Chapter Summary:

Before the adventures of TEAS, both Ryuk and Anya struggled in their own ways in pursuit of their dreams and goals. This chapter serves as a window into those hardships. This chapter can be viewed as a soft-canon/what-if.


TEAS: The Lost Archives –

Chapter 4: First Steps

Standing up on her tip-toes, the youngest of the Clotheart name was able to stretch just enough to reach the door knob of her father's private workshop. Twisting the handle, she invited herself inside.

The room was a mess of old projects and new experiments. The rhyme and reason between them was a secret privy only to current head of the household.

Fiddling with a hand-sized contraption filled with gears and circuitry, a man dressed in the undershirt of a more regal attire sat hunched over in the back. Lifting his head up just enough to to see whom was his latest guest, a warm smile overtook him.

"Good morning Antalya. You're certainly up early." Her father greeted cheerfully, sitting up more properly.

"Good morning." The young girl whom had reached the milestone of double digits only a short time ago repeated back. Her words were not necessarily cold, but they lacked the same pep as her father.

Her eyes met the head of the house, but they made no attempt to hide their focus as they gravitated toward the mesh of parts currently in his grease-coated palms.

Noticing this, the man wiped his hands off with a nearby rag. After, he scooped his daughter up, planting her on his lap. Her eyes wandered to every corner of his workbench. Rummaging through his toolbox with one hand, he picked one out at random tool.

"What is this?" The man asked, deciding to give the young girl a pop quiz.

"Socket wrench." Antalya replied right away in a plain tone.

Dropping the tool down with a clumsy clunk, he pulled out another.

"What about this one?" He asked again.

"Four millimeter screwdriver." The precocious girl answered equally as fast.

A fair bit of pride on his face, the man held his daughter close to his chest.

"Your mother is going to hate me." He announced half in jest.

"Maxwell!" The shriek of an older woman called out. Her tone reverberated throughout the entire manor, practically rocking the support beams as she did.

"Speak of the devil." The head of the household lamented with a sigh. Placing his daughter back on the ground, he ruffled her dirty blonde hair playfully. "I'll be right back dear." He excused, leaving the workshop as he headed toward the foyer to meet his caller.

Walking over toward the door, Antalya placed her ear to the crack, listening in.

"Maxwell, where is your daughter?" The lady of the house and Antalya's mother inquired more with frustration than confusion.

"Relax. She's in my study." Maxwell explained calmly.

"Maxwell, we've talked about this." Annoyance was clear in her voice. "You know I don't like her in there."

"I didn't drag her, she came in of her own free will. She has an interest in these sort of things." Her father defended, more than a little worked up.

"That's the problem, Maxwell." The woman spoke up, more pleadingly. "No suitor is going to want to marry a girl with fingers dirtier than a workhand's."

"I don't... I don't have time for this discussion again." Exasperation painted both parties voices at this point. "I'm late as it is. I have an appointment with a shipwright at the docks. We ship out in a month's time and I need to start making the preparations." He explained, his voice becoming harder to hear as he started walking away.

"The moment you leave this house Maxwell, I'm having the contractors seal away that dusty workshop." Her mother threatened.

"Do what you must, but not a second before." Maxwell steadfastly decreed. "My child deserves to enjoy some facet of their childhood." The lord of the house concluded as his voice headed for the front doors.

Backing up from the workshop doorway, Antalya listened as she heard both parental footsteps trail off from one another. Wandering through the now lonely study, she tried to busy herself with less important things than her future.

Making her way into the back, she found an old dust covered trunk tucked away in the corner. Knowing full well that pulling the chest out of the clutter was out of the question, she started cleaning up the area around it until the top was barren. Flipping the latch in the front, she grabbed the lid with both hands before throwing it up with all of her strength.

A mesh of dust and cobwebs swelled from the untouched treasure keeper as fresh air reached its contents for what may have been decades or even longer. Coughing as she rubbed her face, Antalya peered inside to discover the inner contents.

Resting above a blanketed cloth was a small robot toy no bigger than a teddy bear. Picking it up, Antalya studied the weight, metal, as well as its features.

"Is this, a mechanoid?" She questioned aloud.

Confirming the machine was in fact unresponsive, she combed it for any activation switches or levers. Finding a small hump on the back, her thumb passed over a dusty screw head. Walking back over to her father's workbench, she plucked the four millimeter screwdriver from before. Getting to work, she undid the back panel, exposing the empty slots for a power supply.

Placing the mechanoid down, Antalya started once again exploring the room. Finding some larger half contraptions and cast aside side projects, she eventually gathered a pair of jumper cables and two industrial batteries half her size. Far too large to fit inside the small automaton, she led the cabling from the batteries into the internal receptors of the machine. As soon as the connection was made, the machine creature once again sparked to life.

Petite jets turning on for the first time in ages, a small black dust cloud kicked out before a clean nearly silent propulsion lifted it up into the air. Beeping in predefined patterns, the machine reboot itself. The sensors of its eyes lighting up, it scanned the environment around it.

Much like Antalya, it too became fascinated with the oddities around it. Buzzing around the room, it unbeknownst to itself started dragging and wrapping its cables around the heaps of contraptions all about the room, letting out happy beeps all the while. Discovering the girl who brought it back to life for the first time, it happily floated over to her. Reaching the end of its leash, the jumpers were yanked out of its back. Turning off in an instant, it fell onto the ground, landing directly in front of the young girl.

Bending down, Antalya poked the machine with her screwdriver, verifying its responsiveness, or lack thereof.

"It's not very smart." She noted to herself.

Standing back up, she retread her steps back to the chest she found it in. Rummaging about, she looked for some potential replacements to the makeship handiwork she had concocted. In doing so, she found a series of research notes tucked away at the bottom.

Reading the front page of the faded writing, her eyes widened slightly.

Zigbur Unit

Research Study by Orin Clotheart

Orin was a name she heard a lot of growing up. Even at her age, she knew its weight, its importance. Pulling out the manual, she found herself digging through the book page by page even if it was not her initial intention.

The writing was mostly lost. The ink's lifespan had reached its end some years ago. Despite this, a paragraph in the middle of the booklet caught her eyes. It was an oasis of legibility surrounded by a sea of smears and outlines of what were once words and sentences.

The warp drive proves to be fully operational. T..sting sho..s

Her eyes reread the line again and again. There must have been a mistake. A warp drive was a myth. It was a fairytale of mechanoid technology, equivocal to that of a philosopher's stone.

Marching back to the small robot, Antalya was determined to get to the bottom of this. Picking up the machine, she laid it in her lap as she started unscrewing further layers of the mechanoid. Underneath the power case, behind the thruster components. There would be nothing, nothing but circuitry. Once she verified this, she could–

Stripping the current layer, a purple hue of light colored her face. Staring dead center at the source of the glow. Antalya stared at the impossible reality before her. Wrapped up in the heart of the tiny machine laid advanced components of sophistication she had never seen. Hundreds of micro-components she could not name fed into one another to create the impressive feat before her. There was no denying it any longer. This was a warp drive.

Placing the machine down gently, Antalya scurried back toward the trunk. Rummaging through the clutter once again, she found more and more research papers. Finding a stack fresher than the others, she brought it up to her face. Recognizing her father's handwriting and more importantly, his name, she turned to the first page.

It would appear that the warp drive has become damaged over time. While Zigbur can be reactivated, it can no longer activate the drive innately. I hypothesize that someone could in theory create their own mapping, convert it to machine code, then enter their own coordinates. After months of testing this hypothesis, I have produced nothing of precedent. See experiment log below on page fourteen.

. . . . . . . . .

Practicing his sword swings in the Lun Des saloon's hidden basement, Ryuk kept up a rigid stance. Raising the basic blade overhead with both hands, he held it for a moment before slashing downward below his midsection. Halting the tip before it could touch the ground, he raised it overhead again and repeated the action.

While focused on his task at hand, the preteen knight-to-be would on occasion allow his eyes to wonder to the back of the sofa beside him. A childish frown marred his features as he glanced down at the lazeabout of a mentor who was currently resting on his side. A book in his hand being given more of his focus and intrigue than his student.

"Jin," The youngster brought up in a prepubescent annoyance. "when are you gonna start teaching me important stuff?"

"Swingin' a sword ain't important?" The older man challenged casually, flipping over to the next page of his tome.

"You've been making me practice this stuff every day for weeks." Ryuk complained. "I can do these exercises in my sleep." He tacked on with slacking shoulders.

"Good. Means you're doin' it right." Jin remarked with the same low energy as before.

Stopping at his most recent swing, the preteen lowered his training sword. Taking in a deep breath, he let out a heavily overly pronounced sigh that yearned for more.

A single cheap chuckle left the older at the other's action. Smirking to himself, he closed his book.

"Alright." Jin acknowledged, starting to sit up. "Ya think you're ready for bigger and better things, huh?" Standing up, the elder let out a stretch. "You wouldn't mind if I tested ya on that, would ya?"

The younger's face lit up at the prospect of something more advanced. His shoulders climbing back up, he naturally stuck out his chest. Any remaining shadow of his dour mood was washed away as the newly placed eager smile took over in full.

"Follow me outside. Leave the sword." Jin instructed, heading over to the stairs.

A spring in his step, Ryuk tossed the sword to the ground and followed after the older man. Up the stairs, the two were quickly back up to the ground floor. Leaving the side room, they used a shortcut through the kitchen. Borrowing an egg timer, Jin led them outside.

Looking around, the rugged knight scanned the small sleepy township a midst the sands. Glancing down the the ground, he shuffled forward, dragging his back heel behind him as he did. In doing so, he had created a straight line in the sand away from the door.

"Okay. Give me a lap 'round town." Jin asked, cranking back the timer in his hands as he walked back into the shade of the saloon. "C'mon. Chop chop. Daylight's a wastin'." He egged on further.

"That's it?" Ryuk asked, eyeing his instructor playfully.

"That's it." The older man confirmed, sharing the younger's smile.

Walking out into the beating rays of the morning sun, Ryuk placed a leg behind him. Excited, he looked over to his master for the go ahead. At a quick wave, the youth shot out. Trudging through the thick sands, he kicked up dirt with every step. Sinking nearly ankle deep at a time, he pushed through all the way to the corner store.

Crossing the main road into the town, several townsfolk caught a glimpse of the young man in the middle of their daily chores.

"Where's the fire?" One such man teased behind him.

Running behind the houses and other developments on the other side of the road, Ryuk quickly discovered that the sands there were even less settled than by the saloon. Each sloppy stride was a battle to remain balanced and upright. Despite the struggles of almost tripping several times, he kept at it nonetheless. Baking underneath the hot sun, he began to pant.

Tracing over the road out of town, one last turn led him face to face with his master still resting in the shade. Reinvigorated, he powered through for an all or nothing sprint. With one last jolt, he crossed the finish line.

Leaning over, the youth held his knees as he huffed and gasped to catch his breath, a content smile on his face all the while.

Stopping the egg timer, Jin stared down at the clock.

"We'll round your time down to... we'll say, two minutes thirty seconds." The knight informed with a respectable nod. "We will begin the next steps of your training when you get your time down to under a minute." He explained laxly.

The glow of pride on Ryuk's face drained away at the other's request. He thought about his last attempt. He could maybe cut his turns tighter. His starting kick-off could have been better. Removing an entire minute and a half off his attempt however, that was not happening.

"Th-There's no way." The younger rejected, still catching his breath.

Bending down, Jin started taking off his boots. Slipping off his socks, he walked over barefoot to where his apprentice had started his trial. Tossing the egg timer at the youth, he waved for him to step out of the way.

Reproaching the shade his mentor had formerly enjoyed, Ryuk wore a somewhat smug expression. Resetting the timer, he soon after crossed his arms.

Taking a deep breath, Jin took off like a cannon. An explosion of sand blew behind him like the swing of a typhoon. His feet digging into the sands with every perfectly even stride, he appeared to repeat this kick-off again and again with each and every step.

His expression dropping in nothing short of awe, Ryuk watched the adult completely demolish his first attempt, making it to the corner store in mere seconds. The other disappearing from sight, the youth ran between the saloon and the neighboring building. He was able to make it onto the main road just in time to see the older man dart across the head of the road in the distance. Staring at the row of buildings in front of him, he saw the older knight's silhouette glide through the cracks of the alleys as he made it to the road out of town with similar ease. Running back toward the starting point, the young preteen was able to make it back with only seconds to spare as he watched his master cross the finish line.

The older man's face was beat red. More than just a little out of shape, he would sometimes cough and heave between his gasps for air. Despite this, Ryuk could not help but gulp as he stared down at the timer in his hands. One minute on the dot.

Taking in one last deep breath, Jin gathered his things before retiring toward the back door of the saloon. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he dawned a coy smile. "Remember to stay hydrated." The older advised.

. . . . . . . . .

Returning home just before the cover of night, Maxwell Clotheart entered to his estate. A pair of staff meeting him at the door, one took his coat as the other grabbed hold of his satchel.

Unbuttoning the top of his dress shirt, the lord of the house headed for his study. He would need a few things for tomorrow and wanted to get the jump on it while the day still had hours to burn. Opening the door, the sight he found gave the purposed man pause.

Laying her head a top his workbench, Antalya slept with a screwdriver in one hand and a wrench in the other.

Gingerly, Maxwell approached as quietly as he could. In doing so, he noticed the series of papers he and his ancestor had worked on a lifetime ago. Glancing down at the presently deactivated mechanoid he had not seen in over a decade and a half, a familiar smile took his face.

Bending down, Maxwell scooped up his daughter delicately. Cradling her in his arms, he took her out of his workshop, heading for her bedroom.

. . . . . . . . .

The sun setting behind the dunes in the horizon, Lun Des was bathed in shades of bleeding orange.

Emerging from the back door of the saloon, Jin found his apprentice collapsed on his back along the ground. Drenched in sweat, his arms and legs were sprawled out from him. Staring straight up into the darkening sky, his breath remained at a slow constant pant.

Walking over, the knight helped prop his pupil up into a shaky stand.

"Sophie's drawn ya a foot soak." The elder informed, letting the youth lean against him as they walked. "Aside from some light sword practice, you're not doing anything tomorrow but rest and basic stretches."

"I-I can try it again tomorrow." Ryuk protested, yet unfit to lift his gaze up from the ground.

"You'll change yer tune tomorra'." Jin brought up with a wry smirk, knowing full well how much muscle ache was ahead of the youngster.

. . . . . . . . .

The Magnis City Hall was busy no matter what time of day it was. This morning was proving to be no different as paperpushers jogged around the first floor of the office building.

Walking up to the front desk, Antalya caught the attention of one of the two men stationed at the front desk.

"Hello young lady." The man greeted warmly, despite the workload he and his coworkers endured. "Do your parents work here?" He asked, leaning a little over his desk to try and come off courteous.

"I need a copy of the city plans." Antalya requested with an utterly straight face.

His amiable expression failing him in an instant, the man reseeded back into his chair.

"Uh... I'm sorry, young lady, but that isn't something we can just... hand out. " The man tried to explain reasonably to the unexpected and entirely unreasonable request. "It's... very important paperwork, you see."

"My father wants... needs it for a project he's working on." Antalya lied, cutting herself off as she guiltily glanced to the side as she spoke.

"Your father?" The man questioned, realizing he never received that answer when he asked before.

Glancing over after finishing up his own work, the second receptionist recognized the small arrival right away. Getting up from his seat, he walked over to his coworker. Bending his head down, he whispered something into the other's ear.

"What?" The first suddenly shouted, going wide-eyed. "You mean the Maxwell Clotheart?" Glancing between his companion and their important guest, the man jumped to a stand. "I'll be right back."

Zipping into the back rooms, he emerged several minutes later with a thick beige binder. Heading back up front, several people had started watching from the neighboring desks. Returning to the receptionist desk, he slammed the binder down with a thud.

"I-I couldn't get you the up to date plans for legal reasons," The now sweaty man explained with a gulp. "...but we made some copies of slightly older plans just a few months ago for posterity. Tell mister Clotheart that he can use them for as long as he needs." He explained with a nervous chuckle.

"Thanks." Antalya expressed with proper gratuity, if not somewhat passively.

Reaching up, the youngest Clotheart grabbed the documents she needed. The full weight of the binder colliding against her chest as she slid it off the counter, it almost took her straight to the floor. Holding it with both hands, she tucked it beneath one arm and pressed it up against her side. With more than a fair amount of grunts and huffs, she took her leave. As she did, one of the receptionist ran up to get the front door for her.

. . . . . . . . .

Laying in his bed, Ryuk stared up at the ceiling. His feet elevated, just heading down to the basement earlier this morning proved to be the most difficult task of his still short career.

Deep in thought, his mind wandered back to the day before. The memory of his master's stride replayed in his head over and over again. He had been breaking down everything from his initial kick-off to the explosion of muscle used with each successive motion.

He compared the memory against his own experience. Recalling his feet sinking into the unsteady sands, the image of Jin's stressed calf shot into his head.

Imagining doing the same, the youth tensed his own muscle instinctively. At the simple exercise, a jolt of pain shot up his leg. Grunting, Ryuk clenched the bedsheets underneath him. Relaxing, the pain slowly subsided.

The seconds slinking away, the preteen once again dove headfirst into yesterday's memories.

. . . . . . . . .

Back in her father's workshop, Antalya spread out the moderately current city plans along the workbench.

Right away she had begun to theorized how to convert geographic dimensions into code the mechanoid would understand. Just as the river of thoughts and ideas began to flow, something in the corner of the document caught her eye that dammed her thought process then and there.

"These plans are at least five years old." the young girl mumbled to herself.

Studying the draft more closely, she recognized city blocks that had been renovated and gone under-construction just earlier this month. As more and more complications started making themselves known to the young girl, her foot began to tap impatiently.

This was not the type of experiment she could leave to estimation. One decimal point off and she could find herself in a wall or a story in the air. She would have to go out and make hand corrections herself, as well as verify all other preexisting data.

Rubbing the side of her face, she began to scratch the side of her hair. This was going to be far more work than she anticipated.

. . . . . . . . .

Exiting the saloon with a garbage bag in tow, Tyson watched the younger boy trudging hurriedly through the sands behind the building. Resting in the shade, Jin watched his progress. Filling up the trashcan beside him, the full-timer approached the hermit of a knight.

"What's he doing now?" Tyson asked with a raised brow.

"I've tasked 'im with lapping the town in under a minute." Jin divulged, watching his protege all the while.

Tyson studied the younger more closely. His eyes, even more judging than usual.

"Not with that form he's not." The worker concluded in only a matter of seconds.

"How many weeks ya think?" Jin curiously asked.

"At least two months." The teen wagered, heading back inside and returning to his shift.

"Yeah, that's a safe bet." The older man agreed, talking mostly to himself at this point.

Huffing and puffing, Ryuk threw himself across the finish line, saving himself as much time as he could at the last moment.

"Two twenty." Jin called out dryly. Placing the timer on the lid of the trashcan, he headed for the door as well. "Keep at it." He loosely encouraged, taking his leave.

Upset with his lack of progress, Ryuk started taking off his socks and shoes as his master did in his own attempt. After a quick adjustment period, he tried running himself. His steps sinking in further than before with each step, he uprooted a heap of sand around him messily with each awkward step. Recalling the explosive burst of sand behind is mentor's stride, he tried replicating it.

Dashing forward, Ryuk speared the balls of his feet and his toes into the hot course sands beneath. Digging in, he tensed his still sore calves and rammed himself forward. With a successful burst of speed, the youth's face lit up. Landing with his opposite foot, any semblance of solid footing eluded him and his bright expression died at once. Slipping, the knight-to-be tripped, careening face first onto the ground and onto his stomach.

Lifting his head up, the youth spat out some dirt from between his lips.

"Jin kept up that pace for a full minute." Ryuk contemplated, far from deterred from a few measly failures. "There must be a trick to it." He resolutely determined.

Pushing himself up, Ryuk went right back to it.

. . . . . . . . .

Antalya walked down one of Magnis' more recently renovated streets. With a freshly constructed battery pack, Zigbur floated about behind her, beeping cheerfully.

Going house by house, the young girl made assessments of each building's rough dimensions. A pocket-sized notebook in hand, she jotted down every detail she deemed important.

Walking over to the next house on the block, she flipped her notebook to the following page. In doing so, she met the back end rather than a subsequent page. Raising her head, she looked over toward the great many houses left to assess on this road alone. Breathing heavily through her nose, she closed the small booklet and started walking back home.

. . . . . . . . .

Heading up the second floor of the saloon, Jin approached his pupil's room. Without so much as a knock he let himself in.

"Rise and..." Stopping short, the knight looked around the find an empty room. "...shine?"

Rubbing the underside of his chin, the man sauntered about befuddled. Approaching the back window, his look of confusion was replaced with a tiny smile.

Peering outside, he watched his apprentice practicing long jumps at the crack of dawn. Upon completion of one, he would take several steps, turn around, perform a follow-up jump with the opposing leg.

Content at the sight, Jin took his leave, attending to his own business.

. . . . . . . . .

Utilizing her father's workshop early that morning, Antalya skimmed through a college-level mathmatics textbook. Skimming most of the material, her keen eyes absorbed and procured what knowledge fancied her at a glance. Never sitting still for too long, she hunted for the specific information she needed.

"I should start implementing tests using dummy data." The young prodigy considered aloud. "A list or grid interpretation won't work. Perhaps I should be using a system of matrices."

The current tome not suiting her needs at the moment, she closed it shut. Shoving it away, she reached for another from a short stack beside her.

. . . . . . . . .

Taking part in another of his mentor's instituted rest days, the young knight-to-be was doing anything but.

Laying upon the ground, his legs were raised perpendicular to him, pointing straight toward the ceiling. Utilizing a borrowed serving tray, he balanced several encyclopedias on top of it.

With uniform breaths, Ryuk dip rep after rep and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

. . . . . . . . .

Rubbing the back of his neck, the construction worked blinked down at the young girl who really should not have been at the active work zone.

A quickly thickening full-sized notebook in her hands, she wrote down everything of value she was able to squeeze out of the laborer.

Copying down a quick sketch of the building-to-be, she jotted down everything from the thickness of the walls to the distance of the driveway to the curb.

. . . . . . . . .

Back on his feet, Ryuk practiced his sword swings. Like several weeks before, his mentor rested lazily on the sofa, barely giving the youth the time of day. Unlike prior, the preteen was more than content with this development.

While he practiced his swings, Ryuk steadied himself on his toes in secret. While his motions were the same as always, each swing now required his full focus to prevent toppling over. He could feel his legs tense up with each slash of his upper body. To remain balanced, the youth was demanding the world of his still developing muscles. With time, overcompensations learned to became micro-adjustments.

Sweat dripping down the side of his face, the young trainee pressed on through his full exercise.

. . . . . . . . .

An atlas taking up most of her father's workbench today, Antalya paid close attention to the degrees for latitude and longitudinal lines.

"This would be a good basis to use as a foundation." She mentioned, thinking out loud.

Using a drafting pencil, she made notes and shorthand along the sides of the page. If a single thought came into her head, she needed it written down.

Pushing the atlas to the side, she looked over the city blueprints for the upteenth time. Cross-referencing the two documents, she started sketching a grid over the plans.

"I also need to take into account sea level. Maybe even consider tectonic drift..." The young girl continued to mumble to herself.

Flipping through the atlas, Antalya searched the tome for the particular information she know sought. Frowning, she found its resource for oceanic geography lacking. Shoving it to the side, she got up off of on her stool. Standing above her chair, she reached for a fresh text from a top one of three stacks that dwarfed her entirely. A smidgen out of reach, Zigbur floated over, handing it off to her.

. . . . . . . . .

Once again perpendicular to the floor, Ryuk trained his leg muscles in his room.

The borrowed serving tray again balanced on his feet. The stack of encyclopedias had grown to two fold their initial weight. His regiment had too changed along with it. Rather than steady reps, the preteen performed meticulously slow deliberate motions. Instead of shooting up and down, he gradually lowered the material centimeters over seconds at a time.

The prolonged stress to his lower body had made the younger completely red in the face. His knees already beginning to tremble and buckle, Ryuk gripped the sides of his pant leg.

"Slower..." Ryuk demanded of himself, forcing the shakes to lessen through conviction alone as he continued. "Even slower..." He repeated, dragging his motions below that of a crawl.

. . . . . . . . .

An open notebook in hand, a corner office building held Antalya's full attention.

Scribbling down to the bottom of the page, she had almost finished copying the current building's dimensions. Squeezing as much in at the last line as she could, she flipped the sheet to the back cover. Finding the entirety of the back filled corner to corner with other pertinent information, she put her pencil away in her pocket. In its place, the young girl pulled out a black marker instead.

Pulling up her left sleeve, she revealed partially washed away ink that had not fully deteriorated yet. Biting the cap off with her teeth, she wrote down what she needed on the inside of her forearm.

. . . . . . . . .

Exiting outside through the back of the saloon, Jin was met with what had become a familiar sight over the past month. His apprentice laying flat on his back, he panted heavily. The dwindling sun, painting them both in its last hours of daylight.

"Alright kid. That's enough for today." Jin advised. "Head on in." He instructed, holding the door open for him with his back.

Sitting upright, the preteen shifted weakly into a stand.

"Let me give it one more shot." The youth tiredly pleaded.

Glancing toward the horizon, Jin considered how much daylight was left. Figuring a few more minutes could not hurt, he shrugged.

"Suit yerself." The knight accepted, turning to leave.

"Hold on." Ryuk called out. "I want you to watch me again." The younger requested, his shoulders still jittery from his rocking core.

"What's that?" Jin teased. "Ya need Teach to critique ya work or somethin'?" He lazily joked.

Smirking smugly to himself, Jin bent over and picked up the egg timer. Cranking it, he leaned against the back wall of the saloon. He was about to harmlessly berate the younger further when the youth in question began to take off his boots and roll up his pant legs. Laying an eye on his pupil's lower leg muscles, the more serious side of the man playing the fool took over.

Those calves are wider than they should be from successive endurance training alone. The knight thought to himself. I knew he was doing supplementary training, but he may have done more harm than good. I'll scold him after.

Taking his place right behind the starting line, Ryuk glanced toward his teacher. Gazing down at the timer, Jin held it steady at the top. Looking back up, he signaled to begin by dropping his raised hand.

At the go ahead, Ryuk took off like a twister. Sand exploded behind him as he blew forward in a perfect sprint. The balls of his feet glided centimeters off the sand before digging in and dragging himself further with each step. Repeating his kick-off again and again, he kept his head low, minimizing wind resistance as much as he could. It was as if planned to outrun the setting sun.

His mentor's previously focused gaze was replaced with awe as his eyes went wide. Looking for any imperfection or imbalance in the younger's movements, the man saw none as both a knight and a doctor.

The kid and I are gonna have a nice long chat about moderation later tonight. Jin thought, already having reprimanding thoughts. In spite of this, the wide grin and proud glow on his face overpowered any look of it in his face.

Sweeping the front of the saloon, Tyson rose his head just in time to see the knight in training dash across the main road with a perfect stride and in record time. He make no snarky comments nor did he mutter any personal criticisms under his breath. At that moment, the only thing Tyson did was be thankful that he was not a betting man.

Chasing his personal best, Ryuk drove his feet through the unsettled sands behind the back houses. The area which gave him so much trouble at the beginning was now no different than hardest flattest of surfaces. His heels cut through the small dunes like a ship through waves at sea, he pressed forth.

Crossing the road out, Ryuk made the final turn. His goal in sight, his eyes locked onto the finish line. There was no coal left to feed the fire. He could not go any faster even if he wanted to. The only thing he could do was keep up the pace for what was becoming the longest minute of his life.

Charging over the line in the sand, Ryuk staggered forward a few steps. His legs giving out, he fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees. His mouth hung wide as his desperate body siphoned in more oxygen. Staring down at his shadow, the youth watched his sweat paint a miniature puddle beneath him.

Staring down at the younger, Jin's eyes glanced at his since stopped timer.

"Fifty nine seconds." The older divulged. His announcement earning him no reaction, he continued. "You passed."

At the followup statement, Ryuk lifted a hand. Quickly, he pumped it in toward his chest in celebration, this meager action nearly toppling him.

"Y-Yes!" The youth cried out, still above and beyond winded.

"Deal's a deal." His instructor conceded, anything but unhappy. "Once ya rest up, we'll start yer trainin' for real."

Walking over, he helped his pupil up into a stand. Leading him toward the saloon, he repeated his aid from his first trial attempt one long month ago.

"Actually," Jin began, his head tilting up toward the sky. "I jus' remembered. I got an errand to run inland. It's a two day trip there and two more on the way back. We can start when I get back." He proposed in correction.

Still somewhat in a trance as he reeled down from his runner's high, Ryuk raised no objections. He would complain about the older's bad timing tomorrow, but for now, he was too satisfied to resemble anything close to disheartened.

. . . . . . . . .

A secondhand sunset faded into the Clotheart workshop through several windows as the youngest heir to the estate busied herself with her work.

Unhooking the final cable from Zigbur, Antalya checked off one more step on her clipboard. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a piece of chalk. Bending down, she measured and drew a five feet wide diameter circle around the floating mechanoid. Upon completion, she discarded the tool and marked off another check on her clipboard.

Fidgeting nervously, Antalya walked over and laid the clipboard down on her father's workbench. Replacing it with a stopwatch, she reentered the circle.

"Coordinates are all set." The blonde reminded herself, her nerves beginning to get the better of her.

With a gulp, she swallowed her anxieties. Reaching over, she flicked a recently built switch on the mechanoid's backside. Clutching the timer, she pressed down on the top button.

"Activating transnational shift." Antalya announced. "Commencing in three… two… on–"

The internal systems of the miniature robot all went into overdrive. A flash of light engulfing the room, it swallowed up everything inside the marked circle. Like the flick of a light switch, the beacon vanished, stealing away the young girl and her machine counterpart.

The same light that stole them away dropped the pair off in a back alley behind a local city tavern.

The light fading off, Antalya quickly looked herself over. Confirming all of her limbs and hair were still attached, she took her focus elsewhere. Looking around, she confirmed the location with a series of visible landmarks. One such marker was a white circle of chalk scrawled earlier that day directly below their feet.

"Location A: Confirmed." The young girl verified aloud, not yet ready to celebrate despite the scientific breakthrough she had just experienced.

Reaching over, she flipped the switch behind the drone a second time.

"Commencing second shift in three… two… on–"

Just like before, the gluttonous light ripped the pair from their spot.

The light appearing and reappearing downtown, the two were placed on the roof of a building in the middle of a construction zone.

Verifying the location much more quickly than the first, Antalya flicked the switch again right away. Only after did she give herself a brief once over.

"Location B: Confirmed." She concluded, looking back down at her stop watch. "Shift in… two… on–"

With the flash of light subsiding one last time, Antalya opened her eyes to a majestic view of Magnis bathed in sunset. Standing a top the great stone wall surrounding the split city, a strong gust blew through her, sending a shiver down her spine. Despite the stimuli, the young inventor was completely rooted in the sight before her. So lost in her own little world, she let the stopwatch drop, hitting the ground beside her.

"I did it." Antalya uttered slowly, more in disbelief than anything else. "I really did it!" The youth rejoiced more genuinely as she shouted to the winds.

A wide smile stretched itself from ear to ear. Raising her hands to her face, she covered her mouth as she felt the expression grow wider still.

"With this, I can go anywhere..." The inventor decreed still in a rare swell of emotion. "Anywhere I want to go..." She repeated, aglow with jubilation.

The seconds trailing by, Antalya's joyous expression slowly began to seep away. The winds that welcomed her suddenly cut through her core. Lowering her head more crestfallen, she stared down at her shoes more so than the spectacular view in front of her.

Nestling behind the horizon, the sun had at last set.

"Anywhere..." She repeated one last time, a sad loneliness reverberating out of her as she did.

Taking notice of this, Zigbur hovered closer. At its new companion's sunken disposition, it let out a single sad beep.

. . . . . . . . .

Engaging in his morning sword practice as usual, Ryuk gave himself some room in the middle of the basement. Despite his trial time met, he continued training on his toes all the same.

Unlike most cases, with Jin's temporary leave in effect, Tyson found the basement homely enough to enjoy a short break from his duties. A newspaper in hand, he kept to himself off to the side in the kitchen area.

Finishing up another set of swings, Ryuk turned to the barkeep.

"You could join me for a light spar, y'know." The younger informed, inviting the other over.

"Correct." The older teen agreed listlessly.

Crossing one leg over the other, Tyson panned his head to the other side of the page. Smiling, the knight in training could not help but push down a cheap laugh at the other's blatant disinterest.

With the sound of heavyset footsteps approaching from the stairs, both youths glanced briefly to the doorway.

"Jin said the round trip would take at least four days, not two." Ryuk brought up in confusion.

"A mind is indeed a terrible thing to waste." Tyson openly slandered, still not so much as raising his head.

Stepping out front and center, Jin ran a hand through the side of his messy top-knot. Catching a yawn, he stepped aside, allowing another entrance as well.

A young girl in a regal white dress stepped out from the older man's shadow. A pair of suitcases in each hand, they both seemed large enough to contain two more of her. Looking around the musty room, disappointment was written all over her face.

Turning to the two arrivals in full, the knight-to-be wore a warm, curious expression. At the same time, the young girl lead with a more curt self-opinionated stare.

At their first meeting, the two knew nothing of the trials and tribulations the other had each endured. In time however, the two driven individuals would each have a great importance to play in the other's story.


Author Notes:

This chapter was originally going to be two chapters, one being Ryuk's story with Anya's being the other. Neither project really got off the ground, so in the end, for better or worse, I sandwiched them together. Some scenes were removed entirely from both stories to make the narrative flow better. This does however leave some kinda rough jumps like the final scene where Anya joins the crew with zero explanation.

This was the most recent bonus content I made for TEAS and I feel my fleeting familiarity with the source material is definitely starting to show. Numerous times while writing this I had to go back and refresh myself on important character information. I also completely forgot that Anya and Ryuk only knew each other for a few months at the start of TEAS, but this story suggests that it has actually been several years. So, sadly, while I do enjoy the story overall, I can't say it's hard canon because of this major conflict. For all intents and purposes, the events here did take place, but the overall placement of them in the timeline are pretty muggy.