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.

11. Gathering Shadows

Sunlight filters through the trees, the brilliant sunset tinging the forest scene a pale orange. Ayame stands in a clearing, relaxing as the wind whispers through the leaves above her head. The patterns of the clouds loop infinitely as the VR simulation repeats itself over and over again. She leans back against the sun-warmed bark of the virtual tree behind her, closes her eyes and lets out a soft sigh. For the fifth time, she begins to focus her power, straining to remember the rage she felt at Zionus' attack. After a few moments, she sags against the tree, going limp as she exhausts her power.

She sits down to let her mental energies regenerate, and scratches gingerly at the pale bandage on her ribs. No matter how hard I try, I can't get this to work. With Uncle X weakened, I have to be the one to fight Zionus. If I could control my power, I could do this. I could beat him. I could end all of this. It's not fair... we beat him years ago. Yet somehow he comes back, steals a lot of power and tries to take over. He's hurt so many people...it's not fair. Why do I have to be the one to face him? Why me? Why, why, why!

As her frustration builds, a faint purple aura shimmers around her for a few seconds. Without realizing it, she telekinetically lifts the rocks around her and crushes them into powder. Her calm violet eyes flash a dark red as she stands. She whirls and delivers a Foie to the tree behind her, letting out a scream of frustration. "Argh!"

"It's...not...fair!" She hits a button on the control remote tucked into her belt, and the scene shifts to a cliff overlooking the waters near Gal Da Val Island. Removing her platform shoes, she walks barefoot to the edge of the cliff. Gazing down at the sparkling ocean below her, she hits another control on the remote, projecting an image of Zionus above the shining waters. Focusing on her enemy, she charges a Foie and unleashes it. As the hologram begins to burn with simulated flame, she intensifies her assault, finishing with a flare of black energy that makes it about ten meters before dissipating in front of Zionus' holographic image.

She falls to her knees, drained. Looking down at the waters below her, she catches a glimpse of blood red-hair through her tear-filled eyes. When she focuses, her hair is back to its normal color. She brings her legs up to her chest and hugs herself, rocking back and forth and beginning to hum softly.

In a lab nearby, Elly puts the finishing touches on JiEin's temporary frame. She closes a panel after sealing a few wires, then steps back and examines her handiwork. Walking to a computer terminal, she boots up the frame's main power system. As it initializes, she activates JiEin's primary OS. The eyes flash yellow for a brief moment, then JiEin sits up with a start.

"Elly...where am I?"

"You're in the lab. It's been three days since you tried to kill yourself in a suicide attack on Zionus." Elly says, concern and fury mingling in her voice.

"Why do I feel so strange? This body, it's different..."

"Yes, it is. It's a copy of your original frame. I'm working on repairing your old body, but you'll need to give me a few days. We downloaded you into that frame to keep your memory centers intact. Its combat abilities are nowhere near your original frame, but it'll suffice for now."

"Very well. What's happened in the past few days?"

"Thousands of people have joined Zionus, hoping for 'salvation." Elly said with disgust, moving away from the computer console. She scans JiEin with a handheld device as she continues talking. "Braindead fools. A mob took out the teleportation routing centers last night. The inter-ship transporters are down. We've tried to repair them, but haven't had much luck."

From: magus84 Posted: 4/8/2005 2:35:18 AM Message Detail

"Was anyone seriously hurt in Zionus' attack?" JiEin asks, swinging his legs over the side of the examination table.

"The better question is...who wasn't? Everyone was injured, except for me, some of the soldiers, the medical personnel, and Cranberry's group. We've been patching things up around here since. Many soldiers were killed, but it could have been a lot worse. I finally managed to get Lab up and running again yesterday morning, and he's been coordinating repairs since."

"Are X, Ayame, Neifirst and Leah alright?" JiEin wonders aloud, standing up.

"Leah has a concussion. She's fine otherwise, but is still rather wobbly. Neifirst has some bruises and bumps, but she recovered fairly quickly. X and Ayame both used their conduit powers, and were completely drained. X got stabbed through the chest, but Ayame did some freaky conduit thing and saved him. They're both exhausted, but not that much permanent damage was done. The med staff has been on constant overtime. They weren't hurt that badly, though."

"They...both used their conduit powers? I didn't think Ayame was capable of using it on her own."

"She's been trying for the past day and a half to do it again, with no luck. Something about her and X's energy fields interacting with each other caused it. She's in the VR field now. Her and X trained earlier, with no luck."

"Where's X?"

"He's in the med center, getting a black eye looked at. He went outside and got jumped by a mob of people. Apparently, he's an 'enemy of the master' and needs to be 'purified.' He was trying to go to his apartment, as he said he had something that could help Ayame. With the teleporters down, he may not be able to go there with the mobs patrolling for him. The soldiers have had to almost shoot several of them when they gathered around outside the building."

"Have Zionus' troops attacked?"

"No, not really. Right after he left, a small group appeared. But Cranberry's group was able to fight them off. He seems to be biding his time."

"Hmm...that isn't reassuring. I'm going to go talk to X." JiEin moved towards the door, but was intercepted by Elly. Elly stopped him, then threw her arms around him and clung to him for a few moments.

"Elly...?" JiEin asks hesitantly.

"I'm fine, you big moron. I was just worried about you. Don't ever, ever do something that stupid again. If you do, I'm going to turn you into a toaster. Got it?" Elly pulled away, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Sorry. I thought I could stop Zionus. I'll plan more carefully next time."

"Alright. Say hi to X for me. I'm gonna go work on your frame."

JiEin turned and strode quickly out of the lab.

From: magus84 Posted: 4/8/2005 3:50:34 AM Message Detail

A string of targets pops up, only to be swiftly cut down by a burst of Yasminkov fire. Nova reloads and fires again as another row of targets appears. As he loads his third clip, he is interrupted by the sound of the door. He turns to see the familiar faces of Axios and Kiara as the enter the training room.

"So...what's the plan boss?" Axios says, incinerating a target with a Foie from his bare palm.

"Zionus seems to be consolidating his power. With his number of followers increasing like this, he's going to have a true army soon. And without the Rings of Stars, there's not much we can do."

"So, we have to wait on Sage?" Kiara asks, skewering another target with a deft throw of one of her Kamuis.

"Basically, yes. Last anyone heard, he was on his way to the planet where the Rings were stored. We should just try to relax and wait for an opening, I suppose."

"Alright then. Let's have some fun..." Axios says, fiddling with the control panel on the side of the room. Seconds later, the familiar VR field of the Temple appears. The three hunters gather their weapons and begin to explore.

In Labyrinth's office, Lucca knocks lightly on the open door. He turns from his computer and motions for her to enter.

"You called, sir?"

"Yes, Lucca. I want to show you something. Sit down, please." Labyrinth waves her to a chair, then pulls up a schematic on his computer.

In the medical center, X is arguing with Leah.

"X, you are insane. Those people out there are trying to kill you. You can't go out like that, not in your weakened state. I'll go and get it."

"Look skank, you can barely stand up. I need to grab some stuff from the apartment. There's something there I can use to help Ayame. I just need to get there."

"Yeah, and there's a mob trying to kill you in the name of their 'god.' This is worse than your normal idiocy, even. Think, for once in your life. If you were at your full strength, getting there would be no problem. But trying to fight off a mob like this...it's suicide."

JiEin enters the room, looking for X.

"JiEin, you're looking different. What happened?"

"It's a temporary frame while Elly fixes my base one. I overloaded it fighting Zionus. What happened to you?"

"The idiot got taken out by some fanatic humans. It was hilarious..." Neifirst says, sauntering into the room.

"When you say it that way, it sounds so bad." X says, looking sheepish.

"It was that bad. You're lucky those troopers saw you." Neifirst quips.

"Well, I'm not used to fighting off guys. Usually when I get mobbed, it's beautiful women...oof!" The 'oof' was from Leah hitting him in the face with a pillow.

"So, what were you going outside for, anyway? It's practically martial law out there." Neifirst says, barely hiding her smirk as she sits on the side of Leah's bed.

"I've been trying to help Ayame train. There's a sword at my apartment that I think will be of use to her. It uses the same basic concept as our conduits do, just on a much lower level. It transforms emotion into power. If I could get that, she could get used to the idea and slowly build up to fueling a conduit. But the teleporters are down because of those psychos."

"Be honest. You just want your porn collection back." Leah says, laughing.

From: magus84 Posted: 4/8/2005 3:51:09 AM Message Detail

"And you don't want all your clothes?" X asks.

"See, I have a little something called foresight. I actually packed before this. You should try it sometime." Leah replies.

"Next time I get brainwashed and captured, I'll be sure to do that."

"Why not go in disguise?" says JiEin.

"Because I'm far too sexy to hide behind a disguise." X replies, striking a pose. He doubles over as Leah punches him lightly in the stomach.

Nei's eyes light up, and a strange smile spreads across her face. "I have the perfect idea...but you have to let me go with you."

"Uh, alright..." X says, startled by the grin on her face. "Hey skank, get some rest. I'll be back before we leave."

X, JiEin and Neifirst leave the room, heading to the living area. They pass Cranberry, Striker and Black Raiden, who are helping with repairs and training the new recruits.

"You know, it's ironic. The more people Zionus intimidates into joining him, the more people join us." X says, as they continue walking.

"It makes sense, actually. People are polarizing around one group or another. There are no neutral people anymore, not after all the atrocities he's committed." JiEin says. "Nei, where are we going?"

"To the equipment rooms. I have a wonderful idea." They reach the room marked 'uniform storage', and after clearing it with the custodian, they head inside.

Neifirst scans the racks of clothing, then picks out a faded blue dress and holds it up. "X, come here. I have the perfect disguise for you..." Nei says, nearly purring in delight.

"Nei...that's a Fomarl dress. I'm not a Fomarl." X says, a incredulous look on his face.

"I know. That's what makes it so perfect." Nei says, grinning evilly.

"You are not making me wear a dress." X says, backing away.

"Neifirst is correct, X. No one would ever be able to tell it was you." JiEin says.

"I...dammit. You have a point."

"" Neifirst simply smiles, a look of malicious glee in her eyes.

As Nei bustles about, gathering materials, JiEin goes to speak with Elly.

"Nei...you are enjoying this far, far too much." X says, holding up the dress.

"Yeah. You're already a bishie. You can pull this off easily. You might even be mistaken for cute."

"Why do you enjoy causing me such pain?" X groans.

"Because, it's fun. Tell you what, brat. Let me get a picture of you in the dress, and let me go with you, and I won't tell Leah some of the stuff I've been meaning to tell her."

"What...what do you mean...?" X says nervously.

"About your 'encounter' with Danielle. Or that time I got drunk and..."

"Alright, alright, fine!" X folds, seeing Nei's relentless leverage.

When Ayame walks in two hours later, she is startled to find a Ramarl with fuchsia hair held back with a beret. After looking more closely, she identifies the Ramarl as Neifirst. She is wearing a beige uniform with baggy pants and a low-cut, midriff-baring top. Her hair is pulled back into a braid, and a jaunty beret covers her ears. She is putting on a pair of glasses as Ayame walks in.

From: magus84 Posted: 4/8/2005 3:52:28 AM Message Detail

"Ms...Ms. Nei!"

"Hello, Ayame. Glad you decided to join us. We need to find you a disguise too. You said you wanted to go with us, right?"

"Yeah! It's so boring around here. Where's Uncle X?"

Neifirst chuckles evilly, then points to the door of the bathroom. "Your 'Uncle' is in there, fixing his hair." She scans the racks of clothing, then comes up with a black, leather Hunewearl outfit. "Here kiddo, put this on." She hands the outfit to Ayame, then steers her towards a changing room.

"Ms. Nei...how do you wear stuff like this? It's so tight in the chest, and the shorts are way too small..."

Neifirst turns as Ayame walks out of the changing room, then jumps in surprise. Sighing, she grabs an outfit with slightly more room in the chest and hips. Handing it to Ayame, she turns and checks her hair as Ayame goes to change again. How did the kid develop that quickly...? It's insane. That first outfit I handed her would have fit me just fine, and I'm older than she is. Oh, well.

Thirty minutes later, Ayame is adjusting her new knee-high hunter boots. Nei is completely made over as a Ramarl. A tall man in grey pants and a grey shirt with red trim enters the room.

"Um, excuse me mister. We're changing in here..." Ayame begins.

"Don't worry Ayame, it's me. JiEin. Elly was able to acquire some of the synthetic skin we use for my undercover work. I'm going with you three." Ayame leaps up with a squeal of glee, and runs to inspect JiEin's new human look.

"Ooh, I like your hair. It feels so real..." Ayame says, running her fingers through JiEin's synthetic hair. "I like the red streaks. It goes nicely with the black. And the fake eyes are a really cool shade of blue."

"Thank you. The undercover gear is some of Elly's best work."

The three turn as a Fomarl in a blue and white dress emerges from the changing room. 'She' is carrying a mirror and a brush, and fidgeting with the pins in her hair every now and then.

"X...?"

"Yeah. You're right...this is a good disguise..." X says sheepishly, adjusting the padding in the chest of his disguise.

Neifirst goes into hysterical convulsions of laughter, nearly falling over. Ayame and JiEin look on, shocked. After a few minutes, Ayame braves a question.

"So...are you Aunt X now?"

X glares at her, as Neifirst regains control of herself. "Well X, I have to admit...you make a good woman. You certainly were thorough with it."

"If I have to dress up like a woman, I'm gonna look damned sexy. And you...who the hell are you?" X asks, staring at JiEin.

"It's me, JiEin. This is my undercover gear. Elly managed to obtain some of the synthetic skin from the lab."

"Oh...that's cute. So you're coming with us?"

"Yes. I have some business I need to take care of, and I'm apparently on Zionus' hit list as well."

"Aunt X, Aunt X...I'm coming too. It's so boring here..." Ayame says, stepping forward. She reaches up, brushing a strand of brown hair out of her face. "Ms. Nei helped me with my disguise."

"I can tell." X says dryly. "And kiddo...don't ever call me 'Aunt X' ever again."

"But Ms. Nei said..."

"No. Nei...no. You got what you wanted. But you're not going to have that much fun with this." X glared at Neifirst, who is barely able to keep from going into hysterical laughter again.

"Alright, alright...are we ready? We need to go see Leah first, though. And get some more fitting weapons. We shouldn't have to fight, but if we do, it'd be best to prepare."

The group heads to the weapons center, X receiving several stares of appreciation from the new recruits.

From: magus84 Posted: 4/8/2005 4:16:49 PM Message Detail

Ten minutes later, the group is outside the Weapons Depot. Neifirst grabs a Holy Ray, checks the charge on it's main power cell, then replaces it in its capsule and puts the capsule on her belt. Ayame is testing out a pair of Twin Chakrams, as JiEin goes through his paces with a Red Partisan. X has been searching through the list of the available weapons, and sighs with disgust.

"All these weapons suck. And I can't take a katana with me. They're far too distinctive."

"You know, if you would carry it like a normal person, instead of insisting on using those archaic sheaths..." Neifirst begins.

"Sheaths are so much cooler though. It increases the badassitocity factor by at least a thousand. But I can't use katanas, even with sheaths. It'll stick out too much..."

"But Uncle X, lots of people use katanas."

"Yeah, but no one uses them well. The second they see my masterful swordsmanship, they'll know it's me."

"X, I have an idea." JiEin says, replacing his powered down Red Partisan in its capsule. He walks over to the counter, requests a specific weapon capsule, then hands it to X.

"What the hell's this...a pair of fans...? JiEin, you are a genius. No one would ever suspect it's me. And I'm so badass, I can even make fans look cool."

"They are a special model created by that Athrun fellow. The fans have Photon blade emitters located along the tips, and can also generate an energy shield along the broad part of the fans. Yet they look like standard paper fans."

"Nice. How do you know all this?" X asks, swinging the bladed fans around experimentally.

"He attempted to repair the Ji Sword. He showed me those when he was working on it. He took the basic Harisen battle fan, made them smaller and put a photon emitter inside them. They have the same weight, but are more concealable when not in combat mode. Should work pretty well."

"Works for me. Are you all ready?" X says, stowing his new weapons.

"Yeah! I like these circle thingies." Ayame replies enthusiastically, swinging her new Twin Chakrams around wildly.

"Let's go then. But first...we have to go see Leah." Neifirst says, looking intently at X.

From: magus84 Posted: 4/8/2005 4:22:27 PM Message Detail

"Gah...alright." The group heads to the Medical Center, and X steps into Leah's room first.

"Hello." X says in a slightly high-pitched voice, as he pops his head into the room.

"Who are you...?" Leah says, looking up at X.

X smiles at Leah's look of puzzlement. Damn I'm good. Switching back to his normal voice, he replies "It's me, skank. Did the concussion mess you up that badly, or is it simply my incredible sexiness?"

"Wait, X? Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Leah collapses in a fit of hysterical laughter, nearly falling out of her bed.

Wiping tears of laughter from her eyes a few minutes later, she finally regains her composure. "Wow X...nice outfit. It will make a good disguise. Where are the others?"

Ayame, JiEin and Neifirst file into the room, Neifirst chortling with malicious laughter. "Hiya, Auntie Leah!"

"Ayame...? I like the hair. Did Nei help you color it?"

"Yeah." Ayame replies, shaking her twin ponytails of light brown hair.

"Nei, I recognize your hair in that RAmarl getup. But who's the guy? JiEin, is that you!"

"Yes, Elly helped with the camoflauge gear and the synthetic skin."

"That's...amazing. I could sense it was you, but there's no way I could tell just by looking. I wish I could go with you all, but I can barely stand."

"We'll be fine. Get some rest, skank. We'll be back before you know it." X states, moving towards the door. The others follow him.

"Be careful. Those people are nearly insane with fear and rage now. They'd do anything to ensure their 'salvation.' Hurry back."

"Yes, mom. Anyway, bye skank." The group leaves, as Leah leans back against her pillow, laughing softly to herself. You know...he does make a rather cute woman. He's so bishie anyway...

On the way to the main exit, the group passes by a squad of four soldiers training. Nyreal stands beside them, observing and giving pointers. One of the troopers breaks through his teammate's guard, and thrusts his bokken viciously, stopping as it lightly touches his sparring partner's neck.

"I win, Jans."

"Yeah, yeah Matsu. Hey, who's the hottie?" Jans says, pointing to the group heading towards the door.

"Which one are you talking about? The Ramarl's cute, but seems a little stuck-up. The Hunewearl's pretty damned hot, but there's something about her that's disturbing. The Fomarl though...man. I'll bet she's a sex machine under those robes." Matsu leers appreciatively, gauging his options.

"I've never seen them around before. Must be new recruits. Say, did you hear about X Launcher getting beat down by a crazed mob?"

"Yeah, well...he's nowhere near as skilled as me. Of course a newb will get beat down. I'm gonna go give that Fomarl a chance to try out my master swordsmanship..." Matsu strolls casually over to the group, as Jans looks on. Nyreal comes up behind him, and leans in to tell him something. The other two troopers stop their training to watch.

"You know Jans...that Fomarl isn't what 'she' seems, right? It's a man in disguise. You can tell by the way he walks, and how he's constantly staring at the Ramarl's backside. This should be entertaining." Nyreal barely hides a snicker, as Jans begins laughing to himself.

"Figures, commander. The other two are fairly attractive, but Matsu's so arrogant. Of course he'd go after the Fomarl. He thinks he's perfect. I'm glad he's gonna be wrong. I hope he gets what he deserves out of this..."

From: magus84 Posted: 4/8/2005 11:38:57 PM Message Detail

Sage blinked, and rolled onto his side. Looking around with bleary eyes, he saw an ornate crystalline wall. He shook his head, and sat up slowly. In a corner of the room, Yokote stirred.

"Ah, good. You're awake. We were worried about you. Liss is still asleep." Yokote said, kneeling down to grab a jug of water near his feet. He stood and walked over to Sage.

"Where...where are we?" Sage winced as he turned towards Yokote, catching an oddly colored ray of sunlight in his face.

"We're on Rykros. We managed to land the ship easily, but as soon as we landed we were warped into this strange palace. We can't get back to the Landale, or get outside. The doors are sealed with a strange crest. We have everything we'd need here, but we are stuck on the quest for the rings. I've been looking in the library, and it says we must be united to be able to claim them." Yokote says, handing Sage a cup of water.

Sage drinks, soothing his parched throat, then replies "Perhaps the doors will open if we all go to them together. I guess we have to wait for Liss to wake up. Where are Brom and Lorna?"

"Brom's in the monster simulation center, going through some training exercises. Lorna's cooking something, and she's been looking stuff up in the library. This place is very, very well equipped."

"Alright, thank you Yokote. I'm going to look around a bit." Sage says, standing up with a tiny bit of unsteadiness.

"Have fun. There's a bathroom with showers down that hallway. The actual bedrooms are down there too. The library, kitchen and simulator room are down the other hallway."

"If there are bedrooms, why'd you put Liss and I on the floor?" Sage asks, a quizzical look on his face.

"It was easier." Yokote says with a shrug, grinning slightly.

Sage walks down the hallway, heading to the bathroom area. He peeks his head into one of the bedrooms, and sees that his gear has been thrown onto the bed. He grabs a change of clothing, then goes to take a shower.

From: magus84 Posted: 4/8/2005 11:39:18 PM Message Detail

Around thirty minutes later, feeling refreshed and very hungry, he continues his exploration. He first goes to the large, ornate main door, which is inscribed with several arcane symbols. He tries to open it, and is rewarded with a booming voice speaking telepathically to him. The way shall be opened when your group is united. He leaves, and heads down the hall with the library. He runs into Lorna in the kitchen, led there by the delicious smell coming from several steaming pots.

"Hello, Lorna." Sage says, leaning against the door frame.

"Well, the sleeper awakens. About time. This place was getting boring." Lorna says, smiling. "We can't get in or out, but there are much worse places to be stuck."

"Yeah. I imagine that when Liss awakens, the locks will open. It said something about us being 'united'."

"So, the scary voice talked to you too? It spoke to me when I first touched it. You've been out cold for two days, you know...we've had plenty of time to try and break out."

"Two days...? Wow. I guess I overexerted myself more than I thought. Say, is that food almost done?" Sage asks, as a rumble from his empty stomach breaks his concentration.

"Yes, actually. It was my turn to cook. Yokote and I have been alternating the cooking duties. This place has an amazingly well-stocked kitchen. It's strange...it's like anything we need just...appears."

"Creepy." Sage replies. He turns to see Yokote entering the room.

"Lissandra is awake. She said she was going to take a shower and change clothes, then she'd join us." Yokote states.

"Oh, good. Maybe after that, we can get out of here." Lorna says as she begins to remove the pots from the stove. The three sit down to eat, and are halfway through their soup when Lissandra enters.

"Does anyone else find this place bizarre? It's like it wants us to stay here. Anything we need pops up immediately, but actually leaving seems out of the question." Lissandra says as she sits down at the table. The four finish their meal, and are cleaning up as Brom enters.

"Well meatbags, it's about time you're awake. This psycho castle won't let us leave without you. If you're done delaying your inevitable deaths with those stupid nutrients, I'd like to get on with what we came here for."

"Gee Brom, it's good to see you too." Sage replies, as they clear the table. After gathering their gear, they head to the main door. The magical glyphs glow brightly for a few moments, then dissipate away. A booming voice reverberates throughout the castle, bouncing off the crystalline walls.

"Chosen of the light...You come seeking the Rings of Stars. You must prove yourself worthy. I permit you to go into the world, and be tested."

The doors creak open, letting them out into the brilliant sunset. A sleek hovercraft is perched right outside the castle. They board, and head towards the massive tower in the distance.

X lounges outside a store as Neifirst, Ayame and JiEin exit, their arms laden with bags.

"Wow, you think you could have left the store some stock? Geez..." X quips.

"We haven't had a chance to go shopping in a long time, Aunt X. It's fun. You should join us. Maybe you can find something you like." Ayame says brightly, juggling a few bags.

"Yeah, like a new dress. That one fits you very well, but since you seem to enjoy it so much, you need to diversify. Some accessories wouldn't hurt either..." says Neifirst as she turns to X.

"..." X scowls.

"Oh come on. If you didn't enjoy dressing up like a woman, why'd you spend so long primping in the bathroom?" Nei asks, grinning evilly at X.

"I already told you. If I have to dress up like this, I'm going to look damned good. Not everyone thinks they can get away with the skanky catgirl look. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. It works for you. I mean, it almost got you me, not to mention a lot of others. But in the end, I'd still rather not contract a case of crabs." X replies, dodging a few punches from the now-enraged Neifirst.

"Aunt X, why don't you want crabs? Crab legs taste good, especially when they're dipped in garlic butter. Uncle JiEin served them at his restaurant a few times." Ayame says innocently.

X turns with an embarrassed look on his face, as Neifirst fumes. "When you're old-...-Ah, cripes. You are older. Guess it can't be helped. You see,the type of crabs we're talking about are something Ms. Nei gets when she makes new 'special friends'."

"What do you mean by 'special friends'?" Ayame asks, puzzled. Neifirst looks on with a scowl of pure rage on her face.

"Well, Ayame, you see, when Miss Nei has a few drinks, she likes to go out and make special friends.She's tried to become special friends with the shop owners, the check room girl, random people on the street, Elly, and the Principal. She even tried to become special friends with me. Quite a few times." X replies, smiling at Neifirst.

"Argh... I'm not some tawdry skank,you brat!" Nei snarls, lunging at the rapidly retreating X.

From: magus84 Posted: 4/13/2005 5:26:03 PM Message Detail

"Uh huh. So, how do you explain that I would have been one of these 'special friends' were I not such a virtuous gentleman? Either you finally admit that I'm far too sexy for you to resist, or..." X says, dodging away from her punch.

Neifirst, enraged, continues her attack as X dodges her.

Nei's furious attempt at an assault draws stares from the few passerby, who turn to look at the group with inquisitive eyes. Realizing the scene they are making, Nei gradually calms herself down.

"X..." Nei says through gritted teeth. "When we get out of this, I'm going to..."

"Invite me to be one of your special friends, as you finally realize your feelings for me? Sorry babe, but I'm kinda taken. If you want to share, you have to bring the drinks."
Neifirst seethes, not trusting herself to say anything.

"Gee, Aunt X, who wouldn't want to be special friends with Miss Nei?" Ayame says, turning to Neifirst.

"Well, Ayame, Miss Nei can be a bit rough on her special friends. She sometimes tends to scratch or even bite her special friends." X says, continuing to avoid Neifirst.

"That's not very nice..." Ayame says, frowning slightly.

"I know Ayame, but Miss Nei just can't control herself around her special friends. Because of this, some people have avoided becoming special friends with her. I didn't become one because I am a gentleman. Elly didn't become one because she wants to be special friends with JiE-"

"So, X, what did you say to that trooper that came on to you?" JiEin asks in a blatant attempt to change the subject, as the group continues their stroll towards the destination.

"Yeah! He got this funny look on his face like he was going to start crying, then walked off without saying anything. " Ayame says, her arms swinging as she skips along.

"Well, you see..." X begins.

Meanwhile, on Rykros, Sage's group has reached a large, ornate, crystalline tower. The structure looms over the surrounding landscape, the odd red lighting casting ominous reflections onto the barren surface.

From: magus84 Posted: 4/13/2005 7:04:50 PM Message Detail

The hovercraft Sage's group is on stops automatically as it reaches the tower. Brom and Yokote, who are at the controls, try to make it move again, but it fails to respond.

"Well, looks like this is where we're supposed to be. I guess we should go inside." Sage says, as the others gather their gear.

"So, what do you think's inside?" Yokote asks, as the group disembarks.

"Probably some sort of elaborate trial thing, or something." Lorna replies, as she steps lightly out of the vehicle. The others follow behind her. As they reach the ground, they hear a loud cry. Whirling, they are confronted by a large black creature, that towers above even Brom.

In appearance, it is similar to a Crimson Assassin, only much larger and with iridescent black armor instead of red. Its serrated mandibles drip a viscous purple liquid that steams as it hits the ground. The creature lets out a high-pitched scream, and charges toward the group, saber-like arms flailing wildly.

They scatter, each preparing an attack. The creature locks onto Sage, changing direction to charge towards him. He pulls his Red Handgun and begins firing at its head, telekinetically guiding his shots. The photon bullets smash into the creature's head, doing minimal damage as sparks fly from its armor plating.

"What is this thing?" Sage says, firing rapidly as he continues to dodge the creature's swipes. It pursues him relentlessly as the others begin to attack it. Lissandra hurls a Photon Blade from her Diska of Braveman at it, which does minimal damage. Lorna blasts it with a flurry of Gibarta shards, but it shrugs them off like they are nothing. It shrieks and swipes away Yokote with its tail as he leaps at the creature. He is hit across the chest and slams into the ground hard, rolling to a stop.

"Ow..."He says weakly, casting Resta on himself.

The creature manages to pin Sage against the wall of the hovercraft, and swipes at him with both arms. He manages to doge, but is hit by a burst of acidic saliva the creature spits at him. He throws an arm up to protect his face, augmenting the protection with a telekinetic shield. With the creature's open mouth looming above him, he shoves his Red Handgun into its mouth and begins firing.

Brom leaps from the top of the hovercraft, his Chainsawd spinning rapidly. He brings the blade down in a vicious arc, cleaving through the neck of the creature as Sage's repeated shots blow off the back of its head. A spray of acidic blood shoots from it as the two back away.

From: magus84 Posted: 4/13/2005 7:05:46 PM Message Detail

"Well, that was messy. Why do fleshbags always have to make such a mess when they die? It messes up my finish..." Brom says, as Sage examines the mangled end of his Red Handgun. The acidic drool had eaten through the plating, and fried the firing mechanism. He clicks the trigger a few times to no avail, then sighs and replaces it in its capsule on his belt.

"Ugh. If there's any more of those in the tower...we have to find a better way of dealing with them."Sage says as they regroup.

"Yeah. That thing was really fast, and its armor was almost inpenetrable. Yokote, are you alright?" Lissandra asks, as Yokote slowly walks over to them.

"I'm fine. That creature had burrowed under the ground. I assume the hovercraft alerted it to our presence."

"Alright. Well, let's get going. There's probably going to be some horribly elaborate trials in here, so we need to be careful." Lorna states as they reach the entrance of the tower.

The massive doors at the base of the tower open, and they slowly walk inside. As the five of them cross the threshold, a bright flare of light blinds them. When they are able to see again, each of them is alone in a different room, with varying traps and pitfalls around them.

"Well, this is interesting." Sage thinks, attempting to broadcast his thoughts to the others. When he gets no response he tries again, only to discover a barrier around the corridor he is in.

Lutz, what's going on?

"You are in the Tower of Trials. It will test your power, your courage, and your control over your emotions. The first part of the trial must be handled alone."

"How cute. So, do you think the others are alright?"

"They must face their own trials. You will be reunited at the end, if they manage to pass."

"If? That doesn't sound very promising."

"Well, it is a test. Not a guarantee. Can't have items of divine power be handed out to just anyone, you know?"

"Good point." Sage replies, as he removes his Striker from its capsule and begins walking down the corridor, passing elaborate runes and glyphs tooled into the blue stone walls.

"Sage...stop. There are creatures ahead that will test your combat abilities. They are immune to the weapons you wield, and your telekinesis will not be enough to stop them. Techniques are the only way to effectively damage them. As such...it is high time I impart the knowledge of some of the Ancient Techniques to you. Make yourself comfortable...this may take a while."

Sage sighs and sits down, watching the corridor warily as Lutz begins the instructions.

From: magus84 Posted: 4/13/2005 7:52:11 PM Message Detail

On Ragol, X and the group are talking as they walk towards X's apartment complex. X is relaying what he said to the arrogant soldier Matsu.

X, in his Fomarl dress, is standing inside Resistance Headquarters, near the main exit. He is approached by a tall, slender man with closely-cropped dark hair. He stifles a grin as the man saunters up to him.

"Hey there, beautiful. You look like a sophisticated woman. Do you think you could help me with something?" Matsu says, flashing what he thinks is a disarmingly attractive grin. The fried rappy bits in between his teeth and the stench of Trifluids tend to detract from the image.

X smothers a laugh with sheer force of will, and motions for Neifirst, Ayame and JiEin to go on without him. Neifirst seems to protest, but Ayame and JiEin usher her out the door.

X, speaking in a surprisingly convincing alto voice, replies "Why certainly. Anything to help such a strong, majestic hunter such as yourself."

"I seem to have lost my Guild Card. Can I have yours?" Matsu says, smiling at what he thinks is an incredibly witty remark.

"Sure. Here you go. titter" X says, sending him a Guild Card.

"Mome, eh? What a beautiful name. So, do you like swordsmanship? I'm a master swordsman, you know..." Matsu says, stepping closer.

"Oh, you mean like X Launcher?" X says, smiling falsely at him. The infatuated fool doesn't seem to notice, as he continues his spiel.

"Yeah, but only about a thousand times better. I make him look like the punk he is. He got taken out by a mob of civilians the other day. I'm so much more skilled than he is. In many ways..." Matsu says, lowering his voice suggestively.

"What's your favorite sword?" X asks, feigning interest.

"My Sealed-J. It's a work of art. I just need someone to help me unseal it. If you're interested. What's your favorite?"

"I like to use the Agito. But my sparring partner likes to wield my Agito even more."

From: magus84 Posted: 4/13/2005 7:53:51 PM Message Detail

"Sparring partner, eh? Well, I think I can help you with that. I'm probably much more skilled. I can show you some new moves, some different forms, stuff like that. I like to help beginners learn how to control a sword." Matsu oozes, leering at X's chest.

"I'm pretty happy with my current one, actually. She really knows how to handle a sword. But if you'd like a quick match here..."

"She? Ooh, babe...I think we're going to get along great. Do you have your weapon with you now? Because if not, I could let you try mine out." Matsu says, smiling.

"Sure. But I don't really have time for this." X says, turning to walk away. Matsu reaches out and grabs his arm rather fiercely.

"Hey, I'm trying to teach you some stuff. You should be grateful. But I think I need to teach you some of the rules of swordsmanship first. A little private lesson..."

X grins, then shrugs off Matsu's hand. He then pulls out his fans and settles into a battle stance. "No, that's alright. Thanks though. If you really want to spar, I have my weapons right here."

"Fans...? I thought you said you had a sword?" Matsu says, a puzzled look on his face.

"No, you misunderstand. I said I liked swords, but that my sparring partner likes my sword." X says, putting emphasis on the word 'sword'. "You see, catgirls are pretty good with them. They'll play with them all the time if you let them. A nice sharp sword is like catnip to them."

"I...don't think we're talking about the same thing." Matsu says, looking puzzled.

Switching back to his normal voice and reaching out to pull Matsu close, X replies "Sure we are. I just actually know how to use mine. But that doesn't mean I'm going to pull it out and show you. For one, you aren't a catgirl. Two, if there was an IQ requirement to be able to breed, you'd fall way short of it. You're an embarrassment to the Hunter class as a whole.

"What the? You're not a guy, are you...?" Matsu says, a shocked look on his face.

"Heh. A little slow on the uptake, are we? What do you think? Next time you try to 'seduce' some girl, try to actually steal decent lines. Learn some manners. Make sure it's actually a girl. Unless you like guys. And please, most importantly, take a bath. But if you really want to spar that badly..." X says, stepping towards the rapidly backpedaling imbecile with a menacing look in his eyes.

Matsu got a look of utter despair on his face, then quickly turned and walked off. X collapsed in silent laughter as the mortified hunter shambled off.

X, JiEin, Ayame and Neifirst have reached X's apartment relatively unscathed. Neifirst has a slight twitch in her right eye from anger, and X's disguise is disarrayed from attempts to avoid Neifirst's wrath. JiEin is trudging along stoically, carrying the bulk of the bags with little trouble. Ayame is strolling along with a preoccupied look on her face. Her eyes briefly flicker with an inner turmoil, but the others barely notice.

"Hey, kiddo. Please tell me you understand what they are implying..." Danielle says to Ayame, a sardonic bite underlying her mental voice.

"Um...that Ms. Nei is popular, and has a lot of friends?" Ayame thinks, completely nonplussed at having her alternate personality carry on a conversation with her.

Danielle winces, then lets out a long sigh. "Look kid. We agreed to let you handle this little trip because we thought it'd be good for you. But geez...you're killing me here."

'Young Ayame' gives the mental equivalent of a blank stare, as the more mature personality asserts itself from deep within her psyche. The older version of her that mirrors her physical form walks up to the younger version, which is a spitting image of her as her pre-transformed, childlike state. A few mental 'whispers' later, and the young girl's mental projection begins to giggle.

"Ah, I get it. You mean Ms. Nei and all those people..." the younger version of Ayame says, bubbling with barely contained laughter.

The older version sighs, and nods. As Ayame snaps back to full awareness, the two older versions of her confer briefly.

"Well, it was either you let her figure it out, or me flat-out tell her. I would've preferred to just blast her and take control, but..." Danielle began, a look of disappointment on her face.

"Now now, control. You said that it would be possible to coexist..."

"Yeah, but she's so...so..."

"Naive? Innocent? Not a bloodthirsty harlot?" The older version of Ayame says, grinning at her dark counterpart.

"I'll take that last one as a compliment, although the first two cause me pain to even hear. But I think you should let her figure this stuff out on her own more often, instead of shielding her from it like you do." Danielle says, as the two warp to 'Danielle's ' section of Ayame's psyche.

"It's gradual. Integrating the personalities of each of us would be traumatic if done all at once, and would leave us unable to function. We need to take it slow. You'll get to release those 'urges' of yours eventually..." the older version of Ayame replies.

"Yeah, well...you crave ice cream and violence just like me. You just have more practice at self-denial." Danielle says, smirking.

"Eh, let's set back and watch. Letting 'kiddo' figure this one out should be entertaining, to say the least." The two factions of Ayame's personality settle in to watch the fun as their youthful, naive counterpart finally connects all the "when you are older" comments.

Ayame suddenly stops walking, a look of pure revelation on her face. She turns to X, and grabs him by the shoulder as he walks by, stopping him.

"I finally figured it out. All that stuff that you said you'd 'tell me when I was older.' " Ayame says as she jumps up and down excitedly.

"Oh?" X replies, a puzzled look coming over him.

"All the stuff you said you'd tell me when I was older was about being 'special friends', wasn't it? And being 'special friends' is what Dr. Montague built Utena for, right?"

X nods slowly, looking a bit embarassed.

"And the reason why you need special friends is the same reason why Aunt Leah used to take those really long showers. And why you have all those locked files on your computer with all the pictures of ladies without clothes." Ayame says, smiling.

"Hey, how did you...?" X says, rather alarmed.

"You know those times I had to come over to work on homework, and use your laptop? Well, several times when I would go to pull up my file, it would go automatically to the folder where your pictures were. And I was usually in a hurry, so I'd just click 'ok'. There were a lot of pictures of naked ladies. A bunch of movies too."

X looks on, mortified. After a few seconds, he answers. "Yeah, well...you shouldn't be looking at those."

"I know I shouldn't look, but I figured if I kept looking, I could figure out what Auntie Leah did in the shower. The noises the ladies made in the movies are the same as the ones Auntie Leah would make when she took a shower. The ladies seemed to like being in the movies as much as Auntie Leah liked her showers. And I'll bet those ladies were as happy as Auntie Leah was when she got out of the shower. I never really got it, though. I guess she must really like taking baths."

"So that's why she always took so long in the shower...ewww...I always went after her. Ewww!" X begins scraping his feet against the ground frantically as he waves his arms around wildly.

Nei laughs, and says to X "C'mon brat, honestly now. What did you think she was doing in there?"

"I...always assumed it was that shampoo." X says sheepishly.

Neifirst looks blankly at JiEin, who simply shakes his head. The group walks on as Ayame continues her revelations.

"And since the two of you started sleeping in the same room, Aunt Leah's showers haven't been nearly as long. But I've woken up in the middle of the night before because of some strange noises coming from your room. I heard a lot of banging and rattling, and sounds like you were breaking furniture. And some yelling and laughing."

"..." X stares ahead as they continue walking, a dumbfounded look on his face.

"And..." Ayame begins.

"Ayame, would you like a triple scoop of chocolate fudge ice cream?" X interrupts, his forehead resting on his hand as he walks along.

"Yeah, sure! But...why now?"

"If you stop talking about this, I'll buy you one. Please. I'll explain everything to you, but not right now, alright?"

"But..." Ayame says, a downtrodden expression on her face.

"Not...now. Understand?" X says, looking rather stern.

"Ok."

Ten minutes and an ice cream cone later, they have arrived at X's apartment. X swipes his keycard over the door and they step inside.

"Ah, good to be back." X says.

Within Zionus' base, Eriror receives a report from a trooper in the intelligence division.

Brom materializes in an elaborate corridor, small crystals reflecting points of light from the embedded illumination tiles in the ceiling. His footsteps ring on the smooth stone floor as he walks forward. A cursory scan of the area reveals a large group of D-Cell type monsters ahead.

"Hmph. Well, time to get to work. At least I get to kill something while I go on this stupid little fetch quest."

Withdrawing his Chainsawd, he continues down the corridor, the soft whir of the blades echoing as he proceeds forward. As he turns the corner, a ghostly figure in a white robe appears.

"Android...you lack a soul. Or at least, that is what you believe. Are you simply a tool to be used for war, or is there something more to your existence? Will you betray those you fight for, or will you find something you truly believe in? You must face this dilemma before you may procee-gah!"

The exclamation came about as Brom slammed his Chainsawd into the figure's side, the buzzing photon blades ripping into its ghostly form. It wavered for a second, then disappeared.

"Damned decaying meat sack. Won't even shut up when it no longer lives. If I wanted to listen to philosophical ranting...Well, I wouldn't. But if I did, it'd be from someone that I could kill when it got too boring." Hoisting his weapon, he comes to a large, elaborate door with a majestic blue crystal in the center. Two quick strikes and a kick have the shattered remnants of the door's masonry lying on the floor.

He lightly steps over the remains of the door, walking into a vast, domed room. As he crosses the threshold, a blue spark of energy emanates from the crystal, creating an ethereal blue barrier over where the door used to be. The lines of power radiate from the crystal, forming into a barrier around the entire room. Brom steps forward, into the middle of an inscribed arcane circle.

"Well, this is entertaining. I wonder what I have to break to get out of here..."

A flash of light illuminates the room for a moment, three figures appearing as the glare fades. The lead one speaks as the others look on.

"You are to be tested, to see if you are worthy. The first test is a trial by combat." With a wave of his hand, dark portals spring up around the room. Vaguely humanoid figures in stark black armor begin to emerge from the portals, brandishing weapons. The soldiers flood the room, more appearing every second.

Within moments, Brom is surrounded by a ring of nearly one hundred black-armored figures. Those in the front hold swords and shields, or massive battle axes. Those in the rear carry a mix of spears and partisans, with a few figures in lighter armor clutching staves. One knight stands back, overseeing the battle. On his back is an enormous two-handed sword, its black blade seeming to suck light into it, the gems on its hilt radiating a faint purple glow.

"Face the warriors of Darkness, and prove your might."

As one, the army surges forward, no cry marking their charge. Brom braces himself and swings at the first two soldiers to approach, cleaving the shield of one with a savage two-handed overhead swing. His Chainsawd continues its arc, slashing deep into the creature's torso. A puff of black smoke wisps out as the armored being falls apart, the armor dissipating into faintly glowing specks of black material. Brom brings his blade up, decapitating a second soldier who thought to hit him from behind with an axe. The soldiers close in, pressing the attack as Brom fights like furiously, becoming slowly overwhelmed.

On Ragol, Lucca stands before a group of the Resistance's troopers. Commander Labyrinth found the intel on this prison camp. If we want any chance of fighting Zionus' growing army, we need to reach out to the people opposing him before it's too late. I only hope the Dreamchasers are successful too.

Clearing her head of doubts, she addresses her squad of twenty volunteers.

"The mission this time is to rescue some civilians that have been captured by Zionus for opposing his rule. We need to get in, free the people and get out as quickly as possible. Stick together and don't draw attention to yourselves. We'll be departing to Ragol using the cargo transporter, as it's one of the few still active. We should be returning via the transporters, when they are back online. Move out!"

Lucca and her troopers depart, as the Dreamchasers prepare themselves for another stealth mission.

"So, Nova...what's the plan?" Axios asks, leaning casually against the wall of the VR simulator.

"We go in quickly, take out the guards and recapture the teleport routing center. We get the control data, then leave as fast as possible." Nova replies, highlighting data on the model in the center of the room.

"Sounds relatively easy. Which means it won't be. How many guards?" Kiara asks, adjusting one of her boots.

"Around...50." Nova replies in a low voice.

"Wonderful. Well, let's get started on our untimely deaths, shall we?" Axios quips as the three leave the room.

Labyrinth and a squad of soldiers are approaching a debris-strewn area, looking for survivors from Zionus' rampage. As they round the corner, a group of about ten people come upon them, their hands full of looted goods. The leader of the gang, a tall woman with unkempt brown hair, raises her Gae Bolg in challenge.

"This area belongs to Lord Zionus now! Convert or perish!"

The two groups fan out into attack position, drawing their weapons.

On Rykros, Brom has managed to take out nearly half the knights, but is beginning to get worn down. He parries a two-handed axe swing with his Chainsawd, but an overeager knight pops up as his weapon is locked with the axe and swings at Brom's head. Brom is barely able to block the blow, but the force of the hit shatters his weapon, the photon blades going dead as the weapon is demolished. Brom lashes out with his right leg, delivering a brutal kick to the chest of the knight.

Grabbing the axe knight's arms, he puts his oot into the knight's torso armor and rolls backwards, flinging the knight into the wall. He picks up the dropped axe and begins attacking with a renewed fervor, the faint glow of Shifta and Deband emanating from the Psycho Wand buried in his chest.

Well, that crazy stick actually did something useful for once. He thinks, laying into opponents right and left. As he beheads one knight, another that he thought was disabled lunges upwards, impaling him through the stomach. Sparks fly from his torso as he bats the knight away with his comrade's axe. Brom slumps to one knee, dropping the axe. He grips the shaft of the spear with both hands and gives a might pull, freeing it from his circuitry. He gets to his feet, twirling the weapon over his head as he uses a Trimate. The sparks shooting from his damaged frame fade, and he is able to move freely again.

Surveying his opponents, he sees that only about a dozen remain. Charging the group of knights, he uses the polearm to vault into the air, crashing down on one knight and sending the spear through the top of his helmet. As he lowers, he maintains his grip on the spear, spinning to cave in the helmet of another with his feet. He lands, still holding onto the spear as the knight begins to disintegrate. Stepping forward, he swings the spear, dragging the impaled knight's body with it, knocking two more down. Brom picks up the two fallen swords and turns to face the remaining few knights as the leader looks on.

X has gathered the belongings he needs from his apartment into a duffel bag, and has it laying at his feet. He takes one last look around his room, then grabs his laptop and places it into the bag. As he walks out into the hallway, Ayame emerges from the guest room she often used.

"Uncle, what was it you wanted to show me?"

"Oh yeah. It's downstairs in the safe." Hoisting his duffel bag, X descends the stairs. Neifirst is in the kitchen, munching on some pretzels. JiEin turns from the computer in the kitchen as X and Ayame enter the room.

"X, I have some personal business to take care of. I'll meet up with you at the Resistance Headquarters."

"Personal business? What, you have another catgirl you go to for 'maintenance'? Elly will be so upset." X says as he walks over to a painting that hangs on his living room wall.

"No, X. I'm going to see an old acquaintance about repairing the Ji Sword." Ji replies

"Ah, have fun with that." X lifts the painting from its hanger on the wall, revealing a large safe. He enters a quick combination into the keypad, releasing the locks on the safe. Reaching into the cavernous safe, X withdraws a short katana with an elaborate purple sheath. He closes the safe, then turns to Ayame.

"Ayame, take this. Its known as Shiranui. It channels technique energy into offensive power."

Ayame takes the elegant weapon, holding the sheath carefully with both hands. "Thanks!"

"Well, try it out." X says, grinning at Ayame's reaction.

Ayame grips the sheath with her right hand, then withdraws the blade. A flash of purple light sparks as the weapon is drawn from its sheath. Purple flames rush up and down the blade as Ayame holds it aloft.

"Ooh, pretty. But when I hold it it feels like its draining me."

"Yes. As long as the sword is active, it drains technique energy. It's a steady pull on your resources, but with practice you'll be able to channel more or less energy into it."

"Ok." Ayame sheaths the blade as X makes one last trip around the apartment.

"Brat, where'd you get that katana from, anyway?" Neifirst asks, standing and stretching.

"You know how people randomly gave me stuff back when we went to fight Zio?"

"Yes, those poor deluded fools."

X winces slightly. "Well, about two weeks after that, this crazy old lady comes up to me and gives me this sword."

"And why haven't you used it, or shown it off, or anything before now? That was quite a while ago." Nei asks, raising an eyebrow.

"It was buried in my closet. I kinda threw it in there and didn't find it until about three months ago. I was looking for something and found it."

"..."

"Uncle X, are we going back now?" Ayame asks, fastening the blade to her belt

"Yeah, I've got everything I need from here."

X picks up his duffel bag and follows behind his three companions, locking the door behind them. As the step out onto the street, JiEin walks off, heading towards another section of Pioneer 2. X, Ayame and Neifirst begin the walk back to Resistance Headquarters, but are stopped about halfway there by the appearance of a large group of Zionus' troopers. A man in a dark blue uniform appears from the center of the group, brandishing a Zanba.

He points the enormous blade at X and laughs."So, the 'great' X is reduced to hiding in a woman's garb. I never had the pleasure of killing you, as the master thought at the time you would be more useful alive. But at this point...there is no further need of you."

X simply stares blankly. "Right. And you are, again?"

Eriror glares as his troops fan out to attack. "It seems you lack the memories of your time spent as one of Lord Zionus' followers. No matter. You'll be dead soon anyway."

"Another guy with an overcompensating sword and self-importance issues. I wonder how long it'll take me to gut this one..." Neifirst says, drawing her L & K mechs. She starts the battle with a volley of photon shots which Eriror effortlessly blocks, maneuvering his massive weapon with a surprising dexterity.

"Nei...we were still in the obligatory pre-fight taunt stage. That was cruel." X replies, drawing his fans.

Ayame activates her Twin Chakrams and hurls them at the crowd of soldiers, telekinetically guiding them to cut down several troopers. Those that dodge out of the way are picked off by powerful Foie blasts. Neifirst continues to blast away as a group of soldiers attacks X. The troopers wield a combination of Last Survivor swords and Durandal sabers.

One swings viciously at X, who parries with the photon blades on his left-hand fan. He delivers a swift kick to the man's mid-section, making him double over in pain. X blocks an over-hand swing by the Last-Survivor wielder, crossing his fans as the force of the weapon pushes him back. Wow... this draining thing sucks royally. I'd have no trouble blocking this if I was at full power. Oh, well. X twists his fans slightly, pinning the man's weapon as he sidesteps. Shifting his weight to one foot, he spins his body as he lashes out with his other foot, sweeping the man's ankles. Off-balance, the man is unable to regain his footing and is sent flying.

"Heh, that was eas-whoa!" X hurriedly dodges a stab from another Durandal wielder, barely squirming away in time. He channels a Foie at the man's face, then delivers a swift combo attack to the man, dropping him. "I like these fans..."

Neifirst continues to fire away as Eriror charges her. He blocks the bullets, then slashes one of her guns with his Zanba, demolishing it. Neifirst tosses the other aside with a scowl, drawing a Twin Blaze. With a flick of her wrist, she ignites the flaming Q-Tip and goes on the offensive. Eriror briefly retreats as she shoves the flaming weapon at his eyes, but counters with a sweep to her back leg that knocks her off balance. He tackles her with his shoulder, sending her to the ground.

Wow, this guy's pretty good. I might actually have to try... Nei manages to roll away from Eriror's first overhead swing, getting to her feet as his Zanba splits the pavement. She kicks him in the side, then follows with a flurry of swings from her weapon. Eriror blocks with his Zanba, then sends a pulse of Zonde through his blade that knocks her reeling. She slumps to the ground stunned and limp as he raises his blade for a fatal strike.

Eriror charges his sword with power, sacrificing a bit of his life to feed the massive blade. As his Zanba descends towards the paralyzed Neifirst, an enormous Foie blasts his sword off-target, causing it to slam into the ground beside Nei.

Ayame stands, her Twin Chakrams extended. A large portion of the soldiers from Eriror's unit are on the ground with either Twin Chakram wounds or Foie burns. She glares at Eriror as he turns toward her. Steadying his blade, he charges at her with a mighty diagonal swing, which she barely manages to intercept with her Twin Chakrams. X continues to plow his way through the remnants of Eriror's forces as Ayame begins to fight Eriror.

Ayame sends a powerful Barta wave at Eriror, the train of ice knocking him backwards. In the brief interval this buys her, she casts Shifta and Deband on herself, the red and blue glow boosting her abilities. With her enhanced strength, she goes on the offensive, her quick strikes catching Eriror off-guard. She scores two glancing hits on his armored uniform, but he blocks the third hit of her whirling attack and backhands her in the face as he switches to a one-handed grip on his Zanba.

She staggers back, wiping a small trickle of blood from her mouth. That really hurt. I'm going to make this guy pay.He was one of the ones who helped keep Uncle X under control... Within Ayame's mind, her older persona takes charge. "I'll handle this. Our younger self isn't quite equipped to deal with him.."

"You could always let me..."

"No Danielle. You got to have your fun. Besides, we need to take this guy down quickly. Your brand of fun would draw this out far too long."

"Hmph, fine."

Ayame resumes the battle, a new look of determination in her eyes. She casts a quick spell on Eriror, surrounding him with her Dark Curse technique. With his elemental resistances lowered, she pummels him with a furious assault of Zonde spells.

Eriror drops to one knee as Ayame switches to Foie spells, the barrage of gigantic fireballs impacting on his sword. He charges the blade as an energy field surrounds him, then leaps into the air. "Frare's Wrath!" He cries,firing an enormous blast of orange energy at the ground as arcane circles appear around him. Ayame is caught in the blast and knocked unconscious as Eriror lands.

"Hmph. Well X, it's your turn to die."

X scowls at him. "If you've hurt her..."

"Big words from a man in a dress. Bring it on."

X rushes at Eriror, swiping viciously with the photon blades of his fans. Eriror dodges the first few swings effortlessly, then counterattacks with a kick to X's face that sends him sprawling.

X gets to his feet, striking at Eriror's face with a quick Zonde. With the distraction this provides, X leaps at Eriror, who brings his Zanba up to block the attack. The photon blades of the fans are blocked, but X's knee to Eriror's face is not. X lands in a crouch, sweeping Eriror's feet out from under him before delivering a powerful two-handed hit to Eriror's side as he staggers back.

Eriror lands on his back, slightly winded. X simply grins, then resumes his attack. The whirling fans trace a path of hard light as their photon blades seek Eriror's flesh. X manages to dodge Eriror's relatively slow attacks as he slashes away with his fans, snuffing Eriror's more elaborate moves.

Charging his weapons with heat, X unleashes a modified Ryuenjin, streaking skywards with a blazing uppercut that catches Eriror across the chest. X pivots in mid-air, forming icy blades around his weapons as he dives at Eriror, the twin blades of X's Hyouretsuzan impacting with Eriror's upheld Zanba. X balances on the weapon for a split second, then kicks Eriror in the stomach as he backflips away from Eriror's counterswing.

X's fans sizzle with stored electrical power as he stabs a Raitonken at Eriror's heart. Eriror brings his sword down to block the attack, holding X's charge back easily. X strains to break through Eriror's guard as the swordsman deflects his strike. With a twist of his wrists, Eriror pushes the fans away and slams the flat of his blade into X's side, the powerful blow knocking X airborne for a brief moment as he is catapulted away. He lands in a heap. attempting to catch his breath through the sharp pain of several broken ribs. My attacks don't even faze him. I'm moving like normal again, but there's no power behind it... Dammit, this could get bad.

Eriror relaxes from his guard position and stands, casually hefting his weapon as he looks at X with contempt."Hmph. Even with a portion of your power returned, you're still a weakling. This isn't worth my time..." Eriror says, charging his Zanba as he prepares another attack. He tilts the blade over his left shoulder, then spins and slashes, sending a whirlwind of energy at X. The attack moves so quickly that X is unable to dodge, and he gets caught up in the swirling vortex. Eriror plants his Zanba point-down in the ground, charging a massive Foie with two hands. As the sphere of fire becomes as large as Eriror's body, he launches it at X. When the pyrokinetic blast makes contact with the energy whirlwind, it explodes, consuming X in a gout of devastating flame.

"Arrggh!" X cries as the attack fades, leaving him slumped on the ground. He stands slowly, black wisps of energy flickering around his form. He grabs the shreds of his disguise and tosses them aside, revealing a lightly-armored blue battle suit underneath. He replaces his fans in their capsules, then pours his technique energy into the conduit link. A spark of energy shoots from his body as a single black wing emerges from his back. Frightened onlookers stare at him as he rises above the pavement, a black halo of energy forming within his cupped hands.

"My physical strength is weakened, but I can still do...this!" X says as he hurls a Demon Roar at Eriror's face. Eriror reacts quickly, blocking the dark halo on his Zanba. He is pushed back as the attack exerts its force, culminating in an explosion that leaves him reeling. As the smoke clears, Eriror's uniform is in tatters and his Zanba is scorched. He begins running to the side as X fires off a series of Demon Roars, the multiplying blast front from the numerous explosions hitting Eriror and knocking him to the ground.

X focuses his technique energy, his body glowing with a dark aura. As Eriror stands, X dives at him, nailing him with a powerful kick to the chin. X follows up with a flurry of punches to the chest, a knee to the stomach and a point-blank Demon Roar that sends Eriror flying.

"Still want to be arrogant? Seriously...arrogant Hunters with oversized swords are so overdone." X says, hovering with his arms crossed. Eriror gets to his feet by leaning on his Zanba, then slings it on his back. He wipes a trail of blood from his mouth with his forearm, then begins rapid-firing Foies at X. X blocks the fireballs with a bored look on his face, the techniques exploding harmlessly on the energy charged around his hands. Distracted, he doesn't notice Eriror drawing a small device from his pocket.

X flies at Eriror, charging a Demon Roar with each hand. He is caught off-guard, and is unable to dodge as Eriror hits him in the chest with a pink beam of light from the device. X is knocked back by the ray, and hits the ground as his conduit power fades, his technique energy completely drained. What the hell? That beam drained all my energy. Sneaky...

X gets nailed by a swing from Eriror's Zanba as he stands, blood shooting from his mouth. He doubles over in pain as Eriror bashes him between the shoulders with the hilt of his Zanba, knocking him to his knees. "Aren't nearly as powerful without your technique energy, are you? Hmph". Eriror sniffs in derision as he kicks X in the ribs, knocking him onto his back. "Lord Zionus' technicians developed that ray to clip your wings, demon. Prepare to die!" Eriror raises his Zanba above his head, charging the massive weapon with his life energy to increase the destructive power. As he swings, he is caught in the side by a Demon Roar that knocks him over.

"Ungh. What little demonic pest is it now...?" Eriror says, turning to find Neifirst standing with her arms outstretched, palms together. A faint black aura flickers around her.

"That would be me. Are you done overcompensating yet so I can kill you?"

"Foolish woman. I am more than a match for you." Eriror says, readying his Zanba for another strike.

"Right...keep believing that. You're going to make me do something I haven't done in a long time." Nei says, taking a wide-legged stance as she picks up her Twin Blaze.

"Something you haven't done in a long time? What, not be a disgusting half-breed abomination?"

Neifirst's only reply is a scream of rage as sparks of black lightning shoot from her body. The pavement around her cracks as her eyes turn a glassy black, waves of power rushing from her body. The faint aura grows in size and intensity, changing to a deep purple as the flame of her Twin Blaze is extinguished. It reignites as she unleashes the full power of her conduit, blazing with a dark purple flame. Before Eriror can react, she has disappeared in a flash of dark energy.

Eriror looks around him coolly, trying to find where Nei escaped to. As he turns back towards X, he is caught by a brutal kick to the face. Nei appears suddenly in front of him, seeming to materialize from the shadows. She pummels him mercilessly, knocking the Zanba from his hands with a powerful backhanded punch. Nei moves to quickly for him to counter, warping around as she assaults him.

He doubles over as she kicks him in the stomach, then is rocked by a series of savage blows to the face and head from the dark Twin Blaze. Reeling, he is grabbed by the throat with her free hand and lifted off the ground. His hands frantically reach for Nei's wrists as she slams him to the ground.

She backs away, motioning for him to get up. Grabbing his discarded Zanba, she hurls it at him. "Come on boy. Is this the best the great "Tollaw" can do? Hmph, pathetic."

Eriror picks up his Zanba, then rushes at Neifirst with his sword held over his right shoulder, planning to flatten her with a powerful strike from his Cross-Reaper attack. Nei simply grins evilly, holding her left hand up as she lazily holds the Twin Blaze in her right hand. She begins running towards Eriror, the aura of darkness around her increasing in intensity as she channels power into her conduit.

The two collide, a flash of searing energy erupting from the conflicting energies of the conduit and the Zanba as they are pitted against each other. Neifirst ends up on the opposite side of Eriror as the flash of light fades, Eriror kneeling on the ground with a pool of blood around him. The Twin Blaze is embedded in his left shoulder to the middle of the handle, the ends still smoldering with a purple flame. He utters a wordless gasp as he warps away, the particles of white light fading slowly. Nei's conduit gives out as she staggers backwards, the aura disappearing as a faint smile plays on her face.

Inside the teleportation center, Zionus' guards are being mowed down by the Dreamchasers. Nova blasts an approaching group of soldiers, raking them with Yasminkov fire. Axios watches Kiara's back as the Hunewearl hacks into the teleport control center's main computer, downloading the teleportation data. A few minutes later, the three warp away in a Ryuker flash as the stolen data is put to good use by the Resistance. Zionus' guards mill about uselessly, acting like lost sheep. Their confusion is put to rest when the time-delay charges Nova planted on the mainframe explode, slagging the computer and wiping out the contingent of troopers in a gout of flame.

At the prison camp, Lucca's group has infiltrated the main complex, and is headed straight for the control center. They pass a group of Zionus' troopers that are standing in a loose semi-circle around a frightened newman girl. The guards advance, slowly backing the girl towards the wall.

"Well, looks like you're going to serve the master in one way or another, little girl. You shouldn't try to escape salvation." The lead trooper says as he steps forward, a gleam of menace in his eyes. Lucca's Ruby Bullet shot takes his head off, as her troops unleash hell on the remaining guards.

The newman girl turns to the Resistance troopers with tears of joy in her eyes. "Thank you so much! You saved me."

Lucca smiles at the girl as a few of her troopers lead her back to the area where their comrades guard the escape route.

Lucca's unit of Resistance soldiers continues forward to the main control room for the floor, where a purple and white Racaseal waits for them, clutching an Ano Rifle.

Lissandra gazes around the room, the bright flash from the instantaneous transportation leaving small stars on her field of vision for a few moments afterwards. The cold stone walls glow with a soft blue light, yet reveal nothing.

Where...where am I? What's going on? Are the others...

A briefly extended tendril of thought is quickly retracted as her telepathic search encounters a barrier around her location as impassable as the walls that loom over her. Letting out a soft sigh, she gets to her feet.

Well, that answers that question. I guess this is one of those trials that were mentioned. I can't detect the others, but I'm not sensing any malice or anything either. For all my powers are revealing, I'm the only one on this forsaken rock. Might as well follow this corridor...

Acting on her decision, she begins walking down the hallway. Ten minutes of walking take her to a large door emblazoned with faintly shining arcane symbols. As she approaches the door, a ghostly figure in white appears before her.

Lissandra, the human that thinks she's an Esper. Or rather...the Esper that aspires to be human. Which are you, and why do you disturb the guardians of Rykros?

Lissandra wills her heart to stop pounding as she glares at the guardian before her, the brief elation at finding another living (?) being fading away as her very existence is brought into question.

"Who are you, and what does it matter to you? My friends and I..."

Your 'friends'? Ha. Foolish mortal child...you have no friends. Are you referring to the inept vessel for an ancient soul, the lustful monster, the murderous automaton or the hapless wanderer? Those worthless beings that accompanied you here in your mad quest for the Rings of Stars...they are not your friends. You cannot have peace with your own mind...what makes you think you are worthy to have friends...let alone be worthy of receiving the power of the Great Light! Fool...begone with you and your childish delusions of grandeur.

The apparition raises his hand, but his blast of blue fire is blocked by the crossed slicers Lissandra swiftly draws. She is pushed back by the force of the sudden attack, but is unharmed.

"I assumed this was going to be some ancient being's inane vision of a 'trial', but if all you're going to do is spout insults and throw creepy blue flames around, then this'll be easy." Raising her slicers, she fires off two photon blades that pass through the apparition effortlessly, doing no more damage than they would if fired at a cloud of smoke.

Idiot mortal. You are not worthy to face the trials. Face your own fears...if you make it past them, you might be deemed worthy. Or more likely, there will be no miracle today and you will fail, becoming trapped forever in the labyrinth of your own doubt. Begone!

Instead of a coherent burst of flame, the apparition's attack takes the form of a cloud of blue dust that envelops Lissandra, causing her world to go black. When she awakens, a rough-hewn wooden wall is inches from her face. Looking around, an ethereal vision of herself as a child peeks through a small knothole in the wooden wall of her childhood home. This particular hiding spot overlooked the dining room, where her parents are having a heated conversation with the owner of the trinket shop down the street from her home.

"That girl's a demon, I tell you! We should contact the Espers...she needs to be exorcised!" the grizzled old man says, shaking his fist at her father.

Her father gazes down his long nose, regarding the man coldly...as he did everyone else. "We're going to punish her, and the damage to your store has been repaired. What more do you want?"

"A hellion that'll unleash her powers when a dog barks at her is too dangerous to be kept in this town. Mark my words, Redah...that girl'll cause more trouble soon."

Lissandra's mother let out a sharp, piercing laugh. "No, she won't. Her...problem will be resolved, and I'd thank you to let us raise our daughter how we choose. Like we let you run your store how you chose when you ran up those unfortunate debts to our company. Please leave, before old debts need to be remembered."

The shopkeeper gasps, but turns quickly to leave, all the while mumbling curses under his breath.

"Have a nice day." Liss's father says as the butler appears to show the man out. As the man leaves, Redah strides over to the wall, picking up a short riding crop from the wall. With anger in his eyes, he starts for the door, mentally reviewing a list of his only daughter's favorite hiding places. His hand on the door, he is stopped by his wife.

"Honey...let me handle this. You didn't whip her as a child, and doing it now when she's beginning to become a woman will have no effect on her but making her angrier."

"I suppose you're right, Kathlyn, but we can't just let her have her way. If she continues that witchery, I'll have to remind her who's in charge here." Redah replies.

"Oh, I fully intend to punish her. I'll just make it more appropriate."

Lissandra watches her younger self run away, tears running down the wispy child's face. She winces as she remembers her mother's lesson in 'control'. She'd been unable to walk for a week afterwards, her mother making her stand with her back to the wall while balancing three heavy books on her head and holding a serving tray in each hand. Every time she slumped or her hands fell below her ears, she'd been berated and made to do it again, until she was able to hold the pose for three hours straight. Her mother explained her being bedridden at her 14th birthday party as a cold.

I...didn't mean to damage the store...she thinks, remembering the incident well. She'd been walking along outside the store, daydreaming as usual. The harsh bark of an attack dog leaping at her made her panic, and as the animal's slavering muzzle and sharp fangs came at her face, she reacted unconsciously, pushing outward with her thoughts.

The dog had been hurled away, and the front wall of the shopkeep's store had been reduced to splinters. She'd woken up with dirt on her face, as the new strain of using her powers had made her lose consciousness and fall to the ground. The group of scared onlookers around her had summoned the city guard, not quite knowing what had happened. Lissandra's part in the debacle had been revealed by a short, rat-faced boy named Jacen who swore that "the witch girl" did it. With this accusation, her weekly trips to the library were soon brought up, seen in a new light as her parents assumed that reading the History of the Espers was having a negative effect on her. Her parents had paid for the shopkeeper's wall, then took her home and locked her in her room without dinner. Jacen continued to throw rocks at the dog after the crowd dispersed.

The tableau of the hidden cubby-hole faded as another memory swam into view. Jacen always was a trouble-maker...but we were both outcasts. The dim glow of a burning building appears, the local school house spewing great gouts of flame. I saw Jacen playing with the matches, but I didn't tell anyone. When he got beat up by those kids, I yelled at them to leave him alone. I assumed that they were the ones who told on me sneaking back into the building to fix Jacen's demerit for fighting. Too bad that my parents thought that was more evidence of my..."witchery".

I'm lucky the town court found me innocent, but my parents didn't believe them. I was nearly disowned for that. Jacen told me before I left that he burned the place so he wouldn't have to put up with them anymore. Lissandra watches as a slightly older version of herself is whipped for her 'crime'. Tears well up in her eyes as other incidents come back to her.

Dammit...I thought I made my peace with my childhood when I joined the Espers. I thought that even though my own people hated me...someone would take me in. But if I was really as "at peace" with this as I thought, then why...why does it still hurt so much? Sinking into the corner, her arms wrapped around herself as she begins sobbing, the view of the courthouse fades.

The apparition appears as she continues to cry. We haven't magnified the emotions you felt that much, girl. We've simply brought them back into view for you. If you truly believe you aren't a demon like they say, then why do you have so much trouble sticking to that? Stop lying to yourself, or rot in the hell of your own mind.

Anger gives Lissandra the strength to stand, but that strength is sapped as the disappearing guardian changes the scene to her parent's parlor again, on the day Jacen asked to marry her. She'd grown into a beautiful young woman, but her rapidly growing powers had become harder and harder to control. When Jacen proposed, four vases, a carafe of water and a large mural have been destroyed by the time she'd managed to run from the room.

He'd become a "successful young man" according to father. He thought that I should marry someone "successful", in order to have a "good life." Reading the horribly perverse thoughts running through Jacen's head were bad enough, but sensing that my family just wanted to marry me off and get rid of me hurt even worse. Jacen was the other favorite target of our classmates, when I wasn't around. I sympathized with him, but that didn't mean I liked him. He was a cruel, heartless, vindictive man then, and he grew into something even worse. No wonder my father approved of him...

The ghostly apparition appears before her again as she sits, lost in thought.

You ran away, didn't you? Ran from the people that hated you. But you told yourself it was temporary...that you'd come back when you were 'worthy.' But you never found yourself 'worthy.' You never believed you'd ever have to face your past again. You didn't even go to your parent's funeral. You thought you could just run away from your obligations, run away from everything. But the doubt remained. If you wish to seek the Rings of Stars, and wish to fulfill your unrealistic ambitions of saving the world, you need to be able to look at your past, look at yourself without cowering in the corner and going into hysterics. Heroes aren't perfect, but at least they have the bravery to see the world as it truly is. If you wish to save the world, you would do well to actually see the world you are trying to save. The apparition finishes his lecture, smiling sardonically at her as he fades out.

The familiar surroundings of the Esper Mansion swim into being around her, the pristine white halls coalescing before her. The haughty, blue-haired man that nearly expelled her when she showed up, half-frozen at the doors popped into being, staring at her with the same withering glare he always used on her. He'd eventually become one of her teachers after Jadrek ordered them to take her in, but she always got the feeling that he never really liked her. Other images quickly followed, of all the times she'd been snubbed, stared at or outright told she didn't belong there. Overhearing the whispers of some of her teachers as she was selected to go in the warp gate, saying..."At least she's expendable..."

"Not all of them were mean to me. Jadrek and Yokote...they were always nice to me." She spoke aloud to the apparition, whose presence could be faintly felt nearby.

Yes, but are two people being 'nice' to you worth risking your life for? You are still laboring under the misconception that 'saving the world' will make you some kind of hero, and that all those that tormented you for your abilities or your human heritage will look at you with some kind of respect. This is not some sort of magical cure-all, and performing this feat will not make you be loved. Are you truly ready to risk your life to obtain something you cannot use, for the sole purpose of being loved by people who won't even know you did anything?

"Something I cannot use?"

Yes, stupid girl. The Rings of Stars are only usable by those whom are judged compatible and worthy. You may eventually prove yourself to be worthy (and the infernal pits may freeze over), but you will never be compatible. Your quest to obtain these is simply for someone else's use. You are nothing more than an errand-girl.

"But obtaining these will allow Sage and the others to take on Zionus, right?"

Perhaps, if they are proven worthy. But these..."others" you speak of...heh. Only the one you call Sage is even remotely capable of using the Rings, and he is still undergoing his trials. It remains to be seen if there are any champions worthy left to even use the rings. The dark one who used them recently...his role in the great wheel of destiny has changed, and neither he nor his companions are allowed to use them again. It would be ironic indeed if you fools risk your lives for something that none can use.

"But we have to try! We can't just let Zionus get away with his madness."

Why, pray tell...do you care? You've never even seen this being. His actions have had no direct effect on you. You've only encountered him mentally. Besides...you are supposed to serve the Great Light, even if it's current avatar is unbalanced and seeking to cleanse the universe of all life. Do you think that if you latch on to Sage's quest that he will somehow come to care for you?

Aha...that is it...heheheheh. Idiotic mortal...I can read it as clear as day in your thoughts. You think that if you help him, you'll find some place you belong, and someone to care for you. You're gambling your life on a mad errand to obtain something that the boy you're infatuated with might be able to use, to take on the being you are supposedly serving. In all my years, this is the most hilarious thing I have ever encountered. If I still had a physical body, my sides would ache from laughter.

Lissandra glares at the apparition, finding a familiar pattern to his insults. "So...you think I'm doing this because I have some idealized view of the world? You're wrong. I realize that the world is a harsh, cruel place. I know that no one will come to love me or respect me just because I helped obtain the Rings. But this is the path that is laid before me, and it allows me to help those around me, even those that hurt me. Just because they aren't nice, or kind, or good doesn't mean that some madman has the right to erase them from existence.

People have free will for a reason. Though some choose to abuse that, or to give it up...some do not. Those are the ones I'm fighting for. I'm doing this because I still have hope. I don't expect anything from this, but I'm here and I can do something. That counts. I'll forge my own path from this, but as for now...I'm making this my path. You, nor anyone else has any right to take that choice from me. Now either show me this trial or get the hell out of my way so I can find someone who is good for more than flinging insults and preying on my self-doubt."

The apparition smiles at her, then snaps his fingers. "Hmm...perhaps you are tougher than I thought. The other guardians said you were stronger than you looked, despite your doubts, but I didn't believe them. I wanted to see for myself. You've managed to overcome the doubts of your mind, amplified by my powers a thousand times over. You've also managed to put into words what was only a vague sensation at the back of your mind. I knew all along you were fighting for the freedom for you and others to choose a path, not expecting that to lead to good things for yourself. You've nearly given up on seeing your love of free will pay off, but the fact that you persevere in that despite being proven wrong says a lot about your determination. I applaud you. You've passed the first test. Now, onto the trial-by-combat. Good luck, mortal. May your stubbornness serve you well. Hopefully you'll find somewhere you belong.

Before she can reply, she is warped to a large room. The room is dominated by ornate statues placed at equal intervals every few feet. Two faintly glowing blue pillars of light appear, forming into identical copies of Jacen's warsuit. She dodges behind a nearby statue as the copies open fire.

I'm still not quite sure what that was all about. It did help me put into words what I was feeling, but...oh well. No time to worry about that now. I have more pressing issues to handle.

Ayame slowly awakens, rolling onto her side and blinking a few times. Shaking her head to clear it, she casts a quick Resta, letting the green glow ease the aching in her body. When the pavement in front of her stops seeming like it's moving, she slowly gets to her feet. Looking around, she sees torn-up pavement and other signs of a battle. Eriror was nowhere to be found.

That weird guy's gone. I wonder what happened? And where are...? Uh-oh.

Seeing the still bodies of X and Neifirst, she rushes over to them. She reaches X first, casting a quick Reverser. By the time she gets to Neifirst, X has started to regain consciousness. As she administers the second healing technique, she glances around at the destruction.

Wow...looks like a big fight went down. That Eriror guy hit me pretty hard. Guess Uncle X and Ms. Nei beat him up after I got knocked out.

"Where's that Eriror loser...?" X asks groggily as he unsteadily gets to his feet.

"I took care of him." Nei replies as she stands up. Reaching into her belt, she withdraws a Trifluid and uses it. The Trifluid turns the pounding in her head to a slight ache as her technique energy is restored. "Gee, how do you two do this conduit stuff all the time? It's really draining..."

"You used your conduit?" X stares incredulously at Neifirst as he says this.

"Yeah...I took him out pretty easily. He was strong for a idiotic human, but nothing too bad." Nei says as she looks around. "Hmm...his backup might still be around. We should probably get out of here."

In answer to her statement, a group of around fifty of Zionus' troops warps in directly in front of them, blocking their route to the safety of the Resistance Headquarters.

"Thanks, Nei. You just had to tempt fate, didn't you...?" X glares as the three take off running in the opposite direction.

"Keep talking brat. You're tempting fate now. I don't have to worry about ruining your disguise when I hit you now!"

"Grr..."

"Um, where are we running to, Uncle? They could have us trapped if we keep this up. Can't we just teleport?" Ayame says as the three cut around a corner and dart up an alley, the group of soldiers hot on their heels.

"Can you manage a Hinas right now, Ayame...?"

"No, not really. The Reversers made me all woozy, and I'm out of fluids."

"Dammit. I had one left...but I used it to get rid of this horrid headache." Nei says.

"Well, looks like we're running for it. I know a good place to lay low for a bit, and get some new disguises." X says, leading the group into a warren of back alleys.

Outside a nondescript building in Pioneer 2's government district, a lone figure cases the building from a nearby alley. Seeing that the area is nearly deserted, JiEin steps out from his surveillance point and heads toward the building. The deserted state of the area has been caused by most of the buildings being taken over by Zionus' followers. The few workers that have not relocated to other areas are working for Zionus.

This should be easy enough. An upgrade to the Ji Sword was being worked on when I left government service. Elly told me that it was finished, but I never really had any need to use it. But...obtaining it from these fanatics that have taken over shouldn't be that hard. Here goes.

"Excuse me, sir? Where can I go to find Zionus?" JiEin says to the door guard as he steps toward the door, still in his human guise.

"The way of Zionus is an internal one, brought on by much devotion and-urk." The guard slumps as JiEin's precise blow to the stomach doubles him over.

I'll have to remember that. I didn't think it'd work. Seems if I can just keep these fanatics talking, they tend to not focus on much else. It's as if Zionus has...hmm.

JiEin drags the unconscious guard off to the nearby alley, and a few minutes later emerges dressed in his uniform.

These fleshie garments are so strange. Far too confining. How do they even move in them? Wearing a uniform two sizes too small for his frame, he looks rather odd, yet the receptionist inside is too distracted to seemingly notice his presence. She takes in the uniform, then waves him back, returning to her computer with a dull gaze.

Stepping into the main elevator, he descends to the R & D lab level. A quick mental review of the schematic reminds him of where the Ji-series development lab is. A lab coat pilfered from the first unfortunate scientist he encounters disguises him well, and he easily slips past the seemingly brain-dead guards to his destination.

As JiEin reaches his destination, a black-plated Hucaseal watches his progress on a monitor.

"Excuse me, is that lab worker assigned to be in that section of the lab?" Shard asks.

"Oh, no ma'am. That section is closed off due to the orders of the master. All projects of use there have been moved."

"Very well. I shall go investigate."

Without another word, Shard unclips a silvery double-saber handle from her waist and steps out the door, heading to intercept the intruder.

JiEin reaches the R & D lab, then immediately heads for a series of locked equipment cabinets on the far wall. One is marked with the designation JI-05. JiEin walks over, places his palm on the lock and transmits a special signal from his processor, then proceeds to enter in a long security code. With a faint click, the lock springs open. Inside is a red box with no markings. He removes it, then closes the lockbox behind him. A quick perusal of the box's contents reveals a sword hilt and several attachments that look to be power amplifiers.

So, they finished the upgrade modules. Too bad this won't work with the 'loaner' frame I'm in at the moment. I'll have to wait til Elly fixes my frame and the Ji Sword. Time to lea...eh?

As JiEin had turned to leave, Shard entered the room.

"Halt, intruder! Present identification immediately, or be struck down."

"Oh, hello there ninjabot. How are you on this fine day? My ID is...somewhere... give me a moment..." JiEin replies, as Shard ignites her weapon to prove her point. The twin purple photon blades that extrude from each end of the weapon speak of heavy modification. After a bit of fumbling in the lab coat's pocket, he finds an ID card. With his other hand, hidden in the coat's other pocket, he releases two traps into his hand. Palming the two traps, he slowly withdraws both hands.

"Oh, I found it. Here you go." JiEin says, removing the ID card and extending his left hand, holding the card.

"Bring it here, now!" Shard snaps.

Well, too bad she's not as foolish as the others...JiEin thinks, as he readies his traps. Handing the card to Shard with one hand, he hurls the two traps toward the floor, leaping backward as they explode. The Fire Trap creates a smokescreen, exacerbated by the delayed blast of a Confusion Trap. His dash toward the door is stopped by a vicious roundhouse kick from Shard, who lets out a short, sharp laugh as JiEin crashes into the wall.

"Really...did you think that would work? Cure/Confuse is so useful... I'll eliminate you now." Readying her weapon, she rushes at JiEin, who is still coaxing his battered stock frame off of the floor. He barely manages to bring his Red Partisan up in time to block her swing, forced swiftly back down to one knee as she overpowers him. The sparks blind him briefly as Shard kicks him again, knocking him aside. As he slowly gets to his feet, she stands with her Double Buster at the ready.

"Hmm...why are you disguised as a human, JiEin? It's not very good for a disguise."

"...That's not what the door guards said."

"Well, then they will be punished for such a foolish oversight. And I'm assuming that is who you are, because what other android would both be able to access the Ji-series R & D lab and be foolish enough to try? Now, come to your death. The master has wanted you killed ever since you presumed to stop him a few days ago."

One hand on the wall and the support of his Red Partisan enable him to get to his feet, his torso dented from Shard's harsh kicks. A quick Trimate restores him to optimum movement ability, though his standard frame still creaks in protest at his continued movement.

This would be a severe challenge even if I had my regular frame. At this point...it's likely impossible to beat her. By brute force means, anyway.

Labyrinth surveys the remnants of the fanatic group. Most of them lie on the ground, immobilized by Seize weapons. The few stragglers have been knocked unconscious with Drain weapons. The battle was quick and rather intense. Gathering up his troops, they form a defensive ring and warp back to Resistance Headquarters.

Inside the prison, Lucca faces off with Kimiko. Her troopers continue forward to rescue the prisoners as she stays to stall Kimiko.

"Well...do you wish to play that badly? If so, I'd be happy to oblige." Drawing her Ano rifle, Kimiko snaps off several shots at Lucca, who dodges out of the way and returns fire. Her shots strike Kimiko, who simply laughs.

"Too weak, fleshie. Try again." Lucca responds to the taunt by casting Jellen and Zalure on Kimiko, but the weakening techniques are quickly removed with a single Anti casting.

"What? How did you...?" Lucca asks, astonished.

The Fonewm responsible steps out from behind a control console, clad in the white uniform of one of Zionus' followers.

"Ms. Kimiko. I shall support you. Capture this infidel for the glory of the master."

"This'll be over quickly, don't worry." Kimiko says in a mocking tone as she begins firing rapidly at Lucca, who uses the nearby consoles for cover. As she pops up to fire a Ruby Bullet shot, a gust of air blows her hair across her face. She fires at where Kimiko was, but the Racaseal is gone. Lucca turns, receiving the butt of Kimiko's Ano Rifle to her face. As she reaches a hand up to her face to cast Resta, Kimiko kicks her in the stomach, then clubs her viciously across the neck as the Ramarl doubles over, knocking her to the ground, unconscious .

"Stupid human. I can move far, far faster than your pathetic senses can detect. I think I might have overdone it though. You are way too fragile. Oh well, if you're damaged goods, I'll have to kill ya. Sorry." Kimiko levels her Ano Rifle at the back of Lucca's head. As she prepares to fire, the Fonewm-turned acolyte of Zionus rushes over.

"The master wishes her captured alive, Ms. Kimiko."

"Well, he also said I'd get to kill something. So...smile!"

Kimiko blasts a smoking hole in the priest's head, then gathers up her captive.

"The objective is complete. Kill the remaining troops, and convert the prisoners."

"But...ma'am...the soldiers have already escaped with the prisoners."

"Dammit. Alright...the main objective has been completed." Kicking the corpse of the priest out of her way, Kimiko kneels, picks up Lucca's battered form, then casually strolls into the control room with the unconscious Ramarl slung over her shoulder.

On the streets of Pioneer 2, X has led Neifirst and Ayame to a residential area. Stepping to the front door, he presses the doorbell. It is quickly answered by Rubia.

"Hi mom."

"Hello Xaelis. You look awful. And why do you look like you've been running away from someone? Did the girl's father catch you, or something?" Rubia asks, as she ushers X, Ayame and Neifirst inside.

"No. We've been running from those Zionus fanatics."

"Oh yes, them. Why were you working for that psycho?"

"He captured me and brainwashed me." X replies, as Rubia closes the door behind them.

"Hmm. He seems to be doing that a lot lately. Shouldn't you be off saving us all, dear? And would you like something to drink?"

"I'm...no match for Zionus. Not in my current state. He drained my powers when he captured me, and used the stolen power to create a copy."

"Well, he definitely sounds like a tough one. Rather insane, too. Are there any plans to deal with him?" Rubia asks.

"Someone is retrieving the Rings of Stars. We'll know more then." is X's answer.

"Alright. Just don't push yourself too hard. Who are your new friends? The Ramarl looks vaguely familiar..."

"That's not a Ramarl, mom."

"Ramar, then."

"..." Nei fumes, as X moves over to intercept her mid-leap. Restraining the furious newman, he whispers into her ear. "Hey Nei. Be a dear and don't rip out my mom's throat, k?"

"I'm not making any promises." Nei says, glaring.

Turning from Neifirst, X replies. "This is Neifirst. She's in disguise, since whenever any of us step out on the street we get mobbed by the psychos."

"Oh...well, it's a good Ramar disguise, then."

"I'm...supposed...to be ...a Ramarl!" Nei growls in frustration as X attempts to hold her back.

"Well dear, you should try to accentuate your figure some more. It's nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of girls don't have it. And your face..."

"What's wrong with my face!" Nei snarls, staring daggers at Rubia.

"It's so filled with anger...very butch. Oh, oh, there's this girl at my work. You two would hit it off wonderfully-"

"X, let me go!"

"Relax Nei, she does this to everyone." X says, as Neifirst struggles for a few moments more. Finally, she gives in.

"Ok...but I get to beat the living hell out of you when we get out of this. No Demon Roaring." Nei whispers.

"Tch...fine." X answers.

"Well, the disguise was a good effort I suppose. But...one last thing." Rubia says.

"Yes...?" Nei answers, through gritted teeth.

"There's this girl in the class I teach. She's trying to come out. Maybe you could come talk to her and tell her how it was for you?"

Nei's only reply is an incoherent burst of rage as she storms out of the living room.

"Is she always that rude...?" Rubia asks after a few seconds.

"..." X replies.

"Well, anyway. Who's your new catch? She's quite attractive. Do you ever date anyone but Hunewearls?" Rubia asks, turning to Ayame.

X simply sighs and looks at the floor, cradling his forehead in exasperation.

"Oh, what's wrong dear? Don't be embarrassed...I met your last girlfriend, and this one's much cuter. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"Mom..." X begins, as Ayame simply stares.

"X, seriously now. If you have an adult relationship with a girl, don't be afraid of admitting it. She looks like a keeper. More womanly that your last girlfriend, and much more polite."

A blood vessel on X's forehead swells ominously as Rubia continues her perusal.

"And I like the outfit. A bit...revealing, but she actually has the figure to wear it. For once."

"Mom...that's..."

"Fashion sense, beauty and manners. Aha! I know why you're so embarrassed. You moved up too many levels. You don't feel like you deserve someone so much better-looking than your last girlfriend. Am I right?"

"Mom, please...just..."

"Xaelis. Seriously now." Rubia moves over to sit by Ayame, placing her tea on the coffee table. "You don't have to be embarrassed or coy. I know the two of you have probably broken at least as many beds as Wryval and I did."

"Um..." Ayame hesitantly speaks up, as X is mumbling incoherently under his breath.

"What is it, dear? You don't have to be shy, either. Has Xaelis put a ring on your finger yet? You'll have to forgive him...he's rather irresponsible."

"But, I..."

"Oh, you aren't ready for that yet? Don't worry about it, although I would like to see some grandchildren out of him at some point. You certainly have the hips for it. I was a little worried when I met his last girlfriend, but it turns out he does prefer a womanly figure in the end."

Turning to X, she continues " Really, you'll do so much better with a nice, lithe, voluptuous young lady like this."

X is now curled up on the floor, rocking back and forth.

"Uncle, am I too old to repress memories now?" Ayame asks the unresponsive X.

"I thought the term these days was 'daddy'-wait. What did you say your name was again, dear?" Rubia asks with a look of growing surprise on her face.

"Oh, Ms. Rubia, don't you remember me?" Ayame says, as Rubia takes a drink of her tea.

"It's me, Ayame."

Surprise turns to utter horror as Rubia gasps.The tea that Rubia spit out as she choked in surprise sprayed against the far wall. "Xaelis, you cradle-robber!" She yells as she jumps to her feet.

"Ms. Rubia...I'm not his girlfriend. He's my uncle. That's just...gross. And Aunt Leah would get really mad. Besides...his hair's too long." Ayame says as Rubia rails at her son.

X, recovering from the utter shock, slowly gets to his feet as Rubia backs off. "Wait... My hair is too long! What do you mean my hair's too long? Not that I want you to think of me that way- dammit mom! Look what you have me thinking of now. Ewwwww..."

Sitting down, Rubia looks rather embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I just...when did you grow up so much? I last saw you about six months ago."

"Oh, a few days ago. Dr. Hahn put me in a tube, and when I came out I looked like this."

"Plastic surgery, at your age? That's going a bit overboard, dear. You were just a slow developer." Rubia says soothingly.

"It gave me all sorts of new powers too. And Ms. Nei says that I can control boys now. I guess that's one of the new powers. She taught me this really cool special move. It's called fakin-" Ayame replies.

"NEI! I'm going to kill you!" X screams as he darts from the living room.

"So...you're dressed as a Hunewearl, and Neifirst is a Ramar."

"Ramarl."

"Whatever. What was Xaelis' disguise?" Rubia asks.

"Oh, he went as a Fomarl! It looked really cool." Ayame beams, as Rubia gets a concerned look on her face.

"I knew it. I never should have let Wryval buy him that Fomar dress. It's screwed him up for life. And the hairdressing job..." Rubia says, as X and Nei, both battered and bruised, come back into the house.

"Um...what?" X asks as he and Nei slump down in two of the remaining seats.

"X, how long have you been wearing dresses?" Rubia says, fixing X with a piercing stare.

"What! Oh, the disguise. It was a good disguise, and I had to come up with something."

"Xaelis, you need to be honest with yourself. If you like to wear women's clothing that much, there's no reason to be ashamed about it. Come on, I'll help you get 'disguised' again." Grabbing her son by the arm, she drags him to his feet and leads him down the hall.

Ayame and Nei exchange ironic looks, then burst out laughing.

In the R & D lab, JiEin is running through a plan as he stalls for time.

"So...why are you here?" he says, settling into a battle stance.

"To guard the place. Why are you stalling? A freeze trap won't hold me for long...I wouldn't suggest you try it." Shard says, crouching slightly with her Twin Buster extended in front of her. "It'll only delay the inevitable."

"Alright. Well, let's get this over with." JiEin says, as Shard simply leaps at him. He sidesteps, then swings at her in mid-air, the blade of his Red Partisan deflecting her overhead slash with one blade. She comes down, then twists the Twin Buster sharply, getting in a shallow cut on JiEin's side.

She spins as she slashes, the momentum of her cut turning her completely around for a savage stab. JiEin raises his Red Partisan to block the blow, but shoves the non-bladed end at her shin at the last second, sending her off balance. Her weapon crashes into the wall, as she is unable to stop her thrust. The sizzling photonic blade plunges into the wall to the hilt as JiEin backs away.

"Hmmph. You aren't used to a partisan, are you?" Shard asks as she pulls her blade from the wall.

"No, actually I'm far too used to them. I find them all the time. But...shall we continue? You haven't killed me yet." JiEin says, backing up towards the wall.

"A situation I plan to fix very soon." Shard replies as she edges towards JiEin, twirling her weapon. The dual blades create a wall of deadly purple energy as she approaches. A few half-hearted stabs by JiEin are easily deflected as she closes in. She feints with her blade, then lunges in a powerful punch at JiEin's head. He barely moves aside in time, slashing at her torso as her hand becomes embedded in the wall. She rips it out, crushing a bit of wall plating in her hand. JiEin takes this brief opportunity to hurl a trap at the ceiling, next to the sprinkler system's detection area.

Shard advances on him again, stalking him relentlessly. JiEin looks around, then grabs a scanning apparatus from a table behind him and hurls it at her. The machinery is instantly slagged by her lightning-fast block. She draws closer, the Twin Buster spinning rapidly. Her rapid-fire attacks gouge a few holes in JiEin's frame before he finally manages to block, the photon blades of the weapons sparking as each tests the other's strength. Shard easily overpowers him, then boots him in the chest to push him back before delivering a solid kick with her other leg that sends him flying.

"This ends now!" Shard cries as she charges full-speed. JiEin fumbles with the emitter of his Partisan for a moment, then unexpectedly throws the weapon at her. The tumbling red spear is deflected by her weapon, sent spinning blade first into JiEin's trap. The explosion sets off the sprinkler system, spraying Shard with water.

"What is this supposed to do, exactly? I'm waterproof." Shard snips, as she begins to walk forward. Her movement triggers the proximity alarm on the freeze trap attached to the Red Partisan, which siphons power from the Partisan's freezing unit to send out a blast of chilling air, turning the soaked Shard into a solid statue of ice.

JiEin takes the opportunity to run, as Shard tries to break free of her icy prison. He makes it out of the building, appropriating a Dragon Slayer sword from a guard on his way out. He manages to get a few blocks away before the combined efforts of Shard and the guards break the Hucaseal free. By the time they resume the search, JiEin is long gone.

On Ragol, Yokote materializes in an ornate hallway, filled with large stone statues. The statue of a young woman holding an upraised sword is the most prominent, flanked by several others statues of different people with varying heroic looks on their faces.

A glowing figure in archaic robes appears before him, speaking into his mind.

Welcome...to the Hall of Heroes. You who seek the Rings of Stars...you will be tested. You have a pure heart, not nearly as conflict-ridden as your companions. But is your inner strength truly as great as it seems? Are you truly even in the same league as the heroes of old? We shall see.

With a slight motion of his hand, the apparition disappears.

Well, that was odd. Yokote thinks. Seconds later, a portion of the wall in front of him shimmers, transforming into a glowing archway. Absolute darkness stares at him from within the archway, as the apparation's voice urges him inside. He complies, and is transported to a serene field of flowers. A towering obelisk dominates the landscape. As he walks to the portal, the glowing figure of a woman steps out from the other side of the obelisk.

You...seek the Rings. We shall see if you are truly strong enough.

The woman suddenly punches the ground, leaving a shimmering dark hole that quickly spreads, radiating lines of darkness cracking the landscape like glass. Yokote falls for a long time, landing on what seems to be a vast platform hovering over an endless abyss.

Prove yourself. Face the challenges of the heroes of old. With a scream that could seemingly tear the fabric of reality itself, a large mutated...thing appears from the abyss, flying upward on a radiating photon circle. It lands, screaming again as it brandishes an arm full of spiky appendages. Its other arm ends in a hand with wicked claws, a black portal glowing it its palm. The massive creature towers over him, its legs bigger than his entire body. Its shiny, dark purple skin is covered with dark grey armored plates over most of its surface, the entire thing reflecting the faint light from the platform.

It roars, then fires a beam of scarlet light from its mouth, searing the platform where Yokote stood as he leaps away. He ignites his sabers as a series of yellow beams fire from the creature's back, flying into the air. Seconds later, a hellstorm of flaming blasts strike the platform, sending Yokote flying. He manages to avoid the brunt of the blasts, but the shockwave bowls him over.

Before he can move away, the creature fires its red energy beam again, sweeping the destructive ray towards Yokote. He blocks it with his crossed sabers, pushing with all his might to hold back the beam. Pinned as he is, he is unable to avoid the cascade of flames that rain down upon him.

Lorna finds herself transported to a stone hallway deep within the tower of trials. She looks around, finding a dimly glowing figure at the end of the hallway. The man is dressed in white robes, and although he glows with a faint light, he is not...quite... transparent. She heads toward him, her cape gently swishing along the stone floor. As she approaches, the figure speaks into her head.

Greetings. You who seek the Rings of Stars...you must be tested.

"Oh, that's nice. Say...who are you? So handsome for a ghost."

I am one of the Guardian Spirits of Rykros. I served the light during my mortal life, and now my soul lives on-

"Really? So your soul was so strong that it was able to maintain its coherency through the ages...fascinating." Lorna interrupts as she stops walking, briefly looking him up and down before continuing onward, a small smile of approval on her face.

Yes, but that has nothing to do with the trials. The figure says as Lorna slinks closer, a mischevious gleam in her eyes.

"Such a strong, willful...masterful presence you have." She says, licking her lips. She smiles at the guardian as she continues."I can sense your energy without really trying. That intrigues me..." Lorna replies, moving to arm's length from the figure.

The guardian stares at her for a moment as she initiates a mind touch.

"Well, I'm certain there are plenty of rigorous trials I'll have to go through, and all that. But there are some things I'd rather discuss first. The nature of light and darkness, for one." Lorna says, reaching out a hand to hover near the guardian's hand as she continues her mind-link.

What do you mean...? the guardian says, taken aback.

"Well, you see...Light and Darkness are two parts of one whole. They're opposites that are split apart. When they come together, something wonderful happens. This interplay of opposites is reflected in many, many aspects of mortal life..." Lorna states, continuing the mind link as she switches back to normal speech. By this point, she has slid her arms around the guardian's neck, pulling herself close.

"Wow...for an intangible spirit guardian, you certainly are solid. So warm." Lorna says, smiling brightly. "But I'm certain it gets lonely guarding this tower for eons with no company. And if you were originally human, some aspects of humanity are hard to simply discard so easily." With this, she stares seductively at the guardian.

I...your trial...

"Oh, can't we talk about that later? I'll do whatever you ask of me, if you do me just one tiny little favor..."Lorna replies, leaning in to softly touch her face to the guardian's neck.

The look of surprise on the guardian's face fades from view as Lorna mentally dims the lights in the hallway.

Sage stands with a look of total exasperation on his face.

"Ok Lutz, enough already! I don't need to know the detailed history behind these techniques. Just being able to use them will be enough for now. You can give me the history lesson later..."

"...very well. But the 'history lesson', as you so amply put it, is rather important." Lutz replies, a tone of defeat in his voice. "I must admit, you learned fairly quickly. There is one last technique for you to learn, though."

Sage groans aloud, then switches back to telepathy. " Argh, alright already. I've learned the Na-level techniques, Tandle, Efess and Negatis. They all just seem like upgrades to standard techs, though. What's this last one, and why's it so important? We've been at this for like two hours now..."

"The last technique is called Legeon. It is, to my knowledge, the most destructive technique ever created. It is rather complicated to cast, and drains your technique energy quickly, but the payoff in power is proportionally a thousand times greater than any other technique."

"Sounds like that'd be pretty useful. I'm certain there's some sort of horrific downside, though. What is it?"

"Mainly the casting time and the amount of resources it takes out of the caster. It requires precise control, as you must concentrate enough technique energy to create a self-sustaining magical reaction within an enclosed space.When enough energy is built up, the reaction overloads, multiplying the destructive force of the original technique energy commited many times over."

"Right... And I do this how, exactly?" Sage asks, a perplexed look on his face.

You must create a barrier, then concentrate opposing energies of light and dark within the barrier. The tension created within the barrier builds to a critical mass, adding power to the reaction as it proceeds until it eventually pierces the barrier, releasing the energy in a massive explosion."

"Hmm...so I basically just pour a bunch of tech energy into one place until it starts creating energy on its own? That sounds needlessly complicated. Couldn't I just use that tech energy to make it go boom directly, instead of creating some sort of technique pipe-bomb?"

"You underestimate the power the technique will generate when the critical part of the reaction begins. It multiplies on its own after a certain point. The major energy expenditure is in holding the two opposing forces together until the reaction begins." Lutz replies. "I shall mentally walk you through the process, but...we need a suitable target. One thing you MUST remember, though. It takes a comparatively small amount of energy to start the reaction. You must be careful to not overpower the Efess and Negatis techniques. The majority of the casting cost comes with containing the energy until it reaches critical."

"I'll give it a shot. Can we go now?"

"Yes, let's go." Lutz replies, letting out a mental sigh.

Sage continues down the hallway, coming to a door that is similar in style to the doors in the Ruins on Ragol. He steps through, into a scene from his worst nightmare. The room is packed wall-to-wall with dozens of the enhanced Delbiters he fought back on Ragol when he first encountered Zionus. As the first creature roars and charges, Sage sidesteps and fires a shot from his Yasminkov. The bullet impacts a barrier in mid-air, doing no damage.

"Sage, remember! These monsters are impervious to physical damage. Why do you think I bothered to teach you all those techniques!" Lutz practically screams into his head.

Holstering his gun, Sage simply shrugs. "Yeah...sorry. I forgot. Guess I get to try those new techs out now."

"You...forgot...? HOW!"

"Your explanations were really long and drawn-out. I kinda...stopped listening in the middle of the history lesson. I like history, but you have a way to make even me bored."

During this internal dialogue, two more Delbiters have charged at Sage. Grinning, he extends his right palm outward, channeling energy into one of his new techs. The floor beneath the nearest Delbiter erupts as his Nafoie blast incinerates it with a burst of intense heat.

"Ha, got one."

Sage...you do realize that if you did the technique correctly, they would all have died?"

"What! But I did do it correctly. Here...watch me do it again."

Sage casts another Nafoie, the burst of flame puncturing the next Delbiter's torso, ripping it nearly in half.

"You...did it right. But how can someone with such substantial telepathic and telekinetic powers have such weak techniques?"

"Shut up, Mr. 'I Have Maximized My Mental Abilities.' Not all of us are addicted to Mind Mats, or were in a former life.

"..."

As the next Delbiter leaps at Sage, he casts Nabarta, the intense cold forming into a wide beam that fires directly at the Delbiter, encasing it in a block of ice. A few seconds later, it shatters the ice with a roar, breaking free relatively unharmed.

"Haven't you fought these things before, Sage?"

"Yeah...once."

"Shouldn't you know that they aren't weak to ice?"

"...Last time I just shot its face off."

" " Lutz lets out a snarl of frustration as Sage tries another technique. Sage holds both hands a few inches apart, creating a massive static charge by repeatedly sending a Gizonde bolt between his hands. After a few seconds, he releases the stored electrical energy, the Tandle technique shocking a few of the Delbiters into immobility as the wave of lightning rolls over them.

"Well, you shocked them. But it didn't do that much damage. Why not just go back to Nafoie?"

"Lutz...stop backseat casting, please! I'm trying these out."

Sage's next technique summons a black portal beneath him as Megid bolts leap to three of the nearest Delbiters, having no effect on all but one.

"Well...Negatis didn't work too well. How about Efess?"

Three more Delbiters charge towards him, the charge of one clipping him on the shoulder and knocking him sprawling. His Resta repairs the damage, but the time it took to cast allowed him to get pinned between two of the creatures. He yells a harsh chant as the bluish-white light from Efess radiates outward from his body, causing blue arcane circles to appear underneath all the Delbiters. As he is knocked down again, the blue beams of Efess tear downward, doing minimal damage.

However, the technique did alert all of the Delbiters in the room to his presence. He manages to Jellen five of them before he is slammed into a nearby wall. Clutching bruised ribs, he gets to his feet.

You want to try out your techniques, you said. You wanted to mess around, and now it may get you killed. Lutz says, fueling Sage's Shifta and Deband with his own powers.

Yeah, yeah...I think I might be able to get out of this. I'm going to try that Legeon thing. But first... Sage focuses his telekinetic powers, pushing back four of the nearby Delbiters. He climbs onto an elevated ledge behind him, then stands with his hands cupped in front of him. A transparent blue orb appears in the air in front of him, but fades a second later. Repeated attempts have the same result.

"It's not working. How do I get the barrier to work?" he asks Lutz, becoming more frantic as the Delbiters close in.

"It appears you do not have the mental strength to sustain the barrier. This...is not good."

"Wait, I think I've got it. Would the same principle work on a smaller scale? Like, say...with Grants and Megid?"

"Theoretically, yes. But it's impossible to create a barrier out of technique energy that can contain the energy, yet be pliable enough to rupture and release the explosion."

"Well, I'm not going to make it out of technique energy..." Sage answers as he begins casting Grants in the midst of the Delbiters. The familiar shining lights appear as he hurls a Megid at the forming Grants. The Megid veers slightly away, but Sage concentrates all of his energy into a telekinetic shield around the two techniques, forcing them to interact.

Sage strains as he holds the two techs together, forcing the opposing energies to struggle with each other for dominance. After a few seconds, a high-pitched whine of energy begins to emanate from the competing elemental techs as he continues to contain the reaction. The orb of energy turns white, then black, then fades to a pale blue that grows in intensity as it grows in size. Blood vessels in Sage's forehead stand out ominiously as he concentrates all his efforts on containing the energy, the shield being forcibly stretched as the reaction begins.

When he can contain the reaction no longer, smaller blue orbs erupt out of the larger one, then explode into domes of blue light. The glare from the blasts build and build as more and more energy is produced, until finally the main orb goes with a loud explosion, a shockwave rushing through the room as the concentrated technique energy is released.

When the smoke clears and the glare fades from Sage's eyes, only a few scraps of Delbiter remain.