s.CRY.ed story--The Spectre's Seven

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

My first s.CRY.ed story. It's more of a 'what if?' kind of story, so there may be things in here that people don't agree with (Like if some people are out of character or something(. Anyway, here's chapter one. Hope it's okay. And I hope I did this correctly ^^'

The Spectre's Seven
Rated: PG-13 mainly for violence. Not really profanity. Genre(s): Action/Adventure/Romance
Uh...not sure about the pairings right off the bat (Haven't thought that far ahead ^^'), but I think it's mostly Cougar X Mimori (The obvious), Ryuho X Scheris, Original character X original character, and if I think of anymore, I'll be sure to let people know.

Summary: What if the Mainland had access to change humans INTO Alter Users? What if there had been a Project M? What if there was a Mastermind who played all the Alter Users as puppets? What if the 'Seven' existed? The Spectre's Seven.

Let me know if I did this incorrectly or something please.

Chapter One--Access Denied

Four years they had been fighting them. Four years after the defeat of that puppet, Kyoji Mujo. And still it had gotten them nowhere. The brows of this man furrowed together angrily. He had just been served with the papers from the Mainland’s government. They had made a unanimous decision to stop all pursuit of the Alter Users in the Lost Ground and sever all ties with them completely.

This man knew that the Alter Users could not survive without the resources from the Mainland and without the Lost Ground, all access to the Other Side would be lost completely.

He cursed and his balled fist crashed down upon the oak table, sending papers flying. This man could do nothing but stand and pace back and forth in the room. It was a hard decision– – a TOUGH decision. But he could not lose access to them now. No, not yet! Not when he was so close. Not when he had gotten so far!

Why if that fool, Mujo, had only followed orders like he had been instructed! Ah, it was no good to dwell on the past now, this man knew. He had to move forward. He could still fix things. And with a little time and money, the Mainland would be back on the Lost Ground in no time.

“Those foolish Alter Users,” The man spoke with a deep British voice to only himself. “Don’t they understand where their choices are taking them? Don’t they know that by eliminating all humans from the Lost Ground and reforming the island into a paradise for only Alter Users will lead them to their demise!?” He cursed loudly and brought a white gloved hand to his throbbing temple.

They had left him with no choice. He had pulled every string that he could and for the past four years, hundreds of soldiers had been sent over to the Lost Ground to try and regain order, only to be destroyed by the Alter rebels. But the two names that came up the most were Kazuma and Ryuho.

“There is no file on Kazuma,” The man said, sifting through the papers on his desk. “But it appears that this ‘Ryuho’ is son to the heir of a great family.” He continued to read the file. “And he once worked for HOLY.” HOLY…It was a fantastic organization– – one that he, himself, had helped sponsor. But without it, the Lost Ground had turned chaotic.

This man sat down in his chair again, drumming his fingers against the wood of the desk. The light of the moon illuminated through the window, reflecting on the pale skin of his face. This was a gentleman, foreign to Japan. Perhaps from London or Britain. He was in his mid-forties no doubt, with flecks of gray in his brown hair. Dark lines from obvious stress formed at his forehead and cheeks and he tapped his chin with his white gloved hand. Yes, a proper gentleman who wore a black velvet suit with the fanciest laces and the tails that flowed behind.

With his clean black pants that fell over his shiniest black dress shoes, oh yes, this was a man of wealth, power, and manipulation.

Isaac Crane, the envelopes read on the mail that he had received. God knew this man well but only under his benevolent exterior was a true man to be seen.

Withdrawing a pen and a fancy tablet of paper from his top drawer, he began to write neatly a copy of what would be sent to the Mainland’s government the next morning. It would be a cold day in hell before he allowed such a decision to be processed.

“…veto the final decision of the Mainland and execute Project Zero…” Was what was written in the letter before it was signed ‘Isaac Crane’.

---------------------------------

There were no more dreams. Since they had vanished from the lives of the people that they had once known, there had been no more dreams. Twelve-year old Kanami Yuta worked at the farm like she always would, and life away from the shorelines was slowly beginning to pick up. Or so…she hoped.

She still lived with Mimori and Asuka (who had finally married his girlfriend, Cammy, earlier this year) in the home outside the wall. But the wall was finally coming down since there was no jurisdiction to prevent it. Deep down, Kanami knew that it was the Alters vs. the Mainland and although many people who had lived in the Lost Ground refused to leave, it was becoming harder to live in an environment with so much prejudice.

Kanami watched as all of her human friends left the Lost Ground and were forced to move to the Mainland.

“Humans and Alter Users can never work together!” She had heard an Alter User say. “No matter where we Alter Users go, we’ll never fit in!” And so the war had begun.

No, she knew deep down that life would never be restored to the way it was. In fact, she wasn’t sure which time period she had enjoyed better: the time when all they had to worry about was HOLY and how they were going to survive the next day with no food or now, when HOLY no longer existed…but neither did the serenity she once knew.

She turned her head from watching the sky to look at Mimori, now twenty-two, who was reading the newspaper. Kanami lay snuggled in the grass, gazing at the clouds that drifted by.

“What’s it say?” Asuka Tachibana asked as he seated himself at the deckchair across from Mimori.

When Cammy and Asuka were married (both now twenty) Mimori thought it best to give them their space and move out. The newlyweds protested strongly against it, reminding her that they all were friends and Kanami was now their most important focus, her being so young and impressionable. Mimori only laughed but decided to stay.

“Huh?” Mimori looked up at him. “Where’s Cammy?”<br>
“At work,” Asuka laughed. “Where she goes everyday.”<br>
“Oh, right,” Mimori flushed, embarrassed. “This paper, it’s very important today.” She trailed the headline with her finger. “The Mainland has decided to stop all activity regarding the Lost Ground.”<br>
“What?” Asuka asked, as though he hadn’t heard it correctly the first time. “When did they decide something like that!?”<br>
“Yesterday afternoon,” Mimori answered. “And that’s not all. In response, rebel Alter Users have increased in illegal behavior. They have forcefully thrown over 350 humans from their homes just in the last few days.” She sighed as she set down the paper. “We’ll be lucky to see someone who ISN’T an Alter User roaming around the street.”<br>
“Well how on earth are the rebels supposed to know who is an Alter User and who is not?” Asuka asked crossly.

“They’re torturing these poor people,” Mimori shook her head. “That’s how.”<br>
“Can’t even trust their own neighbors,” Asuka snorted. “What is the Lost Ground coming to?”<br>
“Oh…” Mimori turned the paper for him to see and said almost sarcastically, “But on the lighter side of the news, that same burglar who has been robbing from the Mainland for several years now just struck again.”<br>
“Dear Lord, where now?” Asuka averted his eyes to the paper. “…local train station nearby…Oh great! Here we’re in the middle of a civilized negotiation with the Mainland and we have rebel Alter Users torturing citizens on one side and then this crazed psychopath robbing train stations on the other. That’s it…” Asuka turned away and threw his hands to the sky, defeated. “We’re doomed. All of us doomed.”<br>
“Now Mr. Tachibana,” Mimori started.

“NOT another word, Miss Kiryu,” Asuka held his hand out to silence her. “I must rest my tormented ears before I find out that the world is coming to an end.”<br>
And then he walked back inside.

Mimori laughed and stood up. What would become of the Lost Ground now? Now that Ryuho and Kazuma were nowhere in sight, only heard about from the tales of the rebel Alters. Now that the wall had been completely torn down and the organizations of HOLD and HOLY were decimated. Even now, the police had no order in the courts. And if the Mainland pulled out of the Lost Ground now, what would happen to everyone living here?

No, the least of their problems was indeed a burglar who decided to rob from the Mainland and everything else that was attainable.

But then again, they had never met Raviel.

---------------------------------

Kat

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

Oh, and Asuka X Cammy too. ^^' How could I forget that one?

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

Um...here's chapter two...But it won't let me post the whole thing so I have to put it in two (or more) posts. Sorry about that.

Chapter Two--Raviel

“Hey moron! Stop counting your earnings and get down here!” A well-built man in his mid-thirties shouted up to the rooftop of their home.

“Yo Gray.” A young man leaned backwards over the porch roof so that he was dangling by only his legs. He waved to the bigger man and gave him a big grin. “What’s happening?”<br>
Gray rolled his eyes and took the palm of his hand and pushed the younger man back onto the roof. “Don’t do that. You’ll break your neck.” Gray scratched at his black goatee and turned around. “And don’t be up there counting your gold neither! If some Alter User sees you with that much cash, they’ll be swarming this place faster than you can say ‘Sorry Gray’.”<br>
“Sorry Gray,” Gray heard the other man chuckle and he gave an exasperated sigh.

“Raviel, you little brat, you’ll never learn!” Gray shouted.

“Come on Gray, you know that that was an excellent prank.” Raviel jumped off the porch roof neatly and dusted himself off. “I wished I could’ve seen the looks on their faces when they opened that vault and POOF! Nothing.”<br>
Gray couldn’t help but smile. “Ya, it was great.” He ruffled the younger man’s dirty blonde hair. “It’ll probably set the Mainland’s troops back about a month on supplies. Not that that matters to you, right?”<br>
“Not at all,” Raviel said and followed the older man into the house.

Gray and Raviel were partners in crime. Raviel had met the older man when he was ten and Gray was nineteen. Gray took the younger boy in and taught him the art of thievery, which Gray had to admit, Raviel was mighty good at. But that was fifteen years ago.

Gray was older now, not as deft as he used to be. Still, he was in good shape with brute strength and arms that surpassed any normal man. His raven hair hung shaggily in his face, but never seemed to reach his shoulders. And his clothes were always dirty, like the black tank top and blue jean pants that he wore today. About the only thing that Gray took pride in was the goatee that grew under his bottom lip.

“Every man has his pride,” Gray had told Raviel one day, reaching for a cigarette.

That was another thing about Gray. He had a bad habit of smoking.

Raviel didn’t mind though. In fact it was strange. They had almost nothing in common other than robbing from other people. Raviel was a clean freak, despite his living quarters, and always tried to look his best– – such as the dark shirt and pants that he liked so much.

“Rule number one: always be clean shaven. You never know when a pretty girl is nearby. Rule number two: don’t stand out. Black’s not always a bad color.” Raviel had said this to Gray the first time they had done an actual robbery together.

“Right.” Gray had responded indifferently.

Inside the house, Gray lit a cigarette and turned to his younger roommate. “You heard about our next big break from Sydney, right?”<br>
Sydney was their third accomplice in their wrongdoings and often supplied them with the information, disguises, and lock breakings.

“No,” Raviel replied.

“Supposedly, there’s gonna be some sort of peace treaty going on tomorrow at the plaza between the Mainland’s government, and the resourceful ones here on the Lost Ground.” Gray let the rings of smoke flow from his lips as he pulled the cigarette away.

“So?” Raviel asked, obviously deprived of interest. “Why would Sydney care? Or you for that matter?”<br>
Gray chuckled. “Figured you’d say that.” Raviel pushed past him and walked into the kitchen. “Come on Rav. Don’t tell me you’d be willing to blow the deal and just settle for that measly four-grand you got from the train station.”<br>
“A living’s a living.” Raviel replied, searching through the refrigerator for food.

“Even if it means blowing off a ten-thousand dollar statue?”<br>
“TEN-THO– – OOOOFF!” Raviel jolted too quickly and knocked his head against the roof of the refrigerator. His hands immediately fled to his wounded head.

“Thought you’d see it my way.” Gray said as he walked out of the kitchen.

“Ten-thousand dollars!?” Raviel followed him out into the living room, foodless, with his hands still up behind his neck. “What in the heck for!?”<br>
“It’s an offering,” Gray explained, taking a puff from his cigarette. “from the Alter Users here to the Mainland. Kind of like a ‘don’t-pull-out-of-the-Lost-Ground-and-leave-us-starving’ kind of offering.”<br>
“How generous.” Raviel cracked his knuckles. “Since it ain’t going to any good use, they won’t mind if we just take it off their hands for em’ right?”<br>
Gray’s lips curled at the ends into a big smile. “Sydney will be over at noon to explain the details.”<br>
---------------------------------

Mimori Kiryu was worried. What if they still turned down the Lost Ground? Surely there would be no sense in cutting everyone off of the supplies…right?

She and Tachibana had volunteered to help represent the Lost Ground when the Mainland’s government arrived today. She only hoped that she and a few other rational Alter Users would be enough to convince the Mainland not to pull out from the Lost Ground. While it was wrong that the Mainland continued to be so controlling, perhaps there was some agreement that they could all come to and be satisfied.

She stood at the door, clad in her long tan overcoat, watching the outside.

“Miss Kiryu,” She spun on her heel, snapped from her thoughts. “Are you ready to go?”<br>
She stared at Asuka, who was neatly dressed in clothes that Cammy had bought for him.

“Yes,” Mimori nodded. “Now is our chance to stand up to the Mainland.” She lowered her head. “But I hope it works. Can you imagine how many people this will affect if the Mainland decides to pull out now?”<br>
“Personally Miss Kiryu, I hate being indebted to the Mainland.” Asuka sighed. “But you’re right. There must be some way that we can see eye to eye with them.” Then he added, “Kanami wants to come too.”<br>
Mimori did not protest. In fact, she was happy that the young girl cared so much. After all she had to go through, she deserved to know the truth and not be sheltered by the lies of everyone around her.

“Then, shall we go?” Mimori asked.

---------------------------------

There had never been anything like it before. The Lost Ground had never seen such a day where people everywhere gathered around, unified as a whole. Today, the Lost Ground would finally know if the independence that they had desired for so long would finally become a reality. And, of course, in the crowd were several familiar faces.

“Blasted Mainland!” Came a gruff voice from within the back of the crowd. “Why do they continue to play with us like puppets!?” The man was large, his eyes squinty, and in both hands he held watermelons.

“Urizane, not so loud,” Warned a young boy with dark blue hair. “There are men all around us who would love to start a fight at this particular moment.”<br>
Urizane, former member of HOLY, stared down at Elian.

“I know that,” The larger man mumbled.

“I wonder if a certain reckless duo will make an appearance.” Elian hinted at the two greatest Alter Users of all time.

“Heh,” Urizane chuckled. “If they showed up at all, they would be the reason the Mainland would decide to turn down our independence. Let’s hope for once that they DON’T show up.”<br>
It was Elian’s turn to laugh.

“But wouldn’t that be a sight to see?” Urizane looked towards the sun.

---------------------------------

Coming up from behind was a man full of anticipation. He was calm, wore a top hat and a crushed velvet suit. Tinted spectacles sheltered his eyes and he observed the crowd closely.

“What do you expect to find here, Mr. Crane?” A bodyguard whispered to the taller man.

“The answers to everything,” Isaac Crane replied unashamedly. “If our new plan goes through, we won’t have to give the Lost Ground their independence.” He smiled. “All is going according to plan.”<br>
With the new project in the works, the Mainland wouldn’t need to worry about trivial matters such as ‘Kazuma’ and ‘Ryuho’. The crowd was in an uproar. Today, all decisions were made.

Even by those who could jeopardize the freedom of the Lost Ground.

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

---------------------------------

The silhouettes of two men formed, side by side, at the back of the audience. Across the plaza sat a rusted brown vehicle, waiting patiently for the time to come.

---------------------------------

Several men greeted the representatives of the Lost Ground on top of the platform in the center of the crowd.

“My friends, we stand here today…” The negotiation had begun. It was time.

A man with green hair dressed in a tattered gray cloak stumbled into a guard, smelling of whiskey.

“Woah there buddy!” The guard pushed the drunk off of him.

“S-Sorry there officeeeerrrr…” The drunk slurred. “I didn’t see you there…” Then the man turned with an abrupt start. “You fiend!” He cried, shoving an older bearded man.

“What on earth…?” The guard and two others jumped into the middle of the commotion.

“This here fella stole my wallet!” The green haired man accused.

“Huh?” The bearded man looked around. “I ain’t done nothing! I swear!”<br>
“You lying heathen!” The drunk seethed, pushing the bearded man for a second time. “Here he stands lying to ya officers! He done stole my wallet while ya all weren’t paying attention!” Then the drunk smiled. “You gonna get it now ya dumb hick! Pickpocketing from an old man!”<br>
“Old?” A guard questioned. “All right buddy, you step away from this man now, you hear?”<br>
Finally the drunk settled down. “I’m sorry officers. I won’t be starting anymore commotions.” He glared at the bearded man. “Keep the wallet if you want. It only has pictures of my dear family in it anyway.”<br>
---------------------------------

A man with brown hair, dressed in a black suit with the badge of the Mainland tagged on, casually walked past the guards, wearing his best smile. Locked in the building in front of him was a valuable piece of success. Withdrawing a small card that he had just recently obtained from his pocket, he pushed it into the card slot.

“Officer Kawazuki…access granted.” And the door opened.

Here came the next relay point.

---------------------------------

“I’m sorry officers,” The drunk apologized again and went on his way. The guards didn’t take their eyes off of him until he disappeared into the crowd. The drunk glanced around for a moment, keeping from looking suspicious, and then slipped around a corner. He pulled off the gray cloak, revealing a tattered HOLY uniform. To the left, he heard a motor running. There was his ride.


---------------------------------

Inside the building, the man in the black suit wrapped the ropes around his legs and arms skillfully. Then, he pulled the gag over his mouth and lay in wait.


---------------------------------

“Hey,” Officer Kawazuki paused after the commotion died down. “I can’t find my ID card,” He slapped his thighs and looked in his pockets. The other guards shared the same commotion and they turned towards the building that contained the monument.

“The monument!” Another guard gasped and the six guards dashed towards the building.

The door was unlocked, but inside was a man, gagged and bound.

“My word,” Kawazuki shook his head and stepped forward, pulling the gag from this man’s mouth.

“You fools!” The man screamed. “I turn my back for one moment and this Native Alter ties me up and throws me in here! You’re supposed to be protecting the Mainland Government!”<br>
The officers had no time to speak, as this furious man gave them no chance.

“Hurry and catch him! Catch the Native Alter who did this! He fled to the east! To the east of here!” When an officer made a move to untie the man, the man screamed. “Are you bloody deaf!? Go catch the Native Alter!”<br>
Trembling, the officers scurried out of the room.

---------------------------------

On the western side of the plaza, the car unloaded the man with green hair.

“Set the bombs accordingly,” The driver reminded the man, who nodded. “Give em’ just enough time to look while I head back to the garage.”<br>
As the car sped off, the man with green hair wearing the tattered HOLY uniform began to work.

---------------------------------

“Heh, heh,” The man untied himself and stood to his feet. In the corner of the room was the monument, perched on the float, ready to be deported to the front. Directly across from the float, in the back of the room, was a garage door. It had been used when the gold monument was delivered. He rubbed his hands together and set himself to work.

Unlatching the garage door, he worked to pull the float back towards the rear entrance of the garage.

---------------------------------

The car worked its way around the building to the eastern side of the plaza. He was to look for a flash from a mirror. When he did see the reflection from a pocket mirror, it would be time to make the load.

---------------------------------

Within just a few minutes, the float had been settled in front of the garage door. Now all that was left was to distract the guards he had sent out on the eastern side. The man tied himself up once again and hopped out of the building like an angered rabbit. He was lucky.

The guards were just on their way back as the infuriated man bounced out the door.

“What are you doing!? Idiots! Incomprehensible idiots!” The man’s face was red now with anger. “Do not let the Mainland know what is going on!” He warned. “Do this quietly and without drawing TOO much attention!” The man nodded in the other direction. “He ran for the south gate! Hurry!”<br>
Without a word, the guards left the man in search of a Native Alter they would never find.

When they had disappeared, the man hopped around to the back of the garage, loosening his binds and tossing his clothes to the side. There he stood, clad in gray and red garments. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a small pocket mirror and opened it, raising it towards the sun.

---------------------------------

The driver caught the glimpse of the reflection of the sun, he pulled the car out of neutral and drove towards the garage.

“Take care of the rest,” The man in gray and red told the driver and motioned to the garage door. Retreating around the side of the building, the man waited. He waited for the final scene.

The driver jumped from the car, pulling a large black hat over his head and opened the garage door. There was the float, ready to be latched to the back of the car.

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

---------------------------------

“And as a token of our gratitude,” The woman representing the Lost Ground spoke. “we, the Lost Ground, have constructed a gift for the Mainland.”<br>
“Oh boy,” Urizane said from within the crowd. “We have to buy happiness?”<br>
“So much for our independence,” Elian sighed.

Then the ground shook thunderously as clouds of dust filled the area. Everyone in the audience fell to the ground in horror as the bombs went off consecutively. One by one.

“Wh-What!?” Urizane glanced up slightly, as he shielded Elian with one arm.

“Independence with the Mainland!?” Came a loud voice in the western section of the plaza. “Impossible…” As the dust cleared, a man wearing a tattered HOLY uniform came walking towards the audience.

Mimori gasped. It couldn’t be…<br>
“Ryuho!?” She cried.

“Miss Kiryu! Get down!” Asuka pulled hard on her arm, but she would not be brought down.

“Ryuho!” She shouted again.

Then, more gasps as another man cut through the crowd and jumped up onto the stage. He ignored the cries from the crowd as he turned towards Ryuho in the far western corner of the plaza.

“Ryuho! Let’s destroy the Mainland together!” This man with the brown hair…<br>
“Kazu-kun!” Kanami squirmed out of Asuka’s grasp. “Kazu-kun!”<br>
“No, wait…” Asuka whispered. “These men…” He stared up at ‘Kazuma’ for a moment. “It can’t be them…”

“Kazuma!” Ryuho shouted. “Come! Let us vanquish them together!”<br>
‘Vanquish…together?’ Tachibana’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘Never! It can’t be them!’

As Kazuma was about to make his break from the stage, Kanami jumped out in front of him, barricading his path.

“Kazu-kun! Kazu-kun!” She shouted. Then, a sharp pain was felt deep within her heart, ‘This man…he looks like Kazu-kun but his eyes…his mind…No…it’s not him?’

The man named ‘Kazuma’ began to sweat. If he didn’t leave now, he would be left behind and the plan would be ruined! He had no choice.

“Aha! A hostage!” Kazuma snatched Kanami up and tossed her over his shoulder. “This goes to show you all that this isn’t a joke! The Mainland is out to destroy all Alter Users!”<br>
---------------------------------


“Why you wretched little boy…” Isaac Crane removed the glasses from his eyes as his body glowed with an ominous power. ‘I will control you and make you regret those words!’ He held his hand out towards Kazuma. ‘My puppet…’

But a staggering thing happened.

‘Kazuma’ was not affected by Isaac’s power.

The boy continued to run through the crowd, Kanami over his shoulder, until he met up with Ryuho on the other end.

“Stop them!” Someone shouted. “Stop them both!” But the crowd was in a panic. No one could reach them now.


---------------------------------

“Why did you take the hostage!?” ‘Ryuho’ asked the Kazuma look-a-like when they were far from the plaza.

“I didn’t have a choice!” ‘Kazuma’ replied.

“It doesn’t matter,” ‘Ryuho’ mumbled. “She will be of no use to us anyway and she can’t tell the Mainland nothing.”<br>
Then they saw the car up ahead, the monument attached to the back.

“Sydney! Raviel!” Gray stood outside the car, flailing his arms.

“NO! You idiot!” ‘Ryuho’ shouted to him.

“Huh?” Gray stared blankly at him. Then he saw the hostage on ‘Kazuma’s’ back. “Hey, you have a hostage!”<br>
“Thank you Captain Obvious!” ‘Kazuma’ opened the passenger’s side, disposed of Kanami, and shut the door behind him. ‘Ryuho’ jumped in the back seat.

“Great,” Gray smiled. “Now let’s get the heck out of here.” And he sped off into high gear.

“I can’t believe you Gray! You’re SUCH a moron!” In the backseat, Raviel rubbed a hand through his dyed hair.

“Well how was I supposed to know that you two bumbling idiots nabbed a hostage!?” Gray shouted back.

Sydney, dressed as Kazuma, looked down at Kanami. “Sorry kid. But thanks to this big oaf here, you ain’t going home anytime soon.”<br>
Kanami bit her lower lip. “So you two…are disguised as Ryuho and Kazu-kun?”<br>
“Yeah!” Sydney laughed. “What a great mastermind I am! Wouldn’t you agree, Rav?”<br>
Raviel laughed. “Now all that’s left is to find out where we’re gonna pawn that big statue.”<br>
---------------------------------

Back at the crime scene, Isaac Crane could only shake his head.

“I thought you told me that the men named ‘Kazuma’ and ‘Ryuho’ were Native Alters!” Crane snapped at his bodyguard.

“T-They are,” The man stammered.

Isaac relaxed. “Then that man…who posed as Kazuma…” He smiled. “That’s all he was after all…an actor.”<br>
---------------------------------

“Tachibana! Miss Kiryu!” Urizane and Elian met up with the two up on the stage. “What on earth are you doing here!?”<br>
“I could ask you two the same thing!” Asuka retorted. “Where have you been all these years!?”<br>
“Doesn’t matter,” Elian replied. “Looks like we have some issues. So Kazuma and Ryuho are back?”<br>
“Don’t tell me that you can’t even recognize them!?” Asuka’s eyes narrowed. “Anyone with half a brain could tell that that wasn’t them!”<br>
“W-What do you mean?” Mimori asked.

“First off, Kazuma and Ryuho, buddies? That’s already a negative. And secondly, Kazuma didn’t even recognize Kanami. Besides, why would they come out of hiding now? Especially to attack all these people?”<br>
Then another voice caught their attention.

“T-The monument! The monument is gone! Someone has stolen it!”<br>
Asuka turned back to the trio. “I rest my case.”<br>
---------------------------------

^^' I hope this chapter was okay. Sorry if it was a little on the boring side.

Kat

[Asuka Was Here]

very...cool...need...more...story...
but seriously, it was good. Please write more ^_^ please? I have to know what happens next. I'm impatient like that ;D

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

Disclaimer: Woot. Still don’t own stuff ‘cept for my original characters. Cheers to anyone who is reading my pathetic story.

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Chapter Three--Project Zero

[/B]



Everyone was taken back to Asuka’s house shortly afterwards, horror overwhelming them.

“I can’t believe this,” Mimori shook her head. “Now what is going to happen!? If the Mainland decides to pull out of the Lost Ground…”

“Relax, Miss Kiryu,” Urizane told her, munching on a watermelon. “Let’s just wait and see what happens. Clearly the Mainland will know that those two weren’t Ryuho and Kazuma.”<br>
“What makes you so sure?” Asuka asked, sitting at his desk. “This just may give the Mainland the perfect reason to pull out.”<br>
“Even more so, if those two WEREN’T Kazuma and Ryuho, then who were they? And what do you think will happen to Kanami?” Mimori turned to Elian. “Elian, do you know anything?”<br>
Elian shook his head. “In the midst of the confusion, I was so confident that they were Kazuma and Ryuho. Besides, if I used my Alter in a place like that, then the focus of everyone’s attention would be directed back to us.”<br>
This was true.

“So you don’t know anything?” Mimori sighed. “Kanami…”

“If I believe anything at all, I’d say that we just witnessed the famous bandit who has been robbing everyone all over the Lost Ground.” Asuka spoke. “Wouldn’t you agree, Miss Kiryu?”<br>
Mimori pondered for a moment and then nodded. “Now that you mention it, Mr. Tachibana, it does seem vaguely familiar.”<br>
“Are you two talking about those pesky bandits who have been robbing from the Mainland recently?” Urizane looked back and forth between the two. “I remember them from back in HOLY! They’d always be up to no good, stealing from the big organizations, but back then, they were no big deal.”<br>
“Probably because we were dealing with Kazuma and the other Native Alters.” Asuka perched his chin in the palm of his hand. “But ever since HOLY disbanded, they’ve become even more of a nuisance. No one knows what they look like or anything.”<br>
“Professionals eh?” Urizane whistled. “But now they have a hostage. Before they try anything, we have to get Kanami back.”<br>
“That’s our top priority,” Asuka said. “As for the confrontation with the Mainland, we’ll just have to be ready for anything they decide.”<br>
“But how will we be able to track them? We don’t know anything about them or where they’ll strike next.” Urizane pointed out.

“They always seem to show up when a big event comes up,” Mimori explained. “It shouldn’t be too hard predicting their movements…”

---------------------------------

Kanami was taken back to Raviel and Gray’s house that night as they unloaded the monument and hid it in the basement of the house. Sydney kept watch on the girl as the work was being done. He was a tall, skinny guy in his mid-twenties. His sky-blue hair fell in his face and stuck out on all sides.

Kanami was silent the entire time they unloaded the monument and sang praises to one another. Later on, Raviel approached Kanami with a question.

“So, do you know how to cook?” He asked her.

“W-What?” She was taken back by the question, expecting something more hostile.

“I asked if you know how to cook,” Raviel flashed her a big grin and held out his hand. “By the way, I’m Raviel.”<br>
“Kanami Yuta,” Kanami hesitantly took his hand and shook it.

“Normally we don’t take hostages,” Raviel explained. “So I’m sorry about all of this.”<br>
Kanami didn’t speak.

“Hey come on, it’ll be fun,” He tried to loosen the tension in the atmosphere. “Anyway, my buddies and I really don’t know how to cook, but seeing as you’re a lovely lass, you might know.”<br>
Kanami smiled. For some reason, she could not sense any danger emitting from this man. “Yes…well…A little.”<br>
“Even a little is fine by us.” Then he laughed. “Yes! No more takeouts.”<br>
“You mean you’ve lived here all this time and never had a home cooked meal?”<br>
Raviel stiffened. “Well I wouldn’t say that…Except I don’t think that you can call Gray’s ‘Secret Household Surprise’ exactly edible…” Then he leaned down and whispered, “I heard he puts toilet paper and old socks in it.”<br>
This remark caused Kanami to giggle. “Well then Mr. Raviel, I’d be happy to show you how to cook. I learned a lot by myself but I had some help from my friends as well.”<br>
“Really!?” Raviel beamed. “You’d show me? Well that’s great! No more Toilet Paper Surprise from Gray!”<br>
The two were destined to become the best of friends.

---------------------------------

Two weeks since the burglary at the plaza took place passed. Isaac Crane had not gone back to the Mainland, but stayed in the Lost Ground instead. Something still captivated his interest.

The Mainland wrote back a letter to him acknowledging the acceptance of Project Zero, but now asked for a location. Isaac tapped his pen against the wood of his desk and looked out the window, past the wall that stood dryly on the outskirts of the city. Beyond that, he saw the wreckage of what used to be the mighty building of HOLY.

Over the last four years, the Mainland had attempted to reconstruct HOLY and the building itself, but did not get more than halfway until reconstruction was finally ended. The reason being that the rebellious Native Alters and Inners relentlessly attacked and caused more damage than what the Mainland could afford.

“But what a perfect location,” Crane marveled as he ran his fingers down the windowpane. “What a perfect laboratory. All time would be reduced in half and an army could be constructed so much simpler than if everyone was sent to the Mainland.”<br>
He quickly seated himself and withdrew paper from within his desk. He would ask for five-hundred men– – No! One-thousand men! One-thousand men from the Mainland to rebuild HOLY. It made perfect sense. Project Zero could be executed from within the halls of a new HOLY.

“Like a chessboard,” He mused cunningly. “All the players are at my disposal.”<br>
---------------------------------

It was like smuggling goods from a ship to a certain area. A week later, one-thousand construction workers were shipped off from the Mainland and were put under the command of Isaac Crane. Reconstructing HOLY wasn’t some big secret. In fact, within the week that the men were put to work, there were five attacks from Native Alters and Inners.

The first four attacks alone came from the Native Alters. But with Isaac Crane around, the men had more to fear than just the Native Alters.

One day after the fourth attack, two men sat down on the new steps of HOLY on their lunch break.

“You know our Boss, Crane?” The first man with maroon hair asked his partner, unwrapping a sandwich from its plastic bag.

“Yeah,” The shorter man with blue hair nodded. “What about him?”<br>
“You see what he did with those Native Alters that attacked us yesterday?”<br>
“And the two days before that? And the day before that? Yeah I saw. Real jackal if you ask me.”<br>
“Can’t say that aloud,” The maroon-haired man said, blowing a few loose strands from his face before biting into his sandwich. “I’ve never seen an Alter User like him.”<br>
Even the blue-haired man had to agree. “He seems like a good-natured man. But underneath that face is a wicked personality. When those Native Alters came snooping about, I didn’t even see him lay one finger on them!”<br>
“Just a bunch of chanting,” The first man snorted. “Scared the heck out of me. Next thing ya know, those Native Alters are taking orders from HIM!”<br>
The second man looked around. “Word has it that all of them are still here. You remember those HOLY guys from way back?”<br>
The maroon-haired man shuddered. “Who could forget?”<br>
“Well this reunited HOLY thing…they have the uniforms already. All those Native Alters that Crane controlled are on our side now.”<br>
“How on earth could a guy like him take control over seventeen Alters at one time!?”<br>
The blue-haired man leaned forward and whispered, “They say the name of his Alter is ‘The Puppetmaster’.”<br>

---------------------------------

The very last attack dealt with thirteen Inners. None of them knew what hit them as the Alters that Isaac controlled swept through them with ease. They were all taken into custody and shipped to the Mainland.

---------------------------------

That was almost a month ago.

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

---------------------------------

Mimori Kiryu had not found any clues leading to the whereabouts of Kanami or her captors, but there had been repeated robberies from the Mainland’s new construction crew. Nothing too major, but then again, it all seemed like a cover-up to Mimori. Lately, the newest rumors included something along the lines of a ‘new HOLY’ and the project was being sponsored by a wealthy British man named Isaac Crane.

Of course, these proved to be more than mere rumors when the news that thirteen Inners had been taken hostage and sent to the Mainland to be presented with their punishments came about. That had been in last week’s paper.

She sighed. It was times like these that she wished she still had Cougar’s assistance. He seemed to know everything, despite his hyperactive behavior, and if it had anything to do with HOLY, he would surely know. But alas, she had heard from Kazuma of his passing and she was deeply saddened.

So many lives had been taken at the time of HOLY’s downfall and it pained her so.

But if it was true that HOLY was planning another round with the Lost Ground, then it would mean trouble.

“I knew that the Mainland wouldn’t pull out,” Asuka told her one day after she showed him the paper. “And I also knew that they wouldn’t give us our independence either. They’re too predictable.”<br>
Ah yes, too predictable indeed.

Just as, Mimori found, the bandits were as well.

Another shipment of supplies would be coming in from the Mainland to the construction site this week. No doubt about it that the bandits would be there to stake their claim. With all of the recent robberies from the Mainland’s new project lately, Mimori had figured their pattern out. The robberies hadn’t been real big and had often been done at the airport when the planes would exchange the materials. But nevertheless, she knew when they would strike next. Mimori decided to make a plan. She would go there and, one way or another, meet the bandits and arrange for a ransom to be made on account of the girl. It had been a month now.

Mimori felt just awful for having left the girl in such a horrible environment for so long. She wanted to believe that the girl was alive, as there had been no recent accounts of dead bodies, but then again, who knew for sure? But if Mimori could get in touch with the thugs now, then she could get Kanami back.

But she knew how reckless her friends were. They would just get in the way. So she would have to go and meet them herself.

Suddenly, Urizane stormed through the door, fuming.

“What the heck!? I don’t believe this!” He roared. Asuka and Elian were behind him.

“What’s the matter Mr. Urizane?” Mimori asked.

“First off, don’t be formal with me.” He said, directing a finger to her. “I hate formalities. Secondly, what in the world is going on over at HOLY!?”<br>
Mimori tensed. So, the secret was out…<br>
“You mean it’s the truth then?” She asked. “They’ve decided to reconstruct HOLY?”<br>
“It’s more than that!” Urizane turned to Asuka. “Tell her, Tachibana.”<br>
“Everyone’s talking about it.” Asuka explained. “Supposedly, they’re rebuilding HOLY under a new commander.”<br>
“Any idea on who this ‘new commander is?” She asked.

“Nada,” Urizane intercepted the question. “Continue.”<br>
“Anyway,” Asuka resumed. “there have been several attacks made while the construction workers from the Mainland have been over here. Four assaults by Native Alters and one made by Inners.”<br>
“Yes, I was reading about the Inners,” Mimori blinked. “But what about the Native Alters? I didn’t read about that…”

“Of course you wouldn’t.” Urizane answered for Asuka again. “We got this information from some underground resources.”<br>
“Urizane do you want to explain or should I?” Asuka asked, annoyed.

“Geez, don’t get your undies in a twist, Tachibana. You can talk.” Asuka glared at the larger man at that remark.

“ANYWAY,” Asuka snarled. “It’s true that we heard about the Native Alter attacks from the locals who live near HOLY, but they said that those same Native Alters have been seen wandering the premises in shiny new HOLY uniforms.”<br>
“Oh my,” Mimori gasped. “So they aren’t kidding? But what would change the minds of those Native Alters?”<br>
“Simple,” Elian, who hadn’t even spoken once the whole time, answered. “They’re under a trance.”<br>
“A trance?” Mimori turned to Tachibana. “How?”<br>
“No one knows,” Asuka shrugged. “But that’s the result of ALL of them. As for the Inners…well…they picked a fight against those Native Alters working for HOLY now and they’ve been taken hostage and shipped off to the Mainland.”<br>
“But why the Mainland?” Mimori asked. “It seems unreasonable. Why would they take them off the island for a trial?”<br>
“It’s not a trial,” Urizane said. “But no one knows WHAT it is.”<br>
“Sounds to me like something fishy is going on,” Asuka turned to look at all of them. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they were trying to bring back some other loony like Mujo from off the Mainland.”<br>
“Dear Lord, then we’d definitely be hearing from Kazuma and Ryuho.” Urizane slapped his face in his hand.

“Well what if we took a trip and paid a visit to this new ‘commander’ of HOLY?” Asuka suggested.

“What? How? Would they even let us back in?” Urizane turned on his heel to stare down the younger boy.

“It’s a thought,” Asuka shook his head. “After all, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”<br>
“Yes,” Mimori stood up. “I think it’s a good idea as well.”<br>
“Miss Kiryu?” Urizane’s jaw dropped. “All right, all right. But that probably means that we should go there looking our best, right?”<br>
“More or less.” Asuka replied. “Well I still have my old uniform, but what about you guys?”<br>
“I still have my pride in what HOLY stood for,” Urizane told him. “Of course.”<br>
“As do I,” Mimori said. “Elian?”<br>
The small boy nodded. “But Miss Kiryu, do you believe that it’s a good idea that you go too? The Mainland could still be looking for you. After all, you haven‘t contacted your family at all in the last four years, have you?”<br>
“The kid has a point,” Urizane agreed.

“Regardless, I have to find out for myself what the Mainland is trying to achieve by reconstructing HOLY.” Mimori turned to Asuka for support. “Mr. Tachibana, you agree with me, don’t you?”<br>
Asuka held up his hands. “I don’t like confrontations. Go if you’d like, Miss Kiryu, but be warned that you may not like what you find out.”<br>
“I’ve known about worse,” She said. “Now, shall we get going?”<br>
---------------------------------

From over the wall, a man with long green hair stared at the reconstruction of the one thing he despised– – HOLY.

“So, they still wish to test my patience?” He frowned, causing the lines under his eyes to deepen. “Very well then. Zetsuei and I will give them a warm welcome.”<br>
---------------------------------

Wootness for the return of Ryuho. And yes, that’s really him. I had actually planned on writing more to this chapter, but it’s late now and I’m tired and I’ll probably save it for another rainy day. Sorry that the last few chapters have been nothing more than introductions (rushed might I add), but I’m such an impatient person who doesn’t want to dwell much on introductions before getting the story in order.

So here we have Isaac Crane who plans on reconstructing HOLY to use for a ‘laboratory’ that has to do with ‘Project Zero’. And that’s about it. Anyway, more to come in the next couple of chapters and apparently, we’re going to be hearing from Ryuho soon.

Cheers for now.



Kat

[Asuka Was Here]

Happiness! More Story! And Ryuhou's back. But where be's my dear Kazu-kun? (and for the record, I rarely say 'is' unless I'm being serious. It's always 'be's")

*still begging for more*

keep it up, it's coming out great ^_^ and I still want to read more

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

Disclaimer: You know the drill.


A/N: Well when I wrote this chapter, I didn’t expect it to be so long but it…uh…turned out being that long. Whoops. Oh well. So it’s split into two separate parts. Oh, and Ryuho and Kazuma come back in this chapter. ^_^

Chapter Four--Reckless Fire


Part A

Kanami Yuta remained inside, finishing up the dishes from dinner. Sydney had gone home a half hour before and Gray had gone to bed. Raviel was outside, working on Gray’s car, as he had crashed it into the river bank two days before when he fell asleep at the wheel.

Kanami found it ironic that Raviel knew just about everything about cars…<br>
…except how to manage driving them properly…<br>
It had been one month since she had been taken hostage by the trio the day that the Mainland came to sign a pact with the members of the Lost Ground. But ‘hostage’ was an overstatement. She was anything BUT a hostage. She would call it more of a…lifesaver, to say the least.

Although they had refused to let her leave, she found it even harder to leave once she got to the household residence.

“What is it with men and cleaning?” She asked herself one day, shaking her head. “They can’t cook, can’t clean the house, and they DEFINITELY can’t fend for themselves.”<br>
Once she began work for them, cooking every night, cleaning the house, and any other things that a normal woman would do (although Kanami wasn’t quite a woman, as one would think). By and by, Gray and Sydney began to accept Kanami’s help, despite her being a ‘girl’. Raviel, on the other hand, was fully accepting of her from the moment he met her.

The two had become close, there was no doubt in her mind. He appreciated everything she did, in a way that Kazuma never did. It was in the same way that she had wished her Kazu-kun WOULD have appreciated her. It was what made her miss him, but forget him at the same time.

“Kanami-------------iiii!” Raviel hissed through the open window. He had grease splotches all over his face. Kanami laughed and reached for a damp towel and rubbed it over his face, cleaning the black spots away.

No, they had become like family in a way. It was a way that was similar to when she lived with Kazuma and their lives were closely associated with Kimishima. She did not forget about Mimori or even Mr. Tachibana, but Raviel and his lifestyle brought back the true memories of the Lost Ground in which she had been so fond of…except for the poverty.

“Raviel it’s getting late,” Kanami didn’t even use formalities with the man. “You should come inside.”<br>
“I was just going to ask for you to hand me the wrench I left on the counter,” He replied after she finished cleaning his face.

Tossing the dirty towel aside, Kanami reached for the wrench and handed it to the blonde man.

“Come outside and talk to me, will ya?” He asked. “It’s too dark out here…and lonely.”<br>
Giggling, Kanami avidly agreed.

---------------------------------

“So what do you think?” Raviel gestured to the rundown car. It had looked much nicer before he crashed it into the river bank.

Kanami squinted. “Well…it looks…worse…”

“Worse?”<br>
“I’m not doubting your ability as a mechanic, but it looks…broken…”

“Uh-huh…” Raviel agreed flatly. “…Right…”

“Well…”

“No, no,” Raviel interrupted, holding a hand out to silence her. “It’s quite all right. I understand.” Then Raviel chucked the wrench at the windshield, shattering the glass to pieces. And then the car alarm went off.

Kanami’s hands immediately fled to her ears as the alarm sounded and Raviel sighed. “I’m such a failure. Gray’s gonna kill me.” Reaching for the lead pipe resting next to the car, Raviel swung it unremittingly against the car hood until the engine finally busted and the alarm was silenced.

“…I was just going to suggest a paint job…” Kanami said after a moment of silence.

Eyes widened, Raviel turned to stare at her. “…Oh…” Then he waved the situation away. “Never mind then.” And he began to walk away from the smoking car.

“Are you sure it’s okay to leave it like this?” Kanami asked, following after him. “It won’t cause a fire or anything…right?”<br>
“Gray’s car? Puh--leeeze. That thing barely worked. And it DEFINITELY didn’t work after I crashed it into the river bank. There’s nothing to worry about.”<br>
The two were blown off their feet as an eruption occurred behind them and the car was sent up in flames. The heat of the explosion enveloped them from far off. Now on the ground, Raviel looked up to see Gray’s car illuminated in brilliant flames, the smoke rising into the sky.

“On second thought,” Raviel said, panting. “I shouldn’t have touched it in the first place.”<br>
The two watched as a silhouette clad in blue ran out onto the porch and stared at the massive heap and dazzling flames.

“MY GOD RAV! YOU BLEW UP MY CAR!”<br>
Tilting his head from side to side, Raviel nodded in Kanami’s direction. “Hmm, he’s taking the loss better than I thought.”<br>
Kanami watched in horror as Gray ran back inside and then return a moment later with a small pail of water, which he threw on the roaring flames.

“Guess I should be the one to call the fire department.” Raviel pushed himself to his feet. “Gray’s too busy doing everything wrong.”<br>
“But I thought you guys were robbers. Wouldn’t they be looking for you?” Kanami inquired.

“Us? They’ve never seen our faces directly. Besides, look at the house. Does it REALLY look like something that would be housing thieves? We don’t spend the money on house repairs you know…”

She sighed.

---------------------------------

While the fire department was busy with Gray’s car, Gray sent Raviel up the hill before he had an early heart attack and Kanami followed after him. The two sat on a rock, watching the gray smoke and illuminate flames from below.

“What will Gray do now?” Kanami asked the older man.

“Gray? Ah, he’ll get over it in a few days. We’ll just buy a new car. Or steal one. Which ever comes first.”<br>
Kanami chewed on her bottom lip. She disapproved of Raviel’s line of work. She knew about the new job the three had in mind later that week. She had overheard the conversation when Sydney had come over earlier. She hadn’t even needed the use of her Alter to tell her that.

“You know that stealing isn’t right,” Kanami told him, disappointed.

“Stealing is such a powerful word,” Raviel laughed. “I prefer the term ‘commandeering’.”<br>
The little girl huffed. “You know what I mean.”<br>
Indeed Raviel did. “If only you knew why we did the things we did.”<br>
“I do.” Kanami told him. “And I must say that trying to deny an Alter is a pretty pathetic excuse.”<br>
Raviel did not tense, nor did he stir. He simply sat there, imperturbable, staring at her.

“And I must say that I felt the same resonance emitting from you.” He replied. “An Alter User too, Kanami? Who would’ve known?”<br>
Kanami turned her head. She was not sour, but almost happy that he knew.

“Many people got hurt because of my Alter.” She told him.

“Only experienced Alter Users can tell an Alter User just by looking at them.” Then, smiling, he added, “I won’t tell if you won’t tell.”<br>
He held out his pinky and wrapped it around her own.

“Pinky promise?” He asked, sincerely.

She was not hesitant.

“Pinky promise.”<br>
---------------------------------

Isaac Crane had the perfect team, the perfect location, and the perfect plan. Within a matter of hours, the Mainland would return to him a perfect product from the result of Project Zero.

He had seventeen HOLY members, one-thousand construction members, and a near perfect replica of the HOLY building. He walked the halls of his new kingdom, his top hat and black cape flowing behind him as he held his arms outstretched, fingering the new polish of the walls. It was only a matter of time now.

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

---------------------------------

Asuka Tachibana pulled up in his jeep, Mimori in the passenger’s seat, and Urizane and Elian in the back. All four, clad in their old HOLY and HOLD uniforms, tilted their heads up just enough to see the construction site of HOLY.

“I can’t believe it…!” Urizane breathed, his eyes wide. “The last I heard about this construction, it was only half completed before the project was finally discontinued. But this…! THIS! It’s almost completed!”<br>
“Look at all the construction workers…” Mimori gazed at the hundreds of workers, her hands flat against the passenger window. “There must be at least one thousand!”<br>
“Show me the guy in charge of this here project!” Urizane huffed, opening the car door. “There can never be another HOLY fitting enough unless the Commander is Martin Zigmarl!”<br>
“Urizane!” Asuka exclaimed, jolting his gaze to over the backseat. “PLEASE close the door until I park the car!”<br>
Urizane blinked. “Oh.” Then he closed the door. “Sorry.”<br>
---------------------------------

The four could be seen by security from the front of the new HOLY building. A man sent from the Mainland pulled the binoculars from his eyes and waited for them to approach him. He was a tall man and took the form of a bouncer. He stood with his long arms behind his back and his legs set apart just slightly. He halted Asuka (who was at the front of the line) and the rest of the party with his outstretched palm.

“None may enter here.” The bouncer said in a deep and gruff voice.

“What are ya talking about?” Urizane’s eyes squinted and he pulled on the collar of his HOLY coat. “We’re from the HOLY organization.”<br>
“Negative,” The bouncer shook his head.

“Whaddya mean ‘negative’!?” Urizane frowned, the creases at the ends of his mouth deepening. “Don’t ya see the HOLY uniforms?”<br>
“You old HOLY members have a lot of nerve returning here after all this time.” The bouncer remarked, regaining his natural stance. “The Commander would not be pleased.”<br>
“Commander?” Urizane jerked a thumb to his chest. “I’M the Commander of HOLY.”<br>
“And where would that be written on paper?”<br>
“Commander Martin Zigmarl named me the next man in charge after his passing.” Urizane argued. “I have two other witnesses in case you don’t believe me.” And as though he were insistent in proving his theory, he grabbed a hold of Elian and pulled him up front.

“Urizane,” Mimori whispered. “I don’t think that this is necessary…”

“Tell him, Elian.” Urizane pressured, ignoring Mimori.

Clearing his throat, the bouncer said, “Whether you had one witness or fifty, it wouldn’t matter. You are not the provider for this organization nor the backbone. You have no authorization here.”<br>
“Why I outta…!” Urizane prepared to lunge forward until Asuka caught his arms.

“That’s quite enough, Urizane.” Asuka grunted.

“And who, Sir, may I ask is in charge of HOLY’s reconstruction?” Mimori took over when it was apparent that Urizane could no longer handle the questions without becoming angry.

“That, Ma’am would be Mister Isaac Crane.”<br>
‘The same man from the newspaper…’ Mimori realized. “Thank you Sir.”<br>
“Commander!?” Urizane roared. “Commander Crane!? Commander Isaac Crane!?”<br>
“Urizane…!” Asuka fought to calm him. “Get a hold of yourself!”<br>
At Urizane’s outbreak, a man wearing a HOLY uniform ran beside the bouncer.

“Sir! Permission to remove these interlopers, Sir!”<br>
“That…ugh…won’t be necessary…umf…” Asuka smiled, all the while of trying to restrain Urizane from doing anything illegal. “We were just…guh…leaving…”

Then something caught Mimori’s eyes. There was something different about the badge sewn on the left arm of his uniform. Instead of the natural ‘HOLY’ that was displayed on the everyday badge, there was a new ‘HOLY-S’ that had replaced it instead.

“Sorry about taking up your time.” Asuka apologized.

“Old HOLY and HOLD cadets?” The HOLY-S member observed.

“They wanted to get by,” The bouncer explained.

“Hmph,” The HOLY-S member snorted. “Over my dead body.”<br>
Mimori’s gaze moved up from the patch on his arm to his glossy eyes and callous face. He looked nowhere near human. It was though an unseen force was motivating him.

“Good day,” Asuka bid them farewell and pushed Urizane away from the scene. Elian trotted behind, but Mimori was not in as much of a hurry. She tripped over her feet for a moment, staring at the HOLY-S member, before retreating.

“ID them.” The bouncer ordered the HOLY-S member as the four disappeared from view.

“Affirmative,” The neon glow of an Alter took to the man’s body as he stepped down from the steps and followed slowly behind them.

“Affirmative,” The neon glow of an Alter took to the man’s body as he stepped down from the steps and followed slowly behind them.

---------------------------------

Several minutes after the departure of the four visitors, Isaac Crane turned away from the window, several stories high in the building of HOLY. He rubbed his chin and tilted his head.

“Fancy that…” He mumbled, his voice barely audible, even to himself. “So there are still more of them out there. I thought that that man…Ryuho…was the last one…”

A knock to the door interfered with his thoughts.

“Message for you, Sir!” And then the door opened, revealing a scrawny man, dressed in the same HOLY-S uniform.

“What is it?” Isaac asked.

“The Inners from the Mainland are back. The project was a success.”<br>
Isaac could not stop the smile from splitting at his face. “Most excellent news. Where are they now?”<br>
“At the harbor. They’ll be here in two hours.” The HOLY-S member looked yonder, to the window. “There’s more. There were four visitors present at the entrance today. One about the age of twenty, purple hair, skin tone--”<br>
“I saw them from my window; no need to identify the obvious. Did you find out who they were?”<br>
“Yes Sir,” The man took a deep breath. “The first was Asuka Tachibana, an ex-HOLY member who resigned even before HOLY fell. The second, Urizane, claims that the former Commander Martin Zigmarl left him in charge of HOLY at its defeat.”<br>
“I see.”<br>
“The third appears to be a product of a cloning process with the usage of DNA.”<br>
Isaac Crane interrupted. “Did they say whose DNA it was?”<br>
“Uh…uh…” The man apparently did not expect such an abrupt question. “The former Commander’s…I believe…”

“Ah, well, being the first to be sent to the Mainland for refining, I can see the various experiments that they would wish to try. Even I was unaware of the cloning process. I’m sorry, I interrupted you. Please continue.”<br>
“I believe that you’ll be especially interested with the last name.”<br>
“Will I?”<br>
“Miss Mimori Kiryu was the last of the party.”<br>
Crane beamed for a second time. “Mimori…Kiryu, eh? The little princess from the Mainland?”<br>
“Yes Sir. That’s what they said.”<br>
“So she lives…” Crane turned away from the HOLY-S member and walked back to the window where he had seen them earlier. “That’s good…That’s very good indeed.”<br>
“But Sir!” The man shook his head in protest. “What about the inheritance!? Surely you haven’t forgotten--”<br>
“Ransoms do not work, my underling. That is where Kyoji Mujo went wrong.”<br>
“Yes, I remember you saying that he came over here looking for her. Wanted to use her as leverage against her family.”<br>
“No, that’s too much of an annoyance. It’s true that they were one of the biggest supporters of HOLY, but they forget that I was as well.” With a wicked smile, Crane added, “I do not require their funding to maintain HOLY Supreme.”<br>
The man became quite uneasy. “Then…what will you have us do with them?”<br>
The wicked smile turned into a fit of laughter. “Why my dear boy! What we have done with the other rich and royal families around the Mainland and in the Lost Ground itself!” The shadow in his eyes deepened. “I think I have heard a rumor of exploitation…”

The younger man shuddered.

---------------------------------

“Who does that man think he is!? Compared to the Commander, he is nothing more than a CHARLATAN!” Urizane shook away Asuka’s grip on his shoulder and stormed into the house. “Isaac Crane, the new Commander of HOLY my as--”<br>
“HEY!” Tachibana shouted. “Chill out would ya!?”<br>
Urizane snorted and fell back onto the couch, reaching for his stash of watermelons. Elian took the chair across the room, looking downcast.

“What’s the matter Elian?” Asuka asked, eager to get off the subject of the new ‘Commander Isaac Crane’.

“Nothing really,” The younger boy admitted. “Except…On the way back from HOLY, I got the strangest feeling that we were being followed.”<br>
“Followed!?” Everyone exclaimed.

“Whaddya talking about, Elian?” Urizane’s eyes narrowed.

“I couldn’t read anything,” Elian said. “It was like a barrier.”<br>
“Well, then WHY didn’t you say anything?” Asuka gave an exasperated sigh and began to pace back and forth in the front room.

“I didn’t want to alarm anyone.”<br>
“You too, then?” Mimori spoke, her voice wavering.

“Whaddya mean ‘you too’, Miss Kiryu!?” Urizane jumped to his feet. “Why’s everyone hiding things!?”

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

“Calm down Urizane,” Mimori paused for a moment. “On that HOLY member’s uniform, did you see the badge on his left arm?”<br>
“You mean like this?” Asuka gestured to his own badge, raising his arm.

“Yes, that badge,” Mimori nodded. “But there was more. Did you see that the badge had an extra letter sewn on?” When no one spoke, she continued. “It read ‘HOLY-S’.”<br>
“HOLY…S?” Asuka looked back and forth from Urizane and Elian. Apparently they didn’t know anything either. “What’s HOLY-S?”<br>
“That’s what I’d like to know.” An unfamiliar voice cut through the air.

As the party turned to the darkened hall, they were met with an uncanny surprise. From the shadows emerged a man in a tattered uniform, barely recognizable, and emerald hair that fell in unkempt waves down his back. Lines formed on his hands and face, especially under his solid eyes.

“Ryuho!” Mimori cried, clutching her necklace. “My God! You’re really alive!” She rushed towards him, arms outstretched, but he halted her in her tracks with the open palm of his hand.

“I’m not here to reminisce,” He said, his voice deep and gruff. He seemed much older than what he really was. “I’m here for answers. And I figured that you’d have them.” His eyes pierced through Mimori like a wet, cold fog, slithering across the floor at a crawl.

She stared at him, his harsh words playing through her mind.

“Four years and that’s all you can say!?” Asuka’s voice brought her back to reality.

“Where I’ve been and what I have been doing has nothing to do with you.”<br>
“I’m sure it doesn’t.” Tachibana snorted.

“Whatever Tachibana,” Urizane said to the younger boy. “Let’s just find out what he wants so that he can get back to playing hero and we can solve this matter on our own.” Ryuho frowned. “We don’t need the likes of Kazuma or Ryuho to help us out.”<br>
“You would never understand,” Ryuho retorted, sourly.

“Try us!” Asuka shouted, teaming up with Urizane against Ryuho. “You break into my house just so that you can start dictating to us? I should’ve gotten a restraining order against you.”<br>
“You know all Hell has broken loose since you and Kazuma ran off.” Urizane hunched forward, watermelon in each hand. “The least you could’ve done was stay behind and stuck together like a team instead of wandering off and playing the rogue.”<br>
“What would you know!? Nothing! That’s what!”<br>
Elian and Mimori turned to look at each other, blinking.

“All right then, Ryuho. I guess with all this fighting, you don’t want any answers.” Elian shrugged. It was amazing. That was the first time Elian had stepped in between a fight.

Ryuho and the two men stopped bickering and turned to Mimori and Elian.

“I heard that a month ago the peace treaty between the Lost Ground and the Mainland was interrupted by terrorists who impersonated Kazuma and myself.” Ryuho said after a moment of silence.

“You heard correctly,” Asuka affirmed, nodding.

“So it was true, also, that the act was committed by the famous band of thieves who used to steal from HOLY as well?”<br>
“Yes.”<br>
“And HOLY is being reconstructed?”<br>
Everyone agreed.

“I see,” Ryuho bowed his head. “So then…This…HOLY-S…It’s all connected.”<br>
“So it would seem.” Mimori said. “It’s all being done under the financial care of Isaac Crane.”<br>
“Crane?” Ryuho’s brows lifted. “I have actually never heard of the man.”<br>
“Yeah, he just seemed to pop right out of the blue,” Urizane gestured to Mimori. “But according to what Miss Kiryu knows, there have been plenty of attacks on the new project. Four attacks by Native Alters and one by Inners.”<br>
“And?” Ryuho drug the word out, waiting for continuance.

“Supposedly, those same Native Alters have been seen working around the construction site.” The large man said.

“Under that same man?” Ryuho could hardly believe it.

“That’s right. No one knows why either. And the Inners were sent to the Mainland for trial, although everyone, including myself, think that it’s just some big cover-up that the Mainland is using.”<br>
“…I see,” Ryuho said, rubbing his chin. “This explains everything…”

“It explains NOTHING.” Asuka argued. “We’re just getting the basics. HOLY-S and Isaac Crane are no big secret. But the captured Native Alters and Inners are a different story. That’s all we know right now.”<br>
Ryuho stared at all of them. “Have you seen Kazuma yet?”<br>
“No,” Asuka frowned. “But like you, we’re expecting him to come along very shortly now.”<br>
“In that case, I won’t wait around to see him.” Ryuho said, stepping around the others and heading for the door.

“So I take it that you two haven’t kissed and made up yet.” Urizane folded his arms over his chest.

“We both have very different ideals. The only thing that it would result in is more arguing.” Ryuho pointed out. “Thanks for the information. I’ll take it from here.”<br>
“Wait, there’s one more thing you should know.” Tachibana halted the older man in his tracks. “This isn’t a direct result from the peace treaty loss that happened one month ago. The Mainland was already planning this. Since those robbers are back full force, I’d suggest that you keep an eye out for them.”<br>
“Why would I need to?”<br>
“They’ve captured Kanami.” And Asuka waited for Ryuho’s reaction.

“They’ve done what!?” Ryuho came away from the door and, instead, grabbed the collar of Asuka’s HOLY uniform, lifting him from the ground. “What did you just say they did!?”<br>
“Ryuho put him down!” Mimori ordered. “None of it was anyone’s fault. They impersonated you and Kazuma and you know how Kanami feels about Kazuma.”<br>
It all made sense now. “So they used it to their advantage and kidnapped her?” Ryuho hesitated. “Was it intentional?”<br>
“It didn’t seem to be,” She responded. “They seemed just as surprised as she. It wasn’t until later that Mr. Tachibana pointed out that it couldn’t have been either of you because of various reasons.”<br>
“And that was a month ago?” Ryuho’s eyes widened in realization. “And you still haven’t found her!? What if something horrible has happened to her!?”<br>
No one was prepared to answer such a question. They all turned their heads and said nothing. Mimori especially, who did not want to share her discovery.

“I don’t believe you!” Jerking his body in a rapid manner, Ryuho swung at Asuka, knocking him into the couch, and then at Urizane, who caught his flying fist in one hand.

“Chill,” Urizane said coolly, his eyes narrow and hard.

Asuka picked himself up from the ground, with help from Elian and Mimori, wiping the blood from his chin.

“Smooth shot,” Asuka scowled, but made no attempt to return the favor. “We’ve been working on it.”<br>
“There have been multiple robberies over the past month,” Ryuho jerked his fist from Urizane’s grasp. “How can you justify yourselves!?”

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

“That’s what I’d like to know.” Another unfamiliar voice.

“Dear Lord, NOW who is it!?” Asuka turned the knob and tore the door open, and a large body fell to the floor. “…Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle…”

The man coughed, trying to regain his senses from the fall, and looked up.

“Kazuma!” Came everyone’s response.

He looked as bad as Ryuho, his right eye sealed completely shut and lines all over his face and arms. His hair, refusing to return to the normal state that it was, stuck up wildly and a small patch of orange, indicating another change from the Alter usage, came over his eye.

“Guess everyone had the same idea,” Urizane looked from Ryuho to Kazuma. “Now my question is…why here?”<br>
“We figured the same? How quaint. Heh, heh, heh…” Kazuma grunted, sliding his feet underneath him, and stood up. “Well, I came here because I figured that you guys, being old associates of HOLY, would know what’s going on. Apparently the Mainland has stopped coming after this moron,” He gestured to Ryuho. “and myself.”<br>
“Just who are you calling a ‘moron’, Kazuma?” Ryuho asked bitterly.

“Enough!” Asuka broke in. “And obviously, since you were eavesdropping, you both heard the entire story.”<br>
“Not quite, Chief.” Kazuma shook his head. “What happened to Kanami? THAT’S a story I would like to hear.”<br>
“Besides what we said earlier, we know nothing,” Urizane explained. “In case you didn’t know, these are the same robbers that have been trying their hand since HOLY was around.”<br>
“So?” Kazuma shrugged, uninterested.

“So plenty! It means that we still haven’t found them yet, making them an intransigent form of enemy.”<br>
“Stubborn, huh?” Kazuma began to punch a balled fist into the palm of his hand. “Well we’ll see about that. I’m going to search all over the Lost Ground if I have to and find Kanami and then kick all of their butts.”<br>
“If you can,” Asuka snorted. “Well I don’t know about you guys, but I’m all ‘funned out’. This family reunion has really tired my brain. Cammy will be home soon anyway…”

“Cammy?” Ryuho inquired.

“His new bride.” Urizane explained and then turned over to Asuka, who was retreating to the bedroom. “Oh and ‘Chief’?”<br>
“What?” Asuka snarled.

Chuckling, Urizane said, “You may want to put some ice on those lips of yours. I doubt your wife would want to kiss a giant purple blowfish.”<br>
“Screw you.”<br>
---------------------------------

As it turned out, Kazuma and Ryuho reluctantly agreed to stay at Asuka’s house, much to Asuka’s protest (he had just really wanted for them to get a hotel room). The two rivals fought, bickered, and broke all of Asuka’s priceless items, but everything settled down towards the night.

Mimori wandered outside, notebook in hand. Tomorrow was the day that the Mainland would be sending another shipment to the Lost Ground. No doubt it was for Isaac Crane. But first was first. She would reason with the bandits, offer as much money as she had, anything she could, and bring the little girl home.

She was already aware of how her friends would react but she also knew how they liked to handle things. She was skeptical that the so-called ‘butt-kicking’ that Kazuma had mentioned earlier would get so much as a dime from them, much less Kanami. So she had already decided to go herself.

Mimori settled herself on the ground outside, flipping through the pocketbook. Her mind fluttered just as the pages did. He was back.

He was back.

She clutched her necklace out of habit.

Ryuho was back.

But for how long…she wasn’t entirely sure.

Still his words…They were so harsh…so cold…Just like they had been before. How she missed him! How she loved him. She was so happy that he had returned, even if it was not for her. But she…<br>
The disturbance of the land behind her silenced her thoughts. Her head spun to meet the silhouette of the same man that her dreams took her to.

“Ryuho,” She said, standing on her feet, still clad in her old HOLD uniform. “It’s late.”<br>
“I have one more question, Miss Kiryu,” He said.

“Mimori,” She corrected, then was instantly reminded of Cougar.

“Miss Minori…!”

Ryuho ignored her. “There’s more to this than everyone is sharing. You went to the HOLY Grounds today, didn’t you?”<br>
“Yes.”<br>
“What happened?”<br>
“We were refused admittance.” She explained.
“Everyone thought that it was odd, being that we were clad in the same uniform as everyone else, until I realized how they could tell us apart.”<br>
“The badge, right? HOLY-S?”<br>
“Exactly.”<br>
“Anything else?”<br>
“Well,” Mimori paused. “Elian said that he believed that someone followed us out of the HOLY Grounds, but he wasn’t sure. He said that there was a blockade preventing him from seeing into it.”<br>
“That’s strange,” Ryuho mused. “I wonder if there is more than meets the eye…? This Isaac Crane…the new HOLY Construction…and the Native Alter and Inner attacks as well. And you say that those people mysteriously vanished?”<br>
“The Inners did. As for the Native Alters, there have been rumors that they have joined hands with Isaac Crane. Elian told us earlier that he believed that they were under a trance.”<br>
“A…trance!?” Ryuho asked, startled. “Who could be strong enough to hypnotize all of the Native Alters!? They couldn’t have been refined or anything like that, right? Kazuma and I have been fighting the Mainland. There hasn’t been a single Native Alter lifted from the Lost Ground since we started, four years ago.”<br>
“No, the Native Alters stayed here. The Inners were the ones who were taken to the Mainland.”<br>
“That’s…incomprehensible… How on earth could they get off the Lost Ground without us knowing?” Ryuho said, and ran his fingers through his long emerald hair. “Why?”<br>
Mimori had no answers. But now she had questions.

“Ryuho, coming back here like you did…was it just to find answers?”<br>
He stared at her long and hard. “What do you mean?”<br>
“I mean, was it just to find out what was going on around here or was there an ulterior motive?” Then she said, hopefully, “Are you here to stay?”<br>
He snorted and turned his gaze away. “Don’t be naïve. Of course I can’t stay here. You’re asking me if I intend to abandon the hopes and dreams of the people living here.” Then, averting his dark eyes back to her, “My answer is no.”<br>
She felt her heart fall. “I see.”<br>
“I can’t live normally until our independence is won. That is what I’m fighting for. Do you understand?”<br>
Mimori nodded, her eyes crestfallen. “But I…we’re all…waiting for you to return…”

“Why do you wait for me?” He asked, almost irritably. “I would’ve hoped for you to move on now.”<br>
“How can you say that!?” She cried, the tears trailing down her cheeks, leaving a moist trail behind.

Then he shook his head. “A shadow of love is all you are chasing. Your feelings for me will remain unrequited.” Her eyes widened, his words building a barrier between himself and her. “I’m sorry Miss Kiryu.”<br>
Then he turned to walk back into the house. But Mimori would not be defeated. She seized his arm and pulled him back towards her.

“You told me that day that I was important to you! Did you lie?”<br>
His eyes did not change. “Of course you’re important to me. That’s why I can’t fall in love with you. If I did, you would become a target. You would die.”<br>
“That’s a chance I’m willing to take!” She argued.

“And a chance that I am not. Are you saying that you would rather be selfish than selfless?” She stopped crying long enough to catch a glimpse of a rare smile he gave her. “If anything were to happen to you, I wouldn’t be able to go on. And I wouldn’t be able to help anyone else in return. That is why I cannot stay here with you. I have seen too much death in my time, like Kazuma has, I’m sure. It’s the same reason he cannot stay with Kanami. Everyone who gets close to us ends up dying.”<br>
“That’s not…true…”

“Scheris, Cougar, Commander Zigmarl, my mother and father…How can you say that I’m lying?”<br>
“But…”

“If you really love me, you’ll let me go.” And then he turned to leave her in the dark.

---------------------------------

Wow. I’m sorry to all those Ryuho X Mimori fans ^^’. I should probably tell you now that I’m not a fan of that coupling, but I promise to try and keep everything in character…and uh…I hope that I kept everyone in character previously. Please let me know what you think though. I'm sure that some of the characters were out of character (like when Ryuho punched Asuka...randomly, but I dunno...I kinda thought that that was funny...), so I apologize about that.

Kat

[Asuka Was Here]

It was awesome ^_^ *pokes* write more please, when your schedule permits.

One thing I'd like to point out that, that seemed really weird, was thus line:

“So plenty! It means that we still haven’t found them yet, making them an intransigent form of enemy.”<br>
^Urizane (i think) says it to Kazuma, which is fine and all, but the weird thing is that Kazuma seems to understand it... and we all know that Kazuma's a total idiot. I really doubt he knows what "intransigent" means. Just a thought though. But overall it was really good; I can't wait to read more ^_^

~AB

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

Actually, I was thinking the same thing when I wrote it but then I remembered that it's four years later, so we'll pretend that Kazuma unwillingly was forced to sharpen up on his vocabulary. ;D There's always a solution to everything.

[rahwenn]

Awesome! pls write more soon. ;D

[Asuka Was Here]

Kat said:

Actually, I was thinking the same thing when I wrote it but then I remembered that it's four years later, so we'll pretend that Kazuma unwillingly was forced to sharpen up on his vocabulary. ;D There's always a solution to everything.

lol. cheater I don't think there's a force in the world that could make Kazuma learn anything, unless you somehow convinced him that it would help him beat Ryuhou up more efficiently (see p. 132 of Scryed manga for proof)... but we'll go with it I suppose, since you had a creative enough excuse prepared

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

That's right! Cheater I be! It's not the first time I've had to prepare that same excuse for one of my stories too. (It's because I like sounding intelligent, I guess, so I forget the normal reactions of chracters. Curses! ::Lightning strikes:

[Asuka Was Here]

Kat said:

That's right! Cheater I be! It's not the first time I've had to prepare that same excuse for one of my stories too. (It's because I like sounding intelligent, I guess, so I forget the normal reactions of chracters. Curses! ::Lightning strikes:

lol. I know what you mean by that - it is kinda hard to repalce your own wordings with someone else's... but at least you had an excuse, improbably as it may be... I'd have probably just said "oops! oh well!" and gone on with it (or changed it, if it was really bad)

[Kat Rhye Lee Dezaraye]

Aurora said:

lol. I know what you mean by that - it is kinda hard to repalce your own wordings with someone else's... but at least you had an excuse, improbably as it may be... I'd have probably just said "oops! oh well!" and gone on with it (or changed it, if it was really bad)

Absolutely! Excuses are my specialty! ;D

...Uh...not that I'm making that a good thing or anything.