Rise Of Zionus: An Introduction

by EternalSage

This is a story of Ragol. Zio was defeated, but his malignant spirit lingers, leading to an entirely new cycle of chaos. A new generation of hunters must take up the challenge of defeating him.

5. Echoes of the Past

Dante and Sage are locked into a furious battle. Sage is defending himself well with his fake Agito, but Dante's superior skill is beginning to wear him down. Even with the telepathic knowledge of what the doppelganger is going to do before he does it, and the telekinetic boosts to all his strikes and blocks, Sage is still barely keeping himself in one piece.

"Sage, you cannot win. I am your greatest fear. You are powerless against me!"

Dante leapt at Sage in a savage attack, swinging his Zanba with devastating force. The powerful swing cleaved through Sage's blade, shattering it. Before it could hit his chest, though, it hit a telekinetic shield that he threw up; stopping the massive blade inches from his exposed chest.

The last time this had happened, his shield had worn out and he had his leg shattered.. It had been Eriror swinging the Zanba at the time, but the results were similar. If his shield broke this time, there would be no Dante to save him. Even though this was a supposedly harmless test, the few hits the Dante clone had landed were real enough. Sage redoubled his efforts, pushing outward with all his strength, at last managing to knock Dante backwards.

"I do not fear you any longer. I am strong enough to defeat you!"

Sage focused his mental energies, and raised his hand as Dante prepared another strike. Channeling all of his telekinetic energy into his hands, he caught Dante's sword as it was swung in a deadly arc. He focused, then telekinetically broke the blade in two, screaming at the strain it placed on his mental abilities. He then struck at the doppelganger's weak point, attacking it with a telepathic blast strong enough to kill a dozen humans. The doppelganger wavered for a second, fell backwards and transformed into it's true state, a hovering red ball of energy. Sage, his abilities strained to the max, slumped to one knee, breathing heavily.

The glowing orb began to grow in size, seeming to feed off of Sage's emotions. He was angry, and frustrated that the test wasn't over. He was also beginning to become more than a little arrogant.

"So, you done yet? I have full control over my powers now. I'm tired of holding back. Are you going to give in, or do I have to kill you?"

"You have learned well, and truly are at the peak of your abilities. However, you must remember that no one is an island. No matter how powerful you are, you will eventually need the help of another. Face your final challenge, chosen one of Lutz!" The orb flashed white, then began to grow until it was the size of a human. With a bright flash of light, it coalesced into the form of Zionus.

Fear me, mortal! I am the avatar of the Great Light, and your foolish power is nothing against my divine might."

Oh, great. I have gotten stronger, but he's a god. Even unleashing enough energy to kill me would barely scratch him. I'm going to need help...

As Zionus raised his hands and began charging energy, a plan formed in Sage's brain.

This place is based off of my emotions. If I think something here, it becomes reality. So if I call for help, and truly believe it will come... With this thought, shadowy images of the Dreamchasers and Dante began forming in the four corners of the room. I just have to hold off this blast. This oughtta be fun.

Sage braced himself, drawing on all his mental reserves.
He created a telekinetic shield and centered it in front of him, as he concentrated very, very hard on wishing that his friends were there to help him. As corny as he thought it was, it seemed to be working. The shadowy images in each corner of the room were getting stronger and more solid with every second. Unfortunately, the energy Zionus was gathering was getting more and more intense.

Zionus pressed his hands together, pointing at Sage. "Now, little telepath, you die! An enormous beam of divine energy shot from his hands to Sage. Sage extended his hands, strengthening his barrier with everything he had. His mind filled with a peaceful blackness, and he could feel himself starting to lost consciousness.

The deadly white beam seemed to stop in mid-air, mere inches away from Sage's outstretched hands. Focusing his powers, he began to push back the energy. Every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire, and Zionus was barely straining. Yet, inch by torturous inch, the barrier began to expand, pushing the beam towards Zionus. It was pure agony for Sage, but it worked. Wary of being hit by the backlash of his own beam, Zionus stopped his onslaught.

That's when the mental constructs of Sage's friends struck. Axios began chanting for Gifoie, and spun Rokujou, charging it with fire energy. Rokujou spun faster and faster, each revolution attracting one of the Gifoie flames. When the sword was a whirling ball of fire, Axios stopped spinning it, planted his feet and fired the stored energy at Zionus in a huge wave of heat. "Sharishin's Kaiu!"

The crimson beam stuck him in the side, stunning him. For the first time, Sage heard him cry out in pain."Get him, Sage!" Axios yelled.Zionus' attention had been distracted, and his defenses were down.

As he turned to annihilate Axios, Dark Nova stuck. Forming a large beam weapon from a capsule he drew from his pocket, he leaped into the air. As he leaped into the air, he fired off his Aurora Cannon attack, sending a massive blue beam of energy at Zionus. The mad demi-god was now pinned between two powerful beam attacks, and rapidly getting damaged. He was trapped, and unable to move. If he flinched, the beams would destroy him.

Kiara then made her move. Drawing her Kamuis, she dashed over to Zionus, chanting all the while. As she reached him, she split into four copies of herself, and circled him. The copies of Kiara raised their blades, charging them with energy as they prepared to unleash the Split-Image Slice.

The Dante clone saluted Sage with his mechanical arm, then drew his Red Sword, It was the only weapon he was left with after Eriror's theft of his Zanba. Leaping into the air, he came down on Zionus with tremendous force. His Cross Hell Reaper attack was a variation on his old style. He and the four Kiaras hit at the same time.

The combined effect of the four attacks was much greater than the individual destructive potential of any single one. The real Zionus might have survived them, but the clone did not stand a chance. Zionus exploded in a wave of light, reverting to the orb form. It was still being bombarded with energy, but refused to die.

Sage drew his Red Handgun, charged it with his last remnants of tech energy, and fired. The shot hit with full force, scattering the orb into a thousand shining particles that flared for a second, then died away. The Dreamchasers and Dante faded away, soon followed by the room.

Sage was standing in a room with a marble floor. An ornate staircase led downwards, and there was a mirror on the wall. Stepping forward, Sage was joined by Jadrek before he could look in the mirror.

"I warn you, this may be a shock..."

Jadrek stepped out of his path, and Sage gazed into the mirror.

Meanwhile, Brom was systematically slaughtering the bandits. His Imperial Pick had been broken by a lucky strike from one of the bandit's axes. He was fine with his bare hands, though. He was shattering bones and crushing organs with glee, completely in his element.

Hmm...fleshbags die so easily. It's a wonder their species survived this long. He parried a rifle shot with his bare hand, then broke the shooter's neck with a swift twist. The next unlucky bandit had his face turned to mush with a flurry of punches, then was impaled on his own saber and left to die.

Brom had, over the course of the past ten minutes, systematically wiped out most of the bandits attacking the village. He was surprised to find himself not wanting to kill the villagers, though. Usually he would just kill everything in his way, but this time he was only targeting the bandits. I may need these fleshie's help to find Sage. Brom made his way to the town square, where the bandit leader and his last remaining troops were gathered. The few bandits that escaped his wrath were already squawking about a 'demon-man.' He was rather insulted being compared to a human, but he let it slide. They were going to die anyway...

The bandit leader watched as the gore-spattered person stalked towards him. He was dressed in a bodysuit that had once been black, but was now stained red. That's the blood of my men. Less ways to split the loot, but still. They were useful henchmen.I'll make him die screaming.

"Boys, blast this runt!"

His men opened fire with everything they had. Surprisingly, Brom dodged most of their shots. A cry from near a building caught his attention, and he made the mistake of turning towards it. A rifle blast caught him in the face, blowing off the synth-flesh to reveal his android face underneath. His head snapped back, stopping his inexorable approach. Recovering, he swiveled his head in a good imitation of a human's threatening neck-crack and continued onward. That fleshbag is going to pay. He messed up my disguise...

His attention was caught by another similar scream. Turning to look, he saw the bandits holding a struggling Nichole and Sana. Sana slipped out of the man's grasp, and ran to him.

"Mr. Brom, are you okay?" She clutched his leg, clinging to him tightly.

"Get off, kid!" Her grip is rather strong for one of the human larvae. I need to get rid of her before they start shooting again. Leaning down, he picked her up and began to run. He got about four feet before the bandits opened up on him again. His sensors detected dozens of energy blasts hitting him at once. They did minimal damage, but the sum total was wreaking havoc on his clothing and the synthflesh underneath it. Driven by some impulse he didn't really comprehend, he continued to shield Sana's small, delicate body with his armored one until the last bandit ran out of energy.

He dashed to one of the dilapidated buildings, and sat her down. "Do not move, or I'll kill you myself," He told her sternly. As he turned to attack the bandits once again, she began to speak.

Wonderful. She sees that I'm an android, and is frightened of me. I'm going to have to kill her too. "Mr. Brom...thank you. Be careful, okay? I see that you are a robot, and really strong, but I don't want you to get hurt."

That's odd. I suppose I should feel 'touched', as the fleshbags put it. At least I'm assured of having the villagers cooperation in finding Sage, now. Now to kill the bandits...

Brom turned and rushed the bandits, drawing his Partisan of Lightning. The first to step up was diced in two, and the next few were swiftly cut down in a deadly dance of swordsmanship. His android reflexes and incredible combat skill made mincemeat of the few bandits brave enough to attack him. He cleaved a path through the unwashed horde, headed for the leader. Just then, a mousy looking man standing to the side of the leader hit him with a Zonde spell. The bolt was fairly weak, but the sparking traces of electricity found a weak spot in his armor and short-circuited his movement system.

Damn! A short circuit, now. It'll take a while for my system to restart. They're closing in. This could be bad. Damnable fleshbags. When I get up, they are going to find new definitions for that worthless sensation they call pain.

Convinced that he was harmless, the leering bandits closed in for the kill...

Brom was the result of scientists trying to create an android capable of using techniques.Their first effort involved fusing a Psycho Wand to an android, and electrically activating the Psycho Wand. The techniques used were random, thought the Psycho Wand's powerful energy emanations soon corrupted the android. It also became impossible to remove the Wand from the android.

After it was determined that he was unsuitable for the purposes of the experiment,he was deactivated and relegated to the scrap heap. It was assumed that he was useless, as the Psycho Wand corrupted his programming. Anyone that found him would be unable to glean any information from him, as his memory was wiped and the Psycho Wand was unremovable. He had been written out of the pages of history, but fate seemed to intervene.The Psycho Wand cast Reverser and revived him. He went into hiding, wishing to both avoid his masters and increase his own combat potential. The Psycho Wand had corrupted his programming, both making him extremely contemptible of humans and giving him a desire to become stronger. As a result of this, he disguised himself with synthflesh and became a mercenary. Soon after, he joined Eriror.

The Psycho Wand had seemingly shaped his destiny with it's random casting of techniques, almost as if it had a mind of its own. It awakened once again, and the crest that would normally be on top of the wand began glowing, embedded in his chest as it was. As the bandits raised their weapons, the Psycho Wand went off, exterminating them with a blast of Rafoie. Their charred corpses fell to the ground, and the temporary paralysis of the short-circuit passed seconds later.

As he got to his feet, he looked around. The remaining townspeople were slowly coming out of hiding, gazing at him with a mixture of awe and more than a little fear. His human disguise was completely gone, and the bare green and white plating of his armor was clearly visible. I hope I don't have to slaughter these mindless peons as well. I might need their help, but if they get uppity I'll be happy to overlook that. I'm tired of dealing with these worthless fleshbags.

One of the townspeople spoke up. "Thank you, kind sir, for saving our village. We would have all died if you had not come along. Consider yourself an honored guest, sir android."

What...the...hell? I just slaughtered around fifty people. If it was any less, I'd be a mass-murderer. Now, I'm a 'hero'? These slowly rotting meatsacks are so illogical...

Sana and Nichole were leading him back to the village inn. As about half the homes in the village were burned down, the innkeeper decided to let the villagers stay for free. Nichole helped Brom repair a cut in his armor that one of the bandits got in. It was a death spasm, but the man was surprisingly strong. He had slashed Brom right before he had his heart crushed. Apparently having a hole punched into the torso was extremely painful for humans. Nichole helped him apply a patch to his shoulder.

"What are you going to do now, Mr. Brom? Will you try to find your friend?"

"Yes, most likely. I just need to find some transportation. The bandits destroyed the Ice Digger, apparently."

"Ok. We'll do everything we can to help you. We owe you owe you our lives."

Perhaps helping these meatsacks can be profitable after all...Sage, I'll find you eventually.

Sage gazes into the mirror. Staring back at him is the figure of a very, very old man. Looking down, he sees that his hands are gnarled and worn.

"I'm...old. What happened?"

"Time works rather differently in the Room of Trials. Though only an hour passed in the real world, and it seemed to you that only an hour passed, that is not how you experienced time in the Room." Jadrek explained. "It took you sixty years to resolve all of your problems. The room kept you energized and fed, and altered your perception of time. For every year of soul-searching you did, you experienced a single minute of time."

"How is that possible?"

"We do not know, exactly. There are some mysteries that even the Espers cannot decipher. You have taken the longest of any of the previous heirs to Lutz to prove your worth, but you are also the only one to have completely defeated the Doppelganger Orb. You realized that although you have great power, your true strength lies in the bonds you can create with others."

"So, did my body really age 60 years? I may not survive to fight Zionus..."

"Do not worry. The effect is temporary. I would suggest you enjoy it. The mantle of Lutz, once assumed, will make you eternally youthful. It freezes your physical age at what it is when you assume the power. You are not immortal, but you will never age. You can be killed, but not by 'natural causes'. Only when you find your successor can you be released, and live out a normal life. Are you prepared to pay this price? Are you prepared to see all the ones you love wither and die, while you remain eternally youthful?"

Sage pondered for a moment. "If I don't help stop Zionus, no one will ever be allowed to age and die in peace. The universe will be his playhouse, and people his puppets. If I have to give up my old-age pension, and the ability to set in a chair and tell boring stories, so be it. I may not live long enough to see everyone get old and die anyway. Let's do this..."

"You are surprisingly flippant. Are you sure you are ready?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Then, follow me. But first... let's return you to your proper form." Jadrek cast Anti, and Sage was restored to his normal age. He then led Sage down the stone staircase, into a room with a glowing crystal orb set upon an ornate pedestal. Frozen seemingly inside the crystal was a beautiful, yet simple golden circlet."This is the telepathy orb. Reach inside and claim the Circlet of Lutz. Then the power will be yours."

Sage approached the pedestal with trepidation. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out. As his hands touched the crystal, a soothing voice spoke in his mind.

I am Lutz. I am the leader of the Espers. You are the one who is deemed worthy. I grant you permission to become my heir, Jonas Sage. Grasp the circlet, and take control of your destiny.

Sage did as he was instucted. The crystal turned to liquid, allowing his hands through. Miraculously, other than the waves caused by his hands, the orb retained it's shape. As he grasped the circlet, it felt strangely warm. He removed it from the orb, and raised it to his head.

Pushing it down over his temples, he felt a slight pulse of warmth. Seconds later, he fell to the ground as his mind was overwhelmed by the influx of several millennium's worth of wisdom, knowledge and memories.

Standing, the crown radiated a faint glow, then seemed to fade into his forehead. "Wow...what a rush. My telepathy is multiplied a thousand-fold. And all the knowledge...it's like the answers to every question I ever had suddenly came to me in a flash of insight. This is...amazing."

His newfound senses detected a sudden surge of darkness on Ragol. "Um...Jadrek. We have a problem. It feels as if Dark Falz has returned to Ragol."

Jadrek stared at him incredulously for a second, then responded. "How do you know, Honorable Lutz?"

"First off...it's still Sage. Secondly, the crown is greatly boosting my telepathy. Lutz recognizes this aura, these thoughts. Do you have a way of observing what's happening on Ragol?"

"Yes, honorab- Sage. Lutz has not had an heir in years, and does not know of the changes we have installed. Follow me, please."

It was unnecessary. Sage could sense what was happening on Ragol as if he was watching it himself. It gave him a cold feeling of fear in the pit of his stomach.

Inside his mind, he heard the voice of Lutz speak once again.The darkness has returned. Yet perhaps this time, it can save us from the corruption of the light. We will have to wait and see...

Meanwhile, on Ragol...

The timer on the lab's self destruct reads 1:15 remaining. Ayame feels very cold. There is a searing pain in her chest, and what little warmth she had left in her body seems to be slowly leaking out.

So, I guess this is what it's like to die. It feels...funny. It hurts, yet it's also kinda peaceful. It's like falling asleep.

Ayame closes her eyes, and resigns herself to death. I'm too drained to do anything, anyway... not even a Resta. And Reverser can't fix this. I just wish I could save Uncle X. I know he didn't want to stab me. He looked like it hurt him. I'm so...tired of people hurting him! All he ever wanted to do was help people, but the bad guys always target him. It's not fair!

As her anger builds, she begins to feel very hot. When she opens her eyes, the room is a red haze. I feel...funny. What's happening?! She can feel her heart beginning to pound, and her breathing speeds up of all a sudden. A dark power is welling up inside of her.

A voice speaks inside her head: Rest now, my weaker self. You've done a good job of keeping this body alive, and getting them to release the blocks, but your time is over. I shall be reborn!

Ayame briefly questions where the voice came from, but she is too weak to really care. Her head is hurting even worse than her chest, and her heart is pounding. Each beat of her heart sends spasms of painful pressure through her body. A strange feeling of pleasure underlies it all, however. Her body feels extremely hot. Her last thought is of X, as her consciousness spirals into a hole in the back of her mind.

The timer reads 1:00. If anyone was there to see what was happening to Ayame, they would witness an amazing transformation. Her body begins to glow with a dull purple energy. It levitates off the ground, and sparks of purple lightning emanate off of it. Her body seemingly turns to a pillar of energy for a split second, before a wave of energy sweeps through the lab.

As the wave subsides, she is rotated forward. Her body is glowing with an ominous red aura, and the hair that falls forward to cover her face is dark red. Through the curtain of hair, her eyes glow a disturbing ice blue. She is lowered to a kneeling position on the ground, and the aura subsides. She stands, and begins to laugh, a sultry,almost mocking laugh that echoes throughout the abandoned laboratory.

The timer reads 0:45 seconds as Danielle begins to glow with an immense purple aura. Black, feathered wings sprout from her back, and she starts to hover, held aloft by the pure power of darkness coursing through her body. Her conduit has awakened, at last...

Danielle focuses power for a split-second, then sends out a wave of energy that cripples the self-destruct sequence.

Hmph... if this place is going to blow up, I'm going to be the one to do it. They locked me inside that kid for so long. Luckily, she was a conduit. Not only do I have my own tech powers to play with, but also the infinite power of darkness to draw on. This is going to be fun... She starts laughing again, placing a hand over her mouth. Yes, the patented laugh. This can never be good.

Danielle flies out of the lab, then begins to hover high above it. Lucca and Hahn see a purple streak, then a glowing dot high in the artificial sky of Pioneer 2.

"Hahn, what's that?"

"I have no clue. I hope Ayame's ok. The self-destruct is going to go off soon."

They see the distant figure begin to glow more brightly. Up in the sky, Danielle is holding her hands close together, seemingly charging up a powerful attack. Her hands begin to emit black energy, and a halo that seems made of shadow grows in front of her. She adds power to it, channeling purest darkness into the attack. As she draws one hand back, the halo follows as if attached, and floats above her hand. Flinging her hand down lazily, she yells "Mega Demon Roar!" The black halo of energy shrieks towards the lab at an incredible pace. It penetrates through the ceiling and slams into the floor before exploding. A rising, ever-expanding dome of dark energy consumes the lab, utterly leveling it.

Well, now they can't contain me anymore. I just need to find X and kill him, then I can really begin playing. His conduit seems to be blocked, but he's still hogging some of the power.

Danielle flies up a bit higher, then opens her mind to scan for X. Soon enough, she finds the familiarly blank presence of her 'uncle', and swoops down on him. He was headed towards a teleporter, apparently back to Zionus' lair.

She swoops down and lands next to him, in between his path and the teleporter. Hello, uncle. I really don't like it when you stab me. It's entirely inappropriate. However, I should be glad you set me free. As a reward, you get a free horrible death. Even your pathetic link to that 'god' Zionus isn't going to save you. I wield the true power of darkness!

Zionus feels the massive surge of darkness, and for the first time since his resurrection is afraid. That girl...I should have killed her when she was a child. X may not be able to stop her. I don't wish to lose my favorite weapon yet. I'll have to get him out of there.

Ayame's flurry of rapid-fire Demon Roars hits only air, as Zionus warps X out of harm's way in a flash of light.

Dammit! Zionus, I'm gonna kill you for that. He was mine. Oh well, I can kill him later. There's all these innocent people to play with just laying around. Maybe some indiscriminate slaughter will make me feel better.

She flies off, looking for a large concentration of people to attack. Random passerby on the streets are blasted with her Demon Roar attack, but at least their deaths are fairly painless. Utter incineration is nothing compared to what she is truly capable of. Flying around, she soon comes to a large building with glowing signs. Tables with umbrellas are scattered around a gazebo outside, and people seem to be dining casually. When they observe the dark being flying towards them, most are intelligent enough to run away screaming. The few foolish enough to loiter are slain with various energy attacks.

Danielle stops in front of the eatery, observing the garish neon sign. The Imperial Wok, huh? Maybe I'll get lucky and get to kill JiEin too. He always did get on my nerves. Almost as much of a buzzkill as X.

The front side of The Imperial Wok is blasted into oblivion by a two handed Demon Roar. Danielle floats inside, firing off energy blasts at random spots, reveling in the destruction. She is approached by a tall, black and red Hucast holding a wok in one hand and a ladle in another.

"Excuse me, but you seem to be lost. The place for pointless destruction of my life's work is down the road. This is ' I'm going to beat you down for frightening my customers."

JiEin barely avoids the Demon Roar Danielle sends screaming at him. It hits a sign behind him with an image of JiEin holding a wok. The sign said "Voted Pioneer's Secksiest Eatery, two years in a row." Danielle's blast blows the sign apart, and continues into the kitchen behind it, where it detonates. The kitchen staff had managed to evacuate, but JiEin was in a bit of trouble...

JiEin is in a bit of a predicament. Even at his peak, he would have had difficulty surviving against this glowing purple hellion. As part of the agreement he had with the Pioneer 2 government, he was allowed to retire and open his restaurant as long as he consented to have his fighting abilities blocked. If he raises a hand to anything even vaguely humanoid, he gets shut down. He truly is powerless at the moment.

Danielle raises a hand lazily and begins gathering purple energy into it. You know, JiJi... I never really did like you. You were always so stuffy and pushy. You were uptight even for an android. My alter-ego loved you, but then again she was a mindless brat. Do you have any idea what it's like to be trapped in a never-ending children's show? It's a damned nightmare! It's the worst possible torture anyone could possibly come up with. And I got it because I had a little fun...Can you play with me, JiJi?

Why does she sound so familiar? If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was Ayame. Oh well, I can worry about that later.I need to get out of here...

Saying this, she releases the ball of energy, allowing it to float in the air, like purple ball lightning. Here's the deal, JiJi. If you can escape the rather massive explosion this is going to cause, you get to live, and will be the 'winner'.. If you can't...you lose. It's really quite simple. However, I have to even things out a bit...

Pointing a finger at his legs, she fires a beam akin to a Pilla wave, yet much narrower. It is reflected by his wok, bouncing off to hit the ceiling. The wok begins to melt, the metal slumping inward as if dipped in acid. JiEin drops it with a muffled curse. There is a large hole in the wall that the Pilla beam hit.

You . My first cool new attack that doesn't involve explosions, and you had to it up. I hate you.Let's try something different, then. Gathering more of the ubiquitous dark energy that flows through her, she fired several quick beams of energy at the fleeing JiEin.

I have to retreat. I'm in no shape to fight her right now. Perhaps I should contact that Resistance. I didn't really care about Zionus' ranting at first, since it didn't affect my customers. However, I was mistaken...aah!

One of Danielle's beams hit JiEin in the knee, penetrating through it and leaving a slagged over hole behind.

There, that's better. Now it's fair. This orb will explode soon, so you might wanna start running. Or limping, more likely. Toodles.

Danielle turned and flew to a safe distance to watch the sparks. She telekinetically grabbed one of the abandoned noodle bowls on the table, and a pair of chopsticks. As she settled down to watch her handiwork, she began noshing.

Wow, these are pretty good. It's a shame he's going to die in about a minute. These are sublime. Needs more pepper, though...

Danielle finished her noodles, then casually tossed the bowl to the ground. Before it could shatter, she'd blasted it into fine powder with an energy beam.

Oh, I forgot. JiEin, if he can move fast enough, could walk straight through the front door. I don't think he realizes that's cheating, so I'll have to remind him of the rules. That death orb should explode in another minute or so...

Turning to face the shattered front of the Imperial Wok, she fired off a Demon Roar at the entrance. Her carefully aimed attack caused the upper part of the building's front to collapse downward, covering the front door in a shower of debris.

That's better. Now, to enjoy the show. But first... all this hair is annoying. Purifying thee chopsticks with a purple flame, she twisted her hair up into a bun and impaled it with the stolen chopsticks.Ah, that's better. Now the show really starts. I hope JiEin screams when he dies. I know androids don't usually do that, but his death should be horrible enough to warrant it.

Crossing her arms lazily, she floated in front of JiEin's doomed restaurant.

Inside, JiEin was limping towards a hidden door in the kitchen. Suddenly, the front of the store blew up, showering the main entrance in debris.She really does want me dead. I have to get in touch with the Resistance. I would contact the government, but since they're under Zionus' control, there's not much they can do. I should've realized this would happen sooner. Luckily, that little hellion doesn't know about my delivery entrance. Time to go.

JiEin went as fast as he could towards the delivery entrance, calculating as he went the cost of the wanton destruction visited upon his life's work. That girl is going to pay once I get my blocks removed. She hurt a lot of innocent people, too. Looks like my Guardian days aren't over after all... He made it to the kitchen, leaning on a table leg as he dragged his damaged leg behind him. Just as he stepped out of the service entrance and made it to the teleporter behind it, the death orb went off. The restaurant blew with a blinding flash of purple light, and JiEin was nearly knocked down by the blast wave even at fifty feet away. That girl has far too much power for her own good.

JiEin picked himself off the ground and walked into the teleporter, setting the coordinates for the closest medical center. He wouldn't get far until he could get his leg repaired.

On the other side of the destroyed building, Danielle was floating with a look of satisfaction on her face. That was fun. I need to find more stuff to blow up. JiJi may have survived that, but if he did...oh well. I can kill him later. She floated off to find more worthy places for her destructive talents.

Danielle began flying higher and higher, heading to a better vantage point to scope out more targets. As she flew along, the wind whipping her hair, she spotted a large, garishly-lit entertainment complex.

Ah, that'll be perfect. There's bound to be plenty of people inside for me to play with.

Landing, she walked into an brightly lit electronic hell. Lights were flashing, music was blaring and various people were playing video games. Sighing, she invoked darkness and began raining destruction on them. "Hello, everyone. I'm Danielle, and I'm going to be your executioner today. Please put up a good show before you die, thanks."

She fired off a Demon Roar at a teenager who was playing some rhythmic dancing game. The machine began to emit a series of loud noises and bright flashes of light as he apparently made some sort of accomplishment on it. Right as he raised his hands in triumph, the dark halo of energy hit him full force, dropping him to his knees in a flash of dark energy. His death screams echoed for a few seconds before his disintegrating body faded to embers.

A mass panic ensued, as the remaining customers began to mill about, screaming in terror. Danielle charged up energy and started firing off huge purple beams of energy that melted whatever they touched, flesh or machine. The huge area of the beams combined with the tight confines of the arcade led to a horrific death toll. She only stopped when the remaining survivors had no room to run, hemmed in by slagged equipment and the bodies of their fellows. This is why Ayame should've taken up playing videogames. It's fun to blast stuff. I wonder if I got the high score?

She began to laugh as the few frightened survivors rushed for the exit. Unfortunately for them, she was in their path. Placing one hand over her mouth in the patented laugh, she formed one of her detonatable death orbs and released it with a flick of her wrist. The glowing purple orb levitated, and moved towards the center of the room.

She addressed the crowd. "I want some entertainment. Perhaps you can give it to me. If you can escape before this orb explodes, your pathetic lives will be spared. However...since you like games so much, I'm putting it on the 'extra hard' difficulty. Don't try to go out the front door, because that's cheating. And as for the emergency exit..." A quick blast of energy welded the door shut, passing over the heads of the frightened patrons. "Enjoy your game, peoples. I have stuff to do. Good luck."

Danielle turned and flew towards the exit. As she made it outside, she whirled and blasted the doors with a beam, welding them shut. She could see the frightened faces of the patrons as she backed up to a safe distance. Suddenly, a strange feeling came over her. She sensed Ayame's presence. Maybe I shouldn't kill these people... they did nothing to me. I need to find the ones who really hurt me. Cancelling the death orb with a wave of her hand, she flew off to find X, leaving the arcade patrons trapped inside the building.

Flying off, the sudden attack of conscience passed. She let loose a flurry of Demon Roars at the arcade, leveling it. She was laughing again as she flew off into the night sky.

JiEin had decided not to go to the Medical Center. It's far too obvious. She knows I'm damaged, she'll expect me to go there. I should probably go home. Perhaps Elly can help me contact the Resistance.

Walking into his apartment, he was met by his roommate, Elly. "So, JiEin, how were things at the restaurant? Oh, you're hurt! What happened?"

"Some crazy, purple-glowing little hellion floated into the place and started blasting everything, out of nowhere. I have no idea who it was, or why she did it. But the government doesn't seem to be doing anything to stop it."

"I haven't heard anything over the official news channels about it." Just then, the viewscreen on the wall chimed.

"This just in. A superpowered being is apparently traveling around Pioneer 2, causing random destruction. She has destroyed three buildings, and caused massive miscellaneous property damage. The death toll is unknown, but is estimated at several dozen people. Citizens are warned to stay indoors, and to evacuate immediately if she approaches."

"Oh, that sounds like her. She blasted me in the leg, and left me in a room with some sort of energy time-bomb. It was like some kind of sick game to her."

"Ji, that's awful. And with the Zionus crisis, the military doesn't have that many resources to commit to stopping her. Perhaps we should contact the Resistance."

"That's exactly what I was thinking. But first, I need to repair my leg. I'm not exactly at the height of mobility right now."

"Ok, I'll help you. Let me get the toolkit." Ten minutes later, JiEin's leg had been repaired by a combination of Elly's technological wizardry and a handy Trimate.

"Elly, do you know how to contact that Labyrinth guy?"

"Yes, I'll log on and contact him right now. We should be able to meet with him tonight, if you like."

Elly walked into her room, and began attempting to contact Labyrinth. JiEin walked from his chair in the kitchen and sat on the couch. It's like whenever X isn't around, all hell breaks loose. At least if he was here, he'd be arrogantly charging one of the two villains, attacking them in a near-suicidal headlong rush. Without him, it's been kind of uneventful. I need to get in touch with him. I wonder how that 'top-secret' mission to investigate those ruins with the archivist went? JiEin began to flip through channels as Elly worked her magic. He settled on a kung-fu movie, and sat back to watch.

Lucca and Hahn had almost made it back to the Resistance's headquarters when they were stopped by none other than Labyrinth himself.

"Hello, we have a bit of a problem. What happened at the laboratory?"

"Ayame was created there. This is her creator. Zionus' troops attacked, and she stayed behind to stop them. Where's Leah?"

"She's inside. Apparently there's another super-powered being running around blowing up stuff. It started about an hour ago."

"What type of being? Is it a girl with red hair?" Hahn asked, a look of dread upon his face.

"Reports say that it is a red-haired girl with black wings. She appears to have tremendous energy-manipulation abilities, and no mercy."

"Oh no! Danielle has awakened...what have I done?" Hahn said, a look of utmost turmoil on his face.

"Perhaps we should go inside and discuss this, Mr. Hahn. You might want to look at the reports before jumping to any conclusions..." Labyrinth said, as he turned towards the Resistance base.

"There is no need. I know exactly what happened. That girl is Danielle, the first product of the Loranna Project. Her genetic material was used to create Ayame.She was sealed inside Ayame's body, her powers controlled by a series of blocks. We planned to release the blocks gradually, but Zionus forced our hand. We thought that Ayame was strong enough to resist her genetic evil half, but I suppose we were wrong. And...tests showed that Ayame is a conduit for the Profound Darkness. Danielle is powerful on her own, but with that ability added to hers, she will be nearly invincible. All is lost..."

"Let's go inside. We must formulate a plan to deal with this." Labyrinth went inside, followed rapidly by Lucca and the remorseful Hahn.

Danielle is wandering around the city, taking pot shots at anything that sounds appealing. She comes upon a dance club, and decides to go closer to check it out. People are now fleeing at her mere presence, regardless of if she's blown anything up in the vicinity. Hmm...I guess the word's gotten out that I'm dangerous. But idiots cavorting in a club wouldn't know that. I can have fun in there. I just need to hide the wings. Landing, she made her wings recede with but a thought, and clamped down on the aura surrounding her.

She walked inside, ushered inside by the large man standing at the door. He had leered at her, but a quick telepathic command had him stepping aside. Walking into the dim lighting of the club, she ran headlong into a rather large, rather intoxicated man. He stood at least a foot and a half taller than her, and his biceps were as big as her waist. A glass of some foul-smelling liquid was spilled on her.

"Hey, watch it-" She was cut off by the man letting out a bellow of rage.

"You little ! You made me spill my drink."

"That's because you're a blind oaf that's almost as clumsy as his mother was ugly!" Danielle was dripping with Lily-juice extract, a powerful intoxicant that had been first formulated after the pacification of Ragol. It was disgusting, and the smell was not helping her temper any.

"You're pretty uppity for a wench. How about you come home with me, and learn some manners?" The drunken buffoon grabbed at her chest, and she hastily dodged his outstretched arm, countering with a kick to his stomach. His eyes watered, but he recovered quickly. He apparently wasn't all worthless.

The beefy man countered with a punch to the face that didn't even budge Danielle. From the looks of it, it would have shattered a normal human's skull.

"Alright, now you die! People as stupid as you shouldnt' be allowed to live anyway." Channelling dark energy, her wings burst from her back and the ubiquitous purple aura flared up around her. Catching his ham-sized fist in her left hand, she pulled it down fiercely as she delivered a swift roundhouse kick to his spine with her right leg. The telekinetically enhanced blow resounded with a loud crack, and the man's body immediately went limp.

He screamed in pain as he slumped to the floor. " made me a cripple! Someone help" he cried, with a wild look of abject terror in his eyes. He was only held off the floor by Danielle's tenacious grip on his wrist. The first of his companions to step forward was immediately blasted into atoms with a powerful energy beam. Ayame dragged the now paralyzed man out the door as she fired off a series of five death orbs.

As she exited the building, she welded the doors together with a mere though. The screams of trapped people were soon drowned out by a series of multiple explosions that utterly obliterated the building.

Ayame flew higher, charging up more energy. Turning to her terrified captive, she laughed in his face.

"Next time you try to pick up a girl, be more suave and less of a horrible genetic mistake, ok? The best part of you was obviously spilled on the filthy sheets of whatever miserable little hovel you were spawned in. Now prepare to die."

Raising the man so he was eye level with her, suspended in mid-air, she mended his spine with dark energy. Keeping him telepathically immobilized, she relished the look of fear in his eyes. I really liked the cracking noise your spine made when I broke it. So, I'm going to do it again. "

She lifted him like a ragdoll with one hand, then exerted her telepathic might with the other. She created a wall of force on the top and bottom of his body, then brought them together, compressing his spine like an accordion til it shattered with several sickening crunching sounds. Fueling him with dark energy to keep him alive, she began firing Demon Roars at him at point blank range, keeping him alive until the last possible second by infusing him with energy. When she was finished, she flung his corpse to the ground and utterly destroyed his remains with a massive two-handed Demon Roar that leveled everything within a hundred feet around him.

Sated for the moment, she flew off, looking for a new amusement.

Zionus was lounging on his throne as he pondered what to do about the recent awakening of a new conduit. This girl is powerful. If she learns how to use her powers, she could be a major threat. I'll send X after her one last time. His hesitation is based on his extreme will. He always manages to disobey my commands. No matter, after the facility is completed I will no longer need him. I'll send him after her. If he succeeds and kills her, I am well rid of her. If she kills him, I will no longer have to worry about his disobedience. He is the only one that could teach her to use her powers...

"X! Go, and finish the job you have failed me at twice before. Kill that girl. I command it!"

X, who had been forced to kneel before Zionus' throne by the mind control he was under, turned and walked towards the teleporter.

Eriror, who was watching the scene, turned to Zionus and bowed. Rising at Zionus' approval, he began to speak.

"My lord, X does not seem to be a true believer. I do not believe that he will be able to slay the demon if he does not have true faith in you. Should I send of my troopers with him, oh holy one?"

"I understand your concerns, Eriror. Send your troopers. How is the facility coming?"

"It is at fifty percent completion now, and the special capsule whose creation you decreed is being built now. The genetic samples from the subject were taken as per your orders, and the clone is being force-grown now."

"Excellent, Eriror. With the completion of the facility, I will be able to remake the world in my image. I can cleanse the world of humanity's taint, and usher in a new golden age."

"I, your humble servant thank you for saving me. I will live my life for your glory, my Lord."

Eriror left to oversee the construction of Zionus' new reeducation center. There the worthy would be transferred to new, stronger bodies to fulfill his decrees. As he was leaving, he ordered two squads of troopers to follow X. I can only hope X sees the light and is saved. He will not be able to defeat the demon girl otherwise.

Meanwhile, Danielle is floating through the city, killing everything she sees. She was disconcerted by the encounter at the club, and rather distressed about her attack of conscience at the arcade. Why did I hesitate? I have the power to dominate these people. They all need to pay for abandoning me. So why do I feel like they don't deserve to be killed? They are the people that helped create a weapon out of me, then got scared when I was good at what I did. Well, not those exact people, but people like them... It's not like any one of them actually has the decency to care about anyone. Especially me. Ah, well...time to blow up some more stuff.

The first thing that caught her eye was a large building with a stylized blue logo on it. It read Son- big gaping hole-am after she fired off a humongous Demon Roar at it. As the terrified people streamed out onto the streets, she began firing. She wasn't using her vaporization beams at this point, as she had decided that shooting people full of bleeding holes was more fun. Her beams were highly focused concentrations of Dark Energy.

The first casualty of this new killing spree was a short, balding man in a labcoat. The last thought that ran through his mind was At last, I've perfected it. The triple save. Now players can restart their careers at twice the rate. I'm a gen- At that point, Danielle's beam hit him in the back of the head, penetrating straight through. As he didn't fall over immediately, she began pumping Demon Roars at him. When she was finished, the entire block was a wasteland.

Hmm... I didn't have that nagging feeling of guilt when I blasted that one. I wonder why. It sucks that most of the others got away while I was killing him, but at least he's really dead. He looked...shifty. I feel better now, so time for more fun!

In Resistance Headquarters Labyrinth, Leah, Lucca, Hahn and Dante had been joined by JiEin and Elly. After introductions were made, they settled down to plan a course of action.

JiEin spoke first. "Do you have a plan for taking out that glowing purple hellion? The government doesn't seem to be doing much. She wrecked my restaurant, and killed many people."

Labyrinth replied. "We're working on it. How were you able to fare against her in combat?"

"I wasn't able to tell. As a condition of my retirement, I had blocks placed on me that keep me from being in any way aggressive towards anything even remotely humanoid. If I so much as strongly push someone, I go into automatic shutdown, and have to be reactivated."

"Ah, yes. I had one of those too. And if you are very quick, you can get in one hit before the auto-shudown takes effect."

"Hmm...that's interesting. How were you able to get yours removed?"

"Lucca and Dante here. Would you like them to help you out?"

"That would be good, seeing as how I'm of little use in combat right now. And my prior programming is tempting me to leap in front of her beams to protect people. It's a bit irritating."

Lucca and Dante stood, ushering JiEin to sit. "We'll be back with the necessary tools in a few minutes. It doesn't take long, and there's no lasting damage. Consider it a gift for joining us."

They left, and the meeting continued. Leah spoke. "So, where did this girl come from? It seems as if she's a conduit, but I know that the only conduits are X, Neifirst and Zio. X is captured, that's not Neifirst, and Zio is now Zionus. So who is she? And where's Ayame...?"

Hahn spoke. "The girl, Danielle...is Ayame. It's Ayame's other self. And Ayame is a conduit, also. She was just never able to use her powers because of the genetic blocks on her more negative emotions." At Leah's look of shock, he looked downward in shame.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" Leah said, jumping from her seat to grab Hahn and shake him violently.

Labyrinth answered her question, as Hahn was having a bit of trouble breathing. "Ayame was the product of something called the Loranna Project, designed to create the ultimate technique user. A previous product was Danielle. She lost control of her powers and went on a rampage. She was killed, but her genetic material was used to create Ayame. Something about the way she died enabled her to somehow retain her memories and personality inside Ayame. When the blocks built into Ayame's powers were released, Danielle was freed. When Ayame was weakened, Danielle took over. Danielle has no qualms about using the power of the conduit."

Leah released Hahn, who took several seconds to regain his breath. "We did it to allow Ayame to grow up and use her full powers. Zionus would have destroyed the lab, dooming Ayame to be forever trapped as a child, and forever limited. The blocks on her powers also stunted both her physical and emotional growth. That is why she was still a child even at 16. I treated her like a daughter. I do not wish any harm to come to her. I would like to help force Danielle back into dormancy. The problem is that Danielle is a much stronger personality than Ayame. We must drain her energy and help Ayame take back control."

Leah regained her seat, and glowered at Hahn. He looks so downtrodden. Perhaps he is sincere... "So, how do we plan to do this? If she really does have the power of a conduit, she's basically an angsty teenager with the powers of a goddess. That's not a good combination..."

Elly spoke for the first time as Dante and Lucca reentered the room. "I've been watching the news broadcasts from my laptop. X and Zionus' troops are attacking Danielle."

JiEin was being worked on by Lucca and Dante, the paneling on the back of his head being opened with power tools. "Do you think Mr. Suicidal Rush can actually defeat her?"

Labyrinth seemed to ponder for a moment before responding. "No, I don't think so. However, they can weaken her. That will be our chance. Hahn, Leah, JiEin and with me. I can weaken her so Hahn can do whatever he needs to do. You two know Ayame, so you can help strengthen her."

Dante, who was helping Lucca remove JiEin's limiter, suddenly slumped for a second. When he spoke, his voice sounded rather odd. "Well, it seems like I've missed a lot of information."

On Dezolis, Jadrek, Sage, Lissandra and Yokote are in the Esper's monitoring room. They have been watching Danielle's rampage the entire time. Watching the meeting, Sage decided to step in. As Dante was the most familiar mind available to him, he established contact with him. Wow, the power boost I got from fusing with Lutz was amazing. That, and the fact that I'm no longer blocking myself lets me do a lot more. Too bad I'm going to have to take over Dante's mind until he acknowledges me. It's so difficult talking to people with no telepathic gift. If I wasn't fused with Lutz at this point, I wouldn't be able to do this...

Inside Dante's head, he is willing himself to be able to talk. Why can't I talk? And why does my head feel all funny?

"Dante, it's Sage. I had to take over your mind for a split second, until you realized it's me. I'm still on Dezolis."

"Sage, how the hell are you doing this? And why do you feel so much more powerful? I can feel the power surging through you through the mindlink."

"It's a long story. Basically, I'm the heir to the ancient power of Lutz. It gives me all sorts of new abilities. Anyway... I think I can help with your recent problems."

"Ok...but how are you doing? Will you be able to defeat Zionus? And when are you coming back?"

"It's quicker to just show you. Here's what's happened."

A flurry of images passed through Dante's head. He saw Sage do battle with the Doppelganger, meet the Espers and gain Lutz's power.

"Hmm...so Dezolis is snowy, eh? Sounds cool. How's that hot girl you met?"

"Lissandra? She's fine."

"Oh. Have you hooked up with her yet?"

"Dante! I've been kinda busy trying to save us from Zionus. That really is all you can think about."

"Heh, you gotta make time sometime, man. Anyway, will you let me talk now?"

"Yes. Your head will feel funny because I'm using you as a link to follow the conversation. Anything I tell you, you need to relay to them. Don't fight the connection, OK?"

"Ok. Make with the plan, already. And...I'm glad you're safe. I was kinda worried letting your weak ass go on your own, but Jessie would've killed me if I left."

"Thanks. And yeah...I'm quite a bit stronger now. Anyway, I'm releasing my control, but maintaining the link."

Dante was released from Sage's control, and explained what happened.

Dante spoke with his normal voice again as he and Lucca closed up the paneling on JiEin's head.

"That was Sage. He's on Dezolis, and he's about to go looking for the thing that can help us defeat Zionus. But he says that he may be able to help us stop Danielle."

Lucca turned to Dante with a smile on her face. "So, he's doing well. That's good to hear. Hopefully he can find what he's looking for soon."

Leah addressed Dante. "Isn't Sage the archivist guy that was teaching Ayame how to use her powers?"

"Yeah, he is. He says that if we can drain Danielle's energy, he might be able to telepathically calm her down while strengthening Ayame."

"He can do that?" JiEin asked.

"Yeah, apparently he gained a lot of power by becoming the 'heir' for that Lutz person."

"Very well. It seems like my combat abilities are unlocked, so let's get ready to go."

"Labyrinth, are we ready to go?" Lucca asked, as she set down the tool kit.

"Yes, I believe so. Dante, do you want to go with us, or can Sage 'ride along' in Leah or Lucca's head?"

"He says he can 'jump' to either of them. I'm going to stay here. I've got to work on the new training simulator for the new members, if we want them to be at any kind of real fighting effectiveness."

"Very well. Leah, Lucca, do either of you want to let Sage hitch a ride in your heads?"

Leah spoke, as Lucca looked rather hesitant. "Sure, I'll do it. If he tries to somehow mentally cop a feel or something, I'll kill him. Just to let him know."

Lucca gazed at Leah with a look of relief on her face.I trust Sage, but I don't want him riding in my head. There's stuff in there I don't want to let anyone know. For one...I still feel bad about leaving the military.

"OK, Leah. He's contacting you now."

On Dezolis, Sage broke the link. Before he established contact with Leah, he spoke to the gathered Espers.

"The Resistance is attempting to stop the manifestation of the Darkness. I'm going to help them. Try not to bump me, or anything."

"Yes, Honored Lu- Sage." Jadrek replied.

"Sure, Sage. We're here if you need any help." Lissandra said, settling down to a more comfortable seat.

Yokote nodded his assent, the leaned on one of the consoles as Sage seated himself in a large, comfortable chair Jadrek made appear.

Ok, now to contact Leah. Casting a mental probe into the infinite cosmos, he began searching for the mind of the eye-patched Hunewearl. After a few seconds, he found her and gently made contact.

Leah felt an tickling sensation at the back of her head, then a calm voice in her mind spoke.

"Hello, I'm Sage. You are Leah, right?"

'Yes. Don't go prying into my memories, or anything. I'll gut you if you do..."

"Relax. I'm not that rude.'

"Good to hear. I'm used to X, so..."

"Heh, it's alright. How well do you know Ayame?"

"Fairly well. She's like a niece to X and I."

"That's fortunate. You and JiEin are going to have to talk to her and encourage her. I have to try and calm down Danielle."

"Let me get this straight. You want us to talk to a girl that according to Hahn, hates us. She has the power of a god, and isn't afraid to use it. Wow, your plans are almost as effective as X's. How could anything possibly go wrong?"

"It'll be okay. I believe X is about to attack her, and that'll drain her of energy. She's probably just scared and frightened. I know a thing or two about being given a power you never wanted..."

"I can feel what you are feeling. Is that normal? You felt so sad when you mentioned that..."

"Yes, it's normal. And yes, it does make me sad. Before I learned how to control my powers, people got hurt. I was hated and feared, and it made me hate people in general. I think I can understand what she's going through."

"Hmm...well that'll come in handy. We're about to leave, so I'm gonna stop thinking at you and go."

"What, you can't think and walk at the same time?"

"Watch it. That threat to gut you still stands."

"Haha, ok. I'll be quiet and watch."

Leah followed Labyrinth, JiEin and Lucca outside to a teleporter.

"Labyrinth, do we know how X is faring against Danielle?"

"Apparently it's a stalemate. They haven't made any overly aggressive moves yet. They just got there." JiEin answered. "What? I have a link to Elly's laptop, and she's streaming the news broadcast into my sensors."

"Very well. We should hang back until she takes out the troops. We hopefully won't have to fight her, but everyone be prepared for combat anyway."

"Isn't Hahn coming with us?"

"No, he decided to stay behind. His presence would likely only enrage Danielle."

"When did this happen?" Leah asked.

"When you were thinking at Sage for five minutes."

"Oh, ok." Leah checked the sheath of her Yamigarisu, as Lucca, Labyrinth and JiEin readied their weapons as well.

As a group,they stepped into the teleporter, reappearing one short warp away from Danielle's position.

Danielle has been surrounded by a ring of about a hundred of Zionus' soldiers. X is standing back, watching as she hovers in the middle of the ring. She is laughing evilly.

"X, seriously... you tried this trick before, remember? My pathetic other self was able to take them out. And with my new powers, I can easily crush you. Oh well, it's your funeral. Let's play, boys and girls."

Danielle began to charge dark energy in an enormous aura around her. At a signal from X, the soldiers drew their weapons and began bombarding her with energy.Half were firing Visks,which had the option of a paralyzing shot. The other half were armed with the Justy ST, which can drain away life force in set increments. Each shot on it's own was insignificant, but the total began to take a toll on her.

Danielle was dodging shots and firing off energy blasts, enjoying herself. She had only been hit a few times, but the shots from the brown rifles actually hurt a little. The shots from the blue ones just felt funny. The shield of energy she erected was doing an admirable job of protecting her, but with every couple of hits from the brown rifles she felt her energy be drained.

Her individual Demon Roars were taking out single individuals and those stupid enough to cluster together, but these troopers were much smarter. They were spreading out, and attempting to dodge her shots.

As odd as it sounds, these idiots are actually draining me a bit. I didn't wanna blast them all at once, but an area attack would've ended my fun too fast. I may have to though. This is getting boring. Now to-aah!"

A lucky shot from one of the dozens of rifles bombarding her hit a weak point in her shield and went through. Unfortunately for her, it was a Visk. She felt her body go numb, and she began to fall. The rifle fire increased in intensity, and it actually started hurting.

The soldiers closed in for the kill on her slumped body. She was breathing, but the Visk's paralysis had rendered her unable to move.

Oh, no. I can't move. They're going to kill me. How can I die? I just wanted to have some fun...

Watching the broadcast, JiEin let out a curse.

"They've actually managed to hurt her. She went down. We have to help her."

"Help her? Are you insane? She's a goddess on a rampage. I'm sure they can't really hurt her." Lucca said.

"That's my niece out there, regardless of whatever power's possessing her. I'm going to help her!" Leah spun on her heel and ran for the teleporter, followed closely by JiEin.

"Thank you, Leah. I can't jump to the soldiers, there minds are shielded by Zionus. It seems like she's been paralyzed. Anti should fix it. If you can get within sight range, I can make contact with her."

"Ok. I'll Anti her."

"You and JiEin might want to not get too close, though. She's going to be rather angry."

"Yeah, I figured that part out."

Leah and JiEin appeared next to the battle field, behind the ring of soldiers that were relentlessly pumping rounds at Danielle's slumped body. Leah felt for her target, then cast Anti. As she did so, she felt Sage 'jump' from her mind to Danielle's. The paralysis lifted, and Danielle began to stir.

What happened? Someone helped me...who? And...why would anyone want to help me?

She charged energy and took flight once again, blasting a wave of telekinetic energy around her to clear out the closest soldiers. She felt a strangely soothing presence in her head.

Sage had made contact with Danielle, and was now trying to talk to her. Her mind is full of rage, but at the same time she's frightened and lonely. This'll take a delicate touch.

There's someone in my head. Get out!

She charged energy and incinerated the closest soldiers with a massive beam of energy.

"Who are you?! And why won't you get out of my head?"

"My apologies. My name is Sage, and I'd like to help you.

"Yeah right, like I need help. Were you the one that Anti'd me? I would've broken out of it on my own, y'know."

"Yes, you are probably right. We helped you because we are worried about you.

Danielle is blasting soldiers with enormous beams of dark energy. Turning, she sees Leah and JiEin.

"Oh, so you're with Leah and JiJi. They hate me, and I want to kill them. Why would they help me?

"Because they care about you. They care about Ayame, but they also want to help you. They had no way of knowing you were trapped inside her. Leah just risked her life to Anti you."

"Probably because they want to use me, just like everyone else. I'm not your tool!"

Danielle charged up to release a radial explosion of energy. Looking over at the teleporter, she saw Leah and JiEin sniping at a few of the soldiers with techniques and a Raygun, respectively.

"They don't want to use you, they want to help you. They think it's wrong that you were created to be used as a weapon."

"Yeah, right. Like they could know what it's like to be born with powers you can't control. Hypocrites. Tell your little friends to enjoy their impending doom. The blast I'm about to release will level this whole block."

"I can understand what it's like to be born with a power you can't control, and be hated and feared for it. How do you think I'm communicating with you now? I'm a telepath, one of only a very few in the galaxy. There are no rule books. When I was younger, whenever I'd get upset people around me would get hurt. I would cause telekinetic storms when I'd get upset, or wipe people's memories. One time, when I was getting picked on by the other kids, I lashed out...

Sage shows her an image of him as a child. He's on the ground, being beaten up by a crowd of leering children.

"Yeah, you freak! Take this! We don't want any freaks at our school."

The largest boy suddenly clasped his head, then feel over in a heap after delivering a final swift kick to the young Sage's ribs. A wave of telekinetic power swept the other children into a nearby wall, and the force of impact injured many of them.

Sage slowly got to his feet, as battered and bruised as he was, and looked down at the leader of the pack, who was slumped on the ground holding his head.

"I'm tired of being your target. I didn't ask for this power. No one ever taught me how to control it! I don't want it, and if I could take it away I could. I'm going to let you feel how much it hurts when I lose control!!!"

Sage raised his hand, telekinetically lifting the larger boy of the ground. Tears were streaming down Sage's face as he began to mentally attack the other child's mind. He wanted him to feel all the pain he was feeling, all the sorrow and rage at being isolated and excluded. The boy screamed in agony as his mind was overloaded, and as Sage lost control his telekinetic grip tightened, crushing the boy. The bully swiftly lost consciousness as his arms were telekinetically snapped, and seconds later Sage was tackled by three security personnel.

The image in Danielle's mind faded, and she could see again. Apparently, he hadn't inhibited her actions any, as more soldiers were lying on the ground.

"I was locked up for six months in a juvenile containment center for the insane. My parents disowned me... "

"I was found by an aging Force, who taught me control and adopted me. He was a high-ranking hunter, and helped get me free and give me control. So, I became a hunter. I've been holding back ever since."

"Just because you have this power doesn't give you the right to hurt people with it. You need to learn to control it. By hurting people indiscriminately with it, you're no better than they are."

Danielle was feeling conflicted. She could tell that Sage wasn't lying. Maybe someone could understand how she felt...

"You might be able to understand me. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't kill these soldiers, or you. I have the power of a god! I can do what I want. Now...get OUT!!

Danielle released a wave of energy, breaking the link with Sage.

On Dezolis, he slumped in his seat. "I got through to her, but she's still incredibly angry. She needs to be weakened further before she'll listen."

Labyrinth and Lucca teleported in just as Danielle began gathering energy for a massive attack.

Labyrinth stepped forward, energizing his shield generator as he did so. "Get behind me! She's about to unleash a massive attack."

Seconds later, a dark wave of purple destruction pulsed outward from Danielle, destroying everything in it's path. Buildings crumpled and the soldiers were turned into ash.

When the wave passed, Danielle slumped to the ground. The only things left standing in a thousand yard radius were two glowing orbs. Labyrinth's group was behind one pulsing blue shield, and X was behind the glowing white one. Zionus' power had shielded him again...

As Zionus' rippling white shield faded, X drew his sword and started towards the kneeling Danielle. She was breathing heavily, and her aura had shrunken.

"So, you want to go now? I'll have to end this quickly. I'm rather tired. Sorry to end it so quickly, but...die!"

'Die' was punctuated with a large energy blast that erupted from Danielle's outstretched hand. X dodged it easily, and continued his rush towards her.

"Hmm...that's odd. No one dodges my stuff. You're going to pay."

Rising to the sky with a new pulse of energy fueling her aura, she placed her hands together and began gathering energy. As a black halo appeared between them, she fired off a flurry of Demon Roars. X managed to dodge a few of the black halos, but the rest connected with him solidly. When the smoke from the explosions cleared, the upper part of his clothing was destroyed. His katana had blocked the rest of the damage, though.

Charging up with energy, Danielle redoubled her assault as X charged her. He got within sword range before he was telekinetically hurled into the air and consumed with purple flame.

"The problem with swords is that they have limited range. This doesn't."

Danielle charged up a massive Demon Roar and fired it at the immobile X. His sword blocked it, but was shattered. The force of it pushed him backwards, out of her grip. It exploded, and he fell to the ground. Astoundingly, he was still alive.

He got slowly to his feet, and settled himself in a vaguely martial arts stance.

"This is too easy. If I wanted to kill a groundhog, I'd go find one. I'll be groundbound, to make this last a bit longer."

As Danielle lowered to the ground, X fired off a Foie. She moved to bat it aside, but it exploded right before she made contact. Distracted by the bright flash, she was caught by a kick to the face delivered by X, who had used his incredible speed to close the gap between them.

Reeling from the kick, she was rocked by several rapid-fire punches. Wow, I didn't know he was this strong. But this is...enough!

Fueling herself with dark power, she began to fight back. She blocked a punch at her face and responded with a kick to his midsection that pushed him back several feet.

Charging up a two-handed blast, she fired. He effortlessly leaped over it to catch her with a flying kick to the face. To her surprise, she fell backwards. That really hurt. And the power's coming slower and slower each time. What's wrong with me?

She was forced to dodge to the side as X leaped at her with a diving punch, planning to crush her skull. His fist left a sizeable dent in the street as she rolled aside and regained her footing.

I'm done fooling around. If I fly, it's too easy. If I'm on the ground, I get beat up. I'm ending this now. I can't keep this pace up for long.

Danielle brought her hands up to her sides, bending her knees as she did so. She began to charge up energy, forming a larger and larger aura around herself. X ran towards her, but was soon hit by her as she flew towards him.

Fueled by Darkness, she unleashed a rapid-fire flurry of punches and kicks. The few he was fast enough to block broke through his guard with their sheer power. She was both enhancing her hits telekinetically as well as fueling her body with Darkness. The power of her hits was sending shockwaves through the air as she mercilessly pummeled him As he began to reel from her furious onslaught, she kicked him high into the air.

Flying up to intercept him, she smashed him towards the ground with a two-handed downward punch. Before he could hit the ground, she warped next to him and intercepted him with a roundhouse kick that sent him flying into the distance. Rushing ahead of his limp body, she caught him with her outstretched arm, kneed him in the stomach a few times, then smashed him into the ground with a one-handed slam.

Raising up from her kneeling position, she staggered backwards and fell into a sitting position. The aura around her faded, and her wings retracted. "There...now stay down! She slumped back onto her hands, and began to slowly regain her breath. Her pulse was pounding in her temples, and her entire body was shaking. Hoping nothing else attacked her for the time being, she tried to rest. Any determined attacker would require too much power to defeat. She was at the end of her energy reserves.

Unfortunately for her, Labyrinth and his group were still around, and had seen the entire thing. After a brief discussion, they moved towards her. Sage made contact, as she was too weak at the moment to force him away.

Sage gently contacted her again.

"Labyrinth and the others want to help you. Please, let them. We need no more bloodshed."

"No. I need no help. Warn them to stay back or I'll kill them."

"That's rather unlike you. Are you developing compassion, or just exhausted? We sincerely do want to help you. You know it's impossible to lie mind-to-mind, and you could read my thoughts easily if you wish. Please, believe me!"

Leave me alone! I'll kill them all..."

Rising to her feet, she addressed the approaching group. The energy aura around her flared to life as her wings reappeared.

I'm going to kill all of you! You don't care about me, and I hate you! Now die!"

She opened her soul fully to Darkness, and unleashed an enormous wave of energy. The Black Energy Wave, a pure emanation of Darkness, streamed towards the group. Lab, JiEin and Leah were fast enough to dodge, but it slammed into Lucca. She was suspended in the beam for a second before slumping to the ground, motionless.

"Lucca!" Labyrinth shouted, rushing to her. Leah and JiEin joined him, Leah casting a quick Resta spell. It was ineffective.

"Resta won't work. We just have to let her recover. Neifirst was hit with a beam like that by Zio." Leah said, crouching down beside her. "It's going to cause her incredible pain soon. I can keep her comfortable, but you need to take out Danielle. Now..."

JiEin started towards Danielle, drawing the Ji Sword. He was stopped by Labyrinth's outstretched hand.

"I'll handle this. If she gets past me, stop her. We can be repaired a lot more easily than these two. Besides, Lucca's a good friend." JiEin nodded his assent, and stepped back.

"Danielle! We wanted to do this without hurting you, but I see now we have no choice. I will stop you, one way or the other. Your rampage ends here!"

Labyrinth's boot jets kicked in as the Racast rushed his opponent. He drew a Nug Bazooka as he rocketed towards her. She was slow to avoid the first shot, and was buffeted by the shell's explosion as she took to the air.

A little unsteady, she began to charge up energy. As Labyrinth dashed towards her, she fired off multiple Demon Roars. With as tired as she was, they were less than half their normal power, and traveled proportionally slower. Labyrinth effortlessly dodged them as he pursued her, firing round after round from his Nug.

She was slow in dodging his shots, every muscle in her body feeling sapped and weak. Her reaction were slow, and the more she called on her power, the more her vision blurred. She was at the end of her reserves.

Each explosion that hit near her drained more and more energy from her shield. She could feel her control over Ayame's body weakening.

In desperation, she dodged behind a building that had been ruined. Her flight had carried her past the ground zero of her original attack, and she was in an area of ruined buildings. On the other side of the building was emblazoned a large graphic of a smiling yellow face. When Lab saw this, a rarely used subroutine in his programming kicked in. His boot jets died and the Nug was put away. He stood still for a second, seemingly defenseless. Danielle came out of her hiding place and began charging up a massive Demon Roar. Something's wrong with him. This may be my last chance.

Drawing the energy for the Demon Roar felt like someone siphoning fire through her body. It was pure agony, but she kept at it. Before she was fully charged, Labyrinth began to move. Plating on his chest opened, and a glow of energy appeared.

"Smiley. Smiley. Smiley, Smiley...Smiley...SMILEY! Smileys must be destroyed!! Activating Omega Cannon for Prime Directive: Smiley Eradication."

Regaining control over his actions a split-second later, Lab pondered this turn of events. Hmm...I thought the Omega Cannon was sealed. I wonder why they put that bit of programming in? Oh well, it'll probably work well on Danielle.

Bracing himself, he tracked her motion as she wavered in the sky. Just as she fired off her Demon Roar, he countered with the super-powered beam cannon in his chest. It ripped through the dark halo of energy, and sped towards her. As she fired off a huge purple beam to counter it, Sage took this moment to strike. he assailed her will all the telepathic force he could muster, reaching out to the Ayame personality trapped within her.

"Ayame, you have to wake up! Take back control of your body!"

"Mr. Sage...? I'll try. It's so hard, though. I feel like I'm underwater really deep, and I can't swim up."

"Just keep trying, I'll help you."

Sage extended a telepathic probe for Ayame to grab onto, and began to feed her with his strength. Her presence grew stronger, and he could feel her begin to fight back. With that accomplished, he contacted Leah.

"Tell JiEin to tackle Danielle. We need to get her out of the path of the beam. Ayame's going to regain control soon."

With the message relayed, Sage turned again to attack Danielle.

Danielle felt her control slipping away like water from a broken container. Control was as hard to regain as trying to grasp a rope made of sand. She felt her beam weaken, and when she reached for more power, she was unable to obtain any more. Her reserves were shot. Just then, it felt as if a sledgehammer had hit her in the side. JiEin's tackle carried her out of the path of the beam as her beam died. She fell to the ground, and he caught himself as she hit the ground with a thud.

Lab shut down the Omega Cannon, and the released energy hit the ruined building, obliterating it. JiEin shielded Danielle's body with his metallic one as chips of masonry flew. Rising up from shielding her as the explosion faded, he saw her body glowing brightly.

When the glow faded, the familiar purple-haired form of Ayame was visible once again. She was older than her remembered, but easily recognizable. He knelt and picked her up gently, then carried her over to where Labyrinth was already holding Lucca. They headed over to the nearby teleporter as Leah looked for X. He was nowhere to be found. The group headed back to Resistance Headquarters in a bright shimmer of light. Danielle's rampage was over.

On Dezolis, Sage slumped back into his seat. The darkness had been contained, for now...