Welcome back everyone! Last time, the battle between our heroes and the cybernetically resurrected Unomaru took a turn for the worst when Mei discovered the fact through Wendy's slip on tongue. The Shrine Maiden's overwhelming grief caused her to attack the mad scientist in a blind rage before passing out.

With Mei unconscious and Wendy forced into retreating, how will the conflict between Unomaru and our heroes will go? Stick around for the conclusion of the second story arc!


Restricted Ward [Clearing]

All sense of time was lost as the aftermatch of Mei's furious cry have left Es and Touya shaken to their cores. Hearing Mei cry out in anger and sadness left them feeling immense sympathy for their friend as they turned their sights back to Unomaru, who lost the armored pieces on his arms and legs.

"That ungrateful little bitch! First, she STEALS my POSITION, my LAND, and now she's trying to TAKE my LIFE!" Unomaru shouted and cursed in sheer anger as his eyes glowed in fury, badmouthing Mei in the process. Needless to say, it did NOT sit well with Es and Touya at all...

"Like you're one to talk! You've gotten Mei's mother killed and kept her father's lifeless body as leverage to control her ever since she was FIVE years old! She's a much better leader then you could ever be!" Touya yelled at Unomaru in anger, refusing to ever let this man insult his loved ones. He may understand his desire to better the world, but it doesn't change the fact that his heart is blacker than the night sky.

"Touya! His arms and legs! Nu said his limbs are fragile!" Es shouted to Touya to notify him about the scientists weak points with Avenge overhearing it himself. Unomaru then looked at the ground and his limbs with his eyes dimming down in the process.

'Oh crap! Mei's lightning magic fried the armor off my body! That means their swords will rip me apart now! Unless...' Unomaru thought to himself as he started to take flight and start dashing around the area at a quick pace and then it hit everyone as soon as they saw him take off at a quick pace...

"He's moving faster then before!" Avenge shouted as a silver blur rushed past him... along with a solid attack to his gut, knocking him to the floor in the process and knocking him out.

"Avenge!" Touya shouted to the Bounty Hunter in concern before a silver blur dashed from behind him, clocking him in the head as he flew face first onto the ground, stunning him.

Then the same silver blur rushed past Nu, sending her flying onto and rolling across the ground after getting punched in the face. Her visor shut off to indicate she was unconscious.

"Touya! Nu!" Es cried out before she was suddenly lifted off the ground, dropping Murakumo in the process by a cold sensation around her throat. Es then realized that in the blink of an eye, Unomaru is now holding her up and choking her.

"Ugh... AGHHHHH! AGHHHHHH!" Es screamed as struggled for air, using her hands to pry and lessen Unomaru's grip on her neck to lessen the choking while simultaneously using her legs to kick him off her, but none of her kicks are having any effect on him.

"Yes! Yes! Suffer you obstinate piece of junk!" Unomaru laughed sadistically as he held the Azure Maiden up and intended to make Es' death a slow and painful one as she futility kicks his body. While his limbs armor was gone, his chest armor is still intact and right now, the kicks Es is landing on him are like pillows compared to the swords, nor can she kick in the groin as he no longer has one

"AGHHHH! AGHHHH! Aghhhh... Ack... Ugh..." Es strained as her vison began to slowly darken and her legs went limp with one of her arms falling to the side. While still clutching the mad scientist's grip with one hand, Es realized that without even thinking, Unomaru losing the armor made him move faster and he took advantage of it. While Mei was the one who destroyed his armor, Es knew that Mei couldn't have seen this happening, nor did anyone else. Despite that, Es was now going to die because of that oversight on their end.

'N-no... it can't... end like... this... someone... please... help me...' Es thought in sadness and agony as her eyes began to close with tears escaping. She just got her life back, finally confessed her love for Touya and now it was going to be stolen by this mad man? All it would take is one sudden move from Unomaru and her throat would be twisted or crushed instantly. However, just as Es' remaining hand fell to the side...

*SWOSH*

A red blade sliced Unomaru's metallic arm, freeing Es from the evil scientist's metallic clutches. It took a few seconds for Unomaru to snap out of his sadism to realize what just happened...

"ARGHHH! MY ARM!" Unomaru cried in pain as he clutched his elbow joint where his left forearm used to be while Touya caught Es before she hit the ground.

"ES! ES! ES, ANSWER ME! SPEAK TO ME PLEASE!" Touya cried in a frenzy as he held Es up. When Unomaru hit him in the head, it felt like he was going to pass out, but his training with Mei, combined with him being in his XBLAZE state, made him more resistant and only left him dazed for a brief moment. However, he instantly snapped awake the moment he heard Es' screams and got himself back up as quickly as he could to see his beloved being strangled to death. He was worried that he was too late to save her as she wasn't breathing for a moment, fortunately...

*COUGH* COUGH* *COUGH* *COUGH*... *Cough* *Cough* Es let out as she felt of rush of sorely needed air come back into her lungs as she opened her eyes to see Touya looking down at her, worried. He then smiled at her in relief upon seeing her eyes open.

"Touya... thank you..." Es replied in a raspy voice as Touya sat her up slowly to steady her breathing. This was the second time recently that he saved her. This was always a thing between them. In the past, Es was always saving and protecting him, but now Touya's the one coming to her rescue.

"I'm just happy you're still alive Es..." Touya said as he softly hugged Es with the Azure Maiden returning the gesture, briefly forgetting the danger for the time being. In the past, he always felt helpless, but now, even though he still hates fighting, he now has the strength to protect those who matter to him. However...

"How dare you! You cut off my arm! Now I need to build a new one!" Unomaru yelled at the two, his eyes glowing to show that he was completely livid at his dismemberment. Touya broke off from Es, realizing that she needs to recover from that brutal attack...

"Es, leave this to me... just stay still and rest for a while..." Touya said to Es as he walked off to confront the mad scientist with the Azure Maiden watching in concern. If Unomaru caught her off guard, who's to say he won't do the same to him? Es knew that she needed to catch her breath as her neck hurts right now and the last thing she needs is to slow everyone down because she was having trouble breathing. Touya then stood face to face with Unomaru.

"Unomaru... stand down now or I'll be forced to subdue you." Touya asked the scientist in a tone with barely contained anger. Even though he just tried to murder Es in the most cruel way possible, he wants to at least appeal to what shred on conscience Unomaru might have as compared to Freaks, he's not an insane serial killer.

"You're asking ME to stand down!? I don't think so! At least I was born into this world, Original Grimoire! Oh yes, I know about your existence! I know that you aren't the REAL Touya Kagari! You're just a byproduct of Hinata's little knight in shining armor game! You're nothing more than a MERE CORPSE!" Unomaru yelled in anger, insulting Touya all the while, hoping it would break the young man in question with this revelation. However, all sense of hope broke when he saw that Touya's face didn't break down in confusion and dismay.

"I'm fully aware that I'm not the original Touya Kagari. It's true I'm the Original Grimoire and that I was responsible for the Wadatsumi Incident, but Mei told me that I'm STILL Touya Kagari. I'm still alive and I intend to live for the people who care about me and to make it right by the people who died that day, including Mei's mother and mine!" Touya said with renewed determination as Es watched on in awe at how much stronger he's become. Hearing this prompted Es to slowly pick herself back up and stand. Like how she's been his crutch, Touya's now become her crutch to keep trying and press on.

"How delusional can you be!? First you treat Es and Nu as living beings instead of what they are, TOOLS! Then you say mankind can still do fine with free will, even though that idea is ruinous! Now you're saying you're a living being!? Don't make me laught! I may be a robot now, but at LEAST! I! AM! A! REAL! HUMAN! BEING!" Unomaru yelled in the most angry tone possible, his voice dripping with poisonous venom showing his contempt, prejudice and hatred against Artificial Life Froms in genreral.

"You're the one that's delusional Unomaru! Es and Nu has EVERY right to live! You gave them life and you never even bother to teach them anything at all! You could have learned from your parents mistakes and be a better person! You could still help mankind, but you chose to go about it the wrong way and hurt everyone who did nothing to you in the process!" Touya argued back, not allowing his sympathy for Unomaru to deteir him. Now that he had time to think about it, he NEEDED to get this off his chest and say the piece he wanted to say to Unomaru for so long as it's no longer about him, it's about Artificial Beings rights to live and the the morality of how Unomaru lived his life.

"Don't miss the whole point Kagari! Mankind's salvation is more important then puppets like you or individual people like myself! You know, THIS is why I hate arguing! Not only because of how it killed my parents, but because it's stressful and doesn't benefit anyone!" Unomaru yelled back, clearly not enjoying raising his voice, but he knows if he wants people to see things his way, he has too.

"I don't like arguing either, but you're the one who instigated this by targeting me and Es!" Touya replied back, while making it clear that Unomaru's the one who started this battle. Touya didn't want this battle, but he intends to finish it!

"Why are you, and everyone else for that matter, so damn obsessed with that Doll!? Es this! Es that! She's not even real! She was made in a lab by my hands! Don't tell me... that YOU of all people have somehow fallen in love with that THING!?" Unomaru yelled out projecting the issue back onto Es, still unable to grasp why Touya and everyone else cares about her so much. What he heard next however...

"THAT'S RIGHT I DID!" Touya yelled at the top of his lungs back at Unomaru, which caused the metal man's eyes to dim as he stutterd and stumbled over his words as if he heard the most shocking thing all day. Es' face blushed a little that Touya would say his feelings out loud to Unomaru of all people, but she understood why. Unomaru was questioning why people loved her in spite of her stunted emotions and flaws, but the fact that Touya said that he loves her in defiance of the ugly hatred Unomaru is firing at her brought tears to Es' eyes. With that, Es walked over to Murakumo and picked it back up, not willing to let Touya face the mad scientist alone.

At the same time, Nu and Avenge started coming around when Touya admitted his feelings to Es. Fortunately for them, they already knew about their relationship, but at the same time, they agree with Touya that Es has a right to be alive. With that, they stood up, ready to fight.

"I never once saw her as a mindless tool to take advantage of. Even when she make mistakes, I never saw her a tool or even a bad person. She means a lot to me and I refuse to let anyone hurt her again! That's why I'm going to protect her, so she won't be alone anymore!" Touya declared boldly as Es walked up next to him, much to his surprise as he wanted Es to rest.

"No Touya... we'll protect each other." Es declared to Touya with a determined look in her eyes. No words needed to be said between them as they understood each other perfectly and got into their fighting stances. With that, Unomaru no longer cared about his damaged arm as what he heard drove his mental state to it's breaking point...

"Hehehehe... AHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHA... ARGHHHHHHHHHHH! ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME!? YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH THAT DOLL!? THAT SETTLES IT! YOU'RE OFFICIALLY INSANE!" Unomaru yelled in a murderous rage as he charged at the two with them leaping out of the way before charging at him in return alongside Avenge and Nu.


Mitsurugi Agency HQ [Sick Bay]

It was around 6:25 PM after the conflict with Wendy and Mei's pain stricken outburst. After making sure Mei was breathing properly, Kuon took the rooptop entrance and carried Mei on her back down the staircase all the way to the Sick Bay. After explaining it to the rest the Sleipnir, the soldiers all helped Kuon carry their commander to one of the beds to rest, along with hearing the disturbing news about Unomaru's return.

"No way... the Metal Man was Chief Unomaru?" One of the soldiers asked Kuon as she explained everything that occurred on the rooftop.

"Idiot! That man's not worthy of being called Chief! Not after he used us for his twisted goals!" Argued another soldier in regards to his comrade referring to Unomaru as Chief. Not that Kuon can blame them. Sleipnir was all genuinely loyal to Unomaru, but outside of Es, no one knew Unomaru's true goals. So it came as a shock to them that Unomaru killed EVERY Union they captured instead of stabilizing them to use their Drive Crystals to power Code Embryo to rob mankind of their free will. While they wanted peace, 90% of Sleipnir agreed with Mei that peace had to be obtained of mankind's own accord, while the remaining 10% who sided with Unomaru attempted to assassinate the Shrine Maiden and after being apprehended, were sent to prison for approving of his insane plans and attempted murder on Mei's life.

"Let's calm down here. Miss Storheim, was what the Wind Mage said true? Unomaru is the Metal Man?" Said a wearing a silver uniform with a red mask, signifying his higher rank then the other six soldiers who all wore black uniforms with green masks.

"Yes. Wendy's many things, but she's not a liar. That info bomb sent Mei into a state of turmoil, hence the giant thunderstorm the readings picked up." Kuon answered while keeping a close eye on her friend.

"I'm sorry for addressing that man as Chief... I was used to calling him that and..." The first soldier apologized before the high ranking soldier put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"We ALL once called him Chief. He lost that right once the truth came out... and especially for what he did to Commander Mei." The high ranking soldier said, knowing full well that their history was never good for he was one of the few to learn about Mei's tragic history.

"Well, what are we standing around here for!? Let's get out there and slag that scumbag!" Yelled a soldier with a machine gun, cocking it in anger.

"No, you'd be putting yourselves at risk. I know for a fact that if Mei were awake, she'd rather go herself than send you to fight him. As a robot, he's doing more harm then he could as a human." Kuon disagreed with the soldier, not wanting him or the rest of Sleipnir to put themselves in danger against an enemy they have no chance of defeating.

"Miss Stroheim's right. We'd be getting in Kagari and Es' way. Besides, Nu and the Bounty Hunter are currently assisting them, but Miss Stroheim, surly there's some backup we can call for?" The high ranking soldier said as he turned to face the Fire Empress.

"Actually I do. Now that we know it's us they're after, I think it's safe to call for help..." Kuon said in affirmation as she pull out her phone and dialed up a number.

"Lady Zwei...? We need help, quickly..." Kuon said, hoping that Zwei can help out Es and the others just in case.


Restricted Ward [Clearing]

"Argh!" Nu cried out as she crashed into a pile of rubble with static filling her visor before it cleared up to see the ongoing conflict. Unomaru is just dashing and darting around with his increased mobility, hitting and hurting everyone he can. However... his luck was about to run out.

"Hruhhhh!" Touya shouted as he charged Unomaru from behind, hitting him in the back.

"WHO!?" Unomaru yelled at the top of his non-existant lungs as he turned to face him.

"Hmpf!" Avenge grunted as he jumped in front of the Mad Scientist, slashing one of his "eyes", damaging it.

"ARGHHH! YOU WORTHLESS BOUNTY HUNTER! WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST DIE ALONGSIDE RYOKO AND SUI!?" Unomaru yelled in pure fury as static filled his left eye camera, however he than felt a solid blow to his torso.

Es stabbed Murakumo in the ground and pushed herself into and upward kicking position to launch Unomaru up into the air and at that moment...

"DON'T INSULT..." Es yelled as she jumped after the man who created her, not willing to let him insult the woman Touya called his mother.

*SWOSH*

"TOUYA, MEI AND THEIR FAMILY!" Es shouted as she sliced off the right leg on Unomaru's robotic body, causing him to crash back onto the ground. After that, Unomaru stopped moving, his eyes now a solid blank color, indicating he's unconscious. With that, Es fell to her knees, allowing herself to catch her breath.

"Es! Are you okay?" Touya said, lowering himself to Es' level to check on her as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Just a little tired, but I'll live... in fact, I'd be dead right now if you didn't save me, so I have to give you my thanks again." Es said with a soft smile to her beloved, with the young man returning it. Avenge in the meantime remained by them, softly smiling at the moment of peace between. However, he then heard some type of creaking and whirring which concerned him and at that moment...

"ALERT! THE TRAGET IS NOT DOWN! I REPEAT! THE TRAGET IS NOT DOWN!" Nu yelled at the top of her lungs, and in complete sentence, for the first time in her life, causing the three to look at her in concern before...

*BZZZZZT*

Suddenly a thin blue laser flew by and pierced Touya on the left side of his chest, causing him to let go of Es and lose the formation on his sword as it dissolved into a puddle of blood. Time slowed down as Es could only stare in shock and horror as Touya fell.

"E...s..." Touya muttered out the name of his beloved just as he landed on the ground, unconscious.

"Touya!" Avenge shouted just as Touya hit the ground, but more lasers were fired at him, forcing him to jump away from Unomaru, who is now flying to make up for his missing leg. Avenge hid behind some rubble to avoid the erractic range of fire while Es just sat there in shock, with every shot barley missing her.

"DIE! DIE! DIEEEEEEE! YOU WILL ALL DIE FOR RUINING MANKIND'S FUTURE!" Unomaru screamed as he fired randomly without even trying to aim before Nu lunged at him from behind and grabbed him, forcing him to stop firing and start flyind around.

"No! I won't let you hurt my friends!" Nu yelled in another complete sentence as she held on, using her wings to control Unomaru's flight pattern in an effort to ground him.

"GET OFF ME YOU ANNOYING LITTLE JUNK HEAP!" Unomaru screamed insanely as he used his thrusters to slam Nu into rubble and walls to shake her off, but to no effect so far. Nu then returned the favor by guiding him to a wall herself.

"ARGH! HOW DARE YOU!? YOU BROKEN DEFECTIVE PUPPET!" Unomaru yelled as an electronic tone took over his voice, signifying his voice chip is damaged as a result as the two continued flying around aimlessly.

Back on the ground level, Es stared at Touya's face, his eyes closed and seemingly devoid of life. After two full minutes passed, Es began to shake her head in disbelief as she crawled over to him in a panic.

"No... no... NO! TOUYA! OH MY GOD, NO! TOUYA! TOUYA! WAKE UP! PLEASE WAKE UP! PLEASE!" Es cried loudly as she shook Touya's body, trying to get him to wake up before she felt something wet with her right hand. She lifted it up in terror to see it soked with blood, Touya's blood. The laser shot was about the size of a regular bullet, enough to cause bleeding. Thinking quickly, she removed her Jacket and wrapped it around where the wound is, hoping to slow the bleeding on both the front and back. Why didn't they respond to Nu's warning sooner? Why did they let their guard down? Why did this have to happen? So many questions ran through Es' mind all at once as tears started to run down her face as she finished tying her jacket around Touya.

"Please... you can't die... please... Touya..." Es cried in a broken voice as tears dropped down onto Touya's body. Was this what Touya felt when Ren attacked her? No, Ren wasn't in control of himself and even then, his attack wasn't lethal on her, nor would he want to hurt her. Unomaru, on the other hand, clearly fired with the intent to kill them. So many emotions begin flowing throughout Es' mind and heart, not one of them good. Sorrow, Grief, Panic, Anxiety, Anger, Pain... and Rage... all occurin simultaneously.

"Es!" Avenge said as he ran back to Es and Touya to see that Es slowed down the bleeding with her jacket, but blood began to slowly seep through it.

"Give me room, I need to stop the bleeding... Es?" Avenge said before noticing Es stand back up and walking over to her sword and picking it back up. After a moment, particles of blue light slowly started to gather around Es as they slowly made it's way into where her left eye is.

"How dare he...?" Es asked in a low sounding voice, the very same tone she spoke in when she fought Freaks. It was a voice filled with pain and rage. As she lifted her face up, her eyes were closed as tear steamed down her face...

"HE WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" Es shouted as she opened her eyes, but her left eye was glowing blue, exactly like it die back when she fought Freaks. Avenge heard about this from Mei, activating her own form of XBLAZE, but Es mentioned she could only do it once. What was happening, but before her can ask anything...

"I! SAID! GET! OFF! ME!" Unomaru yelled as he managed to grab Nu and throw back into the ground as hard as he could.

"Argh!" Nu let out as she slid across the ground, her visor flickering on and off, trying to stay awake as Unomaru hovered over to her, stomping onnher chest.

"Time to decommission you..." Unomaru said darkly as he prepared to fire a beam at Nu's face, but before he could...

*SWOSH*

A blue blade like projectile hit Unomaru from behind, making him wonder who hit him. By the time he turned around, he saw Es up in his face. Unlike earlier, there were tears running down it and her left eye glowed a beautiful Azure color. This sent Unomaru into feeling something he didn't before.

'What!? Her eye is blue!? But she doesn't have Code Embryo! So why...? Why am I shaking? Why... am... I afraid...?' Unomaru thought as all his rage and insanity dissapated upon seeing the Azure Maiden, but before he can think, Es grabbed him by his robotic "neck" and without blinking, tossed him across the ground at a terminal speed.

'What!? How can she throw me this far!?' Unomaru thought as he stopped himself, only for his right arm to get sliced off by a projectile that looked similar to a Crest. This did not go unnoticed by him as oil and sparks flew out of the shoulder socket.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHH! NOT AGAIN!" Unomaru yelled out in pain as he turned to see Es charge at him with with an intense aura behind her. He then realized something that terrified him. Something he hoped would never happen when he was human. She was aiming to HURT him. He wondered what caused her to change? He than remember that he struck Touya with his laser shot...

'No way! She's upset over th-' Unomaru thought before he felt Es' metallic shoes on his face before kicking him from on top of his head and fired another projectile from the trail of her sword swings, hitting him for more damage. He then regained control and flew above her, but then Es jumped high above him and stomped on his back and...

*SHING*

Stabbed Murakumo into his back, forcing him back onto the ground.

"KYAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Echoed Unomaru's cries of pain as it rung through the entire Restricted Ward.


Three Minutes ago...

"Uh... where...?" Touya said with a slight headache as he opened his eyes to see the night sky above him, along with Avenge and Nu overlooking him.

"You are awake." Nu said, stating the obvious as she observed him.

"Nu? Avenge? Argh!" Touya said as he tried to get up before wincing in pain, he then noticed bandages wrapped around his torso.

"Don't move, you're just lucky she came to close that wound before we put those bandages on you." Avenge said, trying to get Touya to ease up.

"She?" Touya questioned, wondering who else could have healed him. Was it Mei or Kuon? It couldn't be.

"Good thing I got here when Kuon called, Part-Timer." Said a voice all too familiar with Touya. He turned to see Ringo kneeing next to him.

"Ringo?" Touya asked before she placed a gentle hand on his left chest.

"Avenge said you got pirced by a laser shot. It's a good thing it was near your shoulder instead of your heart or lungs. You could've died otherwise. Healing magic may not be my specialty, but it's enough to close up a small wound like that. Thankfully, it was the size of a standard bullet." Ringo explained to Touya in detail as the young man tried to remember what happened and he remembered a sharp pain following by Es' eyes widening in shock and horror. He then noticed Es' jacket next to him, the light blue dyed by blood, forming an unatural dark purple color, sending worry into him.

"Es! Where is she!?" Touya said jolting up before the pain hurt him even though he was sitting.

"Hey! I understand your worried, but your own health comes first!" Ringo said trying to get Touya to lie still, but then...

"KYAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Echoed a loud voice from across the Restricted Ward, stunning the four who sat there in bewilderment.

"That was Unomaru's voice..." Touya said in a state of shock, wondering if Es was behind it. Ringo didn't look surprised as when Kuon called her, she told her what happened regarding him and Wendy. As soon as she heard that, and knowing that Elise can keep Hinata, Akira and Kiri safe, Ringo ran toward the Restricted Ward as fast as she could and just arrived just as Es began her assult on Unomaru. After a while, all is silent until...

"HYAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Yelled a broken feminine voice as a surge of blue light shined brightly and flew in front of everyone by 20 feet, with Unomaru's damaged mechanical body being carried by it and within that blue light was Es, spinning from within that light before stopping, letting Unomaru drop like a sack of bricks. With that Unomaru laid broken. His entire right arm, half of his left arm and his entire right leg are sliced off, his left eye broken open revealing a sparking camera and numerous stab wound in his metallic body. His body was smoking and he can't take much more damage.

'N-not... good... at this... rate I'll... die again... I underestimated them...' Unomaru thought to himself as he knew he can't win now in the state he's in. Additionally, Wendy hasn't come down to help him, implying she was captured, killed or forced to retreat herself. Regardless of Wendy's condition, he lost the moment Mei electrocuted him and when Es attained this strange power. His only hope now was to detach his head and retreat, in order to fight another day.

"Detach!" Unomaru shouted as his head separated from his body and started to fly away with the emergency booster built into the neck portion of his head and began to fly away. Es, with tears still running down her face, focused her sword, prepared to strike down Unomaru, fully intending to kill him. Touya and the others saw how much grief Es was in and is clearly not thinking straight or even caring about what's she's doing. Touya immediately got up before Ringo, Avenge or Nu could see it. As much as it would be easy to kill Unomaru now and even though he loathes killing another person, he didn't want Es to kill someone in mindless, cold blooded murder as it was even worse when he lost it fighting Ren, but instead of a berserk rage, Es wasn't even caring about anything at all. Touya ran toward Es before can fire at Unomaru...

"NO ES! WAIT! STOP!" Touya shouted at Es, causing her to look at him as she fired her attack off into the distance, completely missing Unomaru's head as he flew off into the distance. Nu attempted to give chase after him, however, she was too damaged to do so.

"Don't bother, if's he going where I think he's going. There's no point in chasing him down." Ringo called out to Nu, knowing full well that he's heading to the Wharf. What's important now is why Touya stopped Es from finishing off Unomaru when she had the chance...

As Es looked back at Touya, the young man could only look in sadness upon looking at Es' eyes. Apart from one of her amber eyes turning blue somehow, they were slightly red from all of the crying and her eyes are glazed over with not a single shine coming from them. Not even looking at him appeared to do anything as she stood like a statue, staring at him like there was only air.

"Es...? Gah! It's me... Touya." Touya said as he grunted in pain, for even though the wound is closed, the pain was still there, but thay didn't matter right now for Es' emotional state is a major concern. He slowly approached her as she stood stright up, just staring back at him.

"I'm sorry, this time I was the one who worried you this time. I understand that you wanted to make Unomaru pay for what he did to me, even if it meant killing him. But... you're not even aware of what you're doing, aren't you!?" Touya apologized before pointing out that Es is not even acknowledging him or anyone else nearby at that moment in time, as if she shut off her emotions.

"You're doing what you did back in the Phantom Field! You're running away from your grief and sorrow! I know it hurts, believe me, I've been there! But if you're going to run around killing people without being aware of your actions, you'll just be a cold, mindless killing machine!" Touya shouted at Es as his voice broke. Yes, Es has taken lives in the past, but the reason she can live with herself now is because she's now aware of what she did and Touya believed Es wouldn't be herself anymore if she killed Unomaru like this. He knew she needed to let it all out and with that, he embrace the Azure Maiden with no signs of resistance.

"Please Es! Please don't turn back into a cold, emotionless being! You won't be yourself anymore if you do things like this!" Touya shouted, hugging Es tightly, hoping his presence and feelings would get through to her. A moment passed until...

"T-Touya...?" Es said weakly as the Azure light faded back to it's amber color and the light returned to her eyes, shining with life once more as Murakumo faded from her hand. She then raised her arms slowly until she abruptly hugged him.

"Yes, it's me Es... Ringo healed me. I'm fine now..." Touya said softly as he and Es slide down and sat next to each other, still hugging tightly as Es burried her face into Touya as she continued crying. He knew that he needed to be for her right now as she did for him.

"T-Touya... you're... you're... alive... I-I-I... thought you... that you...! *Sobbing*" Es stuttered before breaking down in his arms as she recalled that in her grief, she shut down emotionally before activating what appeared to be Phantom Memory, her own version of XBLAZE she used against Freaks. According to "Me", it could only be used once, yet it reactivated again somehow. She figured that of she didn't feel it, she could focus as what mattered was ripping Unomaru to pieces for what he did to Touya. When she saw Touya, she thought she was only hallucinating, but when he spoke to her and called her out for shutting herself off, relief and remorse overtook her as she knew it wasn't right to fight like this.

"It's okay Es, I'm here now. I'm here..." Touya replied, letting his own tears fall as he rubbed Es' back to soothe and calm her down. Once again, he managed to appeal to Es' heart and humanity like he did for her back then a year ago.

As the others watched, Nu suddenly fell to one knee, catching herself with one hand. This didn't escape Avenge's notice...

"Nu, are you alright?" Avenge questioned the Robotic Maiden as she looked back up at him.

"I'm fine. My energy reserves are nearly drained. I will enter shutdown sequence until I recharge back at HQ." Nu replied in yet another complete sentence, something that Avenge couldn't help but look in amazement for a moment.

"What is it?" Nu asked, wondering why he looked shocked.

"Nothing. Zwei, help Touya and Es back to Mitsurugi Agency HQ once Es calms down, understood? I'm going to take Nu to her Charging Capsule." Avenge said as he instructed Ringo before carrying Nu in his arms before heading back without a reply. Once he left, Ringo was left to watch the two in wonder...

'Touya, what have you and Es have been up since we last saw each other?' Ringo thought to herself as she noticed how close they are right now compared to when she saw them earlier. She knew the two are good friends, but the fact Es broke down like this is alarming at best. She could only theorize that their relationship is MORE than platonic just by looking at them.

'I see... she stole your heart... and you stole hers...' Ringo thought as she put two and two together about how the two must have strong feelings for one another. As much as she'd like to tease them, she knew it wouldn't be a good time after that rough battle. Besides, if they didn't tell anyone else yet, it must be for a good reason, so she decided to keep it a secret and ask them later. Besides...

'Wendy... why did you do this?' Ringo thought as she thought about the Wind Mage. As much of a show-off she is, she was never the kind of person to do this. But what really surprised Ringo was thay she knew Acht personally, a fact she never knew about her fellow Ten Sage.


The Wharf

Haruki stayed outside of the Secret Lab on the look out in case Unomaru came back. It's been more then ten minutes when Wendy came back, but she went back into the secret lab, only saying "What did you do?" over and over again. After five more minutes passed, he saw some fly toward him and it was...

"Souichiro!?" Haruki yelled in surprise as Unomaru's head turned of the thruster in his neck and landed in Haruki's hands.

"What the hell happened to you!? You're just...! Just a...!" Haruki panicked in a way straight out of an anime as he couldn't fathom what he was seeing. Granted, it wasn't a HUMAN head, but the sight and thought alone was shocking and morbid.

"A head. Yes. I know." Unomaru replied in a broken, static sounding voice, yet sounded completely deadpan by his associate's reaction to his current state. After flying away, he was so emotionally drained that every once of anger and insanity dissapated.

"Look, remember I told about those two spare bodies I have? Take into the lab and plug my head to the complete one. The second spare body isn't ready yet." Unomaru told Haruki what to do in order to "repair" him as the thief understood.

"O-okay. As for Diablo, he's halfway thawed out, but not completely. And Wendy..." Haruki explained to Unomaru whay happened on his end, but while Unomaru was pleased about Diablo's thawing...

"Wendy's here? So she wasn't captured... why did she come back here instead of helping me!?" Unomaru yelled in sheer annoyance and anger. If he were human, he was sure that his blood presure would be through the roof right now.

"I don't know! She just kept saying "What did you do?" non-stop since she came back. Did you do something bad?" Haruki asked Unomaru something he felt needed answering, but the robot's head remained silent.

"Just set my new body up and I'll have a word with her. Sounds like our enemy did something to her." Unomaru replied, ignoring Haruki's question. He didn't like it, but he understood that much. He then returned to a special red color container and headed to the secret lab to restore his "companion".

To Be Continued...


And this ends the Second Story Arc! The tragic first battle with Unomaru has come to a close.

What's the mysterious return of Es' Phantom Memory Grimoire mean? Will our heroes defeat Unomaru and stop whatever scheme he has planned? And what kind of man is the mysterious Union known as Daiblo?

Stay tuened as we head into the Third Story Arc of XBLAZE: A New Start next time!