Everyone – including myself – stand up to greet the imperial warrior. "Greetings everyone." He says in a deep, Latin accent. "Before I begin, this briefing is classified and confidential. May I ask the ushers and the non-law enforcement personnel to leave the room?" 5 people leave – the ushers and the emcee. As I look at their exits, I see an erratic, white figure hiding near the door entrance. Is that a Kirlia? I think. But when I manage to adjust my eyes to see what that thing is hanging around the egress, General Incido shouts my name.
"Care to demonstrate your special actions for this mission?" He asks. I move forward to the stage and show everyone what moves I have that are nothing really special. Just Close Combat; Night Slash; Psycho Cut; and Signal Beam. Close Combat is for, you know, close combat. Night Slash is for slashing ghosts that leaves a black trail, good for onions too. Psycho Cut is for non-contact cutting and lastly, Signal Beam, for pretty lights that attract people's attention.
The general seems to be pleased with my demonstration and asks one of the people who are willing to take me on as a challenge for the officers and guards alike. The first one is a Satellite. I take him down in under than a minute without breaking a sweat. The second one is one of my fellow colleagues, Ken. Being a Psychic-type myself I easily defeat him with a single Psycho Cut – a weak one though because if I used full power then he would be torn in half from the Psychic blade – that left a straight mark on his chest. The last one is, oh boy, Xeva. She volunteers. Holding a much more deadly weapon than her favorite steak knife, a flail.
Dear Arceus, does she want me to die? And I can't hit a girl, especially a beautiful one like her.
"You ready hotshot?" she asks with an intimidating look. "Don't worry, this wouldn't hurt… much."
I'm standing right there in a defensive stance, preparing for the worst of the worst. She's now running towards me while swinging her metal rod of death. I quickly dodge then I attack her with a weak low kick in which she trips but was able to sway the flail and deliver a blow to my shoulder. I scream in anguish then I crouch. The ball of spikes punctures deep into my left arm and it's hard to get it out. I pull the chain, which makes Xeva move towards me and unleash a kick that sends her flying across the room. I didn't like of what I have done to her. Heck, I don't even like fighting her. But it's the only way to get this over with. I see her lying down, eyes closed, enduring the pain. I kneel and offer her my hand so that I can help her stand up.
"Are you okay?" I ask. She quickly opens her eyes and grabs the flail that has been hanging on my shoulder and pulls it out at an instant, splattering my red goo on her face and mine. I stumble back. Lots of blood and flesh stick to the spiked ball. I see the flail soaked and dripping, and I'm just standing here making sure that I don't bleed to death.
* Giggle * "I tricked you, didn't I?" she asks.
"Yes, you did." I say while panting heavily because of the ridiculous amount of pain I'm feeling right now. "Are we done yet?"
"Not until one of us is down!" She answers while laughing like a psycho she is. She smears her hand lightly on the blood-covered flail. Then takes a small lick and proceeds to charge me, swaying the violent weapon of hers. I dodge and I dodge, just to avoid another bloody impact. I fall down, knees first in a view of the fact that I'm too exhausted from all of this. And the harsh wound on my arm just makes it worse. I see Xeva standing in front of me, savoring the moment as she lays her flail at the top of my bloody shoulder while giggling. I guess she's ready to kill me now, because I see it in her wide-open eyes and her terrifying grin. She grabs her steak knife – dang she always brings that up – and points it unto my throat. Is she really going to kill me? Is this really the end? No, it's too quick… I never even had a chance to say…
"STOP!" The general suddenly yells. "That's enough fighting for today." The general calls us off, saying that both of us did well. Thank Arceus! I thought I was a goner! Xeva smiles at me, and both of us return to our original places. She hands me a cloth to block the damage she caused. "That was fun wasn't it?"
"Yeah… I guess." I reply, dabbing the soft fabric on my injury. It feels good somehow. But still, streams of blood pour down to the floor and my face is beginning to white.
"Are you okay?" she asks. "Look, I'm sorry for doing that. I just did what I needed to do. You're the one who's been acting 'nice' to a girl who is hungry for gore. You need to man up when facing a girl opponent. Who knows, maybe the cause of your demise is a woman."
I don't have anything else to say so I just nod, trying not to faint because of the blood loss. I'm wondering if she wants me to be dead. Or maybe, she just wants me to learn. Oh boy, I feel nauseous. A nice drink of water should do the trick. The general doesn't seem to care about my condition. Neither do the guards and the other officers. Maybe they're used to it or they just want to witness a live bloodbath of pure entertainment starring me, and my gutsy boss. But there's one thing that's been stirring my mind a bit. That thing that's been lingering around the exit. I wonder what she – or he – is doing there…
It's the general's time to shine again so we just hang on to our seats for his deliberate speech. "Thank you Mr. Arrow and Ms. Bow for the wonderful performance. I sure do hope that all of you learned something from the combat."
"Your last name is Bow?" I ask Xeva while trying not to laugh.
"Shut up." She replies in a galled tone.
Now everyone in the precinct knows her full name. Back then; no one knew what her last name is so it's a shock for us.
"Now, I know all of you are wondering why we are gathered here today." The general says. "According to our spies' intelligence the Bisharps and Scrafties are making an alliance to annihilate every innocent person in Regal. Yes, every single one: families, children, you name it. The reason for their absurd goal is unknown.
And we don't know yet when will the onslaught is going to happen." "That's freaking outrageous!" I suddenly yell. "We have to terminate all of them!"
"We know, Mr. Arrow." He replies. "That's why we have formed a plan to cease their savage actions and put peace and harmony into this kingdom. Listen carefully, and listen good."
General Vindicto Incido organizes a stratagem, a pretty good one too. We're going to invade the Bisharp's territory at Mount Rex, destroying every one of them to halt their plans of taking over the nation. If the Scrafties live there too, then it would be an added bonus to our semi-suicidal mission. The Royal Guards and the entire police force will be seizing their main cave entrance. And as for Xeva and me – yes, we're partners for this operation – we'll be infiltrating the command center to fully know what their foul deeds are. We only have 3 days to train. After that, it's now or never.
The meeting is now over. When everyone leaves – including Xeva – I scan the briefing room to see if that thing is still there. No luck. But as I exit the area, I see it, hugging my boss. It was indeed a Kirlia, a girl Kirlia. I never knew Xeva had a sister. I think. I assume it is her sister. It's impossible if she already has a daughter. If it is her daughter, then who is the father? Oh great, questions are now starting to take over my brain again.
"Hey there!" I say. "Is that your sister ma'am?"
"No." she replies while smiling. "She's my cousin who's just visiting me here along with my sister."
Well I'm wrong. But at least it's not her daughter. The Kirlia is really shy obviously. "Your sister?"
"Yes." She responds. "There are 3 of us. All girls. Me, I am the youngest; then, Elisha. And the oldest is Dulce. I think you should meet her. She's outside, waiting for Violeta." So her cousin's name is Violeta huh? That's a peculiar name. She then gives me bandages and a tourniquet for my arms so that I won't bleed too much. And it made me a little better. I rush outside – not just to catch a glimpse of her but also to have fresh air as well – and I see her sitting down, with a book on her hands. I judge that she's a bookworm. She has these huge glasses and she seems pretty serious on what she is reading. Hope she's not a psycho like her little sister.
I sit next to her, thinking that maybe she'll notice me… but she didn't. I'm just waiting and looking at the sky until she suddenly yelps. We gaze at each other momentarily. She blushes a little bit and looks kind of scared. And then she goes inside the precinct.