Kohael is slowly advancing toward a clearing in the forests of Ragol. Its
night, and he is wearing a heavy cloak to protect himself from the chill of
the planet's atmosphere. The camera picture is a bit fuzzy and out of focus,
whoever is holding it is either untrained or really tired.
They are also doing their best to stay out of Koh's line of sight. He's too
wrapped up in his thoughts to notice them. Both his hands are concealed under
his cloak, and you can't tell what kind of weapon he's holding, or if he's holding
one at all.
The camera holder adjusts the dials on the cam, and for the first time you can
see another cloaked figure standing at the edge of the clearing. Is it a woman?
It must be, for the voice is most certainly feminine when she says,
"You're here, Kohael. Does that mean you've given up?" The voice is
raspy, as if it hasn't said anything in several days.
"I'm here, but I'm not giving up. I'm here because I need you to answer
some questions for me."
"And why should I answer them?", she jumps forward and pulls a small
dagger from her belt. But Kohael is faster, far faster. He leaps up and is all
the way to the other end of the clearing before she has even landed.
"You're a lot stronger than you were when we last met.", she says,
a note of respect creeping into her voice despite her best attempts to suppress
it.
"Killing me would solve nothing, Alice. You'd still be down here, still
be the way you are now. And you'd have nothing to live for, either."
"You've got something better, I assume? I'm a freak, now, thanks to you.
I can't go anywhere or do anything."
"Thanks to me? Whose idea was it to develop that virus anyway? Or steal
that machine? Or use it on yourself?"
"........"
"First question, then: Who put you up to it?", Kohael is perfectly
calm.
"What?!?", even behind the darkness of the cloak, you can sense her
shock. The mysterious cameraman nearly drops their camera, too. A second later,
its stabilzed.
"You're cute, in your way, and smart, too, but a leader? A planner? No.
And where did you find the location of that base, anyway? Don't try to make
me think you just stumbled across it. And the cash to start up a research facility,
when every electronic device that had been on Ragol during the explosion had
been going haywire? And thats just to start."
"Again, why should I tell you anything? Even assuming you COULD kill me,
do you think I'm going to do you any favors?"
"No, I'm proposing a trade."
"You don't have anything I want."
Kohael takes something out of his cloak. A vial, maybe?
"I'm sure you can guess what this is?"
"Where did you get that?"
"Straight from the Persona Century data files I pulled before I left home.
I knew it would come in handy."
"Give me that!"
She leaps again, but this time, instead of moving, Kohael's hand moves back
to a large gun he is holding under his cloak. She stops, nearly in midair.
"Then I take it you recognize this, as well?"
"I can sense its power. Can it really kill me?"
"Easily. This is the universe's only "Psycho Cannon", the perfect
blend of magic and science. Every spell known is bound into this thing, and
every ounce of power it generates can be
thrown straight at you. It can rip through your shield in a second. I'm holding
all the cards here, Alice. Tell me what I know, and you can become human again.
Refuse, and you'll be nothing but dust."
Instead of sounding truimphant, though, Kohael sounds sad.
"Fine. Sei's boss is behind it."
"Sei's boss? Who?"
"I don't know, he contacted me only through his representative, some odd
looking android. He told me that he knew I was a brilliant scientist, and that
my talents were being wasted.
He offered me a job doing the work I had been doing at home. I accepted, and
he gave me a team of the very best assistants he could find, an abandoned base,
and enough toys that I was able to
complete the project in half the time I expected. But I figured out pretty fast
that he meant to kill me after I finished it. I quickly redeveloped the biological
weapons portion of the project, using the
data I took from you after I beat you in that duel, and created a weapon I and
my team could use to defend ourselves. I needed to test it, so I released a
sample into the Yellowboze district."
"But you knew it worked, why test it again? I'm not buying it."
"Who told you that? I had my weapon, I had my complex set well-defended
against any attack, and my virus as an offensive weapon. I retreated to my base
and waited."
"But, ORAN..."
"What? I never had any plans for the ORAN district."
"Liar!", for the first time Kohael seems to be a bit agitated.
"Who told you I was going to attack ORAN?"
"That note I got........"
"You were ready to believe anything about me, weren't you?"
"I was.", Kohael's face fell, "then I've been duped too."
"You were always best at following orders, but you never were good at thinking
things through. You did his work for him, wiped out my whole complex without
costing him a single man."
Koh's looking very angry.
"Any other questions?"
"No.", he tosses her the vial. "Here, I don't care what happens
to you now."
"Going after him, then?"
"Of course. Nobody uses me, ever. I'll make him, whoever he is, wish he'd
stay'd to die on the homeworlds."
"Koh..."
"You were a pawn too, why don't you help me? You're still a powerful hunter."
"Maybe I could. Would you really let me start over, after all I've done
to you?"
"Hey, Takano. If we were all punished for everything we'd done in the past,
where would I be?"
He smiles, as if laughing inside at some secret joke.Then he starts.
"Alice, look out!"
A bright bolt of lightning falls from the sky and knocks Takano to the ground.
From out of nowhere a man has appeared in the clearing. You realized that you
were so intent on the conversation between the two that you missed him sneaking
up entirely. The camera holder is so stunned that she drops the camera, and
when she picks it up, you can see her face for a second, a blonde newman. You
swear you recognize her from somewhere... But your attention is drawn to the
man, who is holding an archaic looking wand. He is dressed in yellow, and you
remember him from a long time ago as Sei-Ryu, the man who fought Kohael in that
hallway so very long ago.
"You shouldn't have talked, Alice", he says, "I was perfectly
willing to let you live out the rest of your pathetic days here in the backwaters
of Ragol. But you've forced my hand, now, or rather, HIS hand. "
Takano is on the ground, not moving at all. Kohael's hand is now inside his
cloak, and he looks madder than you've ever seen him.
"Sei......."
"I wouldn't do that, if I were you, Kohael. This Psycho wand is perfectly
effective on normal humans too. You didn't think that the original wand was
REALLY destroyed on Motavia, did you? It took a bit of work, but I mangaged
to get it. It's sole purpose for existing is to eliminate all evil. I can feel
it begging me to kill you, but you're still useful to us."
Kohael's hand moves away from his gun.
"I'll just take these, you won't be needing them", he leans over the
fallen Takano and takes the vial from Kohael, as well as what looks like a small
handheld computer from under her cloak, all the while never taking his aim off
Kohael.
'I'll leave you now, Kohael. You might be able to save her, if you don't try
to follow me. RYUKER!"
He is gone, but the telepipe remains open like an invitation. But rather than
following it, Kohael kneels toward Alice's side.
"Its no good, Koh. The Psycho Wand's beam is tearing me from the inside
out. Follow him, and get revenge."
"I'll get my revenge another time. I'm not leaving your side."
"Koh...... Why is all this happening? Why can't we just find our paradise
and live there? Ragol is no better than the place we left, maybe its worse.
At least at home, we weren't the cause of the problem."
"I don't know, Alice. But don't worry, I'm gonna make it right. Don't worry."
Alice closes her eyes, and begins to fade into nothingness.
"Koh, thanks for giving me another chance."
In another minute, she is gone. Kohael sighs, stands up, and telepipes his way
back to the surface, never showing a single tear.
Nali is staring at the video aghast. "Hey, did you see that? That hunter holding the camera? That was Nol Rinale! She's alive!"