'Damnit, why me?! Why does everything have to happen to me?!' Iñaki
ran through the streets of Shinjuku (downtown Tokyo) angrily. She
stopped in front of the Tokyo Tower, looking up at it in irony.
"Stupid tower," she muttered. She looked up at the park to see a
large crater and... "Rashi? No, it couldn't be..." She turned from
the park, angry at her stupidity.
"Where do you think you're going?" She stopped and turned back to
face the speaker.
"Who are you?"
"Name's Aphroditius. And you should head into the park. I think
you'll be pleasantly surprised." She blinked as he disappeared, then
shook her head.
"No," she said quietly. "I'm not getting involved with this again."
She took off running, ignoring the differences in the scenery. She
stopped suddenly as the city disappeared. She turned back to see it
still standing.
"It just...stops..." She stared dumbly at the city, confusion in her
eyes. "What the hell...?" Her legs gave way beneath her, and she fell
into a sitting position, looking up in deep thought at the tower...
Xantus walks slowly down the crowded street, his black eyes searching
with intensity. He looks down upon most of the people who populate
the city, not because of any supposed rank, but because of his tall
stature. Emotionless, he looks down at his watch again.
"Almost there," he thought to himself.
He turns a corner, and the red dot on his watch disappears. He
stops, and looks around silently. He turns into the building he
stopped in front of, taking the stairs 3 at a time till he reaches
the third floor. He closes his eyes, and concentrates. He begins to
move, his eyes still closed. He opens the door, and begins walking
down the corridor. He stops at a door, 337. Opening his eyes, he
knocks on the door. After receiving no answer, he tries the door,
which is unlocked.
The room is in disarray, what looks to be an unused office. A thick
layer of dust covers everything in the room, displaying its lack of
use for some time. He walks over towards a corner, as if he had been
there before. He crouches down, and in a pile of discarded papers,
retrieves a metallic disk of some sort. He brings it over to a desk,
and lays it flat, pushing a button. A hologram appears.
The hologram is of a young boy, with short black hair. His head is
crowned with a single band of cloth, with a feather stuck inside. He
has a single patch covering his eye, and he wears no shirt. His body
is covered in strange geometric patterns, and his brown leggings
match his headband. He nods slightly towards Xantus, who returns the
greeting.
"tehdä sinä tehdä?" Izzy asks.
"Fint. Hva er på min alder misjonsstasjon?" says Xantus.
"Du er å finner disse to..." Izzy said, and he fades away. He is
replaced by a holographic picture of Rashi and Iñaki. He
returns to say, "Og beskytte seg for enhver pris. Deres overlevelse
er aksen av overlevelsen av det tre virkelig I fare."
"tre? Jeg vite det to kollidere. Det tredje en er som I fare av
kollidere likeledes?" Xantus asks.
"ja. Hvis piken dør , henne virkelig does likeledes. Det gutten
virkelig avhenger av på hans egen overlevelse. Hvis de begge to
dø, så det tre virkelig overlever ikke." Izzy says.
Xantus nods solemnly, and picks up the disk, putting it in his
pocket. He turns and walks out the door, which disappears from
the wall after he closes it.
Rashi stopped in the middle of the road. The large crater was now
empty and he lost track of the strange man that floated above it. He
felt a shudder.....
"F-Folken?!" Rashi could sense his loves life force in this
realm. "Folken?! FOLKEN~!!" He heard Folken coughing behind a park
bench. He ran to his side.
"Rashi--I was thrown away by that blast." Folken’s eyes were red from
the dust and smoke. "Go find him--he could be danger" Folken pointed to
a large building. “He went in there…hurry Rashi-you could be in
danger, you and Iñaki." Folken passed out, but Rashi could sense his
life force still, so he knew he was ok.
"Ok, love" Rashi stood and tried to call his wand, then remembered he
couldn’t in this realm. He sighed and ran towards the building, hoping
to find out what the hell happened...
'Damnit. There is no such thing as normal...' Iñaki sighed and got to
her feet, walking back into Tokyo. 'Well, I don't care anymore. I
will have nothing to do with it. I'm through. The Scouts are gone,
the Negaverse is gone, Earth is a safe and happy place... Well, okay,
maybe not...' As she walked, she looked around curiously.
"I've never been to this part of town before... It seems a bit
older... Hm." She turned down an alley, seemingly looking for
trouble. A cat knocked over a trash can, and Iñaki called up a ball
of energy out of habit, then angrily dispersed the energy. After a
few minutes of aimless wandering, she sighed.
"I really need to get home... Oh wait. I don't _have_ a home...
Again..." She growled quietly in her frustration.
"FOLKEN!"
"What the...?" She turned at the sudden outburst. She didn't
recognize the name, but the voice... "No, don't be stupid. It can't
be. None of that was real, remember?"
'But if it wasn't real...' She gently fingered the band still around
her upper arm.
'Forever.' With frustration and anger at her obvious stupidity rising
inside of her, she turned to follow the voice and investigate what
was going on.
'If I'm lucky, maybe I'll get caught in the crossfire of two rival
gangs and die and be out of this nightmare... That would be my luck,
wouldn't it? Only, someone would somehow manage to find me and save
me and..."
"YAGH!" Iñaki froze, eyes wide in surprise. "SHIT! You scared me
you...eh?" She moved in a little bit closer, squinting her eyes
slightly.
"Do I know you?"