Chapter 7, Part Two

Serena coughed a little as she expelled what was left in her stomach. Fei helped her stand as Citan came over.

"Will you be okay?" he wondered. Serena nodded and looked to Fei, thanking him for his assistance. She then looked back to Rico, who seemed to be having some doubts about her guilt by this time. She seemed to be strong, maybe strong enough to have done the deed, but she didn't have the stomach for it.

"I wonder" mused the doctor "do all the pipes here gather somewhere?" He turned to look at Rico, who put a large hand to his chin to think for a moment. Serena used that time to stand on her own, putting her sleeve to her nose. Citan's clothes were a little big on her, but she was grateful for that small blessing at the moment. Rico inhaled deeply before he spoke.

"Yes, actually," he said. "The sewage treatment plant."

"Sewage treatment plant?" Citan looked at him curiously as Serena coughed again and gave a weak mutter for them to stop using the word 'sewage'.

"It's where all the waste ends up." Rico had heard her and decided to oblige her request. Serena gave a weak thanks, walking along for a few steps. "It's northeast from here, through the door and next to the furthest waterfall."

Serena went a little green and pressed the sleeve to her nose harder.

As they walked along, they came across another murder site. Serena was quick to react, burying her face in Fei's shoulder. He stood there, feeling a little awkward before patting her back a couple of times. Citan and Rico were kneeling down, investigating.

"Another one," the doctor announced, as Rico sniffed the air and pinched his nose shut.

"There's that smell again! It's like something is burning!"

Citan stood and noticed a drain covered in slime not too far from their current location. He walked over and carefully put his hand into the muck. "It appears to have been left by the same creature."

Serena lifted her head up from Fei's shoulder and looked over their way. She saw something odd a short way down. It… looked like a frog?

"Hey, what's that?" She pointed to the thing, as Rico seemed to recognize it at once and went over, with a grin.

"Gramps!" he said in an almost friendly tone. The frog looked up at him. "What're you doing here? I thought the entrance was blocked off?"

The frog gave a croak of annoyance. "I've lived here a long time by myself."

"In this spooky place?" Serena demanded, her arm never moving from its spot at her nose. The frog looked at her and nodded.

"Well, I'm a mutant, so the new guy leaves me alone," he explained. "But lately, my new neighbor has been running around, causing a huge mess of things."

Rico looked interested. "Really? Well, we're looking for him right now. Any ideas?"

"You going to go after him?" Gramps wondered. Rico nodded, and Gramps pointed to the door they were headed to anyway.

"He hangs around there," the mutant explained. Serena looked over, and indeed could feel something moving around inside. With a frown, she went and tugged on the door handle, though nothing happened. Rico pushed her aside and tried as well, though he did no better. The Ki was moving, Serena pulled again as Citan came up with the keys to the door and began trying them.

"This is… no, then this one… what?" Citan said, mostly to himself.

"Hurry up," growled Rico, as Citan nodded and kept fumbling around with the keys.

"There's too many."

Serena had enough and ran around to the other side of the hall, facing away from the door. With quick determination, she flipped back, springing off her hands and kicking the metal door in off its hinges, sending it crashing into the back of the room. Rico was stunned at what he saw the girl do. She just crouched down on the door, frowning.

"It got away," she announced, looking back to them. Fei peered in, looking around. There was no trace of whatever it was they were looking for. Walking in, Rico cursed. It should have been there! He turned to look to Serena, when he stepped on something. Pulling his foot up, he saw a bell, slightly warped from the pressure of stepping on it. He held it to the light, listening to it ring. The sound was somewhat warped now, but there was no mistaking it.

"We can use this," he said with a grin. Serena stood on the tips of her toes to see. Rico was pretty tall, easily dwarfing her, as most people did. The soldier of love and justice stood just shy of five feet tall while she could only guess that Rico stood seven feet, easy. Hopping, she grabbed the bell out of his hands and landed, looking carefully at it.

"How? It's a dented bell,"

"Well, let us think about what we know, shall we?" Citan stood behind Serena, smiling. It reminded her of Amy's smile, so she nodded and stood back up. "Obviously it must carry this bell around. That must be the sound reported." He looked to Rico when he said that.

Rico; "Probably what we heard earlier."

Growing pale at the thought of fighting the… thing in such closed quarters, Serena shut her hand around the bell, with enough pressure to silence it without further warping it. Citan walked out of the room and down the walkway for a short while. Fei followed him, while Rico stood aside to let Serena by first. At the finding of the bell, he no longer believed she was the killer. It was his first piece of evidence about a monster like that. Citan knelt down by a drain that was oozing a strange, green slime.

"I see…" he looked up and around as Serena came up behind him. Standing, he gently forced Serena to look away as he pointed. "There is one of the sites. However, this slime seems to have been here for some time. It's drying out."

"So… it won't return to the scene of the crime? I thought that's how it worked, like you see on television!" Serena announced. She could feel the stares of her companion. "…just trust me,"

"Regardless, it doesn't seem to be using this pipe anymore. However, I seem to recall a pipe coated in the same slime with no site nearby," the doctor explained, deliberately trying to avoid using the word 'murder' around Serena, who had returned the oversized sleeve to her nose. He looked up to Fei who was grinning at Serena's behavior.

"So, if we return there and ring the bell, it'll come out?" Rico asked. Citan nodded to confirm it, standing and leading them to the place he remembered. Serena looked around and saw the pipe in question. She stared at it intently.

"So, this place, it will most-- Serena?" Citan looked at the girl, who had a hand up, indicating that they needed to be silent. She was fixated on the pipe and the wall, staring intently. None of the men understood it, but Serena reached up, running a hand along the damp stone. Fei came around to her front and looked at her face. Her eyes… they moved slowly around, the intense shade of blue going from one side to the other.

"Doc? I think… I think she can feel it!" Fei said, backing away from the pipe. With little warning, her hand went up and the bell began to chime. At first, it seemed like nothing happened, as though it didn't work. That feeling only lasted until Serena dropped down into a fighting stance and threw the bell to Citan. The moment the bell hit his hands, something rushed from the pipe screaming the most inhuman shriek any had ever heard, landing in the sewage water.

"There it is!" Fei shouted. Before he could launch his first attack, Serena beat him to it, dropping low and spinning her leg around, trying to knock it off balance. It moved too fast! Serena's eyes went wide as the thing raked its clawed hand down, striking her. Citan's clothes were too large for her, a blessing she now thanked, as she wasn't hit. She jumped back, flipping and kicking her boots off as she did. The heavily weighted shoes crashed through the wall in a way similar to when she was in Aveh. Rico went and grabbed the monster's claw, holding it in place, as Fei attacked, along with Citan. The monster screamed again, forcing the three back, and making Serena cover her ears.

She looked up, glaring at it. Now barefoot, she could move faster! Hopping off of Rico, she slammed the heel of her foot down onto its head, causing the monster to back away, holding where she'd damaged it. The princess followed up with a series of rapid Ki shots, though the thing moved left and right, dodging most of the deadly force. It leapt up, spewing some kind of red cloud into the air over them, landing behind the group. Serena turned around and cried out in pain as the strange mist began to burn her skin. Fei came up and got over her to try and shield her from more of the attack as Citan placed his hand on her, using his Ether ability to heal her.

"I don't like this thing," the girl said through grit teeth, glaring at it. It had no eyes yet it knew right where they were! The ceiling was too low for Serena to attempt to levitate up, she was stuck fighting on the ground. It was its hand that freaked her the most. It was HUGE; it looked far more like an overgrown human hand, the fingers far elongated. The thing lunged at them once more, before Serena could get back up. Citan was thrown aside, striking the wall with a dull 'thud'. Serena reached up to block its attack, when Rico's arm came down between the two of them.

"Back off!" he ordered, roaring in pain as its claws sunk into his arm. He pulled away fine, but he was bleeding terribly. He, too, was thrown aside. It's strength must have been immense to toss the Champ aside like a limp rag doll. Serena stood up in a flash, pushing Fei behind her. She turned to say something, but as she opened her mouth, blood poured from it.

"SERENA!" Fei looked in pure, sickening horror as it's large hand had gone through her. Straight through her gut, to the other side! Blood poured from the wound, coating its hand, as it lifted her up over its head. Serena went limp almost at once from the damage. Citan was getting back up when he saw it and frantically went through his pockets, looking for an Aquasol for the girl. The blood dripped down into the monster's mouth.

"That must be what the bloodstains were from!" Fei realized, looking to Citan who was still searching. Had he not brought one with him?! The monster went to toss Serena into the sewage, when a cracking noise was heard. Rico seemed to go pale, thinking it had been the girl who he had brought to her death. Had he not accused her of being the murderer, she wouldn't have come down here to prove her innocence, she wouldn't be dying. He went to try and retreive her body from the monster, when he saw the thing acting strangely. It threw its hand back, and Serena should have flown from it, but she stayed. It tried again and again, but Serena wouldn't budge. At its next attempt, Rico saw what had made the cracking noise. Serena's hand had reached up and taken hold of its own, the grip so powerful, it had cracked the bones! Citan could see, as he was behind the monster and the girl, that she was smiling. Beyond the blood and the pain, Serena had a demented smile on her face.

"Going to kill me…?" she whispered, then speaking something else in a language none of them had heard before as her head rolled back, her voice loud and laughing. At once, her eyes snapped open and with all her strength, she managed to slam her feet back to the stone ground, forcing the thing's hand to drop with her. Right hand on its hand, left hand on its shoulder, she dug her feet into the ground… and pulled! The monster shrieked and screamed, trying to get free, trying to make her let go of it! The three men could only watch in fascination as Serena ripped its arm from its body, the hand still lodged into her gut. She forced it to the ground and grabbed its head in both her hands.

None of them watched her kill it, but when it was done, she stood on shaky legs and collapsed back. Citan was at her side at once, pouring an Omegasol down her throat. As he did that, Fei and Rico worked to dislodge the hand from her. The wound was gone, there was no scar. Fei was careful as he picked Serena up in his arms, she would have to come back later to collect her weighted boots.

"Why did it… have a bell…?" he asked, looking to Citan, who held the small item in his hands.

Citan; "It had normal, human-like intellect. No… I should say 'had left remaining'."

Rico turned to look at him in shock. "What?!"

Citan bit his lip a little, before shaking his head and pocketing the bell. "How sad…"

It had been difficult exiting the sewer, but Rico carried Serena up the ladder, despite the injury to his arm. He announced to the guard that Serena was innocent, and the monster responsible had been 'disposed of'. Rico handed the girl to Fei and winced, holding the bleeding injury.

"Wait! Your arm!" Fei shouted. Rico just waved his right hand, indicating that he should just forget it. He walked on to return to his quarters as Citan brought Fei back to the clinic where Serena could rest.

"I wonder if he will forfeit?" asked the doctor. Fei looked at him curiously, before looking back to Serena. Citan noticed his concern and pat his friend on the shoulder. "No worries. I am sure she will wake up soon and feel just fine!"

Fei nodded and laid back on his own bed, staring at the ceiling. "Doc? What do you think caused it? What caused Serena to act like that?"

"I… do not know," he admitted, hesitating slightly. "Most likely, it was a natural response."

"A natural response? How was what she did… 'natural'?"

"A person produces a substance called epinephrine, and when in a dire situation of fear, they will release vast quantities of it. It is best described in we humans as a warm surge. Ah, let's see… you grow pale, your pupils dilate, your mouth goes dry… you loose your sense of hearing, you loose peripheral vision, and your reflexes quicken."

"I don't really understand that," Fei said with a short laugh. Citan smiled, glad the boy had his sense of good humor back.

"Then, think of it as 'Fight or Flight'. Serena was placed in a situation of mortal danger, so her body responded at once, making her even stronger and faster. It was nothing more than pure instinct,"

"Oh."

"Yes," Citan said "pure instinct." 'Please let that be all…'

'Has he awoken...?'

'Yes. Twice... no... three times to be exact. May I ask you this...? Why would he be moved to a place like this...? Was it the elders?'

'Nay. They're hoping for a more immediate disposal. I don't blame them. They have a deeply etched fear of him. And what of the other?'

'The... it is hard to say, majesty.'

'Not a day has touched that one, still the same as 'back then'...'

'Majesty?'

'I would one day like to speak with her.'

'Of course.'

'As for him...'

'It would be too hasty to dispose of him now. I do not think it too late to wait until we know his purpose...'

'If that is your judgment, so be it.'

'Your will is mine.'

'I see it... their judgment has been handed down...'

'What is it, then...?'

'A purge!'

Serena woke the next morning, her head pounding and her gut sore. How many near death experiences was she going to have on this world? Her head was killing her, she didn't really know what had happened either. She remembered fighting the monster, when she turned back to tell Fei she could take care of it. Everything was hazy after that. Noise from outside the door made her head pound harder; she felt like someone had taken a hammer to the back of her head.

"…waited outside."

Serena looked to the door as the knob began to turn, but stopped. She heard Fei outside, as well as Rico.

"Oh well, at least the murders have been stopped."

"And Serena has been proven innocent as well!" came the cheerful voice of the doc, as he finally opened the door, only to be met with a pillow to the face. Serena continued to sit on her bed, scowling now. "Oh! You are awake!"

Serena grimaced. "Shut up! My head is killing me…" with a woozy groan, her hands went back up to her head. Citan went over to examine the girl.

"That is not surprising," he said idly, feeling her throat. "You took heavy damage and lost a tremendous amount of blood."

As Citan continued to examine her carefully, being as gentle as he could with a super-strong teenage girl in pain, Rico shuffled his feet. He would never understand Serena. From what he'd seen, she was amazing in a fight, the most powerful person he had ever met. He was quite glad he'd not made her participate in the Baptismal Ceremony. She would have had his head in no time flat! "Anyway, my allying with you ends here… the next time we meet, Serena, we'll be opponents!"

Rico began to walk out, when Fei spoke up. "What about that wound to your arm? You can't be serious, trying to battle in that state!"

"Heh… can you really afford to think like that?" Rico wondered, closing the door behind him. Fei tried to go after him, but Citan's calming voice came over him.

"Let him go, Fei. There is nothing we can do to stop him." Citan looked up from Serena. "Does his arm wound bother you so much? You realize that-"

"We don't have time to spare, yeah…" Fei sat down on the bed across from his friend, keeping the pillow far from her. Anything she took up was a potential bludgeoning tool.

"What he said is true. Etiqutte dictates a true fight," Serena said, looking over to Fei through the cracks in her fingers. Fei just grinned a little.

"How do you know so much about fighting?" he wondered. "I'm sorry, but you don't seem like the fighting type. The fact you can is just beyond me."

Serena sat there for a long moment, wondering that too. How DID she come about this lifestyle? Should she tell them? Would they even BELIEVE her?

"I didn't fight originally. I used my power to try and help those around me," she began, trying to explain it as easily as she could while leaving out most of the true details. "With the… this special crystal that I lost. You saw me, in Aveh, right Fei? When I transformed?"

She looked over to him as he nodded. Citan had stopped what he'd been doing to listen as well. Serena looked back down at her bed.

"I used to do that, to hide myself from everyone. There were… others like me, too. And we all fought together like that, using our special powers that were unique to each of us. Then, something happened. The man I was in love with turned against me. I… I had to get away from him, I was too scared to stay."

Fei listened, and felt his blood boil when he heard that. He hadn't known Serena for long, but from what she implied…

"So, I went to the home of a friend of mine. He lived out in the forest, a good ways from where I lived. I ran the entire way, and I told him and his mother what happened. They took me in after that. My friend was the one who helped me learn to fight. Then, he introduced me to his friends, who all fight like I do now, and they pushed my ex away from me. Told him to leave me alone. Then, I began living with them, and learned to fight. I caught on really quick, for a girl who had only started the training a short time ago," she explained.

"Then, there was a tournament that they had me go to and I was… injured really badly. Like I was now." She couldn't tell them she'd DIED! "I trained harder and harder, to take my mind off it, and then we confronted the persons responsible for all of it, and with the help of my friends, we defeated them. But, I still stayed with my new family."

Both men looked to her, as though urging her to continue, but she just smiled and shook her head, putting her hands down. "Nope. That's all." If she told any more, she would reveal herself. Fei let his breath go, not realizing he'd been holding it in, as Citan stood up, handing a blanket to the girl. He smiled.

"Well, your health still concerns us, Serena. Let us all rest now. Do not forget, you must win up to the finals first, and the champ is not the only opponent in your way."

Serena nodded and laid down, after snagging the pillow away from Fei and fell fast asleep.

Three more days passed, and Serena was retraining herself to fight without use of the crystal. At nights, she thought she could still feel it, but decided it was just a phantom thing. The crystal was a part of her, maybe it was like with people who'd lost limbs and could still feel them? She didn't have much time to think about it. Between her self-training and the tournament, she had little time to herself. If Citan wasn't with her, Fei was giving her encouragement, though it was more like he was trying to convince himself of something.

Weltall had docked and Serena was escorted back to the main hall, where Citan and Hammer were waiting. She had a broad grin on her face. Piloting Weltall was getting easier and thanks to that and her fast reflexes, she was in the Finals!

"You did it!" Hammer shouted, beside himself in euphoria. "You won! You're the Champ! …well, close enough, anyway. Victory is in reach!"

Serena just laughed in good humor. Hammer's excitement reminded her of herself. "Overconfidence is the enemy. Vegeta taught me that. I won't say I can win until I do."

"Well, all you have to do is win the finals tomorrow, we'll have our names cleared and be released!" he explained. With her name cleared, Serena could continue looking for Terra and find the man who'd stolen the crystal from her.

"Hammer, do not forget, the Champ is no pushover," Citan reminded. "He must have incredible power to be Battling Champion for three consecutive years. Serena, defeating him tomorrow will be no easy task. You have done well these past few days, but you should be careful."

Hammer looked to Citan as though he were crazy. "If you give her that attitude, she'll lose even if she could've won! Come on, show some spirit!"

Serena laughed again, causing both men to look at her. "You're right!" she said, bouncing. "I'll never win with these pre-battle blues! Thanks, Hammer!" With that, she turned to leave, but Hammer stopped her.

"I'd like to say 'no problem', but tomorrow is important! Don't you think you should customize out your gear?" he wondered. Serena blinked and looked to Citan. She had never told them about Weltall knowing her, but she still thought of it as belonging to Fei.

"Will Fei mind…?"

"I am sure he will not. Go with Hammer, and we will meet you there," the doctor assured. Serena was still leery of her technical prowess, or lack thereof, but Hammer pulled her away before she could protest.

Night fell and Serena was leaning back, covered in dirt and oil. With her immense strength and ability to fly, she'd been charged with placing the more difficult parts She was now resting with a bottle of water. Apparently, this world didn't have the concept of 'Soda'. Fei was going through the circuitry with Citan and looked over to Hammer.

"This is all?" he asked. Hammer nodded, depositing another load for them to sort.

"Yep. This is the best we can get around here."

Serena looked over with a look of disdain etching her face. "It's all crap. How am I supposed to win using scrap metal rejects?"

Citan nodded in agreement. "Compared to the Champ's Gear, the quality does not match up."

"Like I said, it's all crap."

"Nothing we can do," Hammer said with a shrug. Master Rico's Gear is a special make provided by the Committee. Maintenance to parts, he gets the best of everything! As long as money is involved, the Champ will go all out. That's one of the reason's he's so powerful…"

Serena rolled off her back into a sitting position, putting the bottle down. "Armed robbery," she decided, causing all three men to stare at her. "If I were to go to jail, I'd want it to be for something BIG. Armed robbery or something like that. Not getting stolen from!" She pouted after that, looking up at Weltall. Fei looked back to Citan once Serena's rant was finished for now.

"Can't we get better parts than this? Th-"

Laughing cut him off. Serena was on her feet at once, looking up at the steel support beams for the roof.

"As usual, you haven't learned anything, have you?" Wiseman asked. Serena growled and stood between Fei and this man.

"I remember you! You're the guy who ran out of the tournament!" she shouted. "I still have to kick your ass!"

His grinning mask did nothing to settle Serena's rage at him. "No matter how high quality your Gear may be, you can't defeat him."

Serena went to yell again when she suddenly turned to look behind her. She'd caught his movement as he appeared where she stared. It startled Hammer that he'd moved so damn fast, and that Serena had been able to follow him and keep him in her line of sight.

"His energy level is rising," Serena warned. "Fei get behind me!" A fireball struck her in the chest, sending her back from the sheer force. Citan caught her, thankful she was still in his spare clothing so he could hold her without fear of being crushed.

"Serena! You!" Fei shouted looking to Wiseman. "You want a fight?! Are you serious?!"

"Of course," Wiseman calmly replied. "Put up a good fight for me, Fei. If you don't, your life is mine!" Without giving the boy any time to prepare, he was at him, striking him in the face. Fei fell back but managed to jump to his feet quickly, kicking at Wiseman, hitting his throat, though it did little good. They exchanged blows for several long minutes, but once Fei realized what style his opponent was using, he was caught off guard. One solid hit to the face sent him back.

"That's… my technique!" Fei shouted as he got back up. Wiseman looked to Serena.

"Fighting brute strength with brute strength is a sign of a great fool," he said as Citan helped her stand and then held her back from attacking him. She was mad now. "It's obvious that a lighter body such as yours will always be at a disadvantage in a head-on attack. I just gave you a good example. That minor difference between Fei and I had this outcome. Now, someone else with a mass several times you, like Rico, the outcome becomes highly apparent. This applies to Gears as well... Even if you were to get parts comparable to Rico's, there is still the difference in mass. To make up for this, one must commit to a single final strike that thrusts at the opponent's fissure."

"Just what the hell do you know? My reflexes are better than anyone's here!" Serena shouted, not knowing where her anger was coming from, but she knew it was there. It seemed to her to be a matter of pride and respect for everyone who'd taught her. This guy was outright calling them trash!

"I have given you your hint. It's up to you to figure it out through experience." Wiseman turned and went to walk out, when Fei caught his attention.

"Wait! Why is it that you have the same fighting style as I do?!" he demanded. "How do you know my name! Tell me!"

"…fine," the mysterious man said, not looking back to him. "It was three years ago. The one who took you, in your mutilated sate, to that mountain village was myself."

"You're the one who brought me to Lahan?" Fei said in shock. Wiseman nodded.

"Yes. It was a request of your… father." Serena perked her head up, hearing a slight hesitation.

"You know my father?!" Fei demanded again, wanting the information more than anything.

"Khan and I were fellow students."

"Khan? Is that my father's name?" Fei looked at Wiseman, who turned to fully face him as though stunned. Serena could see it in his movements.

"Why do you ask for your father's name? Don't tell me you've…?" he began, before sighing. "I see. I shouldn't be surprised. You were horribly injured. …fine."

Fei leaned in closer, wanting to hear all he could. Once she decided he wasn't going to fight, Serena relaxed her stance, looking to Citan.

"Khan Wong. That is your father's name. Since our youth, Khan and I studied the martial arts together," he said as briefly as he could. He was hiding something, he spoke the way Serena did referring to her own life, but she didn't want to interrupt him. Fei wanted to hear this. No. Fei NEEDED to hear this.

"Father and you?" Fei asked, seeking clarification.

"Yes. Eventually, your father became an officer of another country. It was there he met a young woman of about twenty years old. Her name was Karen, an she was like a flower in full bloom."

That confused Fei. "Flower…?"

"It means that she had extraordinary beauty," Citan supplied. Wiseman nodded.

"Yes. She was your mother. She and Khan married and I left on a journey to strengthen myself."

"Wait, so where is my mother now?" Fei wondered, smiling a little. So much information! This was wonderful!

"You do not remember that either?" Wiseman wondered. He sighed once more. "I see. …according to Khan, when you were a child, she passed away."

Serena couldn't help herself. She saw the sadness in Fei at once, and went to hug him.

"Fei… I'm sorry," she said, feeling terrible for him.

"Time passed and during my journey, I received a letter from Khan. The letter said that his son… was taken away. Khan once said you had special powers and the man who wanted that power took you. His name was Grahf."

Fei was so startled, it forced Serena to let him go. "Grahf?! He took me away?!"

Serena blinked and looked to Citan, who shook his head as a way to tell her he would explain later.

"You've met him?" Wiseman asked.

Fei nodded "three times," he explained.

"It's amazing that you are still in one piece."

"It seemed to Grahf that I wasn't powerful enough to achieve his ultimate goal. Hey, tell me more about this story," the fighter urged. Wiseman was silent for several moments before nodding.

" Khan wished to go find his son, and if possible, he wanted my help... I agreed to Khan's request and began searching for you... and that man. Then came that one fateful night three years ago. There was a violent storm. The storm felt as if it was thrown at us through sheer rage," he recalled, looking up to the ceiling. Serena was silent, listening intently.

"That night, Khan notified me that he had located his son. So I headed for that location, as if I was drawn to it. You and Khan were wounded badly. I have no idea what happened between you two and Grahf. By then, Grahf had already gone. I don't know why, but probably he was driven away by Khan. Khan decided to pursue Grahf and left me to care for his son. I provided you with the necessary first aid and left you in the custody of those village people. Then I followed after Khan. You probably lost your memory when you were injured then."

Fei looked down, then back to Wiseman, trying will all his being to recall these events. "Why? …why did my father pursue Grahf?"

Wiseman just shook his head. "I don't know. All he said was that it wasn't only for your sake, but also for the sake of the world. That that man had to be disposed of. He… said that if something were to happen to him, I would have to take care of the rest. That was the last I heard from him."

Fei just slumped and Serena went back over to him. "He said my father was dead."

"If Grahf has been appearing in your presence…" Wiseman began, once more choosing his words carefully "then that is a possibility. How unfortunate. Do you remember anything about your fighting techniques?" Wiseman asked. Fei just looked up, confused.

"N-nothing at all," Fei explained.

Wiseman nodded. "Your fighting skills were probably taught to you by Khan. He and I both studied under the same master. Well, then, I must be off." With that he turned and began to walk off. Serena felt her anger at him slowly vanish.

"Hold it! Where're you going?" she demanded, though she didn't move from behind Fei.

"I will go and find Grahf. I need to pinpoint what his intentions are. …for Khan's sake."

Serena frowned, putting her hand on Fei's shoulder. Citan just watched, a look of pure worry and nervousness on his face that she would squeeze and break it. "Okay, one more thing. What country was his father an officer for?"

"Do you plan to journey there?"

"I… I came here looking for a friend of mine. Her life is in terrible danger. I don't know where my leads will take me to, so I might just end up going there," she said. That caught Citan and Fei by surprise and they looked at her.

Wiseman just laughed. "Very well. The floating land which tries to hide behind a wall, protected, as if to conceal their failure. That is Shevat. That is Khan's country. Farewell."

With that, he just vanished. Serena sighed and fell back to the ground, splayed out. She groaned in frustration, not caring about the looks.

"…what a mysterious person," Citan finally said, not bringing up what Serena had just said. "Is this the second time you have met him, Serena?"

"Yeah. He ran out of the Aveh tournament. He moves like my friends. I don't get him! What did he mean!?" she shouted, putting her hands over her face. "I kind of get the general idea, though. Maybe I can do something tomorrow in the finals."

"What was that all about? He disappeared like the w-w-wind!" Hammer demanded. "I've only known you since you got here! What is this Aveh tournament? What's going on?" He looked from Fei to Citan to Fei then to Serena.

"At least it's comforting to know that this crap we're calling Gear parts won't make a difference," Serena said in relief, ignoring Hammer's question.

"Never underestimate the situation, Serena," Citan mentored. "You could still loose badly if you think you can just win by grasping a concept."

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" she said, sitting back up.

"Anyway, let us return to our quarters and rest. Serena, our fates lie in the outcome of tomorrow's competition. You should preserve your tremendous strength."

Serena sat in Weltall, staring at Rico's Gear. She was damaged and so was he. Unlike the other fights she'd gone through, this wasn't a best two out of three match, this was five rounds. Whoever won five first would be the winner and each had won four. She had extensive damage to Weltall and frowned. She tightened her grip on the controls before her which wouldn't break no matter how hard she gripped. Whoever had built Weltall had designed it for serious wear and tear in the cockpit.

"I can't give up," Serena told herself, tightening her grip again. "If I loose… I might never get another chance. I have to get out of here to save Terra. Not just Terra, everyone is depending on me to go back and beat this new enemy. And Fei and the others…" she whispered, watching Stier rush her, hoping for a quick victory. Rico was startled when Weltall dropped and grabbed the arm that went over its head, getting thrown back. Serena was jostled from the movement, but kept her stare up.

"An angel arrived in Nisan and brought the promise to the end of a five-hundred year war. I can't back out of that, either… I won't loose here!" Stier came at her once more and she met its punch, the speed startling the Champ. Weltall dropped again, swiping at its legs, knocking it back. Stier landed on the ground and with some difficulty was back up. Weltall met its next punch, jostling the princess slightly who responded by punching at the head.

"The secret to winning this battle isn't brute strength. It's finding a hole… and punching through it!" she announced, kicking hard. The groaning of mechanical parts filled the cockpit as the attack strained. Serena watched the screen carefully and watched as a message popped up, announcing that the attack would be automatically disengaged before serious damage could occur. Weltall fell back, landing in a crouching position.

"Wha…? N-no!" Serena shouted, trying to move the controls. The right arm began to lift slowly. Too much damage! Weltall was overheated! She could only watch as Stier came up on her, ready to land the final blow. Weltall was kicked aside and rolled across the landscape, landing on its back, hand outstretched. It wasn't cooling off fast enough! Her mind raced and in an instant, she knew what to do…

…Stier wasn't prepared for the sudden blast of energy and was thrown back as Weltall struggled to its feet. Serena had won.

Citan was offering Serena a bottle of water as he doctored the bruise on her cheek. Fei was wondering what she'd done as Hammer was cheering that she'd managed to beat the Champ.

"I don't FEEL like I won," the princess admitted, taking a long drink. "It was just luck."

"Luck had nothing to do with it!" a new voice shouted. Serena looked up curiously to see Rico headed her way, trailed by two henchmen. One of them had yelled at her. "Your machine was rigged! I'm gonna tell the committee!"

"Yeah, she definitely had her Gear equipped with illegal parts or something! There's no way it coulda used that attack with any STANDARD parts!" the other one shouted. Serena frowned. Before she could start yelling, Rico seemed to realize and grabbed one of them by the shirt and threw them back.

"Shut up! Don't embarrass me further. How could such special parts exist in the Imperial Capital anyway?!" he demanded. "Especially since it's impossible to leave with the collars on!"

Serena decided to not mention it hadn't been Weltall who had won the fight, but herself. The lackeys were trying to convince Rico of their accusations, but he wouldn't hear them.

"But Rico-"

"I said shut up!" Rico shouted, growling. "Keep quiet!"

"That's right," Hammer insisted. "It's impossible. She won on her own strength! Stop trying to trump up on false accusations!"

Serena shook her head. "Enough, Hammer. I won because of luck and quick thinking. Besides, the wound on your arm from saving me hasn't totally healed, has it? If it weren't for that, I'd have lost in no time."

"A loss is a loss," Rico insisted. "This is no excuse. You are the Battling Champion." He began to walk off. When his lackeys went after him, he looked back. "I am no longer the Champ!" he growled, frustrated that they wouldn't understand that. "You'll just be in my way! Don't follow me!"

Fei watched as Rico ran off, while Hammer couldn't contain his joy at being freed.

"Serena, Weltall couldn't have used that ability. What on earth did you do?" he asked, catching Citan's attention. The girl just turned red from the attention and giggled nervously, scratching her nose.

"Well…" she began when Rue came up to her. Blinking, she looked to the woman who motioned for a technician to remove the bomb collars from them.

"You're no longer confined to D-block," Rue explained, watching as Serena rubbed the red skin where the bomb had been locked to her neck. "I'm here to show you the way to your new residence."

Serena didn't see the point of it, as she planned to get out of this place as soon as possible, but Citan seemed to see the look on her face and made a subtle motion with his hand that she should go along with it. When Rue walked off, Serena was right behind her. Fei looked to Citan.

"Doc, how'd she…?" Fei asked, needing to know how she'd won the match. Weltall had been totally shut down.

"Our young friend seems to be extremely resourceful," the doctor explained. "I would think she finished the battle on her own. You said she disabled an enemy gear by landing on it? And when Bart's hideout was attacked, she stopped them then."

"So, you're saying she che-" he began when he was elbowed by Citan.

"We are freed and can search for our friends now. Do not ruin our only chance, please."

The walk was uneventful for the most part. Serena was led into a large room, bigger than the clinic she'd been confined to earlier. She was glad she'd capsuled her weighted clothing so there'd be no problem in carrying them around. Besides, she'd grown fond of the design of Citan's clothes. She'd have to ask him about getting her own set. Rue opened the door for Serena and she walked in.

"Wow… this belongs to the champ?" she asked, looking around at everything. It was a dump, but it was big. And, sadly, still better than the little clinic she'd been at.

"Is it not to your liking?" Rue wondered. Serena jumped and shook her head.

"N-no, nothing like that! It's… nice, just… what about Rico?" she asked, concerned.

Rue frowned. "Rico? He's the 'ex-champ'. YOU are 'the Champion'," she emphasized.

"O…kay? That… doesn't answer my question," the princess patiently said. "What happened to him?"

"After the finals league, during the group league bout, his Gear went out of control. It crashed into the Kaiser's box seat, and was damaged. Nothing has been heard from the former Champion, Ricardo, and no one has seen him since."

Serena blinked and looked off towards the distance. Citan had to keep himself from asking if she could 'sense' Rico.

"There are no Battling competitions for a while, so you can rest up a bit," Rue explained, not taking notice of Serena's strange behavior. "We removed the collars, so why not take a walk around A Block?"

"It's a civilian area?" Fei asked. Rue nodded.

"The southeast part of the Imperial capital... It is called A Block or the ordinary civilian area... Well then, we shall take our leave... Anyway... This room is yours to use. Next door is the bedroom. Oh... and, Serena. Now you will be given the title of Champion as well as special S Rank privileges," she said, turning away. "Well congratulations on winning the Battling Championship... We were able to take some very good data…"

Serena frowned, certain she heard the woman laugh at that. "One more thing, good news. Kaiser Sigmund would like to meet you, Champion Serena. Please stop by the Central Administrative District. Well... good bye."

With that, she was gone and Serena turned to her friends.

"So, you are both now free in name and reality, correct?" he mused with a grin.

"What're you gonna do now? Leave Nortune?" Hammer asked.

"Ah, but we are yet to finish. There is one more thing left to do," the doctor corrected, putting a hand on Serena's shoulder. Fei nodded.

"We have to get Weltall… right?"

"They probably moved him to another dock," Serena said, turning her attention away for a moment, before looking back to her friends. "Hey! Hammer, can you find out for us?" she asked at once, smiling. Hammer nodded, excited to still be of use.

"Got it! I'll find out where it is! I'll bet my reputation on it!" he said.

"Okay. Hammer will go to find where Weltall is," Citan announced. "Fei and I will find what we can, and Serena-"

"You guys go get supplies," she ordered, pointing to them. "I've been training at night. I have a little of my Ki built up. As long as I don't fight, I'll be good. I'm gonna go find what happened to Rico. I can feel him in the capital still… and while I'm there, I'll find out how the guards move, so we can get Weltall without a problem."

Citan nodded. "Good. We have our plan of action."