The humidity was staggering. Heavy, and thick, like a metaphorical brick wall that could crush any set of lungs that attempted to breathe the air that was stale, and lingering. Off-setting a stale room, with nothing but the flickering, barely breathing light fixture that dangled loosely from the ceiling was a door, unhinged and battered. Beyond that, a hallway to oblivion. Where barely noticeable silhouettes could be seen moving amongst the pale bleakness.

Twisting and turning, the light fixture that loosely resembled a centrifuge slowed, honed in on a single steel casket that related itself to one meant for those to be buried beneath the earth. Said casket was hollowed out, a large, gaping hole now its centerpiece crafted from within. Several wires, snapped yet live, hissed in angst to their separation to this metal contraption, snaking amongst the dirt floor to a nearby metal box. A lone display struggled to deliver a readout from its severed link to the nearby casket, announcing falsehoods of a status of what resembled a patient, or perhaps a victim, that once occupied the innards.

The creaking sounds of the unhinged door sounded an arrival, its frame tilting awkwardly to one side, before breaking free from the threshold and plummeting uselessly to the floor. "Dear god?" came a voice, giving his initial report to a handheld radio that was clutched within one hand. "It's free?"

The light fixture broke free from its lone thread, smashing into the ground with a shatter. A hiss followed as a streaking orange essence came to life from a lone gap burrowed within the ceiling. Its glaring eyes and fiery aura was unmistaken, not misplaced within the mind of the lone victim present within the predator's way to freedom.

"Move?" the vibrant essence demanded, just as a tendril of licking flame resembling streaks of molten lava expanded, slicing effortlessly through the nearby sentient. Not even a garbled scream could be managed as that essence delved through a closed mouth with a second tendril, tunneling through his esophagus. It merged near the stomach with the first, and plunged through him until nothing but bits and pieces of melted muscle and ash remained.

And within that same instant, the essence vanished within the burrow, that fire snuffed from existence to leave nothing but a dark room, and the quiet sounds of the metal box continuing to deliver read-outs. A soft click from the radio silenced the chatter on the other end, leaving to the imagination their wonderment of the lone man that went to check on the coffin.

A figure draped from the burrow moments later, dangling freely before the display that quietly sputtered. Beady sapphire eyes, glazed with a striped redness, observed with a squint briefly before the various sounds of footsteps could be heard pounding closer to the destination of the room. A sudden shatter of the display showered the floor with debris, glass, and further components of technical chips broken down before the figure swept up into the burrow again.

Bright florescent flashlights shot into the room moments before new figures did, shining each different way in search. Burnt remains, a broken computer display, and a large hole serving an escape. Several immediately moved in pursuit through the narrow hall where once they came, while a single remained behind. His light remained fixated on the nearby computer module where a thin stretch of tape identified the unit as "Ayaka Mahara".

"It's on the move," came a call upon the radio, louder than average as the figure shoved it against his mouth. "Move, move, move!"

"Check the ducts. Do not let it escape," a voice commanded on the static-filled radio, cutting in and out of audible recognition. What once was nothing but a mere few men turned into what seemed like a national pandemic. Where hoards of persons lined the halls and stationed themselves outside doorways to each plausible exit.

True, or not.

"There's nothing over here," one called back, more clearer than the first.

"Nothing here, either. Empty!" Spoke another.

Crafted anxiety was noted between the pauses, relieving tension only when another would speak up to keep that communication intact. "Find it. It couldn't have gone far."

"Do you think it escaped?"

"Ask that again when it tears your limbs off and uses them for a toothbrush," snarled a reply. Silence overcame the small radios once more.

--

A soft click quietly echoed within an open duct that resembled a narrow tree trunk, providing just enough shelter for a slender figure to fit perfectly within. Rough breaths were the only audible sound beyond the radio being silenced; controlled within reason to prevent announcing her presence. She was lucky to have managed such an escape of that caliber. Prayers alone would prevent her from giving in so easily; although being trapped like a rat was quite the disappointment she rarely found herself staring into the face of.

"Over here!" a notable voice cried out, different from the rest. This one was close-by, if not just beneath her. "There's a breech in this paneling!"

Was she discovered? Her maze of hallowed-out canyons within the foundation tracked? Her eyes sealed shut, leaving nothing but the imagination to trail to distant places. Softly, she chanted hopes and desires. To be left alone, if just for a little while longer.

"It's sealed. Move to the next one!" they finally called out, softening the heartbeats that struck within her throat, daring to leap from her mouth and cry out her position. Shifting slowly within the hallowed shaft she hid within, she climbed several feet to a second duct that she hoped lead her somewhere other than to the Den of Lions.

The soft clunks of the thin metal she clawed through provided a disastrous thought process. One that almost made her want to remain still and die out quietly, hidden amongst the dust bunnies and chilly air that blasted her flesh to the point she swore frostbite had begun to take form. Yet, it was the drive that clenched her mind, her heart, and her very existence that allowed her to push on, however. The realization that even if they discovered her exact location within those ducts, she had at least the advantage of leverage on her end.

This was one child they would have wished they never trifled with..

From day, to night, was Alex finding himself lingering in the Inn above the patrons that came and went to the central hub of the city as though it were a tourist attraction to freaks, and sane, alike. Little heed did he pay to them, residing in the room that Jalleia had offered up to him while she went about her normal activities as she was seemingly prone to do more often, recently.

Closer and closer was he beginning to feel as though it were an office. Or a cage. Or a cage that doubled as an office. He wasn't sure really, being holed up in the small four-walled structure while the rest wandered the streets. A desk was drug from the corner and settled in the center of the room, with the only source of light, a shaded lamp, switched off.

He was more accepting to the dark. And presented the idea that the room was currently unoccupied.

The bitter anger that he had been feeling; the resentment that strangled his perspective had tapered off. It left a sour after taste, instead disillusioning a sense of drive. It was no better than being lazy. If lazy prompted fits of lobbing shot glasses against walls to relieve tension.

The commotion below was observed barely, dragging his attention as though it were tied to the fender of a car and pulled for miles on end. Fumbling, tumbling, shredding against pavement like it were a grapefruit. Without the splattering mess that would result, thankfully.

Small thumps snapped his attention towards the direction of the door; the source of the audible raps. He had previously latched a 'DnD' tag about the handle, leaving much to the imagination of those present on the other end. And were it his source of 'entertainment', she was the true owner of the room he occupied. She had nothing but the need of a key to find her way within the confines of his dreary presence.

Again, the raps sounded. This time, with a sense of urgency. A force that, he noted, rattled the surface disturbingly.

"Get lost," he called out, eyes rolling as he propped his feet up onto the bed that he was sitting before. A chair was his sense of current comfort, rickety and daring to snap as he leaned back onto the rear legs. Coiling his hands about the back of his head, beneath the loose, lavender locks that sprouted from his skull much like a protein waterfall, he shrugged the third set of knocks that came more fierce than the previous two.

"No occupado!" he tried, again, rolling his head back so to peer in the direction of the door upside down. Were it not for the bed that he was using as support, no doubt would he tumble to the floor.

As though whomever was disturbing much required alone time needed further proof someone was present within.

By the fourth set of knocks, Alex shoved himself from the seat. He couldn't help that it snapped underneath the pressure of his shoving it aside, causing it to crumble into a heap of wood. It was old, what was he to do?

He approached the door in heavy strides, twisting the handle to pull the door on open and stare headlong into the hallway for whomever was bothering him at such a late hour. "Alright, jerkwad, what the hell do -" he started, cutting himself off mid-sentence as he stared with wider than average eyes that flared to life in a bright emerald glow that shred apart the shadows that were present just around him.

"Oh, dear god?"

The diner that they chose seemed to be straight out of the fifties, and indeed it probably was. Lain had no business questioning the Nexus, its abilities, or why it chose some of the ugliest places to bring to Rhy'Din. Everything was either bright silver and shiny or red. Posters of bands and people she didn't know were plastered all over the walls along with knick-knacks and other useless things. It made her a tad ill looking at it all. For a reason that she didn't know.

"You haven't answered my question," Kiki said around a mouthful of sausage and ketchup. Lain, who had propped her feet on the table, and closed her eyes to gaudiness of their surroundings was just about to fall asleep, jerked into action, and stared at Kiki in surprise.

" .. what?" Kiki's huge green eyes just rolled.

"Your 'Have I Ever' question. Come now, it was your idea to play, and you don't even attempt attentiveness."

"Yeah, sorry.. Fricken place just reminds me of like.. crap. What'd you ask?" Lain said, twitching her legs, and reaching across the table, plucked a piece of bacon from Kiki's plate. The girl scowled.

"Have you even been a victim of one of those.. one night stand deals. Or have you ever done so to someone else?" Lain choked on her food, and thumped her fist into her chest many times.

" .. have I.. what?"

"Please don't ask me to say it again, that will be the third time, and I have enough of an issue repeating myself as it is."

"Lemme ask you this, then," Lain finally said after chugging half the pitcher of orange juice to clear her throat of unchewed food. "Have you?" she asked, pointing at Kiki, who began to cough and splutter in much the same fashion. Lain laughed. "Yeah, see? S'not so simple, huh. And no. To both'a those. I'm not that kinda weirdo, schway?" She waited until she was sure Kiki could breathe, and then asked her question. "Have you ever been kissed before? And if so, who was yer first?" At this, Kiki's cheeks flushed violently red, and her eyes darted off to the side.

"Ara.. I uh.. no.. never. I almost did once.. with this boy I knew from the library.. We had that moment where, um, you know right before you kiss, you look at the person..?" Lain nodded, amused that Kiki was opening up like this. "Well.. we were about two inches from each other when the head librarian uh.. she found us, and began to screech and howl. It was all very startling.." Lain laughed as Kiki lowered her head. One of her small hands shoved her plate forward, which Lain continuously picked from. "What about you..?"

Lain settled back, munching on a strip of bacon as she thought, trying to remember. Being over a century old had its downfalls sometimes. She was momentarily distracted by the bell on the door handle that signified new patrons, but she launched into her story as if nothing had happened. Those that entered sat down at the counter, and the stool cushions let out low puffs of air to the pressure applied.

"Well, lessee.. s'gotta more'n fifty years ago with my brother." Kiki's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?"

"Nah nah, i'schway see, cuz like.. Flint's not my real brother'r anything.. He was kinda teachin' me how to play guitar and stuff, and we kinda had those tender moments where yanno like.. he told me a chord was wrong and would move my fingers for me an'whatnot, right? Then just randomly, he leaned in and kissed me," she said nodding. "Was fricken weird, cuz yeah, I thought of him like a brother, and so him doin' that was totally like.. the opposite of what I thought would happen between us. So yeah, there's my story.. Uh.. lessee." Lain brushed a few strands of shock white hair from her forehead as she thought of her next question. She hadn't yet noticed that Kiki was looking towards the pair at the counter, canting her head from side to side like a puppy. "You've obviously had crushes before so like.. have ya ever had a boyfriend before?"

Kiki's brows furrowed as she focused on the pair, her eyes flicking from one to the other as if following a conversation even though no voices could be heard.

"Hey! What's this about me not payin' atte-!"

'Shut up, will you? I'm trying to concentrate, and I cannot hear over your voice.' Lain jolted to Kiki's voice resonating within her skull. She lifted a hand to her ear, and stared hard at the girl who continued to, in turn, stare at the couple.

'You're not reading their minds, are you..'

'Not currently. They're speaking in whispers, now just give me a minute.' Lain gave her a puzzled look, but then shrugged all the same. Wasn't any of her business who the kid decided to eavesdrop on. She just hoped Kiki wouldn't get caught, cuz people tended to frown upon that. Quite openly.

Lain pulled her feet from the table, and began to pile up their dishes as quietly as possible. She fished some coins out of her pocket afterwards and left them in a neat little pile by the dirty plates. She'd just settled back into the wall and let her eyes fall shut when she heard Kiki's voice within her mind yet again, and it startled her violently.

'They were talking about a large fire that transpired last night somewhere near here.'

'So..?'

'It seems that a massive metal building was engulfed in flames, and explosions were heard as well.'

'Again.. so..? What th'frick do we care?'

'Ayaka can use fire.' Lain blinked.

'Ya serious..? I mean like.. I always thought she was fricken piss scared'a th'stuff..'

'You have the ability to sense magic, and yet you couldn't have picked this up? You really need to apply yourself to things better, Lain..' There was a pause in which she heard Kiki sigh in her head. 'Yes, she is afraid of fire, but she also has a temper, and when she becomes exceptionally angry, she morphs into this.. flame-ridden specter of herself that's capable of producing flames and magma as if second nature.'

'And what makes you think this was her and not just some like.. mistake'r something? People make those, yanno. Some idiot could'a just fell asleep smokin' and blown th'crap outta th'place.'

'That seems highly unlikely.. We're still kind of in a region where magic is sparse. And they were thinking that it must have been a very large, possibly metal building that was nearly destroyed.'

"Seems like a far fetched idea ya got goin' there, kid," Lain said allowed, shooting Kiki a look that explained just how annoyed with mindspeak she was at the moment.

"Do we have any other leads? Or even a possible direction on her whereabouts? To not investigate a destruction of this caliber in a land where barely a house is burnt to a crisp would be incredibly foolish. That, and its location isn't that far out of our way to begin with."

Lain was quiet as she thought about all of this, staring at Kiki in disbelief. She always thought the kid to be more of a facts and evidence type of person, not one that wanted to go gallivanting after regular fires. In a moment, Lain sighed, but she jabbed two fingers in Kiki's direction. "Dude, man, if yer wrong about this, I'm pickin' out a dude fer you, and we're gonna get that first kiss thing straightened out right quick," she said, folding her arms tightly. Kiki stiffened, but Lain could tell that she knew she really had no other choice. There was a part of Lain that thought the girl was just grasping at straws in pure hope.

"Deal."

Nighttime already. Connor had overslept. Of course, this was information only privy to his knowledge. As far as the world was concerned, he was a vigilant tracker and on the case without a wink of sleep!

Connor had stopped six hours after the initial inspection hour at a medieval styled inn that didn't agree with his choice of horse and carriage. Many of the patrons that entered and exited were amazed by the wheels, the tinted windows, the sleek silver body polished to a chrome shine. He had barely gotten any sleep as it was trying to chase people away from his pride and joy.

After questioning all viable persons with a mug shot of Ayaka's presumed likeness, he bathed and crashed into bed with a fat notebook chuck full of information on just that girl. Connor's slender fingers, remarkably lacking in calluses, fiddled with the pages as he read and reread any information he thought he needed to.

"Top of her class in everything, friends with everyone? Pfft. Tool~"

Currently, he was driving at full speed down his previous road, his head nodding along with the music blaring from the speakers.

"Ai. Ya. Ka. Ma. Ha. Ra," he repeated her name over and over again to the beat of the music, dancing in his seat to relieve the tension that set into his legs from having them in the same position for so long.

Just then, a ringing sounded from the breast pocket of his over sized, unzipped hooded sweatshirt. Connor looked down to it in surprise before fishing it out and holding it near his ear. The light from the device cast a faint blue tint within the dark confines of the vehicle.

"Nnnyellow? ... Mhm. Uh huuuuuh. ... Ayup, understood." He smirked as he turned off the communicator and lobbed it into the backseat. No one would disturb his music.

Although, now that he was surrounded with shadows yet again, Connor could easily pick out the orange, yellow and red flickering in the distance, somewhere off to his way west. Full lips pursed, though the smile remained, as he wrenched the steering wheel and turned in that direction. The tires ate up the packed dirt road, squealing and leaving a massive cloud of dust in his wake.

"Off roading, huh? This should be interesting."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Connor stopped at what appeared to be the beginnings of a forest, and it made him smile. He loved trees, flowers. Anything and everything Mother Nature had to offer, he felt himself inexplicably drawn to and connected with. The flickering, from what he assumed was another fire, had all but died down, and he tore himself from nostalgia to reposition himself behind the wheel and flip on the bright beams.

"Now... I'm not going to hurt any of you, or at least I'm going to try not to. It would be a lot easier if you just moved out of my way and let me through, mm? I'm after the fire starter." As he spoke, a mass of solid, brown stone began to grow and flatten beneath the wheels of his vehicle, creating a smooth road for his travel and laying just above the grass to make sure he wouldn't trample even a single blade.

Connor drove forward slowly, new stone forming before his front wheels, and old stone disintegrating behind his back wheels. From the glow of his headlights, he could just make out the last few trees and roots inching away from his destined path.

Despite the generous cooperation of nature, it took Connor the better part of an hour and a half to even come close to the area in which Ayaka had occupied. It finally dawned on him to ask the trees, seeing as how they were eager to help previously. But he did so grudgingly, and was therefore greeted with the same kind of answer.

He parked his vehicle some ways away, zipping up his hoodie as he stepped out into the dark slash lit area of bog and destroyed tree. As he neared the remnants of the foliage, he slipped on a lone branch and nearly backpedaled all the way into the frothing mucky water. Fortunately, he landed square on his rear end.

Smoke was no doubt in the air, as it was in his nostrils and made him sneeze. Rubbing his nose, and whipping out his own mini flashlight, Connor crawled along the ground on his hands and knees towards the tree. He touched the bark, letting his fingers sink into the grooves and dips, bumps and protrusions, and he felt his smile slip as he lifted his light and saw that the only thing left of this once massive tree was about six more feet of corkscrew shaped wood.

Everything else was destroyed. There were no footprints, no pieces of clothing. At this point, he was even wondering if Ayaka had even done this.

He sat down upon the ground in a huff, coincidentally on that same branch that screwed up his fortunes earlier. Shouting aloud, he jumped up, and kicked the fat piece of wood in frustration. It was then that he noticed that a portion of bark had been completely stripped away. Nearing it, he ran his hands along it and felt instantly better.

"It's even still a little warm." It was half a footprint, the outside of a foot to be exact, with two little burns above the sole for toes. Jumping up, he shone his light on the tree once again, and found a fat, broken branch sticking out from one side. He'd find the rest of the footprint there, he was sure.

Upon further inspection of the fallen log, Connor noticed a significant discoloration that didn't match a fire's. He crawled over to the dirty water and splashed his hand in it, coming back to wet the portion of wood that he saw it on. After a few minutes, he retracted his hand, and found a chalky, maroon residue within his palm.

"So... you were trying to hide, and you apparently didn't succeed. And you even hurt yourself, tut tut." Connor stood and aimed his flashlight out towards the swamp before him, shining it this way and that. She could have gone anywhere by now, and if she had gone through the water, there was less a chance that he would be able to find small droplets of blood for a trail.

With the mentality of 'I know you were here, and you already have a head start anyway,' Connor returned to his car, turned off the headlights, locked the doors and laid the seat back. Because he had no other leads, he would just have to wait until she slipped up again. And he amused himself with the thought of knowing she would.

"Explain to the rest of us, precisely, what the current status is of our objective?"

"Haha! Ha! I'd dare admit we've managed to bait the line, and snag us a trout. Dinner's on me!"

"Pipe the hell down, idiot? Sir, we've only recieved word that the object is en route. We've not had the privilage to hear anything further."

"Then I would advise the rest of you to find means of being 'privilaged'. This will not be compromised."

"Right, right. Leave it to the ones with style. We won't screw you over, sir!"

"?And you consider yourself one of the stylists, Moroku? All this time I thought it was the rest of us that drug your sagging ass around."

"Bite me, jackass! If you want a lesson what true style is, I'd be more than happy to-"

"Enough. Who was to meet our Liaison?"

"Zanzan was. We should be hearing from him shortly on the status of our objective."

"Quan, Moroku, see to it that she is properly escorted. Do not let anything intrude?"

"She is to expect us?"

"Anticipating it? eagerly. Let us meet up here in the coming hours. I believe we have work to attend to."

"Sir!"
"Got it."
"No sweat!"
"Sounds fun?"

"I dislike this place, father."

"Yes, I cannot say that I am a fan either."

"And her... I dislike her even more."

"That is a shame, Haru, but while you are here, you will behave, is that clear?"

The small boy huffed, folded his arms and turned his head to the wall. Tempero's ghostly white face held no emotion whatsoever as he stared back at the child through amethyst eyes that were ringed in red. Like he hadn't slept in days. Like he had sprayed himself with chemicals. The woman Haru spoke of joined them moments later and inched into the booth next to the boy, much to his dismay. She slid Tempero pale tea in a fake china cup, and he lifted it by the handle with delicate fingers. To Haru, she gave nothing.

"There you are, I'm sorry if I kept you waiting."

"Not at all."

"You couldn't think to get me anything while you were at it?"

"Certainly not with that attitude, I didn't!"

"You have a mouth and a brain, obviously, so why didn't you just-!"

Without warning, Haru clutched at the base of his throat and began to gag. His own purple eyes, akin to his father's in every way, widened to the size of dinner plates. His face turned red and a rivers of spittle oozed from his lips until finally, he fell back into the booth's seat with a loud crash, breathing hard. Neither of them at the table or no one in the diner seemed fazed or even to notice this incident. Tempero sipped at his now lukewarm tea, keeping his chilling gaze on Haru as the woman spoke.

"If you'll pardon my asking, weren't our orders to survey the area in question?"

"Yes indeed, Sera. Since you took a fair amount of time in getting here, I have already employed someone with the task and she will contact us when it is time." A thin, dark eyebrow arched on Tempero's wrinkle-less forehead, and he held up a thin, bony hand to stop her from speaking. "I can assure you that Lulu is perfectly capable. And I say that while meaning no such injustice on your fine abilities." Sera smiled modestly at the compliment. Tempero nodded to the now calmed Haru, his lips spreading in a grin.

"It shall not be long now."

*~*~*~*~*~*

It was warm out. Warm and sunny. And Lain loved it. Far from the frigid cold of Rhy'Din city. When they reached their destination, by way of a cloaking spell and Kiki's rapid teleportation, Lain dropped her pack, peeled off her wool jacket, stripped off her two hoodies and button up long sleeve shirt and laid on a smooth section of cement spread eagle, basking in the mid-morning glow.

"Oooooohmigooood, does this feel good.." she breathed out with a content sigh. "Yanno, sometimes I think I should'a been born'a flower'r somethin' from the way I love th'sun this much."

"Indeed, the world would be a much quieter place," Kiki said, laughing softly and shedding her own access layers. She positioned her glasses properly on her nose once more and took a look around their surroundings, something Lain wasn't wanting to do just yet.

They were positioned on a raised section of concrete the size of a parking ramp level. It was smooth and grey, except for directly in the middle where a huge crater of black, scorched stone with chunks missing and ripples extending outwards from the point of impact. The only piece that was left of the so called 'warehouse' was a massive support beam in the southwest corner that creaked and groaned whenever the slightest breeze touched it. Kiki went over to examine it, and craned her neck to see the very top.

"Ara.. this is very strange.. There is nothing else here. No pieces of the building, no bodies, no indication that there was even someone here that came and took anything away. There was obviously a clean-up job performed here so why would they leave..?"

"Crapload'a magic was here," Lain said suddenly, and Kiki jumped. Lain was making a slow pace around the edge of the cement, her hands in her pockets, her head turning from side to side. "It's faint, prolly cuz'a the wind and the time stretch from then 'til now, but yeah... This building was stuffed full'a magic in its prime. And I mean like... seriously clogged."

"A storage facility.." Kiki muttered to herself, still pondering over the purpose of the one support beam. Lain inched her way to the center of the concrete slab and crouched down, laying her hand flat against a charred portion. It was warm to the touch, and in the base of her diaphragm, a peculiar sensation hummed. Her other hand stroked her stomach back and forth as she thought. Somehow, in some way, it seemed familiar to her.

"Wasn't an ordinary fire, either. Good call, kid!" she called over to Kiki. When she pulled her fingers away from the ruined cement, it crumbled into ash instantly as if giving up holding itself together. Lain stood, brushing her hands off with loud SLAPs.

"You're certain?"

"No doubt. Enough magic residue here t'sugar a cake, yer coffee and yer cereal. Too much in fact. Like a fricken novice blasted th'bejeesus outta whatever was in here. Either that, or whoever it was has got way too much power t'-KIKI, LOOK OUT!"

The support beam had finally had enough, and it swayed dangerously outwards before awkwardly changing direction, falling heavily towards Kiki's location. In an instant, Lain felt her port behind her back, and could just see her leaning out from her shield, watching.

Instead of remaining stationary, though, the huge pillar of metal wriggled and warped like a snake, groaning and creaking in time to its movements. The end facing them tapered into a point sharp enough that the sun's light bounced off of it. Without warning, it zoomed at them like a massive bayonet.

"A booby trap!" Kiki wailed, porting from behind Lain once more and winding up at the far end of the concrete expanse, safely out of harms way.

"NO FRICKEN DUH!" Lain called out, barrel-rolling away at the last second and letting the support beam scrape the hard ground. Sparks flew at the impact, but she didn't waste time watching. She clawed her way to her feet and broke into a sprint, turning her head over her shoulder to at least catch the metal skewer's movements. It bounced on the cement and laid still for only a millisecond before it whizzed around like a compass needle, pointing its deadly sharp edge at Lain's face. "KID, JUST STAY THERE!"

"I believe I'm ahead of you on that front!" Kiki called, shuffling continuously backwards.

"GAH!" she screamed as she dove sideways and fell into the ground. The support beam flew past her by mere centimeters and shot up directly into the sky. It flipped end over end, fast enough so that the sound of its razor sharp edges cutting the air became incredibly loud. Lain was halfway to her feet when it decided to fall straight down upon her.

"LAIN!"

Crystal blue eyes narrowed as she brought both high up into the air, her forefingers and thumbs touching to create a small, triangular window of vision. The very tip of the support beam punctured the space between her hands, the forces from it and from Lain herself meeting so sharply in that instant being enough to made her skid back on the concrete, burning her knees and making smoke waft from the soles of her feet.

She was strong, but she was no superhero. Her arms shook, and she continued to slide back as she fought to keep the undulating metal skewer from decapitating her. It was taking a greater amount of energy than she thought to keep it contained like this. 'If I just toss it away, it'll only come back... I hafta destroy it somehow..'

As she stared at it, its exterior began to bubble and fizz like the surface of soda. Metal shavings pried themselves from the whole and floated off in the wind, the only indication that she was doing anything.

From thin air, nearly fifty yards south of the destroyed warehouse's location, a pair of red ringed amethyst eyes flared to like from nothingness. They were thickly lashed and wide, blinking continuously at the unfolding event.

Directly afterwards, the sound of tearing metal exploded from the area as deep gashes appeared on the outsides of the beam, traveling down its length at warp speed. Lain wrenched her hands apart, and the entire beam erupted in metal chunks, a huge cloud of smoke and a loud BANG that echoed like the shot of a cannon. Lain flew back from her crouched position and shouted aloud as she rolled over and over on the hard ground. Having a good deal of metal within her made hitting things pinch just a little more...

"Ya schway, kid?" she yelled out through the smoke in the direction that she felt Kiki the strongest. Pieces of metal, big and small, rained down from the sky, and she rolled over, covering her head with both arms.

"I think so! You?!"

"Fricken dandy..."

Within the vicinity of that pair of eyes, tiny, girly giggles began to filter through the air.

The amount of smoke and ash that hung around their location was uncanny. Ten minutes after Lain destroyed the massive pillar, they could still hardly see their hand a foot in front of their faces. After finding Kiki, Lain produced one of her collapsible staves and used it like a blind man's cane to help pick their way back towards the southern border of the concrete slab.

"Why'r we goin' this way..?"

"I heard water dripping down below. There's a cavern or some sort of vast emptiness underneath us."

"Right... sometimes it makes me wonder why you dun like t'eavesdrop," she said, snorting.

"It is rather irritating, however... The sound seems strongest from this point," Kiki stated, pointing ahead of them, "But there is nothing to suggest that a lower level even exists. There were no shafts leading underground on the main floor.."

Lain hoisted her bag further upon her shoulder, the staff in her hand shrinking to its previous length of three inches before she stowed it in a pocket. "Yeah, well, I s'pose we're just gonna hafta look a-ROOOOOUUUUUUND!"

What Lain had thought was perfectly solid ground moments before melted beneath her into nothing, and she felt her stomach fly up into her mouth as she fell through the cold air. She only had a few feet left until she splattered when she contorted her own gravitational force and slowed to a feather light hover. She still collapsed onto her knees once she reached the ground.

"LAIN, ARE YOU ALRIGHT? WHAT HAPPENED!"

" .. I found it! Port down, kid, it's fine!" The muffled clap of Kiki doing just that echoed for a long while in the dark, and Lain heard her sigh, falling sideways into the nearby wall. She patted herself down, finally pulling out a small zippo lighter and flicked it on. Holding it out, she found Kiki's face drenched with sweat and pale. "Hey, ya schway, kid..?" she asked, settling the back of her hand on her small forehead.

"Yes, I'm fine.. I've just expended a tremendous.. amount of energy, I need to rest.. for a bit.." Kiki began guzzling from a conjured bottle of ice water as Lain began working the tiny flame of her lighter into a large fireball that floated of its own free will, lighting the area around them in a haunting, yellow orange.

She was faced with what looked like a wide, endless tunnel dug out with a spoon. Further down the path, Lain could see deep shadows, indicating separate tunnels, branching off. Half ruined doors of crude, rotting wood stood in front of arching doorways. Upon opening one, Lain recoiled, clapping a hand over her mouth and nose.

"Holy fricken... GEEZ, what'n th'hell was kept in here..?" Even as she asked, Lain began putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Different twinges of magical residue were picking at her senses, and her eyebrows folded into a scowl as she felt the same fire based abilities as above down here. Only stronger.

"What is it?" Kiki asked, joining her at her side. Lain looked down at her, and watched her expression change from slack and neutral to tight, to wide-eyed and terrified all in the blink of an eye. "It cannot be.."

"What can't be." Lain was getting very annoyed at having to ask questions constantly. She would prefer it if the kid would just spill whatever it was she wanted to say. Kiki brushed past Lain and strode as far forwards as the light from the hovering fireball deemed visible. Her head lifted, and she looked around like a lost puppy. Lain could hear the ice rattling in the water bottle. She was shaking.

"This.. this place. This was a storage facility for children.. I have never been in this location, but everything looks exactly the same.. The endless tunnels, the doors, the stench.. of death." Kiki shook her head hard, as if trying to remember and wanting to forget at the same time. Lain slid up to her side and coiled an arm around her small shoulders. The young girl turned into the touch. "I was unaware that there were more than just that one.. It seemed so large.."

"Yer sure about this?" Kiki nodded against Lain's ribs.

"There is no doubt in my mind." Her voice was barely a whisper, and Lain had to strain to hear it even in the silence of their surroundings.

"That makes sense. I can feel a huge difference between the amounts and types of magic. They're scattered and faint, like some of the rooms had kids and the others didn't." Crystal blue eyes narrowed considerably as she stared down the passage into the abyss, the fireball hovering just before her right shoulder. "Whoever destroyed this place was kept here. I can feel their essence the strongest out of everything. I would gladly tell you to just wait outside, but after that fricken beam tried to decapitate us, I'm not so schway with you leaving you by yourself, so you're gonna have to stick it out. Alright?" Once more Kiki nodded, and Lain tugged her along. They paused at three way fork momentarily before turning right.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Tempero lowered the empty tea cup into its saucer and slid it forward on the table. Narrowing amethyst eyes followed the gaudily dressed and make-upped waitress as she took it away, raking over her bowling pin figure with a pronounced expression of disgust upon his pale face.

"How much longer will it be before we're contacted?"

"We must all have patience. She will inform us when her task is completed," Tempero said calmly to Sera, finally averting his gaze to the small boy within the booth who had suddenly gone rigid, his head lowering so that his chin touched his chest. Sera's head turned, her eyebrows lifting with a mixture of surprise and expectance. "Lulu, darling, is that you?"

"Daddy?! Hiiiiiiiiiii, Daddy! How are you?!" The squealing, tiny female voice looked horrendously unnatural coming from a stiff boy, but the two adults seemed unfazed. Tempero's thin lips pursed to an even flatter line as he felt the stares of others settle upon their location.

"Not so loud, Lulu, darling. I am quite well," he scolded gently, nodding. A tendril of long, black hair drifted over his shoulder, away from its slicked back confines. Tempero swiftly rectified this.

"Aaawww, I'm sorry, Daddy. Don't be mad at me please? I didn't mean to, really and truly, I didn't."

"It is alright, Lulu. What have you seen?"

"Ooooh, it was groovy! These two women came up out of nowhere. One of them had white hair and the other blue with glasses. Mhm! I don't know the first one, but the second was Kiki Masuka."

"Kiki Masuka?"

"Kiki Masuka. The only child to date that has escaped from the boogy mens! Anyways. There was this huuuuuuuuuuge boom and stuff with so much smoke and fire and flying things right after I started watching? They wrecked it, Daddy, they totally and completely wrecked it! All by themselves!"

"You are certain of this, Lulu? Was there anything left of the warehouse after its destruction?"

"I dunno yet, Daddy, the smoke and stuff hasn't gone away yet. And I don't wanna get any closer cuz if they see me, I'm gonna go boom like the rest of the place. And just as Daddy taught me, never get too close to what you can see from afar~"

Tempero laughed softly. "Yes, I did tell you that. I am glad you take my advice better than your brother, Lulu. That is why you are my favorite. Remain at that post for a little while longer and continue to observe. Contact us if you see any changes. I shall have a treat for you when you return."

"A treat? For me?! Oh, thank you Daddy!! Okay, I'll stay here! I love you~" Haru's body shivered, and he fell forward onto the table, limp and unconscious. Tempero settled his elbows onto the table's edge, folding his fingers before his mouth.

"An unknown woman and an escaped girl destroying a facility all on their own? That sounds too fabricated for my tastes."

"Indeed. Though Lulu has no way to lie to me, so all I must do is believe her eyes which have never failed in the past. We will need to relay this information to the others immediately, however, I am sure they will want to know of this new turn."

"They most certainly will."

"Master Zanzan, can we stop, yet?" Nidan pleaded, already growing extremely tired. Even though she had yet to budge from atop the crate that the bulky man was lugging around, she had been making the request for quite some time. She didn't want to move, anymore. Nor feel the wind cut into her face.

The surrounding landscape was but a violent blur, distorted from the extreme speeds that were being reached by Zanzan's movements. All in all, it was beginning to make Nidan rather queasy, and she was not at all pleased with the feeling.

"Soon, little one. We have much ground to cover if we're to meet back up with the Newborne," Zanzan informed her directly. His words, unlike his movements and surroundings, were fluid, hardly suggesting that he was even beginning to feel the exertion that was being produced.

Nidan's nose wrinkled at both Zanzan's words, and the fact that wispy strands of violet hair just whipped her in the eye. She had nothing to tie it back with, nor anything to shield herself with. She was nothing more than an abused child, at this rate. "Aw, c'mon! I just got hit in the eye with something, and it hurts...!"

Zanzan seemingly ignored her words, branching further through the funnel that was crafted from his movements. It couldn't be told which direction they were moving, or if it was even following the sense of gravity, anymore. The swirls of vibrant, warm colors mixing with dark trends of suggestive earth, or at least the ground, continued to escalate to alarming rates. They were picking up speed.

Even though Nidan hadn't a need to cling onto the crate, for no sense of through momentum was causing her to thrash, she still did. She had begun to question if she was going to be flung from it all of a sudden, like when a horse rides just underneath a low-hanging branch, leaving the rider to be thrown a considerable distance away. The thought of convenience had her lowering her head, just in case. "Master Zanzan, I would like to remind you that I'm supposed to be coming back with you? This was a joint mission at your leader's request," she shouted, almost in a demanding manner. It was implied she felt she had a higher sense of superiority between them.

Her words miraculously caused reality to phase back into existence, leaving the two of them close to a cape that overlooked a large canyon below. The fall was tremendous, to be sure, clearly showing Zanzan's capable understanding of the twists and turns of the brisk movements. The straps to the crate were removed to Zanzan's shoulders, setting the crate down onto the ground roughly. Whatever occupied within thumped limply against the sides, then fell silent once more. "You are right, little one," the small corner of Zanzan's mouth admitted.

It was disturbing to Nidan to see such a small section of his mouth move, along with an extremely different tone of voice emit from Zanzan. She swore it was as though they were two different people, mixed together as one. She quickly shrunk back, tumbling from atop the crate on behind it. "Ah!" came her shrill several seconds later in extremely delayed reaction. "What the heck is up with your face, anyway!" A sole hand lifted behind the crate, fingers wiggling Zanzan's way.

"What do you mean, child?" Zanzan questioned, a large, brash hand lifting to gently touch at the left corner of his mouth self-consciously. "There is nothing wrong with it at all."

Nidan's tiny head popped up several seconds afterwards, glaring at the big man. "Oh yes there is! You talk, and it sounds all, 'Well hello ma'am. Would you like a jelly doughnut. Hur, hur'," she imitated, using the deepest voice possible. Her fingers were still pointing at Zanzan accusingly. "That's you. That's what you sound like! And then you have this other voice, and your mouth moves in all sorts of mysterious ways! It's weird, and it's freaking me out!" Worried that she had said a little too much, and realizing it only seconds later, she ducked away behind the crate again.

Zanzan was silent, his large frame slouching as Nidan went on about his obvious 'flaw'. Fingers drew away from his mouth, moving to run a hand through the thinning gray and brown atop his head. "That. It was a gift from an old friend," Zanzan admitted. He waited for Nidan to show herself from beyond the crate once more before continuing. "A back-up." A corner of his mouth turned up in a small smile to the girl. "But I don't think you should call it weird. I'm not sure how I'd feel then."

The corner of Zanzan's mouth moved visibly, "I wouldn't call me an 'it', either. You old tea-bag."

Zanzan's eyes rolled as Nidan's own went wide. "See what I mean!?" she spoke in a shrill, moving to clamber onto the crate once again. "It is weird!"

Zanzan let out a raspy chuckle, stepping to the girl to gently pat her on the shoulder. "You remind me of Moroku when we first met," he said, that smile still present. "He was upset to think something so odd, yet so capable. 'The flawed don't belong here, dude. Get a grip, man. Listen to your talking tumor, you old tea-bag.' But he was amongst the first to compliment me on my adeptness at squeezing the essence of life from my enemies. He was quick to learn. And so will you."

Uncertain if it was a threat, or a sheer fact, Nidan opted not to test anything that Zanzan spoke. Instead, she audibly gulped with her own dramatic flourish, and nodded quickly. "O...kay. Hey, big man, can we get moving? I thought we had a lot of ground to cover?" She didn't seem to mind the idea of being whipped along, any longer.

Zanzan chuckled merrily, pleased to a certain aspect of Nidan's words. "A wise decision, little one. Let's carry on."

The straps were tugged back into hand, arms sliding through the rungs. Picking the crate up, with Nidan onboard, they distorted from view as they slipped back into the hasty movements to continue along their journey.

The scent of blood and smoke smacked her directly in the face again, and Lain once more clamped a hand over her nose as they entered the tiny, destroyed room.

"Good LORD... they obviously failed hardcore at cleanin' this place up.."

"Or they didn't have a sufficient amount of time," Kiki said, whisper quiet, as she came in behind Lain. The room was just large enough so that the very corners and crevices were kept out of the hovering fireball's view, making the items that they could see - a completely wrecked coffin-like device with cords splayed from its innards like rubber snakes, an equally wrecked computer and the charred remains of a desk, the half dried blood and gore on the ground and a massive hole in the eastern wall that clearly marked their perp's exit point - look haunted and ghostly. Lain continued to inspect as Kiki went on. "These facilities are extremely valuable and important in their operation. The obliteration of just one of them would cause such a major wrench to be thrown into the machine, it's catastrophic. My guess is that to avoid the inevitable attention, they shifted into gear and moved all of their captured children to another location and didn't bother with anything beneath. They probably felt that what was here was already jumbled enough to the point that any further clean up wasn't necessary."

"Ahh... gettin' th'hell outta here b'fore th'big boys get too pissed, right?" Lain asked, snorting and letting her eyes make rounds again. The hole in the wall was regarded for a brief moment, but she was more interested in the device in the center of the room. "Yo, kid, 'joo ever see one'a these before?" Kiki, who was delicately stepping over the mess on the floor looked to Lain first, than the device. Her eyebrows knitted together in a scowl, and Lain knew she was trying to remember desperately, regardless of her past experiences. She gave her a sympathetic look.

"Ara.. No. I was held in a similar room, however, I uh.. was bound to a table instead. They required a more open view of me, I assumed."

"I see..." She couldn't tell squat from a hole in the wall about the thing, even if it was technology. Her fingers followed the cords to the frayed and melted ends, suggesting that the electrodes placed on whomever was captured were melted and burned off, which she wouldn't doubt. There was enough fire based magical residue left in the coffin to nearly be a tangible dust. "Right, so I'm guessin' kid got pissed, blasted th'frick outta this thing, whoever that was and went that way," she said pointing to the coffin, the gore and the hole in the wall respectively. "Then went upstairs and proceeded t'burn down this whole place. Judging from how big it used t'be, they were prolly pretty pissed and pretty powerful. Am I right?"

"Come, have a look at this. And bring the light as well," Kiki said wistfully, as if she hadn't heard a thing Lain had said. She was squatting down next to the ruined data terminal, and gingerly trying to move it around without damaging it any further. Lain waved towards the fireball that was currently hovering near the ceiling in the center of the room and it floated down just above Kiki's position, and Lain watched her fingers trail along the bottom edge of what appeared to be masking tape. "The ash is distorted along this label," she said, leaning in to view it closer, "Someone else was here after they got out and.. look at the name, Lain."

"Ayaka Mahara.. What'n th'frick does 'Mahara' mean?"

"I have no idea.. But I knew of no other student that had the name 'Ayaka' aside from.. well.." her sentence trailed off, and regardless of Lain's feelings for the kid, her stomach dropped and she felt like she was free falling again.

"You mean THEY took her?! How in the HELL could they have managed that?! God, and even out from under Alex's nose, and for THIS long?!" Her yells shook the tunnels around them, and she could hear herself several moments after. She also saw Kiki flinch and cover her ears, but she didn't care. No matter how much Lain didn't like Aka, thought she was a brat, how annoying it was that they had a half foot tall know-it-all always dogging their heels... she couldn't help but feel that- "She didn't deserve that... I can think of a lotta people who DO, but her... Yeah, she didn't." Kiki sighed as she stood slowly, keeping her eyes fixed down upon the label.

"No. She did not. It does make sense, however.. She was always very adamant about helping us.."

"I seriously can't imagine that SHE did all'a this, though, man... Like I knew she had a crapload'a power in her, but who'd'a-"

"Lain.." Kiki asked quietly, interrupting.

"Yeah, what?"

"She escaped them and destroyed this facility. They are going to be after her by the droves. We need to lock onto her location as fast as we can." Her pleading tone and expression worked wonders in reaching Lain and shutting her up. She nodded to Kiki and flicked the fireball along ahead of them.

She still couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe how easily they had done this. The whole fiasco of Alex's broken wrists rushed back into the forefront of her memory, and it only made her scowl all the more. She had even scolded him for that. For not even showing any inkling that he wanted to get her back, or even cared that she disappeared in the first place. Lain knew his nature better than anyone she liked to believe. But to watch his behavior around Aka and then to see him without her, just a shell, a mere statue of barely contained worry and wrath and to see him not do anything..? She shut down her thoughts at that, worried that she just may punch a hole directly through the wall.

They reached above ground in no time with Lain hovering up first, and extending a hand for Kiki's floating body to grasp onto. A faint twinge in her diaphragm caused her to whip around and stare at the vast expanse of earth behind them. Kiki's eyes followed her gaze, and her face became set as stone.

"So you realized, too?"

"I wasn't sure if it was just the wind playing tricks on me, but now I am certain if you were able to feel it." Lain nodded, and scowled darkly as she stood.

"We were being watched."

It has been my duty to look after my little sister ever since the day she came staggering back into our house in the middle of the night. Our father, who had not seen her clearly, attacked her with a wooden chair thinking she was an intruder. By the time he realized, it was too late. He was dead a second later.

I had known something was wrong when we stopped receiving letters from her. She was vigilant with it, always telling us what was going on at the school, boys she thought were cute, her grades, the fact that she had made a best friend in Ayaka Iwakura - an unlikely choice considering her previous feelings about the girl - but I was happy for her nonetheless. I had written the Headmaster asking about her, and he tried to reassure me that she was fine and just under the pressure of her studies. He declined my request to see her.

They came a day later, the men in shining black armor, guns and visors. They kicked in our door and it clattered loudly through the house. Kiki was too weak to do anything but whimper. I touched her forehead, looking out the window into the street. It was surprisingly empty for this time of day.

I waited until I could no longer see any of the dark troops, then I threw on my jacket and took my sword. I gathered her into my arms, opening her bedroom window with a kick.

"UPSTAIRS!" I heard them call, and swore, leaping out the window, my skirt billowing around my legs. I landed twenty feet below, pain shooting up from my ankles, but I pushed on. I felt the thunder of footfalls behind me, felt the singes of their shots as they grazed my shoulders, arms and legs. Blood ran beneath my clothing but I still kept on.

Their armor made it impossible for me to turn them around or to will them to fight each other instead. As an alternative, I threw one hand up into the air and bars of emerald lightning undulated and twisted into the sky from the ground, throwing back those that dared to touch it, separating us.

I doubled over in agony as one of their shots hit home in my low back. Kiki rolled from my grasp and stirred, but didn't wake. If only she did, she could port us away...

The dirt around us exploded as they continued to try sink their burning bullets into me, and I grit my teeth together, swallowing the fear and panic. Somehow, I gathered her into my arms again, and half dragged us away.

With our lives both in danger, I merged with her, combining our bodies, our minds, our powers into one being. It was the only way to save us both, and I had nothing left but her. She would live, and I would always be there to help her, to protect her.

It was my duty to look after my little sister, and I would keep doing that no matter what it took.

*~*~*~*~*~*

When I awoke, I found myself in the middle of a vast expanse of nothing. There were no trees, no buildings. It was as if civilization had ceased to exist. The sun beat down on me from overhead, causing a sheen of sweat to instantly coat my forehead. I shrugged free of my jacket and folded it, forcing myself to get to my feet. My whole body felt heavy as lead and ached. As to be expected - Kiki had used up a vast amount of magic.

A few feet away from me lay the elf woman I always saw with Kiki, the one who was teaching her to fight and taking care of her like I could not, taking my place. It was my own fault for not leaving Kiki with any memories of my final moments. I wanted to keep her grief from getting the best of her. The question then can be asked why I let her remember all those things she endured. Well... what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And her help was needed. Keyword 'was.' There was absolutely no way that I was going to let this continue.

After collecting myself, I stooped and gathered Lain into my arms as best as I could. I was taller than her, but she was, without a doubt, twice as heavy as I was. In the end, I draped her arm around my shoulders and held up her up, porting back in the direction of the tiny diner they had stopped at this morning.

"What'll ye have?" the waitress asked once I came in the door. She gave a look to Lain, and her heavily mascara coated eyes narrowed. "She was in here just this morning with a tiny girl who looked a lot like you.." she said musingly, eying me next. My eyebrows rose.

"Is that so. Two waters, ice," I said over a shoulder as I settled Lain into the booth first, propping her against the wall. I sighed with relief, rubbing at my shoulder and sat next to her, waiting for her to wake up. Which was a surprisingly short time later.

"Uck, god... I feel like I've been fricken eaten, spat out and eaten again.."

I stared at her. "That's.. colorful." The waitress set the waters down, and I slid Lain's to her, watching her gulp it down in two swallows. After that, she leaned her head back against the booth seat and sighed. It took her a moment to realize I was still there, and when she did, she regarded me with a quirked eyebrow expression.

"Who're you. And where's Kiki." The irritation in her voice was surprising despite the fact that she looked ready to pass out. With one hand I cleared Lain's loose hair from her temples, and with my other, I gripped them between my thumb and middle finger. She tried to shy away from the touch, but she was too weak. It made me laugh.

She knew what I was doing, I knew that much, which meant I had to work fast. Memories were like archives with many different file cabinets, and hers was exceptionally large with years of data stored in places I was sure she didn't even know. As soon as I latched onto the proper memories, my grip tightened.

"My name is Mie Masuka, I'm Kiki's sister. You had a nice lunch with Kiki, and are ready to head back to the Red Dragon Inn with her now."

"What the hell are y-!"

I tossed her head backwards and she slumped into the booth, fast asleep, looking peaceful, thankfully. I would never understand how Kiki could stand her on a daily basis.

I sipped at my water, already picking through Kiki's own memory, wiping anything that had to do with this wretched journey from it. She would not be put in danger for that girl anymore.

Zanzan observed the older man that emerged from the crate, peridot narrowing to provide closer inspection. "I am perturbed. Our data states that we were to obtain a man younger than this for our research."

Scowling, the youngest of the three waved a hand dismissively. Unlike her counterpart, though, she was quick to dig a precautious toe within the earth. No chances could be delicate enough as now. "Your data is on the mark, Master Zanzan," she commented, hints of a smirk creeping up the corner of a small, tightened mouth. "His magic has simply waned, revealing truth from fabricated, artistic lies."

The aged male in the crate was slow to remove himself from within the confines of his crunched prison. Panting, and struggling to regain a fixated sight on the two before him, he seized control of the final seal. Twisting it within his firm grip, it snapped in half, causing the crate to collapse on itself like a Jenga tower. The free mobility was glamorized briefly, as he himself collapsed to his knees, gripping the earth for support.

Smirking, Zanzan arrogantly left his guard wide open, approaching the male with bright hair. "You have certainly done a number on his one, child. We were informed that his loud-mouth, brutish tendencies were to become a serious cause of concern, were he to break free?"

The girl nodded, yet failed to move from place. Already, the gleam of miniture beads of sweat were noticeable across her brow. Ones she was not quick to swipe away. Her posture was still, that of a statue. Even her words had left her, leaving nothing but calmness in fear of the storm she knew was to brew.

"You?" the aged man on his knees murmured, emerald gaze weakly rising to stare at the still girl. A finger uncoiled from the earth, pointing across the dusty ground towards her. "You have? survived? How?" Nidan didn't move, nor granted a brief lapse in her still posture to observe the pointing. It mattered little, for her senses were acute, strangling what her vision couldn't detail.

Approaching the fallen man, Zanzan slowed before him, heavy boots crushing the finger extended beneath the whole of his expansive weight. While Zanzan didn't stretch to matters of obesity, his height and tremendous sense of muscle was high. "How rude. Pointing to a child with such brash words. Have you no sense of manners, male?"

Unable to pry his finger from the underneath of the heavy boot, the older male let out a yell. One that gave Zanzan and Nidan both, uniquely, a sense of bliss. As though they fed from the pain that the aged man let loose upon impact. It spurred Zanzan on, causing his boot to burrow further within the lone finger, inching further to consume the entirety of the hand that was connected. The yell only brightened the fire in his eyes. "Scream. Yes. Scream for us, weak one."

The child nearby watched with anticipated glee, only distracted when she could hear a subtle sound behind her draw her gaze that direction. Violets flashed brightly as she rose her hands up before her face, widened eyes announcing startled emotion as a sharpened tool bounced from a thin shield that surrounded her, embedding itself within the ground beneath her. "Master Zanzan!" she called out above the subdued shouts that were nothing greater than quiet, feral growls of the oldest. "We have another."

At that, Zanzan twisted on a toe, delivering one final shred of pain to the man. Peridot was quick to scan the darkened cave ahead of him, intrigued that someone was laying in wait for their arrival. He hadn't figured there was anybody capable of moving with quite as much speed as he. Snapping his fingers, he pointed to a small chasm that extended beyond the mouth of the cave, indicating Nidan to move that direction. "Take your toy, and the box. We've no ti-" he was cut off, quickly forcing a fist to pelt a second sharpened tool that had been quickly thrust from the innards of the cave. The impact crushed the iron-crafted object to sheer dust, showering the ground beneath him as he pressed off towards the direction of the thrown weapon. "We've no time."

Nidan's eyes flashed several times in rapid unison as several more bounced from the thin shield erected about her person, both startled by the haste they were traveling, and that they were under attack. It was not something she planned, nor had means of countering when she could not see her opponent so clearly. "Master Za-!" zom, a singular sound that announced the threshold of her shield having been reached. She rolled around behind the nearby stony obelisk, her breath already extending to severe pants. "Master Zanzan.."

The burly man snarled loudly as he immediately snatched the aged man into hand, lifting him up before him like that of a tower shield in preparation. If this figure cared to take them down, another would have to go along, too. And although the movement of these small, sharp objects that resembled inferior daggers were much slower than even a fish on land, the precision was unmatched. He could tell with ease, Nidan's shields were down. "Move, child. We make for the chasm!"

She acknowledged his order, but was unable to find the energy nor courage to adhere, forced to duck behind the obelisk only mere seconds after showing faint signs that she was about to depart. She was pinned, and knew that Zanzan was to be, as well. "We surrender!" she called out, taking matters into her own hands. She hadn't any other choice but to.

"Drop the male, and step away. No body will get hurt," emitted a voice from within the cave. It had understood the request for surrender, even though Zanzan himself did not seem prepared to let something subside so quickly.

Zanzan watched the mouth of the cave with sincere interest, peridot dancing for any glimpse sign of movement. He was to be let down by his own slacking observations, this day. "You are wise with primitive weapons," he called in response, grip tightening about the collar of the geezer's shirt. "But surely you do not think this so easy a request as that, do you? Violence will not -" Just as soon as Zanzan continued to speak, was he cut off. His head dodged to the left, noting another streaking piece of iron whizzing by. Peridot glared in the direction from which it came. He could tell? the source was deeper in the cave than it seemed.

Again did the voice call out, this time with further demanding tone than previous. "Do not challenge my request, Zanzan of the Newborne. You will drop the male, and step away. I will not ask you, again." His eagerness to quarrel the exchange was heightened as well, although it could be sensed his movements within the cavern was swift, ever-changing.

Bright violet eyes flickered as Nidan attempted to regather resources necessary to construct her personal shield. The sealing process, as well as the travel, had simply worn her down to such excessive levels that it was improbable she'd be allowed another chance. Not first without rest. She urged with pleading eyes for Zanzan to merely do what it was that was requested.

The big man's throat rumbled before the collar was released, allowing the oldest to collapse on the ground. His hands went into the air, though the looks he was shooting Nidan were not pleased ones. He slowly stepped away from the fallen, and inched closer toward the obelisk, and where Nidan was stationed. "You have us, Darkness. Now what do you plan to do?"

Silence overcame the four, with nothing but the soft whistles of the wind weaving its currents through the gash in the earth, gently humming along a tune to drift within each and every pair of ears. A man of average height, wearing a porcelain mask resembling that of a fox, and decorated with faint trickles of blood beneath the socket of either eye, concealed his face, his identity, and the very manner of which he was focusing at. A Ninjatō, strapped to his back and still within a scabbard that was latched across his torso was but one or two very obvious weapons. Carrying several sharpened weapons that rested comfortably between each space of every finger, those of which he used to pin them down in the first place, was lifted and seemingly primed to be launched at a moments notice, and the very manner he carried himself as he walked suggested he had the momentum to do so as he advanced towards the uncovered Zanzan. "Lower yourself to the ground, and keep your hands where I can see them. Should I think you up to something, I will not hesitate to put you in your place." His voice carried distance, signaling the girl to do the very same. "Do not make me ask you a second time, for I will not do so."

A soft squeak was all Nidan allowed as she came fumbling from behind the towering stone, hands already high. She went to the ground without a pitch, to such a degree that she could have very well hurt herself on the descent. Her muffled utters were lost to the short man, who's head snapped to her plummet, before rising back up to the man that highly outclassed him in most attributes by eye alone. He kept his distance.

"A pity, that so soon you wish to meet your demise. Were it at any other location, fit would it be for us to engage in a tussle," Zanzan declared as he, too, lowered to his knees and stretched out in a prone position.

The sharpened weapons encrusting the open spaces of his fingers were released, moving to craft several hand signs as he mumbled various words to go along with them. Bindings that resembled glossy veins of transparency crept from the grassy earth beneath them, snaking along their frames until they entangled themselves about either wrist.

Once that much was accomplished, the masked man approached the fallen, aged man, tending to the few wounds that decorated his face, neck, and so on. "Alex-sama, you are well?" he questioned quietly, moving to assist Alex to his feet.

Still writhing from the crushed hand, and feeling the bits of strength that clutched him quickly being sapped away at the idea of speech, he inaudibly responded with nothing but breaths.

The masked man gently nodded his head in response, aiding Alex to his feet. "We have not much time, Alex-sama. I caught word that their members are to amass here, and soon. We must depart."

Alex graciously accepted the masked man's aid, at least until his legs would support him well enough without the teetering like that of a two-hundred story tall skyscraper. "Y..you are.. Tenzo Mataki. Lain's..?"

"She has requested of me to aid you, Alex-sama. I was fortunate enough to avoid the trap laid in your room, although your refuge is another question all together," his lip was bitten absently as Tenzo turned his head to spy on the two bound. "We must depart, before your strength gives out all together. Your aging-guise has already taken a severe hit." In reference to Alex looking like he's about ready to bench the sixty-plus mark.

Nodding gently, Alex moved to step forward, his head inclining. "..yes.. I fear.. we are running out of.. time."

Various sounds of laughter, like that of a crazed clown, could be heard as the pair began to move away with due haste. Tenzo took one brief glance over a shoulder as they moved, seeing Zanzan struggling with unprecedented strength to break free from the watery bonds that were placed on him. Each time an arm was able to snap free, those watery particles rebuilt themselves, latching ahold and pulling it back into place. A never-ending rubber band was the best analogy he could ever consider when seeing it in action. Tenzo tugged Alex's arm, signaling him to hurry. "They have arrived. We must go now!"

A brief glance was given over Alex's shoulder as he went along, catching the last glimpse of the one that stashed him in the box and sealed him away. He knew by doing so, the very seal that was applied, his magic source, and his very life, had been drained. To the point that he, himself, was on the verge of a death even he wouldn't be able to will himself back from. And the one that had done it?? "Tenzo?she? she is? is my?"

"Ooo hooo," Connor purred and grabbed out for Ayaka as she pulled away. "Feisty.." His dark eyes were heavy lidded as they just raked over her figure. His fingers itched to do the same, but that would be hardly professional.

"Whoareyou? Whatareyoudoinghere?Car?Whatcar?" Now that she was OFF of him, he began the painstakingly slow act of propping himself up on his elbows. The cramps and aches throughout his body weren't helping in that respect.

His large, dark red, button down shirt was open and hanging off of his shoulders, revealing the torn material of what used to be a white tank top with swirly little designs and colors. On the flesh beneath were clearly massive bruises and cuts, not unlike the ones on his face. His mouth opened to say something, and just hung there as she kept on. Oh, how he was fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Get up," Connor raised a bloodied eyebrow to her brandished finger. "Show me to this 'car' of yours. Is there a facility nearby? Or some clothes I can change into??"

Finally able to sit upright, Connor forced his fingers through his hair and the motion tore apart the old product he'd slicked it with. The sweat from his forehead kept it from falling back into his eyes, and he swallowed hard before responding.

"Didn't you hear me..? These two men.. big," he paused to cough and dramatically rise to his feet, "they took it.. I have no idea where it is, even if I wanted to help you." His mind fought with him throughout the whole motion of shrugging from his open shirt and shaking it out. Pounds of dust and bits of rock flew off to the ground. He handed it to her. "It's not much, but it's something.." he said gently, shaking it to get her to take it.

He was specifically ignoring the facility based question for the time being, letting his tired gaze rest upon the radio she began fiddling with. What could she be planning..? Why would you want to go back towards those that you just escaped from?

"I don't have all night. What's the quickest way back to? Rhydin City from here?" Connor shook himself, and covered half of his face with a bruised hand to hide his pensive expression.

"I.. sorry.. headache.." Rhy'Din city... where the hell was that..? Did he know? Of course not. Was he going to act like it? You bet.

He turned on the heel of his sneakers, looking through the one dark eye that wasn't covered by his hand, trying to pick a direction, pouty lips mouthing 'Eeny, meany, miney, mo' silently. And suddenly, his arm jutted out to the southwest, index finger extended. The sun above glinted on the thick ring encircling that digit.

"I'm fairly certain it's this way.. but if it's not, well, I doubt it'd be that much of a problem. I think anywhere's better than here, don't you agree?" This made more sense to him, and made him feel at ease. While a small piece of him enjoyed seeing the drones flit about doing useless tasks, Ayaka was now his responsibility... and he would prefer keeping her away from any other facility until he discovered her motives. After all, any slip-ups would immediately rest on his shoulders. Now that her attention seemed to be on this.. Rhy'Din.. Connor wanted to keep it that way.

He stepped aside and gestured wide with his arm. "Ladies first?" a pause, "And I hope you don't mind my company. I'd.. feel better if I wasn't alone, yanno.. after," his un-gesturing arm waving over himself, indicating his injuries, a good number of which were visible and caked with blood.

No... he'd keep it a good secret that he wanted to watch her as she walked, a quirky smile beginning taking up the corners of his mouth.

"You are certain of this, Senpai? That is unusual news to be bared against," Tenzo commented, sparking to life a small fire constructed of dried leaves and wilderness grass. His survival skills were exceptional, capable of using the very surrounding wildlife to his advantage. The rising plumes of smoke was a possible hazard, thankfully exhausted within the alcove of rock that resembled a clam they took refuge within.

Alex had retained his original appearance, once again resembling that twenty-something boy of good looks. Tenzo was, to be exact, interested in the guise. Why, most of all, he chose to appear other than whom he was. Yet, to mind his manners, he did not question these reasons.

"There is little doubt," Alex responded, approaching the vivid light the flame emitted. "Very few are able to remove the guise so easily. There within lies of the question of how and why, though. I can't make sense of it."

A twig was prodded into the flame as Tenzo listened, his mind wandering from the vague hints of conversation that transmitted between them. They weren't on high speaking terms, only opted to unite when a plan was in the works. One such as now. So, the awkward silences were a custom he was used to. "I understand, Senpai. It may be a question we are not to answer for some time."

A shrug of broad shoulders was all Alex could maintain, plopping onto the rough stonework beneath him. He was still drained with fatigue, and the idea of having to move such a vast distance was wearing him down mentally as much as he was feeling physically. His eyes drifted close as the crackles and pops of flame emitted before him. "Even if we aren't supposed to, I hope to. This is troublesome."

"And the man that she was with, then?" Tenzo inquired, interest falling onto those present within the cavern.

"I don't know. A friend of hers, perhaps. Or something else. From the sounds of it, there were more than just he with her." Came the thought as Alex's eyes opened to observe his counterpart.

Tenzo's masked features were impossible to read. Nothing except the motionless scarlet hues that swirled gently about a dark pupil. "When observing their trail, I came across peculiar observations. The one she was traveling with used some sort of masked method to cover his tracks. I could go miles without finding anything, and suddenly come across faint traces of movements. When I was able to plot their movements to this cavern, those traces were abundant."

A slender lavender brow lifted, "Then they are not alone."

"It is my guess as well, Senpai," Tenzo concurred. "To suggest we needed my analysis on that would be ill-placed. Those hoots and hollers were of many, and the cavern they use is a central base. Complete with living quarters."

Alex's head shook gently, in a near state of disbelief that he was kidnapped. By a kid! "So I'm forced into a box, siphoned of power, and taken to a base where they? what?"

"Your guess would be no better than mine," Tenzo said, sharing his uncertainty with Alex. It was impossible to come to any conclusion why they would wanted a drained person of power, other than to acquire the person himself. Flicking the twig into the flame to feed it a bit more life, Tenzo rose to his feet. "You should rest, Senpai. We will assess the situation better tomorrow."

"Ah, Tenzo?" Alex spoke to draw Tenzo's attention his way. "You've spoken to Lain recently?"

While slowing at the inquiry, Tenzo took little time to allow for proper hesitation to settle in. "No, I have not Senpai. Last I was aware, she was seeking out your adoptive daughter at a large building that exploded. She had certain belief that yours was present within at the time, but nothing further."

Alex quieted, his thoughts scattering at what it was he was looking to fulfill with a question such as that. When nothing came to mind on how to further that? "We should go to her."

Sliding out from beneath the curling low-ceiling of bedrock, Tenzo leaned over, tilting his head to look back at the netheran that was under it, "Senpai? With due respect, we should observe this group and discover their reasons."

A hand lifted, fingers curling to waggle at Tenzo, "Then see to it, Tenzo. But if Lain is so openly checking out an explosion, there may be larger trouble afoot. These are no small men we're dealing with. And they may be connected to what has happened to me."

Tenzo has known since he first met Alex, once the big lavender one has made up his mind, very little could be done to advert it to what was either more important, safer, or otherwise worthy. Shrugging gently, Tenzo moved to climb atop the clam-shaped rock formation, and pay heed to their surroundings. He had ample vision to play watchman from such a position, and the night time allowed him affordable camouflage. "Splitting up is not of my interests, Alex-sama. Please consider discovering more on your recent happenings, first. While we are both in the area, and they have not moved."

Silence overcame them, and no further conversation would continue while the night time loomed high within the air.

"You know the rules. You stay the hell out of it, and if you lose any of my crap, I'ma fricken kill you," Lain quickly explained as she stripped her hoodies and jacket off, shoving them into Kiki's face. She scrunched the bunched ends of her fingerless gloves up her arms and flexed her hands, the metal reinforcements cracking in response. She didn't even bother with her hair, and it flapped freely in the breeze. In the distance, Lain could just make out pillars of tan stone clawing up from the lush grass and trees like Mother Nature was somehow confused on what to make.

"You get as close to that eyesore as possible without being noticed, schway? If you think anything needs reporting... this time mindspeak is fine." Kiki nodded, something that Lain didn't see nor pay any attention to for she was already running at breakneck speed, vaulting over tree roots and rocks. Sparse rays of sun flashed off the guns strapped to her belt and the snugness of her leather combat slacks. Bending her legs, she sprung into the air, the soles of her boots catching tree branch after tree branch, her hands doing the same as she propelled herself into the canopy of leaves.

Lain broke out from the top of the forest with a gasp and launched herself into the air spewing up at the sky like a bullet from a gun having taken care to make her own hold on gravity virtually non-existent. The wind rushed into her ears and was so cold that it burned her skin, but she clapped her arms down to her sides, blinked the tears from her eyes and continued.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on.." she didn't know whether she was muttering it to herself or to the rotating dark speck that had just broke into her vision. A second's worth of observation declared that his ascent was finally over and he began to plummet in slow motion back towards the lower levels of the sky. Lain halted in mid-air and reeled as it felt like she'd left her stomach back on the ground. She only gave her organs a moment to catch up before she spiraled off, board straight, fighting to pull her arms away from her sides, preparing them for work.

"TENZO!!" Lain shrieked so hard it tore at her throat. The resonating THUD of his armor into her metallic structure came as a comfort to her ears she wrapped her arms about him and felt him do the same just as tightly. It occurred to her that he could have gotten out of that situation by himself, and she felt a flush creep into her cheeks despite the cold air biting at her skin.

"Lain!" It came as an expulsion of emotion that she couldn't place: surprise, relief. She hoped it was the latter, and rested her head against his chest as she worked to distort their combined fall into a haste, but exceptionally less dangerous descent. She smiled as he smoothed the hair at the back of her head.

"Tenzo, what the hell are you doing out here?" she ventured once her heart rate had begun to return to normal. Her voice sounded small and more weighed down with anxiety than she would have wanted in any normal situation. They touched down on a particularly thick bough of a tree, and Lain searched his swirling crimson eyes for an answer for as long as he let her. She soon found her hand taken in a tight grip as Tenzo easily began to scale the trees like he was raised in the forest. Their feet only hit branches at rare intervals, and Lain stumbled for quite a while until she found herself succumb to the ease of this mode of travel.

"Alex-senpai is in a sufficient amount of danger," he said aside to her, and she blinked.

"Alex is here too..? AAGGHH!" She missed her footing as Kiki screamed inside her head, and without knowing it, dragged Tenzo out of his swift pace. He dipped effortlessly, and slipped an arm beneath hers and hoisting her back in step.

'LAIN, YOU NEED TO GET BACK HER FAST!!' She sounded like she was running away from something. The kid was even out of breath.

'Kiki, is Alex there?' It wasn't that she didn't believe Tenzo, but... she had to be certain. Especially if he was stuck in some kind of issue that even Tenzo himself thought was serious. He was special for a Roundy. Lain tightened her grip on him as the tan sprouts of stone loomed on the horizon.

'YES! AND HE'S NOT ALONE!! LAIN, HURRY UP!' Lain let loose a stream of profanity at Kiki's screams in between her ears, and shook her head clear just in time to hear a rather amused and loud cackle of laughter as a pillar of stone jutted diagonally out of the ground. Kiki's high pitched voice was enough to tell Lain that she hadn't done her job correctly, but the kid wasn't an idiot. She could hold her own until they both got there. What was circling Lain's head were more important questions:

Why were they here... together? And more pressingly, why was SHE here?

"Fricken lucky I showed up, huh.." She thought she saw a crease in the fabric of his mask indicating a smirk.

One hand gripped Tenzo's and the other combed through her hair and held it in place. The nearing tan pillars of stone loomed before them and were hastily nearing. Lain hadn't heard a word from Kiki since she had a nervous breakdown inside her head, but she could still sense her somewhere. Crystal blues spared the trees about them a moment's glance, and she nodded as she was able to pinpoint the teen's location.

Soon after, they skidded to a halt, kicking up blades of grass and bits of dirt before them. It felt weird to be back on the ground again after such a long time in the air. Not that they'd spent forever up there, but she found she was having a hard time keeping balance, and she cleared her throat as she waited for her organs to catch up to her.

"Alright, so gimme th'fricken short version, schway?" Her question would never be answered as several things happened at once.

Suddenly from above her, she felt another surging of Tenzo's presence. As if he were in two places at once. She covered her face with her arm as the pillars then collapsed before them and caused a massive cloud of dust to swirl. Tenzo yanked her hand back, and she stumbled into him, abruptly falling through him as his form bubbled like water, and indeed melted in much the same way. Lain hit the damp ground with a grunt, gritting her teeth to keep herself from losing her temper at being, once again, the last to anything that was going on involving Alex. The scene that greeted her was even more confusing.

"No surprise," she muttered under her breath as she watched Alex through the dust with yet another chick. But him batting at her like she was a gnat was something that wasn't expected. Lain couldn't pick up anything from her, and it was unnerving. She carried herself like one who held more potential than she presented, even Lain could tell that.

"Leave us, and inform whomever you work for that we are not to be trifled with. This is my request, and you shall abide by it!" Her heart leaped as she heard Tenzo's voice, strong and commanding - something she'd never pictured going with his quiet and respectful demeanor. His tone verified her suspicions about the chick with them, and Lain decided to stay crouched low on the ground with the faint cover of dust and distance as her protection.

"You are? an interesting figure. To engage with you, child, we are not so inclined. However, the Newborne will not take demands from a hoodlum such as yourself, and you'd do well to? watch yourself. Moroku! We're leaving!" The instant that the woman turned, Lain shrunk back and trotted in a wide arc around to Alex's vacant side where she touched his arm gently to alert him of her presence. She received a groggy look before he abruptly turned and began some attempt at walking away from the encounter unscathed. Her head turned so hard over her shoulder, her neck cracked, and she fingered it gently beneath the curtain of tangled blue black. There was residue on him, no doubt from the chick. She'd have time to figure all that crap out later, though.

'Alright kid, come on. Coast's clear'n all that.'

'Are you sure..?' Her voice inside Lain's head vibrated with fear and uncertainty, but at this point, she just rolled her eyes to it.

'Yer up in th'fricken trees fer christ's sake, you should be able to SEE that I'm right.' She was greeted with a loud CLAP as Kiki ported into existence behind her. The female, although some distance away, turned at the noise, and Lain's eyes narrowed, loose fingers twitching at her sides, aching to clasp onto one of her guns and fire six crystals into her smile. The green haired dude at her side kept walking. A string of choice words fell from her lips in almost incoherent hisses. But it was simply the fact that Lain had a lot of practice in swearing.

"I heard that."

"Bite me," Lain spat as Tenzo turned and gave them, what she thought, was a smile. His eyes certainly narrowed enough, but the swirling pools of crimson were dagger sharp and rock solid. A look that he hadn't meant to turn on them, it seemed, for he blinked once, and it was gone, his head pulling back as if in surprise.

"Hi."

Lain's eyes widened so much, she thought they'd pop out of her face and run away. "That's all I get? 'Hi?' What kind of a lame greeting is that?" her tone was teasing enough, but part of her was truly disappointed. She moved towards him and slipped her hand into his, giving it a hard squeeze, a third for her own comfort, a third to keep her grounded and not running off after Alex, and the last third for making sure he wasn't composed of liquid.

He leveled a questioning gaze on her. "I do not understand, Precious Lain. Is that not a correct form of-?"

"It's fine," she said quickly, becoming all too aware of the fact that a fifteen year old was standing just before them, snickering her brains out, and trying to hide it. It didn't help matters that Kiki projected that sound of mirth directly into her head. "Come on. You've got a lotta fricken explaining t'do, cuz I doubt Big'n'll be willin' t'talk t'me."

Kiki turned before them and continued laughing into her hands, and Tenzo and Lain brought up the rear, the latter rubbing her cheek like it would kill her if she didn't.

'Lain's got a booooooyfriend~'

'If you want to keep your head, you'll shut up.'

"This it?" Connor questioned as they strode on into the city from the north entrance. The malodorous smell of sea water, trash, and standard living conditions combined met either of their noses roughly. It was something that, Ayaka felt, even the slum types weren't able to sustain for long periods of time.

"Yeah, Rhy'Din City," she quietly announced, mismatched eyes taking in the surrounding rise and falls of buildings. It was rough to make out their destination from where they stood, but she did recall how to carry her weight to the Red Dragon.

The pair were quiet to move through the city. While Ayaka carried a small sense of uncertainty about her new traveling partner, she was quick to accept the fact that he had escaped a facility much like herself. Not to mention his age, and the fact he was cute company, the story seemed to play out. The reasons and depth of it would be figured out, at least once she was able to put aside other portions that were on her mind.

"Where we headed, anyway?" Connor asked, feeling a little self-conscious at the light stares they were snagging.

Ayaka slowed, a gentle light pinging within her eyes as she acknowledged Connor's question. "Ah? Hey, look. Do you think you can do me a favor?" turning with a small bounce in her step to her traveling partner. She hardly slowed in her words, her anxious demeanor of clapping hands and standard child-like drifts in her personality. "There's this big, worn down building outside of town, you see?" Ayaka began, bringing to light the Villa where she spent a large period of time, and certain objects that took refuge within.

"Statues? What?" Connor questioned, when being informed.

"Statues? you know, like the one that was in Somul. There's two there, right now. I need you to? get them set up for transport?"

**

The newly reformed blonde quietly watched the comings and goings of the Inn from a nearby rooftop, her own standard stakeout. Generally, she would watch for her friends entering and leaving class at the school, or if she woke up after only numerous hours of rest, waiting for Kiki to rise so they could find something to get themselves tied up in.

This time, while she could relate to the circumstances, it was much different than anything she could consider in all her lifetime. "Where are you??" she gently asked herself, peeking up from behind a slab of extending wall that acted as her cover. She could note various few that she briefly knew during her time at the city, but nobody that her adoptive father knew personally. Nobody that she ever spent any time with to have them rat her presence out.

It was only then that she picked up several voices. Loud voices. Familiar voices. Ones that had her snapping her gaze to one side quickly. "Alex-sama, you will rest for us? We have much we must discuss about these opponents that have shown themselves from the woodwork."

"Yeah, yeah? look, I'm not in as terrible shape as you think. I just need to fetch a few injections?" Alex declared not only to Tenzo, but Lain and Kiki that were also walking along with them. Tenzo had only recently brought the pair to light on what they had all encountered, and a kidnapping of his stature was no small feat.

Mismatched eyes narrowed as the four slowed outside the Inn. While only vaguely seen from her current, out-of-the-way position, Ayaka still ducked away when a wandering gaze from a nearby Kiki began to head her direction.

"I understand, Senpai. We will meet later. I will discuss the happenings with Precious Lain and her Kiki, and we will discover a direction to go." Tenzo stated, a hand mindlessly adjusting the porcelain mask that rested upon the back of his skull. Chunks of chestnut were pulled from beneath the lingering elastic bands that conjoined the mask in such a fashion.

"Great? can't wait?" Alex uttered, turning to move on within the inn, and out of site.

Ayaka slowly peeked her head up at the remaining three, seeing they were motionless, uncertain to move from position just yet. "Ya schway, kid? Lookin' like ya just seen a ghost, 'er somethin'," Lain questioned, reaching over to do her best to not kill the smaller girl as she swatted her on the back.

Fumbling forward, Kiki's daze being launched from her person, and probably lost for some odd hours now with such an impact, she nodded with but only a moments gaze towards the nearby rooftop, and it's empty occupation. "Ah. Yeah?" she informed Lain quietly, with an adjustment of glasses.

Tenzo stepped beyond the pair, and began to move down the street. "We should go. I must hear what you two encountered, and any possible location of Senpai's child target."

Ayaka blinked, quickly lifting her head on up and over her cover to acknowledge the trio. She was careless, even to the point that she paid little heed to the fact that Kiki was staring immediately at her before turning to follow after Lain and Tenzo. Ayaka's gaze softened, her eyes shallow, as she watched them walk on off. "Child? target??"

"Admit it? Declare it? Does it even matter, now? You'd do well to retract your statements, less you'd prefer being another mess that management will have to clean up." Alex was quick to inform, the dormant hum of the energy pistol an ever reminder of his proclamation.

Heterochromia eyes lift from the barrel, and to Alex, noting the swirl within emeralds developing. She was always able to tell when he was beginning to work his abilities, be it scanning for levels of magical potency, or possible attacks that were possibly being constructed. The lowdown was: She wasn't capable of sneaking something up on him to protect herself without his inept ability to see immediately through it. It was her roughest weakness to his eye technique. "What'cha going to do? Blast the head off of the only child you ever took time away with? The closest connection you've had since ever stepping foot on Rhydin? Don't be so arrogant," she said, calling his possible bluff. If she was wrong, the worst that would happen is the sudden blackness that would consume her; the end of her very life. It wouldn't be the worst thing, she figured? "If you were to do that, you'd never know how to obtain them back again."

A pause in the standoff was granted, Alex peering just above the risen weapon to his daughter. "What, now?"

Cue the smirk, the one that Ayaka gave only when she found herself in the dominant position. It was rare, she felt, but one that she always stuffed her pride into when possible. "Come now. You don't think I showed up here merely to request your permission to take them for myself, did you? And all it takes is for you to off me, and you'll never manage to see those ancients. Ever. Again." Approaching her father, several fingers drifted through the air to pet him gently across the bridge of his nose; her own faint affectionate touch. "Naive, little Alex. You never were as bright as you let yourself on to be, you know."

At the touch, an extended arm lifted to shrug away her reach, settling the barrel against her proximate forehead. "Then I suggest you tell me where they are. Because while I may struggle, I will obtain them once again. Yet you, dead as you will be, will forever lose out on your sudden glorified chance, girl." He didn't share her amusement in the situation, but with certain reasons.

"Ah, ah, ah. Bad Alex," slinking back and away from the weapon some yards away. She closed in on the nearby sliding door that lead out to the balcony, still intact and perhaps the only fragile component of the room that was so. "Like I'd be so inclined to handle this by myself. You see, my newest partner would much prefer I return in one piece. Otherwise, who knows what he'll do with them."

A faint lapse in Alex's expression shouted realization as Ayaka spoke. "Then that's why there was one occupant in the read out?"

"Good, you're catching on," she said, having some shrewd sense of gratification.

The pistol was lowered, Alex's eyes ceasing their swirling momentum. "Then I presume you're wanting to compromise?"

Surely, at some point and time, Ayaka may have considered a compromise. After all, her two goals when teaming with the Ravenlock to begin with was to find means of rescuing her classmates, and stopping Maho from obtaining his ultimate power, something that she knew he was teeming with, sheerly just out of reach of. Yet, at this point, it was clear her objectives were not to be met, his own desires blindly leading him. She entirely forgotten. "Hah! No, no. Nothing so simple as that. For, you see, your selfish desires? your pointless goals of power and immortality on the fronts of a God? they reek of Maho's very own. But I've already said this, before. So?"

Enough was enough. Alex could only muster so much belittling conversation that lead to little to no ending before he'd resort to his violent tendencies. Lifting the pistol on up towards the blonde woman that he personally couldn't admit being his daughter, a single, powerful round was unleashed from its barrel. Resembling a supersonic sound wave a jet made when streaking through the air, the bolt of emerald energy streaked at nearly pointblank range into Ayaka. A flash, like somebody reflecting sunlight into the room, trashed the vision of either, leaving to merely their hopes or expectations that something was, or was not, happening right at that very moment.

And in mere seconds following that shot, in the quiet breaths that chased the moment down?

Ayaka stood in one piece, waves of violent heat shredding from her figure like a bonfire may on a chilling day. The very heat that the room was producing from the summer evening, coupled with what was already present due to the failing conditioner within the room, were sucked away like what only a vacuum could, and left a shivering chill in its wake. Concretionary eyes, livid at the assailment, were burning with the dreamy reflection of towers set aflame. Pulses of orange and red pumped viciously through veins across the outer layers of her flesh, causing her to light up vividly. Molten flame atop her head, consuming what was more than likely locks of bright blonde, whipped viciously about her figure. A mane of pure element. Four tendrils expanded from her back; a mixture of tails and tentacles, also composed of red and orange that pulsed like a heartbeat. Hot, licking flames consumed her very body, and left nothing but a living fire. No longer was that innocence apparent, nor the playfulness of minutes previous. "You. Fucking. Idiot," the essence declared, its figure a mirage in itself, slick upon reality that was seconds from burning away.

A quizzical stare was issued onto Ayaka's sudden shift in posture, ability, and her escalating power. It was something that he could have only dreamt her possessing a year ago. Yet, what had him moreso, was the bolt's deflection. Or, rather, its disappearance. She was unscathed, as was the entire room surrounding them. To the best of his knowledge. "? what are you??"

Shrill was her explosive scream, like a harpy unleashed from it's cage after two thousand years. Whipping tendrils of flame sliced through the air at blinding speeds that caused the stale air surrounding her to blur, leaving her movements incapable of being dictated from any position. Each pinpointed onto Alex's figure, and if it wasn't for his sudden shift in placement, certainly would he have been impaled where he stood. Rather, each sank within the floorboards, melting away the wood that supported them until it was nothing more than sickly puddles of obsidian.

Glaringly, Alex's attention drove onto Ayaka's assault. The pistol was discarded, for he had seen firsthand how little it would do in this situation. Bad move, 'lex? "You'll regret that!"

Ayaka's frame shifted in position, mocking a feral stance of positioning herself on all fours, tendrils whipping from the flame in a sweeping motion towards Alex once again. Again, she'd fall short of hitting him, but had intentions each time to do what she could to literally cut him in half. "Hell as come for you, Ravenlock. I'll deal you a death that even YOU can't will yourself back from!"