Ahazkun: "UAAAAGH!!!"

It happened all too suddenly. Just a mere moment ago the oracle was sleeping in well-deserved tranquility. Now, he was clutching his head with an expression just too awful for words. It was strange mix of shock, agony and utter, absolute disbelief. Something happened. He had no idea what it was, but something happened.

Ahazkun: "(Why is it so… quiet…?)"

It took him several seconds to grasp the reason: his parallel thought-processes collapsed. The processes of his brain that he used to monitor certain variables of his predictions, active even in his sleep, were completely silent. The numerous subliminal channels of data that were constantly feeding information into his conscious mind were silenced, all at once. One who never experienced such phenomenon could never understand how that felt. It was as if the constant guiding hands of the parents suddenly left their child alone in the deepest, darkest forest of the world.

Ahazkun: "A…Argh…!"

There was no physical pain, yet the lack of these processes felt like a gaping wound in his mind, an unnatural feeling of confinement like as if someone stole all his senses at the same time.

Ahazkun: "Wait… there is no way…!"

No. Actually, there was one time when he felt this way. It happened a long time ago. So long ago, in fact, that he already forgot this lack of sensation, this painless agony. No, even that’s incorrect. He made himself forget that trauma, the time when he first experienced such an overwhelming feeling of helplessness and vulnerability.

The man finally stood up and took a small step away from his bed. He wordlessly extended his hand towards the pile of notes on his desk and with a glare began to work once again.

~~~

Viktor: "Okay, what about now…?"

The knight readjusted the machine yet again, and as the dim glow of the screen reawakened it illuminated a triumphant smile on his face.

Viktor: "We are almost there… This way!"

He turned back as he called out to the Calamity Couple. Who else though? The Type-Os didn’t need this to be told. In fact, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t have made them stop following him…

As they moved on, the knight absentmindedly reached to the back of his belt and raised the control rod. For a moment, he looked all over the ornate metal object in his hand, after which he let out a heavy sigh as he glanced back at the Type-Os again. Powerful as they were, he didn’t trust them the slightest. Sad as it might have sounded, he put more faith into the two weird mercenaries than the six hulking monstrosities, and that said something. Although, he had to ask himself; why would he have trusted them on the first place?

They were not following him, they were following the rod. He only had limited authority over them; he could order them to stop or to move, a few simple commands but nothing else, and he couldn’t leave them behind for they would follow him automatically no matter what he said. This was one of the very reasons of his stress, the tension he had to endure all this time. If they were to meet any hostiles in the desert and get ambushed, without direct control over the beasts there would have been no battle, only a tactical nightmare where they might have even posed a greater threat to him than any possible enemies they could encounter. They were ordered to protect him, but once they went berserk, such orders don’t even enter what’s left of their minds. He knew that much from experience…

Kiseki: "Vikki?"

The knight let out an exasperated breath and faced the woman in white.

Viktor: "What is it?"

Kiseki: "I think you should slow down. You look all wobbly."

Viktor: "… Don’t care about that. We are really close, so I’m not going to stop until we are there."

Kiseki: "Are you sure?"

Viktor: "Cut the sentimentality, we have no time for that."

The woman kept eyeing with him for a few moments, then theatrically turned on her heel and went back to his mate, leaving the knight behind as he started tinkering with his machine yet again.

Adhi: "What is it?"

Kiseki: "Vikki is so stingy… Pout-pout."

The man chuckled and poked her cheeks with his index finger.

Adhi: "You are cute when you are pouting."

Kiseki: "Anyway…"

As she looked back at the knight, the tone of her voice suddenly changed.

Kiseki: "Did you feel that?"

Noticing the change in the atmosphere, the man’s expression became serious as well.

Adhi: "That surge? Of course I did."

Kiseki turned back to him with a grave expression that could never be seen on her face before.

Kiseki: "It was close by. It must have come from the same place that he’s tracking."

Adhi: "Probably. Do you think we should get ready?"

Kiseki: "Yeah. I’ll be going first so I’m going to warm up my viridia-reserves."

As she said that her eyes quickly swept over the desert behind the man.

Kiseki: "Those guys are clever. This desert is almost empty; if we had been running around without our reserves sealed we would be completely drained by now."

Adhi: "True. I’m glad that they warned us beforehand."

For a few moments, both of them seemed uncharacteristically tense.

Kiseki: "Do you think that he is the Fairy Man? For real?"

Adhi continued gazing at the dark horizon as he shrugged his shoulder.

Adhi: "Could be. He fits the description."

Kiseki: "I still think we should have reported back to the Emperor."

Adhi: "And lose this opportunity?" The man glanced at her with doubtful eyes. "If we went back home now, we might never get another chance."

Kiseki: "I know, but…" She fidgeted for a moment before she reached out and took the man’s hand. "We have to be careful. I had a really bad feeling about this job from the very start and it’s getting worse by the minute."

Adhi: "I agree. This is going to be a lot more dangerous than I’d like, but again…"

Kiseki: "Our only chance," The woman finished his sentence and squeezed his fingers at the same time.

A heavy silence settled upon the two. Finally, after several seconds spent wordlessly staring at each other, Adhi leaned closer until their foreheads met.

Adhi: "I understand that you are nervous, but I’m not planning on biting the dust just yet. Nor am I going to let you. If things are getting ugly, we are running, okay?"

After a brief moment of silence she smiled weakly and squeezed his hand again.

Kiseki: "Yeah, let’s play it safe this time. Survival first, payment second."

Adhi: "Right." Saying so the two fell silent once again that only lasted for a second. "Not good! We are getting all gloomy here!"

Kiseki’s eyes opened wide for a moment, but then she giggled as she snuggled closer to her partner.

Kiseki: "Then let’s fix it!"

For a brief moment they looked into each other’s eyes, then they suddenly embraced each other in a long, passionate kiss. Finally, after their lips finally parted, they were startled by a loud voice.

Viktor: "I said move it! We don’t have all night!"

As if the spell was broken, the two immediately let go of each other and turned to the knight.

Kiseki & Adhi: "Yes, Vikki~!"

Viktor involuntarily raised a brow at the weirdly energetic answer.

Viktor: "… You guys are creepy."

He turned his back on them yet again, and soon they all disappeared behind the shadow of one of the desert’s countless sand-dunes.

~~~

The quiet tranquility of the facility’s empty corridors was harshly broken by the sound of a pair of feet frantically making their way through them.

Kay: "Slow down!"

Soketsu: "No chance! We wasted too much time at the checkpoint already!"

The young man with the green-haired girl on his back would have been a humorous sight at first glance, if one could get such a glance on the first place. Soketsu was running through the maze of tunnels with astonishing speed while Kay was desperately holding onto his back in a piggyback ride.

As they made their way through the complex, the girl raised her voice once again.

Kay: "Are you even sure we are going the right way?"

Soketsu: "Yeah, it was coming from this… whoa!"

Reaching an intersection they came to a screeching halt. There was another weird pair running in the other corridor and they almost bumped into each other.

Pabloc: "You guys?"

Lily: "Soketsu-san! Kay-chan!"

Soketsu quickly glanced over the two and came to the obvious conclusion.

Soketsu: "You felt it too, right?"

The scientist forcefully nodded.

Pabloc: "Yeah. Even I did, and I’m really bad at detecting these turbulences."

Soketsu: "It must be something big... Where are the others?"

Pabloc absentmindedly readjusted his glasses as he glanced backwards.

Pabloc: "I tried calling Ahazkun but he didn’t answer. As for Gabe…"

At the mention of the name the men fell into a sullen silence.

Kay: "What’s with him? Why did you go quiet?"

The two of them looked eye-to-eye for a moment and then Soketsu answered after lightly shrugging his shoulders.

Soketsu: "Listen, you don’t know about this, but Ahazkun warned both of us about Gabe. He is probably doing something really dangerous as we speak."

Kay: "Dangerous as in… an experiment?"

Pabloc: "I don’t know. Possibly."

Soketsu: "Wait, now that I think about it… Kay, you were inside his workshop."

Kay: "… Yes."

Soketsu: "So? Did you see anything? What was he working on?"

Kay: "I… I don’t really know. It looked like a suit of armor but it was obviously more than that."

Pabloc: "… No good. Just by that information it could be anything."

Soketsu: "Then we have to ask him personally, don’t we?"

Pabloc: "No way around it I guess."

Soketsu: "Then we do just that. Are the monorails running at this hour?"

Pabloc: "Yes, but I know a faster way."

Soketsu: "Huh…? What the…?"

When the man lowered his gaze he suddenly realized his feet weren’t touching the ground anymore. As he looked up with a confused expression he could see the scientist fiddling with his glasses with a smug smile on his face.

Pabloc: "We don’t have the time to wait for the next train, so we are going to fly. I’ll try to divert most of the excess G-forces, but we will be going quite fast, so hold onto your dinner."

Soketsu: "Wait, are you serious?!"

Pabloc: "Yes, we should get there in less than fifteen minutes like this."

Lily: "Yay~! We are flying again!"

Kay: "Wha-wha-whaaaa!"

The blonde girl skillfully floated over to Kay and peeled her off from Soketsu’s back with one forceful tug.

Lily: "Gihihi! This is fun~!"

Kay: "Iiiik! I’m going to fall! I’m going to faaaaaall!"

Lily: "Thee-hee! Kay-chan, this way, this way~!"

For a brief moment the two men absentmindedly stared at the girls as Lily started playing with Kay without the slightest hint of tension by tugging her around in the air. Soketsu, surprising even himself, was able to straighten up and stay in one place with almost no effort. It was just like a zero-g environment, save for that he could change orientation and move by shifting his center of gravity alone. However, he was soon shaken out of his daze by the scientist’s voice.

Pabloc: "Listen everyone, these are the rules: Don’t stick your hands out while in mid-flight, don’t use viridia unless you want me to lose control over your direction and want to have a rather unfriendly meeting with a wall, and most important of all, if you feel sick, say so immediately. I don’t want to have vomit-trails all over the hallways when I go to the lab tomorrow morning…"

Kay: "Got it. I think I can…"

Lily: "Yay~! Look, I’m upside down! I’m upside down!"

Kay: "Aaaah! Stop that, your dress is going to fall off! I can already see your panties, idiot!"

Lily: "Gihihi!"

After raising a brow the scientist slowly turned to the Soketsu and pulled him aside.

Pabloc: "I don’t really know how to ask this, but… what did you do to Kay?"

To his surprise the large man actually averted his gaze in the most awkward fashion.

Soketsu: "Wha-What do you mean…?"

Pabloc: "She somehow seems a little more… lively, than usual."

Soketsu: "Well, how should I say this…? We set a few things straight tonight, that’s all."

Pabloc: "Is your swollen face the result of that as well?"

Soketsu: "… I don’t really want to talk about it."

Pabloc: "On closer look, is that a palm-print?"

Soketsu: "I said I don’t want to talk about it!"

The two locked gazes for a moment before Pabloc nonchalantly shrugged his shoulder with an expression saying ‘Fine, no need to be so defensive’ as he faced the others.

Pabloc: "Whatever, let’s get moving. Girls!"

Lily: "Hai~?"

Kay: "Just a second…"

Kay was still in the middle of fixing Lily’s dress which had ridden up to her neck and got tangled due to all the frills.

Pabloc: "We are moving out. Don’t forget what I said."

Lily: "Hai!"

Kay: "Annnd… Here. Done."

With undoing one last ribbon Kay finally managed to straighten the girl’s clothes.

Lily: "Kya~! Arigatou Kay-chan~!"

Kay: "You are welcome. How do you even put this dress on anyways? There are like a billion ribbons on it!"

Lily: "Pabloc-san does it for me."

Kay: "Really? Wow, I never thought he would be the type to…"

At this moment the bespectacled scientist loudly cleared his throat with a frown.

Pabloc: "I said we are moving out. Get ready."

Kay slightly nodded and clumsily floated back to Soketsu’s side. For a few moments she kept silently gazing at his face, and the man knew that expression all too well.

Soketsu: "Do you want me to hold your hand?"

The girl somewhat timidly reached for her partner’s hand as they realigned themselves. She was clearly nervous.

Soketsu: "I told you, you should have stayed back at the mansion."

The girl defiantly shook her head hearing these words.

Kay: "No, I’m fine. And anyways…" Soketsu looked down at her only to find a barely visible, mischievous smile that he hasn’t seen on her face in ages. "… I swore that I won’t be letting you out of my sight. Ever."

Soketsu: "Call me crazy but I felt there was a hidden threat in those words."

Kay: "Juuuuust your imagination."

Before answering, the girl snuggled up to him with the same mischievous expression, her earlier tameness has all but disappeared. Maybe she was consciously trying to act less reserved? Did she really take his request that seriously?

Either way, it made him both a little worried and a little happy. The man silently rolled his eyes, and just as he was about to come up with some witty comeback…

Pabloc: "… You know what? Enough with the warnings. We are going. Now."

Soketsu: "Wait, wha?… WHAAAAAAAaaaaaa….!!!"

Just like that, their bodies were suddenly blasted along the corridor with insane speed, cutting through the air like bullets as they immediately disappeared from sight into the net of tunnels.

~~~

It was quiet in the workshop. Or was it noisy beyond belief? It was hard to tell. After all, breaking the very fabric of reality has weird side-effects like destroying the concept of sound, amongst other things. The workshop itself was scarcely recognizable as well. The whole place was hardly more than a chaotic cavalcade of distorted shapes and colors, swirling around like someone threw the whole canvas of reality into a tank full of paint thinner. But it wasn’t just chaos. Amongst the tempest of improbability stood a lone man, his black coat motionlessly hanging from his shoulders, his finger still pushing a red button in his other hand.

As Gabe solemnly gazed at the suit of armor in front of him, his lips involuntarily curved into a small smile. A smile filled with satisfaction, delight, and a drop of pity. His creation was breathtakingly gorgeous to the naked eye, but that was for the naked eye only. Simple perceptions like that could never capture its real beauty. Why? Because it was just a shell. The real wonder was something only he and he alone could see. He felt pity for nothing less than the entire world that could never see what he has already laid his eyes upon.

As such the scientist dropped the button, which subsequently evaporated into the warping space around him, and he made a slight gesture towards the white shape in front of him. He didn’t touch it, didn’t even really reach out to it. He didn’t need to. Within the confined space of the workshop, he was already in control of everything. It was an expected side-effect of the process, so he simply willed his greatest creation to fulfill its job.

~~~

The oracle’s face contorted for a moment, but it almost immediately returned to his previous expression of concentration and cold determination. The new wave that hit his senses a moment ago was several magnitudes greater than the one that previously knocked all of his parallel thought-processes off, but this time he was ready for such developments and took precautions. The predictions he was working one might have been jumbled by it, but he immediately jump-started them again and kept working on incorporating even more processes into the equations. He was continually diving into the waters of time only looking for the pieces of one specific puzzle; the cause of his recent experiences and its effects on his already established predictions.

Ahazkun: "(Damn!)"

The answers he found this far were extremely grim. Literally all of his previous plans and all the evens he had foreseen were affected by one way or another, and even more importantly, he was unable to correct them. Whatever was happening, it was clearly interfering with his ability on the most basic level, it was messing with its very source.

He didn’t really want to believe it, but all the evidence pointed at the same. It was happening again, sooner than he ever anticipated. Too soon. It was not the time. The other pieces haven’t been assembled yet, not to mention the bigger problem, the pawns that were not even supposed to be on the board at this time…

~~~

Kiseki: "Achoo!"

Adhi: "Gesundheit."

Kiseki: "Thanks. Someone must be talking about me right now…"

Viktor: "Cut the chatter. We are finally here."

It might have seemed like complete nonsense at first, but the PEEDS didn’t lie. They were at the doorstep of the heart of the emission, even if it seemed like nothing more than a sand-dune just like the hundreds they had seen before.

Viktor: "Just as the Abbot said, it must be underground…"

Adhi: "We have to dig?"

The knight sharply shook his head.

Viktor: "No. The Abbot already made precautions in case of a scenario like this…" Saying so, he briskly raised the control-rod of the Type-Os. "That’s why we brought them with us. I have limited control over them, but they got special instructions for digging."

Adhi: "Wow, the guy is crafty!"

Kiseki: "So they are going to dig for us? Phew, I was worried I had to do it myself. It would have ruined my clothes…"

Viktor: "Just shut up and get ready. If the Type-Os find anything, you move in and do your job."

Adhi: "Sir, yes sir!"

The man tried saluting in a comical fashion, but the knight didn’t even bother reacting to it. He was already used to this kind of behavior and saw no point in reprimanding them. After all, once they are done with this mission he probably won’t see them ever again. Even if they succeed…

Viktor: "Command!"

He raised the rod into the air, to which all the Type-Os raised their sluggish eyes upon him.

Viktor: "Pre-established command number three: Excavation! Find any underground facilities under our current position and attempt infiltration. Go!"

The beasts kept gazing upon him in eerie silence for a moment, then as if a spell was broken, all six of them roared in unison, their eyes flaring with a terrifying orange light. They raised their clawed arms and began burrowing their way into the sand beneath with astonishing speed, throwing huge chunks of dirt and rocks left and right while being overseen by the restless knight and the uncharacteristically quiet mercenary couple.

~~~

Pabloc: "Are you all right?"

Kay: "… You… have the nerve to ask?"

Soketsu: "We are not doing this… ever… again."

Kay: "Uhhh… My head…Now I understand how the ball feels in the pinball machine, and let me tell you, I never wanted to know…"

Soketsu: "I second that. The only reason I’m not throwing up right now is because my dinner is too dizzy to find its way out of my stomach…"

Pabloc: "Oh come on you two, don’t be so childish. There were almost no g-forces at all!"

Soketsu: "Except for the last part."

Pabloc: "… Maybe, but that’s beside the point. Can you stand?"

Kay: "Yes, my stomach finally calmed down a little."

Pabloc: "… Glad to hear that. Let’s move, we are almost at the workshop."

Lily: "Thank you for flying with Pabloc-airlines~!"

The scientist stood up while quietly resting his hand on the head of Lily, who was snuggling up to him all this time. Soketsu on the other hand was taking care of Kay. The girl was sitting limply by the wall near the monorail-station near Gabe’s workshop. They were almost there when the second surge hit them and disturbed Pabloc’s telekinetic control. Thankfully he managed to stop them before the situation could have turned grave, but he couldn’t dissipate the g-forces during that time so the sudden deceleration was really rough, especially for Kay.

Pabloc: "(That second wave… Just what the hell was that?)"

Soketsu: "Do you want me to give you a ride on my back again?"

As the scientist looked back, Soketsu was in the middle of helping Kay onto her feet.

Kay: "No. I think it would only make me motion-sick right now."

Soketsu: "Are you sure?"

The girl stood up but it took her few seconds to steady her legs.

Kay: "Yeah, I will be all right. I think."

Soketsu: "Okay, but don’t push yours-"

All of a sudden there was a scraping, crashing noise in the distance followed by a soft vibration transferred through the ground. The small group all looked at each other questioningly until Soketsu decided to ask the question that was on all their minds.

Soketsu: "Did you hear that…?"

Pabloc nodded sharply as he pushed the glassed up the bridge of his nose with a deep frown.

Pabloc: "… I have a bad feeling about this…"

~~~

The sharp sound of sirens broke the silence of the study and tore Ahazkun away from his work yet again.

Ahazkun: "(What the…? You’ve got to be kidding me…!)"

He didn’t hear such sirens before, but he clearly remembered Gabe’s briefing when he first gave him a tour around Avalon’s facilities. It was the alarm reserved for serious emergencies, which could only mean one thing.

He jumped onto his feet and reached for the pile of papers on his desk. It didn’t take long to find what he was looking for. His eyes ran over the numbers on the memo, and after comparing them to the ones within his mind…

Ahazkun: "(… This is insane!)"

No one should have been able to find this facility. Not now, not ever. Especially not them. They did not include into any of his predictions, they should have been nothing more than a passing nuisance…!

Ahazkun: "(Such a huge deviance and so soon…)"

He couldn’t do anything about it. He returned to the bed and sat down once again. All he could hope for is that he would be able to find at least one answer for the countless questions before it was too late… and hope for the safety of his comrades.

~~~

Adhi: "Whoa…"

With one last push the hulking monsters managed to break through the concrete walls beneath the sand. The knight didn’t know which was more amazing, the fact that someone managed to build a structure more than a twenty meters under the desert, or that the Type-Os could work their way down to it in the span of only half an hour. As they finally broke in, he couldn’t help but sigh. Finally, they were at the finish line. There was only one last issue to take care of.

Viktor: "Listen, you are going in first. Me and the Type-Os will stay her and secure the-"

Adhi: "Yeah, yeah. You don’t need to make this up, we already know."

Viktor: "You know… what?"

The knight couldn’t hide his surprise when the man spoke up with a cool tone in his voice. He turned towards the two just to meet another baffling sight: the couple was looking at him with a deadly serious expression, one he has never seen on them before.

Adhi: "Once we are inside, you are going to take the beasts and run back to the base via the shortest route possible, right?"

The knight couldn’t even gulp in surprise, completely frozen by the severe eyes locked on him. At last he took a sharp breath and nodded, albeit weakyl

Viktor: "Yes. That’s the plan." He didn’t really want to disclose this, but the cat was out of the bag already, so he found no reason to deny it. "It is part of my mission. I was ordered to return to the base immediately after we found their base of operation and report on their position."

The couple put their heads together for a second then turned right back to him.

Adhi: "Yeah, we guessed that much. So you are the messenger and we are the distraction."

Viktor: "Yes. Your job is to try and apprehend the targets, or if you can’t, provide a distraction so I can safely return to command with the intel."

Adhi: "I see… Well, it’s fine."

Viktor: "… It is?"

To his surprise, the mercenaries dropped their serious expression and directed a pair of warm smiles at him.

Kiseki: "Yeah, thanks for being honest Vikki."

Adhi: "Yeah, no hard feelings. We kind of figured that we were here only as disposable pawns, but it doesn’t really matter."

Kiseki: "Yup. It’s part of being a mercenary."

Adhi: "Plausible deniability, et cetera."

Viktor: "… You guys…"

The knight was completely baffled by the sudden change in the mannerism of the two, not to mention how casually they took the news. In fact, even he didn’t know what he expected their reaction would be, nor did he know why he told them the truth so readily.

Kiseki: "Good luck on your way back, Vikki!"

Adhi: "Yeah, have a safe trip. We’ll meet you at the abbey once we are done here."

He slowly came to the realization; he kind of grew attached to the two during these days they spend together. He would even go so far as to call them his comrades. Annoying, annoying comrades. So yes, it left a bitter aftertaste, but he turned his back on them without a word and started walking away from them, surrounded by the Type-Os like bodyguards. He decided this was for the best. After all, what was more important than his mission?

Adhi: "… I guess he is not good with goodbyes."

Kiseki: "He is so shy… Let’s bring him some souvenirs once we’re finished."

Adhi: "Sounds good to me."

The two took another good look at the knight walking away from them before moving to the hole.

Adhi: "Okay, let’s break stuff!"

Kiseki: "Just another day at work."

As such, without further ado, the two jumped into the shambling hole at the bottom of the twenty meters deep funnel in the ground like it was nothing.

~~~

The mad scientist let out a content chuckle. It happened. Finally. He achieved his goal. Within the blazing white light of the armor, a new existence was formed. A brand new soul-core. It was something that should have been impossible. The binding rule of the cores was even more unbreakable than the rules of energy-conservation. Creating one, even with the help of Black Ether, was like creating a perpetuum mobile from sticks and glue.

Yes, sticks and glue indeed. He accomplished the impossible for the second time, but this time it was on his own. Now, a new existence was born before him, a seed waiting for him to nurture it. He did not make it wait.

His extended hand slowly sunk into the chest-piece of the armor, just like it once entered through the solid metal of the tube in his workshop, and he reached for the forming embryo of infinite potentials within. He gazed into the brilliant whiteness and seen beyond the shell of the armor. He could see the raging inferno of the forge violently dancing around his palm. It seemed the furious blaze was about to consume his hand but it did not hurt him. It felt more like a gentle caress, like warm water running over his skin. It was a strange feeling, yet not unpleasant at all. And behind the walls of the heatless flames, it was there, in arm’s reach.

It was shapeless, yet it had infinite shapes. It had no color because it was color itself. It was not hot nor cold, it was something that had no concept of ‘temperature’. It was gigantic yet it could fit on the palm of his hand. It was, before all else, pure potential, ready to turn into anything.

For a moment he hesitated. It just seemed so fragile, so weak. One stray though and it could be blown away, banished back into the chaos it was born from. But he had no choice. As much of a wonder it was, it was but an origin. Without a goal, without a shape or purpose, it was nothing. It was potential, and as such, it was yearning to be utilized.

His hand, still glowing with the colorless light, slowly reached for the undefined, unsoiled core, and began forming it. He poured all that he remembered, all that he uncovered, all that he ever felt into the new being. With that, he has finally reached the domain of a God… yet he couldn’t care less about it. His mind had no place for such stray thoughts. His entire being, his entire existence was suppressed, and there was only place for the act of recreation in his mind; the mind of the Originator.

It took only a second. Or was it a century? It surely felt like so. Still, it was done. There was no great explosion, no hymn from an immaculate chorus of angels, no world-shattering surge of power… Only a quiet, welcoming warmth.

Gabe: "Finally…"

He succeeded. It was hard to believe, but he did. The tempest of chaos that was dominating the workshop all this time finally began to fade, shapes returning to what they were, colors fading, flowing back into their rightful place. Then the sounds came back, first the quiet humming of the machinery then the distant sound of sirens, and finally the oily, slightly stale smell of the room hit the scientist’s nostrils.

Amidst of that lied the armor, still on the workbench, unmoving, engulfed in the purest white. His hand reached for it once again, and as he gently placed his fingertips on the forehead of the helmet…

The ethereal garment suddenly burst into billions of small, sparkling fragments, like water-droplets in the summer sun’s light. Finally he could lay his eyes on his creation underneath the now dissolved armor. And then he smiled, a pure, warm smile that seemed strange yet natural on his face and he whispered;

Gabe: "Welcome back."

~~~

Kiseki: "Whoa! It’s so dirty here!"

The man promptly landed only a second after his partner.

Adhi: "Yes, and dark too."

Kiseki: "I expected a more tidy evil lair."

Adhi: "I fear we have to accept the sad truth; evil geniuses just don’t care about appearances anymore."

Kiseki: "So sad."

Adhi: "Yes, so sad."

All of a sudden a new voice joined the fray in the form of a forceful cough. The two mercenaries abruptly turned around as a bespectacled man in a white coat walked out of the shady corner of the station. His stance was surprisingly relaxed.

Kiseki: "Oh, hi! Are you the welcoming committee?"

Pabloc: "It depends. Who might you be?"

Adhi&Kiseki: "We are the Calamity Couple!"

Pabloc: "Oh, I see…" There was a moment of expectant silence while Pabloc fiddle with his glasses. "Never heard of you."

Kiseki: "Awww! You are mean!"

Adhi: "Yeah! We though there was finally someone who heard about us!"

Kiseki: "What a bummer…"

Adhi: "Yeah, totally demoralizing."

The two were once again interrupted by another forceful clearing of the throat.

Pabloc: "Are you finished?"

Kiseki: "Actually… Yeah."

The scientist took a few steps towards the two as he finally stopped messing with his glasses.

Pabloc: "Good. Now, may I ask what your business may be? We rarely get any visitors."

Adhi: "Oh, we are here to find a missing agent and capture these prophet-guys."

Pabloc: "Really? Just the two of you?"

Kiseki: "Uuuu… Yes, why?"

All of a sudden the scientist broke into a toothy, amicable smile.

Pabloc: "If it’s only the two of you, you should have asked for an appointment."

The mercenary couple was momentarily taken aback, but then they looked at each other with over-exaggerated expressions.

Adhi: "Wait, we could do that? No one told me we could do that!"

Kiseki: "You want to tell me we could have avoided wandering through the desert?! Why didn’t anyone tell us about this before! Pout-pout!"

Pabloc: "If you wish I can book you an appointment. How does next Friday sound to you?"

Adhi: "Oh, we can’t do that. We are already running late and we have to find a souvenir-shop too."

Kiseki: "Yes, our guide totally got us lost in the desert so we have to make up for his mistake."

Adhi: "Yeah, we have to do this quickly."

Kiseki: "Yes, yes. So…"

The two of them finally took a stance as they turned towards the scientist.

Kiseki: "Could we ask you to come with us quietly, Mr. Fourth Prophet?"

Hearing these words, an almost condescending smile rose on the scientist’s face.

Pabloc: "Are you sure you want to act so rashly. You are in enemy territory without support. You are clearly at a disadvantage and-"

Adhi: "No we aren’t, we outnumber you three to one!"

Pabloc: "Three…?"

Suddenly the woman in white pointed behind Pabloc and exclaimed;

Kiseki: "Quickly! Clobber him over the head while he isn’t looking!"

After a long second of deafening silence the man at the back awkwardly raised his hand and pointed at himself.

Soketsu: "Are you… talking to me by any chance?"

~~~

Kay: "This way!"

The two girls were running through the corridors towards the workshop. The sound of their small feet dully echoed, barely audible under the loud screaming of the alarm. It happened all too fast. Soketsu took them under his arms and carried them to the tunnel leading to Gabe’s place and then immediately dashed back to Pabloc. It was so unexpected that the girl actually forgot to even argue with him and ask him to take her into battle. This was a special case after all; it was entirely justified for her to be by his side!

At the moment she was holding onto the blond girl’s hand who was excitedly giggling behind her. She couldn’t decide if she was brave or just plain ignorant, but it didn’t matter. They had to get to the workshop and ask for Gabe’s help. There were intruders in the facility and Soketsu and Pabloc might have been already engaged in battle with them.

Kay: "Ugh…"

Thinking about that, she started running even faster. Normally she didn’t like doing this, but she even channeled some viridia into her wobbly legs to make them steadier. She was afraid that Lily might not be able to keep up with the pace, but she was proven surprisingly agile.

Kay: "Almost there!"

It only took them a few more seconds to reach the last hallway. She was there only a few hours ago, so she already knew the way. She had no idea how they were going to make their presence known through the pocket-space barrier, but she hoped that Gabe had at least some sort of notification system. Except…

Kay: "Huh?"

There was no barrier. She lightly touched the surface of the wall and there was no light covering it. After a few seconds of consideration she started banging on the ‘door’.

Lily: "Oh, let me help! Gabe-samaaaa~!!!"

The blonde girl started hitting the wall as well, and surprising as it have seemed, it didn’t take long to hear the muffled voice of the scientist from the other side.

Gabe: "Just a sec, this damn piece of junk got jammed…!" For a few seconds they could hear tinkering from the other side of the fake wall until it finally started to move with a loud, mechanical groan. As it opened half-way, the scientist suddenly stuck his head out. "Oh, hi girls. What are you doing here this late?"

Kay: "What do you mean!? What are YOU doing!? There was some huge surge of Ether, then another one, then the alarm went off, then someone broke in and…"

Gabe: "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down a little…"

????: "Who are you talking to?"

The girls looked at each other with a confused expression. There was an unfamiliar voice coming from the scientist’s place that didn’t seem to belong to anyone they knew. The man glanced over his shoulder, than back at the duo at his doorstep, and finally he just sighed in surrended.

Gabe: "You know what? Just come on in and tell me what’s going on. It’s a good chance to introduce you too."

They finally entered the workshop as the scientist moved aside, only to find themselves face to face with an unknown young lady with short silver hair sitting on his bed, covered only in the bed-sheets. Before they could even say a word the scientist gently urged them forward.

Gabe: "Don’t be shy, introduce yourself."

Kay was mildly confused at the strange turn of events while Lily, as usual, took it with a stride.

Lily: "Konbanwa~! My name is Lily~!"

The mysterious woman didn’t answer, only smiled with a bit awkward yet still warm expression.

Kay: "Pleased to meet you. My name it Kay."

The woman still didn’t answer. Her eyes kept jumping between the two of them for a few seconds then finally settled on the scientist.

Gabe: "W-What?"

????: "Are they… your kids?"

Lily: "Nyu?" Lily let out a weird sound, which prompted the mad scientist to wave his hands in denial in front of the two.

Gabe: "Nonononononono! No! I mean, no. Big no! Not at all."

She let out a small, slightly relieved sigh.

????: "Thank god. I was seriously afraid there actually was a woman mad enough to bear your children."

Gabe: "Hey!"

????: "Speaking of which, you didn’t clone them either, right?"

Gabe: "Come on!"

????: "Okay, okay. I got it, you are not related."

Kay: "E-Excuse me?"

????: "Hm?"

Kay: "You still haven’t introduced yourself…"

????: "Oh, you are right, sorry."

The woman smiled at her yet again. It was a warm, motherly smile, yet somehow it felt a little bit lonely and insecure at the same time. She brushed her short, almost sparkling silver locks back and finally answered.

Jill: "Pleased to meet you girls. My name is Jill."

~~~

Adhi: "No! Don’t talk! He will notice you have escaped!"

Kiseki: "Quickly, hit his weak point for massive damage! You might even get a backstab-multiplier!"

It took the scientist a few second to shake off the confusion and turn away from the weird intruders.

Pabloc: "Are the girls okay?"

Soketsu: "Huh? Y-Yeah, I left them on the doorstep of the workshop. Anyway, good job holding them up while I was away."

Pabloc: "Thank you for the compliment, but with these two, it was hardly a feat."

Kiseki: "A-ha!"

By the time they returned their attention to the intruders, the woman was pointing a finger at the once again with a triumphant expression.

Soketsu: "What?"

Kiseki: "I figured it out! You have brainwashed the Soketsu to do your bidding!"

Adhi: "What? How despicable!"

After another moment of awkwardness it was Pabloc’s turn to point at the other side.

Pabloc: "Do you know these guys by any chance?"

Soketsu: "Do you seriously think I would affiliate with idiots like that?"

Pabloc: "Well, you are affiliated with Gabe…"

Soketsu: "So are you!"

Pabloc: "Point taken. So neither of us have any idea these people are."

Adhi: "Hey! We are right over here, don’t ignore us!"

Kiseki: "Yeah, that’s mean!"

By this point even the scientist couldn’t hide the irritation slowly welling up inside him as he faced the couple.

Pabloc: "Okay, so what do you want?"

Adhi: "We told you, we are here to capture the prophets."

Kiseki: "And Soketsu."

Adhi: "Yes, him too."

Kiseki: "And his Alternate."

Adhi: "Yeah, her too."

Kiseki: "Because she is so cute!" As she said so, the she made a heart-shape with her palms. Ignoring that, Pabloc once again turned to Soketsu.

Pabloc: "Do you think they are dangerous?"

Soketsu: "… I am tempted to say ‘only if stupidity is contagious’, but they seem to have huge viridia-reserves, and by that stance I would say they are trained as well."

Pabloc: "Great." He muttered with unconcealed sarcasm dripping from his voice. "In that case, take this."

The scientist reached into his breast-pocket and took out a small, round object.

Soketsu: "What’s that?"

Instead of answering, the scientist flicked his finger and the machine flew out of his hand like a bullet. It flew around them and, after suddenly changing its trajectory, lodged itself into Soketsu’s ear.

Soketsu: "Ouch! Hey, what the hell...?!"

Pabloc: "[A telepathic communicator.]"

Soketsu: "[Huh?]"

He was looking at the scientist and even though he could see that his lips were still he still heard his words, inside his head, which took him a few seconds to finally register.

Soketsu: "[Wait, it was a TC? Weren’t those things the size of a backpack?]"

Pabloc: "[They used to be, but I retrofitted them for battlefield usage.]"

Soketsu: "[… Great, but... It’s still creepy to hear your words in my head.]"

Pabloc: "[Deal with it.]"

Kiseki: "… Oh no! I finally got it!" Saying so she pointed at the two for the third time with a triumphant smile. "Look how he is eyeing him without saying a word! The creepy prophet guy must have the Mystic Eyes of Yaoi!"

Pabloc: "C-Creepy?!"

Soketsu: "Mystic Eyes of what?!"

Without paying any attention to them, Kiseki continued without a moment of hesitation.

Kiseki: "Soketsu got enslaved by the creepy prophet’s magical hypnosis! We have to save him!"

Adhi: "Argh! That is monstrous! Misusing the power of the Double Rainbow Eyes like that!"

Pabloc: "There is no double rainbow in the Noble Colors system! At least get your obscure jokes straight!"

Soketsu: "[… Are you sure THIS is the detail you want to have an issue with?]"

Without answering, the scientist took off his glasses and neatly tucked them away into his breast-pocket.

Pabloc: "So then, are you going to attack us or what?"

Soketsu: "[Wait! Don’t taunt them!]"

Kiseki: "Ah, yes. You are right, we are in a hurry!"

Suddenly, the body of the woman flared up with a blinding green light. In the meantime the man loosened his tie, then his right arm lashed out like a whip, right into the middle of the burning light. The brilliance immediately subsided and solidified.

Adhi: "Time to get a little serious."

In Adhi’s hand lied a grand, ornate scythe, one that would even the Grim Reaper himself would be proud of. Its beautifully curved handle was jet-black, adorned with silver filigree while its thin blade was faintly shining with a greenish light in the darkness of the ruined corridor.

Pabloc: "[A battle-couple with a female Alternate? How original...]"

Soketsu: "[Shut up.]"

With that, Soketsu’s fists flared up with a pale blue light while Pabloc’s feet slowly rose from the ground together with several chunks of the surrounding debris and sand. As such, the three men faced off against each other, only waiting for the cue to cut through the tense air and begin their deadly dance in the darkness.

Pabloc: "[You ready?]"

Soketsu: "[Like I have a choice…]"

And with that wordless exchange, the silent bang of the starting pistol finally rang out in the corridor, signifying the beginning of a battle of life and death.

~~~

The catgirl was gasping for air by the time she finally reached Ahazkun’s study. She felt like a complete idiot at this point, and even if it hurt to admit, for good reason. After she parted with Pabloc and Lily she immediately got lost as she had no idea which part of the facility she was in. Then, after finding a monorail station, she accidentally rode it to the wrong way, which cost her even more precious minutes of walking back, then finally, when she almost made her way to the right sector, the sirens went off and she got so panicked that she took a wrong turn and got lost again.

Tiari: "(I was supposed to be half-cat! How come I am still so bad with directions!?)"

She finally waved her hand in front of the automatic door with an exhausted look on her face.

Tiari: "(Whatever, at least this day can’t get any worse…)"

The moment she could look inside, she froze mid-step with an alarmed expression The of the study was a mess. There were pieces of torn paper covering everything, the desk in the corner was broken in hald and the oracle was wordlessly laying on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The girl took a hesitant step inside, then suddenly jumped to the side of the bed with one huge leap.

Tiari: "Ahaz! What happened, what’s going on!?"

The man slowly turned his head towards her voice, but his eyes were vacuous, as if he wasn’t even looking at her. Then without saying a word, he turned back and kept staring at the ceiling yet again.

Tiari: "Ahaz!"

For a moment, it seemed like her voice didn’t even reach him, then, suddenly…

Ahazkun: "I… know…."

Tiari: "What?"

Ahazkun: "I… don’t know…. what’s going on… anymore…"

For a few moments the oracle’s words, seemingly empty yet still burning with unspeakable sadness and rage, kept echoing in the room, then faded leaving only the faint sound of the alarms reverberating between the walls…