Author's Note: I just want to say thank you to my three reviewers. I wasn't quite sure if I was going to continue this story, especially since Love Angel is threatening to overshadow this and Dark Angel completely. Nevertheless, I have some kind of support for this, so I will continue to work my magic. This chapter is kinda short. Enjoy.
Chapter 1
chaos:
"I hope he's ok. He looks like he's been hurt really bad."
Huh? Voices? Wait…where was I? My eyes gently cracked open, allowing light to spill into their depths automatically. I let out a small hiss of pain and covered my eyes with my hand…that was ungloved. Wait…where were my gloves?
"Look Mommy, he's awake."
Mommy? Wait…am I asleep? The last thing I remembered was the Elsa speeding off, leaving me behind on the Dock Colony…
"W-Where am I?" I asked loudly.
My voice sounded horrible.
"You're on the Camino Dock Colony."
I slowly removed my hands from my eyes and tried to take in my surroundings. There was a little girl with green eyes and black hair standing next to me with curiosity dancing behind her eyes. A woman walked up behind me with a look of concern on his face. It was the same person who served me tea last night.
"You…you saved me…" I said breathlessly.
The woman nodded.
"We found you lying near the Airship Dock after the gnosis vanished. It looked like you had been touched, because you were so pale and your leg was covered with white painful sores."
Ow…it even sounded painful. I sat up as gently as I could and glanced down at my right leg. It was heavily bandaged, but I knew that it was healed all the way. My body automatically healed all types of injuries within hours. It was the first time it had ever been put to use by a gnosis. Well, there was a first time for everything.
"I am eternally grateful to you…um…"
"Maria…and Aria."
"Thank you, Maria and Aria. You are very kind."
Maria smiled.
"We couldn't just leave you to die out there. Someone would tear you apart."
My mind shot back to the conversation we had over tea. I had a way to repay her now…
I fished in my pocket and pulled out my pouch of gil. Because of my employment with the Kukai Foundation, I was very wealthy.
"Here. Take this."
I swooped a large handful of gil out of my pocket. A quick glance told me that I had pulled out over 5,000 dollars worth of gil. That was merely pocket chance for me. Maria looked at me doubtfully.
"I can't take that."
"Yes, you can. Please…it's the least I can do for you saving me."
She approached the bed and took the coins from me.
"Thank you. You are so generous."
"My name is chaos."
Aria giggled.
"That's a funny name."
I know. My name is always funny.
"Thank you, chaos. Now we can move into the better half of the colony," Maria said gratefully.
Now that I had done my good deed, it was time to get back on track. I needed to contact the Elsa and get them to turn around. Also, I wanted to see how my interference in the gnosis attack affected the Colony. I checked my energy supply with a mere touch of my mind. It was on its way back to normal from last night. This was fine, especially since I wasn't planning on fighting any battles today.
"Is there any chance that you have a U.M.N. station on the colony? I need to contact my ship so that I can get back home."
"Yeah, there's one downtown. I can take you down there if you want."
"Thank you."
"Mommy, he needs a cloak. The police might arrest him."
"Because I look like a mutant, right?" I guessed.
Maria shook her head.
"No, it's just that people have become paranoid lately with rumors of mutants living in the Colony. Your appearance might arouse suspicion."
"I see. I understand."
7:53 A.M.
chaos:
The Camino Colony was a rather large colony, filled with thousands of people. The downtown area was filled with all kinds of normal human beings. Maria and Aria were right about the suspicion. Even with a large hood over my head, my silver hair and aquamarine eyes drew unwelcome and sometimes, hostile stares. I felt no fear for the most part, at all. Like I said before, I was used to people hating me at some point.
The U.M.N. Center was located in the middle of the downtown area, surrounded by plants and flowers. This must be apart of the better part of the Colony.
"Maria…could you show me the other side of the Colony?" I asked softly.
"Yes, I can show you that later."
We walked through the doors into the lightly air conditioned building. I left Maria's side and walked to one of the nearby stations. I entered the keys in for the Elsa and held my breath. I hope Hammer kept the communications link up. Hammer's face popped up on the screen, along with plenty of static.
"I see that the Elsa's functioning poorly since I left," I commented dryly.
"F-Funny, chaos. By the way, it's good to see that you're still alive."
"Yeah, it's going to take a lot to kill me. So, how soon can you turn around?"
"Um…I'm not certain. The Elsa has to be repaired at the Foundation again, thanks to Tony."
The Kukai Foundation was about two weeks away from here.
"Do what you can, Hammer."
"Are you sure?"
"Don't worry. I'll be fine. Just get back safely."
"Understood."
The window blinked off.
"Are you friends ok?" Maria asked.
I turned around.
"Yeah, they'll be fine. It may take a long time for them to get me."
Maria touched my hand gently.
"Don't worry, we'll keep you safe until then. Come on, Aria should have breakfast ready to go."
Maybe there was a reason why I was here. Maybe there was something else I could do…
8:16 A.M.:
Aria's breakfast consisted of eggs and hashbrowns. It wasn't a lot, but it tasted much better than I was used to. Aria had a flair for cooking, that's for sure.
"This was excellent, Aria. Really it was," I said softly.
Aria smiled and nodded as she took the plates away from the table.
"I can help you with that, Aria," I suggested as I rose from the table.
"Ok."
Maria's daughter sat the dishes down in the sink and motioned for me to come over. With a sink full of lukewarm water and soap, we managed to get the dishes down within minutes.
"Hey, chaos, it's time to take a walk!"