spitting fire and turned itself towards Mina in midair. Then unexpectedly, it began to spin around in the air and dived underground leaving a pool of molten rock in its wake.

"What now?" Miguel said, tired of being scorched. Then he noticed that there was an upheaval of dirt showing that the Dragon was quickly burrowing towards him. Miguel decided to make a run for it. It barely missed him and headed toward Mina. She tried using Barta to stop it, but the dirt shielded it from the ice. It sent her tumbling over itself and went deeper underground so that it became unnoticeable.

"It's off the radar!" Anne said to herself. Another mound appeared before her and moved away in the RAcast's direction. Unable to escape, he was plowed through the air by the burrowing Dragon. It again disappeared from sight and off the radar. Anne knew that she was next and reattached her heels. She had a plan. Mina ran over to the other Androids to heal them.

"T-65, Miguel!" she cried out. "Are you okay?" The mound appeared once more behind her. She spotted it in time and was able to jump over its mass. The Dragon didn't seem to mind and kept its course straight, which would lead to Anne. The HUcaseal turned around and ran towards the wall, as the mound was about to overtake her. If she didn't act quickly, she would be crushed against the wall. She expertly ran a short distance up the wall, leaving the Dragon to slam into the solid stone, while she landed directly on top of it. The mound let out a muffled growl as it sank into the depths of the earth. In the middle of the cave, the Dragon burst of the ground and into the air spinning, leaving another fiery pool. By now, the Mags had exhausted themselves and stopped powering up.

"Gather around!" Mina called out. They all quickly assembled, as the Dragon hovered in the air regaining its senses. Mina then cast Resta to heal everyone and then used her own Deband and Shifta. Everyone could tell that hers were much stronger since they could feel more power flowing through them. When the Dragon landed and stomped toward them, they quickly ran under it and started attacking. The Dragon, which was starting to wear down, jumped straight into the air. Instinctively, everyone backed off to avoid being crushed or getting hit by a shockwave. As expected, the Dragon landed with a crash. T-65, who was still in range, took another shot while the others ran toward it. The Dragon flinched and began to stumble.

"Get back!" T-65 shouted. The Hunters quickly ducked out of the way. The Dragon let out a dying roar as it thunderously fell to the ground before a shrieking Mina could move out of the way.

"That had to hurt!" Miguel said, imagining the pain.

"Mom!" T-65 said running over to the Dragon's carcass.

"Don't worry," Anne said surely. "I always bring Moon Atomizers. The hard part will be getting her from under the..." She trailed off as the Dragon mysteriously faded away and into nothingness. Mina was lying flat on her back where the Dragon had been.

"Now that was creepy," Miguel commented before walking up to Mina. "Hey, are you okay?"

She moaned a reply, "Owwwh! Watashi no mune..owh!" Anne could actually be heard giggling slightly.

"You're gonna' be okay, Mom," he said assuringly, taking out a Monomate.

"You don't need to do that," Anne said, amused. "She's just in some pain, not really hurt at all."

"How do you know?" Miguel asked.

"Because she's flat-chested," Anne explained.

"Hey!" Mina lashed out, sitting up and hugging her pained chest. "It doesn't matter what size you are. It's still a sensitive area…"

"Single A's shouldn't cause you that much trouble," Anne chuckled. "If I were an organic like you, on the other hand, I might have some problems."

"Now see here!" Mina said, still holding herself as she stood up. "I'll have you know that I have AA's. And like I said, cup size…"

"I don't mean to interrupt your discussion, "Miguel said, "but weren't we supposed to figure out what happened to Pioneer 1. I'd also like to know where the hell we are right now. And how about that Dragon's disappearing act?"

"I think we're under Central Dome," T-65 said, looking around. "This cave looks like the underside of a dome. And that door over there looks like the one we couldn't get through before."

"But that would mean…" Mina began. "Nan okoru ka?" she mumbled.

"We're right back where we started," Anne said. "So what now?"

"I…guess we're done," Mina said, opening a Telepipe. "I'm stumped…and sore."

"So, how much are we getting paid?" Miguel asked.

"Two thousand Meseta for each of you," Mina said.

"Sounds like you've got money to blow," Miguel said.

"Let's just say that I have a well-to-do family," Mina said.

Notes: My apologies for the really long chapter. Couldn't think of a good way to split it. Well, we got some answers about what happened along with some more questions. Since when did a dragon make residence in the Forest, let alone the Dome itself? We've also found mention of some of Mina's odd friends. If Nadja is like that, how are her other friends? And Chronos proved once again that he's no pansy. Stay tuned for scenes from the next episode of PSO: Gaiden. (That's side story for those of you that don't speak Japanese…not that I do…)

On the next censor-angering episode of PSO: Sidestory: Mina struggles to make sense of the events that she witnessed on Ragol. She and the rest of the hunters are stuck at a dead end. In light of these events, she attempts to pursue more personal goals. Too bad a new, dangerous obstacle is taking shape on…"Vagrancies." And it ain't from Ragol. Time to put the kiddies to bed… Only Toonami!