Disclaimer: I don't own starocean

Karin:... eh?

Karin:...

Slamming another cartridge into his gun, Fayt turned around the corner and fired momre rounds into the giant behemoth that blocked his path. The creature roared as it swung its claw at him. Fayt managed to avoid the main attack, but a claw managed to cut him on his left arm.

"Dammit!"

Fayt pressed himself against the wall, peering over the corner to check on the giant. Pyikon threw himself out and blasted the excutioner with a photon blaster. It greatly reminded Fayt of an ancient rocket launcher he saw in pictures, though bigger and looks like it came directly from a batlteship. The large rounds pushed the excutioner back and managed to take out one of its arms.

Kanai quickly tied a banadage around Fayt's wound, tending to the next wounded, Karin. Karin had sustained a head injury which bled but she claimed that she could still go on. Yuin slammed another clip into her gun, jumping out after Pyikon, who threw the large gun aside and took out another gun that was slung around him, firing it at the beast.

Fuin was already going for everything he's got, chucking bombs and knives at the creature, all the while firing whatever gun he's got in his hand. Sole had sustained an injury to his leg but it was nothing serious. The rest were pretty shaken.

Fayt took out the holographic map once more. They were close to where Maria was, but with the amount of enemies they keep encountering, it was getting hard to even move forward. While it was straight hallway, it was also lined with many rooms, of which Fayt and his team use as a form of bunker. Pyikon and Yuin jumped back into the room, reloading their weapons.

Fayt cursed under his breath. There was time to be wasted right now. Maria needed his help. He passed his gun to Kanai and drew his sword.

"Admiral?"

Kanai looked at him witha questioning look.

"We better end this quickly."

Fayt told her, taking out his laser weapon and activating it as well. Karin stood up and slung her rifle, taking out a long sword that looked like a nodatchi.

"Karin, you better stay here, you're injured."

"Don't underestimate me just because i'm a girl."

"That's not the poi-"

"Then what is?"

Karin slammed her fist against the wall. For some reason, Karin seemed extremely ticked off. It may be due to the fact that Karin is a strong member of a support women group and also that Fuin had just managed to tease her and got a slap from her.

"What is the point?"

Karin demanded. Fayt sighed.

"The point is that you're injured badly, whether you like it or not. And besides, i need someone to cover me. Won't you do that?"

"Nope, i won't be falling for that stupid sweet talking trick like Pyikon there."

Karin pointed at Pyikon who was busy reloading his weapon. Fayt shook his head. She got him.

"Fine, but if you get badly injured, it's not my problem."

"Good, now that's settled."

Fayt stood by the door and readied his weapon. Karin and Fuin stood behind him, close combat weapons drawn and ready.

"Let's go."

Fayt turned the corner and immediately saw the excutioner. The creature reared back, claw poised. It tried to swing it down but Fayt stopped it with his laser weapon, stuck through its palm. Think blood dripped down from the wound onto his hand, but Fayt took no notice. Swinging his mithril blade up the arm, the hand fell off the excutioner.

Freeing his laser weapon, Fayt charged once more. Dodging another attack from the creature, Fayt stuck his blade into the ground, dragging it and forming a great crack on the floor as he ran towards the giant. Stopping just before the giant, he swung the blade up, cutting excutioner skyward. The behemoth gave one more cry, before falling to the ground.

Fayt wasted no time, charging forward. Karin ran up the next creature and jumped onto its claw, cutting down across the wrist. The creature gave a howl as its hand dropped to the ground, and also as Karin stuck her blade into its bloody stump where its hand use to be. Pulling the blade as she ran up its arm, she caused the remaining of the hand to split into two. Finishing it off with a clean cut across its neck, making its head roll onto the floor.

Fayt dodged another blow by jumping off the walls and then rhicochet off the other wall onto the next creature's head. He poised his blade and crashed it down, slicing the creature's head into two.

"This is much faster than shooting from afar."

Fuin commented, standing over his mountain of kills like he just conquered a new land.

"But its really tiring."

Karin said, jumping to avoid a low swing. She landed on its claw and ran up its arm, jumping once more to avoid the other arm, landing on that hand and leaping forward to its face, cutting across the neck. Karin landed lightly on the floor.

"Besides that, how did you managed to get so many?"

Kain looked at Fuin's mountain of dead bodies.

"This? It's easy. Check this out. See that large bunch excutioners?"

Fuin pointed to the group of hulking creatures further down the corridor.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, watch the magic."

Fuin winked. He took out a small looking grenade, threw it towards the excutioners, and took out a large looking cannon out of nowhere within a split second, firing a round at the flying grenade. The two collided and exploded in the face of the large group of excutioners, sending them flying back and in a large heap.

"Haha! See that? Cool, isn't it?"

"If you had something like that before, WHY DIDN'T YOU USE IT!"

Karin demanded.

"Chill out, every superhero needs to have a secret weapon up his sleeve to impress the chicks at the end, don't they?"

Fuin winked.

"As if!"

Karin stuck her blade into the fallen hand and used it to throw the hand at Fuin. It slammed him right on the face. One giant slap.

"OW! What did you do that for?"

"Jerk."

Karin walked off, following Fayt, who did not seem so phased by this recent discovery.

"What?"

Fuin rubbed his greatly sored cheek. It was once thing to be slapped by a girl, another to be slapped by a hand of his body size.

"She's really angry."

Fuin commented.

"Maybe it's because you deserve it."

Kanai said, looking up at Fuin was still lying flat on the top of his mountain.

"I did? What in the world did i do?"

"Well, it would be hard for you to understand."

Kanai shrugged, walking off.

"I don't think i will ever understand, IF NO ONE EVER EXPLAINS IT TO ME!"

Fuin cried out loudly, before another large hand landed right on top of him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They finally reached the last door. Fayt took out a scanner and did a quick scan of what was behind the door. As he thought, every single door was made from materials that could block the scanners. The security was tighter than expected. It was like breaking into a government building.

"Damn."

Fayt kept the scanner and pressed the access key. The door panel beeped and the door slid open. What Fayt saw, did not make him feel any better than he wanted to. This area in which Maria's last signal was transmitted was the central foyer, with about five corridors of rooms lined in every direction. Fayt stepped into the corridor that led straight to the central foyer and already, he saw corpses of both human and excutioners.

"What the hell happened in here?"

Fuin peered through the door.

"It looks like their defences were breached."

Kanai said.

"Fayt..."

Karin looked at him. Fayt could not answer, he could not speak. Fayt took a step forward, unsure of his own movements.

"Admiral, your orders?"

Sole asked.

"Fayt... Fayt! Snap out of it!"

Karin shook Fayt roughly.

"... Maria..."

"I'm sure she's safe! But first, what are your orders?"

"...huh? orders? but..."

"Even if she was to die, would you let us do nothing? There may still be other survivors! Do you think she would want you to just space out and mourn for her loss while others die?"

"...no, she wouldn't-"

"Then what are your orders!"

Karin stared hard into his eyes. Fayt stared back, knowing his own reality fully well.

"... My orders... set up a parameter."

Fayt began. Karin smiled.

"Set up a parameter around this area. Secure any information on what happened. Locate any survivors. If enemies are still in the area, eliminate them."

Fayt finished.

"Yes sir!"

His team saluted and ran off to their respective duties. Yes, this was how it was suppose to be. Fayt walked around the central foyer, his mind creating scenes of what could have happened. All of which, worst-case-scenarios. Fayt walked into the room where the transmition was recieved. It was his dad's old office. The pain, the suffering, the ache.

He not only lost his dad, but Maria as well. What was he, who was he if he could not protect those that were dear to him? Where was the light that he had held onto which he called hope? He ran his finger across the set of tables that were pushed to the center of the room. He could almost 'see' Maria, standing by the tables, issuing orders. He could almost 'see' her face, 'touch' her skin, 'feel' her warmth.

"Admiral."

Fayt snapped back to reality. It was a dream after all. A fleeting dream. Fayt turned around and faced Kanai.

"What is it?"

"We found survivors."

"You did? Where?"

"At the North exit."

"Is Maria there?"

"We don't know yet. Scanners picked up human life forms at the end."

Fayt pondered on the situation. He took out the holographic map and studied it for awhile, then...

"Maria's alive."

"Admiral?"

"Maria's alive and she's there. The room to the north. That was the main research lab."

Fayt found his ray of hope once again.

"But admiral, what makes you so sure that Maria is there?"

Kanai was sure how he could be so certain of this.

"It's simple. The lab has one of the best equipment in the entire research center. It also holds one of the best secruity system locks. A small supply stash was always readied by my parents in that room for me and Sophia whenever we were brought over. Maria would find that room as an ideal spot to set up her defences."

"But what makes you think Maria is still alive?"

"There are many rooms to the north, but only one has the best equipment and Maria knows this. Whether she is really alive or not, i don't know, but i'm willing to go there whether or not she there."

"Well, then let's go."

Karin appeared, smirking.

"Yes, let's go."

Fayt led the way out of the room and headed for the north exit. The north exit was littered with even more bodies, which added onto Fayt's theory of the survivors heading towards the north.

"Admiral, take a look at this."

Kanai called Fayt over to a bloodied body. The face was badly disfigured but there was something about it that looked familiar. Kanai bent over the body and fumbled with some chain around its neck and pulled it off. Kanai passed it to Fayt to see. Rubbing the blood off, it showed the rank and name of the person who died. Ensign Mike Kiol.

"Isn't this..."

"Vice captain of the 'Synthesis', right hand man of Maria."

Kanai finished Fayt's sentence.

"Dammit."

Fayt cursed. Kanai passed him a large looking weapon.

"What is this?"

Fayt asked, looking at the weapon.

"I don't know, but it was in his hand."

"Hmm... this looks interesting... Fuin! Come over here."

Fayt called. It took Fuin about ten seconds to arrive.

"You called?"

"Yeah, take a look at this."

"Woah, where did you get this?"

"From Mike's corpse."

"Mike? Poor fellow, never did like him but... gotta say, didn't expect such an end."

"Besides that, try to find out what this is. It is possible that they got their hands on some advance weapons somewhere in this facility. Locate the source if possible."

"Consider it done."

Fuin smirked, running off with the weapon with a glee on his face. Fayt turned back to the situation at hand, walking on with Karin and Kanai behind him. Fayt used his scanner to scan the rooms as he continued onto the main research lab which his father used for the horrible experiments on him, Maria and Sophia.

"Hang on, Maria, i'm coming for you."

Fayt wispered as he walked on. Soon, he stopped outside the room. Fayt hurriedly pressed the access key and the door slid open. The room was pitch black and Fayt could hardly see a meter ahead of the door. Fayt felt for the light switch next to the door, but found that it was broken.

"Flashlight."

Fayt ordered. As Kanai fumbled for the light, Fayt caught movement within the room. He steadied his sword. Finally, Kanai passed him the light. Turning it on, he scanned the area which he saw the movement. There stood a computer monitor. It couldn't have move. Was it something behind it? Fayt walked cautionsly up to the monitor, sword ready in his free hand. Pausing just before the screen, he listened for any breathing besides his own. Yes, it was faint, but present. Nervous? It certainly sounded frightened.

"Maria?"

Fayt tried to call out. If he was wrong, it could be an enemy, and he had just given away his own position. But then, Slowly, A head popped up from behind the screen. A young girl with bluish hair and matching eyes looked at Fayt with a scared look. Fayt nearly dropped the light. His hope had come true.

"Maria! It's me, Fayt!"

Fayt tried to walk closer to her, but Maria backed away.

"Maria..."

"Don't come any closer!"

Maria threatened, waving a familiar pistol at Fayt.

"Maria, calm down, it's only me."

Maria paused, looking at Fayt more carefully.

"Fayt? Is... is that really you?"

"Yes, it's me, Maria, Fayt."

"Fayt... Fayt!"

Maria dropped the gun and literally leaped into Fayt, sending the two crashing onto the ground.

"Fayt! Fayt! I was so scared! I didn't know what to do!"

Maria cried on Fayt's cloak.

"It's okay now. Are there anymore survivors?"

"No... i'm the only one left. Mike... he... he pushed me into this room and locked it from the outside."

"Well it's alright now. You don't have to worry about anything. Kanai, contact the 'Eternal'."

"Patching through sir."

Kanai passed him a communicator. Soon, the pilot's face appeared.

"Admiral!"

"We have secured a survivor, no others. We're pulling out ASAP, how are things in orbit?"

"We have them on the run sir."

"Good."

Fayt turned the communicator off and passed it back to Kanai.

"We're leaving, get all members to pull out."

"Yes sir."

Kanai saluted and left the room with Karin. Fayt turned back to Maria.

"It's alright now, you don't have to worry about anything."

He wispered into her ear, holding her close.

"I won't be going anywhere, i promise."

AN: With the same function as the two half swords, the pistol plays an important role in the connections Fayt and Maria have with one another. Being faced by the same pistol that symbolized himself to Maria, it shows Fayt that Maria is completely lost. The one thing she did not lose in the end was that pistol. No more mention of that pistol will be made since it has made its point. In the sequel, maybe.