Chapter 22: Letters, Brides, and Graves…Oh My!

The Hunter's Guild was full of hunters and clients. There was plenty of work to do. It was so busy that vendors were just outside selling drinks and snacks. Mina, Galactica, Anne, and Miguel leaned against a wall, waiting for their clients to arrive.

"So, what job did you two get?" Miguel asked the Chikaras.

"I'm finding a missing person," Mina replied, sipping an energy drink.

"My brother and I are going to help a blacksmith make a new weapon," Galactica said. "I'm guessing that he wants us to find materials from Ragol."

"We got stuck with a stupid mission," Anne sighed, standing up straight. "Some Android screwed around and got separated."

"From who?" Mina asked.

"Himself, ha!" Miguel snickered. "Somehow, he fell apart a few days ago and got scattered. The Guild only has the quest because he sent a letter through BEE. The Guild ladies are uploading his message onto our ISLs right now."

"What's BEE?" Galactica asked, raising an unseen eyebrow under her headgear.

"A data transporter," Mina answered. "It allows for communication between people on Ragol and Pioneer 2. Think of it as a slower version of voice messaging." T-65 and Xero were somewhere else in the crowded room, also leaning against a wall.

"Man," Xero sighed, "aren't there other Guilds besides this one. It's crowded as hell in here."

"A lotta' people have Ragol problems," T-65 explained. "This is the only one that can use the transporter."

"Xero!" a Guild lady called over the intercom. "Your client is here."

"Gotta' go," Xero said, making his way to the front desk. Waiting for him was short, heavyset FOmarl in a white dress with black lining. A brimmed hat obscured her dull blonde hair. "Hey."

"Nice to meet you," she smiled, cupping her hands. "I'm Cicil. Guess what? I'm getting married!"

"Good for you," Xero nodded. He was hoping that he act as another arbiter for a couple.

"But," she hesitated, "I know I'm out of shape… but if I… I'm staying on Ragol to exercise and get in shape before I see him. But every time I go hunting I use all my recovery items. So I decided that I needed to control my diet."

"Why don't you just go to a gym or something?" Xero wondered aloud.

"That would take too long," she explained. "Listen, it's simple. All you have to do is go to a target point with me. But you have to guard me so that I won't need to use any recovery items. The target point is the waterfall underground. Got it?"

"Okay," Xero said, shaking his head regretfully. As they walked out of the Guild a short, redheaded HUnewearl gave her a thumbs-up. As they walked toward the transporter, they heard a young man in a blue shirt and orange pants talking to himself.

"Cicil suddenly disappeared one day," he said, pacing back and forth, "and she hasn't returned. It's been a week since she disappeared! Why isn't she back!" he cried out. "Perhaps…something happened to her. Or maybe…she doesn't love me anymore! I can't stand to imagine that! She's so beautiful. She's in great shape and she's smart too. She's perfect for me! She's my goddess!" Cicil blushed deeply as they walked into the transporter.

"Freak," Xero muttered as they teleported.

"Okay," T-65 said, picking a metallic stone out of a Forest 1 stream. "Got the Miwontite."

"Good," Galactica said, checking off the item on a list in her ISL. "Next we need…a Dragon Fang." The two Androids looked at each other disdainfully.

"At least we know where we can find one," T-65 said, walking down a path amidst dead Boomas.

Mina was with her client in the fiery Caves. Her client was a preteen FOmarl named Matha Grave. Her dress was red and black. Her light pink hair was wrapped into two balls on her head by red ribbons. She was on a quest to find her favorite butler, a famous Ranger named Blant. At the moment, the two were blasting Evil Sharks. Matha downed one with a ball of Foie. Mina zapped four with a single Gizonde. Two Poison Lilies appeared, immediately spitting at the two. A bolt of lightning from Mina and a ball of fire from Matha destroyed them quickly. Mina winced as she noticed the green ooze on her side. Matha took notice and raised her glowing green hand. The pain disappeared instantly.

"You're pretty good for someone so young," Mina said approvingly.

"I took this up as a hobby," Matha said, not looking particularly pleased. "But I'll use it to find Blant… What's that?" She pointed to a lit pod on the ground.

"A message pod," Mina gasped, leaning down to activate it. The voice that emanated from it sounded like exactly like a Coralian butler.

"If possible, please deliver my message to Miss Matha Graves. I'm Blant, a butler to the Grave family. The Graves are famous scientists: a biologist and a physicist. They've been working hard, doing research for the government. So I've been taking care of their only daughter, Miss Matha Grave. Their research was top secret. The government alone knew what they did. When Mr. Grave was chosen as a crewmember for Pioneer 1, he told me, "We won't be bringing Matha with us. Don't let her go on Pioneer 2." I was angry with his order at the time but… Well, here comes another monster. Maybe later…"

"Blant," Matha said worriedly. Out of the corner of her eye, Mina noticed another lit pod. She walked to it and turned it on. The voice was that of a young woman.

Wow…this cave is a treasure trove of discoveries: Creatures that have never been seen by people, completely unknown animals. They look like mutant forms of the native animals… Perhaps the government has kept this a secret… It's possible…but for what purpose?

"That's Red Ring Rico!" Mina shouted, picking up the pod. "She made it down here…? Well, first things first. Let's go find Blant."

Miguel and Anne walked through a section of the ever-rainy Forest 2. They had met so little opposition, that they put away their weapons. They came across a RAmar in red and black body armor, carrying a Handgun. He had spiky blond hair and a black headband. He looked very content when he noticed them.

"You hunters, too?" he asked, smiling. "How's everything?"

"Fine, thanks," Miguel said, looking around for any Android parts.

"What are you so happy about?" Anne asked, annoyed by his grinning.

"Me? Ha, ha, ha!" the Ranger laughed. "I found something very special today. I'm going to sell it secretly in the city. This must be pretty valuable on the black market. Today's my lucky day!" He quickly unleashed a Telepipe and warped back to the city.

"See anything, Miguel?" Anne asked, looking up to him.

"Yep!" he said, equipping his Partisan as he walked to a teleporter. "Someone's fighting at Central Dome! We'd better get there before something happens to Lionel." Anne could see energy shots being dispersed from the ledge above the teleporter, on the landing pad, and quickly followed.

"Not our day," T-65 groaned as another set of Gigoboomas rose out of the ground. They had gotten to the landing pad just before Central Dome when every animal in the forest had begun to attack. Galactica was against his back, fending off Rag Rappies with her rapid-fire Mechguns.

"This is the fourth time this has happened," Galactica said, gunning down another Rappy as a Monest landed nearby. She began spraying bullets at the nest, while T-65 picked off the remaining Rappies with his Fire Rifle. The Gigoboomas and Mothmants began to close in on the overwhelmed duo. Suddenly, a bladed boomerang cut through each of the Mothmants. A staff ending in a green photon blade slammed into the Gigoboomas, removing their crests. The boomerang returned to the purple metal-gloved hand of Anne. Miguel continued to swing large arcs at the Gigoboomas until they fell dead. The landing pad was covered in blood and animal carcasses.

"What are you guys doin' here?" T-65 asked as the nearby Monest began to disintegrate.

"Some part of our client is around here somewhere," Miguel answered, scanning the area with his bright yellow eye.

"What?" T-65 asked, lowering his rifle in surprise.

"I'll explain later," Galactica said, pulling him through the next gate.

"Let's try the pit," Anne suggested going to another teleporter.

"Right behind ya," Miguel said, joining her. They reappeared in a large hole near the pad. The soil was dark, and the walls were grey stone covered in ivy. There was a small stream flowing through two cracks in the walls. Lying in that stream was a dull purple, metal oval object with a protrusion on one side.

"I think this is it," Anne said, picking up the object by the protrusion.

"Excuse me," a voice came from the object. "Are you the hunter who came to rescue me?"

"You can still talk!" she asked, nearly dropping the android head in shock. She rotated it to see his face, which was even blanker than Miguel's. It had no mouth or eyes, only a few slits in the metal where its eyes would be.

"Sorry that I'm like this," the head said apologetically. "I'm Lionel. I was in sleep mode as my energy was very low."

"Where's the rest of you?" Miguel asked, looking down awkwardly at the android head in Anne's hands.

"Good question!" Lionel said as more energy shots could be heard in the background. "My body! A strange monster attacked me, and I was heavily damaged. I managed to escape from the monsters, but it got worse after that. I dropped my legs and an arm. Then I lost my body. Please find all my missing parts!"

"Can't get paid otherwise," Miguel replied.

"Great!" Lionel cheered. "Thank you! The sensors in my missing parts are still working. I can roughly detect their locations. Right leg, left leg, right arm, and my body with the left arm; that's four parts total. Got it?"

"Got it," Anne said, tossing him to Miguel.

"Hey, be careful!" Lionel exclaimed. "Handle me with care."

"So, what's first on the list?" Miguel asked, not knowing where to put the head.

"I've got a signal from my right arm," Lionel answered. "It is…in something soft…and in some sort of liquid? Oh! Sometimes I feel a burning sensation. Do you know of this place?"

"The Caves?" Miguel suggested as they went through the teleporter, back to the landing pad.

"I don't think this guy's sensors would last this long in lava," Anne said cynically.

"Well, I'm out of ideas," Miguel said, still holding Lionel's head in his hand. They walked through the gate in time to see Galactica use the large red teleporter ahead. Left waiting there were two Hildebears, who had taken some damage, judging from the burns and bruises.

"I'll handle this," Anne said, stepping in front of the HUcast as the creatures turned around to see them. "You hang back a bit." Miguel shrugged and stood back as Anne's high heels retracted into her feet. She switched her Slicer for her Daggers.

"On your mark," Miguel began, as Anne crouched down. "Get set… Go!" She bolted off toward the apes. As one pulled its arm back to punch, she leapt onto its chest, burying her daggers into its face, and jumped with a flying kick into the other Hildebear. As it fell, she dug her blades into its head and leapt back onto the ground.

"How was that?" Anne asked hopefully to Miguel.

"I'll give it an 8.9," Miguel responded.

"I sense my right arm very close by," Lionel piped up. A shadow moved over Anne.

"Anne!" Miguel shouted, running forward. Before she could dive out of the way, a Hildebear landed on her, pinning her down. As Miguel ran forth, ready to attack with his Partisan, the beast smacked him and his Mag over the cliff, behind another gate.

"Hey, careful!" Lionel shouted irritably, as his head clunked beside Miguel. The HUcast rose to his feet and tried to reach the ledge, but it was too high up. Anne reached for one of her Daggers and pressed it into the beast's clawed foot. It growled and stepped off her. As Anne tried to hop to her feet, it slammed her back down with a double ax handle, cracking the cement underneath her. Then, it picked her up and began to slam her into the ground over and over again. By now, Miguel had scaled the wall by driving his Sword deep into it, and using it as leverage. When had finally climbed over the edge, he saw the monster clutching Anne limply by her ponytail. Her Mag looked as if it had gone through a trash compactor, and lied to the side.

Re-summoning his Partisan, Miguel charged the monster shouting, "Get your hands off her, you damn dirty ape!" He swung the blade, which hummed with photon energy, into the Hildebear, causing it to drop his companion. Miguel continued to hack and batter the animal until it caught his weapon with both hands. It growled and stared at him with its narrow yellow eyes. Miguel glared back with his brightly glowing yellow eye. The creature quickly snapped the Partisan in two and smacked Miguel back. Miguel looked over the ledge and reached down, yanking his massive Sword out of the wall. He charged the creature again and lunged. It bellowed as the blade sank into its thick arm and tried to bat the Android away once again. Miguel raised his Sword to absorb the blow. Unfortunately, it was knocked out of his grasp and clattered some distance to the side. The Hildebear raised both its arms, ready to crush Miguel. In a split-second decision, Miguel charged straight into the beast's unguarded abdomen. It yelped and slowly lowered its arms, weakly trying to grab him. Miguel stepped back, pulling his now bloody horn out of its abdomen just as the Hildebear collapsed with an odd clanking noise. Miguel ignored it and went straight to Anne, who was slowly getting to her feet.

"Anne, are you okay?" Miguel asked worriedly. "Stupid question. Here, let me help you up," he said, taking her arm.

"I'm fine!" she said brusquely, pulling her arm away. "Now where's that talking head?"

"I'm down here!" Lionel called from over the cliff. "My arm should be very close by!" Miguel walked to the body of the Hildebear and rolled it onto its back. He dug through the hole he had made in its stomach with his horn and pulled out Lionel's purple arm.

"Good," Anne said, limping over to him. "Hey, cabeza, what's next?"

"Did yOu finD my arm?" Lionel asked, his voice distorting.

"Yeah," Anne answered, as she photonized her severely damaged mag into her ISL.

"ThANks," Lionel said. "WaIt a mINUte… BotH of mY legs are In watER…bUt what Is this diFereNce? I GOt it. THe aiR."

"What?" Anne asked, as one of her bangs broke from her forehead and clinked on the ground. "Damn." Miguel sprayed a Star Atomizer into the air. The revitalizing mist completely healed both of them, although, the broken bang wasn't an injury that could be healed. She tried to act as if nothing happened and hopped down to Lionel's head.

"LefT leg," Lionel struggled to say, "iS in cold UndergRound AIr. And My rIGHt leG in the oPen air. Not iN The unDergrOUnd. My voIcE sYSteM…geTtIng wOrse…sorRy."

"Got it," Anne said, picking him up. "One's in the Forest and the other's in the Caves."

As the last few shots rang out, the Dragon finally keeled over. Before it mysteriously disappeared, T-65 held open its mouth while Galactica cut a few fangs loose with her Saber.

"Getting' a few souvenirs, huh?" he muttered.

"It certainly won't be needing them," Galactica replied. "Mother might even be able to make use of the extra materials. Now all we need is a mineral."

"Let's see how you handle the caves," T-65 smirked.

"Dammit!" Xero cursed as he was knocked over by an energy torpedo from a Nano Dragon.

"Are you okay?" Cicil asked, standing off to the side.

"I could use a little help here," Xero said, hopping to his feet. He ran straight for the reptile and slashed its face. When it held its ground and began to charge, he ducked out of the way just before it unleashed a blue beam that tore across the cavern. Cicil chose that moment to use Barta on it, conveniently killing it.

"You're a Force, right?" Xero asked irritably.

"Yes," she said innocently.

"And Forces use mostly techs, right?" he added.

"Uh huh," she said, getting nervous.

"Then, why don't you use something besides Barta?" Xero yelled.

"Hey!" she yelled back. "If I had them, I'd use them. I mean, why would be using all those 'mates if I actually had Resta or something."

"What kinda level 13 Force doesn't have Resta?" Xero said exasperatedly.

"I'm not paying you to criticize me," Cicil replied. "Now, let's go! It's way too hot in here." As soon as they left, Mina and Matha entered from another doorway.

"It looks like someone has already been through here," Mina said, noting the mutant blood on the floor. Matha nearly tripped over something and a voice began to sound.

"Mr. Grave said nothing, but he showed me his computer monitor. I can't describe it, but I saw some results from genetic engineering."

"Genetic engineering?" Matha and Mina said simultaneously.

"Mr. Grave kept silent. A chill ran down my spine. Is the "Pioneer Project" really just an immigration plan!"

"I knew it!" Mina exclaimed to herself. "I knew there was something fishy about this whole thing."

"Alright, we're done," Galactica said thankfully, as T-65 chipped off a piece of red mineral inside Caves 1.

"This was a little too easy," T-65 grunted. "Why don't we just go and find all the minerals we can down here?"

"You're kidding," Galactica said, sweating. "Fighting a Dragon and then coming into this blazing hot pit just isn't enough for you, is it?"

"What, can't take the heat?" T-65 grinned. "No one's stoppin' you from leavin', sis."

"I honestly don't know how you can take this heat so lightly," Galactica sighed. "Very well, then. Let's search the entirety of this blasted maze. At least it gets cooler after this section." The next room was incredibly large. It had lava falls on both sides and a hole in the middle that blasted out a pillar of fire periodically. Galactiva took a moment to take in the sight. "Sometimes, I truly do hate you, T-65."

"Aw, come on," he said optimistically. "At least there aren't any monsters." As soon as they stepped into the room, lines of sharks appeared before them.

"Remind me to hit you if we survive this," Galactica sighed before running into battle with guns blazing. She swept the room back and forth, pausing to let the Mechguns recharge after every few bursts. T-65 picked off anything that hadn't taken enough damage from his sister. Suddenly the doors opened behind them and Miguel and Anne burst through.

"Hey, guys," Miguel said casually as he smashed his Sword into four sharks at once. "Need a little help?"

"Sure," T-65 replied with equal relaxation in his voice.

Anne held her fatally damaged mag in both hands and looked into its visual sensor. "You've helped me out a lot over the years. It's time for you to do one last thing." Then she tossed it into the center of the crowd of sharks. Some sharks were blasted away by the sudden appearance of Farla the Serpent. It spun around in a circle, tearing and burning the monsters as it turned into a circle of fire that spread out just enough to incinerate them all. Anne kicked the nearest corpse to see if it was dead. When it didn't move she nodded approvingly, "That'll do, mag. That'll do." When a Grass Assassin suddenly appeared next to her, she sliced off both of its arms with her Daggers and walked away.

"…Let me just take that out for ya," T-65 said, finishing off the miserable creature. When the door opened once again, Xero and Cicil arrived in time to see all weapons pointed at them.

"Whoa, who, don't shoot!" Xero yelled. Cicil didn't seem to care as she leaned against the doorway panting.

"I…don't think I can…do this," she panted. Then, she stood up straight, "But for Albert…I'll do anything. C'mon, Xero. Lead the way." The Androids silently watched them jog across the cavern and through the other door. When the door opened again, Mina and Matha also met weapons pointed at them.

"Sheesh, is everyone down here?" Miguel said as they lowered their weapons.

"Excuse me," Matha said, jogging by. Mina smiled at them as she followed suit. The Androids glanced at one another and began to jog after them.

It had not taken long for the androids to reach a transporter to Caves 2. On the way, they had explained their quests to one another. The first room they reached seemed to have been cleared of all monsters, judging by the large blast spot in the center of the blue cave. They ran through the next door just as Xero cut down the last Pal Shark.

"I see you finally defeated something," Galactica said, walking into the dark room.

"Shut up," Xero said curtly.

"Actually, I just cast Zalure," Mina said, standing beside the door with Matha, next to a message pod. "He said he needed the experience."

"Shut up," Xero repeated. He went with Cicil through one of the two doors.

"Is that one of Rico's message pods?" T-65 asked.

"No," Matha answered grimly. She then, quietly motioned for Mina to come along through the same door. When the door opened, there stood Xero, looking annoyed. Cicil was jogging right behind him, looking about ready to collapse.

"Dead end," Xero said, walking towards the other door.

"What kind of dead end?" Mina asked.

"The kind with lots of really big rocks blocking the freaking way," Xero grumbled.

"Can…we…please…take…a…break?" Cicil panted.

"Screw that! We're gettin' this over with!" Xero said, walking through the door.

"Looks like we're all going that way," T-65 said, following him.

"Just a second," Mina said, examining the map on her ISL. "According to this, that door leads to a high energy signature, like transporter. The map shows a similar energy signature in a separate area that can't be reached without a transporter. It's a pretty straightforward path, but it's also a dead end."

"Then, what the hell am I supposed to do!" Xero exclaimed.

Mina glanced at her ISL. "Miguel, Anne, you two should check out that passage. There're two energy signatures coming from the end of that passage. Everyone else is with me. We can get through those rocks."

Once Anne and Miguel came out of the transporter and exited the room, they could see several floor switches throughout the room. They could also clearly see trap mines over a few of them. They could also see a puddle of blue slime floating through the wet cave. When the Pofuilly Slime rose out to attack it was quickly splattered by a downward strike with the broad side of Miguel's sword. Meanwhile, Anne destroyed the traps with her Slicer. They activated the switches and opened the next door. Oddly enough, not a word had been said between them.

After exiting through the door, they reached a bright, but very small area. Conveniently enough, there was an android leg lying in the center of the room for Anne to pick up. Lionel was barely able to speak from the ISL. "You foUND Both! Great! TheSE pArtS aRe my oLd friENds. OnLy ONe moRe boDypAart iS left. I fEel likE it is movINg." Anne took note of that, despite its uselessness. Suddenly, Miguel lifted her off the ground.

"Miguel, what are you doing?" Anne demanded. He carried her a few steps and set her down under a healing rig that was tucked into a cranny. He held up his palm, which held the fragment of her bang. As the healing rig came down around her, the hair fragment flew back into place.

"That looks better," Miguel said.

Then, Lionel spoke, "WhAt iF my paRts neVeEr fUncTion aGain? The maiN coNtrOl is installEd in tHe body. It iS verY valUAble. I hEaRd that diSmantlEd androiDs are soLd on the bLAck markEt… WhaT if…foUnd…caN't…speAk…" Anne and Miguel stared at their ISLs.

"…So anyway," Anne began, "I'm sorry I snapped at you like that. I just don't like being saved. It makes me feel…weak."

"It's cool," Miguel answered. "That Hildebear was tougher than all the others. Besides, you can buy me a beer when we get back."

"Sure, but where to next? La cabeza here didn't exactly give us a great clue and he doesn't seem to be holding up well either."

"Let's just head back to the ship. If the black market has him, he's screwed anyway…Besides, when was the last time you ever heard of someone keeping their central control in their body and not their head?" Then he began to laugh at that thought. "I mean, come on! One good hit in the torso and they're done!"

Anne did not look amused at all and set a telepipe. "Hmph! Well, excuse me for being built differently!" She stormed into the pipe and disappeared.

"I think I just kissed that beer goodbye," Miguel sighed.

"It's simple," Mina said confidently as she and the others stood in front of the rocks blocking the path. "You two just lay all your bombs into these key points and the whole wall should collapse."

"How do you know that will be enough?" Galactica asked.

"Because a frozen structure is a weakened structure," Mina said, using an ice spell to freeze over the rocks. "Okay, go for it." T-65 and Galactica ejected their traps and quickly set them into place before backing away. Mina charged dark energy into her hands and waited until the explosives went off. Once they did, she flung the Megid attack into the fray. After the smoke cleared, a door could be seen. They passed through it and into one of the big, bright areas with trees and ponds.

"It looks like we've got company," T-65 said, taking aim as sharks, Poison Lilies, and two Grass Assassins appeared.

"Here we go again," Cicil sighed. All of the monsters were annihilated by a single blast of Mina's Rafoie.

"Hey, I needed that experience!" Xero yelled.

"Sorry, but we're in a hurry," Mina said, running with Matha through the door on the other side of the room.

"Let's try to keep up," Galactica said, taking chase.

"Not more running!" Cicil complained. They all entered a long, but beautiful hallway with walls that reflected the movement of the water. The jellyfish that were floating in the distance quickly scurried away. At the end of the hallway and on the other side of the door, there was a room full of miniature waterfalls and a small rainbow could be seen from their angle.

Cicil looked upon the room as if she were looking at heaven. "Oh, Xero. Thank you so very much! I did it! I finally completed my workout without using a single 'mate. I've got to go right now and weigh myself." She tossed down a telepipe and quickly went through.

"It's about damn time," Xero sighed, walking into the telepipe. "I'll see you guys later."

Matha and Mina were listening to Blant's message pod.

"My only regret is, I've left Matha alone. She was always alone, without her parents. And now, I can no longer take care of her. Matha, listen to me. Your father and mother left without you. It was because they loved you so much. Don't misunderstand. I don't know who is reading this message... but please tell Matha. Tell her that I hope she lives with courage... I'll always be with you. Always...So long..."

"Blant…" Matha said quietly.

"Matha?" Mina asked, approaching her. "Are you…?"

"I'll be okay. Let's go back to Pioneer 2."

"Sure," Mina said casting Ryuker.

"There's plenty of green minerals here," T-65 said as he and his sister gathered a few minerals off the walls.

"Is your sense of adventure satisfied yet?" Galactica asked, taking off her headgear and looking it over.

"What's the matter? Tired?"

"I really don't feel like meandering through this labyrinth any longer," she said.

After another hour of wandering, T-65 and Galactica finally walked into the small room in Caves 3 full of blue minerals. Both were tired, but neither was willing to admit it to the other. Just as they grabbed the minerals, they happened to meet Seth.

"I wasn't expecting to see you two here," he spoke, twirling his golden Gladius. "I guess that means we can start training out here next week."

Once he walked out of the room, Galactica put away her guns and slapped T-65 on the back of his head. "Hey!" he yelled. "What was that for?"

"That was for not reminding me to hit you," she said, slapping him again. "That was for dragging me along with you."

"You coulda' left whenever you wanted," he retorted. "It's not my fault that I like to go a little further than you….Did ya ever wonder what's at the end of the cave?"

"Get in the pipe!" she snapped, setting a telepipe. Before either could enter, Mina walked out of it.

"Hey, you two!" she squealed, smiling mischievously. "How would you like to help Mommy do some research at the end of the Caves?"

"I'm in!" T-65 said before Galactica could object.

"Great! How about you, GA?"

Galactica closed her eyes in frustration and balled her fist. Then, she opened her eyes and smiled cheerfully. "Sure, why not? I don't have anything better to do today. I'm sure Ozwald can wait another few hours for us to get back." She reequipped her Mechguns and marched away.

"It looks like someone's in trouble," Mina said, winking at T-65.

Notes: A nice, long, healthy chapter out of the way. I don't plan to do all the quests, just the ones that make for good filler.

On the next overdue episode of PSO: Sidestory: Mina, Galactica, and T-65 reach the end of the Caves. I think we all know by now what's waiting for them. They might need a little help fighting this unusual creature. Meanwhile, Misha isn't handling Taya's new personality and absence too well. In fact, Taya is staying far away from Misha, setting her sights on Van. The legend is retold in "The Rough Wave." We're back, baby…Only Toonami!