First I'd like to say thank you to all people who have given their review and who have subscribed to my stories. Now my personal answers to the reviews, if the people they are directed to are still reading it

To Strife Atreyu: Thank you very much for the advice. This story: Don't Run Away From Living is intended to have some unique elements but I tend to follow the original game to a certain degree. My 2nd story: Child of the Moon also follows the main story, but has far more unique elements than the first.

To h3Ads1aMM3r(a.k.a Commander Ash, my nickname for ya XD): Thank you for the support and glad you like the battle! The "drop a flare" part came from both yours Ragner's atory, I think. Kamino is not exactly strong; after all he nearly died trying kill the Vajra. He is just cunning and resourceful in battle, as you can see for yourself

To Commander Zero: sniff* Thanks man, that really meant a lot.

To Rei Crow: Thank you, I've been suffering a severe case of writer's block lately. But, I've managed to deliver.

To Shigiya: Glad you like it.

…

Chapter 6: The Thunder God

…Where am I? Last thing I remembered was being found by Lindow's team and me passing out soon after.

Moving around in this wide, empty space, I realized that my right shoulder no longer hurt. Sakuya must have fixed it, or so I thought.

The only thing that could be said about this "space" is that it's white, very white. With the only thing that can be seen is my shadow.

However that changed with the appearance of another shadow. Looking up, I've noticed that there was child standing a good distance away from me. I could make out that it was a boy even though I couldn't see his face. I made way towards him, only see him turn tail and ran. Surprised by this, I chased after him.

As I tried to reach him, I kept calling out to him asking him what was wrong. I then shouted that he doesn't have to be afraid and that I won't hurt him. The boy slowed down before eventually stopping. Turning around, he asked me this, "Are you sure?" Confused, I asked him what he meant. "Are you sure you won't hurt me?"

I replied firmly that I would never hurt a child without a good reason and a sudden noise from somewhere made me turn away for a moment. When I turned back, I jumped in shock to see the child right in front of me, as if he was there the whole time. I soon watched in horror, as the child transformed into a large monster, one I had never seen before. Its shape greatly resembled a creature I read about when I was child. On its left arm was some sort of bracer and the outer side of its body was white, save for the underside which was grayish-black and certain parts which were somewhat orange.

Giving a loud roar, it looked at me straight in the eyes, as if asking if I could back up the words I had spoken earlier. I couldn't reply, just stare at the monstrosity with both fear and terror. Remembering that this was just a dream, I closed my eyes shut, repeating that fact to myself again and again until I decided to stop. When I did, I opened my eyes and sighed in relief when the monster was gone. The relief did not last… when I realized that I became the monster. I am the monster!

I opened my mouth and screamed… and screamed, but only heard a monstrous roar erupting from my throat. I didn't bother to stop, I didn't want to stop. It can't be real… This can't be real…

"…ookie?"

"…ake up.."

"What's… him?"

"C'mon!"

I can hear something… someone…

….

"….Wake up!" I soon opened eyes. I can feel myself soaked with sweat. Lindow, Sakuya and Kota are with me, looking very worried. "Rookie, are you alright? Man, that must be one hell of a nightmare you were having." I didn't reply, just gazed into space in front me. Breathing heavily, my mind was a complete blank. "Rookie? Rookie, are you okay?" Lindow said snapping his fingers in front of me. Sakuya came close, "He's in complete shock and he looks a lot worse than he was two days ago." Kota went near the bed I was in, "Hey, Kamino! C'mon man, snap out of it!" Eventually, I've managed regain composure and gave a weak reply, "I'm fine now. Sorry to worry you." Since my throat was dry, my voice sounded more like a croak from frog. Lindow poured me a glass of water and passed it to me, which I gratefully too and downed its contents in one go. "You gave us quite a scare just now. It's good to know you're alright." Sakuya said to me. Kota lightly punched me, "Yeah, you already got us worried when we found out you were fighting a Vajra alone." Feeling alive again, I gave Kota an apologetic grin, "Sorry, but my armlet got damaged during the fight, so I couldn't call for help." Lindow smiled, "Yeah, we know. Licca went bonkers when she saw your armlet. It looked like it was about to fall off completely, but damn lucky that it didn't. She managed to fix it while you were out cold."

Hearing this, I looked at the red, oversized bracelet attached to my right hand. Sure enough, it was fixed though still bearing the scars of battle on it. "By the way…" I heard Kota speak and looked up, "How did you manage to beat that Vajra anyway? I mean you were all by yourself, I thought you'd end up being its chew toy or something." Lindow laughed, "I thought so too. Even so, you looked pretty messed up when we found you. I guess you got knocked around while fighting it, huh?" Nodding my head, I soon clutched it when the drowsiness soon came in. Sakuya came over with concern, "Don't push yourself, your injuries from that last battle are still healing, it's for the best that you rest now. We'll come visit you again tomorrow." Kota, Lindow and Sakuya then left after saying goodbye. Lying on the bed again, my thoughts soon drifted back to the battle that nearly took my life…

…

Two Days Ago: At the Wailing Plains

Dashing to the right to the dodge an oncoming strike from the Vajra, I counterattacked as much as I could before falling back. Since I was already injured and lack both experience and confidence to attack it head on, I resorted to a hit-and-run tactic. I had a full supply of healing items, two snare traps and two stun grenades. I also have the knowledge of the Vajra's skills and weaknesses. Utilizing both to my advantage was the key to winning. The Vajra not only has electric attacks that can hit a wide area, but its size and speed were what made it an effective predator. Getting out of range, I quickly use a Restore Pill and waited for the next opening. My goal was to attack the Aragami's weak points; its head, its front legs and its tail. Attacking the head was out of the question for now, so I focused on attacking the sides and the tail as much as possible. Easier said than done, I was the only person on the field so there wasn't anybody around to distract it and the Vajra also has an attack which discharges an electric field around itself, so I also had to use my gun to inflict as much damage as I can. Fortunately, I had prepared a few types of bullets, courtesy of my experiments with them during my spare time.

Firing until my entire Oracle points were used up, my Blaze Burst bullets inflicted some damage, making in roar in pain. The Vajra glared in my direction while charging five balls of lightning in front of it. Since I had no chance of dodging at this range, I raised my shield and took the attack head on. I regretted lowering it after that, because the Vajra then did a back-flip and shot a lightning bomb after that. The impact staggered me, and left several burns on both arms and right leg. Had I took it head-on, I would have become a smoking corpse. Taking a few Restore Pills, I ran towards the Vajra and attacked its sides as much as possible. This took a while, since at one point the Vajra leapt back and forth several times, forcing me to go defensive. When I finally succeeded in breaking the front legs, the Vajra got up on its hind legs and roared, signaling that it was enraged. Seizing the opportunity, I threw a stun grenade and covered my eyes. As the light blinded the Vajra, I set my God Arc to Devour Mode and took a huge chunk from its side. As the Burst Mode activated, I felt that familiar surge of power running through my body and senses became sharper and clearer. Grinning, I targeted the tail which I had to jump to reach. My temporary advantage was short-lived however, as the Vajra surrounded itself with electricity, knocking me on my already sore back. It then ran off, presumably to consume materials to recuperate.

Getting back on my feet and wincing at the pain, I decided it was time to make use of the snare traps that I have. After locating the Vajra, I went up to it as close as possible before setting a snare nearby. Then, I went up to the Vajra and introduced its ass to the jaws of my God Arc. It didn't like that very much and chased me, straight to where I had left my snare earlier. Once it was caught, I unleashed my full wrath on it, determined more than ever to bring it down. Unfortunately, I was so caught up with it, I failed to notice that the trap had worn off and the Vajra swiped with its paw, knocking me to the ground yet again. The Vajra came at me with its mouth open and I had to roll away in order to avoid being bitten in half and being squashed by its paw. Scrambling to my feet, I placed a good distance between me and the Vajra before using a Restore Ball to heal myself. Knowing that it would chase after me, I used my last Snare Trap and waited for the Aragami to come. When it did, the Vajra made contact with the trap and was once again stunned. Seizing the opportunity, I aimed for the tail this time and succeeded in destroying it as well. I then retreated and bombarded the Vajra with mortar rounds, inflicting high damage.

When the Vajra roared in rage again, I reached for my last stun grenade and was about to throw it when the Vajra rushed towards me. In my haste to dodge the attack, I dropped the grenade and lost sight of it. Cursing under my breath, I ran up the side of a nearby building and jumped towards the Vajra's face. As I made contact, my blade blinded one of the Vajra's eyes. Dropping to the ground, I had no time to dodge as it swiped me away before shooting a lightning bomb. The impact threw towards me towards a nearby building and I felt blood going up my throat and out of my mouth. I winced in pain as I realized I could no longer move my left arm and I could barely stand straight, let alone move. With the Vajra coming at me full speed, I had lost all hope when my right foot made in contact with something. I looked down and my eyes widened with joy.

It was my last stun grenade.

I had a window of about 6 seconds and only one chance before the Vajra was on me. Whether I succeed or fail depended on how fast are my actions during that time.

5… I shifted my God Arc to Gun Mode and dropped it beside me. If I remembered correctly, the Bullets I had set in my God Arc were Blaze Mortar which suited the task I was about to do perfectly.

4… I reached for the stun grenade and placed the ring of the safety clasp in my mouth. There was a short delay of 3 seconds before the grenade will be set off. Removing the safety, I stood still with the grenade in my hand, waited for the precise moment I needed while the Vajra came closer and closer.

3… Everything seemed to slow down as I watch the Vajra, clenching the grenade tightly. I couldn't hear anything except my fast-beating heart and my controlled breathing.

2… I could feel the sweat running down my temple. The pain from my left arm seemed miles away, as if it was no longer part of my body. I was scared at the possibility that my plan will not work but there was no time for regret and there won't be a second chance.

1… I threw grenade straight into the face of the Vajra, who was now a mere inch away from making meal out of me. It was so close I can feel its breath on me and be able to see its rows of razor sharp teeth. Will I be devoured first or will the Vajra be blinded before that could happen? I placed my hand on my partner, closed my eyes and waited for the reckoning.

0… An ear-splitting roar nearly broke my head in two and made me wish I could use both arms to cover my ears. However, what is done is done and my goal has been achieved. It was all or nothing, now or never. Picking up my God Arc, I forced my aching body to stand up straight and move forward. I then moved my hand forward and shoved the barrel of my God Arc into the mouth of the Vajra as deep as I could. As I pulled the trigger, I grinned at the Vajra, "Hey, Kitty Cat! Feast on this!" I could actually feel the vibrations as the mortar rounds blew the Vajra's insides to oblivion. I continued to pull the trigger as many times as I can before my Oracle Points were completely spent. Removing my God Arc, I watched as the Vajra fell to the ground with smoke coming from its mouth. It showed no signs of getting back up. Dropping my God Arc and I looked up at the sky and shouted as loud as I could. I did it, I had beaten the Vajra, but most importantly…

I was still alive. ALIVE…

After managing to devour the Vajra's core albeit with some difficulty, I sat down beside the corpse and placed my partner beside me, completely exhausted. I was caught off guard with how soft the Vajra's fur actually felt and I wondered why it took so long to kill it. Remembering that I should signal my transport to come pick me up, I reached for signal flare and was about to fire it when I heard a familiar sound from the sky. Looking up, I saw another transport and that its passengers were Lindow, Sakuya, Soma and Kota and I sighed to myself in relief.

It has been one hell of a day.

Present day: The Den

Musing to myself, I thought about what might have happened while I was out cold. I was very sure the news that I had defeated a Vajra by myself one on one must have been spread throughout the Den, but I could care less about what others think. I am still here, I am alive and that is more than enough. Drifting off to sleep, I find myself looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.

…

And done! Honestly, I had a pretty rough time about what to write. That, and I have been busy with my assignments. Anyway, hope you all like this. I'll be sure to make it better, when I get some ideas of course.