The throbbing in his temples woke him up. "Ahhh," moaned Lloyd, rubbing his temples. He sat up in bed and winced with pain, from his head and from, well, below the belt. He looked over at his sleeping- jeez, she was his wife now, how scary was that!- wife and wondered where Sheena had learned to be such a demon in the sack. He also wondered how she could sleep so well after all the liquor she had last night. He knew he was sick of the stuff, and would definitely be untainted for a long time.

He sighed and threw the sheets off of himself. He scratched his stomach as he walked/limped over to his dresser to clothe his nakedness.

His eyes half open, he limped down the stairs to the kitchen. He found Zelos at the table, his hair mussed up, and a coffee cup in front of himself. He looked up as Lloyd entered the room. Zelos' eyes were red and tired. Noticing Lloyd's limp, Zelos cracked a broken smile. "Hehe," he said. "Was it great, or was it great?" Lloyd sat down and put his head in his hands, a smile splitting his face. "It was great," he said weakly. "But I'll bet yours last night wasn't your first." Zelos rubbed his bloodshot eyes. "To tell the truth, Lloyd," said Zelos, "it was." Lloyd looked up at him in wonder. Zelos looked sad and happy at the same time, if it was possible.

"I had come so very close a few times," said Zelos after a long pause. "I was practically in the bed with them, but something always held me back. It was something that my sister said, a long time ago. She said, 'If you give your virginity away, you'll never get it back. You should save it for the one you really love as a special gift, and remember, no time is as special as the first.' I never forgot those words. And I, well, I felt kinda stupid and immature after she said that. I had thought I would do it whenever, with whoever, but...when I heard something like that come out of my little sister, of all people, it made me think. Someone younger than me, supposedly less mature than me, already knew something like that. I felt like a fool." Lloyd stared at Zelos, then smiled compassionately. He placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Well," said Lloyd, "you weren't a fool for waiting. You did the right thing. I'm proud of you. And I'm sure Colette is too. You gave her one of the best gifts possible." Zelos looked at Lloyd's hand. Then he looked up at Lloyd's face and cocked his head, looking at Lloyd oddly. "Thanks, dude," Zelos said sincerely. "You're a really cool friend, you know that?"

Lloyd just smiled. Zelos never ceased to amaze him. You'd think you'd figured him out, and then you'd learn something like this and be caught completely off guard. It was because of things like these that Lloyd respected and cared for Zelos so much. He could be more mature and thoughtful than the rest of the group at times, even more so than the Professor, and Lloyd couldn't help but be awed at times like these, like when the young carefree narcissist would turn into the cool, logical warrior that enemies cowered before and comrades obeyed. Zelos was really something else. In retrospect, Lloyd realized, all his friends were really like that, but the intrigue and mystery only made him love them all the more.

Lloyd withdrew his hand and sighed. "Yeah," he said, "but if only my stomach would cool down. Ugh, it feels like I'm gonna puke or something." Zelos raised a finger as he sipped his coffee. "Mmm," he said, putting down his mug. From his robe he produced a bottle of pink liquid. "Drink some, dosage according to the label," Zelos said, pointing at the bottle. "I discovered that stuff on the first day; let me tell you, that stuff works wonders."

Lloyd examined the label and began to unscrew the cap as he read. "Huh?" he said. "Oh," said Zelos when he noticed Lloyd's difficulty. "You have to push down on the cap and twist it to open it." "Ahhh," said Lloyd as he unscrewed the top. "So, all of what you said earlier aside...how was it?" Zelos glanced up at Lloyd, smirked, and shook his head with a laugh. "I've poisoned you, haven't I now?" Zelos said jokingly. "But I tell you what man, that was, oh man it was awesome! Colette is a freakin' sex goddess!" Lloyd laughed out loud and Zelos joined him.

"What was that?" asked Regal as he came down the stairs. Zelos shook his head. "Ah, nothing," he said. "What's happening, my man?" Regal sat down next to Lloyd. "Are you hungry?" Regal inquired of the hung-over men. "I won't be for a while," said Lloyd as he gulped down the pink elixir. "Yeah, I guess I am," said Zelos. "What would you like?" asked Regal. Zelos pondered a moment. "Just good ol' eggs, bacon, and toast with jam," said Zelos. "Nothing fancy, just something good and filling." Regal nodded. "I'll get started, then," he said, and rose from the table to begin breakfast.

"So, anything interesting happen last night?" asked Zelos of Regal, a huge smile on his face. Regal looked back from the stove and smiled in return. "Well I think that's a given," he said. He turned back and resumed monitoring the frying pan. "And?" Zelos drawled. "Anything in particular you can tell us?" Regal cleared his throat. "The most I can tell you is this," he said. "The Professor has read a lot of books, if you catch my drift."

Zelos snorted, laughed and slapped the table. Regal chuckled and Lloyd shook his head with a smile. "I'm not sure that's a pleasant image," he said. "But Lloyd, she's gorgeous!" said Zelos. "Yeah," said Lloyd, "but she's also been my teacher for my entire education. Imagine knowing things like that about one of your teachers, no matter how pretty!" Zelos grimaced. "I see your point," he said painfully.

"Hey, guys," said Sheena sleepily as she entered the kitchen, followed by Colette and Raine. Sheena sat next to Lloyd and rested her head on his shoulder, and Colette did the same to Zelos. Lloyd put his arm around Sheena. "Hey babe," he said. Zelos kissed Colette on the forehead. "Good morning, my little angel," he said.

Raine came up behind Regal and kissed him on the cheek. "Aww, you made breakfast," said Raine. "That's really nice." Regal smiled at her. "I figured it would be the best way to get you all out of bed," he said. Raine laughed. "Well, it beats an alarm clock," she mused.

"No, Lloyd, you have to divide both sides by three first," said Raine. "Ohhh," said Lloyd, erasing his errors and rewriting the corrections on his math. "I get it now. Thanks, Raine!"

It was half past one on that same day. Lloyd had been having a problem with his algebra and had asked the Professor to help him, naturally. They sat on the couch and worked out his problems.

Lloyd sighed and stretched when they finished. "Thanks, Professor," he said. A sudden feeling washed over him. "Hey, Raine?" he said. "Yes?" asked Raine. "I-I know I'm not the best student," he said, "but, I'm really trying to get better. But what I do isn't really half of it. I, I never would have gotten this far in my life if you weren't in it. You actually manage to teach me stuff, and, as strange as it seems, you make learning fun. I just want you to know, you're an amazing teacher, an excellent fighter and team player, and just a really great woman. And you're not such a bad chef, either. I just want you want you to know that. You're like the mother I never knew." Raine sighed in wonder. "Oh, Lloyd," she whispered, tears welling up. She hugged him tightly, and he awkwardly hugged her back. "Thank you," she choked.

Lloyd swallowed, feeling a thick, unexpected lump in his throat. "You're like the son I never had." "Yeah," he whispered back. He felt her warm tears caress his neck, and tried not to cry himself as he realized how much weight his words carried.

"You know something weird?" he said after a moment, when he could control himself. "I never really knew my mother, because she died when I was very young. It was always just Dirk." Lloyd swallowed, pressing past the feelings, and continued. "Or it was him and Kratos. I don't know how to say this, but, well, it just seems kind of strange to me that you wound up with Regal. It just seems weird that my mother and my father figures didn't come together. I don't know if you understand what I mean." Raine drew away from him, still clasping his shoulders, and nodded. Wiping away her tears, she said, "Although I can't really empathize, I do understand what you mean." Lloyd nodded slowly.

With that Raine released him. He stood up with his papers and arranged them. "Thanks again," he said, and walked off up the stairs into his room.

Yuan picked up the sheet of paper and read it. "Huh," he said. "What is it?" asked Kratos. "Well," said Yuan, "most people go straight to their honeymoons after the wedding, or so I thought. It seems they left for theirs today." "What!" exclaimed Genis. "They never told us that!" Botta shrugged. "I suppose they wanted to keep it a secret," he said. "Makes it seem more exciting, I guess."

"So what are we supposed to do?" asked Presea. "It says they won't be back until Monday morning," replied Yuan, studying the note. "We have tonight and tomorrow to do whatever we want." "'What do we want' is the question now," mused the Arbiter. "I kinda feel like fighting," said Genis. "Yeah, me too," said Presea quietly. "It has been quite some time since you saw any action," said Kratos. "You're still not used to it." The Arbiter tapped his armor. "Well, if you wanted to see action," he said, "it seems there are two possibilities: Come with me, or find your friend Ryoko. We always seem to be fighting someone or something." The Arbiter suddenly looked a little bit glum. "Ah, no, I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry but...I can't take you with me. It's really against regulations. But if you take my advice, go find Ryoko."

The Arbiter cocked his head to one side. "Excuse me a moment," he said. Turning around, he placed one hand to the side of his head. After a minute or two he turned around again. "It seems my time is up," he said. "I'll have to be leaving you for now. My, uhh, employer, has insisted I return." Kratos nodded. "Understood," he said. "Until we meet again, Arbiter." The Arbiter said goodbye to each of them, and disappeared out the door. Genis gazed questioningly at the rest of the group. "So?" he said. "Are we gonna take his advice or not?"

Kratos looked at them. "Well?" he said at last. "Are there any opposed?" Silence. "All right then," he said. "Let's go."

Ryoko dodged the underhanded thrust and slashed down with her sword. The guy rolled out of the way and swung his katana at her head. She dodged and smashed her left fist into his face. Her hand came away wet. "I win," she said. The guy got up, wiped his nose, looked at his hand, and sighed. "You win, as always," he said with a smile. Ryoko smiled back. She was the best out of anyone she knew at first-blood. The rest of the girls, and Taiho and Shizuma, were pretty good, but lost occasionally because of their instincts to block and take small hits with their bodies.

Well, not all of the girls, Ryoko thought. Aoi, now Aoi was good. She was nearly as good at first-blood. She floated and dodged and struck at the best moment. In this way, she won all of her matches. She hadn't lost yet since she started playing. Ryoko only took the lead because she won all her matches and won them faster.

"What are you doing?" came a deep but familiar voice from behind Ryoko. She couldn't place the voice, so she turned around. "Kratos!" she said. "We're in the middle of a first-blood tournament." "I see," said the man. "You can take one of our places, if you want," said Ryoko. "We've played a million of 'em. So are the others off on their honeymoons?" "Yes," replied Kratos. "How do you play?" "Well," said Asuka, who stood about two meters away, "as the name implies, the person who draws blood first wins the one on one match. There are only a couple of rules. Number one, no bladed weapons allowed. Kendo sticks and weapons without sharp cutting edges are fine. Number two, the only hits that count are from the waist up. It's mostly for the men, but some of the ladies would prefer to keep their legs pretty, also. And when you draw blood, you announce it and prove it by showing the blood coming from the other person. After you draw blood, the match is over. No more hits. That's basically all. Everything and anything else goes. So are you interested?"

"Let's do it!" said Genis. "Sounds like fun," said Yuan. "Sure," said Kratos. "We'd be honored." "In that case, one of you can take my place," said Azumi as she walked up behind Ryoko. "It's always cool to see new fighters show their stuff." Four other newbies also gave up their positions, eager to see the newcomers and hesitant to fight the better warriors. "Well, then, the next match will be Presea and Xiaoxing," said Ryoko, updating the tournament battle chart. Presea held up her ax. "Do you have something similar to this I can use?" she asked. "Yeah, I think so," said Megumi. There was a pile of weapons on the ground near her, and she went through them quickly.

"Here we go!" she said. Megumi tossed Presea an oak ax with a blunted nickel axhead. Presea gauged it carefully, then grasped it firmly in two hands. "Okay," she said at last. "Then in the circle you go," Ryoko said. Presea followed Xiaoxing into the circle of spectators and fellow combatants. "Ready?" said Ryoko loudly. "Fight!"

Xiaoxing drew out a length of cord and snapped it on the ground. "You ready for this?" she teased. Presea only smiled. With a lightning fast snap of her wrist, she whipped the rope at Presea's face. "This'll be fast," mused Asuka. Suddenly an amazed gasp traveled around the circle. Presea had caught the rope.

In her surprise, Xiaoxing still held the cord tightly. Presea swung her arm in a wide arc, throwing Xiaoxing over her shoulder. Xiaoxing managed to land on her feet, but Presea still hung on tenaciously. For a long time, they stared each other down. Then Presea glanced at the ground. They did say anything else goes, she thought. With a swift kick, Presea sent a rock flying into Xiao's face. "Ai!" she exclaimed. Blood dripped down from her forehead. "I win," said Presea, pointing at the girl's face with her ax. "Presea wins the round!" shouted Ryoko. Cheering broke out among the circle. "PRE-SE-A!" they chanted.

"Next up, Kratos and Megumi," announced Ryoko. The opponents went into the center of the ring and stood apart from each other. Kratos retained his shield after inspection from Ryoko and was armed with a heavy wooden kendo stick. "Go get 'em, Megu!" yelled Asuka. Megumi smiled and held up her fists. "Go!" shouted Ryoko.

Megumi rolled forward on the ground and attempted an uppercut. Kratos leapt easily over her and dealt her a smack on the rear. He twisted in the air, landed, and watched Megumi get up. Next she tried a jump kick, which Kratos ducked under while dealing another blow to her behind. Megumi winced and rubbed it, wondering how she would break through. Kratos decided to attack. He swung his sword fast, with power, and while it seemed that his attacks were all over the place, Megumi could see that she had to stay where he wanted if she didn't want to get hit. She saw her chance and lunged forward while his shield was raised. Unfortunately, she didn't see his shield come down until it was too late. It struck her on the head and forced her to the ground. She got up, rubbed her head, and to her dismay she felt wetness. "I win," said Kratos, tapping his wet shield with his kendo sword. "Isn't that a cutting edge?" asked Megumi. Ryoko shook her head. "No, it's blunt," she said. "Anything that hits you hard enough in the right way will draw blood. Kratos wins!"

In similar matches, the Shinsengumi and the Symphonians eliminated their competition and then each other, until a representative of each group was left, Yuan and Ryoko. "Final match!" shouted Megumi. "Yuan versus Ryoko! Ready? Fight!"

The two in the center of the circle rushed forward to meet each other. Yuan brought up his long, double bladed wooden sword to meet Ryoko's sword. The weapons hit and bounced off each other. Ryoko tried a punch at Yuan while he was off-balance, but he dodged it and steadied himself. Ryoko slashed and thrusted at Yuan, and he blocked and parried all of her shots. Suddenly her fist shot out again. Yuan had barely enough time to recognize the danger. But it was enough. It's mine! thought Ryoko.

A sudden crack alerted her that something was wrong. Then she realized her fist hurt. A lot. She snatched it back and waved it around. "Ow ow ow!" she said through teary eyes. She stuck her hand in her mouth and sucked on it. Yuan laughed and showed her his weapon. There was a bloody fistprint on it. "I win," he said. She took her hand out of her mouth and looked at it. It was mashed, blood and saliva dripped from it, and splinters penetrated her skin. "Dammit," she grumbled. "You win."

The Shinsengumi came up behind Ryoko, clapping slowly and deliberately. "Well done," said Asuka coolly. "You've mastered the warm-up," said Megumi. "But can you take the test?" finished Ryoko. They stood silently, their heads down and their eyes looking up, aka 'the evil eye.' "Muahahaha!" laughed the girls madly, throwing back their heads.

"Ooookaay," said Genis. "Uhh, what was that about?" Ryoko and her friends couldn't help but laugh at the uncomprehending expressions on everyone's faces. Ryoko calmed down a little and wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh, we were just messin' with you," she said. "But really, first-blood is a warm-up type thing for us. We were going to go fight some longer and more intense battles. You're welcome to come, of course..."

She let the offer hang in the air. Kratos turned to the rest of his group. "What do you think?" he asked them. "Shall we? I would like to, at least." "I'm ready," said Genis. "I am too," said Presea. "We're for it," said Yuan and Botta. "Then it's agreed," he said as he turned back to Ryoko. "We'll fight." "Am I allowed to use my magic?" asked Genis with a doubtful expression on his face. "I really wouldn't recommend it," said Ryoko uneasily. "It could cause you a lot of trouble." "Damn!" grumbled Genis. "Oh well. I'll still go." Ryoko smiled. "Good!" she said. "Let's go then. This way. Follow me!"

She sprinted off down an alleyway, followed by her team and the Symphonians. They followed the agile girls down a maze of streets ands passages, tunnels and buildings. Soon they found the women stopped before a large dome-shaped building. "Ready?" asked Ryoko. Kratos nodded.

"Then here we go!"

Ryoko threw open the double doors in front of her, and immediately was assaulted by the noise of rock music, screaming fans, and blaring loudspeakers. The smell of blood and alcohol never failed to pump Ryoko up for a battle. "I've called in and added you to the list," she said over the din of the arena. "The way it works is its basically a tournament, but with special rules. Each fight has different rules, which they'll tell you right before the match begins. You have one minute to choose a representative from your group to fight that round. If you win, your whole team advances. If you lose, you're out. The last battle is a team fight. Got it?" Kratos nodded when he received the assent of the others.

"Well, then, come on," she said, jerking her head towards the inside. They all stepped in and took a good look around. All around them were rows and rows of seats; there had to be at least twenty thousand seats here. In the center was a clay court for fighting, on which stood a teenaged girl giving her pre-fight report. "-and also a new team, never before seen in any K-Fights!" she was saying. Kratos eyed her with interest.

The floor seats had been removed, for obvious reasons. There was now only a ten-foot drop down a concrete wall between the onlookers and the fighting grounds. The stadium was packed tonight, and from what Kratos gathered, it was partly because of their presence, but mostly because of Ryoko's. He remembered her words from so long ago, and thought them true; they really did love her. She was this city's champion. Perhaps not for this night, he allowed himself to think. But then I'll give her back.

"This round will be a fist fight," explained Megumi. "In this fight, you are not allowed to use weapons other than your bare hands. The only parts of your body allowed to touch your opponent are your hands. No crotch hits. Are you clear?" Kratos, representing the group, nodded. "Good," said Megumi. "Then choose your fighter. You're up." After discussing it briefly, Kratos was elected to fight this round. I feel sorry for whoever has to fight me, he thought mournfully. Not because of the pain of my hits, but for the painful brevity. Kratos unbuckled his sword and sheath and set them aside. He was wearing his traditional attire, from which he removed the flaring shoulderpads and trailing tails. To assure the judges of his honesty, he also took off his gloves, though he couldn't imagine what harm they could possibly hide.

"Are both sides ready?" asked the announcer. Kratos nodded when she looked at him. She looked to her other side and seemed to get the same response. "Then will the two combatants please step forward and join me in the center."

Kratos walked over to the commentator and looked down at her. "What's your name and team name?" she whispered, covering the microphone. "Kratos," he replied. "I'm with, ah..." He hadn't expected to come up with a team name, so he just thought up one on the spot. He was going to say 'The Renegades', but to him it sounded too ordinary, too fighteresque, something a bunch of no-skill punks would come up with. Which, as he reflected, was exactly what he had thought of the Renegades when he learned of their existence. "Catharsis," Kratos said. He wondered if anyone thought it was humorous, but with this sort of crowd, he doubted it. Yet you never knew...

She nodded and asked his opponent the same question. When she was satisfied, she uncovered the mike and yelled into it. "On this side," she announced, waving at his opponent, "we have the dreaded Yamuda from the Renegades!" Damn good thing I didn't go with that name, thought Kratos. "And on this side," shouted the girl, "we have, from the unheard-of team Catharsis, the mysterious Kratos!" There were many cheers for both combatants, but Kratos ignored them. He noted, with exasperation, that his opponent loved the attention. I am not really fit to be a teacher, thought Kratos, but when one needs a lesson in humility and maturity, one needs it right away!

"FIGHT!" screamed the commentator.

The 'fight' lasted five seconds. It consisted of Kratos dodging his enemy's fist and smashing his own into Yamuda's face. Yamuda was down instantly, and he did not get back up. "Uh, the round goes to Catharsis," said the commentator/judge, more than a little stunned. Kratos said nothing, only walked back to the rest of his group in the absolute silence of the stadium. He sat down.

Suddenly the audience went wild. "KRA-TOS! KRA-TOS!" they screamed. He allowed a smile to escape from his stony face, and he gave a small wave to the crowd. They loved it and went even wilder. "That was a surprise," said Genis. "What was?" asked Kratos. Genis shrugged. "Everything," he said, when he thought about it. Kratos smiled again and shook his head. "I like the name," said Presea. "It is fitting." "It's a good name," said Genis. "Although I'm not sure who here besides us, the Shinsengumi, and maybe the judges, will get it." Kratos shrugged. "Do they have to?" he asked. "I guess not," said Genis after a moment. "It's a good name whether you understand the humor or not," said Yuan. "It's very cool."

"Humph," said Kratos. He folded his arms over his chest and fell silent.

After a number of rounds it was Shinsengumi's turn. This fight was a sword duel to a KO or a surrender. Naturally, Ryoko went up. Naturally, she won. Then it was Catharsis' turn again.

"This round will be a staff round!" announced the young commentator. "The only thing that can touch your opponent is your staff. This fight is a five hit match. Once someone has been hit five times, the game is over! Who will be representing Catharsis and the Necromancers?" Kratos, Botta, Presea, and Genis looked at Yuan. "What!" he exclaimed. "I'll do it, of course. All you had to do was say so!"

Yuan took off his cloak and set it aside. Someone called at him and tossed him a long shaft of hardwood. Yuan examined it as he walked up beside the announcer. "My name is Yuan," he said when she asked for his name. "This fight is between Yuan, from team Catharsis," she declared, "and Azumi, of the Necromancers. Contestants, ready! Fight!"

Yuan gripped his staff tightly and held it at the ready. The girl across from him couldn't have been more than eighteen, and she had a smile across her face. Eyeing her with a smirk of his own, Yuan began his attack.

He lunged to the left and Azumi followed, as he thought. Her right shoulder was unguarded, and he could easily-WHAM!

Yuan staggered, completely caught off guard. He hadn't even seen her move and she had smacked him in the face. So that's how she's gonna play, he thought, and smiled again. I've got to do this fast and hard if it's gonna work. There was one move Yuan had learned some time ago, and he had few opportunities to test it, but if it he succeeding in completing it, he would almost certainly win...

Yuan took a deep breath, and exhaled. He adjusted his grip and stared intensely at his opponent, her body still as a tree. They never said anything about touching her staff, he thought suddenly, realizing his chance. "Heh," he said softly. Perhaps he wouldn't need his move after all. All he had to do was see her attack. If he could do that, it would easy from there.

Yuan noticed a movement in her posture and prepared to do this. Azumi came at him and thrust her rod at his face. Too easy, thought Yuan as he dodged it. His hand lashed out and grabbed the girl's staff. Azumi's face twisted in surprise at this unexpected move. She tried to shake him off, but he held on tenaciously. The audience was silent, wondering what would happen. Satisfied she was holding on tight enough, Yuan shifted his position so that his back was to Azumi. Then, dropping his staff and clutching the pole with two hands, he pressed on the rod and lifted the girl over his head. Yuan shifted his grip and slammed her down into the ground with all his might. With a quick flip of his foot his staff was back in his hand. Azumi lay a few feet away, dizzy from the impact. Yuan took a few steps closer and poked her firmly in the side five times.

There was silence. Yuan glanced at the commentator, whose mouth was agape, and spread his hands. The girl snapped her mouth shut. "Victory for Catharsis!" she yelled, regaining her composure.

It all came down to this. Catharsis and the Shinsengumi won all their matches, meaning they would be the two finalists. Both knew it would be hard to fight friends, but they all also knew the other was expecting their best, regardless. The final team battle had no rules, barring only edged weapons (and guns, of course), and ending when one team surrendered or was knocked out.

Genis stepped up next to Kratos and took a deep breath. Before Genis could think, the fight began. Almost immediately he sensed something was wrong. As he fought alongside his teammates, he couldn't shake the feeling of wrongness, of something not right. No matter how hard he tried, though, he couldn't tell what it was. However, he thought he had a pretty good idea of what it was.

One of the very first things Genis had learned in his training as a mana user was the fundamental difference between all forms of life. Every life form had a certain signature, a unique kind of mana all their own. In time, Genis learned how to distinguish between half-elves and humans, and elves when he finally met them, without even looking at them. He was nearly on the verge of fine-tuning his skills so he could do the same with non-sentient beings, such as animals, or even plants. But nevertheless, it was easy to tell what species a sentient was, which was why it was a bit of a shock to him when the Arbiter arrived. Genis knew humans, half-elves, and elves, of course, but when introduced to an entirely new species, it was a bit disturbing for him. The otherworldly Sword Dancer and the monsters of the evil book were somewhat surprising, since Genis felt nothing of them, probably due to their origin or structure. But on the first day the Arbiter introduced himself, Genis had been caught so off guard he nearly shouted. It was that noticeable.

Genis felt the same thing here. It felt the same as when the Arbiter first came to them, when Genis had first felt the presence of something sentient that had no human or elven blood in it. Since he had never met whatever species this person was, Genis could not name it, nor give it a place of origin. All he could tell was that it bespoke pure evil, something no other sentient had ever done, not even Abyssion. Even he had had some good in him. But whatever this thing was, it was born of evil, and evil was its intent.

Genis was so wrapped up in his thoughts he nearly forgot about the battle at hand. He scolded himself for doing so, but all the while he remained wary.

The fight lasted a very long time. By the end, the combatants fought feebly, so tired they could barely swing another blow. Genis leaned over on his kendama, and smiled. He had it now: the odd person out was-

A hollow thunk startled Genis, and as he blacked out, he wondered if it knew he knew.

Genis' eyes fluttered open, and a concerned alien face looked down at him. "He's awake," said the Arbiter. Genis shot up, wincing in pain. He rubbed the back of his head where it burned, and tried to remember something important.

He glanced around to see his teammates and the Shinsengumi standing around. Then it hit him; there was a foreigner here. No, that was the Arbiter. Still, something nagged at him...

He shrugged to himself. It probably wasn't important. He'd end up remembering it sooner or later. "So who won?" he asked. "It was a draw," said Kratos. "We both were declared champion." Genis nodded. "Now what?" asked Genis. "I suggest we go home," said Yuan, stifling a yawn. "We've had a long day, and a longer night." Genis looked back up at the Arbiter. "Oh yeah," Genis said. "Why are you here?"

The Arbiter gave his equivalent of a shrug. "I was in the neighborhood, incidentally enough," he said. "Coincidence. Nothing more, really, unless my boss purposely sent me to investigate in the area so that I could tend my young friend's wound of which he had no knowledge." Genis squinted and smiled at him. "Was that a joke?" he asked. The Arbiter laughed softly. "I suppose so," he replied. "You might call it dry and sarcastic, but for reasons beyond my knowledge, my people don't have much of any other sense of humor, unless it be for a cute animal or something. It may interest you to know that one belief shared among the Covenant, or at least my race, is that our Creator has a profound sense of humor, so we try to appreciate it and imitate it at least in some ways."

Presea cocked her head to one side. "I get it," she said after a moment. "I hadn't thought about it, but if there is a Creator, I'd have to agree," remarked Kratos. "I really don't see it," said Megumi. The Arbiter spread his hands. "Well," he said, thinking a moment, "have you ever seen a hamster?" "Uh, yeah," said Megumi, not quite following. "Can you look at one and not laugh or smile?" asked the Arbiter. "It is from His creations that we come to get the notion of a Creator with a sense of humor. How about a chimpanzee? A basset hound? A koala? A long haired cat? Creatures so comical cannot be designed without at least a little humor." Genis nodded and yawned. "Yeah, I get it too," he said tiredly. "Let's go, guys. I'm beat."

Genis started to walk, hoping someone else would start walking so he could follow. Sure enough, they all started to walk down the alley they were in. "I'm just gonna tie my shoes, guys," called Ryoko from the back, bending over. "Go on ahead, I'll be right there." The Arbiter walked next to Genis. Genis opened his mouth to say something when he heard an odd noise come from the Arbiter. Genis turned to see the Arbiter leveling a glowing pistol at Ryoko. Ryoko returned his aim with a gun of her own.

"What's going on!" exclaimed Presea. "This woman drew her weapon on Genis," said the Arbiter grimly. "That's a lie!" said Ryoko. "He turned his gun on me first!" Genis' eyes flicked between them quickly. Then he remembered his dilemma from earlier that he had gotten knocked out of him. It was one of them, for sure, but which one? One of them was lying. Was it Ryoko? Or was it the Arbiter that he had felt during the match?

Genis heard a triple click sort of noise and a silver barrel gleamed above his head in the pale moonlight. Megumi held the revolver, aimed at Ryoko. "That isn't our captain, girls," Megumi said. "Megu," whispered Ryoko. "Don't you know me? I-I can't believe you can't remember who I really am..."

Megumi's face hardened. "I don't know who or what you are," she said, "but don't you ever use that name for me again." She adjusted her aim and squeezed the trigger. The gun flew out of Ryoko's hand. Megumi cocked the gun again, and fired. The bullet went straight through her forehead, and her eyes darkened as she slumped to the ground. Black blood poured out of the wound. "Yuck," said Xiaoxing, covering her eyes.

"Oh, damn, you killed it," said a strange voice. "Well, least I have some idea of where she is." Their heads snapped up to look at a guy hanging upside down from a telephone wire. It was hard to tell in the dark, but he looked no more than twenty. A girl about his age leapt down from a balcony to his right and he followed her. They calmly walked over and stooped over the dead body. "Ooh, quite a nice copy," said the girl. "Too nice," said the guy. "If there are any more this high quality it'll be too difficult to eyeball it and we'll have to rely on technology or other tests." "There were some flaws, of course," said the girl, "but still, far more accurate than we anticipated. I knew we couldn't hope for their technology to not undergo any advances, but now..."

"Sooooo," said Megumi. The two strangers seemed to notice the other people in the alley for the first time. "Ah, yes," said the woman. "How did you get here?" asked Genis. "Walked," replied the man slowly, puzzled, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You know what I mean," said Genis coolly. "Did you think none of us would notice?" Their faces hardened. "We could very well ask you how you come to be here," said the man, "but now is not the time. Come. You want to get your friend back, don't you?" "Absolutely," Megumi answered, disregarding the odd exchange of half-threatening talk. The two stood up, long dark cloaks whispering behind them. "Then follow us," said the girl. "We can talk on the way."