Kanbei, Shichijirou, and Heihachi were walking, skirting the desert, trying to get a feel for what the Nobuseri were planning and where they were. Kikuchyo had said he had been picking up strange signals of late, so the three had gone out scouting to discover the reason. Heihachi yelped and dashed behind a rock, Shichijirou and Kanbei following, and not a moment too soon. Two Nobuseri flew over them, heading purposefully away from them. The three looked at each other and nodded. Together, they snuck down the hillside, and raced across the sand, ignoring fatigue, following the small specs of Nobuseri ahead of them. Winded, and after running for far too long, they hid within ruins of an old city, hiding in the hum and heat of hundreds of Nobuseri. They apparently were communicating over a direct link between all of them, and so the three men were unable to hear 90 of the conversation.

What they did hear, was enough.

This meeting was about the new model. They called it "rouge". They debated back and forth what to do about it, all participating but one, which was far back, in the outskirts. It also seemed a little uncomfortable, as if it had been newly made. When the debate was in full swing, though, the "new" Nobuseri jerked and out of the shell, the new model broke through, and skewered two Nobuseri on its swords before flicking them off into other Nobuseri. The three men watched the battle unfold with something akin to awe. For one of them to go against so many...it was suicide. It was honorable to want to die in battle, and it appeared that this Nobuseri knew this well. Once again, that itch of recognition found its way into Kanbei's mind. When there was a lull in the battle, the large amount of remaining Nobuseri and the new model facing each other, the new Nobuseri spoke for the first time,

"Kill me."

It wasn't a request, it was a demand, a challenge. But it was one that all the Nobuseri balked at.

Kanbei, Shichijirou, and Heihachi all shivered, feeling as if their blood nearly froze in their veins. While its presence spoke of having an emptiness so wide it was almost as if the machine was lifeless, the voice only confirmed it. Inside that mechanical shell, there was no one.

'But how can it still be moving? What is driving it?' Heihachi wondered to himself, and then turned to see the reaction of Shichijirou and Kanbei. He expected the reaction of Shichijirou--wariness and calculating--but he did not understand Kanbei's. His grip on his sword was white-knuckled, and there was no expression in his eyes. His body was vibrating, whether in fear, anger, or some other unidentifiable emotion, was up to interpretation. Heihachi had no idea what was going on in his leader's head, and after deciding that he didn't want to know, turned back to examine the battle and weigh the odds.

Kanbei was stunned. No wonder the style had been so familiar, the presence so recognizable. Why hadn't he seen it before? But...why?

What was Kyuuzou doing in the body of a Nobuseri?

Apparently, the Nobuseri that could have been Kyuuzou got tired of waiting, and so lunged at the others, breaking the tension, moving quickly from one opponent to the next. Sheer numbers, and anger at seeing their comrades killed, provoked the Nobuseri to retaliate strongly, pressing that which was and was not Kyuuzou into what would have been desperate measures, had the new model not responded so calmly, with such force. His hover jets were cut off and he fell to the ground heavily, but had kept his swords in hand the entire time, so was able to ward off the attack that followed, killing the one who had meant to destroy him. The Nobuseri circled him in the air, and became even more enraged by the blatant amusement that rolled off him.

'What, not strong enough to attack me? Giving up?'

This enraged to Nobuseri into all coming down on him at once, and while he dodged the majority of the attacks, first a leg, then an arm, then his head, and finally his torso were all cut off and he fell to the ground in pieces. The Nobuseri, satisfied at finally disposing the threat that had been shaming them, all left at once, going back to the tasks that they had originally been given, leaving the smoking heap on the ground.

Kanbei jumped out from behind the rocks where they had been hiding and ran over to the damaged shell, Shichijirou, then Heihachi, following. When Heihachi got in proximity, he frowned. Something was not right. This Nobuseri was not dead. Not yet. He climbed on top of the chest, and drew his sword, letting instinct guide him. He stopped over the center, and thrust his sword in, drawing it down the torso until he cut enough of a gash that the metal parted. He did the same on the width, creating a cross that eventually opened enough to see that which was inside. When he saw, he stared.

"I didn't know this was possible..." he murmured breathlessly.

Kanbei joined him up on the chest, and looked where he was looking, and had much the same reaction. He recovered more quickly, however, and then forced the metal plates open further, revealing the unconscious body of Kyuuzou.

Shichijirou and Heihachi couldn't stop staring.

The Kyuuzou that was reveled was nothing akin to the man that they had known. He was emaciated, the only part of him appearing real and substantial was his head. All over his body, wires hung limply, slowly detaching themselves from him, now that the Nobuseri shell was no longer functional. The three men watched in mild disgust as the wires fell off his body, sometimes in clumps, others one by one. When the last wire detached itself from Kyuuzou's temple, Kanbei reached down and picked him up.

'Too light...far too light.'

"We need to get him back to the village. He's been helping us, after all, keeping down the numbers of Nobuseri that can attack us."

Shichijirou nodded, and Heihachi stared for a moment longer before nodding a little more slowly. They all jumped down from the corpse of the Nobuseri, and Kanbei took off his overcoat and wrapped Kyuuzou in it. Heihachi was unable to understand the reason behind such an intimate gesture, but asked no questions. It would take the three men less than two days to return, but all of them wondered if Kyuuzou would even be able to survive the night.

He awoke slowly to brighter light than he had seen in a long time, even though he could tell he was in a cave. He slowly propped himself up and looked around, wary. Some way away from him, he heard three voices. Human voices. He stood slowly, then fell to one knee, grimacing. He heard one of the three stand up and they came over to him, looking down at him.

"You should rest a while longer. You're not in good shape."

'Shichijirou,' he identified the man in his mind.

"I'm fine."

He saw Shichijirou's grip tighten on his staff, and saw him swallow repeatedly.

"Do it, or else I'll get the sharp side of Kanbei's blade."

He remained kneeling, and Shichijirou gave him a frustrated glare. Reluctantly, he sat down, finding that his strength had diminished quickly.

"Thanks," Shichijirou said dryly.

He simply looked at him, not making eye contact, but still making Shichijirou nervous. He turned around and walked back to where he assumed the others were. Another man, whom he was unable to identify, came over to him, holding a mug.

"Drink this."

He found that he was ravenously hungry after smelling the mixture and took it, unhappy to find that his hands were shaking. He pressed the cup to his lips, and was shocked by the taste. How long had it been since he had eaten? He knew that he, at some point, would have drastically disapproved of the taste of the drink, but he found that he didn't mind much. Then again, he didn't mind much of anything these days.

Kanbei watched Kyuuzou drink it slowly, almost painfully. As he watched, Kanbei absently rubbed his hands together. When he had touched Kyuuzou's hands, it had felt as if he had touched the blade of his sword on a cold day in winter. There was no life in his flesh, no warmth. He finished the drink, and handed the cup back to Kanbei, and promptly fell asleep again. Kanbei returned to his companions and sat down heavily, handing the cup back to Shichijirou.

"It worked, apparently."

"He's asleep, then?"

"Yes."

Heihachi looked over at where Kyuuzou was sleeping and shifted uneasily.

"He is not the man he used to be. He feels...like a machine. But even machines are alive. He...doesn't feel that way."

"Maybe he'll be better once given time to recover?" Shichijirou offered, more to give a little glimmer of hope to Kanbei than anything else.

Heihachi shrugged."Perhaps."

'But I think that he's missing something. Something important, that made him who he was. I'll figure it out by the time we reach the village.'

Kanbei was still trying to warm his hands, as uneasy as Heihachi was, but showing it less.

"His skin felt cold through my gloves."

That statement gave the others food for thought, and none of them were truly able to explain why.