Disclaimer: The same as before, and again, I do not own the characters or the material from the anime/manga, Ayashi no Ceres, translated into Ceres: Celestial Legend by Yu Watase. Without further ado, on to the story.
ShardclawK: First, I must say Happy New Year to all the readers! I do hope everyone of you had a good holiday, as I did too. (The only downside of it all is that I was without with a PS2 to play my favourite games through the holiday…and though I could have used some more new anime under my arm right now…but that's not why I'm here.) My role here is to present to you all another chapter of the adventures of our favourite psychic soldier in action and the people he meets to protect. Hope everyone enjoys what I got to offer them in this update, and the best part is that I still got the Weiss guys helping me co host this fic!
Ran: Good to be back for the fun of it, Shardclaw. I know DarkFusion would be glad about us helping you in the hosting duties of this famous fic for this new year.
Youji: Speaking of DF, he just wanted to remind you, Shardclaw, of one thing about the Ceres material. One thing is that Yuhi, Aya and Chidori are around the same age as Riku's and that Yuhi and Chidori are living together as a couple. Just a little error on Shardclaw's part that has to be cleared up before going on.
ShardclawK: Ah, gomen ne sai…I'll try to be careful next time, if I don't want to receive the punishment of Tot's harisen's attacks on my poor body again…
Just then, I was bonked on the head behind me by an unknown object.
ShardclawK: OWW! Hey, that hurt, Tot! I said I was sorry.
Tot from backstage: That wasn't me, Shardclaw. It was one of those ladies that DarkFusion sent you from the last SX update.
ShardclawK: What do you mean by that, Tot? Who was it then…
I suddenly turn and ended up bouncing my head into a pair of large, ample bosoms. It happened to be La Pucelle Tactics' Dark Éclair own, in her sexy and skimpy black dress. With her were Prier, Alouette and Éclair from the same game. My mouth started to drool at her and Prier, as they began huddling me and pressing my head to their chests.
Dark Éclair: Hello, Shardclaw-sama. Hope you didn't take our correcting you for that mistake you made too seriously.
Prier: Don't worry, though…we are here to make sure that you don't mess up in later chapters, or else you will suffer…'consequences'.
ShardclawK: Y-O-W…Baby! I do hope you girls are ready to…'correct' me as much as you want, because I tend to make mistakes in writing some times. Damn…seeing you hotties just want to make me get back my PS2 so bad, so I can start playing to see you chicks!
Alouette: The great Shardclaw make mistakes? I'd always thought you were perfect in writing, but let's go off into that master bedroom of yours and see for ourselves if that is true, mmm?
ShardclawK: I'm all yours to play with, girls! Ran, you and your buddies can take care of the rest of this until the end of the chapter. See you then.
Ran: The beginning of a new year and he still gets chicks like that?! Youji, Omi…You two better start hoping Shardclaw gets you two hooked up with chicks like that soon, before we all get tired of him getting more, 'shipments.'
Omi: We just have to get used to it until he eventually does it. Anyway, here's the update of the fic. Enjoy, readers.
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Metal Gear: Soldier X
Chapter 21: The Hunted, Part 3
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"I'm getting an uneasy feeling about this…" Farfarello said in a low tone to his partner, Crawford. The Schwartz group had stopped in front of a large garden at a mansion area. Prior before coming here, Solidus Snake wanted to test Schwartz loyalty and sent them on a 'salvage' mission of sorts.
"Why did Solidus sent us here in the first place is understandable, but I don't it is truly necessary to have them come along with us…" Schuldich pointed a thumb at a tall man just sneering at them. A woman with light, tanned skin and long, dyed blonde hair, wearing a body suit stepped next to him.
"Now, now, Vamp….we don't have to start a fight here." Fortune calmly spoke to Vamp. "Under Solidus' orders, we are to assist these men in the mission that should help us thin out the possible enemies that may be after SEELE, now that it is under our control."
"Haven't King gotten out all that he wanted to know from old man, Keele?" Vamp asked.
"…Not everything. He is withholding some vital intel, and Ocelot has been placed under orders by Solidus not to torment him, or any of the other members of the Committee." Fortune said. "They are trying to buy themselves time."
"If it's about the so called Instrumentality project that we overheard the former Patriot No. 7 was babbling about while Ocelot was torturing him, it's hopeless." Vamp replied, taking out one of his knives. "Still…attacking a base full of French assassins residing here in Japan makes no sense to our plans."
"Oh, dear Vamp…it's seems you must be missing the picture here." Crawford spoke, stepping closer to him, unafraid. "You see…since having Schwartz tag along with you, it should be considered an opportunity that I know more about this familiar target than you do."
"If you claim so, then speak, businessman." Vamp replied. "And make it quick."
"After some thinking, it would seem obvious that our target is none other than the famous Noir assassin that has eluded even our sight until now, thanks to our joint efforts." Crawford said.
"How is that possible, Crawford?" Schuldich asked him.
"It seems Noir is not a single assassin, but a group of women." Crawford smiled. "Two of them happen to be teenagers, while the other is in around her twenties."
"So, what do they have to do with Solidus?" Farfarello asked him.
"One of the teenagers happens to be a skilled knife thrower…much like FOXHOUND's Silent Scorpion, only this girl is a special exception to the Patriots…like Greg Kinezono." Crawford spoke with a smirk. "Solidus failed to get Kinezono to see the intentions that the Patriots had in store for him, and said he wanted the girl named Chloe. That was all he said."
"Seems like this is turning out to be quite the learning experience." Schuldich said. "But she won't be able to join us so easily, you know."
"Her mind should be fragile enough, so the power of your telepathy should…convince her to join us. I t is her destiny." Crawford said.
"What about the other two assassins?" Fortune asked.
"That's why you are here…to deal with them in case they interfere." Crawford said. "We take no prisoners, but Chloe. Do whatever you want to the other two assassins."
"After hearing about this mission, I can't even wait for moment which we get to test ourselves against them." Schuldich said, just before he simply smiled and turned to his side. "Well, well…maybe our wish would come true sooner than I thought."
(Yes, Schuldich…I can sense them watching us as we speak.) Crawford said. "Come on out, ladies. And try using your weapons while you still can…it may be the last thing you will ever do in this life time."
Just then, a raining barrage of knives was seen hurled at Fortune, but they suddenly veered away and ended up falling unto the ground, while Farfarello threw some where they was attacked, and they ended up cutting a young girl, who leaped out of a tree. She had on a tight, black, jump suit. The expression in her eyes were tired, yet emotionless as were her face. She had short, purple hair that was tied into a short ponytail at the side of her head. Her hands both held an array of throwing knives was seen, but the deep gash across her ankle made it hard for her to stand up.
"Who…just who the hell are you?!" Chloe asked, gritting her teeth.
"You must be Chloe. You lack the proper training, though you're full of potential. You'll do just fine." Vamp said, licking his fangs, coming closer to Chloe. But before he got to touched her, he suddenly twisted his body in a swift, flamenco dance style, and with a flick of his wrist, threw a knife at an incoming bullet that was heading for Crawford.
"Impossible!" Chloe said in utter shock. "He actually stopped one of Mireille's bullets?"
"Shit!" a blond woman shouted in a French accent, lowering her Beretta. She had on a casual outfit of a light, blue open shirt and a red vest and a short, black miniskirt. "What do you intend to do with Chloe, Schwartz scum?"
"Ah…miss Bouquet. Funny coincidence that you should be here as well to defend your companion." Crawford simply said. "And greetings to you as well, Kirika Yuumura."
Crawford was referring to the individual next to Mireille, who already was gritting her teeth in hatred at what she saw and heard. Kirika is a young Japanese girl, with short, brown hair. She had on a Japanese school uniform, and holding unto a small hand handbag in one hand, while she held onto a gun in her right.
"Answer her question!" Kirika shouted, holding up her gun at Schwartz, and Dead Cell, while Vamp and Farfarello approached Chloe closer.
"Tsk, tsk…you should know better than to challenge all of us, little girl." Crawford said, before he got into a fighting stance. "As much we would want to chat with you lovely ladies, we have more pressing matters at the moment and we won't have to spare any more time to waste taking Chloe as our own."
"Like hell I will let that happen!" Chloe stood up bravely and stared at the group. Crawford simply shook his head.
"Fine then…if you want your friends to suffer for your boldness, then come at us." Vamp said. "Show us what you got."
The Noir assassins rushed at Schwartz and the two Dead Cell members that would result in a new brewing war among assassins and super soldiers alike. To the members of the combined groups, they already know the battle is in their favour.
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Back at the Aogiri residence, Greg was having a wail of a time against a team of the men he had come to visit, that ranged from Alec, Aki and Yuhi in a Guilty Gear XX tournament. Eventually, he was proving to them that he had superior skills they have never thought was possible withtwo of his favourite characters, Robo-Ky and Axl-Low.
"Wow, and here all this time I thought I was good in this genre, but it's truly a small world." Alec said in amazement, seeing Greg easily giving everyone a good fight. "By chance you participate in those EVO2K tournaments as well, Greg?"
"I wished I did…but there are people even more skilled than I am in those fights, compared to the real thing." Greg simply rubbed his head, embarrassed.
"EVO2K?" Nagi asked.
"It's like KOF, expect that it's for casual, fighting game players from all over the world." Greg said. "Just about every fighting game that has existed has made a tourney there, and the most skilled players go at it from there."
"Sounds just as fun still." Riku said.
"Just stay away from the Street Fighter 3 tournaments…I remember a time, ten years ago, Nanvel took me as a spectator to one particular semi finals while we were visiting the States, and there was this match with Ken versus Chun Li on a 3rd Strike tourney." Greg explained. "Man…you guys should have been there. It was….unspeakable, even if you were just on the sidelines witnessing it."
"What happened then?" Tot asked.
"Okay, since you already asked…the player who was playing Ken was down to zero life, while the Chun-Li player had about 60 life left…but it seemed that the Ken player will not go down easily." Greg told his tale. "So, after a few tense moments, no one had an idea what was going to happen, when Chun-Li executed her Super Art, the Sensretsu Kyaku, that kick move?"
"And he finished the Ken player off?" Aki asked.
"Wrong…the Ken player actually stood there and parried ALL of the attacks." Greg said simply.
"NANI!?" All of the men, including Shota, in the room said in shock.
"That's just the beginning…he even parried the last two of Chun-Li's kick while in mid air, only to counter with a heavy kick, into a medium kick, a fierce Shroyuken, which was cancelled into a Shippu Jinrai Kyaku, totally decimating the Chun Li player." Greg finished the details. "I can still remember how loud everyone in the hall watching that fight was from all the roaring. One of those, 'Oh…my…dear…God!' moments.."
"Amazing to think there are people THAT skilled in this world…." Yuhi spoke.
"Makes you want to reconsider taking on a tournament like that, huh, Alec?" Greg asked him.
"Yeah…I still have some areas in this game that even need polishing. Like a few of those pesky missions." Alec said.
"Really? Maybe I can help you with those, if you want some of my expert advice." Greg smiled as a thought came to mind. (So far, this guy's another Otacon if anyone asks me.)
"One of them is Mission 18…I think it was a poisoned Millia against an EX-Type Eddie." Alec said.
"Ah…I see, that one." Greg nodded as he selected the mission. "This is one of my personal favourites. It gets easy after awhile…"
As soon the mission started, the song, 'Still In The Dark' began to play. But before he started to fight Eddie, he paused the game to everyone's surprise and shut his eyes to listen to the song.
"Greggie?" Rio asked him in curiosity. "You okay?"
"Yeah….it's just that this song brings back memories of me and Linn being together for a mission." Greg confessed, placing a hand under his chin. "Sigh…'Still In The Dark'…it happens to be our song, and it's also the name for an attack we came up some time ago as well, while we were still partners before the whole 'boyfriend/girlfriend' thing."
"Care to tell us about it?" Tot asked Greg.
"I will…as long you guys promise you don't find it too…weird." Greg said, rubbing his head. "The circumstances surrounding the origin for the attack is kind of funny as well, when you think about it…"
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The date was December 10th, 2010. It was only some months since Greg and Linn had both joined FOXHOUND together and one of the couple's first missions was just around the coast areas of a New York Harbour. They were responsible for handling an undercover mission which would eventually bring them close to the lead of an illegal arms smuggling ring. However…their cover got blown, due to the revelation of a hot tip about Greg, and the two decided to take matters into their own hands.
"Hey, Greg…didn't Michael said we shouldn't use the 'hands on' approach?" Linn Aramaki spoke, wearing her modified Skull Suit that did little to protect the exposure of her gorgeous, show stopping figure.
"Well, Michael didn't count on having the smugglers bail out so soon." Greg replied simply, wearing his own combat Skull Suit, his nano arm exposed for the world to see. Two of the smugglers came across to Linn's position, which she easily took out one using a simple, yet quick, one legged roundhouse kick that sent one of the men through the harbour railing and into the shallow water down below, while Greg rushed in and tackled the other smuggler behind him, then giving a powerful uppercut to knock him down.
"Need any help?" Greg asked Linn.
"I was doing fine, thank you." She replied.
A couple more of the smugglers came to their direction, as Greg smirked, seeing easy pickings. He was about to run at them, when one of his legs got tangled up on some rope which was lying on the ground closely. He ended up falling on his face.
"Aw, jeez…you embarrass yourself sometimes." Linn simply shook her head, as the smugglers got closer to pick Greg up and threw him over the railing. Seeing a lightweight, circular anchor, disc was about the weight of an anvil, she flung it to one of the smugglers and it hit its mark around his lower back. Greg got free and managed to perform a swipe kick on the face of the other smuggler before he was thrown off. After landing on his feet, Greg dusted himself.
"So…who's the one needing help now?" Linn smiled at Greg.
"Heh…I don't need it. But you do." Greg retorted. But before he reacted, he suddenly saw another one of the smugglers they have missed touched a lever that dropped a hanging net of bagged fish on her, thus knocking her out.
"You won't be bothering us anymore, tootsies." The smuggler said in a wicked smile.
"Uhhhh…." Linn could have barely moved, since the impact of the weight knocked her down. Before the smuggler can get away, he was already in front of Greg, who was already on him with a barrage of punches. However, seeing Linn get hurt, Greg ended up pushing the envelope a bit and sent him crashing through the railing, which started to make the area of the harbour they were standing on crumble under their feet. To make matters worst, some of the rope from the net caught itself wrapping on one of Linn's legs, and pulled her down into the seawater.
"LINN!" Greg reacted by diving into the water after her. Holding his breath, he got as far to Linn before she reached the ocean floor, while she was still unconscious. Grabbing an arm, he managed to get her out before her lungs intake too much water which could have drowned her and quickly back to the surface.
"Come on, Linn…talk to me!" Greg held up her head to wake her, as she started to cough out some of the seawater.
"Ah…Greg?" Linn looked at him with a dazed look. "What…happened?"
"You nearly drowned on me in this horrible tasting water, that's what happened!" Greg replied, with a relaxed smile, knowing she was alright.
"You think this is bad? I can think of something even worst." Linn pointed at a distance. The two looked across and saw the smugglers getting unto a speed boat and was already hightailing it.
"The bitter taste of defeat." She said.
"Damn…Reese is going top have us for breakfast when he hears about this." Greg replied. "Come on…let's get out of this water, dried up and back to headquarters before dawn."
"Should I prepare funeral music while you think of an explanation to Reese about what happened?" Linn said, swimming with Greg to the docks.
The next morning, at FOXHOUND headquarters…
"You and Aramaki managed to ruin a successfully staged, undercover operation!" Lt. Matthew Reese shouted at Greg and Linn the next morning in his office. With them, were Michael Hansen and Roy Campbell, who also weren't in a good mood after hearing what has happened in the previous night's mission, and that Reese had to know about it.
"Well, what else could we have done? Just let them go?" Greg replied, trying to defend himself and Linn. "The smugglers were about to bail with the goods!"
"I don't need to hear it, Greg." Michael sternly told Greg. "Your wildcatting just cost us another mission."
"It was a judgement call." Greg replied then he pointed a thumb at Linn. "Besides…we would have brought them in for questioning if I didn't have to save Linn's butt."
"What was that?" Linn looked at Greg. "The only reason why you had to save my ass is because you weren't watching your own!"
"Can it, you two." Michael said. "Colonel Campbell and I have a lot of work to do, one of them is figuring out another way to get those smugglers."
"For now, you are both on a week's suspension from today of leave privileges. That means neither of you are going to use the Harrier for any reason unless it's for emergency purposes within FOXHOUND exceptions." Roy said to him. "And that goes double for you, Kinezono."
"Aye, aye, sir." Greg grumbled. (So much for visiting sensei Rio and the others back in Japan later this week…)
"You can take your leave now." Reese said, now in a near calm state. "And don't let the door hit you on the way out."
Moments later outside, on the busy sidewalks of Washington D.C, Greg and Linn walked together, side by side in their casual clothing. Greg was wearing a simple Phat Farm sports T-shirt, and a dark green denim jeans. He was also wearing a thin, and fashionable tinted shades, while Linn wore a red tank top, and a tight, leather mini skirt. No doubt there were a lot of people watching the two in the streets dressed like this.
After a few minutes of silence, Greg was the first to talk. "Geez…what was THAT all about back there?"
"You would never have to come rescue me, if you had been watching your own back." Linn replied seriously. Greg only chuckled to this.
"Ah, you don't need to make excuses, Linn." Greg replied. "When you're just as strong as I am, being the new psychic of FOXHOUND and everything, part of your job is to look out for your…sidekick."
(He…thinks of me as a sidekick?!) Linn thought to herself, stopping. (Is that all I'm worth to him?!)
"Hey, what's wrong?" Greg asked her. Before he saw it coming, Linn suddenly swung one of her legs in the form of a high kick at Greg's face, but it stopped just inches in front of his nose.
"Ah….Linn…be careful now." Greg nervously spoke. "People can see your…"
"I've been hearing this 'Worlds' Strongest' thing ever since we joined FOXHOUND together." Linn spoke, now putting down her leg to stand firm again, much to Greg's disappointment. "I could have put you down before you knew it, chemo-sabe."
"Heh, that's why I knew you wouldn't hit me, so I didn't bother to block it." Greg replied coolly.
"Then let's see if you can block me when you know it's coming!" Linn replied, swinging a left, clenched fist at him, but stopped it mid way, before Greg realised she even did it, and received some sharp pains on his chest from the lighting fast punches from Linn's right fist. Clutching his chest, Greg stumbled back, as Linn stepped back into a fighting pose.
"You may have greater natural ability, Gregory-san. But your lack of discipline will prevent you from being the best." Linn warned him.
"Oh, yeah?!" Greg simply replied, then suddenly turning his back, Greg ended up doing a low, sweeping kick on Linn's legs, tripping her and letting her fall down. "Trainer drill! Try to catch me!"
"Hey, wait!" Linn shouted, getting up and started to chase Greg down the public street. Thankfully for them, it wasn't too crowded, but there were obstacles in their way, one of them a hot dog cart. Greg simply leaped over it, and picking up a tray during his jump, he used it as a shield, and deflected one of Linn's incoming kicks. A little further down, Greg saw two men carrying a crate that was wider than the sidewalk, but it didn't slow him down, as he simply went low and slid underneath the space between the ground and the crate and got up, while Linn ran to the street and saw a delivery van in front of her, which had an open tray.
As Greg ran past the truck, Linn used her weight and displaced it with some momentum, as she leaped onto the top of it, she gained an advantage and ended up landing right in front of Greg.
"Going somewhere, Greg?" Linn asked him.
"As a matter of fact…" Greg replied, as he gripped unto the bar of an iron bar close to him and flung himself over it and into some water. Linn followed suit and ended up in a large park fountain. There were a number of people standing around, watching the two people in the fountain.
"Hey, what's going on?" asked a teenaged girl, who was with a group of friends.
"Looks like there's going to be a fight…" replied a boy among them.
"It's a fight!" said another spectator.
"Wow, check out that outfit that chick has got on!" said a mid age male in a lecherous tone.
"I'm betting on the black dude…" said a friend of his.
"You're on…the hot chick looks good too." His friend replied.
"You're really pushing it now, Greg!" Linn said, circling Greg in the fountain, getting wet, as was the same with Greg. "Drunken Daze!"
Linn dashed at Greg through the water, faster than everyone who was watching can see what's happening. However, Greg can see the red blur moving across the water and he was able to catch her, using one of his counter moves.
"Too easy!" was the shout from Greg, as he simply caught one of her legs before it attacked him. "You don't think I know you well enough to use that move against me FIRST in a fight?!"
"But you certainly don't know that I can do THIS!" Linn shouted, twisting her body, and sending one of her free legs to perform a flying kick at Greg, then using it to free herself from his counter. Greg stumbled back, dazed from Linn's surprise attack.
"What the hell?" one of the people from the crowd shouted in amazement.
"Damn…how in the hell were you able to prevent the rest of the counter from happening?" Greg stuttered, as blood started to drip from his bottom lip.
"Easy…Garland taught me how." Linn simply smiled at him, still fixing her fighting pose at him. "Besides, if you weren't talking so much, you could have slammed me to finish the move, but you just have to brag about my mistakes, didn't you?"
"Shut up!" Greg replied, waving an arm. "Even you are right about it that will not get you a second shot at me with that move. Come on!"
"Hmph. Bring it on." Linn simply said, before she heaved her breath, as her top was already drenched by the water, causing the attention of many men watching her.
"It's already been brought on…" Greg replied, clenching his fists. He suddenly charged at Linn, then before he got closer to her, he leaped into the air, clawing his right nano fist at her. The water surrounding him formed a small wall, becoming a powerful whiplash as he got close to Linn.
"Get Out Of My Way!" Greg shouted, slashing Linn with the water blow attack. Linn simply placed both her arms in an 'X' and blocked the attack, but it somehow penetrated through her defence, sending her back a few feet.
"Damn…you have to use your powers like that in public?" Linn replied, feeling the stinging sensation on her arms. "How charming, and how thoughtless."
"It won't matter by the time I beat you." Greg spoke, landing in front of her, shifting the nano arm into a humanoid drill and charging it at her. "Usuree!"
"Late Night Surprise!" Linn replied, by grabbing the drill merely inches from her body, and giving Greg a, standing double kick on his chest area. Greg stumbled back, feeling the power of her attack, but it didn't slow him down. He placed his feet to stop falling back, and crossed his left arm across in a vertical stance to cancel the lack of time recovering from the drill attack, only to strike Linn in the face, and after returning it back to normal, he clawed her, scratching her and her top.
"I'm not done yet!" Greg said, now grabbing Linn and gut punching her, but she caught his second punch, and drove her left leg into his face, before she used a Bad Case of Mondays on Greg, which was a single, side step kick to his shin area, bringing him down on one leg.
"Best you can do?" Linn asked him, mockingly, ignoring the slight damage of her outfit.
"Is that the best YOU can do?" Greg mocked back.
"You're going to regret those words!" Linn swung a kick at Greg while he was down, but Greg deflected it, and the other spin kick that came afterwards. Linn pressed on with her constant chain of low, kick attacks, when Greg caught on and suddenly caught one of them. Linn swung one of her punches at Greg, which he managed to stop using his psychic powers before it reached his face.
"Predictable!" Greg said, slamming her into the water. Linn got soaked by the water and faced her partner.
"Now you see the difference? I…will always be the strongest, while you will always be second best!" Greg boasted at her while he stood triumphantly.
Forming energy around his fist, Greg was gathering the water surrounding him. Collecting the water, he then slammed it in front of her, causing a wall to appear between the two. Right after that, Greg had performed a flying kick towards her through the water at Linn. However, the attractive Indian-Japanese woman caught his leg and slammed him into the water.
Greg started to cough out the water as he started to laugh hysterically at Linn, as she stood up and began to talk.
"The only difference between us is honour." Linn spoke. "That…was a cheap shot."
"So sue me. You haven't done anything to impress me." Greg replied, getting up.
"What? You want to see something impressive!?" Linn replied angrily.
"Yeah, I do." he replied coolly.
"Well, alright." She said, as she took a deep breath as she began to concentrate her energy and strength into her next attack. "This move should put you in your place…you should know it, but I've added some extra surprises into it. I call it…the Supreme Fall of the Twelve!"
"Nani?!" Greg exclaimed, as all of a sudden before he can see it, Linn had dashed faster than anything Greg had seen and started to get punished all over by Linn's high speed melee attacks. Everything around Greg seemed to start becoming distorted while Linn performed this move on him at a pace he had never seen from a human being. After the amount of bruises from his body was enough to tire him, Linn quickly got behind him and executed several critical blows to him, before grabbing his body, to perform a final spin kick that sent him flying from one end of the fountain to the next. His body was hurting all over, as he wasn't prepared for the attack which took a lot out of him.
"Geez….what the hell was that for?!" Greg implied, getting up staggering. As he did, he began to notice Linn panting heavily, having exerting herself from performing the attack. A few seconds afterwards, her body began to sway, as she fell back into the water on her behind. Greg noticed something was wrong. "…Linn?"
"Ah….Greg…I don't…feel so good, man." She told him, spitting out some of the fountain water.
"Aw, come on…after a move like that, you should still at least be on your feet still." Greg said, as he held her shoulders.
"No…I mean I feel really…crummy." Linn said, before her head dropped forward, unconscious. Greg felt her body warmth has dropped, and her skin was turning pale. This wasn't looking good for him.
"LINN!" Greg shouted, seeing her state. "Hang on! I'm getting you to the infirmary back at HQ!"
About an hour later, just outside of Linn's hospital room at the FOXHOUND infirmary…
Greg was pacing up and down the hallway, as Michael Hansen and Garland Durev were seated near the door to the room.
"She should be alright, Greg." Garland told him easily. "Stop doing that already."
"I can't…I just can't help but not feel that I'm responsible for this!" Greg held his head, as he continued to walk up and down. "Her entire body was cold by the time I got her here…and her breathing was weak…this is my fault, I made her angry enough for her to use that move on me and have her risk her health! Arrgh…how can I let that happen!?"
"Greg, this was not your fault." Michael said to him, trying to calm him down, but Greg simply ignored him and continued pacing. A few moments later, the door opened and Naomi Hunter stepped out with a light smile on her face. Greg rushed forward to meet her.
"Well…? Is she going to be okay?" Greg asked Naomi. The gene specialist only nodded her head and patted Greg.
"She will be fine, but she has to stay in bed for about a week of so until her system's totally cleansed." Naomi replied.
"Cleansed?" Garland asked. "What happened to her, doctor?"
"It was kind of conspicuous that this would happen at a public fountain, so I had a team go and take a sample of the water at the fountain." Naomi explained. "It appears that the fountain Greg and Linn were full of some nasty parasites all the way from South Africa, some of them recently mutated due to the Second Impact's effects to the environment. It was a good thing you got her here in time, Greg…one of them would have ended up killing her if we didn't act fast enough."
Greg only sighed in a tone of relief as he sat down to relax. "So….it was just that, huh? I feel so relieved now…"
"You know, Greg…the Colonel is going to want an explanation for all of this." Michael told him.
"I know…I'm already willing to tell him what really happened. As long Linn doesn't' get part of the punishment, and Reese don't take it out on her." Greg said, resting his head on the wall behind him. "Can I see her now?"
"You can, but try not to wake her…she needs a lot of rest, considering what she went through fighting you." Naomi said.
"Thanks so much, Naomi." Greg replied, bowing to her. "I'll never forget this."
As Naomi smiled back at Greg, Michael and Garland before she walked out of the area, they then stepped into the room Linn was resting. Greg stood by her side and watched her sleep in silence. He began to clench his fists.
"Dammit…I caused all of this. If I didn't boast so much about which of us was better…I would have never drawn fists against her." Greg spoke bitterly.
"Normally, I would tell you things like that, Greg, but it seems you common sense is telling you that it's wrong to take advantage over the opposite sex." Michael told Greg.
"Yeah…" Greg simply replied, nodding his head. "You know, guys…you've think that by thriving to be more than human, we've taking control of our destinies. But what all it takes, is a couple of germs to lay us low."
"Greg, how about you go and get some rest, while we watch over her?" Garland said, patting his shoulder, but Greg shook his head.
"That's rather nice of you, guys…but this was something I caused in the first place, it's my responsibility. I will try to make it up to her by taking care of her tonight at least." Greg said, pulling a chair. "If there's anything I need, I can ask you to get it for me, is that alright?"
"No problem, Greg." Michael nodded his head. "We'll be just outside for a while if you want us."
"Cool." Greg simply said, looking at Linn's resting face. The two men quietly stepped out the room as Greg leaned closer to take one of her hands. It was getting warm as before she got sick.
"Linn…I'm not sure if you can hear me while you are sleeping, but…I'm sorry, okay?" Greg said silently to her. "I never thought I could have acted that way before…I was just getting fed up of being beat around by Garland all the time, and that made me think I wasn't strong enough to protect you, and the others here. I…I'm still weak…that I was never able to see this coming. Sure, it's nothing serious. But what will happen if you were in a real battlefield? I don't know what I would do if I wasn't able to help you, Linn…"
Greg leaned back to think a bit before talking some more. "And when that mistake was made during the last mission…I somehow doubted your skills. I never took you seriously in the battlefield, but after today, I knew I was wrong. The only way we have to go through this is that we have to trust each other from now on if we have to survive. All I ever wanted…was some kind of assurance…just to know that I'm strong enough to protect everyone around me, and not a setback. You must feel the same towards me too, Linn…and I'm sorry for making you feel so inconfident about that. I promise you…I will make it up to you, you'll see. Once you get better, we both will do what we can to make things work out. Bank on it."
Just then, Greg heard his Codec rang, and he recognized the frequency was from Team Warrior. He didn't want to wake Linn up if he answered it, so he got up to gave Linn a soft kiss on her cheek and left the room…without knowing Linn was still wide awake, listening to him all the time. Opening one eye, a shade of red started to cover her face from the spot Greg kissed her.
"Greg…thanks. Apology accepted." She simply said as she pulled the sheets and rested more comfortably after hearing Greg's confession.
About a week later…on a new mission which was a chance for redemption….
"Where's Canaan?" one of the smugglers asked in fear, as he and the rest of the same of the smuggler group that had evaded Greg and Linn before, were discovered around the deep country areas of the mid Western United States.
"He got knocked out by one of those guys…" his comrade replied, holding unto a light submachine gun. "I've never seen anyone most so fast…"
"We can't give up! The boat to get us out of here is just around…" before he stopped, the two men saw Greg leaning against the escape boat, twirling the keys, before he threw them into the water.
"You were saying, boys?" Greg asked in a confident grin.
"There's only one of them…we can take him!" one of the smugglers said as he aimed his gun at Greg, while his partner did the same.
"Yeah…he doesn't look so tough…"
"That's where you're wrong." Greg said, then touching his left ear. (You ready, Linn?)
(Anytime.) Linn replied telepathically. (Let's do this!)
Greg simply activated his Codec/MP3 and the song, 'Still In The Dark' played. He simply threw the cloak he had on aside, showing off his Kusanagi outfit. With the skills he have learnt from Aika Sumeragi, Geese Howard and Rio Kinezono, Greg was about to emulate some of the trademarks of Cy-Kusanagi's attacks with Linn's moves.
"Fall of the Twelve!" Linn shouted, pummelling one of the smugglers with her melee attack, while Greg rushed him at the same time with a pale, yet powerful version of Kyo's 101 Shiki Oboro Guruma.
"Ha, ha…Urusee!" Greg shouted, rising into the air along with the smuggler in the aerial kick animation. Before the enemy fell, Linn recovered from her previous attack and executed her Fragile Wonder move to knock him down, only landing unto Greg's imitation of Kyo's Shiki Oniyaki uppercut. Though at the time Greg never was able to wield flames, his random 'Critical' hits added the needed damage.
"This is the final one!" They both shouted in unison, as they waited for the smuggler to fall right into their devastating attacks for the time. Greg and Linn simultaneously punched forward in a combination of Greg's version of Kyo's '99's Hyaku Hachi Juu Ni Shiki's punch, while Linn used her Invincible Goddess of Beauty Blow.
"Still…in the Dark." The two whispered in unison, after causing the havoc with their combined attack.
As the enemy fell down and started to squirm in pain, the two FOXHOUNDer's simply stared at the other man, who had already wet his pants seeing the display of the two.
"I…I give up!" he dropped his gun and surrendered himself. Greg simply smirked at the man and put the handcuffs on him.
"Good choice, buddy." Greg replied, then he smiled at Linn. "You alright?"
"Yeah…it went off perfectly as planned, right?" she replied with a confident smile. "We should do things like that more often."
"Don't get any funny ideas." Greg simply replied. "Come on…let's round the rest of them up and go home. I'm bushed."
"Yeah…I'm in a need for a refreshing shower. Want to join me?" she asked Greg slyly, causing him to blush a bit.
(Why do I have to deal with these kind of things?) Greg thought to himself.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"So…that's how it came about." Greg said to the group of people listening. "That move happened to become quite effective since then, but I wonder what havoc it will cause when I use it the next time, now that I got my new powers."
"One can only imagine, Greg." Nagi said.
"I think that was so romantic about you and Linn putting your skills together to help one another…" Tot said with a smile.
"Yeah…damn…talking about that makes me miss her even more." Greg said in a low tone, before he realised what he was supposed to be doing. "Aw…sorry, my head tends to drift away while I meditate on things. I was going to show you how to beat this mission, right?"
"Yeah." Alec replied to him.
"Okay…try using Winger as soon you're close to Eddie…that move will do some decent damage once he gets the full hits from it." Greg said.
"I did that and it worked, but I never had any more tension to do it again, plus he is a pain to catch with as he moves a lot." Alec complained.
"Ah…you've never tried to Psych Burst as an attack? Use it with Dust while he's within bodily contact to you. It immediately brings back tension. At least three to four Wingers should do it. And you have to be able to evade his attacks often too." Greg said.
"Wow…thanks, Greg." Alec said in amazement. "You seem to know a lot about this game, huh?"
"If I did, I would have been part of the famous 'Ode to the 2 Hit Combo' music video, but alas…I'm still a novice to these kind of things." Greg said, holding his chin. Just then, a knock on the door was heard, as Yuhi stood up to open it. In front of it, stood a Japanese girl in her early twenties who had short, dark hair and wearing glasses, dressed in a yellow shirt and blue jeans.
"Hey, Maya!" Yuhi greeted the girl, who stepped in hastily. "You're just in time to meet one of Riku's friends who have come to visit. This is Greg Kinezono."
"A pleasure to meet you, Greg. I'm Maya Hirobe." The woman introduced herself to Greg.
"Likewise." Greg replied with a smile. "I always enjoy the opportunity of meeting new friends, especially of the female type."
"Yuhi, I need a hand in the kitchen!" Chidori called out from the other room.
"Coming. Greg, why don't you come with me and at least show me a thing or two in cooking, huh?" Yuhi asked him. Greg only placed his arms at his hips and sighed.
"Geez…okay then. I'll show you how to cook ramen." Greg replied. "But just don't let my mother get too close to it, if you know what I mean."
"I get you." Yuhi replied nervously, as Rio caught the two talking to each other secretly. Curiously, she followed them into the kitchen to watch the cook out. It couldn't be helped, since Greg was in the mood to see how Rio would react to his cooking in front of everyone.
"Since I'm not branded to the likes of Garland Durev, my own speciality is just as good to enjoy. Call it a mix of a 'Trini Sweet Hand' if you will…" Greg said, as he put on the apron. "You guys will enjoy this."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Forty five minutes later in the kitchen…
"More, please!" Shota handed his bowl to Greg, as he happily served him another serving of ramen. Everyone was enjoying and chatting on how good Greg's cooking was.
"Gee, Shota, that's your third helping. Be careful you don't give yourself an upset stomach." Suzumi told him.
"Wow…I'd never think I had tasted ramen this differently, Greg. You're better than you sound." Alec said.
"Oh, stop it, stop it, please! It will go to my head!" Greg replied, handing Shota back a full ramen bowl. "I'm just active in everything I do, that's all."
"Yeah, no kidding." Aki said to Greg. It was then Rio entered the room with a very 'satisfied' look on her face, but when she saw the half empty, steaming pot of Greg's cooked ramen, she started to shudder.
"Mom…don't say I didn't warn you before." Greg waved a pair of chopsticks at her.
"But I can't help it, Greggie! It's been forever since I last tasted your ramen!" Rio exclaimed, now hugging him. Greg started to get flustered as Rio tried to suffocate him while she pressed his head against her chest.
"Ah! Mom! Cut that out now!" Greg shouted, trying to fight off Rio. A laughter was heard from all over the room as they watched the two like this.
"Think of that as payback for getting me obsessed with ramen in the first place, son." Rio then gave Greg a soft kiss on the cheek before letting him go. Greg only shook his head at this.
"Aw, mom…" Greg started to blush at Rio.
"It's hard to believe that you were adopted by her, Greg. You must be very lucky." Toya told Greg.
"Yeah…even up to this day, I can never comprehend that." Greg replied at Rio with a gentle look. "I'm just thankful it happened. But enough about me…you must have some tales to tell me, as to how exactly did Riku meet you people before."
"Well, now that everyone's here, we should tell him, right?" Shuro asked Aya.
"Yes…he is a friend of Riku and maybe there could be a connection to what has happened so far." Aya replied. "Greg…how familiar you are with the legends of Japan?"
"I'm afraid I'm pretty much no nada or little about it…" Greg replied, shrugging his shoulders. "What about them?"
"Well…most of our story takes place long before all of us were even born." Aya spoke. "It started like this…"
About three hours later…Greg and Rio had both learned as much as they can about the celestial legends, C-Genome, Kagami Mikage, the hagoromo from everyone who was affected by these. They then concluded about how much Riku, Nagi and Tot helped them in this, which somehow relieved Greg some of the tension. It was pretty much a hard thing for Greg to understand right away, but he was slowly and surely understanding this was nearly as close to what had happened to him before Dr. Clark and the Patriots took away his family in death and his right arm, then cursed him with a power that's beyond human knowledge.
"So…that's what happened to this day." Chidori spoke. "Since then, we've been living normal, happy lives without any problems from the horrors of our past."
"Damn…I'd never know this thing went really deep. I'm impressed, Riku…for you and your partners to tackle something like that, it must have been out of this world, right?" Greg said.
"You can say that again, but it was certainly worth it." Riku replied.
"So, Greg…you think that the Patriots will stop with what they planned for you and probably, Yuina?" Shuro asked him.
"I'm not sure to say…one thing's for sure, that there will be other people stepping up to get a piece of me. I can live with that…but after knowing what Yuina went through…they will have to kill me first to get to her. She has suffered enough…maybe more than I have…" Greg said seriously.
"Come on, Greg. Don't say that. You're scaring me." Rio patted him.
"Sorry, mom. Didn't really mean it." Greg replied.
"Greg…it seems like your tales is no different than ours." Aki said to him. "All in all, this Reese is worst than Kagami by far…and we want to do what we can to help you, after what Riku and his partners did for us."
"You sure you guys want that?" Greg asked. "I just don't want to get more people involved in my problems…you people are just too nice to be with and I certainly can't risk innocents fighting my war."
"We just may surprise you, Greg." Alec said. "Besides, you're an okay kind of guy, a good person to be friends with. I want to do what I can to help you too."
"Same here." Maya said. "And Greg…your powers, no matter how dreadful they seem, are not a bad thing altogether. You said you've been using them to help those in need, right?"
"It's actually part of my resume." Greg said in a smirk.
"I used to think my C-Genome powers were a punishment for something horrible I did out of my control once…but since they are now sealed, I think back it wasn't the case, especially after hearing what you went through." Maya said. "Greg, I know you're doing an exceptional job helping people with your gifts, but you shouldn't feel sorry for yourself if your power seem like something bad, since the people will see it as a blessing you are around to help them."
"I'm trying my best, kid. But my powers are a lot more complicated than you think..." Greg said, before he was cut off.
"Well, try harder…for Yuina's sake. She's not going to look at you not just as a teacher anymore, by the sound of things." Maya told him. This got Greg thinking a bit, before he nodded his head.
"I see where you getting at. I'll do what I can for her…and myself." Greg replied in a light smile. (Yeesh…now hearing that just wants me to try my hardest to protect everyone…to the point of injuring myself like I did when I had my powers augmented the first time before I fought Mantis.)
"You must be thirsty after all that talking, let us get some more refreshments." Suzumi said, as she got up to get some drinks from the fridge. Greg got up and looked at everyone who was watching him.
"I'm just stepping outside to get some fresh air…I won't be long." Greg said, as he stepped outside on the veranda of the house, the afternoon sun getting closer to dusk. He started to look at the grotesque appearance of his right nano mesh, thinking about what Maya Hirobe told him. (She's right…look at how close I've gotten to Yuina since my battle with Mantis. She looks to me and trusts me more than anyone else, save for Seraph and our friends. It's true that I hate my powers…and my own existence…for letting these things happen…but I can't deny the emotions that build up for failing these people. The Patriots…they knew what they were doing, I commend them for that. But it won't last forever, I can bank on that.)
"Um…Gregory-san?" a young boy's voice called out and snapped Greg out of his train of thought. It was Shota. "Is something bothering you?"
"Ah, sorry…just thinking of something. Nothing to worry about, though." Greg replied as he looked at him. "And just plain Greg would do…I'm not officially a master, you know."
"I see…but from the way you look…" Shota said, examining Greg some more, especially at the nano arm area. "I can't think that you're actually a psychic who can fly planes."
"There's a first for everything, Shota." Greg smiled back at him.
"Just how good can you fly?"
"Just about good enough that no one else in the sky can touch me." Greg replied confidently. "I have managed to get myself and my other FOXHOUND buddies through some tough situations, thanks to my flying skills."
"You must really enjoy it, huh?" Shota asked him.
"Yeah…it gives me…comfort to an extent." Greg said in a serious tone.
"Huh? I don't understand." Shota said, stepping closer to Greg.
"Shota…while I was in the kitchen helping Yuhi, Chidori told me about how that you lost your mom and dad in an accident years ago, and wasn't able to walk since until recently." Greg said. "You…remind me of myself when I lost my parents, plus my sister and my right hand…we both lost people that are irreplaceable, yet have to deal with living with these afflictions for the rest of your life. It's a pain."
"It brings back…bad memories just thinking about it." Shota said. "I missed them, yes…but I think they will be happy to know how Chidori and I are doing, now that I'm able to walk a little just like I used to. And when I get better at it, I want to become a pilot, just like you."
"Really? Is that your ambition, Shota?" Greg asked surprised.
"Yes…ever since I was born. All I wanted to do when I become a pilot was to touch the sky." Shota said. "Did you ever feel that way, Greg?"
"I've never really looked at it that way, but I like your aspiration, kid." Greg said. "Whenever I fly…I only use flying as an excuse to escape my pain and torment as a psychic…it soothes me at times and give me peace of mind. And…also…"
Greg turned around to glance at the sky along with Shota. "So, I can get a chance to at least be close to them…"
"Your parents and your little sis?" Shota asked.
"Yeah…sorry if it sounds a bit too out of place." Greg nervously said.
"No, Greg…I don't think so. I can understand why you want to do that." Shota said. "Maybe one day, when I finally get to fly, I may get to be close to my mom and dad as well."
(Shota…) Greg simply thought, patting him. He can feel a new sense of empathy from Shota, which was very strong. He sensed the hardships he had went through and Greg can easily compare himself to some of them. The most he planned to do is help Shota see his dream come true.
"Say what, Shota?" Greg called to him. "The minute you turn 16 going on 17, call me. I should be able to take you up as a student of flying in my very own Harrier, free of charge."
"Really!?" Shota said in astonishment.
"No lie. I'm always open for new disciples." Greg said. "Also…I'm going to make sure by the time I rejoin FOXHOUND, I'll have more students than all the experienced guys put together ever had. I want you to be among them."
"I…I don't know what to say…" Shota was still trying to believe what he just heard.
"Just say you'll at least think about it."
"How about 'I can't wait till then!'" Shota exclaimed.
"Fine enough for me." Greg rumpled Shota's head. Shota got a feel of Greg's nano arm, as his hair was roughed up by Greg's hand.
(It's sure is rough…but it's really warm and gentle…like the rest of him.) Shota thought to himself with a smile.
"Come on...let's get back inside to the others." Greg said to Shota.
"Okay, Greg." Shota replied with a confident smile to him.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
By the time their meeting with Yuhi, Chidori and the others that came to meet Greg had ended, it was close to sunset. Greg wanted to stay a bit longer, getting to know Shota and the others better, and since he was so compelled by their stories. But he remembered that he promised Yuina that he'd be back in time to help her train, and not to worry her again like he did when he ran into Shiju a day before.
"Do you really have to leave, Greg?" Shota asked him, as Greg put on his Kyo '99 jacket, preparing to leave.
"Hey, man…I really wish that wasn't so, but my student has a tendency to worry too much over what little things that happen to me." Greg said, patting Shota's head.
"I wished you could have stayed a bit more, too…" Shota said in a low tone.
"Ah, don't look so gloomy. I did say I will be back to take you for a ride in my Harrier soon." Greg said, assuring him. "And that is a promise I intend to keep."
"I was hoping that you would be back sooner…"
"Okay…I'll make sure you will see me again before then. Maybe, I can give you some prep lessons before then, huh?" Greg said with a confident smile.
"I would like that." Shota said with a confident smile at Greg.
"Good to hear. Be on the lookout for me…I may be back sooner than you think." Greg smiled at Shota, then he looked at Yuhi, Chidori and everyone else.
"Well, it was certainly a fun day, y'all." Greg said to them. "I really had fun meeting up with all of you, it really had been a pleasure."
"The same with us when we met you, Greg." Yuhi said smiling at Greg. "You shouldn't be afraid to ask for our assistance if you need it."
"Thanks for the offer…I'll surely be considering it for Riku's sake." Greg replied. "Well, it's getting late, and I don't want to be scolded by my own student again."
"Certainly, we won't keep you back." Chidori said. "Hey, maybe when you come back here, Greg, you can bring Yuina along with you."
"Yeah, Yuina will make friends with you really quick, I can already see that." Greg replied. "Well…be seeing you again soon."
"Travel safely when you're getting home, everyone!" Chidori said to Greg and his group, waving to them.
"Don't forget that promise you made, Greg!" Shota shouted. "You have to take me flying with you soon, you got it?"
Greg simply smirked and did a thumbs up with his right nano mesh. "Done deal, Shota. I won't forget it…never ever."
"Be seeing you, guys. And you can bet that it will be very soon." Riku said, before they exited the door of the school. As they left, Yuhi sighed as he looked at Chidori and Suzumi.
"So, what did you guys think?" he asked. "Riku's friend certainly don't like it, but from what he told us personally about what happened, I sense he is definitely more powerful than he looks."
"True, but at times, he gives the impression he isn't…" Suzumi said, shaking her head. "While that is certainly true, he is quite…unique in more ways than one."
"He is, certainly." Alec agreed with her. "It's no wonder why so many corrupt people are after him…I was surprised I myself never heard of this guy while I was still working for you-know-who…"
Yuhi, Aya, Aki and Chidori had a good idea who Alec was referring to.
"Whatever the case, we should do what we can to pitch in to help Riku and Greg in any way." Shuro spoke. "I won't stand by and let people like Reese go on living and continue to ruin people's lives for their own, sick purposes…just like Kagami did."
A mix of agreements and nodding heads from everyone in the room was the reaction to Shuro's quote.
"Hey, count me in!" Shota pitched in. "After meeting Greg today, I know he is doing his best in what he can to help others out…he didn't want what's happened to him, since he was a kid like me to now to happen to anyone else, and now…I want to make sure to learn enough from him to make sure that what happened years ago when I lost my parents, happens to no one else!"
"Well, seems we have to make sure to include you as well, if Greg is such an influence to you, Shota." Chidori said. The younger Kuruma sibling simply smiled at his sister from the comment.
"You guess so, huh?" Shota replied. "I got to admit…he is already becoming sort of my personal hero right away, even though I only now met him."
"You can say that again…he must have certainly influenced the people he meets in some sort of powerful way." Aya said. "I do hope we get to see more of him soon."
"Same here." Yuhi said.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After Rio and Greg stepped out of the dance school, and as Riku, along with Nagi and Tot followed afterwards to their vehicles, Greg simply stopped near his motorcycle and glanced back at the house. Rio and Riku noticed the now serious look on his face.
"Greggie?" Rio called out to him.
"Is something wrong?" Riku asked him. Greg simply shook his head and looked at Riku.
"Riku…if these people were in so much trouble at the time, how come you didn't tell me about them?" Greg asked seriously.
"Huh? But I didn't think you would have been able to help, since you and Linn were so busy in your own missions in FOXHOUND." Riku replied. Greg simply sighed and shook his head.
"Dammit, Riku…I could care less about the mission. You know that." Greg said. "Sure, I would have put the mission as my main priority if it was under the good Colonel's command, but under Reese's…I would have dropped what I was doing in it sooner before he can complain about it. You know how much I want to use my powers to help others, even if it outside of the mission parameters. I wouldn't mind coming to your assistance at the time you and your partners needed it."
"I knew that for sure, Greg." Riku replied.
"So, why didn't you at least say something about it?" Greg asked. "I don't care just strange this 'celestial legend' thing goes…or how deep it went. All I know is that those people in there were affected by the same enemy that made mess of my life, as well as Mantis and Yuina's. Let's not forget that the Kagami Mikage guy I was told about was just another Reese that had gone too far…those are reasons enough to come on board for the ride you guys were having at the time."
"We see we're you're getting at, Greg. But the mission was assigned to the three of us alone by the Col., Greg." Nagi said.
"Oh, really?" Greg said, now folding his arms. "Well, I guess I should let you slip on this one then. But let's get one thing straight from now on…the next time people you know or you just have friends who are like these people are in trouble, Riku, you have to let me in on it as well. I may not have been able to fully dedicate myself to this sort of thing before in the past, but now that I'm freelancing, I'm available for your disposal anytime you want."
"We'll be sure to remind him of that, Greg." Tot said. "But are you sure this is not some part of your grand plot against Reese and the Patriots, to throw them of course?"
"Part of it is, Tot." Greg replied in a smirk. "The real reason behind this is that I want to repay you guys at least for all the help you did, pitching in with Rio and the rest of Warrior during that thing with Mantis. Just think of this as me saying thanks to the three of you for that."
"Consider it done, Greg." Riku agreed with him.
(Geez…I'm sure if I was part of the fun Riku and his partners had years ago helping Yuhi, Chidori and the others deal with that Kagami Mikage guy, I would have loved giving him a piece of my mind for all those despicable things he had done.) Greg thought to himself. (Gendou Ikari…Matthew Reese…and now Kagami Mikage. Why should such vile cretins like them exist in this world is beyond my comprehension, but it's certainly not beyond my ability to punish them for their crimes, even if it's not by the will of God. Well…at least what's done is done, and I have just one of them to worry about, but who would have thought Reese would prove the most difficult to apprehend, compared to the other two big shots?)
With a simple shake of his head, Greg looked at Rio before he came to her. "Hey, mom…by chance, you could spare me some quarters until I get some change later? All this talk about corrupted wanksters got me riled up that I want to blow some steam at an arcade somewhere. I'll be sure to pay you back later."
"Um…sure, Greggie. Whatever you say." Rio got out her purse and handed Greg a set of quarters.
"Heh…this should be enough." Greg said, counting seven quarters. "I should make quite a commotion with my skills if there's a tournament going on…"
"Can't get enough, can you, Greg?" Riku asked him. "Since you're heading somewhere before getting back home, we might as well come along with you. And don't even think of…"
"Yada, yada…I wasn't going to ditch you, Riku, or your partners…it's becoming quite inevitable that wherever I go, trouble follows me." Greg put up his arms in defeat. "Jeez…I just can't wait to get my life back, so I can do the things I want to do without having you guys baby-sit me all the time. I'm not a damn kid anymore."
"Just hold on a bit longer, Greggie…we'll sort things out soon." Rio nodded her head.
"Yeah, yeah…whatever." Greg said, shrugging Rio's hand off as he started to walk away from them. As Greg was at a good distance from the group, Riku came closer to Rio and patted her shoulder.
"Hey, you alright, Rio?" Riku asked.
"Yeah…it's just something must have pissed Greg off." Rio said in a sad tone. "I've never seen him like this…this is really affecting him to an extent that it's scaring me."
"You and I both." Riku replied. "Want me to find out what's wrong with him?"
"If you want to, but don't try the direct approach, or you will never get an answer from him. He's like that all the time…" Rio said. Riku nodded and ran up to Greg mid way as Nagi and Tot followed behind him.
"Hey, Greg, wait up!" Riku called out to him.
"What is it?" Greg said, without looking.
"I…well…everyone is just worried if something was bothering you, that's all." Riku asked him. Greg stopped his tracks and looked at his younger friend.
"Is that it?" Greg replied. "Here I am thinking that's not the only reason you tagged along with me."
"Greg…are you still upset Riku didn't tell you about Chidori, Yuhi and the others?" Tot asked him.
"Ah, it's not that." Greg replied. "It was…something else that came into mind. But that's nothing major to be worried about. I'm fine now…"
"To me, it sounds like you're not." Riku answered. "Greg…I know you're going through a great deal of stress right now, but…that's not a reason to vent your anger towards us."
"I'm not angry at any of you…I…I just still have problems trying to understand myself and this thing with the Patriots." Greg said solemnly. "What is it that they really want with me? If they have some kind of plan for me, why they haven't done anything to make their plans work, huh? All I can say is that something very nasty is coming up…something even you three can't comprehend."
"What is it that you mean by that, Greg?" Nagi asked him.
(I really can't tell them that this thing about 3rd Impact is bothering me at the moment…now isn't the right time. I don't want to make them quake in terror, these good kids….) Greg thought.
"Ah! Gregory-san! Gregory-san!" a cheery woman's voice called out to him from a distance. Greg looked at the side along with the others and saw a Japanese woman, with long, straight, red hair that has big, bouncy curls at the ends, wearing a red vest top over a white dress shirt, and a long black jeans. Her hands were fitted with red, amulet like cufflinks and white gloves. She was waving frantically at Greg from her end of the street.
"Aw, crap. Look, let's talk about it next time, okay?" Greg said to Riku and comp. as giant a sweat drop fell behind his head. (At least I was saved from telling Riku and his partners the sad details about 3rd Impact from the ditz…that will have to wait till a next time.)
"You know her, Greg?" Riku asked.
"Yeah…unfortunately." Greg replied. "She's another one of the recent KOF entries, Mignon Beart. Came in around the KOF 10th Anniversary tournaments a while back."
"She seems nice enough…" Nagi said, trying not to gaze at her chest, which were around the same measurements of Mai Shiranaui. Tot gave him a quick death stare to make Nagi focus what was in front of him.
"Yeah….Mignon is really nice to be with, and you got to admire her spirit and determination, but, she's a social disaster." Greg said, twirling a finger from his nano arm at the side of his head. "Her head's isn't set in the right place, so out there. And she has a habit in referring to herself in third person in conversations all the time. It's really screwy."
"Hey, Mignon heard all of that!" she pointed at Greg once she came over. "Gregory-san has no shame at all, do you?"
"See what I mean?" Greg said, causing Nagi and Tot to laugh a bit. Mignon only waved a finger at Greg.
"Gregory-san has no shame." Mignon said with a big smile. "You haven't changed a bit."
"I can say the same to you, though it's obvious." Greg simply said.
"You don't want to make Mignon mad!" the woman shouted at him. "I can easily just smother you with my magic before you know what's happening."
"Aw, please, girl. Not tonight." Greg placed a hand over his head. "You should use more of your time trying to get along with the rest of the human race, and less of it on reading too much of them damn magic books. And besides…your magic attacks can't do much against me, much less dent my psychic shield."
"Magic books?" Riku asked.
"Yeah…Mignon here is on a mission to bring through world peace using magic." Greg said.
"That's not a bad idea…" Tot said.
"See? Mignon would know someone who agrees when Mignon knows it." She said.
"Don't let it get to your head, woman." Greg said. "I don't think humanity is going to accept magic as part of their lives just yet. It's just too sudden."
"Never say never…isn't that what YOU always told me, Gregory-san?" Mignon reminded him.
"Okay, okay…you win." Greg threw up his arms. "What are you doing around anyway, Mignon?"
"Since you were not part of KOF this year, you wouldn't know." Mignon said. "The tournament's over for the time being, so everyone is having an after party at a newly opened night club opened by theMeira brothers for the Japan residence. They name it 'La Illusions."
"You don't say?" Rio asked surprised. "Hey, Greggie…maybe Kyo and Iori are there as well. Maybe you can ask them something concerning your new powers and what's happened so far."
"My thoughts exactly." Greg smirked. "Besides…I am a party animal, so this is something I can't resist. Hey, Riku…you and your buddies better have legal ID's if you want to come along and meet some stars."
"We're old enough to go to these sort of places, Greg." Riku smiled at him.
"Yeah, this may sound like a lot of fun." Nagi nodded his head.
"I've always wanted to meet the people that Greg has faced in combat so often." Tot said, eagerly waiting to get moving.
"Then it's settled." Greg said, getting unto his motorcycle as Rio sat behind him and Mignon sat in Riku's car. "To the La Illusions club we go."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ShardclawK: How about that for another amazing update? I do hope I can have the Ceres characters appear again soon in this story, I'm having so much fun portraying them thus far. I also hoped you liked the appearance of Mignon as well, I'm planning more of the KOF: Maximum Impact characters show up not just next chapter alone, but later on in this fic as well.
Youji: Which goes straight to one of the explanations of the Easter Eggs: Shardclaw had some difficulty about to interpret Mignon and the other Maximum Impact characters, that is until he read a chapter for one of his favourite stories, namely, 'Capcom vs. SNK: Infiltration' written by Lyrix of Azn Ethix. If you're into game crossovers, that fic is for you. I'm sure you'll be pleased by the numerous cast members in it, and the detailed history of each game involved. Yes, it is THAT massive, but highly enjoyable.
Ken: Also, the Greg and Linn flashback was from another one of Shardclaw's favourite scenes from the old Street Fighter cartoon, which Ken and Ryu did just the same thing because Ken was called the 'World's Strongest Warrior.' Sounds like Greg alright. Sucks that it was Ken who ended up sick though…and it was also the chance to finally reveal the 'Still In the Dark' dual tech that Greg and Linn share. I wanted to do it in a later chapter for COE, but this story seemed better to put it in, so I hope you enjoyed the little story surrounding it.
ShardclawK: And the description of the tournament Greg explained was actually TRUE. I myself saw this on a friend's comp and was shocked to see this display of parrying skills. The 'Ode to the Two Hit Combo' is also another wicked amv that has to be seen. Stuff like that can bee seen on sites like Evo2k. com and Gamecombos. Com which have combos which will stun you.
Just then, a group of girls stepped in, which were Deedlit of the Lodoss War anime series, and next to her were Ryoko, Ayeka, Mihoshi, Washu, Kiyone, Mitsuki, Nagi, Sakuya, Mayuka, Kiriko and Amane of the long running Tenchi series. They were all wearing revealing, skin tight leather body suits, and they all had they chest areas exposed, as Ryoko and Mihoshi started to huddle me against their chests.
Ryoko: Happy New Year, Shardclaw.
ShardclawK: Let me guess…all of you from Tempest alone, huh? Considering what he and DF did on Christmas day to give me a near life and death experience when all the girls were released from their limiters…I do hope your plans for me aren't the same as well…I'm still…recuperating from the experience.
Ayeka: You don't have to worry, we will be gentle on you. Of course…only heaven knows what DF's shipment will do to you before the next COE posting.
ShardclawK: Yeah…you better start your fun with me before I won't get the chance to deal with them. On to the bedroom, girls…I'm all yours.
As I get carried off, the Weiss boys get miffed at this.
Ran: Here we go again…new year, same reception…
Youji: I do hope the next update will answer some of the exciting things we have seen for this chapter, not to mention our return soon as well. Stay around for more surprises that we're sure you'll enjoy. As for now, review and see you next update.
Collis aka ShardclawKusanagi.