Yeah, I don't own anything of Capcom's, blah blah blah, we know this already... well, there is also a brief reference to a Psyduck in here, and I don't own that either, nor do I want to. By the way, for all interested, I managed to fix the links in my bio so they actually work now.

Chapter 14

A week went by. It was a week longer than I would have liked. Mayu returned with her own report of the Resistance situation and I attempted to prepare my slightly ravaged Rekku army for the possibly of another battle, this time with our unknown enemy. The Jin'en forces had not faired much better; the only army left at full power was the Meikai army, and that would not be much help on land. There was a river in Pinnacle Canyon, but somehow I doubted that the enemy would reside in it. Of course, there was also the possibility of finding nothing in Pinnacle Canyon, which, in turn, meant another dead end.

"You're doing it again. What's wrong?" Mayu stared at me evenly from the other side of my desk, seated casually in the leather chair that she seemed to have claimed as her own. She flicked a trailing strand of dark brown hair over her shoulder and waited expectantly.

"What am I doing?" I wondered sourly. "And what isn't wrong?"

She shrugged. "You're biting your lower lip. You always do that when you're frustrated."

"In other words, he does it a lot." Li buzzed from one upper corner of the room to another, paying little attention to any one thing for very long. She had calmed down slightly since she had first accompanied me back to base. I still had no luck trying to convince her to let me run tests or diagnostics, but her antics had sobered a bit, partially since she knew by now that I would most definitely ignore her if she was not reasonable.

"I suppose I have been doing that a lot lately," I answered tiredly. "And Li's right; I have been frustrated a lot, too." I chuckled slightly. " I know it's getting bad when my lip starts bleeding."

Mayu made a face. "You're weird. Anyway, be glad that the Resistance is hunkered down licking their wounds for the time being. It'll give us time to reorganize a bit."

I sighed. "Thing is, we still need to investigate Pinnacle Canyon, since whatever was in the forest isn't… there anymore." Because Fefnir blew it up. I allowed myself a smirk and figured that Mayu knew what I was talking about.

She chuckled lightly. "I'll say. I made it out there last week to scrape through your handiwork. Fef was… pretty thorough."

I grinned, my mood lightening considerably from what it had been a few minutes before. "You saw, it huh? I'm surprised you had the time."

"Hey, the Resistance doesn't keep that tight a leash on me. They'll buy almost any excuse." she leaned back, looking at me through partially lidded eyes. "They're not expecting me back for a few days; what say we investigate the canyon together?"

I frowned. "I don't know. Perhaps Fefnir and Leviathan should do that…"

Her face fell to an unpleasant expression. "So we sit here and rot, then. May as well throw cards into a hat."

"Don't be like that," I chided gently. "You don't know what we may find there; it could be dangerous, and you're the only spy in the Resistance that we have."

"I can handle myself in a fight," she scowled. "You know that by now."

I shook my head. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're not as powerful as I or the other Guardians. You're a good fighter, but I don't think you have the endurance that we do."

"I know that," she snapped "But if we're investigating, then there shouldn't be any fighting; if you're so worried about losing your 'spy,' then you could just be ready to have us transed back if there's trouble." She put heavy, resentful emphasis on the word "spy," causing me to look at her curiously.

"You're the one who agreed to be our mole into the Resistance. Why so bitter about it now?"

Her frown deepened and she looked down. "Maybe I don't like being thought of as nothing but a tool of war. You could say the same thing about an X drone."

My expression softened. "I don't want to lose a friend, either. But I thought that went without saying."

She smiled slightly, still not looking up. "Maybe it did… and maybe it didn't." She finally met my eyes, a small smile still playing across her lips. "You and Fef are my friends, no two ways about it. I just wasn't sure what opinion you held about it"

I shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not really used to having friends outside the Guardians. Running a war is an ugly business, and one in which people generally don't like you very much"

She grinned. "Kinda like me in the beginning. But hey, I got over it." Her expression turned serious again. "But I'm not going to drop the subject about investigating. Rest assured I'll go without you if you won't let me go with you."

"Why are you so insistent on going? Why is it so important to you, as long as someone does it?"

"Don't you get it?" she asked, almost a little sadly. "I was in this before you even knew about it. I want to see it through; I want to stay involved as much as I can." She was looking at me now, and I thought I caught a hint of pleading in her eyes. "We can back out of this at any time. We'll set up the transfers ahead of time, just in case."

"Why?" I wondered, shaking my head slowly from side to side before meeting her dark-eyed gaze. "Why is it so important to you?"

"It just is," she mumbled noncommittally. "Can't explain it; it's just a matter of having been there from the start, I guess."

"I suppose I can understand," I admitted grudgingly. "But still, it seems like a gross unnecessary risk for you to go there. They could block our transfer, you know; all they would have to do is jam the radio."

"That's not too likely," she countered. "There's no reason for them to be emitting a jamming signal when they don't think there's anyone uninvited around. They would only do that in preparation for battle, and I don't think they would detect us that fast."

I leaned my elbows on my desk and stared at her with a steady gaze. She looked away after a moment and fidgeted uncomfortably.

"You have to promise that you will transfer if the situation becomes unstable. It would be a perfect waste of resources to lose you to a mission like this."

She rolled her eyes. "You're real sentimental, Y'know?"

"I know," I muttered tonelessly. "I'm a regular well of emotions."

She looked at me dourly for a moment, pretending to be angry, but the facade cracked and she turned her face away, trying to cover her snickers with one tightly clenched fist over her mouth. "You are a jerk," she laughed. "And I'm not sure why, but that's funny."

I chuckled in response. "It's a good thing that not everybody around here thinks I'm as funny as you do, or I may have a hard time giving orders."

"You're not so sarcastic around them," she pointed out.

"No," I sighed, "you bring out the worst in me."

"Yeah, but you love me anyway."

I gave her a dry look. "Uh-huh." I pushed some papers to the side of my desk, attempting to accomplish a rather poor impression of neatness. Li promptly landed on them and the whole stack tipped and fell to the floor. "Li," I sputtered angrily, "you're really starting to try my sanity…"

"What sanity?" Mayu put in dryly. I gave her an icy glare.

"You can't insult my Harpy-boy!" Li snapped, hovering above her mess. "All you are is a lousy spy anyway. No one cares what you have to say."

"Give it a rest, Li," I muttered, closing my eyes and rubbing the space between them with my thumb and forefinger. When I looked back at Mayu she was eyeing the obnoxious little cyber-elf disdainfully.

"All right, fine, we'll investigate the canyon," I conceded, wanting nothing more at the moment than to get out of my office.

"Me too!" Li chirped happily, causing me to wince.

"Uh… no." I braced myself for the argument that was sure to come.

"Whatever," Li said, crossing her arms.

Even worse than I thought, I grumbled in my mind. She's not going to argue; she's just going to do it.

Li buzzed around excitedly, her color changing rapidly back and forth between orange and plum. "A mission! We're outta here; I'm goooone!"

I groaned inwardly, while Mayu so did out loud. "I changed my mind," she complained. "I don't want to. I have little enough sanity left without that bug making things worse."

I sighed. "There's nothing to be done about it; either she goes with, or we take drastic, unrealistic measures to stop her."

"How 'bout a lousy can of Raid," she mumbled, low enough that Li could not hear her, but loud enough that I could.

I kept a straight face, although my eyes were laughing. "If only it were that easy. Well, are you coming? You've convinced me to go. If you're not going to, I'll take Aztec Falcon."

She shrugged. "Yeah, whatever, I'll go. I'll live."

"We're going!" Li sang out. "…Where are we going?"

I glanced at Mayu. "Is it too late for that can of Raid?"

The air was dry and dusty, and the exposed dirt on the ground shown a dull, infertile yellow. A few hearty plants poked through the dehydrated earth, slowly dying in the hot sun. We were at the top of the canyon looking down at the pristine, aqua river. A small amount of greenery studded the bank like spilled sequins, seeming almost out of place. I looked down the rocky, unforgiving cliff, and then back up at the stone spire in the distance that had given the canyon its name. It was a majestic, yet uninviting scene, and a harsh breeze blew across my face.

"I'll fly us down," I told Mayu, eyeing the unsteady climbing surface, which looked as though many of the rocks jutting out could give way with a touch.

Mayu shrugged. "Whatever you say. I could climb it, but you probably don't want to wait."

"I probably don't want you to fall and break your neck," I interjected dryly.

"Let her climb!" Li cried eagerly, and there was no doubt in my mind as to what prompted the request.

"Remind me to order an elf containment field from the base supply warehouse when we get back," I muttered caustically. Mayu heard me and smiled.

"Well, since climbing's out, shall we?" she said, gesturing to the edge of the ravine.

I nodded and wrapped one arm about her waist, lifting her easily to hop over the drop-off. I decided to freefall most of the way, but gradually kicked in my boosters about three fourths of the way down, slowing the descent enough to set us both gently on the hard ground. Li trailed after us, flickering violet, and came to rest on my head.

"Get your hands off her, Harpy-boy! You could at least be subtle!" the cyber-elf scoffed.

"Subtle? Subtly drop her off the cliff?" I questioned expressionlessly, turning a dark gaze on the sprite.

"Sounds like fun, " Mayu grumbled sarcastically. "Why don't we try it sometime?" She glanced at Li. "If she goes first…"

I shrugged, walking away and hopefully leaving the conversation behind. "Enough. We're here for a reason, in case you forgot."

Mayu folded her arms over her breasts and trotted along to keep up, shooting an irritated glare at the flickering ball of orange and purple light that resided on my helmet. "Li," she asked, half curious, half annoyed, "what do you even do?"

"I can block some forms of energy," she shrugged. "Ask Harpy-boy. I saved his little green butt!"

"You did not," I growled. "It would have hurt, but I would have lived through it just fine."

"Hmph," Li sniffed indignantly. "Why do you have to be so ungrateful?"

"What about your permanent ability?" Mayu prodded, keeping pace steadily along side me.

"Permanent?" Li seemed puzzled for a moment before taking flight from my helmet and weaving frantically through the air in a complex, confusing pattern. "I'm never telling you! No one will ever use me, I swear it! I'm not just a program, I'm…"

"Whoa, chill out," Mayu cut in. "I have no interest in using you. I just wanted to know." She rolled her eyes and stared at the fairy-like ball of light. "I mean, I'm assuming that you're a modified nurse-type, right?"

"Nope!" Li stated proudly. "I'm a hacker! But no one will ever know what I do!"

"Do you even know?" Mayu wondered blatantly, giving the elf a meaningful glare.

Li did not answer and flew back to land on my helmet, sitting straight-backed against one fin. "Not telling You don't need to know anything." I felt her thump lightly on the top of my head. What is she doing up there?

"Well, I can see she's as much of a charmer as she was a week and a half ago," Mayu said blandly. "You really have a way with women, Sage."

I gave her what was meant to be an intimidating glare, but it wore quickly into an amused expression. "You know, Leviathan says that your habit of saying everything out loud is starting to rub off on me."

"Maybe it is," she grinned. "The capacity to insult people without them entirely knowing they've been insulted is a fun thing."

"I guess it depends on the intelligence level of the individual in question," I pointed out.

"Yeah, you, for instance, always know when you've been insulted." She grinned innocently. "Not that I would ever dare to insult you…"

"You're a bad liar," I muttered.

She fell silent, and we walked in an unspoken agreement that the banter should cease, since we may be getting close to- What are we looking for, anyway? I realized that I was not sure what to expect to find here, if anything at all. A base? An encampment? Something like before, in the forest? I supposed that , since we were running on guess-work alone, it was quite possible that we were jumping at shadows. Still… can we really afford to take the chance? Neo-Arcadia is not in a good position right now, and letting an enemy slip through the cracks- especially one we know so little about- could have dire consequences.

Mayu glanced over at me and gave me a tight-lipped smile, sensing my tension and seeming to understand. Thankfully, even Li had fallen silent, and we pressed forward, staying in the shadows of the fallen boulders. We were using a mild, very short-range signal jammer to cloak us from enemy radar, although if someone observant enough were to be paying attention, they may have noticed a slight irregularity on the screen. I found myself hoping that the enemy tended not to pay attention to details.

Mayu elbowed my arm silently and pointed. I followed the direction of her finger with my eyes and saw the canyon's namesake rock looming close at the top of the peak, casting a heavy shadow over the valley floor. Interesting scenery, yet I did not see what was so important about it. I shrugged, indicating my confusion.

Mayu shook her head and pointed again, moving her finger down to follow the line of a crack in the solid rock wall. The split widened near the bottom, and water rushed out, ever-eroding away the limestone. I gestured to the hole and shook my head. You think there's something in there?

Letting out an exasperated breath, she pulled my ear down to her mouth and muttered, "Crevasses like that sometimes lead to a larger network of water-carved caves."

"You think the base might be inside the rock?" I whispered back. It sounded possible, yet somehow improbable.

"We won't know unless we look. Do you think we can get in there without drowning ourselves?" She glanced at the opening nervously.

"We're reploids. We don't drown," I pointed out.

"It was figured of speech," she hissed.

Li suddenly flew down between us. "Whispering's lying and lying's a sin; when you get to heaven they won't let you in!"

"Shh," I commanded. "Anyway, I think I have much greater sins on my list than lying."

"Don't we all," Mayu said under her breath, low enough that I was not sure if I was meant to hear. "War seems to steal everyone's innocence."

We approached the edge of the river uneasily, since there was no real cover to conceal us. It was perhaps a bit foolish to worry about it, since cover or not, we probably would have been spotted anyway, had anyone been there to spot us. The water gushed violently from the hole in a torrent, allowing for perhaps five feet of tight passage above it. Obviously, we were going to have to get our feet wet. The rushing river stood between us and the cave, and I nudged Mayu's arm slightly to get her attention and gestured to our goal with my chin. "The current's strong. I'll fly us over."

Once on the other side, I pushed her in ahead of me, careful that she not slip while looking for purchase on the water-slicked stone.

"Stop grabbing her butt!" Li hissed venomously. I rolled my eyes.

"Grow up, Li."

She crossed her arms. "I'm already fully grown! And you're the one acting like a hormonal teenager!"

I heard Mayu's laugh echo from the cave. "Wow, Sage. Never knew you were such a perv…"

"Just go already," I ground, giving her a shove to augment the command. Unfortunately, the only available part of her to shove was her protruding backside, and this sent Li into a spastic little flight around my head.

"Pervert! Pervert!" she screamed in my face, upside-down.

"You're the one flying around naked," I pointed out dryly.

"I'm an elf! I don't have to wear clothes," she scoffed, as though she were too good to be socially acceptable. Apparently, she thinks she is. At least, that's what her personality has seemed to demonstrate so far.

I slipped in behind Mayu, gazing into the near-blackness beyond- what I could see past her stooped form, anyway. The space was cramped, but I discovered that there was approximately a foot and a half of extra room under the water. Mayu could actually stand up straight, but I had to lean down a bit, occasionally scraping the fins on my helmet on the ceiling. I finally gave up and phased off my helmet for the time being, now able to stand at my full height- barely.

Mayu sloshed forward, fighting the strong current and placing a hand on the wall to steady herself. As we made our way deeper into the fissure, I decided that I was actually somewhat grateful for Li's flickering presence, like a scintillating violet and tangerine torch. My eyes could see clearly in even the smallest amount of light, but what little daylight seeped into the entrance was fading fast, and the darkness beyond only promised to grow ever deeper. The sound of running water echoed from deep inside the cave and I knew that we may end up swimming if the shape of the tunnel changed. I looked back over my shoulder to see how far we had come. The bright opening was little more than a spot now. Suddenly, something crashed into the side of my head, scraping harshly at the unprotected flesh. I back-peddled, growling at the low-hanging ceiling that was the cause of my problem.

"You alright?" Mayu called over her shoulder, looking back at me.

"You should have warned me that the ceiling dropped, since you're in front," I grumbled.

"Hey, I didn't know. Being short has its benefits," she shrugged. We continued on, I rubbing my sore head and keeping a sharp eye out for any more "surprises" courtesy of the ceiling. Li's light revealed just enough of the surrounding limestone to prevent us from running into a wall- or hitting our heads on a low ceiling. If we're paying attention, I thought ruefully. The roof of the cave continued to close down on us until we both were bent over uncomfortably. Water sprayed past us, up to our knees in most places, but reaching our thighs in some. Our time traveling seemed like an eternity, marked only by the varying levels of the rock above and the water below.

Eventually, we were forced to progress on our hands and knees, and the stream splashed up into my face and drenched my hair. Belatedly, I phased my helmet on again, partially to keep my sopping hair off of my face and out of my mouth. I could only imagine what sort of problems Mayu was having with her waist-length hair. I did not notice that the water was getting deeper until it gushed up my nose, and I bumped into Mayu, who had stopped in front of me. I sneezed twice, my body's attempt to force the water back out of my nostrils, and backed up to get my face away from Mayu's back-end. Inwardly, I was glad that Li had apparently missed that, or she certainly would have reamed me out for being a "pervert."

"What is it?" I questioned softly, not wanting to make my voice echo, as she turned to the side and leaned her back against the cave wall, shivering slightly.

"Um… the tunnel seems to continue on, but it's under water," she answered uncertainly.

"So?" I shrugged. "We swim and see if we can find an outlet."

"And if we don't?" she still sounded nervous, and I looked at her curiously.

"We swim back." I sat against the wall several feet away and watched her.

"Uh… I don't really… uh… do so well underwater…" she clarified uneasily. "I really can't do that unless there's an air hole somewhere very close…"

I stared at her incredulously. "A reploid doesn't need to breath; our bodies can extract enough oxygen from water to continue functioning." I narrowed my eyes. "You're… not a reploid, are you?"

She seemed to shrink against the wall, knowing that she had been found out. She looked up at me, and then looked down again, unsure of how to answer.

"You mean that I have been putting a human I danger all of this time?!" I was more than a little alarmed at this prospect, and perhaps just a hint angry at being mislead. I never even thought to run a scan on her.

She looked away sheepishly. "You didn't put me in danger; it was my choice. I just can't sit back and make the reploids fight a war over the humans' well-being without doing something about it. It's not right."

The expression on my face was a mixture of shock, exasperation, and anger. "That's why we're fighting; to protect humans! It doesn't make it any easier to do when you willingly throw yourself in danger."

She smacked the water with her fist. "Don't you get it? That's all wrong. You reploids are just as important. A sentient being has a soul; a life. No matter how it came into being, a gift like that should never be thrown away."

I was not sure how to answer. When I had thought she was a reploid, I would have argued against her, but now I was too surprised to hear those words coming from a human. All I could manage was a shake of my head. I think my brain just died. I was suddenly aware of Li poking my cheek. "Can I help you?"

She ignored me and flitted over to Mayu, doing the same to her. "Well, you seem the same to me," she proclaimed at last. I almost smiled, but not quite. Things are so simple for some people.

"Sage…" Mayu broke into my thoughts. "Don't be angry. You of all people should understand the need to fight for a cause."

"I understand," I began slowly, "but because of your dishonesty, I could have been responsible for the death of a human. As it is, you came to harm because of me."

"No, I did not," she denied. "Everything I've done has been my choice. It was my choice to help you, it was my choice to fight the demi-dragons, it was my choice to pretend to be a reploid so that no one would tell me not to fight."

I scowled. "Well, I'm telling you now. I'm ordering you, actually; go back to your home and stay there. This is no place for a young woman."

The slap was unexpected, stinging my cheek and making my eyes widen in surprise. I recovered myself and looked at her with a cold gaze. "You would dare to strike me? The master of Neo-Arcadia?"

"I just did, didn't I?" She clenched her fists. "I don't care who you are… you can't tell me that I can't fight for my own cause!"

"Calm down and lower your voice," I growled. "We're going back to base to discuss this."

"Not until we finish this scouting mission," she insisted.

"Last time I checked, I was in charge, not you. And besides that, you already admitted that this is a dead-end for you." I crossed my arms, glaring at her in triumph.

"I said I didn't know; you'd have to check it out to see if it's safe for me."

I shook my head. "No. I'm not risking a human life."

"Is that any worse than risking a reploid life? A life's still a life." She edged away from me just a bit, and I hoped that she did not plan to dive into the water.

"This is ridiculous," I answered adamantly. "A reploid wouldn't be at risk from drowning. There's no good reason for you to go in."

"I'm already here," she pointed out. "I may as well do what I can. All it would take is for you to see if it's short enough for me to swim."

This is going nowhere, I grumbled to myself. We can't just sit here and argue all day. I need to either transfer now or just check the blasted tunnel. Since we're already here, and apparently undetected, it would seem more prudent to go on with the investigation. I could always order her to stay behind if it looks too dangerous. I cringed. As if she'll listen. I wordlessly crawled past her to where the roof of the tunnel seemed to disappear into the water. I glanced back at her. "I'm only doing this so I don't have to come back here a second time. Not because you asked."

"Of course," she said dryly, refusing to look at me.

"Li, if you don't mind, I need a light," I commanded, and surprisingly the glowing entity simply preceded me without complaint. I slipped into the cold water, allowing it to envelope me, and holding my breath. I did not need to, but if I breathed water, I would end up spitting it for at least ten minutes after.

The cave's sides were close enough that my hands occasionally brushed them as I swam. Li provided just enough light to keep me from crashing into a wall, but it was hard to tell which shadows were only shadows and which may lead to an opening somewhere. I explored all of these and finally found one that looked promising. Propelling myself through to poke my head above the surface, I took a few quick breaths, refilling my lungs, and pulled myself out. I sat and stared at the dark water, contemplating Mayu and what to do about her.

That she refuses to remain idle and wishes to fight for her cause- that I respect. I respect it a lot. But I still can't justify putting her in danger- or letting her put herself in danger. I realize that she is a competent fighter, and the style that she chose to fight with does not rely on strength, so it doesn't suffer from her lack of it. However, the fact remains that if something were to happen to her- and in a war like this, it probably will- there's not much we can do. I don't want to be responsible for a human life.

"Who knew the ugly girl wasn't a reploid?" Li said, interrupting my mental monologue. "I guess I can forgive her for being ugly, since she's a human."

I looked at her strangely. "She looks perfectly normal to me. Anyway, I'm just not sure what to do with her now. She shouldn't be involved in this, but I have a feeling that alienating her from the base won't stop her from getting into trouble."

"So?" Li shrugged. "Just let her keep doing what she's doing. It's not like the Resistance is gonna know what she's doing. And if it looks like they're gonna find her, then we pull her out."

"I figured you'd want her as far away as possible," I said to the sprite incredulously. "I got the impression that you hate her… maybe from when you said, 'I hate her?'"

She did a little flip in the air and rolled her eyes. "Well, we need a spy, and she's a spy, right?"

I sighed. What Li said made a certain kind of sense, in a way, and it was sort of… scary. "I dunno," I muttered. "For now, I should just leave her there where it's safe and continue scouting by myself."

Li shrugged. "Of course, that would mean that she'd be all alone… and defenseless… and she might try to get out, or to come after you to see if you made it... and- and-" Her eyes grew round and watery. "You have to go back for her, Sage! We can't just leave her all alone and unprotected in some dark cave!"

"Wh- what?" I managed. "Li, you look… concerned. That's not like you at all."

Her color changed to orange and remained steady. "It's in my programming! I'm not s'pose to let anything happen to a human!"

"Since when did you give a mechaniloid's posterior about programming?" A mechaniloid's posterior? Where on earth did I come up with that?

"I only ignore the part of my programming that says I have to die… But other people aren't supposed to get hurt, either, and humans…"

An elf with a self-preservation instinct, and a definition between life and death… Huh. A fluke in programming? Or is it there for a reason? I looked at my tiny companion in a new light, wondering not for the first time what she did. Most elves follow the orders of their masters without question. Is there a reason that this one doesn't?

Li tugged on one of the fins on my helmet, trying to pull me back to the water, although I could barely feel her efforts. "Come on Harpy-boy! You know how she is; she might try something stupid if we don't hurry up!"

I sighed, and for once I knew the elf was right. Slipping back into the inky water, I discovered that the swim itself was not very far, as long as I knew where I was going. She could make it, as long as she follows me. I debated telling Mayu the contrary, but discarded the idea as a bad one. I don't need to turn into a liar just to get my way. If I want her to go back to the base, all I have to do is activate the portable trans. She can tag along- until I actually find something. I broke the surface of the water, pulling in a few grateful breaths of air.

Mayu was still sitting in the water where I had left her, and by the dim glow of Li's light it appeared that she was still stewing over our argument. Although she obviously had heard me come up out of the water, she chose not to look at me.

"You can't sit and sulk forever," I admonished. "Don't act like a child."

She glowered at me for a moment and looked away again. How old is she, anyway?

"Then again," I shrugged, "perhaps you are just a child. What is your age?"

"Twenty," she mumbled. "Not a child. But young enough to be reckless."

"I'll say." I was standing in water up to my waist and quickly growing tired of it. "Hurry up and follow me. It's short enough even for you to swim, and I don't have all day to wait."

"Even for me to swim? What the heck's that supposed to mean? Are you insulting me because I'm a human?" She began making her way over to me.

"No, I am simply trying to illustrate how ridiculous it is that you are here." I slipped back into the water until only my head was not covered. "Be grateful. I still have a good mind to trans you back to base, even if it means I'll have to come back here again or send a scouting team." I dove back under the surface, not waiting for a reply. Li hovered in front of me, playing the guide back to the opening I had found before, and I pulled myself out of the water, hoping that Mayu would have no trouble finding her way. Li dropped back into the stream to be sure, and I watched her ever-changing light waver beneath the rippling flow.

Mayu came up sputtering for breath and began shivering uncontrollably. "Oh, gosh, that's frickin' cold…" She stumbled up onto the rock and wrapped her arms around her knees.

I stuck my finger in the water. "Fifty-one point oh-two-five degrees Fahrenheit," I clarified.

"Show off," she glared.

I ignored her and stood up, looking around to take in detailed account of my surroundings. The river still poured through the center of the cavern, but there was a bank that had been carved by years of flow that would allow us to travel without getting our feet wet, so to speak. Although narrow, it provided a natural path. I began walking up this trail, Mayu following and shivering.

"What are the odds that we're really going to find something here?" Mayu wanted to know.

I gave her a slightly annoyed look. "You're the one who seemed to think that there was something in here. Having second thoughts when we've already come through what was probably the worst of it is a waste."

She shrugged and her expression turned irritable. "You're the one who thought there was something here in Pinnacle Canyon in the first place. I just thought that if there was a cave network, they may utilize that since it would be pretty defensible."

"Defensible," I said thoughtfully, "But easily blocked in."

"Unless there's multiple exits," she pointed out. "These water-carved caverns can be complex as beehives."

I nodded contemplatively. "Of course, that would also imply that this cave has one or more main entrances. Moving in and out through the hole that we entered obviously wouldn't work. Evidently, this end of the network is not used for anything, since I have seen no signs of habitation. I guess whether or not we will find anything further on remains to be seen."

Mayu gave me a bored look. "I don't suppose you have anything to say that isn't obvious."

I shot a glare at her. "For a time, I had hoped you would learn some respect. I've pretty much given up on that now."

She shrugged. "Well, the Resistance certainly won't suspect someone as casual as I am of working for Neo-Arcadia, so I guess I'm just keeping up the act."

I crossed my arms. "And the Resistance tolerates you acting this way all of the time?"

"Hey, they like me there. They don't have too many girls around, so I guess even one as boring as me sparks some interest." She squinted ahead at Li, trying to make out what was further on.

"I guess the Resistance shoulders really are desperate for company in that case," I smirked.

She stared at me blankly. "Did you just say Resistance… shoulders?"

I stopped mid-stride and glanced at her from the corner of my eye. "I… did, didn't I?"

Suddenly, Li was close by my head, laughing hard enough that her shining form quivered. Her color flickered from one to the other like a manic strobe-light. "Shoulders…" she giggled, and Mayu laughed as well. "Harpy-boy got tongue-tied!"

"I really don't see why that's so funny, I grumbled, although I could feel my face heat considerably. Okay, so maybe I can. But it certainly doesn't help the fact that they both need to take me more seriously.

"I'm- I'm sorry, Sage," Mayu chuckled, regaining some of her composure. She dropped a hand onto my shoulder. "Coming from you, I didn't quite expect it."

"Hands off, wench!" Li cried, diving at Mayu's hand. The woman removed her grip at the last moment and the now-violet elf crashed into my shoulder and bounced back.

"Calm down," I chastised the cyber-elf. "You're going to hurt yourself- if that's possible."

Li floated back up to land on my head and lean against a fin. She began mumbling something uncomplimentary about Mayu, but I did not bother to pay attention to what.

Mayu let out a heavy sigh. "Some things never change…"

"However, our surroundings just have," I realized out loud, putting a hand on Mayu's arm to stop her. "See the adjoining tunnel up ahead?"

Yeah," she answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course there's a tunnel; we're in a cave. There's lot's of-"

"Shut up!" I hissed at the pixie on my helmet. "You trying to get us caught?"

"Oh, yeah right, like anyone's gonna hear me," Li sniffed indignantly, although she did lower her voice considerably.

"Anyway," I continued as though I had not been interrupted, "that path has been used recently."

Mayu squinted, but finally shook her head. "How can you tell?"

"'Cause he's a psycho!" Li chirped. "Or psychic? Or psychotic? Or psychokinetic? Hm… or is it Psyduck? Or schizophrenic…" Li continued to name off any words that began with "Ps" or "S." Mayu and I shared a bemused glance.

I pointed to a nearby wall. "See this delicate mineral formation?"

The woman examined it thoughtfully. "It's amazing."

I blew on a corner of it and that small chunk fell apart. "It takes very little to disturb it. Preserving a formation like this is next to impossible in a heavily traveled area." Now I gestured to the other tunnel. "Look at that one."

She glared at me. "I can't see that much detail from this far."

"Syncopated!" Li proclaimed with finality. We both stared at her.

"That's not even close," Mayu and I managed at the same time.

"Anyway, sorry. Move closer then."

She did and discovered that most of the calcium deposit had formed a loose, white powder on the floor. "Huh. So I guess this means we found our enemy."

"Maybe." I stepped over to the film on the floor and brushed it with my fingertip, leaving a shallow trail behind. " I don't see any footprints, though. And it looks like farther down the tunnel the formations are intact. I don't think this passageway is in use, only passed by- by the same route we're going."

"Maybe this is one of their unused exits?"

I shook my head. "No idea. Perhaps we should explore that possibility; we may need a quick exit."

Mayu shivered almost imperceptibly. "I'd love to see some daylight."

"I'm really not much for enclosed spaces, either," I admitted. "I was designed to fly; this environment doesn't particularly compliment that."

In unspoken agreement, we turned down the path, trying to be careful not to leave any signs of our passing. "I think you may be right," I told her. "The air is warmer and not as stale here."

" I wouldn't know," she reminded me. "It would have to be a bigger difference than that for me to be able to tell."

"I realize that; I just thought you might like to know." We kept going in utter silence, taking care to make our footfalls as light as possible. After perhaps half an hour, I became aware of a light, dry breeze and what may have been a hint of daylight.

"Li, fly ahead and make sure there's no surprises," I ordered.

"Oh, sure, fine, boss me around, I don't care-" she complained all the way out of sight, and Mayu and I used the meager light to progress forward after her.

"All right, so if it's an exit, do we leave, or go back in?" Mayu wanted to know.

"I would say we go back," I answered. "We have no true evidence that there's enemy occupation here, and we need it if we're going to stage an attack."

We rounded the corner and were met with the bright sun shining in our faces. Li fluttered back and sat on my shoulder, silent for once. We emerged on a bluff above the canyon and across from Pinnacle Rock, rewarding us a spectacular view. "Perfect," I nodded.

"Perfect?" Mayu asked incredulously. "We're at least three-hundred feet up! How can we make a fast escape-" She cut herself off and glanced at the boosters on my back. "…Oh, yeah…"

I smiled and laughed silently. "Slipped your mind?"

Her face flushed. "Uh… yeah," she admitted.

I turned and quickly entered the cave again. "Come on, now that we're sure we can get out, we need to find out what's inside." We made the trek back to the juncture mildly quicker than we had the walk out, partially because it was downhill, and partially because we were more familiar with the many twists and turns and false tunnel entrances. Although Li's light was still needed, we did not have to spend quite so much time squinting at our surroundings to determine what was what. After what seemed like a small eternity, we were again at the path's split, and ready to take the unexplored direction.

"You stay behind me," I warned Mayu. Perhaps it was just my protective nature toward humans coming out now that I knew her secret, but I was suddenly very leery of any possible surprises, and I was unwilling to allow her to be at any more risk than absolutely necessary. "Don't get any crazy thoughts in your head of trying to be a hero if we get attacked," I added after a small amount of thought. She's put herself in danger because of me before, I thought, recalling our battle in the city with the demi-dragons I never even knew that a human would stand up and fight like that… perhaps they're not as helpless as I originally thought. I glanced at my petite traveling companion; small build, short stature- definitely no warrior. And yet she still fights. She even fought me, Iremembered with a start. If I had… That would have been disastrous. Idecided that I did not want to think of it any longer, it wasa disturbing enough topic. It did,however, cause a small amount of anger to wellin my gut at Mayu'sdishonesty and what it could have cost the both of us.

"What's bothering you?" the said person inquired, a curious expression on her pale-skinned features. "You have that 'look'."

"'Look?'" I wondered, but Li interrupted me before I could question any further.

"You're bothering him, wench! So shut up and do something useful!" The little elf flew in a figure-eight in front of us, orange, then violet, then orange again.

Well, she's half-right… for once. Mayu seemingly ignored the fairy and watched me, awaiting a reply.

"What look?" I wanted to know. I had not realized that I had been making any notable facial expressions.

"You looked… perturbed… or something…" She frowned. "Is it me?"

"Yes, actually," I admitted. "You lied about yourself; what if I had killed you when we fought, not knowing? I would have had the blood of a human on my hands. I may even have been labeled a maverick."

"Two things," she began. "First, I don't recall ever actually saying that I was a reploid, at least in the beginning; you just assumed." Her frown deepened and she looked over at me. "Second, and most important; would you have let me fight if you had known? Would you have even given me a chance?"

"You fought me!" I exclaimed, more than a little angry about the matter. "Why, in the name of X, would you do something like that? You had to know you would never stand a chance against a Guardian."

"Hey, I beat you, remember?" she pointed out petulantly. "So don't tell me I stood no chance."

"Only because I nearly passed out," I said acidly. "Only because you insisted on a "fair" fight after I had fallen over two-hundred feet."

"Even so, that's not too bad for a lowly human, now is it?" She folder her arms over her chest and glared.

I shook my head. "Not my point. My point is, why? what does it gain for you to nearly throw your life away?"

"The same thing that it gains for every other warrior fighting for a cause," she said as though it should be obvious.

"And fighting against me was your cause?" I ground. 'When all I've done is try to protect your kind?"

"I… was wrong," she conceded softly, hanging her head. "I blamed you for the actions of your predecessor. I-" She made a noise in her throat that sounded suspiciously like a choke. "I ask your forgiveness for that."

"Many have made that mistake; it's nothing I'm not used to." I looked around the cave, still intent on finding signs of life. Mayu walked in silence for a few moments and then turned and looked at me.

"But I should have known better," she said softly. "The difference between them and me is that I'm apologizing. I don't hold anything against you."

I looked down at her. "And that's all you want? Me to accept your apology?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "And… perhaps… Your friendship."

I sighed. "You have it." I managed a small smile in spite of myself. A human for a friend. I guess I didn't see that one coming, but I have no objections.

I noticed her glancing around the tunnel warily, and I, too, examined our soundings. Li, turning a deep shade of blue-violet, flew in and out of several little crevasses, and then out around the corner, out of sight, leaving us with only the barest glimpse of her light to see by.

"Li," Mayu called in a hoarse whisper. "Li?"

I put a hand on her shoulder to quiet her, shaking my head very slightly. Slowly, I crept around the bend, keeping one hand on Mayu's arm to guide her in the almost complete blackness. We rounded the corner to see Li hovering back and fourth in front of something on the wall. Upon further inspection, I could see nothing. By the look on Mayu's face, neither could she, however, by mutual, unspoken agreement, neither of us uttered a word, knowing that the enemy may be close. I edged closer to the pixie, and her color gradually shifted to orange, casting better light on the walls.

"What is it, Feyliya?" I said in the barest whisper.

Li turned around slowly, shaking her tiny head and seeming to understand how serious I was, perhaps by my use of her full name. "I… 'm not sure…" she looked around, confused. "I… don't really see anything, but I feel something… like an energy or something." She landed and stood on my outstretched hand. "I think something or someone left some sort of energy signature trail, kinda like a transerver, but a little different. Since I'm pure energy, I can sorta feel it, like splashes of warm water or something."

Something tickled at the back of my mind, the possibility of danger ebbing the inner reaches of my consciousness, gnawing there like a small, shadowed demon. What am I overlooking? What could I possibly be forgetting? I looked over at Mayu, wondering if she had any idea, but the puzzled expression on her face told me that she did not.

I swallowed back the rising caution like bile in my throat and motioned for the three of us to continue on. I would not say that it was fear that I had felt, at least not for myself, but there was a complete sense of wrongness about the situation, and the fact that there was a frail human life trailing along behind me did absolutely nothing to ease the uncomfortable feeling. I turned to my orange-clad charge finally, locking my eyes on hers determinely.

"I want you to go back now," I said in a tone that spoke no argument.

Predictably, she replied with an equally certain, "No."

"I mean it," I hissed. "I have a feeling that things are going to get ugly-" I stopped, catching a glint of something in Li's rusty light. Jogging quickly into the new tunnel entrance, I found it to a be a room- a room stocked full of equipment. Battle equipment. Although this was what I had been searching for, the sight did not please me in the least. "…Blast…" was all I could manage to mutter, taking in the weapon stock before me. Li fluttered into the cove, shining more brightly, a lighter, more yellow version of orange, and cast her full brilliance over the supplies.

"'Ugly' isn't the half of it," Mayu whispered, coming up beside me. I blinked, coming out of my half-daze.

"You need to go. Now." I began typing in coordinates on the portable transerver to send her back, but she covered the panel with her hand, shaking her head vigorously.

"What about you? You're not going to stay here alone, are you?" She looked fearful, worried, yet determine.

"I'm going to see what else I can find here. I need to know as much as I can." I wrenched the panel away from her blocking palm.

"I'm not going without you!" The look of utter loyalty in her eyes left me taken aback, but here was no way that I was going to allow a human to accompany me on what now promised to be a dangerous mission. I continued to type in coordinates on the portable trans, having to turn away from Mayu as she tried to stop me.

"Don't, Sage! I'm a soldier, too; I'm not so helpless that I need to be shielded from battle! What happens of there's no one to help you when you need it?"

I glanced at her once, somewhat grateful for her concern, but unwilling to allow her to win this time. I activated the trans-

"Harpuia! That energy trail- it's back, and recent!" Li flew about frantically, darting from one point to another and changing color with each stop.

"Not now, Li, I-" I paused, realizing that she had called me "Harpuia" with no sarcasm, and I stopped to take in what she had said. Belatedly, I realize that the trans had not worked. "We're being jammed," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Wh- what?" Mayu shrank back a bit, eyes darting around as though expecting to find something.

Energy trails… Similar to a transerver, but not… a jammed trans signal… It was all starting to click in my mind, making a chilling sort of sense. "Mayu," I said lowly, "I think … we may have walked right into a trap…"

"A trap…" she repeated, suddenly looking a thousand times less certain than she had a moment ago.

"A jammed signal," I muttered out loud. "Someone knows we're here. Energy signatures, like a trans but not; like a short-range teleporter… like… Phase." I felt stupid now for not figuring it out sooner, for not checking for a jamming signal, for not- no, I told myself. Should'ves would'ves and could'ves are no good once the thing is done.

"Very perceptive of you," a familiar, refined baritone voice greeted, and I narrowed my eyes and clenched my teeth, although I could as of yet not see the source. "But then, I'm being much too kind," Phase continued, appearing in my line of sight. He was gone again, just as quickly. "I really thought more highly of you, you know." I whirled to find him standing behind me, a smug expression on his narrow face. "For one named Sage, I had imagined that you would prove to hold more wisdom than this." He disappeared and reappeared to the side of us. "But then, what more could I expect from one who actually believes that these useless humans are valuable?" He raised the massive claw on the his left arm to point a Mayu. "Pathetic creature. So frail… I would imagine that your fragile little spine would easily be crushed into a fine powder…"

My rage was growing by the second, and I activated both of my sabers simultaneously. "Maverick," I ground, my expression growing darker by the minute. "any reploid who harms a human must die."

Phase laughed, as though what I had said was merely a joke. "We'll see who will die first… Your little human pet looks like a good target to me."

Mayu took an involuntary step back and I shoved her roughly behind me, my rage finally coalescing into battle frenzy. With a vengeful cry and a raised saber, I sprinted at my enemy.