Zavier Dragonus, once a knight in service to the maiden and a member of a group whose sole purpose was derived in stopping hackers, in preserving the world in the image that the Admin…no, Harold himself had envisioned, lay on top of a building of Mac Anu, water capital of the world. He wondered why it was this city beyond so many others, this “field” as it were, that gave him such relief. It seemed the answer must lie in his armor, a deep blue, once part of the symbol of Unity. Or perhaps, in the Lake and Sea, the useless weapon that many of his compatriots had searched for in an eager attempt to prove themselves to an even more eager leader. Or maybe in the theme for what the city was named, the flowing of water, and the laid back sound that marked it was the “newbie town.” It was probably all of it, and none of it. His identity existed as nothing more than Zavier, a fusion of the original and Xeromessiah, a melding of AI and digital soul, creating a creature that was neither and yet held within him the best of both. Maybe even the worst.

A long time had past. A very long time. He was surprised he was still able to move. It was no secret that over time, data mines and other entities that drifted in the world began to fragment and give way to incomplete models, some of them going insane and coming back as monsters, some prey for hackers or other malicious programs and their programmers. At one point, inside the Unity bastion on their field, Beautiful Setting Sky of Fire, he had sealed himself, an attempt to maintain his dignity and his mental acuity on the top floor. An invasion by a rogue AI had put an end to that, and while it had been cleared out, he hadn’t found a reason really to return. The field was beautiful, but the memories that came with it, including his failings, usually were more than he could bear.

And so he stayed in Mac Anu. Killing monsters, hunting players, and even pursuing his own dragons were a thing of the past. Wood, Bronze, Iron and Water. They were still with him, still avid guardians of his powers. From that first Dragon with Rayo, a talented wavemaster to his own failed attempt at retrieving the Fire Dragon, he remembered them all. He knew he wouldn’t be complete until he found the rest. The dragons he held wouldn’t be complete until they were reacquainted. That was why he had been chosen. Probably why he had been spared too.

He stood up, his wings coming to life as he let the sun wash over him. Who he was before no longer mattered. At this point, getting out was all but an impossibility. And did he even want to leave? What would be waiting for him, years and years of time passed in a hospital. Who was to say he had anything to return to, that he was even still alive in the outside world? Those were the thoughts that scared him and so he cast them out, embracing his situation.

It was while he was meditating that he received the flash mail. He hadn’t received once since….since before he could remember. Who would even know that he still existed, and why would they want to speak with him? The sender’s name was hidden, as he expected, and the message itself had no title. Zavier looked around, watching as players rushed across bridges and warped out of the town, joining the other servers and warping to fields. It was around 7 years ago that he himself went to his first instance after having to wait for a long time. Gingitsune had fought a powerful monster who had broken into Mac Anu and had begun to slaughter every person who zoned in. He and his friend Nanaki had been unable to log in.
“Heh, I was such a child then.” He sighed, a tired sigh full of longing and regret. “I might as well see what the message says.” He accessed the file, and after a moment it loaded. The message itself was an image with one word under it. It was blurry, and it took a moment for him to recognize it, but once he did his eyes narrowed. It was the Unity Bastion, with the word “Come” written under it.

Zavier dismissed it and looked up at the sky. Who, after this many years, would know what the bastion even was? And why would they want him to come?

He grabbed his sword, Fire and Sky, and jumped off the building, his wings gliding him to the warp gate. His dragons riled in him, responding to the anxiousness within him. “Let’s see what awaits us at the bastion. Beautiful Setting Sky of Fire.”

Beautiful Setting Sky of Fire.

It was different. What had begun as a field that mirrored Zavier’s inevitability as a creature stuck in a limbo, a perpetual phase of life that somehow granted him a faux mortality had become warped since the battles that had taken place. He didn’t remember how it had ended, but the storms that made their way throughout the field were an unexpected consequence. The rain washed over him, wetting his hair and making it cling to his skin and his armor. The chaos gate had placed him a good distance from the bastion and so he began walking.

The field itself, albeit a bit chaotic, seemed no worst for wear. No monster portals seemed to have been placed here, more than likely a result of the admin not really paying attention to this field. And why should they? It had served as nothing more than a headache while he visited it, and served as a conduit for anomalies that must have warped even the most brilliant CC mind. That, and back then his name meant something. Zavier, Knight of the Maiden, once called chaotic good, an unerring and accepting advocate of the world in its true form. What had started out for him as a game with a friend had become existence with no one. It seemed bitter, but in many ways he felt blessed. He was free of the confines of a normal life, a life where he would undoubtedly have ended up in some form of office with a mundane job of typing documents into a spreadsheet. Here, life was exciting. Here, dedication and virtue automatically translated into wealth and fame. And here, he could stand up to his bullies, even alone.

He received a ping that let him know that someone else had come to the field, which surprised him. Anyone could come to the field, he hadn’t put that many safety guards on it. But, without a Lake and Sea they couldn’t’ enter the Bastion. Of course, this was assuming the locks were still in place and that C hadn’t done anything to it.

Zavier stopped for a moment. One of the major confrontations that had occurred here involved an AI, one that was made by the very group of hackers who had turned Zavier into Xeromessia, H protocol. Had he been left to run amok while everyone’s attention had been placed elsewhere? And if he had been left unchecked…what would he be?

“No reason to hesitate. If he is here, and if he is up to something, I’ll just have to stop him. But with my current powers, will that be enough?” Zavier shrugged and continued on. The weather had picked up, and wind gusted to what he guessed was 30 mph. He couldn’t fly, it would waste too much energy, and so he did the next best thing. He called on the water dragon, his eyes changing and his armor beginning to pulsate a deep royal blue. Once it was done, he closed his eyes and focused on the raid around him. In this form he couldn’t control the weather, but his interaction with water was increased. He could slow down the fall around him, maybe even stop it from hitting him. That way he could at least have some visibility, and could move faster. He pulled the water around him, feeling the essence of each drop. It whipped around him, fast and frenzied, crazier than he had ever known to happen in the World. It was as if the weather had no bearing and was coming from all directions at once. Which was impossible, since the raid had to fall from the sky. But if he was reading this right, it wasn’t limited to above him. If only Tokki were here…
“No.” He shook his head, clearing his mind. Now was not the time for that. He reached out to the water, releasing his own aura around him. Soon he was able to reach the desired result. As the rain reached his aura, which had settled around him in a 6 degree sphere, it would slow, dispersing into a mist that simply washed around him. With his vision cleared, he looked back towards the bastion. It wasn’t far, and he should be able to make it soon if he hurried.

Soon, he made it. The weather was intense around the bastion, and he could see that clouds had begun to swirl and mangle, being ripped apart and reforming in various forms at various altitudes. The Unity Bastion itself seemed decent, but that was on the outside. There was no telling what the inside looked like. It wouldn’t collect dirt or insects like in the real world, but data decay could be inevitable. He raised his Lake and Sea, and it reacted, glowing brightly as it interacted with the building. He closed his eyes, and waited to be transported inside. After a minute he opened his eyes.

Nothing.

He looked up again. His dagger shown, the light evidence that was, in fact, working, and yet he was still outside. “Unity Bastion, Zavier Dragonus wishes to enter.” He waited, and the dagger flared brightly before going dark again.

Nothing

It didn’t surprise him, although he admitted to being annoyed. Something had happened during their fight that had ruined some of the systems inside Unity. Who knew what was waiting for him? But first, he needed to figure out a way—

“Having some trouble getting into the Bastion, Zavier?”

He turned, pulling Sky and Fire out of its sheath and brandishing it before him. A character stood in front of him, his armor dark and two swords at his waste. If he was using two swords, he would be a Twinblade….but his swords were long. In fact, they were as long as Zavier’s were when he was a Dualist…

“Who are you? State your identity!”

“You haven’t’ changed a bit I see, still trying to scare your way through everything. But very well.” He stepped forward, showing Zavier his face. Zavier’s sword began to glow as he recognized the man before him. He wasn’t a player, or even an NPC. “It’s been a while Zavier since we fought in this very space. I was known as Cerebro, but you may now call me Inzen. If you want to get inside of the Bastion, you’ll need my help.”

“I should cut you down where you stand. Tell me one reason why I should listen to anything an AI like you has to say?”

“Because if you don’t…this field, this server, and most likely the entire World will shatter and be tossed into the wind.”

The rain swarmed around C, who had designated himself as Inzen, and it took nearly all of Zavier’s focus to keep him in his sights. He was one of the most ruthless and cunning ai’s Zavier had even encountered. He knew he hadn’t seen the last of him in the past, but what could he have wanted now, here? And why did he show up to the field at the same time as Zavier?

“I’d suggest you start speaking. Why have you changed your name to Inzen?”

“That is none of your concern. Suffice to say, in my rummaging through data I found something interesting that I chose to use. It’s as simple as that. On the other hand, if you truly wish to discuss things, then a slight change of venue might be beneficial.” Inzen waved his arm, and the area around them became surrounded by a dome. Slowly a glass table emerged from the ground, with three equally glass chairs surrounding it. It was done in moments, which astounded Zavier. It was obvious that C’s manipulation of the game had grown considerably….and he most likely represented an incredible threat to him. The program then sat down, withdrawing his weapons and placing them on the table in front of him. He looked at Zavier expectantly.

“Why should I trust you?”

“Are you dumb? I’ve just said why. You don’t have a choice but to trust me. None of us do. Now please, place your weapon on the table.” Zavier hesitated for a moment, and slowly withdrew Fire and Sky and placed it on the table. He then took a seat across from Inzen.

“Who is the third seat for?”

“I’m sure you’ll find out eventually, although there’s no telling when that party will show up. Let’s just say, we’ll need to talk before things go out of hand. And now, let’s get down to business.

“About a year ago, while I was continuing an analysis into various things in the world, I came upon a group of hackers whose data load was considerably high. I thought it obvious that they were working on something major, and so I naturally inquired. They told me that they were working on an Ai, one that bridged their collective knowledge and surpassed anything they had ever done, including me. You remember that I am the product of some ingenious programming, an attempt to make a soldier very much like the Xeromessiah you fought with.”

“I remember. But while you were mere programming, Xeromessiah was grafted onto my very character data. The result was a creation that was unstable and suffered from what they would call split personality disorder, with Xero and me fighting for control of the Unity.”

“Precisely. It was decided at that time that the program would not work. As promising as the results seemed to be, it seemed obvious that a total reintegration of a human char, even those separated and inside the game, was impossible. And your defeat of Xeromessiah was evidence that stopped it altogether. Or at least…it should have.”

Zavier’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying that the hackers are recreating Xeromessia? That the program didn’t end?”

“Yes and no. The program did officially end as far as I understand it, but then the hackers met another programmer, one I’ve been unable to locate or learn anything from. Apparently this hacker was incredibly skilled but also a visionary. He posited: why focus on a program that would have the limitations or rudimentary ai, and why focus on a program that could not exist on its own merit in the world? Was there a way, could there be a way, to bridge the gap between these two theories and create a new, singular entity capable of both? The consensus of the hackers was no, that the work would be too complex. But this hacker was very persuasive, and showed them coding and work that seemed promising. And so, after delegating amongst themselves, they agreed to give his plan a try.”

Zavier slammed his hand onto the table, which surprisingly did not crack. “Those fools. How long will they continue to toy with this world before they create another’s Pluto’s Kiss? Why must they continue to subjugate the will of the game itself?”

“Not so fast. This tirade, this anger and self-righteousness that judges your actions is nothing better than the hackers themselves. Sure, you consider yourself better than them because you fight for a cause you consider just, but so do they. And your dragons, while a part of the World, break every single law the game has laid out. Why do you cling to them, when you deny the validity of hackers?”

“I received this from the world. I received this power from a system that found itself in dire straights. I did not pursue it on my own.”

“Of course not. You chose your power about as much as he chose his.” Inzen sighed and looked up at the sky, which seemed to be blotted out by the rain. “If we are to beat this problem this time, we must cast away the problems we have with each other. You cannot hate me and fight along side me. You should realize the contradiction and error in such a position.”

“Fight alongside you? Why would I do that? And fight against what?”

“Still as shortsighted as ever. What I’m trying to get at is that the hackers appear to have succeeded. Or at least, they appear close. The creature is designed to mimic a player, and yet have the understanding and interaction with the world that only a program like myself would have.”

“But why would this represent such a threat?”

“I know this will appear cliché, but you need to understand the truth of it. One of the reasons Xeromessiah lost, and one of the reasons the hackers were so hell-bent on turning you into a program is because of what you are. You are part of a small group of players who exist, in a matter of speaking, solely in the world, and yet your “souls”, your minds remain intact. You gain the powers of us programs, but you’re able to retain your human instincts and creativity. We still don’t quite understand how that’s possible, but they are close to understanding it. And if they do create this creature, it will spawn an entire new race of AI, vastly superior to me or you.”

“So that’s why we’re here. You’re worried that you won’t be so high on the chain of power much longer.”

“Precisely. It just so happens that, in this case, you and I should be after the same thing. The creation of this program is the end of us. The destruction of this program is our continued survival.”

“Let’s assume that you’re correct and, even more ridiculously, let’s assume that I fight along side of you. I cannot access Unity Bastion for some reason, so we have no way of getting in.”

“When will you stop doubting my brilliance? Before I was so rudely removed from the Bastion, I left a small trace of code in its main system. It will allow us access to the bottom floor of the bastion, but it is only one way. The only way we can then leave is to reach the top and stop this creature.”

Zavier smiled. He had to admit, this program was indeed cunning. “Alright then, Inzen. Let’s get inside and see what’s going on.”

“Well, Zavier, two points. One, remember that this may not be the same dungeon that you once knew. They have had ample time, in your absence, to recreate it in any way they saw fit.” Zavier nodded. “And, secondly…you did receive a ping that someone had entered the field a short time ago, correct?”

“Yes, and you and I are here talking. What’s your point?”

“My point is that I am not the one who entered the field…she is.” Inzen waved his hand, and the shield around them began to contort, most of the energy focused on its eastern side. Slowly it began to extend, growing in size and stretching across the field. It impacted an object and then exploded, growing in size until the entire shield was much longer than it had been. The flare blinded Zavier for a moment and he looked away.

“Vak Kruz.”

He turned quickly and brought up his arms, the fire move slamming into him and pushing him slightly back. It was a low level magic but packed an incredible amount of energy. He looked up and saw a female standing at the end of the field. She had on red robes that reached almost to the ground, revealing a pair of red heels. She wore red earrings as well, and a small veil that hid her eyes. And yet, her face seemed incredibly familiar. Zavier’s stomach began to turn as he looked upon this woman that seemed so familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it…

“It’s been a while, Zavier.” His eyes shot open as his hand reached for the Fire and Sky. His wings unfurled and barreled him towards the woman. The woman who had changed his life and almost taken it.

The woman who had made him into Xeromessiah.

As usual, it all started with a simple, seemingly innocent flashmail.

Relaxing in the peaceful, though melancholy surroundings of the cathedral in Hidden, Forbidden, Holy Ground, the two women had just begun a serious discussion on their future when the chime echoed. The smaller of the two, a young girl with large honey colored eyes and short white hair, looked up and furrowed her brow into a small frown as she read the short message. Unfamiliar sender and unfamiliar keywords, two strikes against an already odd occurrence with a third very likely to be argued between the two of them for the next while to come.

Said argument didn't take very long, as the older of the two begrudgingly gave into the pleading of the younger one and sent a rather scathing look to the statue bound in chains, as if it were somehow the bound woman's fault that they weren't able to complete their talk. As they prepared to leave for their new destination, the small girl dressed in forest green paused in front of the statue, clasped her hands at her chest and bowed her head in silent prayer. Her lips moved, silent words formed and released as she finally raised her head and turned to the tall woman who waited semi-patiently at the entrance to the cathedral.

“It doesn't hurt to pray, you know.” Sekai chided as she fell into step beside the solid form of her Long Arm companion. A pale white wooden bow nearly as tall as she was was slung over one shoulder with no quiver in sight as they moved from the field to the root town's Chaos Gate. To this day,she still hadn't explained why the statue bothered her so much, other than a quiet admission that she didn't like the memories surrounding it and the cathedral itself.

Stretching out her arms and rolling her shoulders, Kira shrugged and rested her spear against her shoulder as they walked amiably through the cobblestone streets leading up to the stairs that guarded the Chaos Gate. “I do pray, it's called combat.” She informed her little one matter of factly and felt her lips curve into a smile at the suspicious look she was given in return. There was truth in what she'd said, however. Her prayers were sent at the beginning and end of each battle she engaged in and she wouldn't have it any other way. Thus the life of a soldier such as herself.

Although, teasing Sekai was a good deal of fun...

Kira slipped an arm around the small girl's waist and leaned in close enough to make the girl blush. “Unless you want the other kind of prayer.” She murmured suggestively, voice low beside the girl's ear as she anticipated the small girl's reaction.

As usual, Sekai didn't fail to disappoint. Her face turned bright red in scandalized embarrassment and her eyes grew to take up more than half of her face. A stammered denial was her response as she hurriedly put in the keywords from the flashmail... and felt the telltale light headedness of transportation as they were whisked away.

...to the wrong field.

The discussion that followed when they returned to Mac Anu to try again was more than a little entertaining. Sekai's cheeks were rosy with more than Kira's implicated 'activity' still ringing in her ears as she entered to correct keywords this time. “See what happens when you're, you're...” She struggled to find a word as they waited a moment for the server to recognize their destination.

“Irresistible? Seductive? Undeniable?” Kira offered, her grin spreading as the girl seemed to fume at each entirely inappropriate word thrown at her. Laughter was starting to bubble in her chest and stomach, leaving her with the intense desire to either let it out or find something that would change her mood drastically enough to leave her amusement forgotten. “Unreasonable!”

The young girl finally exploded. “You... you... you suck!” She finally managed to spit out afterwards, feeling absurdly proud of herself for using slang appropriately this time. As pleased as she was, it was obvious that she'd just given Kira more fuel to tease her with. The brilliant amber eyes, the alien like lack of pupil unnoticed by the girl at this point, lit up as if she'd been presented with something she'd wanted for a long time and her grin turned almost dangerous in nature.

Sekai said another quiet prayer, a private one as she begged the Gods of both worlds to have mercy upon her for this one time, just this one time and she'd be good and not ask for anything for at least a week, as Kira opened her mouth.

And really got her good.

“If that's the way you like it, I don't have any problem obliging,” An intentionally lewd looking leer left the small Archer torn between whimpering in mortification or giggling helplessly at just how utterly ridiculous the Long Arm looked. “But, just for the record, I can also-”

Sekai was swift to cut her off, pointing a finger close enough to the leaning woman's face that it nearly caught her nose. “Finish that and I'll ask Raine-san to create a bar of soap for me so I can sit on you and wash your mouth out with soap.” That was a decent threat, the fifteen year old girl thought with pride, watching Kira's eyes cross to look at her finger. It'd probably take Onii-san to help her pin the terror of an AI down too, now that she thought of it.

After a considering look and a moment of silence, Kira felt the beginnings of the teleporation start to kick in and smirked at the littler girl, snapping her teeth in a playful attempt to bite her finger as they were taken away to the field. “Didn't you learn not to put things in front of someone's mouth? You might get-” The Rue affiliated woman paused immediately as their feet met solid ground, eyes narrowing as she looked at the storm ravaged landscape and glanced to Sekai, the young girl covering herself with a long tawny coat that matched the color of her eyes

“Question for a question.” At the wary nod, the silvery-blue haired AI closed her eyes a moment and then gave her an incredibly disbelieving look. “How the hell do you attract so much trouble?”

Sekai made a face at the taller warrior's question and sulked a moment at the implications behind her words before responding. “Part of it is bad luck, the rest... I suppose is the company I keep.” As insulting as it might have been, the young girl was also rather reluctantly admitting that the people she was around were probably more than a little of the reason she wound up getting into dangerous or flat out strange situations as often as she did.

“Huh, guess that makes sense.” Kira replied after a moment's thought. Bad luck and the kind of company she kept, someone needed to teach that girl how to surround herself with people who didn't wind up dragging her into dangerous situations or causing her to get into trouble by association and-

Wait a minute.

“Hey!”

Sekai burst into a fit of helpless giggles at the affronted look on the Ruem Priestess' face as the rather subtle insinuation finally clicked into place, raising her hands in a placating manner as she backed away from the advancing AI. “I-I'm s-sorry, you walked r-right into t-that one.” She managed to stammer out between giggles, hastily trying to find a way to distract her beloved or else she'd probably be carried like a sack of rice to the entrance of the dungeon or whatever structure lie within this field. “Why don't you like the statue of the girl in our cathedral?” A good question, one she hoped would really throw Kira off as she turned and started looking for a direction to head in.

On one hand, the “our” in her sentence made something inside of her flutter with a shy kind of pride. But on the other, it could also be used to reference the fact that there was someone there at times; and Kira didn't like that in the least either. She trailed along after Sekai, once the girl decided on a direction and began walking, and tried to think of a way to explain that didn't sound paranoid.

-beading against the unforgiving marble as heartbroken sobs punctuated by an occasional violent fit of coughing echoed in the enormous structure. Wavy white hair pooled around the curled up form as the world around her spun in unpleasant ways and the waves of pain, of betrayal and a sorrow too deep to describe bombarded her left and right.

She could do nothing more than watch helplessly. Her eyes had gone to the eight chains binding the stone statue of a long, wavy haired girl in a dress and dropped down to the girl who cried within her shadow. For a moment, she swore the statue was crying as well, an odd trick of the light in her eyes, probably, as she made her decision and made a desperate offer, wanting to do anything it took as long as it would stop her tears-

“Kira?” Sekai's worried voice broke her reminiscing and brought her back to the present with a touch of her hand against her arm. “Are you okay?” She asked softly, concern written on every line of her expressive face as she looked up through the winds and the rain at the troubled looking AI.

Things were different now, Kira thought to herself and glanced down at the small girl in front of her. Hard to believe that had been two years ago. “I'm fine, little one.” She reassured softly, reaching over and wiping away the rain that beaded and fell like tears down her cheeks. For a moment, she gave into weakness and allowed her hand to linger, knuckles gently brushing against cool, damp skin and felt something in her heart twist a little. Things are different now, I can help her the way I couldn't back then. It was amazing how easy it was to take being able to touch another person skin to skin for granted.

Until they were unable to do so when it was most needed, then one realized the importance of such a thing.

“Kira...?” Sekai inquired softly, a little unsettled with the intensity of the emotions within the princess' troubled eyes. She didn't look away, allowing the rain to slip coldly against her cheek and throat, and reached for their bond to cautiously open it up a little further. Longing, melancholy, tenderness and something more filtered through, wrapping around her gently until the woman reigned herself back in, control and authority back into place as she sealed her inner heart away from her once more.

Her little one was getting a little too good at figuring out the mechanics of their bond for her own comfort. She'd have to be more careful about when she indulged a moment of weakness and not let it slip through so obviously next time. “Just remembering something unpleasant, that's all.” Kira replied distractedly, withdrawing her hand from the girl's face and placing it back at her side as she started to walk again. She knew the girl was absurdly patient in some matters and was waiting for the answer to the question she'd asked. Fair was fair, even if the two questions felt unbalanced in terms of heaviness.

“The statue looks like you, I don't like that.” Made her feel as if she might have been one of those eight chains binding the girl down, something that didn't sit well with her at all. I don't want to be a chain around her throat, or a burden that holds her down and back. Kira thought quietly to herself. It was true too, every time she saw that statue, she remembered that despairing, agonized face and it burned like a cursed wound within her chest.

Sekai frowned and followed, catching sight of a structure looming in the distance and quickened her pace to keep up with Kira's much longer legs. “She reminds you of me? How so? We don't look anything alike.” Kira sent her an odd look out of the corner of one eye before responding. “Yes,” She said softly. “You look quite a bit like her; especially when your hair was long.” Knowing her little one would persist in trying to get a sensible answer out of her, the blue clad warrior said one final thing before increasing her own speed into a jog. “But most of all, you have the same eyes as she does when you think no one is looking.”

Silence reigned over the rest of the journey to the structure, both of them in heavy thought as the sounds of battle drifted on the winds. Puzzled and exchanging a glance between them, Sekai removed the bow from her shoulder, a glowing arrow appearing in her hand as she and Kira used a Speed Charm to race forward and see what was going on. A woman clad entirely in red was fighting viciously against a man clad in white and black armor.

For a moment, Sekai hesitated, unsure if they were familiar with one another and just having a training session, or if things were a little too out of hand and an actual fight was going on. When she pulled something unfamiliar to attack with, her decision was suddenly made for her as Kira inclined her head and motioned for her to interrupt.

Her eyes narrowed as she focused, trying to find a good place to aim and fire that would get both of the fighters' attention without actually hurting either one of them and causing a misunderstanding. Electricity crackled, swirling brightly and causing her hair to stand on end from static as she released the arrow to soar comet-like through the stormy air and cut between the two fighters in a well timed shot that she probably couldn't do again if her life depended on it.

“Shocking Arrow of Voltage!” Her voice- and Kira's as well, since the AI's voice was much deeper and louder than her own... not to mention more impressive sounding- cut sharply into the wind in her attempt to catch their attention as she and Kira rushed over to see what was going on.

Whoever these people were, Sekai had a feeling that they weren't just two 'ordinary' players of “The World”... but whose side they were on was another story entirely.

And that was a risk that she wasn't sure if she was able to take; not being in a party and all.

Zavier lunged at the hacker, his sword activating and his muscles straining against his armor. He could see her clearly now, not as she stood before him, not even when she stood before him, but along time ago. A long time ago he had watched helplessly, chained against a wall as he was told that he would disappear, and that he would be aiding the hackers against his will. More than that, he had watched that same face when he had finally defeated Xeromessiah and reclaimed his sanity. He still remembered them, and while he hoped to one day find her again, he never would have expected for her to come waltzing into his field. In his home.

Fate had a wonderful way of giving you what you wanted.

His teeth clenched and he smiled as he launched forward. He saw fire build up and launch towards him, what looked like large circles, an unfamiliar form of the Kruz element. But then, he had seen a lot. Hackers, friends, incomplete monsters: they could all manipulate the basic ideas of the world, albeit to varying degrees. Although, by the make of it, she was probably a wavemaster. Most wavemasters, save Rayo and Gingitsune, couldn’t hold a prayer to him. They just weren’t fast enough.

“Vak Kruz!” He saw the orbs fly towards him and brought his own weapon against them, the fire erupting and bursting as his Fire and Sky collided with them. They were heavier than they looked, and he shifted his weight to launch them around him instead of dissipating them where they stood.

“You chose the wrong time to interfere with my plans. A wavemistress has no power over me.”

“A wavemistress?” She laughed, an arrogant laugh, the same that he remembered. She hadn’t changed. “Don’t dare insult me. I’m no more a wavemaster than you are just a knight. I’m a hacker. Vak Krenz!” Zavier stopped at the unfamiliar words. He saw two segments of code appear around her hands, spiraling around into they intercepted her fingers. She moved them forward, both hands facing him in a gripped formation. He saw the code began to materialize, slowly at first, the object appearing sleek and black. It filled out, moving at a right angle until it began to form a short barrel that pointed straight at him. When it finished, Zavier admitted even he was a bit surprised.

“A gun?”

“Idiot. Guns shoot bullets. Mine are much more integrated into the World than that.” She brought hem forward and pulled the triggers simultaneously, each producing an orb of energy around its barrel. They normalized into the large sphere types she had been firing and launched towards him, faster than they had been before. Zavier brought his blade against them, holding them both back as the flames began to rip around him, swarming over his body. He could feel it heating his armor and he rolled to the left, letting the tempest wash over him. He rolled back quickly, the flames gone, his eyes narrowed. Her powers were as formidable as he remembered.

“Zavier, what’s going on?” Zavier recognized the voice of his guardian, even if he hadn’t spoken to it for a while.

“Bahamut, I’m in the middle of something.”

“I know, and it’s not like you. The access to those memories are restricted even from me. Who is she?”

“She’s someone from my past, regrettably. It was before I met you, and unfortunately she’s not a very bright spot in a long line of events that has made me who I am. I can’t imagine that she is here because of coincidence.” Bahamut was silent for a moment as Zavier studied the hacker, looking for any form of opening. “Bahamut, do you think that you could help me find a way to get in on her? Guns or not, she can’t be the close ranged type of she’s using those guns. If I could reach her before she has time to run, I can end this with a couple revolvers.”

“I’ll see what she can do. Remember that she’s a hacker; things aren’t as simple as they’d normally be. Engage her again and I’ll watch.” Zavier rushed towards the hacker, who immediately fired one of her guns. It dashed across the distance between them and slammed into his sword, and he clenched his muscles as he pushed it back. It detonated faster this time, sending fire bursting around him and damaging him.

“Any ideas?”

“It seems that her gun is able to harness the power of fire and launch it in a tightly contained orb. She can control if it detonates or impact or if it stalls for a moment. But, I see the recharge time. If you can get her to fire both guns and move in, you’d have about a 6 second window to close the gap. If you could do that, she’s a sitting duck.”

“Have her fire both guns and then move in 6 seconds? Sounds easy.” Zavier smiled as he looked back at the woman, her guns still pointed directly at him. He would have to dash straight at her; otherwise the storm around the portal would blind him, and she could sneak up on him. Which meant that they were forced into playing chicken, the loser at risk for deletion. He took a deep breath and placed Fire and Sky in its sheath beside him. He would use Battōjutsu this time, and that meant he’d have to dodge the bullets rather than deflect them. He looked at the woman and braced himself. “Let’s see how fast you really are!”

He dashed towards her, placing all of his concentration into his visual perception. He saw her fire her right gun, its sphere more than half the length of the tunnel. He let it come to him, pacing his breathing and his strides as he had done years before. When it came within 3 feet of him he slammed down his left leg and pushed his body forward, allowing his body to arc into the air. He cleared it and rolled in the air, his body deftly landing onto his right leg and he continued moving. He saw, for the first time since they had started fighting, her eyes narrow as she fired her next gun and took a half-step back with her right leg. He smiled and let it come to him. If he thought correctly, she wouldn’t let him get away with simply launching over the orb. And she didn’t. As it came towards him it detonated, sending flames launching around. He spun and slammed his sheath into the ground, now muddy, and spewed it towards the flames. It moved into them, cooling a portion of the vak attack before settling back into dirt and dust, but it was all he needed. He closed his eyes momentarily as he breezed through it, allowing the flames to close in behind him. The hacker’s eyes widened as he brought both her weapons to the front, energy gathering around them. “Almost there…” he pushed his body to the limit, his right hand on his sword at his side, launching himself the rest of the distance. He saw lightning gathering around her weapons, which meant that she was capable of more than simple fire attacks.

“Six seconds Zavier!” he heard Bahamut say as he stepped in front of her guns.

“Rai Zot!” he felt the tendrils of lighting slam down onto his body, but it was too late. His feet were planted, his right foot almost touching her left, his sword being pulled from its sheath. He could see the recognition in her eyes as his blade moved towards her hands. She was able to move her left gun back, but his sword slammed into her right hand, energy bursting as the gun slipped out. He let the sword continue to move, and as it moved straight up he stopped it with his own strength, reversing its direction.

“Vak Revolver!” He yelled the words as his sword and body began to move, his own legs tightening and then pushing him forward as he jumped into her, spinning vertically. He saw the fire erupt and slam into her and heard a scream as he felt the blade make contact.

She was pushed backwards, and dirt and dust was kicked up. While he had perfected that move, it was incredibly taxing, and he stepped back, resheathing the sword and staring ahead, albeit breathing heavy.

“Zavier, be careful: she’s still moving.” Zavier’s eyes narrowed as he saw something standing up through the dust. She slowly stepped towards him, and the first thing he noticed was the weapon in front of her. Her guns were nowhere in sight, but she held a double-ended halberd in front of her, its metal gleaming an unnatural blue. Her eyes were bloodthirsty, and while he could detect surprise, he also saw hatred.

“I’m surprised you were able to bring out a melee weapon so fast. I thought that you would be the long-ranged type.”

“It would be wise for you to not underestimate me. I’m more powerful than you. By far.”

Zavier laughed. “I admit that when you captured Zavier he was weak. I was searching for the Dragons, trying to understand why they had chosen me while trying to understand the new position I found myself in. I was a guy who had been stuck in this world, was facing incredible challenges, and I didn’t know where to go. But you know something? That was a long time ago.” Slowly Zavier’s armor began to glow blue, small orbs of power appearing around him. His eyes began to turn dark blue, his own armor mirroring the color of the deepest ocean. His hair began to change, and his weapon began to morph in respond, its shape taking on more of a broadsword form. “I found a few of those dragons I looked for, before you interrupted me. And now you don’t stand a chance against me.” He felt his wings transform, his power swarming around him. The hacker grabbed the halberd with both hands, holding it in front of her in a diagonal from top left to bottom right. “You’ll die here today. Like you tried to kill me.”

“I should have killed you when I had the chance all those years ago!” She launched towards him and Zavier pulled his wings down, boosting his body as his feet slammed into the ground. He would kill her, not for justice or peace, not because it was the right thing to do, but for vengeance. Revenge. An eye for an eye. It wasn’t the way he normally operated, but somehow he felt that it was warranted in this situation. Try to kill me once, shame on you. Try to hack me and transform me into an abomination that seeks to take over and destroy the world one step at a time? Well, you get the idea.

“Zavier, stop!” Zavier’s body halted and his eyes moved to the right, just in time to see an arrow racing towards them. The hacker saw it to and they both jumped back as the arrow landed between them, exploding into electrical energy. Zavier brought his sword up in protection, shielding himself from the energy that spiraled from it. He saw two people land between them, one tall and the other a smaller girl with what looked like a bow an arrow. “Bow and arrow? I thought that was a class designed by…”

“It doesn’t matter Bahamut. She’s strong, I can sense that. In this Water Dragon form I could keep up with her for a while, but she would probably finish me after that. And something tells me there’s more to her than just a couple of arrows. Keep an eye on her.” He watched as the archer looked at him and then towards the hacker, then back towards him again. His heart skipped a beat for a moment, only a moment, as he thought he saw the maiden…but it wasn’t, and it couldn’t be.

“Is everything alright or have I interrupted a training session between the two of you?” She asked the question in a general direction, obviously aimed at both of them.

“This does not concern you. This is a dispute between myself and the trash known as a hacker over there. I would appreciate it if you left us to our business.”

“Yea, that would be wise.” The hacker had moved forward, only a couple feet from the girl. “I don’t like to be interrupted, and I won’t stop to move you on my own if I need be.”

“Quiet Lillith. Always so quick to fight. You should know when you are outmatched.” They all looked over to see Inzen walking towards them. “You two have fought for long enough. I admit even I was bored by it all.”

“Inzen….”

“Yes, I know Zavier, but I never intended for you two to fight to the death. I’m the person who called you here.”

“Then you sent the flash mail to me as well?”

“Yes, I certainly did. You’re a member of Nighthand’s team, aren’t you?”

“Nighthand…she is? This young girl?” Zavier turned to look at the girl, who seemed a bit surprised. She said nothing and so Inzen simply nodded. “What’s this meaning of this Inzen? Why have you called us here?”

“How many times must I repeat myself? I called Lillith and Sekai—yes, Sekai, that’s her name—for two simple reasons. Firstly, because the stakes this time are too high to risk losing. And secondly, because you can’t do this alone. None of us can. Lillith, you should be aware of that. If you can only fight Zavier on equal ground, you don’t stand a chance against the creature cultivating at the top of the Unity Bastion.”

“Creature? Unity Bastion? I think some explaining might help a little bit.” Sekai hadn’t moved but the Long Arm had become tenser. Looking at the archer Zavier thought she could string an arrow before he even had time to make it to her. He took a deep breath an exhaled, releasing the Water Dragon from his control and reverting back to his true form. He saw the hacker release her weapon, it disintegrating into code.

“Yes, well, let’s go and talk about this. We have to hurry, however, as time grows short.”

They made their way towards the chairs, Inzen in front, with the hacker following, then Zavier, then Sekai. He didn’t know who she was, but if she were in fact a part of Nighthand’s group, then she could be trusted. He had fought along side of them, even created the Guardians of the Free World with some of them in the past. He hoped they were doing well, wherever they were.

“Aren’t there only 3 seats? I told you to make more Inzen.”

“I prefer to stand,” Lillith said as she stood off to a corner. He noticed the long arm did the same, though she stayed near Sekai. The storm around them had gotten fiercer and fiercer still. Zavier could see small areas of the barrier phasing in and out as it tried to shield them. Nonetheless he sat silently as Inzen explained circumstances to Sekai. She seemed to absorb it pretty well, nodding and asking questions when she felt she needed to. She was strong, undoubtedly, but there was no way that she had been a part of Nighthand’s group for long. There was a certain air to her…not naïveté, something purer and calmer, that belied the monstrosities that they had all routinely seen. It was a state of mind that he hoped she held onto for as long as she could.

“And that roughly sums up why we are here. While you may not feel this is your battle Sekai, you will understand eventually that you are an integral part of this operation’s success. We, however, are almost out of time to begin this. My powers for keeping out the data corruption is at its limit.”

“Data corruption? From where?”

“You didn’t think this storm was natural did you? In any case, when you all are ready, I will teleport you inside structure. You all know the stakes, but you yourselves have speak the words to get inside. Once inside, be on alert and careful: even I don’t know how things have been changed. There is no turning back. When you are ready to enter, simply recite this out loud: ‘und sehe dass wir nichts wissen Konnen...’

Zavier grimaced. “And I see that we cannot know anything…very cryptic Inzen. Faust, isn’t it?”

“The time for conversation is over. When you are ready, go. I will be unseen among you, but I cannot fight with you, not yet. Stay strong, and for heaven’s sake don’t kill one another.” Code appeared before Inzen and as he touched it, a bright light flashed. He was gone. The portal that had surrounded their meeting place disappeared, letting the storm come full force into them.

“Let’s go Bahamut. If this is my destiny, my fate, then I will face it here. Faust sacrificed his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge. Let’s hope Inzen’s words were little more than rhetorical flourish.” Zavier recited the words, and felt the air around him immediately go hot, then cold, and everything began to shimmer. He felt himself segmenting into code, and felt himself rushing towards the abandoned structure. The first floor, the SOR, is where they would find themselves.

But what, on the floor of manipulation, would find them?