Ryushi slowly slid his claws from a SWORD and stepped back, allowing the robotic soldier to fall to the ground. There. That was one Phantom Unit less that Seth had at his disposal.
Ryushi shook his head. What does one unit matter? Seth mass produces these things so that there are always more everyday than there was beforehand; no matter how many had been destroyed. He needed to kill Seth, not just attack these feeble SWORDs. Ryushi turned around to walk away from the scene of destruction he had just created, when a single voice stopped him.
"Ryushi Kaijonari. Or, perhaps, Nisemeisho."
It was not just the fact that Ryushi's old name, one that he thought nobody alive would pin to who - or what - he was now. But it was the voice; the voice of a man long dead. Ryushi spun around, and true enough, Skan Erreden stood before him.
Only... had Ryushi not spent many years as one of Skan's closest friends, he could never have thought that the man who stood before him was once leader of the Engineer's Guild. He couldn't even tell which dominated Skan's body - flesh or machine. That, and the fact that it appeared Skan's left arm was entirely gone.
Skan snorted. "Or should I say Hotaru?" He shook his head, then said, "Slayer, Stalker, Striker, you've gone by many, many names. Nisemeisho truly is a correct name. False Title."
Ryushi blinked. What was Skan talking about? He had known for such a long time that Ryushi - or perhaps, Nisemeisho - had many other aliases, but never before mocked him.
Skan looked up and down at Ryushi, a slightly mocking look on his face. "Lord Seth was correct. You've changed nearly as much as I, and not at all for the better. Perhaps the name Slayer truly fits you best of all."
Ryushi's mouth turned to dust at the first words out of Skan's mouth. Lord Seth. What was going on?
"What is going on?" Skan asked. He smirked at Ryushi's expression. Ryushi hadn't even realized he'd mouthed the words until Skan tapped the green panel in front of his right eye and said, "With this new 'eye', Nisemeisho, I can read your lips better than any professional. Good enough almost as if you were speaking to me normally. Now, you'd like to know why I am like this?" Skan's smirk dissapeared, replaced by a glower. "You have yourself to thank for it, Nisemeisho. The Sentinel crashed, as you know, and in all aspects, I was dead. However, I was revived. My brain and body were rebuilt with mechanics, and I am what you see now. Perhaps Lord Seth deemed my skills with technology worthy enough to help him build SWORDs. Those Phantoms you just destroyed? Those are all my models."
Ryushi couldn't believe what he was hearing. Why do you work for Seth!? he mouthed, hoping Skan could understand. Everybody thinks you are dead!
Skan shook his head. "My brain has been re-written, so that only important thoughts exist. Among these is that Lord Seth is not leader of the SWORDs, he is God. Any who stand before him should die, even if they merely question his words. You, Nisemeisho, are very high among these people. You, and three others are the most dangerous to Lord Seth. Especially that man, Ikaku." Skan lifted his fist and snapped his fingers. "I would like to introduce you to the newest SWORD Unit. I call it 'Ultima'."
Ryushi was shaking his head, mouthing the word No... at what Skan had become. He was broken off by a slight humming sound.
A large shape, well over eight feet tall, materialized from the darkness, and made it's way over next to Skan. Ryushi heard absolutely no sound in it's footsteps despite the SWORD's size.
Ryushi had never before seen a SWORD so closely resembling a human shape. It was tall and thin, composed of rounded mechanical limbs. It's body tapered to a thin, nearly foot long waist, with shoulders over three feet wide. The Ultima's head had two very human like eyes, in all aspects other than the fact that they were a solid brown that seemed to look at everything but once. The SWORD's left arm was a massive gun; it's right arm ended in a hand with three sharp fingers that were at least two feet long, jointed at the first foot in length.
"I shall leave you to battle the prototype," Skan said, taking a step back. He turned around and walked away, dissapearing in the shadows as stealthily as he had appeared, saying only, "I will be greatly surprised if you would win this battle, Ryushi."
"Where did Crystal take Kenjii?" Thom mused. He looked at Teron. As usual, Skyler stood in the back of the room, almost a part of the shadows. "To the monument, perhaps?"
"I hate that monument," Skyler growled, taking place in the conversation for the first time. Teron made an exasperated sound. Thom looked at him curiously.
"Skyler thinks that Skan is not dead," Teron explained. Thom frowned and didn't answer, staring at the ground. Teron instantly regretted the words. Thom was one of Skan's better friends.
"Never say somebody is dead without seeing their body," Skyler growled. "From what you've told me, Teron, you never even managed to recover Skan's Gear, could you?" A "Gear" was another word for a mobile suit - there were as many names for them as there were countries. "Besides, I know personally that Skan can take a lot more than you might think."
Teron snorted. "I was by Skan's side when we battled a Zodiac Demon, Skyler, I think I knew what Skan is capable of. Besides, if he is alive, where has he been all these years?"
Skyler's face hardened even more, if that was possible, but he did not answer. Teron nodded in satisfaction, then continued his conversation with Thom. Skyler ignored them. "Morons," he mumbled to himself.
"Your friend Kenjii is quite a character," Alex said softly to Crystal. Like Krinn, he walked by her side, with two of his guards in front of him, and two behind. The four men never let their eyes stay on one point for more than a moment, looking at anything and everything. Kenjii walked a few feet away, muttering to himself, as if not part of their group. "I don't think I like him too much."
Crystal looked at Alex out of the corner of her eye. He rarely voiced his dislike for anything, so he must strongly dislike the mercenary. "Well, I don't like him either, but you don't hear me whining," she growled.
:That's because you DON'T dislike him: Krinn teased. She ignored him.
They walked a few more minutes in silence, until one of Alex's guards cried out, "SWORDs! A Fenrir Unit!"
Crystal's head snapped up. Sure enough, several dozen SWORDs were converging on their spot. Well, it actually looked like it was several hundred, but Crystal knew it could be no more than five dozen. Nonetheless, it was a frightening sight.
Crystal instantly put up a shield, the same shield she has used the last time she'd battled the Fenrir. Unfortunately, she knew how fast they could cut through, and she doubted that Slayer would be here to save her again.
Everyone else noticed the translucent yellow dome surrounding them. "It's OK!" she said. "People can travel through, just not SWORDs or bullets."
Two of Alex's guards left him to begin firing at the SWORDs, and two more stayed behind to protect the guild leader. Kenjii, surprisingly, stood at Crystal's back, his extended gythka in hand. "We can't do this, my curvaceous partner," Kenjii growled. "The Fenrir will break through the shield, and there are far too many for us to fight! These guys are strong."
Crystal scowled, angry because that was what SHE was going to say. "I'm aware of that," she said in a tight voice.
"Well, you use magic, can't you waap us out of here or something?" Kenjii growled. Bullets, both from Alex and his guards, and the SWORDs, began to fire. None of the bullets penetrated past the barrier, so all but the two guards were safe until the Fenrir could make it to the shield.
Crystal shook her head. "Warping takes a lot of concentration. You could end up as a permanent part of the landscape if done incorrectly. Like your ears as the knots of a tree. MY way of warping is less dangerous... in a sense..." Now some of the Fenrir were close enough to the two guards to use their swords. One of the guards took out his own sword to counter them as his friend continued with the machine gun. "It makes sure nothing happens to you, but where you go is completely random."
"Well, do it!" Kenjii snapped. "We don't have much of a choice!"
Crystal was getting angry at Kenjii's attitude. "Listen, you bastard, magic is NOT an easy feat! Just let me be so I can gather the energy I need!" Kenjii, if anything, looked amused. That insufferable man!
:Krinn: Crystal pleaded. She didn't want Kenjii to know she needed help. :It's taking everything I have to hold up the shield! Can you help me?:
Krinn shook his head. :Unfortunately, the little energy I have to spare won't be of any use to you. Just use Kenjii:
Crystal glared at her familiar. :This is no time for jokes! I can only share energy with you or somebody else capable of making a link. No either-:
:Tust me! Just ask him to make a telepathic link: The iguion interupted.
Crystal said nothing, even if she eyed Krinn warily. Her familiar wouldn't lie, or tease, in a situation like this... but how did he know Kenjii was capable of such a feat?
"Kenjii!" Crystal said, wasting no time. "Open up a telepathic link. Now, it's important!" Kenjii blinked in surprise at her, then opened his mouth to say something, but she interupted. "I don't have time to explain; this must be done now, you moron!"
Kenjii complied, with a glare at Krinn. :There, are you happy? Now what-: His eyes widened in surprise once more as Crystal began to gather energy from him. The ground around her, several feet in diameter, began to glow white.
"Everybody!" Crystal yelled to get her voice over the hail of bullets. "Come here, I'm going to warp us out of here! Be careful, the warping is random!" A thought occured to her - what if somebody warped in the middle of another SWORD raid? It was a risk she had to take.
Everybody quickly ran over to her, crowding together more than was strictly neccessary. Except for one of Aex's guards; the one with the sword.
"Hold on!" Alex yelled. "Don't cast the spell yet, just wait for one moment!"
The strain of holding the spell without casting was enough on Crystal to force her to drop the shield. And the man still was not making it in time. Just as one of the Fenrir raised a gun to her and Kenjii, she whispered, "I'm sorry..." and cast the spell. Nobody heard over the bullet fire except for Kenjii, due to their link, who glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
The last thing Crystal remembered before the bright white light of the spell filled her eyes was Alex yelling, "Neil, no! NEIL!!"
In the near outskirts of the bases headquarters, right outside of Thom's shop, Skyler leaned forward on a table, held up by his knuckles. The man in front of him - Tam - had thick beads of sweat running down hsi face.
"Are you sure?" Skyler asked harshly. "Are you absolutely sure?" The story sounded like a complete fabrication. Three legends rolled into one story. Yet Skyler had once taught this man a painful 'lesson' the first time he'd lied to the Esper; it would take quite a bit for him to be lied to again.
Tam nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Slayer was there, and Skan. Well, I think it was Skan, he looked more like a robot than anything else. Maybe he's a SWORD!" Tam swallowed nervously. "Or maybe it's just a new SWORD that's supposed to look like Skan. Well, he called Slayer - the real Slayer! - a whole bunch of names, like Nisemoosha. I forget what it was, really, but Slayer seemed to recognize them. Maybe Nisemoosha is his real name? Uh, anyway, Skan - again, I'm not really saying it's the real Skan! - sent the Ultima SWORD after Slayer, and that's when I left. Just as Skan did. Can you imagine it? Slayer AND the Ultima SWORD!!"
Skyler's face had hardened a bit more on every word, until a scowl twisted his face so much that he eventually looked like he was going to spit. After a long, uncomfortable silence (for Tam, at least), Skyler spoke. "Do not speak of this to anyone. ANYone, do you hear me?" Tam nodded. "You're not in the Engineer's Guild anymore, boy." Tam was only two years younger than Skyler. But he acted ten years younger. "If you go around spouting that story, some people will take it the wrong way and kill you as surely as a SWORD. You understand?"
"Y-Yes, Skyler."
Skyler nodded. "Good. You're dismissed." That said, he turned around and walked away to Thom's store.
Tam let out a long breath. Skyler really was far too intimidating. He was more than happy to get as far away from him as possible and do some more spying. He was so eager to leave that he didn't see the black shape come up behind him.
"You speak too much, Tam," a familiar voice said flatly.
Tam spun around, and just as he saw the cyborg face of Skan, a coldness squeezed his heart, and death took him.
"What did Tam tell you?" Teron asked as soon as Skyler came in the room.
"He said..." Skyler hesitated. It was a well known fact that he worked alone; the only reason he was with Teron's resistance force was because it hightened the changes of his survival. He kept many secrets. How much could he tell Teron? Teron might go off and try and 'rescue' Nisemeisho, and end up getting killed by Slayer. And he may balk at the order of it may 'hurt Skan'. "He said that the rumors of the Ultima SWORD are true. He saw it fighting Slayer." There. That was no lie.
Teron nodded. "Yes, I have heard the rumors. If it is anything like I've heard, this may be very bad indeed. Is there anything else?"
Is Skan really on Seth's side? Or was it merely a SWORD? It seemed odd that one SWORD would give another orders, they all seemed to know what to do normally. "No," Skyler said. "That is all.
Kenjii woke up groggily, clutching his head. It was hot. Where was he?
He stood up in a pile of sand and looked around. A desert. A desert! Kenjii cursed. It may be better than fighting a bunch of Fenrir, but he only had one bottle of water in his coat. And he didn't know where to go.
Crystal lay unconscious nearby. He shook her, repeating her name loudly. Nothing. Casting the spell must have taken a lot out of her.
With a sigh, Kenjii picked her up and slung her unceremoniously over his shoulder. Then he began to walk in what he hoped was the correct direction.