This chapter took me quite some time to figure out - writing it was perhaps one of the most challenging tasks ever because the characters had to be in-character and I wasn't sure whether the pacing was all right or not. At any rate, I do hope you all enjoy it.

Shock

"I'm…I'm really sorry to trouble you!"

Marie watched with slightly raised eyebrows as Feldt apologized again and again, her bubblegum pink hair bobbing up and down as she did.

"Feldt, please, do stop apologizing like that. It's quite all right."

Feldt bit her lip, her expression worried and anxious. "I know…but it was supposed to be my shift in the library this afternoon…I just…"

"Well, you took over for me previously when I had a date with Allelujah. There's no problem, Feldt, please, don't worry yourself over this. Are you feeling unwell? You look uncomfortable and restless."

"No, uh…it's just that…well…well, actually…" Feldt squirmed, then blurted, "Setsuna asked me to meet him in his room!"

Marie just looked thoughtful and contemplative – as if she was just trying to figure out her day-to-day schedule instead of hearing an earth-shattering news that could potentially rock the entire female university population into pieces. "Really?"

Nod. "Yes."

"How did this happen?"

"We were having some practical work during robotics engineering earlier on. Lockon and Setsuna took a look at what I was building, and…I don't know, they noticed something about it and Setsuna asked me to meet him in his room."

"Hmm. Perhaps he just wanted to discuss something about your project."

Feldt sighed. "Perhaps so…"

"Still, come to think of it, I do remember Allelujah mentioning Setsuna's name once or twice before."

Feldt, who had her chin in her hands, perked up noticeably. "What did he say?"

"I recall him saying that Setsuna was somewhat unpredictable and hard to handle as he refused the norms of society – and that Setsuna recently made a huge discovery that could be life-saving and yet destructive – I'm not entirely sure…"

Unpredictable, hard to handle, someone that refused the norms of society – that was definitely Setsuna, all right. Feldt sighed and peered at the clock hanging nearby. "Oh, no! I'm late! See you later, Marie!"

As Marie waved, Feldt raced out of the library, knocking past several students. The glares shot at her way were vile, but Feldt was oblivious to that – her mind was on Setsuna, and only on him – especially when she remembered his intense expression during practical work earlier on.

She couldn't seem to forget those dark, unfathomable orbs that seemed to burn like fire.

Feldt shook her head frantically and concentrated on finding his room first. 703, 703… That would be at the next block, wouldn't it? She picked up the pace; hoping Setsuna wouldn't be displeased at her unpunctuality.

"Feldt Grace."

Feldt swore she nearly had a heart attack. Setsuna was standing there, right in front of his room – waiting for her arrival. If he had not said anything, Feldt knew she would have run straight into him.

Setsuna blinked, awaiting a reaction from the panting girl in front of him.

"I'm sorry if I was late, Setsuna…I mean, y-you were waiting outside here for a long time, weren't you?

He didn't answer, but merely swung open the door of his room and entered, waiting for her to do the same. Feldt sighed, trailing behind. If Lockon had previously said that Setsuna wasn't mad at her, now he definitely was. What other reason could there be for his hostility?

Still, Feldt was aware of whose room she had just step into. An amused thought floated in her head – she knew just how many girls out there would be willing to be in her shoes now. She hesitantly peered around, wondering how Setsuna's room would be like.

What she saw surprised her.

There were a few books and magazines stacked up neatly on a table. There was a laptop, a refrigerator, a closet, a single bed that was actually made – and that was it. There were no posters of any sort – Feldt remembered that Hallelujah used to boast to the whole world about the scantily-clad lady posters on his room wall – and yet Setsuna did not have any posters at all. There were no pieces of scattered papers, no empty drink packets, any guitars, skateboards or anything a regular boy would have in his room.

Setsuna's room was neat and simple.

Feldt frowned slightly. She didn't know why, but something was amiss. This room was too in-order, too proper – too normal. It just didn't feel right. But then again, who was she to judge? Perhaps Setsuna was just that sort of person that liked to putter around, put his things back into places where they belonged. She recalled Marie's words – Setsuna refused the norms of society – was this what Allelujah had meant, or was there perhaps a deeper meaning to that phrase?

Feldt was still standing awkwardly as Setsuna hung up his coat and reached into the refrigerator for a drink.

"Sit."

"Uh…what? Here?" Feldt looked around. There was only a seat, and Setsuna was occupying it. The closest thing that she could sit on was the bed.

Setsuna's eyes flickered over the bed impassively. "You can stand if you want."

Feldt sat, wondering how on earth did she get into this terrifying predicament in the first place. Setsuna's lack of warmth was not doing anything to calm her anxiety. He still did not attempt to explain anything even after he had finished up. Feldt gulped and toughened her resolve – if he did not want to tell her, then she might as well ask.

"Why did you ask me to meet you here? Does it have something to do with what I was building, or were you offended by something I have said?"

"Yes."

"That I offended you?"

"No."

"On the thing I was building?"

"Yes."

Feldt sighed. Setsuna was definitely the hardest person she had ever tried to talk to. Even initiating a normal conversation was this difficult.

"All right – what about my creation?"

Oh, she was expecting a dozen of different answers. Perhaps he wanted to borrow it for some research – or he wanted to tell her that seeking out a new energy source was impossible. Perhaps he wanted to help - though Feldt could not see how he would benefit in any sort of way by doing so.

"Feldt Grace. You are in danger."

Feldt looked up in shock and surprise. This was definitely not an answer she expected. Still, she had no idea how to respond, so all she could muster up was, "Okay."

After a heartbeat, she asked, "Why?"

"You created the perfect sequence coding for the Flag machines."

"It wasn't perfect – it was just some improvements from the previous…"

Setsuna cut her off. "You are about to build a specialized Flag machine, while encoding it with the sequence code you perfected."

"It wasn't perfect," Feldt repeated tiredly. "And yes, I am about to do just that – is there a problem?"

"You also seek a new power source," Setsuna stated blandly.

Feldt stared. "Which I obviously haven't found – but I'm working on it, I assure you. I have been entrusted by Billy Katagiri and Graham Aker to build this. I enjoy it although it tires me, and they have promised me that I would be helping to bring mankind a step forward. I-I don't know why you say that I'm in danger, but I don't think I am in any form of vulnerability for now."

Setsuna opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the worst thing that could have happened decided to happen.

The crash was loud and unexpected, sending pieces of glass shards all over the floor as strong, steady gusts of wind from outside steadily blew in through the broken window, sending curtains billowing and magazines flying. Feldt gasped and bolted off the bed, the first instinct being to head to the door and be out of here. Something very wrong was happening, and she did not want to be caught up in it at all.

However, before she could do that, Setsuna yelled authoritatively, "Get down!"

Feldt ducked abruptly as a shower of bullets whizzed past the spot where her head previously was. "Thanks, Setsuna!" she called, wriggling across the floor to hide behind the desk - the door could wait.

Setsuna gave her a quick glance. "Stay there," he commanded, as he reached into his pocket, and, to Feldt's amazement, pulled out a handgun and fired with skills that she had only seen in movies. Setsuna moved with a sort of predatory grace, knowing when to hide and fire. Feldt clapped her hands over her ears. The gunshots were piercingly loud. She prayed for everything to end and hoped that Setsuna would be safe.

She wanted to help him out, but what could she do? At this rate, she would only be a hindrance to him and –

"Hand the pink-haired girl over!"

Setsuna's reply was stoic. "No."

"You can't defeat us no matter how good you are, Setsuna F. Seiei! We've got the numbers! Just hand us the damn girl, and we might even consider sparing your life!"

"No."

And that was it. Setsuna was straightforward as that. He had not even bothered making any sarcastic, quirky comments. Would...would Lockon have? Feldt had to fight the urge to giggle, even though she knew it was wrong to do that now.

The shots continued, along with muffled curses, grunts and more sounds of glass shattering. Feldt's inappropriate giggles soon subsided, and now she was being disturbed by a new thought. This whole incident should have been loud enough to be heard by the residents of this dorm, the 7th dorm – and yet no one was showing up. Hadn't anyone bothered to call security? What about the dorm leaders? Was everyone just turning a blind eye towards this, or perhaps…could this sort of incident be so common until no one decided to bother anymore?

That wouldn't make sense. Gunshots, breaking glass – there was no way these could be ignored so easily. Feldt shuffled forward a bit – the door was just slightly out of reach – if she made a quick run for it, then she could alert the others.

Feldt waited. Then, when she felt that the time was right, dashed. Setsuna whirled around to bark a warning, but it was too late.

"Hah, you should have just stayed down, pinky!"

Feldt did not remember feeling the pain, not even when the bullet struck her arm – but she did remember herself stumbling, the numbness that coursed through. Blinding white filled her vision as Setsuna threw a flash grenade in the air. Clearly, he had to change his plans now that she was wounded.

Then he was grabbing her uninjured arm, not roughly, but not entirely gently either. He was urging her up, and Feldt knew that she had to move before the effects of the flash grenade wore out. The pain was beginning to set in now, and Feldt had to bite her lips to stifle out the cries that were threatening to escape. Still, Setsuna seemed to know what he was doing. He supported her with an arm and fired shots in a distance with another – slowly, they inched past the room until they were met with a wall.

"Setsuna…w-what's going on?"

Setsuna did not reply. He was busy doing something complicated that involved murmured passwords and user identifications – and before Feldt could repeat her question, the wall slid apart and in they went into the darkness.

Feldt may have been in pain, but she was aware enough of her surroundings. The most obvious fact was that Setsuna had a secret base here, built within his room – just what secrets did he hold for something like this to exist? Had he always been prepared for attacks to happen? Feldt's head spun with the sheer amount of questions, and to make things worse, her injured arm felt like it was on fire.

For now, there was silence as Setsuna supported the most of her weight as they continued the walk into the darkness.

"W-where are you taking me?"

As expected, she was met with silence – but Setsuna did answer after some consideration.

"My world."

I hope this did not appear too rushed or squeezed. This is also my first action scene - hope it turned out all right. (:

Reviews appreciated! Please drop a thought to help me improve. (:

-Anne