Xenogears: New Gospel

Chapter VI, Section 5

Two fireballs descended from the heavens that morning. The Einhander fell away from its position alongside the massive Hellion battlecruiser, its fiery trail leading into the seas in the south of the planet, while the Hellion ship descended more or less strait down, into the northern polar cap. A vast cloud of steam erupted from the southern seas, while a fireball blossomed in the icy lands of the north, melting ice that had existed for thousands of years. No one witnessed these two landings, but there were others...

...

The Hellion foot soldiers glanced around the flattened crater that, three years ago, had been Laham village. The crater had long since grown over, with small shrubbery and grass covering the area. But even these could not hide the ruined buildings, the charred stone, and the melted hulks of several gears.

"<Commander.>" one of the Hellion's pathed. "<This type of damage is... unprecedented. The size of the crater suggests the usage of a small, tactical nuclear weapon... but such a weapon would have left radiation signatures that would make this area uninhabitable. And we certainly would have detected the radiation, and steered clear of this area.>"

The Hellion commander, distinguished by the blue-white chevrons painted on his chest plate, waved a hand in dismissal. "<Remember that this is the planet of the unit. The Unit's power is vast... it could have easily purged this area. Look well men, because this is not an attack on an area... this is a work of art.>"

The Hellions turned, the commander gesturing for them to move out. "<Our mission is to purge the only surviving humans on this planet who are aware of our powers and weaknesses. The surviving crew of the Einhander is currently beneath a large barrier, making any type of penetration of their fortress by the air impossible.>"

All of the creatures nodded. If an air purge was unadvisable, then the best course of action was to infiltrate, and kill everything that they discovered. A bloody course of action, but no one objected. After all, they had been crammed into a small ship for several of their years, which were significantly longer than the years the Terrans used, and were anxious to test their skills in battle. The Hellion commander smiled at that.

Their Lord would certainly not approve.

...

The Etone supply station, located less than a mile from the Cathedral of Nisan, was perhaps the only supply dump that hadn't been cleaned out. Others in the area had been tapped for both the festival announcing the landing of the Einhander's crew, or for the later battle against the Wels.

The lock to the supply station door trembled for a moment, before clicking open. The heavy padlock dropped to the ground with a dull clack, which caused several rats in the area to scurry for cover. A moment later, the door opened a crack, and an emerald haired young lady stepped into the room, glancing about cautiously.

"There's no one here." she whispered to her two companions. She gently pushed the door open, listening carefully for any squeaks or rattles. When she managed to open it enough to accommodate the massive gear on the other side, she sighed and dusted her hands off.

"Thank you, Emeralda." Elhaym van Houten replied, walking through the door a moment later. She gave Emeralda a smiled and a nod. "Your quite useful to have around."

"Thank you, Lady Elhaym." the emerald haired girl replied with a bit of a sarcastic smile on her face, watching Elly out of the corner of her eye. Elly trembled slightly at that remark, and turned to walk towards the Gear.

"You don't have to call me that." she replied, snapping slightly at her companion.

"Then what would you prefer I call you?" Emeralda responded, grinning slightly. "Mother?" Another glanced revealed Elly's utter flabbergasted expression.

"Elly is fine..." she said, shaking her head and walking back into the darkness of the hanger. Emeralda gestured for the other person with their group to enter the hanger.

Garr walked in, glancing around the massive, dark hanger. "It's pretty dark in here... don't we have any lights?" he whispered, flinching as even that tiny sound echoed back towards him.

"There are some lights in here... I'm not sure if they work though." Emeralda said, walking around to a small pillar that stood a few feet away from the door. "Elly hasn't used her Gear in a long time, so I'm not quite sure if anyone has replaced anything here."

In the background, Garr heard the sound of a hatch opening and closing in a rather short period of time. Emeralda pulled down on a small switch, and there was a brief flash... a rather brilliant one, as all of the lights in the hanger burned out in rapid succession. Gar shielded his eyes, and Emeralda smiled apologetically. "I guess not." she sighed, and started to walk towards the far end of the hanger.

"Wait, where are you going?" Garr shouted, and then clamped his hand over his mouth as the sound echoed in the vast Gear hanger. "Emeralda!"

"Garr, it's alright." Elly's voice sounded from behind him, and Garr sighed, turning to look back at her. Except she wasn't there.

Garr's first experience with a Gear was not a pleasant one. No one hears a person's voice behind them, only to turn to see a massive... thing leaning down over them. With its hand descending down upon them.

Emeralda spun around as a strangled scream rang out through the hanger. She skid to a stop at the scene a moment later, losing her footing at the last moment. She dropped on he knee next to Garr, who was as white as a sheet and pointing upwards. "Garr, what's wrong?" she asked, shaking him.

"Mon... Mon... Monster..." he babbled, still pointing upwards. Emeralda glanced up, and in a manner completely unbecoming of a lady of her age, snickered.

"Elly, I think you should hit your lights and let the poor man get a good look at you." she called, still laughing slightly under her breath. A moment later, the area was flooded with light.

"Garr, this is Vierge... My Gear." Elly replied, opening the cockpit to her gear. "We're going to have to hurry... someone might have heard the noise."

Emeralda helped Garr to his feet, and gave him a gentle shove towards Elly's gear. "You're riding with her... Elly!" she shouted. "Get going, I'll catch up in <Cresens>."

Elly gave her a thumbs up, and lowered Vierge's hand to floor level. "Get on Garr. If we're going to get to the Thames, we're going to have to hurry."

...

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEIR GONE???" Batholomew Fatima shouted. Shouted was perhaps not the best word to describe what he was doing. Bellowing, or perhaps roaring, was.

"Um, yes... you see, Mistress Elhaym has... um, left for the Thames with Etone Emeralda and Lieutenant Garr from the Einhander." Remus was trembling slightly, clutching the battered note that he held in his left hand. "I found this note among the papers that she asked me to distribute to the section heads."

"Damnit!" Bart shouted, pacing around his office. Both Sigurd, Margie, and Shitan stood to one side of the room, allowing the head of the town council to vent his anger in his own way. Sigurd shook his head sadly, and Margie covered her ears as Bart continued shouting.

Shitan glanced over at Sigurd, who had discreetly tapped him on the arm. "Although this is a huge risk for Elly to be taking, I believe that the young master is upset because she did not choose to inform him of the trip." Sigurd smiled, and shook his silver haired head. "Hyuga, I took the liberty of having Brigander's engine pulled for maintenance today..."

Shitan smiled and finished the sentence. "... to keep your young one from charging off after her?"

"Exactly." Sigurd replied, wincing slightly as Bart activated the comm to the Gear hanger. Shitan, Margie, Remus, and Shitan slipped out of the room, shutting the door moments before the comm set flew across the room to slam into the door.

Sigurd peeked back into the room, and gestured for Shitan to enter. Margie latched onto Remus's sleeve, winking at Sigurd. "I'll make sure this one doesn't run off after them either." she said quietly in Shitan's ear. Shitan smiled as the two walked off, Margie commenting on how she had never gotten a chance to tour the Ethos headquarters.

Bart was significantly more composed when Shitan reentered the room, sitting behind his desk with both of his hands held together in front of him. Sigurd took a seat as Bart began speaking. "As far as we can tell, Elly's been gone since early morning. We can't find Emeralda, or Maria, and they'll be long gone before we can send any normal gears after them. And since Brigander's engine has been pulled for maintenance..." Bart cast a withering glance at Sigurd, who shrugged, as he said this, "we don't really have an way of catching up to them. The Yggdrasil III can't be pulled off of patrol... so we'll just have to wait for her to get back."

"Young one, as strange as this comment may seem, perhaps this is for the best. Elly has had very little time to herself during the last year, and is probably due for a vacation. The fact that she is heading towards the Thames is of no consequence." Shitan pushed his glasses up so they were correctly seated on his nose, and smiled. "Elly has been taking care of herself for a long time... do not forget that she was one of Solaris's Elements. And I can personally attest to the effectiveness of that particular fighting unit."

...

The last fireball of the day blossomed in the sky. This one was of considerably smaller size than the ones that had appeared previously, and fell towards the planet in a much more controlled descent.

The being looked down on the planet, a strange sense of longing nagging at it. It didn't know why it was returning... there was danger in its return. The hunters were here.

But this is our home. They have come because of us. Now we have to clean up our mess.

...

The forest was the only thing that noted his passage... as it should be. This path had been planned, in case he was ever needed. The Hellion's moved with surprising speed, and fought with cunning brutality. He would not reach Nisan before they did.

But if they laid one of their disgusting, armored hands upon her... he smiled at that thought. Their fate would be all the worse for avoiding the trap he had spent all of the previous day setting up. And their fate was already one that would make strong men weak, and weak men run screaming in terror.

The cloaked man landed, his foot barely touching the tree limb before he launched himself into the air. Even though this path was far from any settlement, there may have been Wels dwelling around here... no point in wasting his strength, when opponents of unknown strength and capabilities waited.

He flew onwards.

...

Someone screamed.

Shitan gripped the leather wrapped hilt of his katana, breathing heavily. His opponent watched him with a cautious eye, sliding slightly to the left. Both of their eyes met, and for an instant, and understanding passed between them.

Shitan exploded into action, bringing his blade around in a backhand slash... a feint, but one that was hard to detect. His opponent lashed out with his quarterstaff, and there was a audiable crack as wood met on wood. But Shitan had already shifted his weight to his front foot, and with his back he snapped a kick into his opponent torso.

Sigurd grunted, backing off slightly. "Your point, Hyuga." he said in a light tone, rubbing his side. "Damn, I didn't see that one coming. Are you sure you hadn't fought before you joined up with Fei and his group?"

Shitan paused, tapping his wooden practice sword on his shoulder. "Perhaps it is that you have just gotten rusty Sigurd. Sitting behind the tiller of a sand ship is not the best way to hone one's fighting technique."

Sigurd looked at him with a mixture of annoyance and surprise on his face. Shitan wondered if he had offended his friend, when Sigurd threw back his head and laughed. "As if sitting on top of a mountain and working with machines is any better! Come on, Hyuga... Let us see who has gotten rusty."

Remus sat in a corner, reading a small, leather bound journal that he had picked up from the library. The tome was in an archaic language, which was compounded by the fact that the entire journal was written by hand. Remus had a stylus and a sheet of paper beside him, as he made notes in the translation.

Sitting by his side was Margie, who was busy leafing through a small stack of documents. "Sigurd, we have had some complaints about Elly missing several of her appointments." The fact that Elly had vanished from the cathedral without a trace was still not common knowledge throughout the city, although many people were beginning to reach that conclusion. "What should we tell them?"

Sigurd glanced over at her... a mistake, as Shitan's sword came within an inch of his shoulder as he danced aside. "Perhaps we should go public on this..." he started, bringing in staff down on Shitan's sword. "If we do, the people will know that Elly is out doing all that she can to help them."

Shitan dodged Sigurd's counter attack, responding with a quick jab towards his companion. "Would that be best? The fact that Elly has vanished may cause a panic in the city."

Remus looked up from his book, chewing on the end of his stylus. "Perhaps... The people trust Mistress Elhaym. However, I believe that the best way to balance these rumors, Doctor Uzuki, is to leak some of the information. That will let people who believe that nothing is being done know that something IS being done, while the fact that the information exists as a rumor will give the people who would see Elly's disappearance as an ill omen reason not to believe it."

Margie glanced over at him in surprise. "Remus, that is an excellent idea. Where did you come up with it?"

Remus shrugged the question off. "It was a common tactic used in my village by the elders." he replied, scribbling a few notes on his paper. "It allowed them to spread information that would cause a general panic in the town if it were publicly acknowledged. It gave them something they called... 'plausible deniability', I believe."

Shitan motioned for Sigurd to stop their match. Wiping some of the sweat off of his brow, he set the tip of his katana on the ground and leaned on the hilt. "Young Remus has an excellent point. This information would probably be best circulated as a rumor. Perhaps we should meet this afternoon to determine the best method to carry out this little plan."

Margie hopped to her feet, dropping her papers in Remus's lap. "I'll go tell Bart then. Is there anything else that you want me to do, Shitan?"

"No... but please make haste. There is the feeling of something... sinister in the air."

...

The campfire cracked with a merry light, reflecting off of the feet of Vierge and <Cresens>. Elly, Emeralda, and Garr were seated around the campfire, with a few of their travel rations cooking over the fire.

Elly leaned back against the tree she was seated by, and looked up into the stars. "It's been a while since I was out in the open like this... I haven't slept on the ground in over a year."

Emeralda smiled, reaching over the fire to grab several of the cooking meat sticks. "We didn't do that much camping outside when we were fighting against Solaris. And I can't imagine a Gebler soldier doing much camping outside." She handed the meat sticks to Garr and Elly. Garr grabbed his a bit too eagerly, and held his dinner by the stick, blowing on the fingers to his singed hand. Elly held hers much more carefully, and considered Emeralda's statement.

"Well, during my days at Jugend, one of our major tests was to see how well we could blend in with the 'Lambs'. We had quite a bit of camping out... essentially they tossed us down onto Ingas with a pocket knife, and were expected to get back to 'civilization' on our own." Elly smiled a bitter smile, thinking back to those days at Jugend with Dominia and the other Elements. "I was... commended for having to kill the least number of Lambs in my trek back to civilization."

"You killed people?" Garr asked, munching on his meat stick.

"Yes..." Elly said with a sigh of regret. "I wasn't quite the same person that I am now. Solaris uses an extensive brainwashing program in order to control their people, and I had been raised as a first class citizen of Solaris... one of the Abel."

Garr scratched his chin, and wracked his brain for where he had heard those expressions before. "I believe that whoever used those terms was a connoisseur of an ancient Earth religion, called Christianity. So the Solarians looked down on another country?"

Elly nodded, and took a bite out of her dinner. "We Solarians believed that due to our technological superiority, we had the right of life and death over the Lambs... people who lived on the surface." Elly gently bit her lip, and stared out into the night. "'If you Gebler are wise... I'd rather be a fool.'"

"I'm sorry?" Garr said, glancing at her with an interested expression.

"Words I spoke to Dominia, one of my friends from Jugend... She was attacking Bart and his ship, and Fei and I dropped down to help Bart fight her off. She... Dominia was always loyal to Ramses, the Gebler commander, no matter what he asked her to do." Elly smiled, and lapsed into silence. Garr looked into the crackling fire, wondering about what had happened on this planet in the last few years. It sounded like an epic adventure... one that would have been typecast as a warholo back in the Federation.

"Lady Elhaym, who is Fei? You mentioned him a few times, and he sounds rather important to your story."

...

The hellion commander motioned with his arm. The prey seemed to be relaxed, and at ease. It was time to strike.

...

The sands of this beach hadn't changed... it seemed fitting that he should set foot on Ignas from the point that he had exited it from. The young man raked his hair out of his eyes, turning to his companion.

"The Hellions are here. We don't have much time, partner."

His companion nodded his head, the single long bang on hair waving in the breeze. "Lets go."

...

There was no warning.

The Hellions had exploded through the front gates of Nisan like a herd of elephants, those guards who were either unfortunate enough or stupid enough to impede their progress being ripped apart in seconds. Several guns fired from the walls, but the Hellions seemed to shrug these off as little more than annoyances.

The Hellion commander threw its head back, bellowing a roaring laugh of triumph. The creature made an impressive sight, its tendriled hair hanging back behind it, threaded though with silver rings. It shook the guard it had just slain off of its forearm energy blade, and dropped off of the cart it was using as a perch. "<These are not warriors! Let none live, for scum such as these do not deserve the fates of warriors!>"

His subordinates bellowed their agreement, and swarmed further into the city. Now, nothing was spared their lethal touch. Any human, be they man, woman, or child, that could be caught was killed.

Their rampage was unchecked, the few guards that had managed to gather in front of them died within seconds. The Hellions had moved unchecked almost half a mile into the city before they ran into their first line of resistance.

The Hellion commander flinched at the explosion, and then turned to see one of his subordinates grasping a wound that had been inflicted on its upper arm. It hissed in pain as it attempted to staunch the flow of stick black ichor that pumped from the wound, and cast about for whatever had wounded it.

"So, these things can be hurt. That's reassuring." a voice echoed from up ahead. The Hellion commander glanced around, before its gaze settled on a single young human, standing alone in the center of the road. He wore some form of robes, and calming regarded them with icy blue eyes from beneath a head of silver hair. "Now lets see if you can die, shall we?"

The wounded Hellion let out a bellow of rage, and charged down the street. It snapped its wrist to the side, exposing a meter long blade that crackled with a haze of blue energy. "<DIE, YOU BASTARD!>" it shouted, bearing down on the human.

Billy gazed calmly at the creature, watching its rampaging charge. The distance between them was closing rapidly, and the thing didn't look like it was about to stop before it pounded him into the ground. The Etone shook both of his sleeves, and a pair of guns resembling old matchlock pistols dropped into his hands, which were still concealed beneath his cloak. The creature was now close enough that he could see its face, a hideous mixture of insect and humanoid, beneath its faceplate.

The Hellion leapt into the air, bringing its blade far about its head as it prepared to destroy this foolish human. How stupid, it thought. It does not even move to dodge my attack.

Billy rocked back on his heels as the thing jumped, and began falling backwards. For a brief moment, he felt apprehension. Had he started his fall soon enough? Or was that thing going to kill him before he had a change to fire.

Billy fall continued as the Hellion slashed, nicking a few hairs from his forehead and raising a thin line of blood. But other than that, there was no contact between the two. Billy's hands came up, his Ether guns primed and ready. He pulled the two triggers in a smooth continuous motion, and felt them kick.

The Hellions had shrugged off the previous attacks by the guards by the virtue of a shield, designed to take significant physical punishment before dissolving. But in all of their history, they had remained unable to adapt their shield to deal with energies of the Ether... not a large concern, considering that the only source of Ether energy was the few humans that possessed the Legacy... the Etherones. But Billy Ether guns fire nothing but a pure ether shell, one of the shells adapted to the element of fire, the other adapted to the element of air. Both of these shells passed through the Hellion's shield as if it were nothing.

The Hellion flew through the air, smoldering as the fire ether chewed into it, setting parts of its armor aflame. Its short flight ended as it crashed into a storefront only a short distance in front of its commander. It moaned for a moment, and then lay still. Not surprising, its commander noted, considering that the cadet's stomach had been blasted apart. He hissed his displeasure. This journey, the simple survey of an unexplored system, had soured, with one spate of bad luck after another. First the ship was shot down, and now there was a second civilization with Ether abilities???

A low growl issued through the troops around the commander, and many of his subordinates were preparing to charge. He held up a hand, as began to walk forward himself.

Billy rolled over, standing and drawing his gun in one swift movement. "Well, I've managed to slow them down. I hope this plan of Shitan's works." With that, he carefully placed his Ether gun across his forearm, sighting down the barrel. With careful precision, he placed the crosshairs over the creatures' leader.

The Hellion commander staggered as Billy sent three shots from his Ether gun into it, all of them striking it in the center of its armored body. The thing fell to the ground, and twitched slightly. Billy smiled, and lowered his gun. Shitan felt that the leader would be the most powerful, and with him dead, the others would be easier to deal with.

The Hellion Commander twitched again, and then to Billy horror, stood up, laughing. The creature smiled beneath its mask, and extended its forearm blade.

"So... human... you think that a simple Ether weapon would kill a Commander of the Third Tier?" It snarled in broken Basic. "Perhaps you should have paid more attention to what your Federation allies have told you."

Billy swore, and watched as the Hellion started walking closer. "Shitan, I'm going to have to have a long talk with you when this is over." he muttered, and set his weight on his back feet, preparing for the charge. The Hellion let out a bone chilling battle cry, and thundered across the street.

...

There was no warning.

The hair on the back of Elly's neck rose, and almost without knowing why, she grabbed Garr, and dove forwards off the log they had been sitting on. Elly spun around, praying that she was simply over reacting.

She wasn't. A creature, as alien as any of the Wels she had been, stood there, trying to free a massive forearm blade that had become imbedded in the log she and Garr had been sitting on. The woods around them rustled, as things moved around.

"Elly! You've got to run, before they surround us!" Emeralda shouted, already turning back to face the Hellion troops that were entering the clearing. "Go! I'll try to hold them off!"

Elly nodded, reaching into her pocket for her baton. Even as she did this, she grabbed Garr's hand and started running to the opposite side of the camp, the scientist in tow. Emeralda crouched in the center of the clearing, watching as they made their break for the cover of the woods.

The green haired girl cursed, realizing that the creatures, the word Hellion's flashed across her memory, were approaching from the direction of the Gears. They would have no help from either Vierge or Cresens in this fight.

The leader of the Hellion troops stopped less than ten feet in front of Emeralda, gazing at her a penetrating expression. His troops fanned out around him, forming a rough semicircle around their leader and Emeralda.

The creature removed its mask, revealing a highbrowed, mottled face. The only human seeming part about the creature was its eyes, which seemed to contain an interested expression. One of them was closed, the result of a large, jagged scar that began six inches above its eye and terminated near the base of the creature's neck. The creature had no mouth, but seemed to have a small, metallic box around its neck. Several lights on the box flashed, and it began to speak.

"You must be either very brave or very foolish to attempt to fight us all, girl. Which of those are you?"

Emeralda contained her surprise at this creature's mastery of her language, and managed to force a smile. "Neither, or perhaps both. Which remains to be seen... you haven't managed to kill me yet."

The creature threw its head back, and roared with laughter. "I think that you are brave, despite what others may say of those who fight against impossible odds." The creature gestured, and several of the Hellions on the outside of the semicircle broke away and ran after Elly and Garr into the woods. Emeralda swore, and the creature turned back to her, a hint of amusement in its eyes. "Of course, valiant stands are rather pointless if those whom the defender is trying to protect still die."

"Emeralda will not let you harm Elly... I made a promise to Kim that I would keep Elly safe." Emeralda replied, slipping back into her old pattern of speech for a moment. She stretched her hands in front of her, and settled into a fighting stance. The Hellions all roared in approval, and the commander pulled a small device off of its armor.

"Now that we've set the strange for a proper fight, take this." it replied, tossing a small box to her. It held up a small metal pin, before tucking it inside of its armor. "Defeat me, and I will give you the key that will teleport my men and I back to our ship. Kill me, and you may take it from my dead body."

Emeralda nodded. "Then a fight it will be."

...

Shitan, Remus, and Bart stood at the base of the bridge to the cathedral. From what they could tell, the Hellions were only moment away from arriving. Billy looked at Shitan, an expression of concern on his face.

"Shitan, what happened to Billy?" he asked, slowly clenching and unclenching his hand around the guard swore he wore at his waist. Shitan shook his head, and looked at the approaching cloud of smoke.

"Hopefully he managed to escape, or is at least retreating from them. If not..." Shitan left the question hanging. "Let us just hope that he managed to escape."

Bart watched, tapping his foot gently. "Here they come."

The Hellions shot around the corner. Several guards leveled their weapons, firing at them as they backed quickly away from the invaders. Two of them didn't make it, and blood splattered across the road as one of the Hellion's shook their bodies off of its blade.

Shitan heard Remus hiss through his teeth, and a moment later the hiss of steel being removed from its sheath echoed across the clearing before the bridge. Shitan grasped the hilt of his katana, and slid an inch of blade out of the sheath.

The Hellions stopped, all of them standing expectantly less than fifty feet away from the bridge. It was then that Shitan saw what had caused Remus to react. The Hellion leader, identified by his silver hair rings, was holding Billy by the collar of his robes, dragging him along the road behind him. Shitan swore softly, and drew his ornate katana.

The Hellion leader walked across the clearing, stopping less than ten feet away from Shitan. It seemed to regard then with a curious expression, and then snapped its arm forward, tossing Billy across the intervening area. The Etone landed with a muffled grunt, and lay still. Remus rushed forward, dragging his friend back to the safety of Shitan, Bart, and the guards.

Billy's face was streaked with blood, and now that Shitan could see him more clearly, he was that the young Etone's robes were also tacky with the red liquid. Both of his legs and one of his arms were bent at unnatural angles, or bent in places that they shouldn't have been. Shitan felt a surge of pity... being dragged across the ground like that must have been torture.

Shitan ignored Bart, who was walking towards the Hellion leader, and knelt down next to Billy, gently shaking his head. The Etone moaned, and his eyes flickered open, open but not seeing. "Uh..." he moaned. "Shitan, are you there?"

Shitan nodded, holding onto Billy's shoulder. "I'm here Billy... we're going to get you to the infirmary. Hang on."

Billy shook his head, and with his good arm grabbed onto Shitan's hand. "Listen... That bastard has a shield against Ether attacks. He also has some type of ability to create light... He blasted me with it, and got me while I was blinded... I can't tell if its worn off or not yet..."

Shitan nodded, and motioned for the arriving medical team to load Billy onto the stretcher. "Hold on Billy... you'll be alright."

Billy nodded, and grunted as he was loaded onto the stretcher. "Be careful Shitan."

Shitan watched as Billy was being led away, and turned back to the Hellion leader. And realized that he had not been keeping track of Bart and Remus.

Both Bart and Remus were now nearing the Hellion group, as they both fought the Hellion leader. Shitan swore, and watched as the creature laughed at their attacks.

Bart swore, lashing out at the creatures face mask with his whip. It stepped backwards, allowing the tip to crack in the air near its head. The thing spun with an unnatural quickness, snapping a kick towards Bart as it used its armblade to block a thrust of Remus's sword.

"Tell me humans, is this the best you have to offer? Are these the people that were supposedly the greatest threat to our race in millennia?" It yowled, static crackling through its voice. "HA! There is nothing to fear from those such as you."

"We'll see about that." Bart shouted back, and lashed out with his whip again. Remus nodded, and leapt forward, trying to stab the creature in the back. The Hellion danced out of the way, laughing in scorn.

It screamed a battle cry, and spun around, smashing Remus in the chest with one of its hands. Remus staggered backwards, dropping his sword on the ground. Bart swore, and tried to tangle the Hellion's legs with his whip, but the creature danced out of the way, and shot a powerful kick into Remus. There was a sickening crack, and Remus sailed across the square, rolling to a stop near the edge of the lake.

The creature completed its spin, and grabbed Bart's whip as it did so. Bart tugged at his weapon without any luck, and barely managed to let go of it as the Hellion jerked its hand. Bart's whip sailed across the square, and the former pirate was left without a weapon in the center of the square, facing a very annoyed monster that was intent on killing him.

Bart clenched fist as the creature charged, and watched its approach with an intense expression. The creature was approaching from the left, so unless it was a feint, he would have to dodge to the right in a few seconds...

"STOP!" Shitan shouted. The Hellion came to an abrupt halt, and turned to face the doctor. Shitan slid his katana completely out of his sheath, and threw the sheath aside. "Commander of the Hellion forces, under your code of Jan'Shata, I challenge you to single combat."

The Hellion commander laughed, and turned to face Shitan. The creature towered over the doctor, and gazed at him with cold, evaluating eyes. "So tell me, human... What do you know of the warrior code? What do you know of the sacred art of Jan'Shata?"

Shitan slowly pushed his glasses higher onto his nose, and replied with a slow, thoughtful voice. "I know that Jan'Shata is your sacred warrior code, that all of your race strives to follow and achieve perfection. And I know that under its ethics, you can not turn down a formal challenge without losing the respect of your fellow warriors."

"Thus it is true human. Very well, then let this fight be K'th'a... to the death!" The Hellion raised its arm into the air, and extended its arm blade.

Shitan set his katana into a fighting stance. "Then it is agreed. Let to loser leave this arena feet first."

Form the moment that the fight began, Bart lost track of what exactly Shitan and the Hellion were doing. Both of them seemed to be blurs, and the ringing of their blades seemed to form a tempo, a constant melody to their fighting. But neither was gaining the advantage... neither one had landed a serious hit on the other, and both Shitan and the Hellion commander were bleeding from several minor wounds.

The other Hellions were whispering amongst themselves, pointing to Shitan as the fight began to move out of the square. One of the Hellions shouted something, and the rest cheered, and sat down upon the ground, still watching the battle.

The fighting seemed to reach a point of balance, and both Shitan and the Hellion commander paused, breaking apart. Shitan leaned on the hilt of his sword, and looked cautiously at the Hellion commander. The creature had fallen to one knee, and was breathing heavily. "So, I seem to have underestimated you human. You are a much more skilled fighter than you had previous appeared."

Shitan smiled, and leaned back slightly. "I must confess, from your performance fighting Bart and Remus, I did not expect to last this long. Perhaps I have not gotten as rusty as Sigurd thought. In any case, I accept your complement."

"Ah, and opponent that actually has manners." The Hellion smiled beneath its mask. "Now I shall grant you a glorious death, as properly befits a warrior." Both of the warriors stood, and readied themselves for combat.

The Hellion reached around, and depressed a small stud on its armor. A flash passed through Shitan's mind, as he remembered Billy's words as he was being carried off. Almost of instinct, Shitan threw his hand in front of his eyes. This action was the only thing that saved him from the massive magnesium flare that was projected from the Hellion commander's armor. No one else had seen it coming.

Shitan blinked rapidly, trying to clear the spots out of his eyes from the light that had managed to leak through. If he had blocked the majority of the light, he shuddered to think of what the people who hadn't had the chance to block the light were now seeing.

The Hellion laughed. "Forgive my tactics warrior, but it is time for you to die now. Farewell." Shitan swore, realizing that he couldn't see well enough to know exactly what the Hellion was doing... something that could be fatal in this intense of a battle.

He could hear the Hellion approaching, he heard its heavy footsteps, and its laughter. Shitan gathered himself, and prepared to jump.

A battle cry split the air.

Shitan could barely make out the form of the person that smashed into the Hellion from behind... all he got an impression of was of long hair, and a tight fitting body suit.

"Damn you!" The Hellion leader screamed, lashing out at his attacker. There was the ring of steel on steel, and the mysterious man laughed softly.

"Is this the best you have to offer?" he chuckled, and disengaged his swore from the Hellion's armblade with a savage movement. The Hellion staggered back, rubbing its bruised arm.

"What the hell are you?" it shouted, glancing around the area. Most of its underlings had been blinded by the flare, and would be of no help. The man who had attacked him laughed, and touched the blade of his sword to the ground.

"You're worst nightmare. I am the center of your mind, the deepest terror that dwells in dark shadows..." Shitan's vision had managed to recover enough so that he could see who was speaking to. A long mane of of deep, red hair fell down to the warriors waist. He wore a black and red body suit, with the occasional small spike place across it's surface. Shitan's eye's widened, and he gasped.

"No..."

The man turned, and smiled. Shitan's blood ran cold, as his 'rescuer' turned back to face the Hellion. "My name does not matter much to one with such a short lifespan as yourself, but I suppose you would be interested..." the man smiled, and raised his sword above his head. A beam of light caught it, and it flared with cold fire. "Call me Id."

...

Elly smashed the branch out of her way, still amazed that she had managed to keep her grip on Garr through her plunge through the woods. Behind them, she could hear the sound of branches snapping under foot as the four creatures continued their hunt. Elly gave Garr's hand a tug, but a moment later she stopped, dragged to a stop by the dead weight of his body.

She turned to see that he had passed out... the headlong flight had proved too much for him, and the exhaustion of the last few days had only made the run worse. Elly swore, and started casting about for an area to stash him. The Hellions, she had no doubt that these were what were chasing her, were probably after Garr. That meant that if they gain the opportunity, they wouldn't not hesitate to kill him, no matter how angry at her she got them. Thus, it was best that they never even found him.

Elly dragged a shallow covering of leaves over Garr, and checked to make sure that nothing of him was visible from the surface. Satisfied, she turned back to the forest proper, and the rapidly approaching Hellions.

The first Hellion bounded into the clearing a moment later, and skidded to an abrupt stop as it was the young woman she had been chasing, but not the Federation officer that they had been sent to kill. The leader of the pack, a Hellion with a few more decorations on his armor than the rest of his warriors, turned and made several bellowing sounds to his cohort. At this point, all eight of the Hellions had arrived in the clearing and were standing in fighting stances. Four of the creatures nodded, and leapt into the trees. Elly watched as they circled around the clearing, skirting the area and continuing into the foliage on the far side. She smiled at that. Evidently, they thought that she had stayed behind the delay the enemy, while Garr had run on ahead, intending to escape during the confusion of the fight.

Time to reinforce that assumption. "Garr! Keep running! Their right behind you!" she shouted, and set her baton in a guard stance in front of her. "If you monsters think I'm going to let you have him..." she snarled, "...you've got another thing coming!"

One of the Hellions laughed, and a cracked form of Basic filled the air. "Little girl, do you think that you can stand against the Hellion elite force?" the creature that had spoken threw its head back and laughed. "I shall delight in nailing your entrails to the nearest tree, and presenting your head to our Lord Commander."

Elly smiled. "My head is yours... if you can live to take it." For some reason, everything had vanished... Fei, Nisan, Garr, everything. Her world was confined to this small clearing, and the creatures she now faced. Elly could hear the creatures breathing, could see the sweat on its skin that had been raised by its long run.

The first creature started moving... everything was moving in slow motion. Its hand snapped around, and a small, glittering object flew from its palm. A slight whine filled the air, and Elly watched as the small sparkle crossed the clearing, heading towards her throat. She knew that if it hit, she would probably die.

Time was hers.

One of the Hellions started whooping, anticipating its easy victory. Elly's hand started moving.

Time was hers.

The whine ceased, and the Hellions began to move forward, expecting her to drop on her face, with her throat slit. Then they stopped, and stared with utter, dumbfounded shock at her.

Elly's hand was a foot away from her body, and clasped between her thumb and forefinger was a small, razor sharp disk. The Hellion's backed off slightly, muttering amongst themselves. Elly looked over the weapon with a detached look of interest, as if she had picked it up off the ground during a long days walk, rather than having snatched it out of the air during a battle.

"What... what the hell are you?" One of them shouted, snapping outs its arm blade. "Damn you woman, I don't care how good you are... you'll bleed like the rest!"

"That remains to be seen." Elly replied, and with a quick, almost casual motion, she tossed the disk back at the Hellion that had spoken. It screamed, grabbing at its arm where the flying blade had cut into its arm, deflecting off of the bone. "I don't die very often."

The Hellion's charged, circling around her. Elly whirled, smashing aside one of the blades that had threatened to strike her, and gave that weapons wielder a swift blow to the face... no real damage, but it caused the creature to reel back, giving her an opportunity to escape. Elly rolled away from the group, and came to an abrupt halt, her baton out and ready to attack.

The Hellions continued to circle, all of them watching her with eyes that were no longer quite as arrogant. "<Who the hell is this woman?>" one of them demanded. "<This type of power is to be expected from the Nemesis, not from some backwater human who's never seen either the Prime Reactor or the Source.>"

The commander glanced at his subordinate. "<What? You don't think she has those damnable Ether powers...?>"

The subordinate that had spoken nodded. "<May scanner is detecting a small leakage of Ether energy... she probably doesn't have very much... unless she knows how to shield her power.>"

"<You are quite correct. I do know how to shield my power.>" Elly replied in the Hellion language. "<And I also know much more about you than you would suspect.>" She watched with satisfaction as the creatures paled, and started to slowly back away. She could 'feel' the link, the one that provided her with information about the ancient technologies, feeding her information on the Hellions. Her eyes narrowed at that. Why would the ancients computers have so much data on an enemy that, according to Garr and Antonof, had appeared after the ship had crashed on Ingas?
...

The battle in the center of the clearing, close to the Gears, was beginning to reach a conclusion. Emeralda was beginning to grow weary... she had never been forced to fight in such a prolonged battle. She also has the feeling that her early surprise attacks had caught the enemy commander off guard... he sported many light injures, but one or two nasty ones.

The commander gazed back at her, an expression of deep respect on his face. His left hand was useless... possibly damaged even beyond the ability of regeneration technology to repair. When he and picked the girl, Emeralda, up by one of her arms early in the battle, he had not expected her to suddenly grow spikes in the area where he had held her. "I must admit girl, you are a most admirable opponent... if it had not been decided that all humans were to die, I would take you back with me to be my fourth concubine." The hellion smiled. "Unfortunately, rules are rules. I shall have to settle for singing your praises, and carving your name high upon my pillar of honors, as one of the greatest opponents that will sing my praises when I rise to the next world."

Emeralda smiled, limping slightly as she and the Hellion commander circled each other. "I'm not quite dead yet... it may be I who is carving your name upon my pillar." Whatever that is, she added silently.

The Hellion roared in appreciative laughter. "Such a spirited girl! Now, I am afraid that this game might have to end."

"Perhaps you two can settle your dispute another day." a new voice answered. Emeralda's head shot strait up, and she turned to see the source of the voice. "I'm going to need my daughter's help, and having her killed once I manage to find her is going to be... inconvenient."

Emeralda looked, her eyes widening. "Kim!" she shouted.

The Hellion turned to his new opponent, and cursed. This new opponent seemed to be much stronger than Emeralda, and the Hellion commander was injured and exhausted from his battle. He turned, and bowed to Emeralda. "Lady, it seems that you have pressing business elsewhere. It appears that we will not have a chance to finish our duel... another day perhaps."

Emeralda nodded, and the Hellion commander pressed a small button on its armor. The Hellion and its contingent began to fade, but then a question emerged from the air. "Young warrior, I would know your name... perhaps we shall meet again, on better terms?"

"Emeralda."

"Emeralda. I shall remember that. And you seem to have given me an advantage... a brave act. All me to return the favor." the Hellions shimmered and vanished, but as they did so, Emeralda caught one word on the wind.

"My name... is Nataku."

...

"Emeralda, what's going on here?" Fei demanded, jumping off of his perch on a nearby log. Emeralda sagged, and he caught her before she fell to the ground.

"Kim got here just in time... That... Nataku was much stronger than I expected. And he sent men after... oh no." Fei looked at her with concern as she tried to stand. "Elly. They went after Garr and Elly."

To her utter amazement, Fei simply smiled. "I think that Elly is safe... she's under the protection of someone I trust as much as her."

...

The Hellions staggered back, most of them clutching wounds or burns. In the center of the clearing, Elly stood surrounded by an aura of fey energy. Her left hand held a ball of pure ether energy, which seemed to occasional spit out small lightning bolts. Her other hand was clenched around her baton, which was stick to the hilt with blood. Two of the original six Hellions were dead... one killed when Elly had thrown it into one of its comrades blades, the other one impaled on Elly's baton and electrocuted.

"<Damn, what is this woman? She fights like a monster.>" the ranking Hellion, not the squads original leader, who's still smoking remains were still on the ground a few feet away, demanded. "<We're in trouble.>"

Another of the Hellions, staggered back, falling onto the ground with a heavy thump. There was a groaning sound, and Elly went stock still. During the fighting, she had allowed the Hellions to reverse her position... and now they were right next to Garr. The Hellion brushed some of the leaves away, and a wicked smile crossed its face. "<It seems that we won't have to kill the witch... we can simply fulfill our mission and be gone.>"

"Not while I'm still here!" Elly screamed, and in that same moment charged.

If her opponents had thought she was fighting with all of her strength before, they had very little idea of what they were in for. Elly smashed one of them in the face, the creature having not even realized that she had crossed the intervening distance. It staggered back, and Elly used it as a platform to launch into a kick. Another Hellion, standing directly behind her first victim, had little more time to realize that she was attack before its head snapped back, propelled by the force of her attack. There was a cracking sound, and it fell backwards onto the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut.

The battle raged on, but the Hellions were slowly gaining an upper hand. In order to protect Garr, Elly could not follow up on her attack, or she left the unconscious officer at the mercy of one of the other Hellions. She too now bore several injuries, as she had dangerously overextended herself to stop an attack against herself or Garr... more often against Garr.

<ELLY!!! HOLD ON!!!>

<WHAT? Who are you?> There was no reply, and Elly shrugged it off, wondering if she was imagining things again.

All three of them were coming in at once, and Elly had the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach that she wasn't going to stop them all. She raised her baton, a grin expression crossing her face. She had to stop them from getting to Garr... he could help the others against the Hellions. "Fei... Live." she whispered, and prepared to charge.

"GRAND THUNDERBOLT!!!"

The air seemed to crackle with static electricity, as an enormous bolt of lightning fell from the sky, landing right in front of the Hellions. They screamed, and scattered.

There was a sound of someone lightly landing on the leaves beside her, and Elly shot a glance over, uncertain if it was an enemy or a friend. Whoever it was, they were human. Standing beside her was a young man, in white robes, with a long string of beads hung around his neck. His short black hair whipped about wildly in the air as the shock wave from the thunder strike passed over them.

<Lady Elhaym, these creatures depend of fear and pain to assist them in their fighting. They emit a sense of helplessness that overwhelms their opponent, and gives them the advantage in combat. Show no fear, and we shall scatter them as one would scatter dry leaves!>

<What are you? Your talking... in my head?>

<Lady, there is no time to explain. They are preparing for their next charge.>

Elly turned, and found that the creatures were only now moving out of their rolls, moving into attack positions. She set her baton, and smiled. "I've got the one on the left... you take the one on the right, and well use an Ether attack to destroy the one in the middle."

<Agreed.>

The Hellions charged, and as the did so, Elly and her companion rushed to meet them.

She ducked under a wild slash of one of the Hellion's blades, and snapped her foot outwards, catching a hold on part of the Hellion's complex suit of battle armor. A quick focus of will and Ether, and she flew upwards, smashing the creatures head with her other foot. The hellion staggered backwards, and fell against a tree, stunned by the force of the deathblow.

Her companion cupped his hands in front of him, leaving a small space between them. A ball of brilliant blue light flashed into existence, and its brilliance increased to a dazzling intensity. Just before the Hellion reached him, the ball vanished. The young man threw his hands in front of him, and his opponent was lifted off her feet by the force of the energy discharge. There was a ringing sound, and a bright flash of blue light... and when it cleared, the Hellion had ceased to be.

Elly was still in the air, the stranger was beginning to turn. The last Hellion saw his chance, and sprinted towards Garr. It could feel the energy crackling behind it, but if it could just reach the Federation officer, it would be able to...

Elly flung her hands out in front of her, her eyes flashing. "THERMO LARGO!"

The stranger completed his incantation, and snapped open his clenched fist as he completed his turn towards the Hellion. "GRAND NOVA!"

The last Hellion vanished inside of a pillar of pure flame, its skin, armor, and bones vaporized in an instant. The pillar of flames shot upwards into the heavens, connecting with the clouds.

...

To the man running along the highway towards the area, it was a signal. They were all there. He smiled, laughing quietly. This was going to be a wonderful reunion.

...

Elly dropped to her knees, breathing heavily. "That... was close. I don't think I've fought that hard in a long time." She tried to stand, but found that her weary legs would no longer support her.

The stranger walked next to her, and gently helped her to her feet. <Lady, that was bravely done. I have seen few men who would be willing to take on a Hellion attack group by themselves. I have met fewer still who would have won.>

Elly shook her head. She might have been imagining it before, a misconception during the heat of battle, but now there was no denying it. The young mans lips were not moving, but his voice echoed clearly in her head. "Thank you." she replied, her voice shaky. "But if you hadn't arrived, I might have died."

<Lady, you could have scattered them as easily as I did... you simply must not allow them control your actions through fear.> He smiled, and placed a hand on her shoulder. <I am called Zen, and I am a priest from places far away, yet closer than you would believe. You are Elhaym van Houten, beloved of my close friend Fei.>

Elly jerked at that. "You know Fei?"

Zen nodded, his smile still firmly affixed. <Indeed I do. Fei Fon Wong is my partner, for we have fought together on more mission that I care to account. And he speaks often, and with longing, of you. I am sure he will be overjoyed to see you again.> Again, Zen's smiled deepened. <I am also sure he will be overjoyed not to have to walk all the way to Nisan.>

...

They walking to the clearing, at the same time. Zen held the still unconscious Garr in his arms, having refused all of Elly's offers for assistance. Fei was carrying Emeralda on his back, and was trying to keep his eyes on the path ahead.

They both looked up at the same time, and the rest of the world melted away.

Fei didn't notice as Emeralda still quickly off of his back, and sat down next to a nearby tree. Elly didn't notice as Zen walked carefully around her, moving to set Garr next to Emeralda, and then standing perfectly still, this gold eyes intensely watching.

Elly took a few shaky, uncertain steps forward, her hand raised, as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing was real. Fei stood there, looking at her with a look of wonder. Elly took another step forward, and whispered one word. "Fei?"

She was in his arms before she managed to take another step. "Elly... Elly." All he could seem to say was her name. She held him tightly, all the while wondering how she could have lived this long without him.

<Together again, as it was meant to be.> Zen's voice whispered across the clearing, as the first light of a new day fell through the canopy above, lighting the pair in a halo of glorious light.

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