ZnT belongs to Noboru Yamaguchi and J.C. Staff. I own Cronoz.

Chapter 3: Rust Beats Bronze?

Duel. A contest held with weapons arranged between two people in order to settle a dispute of honor.

Joy.

Cronoz stood facing his much shorter opponent out in the middle of some place called Vestri Court, outside of the school building. Why they couldn't just face each other one-on-one in the dining hall, the mech had no idea. Something about it being inside the building, or the fact that he would have broken something inside. He honestly couldn't care less.

Louise had pleaded with him to just apologize to Guiche, and be let off with just a warning. And what? Let him, her, and possibly Siesta get walked over in the near future? He didn't think so.

He felt a cool breeze sweep past his armor. The grass under him bristled. The rusted machine ignored the gathered group that formed a large circle around them, including his before mentioned master and new friend. Cronoz cracked his iron knuckles and eyed the blonde mage who had begun to speak.

"This is your final warning, familiar. Back down now, and I'll let you off easy." Guiche spoke condescendingly.

Louise, who stood right next to her hulking servant, stared up at him. "Please. Just do what he says, and-"

Cronoz stuck up a finger. "But?" He waited for the catch.

"You have to admit that you and your master are both zeroes in your own right." Guiche smirked, letting the painful request sink in for both of them. Quiet giggles emerged from the crowd around them.

The mech didn't need to look down to know Louise was looking down, flushing red. He only know this girl for about a day and a half, yet he felt protective for her. Weird. Maybe it was because of that kiss from the day before. Cronoz took a step forward and stabbed a finger at Guiche. "No. This is between you and me. No one else."

The strawberry-blonde at his side looked up at him, wide eyed. Was her familiar actually… defending her?

"Very well. Let this duel commence!" The blonde mage shouted as he whipped his wand - which was for some reason a rose - out of his cloak and whipped it around, letting a single petal fall to the ground. As it touched the ground, the red petal ignited a bright light, and before Cronoz knew it, a new figure came up from under the ground. It was slightly taller then the students, but it still didn't even come close to the mech. Turquoise armor covered it from head to toe, save for the white garment below its waist. Tiny white wings stuck out of its helmet for decoration. In its right hand it held a spear, its left being one huge fist. Interesting design, to say the least.

"As Guiche the Bronze, my Bronze Golem servant shall be your opponent." He chuckled.

Cronoz let out a mechanical sigh. "Disappointing."

Guiche was outraged. "What! You dare mock my Valkyrie and its power!"

The rusty familiar shook its head. "No. Its just sad that you need assistance to fight me."

"Insolent little-"

"I'm little now?"

The mage stamped his foot on the ground. "Enough! Valkyrie!"

The Bronze Golem nodded its head and quickly charged toward Cronoz, its fist raised ready to deal damage. It collided with its target's chest, making the distinct DING sound of metal hitting metal. Unfortunately, as the Valkyrie soon learned, its attack was fruitless. Cronoz barely moved an inch from the impact, and locked eyes with the small golem in front of him.

Without saying a word, he raised his left arm. However, he didn't send it down immediately. Rather, his arm begin to shift and change just as he did earlier that morning. As gears spun and clicked, his metal fingers parted and receded into his arm, letting a larger piece of metal come out. From the bottom of his arm came another large iron piece, letting the students around him stare at what his hand transformed into: A claw.

Cronoz grabbed the Valkrie's right shoulder with his free hand and twisted him around, bringing it to its knees. It stared at Guiche, who helplessly stared back. With his newly formed claw, Cronoz gripped his armored attacker by the head. He ruthlessly squeezed down, crushing the bronze servant's noggin and letting the rest of it to fall to the ground. As it decomposed, Cronoz clanged his claws together and stared at Guiche.

"Over already?" Cronoz would have smirked, but - again - no mouth.

Guiche smirked, but the mech could sense a little bit of worry in his voice. "Not by a long shot!" He flung his rose back and forth, releasing four more petals. Each one touched the ground, resulting in four brand new Valkyries forming. Three held spears, one a broad axe. Cronoz sighed and stuck out his right arm, holding it up for all to see. Just as before, his arm began to transform, his fingers recoiling and sliding back. But rather than another iron claw forming, something else emerged. Large round cylinders spun round and round, passing other gears and circuits. The end result was medium ranged weapon none of the students had ever seen before. In his world, people knew it as a minigun.

Cronoz quickly moved his arm, checking the ammo for the cannon. Hearing the distinct CLICK, the rusted machine moved his arm until it was lined up with the Bronze Golems in front of him. With a 'go!' from Guiche, the turquoise warriors shot toward Cronoz, unknowingly becoming easy targets for the mech. As the four closed in on him, Cronoz whispered to himself 'Firing,' before letting his audience see the power behind his newly formed weapon.

The gun didn't fire right away. Rather, it charged up by circling a few times before letting Hell loose from its barrel. Thousands of rounds came forth, faster than any falling star or magic spell being cast. The noise rang out in everyone's ears, resulting in many of them clamping their hands on their hands. The shots fired tore up the incoming Valkyries, stopping them dead in their tracks. Their armor was no match for the power of modern weaponry, giving a sense of pride in Cronoz. The power felt odd to him, though. Like he was able to shoot faster, easier, and more precise then he usually could. Maybe it had to do with the tiny shimmering light that came from his arm, where his hand lay dormant inside. The hand with the runes on it. Can that be it? Cronoz thought to himself.

The warriors collapsed, dissolving back into the ground as their reaper slowed his weapon, letting it fall to his side. The bullet casings littered the ground, and were in such a large quantity that it would be worthless to even try to count them.

"Two for two. Are you ready to concede?" Cronoz asked in his monotone voice.

The response was the formation of six more soldiers, all fully armed with an assortment of weapons. Cronoz cocked his massive gun. It was time to end this feud. Now.

He began to stomp over towards Guiche, the golems being the only things in-between the two duelers. As the first two Valkyries advanced on him, he lifted his minigun and unloaded into their armor, dismantling them quickly. Two more came at him, weapons glittering in the shine of the sun. The mech dodged the one coming at his left by turning around, letting the golem fall past him. With his claw, he grabbed the surprised warrior and turned to threw it at the incoming one. They slammed into one another and collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

Cronoz rotated his shoulders for a second, trying to relieve some tension before the final duo came at him. However, he felt a sharp pain in his back and side. He failed to notice during his break the spears that were now lodged into his metal armor. Some gasps came from the crowd, two of them being his master and his new friend. The Valkyries appeared before him, their fists raised ready and waiting. Guiche laughed.

"How does that feel?" He mocked.

The rusty titan did not respond. Even if it did his answer would be 'what feeling?' Instead, he reached behind him with his claw and snapped the spear sticking out. He easily did the same to the one on his side. Did he really think that would stop me? These mages are dumber than I thought… The mech crushed the sticks into splinters as he made his way to Guiche, transforming his arms back to their normal forms. As his hands became visible, Cronoz took a quick glance at his right hand. The lines etched on there were indeed glowing. Huh. Maybe he'll ask Louise about that after he finishes this punk with the fluffy shirt.

Forming his hands into fists, Cronoz quickly charged at the golems between him and his goal. They came at him, fists extended. Before they could make contact, Cronoz purposefully fell, using his speed and momentum to roll his rusty body into his attackers. He couldn't see it, but his tremendous force knocked the two final Valkyries into the air, throwing them as if they were little scraps of paper. When he eventually stopped, - luckily landing upright - Cronoz stood up from his position, and chuckled. Laying before him, his arms tightly wrapped around him, was Guiche, shaking like a scared puppy. Cronoz kneeled down, still towering over the whimpering mage.

"Are we done now?" He asked. He knew the answer even before the boy stammered it out.

"Y-y-y-yes! You win! You win!" Guiche cried, waving his hands back and forth. "P-please, just don't h-hurt me!"

Cronoz chuckle. "We'll see."

With that, he picked up Guiche, letting the student jerk around in his grip. He backed up a bit, dispersing the crowd as he did so, trying to find something. Behind him he heard 'What are you doing, familiar?,' but he ignored it. Finally, the mech found what he was looking for: a flagpole sticking straight out of the largest tower in the center of the school. Finding that, he did the most surprising thing the group around him thought possible: The rusty robotic familiar heaved poor ol' Guiche into the air above him. The distance was phenomenal; it gave everyone time to look up at the earth mage flinging his arms up and down like a madman. And enough time for Cronoz to walk over to Louise and Siesta, both of them staring at him intently.

"W-what did you do that for!" Louise shouted.

Cronoz eyed her. "I'm not done yet," He kneeled over beside the two, motioning them. "Get on."

The maid and the mage exchanged looks, wondering what he was going to do. Siesta happily bounded up to the machine and clamped her arms around his head. Louise followed suit, but not before giving the both of them a death glare. With both girls on his shoulders, Cronoz stood up and pressed a button on his arm. His two riders turned their heads at the sound of more gears and inner machinery working about. Out from under his back armor sprouted two rather large garbage can shaped pieces of metal. Cronoz chuckled and pressed another button. "Better hold on."

The iron ovals ignited, a burst of energy and heat come out. It propelled the machine up into the air, followed by a trail of smoke coming from the twin engines. Of course, the two riding on his shoulder had no idea what they were or how they worked. They were too busy focusing on not falling off.

"Ohmyohmyohmyohmyohmy!" Siesta kept repeating, her grip tightening on the machines head.

"Whatever you're doing, can you it slower!" Louise shouted over the noise of the rocket powered engines. Cronoz nodded and pressed another button. The bursts of fire coming from his backside cooled down, giving off enough power to let him hover in the air. Siesta made a happy 'wow' as she looked down at the Academy from such a high height. Louise, on the other hand, was more reluctant to enjoy the view, her multiple gulps making it apparent. Cronoz chuckled.

"S-shut up!" Louise turned away, blushing. His master's attitude was starting to get cute more and more to Cronoz. He didn't know why. "Wait… where's Guiche?"

"He should be dropping by in about… now, actually." Cronoz stuck out his hands. In less than no time at all, the crying cloaked body of Guiche de Gramont flopped into his grasp. Still trembling, he looked up and gawked at Cronoz, who stared right back with his four bright eyes.

"H-h-hi?" Guiche innocently waved.

Cronoz lowered his still hovering body closer to the stone tower with the flagpole. With one hand, he gripped Guiche and stuck him on it, being careful not to damage his clothes. Siesta tried to contain her giggle as Guiche stared down and almost began to cry. Louise said nothing, just stared back and forth from her familiar to the earth mage. Cronoz loomed over to stare directly into Guice's fear stricken face.

"Apologize. Now." He ordered.

Guiche quickly looked at Louise and cupped his hands. "I'm sorry Louise! So very sorry!"

Then he turned to Siesta, and repeated the gesture. "I'm sorry maid! Please forgive me!"

Cronoz nodded in approval. "Good." He began to slowly lower down, letting the flagpole with its new 'flag' waver about. The mech could hear shouting from above him.

"A-aren't you going to let m-me down?"

"When your punishment is over." Cronoz retorted back.

As his decent brought him and his passengers closer and closer back to the school grounds, - solid ground, for that matter - Siesta tapped Cronoz's horned head, making a tiny TING sound with every pat.

"You are going to let him down, right?" The maid curiously questioned the titan she rode upon. Cronoz only chuckled.

"When his punishment is over."

Louise huffed on his other shoulder. He turned his head, finding her arms folded and her head turned away. "Are you unimpressed by my power?" He asked in monotone.

She returned the answer in the form of an ear busting shout. "O-of course not! I… I knew you would be powerful the moment I summoned you! I felt it in my… gut…" She trailed off looking away from him, blushing again.

"My scans detect that you are lying, Louise." Cronoz stated, earning a chuckle from Siesta.

"S-shut up!"

Of course, sticking a student on a flagpole hundreds of feet in the air wasn't exactly an activity that the academy found acceptable. So, after landing and dropping off Siesta, Cronoz and his master were hastily cast to the principal's office, high in the same building the mech left Guiche dangling. Sadly, when they were walking up the spiral staircase, Cronoz was unable to see the mage from any of the windows. A shame, to say the least.

The two now sat in front of the desk of said principal, an old man with a long white beard and hair, along with a complimenting black robe. Two others stood to his left and right, one of which he remembered as the teacher when he first arrived. The other was a green haired woman with glasses. Probably a secretary, Cronoz deduced. The elderly principal put down his strangely shaped pipe and began to speak.

"So, familiar of Louise, do you realize what you have done?" The man half chuckled. Cronoz couldn't take him serious when he had read so many works of fictions with - for lack of a better word - stereotypical mages such as himself. The mech shook his head.

"A lesson in discipline." He stated blandly. The machine could literally feel the stare Louise shot him

The bald man next to him cut in. "You left a student stranded in the air high above the school grounds. You could have killed him!"

Cronoz waged his finger about. "Illogical. Someone would have caught him. Besides, he deserved it."

"In what way?" The man he remembered being named Colbert folded his arms.

"He treated a friend wrongly." Cronoz repeated the gesture, making Colbert scowl.

Louise rapped his leg. "What do you mean, friend? You don't mean that maid, do you?"

Cronoz shot her a four-eyed stare. "Even if she is a maid, she is still a human being," He turned to the principal. "Isn't compassion one of human's strong suits? Or must I reassess my databanks?"

His cold remark killed the sound in the room. No sound came from anyone for a moment, until the principal began to chuckle aloud, catching everyone off guard.

"You are smart, familiar of Louise," The principal reached for his pipe, but was unable to retrieve it. His secretary flung her wand about, making the item fly through the air and land on top of a bookcase in the room. The principal scrunched up his nose, but turned back to the mech in front of him. "I am Old Osmond, elder of this prestigious school."

"Cronoz." The rusted machine replied, nodding.

Osmond blinked. "Cro…noooozz?"

The mech sighed. "Cronoz."

The principal chuckled. "I apologize, friend. I am not as young and attentive as I used to be," Really? No kidding. Cronoz thought to himself. "It's just -"

"An unusual name?" The mech finished.

"Familiar!" Louise shouted at him, getting him to give her a 'what?' kind of stare.

Osmond held up his hand. "It is alright, Ms. Valliere. If it is alright with you, familiar, I would like to understand where you came from before arriving here at this humble school."

Humble? Yeah, sure. "I would love too," Cronoz stated, but stuck up a finger. "But not tonight. I would like to recharge if you don't mind." He looked down at Louise, who stared back at him with wide pink eyes. "And I do believe my master has a job or two for me to accomplish."

Colbert was about to interject, but was stopped when Osmond nodded. "Very well. Tomorrow then."

The mech nodded, glancing at both Colbert and the secretary for a second before plodding towards the door. He opened it and stood by it, waiting for his master to come. Louise looked at him, then back at her superiors. She bowed and walked out of the room, followed by her rusted companion who shot the principal a glance as he leaned down to exit the room.

"Night." He said before shutting the door behind him.

"I can't believe you! W-what were you thinking! Everything you've done today has been unacceptable!"

Cronoz listened to his master rant and rave, squatting next to her bed as she paced back and forth in front of him. He didn't understand why she was so upset.

"First, you go ahead and accept that brain-dead Guiche's challenge-"

"And win."

"Then you go and leave him up on a flagpole high above the ground-"

"Logical."

"And finally you have the nerve to talk back to my superiors, my teachers, in a manor no one ever would!"

"And? Did I not defend you? Like a familiar should?"

Louise did not respond. All she did was stare at him for a good minute before quietly walking toward her dresser. Cronoz was about to ask her if she needed help, but decided against it. The strawberry-blonde said nothing as she undressed and draped her nightgown over herself. She laid her worn clothes on the round table and slowly crept into bed. Cronoz looked at her, then back at the clothes. He reached for them, but was stopped by a voice.

"That's not necessary for tonight, familiar." Louise said as she turned over her pillow. "You can do it in the morning."

Cronoz took his hand back. Guess his words finally got to her. Slight superiority crept into his mind. The light from the candle in the middle of the room went out, leaving the mech in the darkness, with the moon the only light.

He tapped the side of the bed gently with his index finger. "Query."

"Yes… you may sleep inside tonight." Louise answered half asleep.

Cronoz blinked his optics. "How did you…"

"Like you said. You defended me today against Guiche… and your fighting skills aren't half bad," She rolled around to stare, her hair flying around. "Credit is most certainly due, familiar." She smirked before rolling over again.

The mech blinked again. Such kindness. He really was liking this world he fell into. Cronoz shut his optics, forgetting to transform into his secondary form. He slunk down the wall, until he lay right next to the bed, his head resting on the bed's side frame. It wasn't really comfortable, but he didn't mind. He felt right being by Louise's side. Odd.

He quietly muttered, 'Good night, Miss Valliere,' before silently turning off.

A/N: Ugh…school is such a killer. But I will go on!

Chapter three, the Guiche fight. I honestly had fun righting this one because A.) I'm not a huge fan of the blonde dude and B.) It let me demonstrate Cronoz's power. And yes, he has a claw. Don't judge me. He's based off a crab. Kinda. Sorta. Mer.

Umm… I don't know what else to right, so thanks for reading, review pwease, and have a gun-totting around day!

P.S. You know how funny it would be if fan fictions ended like anime's do? With a short preview about what the next episode is? That would be so cool! But I'm not gonna do that, cuz I'm already on number three. Maybe I'll go back and do it if you guys would like that kind of thing.