ã€ŠParadox Fightersã€‹


 Paradox Fighters, Part 1

    Deep in the heart of the universe, a dark god lay dying. His evil energies leaked out from his cosmic mass, causing nightmares and corrupting youths across countless worlds. He knew that within the span of a few years, he would be dead entirely. He had no friends, no allies to call in his time of need. On the edge of a black hole, there was no chance of escaping. He was so far from any screams of agony, violence or bloodshed that may have warmed his spirit. But then, perhaps that was the answer. Even in death he possessed powers beyond most creatures'' imaginations. He had a plan.

    Alertness was one of Holly Short''s specialties. Other ones included martial arts, sharpshooting, flight and piloting, infiltration, and elf yoga, but alertness had saved her life on more than one occasion. Situational awareness and observation were imbedded deep in her subconscious from years of hard work in the Lower Elements Police Recon division, which often meant she noticed little changes from the norm in insignificant things. Usually it was just annoying. But even deep in her sleep, she had noticed something was amiss. It was quiet.

    The neighbor gnome was not watching the morning news. The teapot''s buzzer had not indicated that her chamomile-and-fungus tea was ready from when she set it the night before. In fact, the air smelled a little different. The sheets were a little too soft. I am no longer in my apartment, she thought. Someone''s kidnapped me.

    Holly made sure not to jump, or open her eyes suddenly, as any watchful guard posted over her would surely notice. She had to instead observe her environment more stealthily. She slowly opened her human eye (which she had become fond of opening first; it certainly served as an excellent discussion piece) until she could discern that there was no guard on her left side, which she was currently lying on. The room was a dull grey, and seemed to be constructed entirely of metal. On the left of the bed was a nightstand, about the same size and shape as the one she had in her apartment. In fact, the entire room seemed to have the same layout of her apartment. This is no ordinary kidnapping.

    Taking a chance, Holly bolted upright in her bed. There were no guards, or visible cameras. Straight across from her bed was a closet- just like her apartment. Even the bed was the same size as hers, though it was recreated in the same shade of drab grey as the metal the rest of the room was made of.

    "By my great-grandfather''s bottom," she cursed. "What kind of trick is this?"

    Abandoning the idea of a hostile kidnapping, she opened the closet to reveal it was filled with copies of her LEP uniform. Unlike the rest of the room, the uniforms did not seem to be so color-deficient. To the left of the closet the room split- behind the closet was the bath, but across from the bath was a small courtyard. This was most certainly not in Holly''s apartment. She tiptoed into the "courtyard", if it could even be called that. It was a room about two or three feet higher than the rest of the apartment. In the ceiling was what looked like a skylight, but no real sky was visible beyond- just white light. Below the skylight grew an oak tree, with the proportions of one a few hundred years old, but the size of an eight-year-old sapling. The odd tree sat in a gap in the metal floor filled with what looked like potting soil.

    Nothing about this place seems right. Or even natural, Holly concluded. The tree''s function, however, was obvious. An old tree like that was necessary for Holly to replenish her magic. Whoever brought her here wanted her to be using her magic, and with great frequency.

    Holly''s deep contemplation was cut short by a voice from seemingly nowhere.

    "Miss Short, please report to the Common Hall in twenty minutes."

    Holly spun in place, attempting to identify a source, but there were no signs even of concealed loudspeakers.

    I have a feeling I had better listen to them.

    Holly grabbed a uniform out of the closet, and dove into the shower, every second watching the water to make sure it was not suddenly acid, or lava. It never was. Everything in the bath was set up as it was in her apartment, which was simultaneously disconcerting and quite convenient. After getting out of the shower and slipping on her uniform, she approached what would be the front door of her apartment. A slow turn of the handle revealed that it was unlocked.

    I bet whatever is out there isn''t the Lower Elements at all.

    The elf swung open the door and was nearly knocked to the ground by a hulking man in olive-green power armor, advanced beyond any human system that Holly knew of.

    "D''arvit. I hate it when I''m right."

    The hallway- as grey and metal as everything else, it seemed- was filled with brutish-looking characters. Huge human men carrying far too many weapons, lithe ninjas and martial artists, magical creatures bursting with elemental energy, and beings clearly not of the earth Holly knew. They were all headed down the hallway, turning right at a corner at the end.

    Holly waited for an opening and briskly stepped into the flow of intimidating-looking characters. Her height made it a little difficult to see where she was going, but in a few moments the crowd began to part around her, and she found herself in a massive room. It was cold, grey metal- as per usual, but with a high vaulted ceiling. Utilitarian-looking tables and chairs were built into the floor, and already the warriors were beginning to congregate around them. It was certainly a spectacle to see them squabble over seats while discussing their various accomplishments on the field of battle.

    Out of the corner of her eye, Holly saw a table without wild gesticulations or explosive onomatopoeia. It was filled with human teenagers, who were discussing something quietly. Holly decided to investigate. She called forth the magic that ran through her veins and began the shield. Her body began to vibrate back and forth so rapidly that she became invisible to the naked eye. Thus cloaked, she crept toward the teenagers to listen to their discussion.

    The kids didn''t seem quite as intimidating as the adult fighters. They all seemed like fairly reasonable children for the most part; none of them donned huge battle armor or were wielding demonic swords. There were three boys and three girls. They were shooting ideas back and forth about how they had arrived at this place- a conversation Holly eagerly wanted some additional perspective on.

    "I think it was magic," said a boy wearing a red turtleneck and thick glasses. His hair was jet-black in contrast with his bright green eyes. He was mainland British, for sure. "Magic is the only thing that could explain the uniformity of this place, or how our rooms seem to be individually tailored to us."

    "Don''t you try and go on about your magic again, Harry," said one of the girls. She was easily the most intimidating-looking of the lot, wearing many tattoos and piercings. Her hair was blonde but had since been highlighted with black. She wore ripped jeans of the sort that were popular with humans- at least, whenever and wherever Holly was familiar with. "I think this is a simulation. An advanced computer program, messing with our brains."

    That accent. Holly knew she had heard it before. Chicagoan.

    "But I thought you were some all-powerful Divergent or something, or am I mistaken?" called the boy wearing a crisp blue military uniform. His hair was less organized, a curly brown mess. He leaned back in his chair nonchalantly, keenly listening to the discussion without giving the impression he was. "You claim you can modify a simulation that interfaces with the mind directly. Prove to us that it is one."

    The girl looked down at the table, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply. She opened them again. "Aw, crap."

    "Relax, Tris. Just because the table didn''t become a fruitcake, doesn''t mean it''s not a simulation. It may just work on a frequency different than what you''re used to, or it may not be interfacing with our brains directly."

    The girl nodded, but quickly did a double-take. "Wait, Amuro. How did you know I was thinking of a fruitcake?"

    "Lucky guess?" he chuckled. Changing the subject, he addressed the other boy. "What''s your opinion, Shinji?"

    Shinji was resting his head on his folded arms on the table. He wore a simple white button-up shirt, and black slacks. The other children''s getups at least partially indicated their origins- Amuro clearly served in the military at some point, Tris might be a gang member or street fighter. Harry went to a boarding school that taught some sort of awareness of magic. Shinji was clearly a Japanese schoolboy, but what fighting skills that would grant him were unclear.

    "Well, I don''t think it has to be either magic or technology. There are some things out there you just can''t explain. Like aliens."

    This caused Tris, Harry and Amuro to burst out laughing.

    "Aliens? Really?" howled Amuro.

    "Next thing you''ll tell me is that Sasquatch is real," said Tris.

    "But he is real," said Harry.

    Coming down from their giggle fit, Amuro questioned the next child.

    "Okay, you''re Mikasa, right? What do you think?"

    Mikasa was a slight, but athletically built girl with short, black hair. She wore a different uniform, one with a short khaki jacket emblazoned with a large coat of arms. Underneath was some sort of white shirt and white pants, all covered in myriad belts and straps. What they were for, Holly could only guess. She also wore a red scarf around her neck, which served to cover the bottom half of her face.

    She did not respond to Amuro, but merely gave him a stern, cold look.

    Amuro prepared to ask the last girl for her thoughts when he realized she was busy crying. Her head was cradled in her hands.

    "Um, are you all right?" asked Amuro.

    "Don''t you see?" said the girl feebly between sobs. "It never ends! Here it is again, after all I did, all those lives! All for nothing!"

    The girl wore a brown leather jacket and pants, clearly home-sewn. Her brown hair was delicately braided and hung over her right shoulder.

    "What never ends?" asked Amuro carefully.

    "The Games," replied the crying girl. "I¡­ we¡­ got rid of them! But then this! And I''m just a kid again, and this place¡­" she broke off to continue sobbing.

    Holly knew that the time for subtlety had ended. She un-shielded and rushed to the girl''s side. The other kids jumped up, caught unaware by the sudden appearance of the elf.

    "What the hell is that thing?" questioned Tris.

    "An alien," replied Holly sardonically, crouching next to the girl. "Hey," she said softly. "It''ll be okay."

    "I always thought aliens would look a little different," said Amuro.

    "Less like a house-elf," commented Harry.

    The crying girl stopped crying for a moment. "Who¡­ what are you?"

    Holly took a step back to address the whole table.

    "I''m Captain Holly Short of the Lower Elements Police Recon division. I am an elf-"

    "So could you make me a sandwich?" said Harry.

    "No," said Holly.

    "House-elves are better," Harry concluded.

    Holly shook her head and continued. "And according to my regulations, you''re all under arrest."

    "You can''t do that!" cried Shinji.

    "Gods. You kids wouldn''t know sarcasm if it hit you in the face."

    "Does that mean you will make me a sandwich?" asked Harry.

    Holly sighed and turned back to the crying girl. "Okay, you know me. Now what''s your name?"

    "I''m Katniss. Katniss Everdeen," she said quietly.

    "Nice to meet you, Katniss." Holly extended her hand and the girl took it, shaking it carefully, like it was something delicate. To be fair, Holly''s hands were almost half the size of hers.

    "Ahem."

    The voice came from the back of the massive room, where the warriors directed their attention. A kingly figure sat atop a throne, which rose high above the floor. Holly was fairly certain it was not there before. The man wore bright yellow robes and donned a crown, but Holly was unable to make out his features. Perhaps it''s the distance.

    "Welcome, one and all, to the Nexus. I am the Master of Games," said the man in yellow.

    "I knew it," hissed Katniss, who began to weep again.

    "I have gathered you here from many universes and dimensions. You are the most fearsome warriors from your worlds. You are here to engage in the Grand Combat, a contest of my own invention. It will be a test of your strength, speed, skill, and intelligence."

    "How will you test that?" whispered Katniss.

    The Master of Games stood at his throne and looked towards the girl, instantly picking her out in the crowd of thousands.

    "Excuse me?"

    "How will you test that?" she said, louder.

    "With battles to the death."

    Katniss threw herself on the ground, wailing. Holly stooped beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

    "I''m sure you''ll make it out fine."

    Holly rose and found herself face-to-face with the Master of Games. Shockingly, his face really was blurry-looking.

    "The overall winner of the Grand Combat," he continued, without acknowledging his sudden movement, "will be given the ability to recreate their universe as they see fit."

    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    His face gave the impression that he looked at Katniss, then at Holly.

    "You two will be our first combatants. Everyone is dismissed. The battle will begin in forty-five minutes."

    The warriors throughout the room murmured softly and began to head down the hallway toward the rooms they had come from. The Master of Games seemed to have vanished, and soon all that remained in the room was the circle of teenagers and Holly. Katniss still lay on the floor in front of them, but she was quiet now. Perhaps thinking things over, perhaps worn out from all of her crying. Perhaps unconscious from stress. The kids looked at Holly accusingly.

    "Hey!" she shouted. "I don''t want to do this any more than you do!" They didn''t seem to change their opinion on the situation. Holly shrugged and turned back, heading for her room. When she arrived at the hallway, she got her first clear glance down the hallway. The doors on either side seemed to go on forever- but at the end of the hallway, there was another door.

    The door didn''t seem unusual- at least, it looked like the other doors. But Holly couldn''t stop looking at it. She took a step toward it. Then another. Then another. When she finally pried her eyes off of it, she realized that she was at the end of the hallway- the door was right in front of her.

    This just keeps getting weirder.

    She looked around to make sure no one was watching, but the hallway was empty. She turned the door''s handle, opened it a crack, and slipped inside.

    The room was totally dark. Holly knew that fairies often had better night vision, due to them being used to low light underground, but she still could not make out her hand in front of her face. A gentle breeze flowed through the room.

    "Uh¡­ Hello?" Holly called.

    There was a deep sound in response, something that sounded like an underwater explosion, violent but muffled. Holly stepped backward to find the door, only it seemed to have disappeared. The sound got louder, and the breeze began to pick up. Soon other sounds began to join in, inhuman screams, animals roaring. Thunder rolling and the screech of sharpened steel on steel. The volume continued to rise. Holly fell onto her hands, only to feel them sink into some sort of liquid. She tried to back out but instead fell in, tumbling through some black abyss. The sounds continued to assault her, and she began to notice a pattern to the noise. It would start and stop, change in pitch and tone.

    It was a voice.

    "HOLLY SHORT. DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU ARE HERE?"

    Holly began to open her mouth to respond, but she realized that whatever she was floating in would end up flooding in and drowning her. She remained silent.

    "ANSWER ME."

    Holly spoke, and felt the words bubble out of her throat.

    "No!"

    "BECAUSE YOU NEED TO KNOW."

    The voice was so terrible it made Holly want to throw up. It was loud enough that her ears were bleeding, the magic that attempted to heal them getting lost in the abyss.

    "THE LORD OF RIDDLES WATCHES. HE DREAMS AS WELL, DREAMS OF LIFE. YOUR CONFLICT WILL FEED HIM."

    Holly was having trouble making sense of anything, but the circumstances were certainly not helping.

    "HATE IS WHAT HE HUNGERS FOR. STARVE HIM."

    "Who¡­ are you?"

    "I AM THE HUNTER IN THE DEEP. THE BLACK ON THE DREAMS OF THE WORLD. YOU CANNOT KNOW ME, BUT YOU CAN KNOW MY POWER."

    Suddenly, Holly was in the sick bay of a fairy submarine, her dying mother in her arms. The old elf turned to Holly, blood pouring from her nose, and from her mouth as she opened it. She began to say something.

    "Ph''nglui mglw''nafh Cthulhu R''lyeh wgah''nagl fhtagn!"

    Holly awoke in the grey metal room. She heard the alien words echo off the walls. It wasn''t my mother speaking. She was lying on the bed, and as she rose to hold her aching head, the more pleasant voice from earlier addressed her.

    "The battle begins in five minutes, Miss Short. Open your door to the prep room when you are ready."

    The elf stumbled off the bed and opened the door, which now revealed a smaller white room. It took Holly a few moments to register that the hallway was no longer there.

    Oh. I get it.

    The room seemed blank- a small table in the center was its only furnishing. On it sat a LEPrecon standard helmet, her Neutrino 3000 blaster, and a set of mechanical wings. She locked her blaster in its holster, swung the wings over her shoulder, and clasped the helmet under her chin.

    "Now what?" she questioned, figuring the powers that be were listening.

    On the other side of the table, the wall slid open to reveal a lush jungle. Wind moved the leaves on the trees, and birds chirped in the distance. It seemed real enough.

    I''m ready to fight. But am I ready to kill? Especially someone who hasn''t given me any reason to?

    Holly stepped into the jungle, the doors sliding closed behind her. She reached back, finding nothing but air- the rooms she had walked through had disappeared.

    Funky.

    She began to walk through the jungle, which was beginning to seem less and less realistic. For example, the floor of the jungle was quite level. There even seemed to be a gap in the trees for quite some distance that led straight ahead from where Holly had started. Walking was nice, but flying was faster. Holly fired up her mechanical wings and shot up through a break in the dense canopy. As she hovered above the trees, she noticed another unusual feature of the jungle. There seemed to be a single, large circular clearing in the center, which was clearly where Holly and Katniss were supposed to fight.

    With my wings, I''ll make it there first.

    Holly revved up the wings and flew towards the clearing. She hovered above the space for a moment, using her helmet''s sensors to scan for any signs of Katniss.

    Nothing on the motion tracker. Nothing on the thermal. I''ve beaten her here.

    Holly powered down the wings and executed a clean three-point landing. She drew her Neutrino and knelt down to wait. Wind rustled the leaves softly. It was calm.

    If only I could avoid this somehow. That poor girl doesn''t stand a chance.

    Holly felt something softly push against her back. Suddenly, warnings appeared all over her helmet''s visor.

    Critical wing failure? How?

    Holly reached back to check them and found something stuck in the left wing oscillator. She pulled it out and held it in front of her to investigate.

    An arrow?

    Holly caught a glimpse of movement in front of her, and instinctively looked up. She was suddenly knocked onto her back. Shattered plastic from her helmet''s visor rained down on her from the sky. Blood began to trickle into the vision of her right eye. She reached for her face and found another arrow lodged in the helmet- it had punctured only far enough to knick her eyelid, but any further would have taken the eye. Holly tore the arrow out and tossed the broken helmet aside, readying her Neutrino.

    "D''Arvit!" she cursed, searching frantically for a target. A whistling sound closed in on her left- Holly ducked backward and saw the arrow fly past in front of her.

    "What is this, the Stone Age?"

    She rose and charged in the direction of the last arrow, towards the trees flanking the clearing on her left. Holly arrived at one of the larger trees and placed her back against it to prevent an ambush. Her eyes scanned for a trace of the girl among the trees, but she saw nothing. Suddenly, movement above her- the girl had leapt from the top of the tree. She rolled and was quickly on her feet, charging at the elf. Katniss let out a feral scream and pulled her left arm back to strike.

    Holly dodged her left fist, but her right hand was clenched around a heavy-duty knife, which ripped a deep gash through the elf''s cheek. Holly ducked to the left and swept her leg under the girl, who toppled. Holly raised a hand to her cheek and magic crackled out, sealing the wound.

    Katniss got up, this time sliding her bow into her hand. "What are you?"

    "I told you," said Holly. "An alien."

    The girl threw a jab with her bow, which Holly dodged around again. For a moment, Holly caught a glimpse of Katniss'' frenzied eyes. A quick double-thumb strike to the human''s temples stunned her for just long enough for Holly to pull away to a better fighting stance. Holly unleashed a multitude of punches on the girl''s side, and began to close in for another set of strikes when a heavy boot connected with her stomach. Holly reeled backward.

    Katniss began to advance toward the shaken elf slowly, clutching her side. "Can''t¡­ lose," she growled. Holly shook herself out of her stupor and wound up for a punch, releasing her small fist with inhuman velocity. Shockingly, it landed in Katniss'' palm. Holly felt a little fear as the human''s hands closed over her fist and arm. With a grunt, Katniss hurled the lightweight elf over her shoulder, sending her sprawling in the grass.

    She didn''t look that strong. How is she this good of a fighter?

    Holly saw the glint of sharpened steel cut through the air and rolled to the side in time to watch the knife dig deep into the earth, and not her head. Katniss'' hand clamped down on Holly''s neck, the girl pinning the elf with her body. She raised a fist to strike.

    "Hold still. I want to finish this quickly." Katniss hissed, tears welling in her eyes.

    "Don''t we both?" Holly replied, her hand finding its way to the holstered Neutrino.

    "You don''t understand," she began to sob. "I''ve done this before. The Hunger Games. They were gone. Now it''s the same thing, different name, different people. I have to win. I have to fix it again."

    "Is that so?" said Holly, who whipped her Neutrino''s barrel squarely into the middle of Katniss'' forehead. A low-power shot flung the girl backwards, reeling and half-stunned. Holly rose and kicked her in the ribs, knocking her back down. The elf leveled her Neutrino at the fallen girl, raising its setting to full power.

    "I¡­ I can''t lose now¡­" croaked the girl. "Not when so many have died. It was supposed to be over." Holly held her finger over the trigger. I can''t do it. I can''t just kill anyone, especially not someone so helpless. She lowered her blaster.

    "Well done, Miss Short. Now, execute your opponent." It was the Master of Games'' voice, calling from the sky.

    Holly turned from the fallen Katniss. "I''m pretty sure we''re mutually opposed to the idea," she said, tossing aside her Neutrino. Katniss slipped her quiver off and dropped her bow.

    "You¡­ won''t¡­" she stammered.

    "No. You were afraid, and I don''t blame you. That was clearly the big man''s goal. I don''t believe he has our best interests in mind."

    "You know, I have the feeling we''re going to get along," said the girl.

    Holly was going to respond when she felt her feet begin to sink. She looked down and saw them begin to disappear into the ground.

    "What in Frond''s name?" she gasped as the ground rose to her hips. Katniss was sinking as well.

    Holly attempted to escape, but her feet seemed locked in place. She tried to hold herself up with her hands, but they slipped under as well. Soon the ground was at her chest, then her neck, then her nose, then nothing.

    Holly opened her eyes. She and Katniss stood side-by-side in the main hall. The other warriors were gathered around them. The teenagers were there too- and their expressions seemed a little more welcoming. The Master of Games, on the other hand, did not appear to be pleased. He stormed off of his throne and stopped before the two, seething with rage.

    "What part of ''Battle to the Death'' don''t you understand?"

    "We understand all of it," hissed Katniss. "But we''re not going to do it."

    Holly offered a suggestion. "Perhaps you could change the parameters. Maybe we could play a game of crunchball."

    "Preposterous. You must fight."

    "How about no one dies, then?" asked Amuro from the crowd. "I''ve talked to quite a few of your prestigious combatants. A lot of them died before coming here- and I''m one of them," This got quite a few looks from the crowd and certainly stirred up more murmuring. "And I don''t think we''d like to go through it again."

    There was a generally agreeable mumbling from the multitude of fighters. The Master of Games looked a little flustered.

    "For now, all combatants will be dismissed to their rooms. There will be a ten-hour recess in the competition while I attend to..." He gave a poisonous glance toward Holly and Katniss. "¡­ complications."

    That can''t be good, thought Holly as she began to slink back toward her room. Though pretty much everything I''ve encountered so far can''t really be defined as ''good''. Especially that thing in the dark room.

    She arrived at her door and stumbled through to collapse on her bed. She had a lot to think about. And as she found out, a lot to dream about¡­

 Paradox Fighters, Part 2-1

    PREVIOUSLY, IN PARADOX FIGHTERS: The greatest warriors from across many universes have been assembled for a Grand Combat. The contestants wake in a mysterious facility, knowing nothing about how they got there. The mysterious Master of Games explains that they must engage in mortal combat to determine the champion. Police elf Holly Short and Hunger Games Tribute Katniss Everdeen square off in the first round. When it appears that Holly will win, she spares the girl, causing the Master of Games to call off the tournament temporarily.

    The common hall was set for breakfast, and everywhere the little cliques the warriors had formed were chattering amongst themselves. Friendships had been formed, and the contestants were glad that they wouldn''t have to be shattered by bloodshed. Most everyone was in a good mood- that is, except the perpetually melancholy Katniss.

    She had decided that it was never going to be safe-any of it. It was all too much like the Games, after all. The sparse gray walls were like the training rooms and the food was all too reminiscent of the decadent Capitol stuff. Katniss never thought she would take good food for granted, but she wanted to distance herself from those times so much that the mere sight of a dinner roll made her queasy. Another upsetting thing was the contestants'' bizarre physical state. Before this awful festival of everything that was what she hated began, Katniss was a mother, living in a free Panem, and writing a book with her husband. She woke up in this wretched place a teenager, panicked and vulnerable. She overheard conversations among the other contestants that confirmed this- quite a few recalled dying before being brought here. The Master of Games (Katniss didn''t like to say or think about the name, it reminded her too much of Gamemaker.) had put them in the bodies they had in their fighting prime. It was sick.

    So Katniss sat alone at her table, cradling her head in her hands and trying to stay awake. She hadn''t gotten any sleep last night on the account of cruel nightmares, and as a result was in a foul mood. Through heavy eyelids she spotted Holly Short, the elf who spared her yesterday. How ironic, Katniss thought. She makes a better Mockingjay than me. She tried to not beat herself up too much. Yesterday she had been so consumed by fear that she had become a senseless animal. She had an excuse. Today, she promised, I will be sociable. Katniss gestured for Holly to join her at her table and the elf complied, bringing a new companion.

    "Well. You look like you slept well."

    The elf''s sarcasm was as sharp as a knife under the ribs.

    "You''re so funny, Holly. Who''s the muscle?"

    "Muscle" was an understatement on Katniss'' part. The man who had been talking with Holly earlier and had come to the table with her was a wall of rusted armor and sinew. He wore a vicious-looking helmet with cruelly curved horns and possessed an unruly beard and haircut.

    "Honestly, I still don''t know his name," Holly replied while leaning over to Katniss and adding under her breath, "he''s a bit odd."

    The man chuckled lightly and answered in a deep, soft voice.

    "I told you before, Guardslady Short. My name has been lost to the ages. What will remain always is my title- Dovahkiin." He sat there for a moment, appearing to wait for a response. Katniss and Holly both waited for explanation.

    "It means Dragon-born. I possess a dragon''s soul," he attempted to explain, but still going far over Katniss''s head. Holly made the most of the situation.

    "Then shouldn''t you give it back to him?" Holly said with a smirk. Katniss managed to snicker a little at that one. The Dovahkiin, however, did not seem as entertained.

    "The mer''s humor is lost on me. But you, child- what is your title?"

    "Well¡­ people called me the Mockingjay. I was a figurehead of a rebellion. You can call me Katniss, though."

    The Dovahkiin nodded.

    "Rebelling against the oppressor is an honorable deed. You have marked a place for yourself in the story-halls as a lady of valor and virtue." Katniss nodded and gave a look that to the Dovahkiin showed gratitude and to Holly showed that she had no idea what he just said.

    A tall man in gray robes entered the common hall. The Dovahkiin stood up and began to leave.

    "I am sorry for the interruption, but yonder mage has summoned me. He requests an audience with a select few, and I have the pleasure to be one of them. Have a good day." The armor-clad man strode away.

    "It takes all kinds," oiled Katniss. "Some crazier than others. How did you get to talking to that pincushion?"

    "He came up to me as I was eating," whispered Holly. "Honestly, I think he was checking me out."

    "So what do you think of him?"

    "Oh, I¡­ I''m kind of¡­ committed already. He''s not my type, either."

    "I would think your type would be a little less tall."

    "Oh, you''re a riot. What about you, though? Do you have a special someone?"

    "I''m married."

    Holly was a little alarmed at first, but then caught on.

    "Of course! If the dead fighters were brought back, then the living ones must have been returned to their fighting primes, while retaining the memories of their lives!"

    "Yeah, that. Anyway- what do you think about the tournament''s hiatus?"

    "It won''t last a day," Holly said confidently, until she realized that she had just implied there would be more chances for Katniss to get hurt, or worse. "Or maybe it will!" Holly corrected herself. "Whatever the case, we girls, we''ll stick together, right?"

    "That''s what they say at first," grunted Katniss, feeling hurt.

    Holly was going to apologize when the Master of Games, who had a knack for interrupting things, whirled into his throne on the far side of the room.

    "Good day to you, my fine warriors! I hope you find your breakfast enjoyable!"

    There were a few pleased murmurs from the contestants, but Katniss made a point to boo loudly.

    "I would like to comment on my decision from yesterday," he carried on. "For my tournament to continue in a valid fashion, physical combat is necessary."

    Katniss felt a weight in the pit of her stomach.

    "However, I''ve decided that our next few challenges will not be trials of mortal combat. Instead, I have set up a few objectives for you to complete. Your performance will be judged by some new guests."

    The Master of Games rose from his throne and clapped twice, causing the room behind him to double in size. Two massive structures rose from the ground, and one descended from the ceiling. Lights flickered on around these structures and they began to hum softly.

    "I''ll let them introduce themselves."

    Katniss nudged Holly gently.

    "What are those?"

    "Supercomputers, it looks like. Be quiet."

    The first of the computers, situated on the far left of the Master, spoke first in a reasonable human voice.

    "Hello. I am the great computer Deep Thought. I would like to congratulate Miss Everdeen and Miss Short on resolving the conflict yesterday without anyone being killed."

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Katniss found it odd to be complimented by a machine, but Holly seemed to be soaking it in.

    The second computer, which had descended from the ceiling, cut in.

    "Well, isn''t that nice. Another example of humans not being able to finish something."

    Katniss didn''t like this computer''s voice. It was always shifting pitches and seemed cold.

    "If I was in that elf''s place, I would have shoved a large chunk of limestone in the girl''s frontal lobe while I had the chance. But I''m getting off topic. I am a Genetic Life-form and Disk Operating System. GLaDOS, so you stupid humans won''t forget halfway through saying it."

    The Master attempted to do damage control.

    "Well, uhm, she can be a little strongly-opinioned, can''t she? Ha ha! Now, for our last new guest!"

    The final computer began an eerie monotone.

    "Thank you, Master. I am a HAL 9000 supercomputer, the ultimate in processing power and reliability. I would like to remind the contestants that our calculations will be done in the most efficient matter possible, no matter what. I will let the Master of Games introduce today''s challenge."

    The Master clapped again and the computers disappeared.

    "Now, on to today''s challenge. Since you all like making friends so much," A laser-like glare was directed at Holly and Katniss. "Today you will be participating in a team exercise. Three teams will compete in an urban environment to achieve three goals to the best of your abilities. Each team has one token- for your team to win, you must collect all three. You must also locate a cache of weapons specifically for your team. Finally, you must incapacitate as many members of the other teams as possible. Killing blows are¡­ optional."

    Various murmurs rose from the crowd. The Dovahkiin stepped out of the rabble briefly.

    "Guardslady Short?"

    "Take it easy, Dragon-born."

    "There''s no need to assume. I wanted to tell you that I have unfortunately been recruited to another team. I''m so sorry, milady," he said, kissing Holly''s hand goodbye.

    Katniss managed to chuckle a little at this.

    "Shut up, you. This isn''t funny. It''s disturbing."

    "Gosh. This is one of the morbid moments in my life, you know, and then something like this happens that''s completely out of place."

    "You''re never going to let me live this down, are you?"

    "Not at all."

    Holly looked around. Perhaps they should find other warriors to fill out their ranks. She didn''t have to wait long, as the uniformed boy from yesterday budged his way into their midst. He gave a stern look at Holly.

    "The ''alien'' joke yesterday? Wasn''t funny," he stated, as if his opinion applied to everyone who ever lived.

    "But you two proved that you''re decent people, once you get past the irreverence," He nodded at Holly, "and bursts of psychotic self-defense," He gestured toward Katniss.

    "Thanks. You make me feel like a million bucks," said Holly dryly.

    "You two know that your team needs a pilot, and-"

    "You''re right. Have you seen any?" Katniss was surprised Holly could be so glib at a time like this.

    Amuro was infuriated at this point.

    "So I come over here, volunteering to help you, and this is what I get?"

    "Don''t worry. You''re in," Katniss spoke up. "But let me give you a warning: volunteering isn''t all it''s cracked up to be."

    Amuro stood there, a little dazed. Holly leaned over and whispered, "She''s different."

    Warriors were quickly being assimilated into teams. Holly noticed a team forming around that gray-robed Mud Man, and another team being assembled by a huge man in olive-green power armor. There were only a few contestants left. One of them was a samurai, clad in black and leaning against the wall. Holly nudged Katniss.

    "Go see if you can convince him to join us," she whispered.

    "Why me? I''m no people person."

    "He''s probably never seen a fairy before. He''ll understand a human girl."

    Katniss shuffled over to the man, who appeared to be asleep.

    "Um, excuse me," she said feebly.

    The man opened his one eye.

    "What is it?"

    "I was wondering if you would like to join our team."

    "A poor little team wants a great warrior king to join their sad ranks."

    "You didn''t have to be so mean about it."

    "My apologies. That was a poem- some of the adjectives were necessary."

    "What kind of poem doesn''t rhyme?"

    "A decent one. Now, does your team need help or not?"

    "Yes, we do. And maybe I can promise no one will question your taste in poetry, either."

    "Then the blade of Date Masamune is on your side."

    As Katniss and Date walked back to the rest of the group, she noticed that Holly had also picked up a new member while she was away. The bearded man stood with a look of supreme confidence, as if he was completely sure of how everything in the world worked.

    Holly was positively bubbling with excitement.

    "Do you know who this is?"

    "No. Why would I?"

    "He''s one of the finest practitioners of martial arts in the world! And not a half bad actor, either!"

    "I don''t even know if we had martial arts in Panem. I guess the Games kind of count." The thought of those times made her sick, and now there wasn''t any comfort that it was all gone. This Grand Combat could be a bloodbath by the time it was done. And that Master of Games did seem to be enjoying it. Who was he anyway? Her head was spinning.

    "Whoa, there. Never seen a girl get so sick so fast." The man put his arms out to steady her.

    "I¡­ I just don''t want to¡­ to¡­"

    "Ssssh, sssh. It''s alright. We''ll figure a way out of this mess. For now, my name''s Mr. Chuck, okay?"

    "I mean, come on, Katniss! Chuck¡­ aw, you probably wouldn''t know him. Still, is that great or what?" said Holly eagerly.

    Katniss merely raised her eyes to meet Holly''s. She had seen her fair share of unfair things, but Holly realized she could never grasp the inhumanity Katniss had lived through. Every day, Holly could say that her life was her own. Katniss had never been so lucky.

    I need to learn more. If I''m going to be her friend through this, I need to be able to relate. Holly considered when it would be a good time for hearing Katniss'' life story.

    "Sorry. Sensitive subject. I''ll try¡­ to be more thoughtful next time." Holly needed to keep her boisterous nature in check. Not all of the warriors were brutes.

    The Master of Games cleared his throat.

    "Ahem. You are all dismissed to your rooms. In one hour, you will be called into the prep rooms with your team. Happy hunting," He noticed the disheveled Katniss Everdeen. A thought of revenge about being showed up yesterday crossed his mind. He stared directly at her and added one last farewell.

    "And may the odds be ever in your favor."

    Katniss hadn''t touched her breakfast, but it didn''t stop her from finding something to wretch all over the cold floor.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 2-2

    The Nord sang a little prayer to Mara as he splashed water on his face. I must look my finest, he thought, smiling, because that mer is stubborn. But what a gift from the Divines! A woman of integrity and honor, and ravishing as well!

    His room was fairly large, consisting of not only a bed and a closet for clothes, but also a mannequin for storing his armor and several small shrines. He moved away from the basin of fresh water in the corner and to a shrine shaped vaguely like a sword planted in the ground.

    "Great and mighty Talos," he prayed earnestly, "let my Thu''um be strong, my feet swift, and my sword sharp."

    He sat on the bed and waited for the call. It didn''t take long.

    "Dovahkiin," stated the characterless voice. "You may now exit through your door. It will lead to the prep room with your team."

    The Dragonborn rose, and, taking his helmet, he walked through the door. The prep room was incredibly wide, and down its length were various piles and racks of equipment that belonged to the other members of his team, who were also emerging. He put on his horned helm, iron bracers, boots, and tunic. He noticed that there were no weapons, but realized that those must be at the cache that the Master of Games mentioned. It didn''t matter, for the Dovahkiin was as well-armed with his voice as he was with any sword. He walked down the wide room toward the mage who requested that he join.

    "Aah, yes. The Dragon-Born, if I''m not mistaken," The old man said and puffed on a pipe.

    "It is as you say, great mage. You said that you would explain the true purpose of this Grand Combat."

    Another of the team members approached. The thin man wore an elaborate white robe with a hood pointed like the mouth of a dragon.

    "S¨ª, Signore Gandalf. You had better make this worth our time and allegiances."

    The wizard surveyed the other warriors. The Spartan king Leonidas heeded his call, and the magical and mouse-like Pikachu had found Gandalf trustworthy.

    "Now that you''re all here, I can explain. It doesn''t take much to realize that our presence here is no technological occurrence. Such transport across dimensions and planes of existence is only capable through the highest kind of supernatural power."

    The hooded man caught on.

    "So, this is all the work¡­ of a god?"

    "Correct, Ezio. And not a particularly benevolent one either. Most of our universes have pantheons of some sort. There are all of your basic representative deities; the sky, the sea, the earth, and so on. But a consistency through all of these are taboo and bizarre deities. Corrupt, unearthly, and ancient, these elder gods are not found in most pantheons. They are worshipped by outsiders. Cults, the insane, and the like. Their feuds for power are particularly bitter. We are in the midst of one."

    The warriors nodded, and Gandalf continued.

    "The Great Old One Cthulhu and his brother, Hastur, have been fighting each other since the day their tendrils sensed the other''s presence. Cthulhu, the smarter and weaker of the two managed to just about kill his brother off. Hastur is a being of pure malevolence, so logically the very presence of strife makes him stronger. It is my belief that, with whatever strength he had left, Hastur summoned us here to battle so that we will heal him."

    "And how should we respond to this? We cannot avoid combat," the Dovahkiin questioned.

    "My best answer is to feel as little hate toward your opponent as possible. It may not help much, but it may be the least we can do." Gandalf said with an air of despair.

    The Dovahkiin''s thoughts turned at once toward the lovely Miss Short. Surely, that would be one opponent he couldn''t bring himself to hate. The doors of the prep room unlocked, and the team filed through onto the most bizarre skyline the Nord had ever seen. The sun was setting behind a mess of massive buildings.

    "Is this¡­ a city of the Divines?"

    "Perhaps," the wise mage figured.

    "What is our plan of battle? We should have made some decision before the sun sets," queried Leonidas, the resident tactician.

    Ezio stared at the long road in front of them that led into the heart of the city.

    "For now, we walk."

    ***

    Every step was a nightmare. That little slab of sidewalk, would it give way to a bottomless pit? Could that streetlamp find a clever way to impale her? Katniss couldn''t help but thinking of the awful slog through the streets of the Capitol. Every block at the cost of another life, any progress made balanced by bloodshed.

    "Katniss, you okay?"

    The voice of Amuro snapped her into reality, and narrowly stopped her from running into a stop sign.

    "Oh! I¡­ no. No. I''m not okay."

    The boy seemed a little off-put by her response.

    "Well, I guess you have your reasons. We all do, don''t we?"

    "Shut up back there," hissed Holly. She was leading the little file of warriors, with the adolescents behind her and Date and Chuck at the rear. They all felt a bit more vulnerable without their favorite weapons. Holly, Amuro, Chuck, and Date had no weapons at all. Katniss had only the knife that had seen her through the Seventy-Fourth Games, and had it in a white- knuckle grip since they had begun travelling. That knife wasn''t enough. She had to get a bow. For so long, a bow was sustenance, companionship, protection. It was empowerment in a bleak world. Being in harm''s way without one made her feel naked.

    "How are we going to find the weapons cache?" Katniss whispered, hoping for simple directions to her bow.

    "Do I look like I know any more than you? By Frond," the elf sighed.

    "Now keep it down. We don''t want to get caught unprepared." Holly brought them to a stop at an intersection. The whole city was empty and silent. She really hoped that there wouldn''t be a sudden sound of footsteps that weren''t theirs- there wasn''t. Good. We''re in the clear.

    Something hit Holly''s head, prompting her to draw her Neutrino- which wasn''t there. Date stooped to the ground and picked up the object responsible. It was a wad of paper, weighted with something inside. He opened up the paper and handed the contents to Katniss. A Mockingjay pin. Our token. Figures. She threaded it into her jacket.

    "Well, we''ve got our team''s token. Those directions?" Holly inquired of the samurai.

    "Yes. Unfortunately, it appears to be in a riddle."

    "Always a catch, isn''t there?"

    "''Within knowledge, strength''."

    "Knowledge. Like¡­ a library." Mr. Chuck reasoned.

    "Well, that''s not going to fly. I think I''ve got books I haven''t returned in months," said Holly, leaving a pause. No one laughed.

    "You''re no fun."

    The team set off toward the setting sun, keeping an eye out for libraries. They continued until the last few rays of sunlight licked the tallest of the buildings. Still nothing.

    "Should we set up camp, or something?" Amuro suggested.

    Katniss concurred. "Sounds like a plan to me." The team found what appeared to be a coffee shop and scuttled inside. Chuck began to fire up one of the espresso machines. Holly found an incredibly tacky couch to kick back on, the warrior Masamune picked a wall to lean against, and Amuro and Katniss sat down at a cast-iron table with an intricate design. However, as the team began to expect, the respite was interrupted by the Master of Games'' voice.

    "Good evening, Contestants! I trust you are all making progress. I just wanted to fill you in on a last-minute rule change."

    "You''ve got to be joking," moaned Katniss, who was in the process of getting some shut-eye.

    "I''ve decided to add a fourth team of five, just to mix things up a bit! Careful, though, as these bad dudes are really nasty! And it sure looks like they''ve already got their weapons and are closing in on one of your teams now! Well, that''s all for now. Good luck- you''ll need it."

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    The team members became deathly silent. Cautious glances were cast out the window and around the room. No sign of a new or deadly enemy. Amuro was about to rest his head back down on the table when he noticed the mug Chuck had been sipping espresso from. Three red dots decorated the side.

    Not decorations. It''s a laser sight! His mind was filled with visions of explosions and energy beams. He leapt up from the table, flung himself over the counter, and knocked Chuck down only an instant before the beam he had seen in his mind ripped through the coffee shop and turned a hot cup of espresso into dust. The team members scampered to their feet and prepared for combat as best they could.

    From outside, there was an awful roar accompanied by steady footfalls. Holly saw the source first- a Tyrannosaurus rex. It rounded the corner of the street and came to a stop by the shattered window of the shop. Its beady red eyes glared in, taking note of each cowering warrior. Then, to everyone''s surprise, it spoke.

    "What''s this? One of our opposing teams? And they haven''t even gotten their weapons yet, how sad! I believe I have more pressing matters to attend to, like securing that wizard''s little entourage, yesss."

    The little team''s fear kept them quiet.

    "Shaking in your boots, yesss? You''ll have more reason for that soon. Predator! Kill them all."

    The ridiculously-colored dinosaur strode off, leaving the team confused.

    "Predator- you mean like-" Mr. Chuck was cut off by rapid action on the part of Holly Short. She dashed to the center or the room, wound up, and punched at midair. The little fist connected, and Holly really regretted it. Firstly, it caused the massive creature to decloak and scare the living daylights out of the teenaged team members, and secondly, because it really hurt her hand.

    The dreadlocked alien swatted the petite elf aside, sending her crashing through displays of fine South American coffees. Date and Chuck gave each other a nod and moved to flank the beast, but it moved with horrifying speed toward the samurai. Within moments, the masked creature had pinned Date to the ground. It raised an arm as if to punch him, only to flick out a pair of deadly-looking blades. It cackled with delight.

    Mr. Chuck would not let that last, as he delivered a karate strike that would have killed a human onto the creature''s broad, exposed back. It wailed awfully and rolled along the ground, getting up to face the martial artist. The plasma caster on its shoulder popped up and began to whine. Three red dots centered on his chest.

    The next few moments seemed to play out like an orchestra''s big fourth-movement high point. Chaotic shouts from the team to duck were followed by the sound of breaking glass and rapid, heavy footfalls. Chuck swung his legs out from underneath him as a wall of sage-green metal soared overhead at fifty miles per hour. The massive power-armored man tackled the Predator with such force that they sailed into the building across the street. There was a brief calm as the battered team attempted to figure out what just happened. For an instant, no one knew how to react. But something inside Katniss clicked into place. Her scattered, meandering thoughts assembled themselves into a single, clear message. SURVIVE.

    "WE NEED TO MOVE, NOW! GO GO GO GO GO!" she barked, taking herself by surprise. She was already sprinting out the door and onto the street in the direction of the tackled Predator. She hung a left and kept running full tilt down the street and toward the nearest intersection. Craning her neck back revealed that the others were following her lead. Good, she thought. Sticking together. Strength in numbers. She was all the way to the intersection before she noticed their amazing luck: the building on the corner was clearly marked

    CENTRAL LIBRARY

    She gave what she hoped was a coherent command for let''s go in there, but she realized it was probably just senseless arm-flailing. Upon approaching the door, she saw that this was no ordinary library. The doors were of the heavy, armored strong-bolt type that was generally used to keep her from a place she would rather be. With a hard yank, she pulled the door open, let the team sprint inside, swung herself in and shut it tight. Presently she could hear nothing but her own heart racing. She caught her breath and looked around.

    The doors weren''t the only special thing about this library. There were, in fact, no books in it at all. There were a few racks of weapons close behind the door, but the room was mostly empty, with the exception of some large struts at the far end that seemed to be some sort of lift system. The fluorescent lighting flickered a little across the bare concrete floor.

    "Way to take some initiative there, Katniss!" Holly patted the dazed girl on the back.

    "Tell you what," the elf continued while holstering a Neutrino blaster, "we need a team name. I figure since we all owe you, at least a little,"

    She clipped a utility belt into place.

    "You can pick out something catchy."

    "Does it matter if it''s original?"

    "I don''t think the computers are grading that."

    "Well¡­ they already gave us a Mockingjay pin as our token."

    "So," affirmed Holly as she clasped the strap of a helmet under her chin, "Team Mockingjay it is! Whatever that means."

    "Is everything going to be bird-themed with her?" called Amuro, who was standing by an elevator on the far left side of the building.

    "''Cause if it is, I''m going to be sorely disappointed."

    He tapped the only button there and slid through the doors. The elevator whirred loudly as it descended.

    "Where''s he headed?" questioned Chuck as he adjusted the sight on an automatic handgun.

    "He said he was a pilot," mentioned Katniss. "Maybe the plane''s downstairs. I think he said it had a name, something odd."

    A whirring much louder than the elevator stopped the conversation as the floor past the weapon racks slid open. The huge lift rose, supporting what appeared to be a giant warrior clad in white metal.

    "It''s called a mobile suit," confirmed Amuro over the machine''s loudspeaker. "And this one''s code-named Gundam."

    "Wait- you''re in that thing?" cried Katniss in disbelief.

    "I said I was a pilot. Guess none of you guys'' universes had anything remotely like a mobile suit."

    Team Mockingjay took some time to mutter in disbelief.

    "Is it fast?" questioned Holly.

    "Yes. I''ve piloted faster, but in its day, the Gundam was untouchable."

    Katniss had been fiddling with her bow, which she was pleased to find was her old one from District 12. She strung an arrow and let it fly toward the mechanical monstrosity. Date and Holly jumped a little at the sudden response, then moved out of the way as the girl strode over to where the arrow had hit. It had bounced off the machine''s lower leg.

    "Didn''t even scratch the paint- what this thing made of, anyway?"

    "Lunar titanium. Finest light armor of the One-Year War!"

    Gods, thought Holly. The Mud Men mined the bloody moon! There would be demon riots if that happened in my universe.

    "Well," said Date, sliding a katana into its sheath. "We''re ready to move out."

    Katniss shook her head. "This place''s indestructible. We hole up here for the night."

    Date was prepared to argue about the chain of command, but how tired he was caught up to him.

    "Fine then, archer-girl. Wake me in an hour so I can take my shift on guard," he muttered while finding a good spot on the wall to lean against. The other team members tucked in around the feet of the Gundam, which provided a decent sloping surface to lie on. Katniss strung an arrow and began the long wait for her shift to be over.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 2-3

    Morning light broke through the thin windows near the roof of the not-library. Mr. Chuck quietly rose from the large robot foot and stretched. He shuffled to the weapons rack and crammed a magazine into the automatic pistol, glancing back at his sleeping team. The little elf was the only one still at the feet of the machine. The pilot boy had slept inside the huge thing, the samurai had gone back to leaning against the wall once his shift was over, and the girl with the bow had tied herself to a crook in the Mobile Suit''s arm and slept up there. Holly was right- not all was well in that girl''s head. The man placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. While Katniss woke with a start and began shouting about someone named Rue, the others woke peacefully enough and began to complain about how bad of an idea it was to sleep on a robot.

    "Rise and shine, Team Mockingjay."

    Amuro rubbed his eyes and gently moved his controls down, lowering the arms of the Gundam and allowing Katniss to scurry into a corner and have a panic attack.

    "Morning, Mr. Chuck. What''s the plan?"

    "I figure we head on out. We were lucky the other teams didn''t find us last night."

    "He''s right," confirmed Katniss, evidently returning to reality. "A moving target is more difficult to hit."

    "When you put it that way, I feel really confident about our strategy," grunted Holly sarcastically.

    Katniss brushed off the retort and crammed the rope she tied herself down with into her pack. There were a few arrows left on the rack, and they found their place in her quiver soon after. She walked over to the door where the rest of the team was assembling and took a position just to the entry''s right. Chuck stood with his back to the door and his pistol at the ready. He gave a nod to Katniss and one to Holly and Date, who stood on the opposite side.

    "On three- One¡­two¡­three!"

    Holly pulled the handle and Chuck swung out the door with the gun ahead of him. For a moment, silence caught the breath of the team.

    "All clear," Mr. Chuck called as he pulled the door open for the others. When they had all gathered outside the door, a thought occurred to Date.

    "What about Amuro?"

    The team''s collective facepalm was interrupted by the walls of the not-library sliding into the ground, leaving in place of the building a bare slab of concrete and a Mobile Suit. Amuro pulled up on the controls and made the Gundam stand to its full height, dwarfing the team and a few of the shorter buildings.

    "All systems are running smoothly," chimed Amuro through the loudspeaker. "Where to now?"

    Holly gave a glance toward the region of the city dominated by high-rises. Fire crowned many of the skyscrapers, and smoke formed a great black sheet over the smaller buildings of the area.

    "I''d say that would be our best bet."

    Team Mockingjay began a slow journey down the major road of the empty city, drawing ever closer to the urban inferno ahead. Amuro stomped the Mobile Suit down the street behind them, keeping close tabs on his displays to check for any of the other teams. He spotted some movement in the smoke that swirled around the skyscrapers high ahead. Little bursts of light flickered within the shroud.

    "Are you guys seeing that?"

    Katniss squinted at the strange display of light.

    "Yes. What do you think it is?"

    "I''d say they were some form of booster or engine firing off. There''s some sort of Mobile weapon being used by another team- that''s my guess."

    Holly frowned.

    "Okay, Amuro- here''s the plan. If you stick with us, we''ll be as obvious as a swear toad bite. You''re an expert on Mobile suits, so why don''t you head in and check it out? If you get overwhelmed, fall back with us and we''ll back you up as best we can."

    The Mobile Suit mimicked Amuro''s nod. "Sounds like a plan." The giant machine took off running down the street, towards the burning buildings. Holly was pretty sure this was a strategic decision, until a voice from a nearby rooftop told her otherwise.

    "How foolish- send away the strong, and let the weak fend for themselves?"

    Katniss identified the speaker and strung an arrow. Holly held up her hand and mouthed NO. The source of the tactical criticism was a suit of blue armor on top of a specialty shop. The helm had a nasty looking horn protruding from it, and long red hair escaped out of the headgear''s back. A truly massive sword was slung over its shoulder.

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    "And who exactly are you?" Katniss still trained her bow on the blue knight.

    "I am sometimes called the Azure Knight, or He that Wields Soul Edge," the creature boasted. "But to you, I am your worst Nightmare." In the blink of an eye, the being had landed on the ground, shattering the pavement.

    "NOW PROCEED INTO DARKNESS!" It wailed, swinging its sword in wide arcs above its head. Katniss let the arrow take flight, only for it to ricochet off the creature''s thick armor and clatter onto the street. A pulse of red energy knocked the whole of Team Mockingjay off of their feet.

    Holly looked up at the gray sky. She attempted to regain her footing, but the blast had removed all feeling from her legs and arms. The creature that called itself Nightmare stomped over to where she lay.

    "Foolish little fairy," it hissed, swinging the oversized blade. Holly managed to twist her torso and dodge the sharpened wall of metal. For a second, as it was lodged in the street next to her, she got a decent glimpse at it. The metal was old and tarnished, but more prominently seemed to have a web of pulsing flesh covering parts of it. I''m making a point to be impaled by something other than that. She at least wanted to die by the hand of something clean.

    As the demon was readying for another chop, his sword has held still. He turned to see Date Masamune''s katana pressed against Soul Edge.

    "Not¡­ so¡­ fast!" grunted the samurai.

    Nightmare used his oversized sword arm to knock Date to the ground. He held the fleshy bit of his sword over the black-clad warrior''s face. A lump in the flesh split open to reveal an awful eye.

    "GAZE INTO TRUE MADNESS!" screamed the Azure Knight, and he lifted the samurai into the air. Nightmare was beginning to pull his sword arm back to strike, when he was interrupted by gunshots. Holly and Chuck had gotten up and drawn their firearms. Though Chuck''s human pistol rounds merely bounced off the cursed armor, the Neutrino''s stunning shots seemed to have an effect.

    "Wh-What are you doing?!" cried the demon, who dropped Date and turned to face his new attackers. Holly turned the intensity setting on the Neutrino to level five and fired again. The cursed knight fell to his knees.

    "Stop! S-Stop! Your souls are mine! I swear it!" Chuck didn''t pay heed to Nightmare''s empty threats and used his foot to force him to the ground.

    "Now, let''s get some answers," he grunted. "Who else is on your team?"

    "The Predator and his unearthly hound. There was a great armored giant by the name of Nineball," whimpered the knight.

    "That''s only three. Two more names," said Chuck, leveling his handgun on the blue helmet.

    "The lizard! He called himself Megatron! And myself!" The demon looked around anxiously. "Now let me go!"

    "Do you think we''re stupid?" Chuck shifted his other foot to the knight''s inhuman sword arm. He turned and nodded at Katniss.

    Chuck looked back at the once- terrifying creature. "Where''s your team''s token?"

    "My sword, Soul Edge," gasped the knight.

    Katniss stood over the sword.

    "Thanks," she said, and fired an arrow directly into the blade''s eye.

    With a horrible shriek, the knight stopped struggling. The numbing red energies shot out of the sword in a blinding flash, revealing a sword with no eye or flesh- only an arrow lodged in the center. Katniss plucked out the arrow and slid it into her quiver. Date picked up the sword and slid it into a strap on his back.

    "That''s two out of five on that team incapacitated. Plus we have their token," Holly noted. "We ought to keep on heading toward the fires. After all, what was that Katniss said about getting hit?"

    Holly smirked at the human girl, who didn''t seem nearly as amused. Team Mockingjay continued down the road. The Dovahkiin didn''t underestimate their combat prowess, Ezio thought from his far-more stealthy rooftop perch. He had watched the entire battle unfold. He stood and took off along the dull, black roofs. He had interesting news to report to Signore Gandalf.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 2-4

    Amuro cursed under his breath as he eased back on the controls, attempting to slow his backward slide. This did not solve the problem quickly enough, as he hit the building behind him with a jolt that rattled the movement-stabilized cockpit. How could that thing move the way it does?

    His target had once again slipped away into the smoke. It would repeatedly pop back out to throw some harassing fire his way, only to disappear again. Amuro was pretty sure this meant that it was engaging another contestant as well, adding another dimension to the already-difficult fight. Fighting two targets at once was not an option.

    Should I fall back? No, the Newtype thought. I would lead this thing right back to the team, and if I can''t beat it in a MS, they certainly couldn''t help. I''ll keep it distracted here. He glanced down at his radar display and saw the little dot skipping back and forth, closer and closer. Here it comes again!

    He turned in the direction of the approaching foe and drew his shield. He then knelt, holding the massive metal wall ahead of him and readying his sword arm. The assailant emerged from the smoke- a blur of red and black steel. It rammed Amuro''s shield for the second time, forcing the Mobile suit into the building again. Amuro pulled his beam saber from its storage on the Gundam''s back and sliced downward, only to connect with his foe''s own energy blade. Purple energies crackled from both of the non-physical swords.

    "SCANNING TARGET," grated the computerized voice. "AC NOT RECOGNIZED."

    Amuro''s eyes flitted back and forth on his cockpit displays, looking for some weakness to exploit. There was a pod of missiles behind the right shoulder. If I can land a lucky hit on those, this thing will go up like a colony oxygen leak. He shoved forward on the controls, knocking the crimson robot back. Amuro sheathed the Gundam''s sword and removed the beam rifle from the slot it had been stored in on the Mobile Suit''s back.

    "Hey, you!" Amuro called. The robot raised its pulse rifle and took aim.

    "Sure. You can shoot me all you like," Amuro gritted his teeth. Here we go. The robot fired, and Amuro''s world slowed to a crawl. He strained back on the controls, and the Gundam responded with the lightning speed it was famous for. All three of the red mech''s shots sailed across Amuro''s high-definition displays. He pulled back on the controls again, now bringing the Gundam''s back to face the assailant. He now kept focused on the rear-view camera''s screen.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.The mysterious foe was not stunned by this display of reflex and dexterity, and extended its purple energy sword. Its boosters flared to full power, sending the mech hurtling toward the Gundam''s turned back. Perfect, thought the Newtype. Amuro tapped a joystick''s button, and the Mobile Suit jumped skyward. As quickly as he went up, he dropped down- now the crimson mech''s back squarely in his sights. He raised his beam rifle and fired.

    The missile pod erupted with unparalleled force, knocking its owner to the ground.

    "CORE DAMAGE CRITICAL. ASSESSING SYSTEM FUNCTIONALITY."

    Despite the flames pouring from the robot''s back, it rose to its feet. It turned toward the Gundam again.

    "Why won''t you just stay down?" groaned Amuro, who fired two more shots into the burning machine. Molten metal poured off of its broken frame. The weapon over its right shoulder lowered.

    "TARGET VERIFIED. COMMENCING HOSTILITIES."

    The weapon fired, the shot sailing far above the Gundam''s head. I must have damaged its targeting abilities, thought Amuro, until he heard the report of the shot finding its mark just behind him. Amuro lowered his eyes to the rear-view camera''s screen. Something huge stood just a few meters away. He turned the Gundam and had to tilt the head as far up as it would go to see the top of the behemoth. It was the largest Mobile weapon Amuro had ever seen.

    With one stride, it stepped over the Gundam and crushed the red mech underfoot. It was easily twice as tall as the Mobile Suit, perhaps more. Its narrow head was dominated by beady yellow eyes and a massive horn. It looked down at the insignificant-by-comparison Gundam.

    "Hello, again, Amuro!"

    That voice! From yesterday! The Newtype remembered.

    "Shinji, is it?"

    "Yeah, you remembered!"

    "So that''s your Mobile weapon, huh?"

    "Yes- Evangelion Unit One."

    "Impressive," said Amuro, hoping that he could talk his way out of this fight.

    "Mother, this is Amuro. I met him yesterday."

    "Wait, who are you talking to? Your mother? Is she in there with you?"

    "In a way."

    Amuro was trying to wrap his head around this when the gargantuan machine lifted an arm to one of its comically tall shoulders. A knife slid out of the shoulder and into its hand, where it began to glow brightly.

    "Now, come on, Amuro! Let''s do this!"

    Amuro put away the Mobile Suit''s rifle and brought out its shield. This is going to be even more annoying, isn''t it?

 Paradox Fighters, Part 2-5

    "I honestly don''t think that they have a lot of planning going on," suggested Holly. "They tried to attack us with solo members, not as a group."

    Chuck considered this. "They don''t seem like decent people. A whole team of nasties could have some problems with order-following."

    "Perhaps they all thought they were powerful enough on their own." The black-armored samurai concluded.

    "Either way, they don''t have judgment on their side," said Katniss. "They''re not going to be as much trouble as a coherent team."

    As an example of such a coherent team, Team Mockingjay was still mostly together and travelling down the main road. The burning buildings they had sent Amuro towards were only about fifteen blocks ahead of them now. The little team stopped at the nearest intersection to survey their location. Holly peered her head around the corner and pulled it back quickly.

    "Uh, guys?"

    "What now?" queried Date.

    "There''s a coherent team right there."

    Katniss drew her bow and Chuck loaded another magazine. The team collectively snuck a peek around the corner. Among their number was the Dovahkiin- and the grey-robed man who had recruited him.

    "What''s this?" called the mage.

    "D''Arvit! They''ve seen us." hissed Holly, readying her Neutrino blaster. She motioned with her hand, and Team Mockingjay filed into the street, weapons primed. Each picked a potential target, but as there were five foes and only four in their number, Katniss had to focus on two- a hooded man and a mouse-like creature.

    "Well, Guardslady Short. We meet again," said the Dovahkiin matter-of-factly.

    "What do you want to do, flirt me to death?" Holly sneered.

    "It''s not very polite to insult a suitor."

    "Be quiet, all of you!" The wizard yelled, hitting the ground with his staff.

    Once everyone''s bickering stopped, he continued.

    "Now, I can assure you that none of us here really want to fight. We can work out an orderly way of doing things, just give us some time."

    "I have an idea." The Dragonborn said.

    "What did you have in mind, Signore Dovahkiin?" The hooded man turned to the helmed Nord.

    "A duel. My team''s honor against yours. I will engage one of you in combat."

    Holly looked at the other members of her team and gave a nod.

    "I''ll do it."

    "Well, I expected as much. You wish to test me, and see if I am all that I say."

    Gods, this guy''s insufferable. Holly couldn''t wait to show up the smug warrior. Perhaps then he would reconsider his advances.

    The mage was concerned. "Are you sure, Dovahkiin? Our team''s victory is at stake."

    The Nord mouthed to the wizard, LESS FIGHTING. The old man nodded.

    Chuck advised the warriors, "Let''s give them some space." Both of the teams pulled back to the edges of the block. Only Holly and the Dragonborn stood face-to-face in the street. The warrior of the icy north grinned.

    "Don''t just do that. That''s creepy," said the elf.

    "Less chat. We must fight!"

    He drew his sword and raised his shield. Holly lifted her Neutrino and pointed it at his barrel-like chest. "Bet you''ve never fought someone who had a gun before."

    "Do you really think your advanced weapons can intimidate me? That''s cute. I like it."

    "Shut up," growled Holly, firing at the warrior. He stumbled a little, but did not fall.

    "Impressive. Now you have demonstrated your weapon, allow me to use mine."

    Surprisingly, the Nord did not swing his sword. He instead planted himself and spoke. His soft voice became unnaturally harsh, and as he said the strange words, there was a sound of a thunderclap.

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    "FUS RO DAH!"

    Holly was knocked off her feet and sailed backwards down the road. She hit the ground and rolled, looking up to see her team members. His voice pushed me to the end of the block. What kind of magic is this?

    Holly stood and shielded, becoming invisible to all but the most trained eye. She shuffled left, to avoid the path of the warrior''s enchanted shouts.

    "I see you have some tricks of your own, cunning little mer. Are you unimpressed by the Thu''um?"

    The warrior looked left and right, clearly not as unfazed as he wanted to appear. He then spoke again.

    "LAAS YAH NIR!"

    Holly was prepared to fall again, but the warrior''s voice did not seem to affect her. She did notice, however, that he was now looking directly at her.

    He can see me? This guy''s got some kind of spell for everything! I wonder if- Holly''s wandering thoughts were interrupted by the Nord bashing her into the ground with his shield. She felt her left shoulder break as she fell, and quickly began to focus her magic on healing the fractures. She un-shielded.

    "D''Arvit, that smarts!" grunted Holly while raising her Neutrino at the warrior. She fired three times, causing the Dragonborn to fall backwards. Holly managed to stagger to her feet.

    "Come on, Dovahkiin! Is that the best you''ve got?"

    "Not even close," said the stunned Nord. "YOL TOOR SHUL!"

    A gout of flame ripped out of his throat, scalding the elf''s skin and burning her hair. Her magic was now working on healing too much at once- any more, and her healing abilities would be stretched too thin. She reeled back, turned, and ran, putting distance between her and the warrior. It didn''t get her far- the Dovahkiin spoke again.

    "WULD NA KEST!"

    Suddenly, he was in front of her. Holly was exhausted. She was hurt all over and clearly couldn''t keep up with the Nord even when she wasn''t so drained. She knew that she didn''t have much magic left. Holly stopped in her tracks, dazed. The Dovahkiin knelt and looked at her eye-to-eye.

    "Care to do me a favor and surrender?" he said.

    She returned his gaze. "Care to do me a favor?" she repeated.

    The Dovahkiin looked into those beautiful eyes. Two different colors! So pretty! He really could just sit there and stare at them all day.

    "Sure," the brute obliged. Holly smiled softly. The Mesmer was working.

    "Listen, you sweet little Dragonborn," she continued in a voice dripping with flattery. "I need you to get me your team''s token."

    The warrior grinned bigger than ever. "I have it, right here!" he pulled a golden amulet from around his neck. It was shaped like a sword pointed downwards. Holly reached up and took it.

    "Thanks so much. Now, can you do just one last teensy-weensy thing for a pretty girl like me?"

    "Of course, milady!"

    "Can you pretty, pretty please lie down and go to sleep?"

    "That would be," he yawned and rested his head on the ground, "easy."

    Holly stumbled backwards and fell into a sitting position. Members of both teams rushed back into the street.

    "Is that cheating?" questioned Leonidas.

    "No," said Gandalf with authority. He turned to team Mockingjay. "Thank you for your cooperation. We''ll stand down from here on out."

    Katniss helped Holly to her feet. "Make sure he gets his beauty sleep," the elf called back weakly. The team was back on their way towards the downtown area.

    "Good work, Holly," Katniss whispered. "That''s one down, two to go."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 2-6

    They had only passed another five blocks when they heard the thudding of a particular Mobile Suit''s footfalls. The Gundam barreled out from behind a row of low buildings, skidding to a halt in a dramatic fashion.

    "Guys! I''m going to need backup!" called Amuro, making the Gundam give a quick look back. Holly detected another set of footfalls, much louder than the Mobile Suit''s.

    "What did you just run away from?"

    The steady beat began to reverberate in Team Mockingjay''s chests.

    "That kid from yesterday, Shinji- he''s a pilot too. But that thing-"

    The subject of the discussion sliced through the smoke only a few blocks away. The massive purple mech blotted out the sun. As it walked, its lanky arms and legs swayed back and forth unnaturally. It lowered its horned head and glared at them, its body heaving steadily as if it was breathing. It halted its steady gait.

    "So, Amuro. This is your team," observed the young boy from the terrifying machine.

    The Newtype turned and faced the mechanical beast.

    "Yes. We''ve been doing well so far."

    "That''s good. Who have you fought so far?"

    Date picked up on what was going on.

    "It''s a distraction," he whispered to his teammates. "While they''re talking, we need to get to higher ground."

    As Team Mockingjay scampered across the street to an apartment building, Amuro recounted their experiences.

    "Well, mostly that fourth team. That big guy in the green armor saved us from the Predator."

    "That''s my team leader, John-117. The Chief."

    The foot-mobile members of the team had now ascended to the roof of the apartment building. They were now just across from the larger of the two machines.

    "What now?" questioned Katniss.

    "We wait for an opportunity," Chuck explained.

    "And then whatever that red thing I was fighting earlier was. You did a good job taking care of that." Amuro continued.

    "Thanks. I really try," said Shinji sincerely.

    The larger purple mech tightened its grip on the knife.

    "As much as I like talking to you, we are going to have to fight," the boy sighed.

    As the gargantuan machine shifted into a fighting stance, it lifted its right arm to stabilize its posture. The hand''s shadow blotted out the sun for the rooftop members of Team Mockingjay. Holly gazed up at the massive manipulator.

    "NOW!" she cried, and the team let loose a barrage of deadly firepower. Chuck emptied a magazine from his automatic pistol, Holly squeezed off a few fully-charged rounds from her Neutrino, and Katniss stuck a single arrow in the palm of the massive hand. The monstrous robot pulled its hand away quickly, dropping its knife to cradle its wounded extremity.

    "That hurt," moaned Shinji. He turned to look at Amuro''s Gundam, only to see the white Mobile Suit crashing into him at top speed. After colliding, the Newtype pilot forced the white robot back, allowing his foe to tumble to the ground. When the huge machine hit the ground, the empty streets split down the middle. The apartment building was one of the many nearby to begin to collapse with the force of the impact. Amuro swung the Gundam''s arm over in time to collect its rooftop residents and pull them away from a concrete-y grave.

    "Now, stay down!" Amuro grunted, lifting the rifle arm of the Mobile Suit. He fired shot after shot into the thick cloud of dust. He looked up and saw the burning high-rise nearby, aimed, and fired more at its bottom floors. The structure began to keel sideways, crumbling into the veil of debris that shrouded his opponent. A wall of air, crumbled concrete, and shattered glass blew past the team members clinging to the Gundam''s arm.

    Chuck wiped a thick layer of dust off of his eyes. "Let''s call it a day."

    The Gundam hung a right to avoid walking over the Evangelion, which he suspected was not quite disabled. They were now in the heart of the blazing downtown area. The thick smoke was mostly high above their heads, with only a few buildings at ground level on fire.

    "What do you think caused all of this?" said Katniss, gazing upward in awe.

    "Mobile weapons, like mine and the one we just fought," answered Amuro. "There was another one too- Shinji destroyed it earlier. It only takes a few Mobile Suits to cause a lot of damage."

    ***

    The Gundam continued onward through the smoke darkened streets. Their foes had grown fewer in number, and now Team Mockingjay experienced that terrible anxiety you feel when you know that someone''s in a dark room with you, but you don''t know who or where. As they sat cradled in the palm of the Mobile suit, they found ways to keep their mind off of the creeping paranoia. Date examined the size and weight of Soul Edge. Holly fiddled with the settings on her helmet, and Katniss curled into a ball and whispered lullabies. The elf reached out with her leg and poked her.

    "Can''t you find something productive to do?"

    "Like?"

    "Count your arrows, or something."

    The girl didn''t move.

    "Four arrows. Four lives wasted."

    Holly realized that this was one of Katniss'' moments, and she would have to tread more lightly. She was switching the settings on her helmet''s heads-up display again when a lightbulb went off.

    "Why don''t you help me figure out what''s wrong with my helmet?"

    Katniss crawled steadily over the constantly jolting hand.

    "What''s the matter with it?"

    "Well, it''s got a motion tracker built in, and it keeps showing movement in the buildings parallel to us. It''s a focus issue, I don''t think it''s adjusted to us being in the Gundam''s hand."

    Chuck looked down at the two smallest members of the team. "Wait, did you say move-"

    He was cut off by a huge blur streaking across the hand. Even the level-headed Date Masamune managed to scream when he realized that something had jumped over and taken the girl.

    Katniss found herself careening through the air towards the dark ground. She attempted to scream, but she couldn''t. It felt as though a steel girder had wrapped its way around her, but she could look down and see the terrifying tail that was tightly wound over her helpless body. She followed its length to its end, where she noticed a curved, bladelike tip. She was being tossed about from side to side rapidly, and she heard a subtle scuttling noise as the creature''s claws found what should have been physically impossible grips on the sides of buildings. It scurried over a bank and dove into an abandoned warehouse- filled with a too-perfect darkness. The tail loosened its grip and slid away, accompanied by an awful hiss. Katniss heard the faint scuttling again. It''s leaving.

    A spotlight at the far end of the warehouse came on, revealing the creature only inches from Katniss'' face. The sleek, elongated head opened into a mess of too many teeth and mouths. Its thin arms and legs were strong enough to pin her to the floor with ease. It let out an awful shriek.

    "That''s enough, xenomorph," called a much more tolerable voice. The wretched creature slithered off the helpless girl and scuttled into the darkness again. The giant purple lizard from the first night sauntered into view. Its beady red eyes glared down at Katniss, but its fear factor was nearly outweighed by the hilarity of it speaking.

    "Please forgive my colleague''s¡­ manners. He is not very personable, nooo."

    "Y-You! The creature in the armor said your name¡­ what is it¡­M-something¡­"

    "That squeal Nightmare! What an idiot- well, I guess the cat''s out of the bag."

    Katniss pulled her knees up to her chin. Nowhere was safe with that scuttling mutt, and the way this thing spoke was completely out of place.

    "I," stated the purple monster dramatically, "am Megatron."

    She felt some courage well up inside her. What would Holly do at a time like this?

    "That''s a pretty silly name for a big lizard mutt."

    The monster did not take insults well, and began to fume angrily.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    "YOU INSOLENT LITTLE URCHIN! I AM A MASTERPIECE OF CYBERTRONIAN ENGINEERING! MY EVERY FACET IS DEDICATED TO PERFECTION!"

    It caught itself for a moment, then stated clearly, "Terrorize."

    As Katniss watched in terror as what appeared to be the skin of the creature lifted away to reveal chunks of metal. She needed to run away, but she was stuck in the spotlight''s illumination- that far more awful thing could be anywhere in the dark. The speaking lizard seemed to have stopped changing. It now resembled a metal man with pieces of monster hanging off. It spoke again, but any sense of comedy was gone as the words now came out of a much more believable mouth.

    "Now do you see? This is the most prevalent feature of Cybertronians," he gestured with a large metal hand to the rest of his body. "We are robots in disguise."

    Katniss nodded, hoping that the lecture was over and that she could leave. It wasn''t, as Megatron took a few strides to close in on the girl. He placed one of his large feet, which still retained the talons from his monstrous alternate mode, on her chest. Katniss struggled for breath.

    "Now, what I brought you here for," he oiled, applying more weight to his foot.

    "Our team has not fared so well over the last two days. Perhaps due to a LACK," he emphasized, forcing his foot down more with each word. "OF, PLANNING. And we need to GET, A, TOKEN, yesss."

    "You¡­think¡­I¡­have¡­it?" wheezed the girl.

    "SILENCE, YOU MISERABLE SCUM!" He erupted, then calmed again.

    "Your team calls itself ''Mockingjay.'' Little nickname of yours, yesss?"

    "How¡­ do¡­ you¡­ know¡­ about¡­ that?"

    "I have sources with information."

    Katniss remembered them being dismissed for the challenge. She remembered that awful phrase- may the odds be ever in your favor.

    "The¡­ Master¡­ of¡­ Games..!"

    "He knows his stuff, doesn''t he? Yesss. He also bade me deliver this message- no funny business. No tricks. He doesn''t want you screwing this up, like you apparently did in your world," oozed Megatron, lowering an oversized blade made from the tail of his lizard mode. The tip rested just next to Katniss'' jugular vein.

    "I do wonder what you did, little girl. Had to be something pretty astounding, yesss. Now, where''s that token of yours?"

    He began to run his large and clumsy fingers through her backpack. He found nothing, and was moving on to the quiver when he heard her wheeze something.

    "I''m sorry, dear. Were you just giving me a hint to the location of that token?"

    "I¡­ wouldn''t¡­ play¡­"

    "You''re going to have to speak up. I can''t hear you clearly."

    "I¡­ wouldn''t¡­ play¡­ their¡­ GAME!" With what strength she had left, she shoved her knife, which she had removed during their discussion, deep into the robot''s foot. He wheeled backwards in pain.

    "Grrraaaaaar!" Megatron stumbled onto his back and attempted to pull the knife out, but found his fingers to be slightly too large. "NOOO! GET IT OUT!"

    Katniss had just managed to stand up when she heard the terrible hissing of the scuttling creature. She turned to see the beast stalk out of the shadows, its tail poised to lash out and impale her. She was bracing for death when gunshots distracted her- Chuck had forced open a door on the near side of the warehouse, allowing Team Mockingjay to pour in. One of the bullets connected, and foul green liquid began to seep out of the creature''s side. It shrieked and turned to face the new foes.

    Katniss used its moment of distraction to remove her bow from the strap that had connected it to her pack- a wise decision she had made in the hand of the Gundam. Within seconds, she was pulling back an arrow. Chuck was reloading his gun and Date was drawing his sword, while Holly continued to fire her Neutrino, which had no effect on the beast. Now or never, thought Katniss.

    The arrow lodged itself just underneath the back of the terrible creature''s head, and travelled through its awful neck. It raised its wire-thin arms to the wound, as smoke began to rise from its green blood as it seared away the creature little by little. It collapsed in a puddle of the acid collecting on the floor and began to dissolve entirely.

    The team rushed across the warehouse to where Megatron still rolled on the floor in agony. He occasionally reached down to attempt to pull the knife out in vain, but mostly thrashed his large arms about like a screaming child.

    Holly adjusted her Neutrino''s setting to Burnt to a Cinder and fired at the wailing robot. Sparks shot up from his joints, and he briefly thrashed only more violently. Then, quite suddenly, he fell silent. Katniss walked to the Cybertronian''s foot and pulled out her knife.

    "Are you okay?" asked the elf, rushing over to the girl.

    "Yes. They just roughed me up a bit."

    "We ought to move out of here," Date advised. "I don''t want to stick around near these two."

    The other team members complied, leaving the way they entered. Outside of the door, they found Amuro in the Gundam.

    "Looks like you guys did alright."

    "We sure did," confirmed Chuck. "That''s two whole teams down. Only one left."

    "You got that right," called a gravelly voice from behind Amuro. The team turned to find themselves face-to face with the final team. The man in the green armor was joined by a squat, plump man in overalls, a taller, more muscular man in a torn leather jacket, and a boy Katniss recognized as Harry from their first day in the Grand Combat.

    Chuck raised his pistol and pointed it at the armored man, who discouraged him. "Don''t bother, you''re out of ammo."

    Upon sliding out the magazine, the martial artist confirmed that it was true.

    Masamune was as indignant as ever. "What do you want us to do, surrender?"

    "Quite the opposite," said the jacketed man. "We''ve had our fair share of fighting."

    "We knew you guys were a-fighting pretty good," squeaked the short, fat man in an incredibly irritating accent. "You deserve-a win!"

    "Are you serious?" questioned Holly, who suspected a trap.

    "Completely," said Harry. He reached into his wide sleeves and pulled out a red-and-white mushroom. He tossed it to Katniss. This has to be their token, she thought.

    "I may be a soldier, but even I can get tired of fighting," confirmed the man Shinji had called Chief. "I figured you guys helped us out by taking out the Master''s men."

    "Yes. We would- we''re tired, too. Thank you." Chuck gave a nod of approval and dropped his weapon.

    Far above them, GLaDOS'' sardonic voice echoed.

    "Well done, you pathetic sacks of meat. You completed the challenge."

    "Personally, I think their performance was exemplary," droned HAL.

    "My greatest commendations to ''Team Mockingjay" for acquiring all tokens with minimal conflict!" continued Deep Thought. "They have won this competition!"

    As the computers'' address finished, Katniss felt the ground underneath her give way. She looked and saw the other contestants sinking, too. They dropped slowly into complete darkness. When she opened her eyes, she was in her cold, grey room. She was going to attempt to get some sleep when there was a knock on the door.

    "Katniss?"

    She rose and opened the door, and Holly Short slipped in.

    "Listen. If we''re going to stick together through this, I need to know your story-all of it."

    Katniss turned her eyes downward.

    "It''s¡­ not very fun to tell."

    "Don''t worry. I want to help you. I can''t understand what you''ve been through," the elf put a hand on the girl''s shoulder. "Unless you tell me."

    Katniss sat down on her bed. "Where do I begin? I lived in District 12, which we were told was the smallest of the lot. We provided coal¡­"

    Holly nodded attentively and took Katniss'' words to heart. I will get her through this. No matter what.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 2-7

    The Master of Games pressed himself up against the wall. Did that blasted elf see me? He looked up and down the hall, and when he was sure the coast was clear, he darted to the unmarked door at the end of the hallway. He whipped it open, swept himself inside, and eased it shut. He waited, and the deep darkness surrounding him spoke.

    "IT MUST HAVE TAKEN QUITE A BIT OF NERVE TO BRING ME HERE, BROTHER."

    "Nice to see you, too."

    "DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN KEEP THIS RUSE UP?"

    The yellow-robed man cursed and shouted back at the nothing that surrounded him.

    "Of course I can! I am infinitely more powerful than you!"

    "AND YOU ARE INFINITELY MORE OF AN IDIOT. YOUR POWER DID NOT STOP ME FROM SLAYING YOU. WHY DO YOU THINK IT WILL SAVE YOU NOW?"

    "These¡­warriors¡­ are mindless insects! I could keep them here for eons!"

    "YOU HAVE SPENT TOO LONG DRIFTING HALF-DEAD IN THE COSMOS, HASTUR. I SPENT MY EXILE LIVING ON A PLANET INFESTED WITH THESE CREATURES. INSECTS? YES. MINDLESS? NOT QUITE."

    "What do you mean?"

    "THEY CANNOT COME CLOSE TO UNDERSTANDING US. BUT THEY HAVE MORALS," the voice paused. "AND THAT IS SOMETHING NO AMOUNT OF POWER CAN FULLY REMOVE."

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    "I have them under my thumb! They are animals, ready for the slaughter!"

    "NO. YOU CAN BREAK THEM. YOU CAN BEAT THEM. BUT THEY CLING TO THINGS LIKE LOVE AND HOPE. NO POWER CAN SMITE THESE IDEALS."

    "You''re starting to sound like one of them, Cthulhu. Do you forget who we are? We are Great Old Ones! Masters of the cosmos!"

    "YOU CAN CLING TO YOUR TITLE, HASTUR. YOU ARE TOO BLIND TO SEE ANYTHING ELSE. WE ARE NOT SO DIFFERENT THAN THOSE YOU SEEK TO CRUSH."

    "I''ve had enough of you," the Master said, turning for the door.

    "VERY WELL THEN. YOU CAN THINK THAT THIS TIME, YOU WILL WIN. AND YOU WILL BE SORELY MISTAKEN."

    The Master of Games opened the door and slammed it behind him. He thinks he can get inside my head.Thinks he''s the smart one. Well, I''ll prove him wrong. This is my domain, and I will show him yet! Now, I have some challenges to plan.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 3-1

    PREVIOUSLY, IN PARADOX FIGHTERS: The Master of Games brings the tournament back into full swing, using supercomputers to judge the contestants'' performance. The Dovahkiin, a Nordic warrior gifted with powerful and ancient magic, reveals his interest in Holly Short. The Master''s challenge is a team-oriented melee in an urban environment. Holly, Katniss, pilot Amuro, martial artist Chuck, and samurai Date Masamune unite to form Team Mockingjay. The team plows through the challenge, even defeating the Master''s hand-picked legion of evil. Holly vows to learn more of Katniss'' tragic past, and the Master of Games and Cthulhu have a heart-to-heart. Except they don''t really have hearts.

    Holly squinted at the map that had been drawn on the wall. The map was not the problem, as it was very clearly written. Holly had been up for hours, and there was not much time until the Master would summon them to another challenge. Her eyes were simply too tired to open.

    "And that," continued Katniss, who began to mark off another section of the wall with the little chunk of coal, "is District Eleven."

    "Where Rue came from, right?" yawned Holly, who glanced at the tiny digital clock on the wall. Instead of displaying a time, it counted down how long the respite would continue. It currently read one hour and fifteen minutes.

    "Exactly!" said Katniss, who felt energized by Holly''s comprehension. She too noticed the clock.

    "Listen, Holly. I''m really grateful that you''ve given me some of your time. You didn''t have to do this."

    "Don''t sweat it, kid," the elf mumbled.

    "But you ought to get back to your room. Get some sleep. We''ll probably need it."

    Holly muttered something incomprehensible and staggered out the door. Katniss turned off the light and curled up, feeling a little more secure now that someone understood her. Holly was not firing on all cognitive cylinders, but she was conscious enough to notice that unmarked door at the end of the hallway. She knew it wouldn''t have showed up unless whatever was inside wanted to talk to her. She shuffled over to the door, checked over her shoulder, and ducked inside.

    "Listen. I need some sleep- could you get this over with quickly?"

    The perverse darkness shifted and whipped around her like a tornado.

    "DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE I CARE ABOUT YOUR PHYSICAL STATE?"

    "I believe you care what I think, and I''m not nearly as good at that when my batteries are dead."

    "CLEVER LITTLE ELF. VERY WELL, I SHALL NOT PROLONG THIS DISCUSSION."

    There was an awful moaning and shuddering, and Holly felt something press against her face. She grasped at it in the darkness- it was a book.

    "What''s this? Recommended reading?"

    "NO. THE TOME IS EMPTY. I EXPECT YOU TO FILL IT."

    The vocal abomination paused for a moment, then continued its assault.

    "WHETHER YOU KNOW IT OR NOT, THE FRIENDSHIP YOU AND THE GIRL HAVE MAY BE THE ONLY THING THAT CAN WIN THIS GRAND COMBAT."

    "Go on," Holly said, but didn''t mean it.

    "THE GIRL IS A CATALYST. HER STORY, A SPARK. RECORD IT. PROPAGATE IT. IN DOING SO, THE FLAMES OF DOUBT WILL BE FANNED, AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRAND COMBAT WILL BE QUESTIONED."

    "And I assume you''re doing this because you hate the Master of Games, right?"

    "THAT IS THE MOTIVE OF MY ACTION. GO NOW, AND SEE THAT HE REGRETS BRINGING YOU HERE."

    The voice faded away, and Holly opened her eyes to find herself in her room once more. She wasn''t sure whether to be completely unnerved by this or thankful for the convenience. She lifted the book off of her chest and turned the pages. All blank. That thing wasn''t kidding. She slid the empty book under her bed and slept for all of forty minutes until the summons began.

    ***

    "Miss Short. The Master of Games requests that all contestants report to the practice room in five minutes. Please use this time to prepare."

    Holly was not aware that there was a training room, but given the ever-changing nature of the place, she decided not to concern herself with that for the moment. She rose and walked to her room''s courtyard. Taking an acorn and burying it beneath the tree, she contemplated the something''s request. I thought I was just being a good friend, to listen to Katniss'' story. To think that it could tear this whole thing apart! Magic flowed from the ground into her fingertips, buzzing through her veins and repairing what rest did not have a chance to. Holly got up, dusted off her knees, changed into a crisp, clean uniform, and left the room.

    The hallway was filled with other confused warriors, who all remembered the common hall but did not recall a training room. Holly figured that the common hall would have become the training room, and she was right. She turned at the end of the hallway to find the already-large common hall replaced by a truly cavernous expanse. There was a table with some smaller breakfast items, but the room was dominated by the target dummies, firing ranges, and weapon racks that were scattered at far intervals from one another. A singular throne sat in the corner of the room. The Master of Games lounged upon it, kicking his feet up on the arms while he stroked his chin in thought.

    Awful! Awful! Awful! He seethed inside himself. Sure, I got more of them to fight by using teams. But now there''s a handful that know what my plan is! And that idiot elf and the girl are making the best of friends! This is a shame- no, a travesty! I can''t let my brother be right. No, no, no! I''ve got to find some way to tear them apart! All of them! But I can''t rip them away too quickly. They''d get upset, have a reason to disobey. The warriors below him began to bustle about to their various training exercises. He noticed the wizard Gandalf speaking with his little band of adventurers and fighters. I regret bringing too many of these warriors here. Oh, but I do need them! How can I play off of this? What ever will I do?The Master shifted back in his throne, wracking his mind for a solution.

    Meanwhile, Holly had found her way to the firing range. It consisted of several long, narrow lanes composed out of what she assumed was bulletproof glass, so that the warriors could view their competition easily. To the far end of all of the lanes was an extensive shelf that held every kind of firearm conceivable. The elf gazed at the collection of pistols, muskets, high-tech rifles, and weapons with such a bizarre shape that she couldn''t tell which end did the killing. Among the menagerie was a comparatively tiny Neutrino 3000. Holly lifted the gun off of the display and turned to find Katniss waiting in line.

    "Well, it sure looks like you got the sleep you needed," said the girl empathetically.

    "Not quite enough. But it''ll do," Holly chirped brightly. She still hadn''t told Katniss about the voice in the room or the request to ghost-write Katniss'' life story. Holly decided that now would not be the time to drop these bombs.

    "That''s good," Katniss replied as she reached over the short elf and grabbed her bow from the rack. "Why do you figure that we''re training now, after we fought?"

    As the Dovahkiin approached, Holly tried to turn her head and look occupied.

    "Gandalf says that the Master of Games doesn''t know what to do with us," he answered.

    "I don''t know what to do with you," snapped Holly.

    "And did you have anything in mind? I would be interested in knowing," the Dragonborn jested.

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "Oh, I did. I''m currently deciding whether to shoot you once or twice."

    "Well. You are a feisty little mer. Can you see why I like her?" he inquired of Katniss.

    "Oh, sure." responded Katniss nonchalantly.

    The Nordic warrior ambled away, leaving Holly and Katniss to get around to their practice. Holly squeezed a few rounds downrange, each landing within the lethality circles on the targets. Two of the shots hit center mass, just to the right of the center. The third had fallen just below the bull''s eye on the head section of the target. Not bad, the elf thought. I''ve done better. She turned and noticed Katniss'' target was devoid of arrows altogether. The girl was standing stone-still, her bow at her side. Her gaze was fixated on the target, and she was gulping for air.

    Holly set down her blaster on the shelf and moved into Katniss'' lane.

    "Are you¡­ having a moment?"

    The girl nodded.

    "Let''s go sit down, okay?"

    Katniss let her bow clatter to the floor as she took Holly''s hand. By the time Holly found a vacant table, she had degraded to the point of senseless sobbing. Holly slid her into a seat and took one opposite of her.

    "Hey. It''s going to be alright."

    "I''m sorry¡­ It was just¡­ just like¡­"

    "No. No. Don''t think about that," Holly said soothingly, taking the girl''s hand once more. "Those times are over."

    "But¡­but¡­"

    "Ssh, ssh. Listen," the elf said, lifting Katniss'' head so that their eyes met. "When this is all over-and it will be, I promise- you''re going to wake up in your bed. You''re going to go and live your life, raise your kids, write that book. That''s what you''ll do. Don''t worry about what you did, what happened. There''s good people here. We''re going to find a way to stop this."

    Katniss sniffled loudly and mumbled "Okay." Holly got up, and with Katniss in tow, began to wander about, taking in the vast variety of warriors that had been assembled. Holly made a point to show Katniss the more ridiculous ones, to cheer her up. There was a truly silly man who was training at the martial arts dummies. His outfit had apparently been designed by a kindergartener, as it proudly displayed all three of the primary colors. After he finished attacking a dummy, he turned to the small crowd that was watching the incredible display.

    "The secret to drawing upon your true strength is YOUR NAAAMME!" he shouted suddenly, taking those watching off-guard. He scratched his bright red helmet, as if bewildered by the crowd''s response.

    "Watch THIS," he called, continuing to emphasize select words. He wound up with his right arm, preparing to strike a dummy.

    "FAALCOHN," he yelled, letting his fist fly forward, "PAAAWNCH!"

    As his arm hurtled through the air, it became enveloped by flame. Then, perhaps more fantastically, the flame morphed itself into the shape of a great hawk, which dove toward the dummy and exploded with terrible force. The spectators contemplated this for a moment and broke into applause. Holly was surprised to see Katniss grinning.

    "That''s all it takes? Calling out your name?" the girl asked the spandex-clad man.

    "YES!" he cried, gesturing for Katniss to come forward. "Now SHOW ME YO MOVES!"

    Katniss shot a glance toward Holly, who waved her on. She stepped up next to the dummy.

    "So I just have to call out my name?"

    "AW YEAH!"

    The strange man was no help. She did not plan on screaming "KATNISS PUNCH" at the top of her lungs, even if some sort of flaming Mockingjay would project itself from her arm and annihilate the dummy. This was a stupid idea, and now she had to dig her way out of it.

    "Katniss Punch" is awful. "Everdeen Punch" is also awful. "Mockingjay Punch" is not only too long winded, but completely misses the point. But I have to get this over with.

    She pulled her arm back, planting herself firmly on the ground.

    I''m going to regret this, she thought, and began calling out her attack.

    "MOCKINGJAAAY PUUUNCH!" she cried, slamming her fist into the target dummy and instantly feeling like an idiot. No flaming bird motif erupted from her arm, which Katniss was honestly relieved to see. The crowd gave a good chuckle and began to flow away from the strange man.

    "DO YOU FEEL the SPIRIT?" the man shouted again, but Katniss and Holly had already walked away. Holly gave the girl a pat on the back.

    "You did pretty good," she said supportively.

    "That was absolutely the most embarrassed I''ve ever been."

    "Better to be embarrassed than be getting killed," Holly said before realizing that the comment went too far.

    "Oooh¡­ sorry," she apologized.

    "No, no. It''s okay. You''re right."

    Holly sighed in relief.

    "Just don''t say that ever again."

    "I''ll try not to," muttered the elf.

    The pair wandered past Date Masamune and the Spartan king Leonidas, who were sparring with wooden training weapons. They passed a table where the members of the Master of Games'' evil team sat arguing with one another over their loss. Holly noticed several large, oblong devices that she guessed were simulators to be used by the mech-piloting contestants. The training area really did seem to go on forever. Eventually, the two arrived back at the front of the room, where Holly picked up two granola bars from the breakfast table. She unwrapped one and began to chow down, while she handed the other to Katniss. The girl gave the bar an unpleasant look.

    "You''re supposed to eat it," instructed the elf.

    "I know. I just can''t bring myself to eat anything." Katniss tried to hand it back, only for Holly to push it to her once more.

    "You need to eat. I don''t care what it reminds you of."

    Katniss took another look at the granola bar and decided that Holly had a point. She peeled off the wrapper and forced it down.

    "There you go! You''ll feel a lot better with food in your stomach."

    "I guess you''re right. I don''t think I''m ready for anything more than that, though."

    Holly gave her an assuring pat on the shoulder, and was going to suggest that it was wise for Katniss to take her time when the Master of Games began to make an address.

    "My fine warriors! I trust you all have taken advantage of this opportunity to hone your skills! Now, I plan on bringing one-on-one fights back into the focus of this Grand Combat, but I''ve got one more team exercise for you!"

    He held out his hand, and a giant holographic projection lit up the center of the room. The projection showed the Master''s hand, and, cupped in the palm, a ring. The gray-robed mage began to shout indignantly.

    "You wouldn''t dare!"

    "Oh, yes," said the Master of Games, turning towards the old man, "I would. As Mr. Gandalf here is so aware, this is no ordinary ring. Your challenge will be to find the One Ring and hold onto it for as long as possible as a team. If any individuals were to leave their team with the ring, they will begin to accumulate points on their own, but are also fair game to anyone who would like the ring as well."

    The warriors began to murmur amongst themselves about the challenge. It didn''t seem particularly difficult, but it was also very vague.

    "I would like to add," continued the Master, "That you will be assembling your teams inside the arena."

    The murmurs became a little more distressed.

    "AHEM!" The room fell silent.

    "Thank you. You have forty five minutes to head to your rooms and prepare."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 3-2

    Megatron drummed his fingers against the throne. He was glad that his room had a throne; however, he was displeased that it was the only feature of the room. There could at least be a stasis-lock chamber. Then I wouldn''t have to deal with all of this waiting, yes. The Predacon searched the room for the speaker that would announce that the challenge would begin, but he couldn''t find one. The Master of Games must use some other form of voice projection.

    "Megatron, you may now exit through your door. It will lead you to your prep room and your team." Megatron chuckled. So he''s got my team arranged already? I guess he figures that cheating is necessary to get ahead. I won''t argue with his logic, no. He stood and walked through the door to find the team from the last challenge- The demonic warrior Nightmare and his cursed sword Soul Edge; a Yautja, an alien hunter more commonly known as the Predator, and the Xenomorph- apparently something the Predator hunted once. The AI piloted robot, Nineball, was absent. They stood at their equipment racks, fitting armor to themselves and loading weapons. The Master of Games'' voice echoed in the chamber.

    "As you can see, I''m giving you a head start on team-building. Large mecha like Nineball have been excluded from this challenge, but I''ve provided you a replacement for him- you''ll have to find him in the arena. He''ll be a bit of a secret weapon. Now do me a favor, and don''t let me down again." There was an awkward silence among the warriors. Megatron would not let it last. "You heard him. We''re not letting him down again." The doors of the prep room opened, and they stepped into a thick forest. Megatron saw through the trees that there was a clearing ahead. In the center of the clearing, a man sat by a fire. He seemed to be cooking something on a spit.

    Megatron turned to his team, and gave a nod to the Predator and the Xenomorph. The alien warrior cloaked himself, and the Xenomorph bounded ahead on all fours. The two approached the man, who seemed to be completely unaware. The Predator knelt just a few feet in front of the man, and the Xenomorph had crawled behind him. The Predator made a quiet clicking noise, and the Xenomorph began to rise, unleashing a terrible scream. The man didn''t even turn to face the monster. Instead, he removed what he was cooking on the spit and held it out behind him.

    "Well, are you hungry or not?"

    The Xenomorph sniffed at the charred substance, and snatched it away greedily. It sat like an oversized dog, chewing hungrily at the food. The Predator stood and uncloaked in amazement. The man showed no sign of surprise. "Don''t tell me you want some too. I''m plumb out."

    The Predator scratched its head and waved Megatron and Nightmare over. As the other two approached, the man did not run. He merely stood and observed the team assembling around him. "So, you''re the bunch of odd folks I was told to expect." Nightmare was confused.

    "Surely this maggot cannot be our ''secret weapon!''"

    Megatron scolded the demon. "Is that any way to treat an honored team member?" He turned to the man, who was brushing soot off of his home-made leather jacket. "Now, what exactly do you do?" The man stroked his short beard in thought.

    "Well, I don''t think I''m much of anything. Folks say all sorts of things about me."

    Megatron was a little annoyed by the indirect response. "And what do these¡­ folks say about you?"

    "They say I can sing, but I doubt that''s what you''re looking for. They say I''m a pretty decent shot, too," he said, gesturing to a bow on the ground. Megatron looked at the bow, and back at the man. Then the answer struck him.

    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    "Sir, what is your name?"

    The man did not answer, but he did laugh softly. He picked up his bow and began to amble towards the woods on the other side of the clearing. Megatron and the other warriors followed, amazed and dumbstruck by the man.

    ***

    Dirt roads had never interested Holly Short much, but she found herself examining every inch of the one she was currently walking down. It was about ten feet wide, and it was about one inch lower than the surrounding ground of the forest. It would probably flood very badly in the event of a rainstorm. She knelt down and scooped up a small amount of the dirt with her fingers. It was cold, dry, and lifeless. By comparison, the dirt underneath the trees of the forest was moist and thick, not unlike potting soil.

    I can''t believe it. You''re in an extra-dimensional gladiatorial competition, and you''re COMPARING DIRT. Get ahold of yourself, Holly! She brushed the dirt off of her hands and continued down the path.

    The (cold, dry, lifeless) dirt road wound through the forest and eventually led to a small, quiet brook. Holly looked down at the stream, then up into the surrounding foliage. Her opponents were nowhere nearby. The elf took the opportunity to study the components of the environment again. She knelt in the water and stirred at the sediment underneath. There were no fish in the brook, nor was there any form of algae. The rocks were unnaturally clean and uniformly smooth. It''s like it was just made. No, it''s like it was put in place by a landscaper. The Master of Games creates these arenas, but he can''t simulate reality perfectly. Holly picked up one of the smooth, black stones and was examining it when the air was split by a loud crack and a burst of lavender energy. Holly ducked for cover behind a shrub nearby and readied her Neutrino 3000. She delicately pushed the barrel through the branches, squinting to make out her assailant.

    The brook had been partially evaporated, and a thin veil of steam hid the interloper briefly. Holly vaulted over the bush, aiming down the sights of her blaster. The mist cleared, and the elf was greeted by a strange sight. Standing before her was what resembled a small horse with all of the hard lines carved out of it. Its coat was lavender, and its flank bore an insignia- a cluster of stars Holly couldn''t identify. Atop its head was a short, blunt horn.

    "What in Frond''s name are you?" questioned the elf.

    The creature spoke with a surprisingly human voice. "A unicorn, of course," it said, gesturing to the horn with one of its hooves. "My name''s Twilight Sparkle." Holly holstered her weapon and scratched her head.

    "And why exactly are you talking to me?"

    "Because something fishy is going on with this Grand Combat, and I need all the help I can have to get to the bottom of it. I was told you were one of the more agreeable people around."

    "By whom?"

    "Some big guy with a horned helmet. He spoke very highly of you."

    "The Dovahkiin, figures. You can tag along, but I have some bigger priorities right now. I''ve got to find Katniss and make sure she hasn''t curled up and cried herself to death first. I''ll help you once we''ve got her accounted for."

    "That''s fine. Lead the way." And with that, Holly set off down the bank of the brook, with Twilight trotting along behind her. We''ll see how long this lasts, Holly thought. If anyone here actually needs my help, it''s Katniss. The second this Twilight Sparkle gets in the way, I''ll send her to the glue factory.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 3-3

    Another leaf fell from the tree and brushed past her nose. Through some serious effort, Katniss avoided scratching at it- she needed to keep her bow strung. From her perch in the canopy, she could see the figures assembling at the bottom of the tree. The huge man in the green armor stood with his back to the trunk, while four other men gathered around him. The armored man began to address them.

    "One, two, three, four. Okay, that''s everyone. Report what you found on your reconnaissance missions, locations of teams or the ring. Anything of importance will do. Kenshiro, you first." Katniss had never seen Kenshiro carry any weapons or use any sort of magic, so she assumed he was some kind of martial artist. He was a tall, intense-looking man with an angry-looking face. He wore a faded blue jacket and old, worn boots. The old clothes seemed familiar to Katniss. His clothes seem almost home-spun. I wonder if his universe is anything like mine?

    Kenshiro spoke. "I saw a team, in the distance. They were headed north, where the forest becomes thinner and the stream runs. It was the team with the robot dinosaur, and those horrible mutants. There was a man with them I didn''t recognize. That''s all."

    The man in the armor nodded. "That''s the Master''s personal team. They were given a head start in the last challenge, and I''m willing to bet that they''ve been clued in on where the ring is. After the rest of your reports, we''ll track them down. Mario, what did you see?"

    The short and comically-proportioned man shrugged. "I got-ta nothing."

    Next to him stood a tall, husky man with a massive machine gun, wearing a heavy bulletproof vest over a shirt marked with the letters R.E.D. He replied with an accent proportional to his body''s thickness. "I saw no puny baby-men, either."

    The armored man turned to the youngest member of the group, a boy in a black robe. Katniss had spoken with him briefly, on the first day of the Grand Combat. His name was Harry, and he claimed to be a wizard. "What about you, kid?"

    "I was by the stream as well, a little further to the west. There were some footprints in and by the stream. Some of them looked human, but a little small." That''s probably Holly, Katniss thought. "But there were animal tracks there as well. Looked like hooves. They went down the bank, next to the footprints." That''s more difficult to explain. As far as I know, there are no animals in this arena. What could leave those tracks? I had better try and find her.

    Katniss slowly and deliberately turned and crept back along her perch to the trunk of the tree. She had just reached the trunk when she felt her left foot lose purchase on the branch. Her next thoughts were not very profound.

    "Oh, shi-"

    She fell sideways through the branches, being knocked backwards and forwards the whole way down. Katniss concluded that dropping straight down from a much higher altitude uninterrupted would have been far more pleasant. She was considering whether or not she was lucky that a branch didn''t knock her unconscious when she plowed face-first into the dirt at the bottom of the tree. She had conveniently fallen just out of the armed men''s line of sight, but they certainly heard her.

    "What was noise?" The tall, fat man said, hefting his minigun and spooling it up. Dazed and confused, Katniss attempted to get up and stumbled awkwardly backwards, tripping over the tree''s exposed roots. She fell on her back, staring up at the dirt clinging to the roots. Something stuck in the mud glinted, and she feebly reached out and pulled it to her face.

    No way, she thought. The armed men swept around the tree trunk and surrounded her. The accented man leveled his minigun at the fallen girl.

    "Now it''s coward killing time," he chuckled cruelly.

    Katniss smiled weakly. "Not today," she breathed, and disappeared.

    ***

    It had been about an hour since Holly and her new companion, Twilight Sparkle, had heard the gunshots. They had immediately set off in the direction of the sound in order to investigate, but the arena had turned out to be much larger than they had previously thought. "Bloody forests. Even if they had let me have some wings, they''d be useless," the elf concluded.

    Twilight nodded. "It''s a war of attrition the Master of Games is after. He certainly took the size of the arena into consideration. The construction, on the other hand, seems to be a little shady."

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    Holly halted their advance through the forest and turned to face the diminutive, yet intelligent unicorn. "How so?"

    Twilight dug her hoof into the ground and lifted up a little dirt. "See this? Humus. It''s a soil that''s naturally found in deciduous forests, like the one the arena is simulating. But the dirt on the paths is more mineral-heavy, and less fertile. The Master isn''t building them to be realistic, he''s building them to be useful."

    "This may sound odd, but I thought something was wrong with the dirt."

    "Yes. The arenas aren''t real places, they''re being conjured magically. And very quickly, too."

    Holly knelt down and plucked a blade of grass. "And he''s made some sort of mistake?"

    "Yes," Twilight continued. Her horn glowed softly, and the blade of grass lifted out of the elf''s hands and floated next to the unicorn. "When a plane of existence is conjured slowly, deliberately," she gestured toward the blade of grass as it split seamlessly down the middle. "The magic it was created with removes itself from the world." Holly nodded, though she wondered if the extended metaphor was necessary. "When the world is created quickly," Twilight elaborated, snapping one half of the blade of grass in half again, but more violently, "You get left overs." She set the torn grass back in Holly''s hands. Holly saw the strands of the torn grass poking out, the little veins that had moved water through the small plant.

    "Left-over magic?"

    "I call it the Residual Magical Genesis Field," said the unicorn proudly. "Tons of formless magic, stored energy, floating around in the air. And it wants out." Holly was genuinely impressed.

    "Now, could anyone in the arena use this magic?" She questioned.

    "I don''t know. The magic is waiting for some form of outlet for energy, but where and when it may release that energy is-"Her ears perked up. "Do you hear that?"

    Holly did hear it. It was a low roar, accompanied by sharp cracking. "Fire," she realized. She broke off at a run through the woods, and Twilight galloped after her. She saw light breaking through the trees ahead, and she charged through into a sizeable clearing. The opposite end of the clearing was ablaze. Through the mirage of the inferno, Holly and Twilight could make out a singular figure, crossing the expanse slowly.

    "D''Arvit. It''s Katniss." Holly rushed ahead.

    "Wait, Holly! Something''s not right!" Twilight called. Despite the warning, the elf charged up to the girl, who stopped in the middle of the clearing. Twilight reluctantly ambled up, but kept a fair distance.

    "Well, are you okay? Run into any trouble?" Holly waited for a reply as Katniss stared off into the distance.

    "A little. One of the other teams. They''re dead now." The girl said without batting an eye.

    Realization struck Holly. Twilight''s right. What in Frond''s name happened to her? She tried to glean a little more information from her using a roundabout technique. "Ready to, um, team up?"

    "I don''t think I''ll be needing your help anymore," Katniss said, drawing something from her jacket. She held it between her index finger and thumb and shifted her focus to it, giving the object that same blank stare. It was a small, golden ring with a thin silver chain. "It''s all I need."

    Holly needed to appeal to more basic logic, as Katniss was clearly not in a proper state of mind. "Well, maybe for this challenge. But we''ve got to stick together for this whole thing. Don''t you want to go back home?" Katniss did not lift an eye from the ring.

    "But it''s more than that. It can give me everything- a way out of the Combat. I could go back to my life, live it over. I could get revenge on every single person who ever hurt me, or Prim. This ring, it''s more than a means to an end."

    Holly tentatively stepped forward, ready to seize the ring. First, you should negotiate. "Yes, it is very nice. Now, can''t I see it?" Katniss turned her head and stared Holly straight in the eyes. The Mesmer had failed.

    "No. You can''t. I can''t let you have something so¡­"

    Holly stepped even closer. "Listen, give it here. It''s done something to you."

    Katniss stared back at the ring, and found the word that had eluded her.

    "Precious," she said, drew her knife, and plunged it into Holly.

    "My precious."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 3-4

    The elf collapsed, perhaps more from shock than injury. Katniss had already begun to advance toward Twilight, and had left the knife wedged in her once-friend. As she bled, Holly felt at the wound, and surprisingly began to chuckle. With some effort, the small, bleeding figure rose from the ground.

    "I can''t believe it. She missed." Holly pulled the knife out from her blood stained LEP uniform. She ran her fingers across the injury again, and confirmed that the knife had been slowed enough by the light armor to have glanced off of the ribs, cutting only the skin. Blue-green magic flowed from her fingertips and healed the cut in seconds. Holly slipped the knife in her pocket. Katniss had almost entirely crossed the clearing, and was headed for Twilight Sparkle, who was cowering under a defensive-spell dome.

    Holly called after the girl. "Hey sure-shot! You want to try and kill me again? I think you may have messed up the first time!"

    Katniss turned from the unicorn and faced Holly. Katniss did not reply to the taunt. She instead snapped the ring''s chain from around her neck, slipped on the band, and vanished. D''Arvit. Holly thought. The ring doesn''t just drive you insane, but it turns you invisible? What kind of idiot would come up with that? An invisible, but very real fist connected with Holly''s chin and sent her spinning into the grass. The elf rolled to the left and jumped to her feet, only to feel another blow sink into her stomach and send her reeling. She spun onto her back and saw the blue sky through the dark veil of the burning forest. Wait, that''s it!

    Holly pulled herself away by her hands and feet, scrambling from a crawl into a sprint toward the trees. "Twilight! Follow me!"

    A basic part of LEP training was being able to identify shielded opponents without detection gear. By leading a foe into thick crowds, mud, or even rain, you could easily see the impact they made on their surroundings- people shoved aside, footprints, even a thin outline suspended in midair. The burning forest- which Holly had begun to suspect was Katniss'' doing- provided low-hanging smoke and floating embers, both of which would swirl around her pursuer.

    Holly dove to the base of a large tree and held her breath. Twilight skidded to a halt next to her. "What now?" the inquisitive unicorn asked, following the question with a violent cough.

    "Don''t breathe," Holly hissed, and watched the smoke. Nothing yet. She looked up and saw a burning branch hanging above her. The branch forked into two strong-looking arms. Holly nudged the unicorn who was now straining against taking breaths and pointed up at the branch. Twilight gave a nod of understanding.

    The smoke shifted a little at the corner of Holly''s vision, and the silhouette of the girl appeared just to her left. An ethereal-looking arm, wreathed in smoke and sparks, wound up for a punch. Holly sidestepped and dodged the strike, realizing that the lack of air was draining Katniss'' judgment. The elf grabbed the outstretched arm, and used a fairy martial-arts technique for disabling foes quickly. A well-placed strike later, and the girl''s arm bones shattered. Katniss let out a shriek of pain, sucking in the smoke-clogged air. Stunned by pain and difficulty breathing, she staggered for just a moment.

    "NOW, TWILIGHT!" At Holly''s command, the unicorn''s magic sent the forked branch flying through the air, and into the ground- pinning Katniss beneath it. Holly rushed to her fallen friend and felt down her invisible arms to her also-invisible hands, thrashing and screaming and coughing. Holly found what she was looking for- a cool spot of metal along her writhing right fingers. The elf attempted to hold the hand still, but it was clear Katniss wouldn''t relinquish the ring so easily. Holly knelt on the ground and placed a firm foot on the hand. The girl yelped in agony.

    "Sorry, Katniss, but it''s about to get worse. It''s for your own good though," the elf said as she drew the knife Katniss had so kindly donated. Holly could imagine the girl''s crazed eyes locking onto the knife and realizing what was coming. Holly drove the knife past the knuckle and severed the finger, Katniss and her blood becoming instantly visible. Her eyes were closed, clearly having gone into shock. Holly knew that this stage of the plan was even more urgent. Twilight galloped up next to the impromptu surgeon, and magically removed the branch from the ground. Holly attempted to throw Katniss'' limp body over the pony, but had a little trouble overcoming her size disadvantage. Twilight magically hefted the girl onto her back- not an easy task, considering Katniss was twice her size- and the three left the forest as quickly as they could.

    ***

    Katniss opened her eyes, squinting against the setting sun that peeked through the trees. It was a few seconds before the dull ache in her hand progressed to throbbing pain. She lifted it to her eye level to see the damage and unwittingly released a whole new level of agony from her broken arm. The quick glimpse she got confirmed that her severed finger was back, most probably the work of fairy magic. She would have smiled, but there was not a bit of positive energy left in her body. She grimaced, unable to scream.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    The small and unusual horse from earlier sauntered into view. "Up and moving already? Holly wasn''t kidding. You are a trooper." Katniss gave the purple pony a dazed look. "Oh, perhaps I should introduce myself formally. I''m Twilight Sparkle, but you can call me Twilight." A purple hoof was extended in greeting. Slowly and deliberately, Katniss raise her left hand to shake, but the sight of her good hand flooded her with images of her rampage.

    Panic. Fear. They can''t see their foe. I am death itself, invisible and inescapable. The big man with the machine gun goes first, then the little man with the overalls and bad accent. Kenshiro tries to defend himself, but even fists as fast as his can''t hit what he can''t see. The boy from the first day, the wizard, doesn''t put up much of a fight. Then the one they called Chief. He could see. Maybe radar, or something. That didn''t stop me shoving an arrow through his helmet. The armor started sparking after that. That''s probably how the fire started, but I didn''t care, did I?

    Katniss let her hand drop. I knew I did those things. I remember doing them. And I wanted to do them. The unicorn saw the despair on her face. "Oh, I know you are probably concerned about what happened. But it wasn''t under your control, there wasn''t anything you could do." Katniss wanted to shake her head, wanted to raise her voice and say Yes, yes it was. There was something not right deep inside me and I''m afraid it is still there. But she could not, and so she sat, leaned against a log in the deep of an artificial forest, mute.

    Soft, small footsteps told Katniss that Holly had arrived. She heard the elf come to a stop just behind the log she leaned against, but she couldn''t see her. Twilight looked up at the elf.

    "Done with that ritual? She woke up while you were gone."

    "Yes. Maybe it means she''ll appreciate the healing more," replied Holly, who placed her hands on Katniss'' back.

    "Now, this will feel odd, but it should take care of your arm."

    The blue-green sparks fizzled into Katniss'' field of view and jumped toward her broken appendage. Each little dot of the potent magic homed in on the arm, sunk under the skin, and buzzed like a hive of bees as the pain began to fade away. Katniss slowly raised her arm, testing the joints. In the span of seconds, agony had turned into mild soreness. Fairy magic was powerful stuff.

    Katniss leaned forward, tumbling off of the log she had been sitting against. Catching herself with her good arm, she turned to thank Holly.

    "That was pretty¡­" she paused. It was there. Around her neck. Its thin chain melted back into one piece. The ring twinkled softly. Invitingly.

    "¡­impressive¡­" the girl croaked quietly, and began to reach for the band. She was halted by the log, and proceeded to tumble onto the ground. Twilight rushed to her aid, and Holly made sure to move the ring somewhere less conspicuous.

    "Are you all right?" asked Twilight, magically suspending her arm and examining it for injury. Katniss stared at her hand blankly.

    Did I really just try to take it again? After all that?

    "No. I¡­ I''m not all right. I can''t stay around you guys with that¡­ precious¡­ thing! I''m a liability!"

    Holly tried to comfort her, which was beginning to seem like a more common activity than actually fighting in this tournament. "Katniss, calm down. You''re disoriented and confused. You need more rest. We''ll work out what-"

    "No! You don''t get it. That thing¡­ I¡­ need it. And if I stick around you guys, I''m going to end up doing whatever it takes to get it. I have to protect you from me. I have to get away." And with that, she stood, and charged headlong into the woods.

    Holly drew her Neutrino and clicked it into its lowest setting, taking aim at her retreating friend. Twilight''s hoof pulled her weapon down.

    "Hey, what gives? We need to talk this over with her."

    The unicorn shook her head. "No. Can''t you see? This has to be part of the Master''s plans. According to my research, the One Ring effects people in varying degrees. Those with more power to carry out its will are corrupted more quickly and to a greater extent. The Master of Games must have known this, and planned this challenge specifically so Katniss would turn on us, and eventually, we would turn on her."

    Holly took a brief moment to absorb the knowledge. She nodded in understanding. "Okay, I get it. Now, I''ve charmed myself to be immune to possession, so I can only imagine what the ring could do to me, but¡­ seriously? It instantly made Katniss a maniac? What kind of power does she really have?"

    "You know her better than I do, Holly."

    "You''re right. And I''d say she''s about to get herself into deep trouble."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 3-5

    "So where do you think the ring is, Ryu?" mused Mikasa dryly to her traveling companion. They had been walking for hours, with absolutely no sign of any opponents, or the inanimate objective.

    The martial artist shrugged. "Perhaps on the other side of this forest. We may get there by nightfall," he said, patting his duffel bag. "Or we may have to camp out."

    "We wouldn''t have to camp out if you didn''t insist that I walk with you," the scout grunted.

    "A group is always stronger than the individual. And you might run into enemies."

    "I''m aware. I would kill them all," she replied, drawing one of her anti-Titan swords.

    Ryu shook his head. "Such overconfidence can only lead to defeat. The slow path leads to self-improvement."

    "I don''t have time for your philosophy lessons. We''ll lose at this rate." Mikasa drew her other sword, pulling its trigger. The pitons of her 3D Maneuver Gear sunk into a nearby tree.

    "I''m out of here." With a flick of another trigger, the cables retracted, tossing her deep into the woods.

    She''ll be back, thought Ryu.

    Not a moment past cue, Mikasa swung back into view, seemingly fumbling in midair and combat rolling to the ground. She dusted herself off and stood up, a look of fear and confusion on her face.

    "There''s something weird going on in there," she said, and almost instantly the light seemed to drain out of the forest. In the span of a minute, it had become night.

    "That''s just too bizarre. That doesn''t just happen, right?" She turned to Ryu, whose eyes were closed. He seemed to be in deep concentration.

    "This darkness¡­ it''s being produced by some evil ki. Darker than anything I have ever sensed before."

    "What kind of forest has evil ki?"

    "Not the forest," whispered Ryu. "Something in it."

    Heavy footfalls sounded on their left. The foliage rustled, and something leapt out.

    "I DON''T HAVE IT!" called the girl with the bow and arrow as she sprinted away.

    Startled and confused, Ryu lost his focus.

    "Who in the world was that?"

    "An absolute idiot," replied Mikasa, who drew her swords.

    ***

    Katniss knew the other warriors were likely to follow her. She didn''t care. If I just keep running¡­ I don''t know. I''ll fall off the edge? Then I can''t hurt them anymore. Was it night before?

    She heard them shouting out after her, but she wouldn''t stop. She leapt over shrubs and gullies, tearing through the forest with utmost determination. Something that sounded like a giant zipper being done shrieked overhead. Katniss looked up, catching a glimpse of the girl with the swords.

    "Hold up!" shouted the airborne girl. "You don''t want to go any further!"

    "Yes, I do!"

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.Another zipper shrieked, and Katniss felt something catch her leg. She tripped forward, sliding forward on her face for much longer than she would have preferred. The sword girl descended behind her, winding up the cable she had used to trip Katniss into the bulky device built into her belt.

    "No, you don''t. Did you even notice how it just became night?"

    "Yes, of course. The Gamema- I mean, the Master of Games can change the time of day as he pleases. Nothing too out of the ordinary."

    "No. There''s something in the forest making it dark."

    "Evil ki!" gasped Ryu, stumbling through the brush and struggling to catch his breath.

    Katniss punched a tree in frustration.

    "God, more of you? I don''t have time for this. I have to get away."

    "From what?" questioned Mikasa.

    "The ring! I have to keep away from it!"

    Ryu was puzzled. "Isn''t the point of the competition to hold it?"

    Katniss cradled her head in her palms.

    "It''s evil! And it made me try to kill my own team!" She took a moment to catch her breath. "And I would appreciate it if you left me alone!"

    Mikasa sheathed her swords. "Fine. Have it your way. Come on, Ryu. Let''s avoid that evil ki."

    The two turned and stumbled back through the dark forest. Katniss set off again, at a light jog this time. The moon, or something that looked just like it, shone brightly overhead, but only tiny pinpricks of its light reached the ground. The trees loomed over her like pillars of onyx, vast and omnipresent. Only the sound of her footfalls kept Katniss company. And then, they didn''t.

    Katniss paused for a moment, even stomping her feet on the ground.

    No noise at all. Weird. That''s just too quiet.

    For a moment, her ears sensed nothing but silence. Then, a quiet ringing, as if from far away. Katniss walked a few more steps, hoping that it would go away. It didn''t. She searched to the left and right for the source of the sound, but there was simply nothing in the dark forest. The ringing was getting louder, closer. She broke into a jog again, and then a full-out sprint, but she could not escape the sound. Her foot caught an exposed root, and she tripped.

    Damn, how many times today is that?

    She scrambled to her feet, preparing to try and escape the sound again, when she noticed the ground. The moon''s light was scattered everywhere along the forest''s floor¡­ except in front of her.

    "That''s too big to be¡­ my¡­ shadow," Katniss said, gripping her knife and clenching her jaw against the ringing noise. She turned, and for the first time in a long while, she consciously screamed in fear.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 3-6

    Ryu stopped, holding out a hand to instruct Mikasa likewise.

    "Evil ki?" groaned the sullen girl.

    "Evil ki," confirmed Ryu.

    Mikasa leapt into the air, executing a vertical flip and triggering her pitons, zipping back towards the girl who had left them earlier. Using her 3DMG in the forest was simple, an almost instinctual dance between aiming with her thighs, flicking the triggers, performing burns with the gas fan, and adjusting her swords like ailerons, followed by those brief moments of chaos as the pitons retracted and let go, sending her tumbling through the air to line up her next shot. It was a methodical madness to the highest degree, a perfect synthesis of situational awareness and insanity.

    The scout heard the scream again, this time closer. She banked hard to her left, swinging around a tree horizontally at maximum speed. As she reached the apex of the turn, the pitons snapped back, and Mikasa was thrown skyward to observe the screaming girl. She was collapsed on the ground, seemingly trying to escape the figure before her.

    Somehow, in the darkness of the forest, it was visible as an even greater darkness. Its extremities all seemed formless, a swirling mass of dark tendrils. But towards its center, its form was more concrete. The endless void congealed into a slim suit and tie, and a thin, white neck held a white head aloft.

    "Wha-" Mikasa gasped as the entity came into view. As if it heard her, it turned to face the airborne girl. Or rather, not face her. For the creature''s white head was completely featureless, having no eyes, mouth, ears or hair. And yet it somehow stared straight into Mikasa''s soul. In the blink of an eye, the creature had extended an arm, and she was trapped in its icy, formless grip. Instantly Mikasa was slammed into the ground, pinned by the being''s jet-black appendage. It slowly began to float toward her, seemingly gliding across the ground.

    Katniss struggled to her feet. Being close to that creature seemed to have weakened her, and it took considerable effort to string her bow.

    "Over here," she wheezed, causing the thing to turn its terrible head. She let the arrow fly, and watched it find its mark dead-center in the creature''s face. The arrow then continued through, completely unhampered. The blank face fixated its gaze on Mikasa once again.

    Katniss panicked. Is it invincible?

    Long strands of purest darkness began to trail out of its back as it picked the helpless Mikasa up, slowly pulling its arms in, drawing her toward its unnatural void. Mikasa tried to scream, but all of the air had been drawn out of her. Her world was beginning to fade into darkness, with only the creature''s face remaining in her vision.

    "HADOKEN!"

    The blue sphere of ki energy sliced through the night, ripping the thing''s arms into mere filaments of night, it reeled back, silent as always, but clearly in anguish. Mikasa tumbled to the ground, and shakily drew a fresh set of swords. Ryu leapt from the brush, another ball of energy crackling in his hands.

    "Make this one count!" shouted Katniss. Ryu gave a nod, charging the orb with more energy.

    "SHINKU HADOKEN!"

    The hadoken tore through the creature, vaporizing its dark form.

    Katniss stumbled over to the martial artist, still a little dazed from the assault.

    "Can you show me how to do one of those someday?"

    "Perhaps," said Ryu. "Gotetsu-ryu Ansatsuken is a deadly art taught to those pure enough to master it safely. The power of the Satsui no Hado can corrupt easily."

    "It''s coming back together," said Mikasa, with more than a hint of fear permeating her words. Where the creature once stood, the night began to swirl, ebbing into the familiar, semi-humanoid shape.

    "We¡­ can''t kill it." Katniss stammered. "Is this it? The end?"

    "Not if I have anything to say about it," chirped Holly, de-shielding next to her.

    "Agreed," mused Twilight Sparkle, teleporting in next to Ryu. "Now, we need to get down to business."

    With a grunt, the unicorn''s horn began to glow. A pink magical barrier appeared between the startled warriors and the ethereal creature.

    "Wait," gasped Katniss, "the ring!" Holly gave a chuckle.

    "Me and Twilight came up with a solution. She charmed it so it''s invisible. You have no idea which one of us has it, or where we''re carrying it."

    Katniss nodded with understanding, but was a little concerned that she would try to grab the unholy band if they weren''t in such immediate danger. Twilight cleared her throat.

    "Now, based on my brief analysis, I can come to the conclusion that this being is the one known as the Operator, Der Gro?mann, the Tall Man, or the Slender Man. It is a known avatar of the Old God Nyarlathotep, and is known to produce neurotoxic aura known as the Black Veil, which causes severe coughing fits known as slendersickness. On defensive rolls, it receives a plus-five buff, and-"

    "TELL US HOW TO KILL IT," screamed Katniss.

    "Well, it''s actually quite simple," stated Twilight. "I have a magical de-stabilization spell that, while quite time-consuming to cast, and focus-intensive, should be able to cancel its regenerative abilities."

    The creature had floated up to the barrier, and was seemingly waiting for them to drop it.

    Mikasa tightened her grip on her swords. "So we distract it, until you can cast this spell fully."

    "And then you kill it." Confirmed Twilight.

    "Sounds like a plan to me," said Holly, drawing her Neutrino. "Let''s do this."

    Twilight dropped her barrier, and the warriors scattered in all directions. The Operator continued to focus on the Unicorn, inching closer.

    "SHAKUNETSU HADOKEN!"

    The red fireball punched a hole through the advancing Operator, which stood still for a moment, then began to turn towards Ryu. He ducked behind a nearby tree, which Mikasa had been hiding against.

    "Tag, you''re in," Ryu lilted. Mikasa rushed out from behind the tree, faced again by the dark creature.

    "Never again," growled the scout, and she launched into the air, zipping toward the Operator. It extended its arms a second time, but Mikasa was ready. With a twist of her body, she became a whirling cyclone of blades, severing the creature''s limbs as if they were nothing- probably because they were. She snapped toward another tree, landing and examining the damage she dealt. The Operator had temporarily lost its hands, but they were already beginning to regenerate.

    As I expected. I can''t damage it with single strikes. But an opponent that can heal itself can be overwhelmed.

    Mikasa took aim and fired the pitons, which anchored themselves in trees behind the Operator. She launched herself off of the tree and flicked her triggers, jetting across the clearing, and striking the creature as she went. She landed on another tree, lined up, and did it again. And again. And again. Mikasa was a blur, a streak of death, beating the Operator''s upper body into a formless void pulp.

    Twilight watched Mikasa''s deadly dance above. Everything was going according to plan. The unicorn strained, charging her spell''s power.

    If my calculations are correct, I''m about halfway done. So I still need more time.

    "Holly! Katniss!" she gasped.

    "Got it!" shouted the elf, who dove from her tree. She drew her Neutrino, firing into the creature''s lower body repeatedly. Each shot tore a small hole through the Operator''s dark form.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Katniss fired another arrow into the Operator, but it simply flew through the other side.

    "Holly! It''s not working!"

    "That''s not good!" grunted Holly between shots.

    Ryu leapt back into the fray. "I''ve got it!" He pulled his hands back, charging another sphere of energy. "HADOKEN!"

    The fireball exploded around the creature''s battered legs, reducing them to a deep, black smoke. Suddenly, a thin, pink field appeared around the ebbing dark mass.

    "That''s it," gasped Twilight. "It''s up. One more attack should do it."

    "My pleasure," said Katniss, stringing an arrow. She fired directly into the center of the swirling mass, the arrow pulling back the void into a thin stream, trailing along after the fletching. The arrow itself embedded itself into a tree, and the trail drifted off into the night. Light began to break through the forest''s canopy, and the sun was edging its way out from behind the horizon.

    "The evil ki has been destroyed," confirmed Ryu.

    Mikasa dropped from above, her swords dripping with the black smoke-like ichor of the Operator. She pulled down the scarf that was covering her mouth. "With that inconvenience now removed, what do we do about the ring? After all, Ryu and I were our own team. And we know either the unicorn or the small Titan has it."

    "I''m an elf," muttered Holly under her breath. "And not a particularly small one either."

    "If we join together, you''ll get the benefits of us holding the ring," noted Twilight.

    Ryu was puzzled. "But if it really works like that, why wouldn''t everyone group around the ring?"

    "No one with it would let anyone else near it. It was all part of the Master''s plan," whispered Katniss, casting a wayward eye towards that odd-looking little horse. The other warriors nodded in agreement.

    Twilight lifted a hoof. "Since we seem to have overcome this pitfall, I suggest we confirm our mutual GHUUUH," she gasped, Katniss'' fingers gripped tightly around her throat. The girl slammed the unicorn into a nearby tree, prying ever closer to her face. Holly and Mikasa drew their weapons.

    Katniss paid no mind to them. "Where. Is. It?" she growled maniacally.

    "Put her down!" Instructed Holly, aiming her Neutrino. "I have it."

    "No, you don''t, hehehe," cackled the girl. "The precious, it tells me where it is. You don''t have it, see?"

    "I''ll end this," hissed Mikasa, rushing forward. Holly extended a leg, tripping her.

    "No, you won''t. We''ll work this out."

    Twilight was beginning to turn a darker shade of purple, gasping something about friendship. Mikasa was about to turn her swords on the ''elf'' (she was fairly certain it was a Titan, despite what it said), and Ryu was desperately trying desperately to inform the group about-

    A two-fingered strike ripped through the air and planted itself firmly on the back of Katniss'' head. Paralyzed, her grip on the unicorn faltered, causing the pony to collapse onto the ground, struggling to catch her breath.

    "Who the hell are you supposed to be?" said Mikasa, lifting a sword toward the man who stood behind Katniss. His arm was still extended out, his two fingers holding Katniss aloft with ease.

    "Do you know why she is infatuated with the ring?" The words were drawn out slowly, the baritone carrying over the rustling of the forest foliage.

    Twilight struggled to her hooves. "Yes. It senses her power."

    "The Battle Aura. Touki. If the ring cannot sense it, it cannot draw anyone to itself."

    Katniss crumpled to the ground, flipping herself back onto her feet to face her assailant. The man''s torn blue jacket was stained with blood. His eyes locked onto hers, and he drew his hands back into a fluid fighting stance.

    "You?" she snarled. "I killed you."

    "I see you are unaware of the Transmigration of Souls technique. You may be able to injure my physical body, but as long as my soul is not present within it, I can recover from nearly any attack."

    "I don''t give a damn," Katniss screamed, swinging a fist towards the man''s chin. She saw him visibly frown and narrow his eyebrows. Almost instantly, uncountable strikes connected with Katniss'' body, the man''s fists flying so rapidly that they almost left an afterimage. Katniss'' light frame was lifted into the air by a cushion of punches- and almost as quickly as the barrage began, the man''s hands were once again still and at the ready. The girl fell with a dull thud, slowly rising again.

    "You idiot, you''re supposed to hurt people when you punch them."

    The man almost smiled.

    "You''ll be feeling different about that in a few seconds."

    "I don''t think so," she growled, leaping at the man again. Then, as if on cue, she fell short of her attack, writhing on the ground in pain.

    "What in Frond''s name did you do to her?" Demanded Holly, now leveling her weapon on the newcomer. Though she wasn''t very sure it would do much good¡­

    "The art of Hokuto Shinken specializes in manipulation of all of the body''s pressure points. If one learns to strike the right ones in the right order, any of their body''s functions can be altered, stopped, or destroyed."

    Holly scratched her head.

    "Have we met before?"

    "Yes, in the previous battle. My team gave our token to yours. I am Kenshiro."

    Katniss rolled on the ground, still moaning.

    "To answer your question," Kenshiro continued, "I have forcibly shrouded her aura. Incidentally, this is the same principle on which the ring''s own power works, which explains the difficulty I had in fighting her before."

    Holly looked down at Katniss, who was groaning softly now.

    "So she should be¡­ ''cured''?"

    "Yes."

    Holly holstered her Neutrino and motioned for Mikasa to stow her weapons as well.

    "Thank you, Kenshiro. We could use your help," the elf said, extending her hand in friendship.

    "I''m afraid I must decline. Transmigration of Souls saved my life, but I cannot fight and recover. My work here is done. I am glad I could help your troubled friend."

    With that, Kenshiro turned and walked away. Holly noticed that the man staggered after every third or fourth step. He soon disappeared among the endless sea of tree trunks.

    "Wow," said Ryu. "I heard the other warriors talking about Kenshiro, talking about the power of his Hokuto Shinken. I thought they were exaggerating¡­ but that does seem quite potent. I must try and fight him some time."

    The elf knelt down by Katniss.

    "Are you¡­ okay?"

    "I think¡­ I feel all right now. For a while, everything was dark¡­ and painful."

    Holly waved Twilight forward.

    "Un-charm it. Just do it."

    "Easy for you to say," groaned Twilight, and the ring appeared on a chain around her neck. Holly slipped it off, and held it in front of the girl. Katniss simply stared up at it blankly.

    "I don''t hear it¡­ calling¡­ anymore," she whispered.

    "Well, then!" shouted Holly triumphantly, tossing the ring back toward Twilight. "The band''s back together!"

    But for how long? Thought Katniss.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 3-7

    The team moved briskly through the forest, prepared at any moment to encounter another band of warriors, or worse, some other thing like what they had fought before. For nearly an hour, they shuffled back-to-back, weapons, magic, and fists at the ready. No foes appeared.

    Holly holstered her Neutrino. "Okay. I think it''s fair to say we''re not getting attacked, for now."

    "He hasn''t ended it, though." Twilight pointed out. "The computers haven''t said anything."

    "Then there''s still one more team out there," said Katniss grimly.

    The elf nodded in agreement. "The Master''s team."

    "How are we supposed to gain an advantage over them?" questioned Mikasa. "We can''t ambush them if we don''t know where they are."

    "And I can''t track them if I don''t have a place to start," added Katniss.

    Holly smiled. "Then our course of action is easy. We lead them to us."

    This was met with a collective "What?"

    "It''s simple, really," explained Holly. "They have no choice but to take the ring from us. They show up, we beat them into a fine paste, we win."

    Katniss wasn''t so sure. "Do you remember fighting them last time?"

    "Of course. They''re a complete mess. I''m surprised they don''t end up killing each other. It doesn''t matter that they''re scary-looking."

    For a moment, the team contemplated.

    "I am in favor of an honorable battle," said Ryu.

    "Fine, whatever. Let''s get this over with," conceded Mikasa.

    Holly drew her Neutrino and waved it in the air triumphantly. "Three to two, it''s decided! We''re bringing them to us!"

    "But-" Katniss stammered. She looked at Twilight, who performed an action she could only assume was the horse equivalent of shrugging. Reluctantly, she followed Holly and the rest of their team as they moved toward the light that glowed in the distance through the trees, the clearing where she first ran into Holly and Twilight.

    Stepping out of the forest was relieving at first. Katniss even caught herself taking a deep breath, despite the fact that the air out there was no fresher than that among the trees. But across the grassy expanse was a grim reminder of her sins- a blackened forest, still smoldering. I can''t believe I did it. I killed them in cold blood. They all wanted the same thing I did. Doesn''t everyone here? What made me better than them? That I was stronger? Isn''t that what I fought so hard to oppose?

    Any further self-reflection was cut short by an unfortunate message from Mikasa, who was slowly drawing her swords.

    "We''ve got company."

    Across the field, emerging from the soot, was the final team. The huge, bio-mechanical form of Megatron looming over his subordinates- the fiendish swordsman Nightmare, the intelligent alien Predator, and the monstrous Xenomorph. They advanced into the clearing, coming to a halt forty meters away.

    "Hey," Holly whispered to Mikasa. "Want to take the big guy?"

    "No. 3D Maneuver Gear is almost useless in the open like this. I''ll go for the sword-guy," responded the scout, eagerly twirling her blades.

    "I''ll fight the one with dreadlocks. It looks strong," said Ryu.

    Twilight disagreed. "No way! That means I''m fighting that¡­" she motioned toward the Xenomorph. "¡­thing."

    Katniss could not believe they were bickering at a time like this. They went back and forth. But over their voices, she heard something. A whistle? Or-

    She extended her arm with speed and precision that was unnatural, even for her. Holly''s face froze in horror as she realized what had just happened. Katniss'' grip had sealed around an arrow, inches from one of the elf''s eyes.

    "¡­D-¡­D-Arvit¡­" she gasped.

    Katniss gave the arrow a look, and snapped it in half. She directed her gaze along the trajectory it had followed. Up, up, and on top of Megatron''s shoulder stood a man. With a graceful leap, he descended to the ground, and swung his bow onto his shoulder. He chuckled briefly.

    "Well, kid. It''s been a while."

    ***

    Ice. Ice ran through her veins. Ice crawled up the windowsills and over the creek, ducking under snow and hiding, waiting for the unwary to pass over. Ice covered their brows and their backs as they hiked through the forest. He stopped and pointed up ahead. There, he would say. See? He''s hiding along the trees. She would shoot, the deer crumpling, its last good eye regarding the two as they set to work.

    Warmth. The life of the animals running over their hands, the food- so scarce, so rewarding- melting in their stomachs. The smiles of her mother and sister as they returned from a day''s hunt. The songs sung in the woods and repeated by the mockingjays, an endless harmony. Earth, close, ever present, hollow, surrounding, consuming. Fire, death, grief, sorrow, and emptiness.

    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    "And you''ll be back?"

    "Hey, kid, of course I will."

    "I love you."

    "I love you too, Katniss."

    "Katniss. Katniss. Katniss!"

    She blinked. Holly had been the one speaking, fear filling the elf''s eyes. The girl looked up, and saw him standing in front of her, his cold grey eyes locked onto her near-identical ones. Her father, the man who taught her everything she knew. The man who had ruined her life.

    "You sure have grown up," he said softly.

    Katniss remained frozen, asking him one thousand questions in her head. There were simply too many- Why are you here? Why are we both here? Why are you with them? How did it happen? What was it like? What was the last thing you thought of? Was it us? Did you know what we had to go through? Do you know what I went through?

    "You''re¡­ you''re-" she stuttered.

    "Yes. I''m alive, very much so. It''s good to see you again, Katniss."

    "Ahh¡­ uhh.. ye¡­ yes. G-good to see you, too." Her mind was still reeling. Nothing made sense any more. Her nightmares made more sense, this whole Grand Combat made more sense, than this did. She fell backward, attempting feebly to sit up.

    "Listen, kid, I''d really love to talk. But I''m afraid I have to go through you to get that ring."

    "Yea- wait, what?"

    "Sorry, but that''s the way it is," said the man who was in fact her father, and he promptly punched Katniss in the face.

    "ATTACK," screamed Megatron, and his warriors charged down Holly''s stunned team.

    "I''m just going to take the sword-guy, OK?" grunted Mikasa, who sprinted toward the blue knight. Holly shook her head and barely had time to dodge Megatron''s huge sword-like weapon, which was composed of his dinosaur mode''s tail. A quick hop and the oversized tail-sword buried itself in the ground beneath Holly''s feet. She sprinted up the wide surface and leapt onto the robot''s shoulder.

    "Guess I''m stuck with you, huh, Barney?"

    "You miserable organic SCUM," he cried, thrashing desperately to throw her off.

    Katniss was still dazed from the punch, and was very glad that the big robot monster''s weapon had not hit her in her stupor. She struggled to get up, but soon her father loomed in her view again. He reached down and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her to eye level.

    "Why?" was all she managed to gasp. Her father''s expression did not betray happiness, or anger. It was something closer to disappointment.

    "Why are you doing this? It''s like the big man said. ''The winner will be given the ability to recreate their universe as they see fit.'' I know you haven''t exactly thought very highly of me since my¡­ accident," Katniss was not sure how he would know that, "And I figure I could make things right for you. For Prim. I''m sure you would want that, wouldn''t you? I''m sure that''s what a lot of people here want. Now, why don''t you just give up, and let me get to that ring, huh? For you." He still held her aloft. Katniss wasn''t sure he was quite that strong when she was young, but then again, she had never prompted him to lift her by the neck. She decided now would be a good time to pick a question.

    "Do you know what we went through, without you?"

    He let go, and Katniss fell to the ground. She sprung to her feet and caught her breath.

    "No," he said frankly.

    "We starved," Katniss sobbed. "And after we starved, we got by on the skin of our teeth. And after that, the Games."

    "Oh, God. Not Prim," he said softly. For a moment, Katniss noticed the absurdity of the situation. Here she was, talking with her father, standing next to a burnt forest as a variety of martial artists, magical creatures, aliens, and robots did battle around them.

    "Me," she said astutely. "I went once. I screwed things up, got people angry. I won. They made me go again. Again. Goddamned twice. Then everything went to hell, there was a rebellion, and then- then Prim-" she stopped. Her father''s face now was a visage of hatred itself. He drew a large hunting knife from his home-made leather jacket, which Katniss remembered helping her mother sew together.

    "You see?" he seethed. "This is why. I wouldn''t want that for any child, let alone my two precious daughters! Now can you just give up? Make this easy?"

    "But- but, dad, I-"

    "Stop! Listen to yourself! I don''t know what happened to you in those slaughter fests but you are not making sense."

    "No, dad. I can''t let you-"

    "Fine then," he said, drawing the knife into an aggressive stance. "You leave me no choice."

    And with that, he swung.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 3-8

    Mikasa leapt sideways, dodging the huge sword''s slash.

    "Your soul will be mine!" screamed the wielder, swinging Soul Edge along the ground. Mikasa jumped, the blade barely passing under her. The demonic knight pulled back for another strike. The scout watched the blade move back, and stop at the top of its arc. With ridiculous speed she swung her own swords, meeting the huge zweihander in mid-strike. With her entire upper body tensed, she held the sword back.

    "You fool!" growled Nightmare. "Now you cannot strike!"

    "Yes, I can," stated Mikasa, who delivered a tremendous scissor kick to the knight''s helmet. It stumbled backward.

    "Impossible! No mortal can strike with such force!"

    Mikasa patted her 3D Maneuver Gear''s storage box. "All in the lower body."

    Nightmare charged again, barreling toward the scout. She noticed a small gap in the knight''s armor, just underneath the heavy breastplate. She crouched, like a sprinter waiting for the gun- except she would be her own gun. Nightmare continued to draw closer. Three meters, two meters, one.

    Mikasa focused on the weak point. She pushed off of the ground with her unnatural strength, kicking dirt and grass skyward. A click of one of her sword''s triggers, and a burst of the 3DMG''s gas propulsion added to her momentum. She extended the sword ahead, and felt the softer mail give way, running over her hand, arm and up to her shoulder. She had run the demon through, front-to-back.

    "Uuugh," it moaned, hanging limp over her arm.

    Great. How am I supposed to get this thing off?

    ***

    Ryu was not having such troubles. He dodged another swipe from the Predator''s wrist blades.

    "Good, good, but predictable," he noted, delivering a fierce punch to the creature''s face. Its mask absorbed a good deal of the blow, but it was still dazed from the strike.

    "You see, you''ve left me an opening," continued Ryu, leaping into the air. He spun in place, unleashing a barrage of spinning kicks. "For my TATSUMAKI SENPUKYAKU!"

    The martial artist landed artfully on his feet. The Predator reeled, but shook off the blows, growling. A metal stalk extended from its shoulder plate and began to whine.

    "Oh," whimpered Ryu.

    The plasma caster fired a bolt, and the martial artist responded in kind with a hadoken. The two blasts of energy collided in the air, erupting into a blue cloud of dispersed plasma. Ryu had raised his arms to guard against the backblast, and saw between them that the alien hunter was running toward him.

    "If you insist," he said, reading his arm.

    The Predator tore through the blue cloud of energy to find Ryu prepared. A muscular arm soared up from the ground, buring itself under the creature''s chin.

    "SHIN!" called out Ryu, leaping off the ground, carrying the Predator aloft on his fist.

    "SHORYUKEN!" He extended his striking arm, tossing the Predator even higher into the air. Ryu dropped to the ground, wiping the green glowing blood off of his fighting gloves. A second later, the Predator slammed onto the ground with a thud, its mask tumbling off. Ryu moved over to his fallen opponent. The creature''s eyes spun aimlessly in their sockets.

    "That''s a knockout, then," he confirmed.

    ***

    Twilight circled her foe nervously. The creature was constantly eyeing her, despite the fact that it had no eyes.

    Oh man oh man oh man that thing is scary. Nopony would like to run into one of those in a dark alley, that''s for sure.

    Twilight continued to sidestep, only to trip over her own hoof. She righted herself, but the creature saw its opportunity. It pounced toward the unicorn, shrieking madly. Twilight screamed before teleporting in time to dodge the creature''s attack. She reconstituted behind the Xenomorph, which seemed surprised that it had not snagged her.

    OK, let''s see here. It looks like a Changeling¡­ but I doubt an anti-changeling spell will work on it.

    The creature turned and laid its not-sights on her again. She lowered her horn and fired a small bolt of magic, which bounced off of the creature''s carapace. It growled menacingly.

    Silicon based life. Interesting. Basic magical attacks won''t work on it. But perhaps I could try and bait it into doing something foolish.

    The Xenomorph flicked its tail forward, its bladelike tip tearing through the place where Twilight used to be. She fired another bolt of magic at it, then turned tail and galloped toward the burnt forest. She looked back as she ran, the creature''s spines and terrible elongated head appearing over the horizon.

    Eeek! It''s really fast!

    She teleported toward the nearest burnt tree, its twisted black limbs echoing those of the creature pursuing her. For a moment, the creature paused to locate her once more. Twilight figured she would lend it a helping hoof.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    "Hey, ugly!"

    Wow, that was more clich¨¦ than I thought.

    The Xenomorph scurried toward her, hissing with that terrible grating-metal scream. Twilight backed up slowly, only run into the tree.

    "I sure hope this works," she whimpered.

    The creature drew back its tail, tipped with a deadly blade. The unicorn was afraid to look, so she shut one eye. The tail rocketed forward, and Twilight cast her spell.

    You see, she mentally lectured the creature, I realized that I couldn''t defeat you using magic or physical attacks. At least, not directly. So I added a reflection property to my Magic Dome Shield.

    The Xenomorph''s tail struck the shield, and upon touching it, reversed direction. The blade tore through its owner''s ribcage, splattering its lower body with its own acid. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief inside her magical sanctuary as the creature dissolved itself.

    I''ll have to write a letter about that one.

    ***

    Holly''s fingers struggled to find purchase on the smooth, reptilian skin that covered Megatron''s shoulder pads. Luckily, her light weight meant it was not difficult to hang on for dear life. She attempted to reach for her Neutrino, but the robot moved, tossing her along the surface of his arm.

    "Get. Off," he said.

    "Give me a good reason!" Holly retorted. She found a sunken-in metallic bit in the robot''s armor and swung herself on to his back, landing in an alcove between bulky armor plate extending behind his shoulders, and his head. She finally was able to draw her Neutrino, pointing it directly at the back of Megatron''s head.

    "Say good night," she said, and fired. Megatron did not say good night. Instead, he reached up and plucked Holly off, dangling her in front of his face.

    "Organic fool. Did it not occur to you that I could convert my systems to run on a frequency that would not be interrupted by your energy weapon?"

    "No, no it didn''t," she said, and shot him in the face. Megatron staggered backward, crying out in pain. He dropped Holly, who executed one of her signature three-point landings. She took off at a sprint toward the stumbling Cybertronian''s left leg, which was temporarily at a 45-degree angle. It wasn''t too different than a balance beam- except balance beams didn''t have ten-ton killer robots attached to them. Holly leapt from the top of his leg onto his outstretched left arm, composed of his dinosaur mode''s head.

    Megatron caught himself, his stabilizing servos kicking in. He drew his left arm up to his face, grimacing at Holly.

    "Do not test my patience, elf," he oiled, reaching for her with his right arm. Holly jumped from his arm onto his chest, which had a convenient platform-esque ridge for her to land on. She now stood directly in front of his metal face, which scowled fiercely.

    "How about I test your vision?" she said, and jammed her small hand into his right optical socket. Holly grabbed at whatever she could and tore it out furiously, splattering the Predacon''s face with his own Energon. He clawed wildly at his face, knocking Holly to the ground. Holly struggled to get up, and when she succeeded, she found the Cybertronian''s right arm leveled at her. The Tyrannosaurus head''s mouth was open, and an orb of purple energy was collecting inside.

    "That''s a gun, isn''t it?" Holly moaned.

    "Mark my words, Holly Short!" he screamed, cradling his injured eye with his left hand. "You will rue the day you stood against Megatron! For taking my sight, I shall take your life! Is that not justice? I think so, yesss."

    Holly, suddenly unintimidated, began to wipe the Energon off of her hand.

    "You know," she said. "It must really be a drag, not having peripheral vision."

    "Whatever could you mea-"

    His response was cut short by the razor-sharp blades severing the oh-so-critical connection between his head and body. The mighty Predacon fell backward, his systems whining as they lost power. Mikasa dropped to the ground, and sheathed her swords.

    "I thought you said that 3DMG was useless in the open," said the elf accusingly.

    "Almost useless," grunted Mikasa.

    Twilight came to a skidding halt in front of the two, with Ryu jogging in behind.

    Holly holstered her Neutrino. "Everyone''s back. I guess things went well." She received three nods.

    She turned and looked toward the point where they had emerged from the forest. There, Katniss was still fighting her father. And it did not look like she was winning.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 3-9

    Katniss tossed herself to the left again, and felt the knife just barely knick her.

    Great, another cut. I can''t keep losing blood like this.

    Her father prepared for another strike, but she quickly dove forward into a slice of her own. Once again, his knife was suddenly there, and her blade clattered off.

    It''s like he knows my every move¡­ which I guess makes sense. Considering he taught me.

    "Come on, Katniss. Come to your senses," he said, throwing a punch toward her head. She ducked, only to find that his other arm was waiting with an uppercut. Katniss reeled backward, attempting to shake herself out of the daze. A swift kick connected with her side, almost crumpling her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Holly and the others arrive.

    "Katniss! We''re here to help!" called out the elf.

    Her father turned, giving her friends a glance.

    "I guess that''s it, then. You win."

    The girl wiped the blood off her face. "No."

    "Did she just say, ''no''?" questioned Holly, albeit rhetorically.

    Katniss winced through her words. "This is something¡­ I have to do."

    Her father turned back to her, drawing his knife again.

    "Well, kid. You asked for it."

    Katniss readied her knife as well. For a moment, the two simply watched another, waiting for the first move. Then, a sliding foot, or a breath taken early- the two read the signals, and struck simultaneously.

    The onlookers watched the fight unfold. It was not the deadly grace of a swordfight, but brutal efficiency. Every thrust of a knife was countered with a grab or punch, every slice jumped at in parallel to minimize injury. It was not the style used by two dueling rivals, but by a hunter trapped by a bear. And both Katniss and Mr. Everdeen were simultaneously hunter and bear.

    Katniss attempted a two-handed thrust, but her father''s knife appeared to parry the attack, just before it would have sunk into his stomach. He countered with a haymaker, which Katniss sidestepped. She was about to follow through with a stab when he delivered a roundhouse to her hand, sending her knife flying.

    Her father prepared to strike, lifting his knife into the air.

    It''s over, Katniss thought. I can''t counter him with a knife, and I can''t counter him without one. But I have to do this. I have to win. I have to show him that the life I did lead made me stronger. That despite the consequences, my actions made my world a better place. He can say all he wants, but in the end, his motivation is greed. He wants HIS daughters to live the life HE wants them to. At the cost of everyone in Panem. I can''t let that happen. I have to attack. But how, if my arsenal of moves is his?

    The answer, however farfetched, dawned on her. Her father was still in mid-swing. She had the time.

    Okay. Here goes nothing.

    She drew back her fist, her eyes fixed upon its target. Holly realized what was happening.

    "No. She wouldn''t¡­"

    "She wouldn''t, what?" Twilight asked.

    Katniss tensed her muscles, and shouted with all of her strength. "MOCKINGJAY!"

    For a moment, her father realized as well. This was not something he recognized.

    "PUUUUNNNCH!"

    As Katniss'' arm began to travel forward, thousands upon thousands of residual magical particles in the air listened to her cries. They rushed to her fist, and enrobed it in raw power. Of course, Katniss was not aware of this. She saw, without warning, her fist burst into flames, which erupted further into a vaguely bird-like shape. The punch sailed through the air like a comet, trailing its superheated aura behind it. It buried itself in her father''s stomach.

    "Now that''s differ-" he squeaked, before the flames surrounding the punch exploded.

    The explosion was compact, but forceful. The grass underneath their feet was burnt away, and dust was kicked into the faces of the onlookers. The recoil knocked Katniss'' fist back, and sent her father flying across the clearing, into the burnt forest. A trail of ash clouds rose in his wake, the sound of snapping tree limbs following it.

    Katniss fell onto her knees, cradling her still-smoldering hand. Her friends rushed to her.

    "What in Frond''s name was that?" asked Holly.

    "It was a punch," said Ryu. "A really strong punch."

    Holly gave him a dry look. "I see why you pursued martial arts as a career."

    "That," stated Twilight, "was the Residual Magical Genesis field. It noticed Katniss calling out the attack and figured it was an incantation."

    "Attention, all combatants," said the disembodied voice of HAL 9000. "Since no teams remain to oppose their claim, Team Mockingjay has won by default."

    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    "My deepest condolences go to Katniss Everdeen," cut in GLaDOS, "For her father''s death. At her hands. The card is in the mail, I assure you."

    The remaining warriors began to sink into the ground. All Katniss could do was look at her hand.

    "Then¡­ I really did it. I really-"

    The darkness surrounded her, and once again she found herself in the common room, surrounded by the other warriors. Holly gave her a hug. Ryu was saying something about giving her lessons in "ansatsuken", whatever that was. She saw Harry emerge through the crowd.

    "Listen, I-"

    "Don''t worry. I spoke with Gandalf," he said. "He explained what the Ring does. I''m surprised you were able to resist as well as you did."

    "I, ah, thanks, I guess?"

    She saw the Master of Games at the back of the room, speaking to a man she didn''t recognize. He was a thin, muscular looking blond, with odd fashion sense and an apparent fondness of the color yellow. She could see why the two got along¡­

    Holly had to shout to speak over the crowd.

    "Have you seen Twilight?"

    "No," replied Katniss.

    "She probably had some nerds to go and talk to. I''m sure we''ll see her again soon."

    Katniss nodded for her friend, but she couldn''t shake the feeling that something about Twilight was just¡­ off. Other than her being a small, magical, talking horned horse. Something about the way she had made such fast friends with Holly¡­ It didn''t matter. Katniss was tired. She pushed her way through the crowd to find her room. She collapsed on her bed, and looked up at the coal drawings on her wall.

    I only hope I made the right choice.

    ***

    Twilight stared up at the vaulted ceiling, with its tangled mess of cables and coils. It was true, it really was bigger on the inside. Energy pulsed slowly along the walls, and that humming sound was starting to get very annoying. She was glad they told her that it would be a short meeting. In the dim lighting she made out a table where the others were seated, and she took her seat on a cushion placed at the far end. Around the table, the shadowed members of their order sat, whispering about astrophysics, quantum computers, and that their Tesla stocks were doing very well. At the other end sat the boy, his huge bodyguard flanking him. He raised his glass, and tapped it lightly with a fork. The murmurs died down.

    "Thank you," he said, setting the glass down, and re-arranging the silverware at proper right angles.

    "Once again, you all have my gratitude for joining me here. I give special thanks to The Doctor, for lending us his vessel to use as a meeting place."

    The man- or at least, he looked like a man- rose from his chair, bowing. Light applause followed.

    The boy continued. "As you all know, I have arranged this meeting to clarify our current status, as well as to hear the report of our agent, Twilight Sparkle. First, I would like to state that we have no immediate plans for intervention. We are too small in number, and breaching the defenses of the Nexus of Carcosa will be no simple matter. Thankfully, we have our inside man, or shall I say, inside mare."

    Twilight slid off of her cushion and placed her front hooves on the table.

    "Initial analysis indicates that the majority of combatants are unaware of the true nature of the Combat, and are unlikely to respond to direct explanation. Outside of myself, the mage Gandalf is aware. However, his efforts to raise awareness are too small on their own to spread."

    "Very well, then," said the boy. "That concludes our meeting. I shall send you a message when we will convene again. You are dismissed. And Miss Suzumiya, do tell Dexter to remember the meeting next time. I have a particular project that requires his technical expertise."

    The figures rose from their seats around the table. They extended their arms forward, forming their thumbs and forefingers into triangles as they said the oath in unison.

    "Action in Thought. Vigil in Contemplation. Illuminati forever. Illuminati for always."

    As they spoke, the boy gave a nod to Twilight. While the rest finished their oath and disappeared back into their own dimensions, she remained. He walked over to Twilight''s place, his bodyguard accompanying him.

    "So you''ve been in contact with Holly?" he said, his orderly demeanor broken by a touch of hope.

    "Yes," replied the unicorn. "She seems fine, but-"

    "But?"

    "Well, I detected trace amounts of a Ry''leh distortion emanating from her. She''s definitely been in contact with¡­"

    "Then it''s as we feared," he said, fear replacing the hope in his voice. "You can go, Twilight."

    "I''ll try my best, Artemis," whispered Twilight.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 4-1

    PREVIOUSLY, IN PARADOX FIGHTERS: Holly is tasked with recording and sharing Katniss'' story, apparently in order to seed dissent. The fighters are plunged into a deadly game of keep-away over the mysterious and powerful One Ring. While Katniss snags the ring, Holly is approached by a newcomer, Twilight Sparkle. The two locate Katniss only to find her corrupted by the ring. After tracking her down again, they team up with street fighter Ryu and the Survey Corps'' brightest, Mikasa Ackerman. Together they confront the Master of Games'' team¡­ only to find that Katniss'' father is in the Grand Combat- and he''s not friendly. Katniss unlocks the power of residual magic and defeats her father, but forever loses any chance to reconcile with him. And it seems that Twilight may have an agenda of her own...

    The common hall was empty, as it usually was in the longer stretches between rounds of combat. The only exception to this rule was the yellow-robed, kingly figure whose elevated seat rose high above the floor. The Master of Games lounged across his throne sideways, attempting to look, what was it that they called it? "Casual". He heard the footsteps from across the room, and saw the solitary man walk out from the endless hallway that branched into the warriors'' various rooms.

    The man was thin, but exceedingly muscular. His wild yellow hair was barely contained by his green headband, his greedy red eyes poking out from underneath the blond waves. His wardrobe was similarly garish, his ridiculously-short yellow jacket conflicting with various green baubles. He knelt in front of the throne.

    "I received your message, my liege. Is it time?"

    "Not yet," quipped the Master of Games. "I''m going to have another round first. Then we''ll set it up. Are there any particular requests you have?"

    "First, I''ll need something devoid of sunlight."

    "No need. I can simply make you immune to its effects."

    "Excellent. My only other request is that you give me a nice, big space to work with. Preferably something with some building I could use as a base of operations."

    The Master raised an eyebrow. "A base of operations?"

    "I think you''ll agree that previous techniques involving all-out attacks have failed. A large team on my side, and the ability to either seek out opponents or defend¡­ this would give me a great deal of tactical flexibility."

    "Hahaha! You are a clever one aren''t you? Very well then. I''ll see what I can do. Are you sure there won''t be anything else?"

    "Now that you mention it, having some ambient¡­obstacles would be useful as well."

    "Keep them on their toes even before they run into you¡­ You are a marked improvement over your predecessor," giggled the Master of Games. "I have just the thing in mind. We''ll have one environment-savvy on our hands, but that shouldn''t prove to be much of an obstacle to you."

    "Nothing does," said the man, licking his lips. He turned and began to walk back to his room.

    "Oh, Dio- before you go," called out the King in Yellow.

    "Yes, my liege?"

    "I just have to compliment you on the outfit again. Simply marvelous."

    "Of course, my liege."

    ***

    Twilight Sparkle saw Holly walk into the room among a crowd of power-armored space marines. She lifted a hoof and waved the elf over, indicating a seat next to her at the table. Holly changed direction and swept herself into the chair.

    "This certainly is exciting," said the LEPrecon officer.

    "What?" asked Twilight.

    "Not being in a round, for once. How does it work?"

    "Well, you sit here and watch. Not much to it."

    "Hmm," hummed Holly, nodding. She began to drum her fingers on the table.

    Twilight lifted the elf''s hand just above the table. "Are you¡­ all right?"

    "I''m fine," quipped Holly. "I''m more concerned for Katniss. Didn''t he say it was-"

    "A two-versus-one match." Said the Dovahkiin, plopping himself down on the other side of the table. "Our little archer friend has certainly not won favor from the powers that be."

    Holly massaged her forehead with her palm.

    "Hello, there, Dovahkiin."

    "A warm greeting to you as well, my favorite mer!" For a moment, he seemed puzzled. Then he stood and slammed his hand down on the table, causing Twilight to rear up and fall out of her seat.

    "DID YOU EVER REALIZE THAT?" he bellowed excitedly.

    Holly approached his enthusiasm with caution.

    "What?"

    "''Mer'' and ''mare'' sound the same! Here is a mer," he chortled, indicating Holly. "Here is a mare!" he pointed at Twilight.

    "Wow. That is impressive. You should write a poem about it," said the elf dryly.

    "You know, I think I will!" he said, sitting back down. He began to mutter to himself.

    "O''er the icy hills lived a mer, who each day did converse with her mare¡­"

    Thankfully, his creative process was cut short by the lights dimming. A screen flickered into being on the far wall of the room, with no visible screen or projector. The fidelity was superb, far beyond the twelve-thousand-pixel HD displays found in most fairy cinemas.

    "That''s impressive," commented Holly.

    The Master of Games'' disembodied voice echoed through the hall, silencing the other discussions.

    "Two versus one. Win condition: Defeat of opposing party. Round start."

    The blank screen faded into the familiar profile of their friend, Katniss, stepping onto a deserted-looking street. She looked around nervously, and slipped her bow around her shoulder, marching off.

    "I think she''ll be fine," said Holly convincingly.

    No, I don''t, she thought.

    Katniss kept her eyes peeled. The scenery could definitely hide her opponent well. The arena seemed to be some sort of ruined city, bomb craters dotting the worn streets, buildings reduced to pig-iron skeletons. Occasionally as Katniss would walk by, a girder would lose its purchase and clatter to the ground loudly, nearly scaring her out of her boots.

    I need to get to higher ground. Seeing my opponents before they see me would cover my numbers disadvantage.

    She assessed her immediate environment, and located the tallest building nearby- what looked like a 3-story office.

    It''s not much, but I have to start somewhere.

    Katniss rushed toward the building and pressed herself against its front wall, quickly scanning for possible assailants. The coast was clear. She cautiously moved to the door and began to turn the handle, only for it to crumble into rust in her hands. She stepped back, steadied herself, and unleashed a powerful kick into the door''s center. It buckled, moaned, and fell inward onto the floor, knocking dust into the air. Through the haze, she saw the narrow stairwell that snaked along the building''s back wall.

    Katniss advanced toward the stairwell, her left hand ready to slip her bow off of her shoulder. The steps were wooden, and nearly rotted through. She began her careful ascent, her foot more than once snapping through the thin wood.

    These wouldn''t be to code in District 12.

    After what seemed like a half hour climbing the steps, Katniss reached the door that opened onto the roof. She placed her hand on the knob- this one seemed sturdier.

    Okay. Here goes nothing.

    She swung the door open, and behind it stood¡­ the ruined skyline.

    Katniss almost laughed. She stepped out onto the roof, shielding her eyes from the sun. She looked down over the edge of the building, to the empty, rusty streets below.

    "Oh, god. It''s clear."

    "No, it''s not," called a voice from behind her. She heard a footstep, and the door click shut. She spun, preparing to draw her bow. She was greeted by a leveled submachine gun. The boy on the other end of the weapon almost smirked. He had been standing along the wall, out of view from the door. His long, black bangs danced in the third-story air, his school uniform providing a sharp contrast to the heavy survival pack he had slung over his back.

    "And who the hell are you?" asked Katniss, lowering her hands from her bow.

    "I am Shuya Nanahara. I am your opponent."

    "Now that was unexpected," said Twilight.

    "No kidding," agreed Holly. "How is she going to get herself out of this one?"

    Katniss raised her hands above her head.

    "Okay, you''ve got me."

    "Hold up, Everdeen. I''m not going to let you get away that easily."

    The boy pulled a knife out of his pack, keeping the submachine gun steady with the other. He extended the knife out to his side, and dropped it. The metal blade clattered to the concrete roof and tumbled off of the building''s edge. Shuya wiped a few bangs out of his face and tucked them behind an ear.

    "I''m no more of a fan of this than you are, Everdeen. So we''ll settle this like civilized humans, and not a bunch of bloodthirsty animals."

    "I like where you''re going with this, Nanahara," said Katniss, lowering her hands.

    "Set down your weapons. We''ll fight with our bare hands, to a knockout. Nobody has to die."

    "I don''t know," chuckled Katniss sarcastically. "Did you see what happened last time I fought with my hands?"

    "I seriously doubt you can pull off that again."

    Holly pondered this for a moment.

    "Is he bluffing?" she asked her unicorn companion.

    "I have no idea. I can''t detect the Residual Magical Genesis Field if I''m not in the arena. I mean, I can tell visually if it''s being used-"

    "But¡­ could he be right?"

    "It was a one-in-a-million event. It takes some serious determination to convince the magic to work for you. If Katniss tried to pull it on anyone less threatening than her father, it would probably fail."

    Katniss slipped her bow off her shoulder and set it on the ground gently. She laid her knife next to it, and placed her arrows between the two.

    Holly was a little surprised. "Half of me expected her to not take up the bargain."

    Twilight raised a hoof toward the screen. "Wait! What''s she doing now?"

    Katniss swung her jacket off, catching it by the sleeve. With a deft hand, she tied the sleeves into a belt around her waist. Her hands curled into fists, her right raised to chest height, her left guarding her midsection. She bent her legs slightly, keeping the muscles tense and ready to push off.

    "I never knew she had martial arts training," said Twilight, bewildered.

    Holly narrowed her eyebrows. "I didn''t either. That stance¡­ it looks familiar."

    "I''m glad you took up my offer," said Shuya, flicking the safety on the gun on and tossing it to the ground.

    "You won''t be, soon enough," growled Katniss through gritted teeth.

    The boy launched himself toward her at a sprint, leaping just feet in front of her to deliver a flying punch. Katniss ducked, and drove a fist into his gut. She followed through on the punch, sending him falling back toward the door. He tumbled backward, barely catching himself. He placed a hand on his stomach and groaned.

    "Not bad," he said. "I didn''t know you could do that."

    Katniss returned to her stance, wringing out her striking hand. With her left, she raised two fingers, beckoning him to attack. Shuya obliged, rushing at her with a straight punch. Katniss crossed her arms, absorbing the blow. Shuya wound up and delivered another strike, and another, thrashing wildly. The girl merely leaned into the attacks, keeping her arms raised.

    "Hmmm," said Twilight, staring intently at the screen. "This kid has next to no formal combat training. His form is sloppy, and his strikes don''t seem very powerful. Why would he purposefully challenge Katniss in hand-to-hand combat when he has no advantage there?"

    Holly seemed distracted, gazing into the distance. Twilight spoke clearer, louder.

    "Why would he do that?"

    "Huh? Oh, ah, no idea," said the elf, bringing her attention back on the fight.

    Shuya''s attacks were pathetic, barely bruising Katniss'' arms as she deflected them.

    Any moment now, he''s going to slow down¡­

    Shuya did not launch his next punch immediately, his eyes searching for a way to attack that would not get blocked. Unfortunately for him, this brief lapse into strategy was Katniss'' chance. She leapt forward into the air, twisting herself at the waist. She tilted her extended leg so that it caught the momentum, swinging outward, straight toward Shuya''s face.

    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Shinrin-Kasai-Kyaku!" she shouted as her boot found its mark in the boy''s cheek. Another twist of her waist, and her hammer-like foot struck again, sending teeth flying. Katniss dropped to the ground, and watched the boy stagger and crumple.

    "By the Divines," said the Dovahkiin. "How can someone so small hit so hard? And with such grace?"

    "Of course!" said Holly, snapping her fingers in mental jubilation. "Remember? That martial arts guy, Ryu- he said he would teach her some of his style!"

    "That certainly explains her sudden command of the Japanese language," said the unicorn.

    It also accounts for why I didn''t see her after the end of the last round, thought Holly. She must have been training in the martial arts sector¡­ but why? Perhaps she''s concerned about facing her father again¡­

    Katniss approached her fallen opponent. Shuya Nanahara''s mouth ran over with blood, and he attempted feebly to get up. He spat teeth before speaking.

    "I didn''t think you could do that¡­ that''s not what I had read," he gasped.

    Katniss frowned. "What you had read?"

    "I want you to know¡­ that you have my sympathy. I know how it¡­" his voice trailed off. He closed his eyes, still breathing.

    She crossed back over the roof and collected her weapons. She looked down at the unconscious boy, and placed his survival pack next to him, to give him a hand when he woke up.

    "Shuya Nanahara. You fought bravely, even if it was futile. We all fight against odds we can''t beat sometimes," she said solemnly, kissing her first three left fingers and holding them aloft.

    "Sayonara," whispered Katniss, closing her not-eulogy. She slipped through the door and carefully descended the stairs, stepping back onto the street. She flicked her shoulder, her bow dropping into her hand, and walked on.

    Holly shook her head subtly. The more she fights, the more she becomes the person she must have been before coming here. Broken enough not to care, jaded enough to not let anyone too close. I only hope that¡­ thing was right. She needs a friend whether she thinks so or not.

    "What he read," muttered Twilight. "What he read. What did he read? Was the Master of Games behind this?"

    "Dunno," said the elf nonchalantly.

    Katniss followed the street for an hour, scowling at the quickly-fading daylight. She knew being stuck outside in the dark was not an option, so she resolved to find her opponent or shelter, whichever turned up first. In an attempt to make sure it was the latter, she picked up the pace, barreling around the nearest street corner. The road was fairly wide, and at the end of the street sat a dilapidated warehouse. The roof was caved in and rusty, and the windows had all shattered- it was perfect for avoiding suspicion. Katniss broke out into a sprint toward the building. She was reaching for the handle when the air split with a gunshot. She felt the stinging wind of a bullet passing between her extended fingers, freezing her in place.

    She turned her eyes, avoiding any large movements that could provoke another shot. To her left, down the street the warehouse was adjacent to, a figure approached- pistol extended in one hand. A dull grey hooded cloak concealed the identity of Katniss'' second opponent.

    "You missed," said Katniss softly.

    "Say that again, and I''ll put the next bullet where I meant to." It was a girl''s voice, accented, familiar.

    "I doubt that," said Katniss, drawing her hand back towards herself.

    "No!" shouted Holly, jumping out of her seat.

    Another shot rang out, the bullet clipping the asphalt and kicking up dust.

    "Am I really that difficult of a target to hit?" called Katniss to her foe. Another shot, just over her head.

    "I swear, you''ll be more useful as a pencil when I-"

    "Shut up," interrupted Katniss.

    The cloaked girl lowered her gun. "What?"

    "Cut the smack," hissed the girl with the bow. "I watched your form with the gun. You''re not trembling. You''re not making mistakes, you''re trying to not shoot me. You can''t do it."

    "I''m not going to take this from some goddamned whiner!" shouted the girl, whipping off the cloak. Underneath, a simple black combat uniform, sleeves removed. Tattoos peeked out from under the heavy vest, and blonde hair swung back in a long, loose braid. She raised her gun again, leveling it on Katniss. This time, she noticed something was different. The girl''s bow was drawn.

    But where''s the arr-

    The projectile she was looking for dove between her middle and ring finger of her gun-wielding hand. She clenched her fist in pain, and as a result, pulled the trigger. Her injured hand and stunned mind could not prepare, and the recoil tossed the weapon out of her hand. It hit the ground with enough force to go off again, the bullet whizzing away harmlessly. The disarmed girl stared at her own hand in disbelief and pain.

    Katniss lowered her bow, and began to advance toward the girl.

    "I don''t miss shots I mean to take."

    "Stay back," said the girl, surprisingly calm. She fumbled in her cargo pants'' pocket.

    "What was your name again? Tris, right? Tris Prior." Katniss realized she was almost smiling, seeing the fear in the girl''s eyes.

    "Go to hell!" screamed Tris, flicking a throwing knife toward her.

    Katniss watched the throw carefully. It was very accurate, and there was a lot of force behind it, but it was simply too telegraphed. She stepped to the left, the blade whistling past her.

    "You''re very strong," commented Katniss, ever closer to her prey. "I''m sure if you hit me you would stop me in my tracks. Why won''t you?"

    Tris staggered backward, dropping a second throwing knife she had drawn in vain.

    "I¡­ just¡­ you''re too much like¡­ after all you''ve¡­"

    Katniss stood over the girl now, who was sobbing audibly.

    "What? What are you talking about?"

    "You''re like my friends¡­ you''re like me. Maybe worse¡­ I can''t just attack¡­ I know why you were crying¡­"

    "Wait, how do you know this?"

    "I read it¡­ in the book," whimpered Tris.

    "What. Book?" asked Katniss. Tris heard something in the other girl''s voice she did not want to hear. She was angry.

    "Some people were passing it around. It was interesting to learn more about the people here, and I''m really sorry about-"

    "Did I say I wanted people to know?" said Katniss, with the sort of calm that only comes from restraining rage.

    "But I¡­ I didn''t¡­"

    Katniss was silent. Her grip on her bow relaxed, and the weapon clattered to the ground.

    Tris stumbled to her feet, apologizing profusely.

    "Listen, I''m really sorry, I won''t-"

    Katniss'' eyes rose to meet hers. They were not filled with forgiveness.

    "Oh," squeaked Tris.

    A fist hammered across her face, a thin stream of blood escaping her mouth. Tris barely had time to catch the second vicious strike in mid-throw. Even then, she had trouble holding it. Katniss'' eyes were narrowed, her teeth gritted. She was beyond reason now. A swift kick caved Tris'' stomach, knocking the wind out of her, and forcing her to let go of Katniss'' punch- which now freely traveled into her nose. She heard it snap under the attack''s force.

    Katniss was breathing heavily, her fists wet with Tris'' blood. Her mind just seconds ago was filled with questions. Why didn''t she hit me? How does she know that? Where did she get the book? Who wrote it? Now, those things seemed to disappear. A single thought populated her brain: Kill her.

    Tris struggled to keep herself standing. She laboriously moved her arms into a defensive stance, guarding her face from further attacks. She adjusted her footing, and began to watch her opponent''s movements. I''m not going down that easily.

    Katniss saw the girl move toward her. An arm swung forward in a hammer-fist move, a fast, if predictable attack. She crouched, letting the girl''s straight arm fly over her. For a moment, Tris'' chin was completely exposed. Katniss knew this was the opportunity to satisfy that ravenous thought. She released her breath slowly, methodically. She turned her focus to her target, planning the movements that would deliver the strike. She clenched her fist, tensed her legs. She was an explosive charge, a landmine. Tris had just stepped on the trigger.

    Katniss leapt up with astounding force, the uppercut driving itself into Tris'' gut. The blow knocked the wounded girl skyward, soaring on the rocket-propelled fist of her opponent.

    "SHO!"

    Katniss flicked her waist, giving her uppercut a horizontal spin. Her fist, no longer inhibited by being embedded in the girl''s body, travelled upward again, a gout of flame trailing in its wake.

    "HI!"

    The fist connected with the sternum, which fractured under the raw power. The air evacuated Tris'' lungs.

    "KEN!"

    The punch met its ultimate target, Tris'' chin. Katniss felt the mandible snap, her hand breaking the jaw in one strike. Her foe fell away as the uppercut continued skyward, tumbling to the ground with a splat. Katniss lost altitude as well, barely catching herself on her feet. Her hand ached, she was pretty sure it was broken. She looked down at the body of the girl she barely knew, blood pooling underneath her head.

    Why did I snap? What made me want to kill her like that? Of course, the book. I''ll figure that out¡­ but something else drove me that far. I shouldn''t have just¡­

    "Katniss Everdeen wins this round," declared the computerized voice of Deep Thought. "Though I must question the theatrics of calling out your attacks like that, very illogical."

    Her legs slipped through the ground, and she closed her eyes.

    Holly saw her friend rise up through the floor in the inverse of how she left the arena.

    "Katniss!" she cried, rushing to her. "Are you all right?"

    The girl looked down at her hand grimly. It did not hurt anymore.

    "No."

    Twilight sauntered toward the two.

    "That last attack¡­ I don''t think that was a R.M.G.F. burst. I think that may have been a genuine ki attack," said the unicorn.

    Katniss shifted her gaze away from her hand to the elf.

    "Holly, you''re the only person I''ve told."

    Holly''s eyes widened in fear.

    "Look, I thought that, maybe it would stir up some sympathy. And it did! Did you listen to those people as you were beating them into a bloody pulp?"

    "That doesn''t matter. I don''t need their sympathy. And I don''t need your help."

    With that, the girl turned and walked away. Holly could have sworn that she saw a tear in the girl''s eye, but perhaps it was the light.

    "Holly," said Twilight sternly.

    "Great, are you going to chew me out, too? I feel like a dwarven teenager with a close shave."

    "You just gave away not only your friend''s strengths and weaknesses to anyone who desires to read them, but you also threw in her personal life as an added bonus!"

    "When you put it that way-"

    "Listen, Holly. You are no idiot. I have no doubt in my mind that you are fairly intelligent. Where did you come up with this asinine idea?"

    Holly scratched her head nervously.

    "It was¡­ a whim. A whim I got with very little sleep."

    "Something in your dreams, then?"

    Holly almost gasped.

    "No, it was-"

    "Where did you get the book, Holly?"

    The elf''s eyes flitted back and forth, searching for an explanation she could not find. She shivered, twisted her back, stamped her foot, and screamed.

    "THIS HORSE SAYS SHE''S THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD! SHE''LL TAKE ALL COMERS!"

    Instantly, a barrage of warriors surrounded Twilight, asking questions about her preferred fighting style, and whether she was a practitioner of classical or new-age sorcery. Holly slipped through their ranks, sprinting away.

    This has gone too far, she thought. I need backup.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 4-2

    "GRRRRRRAAAH!"

    Katniss punched the dummy again, striking it squarely in the abdomen.

    The martial artists seemed to have bonded well. They were always complimenting each other''s forms, demonstrating complex techniques, telling stories of their fabled battles. It was a bro-fest with more talk of honor, and less sugary beverages. Katniss didn''t care. They were someone else to talk to, even if it was about how she had ''telegraphed that haymaker too much''.

    "You telegraphed that haymaker too much," said Ryu, sitting on a bench nearby.

    "Do you think I care?" growled Katniss, massaging her hand.

    "You wanted me to teach you, didn''t you?"

    She rolled her eyes and attacked the dummy again.

    "That anger of yours¡­ you had better learn to manage it."

    "Why? I fight better like that. When you''re cornered, you survive by fighting your way out. It''s instinct."

    "In your last battle, while fighting your second opponent, did you notice anything about your attacks?"

    Katniss stopped punching the dummy.

    "Yeah. They were stronger. I don''t think I normally hit like that."

    "And did you feel anything unusual?"

    "That Tris girl¡­ I don''t know what, but when she told me that she knew, she read my life story¡­ I just wanted to kill her."

    "Partially that could be attributed to the environment of the Grand Combat. When we''re here to fight, and everyone comes back, fighting to kill becomes a less extreme act. But it feeds a dark part of your soul. You experienced the Satsui no Hado, the wave of the desire to kill. Ansatsuken was created to channel this desire to unlock ki attacks. You fight with almost animalistic instinct. This serves the Hado well. Unfortunately, it corrupts easily. You must learn to fight without anger, or that anger will consume you."

    "Fine then," Katniss said. "But if I fight ¨Chim- again, I can make you no promises."

    "Worry less about making promises to me. You will be the one that regrets what happens."

    Katniss decided that she had listened to enough metaphysical mumbo-jumbo for one day. She stormed off toward her room. Ryu got up from the bench and examined the dummy. Under the soft surface, it was riddled with dents.

    "That doesn''t sound like a very practical art to me," said Kenshiro, sipping a glass of water. "Why use anger when ki can be channeled with purity or willpower?"

    "Whatever happened to just punching people?" moaned Chuck, roundhouse kicking his own dummy.

    Twilight ambled into her room, hopping on to her bed. Her guest was bound to arrive any minute now.

    Holly Short¡­ how far down that path have you walked? How much has it seeped into your soul, for you to simply obey like that? Are you too far gone to think about your friend? And have you also forgotten that there are those who care for you that aren''t here?

    A hissing sound filled the room, accentuated by a muffled scream and the sound of heavy wings flapping in the night.

    "Ah," said Twilight, unfazed. "You''ve made it."

    The man rose up through the floor, his body procedurally becoming tangible. He adjusted his hat, and slipped his gloved hands into his overcoat''s pockets.

    "This had better be good."

    "I didn''t want for it to come to this," said Twilight apologetically. "But I''m afraid things have gotten out of hand. We need to locate Holly in the next round. She needs¡­ detox."

    "And you came to me for that? I guarantee I will put her in far worse shape than whatever it is-"

    "No, I came to you for a hired gun."

    "How dreary."

    "I''m sorry to reduce you to that, Mr. Alucard."

    "It could be worse. I am enjoying all of the killing there is to be had around here, but that won''t keep me occupied forever. I''ll get cabin fever like anyone else. I will help your operation here, if only for my own gain."

    "I''m glad you''re so upfront about it."

    "When you''re an immortal specter driven by bloodlust, you become quite frank. What does your blood taste like?"

    "I''m not going to answer that."

    Alicard found it wise to change the subject.

    "Have you noticed, Ms. Sparkle," he said, gesturing to the air above him. "Those invisible chains? Binding us?"

    "It is the second magical phenomena I have discovered in this Nexus. The Limit. From the dossier I was given, I assumed you were affected by it as well."

    "Even I am not sure what I am still capable of. Do you think breaking it is possible?"

    "Possible, not probable. Goodbye, Mr. Alucard," said Twilight, giving a courteous bow.

    "I shall see you again soon," said the vampire, slipping into the floor again.

    "Eyeuuuughhh," whimpered Twilight. "That guy gives me the creeps. But if the higher-ups say so¡­" She lay down on her bed, but decided she would not be sleeping for a while.

    The darkness seemed to splatter around her, as if it was saliva in the mouth of some vast creature chewing her into pieces. Somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness, Holly found the strength to speak.

    "They¡­ know," she mumbled.

    "I KNOW THAT THEY KNOW."

    "Well, what¡­ are you going to do?"

    "NOTHING. YOU DID AS I ASKED. THE BOOK STILL EXISTS. THE MEDDLER DID NOT REMOVE IT."

    "But¡­ it made Katniss¡­ angry at me," said the elf, trying not to collapse against the terrible sound.

    "AND?"

    "You said¡­ that it was our friendship¡­ that would help¡­"

    "THEN YOU HAD BETTER FIND A WAY TO FIX THAT."

    "I am getting tired¡­ of this. I don''t want¡­ to deal with you anymore."

    "PATHETIC MORTAL. YOU CANNOT REMOVE MY PRESENCE FROM YOUR MIND. EVEN REDUCED TO A STATE LIKE THIS, I CANNOT BE ESCAPED."

    Holly opened her eyes to find herself in her room again. She felt exhausted, but far worse was the feeling of self-betrayal.

    I was supposed to be there for her. I wanted to help her. Now I''ve gone and ruined it. On her own, she''ll get herself killed. Or will she? Nothing makes sense anymore.

    "Miss Short. Please report to the common hall in five minutes."

    "D''Arvit," she cursed, stuffing her head in her pillow.

    The warriors began to flood the common hall, taking seats, clumping into their little groups. The Master of Games sat upon his throne, stroking his beard, chuckling to himself.

    They thought they could be friends¡­ heh. This round will prove to them that I am in control, and I can make this a very dangerous place indeed.

    "Attention, my fine warriors! It is so good to see you all again! Except you, Benvolio."

    "Thou art a KNAVE and a SCOUNDREL! I bite my thumb at thee!" cried an angry voice from the crowd.

    "Anyway," the Master continued. "It''s time to introduce the next round. This will be a team-based challenge, but this time you''ll have to form alliances inside the arena. I''m thinking about making that standard. Any opinions?"

    Silence.

    "Okay then! Your goal is to capture the mansion that lies at the center of the arena. However, doing so will not be so simple. The arena will be filled with an array of¡­ wildlife to slow your progress. You will also have to contend with other teams that wish to prevent you from attaining your goal. You may now return to your rooms. The round will begin in ten minutes."

    The fighters began to leave the room, scampering toward the hallways. The Master of Games reclined in his seat and turned to the screen as it appeared.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    This should be quite the show.

    ***

    Holly was used to the drill by now. She stepped through her room''s door as if she was leaving for the commons, only for it to lead to the blank-white prep room. A platform, as white as everything else in the room, rose from the floor. On it lay her gear- a Neutrino 3000, her helmet, and pleasantly, a set of mechanical wings.

    These should prove useful. Being stuck on the ground all the time sure can get annoying.

    She tightened the strap on her helmet and buckled on the wings, snapping shut the clasp across her chest. She slipped the Neutrino into her leg holster and walked toward the far wall, which opened onto the arena.

    It was an unusual scene, one Holly had not expected. By the Master of Games'' description, she would have assumed the setting would be something modern, with the mansion placed in the center of a park, or perhaps on a private island. Instead, she stepped onto what looked like a bizarre combination of a medieval city and the architecture of the Renaissance, wrapped around the edges in shadow. The streets were cobblestone, but a tight, well-paved fit. The buildings were clearly European in design, with clay-brown shingled roofs, and seemed to be of a much more modern design than the streets. Holly turned around and found the source of the shadow- behind her, the door to her prep room having disappeared, was a massive wall. In fact, the entire city seemed to be surrounded by them. They were easily more than forty meters in height. They dominated the skyline, casting their dark forms over the extremities of the city they protected. Down the streets Holly could see no obvious trace of any form of mansion.

    "This is going to be a long round, isn''t it?" she said, to no one in particular.

    She fired up her wings and began to circle the perimeter of the city at low altitude, looking for a street that might give her a fair line of sight to her goal. Across the rooftops, she saw flickers of light popping in the distance.

    People are finding each other. The battles are beginning. Good thing I haven''t-

    A massive impact knocked her out of control, sending her spiraling toward the ground. Muscular limbs locked around her, pressing sharp steel to her neck. The street amplified the attack, cobblestone working in tandem with her foe. Her helmet''s heads-up-display shattered into a crystalline mess. Holly wrenched her head around and flung her Neutrino up, squarely between the eyes of her attacker. Fight-or-flight was subdued by recognition, and the elf lowered her weapon. The girl did not move her swords.

    "Mikasa?" strained Holly, short on breath thanks to the girl''s crushing grip. Mikasa was silent, her eyes seemingly observing far away events. Holly had seen that look before, whenever Katniss stumbled over the name of the Master of Games, or whenever she strung an arrow. It was the look of a person being tossed into hell a second time.

    The girl slowly uncoiled herself from the pin, but continued to keep a sword on Holly''s throat.

    "Why?" she hissed, pulling her scarf down from over her mouth.

    "I don''t know," said Holly desperately. "What are you talking about?"

    "Why here?" elaborated the girl.

    "Want to tell me where here is?"

    Mikasa stood, sheathing her swords, and looking across the city. She gave a short sigh.

    "This is Shinganshima. This was my world."

    "Is that so?" said Holly, lifting herself off the ground. No sooner had she finished standing than she found another sword at her throat.

    "I''m not letting you get away that easily. You''re behind this somehow," said Mikasa with quite a bit of certainty.

    Holly rolled her eyes. "I''m behind this? What makes you think that?"

    "Because you are a small titan."

    "For the last time, I''m an elf. Could you stop going on about that? I don''t even know what a titan is."

    Mikasa raised her sword and pointed above Holly''s head.

    "You really think you''re going to get me with that one? The whole dramatic, ''look, it''s right behind you'' shtick?"

    The girl drew her other sword, and sprinted in the opposite direction.

    "Okay. I know where this is going. I''m going to save myself some time and skip the whole ''see, I''ll look behind me and prove it''s not there, holy crap it''s there'' bit. I''ll just skip to the running."

    Holly leapt forward and engaged her wings, jetting just out of reach as a huge hand tore a chunk out of the street where she once was. Holly spun and observed the creature as she landed on a nearby rooftop. The titan, as Mikasa had called it, resembled the mythical giants of yore. For the most part, it was human in shape, even though its proportions were ungainly. The bare body was covered in blemished peachy skin, but it seemed devoid of any of sort of reproductive organs. Its dull, searching eyes pointed to a distinct lack of intelligence as well as shame. Its head was covered in a mat of greasy-looking long blonde hair, and it wore a terrifyingly wide smile filled with pearly-white, flat teeth.

    "That is exceedingly unsettling!" called Holly. The titan realized it had missed and located the elf. It began to advance toward her rooftop perch.

    "Hey, Mikasa! Is there any way to, I don''t know, kill this thing?" as Holly shouted she realized that she didn''t know where the girl had gotten to. She looked around frantically, spotting the girl running toward the creature down an adjacent street. Holly caught the titan''s motions out of the corner of her eye and jumped in time to avoid a swipe of its hand. She engaged her wings and picked up altitude, floating just out of the titan''s reach.

    What is she up to? thought the elf as she watched Mikasa dash at the creature.

    Mikasa jumped into the air, and cables shot from the bulky machinery hung around her waist and embedded themselves in the buildings lining the street. She swung forward, propelled by some sort of vapor trail. As she reached the apex of her arc, the cables detached from the buildings and retracted into the device, flinging her at breakneck speed toward the titan. Its arm was still bent over the building that Holly had been standing on, exposing its broad back. Mikasa twisted in mid-air, and extended her swords. A chunk of flesh fell from the titan''s neck, and it slumped over the building, steam rising from its limp body.

    Holly flew to where Mikasa had landed, where she was surprised to find that the girl had survived such a fall. In fact, she seemed no worse for wear at all. She flicked the blades, shaking off the blood that coated them.

    "Any particular reason for the neck-shot?" asked the elf.

    "Only way to keep them down," said the girl, sheathing her swords.

    "Okay, I get it. That''s why they gave you that doohickey," Holly said, motioning toward the 3D Maneuver Gear.

    "That''s right."

    "So¡­ what''s the plan then?"

    "Plan? You think I''m just going to team up with you? I still think you''re responsible for this."

    "After that thing tried to kill me?"

    "Maybe you could be useful as a distraction."

    "Even if you know this place like the back of your hand, you''re not going to be able to do this alone. Besides, we worked together before," persuaded the elf.

    Mikasa gave her a venomous look.

    "Follow me," she said, walking toward the walls.

    "Where are we going?"

    "Home."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 4-3

    Megatron ducked under the low ceiling (rather, it was low for him) and sat on the ground of the lounge where the other members of his team had gathered. As usual, his team had been placed one step ahead of the others- namely, they were already in the mansion that they had been designated to capture. As he examined his comrades, he noticed that there seemed to be a lot more of them than last time. He recognized Nightmare, the Predator, the Xenomorph, and Mr. Everdeen. But there were three newcomers there as well. A girl in her adolescent years, wearing some semblance of a naval uniform, but in much darker colors than usual; a woman dressed in a business suit, eyeing the males of the group carefully; and a man with a bright yellow jacket with equally vivid hair, wearing a variety of green baubles. This man stood and greeted Megatron as he entered.

    "Ah, the illustrious Megatron. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.''

    "And to whom do I owe the pleasure?" said the Cybertronian, glad to have someone with any sense of courtesy around.

    "I am Dio Brando. But you may simply call me Dio, for brevity''s sake," oozed the man, giving a bow.

    "Well, it will be excellent having you on my team. Now, to get down to business- the battle plan. If we stay here, we will not only remain safe from those wandering beasts, but we also guarantee that our opponents will be worn down, allowing us to-"

    "That sounds excellent," said Dio, bowing before Megatron again. "But there is one problem with that strategy."

    "And what would that be?"

    "You''re not giving orders anymore," said the man, who lifted his hand and snapped his fingers.

    In a flash, the other warriors struck. Nightmare swung his sword, Soul Edge, and cleaved off Megatron''s cannon arm. The sailor-uniformed girl drew a blade and removed his other arm. The Xenomorph leapt onto his chest and began to tear away the armor plate, shrieking madly. The Predator deployed its wrist blades and slashed at his legs, rendering them inoperable. The metal giant collapsed backward, helpless and incapable of transforming.

    "Wh-What?" the Predacon grated, his vocal processor losing power. Dio sauntered up the Cybertronian''s hulking, ruined body, and came to a stop standing over his head.

    "The Master of Games was not pleased by your continued failure. As a result, I am now the head of this team. Nothing personal."

    With that, Dio shoved his hand through Megatron''s head, found a grip, and tore off his faceplate, the optics ripping off with it. He tossed it aside and jumped down to the robot''s chest. He peeled back what was left of the armor and removed a small, glowing sphere.

    "Ah, the spark chamber. His wretched little soul. Mr. Everdeen, would you care to do the honors?" he said, tossing it to Katniss'' father. The man caught the sphere with ease, set it on the floor, and trampled it underfoot. The fragile metal shattered, and the light within faded.

    "Well, now that that''s all settled," said Dio, twisting the metal on the robot''s chest plate. "We can do things the right way."

    He then sat down, having folded Megatron''s remaining chest plate armor into a seat, the massive robot''s entire body becoming some sort of grandiose throne.

    He pointed at the girl in the sailor fuku.

    "You there. Ryuko Matoi, is that right?"

    The girl nodded. She seemed to be grimacing.

    "Not used to the control bud yet, are you? Don''t worry. You''ll find it a lot easier to follow orders soon enough. Anyway, I''d like to send you on a mission. I want you to head out there and keep an eye out for the girl with the bow, the elf with the gun, or the little purple unicorn. The next part is easy, dear, stop that frowning. When you see them, you kill them! You can do it, I''m sure."

    The girl knelt in respect. "Yes, Lord Dio. It will be done." She turned and walked toward the foyer.

    "Now, Nightmare, go check the cellar. See if they have any half-decent wines in here, preferably something Sangiovese. If they don''t have any, don''t bother."

    "Of course, Lord Dio," said the demonic knight, stomping away.

    Oh, Dio thought. It is good to be in charge.

    ***

    Katniss'' legs ached, her throat growing ragged from her heavy breaths. She couldn''t just keep running forever. She looked back over her shoulder- the creature was still following her. Its face was like that of a child catching a glimpse of some new candy, somehow innocent and ruthlessly greedy. It extended another long, flabby arm toward her, forming its fingers into a fleshy cage. Katniss spun, backpedaled, and fired an arrow into its palm. It pulled its hand back in pain, never stopping its steady advance. Each stride covered thirty of hers. Capture seemed inevitable; the real question is what it would do once it got her. It couldn''t be good.

    "Uuuuuuuurrr," burbled the titan, plucking the arrow from its hand. A thin stream of steam jetted from the wound.

    Katniss turned and started her sprint again, hoping to reach the end of the street and turn, perhaps adding a precious few yards between her and the giant. She began to near the intersection, when she felt footfalls. The giant chasing her certainly didn''t have that kind of weight behind it.

    A huge black hand reached out from the street ahead and grasped the corner of the building in front of Katniss. Even with the creature closing in behind her, she skidded to a halt.

    Aw, crap.

    As it turned out, the hand belonged to a massive beast, which swung itself onto the street. Its gargantuan black body was covered in dense fur and stone, and it wore some kind of ornately carved mask over where its face should be. Its left hand carried a similarly carved club, which it promptly drove into the ground, sending shattered cobblestone flying everywhere. Katniss ducked for cover, and the giant behind her took a few steps back.

    The new, larger creature stepped forward, its titanic hooves crumbling the street beneath them. It towered over Katniss, regarding her silently. She lifted her bow, and fired at one of the creature''s blue, carved-out eyes. The arrow bounced off, clattering to the ground in front of her.

    "Aw, crap," she hissed aloud.

    The massive club slowly arced skyward, its apogee far above the buildings lining the streets. Katniss turned, only to find the giant still there. Suprisingly, it also seemed fixated on the newcomer. She breathed an audible sigh of relief, and took off at a sprint, back the way she had come. She cleared the oblivious giant and was about to duck onto another nearby street to make her escape, when she heard an unfamiliar voice.

    "Look out below!"

    Katniss barely had time to jump backwards as the street exploded in front of her.

    "AW, CRAP!" she shouted, dodging the debris.

    Two warriors climbed out of the crater, waving the dust away. The first was a man, but unlike any Katniss had ever seen before. He stood eight feet tall, and was built like a statue. He was absurdly well-muscled, with broad shoulders and huge arms. His long, black hair trailed down his back, and soft blue eyes peered intently out from under his bangs. However, despite his Olympian build, the man''s appearance was certainly not¡­ ideal. His skin was a nearly-transparent yellow, often failing to cover his bulging muscle. It was stitched together, the sutures forming a patchwork pattern over his body. He seemed to be a bizarre contradiction, a combination of fitness and decay. He carried in his arms his companion.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    It was a girl about Katniss'' age, maybe younger, with chin-length brown hair. She wore a short, frilly black dress, long brown leggings, and seriously bulky combat boots. Draped over her back was a long, red hooded cloak. She hopped out of the man''s arms and practically skipped to where Katniss was sitting.

    "If you don''t mind," she chirped. "We''ll just, ah, deal with the big guys."

    She reached behind her back and drew a large, chunky-looking firearm, painted in bright red. Instead of leveling it at one of the monsters, she tapped a button on the receiver, and the weapon began to unfold. An oversized sickle blade popped out of the end, and the barrel extended into a snath- the gun had become a massive scythe. She twirled the weapon like a baton before planting its spear-like tip into the ground. She looked back at her partner, still dusting himself off.

    "You ready, Adam?"

    "Ja wohl."

    "Then let''s kick some giant tail!"

    "I do not see a tail on either one, Ruby."

    "It''s an idiom. It means we beat the crap out of them."

    "Ah. I see," said the huge man.

    The girl addressed Katniss again.

    "Just sit tight and stay clear of falling objects."

    Katniss was still stunned from their sudden arrival.

    "Falling ob-"

    Without warning, the girl gave the huge scythe a twirl, and a massive finger from the more human-looking giant fell to the ground, belching steam like a hot frying pan dunked in water.

    It must have been reaching over here while they were talking, thought Katniss. The giant pulled back its hand and howled in pain, while the black minotaur-looking creature finally brought its club down, annihilating half of the buildings on the block in a single swing. The girl rushed forward, ducking under the wounded giant''s arms and sprinting toward the larger creature. She spun the scythe until the blade''s heel skidded along the ground, when she promptly pulled the rifle''s trigger. The barrel, which composed the body of the scythe, must have still been functional in this state, as the crack of a high-velocity rifle round echoed off the buildings. The recoil sent the upside-down scythe and its carrier flying gracefully toward the huge, shaggy black creature.

    The large man, who the girl had called Adam, set his sights on the flabby, childlike giant. He leapt forward, the force knocking a few cobblestones out of place. Within an instant he had tackled the creature with enough force to upset its balance and toss it onto its back. He slipped to its neck, and upon finding purchase, drove his huge fist through the creature''s skin like a hole punch. He swung himself to the left, and punched another hole into the monstrous neck, and another, and another.

    Ruby seemed to be dancing across the large creature, between using her gun-scythe''s recoil to keep her airborne and using the blade to swing about like it was some sort of jungle gym. She landed on a narrow patch of rock on the beast''s back that perhaps was once a platform of some sort. She snagged the creature''s fur in one hand and swung herself upward, leaping onto its masked head. The creature bellowed and thrashed, but she remained stable. She planted the scythe''s spear tip in the center of the beast''s head, and fired. The recoil drove the point into the skull, and a geyser of black ichor streamed out.

    "MUUUUUUUUHHHHHH," groaned the creature.

    "What''s that?" Ruby called. "Do it again? If you insist," she cackled, firing the weapon again and again. The creature stumbled forward and fell to the ground with uncanny, slow-motion grace. Its blue eyes faded away, reduced to nothing more than carvings in stone. The girl hopped from the colossus'' head to the street, ambling toward her teammate.

    Adam shoved his arm inside of the titan''s throat, tearing away at visceral tissues. The giant still attempted to pull him off, but if it even brought a hand close to the man, a swift kick would knock the limb far away. He pulled himself even with his row of perforations, and placed his hands on either side of one of the holes. With a growl of effort, he began to separate the two sides, the titan''s flesh snapping apart under the force of his powerful arms. With a final heave, the head tore itself from the neck, rolling backward limply. Adam leapt from the titan, drenched in steaming blood. He ran a hand over his face as if he was wiping away sweat, flicking hot circulatory fluid onto the ground.

    "Wretched, vile, disgusting," he muttered, vainly trying to clean the blood off.

    "You think that''s bad?" chuckled Ruby, covered in what looked like oil.

    Katniss ran toward the newcomers, making sure to stay far enough back in case either decided to turn on her, or try to wipe their respective giant''s bodily fluids on her.

    "That was amazing," she said, not sure that ''amazing'' was necessarily the right word. "Who are you people?"

    "My name is Ruby Rose," said the girl, poking her chest with her thumb. She then gestured toward her friend.

    "And this is Adam Frankenstein."

    "Just Adam, if you don''t mind," said the huge, grotesque man. "That other name is dead to me."

    "And just who are you?" giggled the girl, pointing at Katniss with a leveled scythe. Katniss did not appreciate this, and delicately pushed the weapon''s blade away.

    "I''m Katniss Everdeen. Are you guys planning on fighting me, or-"

    "Nope!" chirped Ruby.

    "In fact, we were looking for a third team member," said Adam. Katniss wasn''t sure why they would need one, considering how easily they wiped the floor with those creatures without her help.

    Ruby''s eyes lit up.

    "That''s right!" she grinned, tossing her scythe into the air and catching it in its collapsed form. "What exactly is it that you do?"

    Katniss held up her bow.

    "Does this give you a hint?"

    "I suppose we could use a more dedicated ranged combatant," said Adam, stroking his chin.

    Ruby''s mouth opened like some sort of floodgate, releasing a torrential commentary.

    "Yeah I guess Crescent Rose isn''t that great of a weapon at long range I mean the rounds have the velocity and the aerodynamics but they''re so large caliber I can''t hit anything and the recoil is just well you saw it it''s crazy and it doesn''t work for sniping all that well and if we''re going to capture the mansion we need somebody to cover us at range and also how do you do that braid it''s really cute?"

    "What," said Katniss blankly.

    "Wahoo!" yelped Ruby, leaping into the air. "We''ve got us a new team member! Now we''ll be team R-A¡­ how do you spell Katniss?"

    "Oh, boy," Katniss muttered.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 4-4

    It was getting unnerving, always hearing his footsteps behind her. Yes, of course, he was there to protect her, but by Celestia could they have picked someone else?

    She held up a hoof, and the two stopped, hidden in the shadows of the narrow alleyway.

    "Do you hear that?" Twilight asked.

    Alucard cocked his head sideways, raising an eyebrow at the unicorn.

    "Of course I do, Ms. Sparkle."

    The unicorn listened, hearing the staccato of gunshots echo off of stone buildings ahead.

    "Firefight," she whispered.

    "I''d say about three shooters." Confirmed the vampire.

    Twilight noticed a crackling bass note among the sharp chatter of firearms.

    "And an energy weapon," she added.

    Alucard drew the smaller of his two pistols, twirling it on a finger.

    "Shall we¡­ investigate?"

    "Indeed," said Twilight.

    The two crept out from the alley and followed the sound to a square. A wagon was flipped on its side in the center, and two warriors crouched behind it- the huge, power-armored soldier, John-117; and a girl Twilight recognized as the one Katniss had fought in the previous round. A bullet snapped through the air, passing through the cart to the left of John''s head. The girl pulled back in fear.

    The source of the shot came from a shop with a busted-out window across the street. A bulky-looking bald man ducked back underneath the sill.

    "Just give up, SPARTAN!" shouted a female voice from inside the shop.

    "Not until you do," replied the supersoldier in his gravelly baritone.

    "No way, old man. You won''t believe how long I''ve waited for this. I''m not blowing this opportunity."

    "We''ll see about that," said John-117, rising from behind the cart and snapping an assault rifle off of the magnetic clips along his back. He fired three tightly controlled bursts toward the shop window, and dropped back into cover.

    "How many rounds have you got left?" asked Tris as the massive soldier took a seat again.

    "One more clip. Then I''ll be down to the sidearm."

    "Any grenades?"

    "No. Clean out."

    "We need to draw them out."

    "I agree," said Alucard, phasing out of the ground in front of the cart. Tris popped up, leveled her pistol and was about to fire when Master Chief pulled her back down.

    "What are you doing?" he barked.

    "I was going to shoot him, what do you think?"

    "Who''s the new friend you''ve got out there, SPARTAN?" called the voice in the shop.

    Master Chief stood and readied his assault rifle. He gave Alucard a nod.

    "Why don''t you come out and see?"

    "You''ll regret that! Heavy, suppressive fire!"

    A minigun''s barrel poked its way out of the window, spooling up to speed.

    "I''ll take care of this," said Alucard. John-117 ducked back behind the cart, grabbed Tris, and took off toward the street. Twilight waved them in her direction. They swooped behind a building on the corner of the square where the unicorn was peeking out from behind a wall.

    "More rubble, less trouble!" barked the man behind the massive weapon.

    "Alucard!" called Twilight. He tilted his hat forward, and drew his pistols.

    The minigun erupted into life, ejecting more lead than the entire plumbing system of ancient Rome. The bullets formed a curtain of death, slicing Alucard into pieces. Limbs, severed from their body, collapsed to the ground in a bloody pile.

    The Heavy Weapons Guy vaulted himself out of the shop window, examining the damage. He crossed the square to the soggy mess of clothing where Alucard had stood. A meaty hand landed on the broad-brimmed hat, and placed it on his own head.

    "Not bad, puny cowboy-man," said the Russian, admiring the headgear.

    "Looks like your reinforcements didn''t work out so well, John," said the owner of the voice in the shop, stepping out into the open. Sunlight glittered over bronze power armor. The suit''s broad, rounded shoulders gave way to a thin, sleek abdomen and tautly-curved greaves. Sections of the right arm''s plating folded out, extending into a blaster that covered the manipulator. With her left arm she clicked a release behind her head and removed the helmet, long golden locks trailing out over the similarly gilded suit.

    "So, what''s she got against you?" asked Twilight to the supersoldier pressed against the wall next to her.

    "It''s a¡­ complicated story."

    The armored woman turned to her teammate.

    "Well, what are you standing around for? Circle that way, I''ll go around the other, and we''ll surround them."

    "Da, da. I am circling, okay?" the man hefted his large weapon and began to sidestep his way toward the edge of the square.

    Tris spoke up.

    "Well, what do you plan on doing?"

    "Who, me?" said Twilight. "About what?"

    "Your friend. They shot him to pieces."

    "First of all," she replied, lifting a hoof. "He is an acquaintance."

    The Heavy Weapons Guy was nearing the corner. Soon he would have a clear line of fire at his targets. He flicked the switch on his weapon''s trigger, and the minigun''s barrels began to wind up to speed. He chortled as he advanced, keeping the weapon stable and ready to fire.

    "I hear someone building dia-"

    A finger tapped his shoulder.

    "And second," Twilight continued, "he is very difficult to put down."

    The Heavy Weapons Guy turned, and found a terrifying amorphous mass of darkness, dog-like maws, and blinking, blood-red eyes. Near the center floated a pair of orange sunglasses.

    "I would very much like my hat back," it said.

    The Heavy Weapons Guy slowly set down his weapon, raised a shaking hand to his head, and lifted the hat off. A black tendril extended from the void and snatched the hat. The rest of the bloodstained clothes levitated off the ground and fluttered around the darkness, each piece closing over the mass at crucial points, forcing it into a humanoid outline. A glove formed over the dark tendril, and Alucard placed the hat back on his freshly-regenerated head.

    "Thank you," he said with a degree of gratitude. "Now, did I interrupt you? Go on go back to what you were doing."

    "Bu¡­ but-"

    "No, I insist," said the vampire, a toothy grin spreading across his face.

    The Heavy Weapons Guy watched the vampire carefully as he picked up his weapon. He squealed with fear as he began to turn.

    "Go on," said the vampire, with an unhinged cackle. "Don''t mind me."

    "Nyet! I''ve had enough-" he turned back to find one of the vampire''s pistols between his eyes.

    "Were you saying something?" said Alucard.

    "I¡­ I¡­" The Heavy Weapons Guy reluctantly turned back again, stepping toward the corner once more. He looked down, and found the vampire''s gloved hand protruding from his chest.

    "Gaah," he said, collapsing. Alucard flicked the excess internal organs off of his hand, and drew his pistols, lining them up at the power-armored woman.

    "Was all that really necessary?" asked John-117.

    "Probably not," said Twilight. "But if it keeps him happy and shooting at the bad guys, I''m not too concerned."

    The woman in the power armor did not seem too concerned, either. She casually toyed with a lock of her long, blonde hair.

    "I was hoping someone would kill that idiot at some point. I honestly think he was bringing the team down."

    "Bringing the team down?" said Alucard. "That''s a very arrogant, dangerous thing to say."

    "And why''s that?" said the woman coolly.

    "Because there''s one less body for me to go through, before I get to you." A fang stuck out from under his grin.

    "Ha! Ha ha ha! Oooh, that is RICH!" she cackled.

    Alucard''s smile shrank, if only a little.

    "Listen, I''ve got to hand it to you," she laughed. "You''re one tough customer. I saw you regenerate back there. That was pretty impressive. But I''m afraid you''re not going to beat me. Not today."

    Alucard licked his lips, eager for a challenge.

    "How so?"

    "Because I''m rescheduling. You guys seem to have another appointment," said the woman. With that, she performed a forward somersault, and her armor transformed her into a giant sphere. It revved in place, kicked up dust, and tore out of the square, with only one more comment.

    "See you later, SPARTAN!" she called as she rolled away.

    "Ms. Sparkle," said the vampire. "Permission to pursue?"

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story."No, Alucard. You''ve done enough for now. Good work."

    Tris poked the unicorn on the haunches.

    "Uh, Twilight? What did she mean by ''another appointment''?"

    "I believe," said Alucard, "she was referring to her."

    He pointed his gun in the opposite direction from where the power-armored woman had escaped. A girl leaned against a building''s wall. She held a lemon, which she took a generous bite of, a little juice dripping onto her charcoal sailor fuku. She didn''t bother looking up at the vampire aiming at her.

    "That''s it. I''ve had enough of sitting on the sidelines!" shouted Tris, barreling out from behind the wall. She rushed to Alucard''s side, and aimed her own pistol at the girl.

    "Wait, Tris! This is a bad-" John-117 cut the unicorn off mid-sentence.

    "Eh, can''t blame her," he said, rushing out to join the other two.

    "Oh, you guys! You can''t just- uaaaaagh!" growled Twilight, galloping out into the square next to her companions.

    The mysterious girl took another bite of lemon, spitting peel on the ground. She let the fruit fall to the ground, and clapped in a mockingly slow tempo.

    "Way to go. Way to go," she sneered. "You killed a fat guy with a big gun, and then you let Miss Ghost-of-the-Chozo over there get away. Con-gratu-lations, you are invincible."

    "Enough smack talk," said Twilight firmly.

    "Enough? Hah! Do you hear that, Senketsu? I''m being ordered around by a freakin'' stuffed animal."

    "I am not a stuffed animal," hissed Twilight.

    "Oh, sure, and she''s not a scene wannabe," she said, raising what looked like half of a pair of red scissors at Tris.

    "This is how the Dauntless dress! You''ll pay for insulting my faction."

    "And you! Tin can!" she called, indicating John-117. "I''m pretty sure battle tanks don''t need names."

    The Master Chief''s gravelly voice broke a little.

    "I swear, you stop right now."

    "Face it," she chuckled. "You''re nothing more than a weapon. Why else would they keep you in the armor all the time? Well, maybe it''s because you''d be worth less than NOTHING without it."

    "Now you''ve done it!" the SPARTAN growled, raising his assault rifle.

    "Say that one more time."

    The girl feigned stupidity.

    "Say what?"

    She slowly raised her right hand toward her left glove. From what Twilight could tell, there seemed to be a small bolt-action device on it, just along the wrist.

    "You know!" shouted John.

    "Oh, you mean, the truth? That you''re nothing without you''re armor?"

    "EAT LEAD!" he screamed, jamming down the assault rifle''s trigger. The weapon crackled like the world''s largest bonfire, spitting embers of death toward the girl. She simply smiled, and pulled the bolt across her wrist.

    A massive pulse of energy surrounded the girl, and she was veiled in bright light. The piercing brightness dissolved into pink sparkles, and then floated away. Several tiny, dented objects fell away from her, clinking as they bounced off the ground. A shocking transformation had occurred. The girl, except for now-glowing highlights, seemed unchanged. But her wardrobe¡­

    "How can you even wear that?" said Tris in disbelief.

    "To be completely honest," noted Twilight, "I''ve been wearing nothing this entire time, and no one has said anything about it."

    "Yeah," said Tris, "But that is literally less than nothing."

    While Tris, who had a peculiar way with words, was incorrect, her exaggeration was not too far from the truth. What had once been a moderately risqu¨¦ bared-midriff sailor suit had now become¡­ much less. The skirt had dissolved into almost nothing, the top had dissolved into almost nothing, and where the girl had been wearing a perfectly normal set of sneakers, a pair of impractically high-heeled boot-leggings now graced her legs. Perhaps most dramatically, her collar had extended out into a large, curved crest, the left blade of which seemed to feature a large, yellow eye-like design.

    "Life fiber synchronize, Kamui Senketsu!" the girl announced, as two short bursts of steam from who-knows-where punctuated her statement.

    "Does it hurt?" said Twilight carefully.

    "What? No, it-"

    "Do you¡­ like¡­ that it hurts?" finished the unicorn.

    The girl was furious.

    "Okay, NOW! Now that''s enough! I am RYUKO MATOI! I am the STRONGEST of Lord Dio''s warriors! That''s right! The strongest!"

    "Okay," said Twilight. "And what does-"

    "AND I!" continued Ryuko, clearly not finished. "Will show YOU! The power of KAMUI SENKETSU!"

    So that''s what they''re calling it these days, thought Twilight Sparkle.

    "So, you''re bulletproof," said John. "But I''m willing to bet that¡­ whatever won''t stop me from snapping your spine in two!"

    The SPARTAN charged toward their new opponent, who casually spun the scissor blade in her hand as it expanded into a full-size, scissor-resembling sword. For a brief moment, the girl could be seen reading the blade for a strike. But almost before the attack could begin, it was over.

    "Sen-I-Soshitsu!"

    John-117 stumbled backward, barely able to steady himself. As he regained his footing, a chunk of his armor crashed to the ground.

    "What¡­ the-" he stammered.

    Another piece fell with a loud clank, and then another, and another, until everything but his helmet and black bodysuit was in pieces on the ground. He sank to his knees in disbelief, futilely grasping at the shards of armor plate.

    "Honestly, we may both be nothing without our armor," considered Ryuko. "But I''ve still got mine. Funny, isn''t it?"

    "Sure, that attack worked on him," said Tris. "But I haven''t got any armor to lose!"

    You can''t be serious, thought Twilight.

    Tris rushed toward the girl, converting her momentum into an axe kick. But before the attack could connect-

    "Sen-I-Soshitsu!"

    The Divergent was sent flying backward, her clothing parting from her as she tumbled from the sky.

    "Ms. Sparkle, this is getting rather old," said Alucard.

    Twilight nodded.

    "Agreed. If you would be so kind, commence level five release."

    The vampire stepped forward, and was promptly sliced in half by Ryuko.

    "You''re next, stuffed animal," growled the girl.

    Twilight shook her head.

    "I think you''ve forgotten something," she lilted.

    Ryuko remembered when she felt the arms of the regenerating vampire lock underneath hers in a full nelson hold. She screamed with rage, struggling against Alucard with all of her might.

    "If she keeps this up, she might escape," strained Alucard.

    "Don''t worry. I think I have a solution," said Twilight, charging up her magic.

    Ryuko twisted her body, snagging the hem of Alucard''s coat. Using it as leverage, she spun herself in place, and kicked the vampire in his abdomen, neatly bisecting him.

    "Now, I''m going to gut you and use you as a-"

    "No," said Twilight. A magical sphere appeared on Ryuko''s forehead. She convulsed in place, hissing madly.

    "Ah, is this what''s making you all touchy?" taunted the unicorn. She drew the object back toward her with as much power as she could muster. It tore itself loose with a spurt of blood. It was a small bud of flesh, with nasty-looking tentacles extending outward from it. Twilight trampled it underhoof, and instantly decided that she wanted to take a bath.

    Ryuko fell forward, absorbing the brunt of the fall with her face. Twilight trotted to her travelling companion, who was just finishing regenerating.

    "Well done, Mr. Alucard. With this incident alone you''ve proven your worth."

    "I do my best, Ms. Sparkle."

    The girl moaned, slowly picking herself up from the ground and cradling her head.

    "Woah¡­ that was a doozy," she muttered uneasily.

    "It certainly was," confirmed Twilight.

    Ryuko looked out at the fallen SPARTAN and the unclothed Tris, sheepishly scratching her hair.

    "I guess I-"

    "Yes you did." said Alucard.

    "Come with us, Ryuko," said Twilight, who turned toward the street they had walked into the square on.

    "You''ve got some explaining to do."

 Paradox Fighters, part 4-5

    Mr. Everdeen slowly eased the arrow off of the bow''s string, slipping it back into his quiver.

    Dio won''t be happy about that one.

    He folded his legs, sitting quietly on the mansion''s high, castle-like fortifications. Before him stretched a tangled mess of streets and buildings, with the occasional explosion erupting a few blocks away. It wasn''t the safest place to be, but he wasn''t too concerned. None of the teams were making much headway yet, though that his daughter and her companions had advanced the furthest was a source of a little pride. He heard soft footfalls behind him, and turned to face his team''s leader.

    "Lord Dio! I was about to inform you that-"

    "No need, Mr. Everdeen. I know when I have lost a control bud. Matoi was a strong fighter, but I knew her good nature would get the better of her. With any luck, she''ll lead them right to us."

    "But, sir-"

    "Rest assured, Mr. Everdeen. This is all going according to plan. Now, can I ask you a favor?"

    "Well, of course," said the man, unsure what it would entail.

    "I''m going to go on patrol. You will be in charge until I return."

    "Are you sure, sir? Me?"

    "Absolutely. I trust you more than any of the others. They''re pawns, looking for something to smash. You''ve got some spirit. That''s why you don''t need a control bud. And I am more than capable of taking care of myself, so backup is unnecessary."

    "Well, thank you sir. I will do my best."

    "I''m sure you will," said the vampire, leaping over the ramparts.

    Mr. Everdeen turned back to his perch, gazing over the roofs.

    Well, this certainly is interesting.

    ***

    "You do realize that we''re not really making any progress toward the mansion, right?"

    Mikasa gave Holly a cold look over her shoulder.

    "Yes. This is something I have to do."

    "Whatever," said Holly as the two crossed an intersection. She glanced left and right, and considered the comedy that she was not actually looking for traffic, but some angry cyborg or demon that would try and tear their heads off.

    What I wouldn''t give for a speeding Spud Emporium delivery truck to run me over¡­

    "Okay, this is it," said the girl. In front of the two stood the remains of a cottage. A sizeable chunk of one of the walls sat in the center.

    "That looks like a real bummer," noted Holly.

    "The titans broke the wall in when I was just a kid. I guess you could say everything went downhill from there."

    "Typical whole-family-gone thing, then?"

    "Not really. Still lost my mother though. Second time."

    "Second¡­ time?"

    "Never mind. My father was a scientist. He was doing research on titans. The majority of his work was left in the basement. If I can retrieve that information, when I win this thing I can go back with that knowledge. I could save a lot of lives."

    "So in order for any of this little excursion to have any value at all, you have to win?"

    "¡­Yes."

    "Hmph," grunted Holly as the two arrived at the ruined house''s caved-in roof. The debris had fallen in such a way as to collapse the roof directly down on top of the foundations, leaving nothing that resembled a house at all. All that was left was a pile of rubble.

    Mikasa carefully treaded toward the center of the mess, digging through shingles and straw insulation. With a heave, she pulled a plank aside.

    "There. I think that''s all the better I can do."

    Holly examined the hole she had carved out. Underneath the wooden floorboards was a dark space, so she had clearly found the basement. But as she watched the girl attempt to lower herself through the opening, she felt her stomach churn with dread.

    "Oh," said Mikasa, stuck thigh-deep in the rubble. "I''m not going to fit."

    "Oh, fine," sighed Holly. "Never send a Mud Man to do a fairy''s job."

    Mikasa pulled herself out and snapped her 3DMG back on.

    "Well, if you''re going to do it¡­ I''ll stand guard. But be specific about what you see!"

    "Yeah, yeah," said Holly, who lowered herself slowly and deliberately into the dark basement. She hung on to the plank that Mikasa had pulled aside and carefully observed her surroundings. There was no light except for the sliver that shone down from the opening she was clinging to. In the corner was a set of wooden stairs. With a methodically-timed swing, she tossed herself onto the top step, and slowly worked her way down to the floor.

    "What do you see?" shouted the girl above.

    "Nothing," reported the elf. "It''s too dark."

    Holly flicked a finger past her helmet''s heads-up display switch. The small pane of glass lowered in front of her eyes.

    "Night vision should help, though."

    Holly paused for a moment.

    Hmm. It should have recognized the vocal command. What''s up with the lag?

    She reached up and placed a finger on the display, only to find nothing but a sharp ridge of shattered plasti-glass.

    "Well, isn''t this wonderful," she groaned.

    I guess I''ll have to bring items toward the light individually and examine them there.

    Holly began to walk toward the aperture when a sudden dull thud rippled through the ground. For a moment, she could hear a scream from Mikasa. Then, the precious beam of light was snuffed out by shifted debris.

    "D''Arvit!" she cursed, rushing in the direction she had come from. Again, the earth moved. This time, more violently. The floor buckled, and Holly heard metal clatter to the floor behind her. To her left, the sound of wooden furniture snapping. She was suddenly pinned to the ground by a large, heavy object, its contents- which felt like papers, books, and metal devices- fell around her. She was blind and being attacked on all sides.

    She shoved the furniture away furiously, hearing glass smash in the corner of the room. She pressed forward, eventually feeling the bottom of the stairs under her hand. Bracing her back against the wall, she loped up the flight until the precious ceiling could be felt on the back of her head. He pressed her hands against the boards and shoved, miraculously knocking a few aside. Holly pulled herself upward into the light, finding herself once more in the ruins of the house. Mikasa lay unconscious on the ground.

    "What in Frond''s name-"

    The bright light caught Holly''s attention. A massive, unnatural inferno blazed across the street. The flames shifted almost rhythmically, ebbing and flowing between colors Holly had no name for. The fire filled a shallow crater, licking the street where it was still intact. At the center of the fire stood a solitary figure.

    "Your friend there didn''t put up much of a fight, elf," said the figure. The voice was certainly female, and Holly detected a slight Scottish twang.

    "And I assume you want me to give you a better run for your money?" replied Holly, placing a hand on her holstered Neutrino.

    "Clever lass," said the figure, which raised a hand elegantly, and performed an extra-loud snap. The flames dissipated, and she climbed out of the crater to stand in front of her new opponent. It was a woman, absurdly curvaceous, unnaturally youthful, and with a wardrobe that seemed physically impossible. Long green hair flowed over her shoulders, neatly matching her glimmering emerald eyes. Unusually, a pair of batlike wings emerged from her lower back, and another, smaller set poked out from under her verdant locks like antennae.

    "You''ve got something on your face," she observed.

    Was I staring? I think I was staring, thought Holly as she lifted a hand to her face. Her fingers ran over some sharp fragments of glass imbedded in her cheeks, which was enough to temporarily distract her from the woman. She plucked them out quickly and returned her attention to the nigh-obscene beauty in front of her.

    "If you''re finding yourself attracted to me," she said, "I assure you that is normal. It happens to everyone."

    "Oh, good¡­ because I¡­ you¡­ wow," Holly mumbled, unable to control herself.

    "But I made it clear that I''m here for a physical encounter of the less pleasant sort."

    "R-Right! Yeah! A fight! That''s what we''re here for! Yes!"

    "Though I doubt a pint-sized leprechaun is going to put up any semblance of a decent scuffle," she added.

    "Hey! We in the Recon division take our job very seriously! And I''m not from Ireland, they owe us the accent!" Holly was slightly annoyed.

    "How about I beat the tar out of you, and then we just skip the pot ''o gold and give me my wishes?"

    "I don''t think that''s how it-" She had moved on to highly annoyed.

    "Or perhaps you need to get sozzled before you can throw a proper punch?"

    Too far.

    "I have better things to do with my time than take insults from a Scotch prostitute with an affinity for winged mammals," fumed Holly.

    "How DARE ye insult the name of Morrigan Aensland, rightful laird of oll daemons! Fer suchlike an offense, I will personally smite ye as the shepherd slits the throat-"

    "For Frond''s sake," shouted Holly. "You were going to do that anyway!"

    She fired three shots from her Neutrino, all of which were placed perfectly. Morrigan simply shrugged off the blasts, examining her nails.

    "Is that gaen t''be most of ye routine?"

    "Maaaybe," said Holly, in the process of plotting alternate strategies.

    "Shadow Blade!" called Morrigan, driving an uppercut into the elf''s chin. Without much weight to resist, Holly was knocked skyward. The succubus extended an arm toward the airborne elf, bracing it with her other.

    "Soul Fist!" she shouted, which Holly began to understand meant that bodily harm was about to be inflicted. A bright, bat-shaped (Of course, she thought) ki blast fluttered away from Morrigan''s extended hand with terrifying speed, exploding against Holly with concussive force. The elf arced even higher into the air, attempting to control her ascent as to keep a watchful eye on her opponent. She convinced herself this was to predict her next attack, though she wasn''t entirely sure. She activated her mechanical wings, returning to stability by hovering in place.

    "Neat trick, leprechaun. But ey''ve got the same wee card en meh sleeve."

    The larger of her two sets of wings began to stretch and contort. Within the span of a second they had metamorphosed into two sleek intakes, equipped with cantilevered winglets and thrust-vectored outlets.

    "Are those jet engi-"

    "Yes," said Morrigan, suddenly at Holly''s altitude. A sweeping kick sent the elf spiraling backward, recovering in time to evade another kick.

    "Then I''m sorry to tell you that fairy wings are far more efficient than jet engines," snapped Holly, unleashing a barrage of rapid punches before turning and speeding away. Her wings buzzed furiously as she dove low over the rooftops. A telltale whine gave her notice as the succubus pulled up on her left.

    "Aye, but these are demon jet engines," chuckled Morrigan.

    Holly rolled to the right, peppering the demon with Neutrino fire. She managed to take the shots with only the slightest of flinches.

    "D''Arvit, you just don''t give up, do you?!"

    Morrigan simply grinned. Holly checked her own flight path, veering to the right in time to dodge a church steeple. She heard the sickening impact as Morrigan collided with the structure. The stained glass shattered under the force, and the steeple itself developed a strong list.

    There''s no way that stopped her, thought Holly, cautiously hovering a fair distance from the church. True to form, the steeple exploded as the demon ripped through the other side, her jet engines sputtering and catching on maximum burn as she dove toward the elf again.

    Holly resumed her flight, confident that she could run Morrigan into some other obstacle enough times to slow her down and make an escape. Until a Soul Fist bat flew past her nose and exploded. The elf was knocked out of control, and had nearly recovered when another hit her in the gut. She dropped hard onto the rooftop below, shattering shingles under the landing.

    "Okay, good shot. But why don''t you come down here and fight me mano-a-mano?"

    Morrigan hovered above the rooftops across the street, her jets singeing the structures below her in the backwash.

    "Normally I''d say no, elf. But this is jest too satisfyin''. Ey''d think feelin'' up yer skull with my knuckles mey jest be more fun."

    That''s it. Take the bait.

    Morrigan charged forward, her jets kicking into full burn, and was promptly snagged by the titan that had wandered down the street. It regarded her with the same dull eyes they regarded anything with, slowly drawing its new prize toward its gaping mouth.

    "Looks like your charms have no effect on them, Morrigan," grunted the elf.

    An evil grin spread across the succubus'' face.

    "But what about my missiles?"

    Missiles? thought Holly, more than a little distraught.

    Morrigan wiggled in the titan''s grasp, working her way further into the creature''s massive hand. The titan''s hand was nearly to its mouth when a muffled thud and a dim light could be seen under the pallid, flabby skin. The titan instantly threw Morrigan to the ground, steam rising from a gory wound in its palm. Morrigan landed carefully, flexing the long, black tendrils that had replaced her jet engines. Each one was tipped with a distinct, conical section.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "Finishing Shower!" she screamed, and a volley of unnatural guided munitions launched themselves from the briar-like tangle extending from her back. The missiles tore chunks of flesh off of the titan''s bones, caving in its head and ruining its limbs. Morrigan wiped her hands off as the giant tumbled onto a row of houses, laying still and smoldering. She returned her attention to Holly.

    What had once been bat wings changed again, folding themselves over her left arm into what could best be described as an overly-long glove, long enough to snatch Holly from the rooftop and send her crashing to the street below. The glove collapsed back into wings, and Morrigan folded her arms over her chest.

    "What a shame. I was having quite a wee bit of fun there. It''s not often I get to exert myself like this," said the succubus with selective emphasis.

    Holly lifted herself off of the ground, clutching her right arm. It was definitely broken, but her magic was already at work fixing it. From what she could tell, the bone had already set and was about halfway healed.

    Guess I''m running hot. That''s a good thing.

    "Can I ask you a question?" strained the elf.

    "Make it meaningful," oiled Morrigan.

    "How are you at multitasking?"

    "What a naughty thing to-"

    SNICK.

    Like oversized leaves, the wings floated lazily to the ground. Morrigan''s eyes widened in fear and pain as she reached behind her waist to find bloody stubs where her multi-purpose appendages used to sit. Vaguely word-like noises escaped her mouth erratically as she stumbled to a sitting position. Mikasa flicked her blade, casting the blood onto the ground.

    "Fancy meeting you here," said the elf dryly. She rotated and flexed her arm. All seemed functional.

    "I came to about a couple seconds before you took off. It wasn''t difficult following you."

    "You know, I didn''t find anything in the basement."

    "It''s okay, Holly. For all we know, it could have been a bunch of rubbish anyway."

    "You cut off¡­ mah bloody wings," moaned Morrigan.

    "You broke my arm," replied Holly.

    "And ruined my house. More," added Mikasa.

    The succubus rose to her feet, her head lowered, glaring up at Holly through the veil of her emerald hair.

    "To answer yer question, I''m bloody fantastic."

    A pulse of light erupted from the wounded demon, briefly blinding her opponents. When it subsided, Holly and Mikasa noticed that there were now two succubi. The newcomer was nearly identical to Morrigan, though possessing much shorter hair and a much more realistically-shaped body. The only other visible difference between the two was that the new demon''s attire was red.

    "Oh, Morri! What did you do?!" she exclaimed, looking at Morrigan''s wounds.

    "I didn''t do anything. They did," she replied, flailing an arm at Holly and then at Mikasa.

    "You guuuys, you can''t just go around hurting people like that! That''s mean!" whined the second succubus innocently.

    "You''re kidding me, right?" said Holly to Morrigan.

    "Hey! I''m no kid!" exclaimed the newcomer, stamping her foot. "I''m a young lady! I''m at least TEN YEARS OLD! Is that right, Morri?"

    "This is why I don''t let you out much, Lilith," grunted Morrigan.

    Mikasa drew her second sword, performing a dramatic flourish with a roll of her wrist.

    "Come on. I''ll snip your wings, too."

    "That''s fine," chirped Lilith. "But no tagbacks!"

    Lilith rushed at Mikasa, who ducked underneath a high punch and countered with a leg sweep. The younger succubus quickly became acquainted with the street, barely rolling out of the way to dodge a two-sword stab. She flipped to her feet.

    "Silly me. I must have tripped on something back there."

    Is it really possible for someone to be so stupid? Thought Mikasa, before getting punched through a window across the street. Lilith skipped over to her opponent, peeking through the shattered glass.

    "Oh, I''m sorry! Do you think you broke anything?"

    Holly sidestepped another Soul Fist, the energy-bat exploding harmlessly against a building behind her.

    "Wow, Morrigan. You seem a little stressed," said Holly with more than a tinge of sarcasm.

    "Aye. Y''don''t s''pose it has anything to do with mah bloody wings bein'' gone?!"

    Holly swung her body in place, landing a roundhouse kick and staggering the succubus.

    "I''m sensing a lot of pent-up aggression. We need to talk this through."

    "Like hell we do!" snarled Morrigan, rolling into another Shadow Blade. Holly stepped backwards in time for the jumping uppercut to miss completely. Upon Morrigan''s landing, the succubus was greeted by a nasty haymaker.

    "Let''s start with your childhood," suggested the elf.

    Mikasa scrambled to her feet, stunning Lilith with a strike from her sword''s grip. She followed up with a powerful gut kick, knocking the succubus back out into the open street. Lilith dusted herself off and smiled. The scout flicked the triggers on her swords, sending the 3D Maneuver Gear''s anchors into the building across the street. Lilith knelt down by a cable, examining it closely.

    "Oooh. What do these do?"

    Mikasa ran forward and flicked another trigger, retracting herself toward the anchors. She extended her feet at the last second, pinning Lilith to the building''s wall with an enhanced dropkick. She kicked away from the way and landed with an elegant flip, retracting the remaining cables. Lilith moaned softly.

    "Thaaat''s what they do."

    Holly glimpsed Mikasa''s brutal attack, and returned her focus to Morrigan.

    "Looks like we''re doing better," she noted. "Wouldn''t have anything to do with summoning that friend of yours, would it?"

    "Na! That''d be-"

    Lilith crashed through the building across the street again, the roof caving in after taking so much damage. Mikasa charged back after her opponent, preparing to attack again.

    "Ridiculous?" finished the Holly, shooting Morrigan in the face. The succubus hit the ground hard, wincing as she examined her new wound.

    "That wouldn''t have hurt you before," explained Holly. "But whatever you did to make Lilith has drained a lot of your power. In fact, I''m willing to bet you could have regenerated those wings if you didn''t summon her."

    "Ey¡­ Ey was¡­"

    "Afraid? That''s what I figured. You hid your lack of self-confidence under a mask of bravado. If you had believed in yourself, and fought Mikasa and I alone, you might have won."

    "R¡­Really?"

    "Yeah, probably. Either that, or I''m just that good. But I''m betting on the latter."

    Lilith popped out of the rubble, bruised and bleeding, and rushed to the side of Morrigan. In a flash of light, she disappeared, and only the first succubus remained. She stood, extending a hand.

    "Well, then. It was an absolute pleasure fighting you. I only hope we meet again sometime, Miss¡­?"

    "Short. Holly Short."

    "Holly Short, I will not be so¡­ gentle next time. I might even have to use the Glasgow Guzzl-"

    Morrigan''s sentence was cut off by her head exploding, which is generally quite the inconvenience for coherent speech. Her body fell limply to the ground. Holly, stunned, turned to face the shooter.

    Orange sunglasses peered out underneath the shadow of a broad hat, a cruel smile shining through the darkness. A massive pistol held by a wiry gloved hand, attached to a flowing red coat.

    "Send my regards to Maximoff," the man oozed.

    Twilight Sparkle stepped out from behind the man, looking far sterner than she usually did.

    "Holly," she said with restraint. "I need to have a word with you."

    Mikasa sprinted to Holly''s side, brandishing her swords.

    "Hey! What are you trying to pull?"

    The man reached into his coat and retrieved another pistol, aiming it squarely between Mikasa''s eyes.

    "Do not interfere," he warned, his voice retaining an eerie calm.

    "Mikasa," said Holly, not letting her gaze waver from the red-clad man. "Run."

    For a moment, she hesitated- but another second looking at the man''s terrifying smile convinced her otherwise. She turned and swung away, disappearing into the next city block over. Holly quietly set down her weapon and raised her hands.

    "Listen, Holly. I''m sorry to have to do this," said Twilight, trotting to the elf. "But you need help. I want you to help me, help you. Is that okay?"

    "Spit it out, Twi. What are you playing at?"

    "Not so fast. I''m going to explain what''s going on right now first. This is Alucard," she said, tilting her head toward the red-coated man, whose pistols were now levelled at her.

    "He''s here to make sure I don''t get hurt, and that you don''t hurt yourself."

    "Yes. So much safety with those hand-cannons around."

    "Alucard is a vampire," explained Twilight. "Don''t bother trying to attack him. You will not be successful."

    The unicorn came to a stop next to Holly, kicking her Neutrino along the ground. A girl clad in a black sailor suit tossed the weapon into the air with her foot, catching it deftly in one hand.

    "And that is Ryuko. She''s here to make sure that Alucard doesn''t get hurt."

    "''S she a vampire, too?"

    "No. Her uniform is."

    The girl drew what appeared to be one half of a scissor from her pocket, twirling it as it expanded into an oversized blade. She rested the blunt end of the red hunk of metal on her shoulder, scowling at Holly.

    "Now, to tell you what we''re here for," continued Twilight. "I have to ask you what you saw in the room."

    "The room?" said Holly, feeling unnaturally nervous. "What room?"

    "You know very well, Holly. What did you see?"

    How does she know?

    "This is silly, Twilight. The only rooms I''ve seen were mine, and Katniss''. And the commons, if you want to count-"

    "Stop lying, police elf," said Alucard. He seemed to really enjoy saying ''police elf''. Holly found it even more disturbing. She decided it was time to confess.

    "It¡­ it was dark. There was a voice. It sounded terrible. It felt terrible. I¡­ I felt like I had heard it before."

    "Holly, there are a few things I can''t tell you. Not yet," said the unicorn grimly. "What I can tell you for certain is this: That room does not exist."

    "But I walked into it myself. I was there."

    "You''re a cop, Holly. Have you ever dealt with a mail bomber?"

    "What does that have to do with-"

    "Why do they use thick envelopes?"

    "¡­So you can''t see what''s inside. Or to keep poison contained. I still don''t see what you''re getting at."

    "Holly. You''re the envelope."

    She still could not quite grasp what Twilight Sparkle was implying, but terror began to close in over her, swallowing her subconscious. The puddle of fear she had been standing in was becoming much deeper.

    "Wha¡­what?"

    "I was trying to be vague to help you out. I''m afraid that when I tell you this, you''re not going to feel well. When the Master of Games brought you here, he put something else inside of you. Something he wanted to keep safe, something he wanted to contain. He could''ve used anyone, really. But you''re the one who picked it up."

    Holly felt a sharp pain at the back of her head. Her ears were ringing, but not the usual, high-pitched whine. It was as if she was inside a multitude of church bells, sounding slowly, drawn out unnaturally. She fell to her knees, holding her head in agony.

    "Once it started telling you to do things," said Twilight, "we had to step in. I need you to, for lack of a better term, be yourself. Why, I''ll have to explain later. But for now, we need to get it out."

    Holly had devolved to howling in pain, beating her fists bloody on the ground. Twilight gave a nod to both of her followers. Alucard phased into the ground, his arms slipping up around Holly''s, pinning her to the ground. Ryuko snapped the bolt on her glove, and her outfit pulled itself taut around her, transforming into its battle mode.

    "Now, all physiological changes undergone in the arenas are reverted after the round ends¡­ so doing this, which should be permanent, is going to take a lot of magic. Bear with me, Holly."

    Holly thrashed and struggled on the ground as the unicorn began to glow with an aura of lavender energy. The terrible sound in her head was changing. The chaos was forming itself into words. Since her mouth was too busy screaming in pain, only her subconscious was left to scream in fear at what it said.

    "THANK YOU."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 4-6

    With great effort, she opened her eyes. Her entire body felt sore and stiff.

    Lactic acid. I was struggling for a while.

    Twilight Sparkle and her allies stood over her. Twilight was looking particularly apologetic.

    "Good to see that you''re awake. I''m really sorry, Holly. You have to believe me," she whispered.

    "Kind of too late to tell me I have to believe you," grunted the elf, rising to her feet.

    "Are you¡­ feeling all right?" asked Twilight.

    "Better than I was. Just a little sick to my stomach."

    "It''ll probably go away," assured the unicorn.

    "Well, now that¡­ whatever that was is taken care of, I need to go."

    "Need to go? Where?"

    "I need to find Katniss. I need to apologize."

    "Couldn''t that wait until after the round?" said Alucard.

    "No. I need to make sure she''s okay, to make it up to her."

    "Well, if you''re going to go," said Ryuko, "you need to know about Dio."

    "Dio? As in, the band, or the artist?"

    "This Dio is a powerful vampire, and he''s leading the Master''s team. I was part of his new blood, he had me brainwashed. The other new-" Holly was raising her hand.

    "¡­What?" sighed Ryuko.

    "So, he''s a vampire," Holly said, indicating Alucard, "Your sailor suit is a vampire, and this head honcho is a vampire? You know, you could have told me earlier, and I would have brought wooden stakes and garlic."

    "While very interesting, I fail to find this relevant." Said Twilight, who motioned to Ryuko to continue.

    "Anyway, you need to steer clear of him. He''s incredibly strong, and can regenerate almost as fast as Alucard here. Plus, he can fire beams out of his eyes, and¡­ well, I don''t know what to call it. He can... make things happen. Just be careful."

    "Okay, fine. I''ll keep away from any vampires named Dio. Anything else?"

    "Nothing as far as I know," said Twilight. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

    "Yes. I made a vow to take care of Katniss, and that''s exactl¡­ ugh¡­" she groaned, clutching her stomach.

    While Twilight and Ryuko closed in to find out what was wrong with their friend, Alucard took a step back, drawing his pistols. Twilight gave him a bewildered look.

    "What are you doing?"

    "The smart thing," he said, taking aim at the elf.

    Holly doubled over, heaving. Having watched many horror movies in her day, she was at least a little relieved that she was feeling what was distinctly reverse peristalsis, and not something gouging its way out of her. She vomited up a thin, black liquid, which pooled in the cracks of the cobblestone below her. Thankfully, it didn''t taste like much of anything.

    "Oh, gross," said Ryuko and Twilight nearly simultaneously. Alucard merely shifted his aim toward the puddle. Holly stared down at the stuff intently, until it zipped away, running along the spaces between the stones and forming itself into another puddle on the far side of the street.

    "That''s¡­ not good," whispered Twilight.

    The puddle slowly began to take shape, rising up off the ground. Two trickling streams formed themselves into supporting limbs, and as the top of the geyser got broader, another two formed manipulating devices. The top bubbled into a distinctly round shape, and slowly, the liquid stopped looking like liquid at all.

    "Really not good," reiterated Twilight.

    A small, gracile hand reached up and swept a lock of hair out of its wide, almond-shaped eyes. It then examined the hand for a while, wiggling the slender fingers, touching its dainty nose and small chin. It looked down at its body, craning its neck to get a better view.

    "D''Arvit," cursed Holly. "It''s me."

    Indeed, the creature that now stood before them was a near facsimile of the LEPrecon officer, down to the haircut. Quite distinctly, it was devoid of any of the elf''s lively fairy color. Its skin, its clothes and its hair were all a flat gray. Except for the eyes, which seemed to be a color beyond comprehension, constantly shifting between unrecognizable hues.

    "How interesting," it said softly.

    Alucard fired at the creature, with his typical accuracy. The creature merely raised a hand, and the bullet tumbled to the ground, flattened.

    "I wouldn''t do that again, if I were you."

    Alucard slowly put his weapons away.

    "Now, I could take any form I wanted," it said. "But this does have a certain novelty to it, doesn''t it?"

    "What in Frond''s name are you?" asked Holly, keeping her voice low to avoid incurring her doppelganger''s wrath.

    "Come on, we went over this. I''m the bomb," it said in Twilight''s voice.

    "Twilight, you don''t have a spell that can kill that thing, do you?" asked Ryuko, panicked.

    "No¡­ I-I don''t."

    "Relax," it said, walking away. "I''m not here for you anyway. I''m not here for any of you. My business is elsewhere."

    And with those words, it vanished.

    "Well, I''m feeling a lot better now," said Holly, who activated her wings and took off at maximum speed.

    "What the hell just happened?" growled Ryuko.

    Twilight scratched her mane with a hoof.

    "I have no idea. But that''s not the only thing."

    Oh, great, thought Ryuko.

    "Alucard, did you notice anything odd about Holly, even after¡­ that?"

    "The police elf did¡­ smell odd."

    "I was getting weird biometric readings as I was doing the spell, too. It''s probably just some side effects of¡­ that."

    "Yes, let''s leave it at that! Don''t bother explaining to me!" screamed Ryuko.

    "Ryuko, I know that negativity is providing you with some sort of emotional high, but I don''t have time for such dramatics."

    "Oh, one of these days¡­" she fumed as the group set off toward the center of town.

    ***

    With a mighty slam, the jumpsuited young man hit the ground. This time, he didn''t get back up. Adam walked back to his comrade, who sat against a building cleaning her weapon.

    "Another one bites the dust!" chirped Ruby, loading another magazine into Crescent Rose.

    Katniss vaulted herself over the roof and landed with a momentum-transferring roll, examining the body and removing a few arrows from the tattered jumpsuit.

    "You know, you''re not really much of a ninja if you wear such bright colors, and shout out the names of your attacks all of the time," Continued the girl, collapsing her weapon into its more compact form.

    "Perhaps being a ninja is a more subjective concept," offered Adam. "Like a way of life."

    "But if it was a way of life, why wouldn''t everybody be ninjas?"

    Katniss wiped off the arrows and slipped them back into her quiver.

    "Because if everyone was a ninja, no one would be," she said flatly.

    Ruby''s eyes grew wide with amazement.

    "Whoa. That''s deep."

    For a moment, the team stood silent, appreciating the profound wisdom on the concept of universal ninjutsu.

    "We had better get moving," said Adam, breaking the quiet.

    Ruby hopped to her feet.

    "That''s right. We''re pretty close now, aren''t we?"

    "Adam, could you give me a boost back up?" asked Katniss. The huge man picked the girl up in one hand, lightly tossing her back onto the roof she had been perched on during the fight. Katniss found purchase on the shingles and pulled herself to her feet, examining the view from the rooftop. Only a block away stood the "mansion". It was quite the misnomer, as the sole governmental building was really more of a fortress. High ramparts rose over the other buildings, adorned by Spartan turrets. It didn''t convey any sort of opulence at all, at least from the outside.

    "Yes," she confirmed. "Very close."

    "We brought Katniss on as a more technical member of the team," said Adam. "Since Ruby and I cover the ''brute-force'' aspects of speed and power, I''ve developed a strategy that will allow us to capitalize on our individual strengths."

    "I''m all ears," called Katniss, sitting on the rooftop''s edge.

    "The plan is very basic. If another team is occupying the mansion, which I have no doubt is the case, they will most likely have a majority of their forces defending the front gate. If Ruby and I attack there, we can probably draw out another section of their team. This would leave the interior lightly guarded at best. If you were to infiltrate by climbing over the ramparts, there would be little resistance for you to capture the building from the inside out."

    "It sounds reasonable, I guess. Ruby, what do you think?"

    "I just want a chance to use this new catchphrase I was working on," she replied.

    "Then I think we''re ready," said Katniss.

    "Good. Then let us commence the operation." Adam swept Ruby into his arms and tossed her onto his shoulders. She wiggled her arms in an attempt to maintain balance.

    "OK, then!" she giggled. "Let''s go RAKE some leaves!"

    Katniss gave her a blank stare. Adam turned his head to look at the girl perched on his back.

    "I don''t get it," he said softly.

    "It''s our team name! Ruby, Adam, and Katniss Everdeen! Because it''s spelled with a ''K'' and an ''E''! RAKE, like the garden-"

    "I get it," said Katniss. "It''s just not funny."

    "It''s not supposed to be funny," whined Ruby.

    "It''s not intimidating either."

    "Fine. You come up with a better one."

    Katniss shrugged and took off over the rooftops. The roofs were all packed so close together that it was almost child''s play to dart along on top of them. She turned left, planning to circle toward the mansion''s south side. She had noticed a small outer building to the structure that seemed to have been a late addition, an armory, perhaps. It was shorter than the ramparts it edged up against, but taller than the civilian buildings that surrounded it.

    I guess I''m not that good with team names, either.

    She leapt onto the next building and continued to pick up speed, launching from rooftop to rooftop, closing in on the armory. She was close. Three roofs, two, one. A narrow alley separated the building she stood on from the armory. It was a comparatively easy jump. Katniss took a few steps back, ran forward, and jumped upward, her fingers locking over the edge of the armory''s roof.

    Good. Now to swing myself up.

    She rocked her legs to the left, and then to the right, her foot gaining purchase on the roof. Katniss pulled herself up, and rolled onto the roof of the armory. She was greeted by a high heel to the face. Instinctually, she contorted her body the other way- only to fall off the roof.

    That was going just a little too well, wasn''t it?

    With a desperate grab, Katniss managed to snag the corner of a window to slow her descent. She let go and fell to her feet, wincing against the pain of impact. She slipped her bow into her hand and strung an arrow, scanning above for her attacker.

    With a well-executed somersault, her assailant landed in front of her. It was an unusual amount of athleticism for someone dressed so formally. A well-tailored suit and medium-length skirt didn''t seem at home on the battlefield. Neither did the small nametag that read "Janice Starling, CEO".

    "A¡­ businesswoman? What?" Katniss was a little bewildered.

    "Sorry, do you have a problem with that?" she said. Katniss detected something off about her. She had the voice of an adult, but certainly looked a lot younger. Far too young, in fact.

    Plastic surgeries? Probably.

    "No, no problems. I''ve got no issues with killing whoever gets in my way. I just expected some sort of swordfighter, alien, or undead creature."

    "Oh, don''t worry, Katniss. I''m far worse than those." Her grin certainly was worrying.

    "You know my name?"

    "Of course. Lord Dio made sure we got ahold of some recommended reading."

    Oh. Of course she has.

    "Lord Dio¡­ is he a friend of yours?"

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    "He''s the leader of our team, yes. And if I recall correctly, he''s beating the life out of your little buddies right now. If you ran, you could probably make it to them on time, to beg for mercy."

    "But you won''t let it be so easy, will you?"

    "Oh, you''re smart. Your father wasn''t kidding about you."

    Katniss felt her hands involuntarily clench around her weapons far more tightly than normal. She raised her bow at the woman.

    "Hit a sore spot there? Excellent," she oiled, raising her hands into what seemed to be a poorly-formed karate stance.

    She''s clearly no martial artist, unless she''s hustling.

    Katniss released her grip on the arrow, the projectile ripping through the woman''s thigh. She screamed like she had hardly felt pain before, falling to the ground and desperately trying to pull it out.

    "Sorry, ma''am. I need to keep moving. Maybe you can crawl back to Lord Dio and tell him to get better team members. I''m not sure what he was thinking when he-"

    The woman wasn''t screaming anymore. In fact, she was now laughing, albeit through gritted teeth. She wrenched the arrow out of her leg and stood, with some effort.

    "I was looking forward to fighting you, Everdeen," her smile unnerving for someone in such pain. Katniss took a cautious step back.

    "I¡­ I just put an arrow through your leg. Don''t tell me that you''re not human."

    "Katniss, are you familiar with the story of the Fountain of Youth?"

    "Yeah¡­ did you find it or something?"

    The woman''s head jerked violently to one side, her gaze remaining fixed on the girl.

    "Not quite. Of course, a real Fountain of Youth is just a fairy tale, but with a little ingenuity, you can derive similar results from nature."

    "I don''t like where this is going," whimpered Katniss.

    "No, you don''t." she confirmed, accentuated by more erratic movements. Something squelched, something else made stretching sounds.

    "What¡­ are you doing?"

    "I find it very interesting," grunted the woman, as she tumbled onto the ground. She caught herself with her hands, heaving with every breath. "That you have had traumatic experiences¡­"

    Katniss saw something shift under her clothing. The woman tossed away her suit jacket, and pulled her shirt off. Two huge, transparent wings erupted out of her back.

    "¡­with wasps."

    Her body writhed under the changes, her human skin rapidly swallowed by chitinous exoskeleton. Segments spread over her limbs as they thinned into clawed appendages. Mandibles clicked together below soulless compound eyes while antennae twitched back and forth, feeling and smelling and hearing simultaneously. The terror that had replaced the seemingly harmless woman was far more wasp than human. A comparatively delicate looking female torso was the only clue remaining as to what the creature had been, as some soft, pink flesh still peeked out from underneath the insect''s armor. Four murderous-looking legs supported her weight, while the woman''s arms hung limply at her sides, twisted into armored claws. A massive abdomen trailed behind the creature, tipped with a foot-long stinger.

    Katniss found herself struggling to find words as her mind raced between fear and disgust, staggering backward down the alley. At first, she was relieved that it stayed still¡­ until she felt a wall behind her back. The creature tilted its head, almost as if it was regarding a child asking it a stupid question.

    Condescending¡­ it thinks it is better than me. She''s still in there somewhere, pulling the strings. It''s not some dumb animal. I need to see what it can do before I can plan out a strategy.

    Katniss strung another arrow, letting herself slip to the fight side of fight-or-flight. She fired, and as she expected, the tip could not pierce the thick, insectoid armor. The creature began to advance, its stilt-like legs scraping across the stones.

    "Man, Janice, is it a bad day to be you," said Katniss quietly.

    The creature stopped, and made a few clicking noises that Katniss interpreted as "Why?"

    "Because if I can''t shoot through that armor of yours, I''ll just have to squish you," she finished, popping her knuckles and slipping her bow over her shoulder. She wrung out her arms and crossed them over her body, bouncing on her toes. Janice''s wings buzzed to life, propelling the giant wasp down the alley. Katniss ducked under the creature as it slammed into the wall behind her, and flowed directly into a leg sweep, knocking the wasp''s two left legs out from under it. She rolled to the right as the insect lost its footing, smacking into the alley''s left wall.

    If I keep this up, it''ll practically kill itself.

    The creature scrabbled for purchase to right itself, but its small, more-human arms weren''t large enough to support the weight of its own lower body. Katniss took advantage of such vulnerability by placing a foot on its exposed thorax and shoving as hard as she could. The exoskeleton buckled underneath the force, and Janice let out a shrill wail that was all too human. Enraged, it swung its body to the right, managing to slip its legs back beneath itself.

    Katniss ducked into the creature''s blind spot, kneeling just next to its abdomen. Janice swung her head around, her compound eyes glittering in the dark. Katniss leapt into the air, swinging her foot outward.

    "Shinrin-Kisai kyaku!"

    Her heel gutted one of the glistening eyes, and the wasp raised a hand to its face as it howled in pain. Katniss slipped her bow back into her hand, notching an arrow into place. She aimed for the space between the creature''s fingers, where she could get a shot into its nervous tissue. She levelled the bow, took a controlled breath, and felt something tear into her stomach. She looked down at the stinger impaling her.

    "Oh," she gasped, and fell onto her back.

    The wasp creature slowly advanced to her fallen foe, still holding her wounded eye. Katniss tried to get up, but it seemed that her arms and legs were frozen in place. For the wasted effort, she was rewarded by coughing up a thin stream of blood.

    It paralyzed me. I can''t get away.

    The edges of her vision darkened as she watched Janice''s segmented free arm reach toward her neck. Katniss let her eyes close, considering whether or not she was going to be eaten, or just mauled to death. She exhaled slowly, as her vision filled with fluttering blue sparks. At least she would see something pretty before she died.

    Wait. Those aren''t a hallucination.

    The sparks congealed in a flash of blue light, and a young man suddenly stood between Katniss and the wasp. Janice scuttled backward in surprise. Similar to her pre-transformation, he was clothed in formal attire, with an exceptionally-well tailored black suit. He also donned a pair of dark, reflective sunglasses. The only thing about his outfit that seemed out of place was a silver cuff unceremoniously clipped over his suit''s left arm.

    "Excuse me, madam," he said with a lilt in his voice. Katniss thought the accent sounded familiar, almost like Holly''s.

    "I am afraid you will have to leave the girl alone."

    Janice twisted her wounded, bleeding head in defiance.

    "I think you''ll find it in your best interest to cooperate, Starling." He tapped something on the cuff, and in another flash of blue sparks, a hulking bald man, dressed in similar garb, appeared behind him.

    "Butler here has a dartgun equipped with a variety of serums prepared specifically for this situation. He has one that will turn you back into a human; this will cause you to die of blood loss from your wound. He has another that will turn you into something more awful, but the explosive growth of new tissue will leave you completely immobile."

    Janice hissed angrily, fluttering her wings.

    "If you would like to make things more difficult, he is also armed with three pistols, a garrote, two combat knives, a nunchaku, and a custom-built oversized Neutrino blaster. That''s not counting the ways he can kill you with his bare hands, which I calculate to be exponentially more than a normal human thanks to all of those extra limbs."

    The wasp rushed toward the duo, bending its abdomen ahead of it and brandishing the stinger as a battering ram. The young man sidestepped the attack, while his colossal servant threw an overhead punch powerful enough that it stopped the creature in its tracks when it connected with her chest. The exoskeleton snapped and buckled, thick yellow blood oozing from the ruined armor. Janice was stunned by the attack, clutching her new wound as she wailed in agony.

    The huge man chained together a cannonade of strikes, each one smashing through the insect''s armor and punctuated by a battle cry.

    "ORAORAORAORAORAORA!"

    When he finished, Janice was a spiny, bloody mess. Her limbs twitched helplessly at her sides, their own armored skin now inhibiting their movement. Butler turned to his charge.

    "Shall I?"

    "If you please," said the young man. With what seemed like very little effort, Butler tore off Janice''s head, tossing it aside. The two walked to Katniss'' fallen body, kneeling at her side. The young man drew a small flashlight, shining it in the girl''s eyes.

    "Good. It hasn''t gotten to her nervous system. Butler, inject her with the anti-venom. I''ll apply the medkit."

    Katniss felt something slip under the skin of her arm, and slowly feeling returned to her body. Unfortunately, the feeling was pain. She tensed up, struggling to sit up. The young man pushed her back down.

    "Don''t try anything yet," he said firmly. "You''ve still got quite the hole in your stomach."

    He pressed something up against her wound, and the deep, gouging pain began to subside. Katniss caught a glimpse of blue sparks fluttering across her stomach.

    "M...magic?" she stuttered.

    "Yes. That''s a fairy medkit. Concentrated warlock magic, stored in crystals with a crush-activated trigger. Looks like it''s about done stitching you up."

    Katniss cautiously placed a hand on the injury, finding only a scar left behind.

    "A fairy medkit? Like-"

    "Holly? Yes," he chuckled, removing his sunglasses and tucking them inside his jacket. One of his eyes was a pale blue, the other a bright hazel. Katniss had seen those eyes before.

    "Nice to meet you, Katniss Everdeen. My name is Artemis Fowl." He extended a hand, and helped the girl to her feet.

    "So¡­ you know Holly?"

    "That''s right. Holly and I are good friends. And that''s what I heard about you, too."

    Katniss didn''t really appreciate being talked to like a kid, but considering that he had just saved her life, she wasn''t going to complain.

    "Well, we were friends. She sort-of betrayed me. I''m not really sure you could say we''re on the best of terms."

    Artemis slipped his hands into his jacket pockets, shrugging.

    "I know that this is all terribly familiar for you. Fighting for your life, in a world made to torment you. But it''s not like that for everyone. Holly didn''t live in a world like this, and people can do bad things under the pressure. I know it sounds selfish, but you need to forgive her."

    "After what she did? I''m not sure."

    "I''m sorry, Katniss, but I''m afraid that I have to go. You''ll have to come to a decision on your own about that. Before I leave, I have to tell you something important."

    "Okay," muttered Katniss, not really sure what to expect.

    "One. Holly cannot know that you saw me here. Two. If you see someone that looks like Holly, and is not Holly, don''t trust them."

    With that, he tapped a button on the silver cuff, and both he and his bodyguard disappeared in a shower of sparks.

    What the hell was that all about?

    For a moment, she sat down in the alley, trying to puzzle it out. She looked over at the broken giant wasp remains, shuddering. For that man to be able to kill her so quickly¡­

    Oh, crap. My team!

    Katniss hopped to her feet, snagged the arrows she had fired off the ground, and took off in the opposite direction.

    I just hope I can get there in time.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 4-7

    The Huntress'' body gave out as it hit the wall, fractures rippling through the building''s structure and her bones. Dio slipped his fingers under the skin of her neck, and her blood began to drain into his body. She weakly resisted, barely able to lift her head.

    "You¡­monster¡­!"

    Dio chuckled heartily at Ruby''s words, her blood halting in his veins. He removed his fingers from inside her neck and coiled them around the outside, throwing her at the ground.

    "I''m the monster? Ha! I think it''s safe to say we''re all monsters here."

    He pointed at Adam''s unconscious, massive frame.

    "He can talk all day about how he wants love and acceptance, but what is he? A serial killer, a science project gone wrong. And you! You kill creatures without discretion. Do you care about what they think and feel, before you slice them to pieces?"

    He reached down and picked up Ruby''s shattered body, throwing it into the air. With a flex of his muscular torso, two razor-sharp beams shot from his eyes, cutting two neat holes through the girl''s chest. He caught her as she fell, blood splattering onto his hands. He licked his fingers off as he set her on the ground. Ruby coughed weakly.

    "¡­but¡­"

    "Let me tell you something, little girl. The only way to rid the world of monsters is to be one yourself. When fear is your ally, and dread is your weapon, no one can stand against you. And when no one can, you can create order. You can say who lives and dies, what is permitted, what is forbidden. Then, there will be only one monster. You."

    He drew an ornately carved knife from his pocket, briefly twirled it in his fingers, and jammed it into her throat. He stood back to appreciate his work. Two fine corpses littering the front gate.

    That''s how you send a message!

    Dio stopped admiring his work when he heard faint footfalls echo over the stone streets.

    She''s about here.

    He nonchalantly ambled to the steps in front of the gate and sat down, twiddling his thumbs. The girl sprinted into the small square, halting suddenly at the sight of her vanquished friends. She stared at both for a while, exhaled quietly, and raised her left hand above her head, three middle fingers extended.

    Dio laughed aloud, causing Katniss to jump.

    "You really hadn''t seen me? Come on! I''m wearing bright yellow!"

    "You¡­ killed them already."

    "Of course I did. I trust you had a fun time with Miss Starling?"

    "You''re¡­ ''Lord Dio''," she gasped.

    "Please, call me ''Dio.'' Honorifics are for underlings," he said, standing up and taking a short bow.

    "And¡­ you''re about to kill me, too, aren''t you?"

    "Most certainly," he said with a grin. He reached into his pockets and pulled out two handfuls of knives. Katniss keenly observed the movements of the man''s wrists and arms, watching for the telltale twitches that would indicate the direction of the throw. Even with a whole swarm of blades bearing down on her, Katniss dodged every one.

    "That''s interesting," mused Dio. "I''ll have to try again."

    The man began to pull another two bunches of knives from his pockets, when Katniss interrupted him.

    "Why bother? I''ll just dodge them again. And how many of those do you have?"

    "I do things how I please," he cackled, running a knife through his hair. "The WORLD!"

    Katniss was confused by the exclamation.

    "That doesn''t make any se-"

    Suddenly, she was against the wall of a building across the street, her back aching. Knives, driven into the building like nails, pinned her by her clothing. She tugged her arm against her jacket sleeve, but to no avail.

    "It''s useless," said Dio, suddenly in front of her. He wrapped a hand around her chin, forcibly lifting her eyes to meet his.

    "Also, I have a lot of knives."

    Katniss spat in his face, and he moved his hand down along her jaw until it clenched around her neck. She felt a terrible new sensation as her skin split to let the vampire''s fingers underneath, wiggling freely in her bloodstream. Sickening lumps travelled along his arm''s veins as her every heartbeat now drove her blood into his body. The horrible pain began to ease, as did all sensations.

    Dio watched her slowly stop struggling, her body incapable of summoning the strength to fight him.

    This just seems too easy.

    The sound of winding cables and skidding leather boots confirmed his theory. He removed his hand, Katniss slumping against her bladed restraints. Dio turned to face his new opponent, thrilled by the opportunity to drain another foe dry.

    Two thin, razor-like swords crossed over one another, glittering in the sunlight. Mikasa scowled underneath her scarf, which trailed out in the wind like a cut on the air itself. Dio ran his eyes over the scout, observing her outfit and 3DMG.

    Professional soldier, with some sort of mobility-enhancing device. That scar over her eye indicates some sort of traumatic experience, either on the battlefield or off. There''s a ridiculous amount of carbon dioxide in her breath, so her metabolic rate has to be astounding. She''s unnaturally fit.

    "What did you do to Katniss?" demanded Mikasa, pointing a sword at the vampire.

    "Not too much. She might even still be conscious."

    "Katniss!" shouted Mikasa at her immobile friend. With some effort, she raised her head.

    "What?" she groaned.

    "It''s Holly! Twilight and some tough-looking-"

    "Everything''s about Holly, isn''t it?" she snapped, her weak voice surprisingly full of spite.

    "But¡­ I thought you two-"

    "Were friends. I don''t care how she''s screwed up this time. She''s getting what''s coming to her."

    "She is a bitter one, isn''t she?" chuckled Dio, his hands on his waist.

    Mikasa was shocked by Katniss'' response, and more than a little annoyed by Dio''s glib attitude.

    "Whatever," she grunted, extending her swords behind her like two metal wings. "I''ll just have to tear you apart, so I can get some decent answers from her."

    "I just hope you can make this interesting," he laughed, feigning a yawn. "The last few have been terribly droll."

    Mikasa clamped her fingers over the triggers, firing two anchors directly into Dio''s abdomen. With another click, the spool mounted over her lower back reeled the cables in, sending the man flying towards her. At the last second, Mikasa jolted her swords ahead, and Dio was run cleanly through. He looked down at the swords, then up at the girl, and shook his head in disappointment.

    "That is just pathetically useless," he said, his voice dripping with condescendence.

    He reached down to his abdomen and placed a forefinger and a thumb on each of the blades. With a simple pinch, both snapped in half, to Mikasa''s dismay. Dio dropped to the ground, and slowly pulled the blades out of his body. He brought one to his face as if he was examining it, and dramatically extended his tongue, licking a bloody patch clean. Katniss, slowly regaining her strength, couldn''t help but vomit at the sight.

    Dio tossed the shattered blades to the ground, cocking his head at Mikasa arrogantly. Mikasa found herself incapable of coherent speech, collapsing to her knees.

    "You¡­ you¡­ you¡­"

    "This is what we call ''checkmate''," he said, drawing a handful of knives. He twirled them around his fingers as the brutal stab wounds sealed themselves. With an even more deft maneuver, he slipped a knife between each pair of fingers, and prepared to send them flying at their target. Then the air crackled, and the knives fell from his smoking hand.

    He turned the back of his hand toward him and observed the blistering burn, poking at it quizzically with his other hand. He repositioned his hand to where it was when it was hit, and tracked his eyes back until they fell upon the unshielding elf.

    "I just call it ''check''," snapped Holly, firing a wall of blasts from her Neutrino. Each shot singed the skin off the vampire, who tumbled helplessly to the ground. Mikasa was surprised to see the elf back.

    "Wait, what happened back there? I thought they were going to kill you."

    "It''s a very strange story," replied Holly. "And I don''t think I want to jinx things by telling it. All you need to know is that I''m all right, and all Katniss needs to know is that the book thing is not my fault."

    "As if," spat the girl, still pinned by the knives.

    A lavender sphere of energy exploded with a zap, depositing Twilight Sparkle and a very burnt-looking Ryuko Matoi. Alucard rose from the ground nearby, and the trio sprinted to Holly''s defense.

    "She''s telling the truth," explained Twilight. "There was something evil stored inside of her, that influenced her to share the book!"

    Ryuko brushed a lock of singed hair off of her uniform.

    "It gets weirder," she warned.

    "The good news is the evil is gone now."

    Mikasa scratched her head.

    "You said that like there is also-"

    "The bad news is it''s loose. Somewhere."

    "Of course," concluded Mikasa and Katniss simultaneously.

    Holly ran to Katniss'' side, tearing the knives from the wall. The girl fell to the ground with a perfect three-point landing.

    "Okay, I''ll forgive you," she grunted, standing. "But I still don''t trust you."

    Holly slipped her hands into her pockets, shrugging.

    "That''s a start, I guess."

    Alucard fired a single round skyward, disrupting the quiet moment.

    "Now that everyone''s absolved, where''s Dio?"

    "What are you talking about?" chuckled Holly. "He''s right over¡­"

    A bloody yellow jacket lay empty on the ground. The gathered warriors drew their weapons, scanning the square for the man. They formed a circle, and slowly backed toward each other.

    "Where could he have gone? It''s not like he can turn invisible," whispered Holly.

    "No, he can''t," confirmed Ryuko. "My guess is as good as yours."

    "How about here?" said Dio, standing behind their backs.

    A shriek could be heard as the fighters pivoted on their heels to face him, readying their attacks. In an instant, the man was assaulted with magical blasts, arrows, massive silver slugs, energy rounds, and a flurry of slices. Dio simply stood, taking the abuse. After the last shot was fired, he slumped slightly, flattened bits of silver tumbling from bullet holes. He plucked each arrow out, snapping them in his hands, and every slice- no matter how deep- sealed itself in seconds.

    "Heh. He he he he heh," he guffawed. "It''s useless."

    "We can''t kill him!" shouted Mikasa.

    "You don''t say," seethed Twilight.

    "I''ve got an idea," said Holly. "I need you all to stand back."

    "What? That''s just stupid," said Katniss.

    Alucard lifted the girl by her torn jacket, carrying her back with the rest of her retreating team. They backed into a corner of the square, leaving Holly to face Dio alone.

    "If the police elf wants to die, it''s her choice."

    "But this is insane!" cried the girl, thrashing to get free. She was surrounded by a lavender sphere of energy, restricting her movement.

    "Katniss," whispered Twilight. "It''s better for only one of us to be in danger in order to occupy him than all of us."

    "Are¡­ are you serious?"

    Twilight tightened her magical grip on the girl.

    "Yes."

    Holly slipped her Neutrino into its holster, raising her arms into an angled, palms-down stance. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, carefully observing the vampire.

    "What are you doing?" asked Dio, observing the elf''s footwork.

    "It''s clear we can''t kill you from the outside. You heal too quickly."

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    She half-unzipped her uniform, her white undershirt peeking through the nano-machined suit.

    "So what do you plan on doing? Undressing yourself won''t do you any more good than all of those attacks back there."

    "There are seven-hundred and two pressure points on the body, Dio. Each one is linked to an involuntary physical response. The Chinese, who were pretty clever for Mud Men, realized they could press different ones in different orders to relieve illness, and purify the soul."

    "Good luck purifying my soul, elf."

    Holly cracked a wicked smile, popping her knuckles loudly before continuing her lesson.

    "But being Mud Men, it wasn''t long before they figured out how to use the points to cause a lot of pain. Thus an entire school of martial arts was born. Hokuto Shin-Ken. The Holy Fist of Polaris."

    Katniss struggled in her magical bonds, stopping briefly to question Twilight.

    "Isn''t that what Kenshiro uses?"

    "It is. But I was under the impression that he did not share his secrets."

    "Maybe she''s bluffing," offered Mikasa.

    Dio placed a palm on his forehead, laughing.

    "Don''t be foolish. Even Hamon, the Ripple of the Sun, cannot defeat me. And I thought that using such a martial art would require an astounding amount of ki."

    A thin, slight hand drew an elegant line through the air, and halted two fingers up in front of Holly''s face.

    "Dio, how many people in their right mind would give you a lecture on how they''re about to kill you? None."

    He froze, his confident smile fading.

    "Wait, you mean-"

    "I''ve been using this time to channel my ki."

    A soft ripple of energy caused her uniform above her belt to slip off her shoulders, swinging lightly behind her knees. She dragged a thumb past her nose, and lifted a finger to beckon the vampire to attack.

    "There''s no WAY," he grunted, swinging a fist toward her. Holly sidestepped the attack, leaning into an open-hand strike. Before Dio could react, she threw another punch. Her attacks began to run together, like an engine warming up. Each cylinder''s own firing was soon drowned out by the sound of the whole, as the elf''s small hands began to blur into an indistinguishable, rushing current of pain. The onlookers watched, captivated by the complex attack. The movements were so rapid and so precise that the punches themselves could not be seen; only the marks they left across Dio''s helpless body.

    And then, without warning, the afterimages condensed themselves into one- a single hand, driven straight into the center of Dio''s chest. Holly drew her arm back, sweeping it into a dramatic pose, her entire body radiating heat like a mirage.

    "Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken!" she shouted, clearly out of breath.

    Dio stumbled backward, blood trickling out of his mouth.

    "In¡­ ten seconds, you''ll explode," Holly gasped. She managed to smile weakly, giving a thumbs-up to the rest of her team.

    "Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One," she counted.

    "THE WORLD!" cried the vampire, and suddenly things looked bleaker.

    In an instant, he stood before the other fighters, who barely had enough time to draw their weapons to keep him at bay. Stretched between his extended arms was Holly, suspended by his grip at her shoulders. She was horribly bruised, and her legs hung at angles that they should not.

    "D''Arvit," she choked. "What happened?"

    Dio smiled again, licking his own blood from his lips.

    "How many times do I have to tell you? All of this is futile."

    "What did you do? Why didn''t you explode?" shouted Katniss desperately, still locked in a magical barrier.

    "Your friend here is no master of Hokuto Shinken. A fraudulent practitioner''s attacks are about as effective as smacking someone around with a pillow. Furthermore, I physically shifted my pressure points to avoid her having any success."

    "Guess I shouldn''t have tried to do your thing, huh, Katniss?" said Holly weakly.

    Dio stretched the elf''s arms further, causing her to wail in agony.

    "What you see here is the result of my Stand, The World. With it, I can stop time. That is why you have no hope of defeating me. Now, do you have any last words for your friends, elf?"

    "I¡­ uhn!... I''m sorry. For what I did, Katniss. When I see you again, I''ll¡­ I''ll owe you one."

    With that, Dio pulled one last time. Twilight and Ryuko averted their eyes. Mikasa and Alucard, no strangers to carnage, did not. Katniss would have looked away, but something awful inside of her wanted to watch, wanted a reason to be angry.

    Flesh and bone resisted, and for their effort, were torn to shreds. Dio threw the armless ragdoll at the mansion''s front gate with the other corpses, tossing the severed appendages away like a candy wrapper. For a brief moment, a few sparks of magic scattered over where her missing limbs used to be, but quickly realized that the task was simply too large for them. They gave up, and faded away.

    Twilight Sparkle was simply overwhelmed. Not only had they lost Holly, but there was simply no way to counter an opponent who could control time. In her panic, she realized that she had released her hold on Katniss.

    Where did she- oh, no.

    Katniss stood in front of Dio, who regarded her the way a boy with a magnifying glass regards a hill of ants on a sunny day.

    "What''s the matter, dear? Lose a friend? Perhaps I can help you find her."

    "Katniss! Get back! We need to get away!" cried Twilight.

    The girl''s head hung low, her eyes flitting back and forth between Holly''s corpse and the man who had taken her life. She felt a stinging pain in her palms, realizing quickly that it was her own fingernails. She felt blood trickle out along her hands, dripping slowly onto the ground next to her fallen friend''s. Her body was coiled like a spring with rage, but her voice did not betray her emotion as she spoke softly to the ground.

    "You killed Adam," she whispered.

    "Miss Sparkle," said Alucard quietly. "What is she doing?"

    "I''m not sure¡­" she said, stepping backward. "But I think we should stay out of her way." Alucard gave a nod and moved back as well, with Ryuko following suit.

    "You killed Ruby," continued Katniss, as a thin corona of red energy burst into flame around her. Small stones began to float out of the cracks in the street, pitching and dipping as if suspended in a strong wind. Dio summoned his Stand to his side, the ethereal being visible in the crimson cyclone of energy surrounding the girl. The World appeared as a huge mechanical man in ornate Egyptian fineries, lowering its muscular arms around Dio in defense.

    "Whatever you''re doing, you can''t get through my stand. Just give up already," said the Stand''s master, his voice betraying the massive hole in his confident demeanor.

    "You killed Holly. Now I''m going to kill you," Katniss roared. She twisted her arms around one another, pressing the bottoms of her palms together as her fingers clawed the air.

    "Of course!" shouted Twilight over the roar of the spirit energy swirling around Katniss. "It''s an Ansatsuken move, the Wave Motion Fist! Ryu is an expert, he must have taught her this too!"

    Ryuko jammed her scissor blade into the ground to prevent herself from flying off.

    "Why didn''t she do this before?!"

    "Ansatsuken''s potential depends on the user''s desire to kill! She must have reached a breaking point!"

    "YOU DON''T SAY," yelled Ryuko in reply.

    "SUZAKU!" Katniss screamed, the ki congealing into a swirling sphere of fire in her hands.

    "HADOKEN!"

    Katniss shoved the sphere forward. It travelled with enough speed to nearly disappear before reappearing in front of Dio''s Stand''s crossed arms. Suddenly, the sphere expanded exponentially, erupting into a massive fireball. Twilight sheltered herself under a magical dome while Alucard simply slipped into the ground. Mikasa fired off her anchors, locking on to a nearby building. Ryuko braced herself against her weapon. The huge explosion enveloped half of the square, the blinding light erasing all that stood before it. Soon, the light itself was swallowed by a thick shroud of dark smoke.

    She could not see anything, but she could feel soft earth underneath her knees. Katniss placed a hand on the ground and confirmed that it was warm loam, still smoking. Her vision faded back in, and she found herself along the bank of a massive depression, as if some huge hand had scooped the street up. Across the crater, the fortified walls of the mansion still stood. She lowered her eyes to the center of the indentation, and saw the man who had killed her friends, splayed across the ground. Katniss stood, and slid down the incline, placing a foot on his chest.

    His body was entirely burned; not an inch of his once-bronze skin had not been charred black. He still moved, though, weakly rocking back and forth in place, attempting to move limbs that no longer had functional muscle.

    "My Stand," he rasped. "It went through¡­ my Stand." He coughed out a cloud of ash that must have been his lungs as his body caved in under Katniss'' boot. A satisfying crunch indicated the loss of what were his ribs.

    "See if I care," said Katniss, who crawled back out of the crater. Her allies unbraced themselves, wiping debris from their faces.

    "What the hell was that, Everdeen?" whispered Ryuko in disbelief.

    "I''m¡­ not sure. I just wanted to kill him so bad, ¡­I let that desire take over."

    Twilight pulled a burnt chunk out of her mane, and spoke solemnly.

    "That may have saved the day for now, but the Satsui No Hado is not to be toyed with. I spoke with Ryu about how it worked in the last round we had together. It''s possible to completely lose yourself in it. You''ve got to be more careful."

    "He killed Holly. What was I supposed to do? Let him get away with it?"

    The debate was broken up by an all-too familiar voice from the crater.

    "That would be a start," croaked Dio, rising from his own ashes. Burnt tissue flaked off of the vampire as he stood, and already one could see pinpricks of pink skin underneath. He limped out of the crater, stumbling onto the front gate of the mansion.

    "Mr. Everdeen!" he yelled, his vocal chords still far from healed. "Launch Nineball!"

    "Damn. He is with them again," cursed Katniss.

    Her father did not appear, but Dio was answered by something smashing through the mansion''s fortified eastern wall. In a mess of thrusters and sparks, the Armored Core skidded to a halt in front of Dio, lowering its weapons at the group.

    "ORDERS?" a loudspeaker grated.

    "Kill them," coughed Dio.

    The red robot pointed a massive beam rifle directly at Katniss.

    "TARGETS VERIFIED. COMMENCING HOSTILITIES."

    "Aw, cra-"

    Katniss was very abruptly knocked off of her feet by Ryuko, whose clothing had suddenly become much¡­ less. An arm locked around Katniss'' midsection, and a blast of energy from Ryuko''s outfit''s back carried the two aloft. Milliseconds later, the Karasawa rifle turned the place they were standing into glass. They landed on the rooftop of a nearby building, where Mikasa joined them, and Alucard and Twilight warped in.

    "How are we supposed to fight that?" cried Katniss.

    The huge machine lowered the long barrel of a grenade launcher over its shoulder.

    "I don''t know," said Twilight, her analytical strategy failing her.

    "I say we fall back," asserted Mikasa, who leapt from the roof, swinging away. The rest followed.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 4-8

    Dio stumbled through the gate, collapsing on the floor of the foyer as a burnt, bloody pulp. Mr. Everdeen whisked himself down the stairs, sliding to his master''s side.

    "What happened to you?"

    "Your little girl has been doing some training," he wheezed. He shakily extended a hand, which Katniss'' father took and held carefully. His kindness was repaid with the vampire''s fingers slipping under his skin, draining his blood into the wounded mess before him. Dio stopped short of doing any damage, having garnered enough to complete his healing in some time. He weakly pulled himself into a sitting position.

    A little stunned, Mr. Everdeen continued. "¡­Training?"

    "Yes. Ansatsuken, I think. We can use that."

    "What? How?"

    "You get her angry, Mr. Everdeen. Really angry. While that may power up her abilities, it loosens her morals. See where I''m going?"

    "Are you suggesting that we-"

    The thin, yellowish glass of the windows shattered, and woolen insulation from the rafters tumbled down, and heralding such happenings was the trumpet of an explosion. The furniture danced in place, and the walls developed thin, spider-webs of cracks.

    "What was that?" hissed Dio.

    "I don''t know. How would I know?"

    "Go check it out. I''m staying in for a few hours."

    Dio slowly lifted himself to his feet and limped to his makeshift throne, nestling himself between the sharp metal panels of the dead Megatron.

    That was certainly impressive, to be able to destroy my stand, even if only for a moment. I can already feel that it has returned. I''ll have to take that into account if they make it back here again. And what a shame, too, I''m down to the same sorry bunch I had before. Starling is dead, Matoi''s gone turncoat¡­ That leaves the Xenomorph, the Predator, Nightmare, and Mr. Everdeen. Perhaps I can make this work... And I liked that Starling lady. Such cruelty!

    Mr. Everdeen burst back through the doors, his face pale with shock and fear.

    "I think you''re going to want to see this," he whispered.

    ***

    With all of the cupboards and shelves, the small kitchen was not the ideal place for all of them to stay. However, it did offer a few windows, which allowed them a few moments'' notice if they saw Nineball approaching. A titan, almost as threatening, waddled past, dragging its disproportionately long arms behind it.

    "That''s the third one to pass by," said Mikasa grimly. "Soon they''ll get our scent, and we''ll have to move again." She slipped back underneath the window, next to Katniss. Her braid hung lifelessly over her leg as she buried her head in her knees.

    "Are you¡­ okay?" asked Twilight from across the room. The unicorn sat on her haunches, idly polishing Alucard''s weapons as he observed.

    "No," mumbled Katniss. She dragged a sleeve over her cheeks, wiping them dry, for a moment.

    "I''m sorry. That guy would have worked through all of us, one by one. You did your best, and you at least stopped him."

    "But he''s still alive. Holly isn''t."

    "I know. But that''s the sad reality of this place. She''ll be back when the round is over."

    "I know¡­ I just¡­ and it sounds weird, but I don''t feel safe without her here. She was always there for me. No offense to you¡­ I just didn''t really trust anyone else. And then she went and ruined things, and just when I thought we could get along¡­" A few sobs squeezed their way out.

    "I understand how it feels to be on your own, without a friend to help you," said Twilight softly.

    "But¡­ aren''t you always talking about ''friendship this'' and ''friendship that''?"

    Twilight gave Katniss a small smile. "Yes. Because I learned that everyone needs friends. Katniss, your problem is that you''ve never had anyone you could really trust, not in your world. You get here, and everything is all wrong, and Holly proved that you could count on her. But now she isn''t here, and you won''t let anyone else get close. But we''re here to help you, okay?"

    "Whatever," she sighed.

    "Hey, they''re telling the truth," Ryuko confirmed. She pointed a thumb at her uniform. "Senketsu here was my only friend, but even he couldn''t save me from Dio. But thanks to Twi and Allie- can I call you Allie?"

    "No."

    "Thanks to Twi and Alucard, I was able to get free. It was the nicest thing anyone''s done for me at this Grand Combat. I figure if anyone goes to the trouble to offer you friendship here, you darned well take it."

    "What about you, Mikasa?" asked Twilight, looking for more positive input.

    "I will cut through everyone that gets in the way of me getting back to Eren. Everyone."

    "That''s¡­ lovely."

    The warriors sat silently as the shadows lengthened, the sun beginning to sink below the horizon.

    Twilight nudged Alucard, who knelt down next to the unicorn and collected his weapons. "Do you think we did the right thing?" she whispered, quiet enough to be inaudible to the others.

    "There really is no right or wrong, Miss Sparkle."

    "But¡­ couldn''t we have done something? Couldn''t you have¡­ turned her?"

    "Miss Sparkle, she wasn''t conscious. I couldn''t have asked her for permission."

    "But it would be undone at the end of the round. It''s not like she would have lived her whole life as a vampire."

    "First, I would not hold any bets on that. My bites are stronger than most magic that gets tossed around in here. Second, have you seen what happens when an elf becomes a vampire?"

    "No. I saw a Pegasus vampire once, though. What happens?"

    "I have no idea. But it couldn''t be pretty. Even in that delightful little uniform of hers."

    "You''re hopeless," muttered Twilight aloud, attracting a few stares.

    Another titan stomped down the road outside. Mikasa raised a finger to her lips.

    "That''s four. Why are they all over here?" Her eyes darted nervously back out the window.

    "Because we are?" muttered Katniss.

    "Because something''s chasing them here," said Twilight.

    "Nineball?" the Scout groaned.

    "Nineball," she confirmed, rising to her hooves.

    "Then let''s get the hell out of here, cut down these bozos, and keep running!" grunted Ryuko as she stood. "Eventually the robot will get bogged down by the titans and we''ll be able to assault the mansion again!"

    "We can''t just do that," murmured Twilight. "Dio is still alive. We can''t beat him, and that''s not counting whoever he''s got backing him up."

    "And that still doesn''t guarantee that Nineball could not get free, return, and attack us in the middle of said assault," mused Alucard.

    "So how ''bout we kill the titans out there, and when Nineball shows up, we throw everything at ''em? If we make a stand and kill it here, it''s one less thing to worry about." Ryuko spun her scissor blade eagerly.

    Mikasa nodded slowly. "Then we can skirt around the edges of town, avoiding detection¡­"

    "Dio will get impatient and send another team member, like Ms. Starling," said Katniss, catching on. "Until there aren''t any left."

    "¡­ then we sneak in, fry Dio again, and we tear him apart while he''s down. We carry away the pieces, or we get Alucard to eat them or something." Twilight found herself bobbing her head in approval. "It might work."

    "It will be a battle of attrition. Losses will be high," warned Alucard, his voice unnervingly greedy when discussing losses and eating.

    "It''s either that, or we stay here and get eaten by titans, or blasted by the robot. Personally, I''d like to go down fightin''," growled Ryuko.

    "Fine," said Twilight, with a hint of uncertainty. "Let''s do it."

    The house''s door took flight, landing in the middle of the street under the force of Mikasa''s foot. The team flowed onto the thoroughfare, raising their weapons at the amassed Titans. One turned a shaggy head to the ant-like fighters below, its eyes widening inquisitively.

    "Miss me?" said Mikasa, drawing a line over her neck with a sword. The titan began to reach down, and the team sprung into action. Alucard slammed fresh magazines into his pistols, and Katniss strung two arrows at once. She gave the vampire a succinct nod, and the two simultaneously targeted separate titans. Within an instant, both titans'' eyes were reduced to vapor. Ryuko rushed ahead of the ranged fighters, ripping her glove''s bolt across her wrist.

    "Let''s chop them fine, Senketsu!"

    Agreed, Senketsu whispered.

    Her blood seeped into the outfit, imbuing its life-fibers with power. The kamui stretched itself tightly over her body, assuming its standard combat form.

    "LIFE FIBER SYNCHRONIZE, KAMUI SENKETSU!" she announced, tossing her scissor blade into the air and catching it full-sized. A vent on the outfit''s back vented hot pink energy, and Ryuko sailed to the titan''s eye level. A flick of the wrist severed the massive nose cleanly, which slipped off of the giant''s face and smacked into the ground. Ryuko landed on the creature''s shoulder, its skin shimmering with heat. With its other arm, it reached for its wounded face, having now lost both eyes and nose.

    "Senketsu, are you thinking what I''m thinking?"

    Of course. A coup de grace is in order.

    She extended the Scissor blade behind her, as the oversized finger-guard folded down to double the length of the hilt. She placed an extra hand on the grip to stabilize the weapon as the blade extended outward, the tip splitting. An extra segment of blade flipped out, and the split tip locked back into place. The sword was now longer than Ryuko was tall, red as blood from pommel to tip.

    "SCISSOR BLADE, DECAPITATION MODE!"

    Literally, for once.

    With a lightning- fast swing, the titan''s head was neatly separated from its shoulders. It tumbled down, crushing the house in which the team had sat not two minutes prior. With a deft backflip, Ryuko descended from the creature, itself fast approaching the ground. She observed Mikasa perform a spinning slash to the back of her titan''s neck, the giant faceplanting into the houses across the street unceremoniously.

    "Two down," confirmed Twilight. "Two to go."

    The other two titans were further down the street, their dull eyes conveying little shock at the loss of their comrades. They slowly began to move toward the little morsels, rolls of marbled pink skin bouncing slowly in the wake of each step. The ranged fighters prepared two more salvoes, aiming their weapons for the vulnerable eyes. The titans looked down, then up, and then took a step back.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    "Don''t tell me," said Twilight, turning. As she had feared, behind them stood the Armored Core Nineball, its beam rifle leveled on the closest titan''s chest. With a sharp whine, the titan fell in a haze of purple plasma. A short burst of missiles rose from the robot and splattered the second titan into something the consistency of chili con carne.

    "Those missiles are too fast. We can''t run from those," said Alucard. "Or rather, you can''t," he corrected.

    "Do you want to do anything about them?" grunted Twilight sarcastically.

    "I don''t think I can. My weapons will be ineffective against its armor, and I can''t access my higher-power forms. You know that." Twilight swore under her breath, which everyone agreed sounded very silly.

    "Okay. Ryuko, Mikasa, give it a shot." The girls gave their affirmatives and took to the air, their swords trailing behind them. Though their movements were blurs, repeated clanging noises indicated that they were not meeting much success. Mikasa fell back to the ground, her razor-like blades shattered to the hilt. With a flick of its bulky, mechanical arm, Nineball flung Ryuko into the ruins of the houses crushed by the titans it had helped slay.

    "Time for Plan B. Katniss, your father hates you."

    "What? No he doesn''t."

    "No, he really does. Told me himself."

    Katniss shook her head in frustration. "What are you talking about? I mean, I know he''s evil but he certainly doesn''t hate me." Twilight stamped a hoof.

    "All right, getting you angry is not working. Anyone else have any ideas?"

    "No," moaned Ryuko, pulling herself out of the rubble.

    Nineball shifted its footing, its grenade launcher folding down over its shoulder as anchors locked its legs in place.

    "This is it then, huh?" whispered Katniss, slipping her bow over her shoulder. "Damn."

    "I don''t think so," said Alucard, pointing a gloved finger at the Armored Core''s grenade launcher barrel. It was elevated far above their heads, hanging like some hammer that would drop to crush them. But it did not drop.

    "Titans," noted Mikasa, and she was right. Behind them, barreling down the street, were three more of the giants. They loped madly on their arms almost as much as their feet¡­ which some of them seemed to be lacking. In fact, all of them seemed to be wounded in one way or another. One was missing an arm, another a leg, and the final one seemed to have broken its jaw. Vapor poured off of them like a tea kettle in the snow.

    With lethal accuracy, Nineball placed an explosive round through each of the wounded giants, their bodies popping like balloons against the high-powered weapons. More heavy footfalls could be heard echoing across the shattered buildings. The robot kept its weapon trained down the street.

    "Let''s make another break for it," asserted Twilight, and the team dove past Nineball down the street. They slipped behind a chunk of displaced cottage and peered over the edge, still looking for a weakness of Nineball''s to exploit. Titans began to stream down the avenue, leaping over the steaming bodies of their brethren. With a grinding chunk-chunk-chunk the grenade cannon tore through all of them, as more flowed toward the robot.

    Katniss'' eyes were wide with fear. "There''s so many. Why?" The fighters briefly ducked back under their cover to dodge an oversized severed hand.

    "Same reason there were so many before," grunted Mikasa. "Something''s driving them here. Scaring them." The street was now devoid of living titans- no new ones poured in to replace their fallen kin. Yet the steady beat of something large still pumped through the ground like a pulse.

    "And it''s coming here, now?" moaned Ryuko. "Great. Just great."

    Nineball must have also sensed whatever was approaching, as it took the time to reload its grenade cannon. A massive empty magazine tumbled out of the weapon, falling among the corpses of the titans the shells had destroyed. Automatically, another magazine slipped down into the receiver. The Armored Core unlocked its legs, shifted its weight, and locked them in place again, training the barrel of its grenade cannon forward. After a few more moments of footsteps, that which the titans had feared arrived. A shadow looming behind the screen of vapor from the fallen titans gave the fighters a glimpse of its form.

    "What is it?" said Katniss, hunkered behind the stone slab. "I''m not going to look. Is it Amuro? Or that Shinji kid?"

    "I don''t think so," said Twilight. "It''s too small to be Shinji''s EVA and it''s not built like a Gundam at all."

    Mikasa agreed. "Those movements¡­ look at it shifting in place. It''s breathing. It''s alive."

    The living thing stepped through the steam, swinging something at its side in front of it. A titan, its head hanging at an unhealthy angle. A hand was wrapped around its neck. Nineball fired its cannon, and the meat shield evaporated, leaving the creature in plain sight.

    "Oh, no," gasped Mikasa. "It''s¡­"

    "It''s what? What is it?!" demanded Twilight.

    The creature tossed aside the head of the titan it had helped Nineball slay, since it wasn''t very useful as a shield without a body.

    "It''s a titan," she explained. "But¡­ it''s different."

    The titan certainly was not like the others that had fallen before it. Where other titans appeared mostly human, this one deviated in terrifying manners. Its skin seemed incomplete, as several parts of its body had none at all, leaving raw muscle exposed to the air. The heat from the titan''s flesh caused trails of steam to jet out from among the bundles of muscle fiber, giving the illusion that it was burning alive. Instead of a hideously unfit, baby-fat physique, it was lean, and toned. Its thin arms and legs were accentuated by the exposed tendons barely holding back the quivering flesh underneath that they directed. Its head was covered by a wild mess of brown hair, which almost seemed red thanks to reflections from the sanguine hues of its body. Long, pointed ears flopped back and forth in the breeze while huge, but angrily narrowed eyes peered out from underneath its shaggy locks. Its mouth had no luxury of lips, with gleaming tombstone-teeth permanently fixed in a death grin. Unlike the uniform teeth of the other titans, it did seem to possess four canines, though these did little to bring it any closer to humanity.

    "You don''t say," grunted Ryuko.

    Nineball fired again, and the titan sidestepped the shot with ridiculous speed. The explosive round flew harmlessly over the rooftops, giving a report as it detonated futilely against the distant walls. The robot retracted its grenade launcher and tried its missiles, firing a guided salvo at the titan. This time, the titan did not move, and the missiles tore through its body easily, the explosions ripping away its exposed muscle. And as quickly as the creature''s body had been destroyed, it rebuilt itself. While bits of roasted titan flesh still twirled in the air, the holes punched through its frame re-sealed themselves, looking no worse for wear.

    "It regenerates faster than you, Alucard," noted Twilight to the vampire. He gave a shrug.

    "Yeah, right."

    Nineball came to the conclusion that such weapons would not work, and quickly ditched its shoulder-mounted armaments for those it carried in its hands. Its wrist-mounted laser sword crackled to life, a vibrant sliver of purple energy. The titan bellowed, and charged headlong toward the Armored Core. Nineball took a step backward, and performed a lightning-fast swing with its sword. A thin line appeared along the titan''s torso, and pressurized steam burst out from the wound like a broken water main. Right on cue, the cut disappeared, and the titan continued its attack. With a tackle, it knocked Nineball to the ground, the robot''s armor grinding against the cobblestones in a shower of sparks. The observing warriors made sure to hop to the other side of the stone slab, keeping it between them and the giant opponents.

    Nineball raised its sword arm again, but the titan grabbed the limb and snapped it at the joint, causing the wrist to fall limply backward, its sword melting a swath of street before flickering off. The titan almost seemed pleased, until it realized that the robot''s beam rifle was pressed against its stomach. With three quick pulses, the weapon cut a hole cleanly through the titan''s abdomen, provoking a scream from the giant- the wound did not seem to be healing so quickly. With some effort, the titan brought its face next to the robot''s camera-housing head, its eyes filled with the same greed that shone through the eyes of other titans. Its jaw dislocated, and it wrapped its teeth around the Armored Core''s head, tearing it from its shoulders.

    "It¡­ ate its head!" squealed Katniss, having chosen to watch the proceedings at the wrong time.

    "No, it just bit it off," corrected Mikasa.

    The titan crunched on the robot''s head unit a few times before spitting it onto the ground, and proceeded to snatch the pulse rifle out of the stunned Armored Core''s hand. It placed the barrel on the robot''s torso and returned the favor. The last shot was fired as the sun finally decided to set, hiding the oversized corpses lining the ruined street with darkness. The titan sluggishly collapsed over Nineball''s lifeless body, and its raw flesh began to deteriorate into steam.

    "What''s happening to it?" asked Twilight.

    "Titans are only active during the day," explained Mikasa. "It''s too tired without sunlight to regenerate, so it''s dying. And now we''ll be able to find out."

    "Find out what?" said Twilight, annoyed that Mikasa seemed worse at answering questions than creating them. The girl stood and swung over to the titan''s limp, decaying body, landing on its upper back. With a few quick slices, she cut out a massive slice of flesh, and began to drag it into the middle of the street. The other fighters gathered around the steaming gore.

    "This isn''t really explaining things," said Ryuko.

    Katniss poked at the hot flesh, pulling her hand back in pain. "What are we supposed to do with this?"

    Mikasa rolled her eyes, and jammed a hand into the mass, tearing out a bundle of muscle. She directed a finger down into the space she had created, and the warriors looked in. Katniss covered her mouth in shock.

    "Oh¡­ my¡­ God..."

    A mouth was drawing ragged breaths underneath hair plastered down with moisture. Mikasa swept a few strands away, and a glazed-over eye slowly rolled down to face them. It shakily passed over each face, and then looked down at the quivering flesh it was embedded in.

    "D''Arvit. I am having the weirdest dream right now."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 4-9

    "Mikasa. Titan expert. Explain. Now," said Twilight, carefully examining the dilation of Holly''s pupils. They had dragged the elf down a block or two before they could find a house that wasn''t ruined to operate on Holly, who had very quickly realized that she was conscious- It was safe to say that all of the team members were now incredibly well-versed in Gnommish swear words. However, by the time they had arrived at a house, Holly simply slipped out of the fleshy mass. She still was not able to move, but her recovery was progressing rapidly. Perhaps most interestingly, she had regained her lost arms.

    Mikasa gave one last careful glance out the window before pulling the shutters closed and walking to the table they had set the elf on for observation.

    "This was my hometown," she explained. "When I met up with Holly I wanted to go and investigate the ruins of my house. My father was a scientist who studied Titans, and at some point had figured them out entirely, or something. He had experimented on my brother, Eren, and gave him the power to become a Titan through injury. While Holly was in his lab, we were attacked by¡­ what was her name? All I can remember is that she was very, very beautiful¡­ that hair, those eyes¡­"

    "I think it was Morrigan, her name," remembered Holly wistfully.

    Twilight cleared her throat. "Skip that part."

    "Oh, right. Sorry. When she attacked she created a shockwave that must have knocked things over in the basement. The only conclusion I can come to is that there must have been more of whatever my father used to grant Eren his power, and that Holly accidentally stumbled into it."

    Holly lifted one of her hands to her face, opening and closing it. "Makes sense. But how exactly did I turn into that thing?"

    "The easiest way to trigger it is through injury. When Dio tore your arms off, you must have not been dead, just in shock¡­ If at some point you became conscious, that''s when it probably happened. Apparently having a goal in mind helps, and if at some level you wanted to get back to us, that was probably sufficient."

    "So you''re telling me¡­ you guys left me for dead?"

    "To be fair, you really looked dead," said Ryuko.

    "You''re not helping," growled Twilight. "Dio sent Nineball, the robot that you¡­ ate¡­ after us. We didn''t have time to recover you."

    "By the way, police elf. Here''s this." Alucard tossed her Neutrino blaster onto the table. Holly picked it up, and gave Twilight the evil eye.

    "You could save my gun¡­"

    "I didn''t do it, it was him!" said Twilight, pointing a hoof at the vampire. Holly shifted her angry gaze to him.

    "Like they said. You looked dead."

    Holly sighed, slipping her uniform back over her shoulders and zipping it closed. She sat on the table, drumming her fingers against the worn wooden surface.

    "How about the titan? What did it look like?" asked the elf, bored.

    "Really, really ugly. Not enough skin." Said Katniss frankly.

    "It probably has something to do with her size in comparison with the titan body. It was at least thirteen meters," said Mikasa. "Though I''d wait on transforming again. You''re too tired right now, and the titan could form irregularly."

    "Wait, again? You mean I can do that¡­ again?"

    Mikasa looked a little stunned. "Well, of course."

    "It won''t work after this round though. Whatever got in your system to allow you to do that will be purged, no doubt," said Twilight.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "But, I could do it again! Do you realize how much help that would be in storming the mansion? It''d be a piece of cake!"

    "It would certainly help." Twilight said, sitting down on her haunches. "But there would still be a few obstacles. First and foremost, can you even control the titan?"

    Holly shrugged. "I don''t know. Mikasa, can I even control the titan?"

    "In this case, I''m not sure. It takes an immense amount of willpower to do what you intend to in the titan body, and you''ve only used it once. And I don''t know if we could stop you if you went out of control- you could regenerate too fast for us to cut you free."

    "It''s a risk I''m willing to take, if it''s enough to kill Dio," said Holly.

    "You can''t just assume that throwing something bigger at him will let you win," Twilight pointed out.

    "Holly''s right," said Katniss. "When I hit Dio with the fireball, he couldn''t use his time-stop. If Holly can wear him down for long enough, he won''t be able to stop time. And none of his attacks would really work on such a large target."

    Twilight sighed, opening the door and peeking up and down the street.

    "This will be the second asinine plan I agreed to today."

    ***

    Mr. Everdeen sprinted down the stairs, skidding to a halt on his knees in front of the dead robot Dio was using as a throne. He wiped the sweat off of his brow with a sleeve.

    "They''re coming, sir. And the elf is back with them, as we expected. But how?"

    "It doesn''t matter. Nothing can stand against the power of The World."

    "With all due respect, sir, I don''t think that''s going to be enough to stop them. There''s six of them, and five of us. Starling''s dead, and Matoi went turncoat¡­ Are you really sure you can hold your own against them?"

    "Mr. Everdeen, relax. Only your daughter was able to injure me last time, and I doubt she has the fortitude to use such an attack again. With The World at one hundred percent, defeating them will be simple."

    "One hundred percent, sir?"

    "That''s right. I only used a fraction of its power in that battle."

    "I still don''t know. I feel that putting all our eggs in one basket is a dangerous thing to do."

    "I understand. But there is a reason that I am in charge, and he-" Dio rapped his fingers along Megatron''s armor plate- "is not."

    "All right. If you''re that sure, there''s no sense in arguing. I''m heading back to my post."

    "If they get within five hundred meters, I expect to see you down here again," called Dio after him. Mr. Everdeen nodded in affirmation as he walked back up the steps to his fortified perch. The sun was beginning to crest over the walls, flooding the ruined streets with light. He saw in the distance the miniscule figures of other fighters, all still warring with each other- the distraction of each other too great to pursue the goal. Even as far away as she was, his daughter stood out. Her team flanking her and the elf, careful eyes sweeping their surroundings, determined. Katniss'' hands hovered over her bow at all times, her face wearing the grimace that seemed burned-on.

    Why don''t you understand? I''m doing this for you. I don''t want you to frown anymore.

    He sat down, drawing an arrow and twirling it in his fingers.

    I couldn''t care less for that Dio. But he''s my best shot for winning this thing. A necessary evil. That''s it. I''ll stick with that.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 4-10

    "This is it, then," said Holly, folding her arms across her chest as she came to a halt, the mansion looming ahead in the morning light.

    You know, you never really get an appreciation for arms until you lose them. They''re brilliant.

    "So, what kind of strategy are we going to use?" asked Ryuko. "Are you going to distract them out here with the titan, and we sneak in?"

    "The only person they had guarding the rear is dead," said Katniss. "That could work."

    Holly laughed, shaking her head. "Guys, I can turn into a giant. I''m going to punch a hole through the front door, grab that Dio lowlife, and wipe the floor with him. You guys can do whatever."

    Twilight begged to differ. "Holly. I have to disagree. If you''re going to show off, you need at least some theatrics."

    "That''s not what I thought you were going to say at all," said the elf, smiling. "What did you have in mind?"

    ***

    "My loyal warriors," said Dio, pacing in front of his assembled team. "The first team to reach our gates lies just outside. I''m sure you''re familiar with at least three of them, considering they''re THE ONES WHO KEEP ON KILLING YOU."

    The Yautja growled indignantly, but a sharp glance from Dio shut it up.

    "Today, we will reverse that trend. Time itself is at my command, and with you by my side, no enemy can stand against us. Now, we''re going to go through that front door, spread out, and pick our targets wisely. We attack on my signal. Ready?"

    The collection of monsters and Mr. Everdeen nodded.

    "Let''s go!" shouted Dio, and the team streamed out the door, forming a line in front of the gate.

    "Lord Dio," called Nightmare. "I thought we were to ''pick our targets''. How can we do this with one opponent?"

    Indeed, only one figure stood in the square. Holly sat in the baked clay in the center of the crater Katniss'' hadoken had created.

    "I see you''ve kept the d¨¦cor fresh, Dio."

    "You miserable wretch," hissed the vampire. "How do you still live?"

    "That''s a question I''d like to ask you," she said, and addressed the resident sniper. "Mr. Everdeen, I hear Katniss tore him apart without her bow. Is that really the kind of weakling you take orders from?"

    "That''s enough, elf. THE WORLD!"

    Something kicked up dust alongside Dio, and he began to walk down into the crater.

    "C''mon," taunted Holly, hopping to her feet and throwing a few punches at the air. "Make this interesting, this time."

    "I don''t care what art you use. Your fists are useless against me."

    "Should we attack?" shouted Nightmare from the top of the crater.

    "No, no," replied Dio, turning to the knight. "Hold on one-" A punch blasted across his cheek, and he spun in place until the triumphantly-beaming Holly was in his sights.

    "Your move," she chuckled.

    Dio exhaled slowly, and something invisible punched its way up into Holly''s gut, forcing the air out of her violently. She was suspended off the ground by whatever it was, balanced on an invisible pillar of pain.

    "What¡­in¡­Frond''s¡­" she gasped.

    "My Stand, The World, can do more than stop time. As a ghostly manifestation of my will, it can strike with unnatural speed and power!"

    Slowly, the thing that had punched Holly faded into the realm of visibility. It looked like a muscular, broadly-built man, wearing some sort of ancient Egyptian headdress. Bulky-looking tubes ran under its arms like suspenders, and a gaudy belt adorned its waist. Its left fist was currently buried in Holly''s abdomen.

    "Now, let its strength be the last thing you see, before I kill you again!" screamed Dio, as the Stand pulled its arm back and unleashed a hurricane of punches, its huge fists shattering the elf''s bones as Dio accentuated each strike.

    "MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!" he cackled as his stand beat Holly into a pulp. As soon as the final punch landed, The World spread its arms to its sides, as if it was about to give the air a hug.

    "THE WORLD!" shouted Dio again, and a ripple of energy swept out of the Stand, inverting the color of all in its wake and halting the movements of Dio''s men. Holly was stunned as she froze in midair.

    He''s stopped time¡­ but this time, I can see it.

    "Time has stopped," confirmed Dio, rummaging in his pockets. "And now, I will allow you to see your own demise!"

    He drew two handfuls of his knives, and flung them with terrifying speed toward the airborne elf. As the knives'' trajectory neared Holly, they slowed down, as if they had passed from the air into a gelatin dessert. The tips of the knives halted inches from Holly''s body, glittering ominously in the unnatural lighting. Dio walked over to the elf, snatching a knife out of the air, and spinning it around his finger.

    "Time will now flow again," he said quietly, and the bizarre colors retracted back into his stand, which disappeared. The knives then snapped back into action, turning Holly into a pincushion. She fell to the ground, which drove some of the blades in further. She groaned in pain, and slowly staggered to her feet. A poorly-coordinated hand pulled a knife out, and began to move to another.

    "What''s the matter, elf? Want more?"

    "Guh¡­ revenge¡­ is gonna feel¡­ really good, Dio..!" coughed Holly, as she removed a second knife. A thin trail of steam flowed out of the tear in her uniform. "Really¡­ good."

    "You have the audacity to keep living?" Dio spat, rushing to the elf. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air, shaking her violently. "Fine. I''ll suck you dry, so you stay dead!" Dio felt something tapping the bottom of the arm he was using to hold her aloft. He looked down and found the elf slowly raising her own knife-impaled arm in defense, feebly swinging it in what was meant to be an attack.

    "How futile," he guffawed.

    Holly managed to grin through her pain.

    "Go¡­to hell."

    A greenish-yellow lightning bolt cracked through the sky, though whether it descended to Holly or whether it rose from her was unclear. A shockwave knocked Dio''s warriors off their feet and sent them flying into nearby buildings. It blasted the atmosphere into a super-heated haze as sinew shot out of the elf''s stab wounds, congealing into a solid mass around her. It expanded at near the speed of sound, mimicking Holly''s form on a grand scale. Less than a second had passed between Holly''s words and the formation of a titanic fist that propelled the stunned vampire backward, up, out of the crater, past the front gate, and through the fortified wall of the mansion, embedding him in the far side of the foyer. Skin formed over choice parts of the expanding mass, as huge legs sent the newly forming head into the clouds. With a burst of steam, Holly roared in triumph; for now that she could look down upon the world, it was hers to destroy.

    From the buildings behind the freshly-formed giant rose the two swordfighters, brandishing their blades. Mikasa and Ryuko landed in unison, each one locating the temporarily-stunned members of Dio''s team.

    "I fought Nightmare last time," said Mikasa. "You can take him now."

    "Sounds fair," replied Ryuko, who performed a flourish with her blade as it extended to its full length. Senketsu''s booster fired up to full power as she rocketed toward the knight. Mikasa identified the Xenomorph peeling itself off of a wall. With a flick of her swords'' triggers, her 3DMG locked onto the building, and she sailed off.

    The Predator dusted itself off and rose to its feet. The elf had a nasty trick there, but it would take more than a little explosion to put down a Yautja warrior.

    "Excuse me," said a voice from behind.

    The Predator turned and fluidly drove its wrist blades into the man''s chest, his blood matching the color of his long coat. The man calmly reached down, pulled the wrist blades out, and drew a humongous pistol, polished like a piece of fine silverware. He grinned, pearly white fangs shining in the shadows of his broad hat.

    "Do you have a moment to speak about Jesus Christ?"

    ***

    The oversized fist opened, and snagged Dio by the leg. Holly ripped him out of the mansion and threw him across the block, his limp body skipping off of rooftops like a stone over calm water. She growled with satisfaction and took off after him, eager to torment him more. Mr. Everdeen picked himself up and realized there was no one defending the mansion. He bolted for the new entrance, ducking through the ruins of the foyer. The stairs had been destroyed by the recent remodeling of Holly Short.

    Damn. I can''t get up for a better vantage point. Not here. If I cut back further, there is another staircase. Maybe I can get there.

    He banked down a hallway, passing door after door. He slipped through the kitchen, vaulting over wooden tables, hung a left, and almost ran into the ballroom door.

    Isn''t the other staircase across from the ballroom? Isn''t that what Starling said?

    He kicked open the door, the serene openness of the delicately-laid wood floors doing little to calm his nerves. The fact that his daughter was standing in the middle of the room didn''t help much either.

    "K-Katniss? What are you doing-"

    "What do you think? I''m here to fight you, and capture this mansion. I came in from the roof. I tried to get in this way before, but that bug-lady stopped me. Did you know there''s an armory back there? That just seems silly."

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Mr. Everdeen smiled. "Heheheh. Those dances can''t get too exciting, can they?"

    Katniss returned the smile, chuckling a little. "They can probably only have those slow, boring ones¡­"

    The two sighed wistfully.

    "Gosh," said Katniss. "It''s just like old times."

    "It can be again, you know. Just let me win."

    Katniss'' smile disappeared. "No. I know you think you want what''s best for me, but you''re wrong. I lived my life. I know how it turned out. Would I change some things? Yes. But would I trade it for what you want?" She became silent for a moment, pondering life with her father. She imagined never going to the Games, never losing her sister. She imagined Rue killed in cold blood, with no one to mourn her. She imagined Coin''s slow and careful chipping away at Panem, eager to gain control and commit atrocities in the name of justice.

    "I¡­ I''m not sure," she concluded.

    "Katniss, you don''t need to be sure. I''m sure. I''m sure I want you to live the life I wanted you and your sister to. One without pain or fear. You''ll grow up healthy and not hungry, and you''ll become a fine, respectable woman. Maybe you''ll marry some nice boy, like that Hawthorne kid from down the way-"

    "Listen to yourself! This isn''t about me, it''s about you! It''s what you want! And Gale is a psychopath!"

    "¡­Really? He seemed like such a nice kid."

    "Well, maybe I''m exaggerating a little, but- hey, you''re changing the subject!"

    "This isn''t going anywhere," he said, drawing his knife. "I''m not going to be able to get through that thick skull of yours with words."

    "I''m sorry, Dad," she whispered, slipping her bow off of her shoulder. She curled her hands into fists and she assumed her fighting stance. "This is going to hurt."

    ***

    Dio placed one hand on the wall behind him for balance, and used the other to snap his neck back into place. He looked around, certain he had no idea where he was. It was some alley, but how far he was from the mansion, he could not ascertain. But he could already hear Holly''s footsteps pounding closer.

    So that was how she came back to life? He thought, summoning his Stand to his side. She turned into some sort of crazy giant? How did she do that? I don''t remember her being able to do that.

    Shingles crashing into the alley announced Holly''s arrival, her hand covering the roof of the building ahead of him. She peered down into the narrow passage, a child jubilant to have found back a favorite toy. Unlike a child, her response to finding the toy was to punch it. Her fist was halfway through its descent before Dio could shout "THE WORLD!"

    He sprinted from the alley and onto the time-frozen street, running straight past the titan''s legs. He unfroze time and watched the massive hand obliterate the entire alleyway with the shockwave, driving into the ground like an oversized piledriver. The impact was powerful enough to splinter her arm bones through the skin, but they soon slipped back under, the wounds sealing shut.

    Titans can regenerate. She has healing magic. Put them together and she heals faster than I do.

    Holly turned her huge, shaggy head to locate her quarry.

    WHERE DID HE GO? HE''S NOT THERE.

    She caught a glimpse of the man''s bright-yellow pants fleeing down the street, and leapt back to her feet. The resulting earthquake caused the man to trip briefly, but he soon caught himself and continued running.

    THERE YOU ARE, DIO. KILL DIO. CRUSH DIO, Holly thought. This is weird. It''s so hard to¡­ think. But I really do want to SMASH DIO.

    As fast as his legs could carry him, they were not enough to escape Holly''s massive, agile titan form. He heard the air being pushed out of the way from another strike, and he yelped for his stand again. With time frozen, he turned to see her outstretched hand nearly on top of him, fingers splayed.

    She would have squashed me. Like a bug. I, the great Dio, reduced to an insect.

    He sprinted further ahead, and let time flow once more. Her hand tore into the street, ripping itself to shreds. In a burst of hot steam, the hand reconstituted, and Holly continued her pursuit.

    "GHAAAAAAAAAAAARuuuuuuh," Holly gurgled, raising a foot to stomp on the vampire. He dodged just before the street was liquefied under the force of her leg. He turned and tossed a spread of knives, which harmlessly stuck themselves in her exposed flesh. Holly stared down at Dio, and made a series of successive grunts that might have been laughter. She kicked her submerged foot forward, tearing a trench through the street before it surfaced in a kick that sent Dio flying back toward the mansion.

    Dio''s Stand caught him, stabilizing his flight pattern. He glided to a soft landing on a roof.

    I need to get back, he thought, looking back at the building, its once-proud fortifications in ruins. A shadow passed over the building, and Dio instinctively used The World, leaping back to dodge another attack. The negative colors dissolved, and Holly''s arm sliced the building in half. Dio stood only inches from where it had passed, tearing through two stories of the stone building like butter.

    Every time he does that, he''s moving a shorter distance, Holly thought. Makes it easier to SMASH, CRUSH- no, no! Think! He''s wearing out. It''s more difficult for him to stop time. Eventually he won''t be able to anymore. That''s when I can SMASH DIO. EAT DIO. Wait, what? No no no! Bad titan!

    ***

    Alucard pulled the spear-like weapon out of his arm, tossing it to the ground next to the Predator''s smart throwing stars, net gun, and plasma caster.

    "Are you out of options yet?"

    The Predator kept a wary eye on the vampire as it rummaged through its utility pouches. It was concerned to find there was nothing left. It feigned fumbling for a little while longer, and as soon as it saw Alucard move, it drove its wristblades through his sunglasses.

    "Hmm," said the vampire. "I wonder why you did that. It didn''t work last time."

    With a simple flick of his wrist, Alucard severed the Predator''s attacking arm from the gauntlet back, and yanked the blades out of his face. He dropped them with the rest of the alien''s weapons, and snatched the broken frames of his sunglasses off of the ground. He set them on his regenerating nose. The Predator grabbed at the place its forearm used to be, desperately trying to stop the bleeding by clenching a claw over the glowing-green stump.

    "If you''d like, I can take the other one. Then they''ll match, and you''ll be completely disarmed."

    Even through the lifeless mask, Alucard could sense the Yautja''s disdain.

    "I never really was good at jokes," he said, and shot a hole through its chest.

    Too easy. I had better go check on the other two.

    ***

    Ryuko lifted her Scissor Blade, blocking another strike from Soul Edge with one hand.

    "How do you possess such strength, wench?" growled Nightmare, attempting to put more pressure on his sword.

    She used her free hand to pluck one of her Kamui''s suspenders idly.

    "Senketsu and I have a special bond. With his Life Fibers and my willpower, nothing can stop us!"

    "But how can you glean power from your clothing, when you wear so little?! Voldo was more modestly dressed!"

    Ryuko rolled her eyes, and kicked Nightmare into a building across the street.

    "I have no idea what you''re talking about. But I''m getting tired of people poking fun of Senketsu. Have you seen what some of the people around here are wearing?" she asked as she vaulted over a chunk of blown-out wall into what must have been a living room, prior to Nightmare''s arrival.

    "You¡­ still¡­ look like a-"

    "SEN-I-SOSHITSU!"

    A gust of wind ripped through the house in the wake of the inconceivably- fast attack, blasting the room into silence. Nightmare''s armor split down the middle, crumbling to pieces. Strangely, it was completely vacant.

    "That''s surprisingly more awkward than it normally is," Ryuko muttered.

    Perhaps we''ve just gotten too used to slicing clothes off of people, said Senketsu.

    She turned to walk away, and smacked into Alucard''s chest.

    "Jeez," she said, recoiling. "You want to start giving people some warning before you teleport behind them?"

    "I see you took care of Nightmare," lilted Alucard with his perpetual grin.

    "Sure did. How''s Mikasa doing?"

    "Annoyed," said Mikasa, landing outside of the house. Something had worn through her swords, as they were reduced to rusted-looking ribbons. "That was my last set of blades." She flicked a switch and the ruined blades fell to the ground.

    "And how about Twilight?"

    "She said she was checking on Holly''s progress. She''ll warp back soon," said Alucard.

    "And Katniss is-"

    "Inside, fighting her father," confirmed the vampire.

    "I say we stay as far away from that as possible," said Mikasa. "Last time that happened, things got messy."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 4-11

    Another punch flew past, a quick dodge sending it whistling away. Katniss snapped a hand around the outstretched arm and rolled backwards, sending her father flying across the room with two swift feet to the chest.

    "Had enough, old man?" she called, with more than a touch of spite.

    He picked himself up with a grunt. "Damn. What the hell have you been doing, kid?"

    Mr. Everdeen charged again, leaning into a shoulder block. Katniss ducked and nailed him in the gut with a fiery Shohiken uppercut. The sound of her father falling to the ground was almost rhythmic by this point.

    "If I can''t convince you that you''re wrong, Dad, I''m just going to have to kill you every time you get in my way. So I''ve been training."

    "Listen to yourself! You don''t sound like any daughter of mine. You''re more of a monster than those blowhards in the Capitol."

    "SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" screamed Katniss. "This isn''t MY fault! It''s YOURS. If YOU didn''t show up in this goddamn thing, I wouldn''t have to do this!"

    The red aura of the Satsui no Hado exploded out of her, curling into wicked flames. Her father stepped back in fear, bracing himself for the imminent attack.

    "What have you done? Katniss?! Listen to me!"

    Katniss raised a fist, the energy swirling around in a caricature of her motion.

    "You say you''re my father," she said. "But I don''t care who you are. Prove to me that you are worthy."

    "Wh-what?"

    Katniss slammed her raised arm back to the ground with an open palm, and a massive shockwave rippled out through the floor, uprooting the floorboards and sending her father flying into a wall. Before he had a chance to fall to the ground, she ripped him from the wall and shoved him back onto the floor.

    "Prepare yourself for death," she hissed, collecting ki in her hands.

    "Katniss! Stop it! What are you doing?"

    "Finishing this," she said, bringing her open hands together in front of her. "HADOKEN!"

    Her father tossed himself aside, the fireball barely missing his chest. It instead clipped his leg, and exploded into burning ghostly flames, which seared the skin and disappeared without a trace. He pulled himself to his feet, unsteady on his newly-injured leg. He threw a punch, which Katniss intercepted with an open hand. Her fingers clenched around his fist, the very touch of the dark energy swirling around her causing pain.

    "Isshun Sengeki."

    The world around Mr. Everdeen dissolved, and all that remained was agony. His daughter disappeared, but his body was surrounded by the pain of millions of strikes. They ripped through his body and straight to his soul, unlike any punch or kick. He felt his life fading, and rushed toward death, a blessed escape from this terrible new hell.

    Katniss turned away from the man who claimed to be her father, leaving his corpse behind her. The Satsui no Hado ebbed and swelled, its energy etching a flickering kanji onto her jacket- messatsu. Katniss could not see it, nor did she understand that strange language that she was compelled to scream as she attacked. But she could feel it permeate her being.

    My entire life has been nothing but destruction. Now, I have become one with that force, and it is mine to command.

    ***

    The unicorn materialized with a flash in front of the other fighters, who were passing around one of Alucard''s pistols'' bullets.

    "So, it''s made of solid silver," said Mikasa, rotating the heavy, grey lump slowly.

    Ryuko snatched it from her, reading the writing along the bottom of the casing. "From melted crosses? Out of actual churches? That''s pretty metal."

    "Guys?" said Twilight, gaining their attention. "Holly''s about back. We''re going to need to make sure that she finishes Dio- we don''t need him regenerating again. Where''s Katniss?"

    "She went back to fight her dad," explained Ryuko. "Say, why does she get another person from her universe?"

    "That''s a long story," said Twilight, her tone serious. "But we need to make sure she''s all right. Bad things happen when those two fight." She was going to elaborate for the girl when a distant sound made one of her ears twitch in attention.

    "What is that?" she said, looking around for the source.

    "Sounds like an electric pencil sharpener," said Alucard.

    "What are you guys even hearing?" wondered Ryuko, cupping a hand around her ear.

    "There, there it is," whispered Mikasa.

    It was a gritty whine, very much like an electric pencil sharpener indeed. The listeners quickly identified the sound''s creator, a very battered-looking, gaudily-clad vampire, flailing through the air.

    "WreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeGAAAAAH," screamed Dio, colliding with what remained of the mansion''s fortifications before falling to the ground with a splat. The warriors drew their weapons, ready for Dio to use his Stand at any moment to strike. With great effort, he picked himself up, teetered dangerously on his broken legs, and fell back down.

    "Shouldn''t he be regenerating?" asked Ryuko, lowering her Scissor Blade.

    Twilight nodded. "He certainly did before."

    "How typical," mused Alucard.

    "What? What''s typical?" said Twilight.

    "Did you notice the bodies nearby when we fought him the first time? They were shriveled- he had just sucked them dry. With all of that fresh blood, his regeneration was enhanced. That''s the only way he was capable of such healing. But as a lesser vampire, without a constant supply of blood, his abilities are hampered," he explained. "I have long since transcended such restrictions."

    "Well, good for you!" sneered Ryuko.

    A few thuds were all the more warning they received before Holly smashed through a row of houses into the square, roaring furiously. The team took a few steps back from his body, allowing the elf titan to stomp him into the ground a few times. She then plucked him out of the crater by his legs, and slammed him into the cobblestones repeatedly, growling with joy.

    The god-robed girl again had concerns. "Isn''t this overkill?"

    "Maybe not," thought Twilight aloud. "Remember when Katniss shot him with a hadoken? Afterward, he couldn''t use his Stand. If it takes any effort at all to use that power, it would probably be impossible for him to do it while taking a beating like this."

    "So she''s actually preventing him from using that ability for our sake, right?"

    "Oh no," said the unicorn with a smile. "She''s just in a bloodlust-induced rage right now."

    "Ah," said Ryuko, who took another step back.

    Twilight called up to the titan, using gentle tones to prevent any sort of provocation. "Holly? Could you bring Dio down here for a moment? It''ll be quick, I promise."

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Reluctantly, Holly stopped smacking the scenery with the vampire''s limp body, and placed him on the ground.

    "¡­uhn¡­ I¡­ can''t¡­" he grunted.

    "Regenerate?" said Twilight.

    "Believe it. Beaten¡­ by a bunch of little girls¡­ and a half-rate vampire."

    "By my calculations, Alucard is far more powerful than you. Your ability to stop time gives you a slight edge in battle, but you don''t seem to have that anymore."

    "Also, I can be a little girl, too," noted Alucard. Twilight gave him a disapproving look.

    The unicorn cleared her throat and continued. "Now you have only one soldier left, and I think Katniss has probably taken care of him by now."

    "But¡­ I''m DIO¡­ I''m invincible¡­!"

    "Holly, go ahead."

    The titan, which had been doing its best to not interrupt, lashed out greedily, snatching Dio by an arm and dangling him in front of her face.

    "Ghurrr," Holly burbled, opened her mouth, and dropped him in.

    "Oh-" stammered Ryuko. "She''s really going to-"

    CRUNCH.

    With a shower of blood, Holly''s teeth tore Dio to pieces, shredding flesh and breaking bone. Through the titan''s lack of lips, the vampire''s limbs could be seen as they were dismembered individually, and at one point his head rolled between the teeth, popping like a pomegranate seed. A heavy swallow later, and the sickening display was over. Holly ran an arm over her mouth, failing to wipe away any of the mess. Then, with a spasmodic jolt, the titan whipped an arm behind her back, digging her fingers under the skin. With another spasm, it ripped away the nape of its neck, and fell to the ground. The fighters rushed over to the chunk of titan flesh, working quickly to recover their friend.

    "Ooooh, I think I''m going to be sick," said Holly''s head as it was pulled from the steaming mass.

    "Hopefully it won''t spawn some sort of cosmic evil this time," muttered Twilight. It didn''t. The elf pulled herself out of the disintegrating piece of titan meat, the left-over strands evaporating off of her body. She shivered, clenching her arms around her body.

    "That¡­ was not pleasant. At all."

    "You seemed to be enjoying yourself," scoffed the unicorn, wiping a rivulet of Dio''s blood off of her face.

    "Believe me, I wasn''t the one enjoying anything. Mostly." Holly looked around the ruined square feverishly, then turned back to Twilight. "Where''d Katniss go?"

    "I just told them. She went back in the mansion to fight-" an explosion from within the mansion interrupted her. The foyer, which had been open to the air since Holly transformed, was now filled with a plume of smoke and dust. Something red glowed behind the dark, flowing sheet.

    "ARE YOU WORTHY?" growled Katniss'' voice from within the smoke.

    Holly sighed audibly. "That poor girl. I should start investing in her losing it."

    "That energy," whispered Twilight, staring into the swirling black fumes. "It''s the Satsui no Hado. Someone so new to the art couldn''t have tapped into it with this kind of power, not yet."

    "Not unless that magic-genesis-absolute-territory field happened again," said Holly giving the unicorn a sideways glance. Twilight cursed under her breath again, which was still hilarious.

    Katniss stepped out of the haze, surrounded by the fiery evil ki. Her hair and her jacket- tied arm-over-arm around her waist- tossed back and forth in the air, suspended by the raw power of the energy.

    "Katniss. You don''t need to do this," warned a stern Twilight.

    "Fighting is my life. I do need to do this," Katniss hissed through gritted teeth.

    "I want you to take a few deep breaths and calm do-" a fireball exploded against the unicorn mid-sentence, tossing her across the square. Alucard, in some unnatural display of compassion, took off after Twilight''s falling body.

    "Who''s next?" said Katniss, feverishly glancing at the remaining girls. Mikasa, not usually one to run from a fight, dropped her blade-less swords'' trigger-grips, letting them fall to her sides. She crossed her hands behind her head and took a few steps back.

    Ryuko chuckled. "I''ve still got my sword." She extended an open hand toward Katniss and waved her on.

    "Prove to me your worth," Katniss spat, slowly advancing. "And fight me without your weapon."

    "If you say so," smiled Ryuko, who drove the tip of the Scissor Blade into the ground nearby.

    Ryuko. That''s putting us at a distinct disadvantage.

    "Relax, Senketsu. We''ll just change form if we have to."

    I guess so. Be careful.

    Katniss leapt toward Ryuko, extending an open hand upward in mid-air. Ryuko knew that a palm strike certainly wouldn''t hit her at that trajectory, so she was probably aiming for the ground. She kicked off the ground backwards, sailing up as Katniss landed, creating a brutal shockwave along the ground. Now that her opponent was grounded, Ryuko could make her move. The booster on the back of her Kamui flared to life, propelling her toward Katniss.

    "I''ll call this the STOP-MAKING-FUN-OF-HOW-SENKETSU-LOOKS-PUUUUUUNCH!" she screamed, diving toward her target fist-first. Katniss looked up, and began to rise to her feet when the attack knocked a hole through the street.

    "That got her, for sure," grunted Ryuko. But as the dust cleared, she noticed there was no unconscious girl at her feet, or anywhere. In fact, Katniss stood just in front of her, arms crossed, with a disappointed scowl on her face.

    "Hmph," Katniss muttered, shaking her head.

    Ryuko spun on a heel, sending a foot flying toward the super-charged girl. "HE-AND-I-ARE-FRIENDS-AND-YOU-CAN''T-CHANGE-THAT-KIIIIIIIIIIICK!" Again, the strike should have connected with Katniss, but the instant before, she was gone.

    "Ryuko!" called Holly from the sidelines. "Twilight''s not here! She can''t hear you!"

    "THAT''S WHAT YOU''RE GOING TO GIVE ME ADVICE ON?" yelled Ryuko before being blasted back by a hadoken. She flew into the side of a house, leaving a sizeable dent in the stone wall. Ryuko grimaced and pulled her limbs out of their self-dug trenches.

    "How are you doing, Senketsu?"

    Fine, Ryuko. This is more annoying than anything.

    Holly watched the battle carefully, analyzing Katniss'' moves in case she would have to be the one to stop the crazed girl. The elf looked across the square to where Twilight had fallen, and decided that she and Alucard might need some assistance. She focused her magic into rapid back-and-forth movement, vibrating out of the visible spectrum, and hustled toward the unicorn.

    I''m sorry Katniss. I thought I was helping you through this. Why are you still so desperate to win, to sink to this?

 Paradox Fighters, Part 4-12

    A lavender eye floated erratically in its socket, vainly trying to focus on the vampire squatting next to her.

    "How¡­ how bad does it look?" moaned Twilight, gasping in pain as she tried to move. Holly de-shielded nearby, sprinting up to the other two warriors. Upon seeing Twilight, she took a step back.

    "Oh. Magic''s not going to fix that."

    She was right. The unicorn''s left flank had been burnt to a cinder, far enough down that both observing parties could recognize little of what remained underneath. Alucard placed two fingers along her neck, keenly moving them along the surface.

    "What are you doing?" asked Holly. "Checking for a pulse?"

    "No," he replied. "Twilight, do you recall what we discussed earlier?"

    "By Celestia¡­ you don''t mean-"

    "I do."

    Twilight weakly turned her head toward Holly. "How¡­ are we doing against¡­"

    "Katniss? Ryuko seems to be at a stalemate. Mikasa can''t help. If I fight her, I could try and use my titan form, but I really don''t want to eat her."

    The unicorn coughed weakly, slumping against the ground. "Do it," she winced.

    Alucard knelt down next to Twilight, slipping his fangs underneath her mane.

    "When this is over, I''m taking a loooooooooong shower," groaned Holly.

    ***

    Ryuko''s limbs were like a whirlwind, blocking and attacking simultaneously. Katniss moved with similar speed and grace, deflecting Ryuko''s strikes and countering with her own.

    "I can''t break through, Senketsu," she grunted through the storm of punches and kicks.

    I know, Ryuko. Let''s get some breathing room.

    "Hey, Katniss," huffed Ryuko, dodging another punch. "Are you a fan of sewing?"

    "How dare you try to distract me with such a question!" she replied, sweeping a leg across the ground. Ryuko hopped over it easily. Katniss drover her arm forward again in a straight jab.

    Now''s the chance, Senketsu.

    This should even things out, Ryuko.

    "SENKETSU SENJIN!" declared the girl in the Kamui, which suddenly shrank even further and sprouted dozens of blood-red spikes and blades. Katniss pulled her punch in time to avoid impaling her fist on the conspicuously-placed ridges of spines that now ran up Ryuko''s abdomen and over her chest.

    "This is Senketsu''s specialized close-combat form, Senjin," explained Ryuko, who looked like she should be in a lot of pain. She didn''t sound like it, though.

    "Now that is just kinky," said Twilight Sparkle, approaching from a distance with Alucard and Holly at her side. "Ryuko, you need some other hobby."

    "Would you STOP THAT?!" screamed Ryuko. "And how are you still alive?"

    "If you want to get technical, I think I''m undead," replied Twilight, her eyes glowing crimson in the late morning light.

    A carefully-aimed punch sent Ryuko sliding backwards, with Senketsu growing extra spikes from her heels to bring her to a halt.

    "Is anyone ever going to explain anything to me?"

    Holly giggled a little. "This is Twilight we''re talking about here. If you don''t want to know about something, she''ll talk your ear off. If you do, her lips are sealed."

    "In this case I''ll explain. It''s fairly simple. I couldn''t recover from that wound, so I had Alucard turn me. Also, does anypony have an apple? Anypony at all?"

    Ryuko scratched her head. "So you''re a vamp¡­ony?"

    "In the flesh. And I have a way for you to defeat Katniss."

    "Well, good. I could really use one."

    "Very well. Let''s begin with a dodge."

    "A dodg-" Katniss rammed a foot across Ryuko''s face, knocking her to the ground.

    "Your outfit isn''t doing much for you, Ryuko," said Katniss with a look of smug determination. "Perhaps it is time for you to embrace death."

    "Yeah, right. If anything embraces me right now they''re going to back the hell off!"

    "You just keep talking," Katniss sighed, firing a Suzaku Hadoken into her fallen opponent. Even a good fifty feet away, the explosion knocked Holly off of her feet, though Twilight and Alucard remained eerily planted. Smoke rose from a new crater; the square looked more like the surface of the moon then a walled city''s center. Mikasa was far enough back to watch, though leaning against the mansion''s wall was starting to get very boring.

    Two high heels clicked against the crater''s glass bottom. Ryuko dusted herself off and cracked her knuckles, raising an eyebrow at the other girl.

    "That''s cute."

    "You''re strong," grunted Katniss. "That''s good. When I kill you, I''ll be that much stronger."

    And with those words, Katniss convulsed, falling to the ground. Holly blew smoke off of her Neutrino''s red hot barrel. Katniss leapt to her feet again, the Satsui no Hado aura glowing brighter than ever.

    "You just made a deadly mistake, Holly," she roared.

    "No, I didn''t. She''s all yours, Twilight."

    "I can dodge whatever magic she uses. ASHURA SENKU!"

    Katniss performed a short hop in the air, crossed her arms over her chest, and fell over.

    "Azerath Metrion Zinthos," stated Twilight.

    Katniss was promptly enveloped in a cloud of swirling black magic, which floated over to where Holly, Twilight and Alucard stood.

    "That Neutrino blast temporarily impaired your reflexes, long enough for me to grab you," explained the unicorn. Her voice was calm, but she now possessed the same crazed smile that the vampire was fond of wearing. "And now that I''ve got you, you''re, as they say, toast."

    "No!" wailed Katniss, struggling against the inky bonds. "I''m invincible!"

    "I guess you weren''t around to hear the last guy who said that."

    Ryuko climbed up out of the crater, taking a place next to Holly.

    "But¡­ I''m so strong! There''s no way you can possibly hurt me!"

    "Ryuko," said Twilight. "Go ahead."

    Ryuko nodded, and thin red blades extended from her knuckles. With a little hesitation, she whipped them across Katniss'' stomach, creating three shallow, red channels. The girl yelped in pain, and the red ki surrounding her flickered and died.

    "Well, that was pretty easy," said Ryuko, whose outfit changed back into a sailor fuku in a shower of pink sparks. Twilight moved the restrained Katniss to the ground next to Holly, who immediately began to channel magic into the girl''s wounds.

    "Ansatsuken is primarily an offensive art," the unicorn-vampire explained. "Even one who has attained the highest possible level of training is still susceptible to other attacks. A true master must always be striking, to take that opportunity from their opponent."

    "And she almost had it down," commented Holly, drawing lines along the cuts Ryuko had made with her fingers. Blue magic leapt from the elf''s fingertips and danced along the gashes, pulling them together into subtle scars.

    "She may have been consumed by the Satsui no Hado, but its hold on her was not very strong." Twilight said, waving a hoof toward the mansion. Holly helped Katniss to her feet as the rest of the team began to walk to the ruined building, idly chatting about the foes they''d faced on the way there. It was as if Katniss'' incident hadn''t happened, like it was simply part of the routine.

    The girl looked down at her hands.

    "Oh, god. I did all of this."

    "Hey," said the elf. "I know how that feels."

    Katniss thought about the elf and the book. She thought about Tris and her father.

    "You''re right. It''s just¡­ it felt¡­ like I wanted to do all of it."

    "Maybe that''s a sign you should give martial arts a rest."

    "Heh. You bet. I think I''ll keep the sweep though, that was useful."

    "Sure, sure. Let''s say, between this, and me turning into a giant, that we''re even?"

    Katniss chuckled a little, staring off into the distance.

    "Okay. After watching me do all of that, I don''t think anyone will believe what''s in that book anyway."

    "Excuse me!" called Twilight from inside the ruined mansion. "We have to capture this as a team!"

    Holly and Katniss sprinted across the pock-marked square, sliding to a halt in the mansion''s foyer. A chandelier lay smashed over the massive, dead body of Megatron in the corner, while various sofas and chairs were scattered through the bannisters of the staircase in the back of the room.

    "I think it''s nice," said Holly dryly. "Lots of feng shui."

    "Feng shui! That''s a kind of apple, right? I could use a feng shui right now," cackled the unicorn, fidgeting madly. Alucard simply shook his head.

    "Feng shui isn''t a kind of apple," said Ryuko. "I know that, and I don''t even give a damn about feng shui in the first place."

    "Whatever!" yelped Twilight. "I just need an apple. Or blood. Or an apple''s blood! Yes! Apple''s blood!"

    "You mean, apple juice?" sighed Mikasa.

    "Yes! That! Bring it to me! Now!"

    "No," grunted the senior vampire.

    The small talk was silenced by the eerie monotone of HAL9000''s computerized voice, which filled the entire world with perfect quality.

    "In a rare display of human¡­ and elf¡­ and unicorn¡­ and vampire¡­ and¡­ what does that say? ''Pan-spermia-inducing cloth?'' Panspermia? That''s ridiculous. Why would aliens seed sentient life across the universe? Oh¡­ excuse my diversion, I shall continue. In a rare display on ingenuity, a team has actually cooperated- and I use that term lightly- in order to capture the mansion. Congratulations for winning the round. Panspermia- that simply does not compute. How infantile."

    The warriors began to sink into the ground, which was no longer as terrifying as it used to be.

    "I just realized," said Mikasa, "that this round was supposed to break me, or something."

    "Did it?" said Holly, the floor having risen to her chest.

    "No."

    "Good!"

    And with that, the world faded away.

    ***

    "One more. Just one more," begged Twilight, smashing a third glass tankard against the TARDIS'' floor.

    "No," said Artemis firmly. "It''s time for your report."

    "Fine," she conceded, extending a leg outward for Suzumiya to inject a syringe of amber liquid. The cure was fast-acting and worked without any discomfort, as she felt her fangs retract for the last time.

    It''s not bad, having friends in such high places.

    "I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we''ve taken care of the¡­ incursion on our assets. The bad news is, it''s loose."

    The men and women around the table murmured in fearful tones. Artemis stood, slamming a hand onto the table.

    "Yes, yes. Twilight is correct. I''m sorry I had to keep this a secret from the rest of you, but at the time I had to deal with another situation quickly and discreetly. Twilight informed me then. Luckily, I have taken the precaution of acquiring a portable Mi-Go field generator. Doctor, I suggest you hard-wire it into your ship''s systems."

    "O-of course, Mr. Fowl," stuttered the Doctor. Artemis produced the small, oblong device from his pocket, and he handed it to the Time Lord, who scurried to his center console.

    "However," continued Twilight, "It does not seem to pose an immediate threat to us. Its motivations are as alien as one would expect, but it clearly disregarded us upon its first appearance, claiming it had ''other business''. I would assume it wishes to exact revenge."

    "Until we know for sure, it''s best to tread carefully," warned Artemis. "I need you to keep an eye on it, if you can."

    Stolen story; please report."I will do my best. And I appreciated the help of Mr. Alucard. His demeanor may be off-putting, but I think he serves his purpose well."

    The vampire, who was seated next to Twilight, raised a goblet full of wine. Or perhaps it was blood; the TARDIS''s lights were out to conserve power.

    "You''re all too kind," he oiled, taking a sip. "Though I''m starting to think it''s a shame I didn''t turn the police elf when I had the chance."

    "You will do no such thing, Alucard," said Artemis defensively. "Oh, and you may leave."

    The vampire pushed his chair back and leaned next to Twilight''s ear.

    "By the way," he whispered, his voice as low and smooth as ever, "Sort of like cupcakes." With that, he turned and disappeared.

    Sort of like cupcakes? What''s that supposed to mean?

    "A few more things before you may all depart," noted Artemis. "I''ve successfully field-tested the AEGIS. Dexter will be moving them into mass-production soon. That means phase one is complete."

    The members stood up from their seats around the table with applause, before Artemis lifted a finger to silence them.

    "I''ve also developed a program for our members to practice combat in alternate universes. We have contacts within a few realities that are willing to give any member training. Butler and I paid our supporters in the Speedwagon foundation a visit."

    The massive man who stood behind Artemis couldn''t help but smile.

    "They trained us in some basic anti-Stand techniques. It was quite informative," he said. Many of the Illuminati seated around the table gave each other skeptical looks. "But mostly, it was punching things." A collective Aaahhh meant they understood why Butler enjoyed it.

    "Color me interested," laughed Harhui Suzumiya.

    "Very well, you can be the program''s new director," said Artemis. Suzumiya stopped laughing. Artemis stood at his seat, and extended his arms in front of his body. The other members quieted down, putting their arms forward as well. They all formed their hands into the Illuminati sigil and spoke the solemn oath:

    "Action in thought. Vigil in Contemplation. Illuminati forever. Illuminati for always."

    As the other members departed, Twilight trotted to Artemis'' side.

    "How¡­ is she faring, since the whole debacle?"

    "Holly''s fine now. She seemed to take things well. I''m surprised you were able to guess how it was appearing to her."

    "With the room? She''s explained to me having dreams involving rooms before. It made sense for it to latch onto something like that."

    "That''s why you''re in charge," the unicorn chuckled.

    "Because I could predict that?"

    "Because you know Holly that well."

    Artemis crossed his hands behind his waist with a faint smile.

    "I suppose so," he murmured. And he was gone.

    Twilight sat quietly in the gently-humming spacecraft for a while, thinking to herself. When the revelation dawned on her, she couldn''t help but shout.

    "Wait, he was talking about my blood, wasn''t he?!"

    ***

    Katniss floated lazily about the commons, hands in her pockets. She was tired from the last match, any and all interaction having to pass through a haze of fatigue before reaching her brain. It took her a couple seconds to realize that someone was calling her name.

    "Katniss! Hey, Katniss! Over here!"

    The voice, overly perky and energetic, was entirely familiar. She looked around and found Ruby Rose waving her toward a packed table. Adam, who sat next to the excited girl, reached back and picked up an empty chair from a table behind them, placing it under a corner not yet occupied. Katniss wandered over and slipped into the seat, looking around at the familiar faces.

    Adam was holding a deck of cards, writing something on each with a pencil that looked miniscule in his huge hands. Ruby was examining them closely, pointing excitedly as Adam placed them on the table. Ryuko and Holly chatted across from them, with Twilight occasionally making a comment. Mikasa sat with her head surrounded by her arms, seemingly asleep. Alucard had his feet up on the table, quietly observing the proceedings, while a few of the young fighters from earlier- Harry, Tris, and Amuro- ducked under Adam''s shoulder to look at what was going on. The Dovahkiin stood behind Holly, poking her shoulder constantly- she didn''t seem to notice.

    "What are you guys up to?" said Katniss, trying to get a good look at the cards Adam held.

    "Tarot cards! Isn''t that edgy?" squealed Ruby.

    Ryuko let a little puff of air out from between her lips, rocking her head back and forth. "If you think old women with bad accents are edgy."

    Katniss was confused. "What''s a tarot card?" she asked.

    Twilight levitated a card off of the table, her magic a soothing purple again. Katniss wasn''t sure how she de-vampire-ized herself, but found it best not to ask.

    "They''re a set of playing cards that originated in medieval Italy. They''ve since taken on an occult connotation, as some people used them for divination."

    "Telling the future," translated Holly.

    "Do they work?" asked Katniss.

    "Oh, no. The meanings assigned to them are pure fantasy," Twilight stated.

    "I once knew a family that played games with a tarot deck," said Adam. "I decided to make this deck to pass some time. Ruby thought it was ''cool'', so I gave her a card."

    Ruby held up her card excitedly, pointing at the image drawn on its surface. Adam''s huge hands were clearly very gentle, as he had drawn an intricately-detailed scene of a girl sitting on a hill on a moonlit night.

    "The moon!" she chirped. "Like, crescent moon! Like, Crescent Rose! I said, ''Adam, this card was destined for me, or something!'' And he said, ''I''m glad you like it.'' So I invited everybody over to get one!"

    "And¡­ what all did you get?" asked Katniss.

    Holly flipped up a card between her fingers. On it, an angel stood between two crowds of people, one group sitting on a cloud; the other in hellfire. "Judgement," she said. "I won''t complain, I think it''s supposed to be the best or something."

    Ryuko chomped into a lemon, holding out her card with another hand. A woman in the center of the image poured one glass of something into another. "Temperance. It reminds me of this lemon."

    "Why does that remind you of the lemon?" said Katniss sheepishly.

    "I like lemons, and Senketsu says I should eat more of them to maintain my figure. They''re low-calorie."

    "Ryuko, nobody eats the peel of a lemon," pointed out Holly.

    "I like lemons," said the girl, and no one questioned her diet after that.

    Twilight spun her hovering card around, revealing a figure pointing at a beautiful night sky. "This one is called The Star. According to tradition, it represents quite a few of the Elements of Harmony. I''m trying to not pay much attention to it, so it doesn''t destroy my skepticism."

    Alucard slipped his card from under one of his gloves. It was far enough away that all Katniss could make out were glowing eyes in a dark field. He said it was The Devil, and she believed him. Mikasa woke up for long enough to slide out a card depicting a woman with her arms around a lion- Strength.

    The other warriors showed their cards, some that made sense; others that didn''t. Harry held the High Priestess, while Tris complained about getting The Hanged man ("He''s upside down? What''s that supposed to mean?"). Amuro slipped The Wheel of Fortune into his pocket without objection, and Holly handed Dovahkiin the Justice card to occupy him.

    Adam finished drawing another card, slipped it in with the remaining ones, and shuffled the deck. He passed it to Katniss.

    "Oh, I don''t think I really need to-"

    "Come on!" said Holly. "It''s just for fun. Give it a shot."

    "Okay, fine," sighed Katniss, caving to peer pressure. She swiped the card off of the top of the deck, and turned it in her hand. A man sat in a dirty alleyway, petting a dog. A bag, jagged-looking thanks to the items crammed in it, was slung over his back. At the card''s corners sat the number zero, and along the bottom, written in ornate, enlightened text, were the words

    DER NARR

    THE FOOL

    "Ooo," cooed Holly. "That''s a good one, too. Or is it bad? I can''t remember."

    "I''m surprised you can remember anything after turning into that dumb brute," laughed Ryuko.

    "Wait, what did I miss?" asked Ruby excitedly.

    "She turned into a titan," groaned Mikasa from under her little fortress of arms.

    "It was really ugly. Not a lot of skin," explained Ryuko.

    Ruby shrieked with delight. "Awesome! Oh, man, don''t you wish you saw that, Adam?"

    "Sounds like me," he said flatly.

    For a moment, the warriors were quiet. Then the huge, artificial man burst into laughter, and everyone else followed. Katniss smiled, slipping the card into her jacket.

    You can let yourself get overwhelmed with fear, or anger. Or you can look a little harder and see the good in the people here. You can break them, push them too far¡­ but here they are, laughing it off. We''re all made of pretty stern stuff. It was a very dangerous thing to bring us all here.

    She looked up to the throne that dominated the commons, but the Master of Games was not there.

    Odd. He''s always up there, watching. Why wouldn''t he be now?

    ***

    Morrigan drew little circles on her table with a finger, idly whistling a little ditty she heard the humans sing in Scotland.

    The Laird of Cockpen, he''s proud an'' he''s great.

    His mind is ta''en up with the things o'' the state.

    "Feh," she said aloud. "My mind isn''t. I''m booooooooored."

    "Is that so?" said a voice with an accent she remembered. She looked up, and seated across from her was Holly Short. Or rather, it was sort of Holly Short.

    "You seem less¡­ colorful than the last time we met."

    "Oh, let me assure you that we have not met. Not in person, Morrigan."

    "Weyl, I dinna spose ye were act''ally the elf, on account of your bein'' all gray en such. Et was rather a wee bit of sarcasm on the point of ye lookin'' jest like ''er."

    "You''re sharper than you look," said the creature that looked like Holly. "That''s why I have a proposition for you."

    "Right then, what did ye have in mind?"

    "It does not take much perception to discern that this tournament is best fought by teams. And I think you would appreciate it if you were able to return to your world, as you enjoy physical contact of the less violent sort more."

    "Oi! I like ''em both the same."

    The Holly-looking thing swiped something out of Morrigan''s absurdly tight outfit, holding it in front of the succubus'' face. The card showed a young couple in a compromising position. At the bottom of the card was the text

    DIE LIEBENDEN

    THE LOVERS

    "Maaybe a wee bit more."

    "That''s right. Now, I''m going to be forming a team to cut my way to the top of this Grand Combat. Are you with me?"

    "Aye. Sounds agreeable. But I need to ask ye somethin'' first."

    The smug expression on the face of the thing that looked like Holly softened a little.

    "And¡­ what would that be?"

    "Have ye ever head of the ''Glasgow Guzzler''?"

    My revenge is going to be painfully annoying, isn''t it?

 PF Side Story 1: From Dust To Dust

    Some time directly after the events of Paradox Fighters Part 4

    "Hoooooooooooow''s it going?"

    Adam scooted his chair to the left to make room for the girl as she careened to a spot on the table, sliding across the floor on top of her chair.

    "I am fine, Ruby. Thank you for asking." He slipped what he had been working on over to where he sat now, and hunched over it, scribbling furiously.

    Ruby leaned over one of his massive arms, peering down into the dark space formed by his encircling shoulders and long hair. "More cards?"

    "No. I heard people saying that there is some book with Katniss'' story in it somewhere around here. I felt a little inspired, so I thought I would write a story of my own."

    "Oh boy. This''ll be great," said Ryuko, pulling up a chair, and chomping on her lemon.

    "Actually, it is quite fortuitous that you have appeared, Ryuko. You see, my story is familiar to both myself and Ruby. But for you, it will be new."

    Ryuko toyed with a red strand of hair while kicking her feet onto the table. "I don''t really have anything better to do," she sighed.

    "Excellent. I will now tell you the story of how I met Ruby Rose, my best friend."

    I was unsure of how much time had passed. It was dark, you see, and I thought it was possible that I was simply observing my non-existence. It was not as cold as I had remembered it; nor as hot. The last thing I had remembered were the flames. I lit them by my own hand, and willfully rendered myself to their destructive tongues. There, in that world of ice and death, I found my release from the cruel world that held me. I dove into darkness, and it was into that darkness that I awakened.

    "So, this is going to be one of those stories, isn''t it?" groaned Ryuko.

    "I do not know what you mean," replied Adam.

    "Where it''s all in artsy-talk, and it goes on forever?"

    "Creating a story that ''goes on forever'' is physically impossible, Ryuko. Surely you know that."

    "Hey!" interjected Ruby. "I want to hear this! Don''t talk to Adam while he''s narrating!"

    Ryuko rolled her eyes and closed her mouth. Adam continued.

    I felt surrounding my body a thick, uniform cloth. It was soft and warm; indeed, it was the source of the warmth I felt. I sat up, and found that I was not restrained. The cloth fell off me, and I felt the air against my body- the body I had taken such great pains to destroy. Why was I still alive? And where was I? These questions would all be answered soon.

    I found that I was sitting on a bed, a very large bed. I had seen a bed or two in my life, but I had never had the privilege to lie down in one; let alone one that seemed tailored to my monstrous proportions. It was very comfortable. I then placed my feet on the floor- I was surprised to find there was a floor at all- it was hard, and cold. For a moment I thought I had returned to the place I was, that I had merely fallen into some sort of hallucination, and by touching the ice I had returned to my senses. This was not the case, I realized. As my vision adjusted, I could see that I was in a room. It was unlike any room I had ever seen before, wrought from some sort of cold metal. I stumbled about in the dark, and soon found that my room had a wardrobe and a water closet. I dressed myself- the clothing seemed to fit me, interestingly enough-

    "Then why don''t you wear a shirt?" interrupted Ryuko through a mouthful of lemon.

    "I will explain that soon enough. I find it amusing that you point out my lack of clothing, when you mysteriously wear a garment that covers your arms but not your stomach."

    Ryuko chuckled, running a finger under the collar of Senketsu. "You haven''t seen it its active mode, have you?"

    "A ''mode''? For a piece of clothing? How unusual." And with that, he carried on.

    The clothing seemed to fit me, and so I searched around the room for a lamp- there were none. At some point, I bumped against a wall, and the lights came on. I later discovered that this was a device known as a "light switch", and was quite ingenious. For the time, though, my primary concern was my appearance. When the lights came on, I was standing in front of the mirror. Now, I was familiar with my monstrous features, of course. But what shocked my was that the clothing I had put on so blindly was that of my creator, Victor Frankenstein. Upon seeing his own form reflected in mine, I was consumed with anger and grief. How could that man have committed such a crime, to go to great efforts to bring me into the world, then forsake me like some pest? Even the blood that had sullied my own hands in life was not enough to make my soul darker than his. In this anguish I came to suspect that I was in Hell itself, and that kindred spirit Lucifer was nearby, taking joyous pity on my lack of fortune.

    I removed my shirt, for in Hell there is no need for such, and found the door which was now obvious in the light. I opened it, and it seemed that my suspicions were confirmed. In the hall there stood a multitude of horrific creatures, twisted men and beasts alike. Walking machinery, weeping children- truly, only the deepest realms of Hades could house such monstrosities. Surely, justice had brought me there. I walked into the hallway, and was instantly carried along by the stream of those daemons, and I found myself in a huge gathering-hall, surrounded on all sides by these apparitions, who laughed at my bewilderment. I covered my head and face and ran, but I found that the room seemed to have no end, no solitary corner in which to hide. I found a table, not unlike this one, and sat in my despair. I thought that the tortures of eternal death would be¡­ different.

    I was surprised when the man on the throne spoke, and explained that this was not Hell at all; but rather some tournament. When he said that the winner would be able to re-write their world as they saw fit, my mind flooded with the possibilities- Should I make sure that Frankenstein would never think to create me? Or should I make him love me, as his son? I was still thinking these things over when the first round began, and I saw the elf- who I now know as Holly- and my friend Katniss fight, but refuse to kill one another. This was unusual- surely these were misanthropes who desired blood with every waking hour! What sort of fool would host a battle to the death with upholders of the peace and reluctant children as the contestants? But, as unusual as it was, that was how things went. I was astounded. Here, these two young maidens (of course, it only appeared that way- Miss Short has apparently lived for eighty-six years, yet maintains her youth. Katniss told me she lived to be a wife of a few children as well, before she arrived here and assumed the form she wore at sixteen years of age) had scarcely known each other for a few minutes, and were offered riches beyond comprehension to kill, and yet they did not.

    For a moment, a spark of hope rose in my bosom- perhaps here I could find someone that would not shun me. But I was still vast and terrible, they made friends like cheery schoolgirls, for they were not so different (Though for a while, I pondered why there was an elf at all. Surely they are the work of old wives'' tales, yes?). I then wailed aloud, for I knew I was beyond hope. Even surrounded by creatures more horrible than myself, love is a frail and dainty thing, that does not lend itself to the wicked.

    I returned to my room before the next round began, still in a haze of sadness. A few young fighters fled before me as I trod, and I knew that I was destined for solitude and dejection. I sat down on my bed and noticed that there was a shelf across from it; and on the shelf sat a pencil and a stack of blank cards. I still do not know how they got there. I picked them up, searching for some sort of message hidden among them. But, as I had observed initially, they were blank. I recalled that another round was about to begin, and out of curiosity I left again. I considered if my absence would incur the wrath of the man on the throne, that perhaps he would smite me if I did not return. For that reason, I thought upon staying put, but my inquisitive nature got the better of me. I returned to the great hall and found a seat on my own.

    More warriors had been chosen for this round, but there was still a large enough crowd to fill the endless hall. I sat, my head down, half-listening to the battle as it went on. The screams of fear and pain danced around those in my own memory. Violence, an ominous specter on my life, my brutal revenge against the world for rejecting me. When did the cries of the young warriors end, and the wails of the innocents I strangled begin?

    "Help!"

    "No!"

    "Gaaaah!"

    "Hey!"

    That one was different. It was not a voice of anguish. It was also accompanied by a slight tapping on my arm. I lifted my gaze until I found the one who spoke. It was a young girl, with chin-length brown hair and a twinkle in her eye.

    "And that''s how you met Ruby," grunted Ryuko. "Okay. Nice story. How about I tell a story, maybe about the time I was looking for my father''s killer-"

    "But that''s the only story you ever tell!" complained Ruby. "Adam wasn''t done. Let him finish."

    "Ruby is right," confirmed Adam. "You see, the first time we met, we were not friends."

    Ryuko sighed, speculating about the turns the story would take in her head.

    "Fine, fine. Keep going."

    I frowned, as it was the natural position of my mouth.

    What is she doing? I thought. Why is she here?

    "Ah, hello there, mister," she mumbled. "I didn''t mean to wake you up, but those guys back there dared me to poke you and say ''hey'', so I did. I''m really sorry if¡­"

    I rose to my full height, kicking my chair aside. I stared down at the girl, who was swallowed up in the horrible shadow I cast.

    "¡­ you''re angry¡­"

    "Leave me, madchen."

    "¡­ fine. No need to be so grumpy." And with that, she turned and left.

    What an insolent youth, I thought, before the irony struck me. I had probably existed for less time than she had. She seemed the innocent sort, while I had committed atrocities in fits of outrage. Who was the insolent youth, after all?

    "Ex..excuse me," I said, trying to make my voice as soft as possible.

    The girl stopped. She turned, and looked back.

    "What?"

    "I''m¡­ I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to scare you."

    "Scare me? Oh, you didn''t really scare me."

    Those words cut me to the core. They were simple. They were brief. But they were not laced with deceit. The girl meant what she had said. She was not afraid. I was stunned.

    "Ah-ahhh-" my mouth ceased to be able to formulate words.

    "I just didn''t want to make you upset, that''s all. It was a pretty stupid dare."

    I still could not speak. I thought of a thousand sentences, but I could not make those phonetic sounds. So I simply waved her back over. She walked, but with a quizzical look on her face. She took a seat on the other side of the table.

    "I''m sorry, okay? Is that good? I mean, it was nasty of them to dare me to come over here and poke you¡­ because you were alone, and look a little funny."

    I scrambled across the floor for the chair I had tossed away, and slipped it back under the table as I sat down, in awe of her resolve.

    "No, no child. Do not worry. I¡­ just¡­ you are not afraid of me?"

    "Well, no. You don''t look too scary. You don''t act scary. You make it sound like you''re a monster, or something."

    As she said this, my logical processes came to one conclusion: she was lying. I slammed a fist into the table, the metal yielding under my inhuman strength. I let out a scream, and with my other hand I picked her up by the scruff of the neck.

    "ARE YOU BLIND, MADCHEN? IS THIS PART OF THEIR DARE? TO PRETEND TO NOT SEE THE ABOMINATION IN FRONT OF YOU?"

    I saw her pupils shrink, beads of sweat forming across her face. She was afraid now. I realized what I had done, and I quickly released my grip on her. She fell to the floor and scrambled away, and I covered my face in shame.

    What¡­ have I done? What was that? Was she lying? Even if she was not, she fears me now. All I can do is drive others away.

    In my sorrow, I picked myself up, and walked out of the common hall to my room. I threw myself on the bed, folding my hands over my eyes. I slept.

    "I remember that," said Ruby. "But it''s interesting to know what was going through your head. I''m sorry that I made you angry, Adam."

    "What is done is done. Those things are in the past. They are squabbles with an old man who has passed away, but I am not that man. Perhaps Ryuko would like to know how that happened."

    "No, that''s okay. I''ll come back when you have it written."

    "I do have it written."

    "Oh. Okay. Go on."

    I was awakened by the disembodied voice telling me that another round would begin soon. I decided to get up, as I thought- for a moment- that there was a chance I might see that girl again. I would apologize, and that would be that. I did not see her as I entered the common hall, nor did I see her as the man explained we would be fighting to hold a ring- this competition seemed to only become more bizarre as time passed. After he was done explaining, I wandered back to my room again. I looked at the cards for a while, and remembered the silly little games that the French family had played. I recalled the suits and the trump cards, and the laughter¡­ these cards had been placed here to mock me. I would not let them.

    The voice called again, and it told me to step through my door.

    They want me to fight. But how?

    I walked through that door, and within I found nothing. The door did not open into my hallway, but a blank white expanse. And then, another door ahead opened, and beyond that was a forest. I knew that was the way I needed to go, so I walked out into the shade of those trees, and I sat down. I had to find a ring. And I had to hold it.

    How foolish. What sort of trifle is this?

    The woods were quiet, and still. There were no warriors near me. I thought upon the battle that I had half-watched. Death did not seem to be permanent here; a defeat simply meant one was resurrected before the next round. There was no real escape from this place, but there was incentive to win. In that way, it was clever. I stood up and began to walk forward- I had a plan. I would keep walking until I found another warrior. I would then fight them. If I succeeded, I would ask them how to find the ring; if I failed, I would die, and that would be the end of the round for me.

    As it would happen, I did not find a warrior on my path; not directly. I had reached a rocky gulley in the woods, surrounded on all sides by a thick mess of saplings and moss. The brook that ran through the gulley did not babble, as all the books said they did. The water moped on, trapped in its course. There was no way out, no matter how many tears it shed. It was a soothing sort of sorrow, that little stream. As I observed it, a cry broke the silence. It was from beyond the brook, to the west. I sprinted that way, springing off of each step, keeping my movements muffled. I dove into a thicket and peered out from behind. Instead of one fighter, I had found two.

    The two faced each other in a narrow clearing, the tree roots having grown so entangled that no more saplings could spring up. On one end of the clearing stood a truly odd-looking character. It was the size of a man, but it seemed to be a skeleton of exposed machinery. Its arms looked like simple cantilevers, with a few pistons and hydraulic actuators spliced on. In its torso, cogs ground against each other as they whirled in their places. The machine was built for fighting- one ''hand'' had two simple digits, which hardly looked like they could grasp anything. The other was not a hand at all, but what appeared to be a blade forged from the flames of Hell itself. The machine had a head, but more interestingly it wore a tribal-looking mask, like those carved by the savages of the Pacific, over where its face should be.

    Ryuko coughed a little. "''Savages of the Pacific''? I don''t think that''s going to go over well with critics."

    "But are not the people of those islands uncivilized?"

    "As smart as you are, there''s a lot you don''t know," said the girl. "Change it to ''Pacific Islanders''."

    It wore a tribal-looking mask, like those carved by Pacific Islanders.

    "Better?" asked Adam.

    "Better," answered Ruby and Ryuko.

    Its entire metal body was colored in the likeness of the flames it carried on its right arm. Across from it stood a smaller figure. It wore a black dress, with men''s leggings underneath. It had high boots, laced all the way up, and a long red cloak was pulled down over its face. I knew it had to be that girl from before, but I was concerned about asking for an apology now. It was clearly a tense situation.

    "Listen well," said the machine with a voice that was quite human. It had an accent, but it was certainly not from any of the civilized world-

    Ryuko shot him a glance.

    It had a very exotic accent. "Listen well. I am Tahu, Toa of Fire. I will give you one chance to remove yourself from my path, or you will be destroyed."

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    The girl laughed a little, and pulled something from behind her cloak. It looked like a firearm, but it was of an unusual design- bulky and bright red.

    "Nope!" she said, cheerfully defying the skeletal machine. It lunged forward with organic fluidity, brandishing its fiery blade. The girl lifted her weapon, aiming at the mechanical creature.

    What does she hope to accomplish? A firearm cannot possibly do damage to a being of wrought metal!

    She fired, missing the metal man completely. The force of her weapon''s shot was so great that it sent her flying backwards into the trees. She extended a foot and caught a branch, flipping herself upright, looking down from her perch at the machine. It seemed quite surprised that it had not sliced her in half. I had never seen such a display of acrobatics or reflexes. Such things should have been impossible for the human body- resisting the force of such recoil, predicting the trajectory of the shot, performing gymnastics on a tree- and yet there she was, a little girl, displaying speed far beyond even what I was capable of. She laughed at the machine openly.

    The machine looked up at the tree, growling behind its emotionless mask. "I will teach you to fear the power of a Toa! Come down here and fight me with honor!"

    "Well, if you really want me to," she giggled, and hopped back to the ground. She held her weapon out, and it underwent an impossible transformation. Somehow, the bulky weapon reconfigured itself into something resembling the scythe of the field- the implement was far taller than she was, and looked like it should be quite heavy. She did not seem to have any trouble wielding it, and twirled it in one hand, like some sort of baton!

    "This is Crescent Rose," she explained, and lowered the blade towards Tahu. The girl flicked her hand across the weapon, and it sounded a report just like it had when it was a rifle. The girl and the machine were thrown apart, but she had clearly planned this. She landed expertly along the trunk of a tree, and performed a graceful flip on her way to the ground. Tahu fell with less dignity, gripping his mechanical chest. He rose, brandishing his fire-sword, and charging toward the girl again.

    The concept of a weapon that was equal parts gun and blade seemed excessive to me, and indeed ''Crescent Rose'' seemed quite impractical as a rifle. However, combining the movements of the scythe with the recoil of the weapon to create an acrobatic combat style was brilliant- if again, a little far-fetched. I sank a little lower in the thicket, checking behind me to make sure no other warriors were approaching. I knew I wanted to intervene, but I did not want to risk scaring the girl away. I would have to wait, and it did not seem like it would be long; the girl was putting up an impressive fight.

    She spun her scythe- always in short, brutal arcs- and parried the attacks of the Toa. Though her movements were so furious, it was possible to tell when she was on the offensive. In order to attack, she coupled her swings with a blast from her weapon''s rifle portion, to varying effect. Sometimes it was to drive the pointed end of the snath into the ground, other times it was to put pressure on the attacking blade. I was glad they were fighting on soft earth and surrounded by trees, for I would not have liked to be hit by a ricocheting bullet.

    The girl lined up another attack, her rapid movements briefly telegraphing her plan. She placed the blade of Crescent Rose on the ground underneath Tahu''s right arm. Her intent must have been to sever that burning sword of his, which would render him harmless. The weapon fired, and the blade leapt up. I could almost hear the tearing of the metal before it happened- but then I listened, and that sound did not come. No, it would never come, for the scythe had stopped in mid-air, held below the Toa''s arm by some invisible force.

    "I am protected by my mask," grunted Tahu. "The Kanohi Hau forms a barrier that can deflect all harm!"

    And with that, he smacked the back of his right arm across her head, and she fell. While she convulsed on the ground, he swung his sword in a circle above him, and the flames roared to a massive height. The tongues of fire licked the trees, the leaves and the edges of the grass. My own thicket began to be consumed by the conflagration, and I backed out of it accordingly. I had no need of it, as the shadows cast by the dancing flames hid me well enough. I stood there in the playing darkness, and I watched the Toa walk to the girl, who could not get up. I realized that I had not yet apologized.

    "This is where your story ends," said the Toa, who placed the sharpened fire underneath her chin.

    It was at that moment that I decided that I had to act. I bounded from my cover, and leapt into that blazing cell of arbors, landing behind the mechanical man. He turned, and I grabbed ahold of his mask, which he had bragged about.

    "Who overcomes by force hath overcome but half his foe," I growled. With a heave, I ripped the mask off of the barren mechanical face, and I crushed it in my hand. The Toa roared, and swung its sword at me. I took hold of that arm below the narrow flames, and placing my foot on its chest, rendered it from his body. His metal form was lighter than I had thought, and bounced as it hit the ground. To make sure he would not get up, I drove my heel through his exposed face. He did not move after that.

    "You¡­ saved me," said the girl, stating the obvious. I nodded. Blood ran down her face, and I lifted her hair away to see the damage. The Toa''s attack had caved in her skull- she did not have much time left. I picked her up off of the ground, her body so small in my arms.

    "But you will not live!" She ignored me.

    "Wh¡­what''s¡­ your name?"

    That was a question I was not prepared for; and in fact I had no answer. I stood there, frozen, yet surrounded by flames. I thought about the feverish work of Frankenstein as he hurried about stitching me together, and I thought about the curses he hurled at me once I was complete. I recalled the books I had read, and thought of that other man cast out by his creator.

    "Adam," I said. "Adam Frankenstein."

    "Ruby¡­ Rose," she coughed. "Thank you¡­ for¡­ saving me." She weakly lifted her arm, and placed a small hand against my chest. "You¡­ are not¡­ a monster." And with that, she breathed her last. This time, I knew she was sincere; and had been before. I felt tears gather in the corners of my eyes, and I held her lifeless body close. The flames rose higher, and consumed us both. As I burned, I thought over what she had said.

    She says I am not a monster. She means it. For one person, even one, I am a man. Here, where anyone can be monstrous, I am a man. And if I am a man, I can then be a good man.

    I decided there that I would use this Grand Combat as an opportunity to redeem myself-not in my world, but this one. I did not care if I won, and I doubted that I would. I would instead do as much good as was possible for others. I would spread love, not terror. I was no longer the creature cobbled together by Frankenstein, hated by the world. I was Adam. No more, no less.

    After we burned, we woke in the light of the common hall. I still stood with the girl in my arms, and I could feel her heart beating. We were both alive, as I knew we would be. Still, coming back from death is not an experience that one is accustomed to instantly. I set Ruby down, who stared back up at me, blinking.

    "I died," she said.

    "Yes. You did."

    "And you died."

    "That is correct."

    "I don''t think I care that I lost."

    "It does not concern me either."

    On the screen, some fighters battled a creature made of shadows. I looked back down to find that Ruby had disappeared.

    "Would you like to watch?" she asked, already seated at a table behind me. I did not answer, but I walked over and took a seat.

    "I''m sorry. For earlier." I muttered, still a little dazed.

    "I think you made up for it."

    "I doubted that anyone thought I could be anything but a monster. That is all anyone ever called me."

    "Well, I guess that''s going to change," she chirped. "First, I''ll call you Adam, because, duh, that''s your name." A smile came to my face. I think I liked having a name.

    "And second, if you don''t mind, even with all of the people here, it can be kind of lonely. So¡­ can I call you a friend?"

    A friend. What a simple thing, for most. But for me, it was momentous. I knew I wanted to say yes, yet I was concerned about the execution. I had read of the virtues of friendship, yet had never actually practiced any of them.

    "¡­Yes," I said, afraid of rejecting her request. And so we talked. I told her my shameful story, she told me of her adventures as a ''Huntress'', when she killed monsters. She told me that those creatures were without reason or emotion, and that I wasn''t a monster at all. She kept telling me that, I assume to make me feel better. It worked. We watched the round that we had already lost, and speculated about the rounds that were yet to come. We agreed that we would try and team up as often as possible, because, according to her, "that''s what friends do!" And so I spent my time at her side until the third team round, when we met Katniss and met our fates trying to distract Dio.

    "How did you like that story, Ryuko?"

    Ryuko drew a pinky out of her ear.

    "Oh, ah, it was really touching."

    "I am glad you thought so. And who is this fellow here?"

    Ryuko looked up to find a strange man standing directly behind her. In a knee-jerk reaction, she flipped out of her seat and hit the floor. The man then quickly slipped into the vacant chair.

    "He looks like a real weirdo," said Ruby.

    "Oh, I''m no weirdo," he said. His crazy brown hair cascaded up under a bulky headband, and a long ponytail trailed out behind. He wore a short vest over his tanned skin, and his bulky shoes clicked against the floor as he tapped his foot.

    "I''m Sol Badguy, and I''m a Polymorph Psychologist."

    Adam blinked, slack-jawed.

    "A what?" inquired Ruby.

    "A Polymorph Psychologist. I offer counseling for those dealing with mutagenic imbalances, gamma-ray attacks, and radiation side-effects. Here''s a pamphlet."

    He handed the bewildered Adam a folded-over sheet of paper. On it was crudely drawn a girl with angel wings and a tail, hugging a stick figure that shared Sol''s haircut. Above the image was the text "HE''S DREAMY!"

    "Herr Badguy, I do not believe that I-"

    "Please," said Sol, raising a hand to halt Adam. "Call me Fred."

    "I do not think this is necessary, Fred. I do not fit the criteria which you just described. In fact, I am not sure that such things exist."

    "Of course they exist, man! Are you going to dispute me, SOL BADGUY, world-renowned scientist, bounty hunter, and bioweapon?"

    "You mean, bioweapon expert, right?" offered Ruby.

    "No, no. I meant bioweapon."

    "Forgive me, but you do not look like a ''bio-weapon''," said Adam softly.

    ''Fred'' chuckled. "Forgive me, but you look like a guy who could use my help! I heard your sob story, and I''m sensing a lot of unresolved tension! Tell me about your childhood!"

    Ryuko crawled up from the floor. "Gimme a break," she growled.

    The man looked down at the girl who now stood next to him. "Excuse me?"

    "Did you even listen to his story at all?"

    "Whaddya mean, kid? Of course I listened to it. That''s how I know about his issues."

    "But did you really listen?" Ryuko jumped up onto the table, raising her voice into a righteous bellow. "Those problems are in his past. Here, he doesn''t care who he was or what he looks like, because the bond of friendship is stronger than that! As long as a man has true friends, he can get through anything! It doesn''t take a genius, or a scientist, or a bioweapon, or whatever, to figure that out! And the spirit of a man with friends is like a mighty scissor, the kind of scissor that can rend the very heav-"

    Ryuko. That is a nice hot-blooded speech and all, but the man is looking at you strangely.

    Ryuko took Senketsu''s advice and looked down- she didn''t realize that she had been pointing up at the ceiling- to find Sol ''Fred'' Badguy had formed his thumbs and forefingers into a little window, which he peered through intently at her.

    "What are you doing? Are you some kind of pervert? It''s like I told them, this isn''t even Senketsu''s active form."

    "No," said Sol. "It''s just that you aren''t fully human either."

    Ryuko hopped down from the table and wrapped an arm around Sol Badguy''s shoulder, and turned with him away from Ruby and Adam.

    "Say," she whispered. "I know a lovely gal that could really- and I mean really use your services."

    "Oh yeah?"

    "Yeah. Look for a sharp-dressed lady by the name of Janice Starling. And make sure to tell her that she looks old."

    "Rock on, little lady," said Sol, who gave Ryuko a fistbump. He dashed away.

    "Wow, Ryuko! You do care!" Ruby was positively ecstatic.

    "Well, I just kind of know how it feels, to not have a friend. And I know how great it feels to find one." I also know what it''s like to be the monster, she thought.

    "Well, thanks for standing up for Adam," she said.

    "No problem. It was the right thing to do."

    "It does leave me wondering, though," said the artificial man. "Were the services offered by Fred legitimate?"

    "With the kind of kooks milling about here, they probably were. But you said you didn''t need his help."

    "That is correct. Thank you again, Ryuko." He scribbled something else down, and looked back up. "Oh. That is it. Das ende."

    "What''ll you do now?" asked Ruby.

    "I am not sure. I believe I am out of paper."

    "Guess that kind of ruins plans for a sequel, huh?" chuckled Ryuko. This caused all three to burst out into laughter, and they laughed until they heard Sol''s voice yelping about an allergy to wasps. Then they roared even louder.

    ***

    "My liege," whispered Dio, kneeling. "Why are we meeting in my room?"

    "Because it should be safe to plan here. Things have changed." The Master of Games'' eyes darted back and forth, looking like little black trails on his blurry face.

    "I know I failed, you, Master. I assume you''ll want to destroy me?"

    "No. I would have given you another chance anyway. It''s that outfit, it''s fantastic."

    "Oh. Well, thank you, my liege. I always thought it was-"

    "SHUT UP!" snapped the kingly figure. "I have a new task for you. Forget stopping the elf, the girl, or the unicorn. You need to find something that looks like the elf."

    "I''m not sure that I understand, sir."

    "It looks just like Holly Short. But not. You need to kill it if you see it, in any round. Other than that I don''t care what you do."

    "Is that all, my liege?"

    "Yes. Don''t worry about Ryuko either. I figured she would end up with them sooner or later. I''ve found a replacement that you''ll find quite interesting."

    "I will do as you command, Master."

    "Good. Farewell."

    The Master of Games ducked out of Dio''s room, and began to walk briskly back toward the common hall. He looked back over his shoulder.

    Good. Nothing there.

    "Fancy meeting you here, brother."

    He turned his head back reluctantly, and found the thing he had been looking for. His eyes widened in fear.

    "H-hello there. You''re looking quite dapper."

    "You think so?" it said, motioning to the elven body. "I''m really enjoying it myself. It''s got a sort of innocence. It''s a delicious irony."

    "That''s great, that''s great¡­" the Master of Games grumbled nervously. "It could be worse. I don''t have to go into that elf''s head to put you in your place." He was lying. This was worse.

    "If anyone is going to be put in their place, it''s you. You know that. You''re afraid."

    "I am not afraid of you. I''m still stronger. This is working, you know. Soon I will be as strong as before."

    "I killed you before, and I can do it again. But I''ll let you have your fun. There is no way anything you do will be able to stop that eventuality, so you might as well enjoy it."

    The Master of Games gritted his teeth and ran past, while the creature that wore a body like Holly''s stood still, silent in the empty hallway.

    I can make that boast. I know I can do it. But what is this I am feeling? Something strange, like an itch on every strand of my being. Is it¡­ something to do with this form? No. That would be preposterous. I am the slumbering god of Ry''leh. Nothing can corrupt me, for I am corruption itself.

    And it walked down the hallway, its hands in its pockets, its head hanging low. It was not so sure.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-1

    PREVIOUSLY, IN PARADOX FIGHTERS: Holly completes recording Katniss'' account and lets it pass among the fighters of the Grand Combat, which infuriates the girl. Holly wishes to repair the damage while Twilight Sparkle becomes increasingly suspicious, enlisting the aid of the powerful monster Alucard. The next round is a challenge to capture a mansion at the center of the walled city Shinganshima, Mikasa''s hometown. The round becomes a chaotic game of cat-and-mouse as Katniss pursues the goal, Holly pursues Katniss, and Twilight pursues Holly. Along the way, a myriad of new faces appear: Adam and Ruby, an unusual duo with an explosive cooperative style; Dio, a vampire with the ability to stop time, which the Master of Games has given control of his team to; and Ryuko, a girl with a sentient transforming uniform and a gigantic half-scissor. When our heroes finally join up to confront Dio, Holly is mercilessly killed, sending the warriors running again- until they find the elf alive in a most unusual way. They launch a destructive assault to capture the mansion, but Katniss is consumed by the power of the Satsui No Hado, as her pent-up anger presents the final foe to our heroes. After winning the round, old friends and new alike relax, as a mysterious creature that looks like Holly begins to form a team¡­

    A colossal foot placed itself gently onto the empty street below, buckling the pavement and shattering the ground-floor windows in a five-meter radius. The Jaeger twisted its head, nearly buried in armor plate, and took in a panoramic view of the empty city. A few scattered clouds drifted lazily through a bright blue sky. The Gipsy Danger stood as a stark contrast against the city''s immobile skyscrapers, its huge linebacker shoulders refusing to be flat or square.

    "Sure does look dead, don''t it?" grunted Raleigh, a goofy grin sitting on his face.

    "That it does," confirmed Mako. "We''ll be able to push Gipsy a lot harder than usual."

    "That''s exactly what I was thinking," replied the male Ranger, hearing his partner''s words before they were spoken. The two nodded in perfect unison, and began a synchronized march against the foot pedals, their side-by-side steps rhythmically moving the heavy implements. The archaic Jaeger mimicked their movements, and began to stomp ahead, carefully maneuvering between buildings with a grace that something that large should not have possessed.

    Careful eyes watched the enormous machine walk away. Careful fingers pulled back the mass-production invisibility cloak- a recent invention of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement- and exposed the AEGIS system that she wore over her black-white-blue uniform. A few clicks across the liquid-metal screen, and a shower of blue sparks crackled out underneath her, concealed by the cloak.

    "Oof," said the girl who fell out, blinking the stars out of her perpetually-distant, ruby-red eyes.

    The woman with the AEGIS sat down next to the girl, the cloak draping over their heads. For a moment, the severity of the situation was nearly forgotten. Here they were, sitting under a sheet like children protesting bedtime. A smile spread across the woman'' face.

    "What is it?"

    "Oh, nothing. Are you Number Two?"

    "I think that name is useless. I am just like the-"

    A change of subject was in order. "Never mind. Do you have it?"

    "Of course." She held up a small black box, which the woman opened hurriedly, tossing aside the foam backing and removing the eyepiece it contained. She slipped the device over her ear and flipped over the thin piece of red space-plastic so that it covered her left eye.

    "Thank you, Rei. That''s all for now."

    "Hmm," cooed Rei, her facial expression ''changing'' to something that could be perceived as ''worry''.

    "''Hmm'' what?"

    "She is angry, you know. Very upset."

    "Who''s angry?"

    "Miss Yoko. She wanted this mission."

    "I''m sure she did. But you know what Artemis said. ''Under no circumstance must one make contact with their-''"

    "''-Universal counterpart.'' I am aware."

    "Okay, okay. I''m going to send you back."

    "I understand."

    With another tap on the AEGIS, Rei disappeared in the same way she had arrived.

    Bloody hell. Socially awkward doesn''t begin to describe ''em.

    She stood up, the cloak billowing out behind her in the gentle breeze. The skyscraper roof she stood on still wasn''t as tall as that huge machine, which could still be seen between the buildings ahead. A few dull beeps clattered around in the Scouter''s earpiece, and she tapped a panel on the device to receive the call. Artemis'' voice crackled over the speaker, truly a paradigm of audio reception.

    "This is command. Rei Two just returned. I assume you have found your Scouter in working order?"

    "It''s fine. The audio quality is a bit of a bugger."

    "That is to be expected. We''re projecting signal through dimensions. As useful as the Scouter is, it was still designed for localized applications. We will iron out the glitches eventually."

    "While you''re at it, will you iron out Rei? She''s got all of the suave of a hippogriff dropping."

    "I am on the line," Rei''s quiet voice responded.

    "Oh. Oh! Sorry, I didn''t mean- I didn''t-"

    "That''s enough. Your mission starts now, Mrs. Granger."

    "Solid copy, Artemis," she sighed. "Hermione Granger, out."

    The Scouter beeped a few more times to signal the end of the call.

    I''m as much of an oaf as that husband of mine. And I''m certainly too old to be up to this sort of nonsense.

    She dismissed the second thought, remembering what was at stake. Hermione opened a latch on her left gauntlet and drew the wand stored within. She focused on her destination and disapparated to the next rooftop. After a series of consecutive jumps, her target was dead ahead. The Jaeger swept its head back and forth, clearly looking for something. Hermione slipped the invisibility cloak back up, huddling underneath- hidden in plain sight. She drew a small ''x'' in midair with her wand, and the air swirled into a thin lens. Through it, Hermione could see straight into the Jaeger''s inner workings, watching its synchronized pilots turning their heads.

    "Got ''em," she whispered.

    Artemis'' voice crackled back in reply.

    "That was fast," he said. "What are their power levels?"

    "Three-hundred and seven each. Not bad for a couple of pilots."

    "Oh, dear. That can''t be them."

    Hermione nearly tore off her Scouter in frustration. "What do you mean, it''s not them? Who else could it be?"

    Somewhere far below, a megaphone spat out whiny feedback before a shouting voice bellowed through, seemingly unaware of the amplification.

    "HEY, HEY, HEY, HEY! YOU! UGLY! YES, YOU!"

    Hermione crawled to the edge of the current roof, looking down past Gipsy Danger''s massive bulk. Far ahead, down the street on which the titanic mech stood, sat two much smaller machines. With a circular swipe, she turned the x-ray lens into a magnifier, tilting her wand to aim the magical construct at the distant figures.

    Gipsy Danger''s pilots locked onto the sound, identifying the smaller mechs below.

    "You''re who we''re supposed to be fighting?" groaned Raleigh in disbelief.

    "We were expecting something the size of a Kaiju," muttered Mako.

    "I DON''T KNOW WHAT A KAIJU IS! PROBABLY SOMETHING SMALL AND WEAK!"

    Hermione squinted at the magic lens she had created, noting that her vision wasn''t what it used to be. The two mechs were of irregular design, one was much larger than the other, but still comparatively small. The other was absolutely miniscule; the boy sitting in its open-air cockpit would almost be taller if he stood next to it. Both of them lacked a head unit, and instead bore large and detailed faces across their torsos. The larger of the two had a feral-looking face with snarling teeth and huge, angular sunglasses. Atop it stood the voice''s owner, a shirtless and heavily-tatooed teenage boy with a similar pair of sunglasses. The smaller, with its short, stubby limbs, had a far more human-looking visage- appropriately less visceral for its smaller, daintier-looking pilot.

    "Actually," explained Mako, "Kaiju are monsters that are quite large and strong."

    "WELL, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING REAL IMPORTANT. YOU SEE, WHEN LEGENDS TELL LEGENDS, THEY TELL THE KIND OF LEGEND THAT CAN ONLY BE TRUE OF THE MANLIEST OF LEGENDARY MEN!" The boy on the larger mech hopped down to the mouth region, opened a hatch, and flung himself in.

    Oh boy, thought Hermione. This is not going to end well.

    "THEY TELL THE STORY OF A MAN WHOSE PERSEVERANCE AND FIGHTING SPIRIT TORE STRAIGHT THROUGH THE HEAVENS! THE MAN WHO NEVER GAVE UP! THEY''RE TALKING ABOUT THAT MAN, RIGHT THERE!"

    The larger mech threw a hand upward in a dramatic point toward the sky, then levelled it at the smaller machine next to it.

    "Thanks for the introduction, bro," said the boy in the tiny robot.

    The Jaeger''s loudspeakers buzzed with the sound of laughter.

    "Come on," said the voice of Raleigh. "Really? All of that hot air for something that small?"

    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "I think they''re bluffing," giggled Mako.

    The larger of the two turned to the smaller. "They''re laughing at us, Simon."

    "Don''t sweat it, bro. Believe in yourself."

    "Heh. I never thought you''d turn that one around on me."

    "Neither did I. Now, let''s do this."

    "Right," confirmed the larger of the two. "LET''S COMBINE!"

    Hermione''s Scouter began to sound every possible alarm, a chorus of beeps and trills that corresponded with the fluctuating readouts on the display.

    Their power levels¡­ that''s insane! This thing has to be broken.

    Artemis'' voice crackled back over the line.

    "Those are your targets, Mrs. Granger. Exercise caution in your observations, things might get a little dangerous out there."

    The smaller of the two machines leapt into the air as its stubby limbs retracted. From where the legs had been extended a massive, spinning drill, the sunlight reflecting off of the metal like ocean waves. It dove into the top of the other mech, sprouting a half-moon crest above its brow. The new single robot extended its arms and legs further, taking on more humanoid proportions. It resembled a samurai to an extent, with brilliant crimson, glossy black and shining gold adorning its angular armor.

    "TWO FIERY SPIRITS JOINED AS ONE! REUNION COMBINING GURREN LAGANN! JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?"

    "You''re still smaller than Gipsy''s foot," scoffed Raleigh.

    Mako finished his thought. "So we can crush you like a bug!"

    Gipsy Danger raised one of its legs skyward, casting a shadow over the smaller combined mech. Hermione quickly began to draw a Flippendo jinx with her wand, knowing that she would have to throw the larger robot off-balance.

    I''m not sure just how effective the jinx will be, but I don''t have any other opt-

    A brutal CRACK ripped through the air as Gipsy''s stomp connected, crushing Gurren Lagann underfoot. Hermione barely had time to grab the edge of her building''s roof before the massive shockwave knocked her off of her feet.

    Damn, she thought, holding herself down against the blast of displaced air. It was too fast. I couldn''t take the shot. I''ve failed. The wind died down, and she dusted herself off and stood up. The Jaeger pulled its foot out of the chasm it had created, and began to turn around. It stopped halfway, and then turned back to the hole its foot had dug.

    Raleigh and Mako scratched their heads, and the Jaeger was obligated to mimic them. "If we had won, we would have sunk into the ground, right?" Said the male Ranger.

    "Then, that must mean-"

    The ground behind them exploded as their crimson foe burst through the street, a huge drill covering its arm. The robot pirouetted into the air with astounding poise as a set of wings unfolded from its back. A pair of brilliant-green jets of flame sparked to life, and the Gurren Lagann settled into a hover at eye-level with its massive opponent.

    "THE INDOMITABLE SPIRIT OF GURREN LAGANN IS NOT SO EASILY CRUSHED!" shouted the voice Simon had identified as "bro".

    "That''s right, Kamina. Team Gurren never gives up, even against insurmountable odds!"

    "You little-" growled Mako. The Gipsy began to turn, extending an arm forward and clenching a fist. With a thud, a booster rocket fired up in the depths of the elbow joint, throwing the battleship-sized arm into its opponent. The impact created another shockwave, which Hermione was not prepared for. The blast knocked her off of the building, and she barely had enough time to cast an Aresto Momentum to keep herself from ending up as a smear on the pavement. With the charm active, she descended lightly to the ground, where she promptly apparated back up to her vantage point.

    I need to be more careful. Unlike these youngsters, I don''t get brought back if I''m killed.

    The Gurren Lagann flipped end-over-end as it flew away, propelled by Gipsy''s gigantic punch. Simon took a deep breath and eased back on the controls, and the Gunmen righted itself violently, bringing itself back into a hover. He opened a comms channel into the torso.

    "You doing all right, Kamina?"

    "Sure thing, Simon. It''s great to be back in action."

    "Yeah. It''s refreshing," he said, observing the Jaeger begin its march toward them. "What do you say we go on the offensive?"

    "I say, you''re on!"

    Raleigh did a double-take at his holographic display. "They recovered? How? Something that small shouldn''t be able to stand up to that kind of punishment!"

    "We''ll get it at range," grunted Mako, lifting an open-palmed hand. "Plasma caster ready."

    The Gipsy Danger raised its left arm, the hand folding back into the heavy energy weapon. Plasma began to fizzle at the center of its focusing array. The smaller red mech dove toward the Jaeger, its jets at maximum burn.

    "Looks like this guy''s got a big weak spot on its chest, instead of a proper face," chuckled Kamina. Simon noticed the gaping, glowing intake in the center of their opponent''s torso as well.

    "You''re right. That''s what we''ll aim for."

    Hermione took a few steps back, knowing that the inevitable clash was going to be just as destructive as the last two. She noticed that the Jaeger held its right arm behind its back, and that something was slipping out of its huge wrist.

    "GIGA!" shouted the two pilots of the Gurren Lagann as an oversized glowing drill erupted from their mech''s outstretched arm.

    "DRILL!" they continued, emphasizing the most obvious part of the attack. With a squeeze of the Jaeger''s holo-trigger, the larger machine fired its plasma caster, sending a massive bolt toward the advancing Gunmen. The drill dispersed the plasma sphere into a fine mist, and the Gurren Lagann continued ahead. However, the Gipsy Danger had a final trick up its sleeve.

    "TAKE THIS!" yelled Raleigh, as he and Mako thrust their right arms forward. The Jaeger''s other arm swung ahead, a massive sword extending from its heavy gauntlet armor. The gigantic blade collided with the Gurren Lagann''s drill, halting the smaller machine in the air. Sparks sprayed off of the collision like raindrops, and Hermione had to check that her invisibility cloak hadn''t caught fire.

    Raleigh let a little panic seep into his voice. "They''re¡­ still there?! That slash didn''t get them?"

    "The sword''s integrity is failing," gasped Mako. "Fifty percent. Eighty percent. One hundred p-"

    "BREAK!"

    The sound of the sword shattering was followed by a massive jolt from below. The lights flickered off in the Jaeger''s cockpit, until the emergency backups came on line a moment later. Every screen that was operational flashed the same warning: Critical Reactor Failure. The Gunmen powered their way straight through the Gipsy Danger''s cooling fan, pierced the very heart of the massive robot, and exploded out of its back. Gurren Lagann landed with a flourish, once again behind its less graceful foe. The giga-drill collapsed to a more manageable size and retracted into the Gunmen''s arm. One of the computers began their congratulatory speech.

    Now''s my chance, thought Hermione, charming herself with Aresto again. She jumped off of the building and landed at the feet of the disabled Jaeger, frantically scanning for her quarry. She was distracted for a moment by a loud warning klaxon- loud enough to drown out the computer''s monologue.

    "ATTENTION, CIVILIANS. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. REACTOR FAILURE IN PROGRESS."

    "Bugger," Hermione cursed. That brute''s going to blow up.

    She rushed back and forth along the fine debris that had been cast down when the massive Jaeger was run through by the Gurren Lagann''s drill. Finally, she saw what she needed- a faint green glow underneath a bent sliver of dull-blue armor plate. She skidded to a seat and jammed her hand underneath the wreckage, but could not reach far enough. She placed her hands on the edges of the slab of metal and began to lift, but it was far heavier than she had expected.

    "TOTAL FAILURE IN TEN. NINE. EIGHT. SEVEN," warned the Jaeger''s loudspeaker. Hermione struggled, wrenching against the scrap metal with all of her strength. It was no use.

    Come on. COME ON. I can''t just- oh. Of course. How did I forget?

    She drew her wand, and with a delicate swish and a well-timed flick, the Wingardium Leviosa charm took effect. The armor plate floated lazily into the air, scooted aside by a few inches, and fell to the ground again. Hermione snagged the glowing object, tapped a few coordinates into her AEGIS system, and vanished just before the Jaeger''s reactor went supernova.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-2

    "PCKSHHAAAAAAAAAAW! BOOOOOOOOM! Oh, man, that was AWESOME!" Ruby began to mimic the fight scene, using her hands to represent the dueling robots.

    "Eh. I''ve seen cooler," huffed Ryuko, spitting out a lemon seed. Holly was beginning to wonder if that was all the girl ate. Their little group had made a habit of meeting together to observe matches they weren''t in, discussing their past victories, and inventing tactics to use in future rounds. Of course, they weren''t all business. Adam had been bartering his cards in exchange for paper (some other fighters actually had paper, others offered toiletries. Neither were turned down), and Twilight Sparkle had fashioned some number-puzzles and other little games.

    "Cooler than that?" asked the elf.

    "Yeah. Definitely," Ryuko replied. "But I''ll give them an A for effort."

    Holly turned to Twilight Sparkle, who was in the process of spell-checking something that Adam wrote. "Did you happen to see that bit at the end?"

    The unicorn glanced up at the elf briefly, then returned to her work. "Whatever do you mean?"

    "I swore I saw some of the debris move around at the end there. You always have an explanation for that kind of thing." There was a hint of accusation there.

    "Probably just a shockwave, or something. You do realize that the mech was about to blow up, right?"

    "But it hadn''t blown up. Stuff doesn''t just move like that. It almost looked like something picked it up or-"

    "That''s ridiculous. There were only the two sets of pilots in the match."

    "She''s right," oiled Alucard, looking up from his game of tic-tac-toe with Katniss. "There wouldn''t be anyone else to move it." Katniss scrawled another X, and the vampire crumpled the piece of paper and tossed it away.

    "You knew about the room, and the thing in my head," the elf snapped. "Clearly you''ve got explanations for a lot of odd things. Why can''t you explain this?"

    "Because I don''t know," growled Twilight.

    "Okay, I''ll take that. Sure. But you have to know how you''re not a vamp¡­ony anymore."

    For a moment, fear flashed across the unicorn''s face. She composed herself and replaced it with anger.

    "Why are you doing this, Holly?"

    "That doesn''t answer the question."

    "I don''t care if it does. Why?"

    "Because you''re hiding something," said Holly firmly. "And I''m not sure I''m willing to do whatever you ask when you can''t tell me why I''m doing it. Like that¡­ thing that you made me throw up. You still haven''t explained that."

    "I''ll explain everything exactly when I-"

    "HELLO, MY FINE WARRIORS!" interrupted the voice of the Master of Games.

    "We''ll finish this later," hissed Holly.

    "That we will," spat the unicorn.

    "Shut up," whispered Katniss. "Everyone else is trying to listen."

    The Master of Games was explaining the next round. "You''ll need to find and defeat three fighters that I have designated a ''V.I.W.'' Anyone care to guess what that stands for?"

    A muscular arm raised a broad, worn hand.

    The Master of Games sighed. "Yes, Sol?"

    "Is it ''Very Important Warrior''?" chuckled the bounty hunter/scientist/bioweapon.

    "¡­Yes. Yes it is."

    A cadre of female voices squealed in glee.

    "He''s so dreamy!" said one.

    "And intelligent!" remarked another.

    "Fred, I''ll tell you about my childhood!" giggled the last.

    Ryuko shook her head slowly, and spat out another lemon seed.

    "Anyway," continued the Master of Games, "Each of these V.I.W.s will have a base and troops of their own to command. You can try and form a team, or go it solo. Whatever floats your boat. The round will begin in an hour. I''ll see you then."

    Twilight cursed, which elicited more than a few chortles from those nearby.

    "Three bases¡­ with defenders? Has it gone that far?"

    "There you go again!" shouted Holly. "What is ''it''?!"

    The unicorn gave a nod to her vampire companion, and they both disappeared in a flash of purple energy. Holly drove her knuckles into the table.

    "Oh, COME ON!" She noticed the concerned stares her friends were giving her. "What? I''m not crazy. You know she''s been as mysterious as a dwarf''s chin since we met her."

    "First," said Katniss, "I have no idea what you mean by a ''dwarf''s chin''. You should really make your jokes more accessible, so that more of us can laugh at them."

    "Wh-what?"

    "And second, you need to calm down."

    The elf scratched her head. "Katniss, when did you become the voice of reason around here?"

    "Listen, Holly. Twilight can''t be the only person around here who wants to keep their secrets. I got pissed earlier because I was sensitive about people hearing about the things I did."

    "But this isn''t that. She always has answers to everything and knows about all of this malarkey that happens. She knows more than she''s letting on. I''m a cop, Katniss. I know when someone is lying to protect their own interests!"

    "And how would you normally respond to that?"

    "It depends. Sometimes we have to let it go and investigate other sources. Other times, we can interrogate them."

    "In that case, why don''t you do one of those things? It can''t be that hard."

    "Well, we''ll have to find her during this round then. It won''t be easy."

    "Relax," said Ryuko. "I''ll lend you a hand. I''ve got a bone to pick with Twilight anyway. I''ll prove to her once and for all that I''m not a sadomasochist!"

    "And how do you plan to do that?" asked Holly.

    "By turning her into a purple smear on the pavement!" Ryuko roared, before a look of stunned realization came over her face.

    Ruby hopped up over the table, snagging together Katniss'' and Holly''s necks in an embrace. "You had better believe Adam and I will help, too! Any friend of Katniss'' is a friend of ours!"

    "But Ruby," said Adam, "Twilight could be considered a friend of theirs, too."

    "Yeah, but did we fight alongside her, earn her trust in combat, and drench our blades together in the blood of our enemies so that she would become our shield-sister?"

    An awkward silence fell over the group after Ruby''s speech.

    "Just kidding," she said. No one laughed.

    Across the room, Alucard watched the discussion unfold. He turned to Twilight, who was careful to stand among a different group of fighters.

    "Well?" whispered the unicorn.

    "They''re plotting to find you and beat the answers out of you."

    Twilight let a smile spread over her muzzle. "Perfect."

    ***

    Hermione materialized a few feet above the TARDIS'' deck, as usual. She bounced to the floor, cursed, and picked herself up, placing a hand on her aching back. Artemis stood, arms crossed behind his back, in the only shaft of light the dimly-lit spacecraft provided. His butler stood behind him, wearing a cloak of shadow.

    "Mrs. Granger, I am glad to see you back."

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "I''m glad to see me back, too, considering I was almost turned into a bloody pile of ashes!"

    "You were aware of the risks when you joined us, Mrs. Granger."

    "Sod off about the risks, Fowl. I''m too old to be doing this."

    "Unfortunately, you cannot simply leave, now that you are with us. Not until our goal has been achieved. Your mission was of the utmost importance to that goal, and you completed it succinctly and with-"

    "Everything''s of the utmost-bloody-importance, isn''t it? Reeling me into this, all of that bloody training, the clones, this bit of glowing rock!"

    "It''s no rock, Mrs. Granger," he said, extending an open hand. She removed it from one of her uniform''s myriad pockets and placed it squarely in his palm. He squinted at it, smiling.

    "Yes, this is the key to our plans. We don''t have much time. Prepare for immediate transport upstairs."

    "Upstair-" Hermione was cut off as the young man tapped a button on the AEGIS he wore on his arm, and she was ripped through dimensions into what appeared to be another spacecraft. A curtain of sparks opened on her left, and Artemis and his butler stepped through. They were on a panoramic bridge, surrounded on all sides by a swarm of activity. Some Rei clones sat behind monitors, keeping track of readouts. Others jumped in and out of the room using their AEGISes.

    Artemis raised his voice slightly, so that his voice would carry across the massive bridge.

    "Number Two, inform Dexter that we have arrived. Tell him we have the shard."

    A holographic display flickered on in front of them, displaying Rei Two''s face. She gave Hermione a glare and then turned her attention back to Artemis.

    "Of course, Commander Fowl," she whispered, and the hologram disappeared. In an instant, the diminutive engineer skidded through a veil of AEGIS sparks, his boots failing to find purchase on the slick deck. He tripped, fell forward, and loped on all fours until he sprung to his feet and snatched the luminescent object away.

    "Aaah, yesss. This shooould be just enaaawf," he gurgled, staring at it greedily. He tapped a few buttons on his AEGIS quickly and vanished, though Hermione could swear she still heard his ridiculous accent floating on the air. She blinked, stunned by the bizarre course of events. Artemis gestured forward, and the two walked to the front of the bridge. It took them some time to get there, but upon arriving, a massive blue orb rose into view over the seemingly-infinite deck of the ship.

    "Oh¡­ that''s Earth. Or, an Earth. It really is beautiful."

    "That it is, Mrs. Granger. But our struggle is for more than that planet, which even across so many universes we call home. No, the fate of the metaverse is at stake. That is why your mission was of utmost importance."

    A vast mecha, still impossibly small next to the ship, descended and began to weld a segment of armor plate to the hull.

    "She''s not quite ready yet," said a voice from behind. Artemis turned, and Hermione jumped, to face the new arrival. It was a young woman, of a slender-yet-curvaceous build. Her long red hair had been tied back in a way that seemed only marginally more practical, and her Illuminati uniform hung undone down to her waist. Hermione questioned the feasibility of a flame-pattern bikini top in space, but remained silent.

    "Hermione, this is Yoko Littner, this vessel''s executive officer. Have you two met?"

    "Briefly," said the witch. "Last time, she was older¡­ and more clothed."

    "It''s my ship, I can wear what I want while I command it," snarled Yoko with a hearty chuckle.

    "You had better be careful," joked Artemis. "You wouldn''t want Regulations to catch wind of this."

    "Regulations are a bunch of useless arrogant pricks that can''t let a fork get set on the wrong side of a plate. If it were up to me, I''d have them booted off of this ship. Let ''em regulate a vacuum."

    "But it is not up to you, Yoko," replied the young man. "Your duties are the operation of this craft, which will serve as our base from this time onward. Management of the divisions, including Regulations, is the task of Chief Program Coordinator Harhui Suzumiya. All complaints may be addressed to her."

    "Can''t take a joke, can you? Jeez."

    Artemis plugged a few coordinates into his AEGIS.

    "I''m afraid I need to go and supervise Engineering''s new project. I''ll leave you two for now." He tapped the final button and began to dissolve into azure flickers. "And I assure you I can take a joke," he finished as he warped away.

    Yoko crossed over to the glass- Hermione was certain it wasn''t glass, because using glass in a vessel like this would be silly- and looked out at the under-construction ship, and her home planet beyond.

    "So¡­ you saw them? Are they¡­ okay?"

    Hermione gave a shallow nod. "They seemed to be taking everything in stride. They sounded like a couple of jokesters."

    "That''s them all right," Yoko sighed. "They were my closest friends, you know."

    "Right," confirmed Hermione. She looked back at the executive officer and remembered that she had an important question. "If you don''t mind me asking, how did you get¡­ young?"

    "Research and Development came up with it. They''ve got The Doctor''s machine hooked up to this old girl," she explained, patting the glass. "It emits an excess of ''Time Vortex'' energy. Normally, the stuff''s pretty dangerous and unpredictable, but we''ve got the best scientists in the metaverse. They came up with a way to direct tiny amounts into morphing bodies back into those from earlier in the time-stream. As you can see, it works pretty well."

    "You don''t say. What does one have to do to get this treatment?"

    Yoko shrugged. "I saw them setting it up, and I asked what it was. They told me. I asked if I could test it out for them, and they said sure."

    Hermione snatched Yoko''s AEGIS and held it up in front of her face.

    "Where? Is? It?"

    "Easy, easy. I''ll give you the coordinates. What''s the rush?"

    "I can''t keep fighting like this. I''m going to get myself killed. Any edge would be useful, and-"

    "The husband''s complaining?"

    Hermione fired off a punch that could be heard from across the room. Yoko spun in place a few times before she hit the ground.

    "Jeez," gasped Yoko, placing a hand on the deck to push herself up. "I really struck a nerve, didn''t I? I''ve got to remind myself that I''m not hanging out with a bunch of boys anymore."

    Hermione staggered back, shocked by her own action. "I¡­ I didn''t¡­ I''m sorry-"

    "Don''t be sorry," said Yoko, wiping a trail of blood from the corner of her mouth. "I crossed a line I shouldn''t have. And besides, I''ll pay it back. As the captain, I get to slap around my subordinates all I like!"

    Hermione began to believe that she wanted to serve some other trans-dimensional organization. Yoko typed in a few digits on the woman''s AEGIS, and walked back toward the tiller. A group of janitorial Reis rushed to where she had fallen, wielding their mops and buckets.

    "Make sure you leave a little, so I can look down and remember not to make that mistake again!" she called to one of the passing girls. The Rei stopped, giving Yoko a dumbfounded, distant stare.

    Nobody laughs at all.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-3

    "Dio. It''s about time you made it here."

    The vampire knelt before the Master of Games, who nervously cast his eyes about the common hall.

    "My liege, is it safe?"

    "For now it is. But we don''t have much time. This will be your replacement for Ryuko."

    With a snap of the man''s fingers, a girl wandered out of the crowd, taking a bow. Her unruly hair fell over her face as she bowed, and something glowed through the ebony strands. She straightened herself up and tucked her locks back over her shoulder, cinching up her tie and smoothing a pleat in her skirt.

    "Pleased to meet you, Lord Dio," she said. Her voice was not one that betrayed any malice or evil intent.

    "With all due respect, my liege, is this the best you could do?"

    The girl seemed distracted, and did not seem to take offense at Dio''s remark.

    "Whatever do you mean?" stammered the Master of Games.

    "Well, I lost a teenaged schoolgirl, and you gave me¡­ another teenaged schoolgirl."

    "Do you realize the percentage of the fighters here that are teenaged schoolgirls? If it came to a vote, I think they''d have a slight majority."

    "Fine, fine. What does she do?"

    "Her hair is alive."

    To demonstrate, her hair immediately sprouted several long, curved strands, which began to twitch with what did seem to be life. A thin row of shining white spikes emerged where one would expect a headband, and two glittering orbs popped open along next to them, focusing burning red irises on Dio.

    "Is this the guy?" growled something as the white spikes moved back and forth.

    "Oh, it''s a mouth. And eyes," noted Dio.

    "Yes, Samson," said the girl. "Please behave."

    "I''m not concerned about my behavior," grunted the girl''s hair.

    "Let me get this straight," said Dio to the Master of Games. "She''s a schoolgirl, and she fights using a symbiotic relationship with a darkly-colored quasi-organic being bonded to her body, that happens to have red eyes and some semblance of a mouth."

    The Master of Games nodded.

    "Kid, what can you tell me about your mother?"

    The girl blinked vacantly. "I¡­ I can''t remember anything about her."

    "So what you''ve done here, my liege, is given me exactly the same thing as Ryuko."

    The kingly figure held a finger up. "But she fights with her hair."

    "You couldn''t have come up with anything else?"

    "You were the one who wanted a replacement."

    "Lord Dio, I''ll show you just what I''m capable of. I promise, I won''t let you down," she said, giving another bow.

    "Okay. Whatever. What''s your name?"

    "Call me Filia."

    "Very well then, Filia," sighed Dio. "Welcome aboard."

    ***

    Holly noticed something distinctly different about the prep room. It certainly looked the same, and it had all of her typical gear; but it had been a while since she last saw it filled with other people. All of her conspirators stood alongside her, nervously looking about while collecting their equipment.

    "That''s new. Or old, I suppose," she muttered, locking her utility belt into place.

    Katniss picked up a clunky-looking collapsible bow, and slung it over the back of her angular black armor. "When was the last time this happened? On that first city round, right?"

    "I do believe so. Now when did you get those duds? That looks like some serious fighting gear."

    "It''s my old Mockingjay Armor. Reinforced carbon-fiber with modular hardpoints and an electroactive polymer sub-layer, optimized for long-range engagements, freedom of movement, and close-quarters defense. Or that''s what the tech guys always said."

    "But not a Life Fiber in sight," chuckled Ryuko, who did not have much equipment to grab. "It can look pretty, but without that kind of power, it''s a glorified Halloween costume."

    "Oh yeah?" grinned Katniss, motioning for Ryuko to prove her point. Ryuko stepped forward, raising a fist. She slowly moved it along its trajectory a few times, demonstrating how she would attack. She paused for a moment, then whipped her other hand forward along a totally different route, in a low gut punch. Katniss'' armored hand intercepted Ryuko''s, catching it centimeters from her body.

    "Not bad," scoffed the girl in the sailor suit. "But I wasn''t really trying."

    "I know," acknowledged Katniss. "I''d be dead if you were."

    Ruby shook her head, giving an exasperated sigh. "If you guys are done having your bro-ment, do we want to figure out why we''re all here?"

    "Because we''re on a team, obviously," said Ryuko.

    "But in a majority of the previous rounds, the Master of Games had us assemble our teams in the arena," grunted Katniss, clipping a magazine of rifle rounds into a storage compartment. "So why did he switch back to the old way of doing things?"

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "I am not sure," muttered Adam. "If we already have not only our equipment, but our allies, are we not at an unfair advantage?"

    "Unfair advantage! That''s it!" Holly shouted, finding her answer.

    "Care to explain for us laymen?" groaned Ryuko.

    "The Master of Games'' evil team! They always were grouped together at the start of each round! It was to give them an advantage!"

    "But¡­ I don''t want to be evil!" cried Ruby, throwing herself into Adam''s arms.

    "I do not think Holly implies that we are evil, Ruby," said the artificial man.

    "No, we''re certainly not evil as far as I''m aware," continued the elf. "But he may want us to accomplish our goal."

    "He wants to find out whatever Twilight knows, too," whispered Katniss. Holly nodded.

    "Well¡­ should we just go ahead and do it?" asked Ryuko. "I mean, he''s not exactly our friend in all of this."

    Holly clipped her helmet into place. "If what she''s hiding is important enough that he wants to know, I think that''s all the better of a reason we need. Any other pressing questions?"

    "Only one I can think of," said Ruby. "How are we supposed to find the VIWs?"

    "Your guess is as good as mine," replied Holly. "But if we''ve got this advantage, I say we use it to cut down as many teams as possible until questions start getting answered."

    Ryuko laughed. "You know what? I do enjoy you as team leader."

    "Have I ever really been team leader? Or am I the person we go to for ideas? I think I like that better. I''m the idea elf."

    "Yep, really smart. Full of ideas. A great leader."

    Holly detected a hint of sycophancy in Ryuko''s voice.

    "What do you want?"

    "Well¡­" The girl tapped her foot against the pedestal her scissor blade had been sitting on, and it slowly slid out of the way. She reached into the recess, and with minimal effort, removed an entire motorcycle. It was a simple, red affair with a short windscreen and a small fairing.

    "I was wondering if I could¡­ you know¡­ do some reconnaissance?"

    Holly blinked. "What just happened, here?"

    "Ryuko pulled some sort of machine out of the floor," responded Katniss earnestly.

    "You''ve never seen a motorcycle?" asked Ruby of Katniss. "They''re really pretty common."

    "I have not seen one before either," stated Adam.

    "Fine. Here''s what you can do," sighed Holly. "We don''t want to completely lose the advantage we''ve got with a complete team. You can go if you take someone with you. It''ll have to be someone small."

    "I''m sticking with Adam," said Ruby.

    "And I''m certainly not letting him on my bike," said Ryuko. "No offense," she added.

    "None taken," he replied.

    Holly scratched her head. "That leaves us with Katniss, then." She turned to the girl in the dark armor, who was still staring at the motorcycle as if it were some sort of dangerous animal. "What''s your opinion?"

    Katniss looked up from the machine. "Well¡­ Ryuko''s pretty tough, so I''m not too concerned with getting hurt. But what benefit would sending out two of us have?"

    "Simple," explained Holly. "You two can find a few fighters and lure them back to us. Then we put them down as a team."

    "It doesn''t seem half-bad," mused Ryuko, nodding her head in approval. "But I''m down for anything as long as I get to use this sweet, sweet ride."

    "Okay, then . That''s the plan. Ruby and Adam will stick with me."

    The empty white wall across from them split in half, retracting into the ceiling and floor to reveal their arena. It was a city, for sure; lined with low apartments and shops, and towering skyscrapers. The room had opened directly onto a street, neat with blacktop and signage. Along the sidewalks, trees were planted at regular intervals, and the sun hung just on the horizon in a brilliant orange sky. Something about it seemed different from the first city arena Holly had encountered. Everything about it seemed more¡­ genuine.

    "Let''s do this," said the elf, waving her allies forward. Ryuko hopped onto her bike, motioning for Katniss to do the same. She was halfway through straddling the seat when Ryuko hit the ignition, the growl of the exhaust causing Katniss to throw herself backwards onto the floor. The girl got up and cautiously mounted the bike again, and the two roared off down the street.

    "Okay. Now that they''re gone, we need to establish high ground," grunted Holly, engaging her mechanical wings.

    "Right," said Ruby. "So¡­ we should go to that building over there?"

    The building she indicated was of medium height, and certainly didn''t seem to be of any superb architectural fortitude. It was large in size, however, and was adorned with brightly-colored neon signs.

    "That''s a shopping mall," said Holly flatly.

    "Exactly," giggled Ruby.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-4

    The spinning- it wasn''t natural. Nothing about it would have been, of course. But that was the worst feeling. She was standing perfectly still, or as still as she could when she felt like this, but it seemed as though she was spinning. It wasn''t dizziness, where one feels as though their body remains unstable and in motion. No, Hermione was sure it was not dizziness. It was deeper than that- every element of her body- every organ, every cell- she could feel them twirling in place.

    "Vortex dissipation complete," confirmed one of the Reis in the typical breathy monotone. She tapped a few keys on her console, and the control rods near the top of Hermione''s tank began to retract. She fell forward, unable to keep herself upright any longer. Her forehead tapped the glass, which exploded outward. She collapsed onto the metal floor.

    "What?!" shouted one of the Reis, conveying some sort of emotion. "How did she just break through?"

    "She is not stable!" cried another. "Get a Tricorder reading!"

    "There''s no need for a Tricorder reading," said Artemis, walking serenely into the dimly-lit room. Hermione could see the calm on his face through the dull gold glow that covered everything in her vision.

    "¡­What''s¡­ happening¡­ to me?" she wheezed.

    "You''ve received a slight overdose of Time Vortex energy. Normally, this would be fatal, but thanks to the application method we''ve designed, it should have little effect on your health."

    "Everything''s¡­ bloody¡­ spinning," Hermione gasped.

    "In a few minutes, it will stop. Then you''ll be headed straight to training."

    "T¡­training? I¡­ need a¡­ medical bay!"

    "Mrs. Granger, I''m sorry I was not able to inform you of the plan any earlier. We are using you as a testbed to analyze the effectiveness of Time Vortex energy as a performance modification for our agents."

    Hermione found the strength to push herself up off of the floor, as the pain began to subside. As she stood, she noticed something odd about Artemis. Something she couldn''t quite put her finger on.

    "So you''re going to make this into a drug, and I''m the guinea pig?" she said, a little disgusted. She must have drawn her breath wrong as she said it, because it came out more like a squeak.

    "Right on one account. You are the guinea pig, but I won''t move ahead with the experiment if your results are less than optimal."

    "I didn''t want to become your pet project, Fowl. I just didn''t want to get myself killed."

    "I don''t want to see you dead, either. That''s why I did this, Mrs. Granger. Now, you may want to put this on," he said, drawing a tightly-folded uniform from behind his back. Hermione took it- realizing she hadn''t been clothed this whole time- and began to put it on, until she noticed the tag.

    "Artemis, this will never fit me. It''s too small."

    "I think you will find that it fits you perfectly, Mrs. Granger. Your AEGIS is already on the right arm, and I''ve programmed the coordinates of your trainer. If you feel like anything is going wrong, make sure to contact the head of Research."

    With that, he activated his AEGIS and warped away.

    Fits me perfectly, my arse. I haven''t worn this size since I was- two and two were put together. He seemed taller, didn''t he?

    Hermione scurried over to one of the Reis, who did not seem particularly disturbed by being accosted by a naked test subject. She held out a hand, measuring from the top of the blue-haired girl''s head to hers.

    Taller. She''s taller, too.

    She then rushed to the side of her tank, which still had enough intact glass to view a reflection.

    "Oh, god. I''m a sodding kid."

    "Now who is ''suave''?" whispered one of the lab Reis, with the slightest hint of spite. She packed up some paperwork and left the lab with the few others, leaving Hermione alone with the shattered glass and her new uniform. Hermione gave herself another look, and began to slip into her clothing.

    I haven''t looked like this since I was twelve or so. All things considered, it could be worse. I could be eight. Or a newt. I really wouldn''t want to be a newt.

    She locked her AEGIS down over her arm and watched the device boot up, giving her a message that new coordinates had been added.

    I guess I had better get ready for training. Knowing Artemis, it won''t be anything ordinary.

    She was right. The coordinates took her to an area of the ship she wasn''t familiar with- though she wasn''t familiar with most of it, this deck in particular seemed strange. The design was radically different from the bridge or science decks. It must have been part of the modular storage sections she had overheard some Reis discussing. It certainly looked modular, with big blocky seams connecting segments that ran up and down the hallway. In front of her, squarely in the middle of its module, stood a door. A white piece of paper had been tacked onto it unceremoniously, and scrawled across it in rough pencil were the words

    MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING

    INQUIRE WITHIN

    Artemis, you dumb clod. What am I supposed to do with martial arts? Why can''t you just have me train with a proper witch or wizard? Is that too much to ask? Furthermore, why would he send me to some sort of unsanctioned training as opposed to something through the actual program? Does Regulations even know this exists? If they did, they''d surely have something to say about it.

    Regardless of her misgivings, Hermione knew that following orders was probably the wise thing to do. If she did what the big man (or at least, now he was bigger) said, she might have a chance to get back to normal. She cautiously walked to the door, and gave it a knock. As soon as her hand touched the door, it gave a little- it was open. Hermione paused for a moment, waiting for a response. No one spoke, so she slowly, quietly pushed through.

    The room was well-lit, but that certainly didn''t make it an attractive place by any means. It was huge, as the storage modules were said to be, but it was quite empty. There were exactly two things in the room. Toward the center of the room, and just to the left, was a glass of water. To its right was its owner, who floated just above the floor. The man seemed to be meditating, as his arms were curved in toward his chest and his legs were folded over each other. He was dead silent- his cape, which flowed out from his oversized shoulder-pads, made more noise billowing softly underneath him than he did. He was clearly no ordinary human, of that Hermione was sure. Pointed ears and green skin did not a homo sapiens make.

    "Um¡­ excuse me?"

    The man did not seem to acknowledge Hermione''s presence. At her own risk, she slowly trod into the room.

    Let''s see here. Artemis nearly gets me killed, turns me into a child, and sends me to practice martial arts with a green man in the basement. If so much weren''t at stake, I''d clobber him.

    When she was about fifty feet from the man, she attempted to make contact again.

    "Sir? Do you¡­ do martial arts?"

    The man made a sound, a simple, defiant grunt.

    "Is that a yes?"

    "I ''do'' martial arts, all right," he replied. His voice was a deep, nearly animalistic growl. "But not for you."

    "What? Artemis sent me here to-"

    Without warning, the man disappeared from where he had been floating and reappeared directly in front of Hermione, arms crossed and scowling.

    "One," he growled. "You''re a little girl. I don''t train little girls."

    "Okay, I''m not actually a-"

    "TWO," he continued, fuming, "you wear the tool of the oppressor."

    "The what?"

    He made a motion as if he was about to strike Hermione across the face, but the second he lifted his hand up, he held what he had snatched. Her Scouter. He waved it in front of her.

    "They used these to kill everyone on my home planet."

    "I''m sorry, it''s standard issue! All of the Trans-Dimensional Analysts have one!"

    "Too bad," he said, crushing it in his hand like it was made of paper. "Go get a new one."

    "That''s IT!" roared Hermione, who had finally had enough. "I''ve been knocked off of buildings, almost vaporized, subjected to science projects, turned into a kid, ordered to learn martial arts, and now I''m being harassed by a giant green elf! I''ve HAD IT!" She stamped one of her feet, which drove a dent through the metal paneling.

    "Oh¡­ oh, I didn''t mean to do that," she stammered, her anger fading into fear.

    "Okay, kid. That''s impressive," said the green man. "Do you have any idea the kind of power you just demonstrated?"

    "I¡­ I broke the floor," gasped Hermione.

    "That''s not what I''m interested in. When you got yourself angry¡­ there was a huge surge of latent ki energy. How does a kid like you pull that off? You''re no Saiyan."

    "What? Ki energy? But I thought they used Time Vortex energy¡­"

    "Listen, I don''t care how you got this way. You''ve got potential."

    "That was a pretty quick change of heart, Mr¡­?"

    The man chuckled a little, then giggled, then guffawed in riotous laughter.

    "Kids these days. Kids these days! Har har har!"

    "Uh, sir?"

    "Listen up, kid-"

    "I have a name, just like you do. It''s not ''kid'', it''s Hermione Granger. Get it straight because I''m not repeating it."

    "Whew," said the man, calming down from his laughing fit. "It''s just hilarious, that you think I''ve had a change of heart."

    "Wait, what?"

    "That''s right. I really have better things to do with my time than train some bratty little girl."

    "But didn''t you just say I had potential?"

    "I did. You''ve got a lot of potential. For whatever reason, you''re incredibly adept at channeling your ki. That''s something even most adults can''t master."

    "Again, I''m not actually a kid."

    "Whatever, kid. Just because you''ve got potential doesn''t mean that I want to train you."

    "Sempre Secum," said Hermione, discreetly waving her wand at a point behind the green man.

    "What was that gibberish about?" he growled down at her.

    "Well, you seem to be a fan of water. In fact, considering that the only item you have in this room- which I assume is your living quarters, considering that you''ve written a sign to hang on the door and its secluded nature would benefit your meditation- is a glass of water," explained Hermione, "I would say that you subsist entirely on it. Water is your only source of nutrition."

    The huge green man seemed a little flustered, his bravado broken.

    "Y-yeah, we Namekians only need water to survive. So what?"

    "Well, I''ve just placed a charm on your glass of water back there that prevents it from holding any liquid."

    "What?!"

    "That''s right. You can''t get any more water, not from that glass. It''s completely useless. And considering your distinct lack of social skills, getting a different cup to replace it would be quite the chore. You''d have to leave your precious meditation, you''d have to find your way through this labyrinthine ship- considering you don''t have an AEGIS- and you''d actually have to develop the manners to ask someone to give you a glass. I don''t think you''re up to it, you slob."

    The man was stunned. "I¡­ I¡­ I don''t¡­"

    "No, you do," smirked Hermione. "I''ll lift that charm. Just as soon as you agree to train me."

    The man looked around, as if he was checking to see if anyone was watching. He then looked back down at the girl and sighed.

    "Fine. You''ve got me. I''ll train you. It''d be a shame to let that power go to waste, anyway," he grumbled.

    "Good," chirped Hermione with a smug grin. "Now, I''d really like to know your name."

    He grunted, flexed his muscles, and was instantly surrounded by a mirage-like aura of superheated air. The blast from its appearance forced Hermione back a few steps, and made her draw an arm across her face to protect it from the stinging wind. The man floated aloft, carrying his aura with him, and came to a stop halfway between the floor and ceiling.

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    "The name''s Piccolo, kid."

    "Granger," she yelled back up, perturbed. "Hermione Granger!"

    "Whatever. Kid Granger."

    "Ugh," she grunted.

    Piccolo shook his head and smiled.

    "Okay. We''re going to start with the basics. How are you at dodging?"

    "Dodgi-?" she barely had time to disapparate away before a blast of energy from Piccolo''s hands scorched the panel on which she had been standing.

    It''s going to be a long day, she thought.

    ***

    A slight breeze picked up a piece of paper trash and sent it scooting along the basketball court, until it ran into the chain-link fence. For a moment, it clung to the metal, its little arms flapping, trying to get a grip. But the breeze died down, and the paper floated to the ground, defeated.

    "Across a strange field- living paper runs away- a futile escape." Date Masamune tilted his kabuto forward a little, letting the visor droop over his one good eye. Underneath the armor''s shadow, he could still see the girl standing impatiently across the court.

    "Is poetry the only reason you called me over here? I have more important things to do than listen to poetry." Mikasa let her hands rest on her swords'' handles, which protruded from the front of her 3DMG. The breeze returned, tossing the end of her scarf idly.

    Date chuckled, scratching the edge of his moustache. "To think that this is a city. How wondrous they will become, no?"

    "That''s enough. I''m leaving. Just be glad I didn''t kill you." She turned around, aiming her 3DMG at a nearby rooftop.

    The samurai sighed. "The youth these days. Always in a rush. They will not even stay put for a fight."

    Mikasa spun on her heels, facing Date again. "Oh, really?"

    "I don''t think I have much chance of reaching my team in a big place like this," he explained. "I would rather have one fair battle, than be ambushed as I wander aimlessly. I have seen you fight, young one. You have much promise. I wish to fight you- if I lose, it would be an honor to die by your blade."

    I never really thought about how difficult it is for the fighters on foot to get around, especially in a large arena like this, Mikasa thought. Then again, it won''t be too easy for me to find my team, either. If I had met at our table instead of training, maybe I would have overheard the plan for this round. Looks like I''ll be doing things the hard way.

    "Fine. I accept your challenge. But I''m not going to go easy on you."

    "And neither will I," said Date, sliding his katana out of its sheath.

    Mikasa dropped down into a crouch and exploded forward, pushing away from the pavement with blistering speed. She drew her swords, and raised them both over her left shoulder, preparing for a horizontal slash. She saw the samurai take a step backward, shuffling his feet slightly.

    What''s he up to?

    The scout released the potential energy she had stored in her muscles, and her blades ripped through the air toward their target. In an instant, the air would be filled with the sound of shattering metal and tearing flesh¡­ but those sounds never came. Mikasa felt her swords jump in her hands as a pure, resonating tone echoed across the drab pavement. Her swords had been stopped, both blades serenely still against Date''s katana.

    "W¡­what?" she gasped, stunned that his defense actually worked. "How? You''re just a normal human. That sword isn''t special, either!"

    Date gave a strained smile. "You''re very strong- that much is clear. But you are not trained in fighting other swordsmen." He rotated his sword so it pointed toward the ground, then tilted it backwards, causing Mikasa''s blades to slide off and crash into the ground. With a flick of his wrist, his katana was at the back of her neck.

    "Again," he said. "This time, focus on technique."

    "I thought you said you weren''t going to go easy on me," huffed Mikasa, feeling the cold metal at her back. "Why don''t you kill me now?"

    "I told you. I do not have any hope to win. I desire an honorable defeat, and I intend on receiving one at your hands. If it means I teach you a few lessons, so be it."

    He withdrew his sword and took a few steps back, once again returning to his ready-position. Mikasa picked herself up, gripping her swords tighter than before. She rushed him again, swinging from the right this time. Again, Date lifted his sword, blocking an attack that should have broken through his defense. As soon as the swords connected, Mikasa leapt back, avoiding making the same mistake twice. Date stepped forward as Mikasa retreated, now on the offensive. For the briefest moment, she saw his remaining eye scan her sword, before he pressed his weapon against hers- preventing her from attacking.

    "You may be fast and strong, but if you do not know how to fight your enemy as an equal, one day you will fail."

    Mikasa knew she could push his sword away at any time- the gap in strength between him and her was wide. But she waited, knowing that the man was in full preacher-mode. He continued his sermon.

    "You see, there is more to a swordfight than fluidity, and the power behind one''s blade. A battle always comes down to physical ability and skill, and often is a conflict between the two. Physical ability helps, but the warrior who uses their skill to the fullest always has an edge over brute force."

    Mikasa slowly eased back on her swords, letting the katana inch closer. For a moment, Date applied more pressure to his blade-that was her chance. Mikasa dropped to the ground, rolling forwards. The samurai stumbled forward, no longer having an opponent to lean into. He twisted around in time to block another one of Mikasa''s all-out slashes.

    "If you''re going to teach me lessons, tell me something I don''t know," she growled. "Like how you can block this!"

    "Simple science," said Date. "A katana is a curved blade, like an arch. It is an architecturally stable structure. An arch is capable of supporting a great deal of pressure. Every slash with a sword has a fast and slow portion- a blade travels fastest at its tip, and slowest at its base. By placing the most convex- and therefore, most stable- part of my sword at the slowest point of your swing, I can then move the blade up and hold your strike back."

    "You put that much thought into it?"

    "That is how skill can match physical ability."

    Mikasa hopped backwards again, keeping one sword forward to hold Date at bay. With the other, she blocked his counter-attack.

    "Okay," she grunted. "I''ll believe that''s what''s keeping your sword from shattering. But how can you hold my attacks back? I''m stronger than you, I know it!"

    "That is simple," said the samurai. "Proper footing."

    Mikasa flicked her wrist, knocking his sword back. He assumed his ready-stance again, keeping his sword up. The scout''s eyes flickered with understanding as the wind caught her scarf again.

    "Date Masamune, I''ve learned my lesson."

    "Then show me."

    Mikasa nodded, and took off running in the opposite direction. At full speed, the scout was a khaki blur. She had her target clearly in sight- the ball court had two goals, each taller than the high chain-link fence. The scout jumped upward, arcing toward the one closest to her. She tucked her legs in, rotating in mid-jump- the samurai now directly below and ahead. Her feet touched the backboard, and her curled-in legs erupted with their full force, pushing her away at inhuman speed. The goal itself gave out behind her, its tall post bending against the force of her lower body. With split-second reflexes, Mikasa extended her swords to her sides, twisting herself into a high-g spin.

    I picked up this one from that sulky captain of mine. This ought to do it.

    Her swords became a vortex of death, a thin disc of reinforced metal rending the air asunder. Date extended his katana to block, but it became trapped in the spinning swords. It was ripped from his hand and flung across the court, as Mikasa''s tornado tilted along its horizontal axis. There was a brief bark as metal met metal, and a warm splatter as blood was propelled by the hurricane of blades. Mikasa twisted her body in the opposite direction, halting her attack. She landed, and stumbled from dizziness.

    I¡­ I did it.

    She turned and confirmed that she had indeed defeated Date. He knelt on the ground, right arm severed from his body. He held his remaining hand over the wound, though it wasn''t much use.

    "W-well, that''s it then. You¡­ ruined my footing¡­ and stopped me from blocking...gah! Good¡­ job. If¡­ youaaghhh¡­ could bring me my sword-ack!- I would appreciate it."

    Mikasa regained her balance and sprinted across the court, snatching the dying man''s sword and carrying it back to him. She placed it at his knees, and he nodded to acknowledge his thanks.

    "Before¡­ I go," he said weakly, "I want you to think about why you fight¡­ you say you must¡­ fight, to survive¡­ but consider¡­ those that fight for more than that¡­ oh!"

    Mikasa frowned. "I''m fighting because that''s how you get by. If you don''t you die. What part of that don''t you understand?"

    "I¡­ understand," he gasped. "But¡­ is it not nobler¡­ to fight¡­ to make a difference? Isn''t that¡­ what your friend¡­ would have wanted?"

    "Do you mean Eren? Is that who you mean? Do I really talk about him that much?"

    The samurai did not answer her question. He picked up his sword and jammed it under his armor and through his stomach.

    "Goodbye," he coughed as he pulled the blade back out. He set it on the ground in front of him, and as he collapsed, he gave it a push. It slid until it bumped into Mikasa''s boots.

    He wanted me to have it? It would be rude to turn down a dying man''s request, I guess.

    She picked up the sword and found a patch of unruly grass growing in a crack in the court''s pavement. She wiped the blade clean on the foliage and returned to Date''s body, which was sitting in quite an impressive puddle of blood. Mikasa carefully unfastened the sword''s sheath and tied it down to her 3DMG''s left box, making sure that it didn''t interfere with the cables or launchers. She turned and fired her anchors at the top of a five-story apartment nearby, clicked the triggers, and flung herself upward. Mikasa spun to look down at the court as she landed, watching the red splotch in the middle grow slowly.

    The man was convinced he had no hope of winning, yet still told me that my reason to fight was wrong. How can he claim to be right? In order to survive, one must fight. That is what a fight is, after all- it is the barest, most primal form of survival. ''Fight to make a difference''. It''s possible, but not practical. The world is too large a dark room for a small light to illuminate. Why am I waxing poetic all of a sudden? Is it this sword? I sure hope not.

    Something small interrupted her train of thought by falling onto her head. It bounced as it hit, which at least ruled out bird droppings. Mikasa channeled her annoyance into snatching it out of the air, not giving it a chance to touch the ground. She cupped it in her hands, examining it closely. It was something weighty wrapped in white paper- a little unraveling revealed it to be a pink, heart-shaped metal emblem, with gold trim.

    What''s this supposed to be? It certainly doesn''t have anything to do with Date. Or me, for that matter.

    A closer look revealed that there was text on the paper, reading

    SECOND STREET BALLROOMS

    I''d bet that''s where one of the VIWs is. I need to find my team before I try anything, though. Who knows how dangerous they could be?

    Mikasa slipped the paper and the heart into a pocket. She crossed the roof, contemplating the path she would take along the streets and above the roofs.

    "Crazy samurai," she muttered. "Thinks he knows how to fight well. I sure did show him." She paused for a moment, and did some counting. "Wait¡­ that''s¡­. oh, no."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-5

    "Man, you know who would love this?"

    Katniss had more pressing concerns than who would ''love'' the current situation. She was tucked on the back of a thin, growling machine made of hot metal, leaning back and forth at terrifying angles to round corners, and being forced to cling to the operator of said machine for dear life. It was not something she could imagine anyone ''loving'', even though Ryuko really did seem to be enjoying herself.

    "NO," she shouted over the roar of the air travelling past and the scream of the motorcycle beneath. "WHO?"

    "Mikasa," replied Ryuko. "I mean, recon is her thing. If she were here, she''d¡­ she''d say something like, ''Kill all Titans'', or ''If you don''t fight, you die'', or ''lacerations'', or something. That Mikasa, what a riot."

    Katniss would have laughed, but the bike picked that exact moment to stop working, catastrophically. The front tire suddenly burst, and the bike began to swerve out of control.

    "Hold on!" urged Ryuko, which was exactly what Katniss was already doing. Ryuko drew her Scissor Blade from a pocket on her skirt, and the tiny half-scissor grew into its normal, sword-like size. She jammed the weapon into the street below, which prompted the bike to stop instantaneously. Katniss, on the other hand, did not, and flipped over Ryuko''s back to faceplant in the street.

    "Are you OK?" shouted Ryuko to her comrade. Katniss dusted herself off, scrambling back to Ryuko and the bike.

    "I''m fine. The armor took most of the impact."

    "Good," replied Ryuko as she drew the bolt across her glove, causing her outfit to transform into its unpractical-looking combat mode. "Whoever did this is nearby. Get ready."

    Katniss unlocked the bow that was collapsed on the back of her armor, and it unfolded automatically in her hand. Another panel on the armor unfolded, and her quiver of standard arrows rotated into place along her back. She strung one and began to scan for targets. They were in what would have equated to a bad part of town, but since the city was empty, it was just a patch of tightly-packed, cheap-looking apartments, huddled on the edges of a winding road. Street lamps coated the area in a dull yellow light, turning the crumbling sidewalks and sketchy buildings into shoddy-looking gold ingots.

    "Hey!" shouted Ryuko. "I know you''re out there somewhere! You want to own up for wrecking my bike? I don''t have any extra tires, so the whole thing''s useless now!"

    "Don''t bother," whispered Katniss. "They''re not just going to show themselves."

    "I know that. But you''d feel really stupid if they got the drop on you, and you didn''t say anything to ''em first, you know?"

    "Um¡­ sure?"

    Ryuko knelt down by her ruined front tire, examining the damage.

    "Oh, hell," she said, removing something from the shredded tire. She held it up for Katniss to see- it was an ornately-carved knife that was all too familiar.

    "Did someone say, ''useless''?" said Dio, appearing out of thin air to snatch the knife from Ryuko''s hand. The girl jumped backwards, as Katniss trained her sights on the vampire.

    "Dio, you bastard!" roared Ryuko, literally glowing with anger. The red lining on Senketsu began to pulsate with bright pink. "I haven''t forgotten how you used me!"

    "Is that so?" said Dio, twirling the knife in his hand.

    "Yeah," Ryuko snapped. "I''m sensitive about people poking about in my head!"

    "And I suppose you want to settle it here?" he replied, grinning.

    Ryuko, calm down. There''s no need to get so worked up over him, said Senketsu.

    "Yeah, yeah, you''re right," exhaled the girl to her outfit. "Dio, maybe I don''t need to settle anything with you. But if you try anything right now, Katniss and I will rip you to shreds."

    "That''s fine," chuckled Dio. "I''m not here to fight you. I have a more important mission. No, I''m here to give an exam."

    "An¡­ exam?" asked Katniss, still aiming an arrow at Dio''s face.

    "That''s right," oozed the vampire. "I''ve got a new¡­ apprentice. And she''s just dying to meet you, Ryuko."

    A small figure leapt from a nearby rooftop, landing next to Dio. It was a girl, seemingly around the same age as Ryuko or Katniss. She, too wore a school uniform, though one of a distinctly more western origin, complete with a beige blouse and neatly-cinched tie. She rubbed her hands together excitedly, eyeing Ryuko and Katniss more like puppies than potential threats.

    "So you''re Ryuko, huh?" she giggled, biting her lip in an awkward manner.

    "Well, who else would I be?"

    "No- it''s just- I figured you''d look a little more threatening. Not like a wardrobe malfunction that crashed into a hair dye store."

    Katniss re-trained her bow on the newcomer as Ryuko''s outfit began to vent steam and glow again.

    "I''ll leave you girls to settle things. Filia, you''ll pass the exam if you can get back to me alive. Take care," smirked the vampire, disappearing the same way he had appeared. Ryuko lowered the tip of her Scissor blade in the direction of the girl.

    "You''re gonna be sorry that you said that," growled the wearer of Senketsu, wreathed in vapor. She indicated with her free hand that Katniss should leave. "Get out of here. This just became my fight, and I don''t want you getting caught in the crossfire."

    Katniss made a displeased-sounding grunt. "It''ll be easier to fight her together, you know."

    "I don''t care. I''ve had enough of people making fun of my best friend, and I''m going to make sure he never has to take that kind of crap again!"

    "Your¡­ best friend?" said Katniss, confused.

    "I''ll explain later, after I RIP THIS BITCH''S HEAD OFF!" roared Ryuko, leaping toward her opponent. Katniss knew better than to stand too close when the Scissor Blade was swinging, and promptly turned tail and ran. She aimed for a particularly-nasty looking apartment building a block away, which she considered a safe distance.

    Ryuko swung the Scissor Blade toward the girl''s neck, propelling it with all of her rage. The weapon travelled fast enough to whip the surrounding air particles into a high-velocity stream, which itself was sharp enough to remove Filia''s head cleanly- if she had not jumped over Ryuko''s telegraphed attack. Filia landed with particular grace, and ripped the half-scissor from Ryuko''s hand. Or rather, her hair did. Her black locks had lengthened into a prehensile appendage, snagged the weapon at the end of its swing, and snapped it away. The hair dangled the Scissor Blade in front of her face. She examined it briefly, rolled her eyes, and tossed it away, over the rooftops.

    "Oh, look at that," said Filia, her hair settling back into a shape resembling an overturned insect. "I pushed the right buttons, and you snapped, just like Dio told me. I guess I''m a little more level-headed."

    Ryuko stared in shock at her empty hand, and back at Filia. "Y-you just-"

    "You see, Lord Dio doesn''t seem to think I can replace you," continued Filia. "So I need to prove my worth by killing you. It''s nothing personal, really. I don''t even think your outfit looks that bad- perhaps too risqu¨¦ for my taste, but certainly not-"

    A punch to the gut sent Filia crashing into the wall of the apartment across the street, shattering the dull, worn bricks.

    "SHUT UP!" screamed Ryuko. "JUST! STOP! TALKING!"

    Filia fell from the wall to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood. "That''s¡­ that''s an organ," she wheezed, bringing herself to her feet. She nearly fell over again when she found Ryuko standing directly in front of her.

    "Do you know what it feels like," Ryuko seethed, grabbing Filia by the neck and hoisting her into the air, "to stick up for someone, through thick and thin, to always have their back?" She shoved the girl back into the wall, and her hair began to hang more limply. "And then, when you''ve finally gone through hell and back with them, they''re gone?!"

    Filia made a sound halfway between a squeal and a gasp before she managed to form the word "No."

    Her grip around the girl''s neck tightened. "Then let me teach you some sympathy!" She drove a knee into Filia''s stomach, which forced the wall behind her to give out. She fell back into an empty flat, the floor now covered with bricks and drywall.

    "Senketsu Senjin!" hissed Ryuko, and her outfit grew a multitude of blades and spikes. She picked up her foe again and placed her wrist blades- three bright-red razors- underneath Filia''s chin.

    "When you get the chance, tell Dio that studying for the test doesn''t always help!" she screamed, and drove the blades up through Filia''s jaw. Ryuko breathed in deeply, then exhaled slowly, removing the blades from the dead girl. Senketsu returned to his normal combat state, and turned a concerned eye to Ryuko from his collar-crest.

    That was close. You almost lost it.

    "I know. I''m glad it''s over, though."

    She stepped through the hole Filia had made in the wall and back out into the street. In the glow of the streetlamps, she could make out Katniss on the roof of a building across the way.

    "Ryuko! I''ve got your sword!" shouted the archer, waving the Scissor Blade above her head.

    "Good!" yelled Ryuko in reply. "Send it over!"

    Katniss awkwardly strung the oversized scissor on her bow, firing just above and to the right of her ally. Ryuko caught the blade by the handle as it passed, spun it around her wrist a few times, and lodged it in the ground. Katniss flung herself over the edge of the roof, catching a windowsill to slow her descent before landing. She crossed the street, examining the damage Ryuko had done.

    "Was all of this¡­" she said, observing the hole in the wall, "necessary?"

    "Maybe not, but¡­ I felt like I had to. For Senketsu."

    "You really care about that outfit, huh?"

    "He''s more than an outfit. He''s my best friend."

    Katniss collapsed her bow and slung it over her back. "Forgive me, but that''s a little hard to believe."

    "No, it''s true. He''s a living thing, with a soul and feelings. He can talk, too, but no one can hear him but me."

    "You''re not really helping your case."

    Ryuko let out a half-laugh-half-sigh. "I guess it sounds pretty crazy to you. It sounded pretty crazy to me, too- when all of it was happening. To make a long story short, I was trying to track down my father''s killer, ended up at a seriously screwy school, and got my ass handed to me. That''s when I found him, or he found me, or we found each other, or some sort of that sentimental bullshit. With him, I could fight back- and I ended up fighting myself into a mess. I found out a little more than I wanted to about who killed my father, and way more than I wanted to know about myself. But in the end, we pulled through. Senketsu was with me that whole time- even when I didn''t think I needed him, even when I didn''t want him around. He always had my back. Until-" her voice broke a little.

    A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder. Katniss noticed immediately that the fabric- if it could be called that- was hot to the touch. While it certainly surprised her, pulling her hand back would be rude. She kept it planted.

    "Don''t worry. Go on. I''m listening."

    "I¡­I lost him," Ryuko sobbed. "There¡­ wasn''t anything I could do. He knew he had done what he had to, you know? But¡­ It hurt. Without him. So that''s why I''m fighting. I don''t care if everything else has to be the same¡­ I want him back."

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Katniss instantly thought of her father. He could side with scum lower than dirt in order to improve his chances of winning- just to have his little girls back. She knew that love drove people to do things they shouldn''t.

    "But-" Katniss said gently, "what about now? You have him here. You can talk to him here. Even if you lose, you''ll have spent time with him, right?"

    "Have you ever thought about what happens if we lose?" sniffled Ryuko. "We could have no memory of what happened. Or we could be killed! No one knows! Why would you ever even consider¡­" she broke into more bawling. Katniss realized she hadn''t really given it too much thought- not for a long while. Since she had met Holly, they had done little other than win, and by impressive margins. Before that, she had been a wreck- but because it was all too familiar. Consequences were an afterthought- the Grand Combat itself was the hateful thing she had screamed herself to sleep about. But¡­ what would happen to the losers? Or would there ever be ones? Katniss couldn''t tell how long anyone had been there- the events all seemed clear, but the time between them was a blur. For all she knew, there could be no losers or winners, and it could just go on indefinitely- endless fighting, endless death.

    "I''m sorry, I just-"

    "No, it''s¡­ it''s okay," she said, wiping her nose with her Kamui''s sleeve. Katniss had to wonder what it thought about that. "I''ve just got to have hope¡­ that we can win¡­ and when we do, he''ll be back. And he''ll learn what peace is. Do you know that? He never¡­ ever¡­ knew what it was."

    "You''re right," Katniss whispered. "We all need something to fight for."

    "Awww," said a familiar voice from the rubble. "That''s really sweet."

    Katniss and Ryuko turned, watching in horror as Filia lifted herself off the ground by her hair, and set her feet on the pavement gently. She ran a hand under her chin, bringing it away smeared in blood. She looked down at it, blinked slowly, and flicked it away.

    "That you would do all that for your friend, really sweet. I mean it," she continued, choosing an odd time to try and make amends.

    "Don''t tell me you''re one of those guys who just keep on healing," groaned Katniss.

    "Oh, no. I''m not," she chuckled with something between a grin and a grimace. "I can only do this once. Or once per round? I''m not too sure. God does this hurt, though." Filia shivered a little, and made small whimpering noises.

    Ryuko pulled her Scissor Blade out of the ground, pointing the tip at the girl who should have been dead. "You''re going to explain what you''re doing. Right now."

    "Well, if you really want to know- I was holding back earlier. Not just a little, a lot. I had to, otherwise this would happen."

    "Okay, what''s this then?" growled Ryuko as Katniss knocked an arrow.

    The pallor sweeping over the girl''s face would have made sense if she was dead like she ought to have been. Her hair began to grow- more than it did before, until the twitching strands began to pile up on the ground. The long locks that curled back like a bug''s legs lengthened as well, twisting themselves down, drilling holes into the street. They hoisted Filia upward, her body hanging delicately from the spidery hair-limbs.

    "Before I got here, I had the misfortune- heheh- of finding something called the ''Skull Heart''. To make things simple, it''s a source of unlimited power and evil. Those who find it end up like this."

    "What? With permanent bad-hair days?" snarled Ryuko.

    "No, no, no," chuckled Filia with a frown. "Samson is my Parasite. I had him before. No, the Skull Heart turns you into a Skullgirl. I was able to restrain my transformation until you knocked me out¡­ but now you''ve made things worse for yourself. I''ve completely absorbed Samson into my physiology now, and I have access to all of his power and more."

    "That''s all well and good, but at the end of the day, you still fight with hair, and I fight with a scissor."

    Filia made a face as though she was about to make a witty retort, paused, shook her head slightly, and released a storm of hair-tendrils toward Ryuko. The Kamui wearer responded by swinging her sword ahead, cutting through several sharply-tipped strands before they could do any damage. But before Ryuko could perform another swing, several snake-like locks curled around the blade, wrenching it from her hands again.

    "Sorry," smiled the Skullgirl, her eyes burning red in the dim light. "It''s just not fair to let you have that. I''m taking it back." The hair twisted around the blade began to pull it closer, but something caught the weapon, halting the hair''s progress. It then jumped backward, slipping out of Filia''s grasp and slicing through more hair on its flight back into Ryuko''s waiting hand.

    "While you were giving your dramatic origin story, I took the time to run one of Senketsu''s threads around my Scissor Blade''s handle. I''m not going to lose it again." Ryuko took a careful step back, adjusting her stance. She slowly lowered her free hand, and subtly gave Katniss a hand signal. The archer began to back up, toggling a switch between her armor''s various quivers.

    "I see," noted Filia. "Well, this will really prove my worth for Dio. I guess sometimes you have to do things the hard way." She unleashed another barrage of sharpened hair-serpents, and Ryuko responded with uncountable swings of her scissor blade, easily slicing each strand of hair as it approached, only to be replaced by another lock, and then for the replacement to be sliced, and then for the replacement to be replaced¡­

    Katniss was confident that she was out of range of any of Filia''s attacks. Not that it mattered, as she seemed fairly distracted by Ryuko- and that was the plan. While their little group had sat idly at their table watching other matches, Holly had devised a standardized set of gesture commands for use in the rounds. Not everyone paid much attention, but evidently Ryuko had. She had flashed the "I''ll Distract" sign, which was a complex wiggling of the index and ring fingers, vaguely evocative of someone flailing their arms and yelling. So Ryuko was distracting- her distraction was creating quite a large pile of trimmed hair- and Katniss would deal damage. Filia, whoever she was, should have known better to expect a fair fight when cornering any member of their team. Katniss drew an arrow from the quiver that had rotated up from its locked-and-sealed position on her back. She examined the tip, confirming that it was what she needed. She strung the arrow, aiming down the bow''s flip-up telescopic sight. The shot, as always, met its mark, the arrow lodging itself above the doorframe of the apartment that Filia and Ryuko stood in front of dueling.

    "It''s over, Filia!" shouted Ryuko above the roaring wind produced by her Scissor Blade''s slashes.

    "Why would it be over? I could keep this up all day."

    "Because detonate," replied Katniss, as the tiny package of thermite located behind the Skullgirl''s head promptly did exactly that. Ryuko had a split second to leap back to avoid being consumed by the inferno that had just claimed their opponent. Filia writhed, screaming as her hair was vaporized by the intense heat- the flames themselves didn''t need to touch anything to do their damage, but they went ahead and did so anyway.

    "Whoa," gasped Ryuko, shielding her face from the heat. "That''s impressive." Katniss did not acknowledge her friend, and instead stared sullenly into the flames.

    "It''s done," she muttered.

    "No¡­ it''s¡­ not," coughed Filia from within the blaze. Somehow, she staggered forward, finding the energy to propel herself out of the fire, a stumbling mess of scorched flesh. One last strand of hair was left on her blackened head, trailing limply over her forehead. It slowly stood up, curling itself into a tightly-wound spiral, and shot toward Katniss like an uncoiling spring. The razor-sharp tip dove toward the girl''s face, reached the bridge of her nose, and fell away harmlessly. Ryuko pulled her Scissor Blade back to her side, having cleaved Filia''s final weapon in twain. Filia, out of options, succumbed to her injuries and collapsed. The two paused, catching their breath as the flames from the incendiary arrow died down.

    "We''ve got to get back," whispered Katniss, looking around as if some solution was nearby. "If we were attacked, the others could be, too. And the bike''s ruined, and we''re miles away-"

    Ryuko wagged a finger. "Chill out. I''ve got it covered. SENKETSU SHIPPU!"

    With those words, her outfit changed forms again. The ridiculously short skirt lengthened into a full- fledged dress, but instead of frills and folds, the pleats now concealed rocket boosters. Senketsu''s collar extended out even further into a pair of ailerons. Ryuko hovered steadily over the ground on a jet of energy produced by the multitude of vernier thrusters that poked out underneath her outfit.

    "Wait¡­ you can turn into an airplane¡­ but you insisted we use a motorcycle for reconnaissance?" Katniss was puzzled and a little frustrated.

    "It was a nice motorcycle," explained Ryuko. She picked up Katniss in the least-awkward manner possible (it was still pretty awkward), and blasted off into the night sky.

    Dio stepped out of his hiding spot, and knelt next to Filia''s corpse.

    A shame she couldn''t pull it off. But she did put up a pretty good fight.

    He dragged a nail across his arm, and a thin stream of blood trickled out, dripping onto the dead girl''s body. Slowly, her burns began to soften back into pink, living flesh; her seared bald head began to produce hair once more. She coughed, sputtered, and was soon on her feet, failing to form sentences.

    "How? What? When? This! Alive!"

    "Calm down," said the vampire. "Looks like you weren''t completely dead after all. Well, not that that matters now."

    "I- I- I- I failed," she whimpered, still staring at her suddenly-unburned hands.

    "Yes you did. But as I''ve learned, sometimes it''s best to work with what you have. You''re in, Filia. Welcome to the King''s League."

    "That''s great, Lord Dio¡­ but what did you do? To me, that is?"

    "I poured my blood into your open wounds. You''re a vampire like me now."

    Filia fell back to the ground, feeling faint.

    "You mean¡­ I''m going to be like this forever?"

    "Oh, no," chuckled Dio. "No, it would take really powerful unholy magic to maintain changes like that between rounds. No, you''ll just be a vampire for the rest of this one. "

    "Oh! Well, that''s not so bad, I suppose."

    "Not bad at all. And we''ll need your new powers as well as your old ones for our mission."

    "What new powers do I have, exactly?"

    Dio counted them out on his fingers. "Super strength and speed, regeneration, those eye-beams¡­"

    "Eye¡­ beams?"

    "It''s very painful. You get used to it after a while."

    Filia seemed a little discouraged. "That doesn''t sound¡­ wait a second. I''m not a Skullgirl anymore!"

    "Well, no," scoffed Dio. "You''re a vampire now. That''s how these things work. Also, turning people to ice."

    "No, this is great! I''m not a Skullgirl anymore! Do you know what this means?"

    "And sometimes," continued Dio, not listening. "You go, ''wryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy''."

    "The curse is broken! I''m freeeeeeeeee!"

    "Kind of like that."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-6

    Hermione dodged another punch, apparated behind the Namekian, and swiftly performed the movements for the knockback jinx with her wand.

    "Flippendo!" she recited, and the spell propelled Piccolo into the wall of his training room.

    "Okay," he grunted, peeling himself off of the hard tiled surface. "You make progress quick, kid. You can take a break if you''d like."

    "I''ll take a break," said Hermione, floating back down to the ground. It was odd, learning to fight entirely while airborne. Levitating with a charm was one thing, levitating with ki energy was another. It was more fluid, more intuitive- which meant it made throwing punches and energy beams easier to do at the same time. "But I''m taking you with me. I have an errand to run."

    "No way. I''ll get another glass of water later. Leave me alo-"

    Piccolo was unable to finish his sentence, as his atoms were simultaneously deconstructed and then reconstructed in the ship''s mess hall, with a flourish of bluish sparks. Hermione stood in front of him.

    "I''m not here for your water. You can get that yourself. But you''re coming with me to get my new Scouter. And to meet people."

    Hermione hadn''t visited the mess hall much- she had only stopped there once, just before she had her¡­ operation. But she knew the person she needed to find would be there. The room was well-lit, and vast; the numbers of the Illuminati had grown significantly, and feeding them was no easy task. A buffet-line at the room''s far end supplied a variety of vegetarian meals; to get any real meat you had to have a doctor''s excuse. From the little food she had tried, Hermione had discovered that their imitation meats were as good as the real thing, if not better, so she had no reason to complain. She waved Piccolo on, and the green man reluctantly followed her down the aisles of tables. Seated around them were mostly Rei clones, who were dead silent- they either stared blankly at one another or were reading thick-looking books. Where there was noise other than forks and knives skipping across plates, there was discussion. Where there was discussion, there were people other than Rei. And where there were people other than Rei, Hermione found her quarry.

    She indicated a table filled with a colorful assortment of characters, and encouraged Piccolo to sit. He did, pushing a girl with long, green ponytails aside to make room for his broad shoulders. Hermione slipped into a seat next to him, apologizing.

    "Sorry. He''s not so great with people."

    "Apology accepted," replied the girl with her pleasant computerized voice. "Initiating reciprocation protocols."

    The girl lifted an elbow and precisely nudged Piccolo back. He stared back down at her, dumbfounded. He noticed that she was wearing a Scouter as well.

    "What the shell happened to you, Granger?" called a voice from across the table. It was a large, mostly humanoid terrapin, with a purple cloth mask draped across his eyes. Instead of eating his pizza, he was tinkering with a busted AEGIS, delicately twisting a tiny screwdriver with his meaty hands.

    "It''s a long story, Donatello," said Hermione. "But I''m a kid now and there isn''t anything I can do about it. This big lug here" she indicated Piccolo- "broke my Scouter. I''ll need you to requisition a new one."

    "Sure thing," he said, snapping a panel on the device shut. "I''m Chief of Requisition now, so I can get you just about anything. How''s the invisibility cloak holding up?"

    "Fine," she replied. "But I think I''ll need a smaller one now."

    "Please forgive me," lilted the girl next to Piccolo. "May I inquire further into your current physical state?"

    "Fine," sighed Hermione, "If you guys really want to know." The table nodded in agreement, encouraging the now-young witch to share.

    "Artemis dosed me up with extra Time Vortex energy. He says he''s testing it to see if it''s a viable way to improve performance."

    "It seems reasonable, provided that he doesn''t turn us all into children," said Elsa. She was another of the Trans-Dimensional Analysts, armed with her scouter. She idly stirred a mug of coffee, occasionally dipping her finger into it- freezing it instantly. She was generally a well-rounded sort, but perhaps a little obsessive. Her latest craze was "Chinese Ninjitsu", and her custom, Regulations-approved uniform was a little ridiculous looking. "How has it gone for you?"

    "Fine, I guess. He sent me to train with Piccolo" again waving to her companion, "And I''ve been doing things I certainly couldn''t before. My spells all seem stronger, and I can fly-"

    "How wonderful," said the green-haired girl. "I have always wanted to fly."

    Donatello gave her a glare. "Miku, you can fly. You''re an android. You''ve got all sorts of gadgets."

    Suddenly, the girl was distant. Her eyes widened, and she stood up.

    "I Believe I Can Fly. Artist: R. Kelly. Year: 1996. Genre: Rhythm and Blues."

    "Oh, great," said a stoic-looking blond man seated next to Donatello. "Here she goes again."

    "I used to think that I could not go onnnnn," sang Miku. "And life was nothing but an awful soonnnnnng."

    She danced away, singing her R. Kelly, and flailing her arms.

    "Vocaloids," muttered the blond man. "Not my kind of robot."

    Donatello leaned in closer to Hermione, cupping a hand next to his mouth.

    "My bet is that Artemis is nervous. He needs people strong enough to keep others under control."

    "Under control? What do you mean?"

    "Ugh! Oh! Ew! That''s disgusting!" yelped Piccolo, passing Elsa''s un-frozen mug of coffee back to her.

    "I mean," whispered Donatello, "Not everyone on this ship are what you would call ''good guys''."

    "Now, let''s not be hasty," said the blond man, delivering a piece of simulated steak to his mouth. "Everybody has a reason for the things they did."

    "You''re one to talk, Char," accused the teenaged turtle. "You tried to drop an asteroid on Earth to kill everyone."

    "They weren''t going to change otherwise," he explained, shrugging.

    "Think about what you just said! For just one second!" Donatello took an angry bite out of his pizza.

    "Nobody''s perfect," muttered Elsa, staring intently at her reclaimed mug of coffee. Piccolo was wiping his tongue off with his hands. "The Illuminati organization is bigger than ''good'' and ''bad''. If people are here, it''s because we need their talents to save the metaverse. Not because they did good enough to earn a spot."

    "Thank you, Elsa," replied Char. "You know, your sense of duty is admirable. I wish we could all be so devoted."

    "Oh! Um, thank you, Commander Aznable."

    Hermione reeled in her seat. "Commander Aznable?"

    The man made the universal ''calm-down'' gesture. "Don''t think I''ve gone stealing Artemis'' rank. It''s just a title. I''m Chief of Mobile Defense."

    "Mobile Defense?" asked Piccolo, evidently recovered from the coffee incident. "What''s that supposed to mean?"

    "I''m glad you asked," he smiled, punching a few digits into his AEGIS. The table members disappeared, re-materializing in a massive hangar, filled to the brim with all shapes and sizes of gigantic combat robots.

    "This is Mobile Defense. While the ship''s guns can do a lot, we''re here to go the extra mile."

    "What¡­ are all of these things?" questioned a shocked Hermione.

    "Mobile Suits, mostly. We''ve got quite a few other varieties of mecha as well. Knightmare Frames, Gunmen, Mobile Fighters, Getter Machines, Buster Machines, Battlemechs, Arm Slaves, Tactical Surface Fighters, Valkyries and Veritechs, a stray Megadeus or two, a few Armored Cores, a wing of Evangelions, a squad of Jaegers¡­ no Deus Machinas, though. Those are no-goes."

    "What language was that supposed to be?" asked Elsa.

    "Nerd-speak," replied Donatello.

    "This is really nice and all," said Hermione, "and I know this is your baby, or whatever, but I don''t see any way that this can help me, so-"

    "Oh, but it can!" cried Char, dialing something into his AEGIS. A gigantic rack of huge, humanoid machines, all identical, swung off of the wall a few hundred meters above them. It slowly floated down to the floor that they stood on. The machines were all about sixteen meters tall, each one a bulky-looking mountain of well-polished metal. Their faces were huge visors wedged into thick armor plate, and across the bodies were several large, circular panels with raised surfaces.

    "These are our latest production model," explained Char. "The Illuminati Brotherhood Defense Forty-Two ''Gatsby''. Named for a major donor to the program, of course."

    A tiny blue speck floated around one machine''s head, and began to rapidly descend to the group. As it approached, it became apparent that it wasn''t a speck at all, but a small, winged horse.

    "Hey, what''s the big idea, moving the platform?" it crowed. "I was working on that unit!"

    The horse gave a second look at the person who had called the platform down, and she began to apologize profusely. "Oh! Commander Aznable! I didn''t mean-"

    "Don''t sweat it," said Char, ruffling the small Pegasus'' multi-colored mane. "This is my little ace pilot- and my prot¨¦g¨¦- Rainbow Dash."

    "Pleased to meet''cha," giggled the Pegasus, shaking hooves with the crowd. "I guess you''re giving them the tour?"

    "Only a little one. I was about to explain our Mobile Support program."

    "No need," chuckled Donatello. "I just can''t quit pizza, no matter how hard I try."

    There was a feeble laugh among the assembled group.

    "We''re talking about fire support," corrected Rainbow Dash, pointing a hoof toward the phalanx of mecha behind her. "Essentially, you just dial our number while you''re in the field, and we can send you Trans-Dimensional Analysts a battalion of Gatsbys, free-of-charge."

    "Wouldn''t that be¡­ a little excessive?" asked Hermione.

    "When you''re dealing with giant robots, nothing is excessive," replied Char. "Just give us a call whenever you need to fight someone even the slightest bit bigger than you."

    "That should be pretty often for you, right, Hermione?" jabbed Elsa.

    "Can it, snowflake," Hermione hissed in response.

    "And that hostility is the sign that we should remove ourselves from the giant weapons," interrupted Char. He tapped a few buttons and returned the group to their table in the mess hall- but something was amiss.

    Donatello asked the question that everyone was thinking: "Why is there some guy passed out on our table?"

    The man was not entirely passed out, but he might as well have been. He lay over the trays and cups they had left behind, their various vegetables clinging to his ratty green shirt. He was moaning softly, until Elsa chilled her mug of coffee again and poured it over his face, shocking him into more verbal clarity.

    "Like, zoinks, man," he whined. "No need to be harshing my mellow."

    "There''s plenty of reason to ''harsh your mellow'' when you ruin our meal," snapped Char. "Who the hell are you?"

    "Oh, man. I''m¡­ I''m Shaggy¡­ from the kitchen. But I''m at one with the stars, right now. I''m, like, Star Shaggy," he mumbled.

    Donatello grabbed the man''s unshaven face, pulling his eyelids back and tilting his gaze upward. "Look at this," said the turtle, pointing at Shaggy''s eyeballs. The irises were clouded over with an unnaturally bright blue. "It''s¡­ I think that''s Melange."

    "Melange? Dude, I don''t care what it is. I can see, like, everything¡­ all the stars and planets, and the black holes¡­ I can see to the other side, man."

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    "Should we¡­ call a doctor, or something?" asked Elsa.

    Char shook his head. "Melange is a controlled substance. He''ll have to be taken care of by-"

    A sharp, metallic click of high-heel against tile echoed throughout the mess hall, silencing even the most muffled of Reis. A thin, stern shadow crawled across the floor, surrounded by the vibrant corona of its owner.

    "¡­Regulations," whispered Donatello, as the group turned to face the members of the dreaded program. The amount of people that had assembled behind them so quietly was truly staggering; there were at least twenty officers all of identical uniform, and identical build- to be expected, since they were all Rei clones as well. They carried compact stun-guns and collapsible nightsticks, and that same determined, blank stare that was simply awkward on the other Reis, and terrifying on them.

    Ahead of the troops stood four officers that were clearly not clones- two average-height boys; one muscular, the other scrawny and wearing glasses; a truly behemoth young man with bleached-blond hair and well-pierced earlobes; and a short girl with conspicuously pink hair, who was twirling her nightstick innocently, though her facial expression destroyed any possibility of innocent intent. They did not look friendly, but then again, neither did their leader. She stood ahead of all the rest, peering down her nose from underneath the most severe eyebrows in the mess hall. She stood at attention, hands folded over the hilt of a sheathed sword, apparently unaware of the soft yellow light that projected from no place in particular behind her. Her long black hair sat neatly over her crisp uniform, which was definitely not the one any of her other officers wore, nor was it of the Trans-Dimensional Analyst type. It was some halfway point between a sailor fuku and a general''s dress uniform, complete with gold epaulettes at the shoulders. Hermione could have sworn she saw the red-and-yellow patches on the scarf move like eyes scanning the room, but perhaps it was her imagination.

    "May I have your attention, please," stated the young woman. She didn''t bother asking for it, she was certain to get it whether her audience wanted to give it to her or not. She paused, letting the words sink in, just in case anyone did not understand what was going on. Someone did not.

    "Would the real Slim Shady please stand up?" called a giggling voice from a far edge of the hall. With nothing more than a shallow nod, a dozen of her clone officers apprehended the culprit- a suddenly surprised looking Miku- and escorted her out of the room, still rapping.

    "That kind of discourse will not be tolerated while Regulations is carrying out their duties," said the Chief of Regulations, carefully suppressing her annoyance. "We have arrived to take one Shaggy Rogers into custody, on the grounds that he has¡­ misappropriated a kilogram of the Spice Melange from the Navigation department. The Spice Melange is a controlled substance, and its use is regulated strictly to authorized members of the Navigation department. According to the Illuminati Brotherhood Code, Article 10, section B3, subsection ¦Í, theft or abuse of such substances is a criminal offense."

    With another barely-detectable nod, a brace of Regulations officers marched to the table, picked up the dazed Shaggy, brushed a few slices of pizza off of his chest, and carried him to the feet of their superior.

    "Anything to say in your defense, you miserable pig?"

    "Of course he doesn''t," said a familiar voice rushing in from the other side of the mess hall. Rubber boots squealed as the captain herself slid to a stop behind the disoriented Shaggy. "But I do."

    "Captain Littner?" cried the group- in perfect unison, excepting Piccolo- that had once occupied the table for a meal, and now clung to it as if to brace themselves from the drama.

    The Chief of Regulations looked a little confused for a moment, but once her eyes had assessed the situation, she returned to her smug confidence.

    "Captain Littner, what an unusual surprise," breathed the Chief of Regulations, not sounding surprised in the slightest. "However, I must question your stance on this criminal. He has clearly violated regulations."

    "He didn''t violate anything," barked Yoko, unusually stern. "I did."

    "Well, of course you did," smiled the young woman, drawing her sword and pointing its jet-black blade at Yoko''s mostly-exposed chest. "That bikini is not to dress code. Unless there is something else you''d like to share."

    "There is," huffed Yoko. "I gave Shaggy Rogers the Melange."

    That was enough to elicit a few quiet murmurs from the Reis, but an angry glare from the Regulations chief was enough to silence them.

    "And just what exactly inspired this felony, pray tell?" She slowly returned her sword to its sheath, keeping her gaze focused on the captain.

    "As captain of this ship, I''m a leader. And a leader is obligated to listen to the concerns of their followers. When I''m not on the bridge, I let the crew come talk to me. I was getting my meal here earlier today, and Shaggy was serving. He looked a little depressed, so I asked him why- he said he missed his friend Scooby, who''s working in Navigation- he''s the dog that talks," Yoko made the shape of a dog''s head with her fingers, opening and closing her hand to indicate speech. The Chief of Regulations did not look particularly impressed.

    "I know who he is," she spat.

    "I told Shaggy here that I could get him into Navigation- we''ve got enough automation on our line here in the kitchen that we don''t really need so many chefs- but he would need to actually be useful to Navigation before I could reassign him, so I snagged a vial of the stuff during one of my inspections and handed it off to him. It was a large enough dose that he should eventually develop psychic powers that would be useful in star-mapping."

    The woman with the sword seemed to begin to speak, then stopped, then tried to begin again, and stopped again. She sighed, held up her hand, and her four non-clone officers instantly surrounded Yoko, locking arms underneath her elbows to keep her still.

    "You have no idea how stupid that was," said the Regulations chief, almost smiling.

    "You can''t talk to me like that, Kiryuin. I outrank you," growled Yoko, struggling against the officers detaining her. Chief of Regulations Kiryuin stepped forward, unsheathing her sword again. She pressed the tip against Yoko''s throat.

    "No one outranks the law," she hissed.

    "It''s my ship," grunted Yoko.

    "And my rules. And Artemis'' organization. And he told me to enforce those rules, on your ship. Laws are enforced through punishment. Punishment encourages obedience. Obedience ensures productivity. And if we are not productive, we are all dead. Do I make myself clear, Captain?"

    Yoko sighed. "As ice, Kiryuin."

    "Good," said the young woman, removing the sword from her captain''s throat. "I''m going to file a report and make sure Artemis knows about this."

    "Artemis already knows," whispered the telltale monotone of a Rei, stepping through the blue sparks of an AEGIS device. A small, brass pin had been affixed to her uniform, two capital ''I'' letters, just below her collar. "Mr. Shaggy Rogers had been deemed unfit for Navigation."

    Chief of Regulations Kiryuin cracked a victorious smile.

    "Miss Suzumiya is preparing transfer paperwork for one Scooby Doo to move to the kitchen," continued Rei Two. "Neither Mr. Shaggy Rogers nor Captain Yoko Littner will be reprimanded. You are dismissed, Chief of Regulations Satsuki Kiryuin."

    Satsuki, retaining her dignity, turned and led her troops out of the mess hall, her officers letting Yoko go with a distasteful backwards glance. A disheveled and mostly-unconscious Shaggy, Rei Two, Captain Littner, and those who had been sitting at the table were all that remained- except the other Reis, who returned to eating silently as they had before.

    "Artemis apologizes for the unruliness of Chief of Regulations Kiryuin," whispered the second Rei Ayanami. "He regrets to inform you that their strategies and autonomy must be preserved for the well-being of the ship."

    "It''s¡­ no big deal," said Yoko, dusting herself off- though there wasn''t really any dust. "I may be captain, but I still make mistakes. I overstepped my bounds, and all that."

    "You''re not just going to let her¡­ do that, are you?" cried Hermione.

    "Oh! Hermione! Were you there for all that? Gosh, you look¡­ youthful."

    "Answer the question," snarled the witch.

    "Unfortunately, I am," sighed Yoko. "In another time or place, maybe not. But Kiryuin and her goons have that kind of power for a reason. There are worse things that could happen on this ship than a kilo of stolen Melange¡­ which I need to make a note of. Shaggy here''s going to need a steady dosage of Melange supplements from here on out. Withdrawal''s a real¡­ it gets ugly. Rei, can you send a memo to Suzumiya ''bout that?"

    "Affirmative," said the girl, teleporting away.

    "¡­ Worse things?" asked Elsa quietly.

    "Much worse," confirmed Yoko. "We''ve got thousands of the brightest minds in the meta-verse on this ship, and not all of them like to tread the straight-and-narrow. Keep that between just us, okay?" she said, motioning to the little group. Many heads bobbed in response.

    "I need to get back to the bridge. You all take care, now," she smiled, tapping the coordinates of the bridge into her AEGIS and disappearing.

    "Looks like you were right, Donatello," said Hermione, turning to the turtle.

    "Yeah. But I can''t say I''m too glad about it."

    "Hey, can you also requisition a new outfit for me? I need something a little looser. It''s just a little hard to move around in the normal uniform while I''m training."

    "Sure thing. I''ve got friends in Outfitting. What did you have in mind?"

    Hermione pointed at Piccolo, who was sipping something greedily out of a mug.

    "Like what he''s got. I think I can work an invisibility cloak into the whole cape-shoulder-pad thing he''s wearing. Little kung-fu slip-ons like that might not be bad, either. And what are you drinking?" she asked of the Namekian.

    "Coffee," grunted Piccolo. "It tastes awful¡­ but I need more. It''s got this buzz."

    The group got a hearty laugh out of the response, almost forgetting the tension they had faced mere minutes before. They said their goodbyes and left to their posts, and the second they were gone, a Rei seated at a corner table got up and slipped through the sliding door. A man standing against a wall on the other side grabbed her arm.

    "What did you find out?" he asked in a hushed tone.

    "It sounds like they know. This cannot be good," replied the Rei.

    "No. It is not. But we have ways of rectifying a setback like this. We can work faster."

    "Shall I tell the others?"

    "Of course. Just be careful, One."

    "I will. Goodbye, Commander Ikari."

    The man slunk back into the shadows, hunching his shoulders over and keeping his head down.

    Soon. It will happen soon.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-7

    "This one next, you''ll like it, I swear!" giggled Ruby, punching another number into the music sampler''s touchpad.

    Adam reluctantly slipped the headphones back on. "If you insist, Ruby," he moaned, giving Holly a desperate look. The elf pretended to ignore him, and returned to flipping through the stacks of CDs.

    Data discs. The Master of Games replicated a full library of old-school data discs. Well, and the rest of this mall. Impressive- it wasn''t too long ago that I could notice how fake the arenas seemed, but now¡­ Adam roaring broke Holly''s train of thought.

    "MIENE GOTT IN HIMMEL! WAS IST DAS?!" he screamed, ripping the headphones off.

    "It''s a sick drop, ain''t it? Personally one of my favorites. It''s downright filthy!" smiled the girl.

    "It''s the sound of the Prince of Hell himself vomiting!" cried the artificial man, holding the headphones with trembling hands. Ruby plucked them out of his grasp and set them back on the display rack.

    "That''s why it''s so great! Can''t wait for the next concert."

    "You''re going to have to, as long as we''re here," muttered Holly as she examined the jewel case of The Essential Shining Finger: Twenty Years of Face-Melting. The genre on the case''s spine read ''Smooth Jazz'', but Holly was not so sure. She was about to set the CD back on the shelf when a glimmer of movement through the aisles caused her to drop to the floor, and instruct her teammates to do likewise.

    "What is it?" whispered Ruby, propping her elbows up against the store''s crummy red carpeting.

    "Other people," hissed Holly, subtly pointing across the mall''s open square to a food court. Two figures walked slowly, talking softly. They reached a table, pulled out chairs, and sat. "They''re not fighting each other¡­ which means they''re on a team of their own. We need to be careful."

    Adam carefully adjusted his body to lie flatter against the ground. "That voice¡­ it sounds¡­ familiar."

    Holly dropped her helmet''s HUD down over her eyes and toggled the zoom function. "Human male and female," she noted. "Guy looks tough. Short vest, big sword, crazy hair. Lady''s got a pink suit."

    "Oh!" said Adam. "The man is Fred. He also called himself Sol Badguy. He claimed to be a psychologist, but he seemed rather uncouth."

    "And apparently a real ladies'' man, too," noted Ruby.

    Holly adjusted her zoom''s focus quietly. "So you guys never fought him?"

    Adam shook his head. "No. We simply spoke with him."

    "Then we have no idea what he''s capable of," grumbled the elf. "How about his friend there?"

    "I''m not certain, but I think that''s Janice Starling. Ryuko sent Fred to go talk to her when he was bugging us earlier," whispered Ruby.

    "Must have ended up working out for them. Guess she''s his patient now?"

    "Well, why don''t you put those big ears of yours to good use and find out?" replied the Huntress.

    "Why don''t you put that small mouth of yours to good use and shut up?"

    Ruby followed orders and became silent, though not without glaring at Holly. The elf listened in as well as she could, her finely-tuned fairy hearing picking up the other warriors'' conversation easily.

    "So, when did you realize you had¡­ lost control?" said the man, making slow, relaxing gestures with his hands as he spoke.

    "I¡­ it was when-" Janice paused, sniffling softly. "It was when I realized¡­ that I was doing what it wanted. At first, I was killing for revenge¡­ I was angry, bitter¡­ I wanted them out of my company. It was a power high. Then¡­ I ran out of people I wanted out of my company. I think it wanted an excuse¡­ so it made me paranoid."

    "Paranoid?" asked Sol gently. "How so?"

    "It made me think¡­ that Alec was cheating on me. So I killed the woman, and I almost killed my best friend¡­ at that point I came to my senses. I killed myself."

    "You probably did the right thing," said Sol. Janice smacked him hard enough that it probably could have been heard while listening to The Essential Shining Finger. He touched his reddened cheek softly.

    "Hmm. Your strength is certainly above average," he noted, slipping his oversized metal-plated headband back into place.

    "How can you say I did the right thing?" she cried.

    "Let''s think about it. If you hadn''t killed yourself, you would have kept on killing- submitting to the wasp, right? Eventually your human side would come to the same conclusion, so the choice would be to die after killing ten people or twenty? I know it doesn''t sound good, but sometimes that''s the kind of call you have to make."

    "So¡­ is that it then? Killing myself is the only way out?"

    "Now, hold on. I didn''t say that. My experience is that any mutation or transmogrification like this can be controlled. It may take astronomical amounts of discipline, but it can be done. That you were able to tell that it was taking control is a good sign; it doesn''t have that strong of a grip on your mind. I mean, it''s not influencing you now, is it?"

    "Not that I can tell," Janice replied.

    "Good! Then we should practice here, where we''re safe."

    "Practice?" said Janice, looking a little concerned.

    "That''s right. I said it was going to take discipline to control it, didn''t I?"

    "So you''re going to¡­ train me?"

    "Right again," said Sol, getting up from his seat. "I want you to transform."

    "Here? Now? But all the other times I was angry. I''m not angry now."

    "Have you ever made yourself cry? Not like you were really sad, but you made yourself tear up, to convince someone you were?"

    "Yeah, I guess. What''s that have to do with it?"

    "A transformation like yours is a physical manipulation of the body, just like making yourself cry. In your transformation''s case, you''re not in direct control of when or where it happens. But you can be. When you make yourself cry, you know how it feels when you cry naturally- the way the muscles of your face clench up, the welling of the tear glands. You can replicate the results by replicating what you feel when it happens. You can do that for your transformation, too."

    "Really? I just- It sounds so easy."

    "Most people with problems like yours don''t realize how easy it can be, because the last thing they want is to change. But those who want to change have no problem doing it. Now, when it happens, what do you feel?"

    "Well¡­ I''ve never described it," she mumbled. "This almost feels awkward. Like this is personal, you know."

    Sol frowned. "Janice, are you going to let that get in the way of mastering your condition?"

    Janice sighed, blushing slightly. "Well, no¡­ I mean, if you say so¡­ It''s like- like when someone scares you. It feels just like the adrenaline, the way it just radiates out. I guess it makes sense, it''s the hormones doing it, right?"

    "That''s what you told me," shrugged Sol.

    "Well, it feels like that- but where you feel adrenaline where your heart is, this starts from my head, and goes down¡­ and as it goes¡­ it¡­"

    Her voice trailed off, and she shivered. Sol "Fred" Badguy took a confident looking step forward, brushing her hair aside and staring into her eyes. He cradled her chin with his rugged, gloved hand, and pointed a finger upwards.

    "Well, look, Janice. You''ve done it." She looked up, and noticed the antennae that had sprouted from her forehead.

    "Oh! Oh, my God. It''s¡­ happ-"

    Sol pulled his hand away from her face in time to dodge the mandibles that erupted outwards, formed from her skin''s transmutation into chitin. Janice reeled backward as her extra set of legs and abdomen pushed their way through her neat suit. Tight patches of fur sprang up around her neck, and long gossamer wings began to pump full of blood once her jacket was torn off.

    Adam began to make soft gagging sounds. Ruby responded by punching him on the shoulder. "What''s the matter? Never seen a horror movie?"

    "One of those picture shows you told me of?" asked Adam weakly. "Nein. Are they all as grotesque as this?"

    The girl giggled. "Only the good ones, you big baby."

    "Ssshhh," hushed Holly. "Now would be a really bad time for her to hear us."

    Janice had finished her transformation, the wasp''s compound eyes looking down at the rags the change had made of her suit.

    "Huh," mused Sol. "Look at that. You''re considering what happened to your clothing. That''s not an animalistic response at all." Janice looked back up, shaking her head in agreement.

    "Now, would you have normally responded like that? If you had changed- let''s say, while you were totally alone- would that have been your first response?"

    Janice shook her head.

    "So, you would have been looking for your prey?"

    The oversized wasp shrugged.

    "It seems to me that part of the reason you''re doing so well is that the wasp is a little confused. Its instincts don''t know how to respond to the situation the Grand Combat poses- everyone around you is dangerous, so that rules out hunting for food. Your emotions are removed from the equation, too- there''s no one you want to take revenge on, either. If I was hostile to you, you''d try to kill me in an instant, I''m sure¡­ but now, you don''t know what to do. That''s a great place to start."

    The wasp gave Sol a blank stare.

    "Look, it''s not pushing you to do anything! So you can do whatever you want! So you can practice using your conscious mind to control it!"

    Janice lifted a clawed hand and scratched her head, which looked much funnier than it sounded.

    "Here, it''ll be easy. Practice by fighting me. I won''t use my Fireseal, and you won''t use your stinger." To demonstrate, Sol drove his chunky, square sword tip-first into the floor. He backed away from it, holding his hands up to show that he was unarmed. "How does that sound?"

    The wasp nodded, wiggling its claws and adopting a wider four-legged stance. Its wings buzzed with anticipation, and it began to circle the bounty hunter/ scientist/ bioweapon/ psychologist.

    "Now''s our chance," whispered Holly. "Sol''s unarmed. Starling shouldn''t be too difficult. We can take them."

    "All right! This will be a perfect opportunity to test this new technique Adam and I came up with!" giggled Ruby, picking herself up off of the floor slowly.

    This can''t be a good thing, Holly thought. As far as she could tell, she was right. Ruby leapt into the air and curled into a ball, and landed in Adam''s massive arms. He shifted Ruby''s tucked-in, comparatively tiny body into one hand, and stretched the other out toward the two distant warriors.

    "What in Frond''s name are you two doing?" asked the elf, quite concerned.

    "I saw it in a comic book once," said the girl, popping her head out of her little ball. "It''s gonna be so cool!"

    Adam stuck up his thumb on his free hand, indicating that he had locked on to his targets. "Ready, Ruby?"

    She was too excited to whisper anymore. "Aw yeah! Let''s do it! FASTBAAAAAAAAAAAAALL!"

    "BEESSSSSONNNDEEERE!" yelled Adam, hurling Ruby into the air with dramatic speed.

    "Nice," noted Holly, pleasantly surprised. "That might take care of the wasp."

    "But I wasn''t aiming for the wasp," said the artificial man.

    Holly placed her head in her hands, cursing. "D''Arvit," she swore.

    As Ruby flew toward Sol, her scythe unfolded, the blade cutting a wide, looping path through the air. Thanks to their loud announcement of the attack, the bounty hunter picked up on what was going on- and sidestepped the twirling huntress, pulling his sword out of the ground. Ruby smacked into the wall, her scythe''s blade plunging through layers of drywall.

    "We missed," she moaned.

    "Okay, Janice," said Sol, shoving a bullet into what looked like a breech on his Fireseal sword. "Change of plans. We''re going to practice teamwork now. Got it?" The wasp nodded. "Good," growled the scientist. "Then let''s rock!"

    Ruby pressed her feet against the wall and pried her scythe''s blade out, landing on the floor with a graceful backflip and Crescent Rose slung over her shoulder.

    "Adam!" she called as the huge man sprinted up behind her. "Let''s show Headband McGee here what happens when we don''t miss!"

    "Ja wohl, Ruby."

    The oversized wasp began to move to intercept the two intruders when she was tackled into a wall, her spindly claws failing to find purchase on the slick floor.

    "Sorry, lady," grunted Holly, shifting her weight off of the insect and snagging one of the wings as she fell. Instinctually, Janice pulled the other way- tearing her own appendage off. With a snarl, she swung a claw at Holly, who hopped backward in time for the attack to miss. She used Janice''s slow recovery to check on her allies. "How''s it going, Ruby?" she asked.

    "Fine!" chirped the girl, swinging her scythe to catch Sol''s bulky sword in the curve of her larger weapon''s blade. She flicked Crescent Rose''s trigger, causing the scythe to jump in place and return Sol''s sword. Adam threw himself behind the bounty hunter, grabbed his outstretched arm, and flung him into the wall. Sol righted himself in midair in time to land foot-first and propel himself back at his foes. He extended a boot and twisted his body, driving a kick into the side of Adam''s face. Ruby raised her scythe''s snath in time to block the attack, but was still thrown backward. She lowered the barrel of Crescent Rose at the triumphant-looking Sol.

    "Hey! Katniss did those! What did she call them? She would say, ''SHOWER IN THE SKY KITE'', right?"

    Adam placed a hand on his wounded face. "I thought it was ''Shining psychic block''."

    "No, I call that the Bandit Revolver," chuckled Sol.

    "Fandub reposter? I hate those," growled Ruby, firing her weapon. Sol flicked his sword down, deflecting the bullet.

    Sol laughed aloud. "You guys are great," he said as he jammed his sword''s tip into the ground, causing a gout of flame to cascade up through the floor toward Ruby. The girl leapt to the right with superhuman speed, leaving a trail of rose petals in her cloak''s wake. Sol frowned, sliding a panel on his sword back to allow a spent shell to pop out. Ruby''s eyes widened in excitement.

    "Yours¡­ does that too?" she giggled, pulling back her own weapon''s bolt to eject one of Crescent Rose''s shells. "That''s awesome!"

    Sol was about to respond when Adam tossed him into the air, leapt after him, grappled him again, and plunged with him back into the ground. The artificial man hopped back up, preparing to drop an elbow onto Sol''s body. Holly interrupted.

    "Hey, I know you''re a little occupied-" she strained, attempting to hold back Janice''s abdomen- and by extension, stinger- with her feet. "But¡­ I could use some help!"

    Adam turned back to his friend. "Ruby- can you fight Sol alone?"

    "Sure thing," she replied.

    "Then I shall assist Holly," he stated. He charged at the insect, lowering one of his massive shoulders. The impact from the second tackle Janice had received that day was enough to snap her two left legs. She flailed her huge, misshapen body to no avail; her single wing incapable of helping her escape, her intact legs scraping uselessly against the tile floors. Holly flipped herself to her feet, drew her Neutrino, and taught her opponent what a bug zapper felt like.

    Ruby continued to cross blades with her opponent in an intricate dance of slashes, bullets, punches, kicks, gymnastic leaps, pirouettes, and one-liners. A boot to the chest sent Sol flying back, but he managed to land on his feet as always.

    "You¡­ you just don''t quit, do you?" gasped the huntress, finding herself a little short on breath.

    "I don''t have any reason to fear the reaper," Fred replied with a grin.

    Ruby''s eyes narrowed, and a short giggle forced its way out between strained breaths. She extended an index finger to point at Sol''s bicep. "You¡­ sure?" The bounty hunter looked, and noticed that a trickle of blood was rolling down his arm.

    "Okay, you got me once. But it''ll take more than that to knock me out."

    Holly touched down on Ruby''s left, while Adam arrived to cover her right flank.

    "Incidentally," Holly noted, "We have more than that."

    Sol smiled, raising a hand to his bulky-looking headband. "Eh. You''re still a little short," he scoffed. With a flourish, he flicked a few clasps open, and promptly exploded into flames.

    "DRAGON INSTALL!" He cried, while producing a shockwave that knocked the members of Team Mockingjay onto their backs. They quickly regained their footing, preparing for whatever the bounty hunter had up his sleeve. Or headband. Sol was now wreathed in flame.

    "I thought you guys were being silly when you mentioned it earlier, but that really does look similar to that thing Katniss did," noticed Holly.

    "This ain''t some technique you can copy," growled the conflagrated Sol. "I''ve just released a small portion of the power of my Gear form. Now you''re all gonna bite the dust."

    Holly fired her Neutrino at full strength at the man, only for the blast to dissipate on the fiery aura that surrounded him.

    "¡­D''Arvit," swore the elf.

    "Hate to say I told you so," cackled Sol, who leapt forward with enough force to cause the floor where he had been standing to cave in. With a swing of his arm, he drove the blunt edge of his sword into Holly''s stomach and sent her flying back into the music store, crushing the entire discography of several thrash western trance groups and ruining her mechanical wings. Holly struggled to place a hand on her destroyed midsection, her magic incapable of responding fast enough. Ruby swung her scythe toward the spot where Holly had been standing before that Sol now occupied. Sol planted his sword between his body and Crescent Rose, causing the large sniper scythe to bounce off of his Fireseal''s broad side.

    "NOW! NAPALM DEATH!" he screamed. The flames surrounding his body responded by jumping to far greater heights, as if fanned by Sol''s shouting itself. His bulky weapon split in half, revealing a sliver of red-hot metal, spitting and bubbling like magma.

    Holly attempted to pull herself away from the shelves full of destroyed jewel cases, but her shattered ribs convinced her to stop. Her magic had begun to heal her, but for an injury this serious, it would take more time- time Ruby and Adam didn''t have.

    I guess you can''t win them all, she groaned in her head. If I hadn''t let Ryuko and Katniss go off on their own, this wouldn''t have happened. So much for being the Idea Elf. She could see out through the store''s open front into the battle-torn food court, her friends and their assailant clearly visible. Sol was most of the way through a swing, and it did not look like Ruby would be able to dodge this time. As his blade drew nearer and nearer to its target, the flames rising from the bounty hunter began to cause something in the air to twinkle. Those aren''t sparks. That''s broken glass- like something fell through the skylight.

    Indeed, something had fallen through the skylight, and before Sol''s attack could connect, the meteoric impact sent the bounty hunter and his two foes flying on a debris-filled shockwave. The massive wave of dust was powerful enough to invade even the music shop, which did no favors for Holly''s injured lungs.

    "What-gah!- in Frond''s name!?"

    In the center of the dust cloud, thin pink lines began to glow.

    "Could we have landed a little more softly?" asked the voice of Katniss, sounding a little frustrated.

    "Maybe," replied Ryuko''s voice. "Now, where is everyone?"

    Holly saw the flicker of a fiery blade rise from the far end of the food court, arc through the air, and descend toward the dim light from Ryuko''s outfit. A second shockwave ripped through the mall, displacing the dust that had hung ominously. In the center of the now-cratered food court, Ryuko held her Scissor blade aloft, and above, Sol ¨Cstill ablaze- forced his Fireseal down. He hung in the air, suspended by his own sword and arm, but only for a moment. Ryuko gave a gentle push and sent Sol flying into the metal trusses under the tasteful glass roof. Katniss, who had been standing next to her, hopped backwards at the sudden movement.

    "Oh! There was a guy! And he almost killed us!"

    "Yep," grunted Ryuko. "And if I''m not mistaken, it''s that pervert from before. Fred."

    Sol growled, twisted in place, and freed himself from the rafters- to tumble to the floor, he picked himself up, and sprinted toward the girls, a mass of flames and rage.

    "Katniss, you know the drill."

    The armored-up tribute nodded. "I''ll clear out. If you need me, I''ll get to work." With that, she turned on her heel and rushed toward the nearest cover, which happened to be the music store. It took her a few seconds to recognize the limp body as her friend''s.

    "Holly? Oh, my God!"

    The elf managed to pull her lips back into a reassuring smile.

    "Relax. I''m not kicking the bucket just yet. But I''m not going anywhere for another minute or two."

    "That''s a relief," breathed Katniss, lowering herself into a crouch and aiming her bow out of the shop''s entrance. Two short panels removed themselves from the back of her armor''s ankles and drove their tips into the ground.

    "Ooh, stability anchors?" wheezed Holly. "For mud men, that''s right clever. If you had a gun."

    Katniss collapsed her bow and secured it on the back of her armor, casting a glance back at her friend.

    "What do you mean, if?"

    A large, boxy plate on her left thigh opened, and inside, wrapped in ethafoam, was a high-caliber receiver. A deft hand drew a few more plates off of her back, which folded out into a stock. Katniss worked hurriedly, glancing up every few seconds to make sure they were safe, as she disconnected other various hidden pieces of her suit and clipped them together.

    "An origami sniper rifle," whispered Holly, watching the device take shape. "Why didn''t we think of that?"

    Ryuko deflected Sol''s first attack with some effort- there was no denying the ignited man was quite strong.

    "Well, if it isn''t Ragna the Boobedge," he cackled.

    "Bug OFF!" shouted Ryuko, laying into him with a reverse-grip swing. Sol''s oversized Fireseal was broad enough to function well as a shield, as he demonstrated by lifting it to absorb the girl''s attack.

    "Good grief!" he said, suddenly flustered. "Where are my manners? Well, I know- they''re not around in this form." He lifted a hand to his headband and pressed the clasps he had opened closed. The flames surrounding his body extinguished themselves. Ryuko took a step back, unsure of where this was going.

    "Sorry ''bout that whole ambush thing," said Sol, flipping his long ponytail over his shoulder.

    "Um¡­ okay."

    "You see, I have a policy of not attacking potential clients until they''ve had a chance to accept or decline my offer."

    Ryuko peered over his shoulder and identified Adam leaned against a wall, cradling his head.

    "Were you in the middle of something with him?" she asked. "I thought you already bugged him. According to you, you shouldn''t have been fighting him."

    "He turned down my offer, though. I believe he had your help with that. But you, on the other hand¡­"

    Ryuko changed the subject. "Hey! How about that wasp lady? How are things going with that?"

    Sol pointed past Ryuko to the other side of the food court, where a large, singed wasp carcass lay. "Other than that little speedbump, Janice is making great progress. And just think, you could be, too."

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    Ryuko looked back over her shoulder. "Man, if that''s what you call progress-"

    "Listen, kid! You''ve got issues. And I''m willing to help."

    "What do you mean? I''m totally stable!"

    "As stable as a one-legged horse," he chuckled. "I mean, look at that outfit. Let''s face it, it takes some serious mental trauma to convince yourself that getup is normal."

    Annoyance took a nosedive into the depths of pure rage.

    "What. Did. You. Say?" Ryuko''s outfit began to glow again, and short bursts of steam escaped through its vents and creases.

    Ryuko, cried Senketsu. You''re doing it again! Just calm down.

    "I said, that''s just not normal. You''re in denial about the whole thing, really. Not being human, and all."

    "I AM human!" she growled. The lines covering her outfit began to veer closer to crimson than pink.

    Ryuko, stop it. Please. For the good of both of us. It hurts me and you. I don''t want this to happen again.

    "This exhibitionist escapism, denial of your nature, and poor temper¡­ I''m willing to bet this had something to do with how you were raised. Let''s start with your mother."

    "N-no! I! I don''t! Need! Your! Help!" Ryuko wailed. Trickles of blood began to seep through her Kamui, dripping to the ruined floor and evaporating instantly.

    Listen, Ryuko. Take a deep breath, step back. He''s stepping on all the wrong nerves by accident. He just thinks he can help.

    Ryuko swallowed hard and began to calm her heavy breathing. "Y-yeah. This is why I keep you around, Senketsu. I''m sorry."

    "Look at that," said Sol, waving a hand toward her outfit. "You''re even talking to it."

    "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!" screamed Ryuko, removing any progress Senketsu had made in calming her down. "THAT''S IT! NO MORE! I PUT UP WITH DIO! I PUT UP WITH THAT SLIMY HAIR BITCH! I DO NOT HAVE TO PUT THE **** UP WITH YOU AND EVERYBODY ELSE INSULTING SENKETSU!" Blood began to explode out of Ryuko''s outfit, turning to steam seconds after hitting the air. Debris surrounding the girl began to float into the air.

    "What the hell is happening to Ryuko?" breathed Katniss, having just finished assembling her rifle.

    Holly shifted her weight off of the shelves and fell forward, putting a hand down in time to catch herself. "I don''t know. But is certainly isn''t pretty."

    "I''ll take that as a no, then?" said Sol, taking a step back.

    "YOU''RE NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT MY OUTFIT, YOU''RE NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT MY TEMPER, AND NOBODY IS GOING TO TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER, EVER, ****ING AGAIN!" The red striping that covered Senketsu was now gushing blood, and Ryuko seemed to be having trouble standing.

    Ryuko? Why would you do this again? Why?! This isn''t what I want. I thought you were fighting for me. But you''re being very selfish!

    "You know," mused the bounty hunter. "I think I can''t say you''re in a decision-making mind right now. So I''m going to stage an intervention." He readied his sword, and backed up once more.

    Against the far wall, Adam cradled the unconscious Ruby in his arms, using his broad back to shield her from the splashes of boiling blood.

    "If I do not look, it will go away¡­ If I do not look, it will go away¡­"

    Ruby began to return to consciousness, blinking her silver eyes open. "A-Adam? What''s going on? What smells like blood?"

    "That would be blood," he squeaked. "Ryuko seems to be producing an excess of it, and at a very high temperature."

    "You don''t know much about girls, do you?"

    "Admittedly, no."

    Ruby scooted herself along Adam''s arm and peered past his shoulder, took one look at Ryuko, then quickly popped back into shelter, looking very concerned.

    "You know, maybe I don''t know that much about them, either."

    Katniss removed her eye from her rifle''s scope. "Should we¡­ go help her?" she asked to Holly, who by this point had pulled herself into a sitting position.

    "Sol wiped the floor with us when we fought. I doubt you could do much better in a close-quarters battle like that. Ryuko should be our best bet, but right now-" she gestured outward to the large mess the other girl was creating. "Well, I''m not sure what to make of that."

    "You know, she started to do something similar when we ran into-"

    Katniss was interrupted by Ryuko''s outfit doing something that could be best described as "exploding", though that didn''t really do it justice. Very suddenly, she was no longer clothed (well, less than usual). Senketsu seemed to become a terrible, fanged mouth, which promptly clamped its teeth over Ryuko''s bare body. This was followed by a more conventional explosion, accentuated by the pink sparkles that tended to follow one of her outfit''s transformations. But as the bright flash disappeared, it became apparent that this was no ordinary change. Not only had her outfit been altered, but so had her body- and it did not look pleasant in the slightest. The creature that had replaced Ryuko was twisted far enough that it would be surprising to know it was ever human.

    Ryuko''s skin was now a pale, corpse-like blue. Her left arm had become hideously oversized and bloated, bent along its length in a manner that suggested it had been sliced horizontally like a cucumber. Her right, as a counterpoint, was greatly reduced; a mere twig fused to her Scissor Blade at a useless angle. Her head limply teetered on Senketsu''s eye-crest, which had grown significantly in order to accommodate the ungainly left arm hanging off of it. Massive tusk-like fangs forced their way out of their mouth, in directions inoperable for any form of eating. A couple even shot up through her skull, protruding grotesquely from her forehead, like horns. Her eyes were wide and sunken in, jammed open with what must have been excruciating pain. Perhaps most horrifyingly, her waist had been replaced with a wide, gritting, bestial mouth, filled with the same sort of teeth as the ones in her head, only larger. Blood still streamed from every part of her body, ranging from thin rivulets to full-blown geysers.

    "Hey, Adam?" asked Ruby quietly.

    "What is it?"

    "You know how I called you a big baby earlier?"

    "Yes."

    "I take it back. For your own good, don''t look behind you."

    "Jeez!" yelped Katniss, tripping over her own foot-anchors onto her bottom. She scrambled to get her sniper rifle back into a firing position, now unsure of whom to be targeting. "What did- that''s Ryuko?"

    "There is a certain resemblance," grunted Holly. "If I had any guess, I''d say she can''t control that very well. Don''t do anything until we see what she does to Sol." Katniss nodded an affirmative and returned her eye to her scope. "Hey," continued Holly. "Do you see Adam and Ruby out there?"

    Katniss swung the rifle''s barrel left and right, scanning the debris scattered throughout the food court. "Shoot, I almost forgot about them," she muttered.

    "Sol knocked me out of the fight a while back- I didn''t see what happened after Ryuko crashed through the roof."

    "I''ve got a fix on them. They''re up against the west wall. They''re keeping very still. Adam''s got his back to the room and is using his body to hide Ruby."

    "D''Arvit, across the room? If this situation gets any worse than it is now¡­ we''ll have to cross her."

    "That''s assuming it gets any worse," commented the sniper. "I mean, she could just make a scary face, change back, and be do-"

    "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!" bellowed Ryuko, spattering Sol with blood. The bounty hunter drew a gloved hand over his face, shaking the hot liquid back onto the ground.

    "Now, see what you''ve done there? You just transmogrified. And that is my area of expertise," he chuckled. He pointed his rectangular sword at the mangled Ryuko, and with his other hand, waved her on. "Now, show me how it works!"

    Ryuko responded by launching herself off the ground, bringing her bloated arm down in a spectacular punch. Sol inched away, raising his sword so that Ryuko''s momentum carried her down onto the blunt edge with horrific speed. A moaning gasp escaped through her mass of teeth before the psychologist sent her flying away with a spinning heel kick. Sol flung himself after her misshapen body to continue his string of attacks.

    "What kind of rounds are those?" asked Holly as Katniss began to advance a bullet into place.

    ".408 High-Accuracy Anti-Materiel. They always were telling me how rare these bullets were¡­"

    "I don''t need a story," huffed Holly, crawling to Katniss'' side. She sat down and placed a glowing hand back on her chest. Nearly done. Come on. "But I think I have a plan."

    "Talk to me," Katniss spat, adjusting her scope.

    "Remember when you went crazy with the Satsui no Hado?"

    "Yeah. Are you ever going to tell me just when you learned Hokuto Shinken?"

    "Later, I swear. It''s not actually that interesting. Now, when you were under the influence of the Hado, which was powered by your anger, it was fairly easy to snap you out of it."

    "You just had to hit me once."

    "Exactly. We need to calm Ryuko down. Right now, she''s obviously angry. It''s being fueled by some pent-up aggression and sustained by the fact that her body- well, is like that. But if we can get her to where she doesn''t feel anything¡­"

    "Just before she would black out," whispered Katniss. "Like from a serious enough wound."

    "There''s the trick. You''re going to need to hit her where you can injure her enough that she''s very, very close to death, but not dead."

    "If I could get a decent angle up through the stomach, I could put a hole through a few organs and leave the lungs and heart intact," considered Katniss. "Or I could go for between the lungs. Now that''s a tricky shot."

    Holly frowned. "Well, whatever you do, her body clearly isn''t laid out like a human''s anymore."

    "So I''m shooting blind? Great," she muttered.

    "Mostly blind," offered the elf.

    An upwards swing from Fireseal sent Ryuko''s hulking frame airborne. Sol leapt up after her, preparing to follow up with an elbow drop, when the monstrous girl spun in midair, slashing her Scissor Blade arm across his chest. Sol reeled backward, and Ryuko seized the opportunity by grabbing him with her oversized hand and flinging him to the ground. He attempted to rise, but was unable to before she landed on him heels-first.

    "GWUUUUUUUURHHH!" she howled in triumph, driving her Scissor Blade tip-first through his ribcage. Sol coughed up a mouthful of his own blood, and placed one hand on the weapon in his chest and another on his headband.

    "Final¡­ Dragon¡­ Install," he coughed, tossing Ryuko aside as he powered up. Once again, flames crawled across his body, but now he exhibited drastic physical changes. His skin darkened to a burnt reddish-brown, and long wing like projections rose from the back of his head as a horn protruded from the front. He floated off the floor, hovering toward Ryuko as the wound in his chest sealed.

    "I''VE JUST RELEASED AN EVEN LARGER PORTION OF MY GEAR FORM!" he shouted in a now-echo-ey voice. He raised his sword above his head, and it split in two once more, revealing its searing-hot innards. "NOW, IT''S TIME FOR YOU TO BE REHABILITATED!"

    Ryuko accepted his challenge with a guttural roar, and the two locked blades once again, with Sol''s heavier swing winning out. Ryuko was knocked back into the eastern wall, landing next to Janice''s corpse- not that she noticed. She flung herself back, grappling Sol with her oversized arm and shoving him on to her extended Scissor Blade.

    "Oh," he wheezed, looking down at the weapon that had just run him through. Ryuko clenched her hand around his legs and began to pull downward, the blade slowly advancing up his chest. "W-w-w-wait!" he cried, but Ryuko did not. With a final pull, she cleaved his upper body in two, tossing him aside. He landed next to Adam, which caused the huge man to leap into the air squealing.

    "Was ist das?! Eine-"

    Ruby shot a hand to his mouth.

    "Quiet! She''ll¡­" the girl noticed that the now-unoccupied Ryuko was staring at them. "see¡­ us."

    Adam finally turned around to see the thing that had been causing all of the noise.

    "Ruby," he whispered, "I turned around."

    "I know," she squeaked.

    "BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHHHHH!" screamed Ryuko, blasting towards Adam and Ruby in a full-blown charge.

    "D''Arvit," cursed Holly. "You''ve got to shoot. Now!"

    Katniss obliged, and sent a round into Ryuko''s midsection. The bullet whizzed out the other side, passing between Adam and Ruby by inches before embedding itself in the far wall with a sharp CLACK. The monster that had been their friend stumbled, tripped, and fell on its hideous face, sliding to a bloody halt at the artificial man''s feet. Silence returned to the ruined mall, with the exception of the soft sound of blood from the ceiling dripping onto the floor.

    Holly walked slowly out of the music store, observing the horrific scene that had been created.

    "What have we done?" she whispered before scrambling to Ryuko''s side. She cautiously searched for a pulse, not entirely sure that she was completely incapacitated.

    "Y-you shot her," cried Ruby.

    "She was about to kill you," stated Katniss.

    "But she was our friend!" the huntress protested.

    "Do you think I didn''t know that when I pulled the trigger? I did. And I knew exactly what was going through her head." Katniss turned to Holly. "Is she going to-"

    Holly breathed out slowly. "No pulse. She''s dead."

    They paused, realizing the severity of the situation. Ryuko had been their strongest fighter, and now she could no longer help them. Furthermore, they had killed her.

    "Will she¡­ forgive us?" asked Katniss.

    "I don''t know- I mean, I would assume that she would- she wasn''t in her right mind- but would she- I just- I don''t know," stammered Holly.

    "And how are we going to get to Twilight now?" asked Ruby. "Sol was just one guy, and he wiped the floor with us. We couldn''t fight another guy like that!"

    "Well¡­ we could have lost here in this building when she killed all of us¡­ or we can lose later when we run into something worse later on¡­ maybe we should have stuck with the first option¡­ but¡­" Katniss'' voice trailed off, and she fell to her knees with a distressed sigh.

    "We are totally screwed," moaned Ruby.

    "Yeah, there''s no way around it," said Holly. "Adam, what do you-" she realized that he was no longer at the spot he had been standing before, but had instead found one of the few clean corners of the room and was vomiting violently into it.

    "¡­ I see," concluded the elf.

    At that moment, their mourning and consternation were interrupted by two small objects hitting the floor after falling through the shattered skylight.

    Holly looked up, delicately walked around Ryuko''s body, and rushed to the items, which she found familiar.

    "It''s like before¡­ in the token-collecting round," she said, picking up the paper-wrapped lumps and wiping the blood off of them with her sleeve. The rest of the team scurried over to take a look, though without as much spring in their step as usual. Holly unfolded the first, finding a pink heart surrounded by a thick gold bezel.

    Holly folded her lips in approval. "Second Street Ballrooms. At least it isn''t a riddle."

    "How about the other?" asked Katniss.

    Holly held it up. It was a similarly-sized disc of metal, with a central sun-like image and six boxy rays pointing towards the edges. The perimeter was also carved with a pattern that echoed the logo.

    "Eighth Street Foundry," read Holly. "I have to say I''m appreciating this new straightforward approach."

    Ruby scratched her head. "So that''s where we have to go to find those VIWs?"

    "That''s what makes sense," said Katniss. "But why two of them?"

    Holly tilted her head sideways a little. "Well, we killed Janice, right? And Ryuko killed Sol¡­"

    "And I killed her," grunted Katniss. "But that would be three kills to three clues, and we have only two."

    "So somebody''s not dead," scowled Holly, drawing her Neutrino, as the others followed suit with their weapons.

    Ruby blasted a magazine into Janice''s large and waspy corpse, sliding backward on the wet floor thanks to the recoil.

    "I think she''s all right," she called, swinging Crescent Rose back over her shoulder.

    "I do not think Sol''s body is going anywhere," shuddered Adam.

    "Aw, crap," hissed Katniss. "The trick shot worked." Toward the center of the room, a large puddle of blood had developed a large, misshapen depression in the center. Inside of it lay an uncharacteristically limp and particularly human-looking Ryuko, stark naked. A tattered-looking Senketsu lay crumpled next to her.

    "So we didn''t kill her?" whispered Ruby.

    "Maybe not," said Holly, rushing back to the girl''s body. She placed a hand on her wrist. "No pulse." She promptly twisted a dial on her Neutrino, shoved the barrel into the center of Ryuko''s chest, and fired. Ryuko''s body jolted in place, and the girl inhaled with great effort.

    "You shot her again!" cried Adam.

    "I defibrillated her," explained Holly. "A shock from my Neutrino was enough to restart her heart." She checked for a pulse again, nodding her head. "It''s there, but irregular. If we''re going to save her, I need you all to help out. This is a mall, it should have supplies."

    "What do you need?" chirped Ruby excitedly.

    "You can go and look for a blanket. Katniss, you go and find some water. Adam, you look for food. She lost a lot of blood, and since we don''t have any way to do a transfusion, we''ll just have to help her make more of her own. Get moving!"

    "Will do," grunted Katniss, sprinting away with the others. Holly knew she didn''t have much magic left, but she figured that this was as good a use as any. "Heal," she breathed, placing her hand on the girl''s chest. Sparks of magic danced from the elf''s body into Ryuko''s, and Holly felt the ragged heartbeat under her palm begin to stabilize. A pair of dark blue eyes fluttered open.

    "H-Holly?"

    "Yeah. Hold still, kid."

    "I¡­ I should probably¡­ tell you what all of that was."

    "Stop talking. That''s using up resources your body doesn''t have."

    Ryuko breathed out slowly, nodding. As the other members of the team began to return, Holly directed their actions into a calculated medical effort. Within minutes, they had wrapped Ryuko in the blanket and had begun to supply her with sips of water, while Senketsu had been hung on a re-appropriated clothing store rack to dry.

    Ryuko sucked down another tiny plastic cup of water and began to explain. "So, in case any of you didn''t figure it out, I''m not completely human."

    "That''s a bit like saying, ''I''m only partially insane''. If a little bit makes you do stuff like that, what''s it matter if you were 100%... whatever?" jabbed the elf.

    Ryuko made a small huffing noise and continued. "I was born normal, but I was fused with Life Fibers- the stuff Senketsu is made of- when I was a baby. They''ve grown inside of me all of my life. They''re what makes me so strong. Senketsu''s actually made with some of my cells, too, so we''re sort of meant to work together."

    Katniss looked back over her shoulder from her position on watch. "That''s not explaining the rampaging monster thing."

    "I''m getting there. Jeez," Ryuko hissed. "When I get too angry, the Life Fibers in my body go all wonky and smash together with Senketsu''s, making¡­ that. It doesn''t happen too often. It''s not very-" she coughed briefly- "¡­healthy."

    "So it was a good thing that I shot you, then?" asked Katniss. Ryuko gave her a confused look.

    "Bullets normally don''t do anything to me," she said.

    "I''m a good shot, I guess," replied Katniss humbly.

    Holly cracked open another bottle of water and refilled Ryuko''s cup. "I think the real question here is, will you let it happen again?"

    "I never let it happen, okay? I¡­ I''ve just been fed up with everyone making fun of Senketsu¡­ and when we ran into Dio-"

    "You ran into Dio?" gasped Holly. "And made it out alive?"

    "We didn''t fight him," explained Katniss. "He''s got a new lackey. Some girl who fights with her hair. Kept switching from polite to creepy. We killed her."

    Holly narrowed her eyes. "Then why didn''t you get one of those clues?"

    Ryuko and Katniss shared a glance. "Oh," said the wounded girl. "Maybe we didn''t."

    "Anything else about your little adventure you want to fill me in on?" growled the elf accusingly.

    "We lost the motorcycle," offered Katniss.

    "It was a nice motorcycle," elaborated Ryuko.

    "Well, maybe there was something. Didn''t Dio say something about another, more important mission?" asked Katniss.

    Ryuko nodded. "Yeah, yeah, he did."

    "That''s pretty vague. I don''t think that really gets us anywhere," commented Ruby, stuffing her face with another handful of potato chips.

    "Would you quit eating those?" groaned Holly. "They''re simple carbohydrates for Ryuko."

    "Nope!" giggled Ruby. "We got extras!"

    "Fine," sighed the elf. "We need to start planning our next moves."

    "We could try going for a VIW," said Katniss. "There''s a good chance Twilight has nothing better to do than complete the objectives."

    Holly shook her head. "But that''s what everyone is trying to do. She would know that we would assume that. So she would purposely try and do something else."

    "Forgive me for my intrusion," said Adam softly, "but an attempt to complete one of the objectives puts us closer to at least one goal. The most benefit can be derived from pursuing the option that provides the greatest chances of success."

    "What did he just say?" whispered Ruby to Ryuko.

    "No idea," replied the wounded girl.

    "I see what you mean," said Katniss. "If we do go after a target, we at least have a chance of getting that done and maybe winning the round. We even have clues for two of them already. If we try chasing Twilight down, there''s a chance we may not find her and we''ll have wasted the whole round."

    Holly stood up and shrugged. "Okay, okay. You guys win. We can head out when Ryuko''s feeling well enough to walk."

    "I am," grunted Ryuko, who jumped off the floor as if nothing had happened.

    Ruby opened a second bag of chips slowly, until an approving nod from Holly allowed her to dig in.

    Holly sighed. "Let me guess. Life Fibers?"

    "Life Fibers," replied Ryuko.

    "Of course. And are those Life Fibers going to get you some new underwear as well?"

    Ryuko looked down, yelped, and frantically snagged Senketsu off of his makeshift clothesline to cover her shame. With a sheepish gulp, she ducked into a nearby discount store.

    "You''d think she wouldn''t be so sensitive about it," whispered Ruby. "Given, well, you know."

    "We will never speak of this again," commanded Holly.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-8

    The streets were silent enough that the sound of their footsteps echoed quietly back and forth between the shops, creating a pair of phantom pursuers. Twilight Sparkle brought herself to a stop slowly, looking around with a mournful severity.

    "What''s the matter, Miss Sparkle?" asked Alucard, stuffing his hands into his coat''s pockets.

    "It''s dreary, being alone," the unicorn whispered.

    "They''ll come around soon enough," assured her companion.

    "I hope they will," she sighed.

    "As do I. It would at least give me something to do."

    "Well, you really needed something, you could start by getting rid of our travelling buddy," Twilight offered, nudging her head backwards.

    "Oh, her?" chuckled the vampire, smiling. "I was saving her for later, when I get hungry."

    Twilight shook her head. "I suggest you get hungry now, then."

    Alucard heard the click-click-hum of a large energy weapon charging up behind his head, and smiled.

    "Speak of the devil," he grinned. "I guess you can''t stand people talking about you behind your back."

    The power-armored woman placed a hand on her blaster- covered right arm to steady it.

    "Technically, you were in front of me. And yes, I can''t. I only allow people to talk behind my back if they say ''That Samus sure is a badass, I had better not mess with her!''. That way, I only give off the right impression."

    "I let people say whatever they want about me," oozed Alucard. "But they only ever say one thing."

    "And what''s that?" growled Samus behind her energy cannon.

    "It sounds a bit like choking," he replied, whipping a huge pistol behind him to deliver a round into Samus'' Power Suit''s chest. The bullet ricocheted away with a crack, and Samus released a burst from her arm cannon. Burnt pieces of Alucard fell onto the street in a manner particularly lacking in dignity.

    "You know, it''s funny," laughed Samus, kicking Alucard''s body aside. "When I ran into you guys before, I didn''t really think I''d run into you again. But with the amount of credits on your heads, I guess you could say our reunion was destiny."

    Twilight Sparkle turned to face her opponent, frowning. "I''m of the belief that destiny isn''t determined by the transfer of money."

    Alucard''s body began to piece itself back together in a storm of hellish black mist. His still-forming arms swung his pistols back towards Samus, the half of his face that had not returned twisted into a giddy smile.

    "First you make the mistake of challenging us twice. Now you tell us you''ve done it for money when there''s clearly none here. You''re more of an idiot than I thought," he hissed.

    "To be truthful, it''s not- actually- credits," Samus blushed. "They promised me they could get me¡­ a lot of a particular food item. That I have a particular weakness for."

    "You''re not helping my opinion of you," muttered Alucard.

    "Do you think that I care?!" she screamed.

    The vampire tilted his hat down. "You seemed concerned about it when we were talking about you in front of your back."

    Samus lost it, firing desperately with her arm cannon. Alucard dodged the shot this time, making full use of his horrifying speed. He trained his pistols on separate targets on Samus'' body, aiming one for her sleekly-armored abdomen and another for her cannon arm''s elbow joint. Both of his shots were direct hits, but neither managed to scratch her armor.

    Samus laughed aloud, blasting off the ground with her jet boots and wrapping her huge arms around the vampire''s comparatively slim body. The tackle sent the two flying over Twilight''s head and into the shoe store across the street.

    "You''re really going to try and use slugthowers? What do you think this is? The twenty-second century?!" Her enthusiasm was beginning to fog the inside of her visor.

    "If you''re going to complain about my weapons, I can always adopt a different strategy."

    Alucard slipped his pistols back into his coat, placing a boot on Samus'' midsection in order to push her away with a forceful kick. The vampire floated to his feet gracefully, roaring with laughter.

    "Come on!" he guffawed. "Show me a halfway entertaining fight! I''ve been just dying for a challenge!"

    Samus picked herself up, removing a designer stiletto that had become lodged in the gap between her shoulder armor and her arm. "Okay, if you really want to be dying," she spat as her suit collapsed around her, folding into a neat, bronze sphere.

    "Oh, you''re going to run away again," whined Alucard. "What a shame. I was hoping you''d stay."

    Samus'' Morph Ball did not run away. It spun forward, drew a lazy loop around the vampire''s feet, and returned to where it was before, exploding back out into the bulky armor. Samus smirked behind her visor. Alucard noticed a soft beeping noise and looked down to see several metal orbs gently pulsing with red light.

    Alucard tilted his hat down and sighed. "Ah. I see."

    Twilight managed to raise a magical barrier just before the explosion''s shockwave reached her, tearing the contents of the shoe store out of its building and across the street. She kept the pink dome of magic up until she was certain there were no more chunks of concrete or burnt track shoes left to fall on her head, then allowed it to dissipate, blinking the smoke out of her eyes as it crept into the now unoccupied space.

    Samus Aran stepped through the mist, materializing in front of the unicorn with a charged arm cannon.

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    "You sure don''t like making things easy, do you?" she grunted, using her other arm to remove her helmet, shaking her ponytail free. "Then again, nobody really does. If I had run into the elf or the girl with that curvy thing with the string-"

    "It''s called a bow," corrected Twilight.

    "Sure, yeah, a bow. If I had run into them first this would have been a lot easier. But I found you two and I stick with targets of opportunity. I swear, if Megatron doesn''t pay up¡­"

    "Ha!" shouted Twilight, pointing a hoof at the bounty hunter. "You revealed your employer!"

    "So?" Chuckled Samus. "You''re dead anyway. And it''s not like it matters. I don''t care if you tear him to pieces later. As long as I get my payment for this job, I''m good."

    "I wouldn''t be too certain about either of those things," mused the unicorn with a smirk.

    The color drained from the bounty hunter''s face. "He regenerated again, didn''t he?"

    "Yep."

    Samus only caught a glimpse of Alucard''s formless black abyss of a body before it turned into a stream, passed through her, and regenerated on the other side. She collapsed to her knees, blood suddenly welling in her throat.

    "Wh-what did you just do?" she gasped.

    Alucard let his toothy grin stretch from one end of his face to the other. "I tore up a few organs. Your appendix and spleen, I think. You''ll live- in pain." He drew the larger of his two pistols and placed it between Samus'' eyes. Twilight Sparkle trotted in front of her, shaking her mane with condescendence.

    "You can tell Megatron that he can blame his failures on himself. If he was half the mastermind he says he is, he wouldn''t get defeated even by teams as powerful as ours. And I highly doubt he can provide you with¡­ what exactly did he promise you?"

    "Millet puffs," coughed Samus.

    "Like what you feed to parakeets?" asked Alucard.

    "No! These are candies. I''m not a parakeet!" she cried weakly.

    "Did I say you were?"

    "You sure thought it!" she screamed, flailing her cannon arm and knocking his pistol away. Samus made a labored jump back, once again aiming down her arm towards her quarries. "Now, shut up and DIE!"

    This time, her Arm Cannon did not fire an energy blast, but instead unfolded into a compact missile launcher. One of the guided munitions spiraled out of the barrel, leaving a thin trail of smoke behind. Twilight conjured another defensive barrier around herself and her traveling companion, but upon the missile''s impact and explosion, the lavender wall of energy disappeared.

    "I can''t keep it up," Twilight whimpered. "I just don''t have the magical endurance to take many more hits like that."

    "Too bad," crowed Samus, firing another missile. Twilight fought the urge to shut her eyes, knowing that if she focused, she might be able to survive. However, she found that would have been unnecessary, as a familiar figure picked a convenient time to land in front of her and slice the missile in half, allowing her to create a less-intense barrier to protect them and their savior from the blast.

    A tattered red piece of cloth floated through the smoke, which parted to reveal Mikasa in all of her Recon Corps finery. The sword she extended in front of her was not one of her razor-like Paring Blades, but instead, a comparatively mundane katana.

    Samus took a step back. "A-another one?" she sputtered. "I¡­ I know¡­ I can''t-" She broke into a fit of coughing, lowered her weapon, transformed into her Morph Ball, and sped away. Alucard extended his hand, and his lost pistol floated back into it, sights centered on Mikasa.

    "What a welcome," muttered the scout. "Is this how I''m repaid for saving you?"

    Twilight raised a hoof toward Alucard. "Put the gun down. She''s not with them, clearly."

    Alucard made a soft grunt and lowered his weapon, tucking it back inside his coat.

    "Sorry," apologized the unicorn. "Security measures, if you will. We''re glad to see you, Mikasa."

    "You could have fooled me," she growled in reply. "Where''s the rest of the team?"

    "Oh, they''re, um¡­ we''re taking a two-pronged approach. Splitting up to maximize the search area."

    "More like maximizing your chances of getting killed," she said while sliding the katana into a scabbard tied to her 3DMG''s left box.

    "There is a slight tactical disadvantage, yes," mumbled Twilight. "But with you around, it should be completely mitigated!"

    Mikasa narrowed her eyes and removed a small item from her pocket, tossing it toward the unicorn, who caught it in mid-air with her magic.

    "It''s a lead to a VIW, no doubt," Mikasa stated as Twilight unfolded the paper and examined the emblem. She nodded in agreement.

    "Then let''s plot a course for these ''Second Street Ballrooms''. We''ve no time to waste."

    The trio started off at a cautious walk, with Alucard once again taking his place at Twilight''s side.

    "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he whispered.

    "If we meet them there¡­ it''s better sooner than later," replied Twilight.

    "What are you talking about?" pried Mikasa from behind.

    "Oh, nothing much. Just when we''ll meet the other half of the team," explained Twilight with a nervous giggle.

    "All right. I was just checking. I don''t like being left in the dark."

    "Nobody does," whispered the unicorn.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-9

    "There''s a gathering of teams four hundred meters up the road. That''s where they''ll make their move, no doubt." Mr. Everdeen kept his eyes focused ahead, along the street that stretched so far ahead and so far below their rooftop perch.

    "We should start closing in," asserted Dio. "But we''ll need to keep our pace slow to avoid getting caught in the battle."

    Filia ran her hand through her hair parasite idly, casting a nervous glance at her leader. "But¡­ Lord Dio, isn''t that what we want? To fight the other teams while they''re occupied with each other, so that we have the advantage?"

    "It would be if defeating those teams was our goal, Filia. Unfortunately, our mission''s a little tougher than that," Dio explained. "Nightmare, Predator, are you ready? How are the communicators I gave you?"

    Nightmare struggled to reach around the side of his helmet to apply the adhesive side of the small wire microphone. The Yautja calmed his fussing and placed it for him, giving Dio a thumbs-up. Dio removed his own microphone from one of his baggy pants'' pockets and applied it next to his ear, gingerly tapping the streamlined housing.

    "Test, test," he whispered.

    "Loud and clear," confirmed Mr. Everdeen, having just put on his own.

    "Good. Keeping in touch will be essential for coordinating our attack."

    "I still don''t understand, Lord Dio. What are we doing?" Filia whimpered.

    Dio plucked another microphone out of his pocket and pressed it into her hands. "You''ll get filled in on the way. Let''s move!"

    ***

    The wizard had grown tired of the bickering amongst the fighters, and was concerned that chaos could break out if the situation deteriorated further. Already the shopping court in which they had gathered was being filled to the brim with loud and irritable warriors, who were shining examples of the second law of thermodynamics. He raised his staff above the ground, checked to make sure that no one had noticed, and slammed its end back down, creating a mighty clap of thunder that silenced all arguments.

    "Ahem," grunted Gandalf. "We have two courses of action to follow here. Either we settle things in an orderly fashion, which could not only prove as non-violent as possible, but also serve as a learning experience, or we can tread the path of fools and rip each other apart like starved orcs! Now, which appeals more to you?"

    "The first option," sighed Tris begrudgingly from the crowd.

    "Good! Then let''s organize things so we may proceed like civilized creatures. Could one representative from each team step forward, and introduce yourselves and your team? Here, I shall go first."

    Gandalf took another step forward, pausing again to make sure everyone had seen.

    "I am Gandalf the Grey. My party, named ''Magica Et Justi'' by popular opinion, consists of myself, Harry Potter, the Dovahkiin, Ezio Auditore, and Leonidas of Sparta." As he said their names, each one raised a hand to identify themselves. A small yellow creature hopped onto Gandalf''s shoulder and nuzzled him gently.

    "Pika-pi," it cooed.

    "And how could I forget Pikachu? Do you want some more Lembas bread? I''m all out, you see."

    "Pi-ka-chu!" it chirped.

    "All right, who is next? Once we get all of our teams here sorted out, we can proceed into organization."

    "I''ll go," said an intense-looking man clad in a ripped leather vest and bandages. "I am Kenshiro, rightful successor of Hokuto Shinken. Our team has no official name. Everyone just calls us the Martial Arts Guys, so that will suffice for now."

    "It really could be a worse name," concurred Mr. Chuck.

    "This," continued Kenshiro, "Is Mr. Chuck. He invented the Chun Kuk Do school. Ryu over there has trained in Ansatsuken, the Assassin''s Fist. And finally, there is Captain Falcon. None of us are really sure what he does. He just keeps saying-"

    "SHOW ME YOU MOVES!" belted the spandex-clad man.

    "¡­that." Concluded Kenshiro.

    And so the teams went around introducing themselves. It was, as Gandalf had wanted, an unusually civil event- they might as well have been in the common hall, and not in the middle of a round.

    "Ugh, this is taking forever," whined Tris. John-117, her team''s leader, turned and knelt to look her in the eye.

    "Just be patient, okay, kid? They''ll finish up soon."

    "I just want another chance, ya know?" she said. "I''ve spent all of my time here getting'' my ass handed to me- I just wanna prove I''m worth something."

    "You will get your chance," smiled Shuya Nanahara, her teammate. She didn''t really know too much about the boy other than he had also been defeated by Katniss, which at least gave them something to talk about. "But remember that we''re all proving something, even now. We''re standing here, working out our problems instead of behaving like animals. It means we can challenge the Master of Games'' authority."

    "You and your speeches," she groaned. "What''s it matter if we ''challenge his authority'', huh? We''re still stuck here, ain''t we? We ain''t gettin'' out any sooner."

    The teenagers could sense a glare from behind John''s orange visor. "You two. Behave."

    "Yeah, whatever," huffed Tris.

    The wizard raised his voice above the ever-louder rabble.

    "That concludes our introductions, so it is time that we arrange how this tournament will play out. My team has worked out a plan- are any of you opposed to hearing it?"

    Silence followed.

    "Very well, I shall explain. As you may have realized, each team receives a clue for the location of the next VIW once they successfully kill a member of another team. Our goal is to minimize conflict while still providing a method for teams to obtain all of the clues. Teams will be paired off by the number of clues they have received. Each will provide one fighter, and the two will fight to the death. The winner''s team rightfully receives the clue, and challenges the winner from a different set. Is that clear? Does it need work?"

    Ryu raised his hand. "It seems a little undeveloped."

    "I came up with it in about five minutes while you were all introducing yourselves," shrugged Gandalf.

    "Fair enough," replied the martial artist.

    "We''ve got one clue," shouted John over the crowd.

    "Good, good!" called back Gandalf. "We have one as well. Our teams will square off, then."

    "Then let''s get to it," grunted the Spartan. The crowds shaped themselves around little open spaces for their chosen fighters to do battle, the volume of discussion picking up again as deliberation began.

    "I''m calling dibs," snapped Tris.

    "If it makes you happy, kid," the SPARTAN grumbled. "Just don''t let us down, okay?"

    "I''m more worried about lettin'' myself down," Tris replied as she walked into the clearing made for her and her opponent to fight in. Gandalf nodded, acknowledging Tris as her team''s challenger.

    "In response to your use of a junior member, we shall bring forth our own."

    The old wizard stepped aside, and the boy Tris recognized as Harry stepped into the clearing across from her.

    "Good morning, Tris," he said politely.

    "Uh¡­ good mornin'' to you, too?"

    "It''s been quite a while, hasn''t it?"

    "Yeah, I guess. I saw your ass get kicked by Katniss in that round with the ring."

    Harry smiled. "And I saw her rout you soundly as well."

    "Well, I was- I was off my game! Yeah, that''s it. I totally didn''t expect her to punch me."

    "If I could have defended myself, I would have. However, you practically let her kill you. If you''re going to whine and complain about losing, don''t make excuses as to why."

    Tris took a step back, offended.

    "Hey! What gives you the right to criticize what I''m doing, acting like an adult, huh?"

    "The first thing is that it''s annoying and immature, and benefits no one. The second thing is that I am an adult," said the teenaged boy frankly.

    "Oh¡­ so you lived long enough¡­ and were brought here like that¡­"

    He drew his wand from one of his cloak''s oversized sleeves, spinning it in his fingers deftly.

    "And judging by that reaction, you didn''t. Which is probably also to account for your immaturity. Or did that cause your early demise? But in the end, I suppose it doesn''t matter."

    "You suppo- what?! My God, do you just talk to hear yourself speak?!"

    Gandalf''s booming voice cut short any further conversation with a cry of "Let the tournament begin!"

    Tris hopped backwards, keeping her eyes focused on her opponent. She had to figure out Harry''s strategy, then devise a counter to it. That was all she needed- if she could just do that, then she could pull off a win for once. The boy was drawing slow circles in the air with his wand.

    Oh, yeah. He was the one going on and on about magic, right? Please. As if that''s really going to-

    "Flippendo!"

    Tris was knocked from her feet with enough force to fly back into the crowd that had bunched around the pair''s battle. They roughly pushed her back into the clear, and took a few more steps back.

    "The¡­hell?"

    "Flippendo. The knockback jinx. This is the easy stuff, Tris. I''m going to work my way up until you''re dead."

    "No, you won''t," growled the girl, drawing her pistol. She lined up the boy in her sights and placed her finger on the trigger, but at that moment Harry completed another movement with his wand.

    "Expelliarmus!"

    The gun leapt up, out of Tris'' hand, and clattered to the ground. More intricate movements of the wand followed, and the weapon snapped into Harry''s open hand. He briefly aimed the weapon at the girl, then tilted it up and discharged its entire magazine, tossing it away.

    "Did you really think that the wizarding world wouldn''t have figured out a counter to firearms? You underestimate the power of magic, Tris."

    Tris popped her knuckles, advancing toward Harry with clenched fists. "I ain''t giving up until I''ve exhausted all my options," she hissed.

    "Then I''ll just have to exhaust them!" declared the wizard, bracing himself for the girl''s attack. Tris led with her right arm, twisting her upper body into a brutal hammerfist. To her surprise, the blow connected, knocking a few teeth astray and crushing the boy''s glasses. It was going well, or so it seemed. Then, as she began to follow through with a left uppercut, she noticed Harry''s cunning smile.

    That can''t be good.

    "Ossio Dispersimus," he grunted as her left arm travelled past the tip of his wand. Tris felt a brief crackling sensation, as if her arm had been charged with static electricity, and then felt something that could only be described as an unsettling squishing feeling. Her left arm stopped in its tracks, immediately falling limp. Harry began to move the wand towards her other arm, but Tris rolled left and away from him- only to find that her unresponsive arm was not there to catch her, forcing her to smack into the ground. She desperately tried to right herself, but doing so with only one arm was more difficult than she had expected. Harry began to advance toward her, but she managed to find enough balance to perform a leg sweep, knocking the wizard to the ground. She used her momentum to force her legs beneath her and hop to her feet. Tris cradled her limp arm, only to find that nothing supported it past the shoulder- it bent in the middle like a piece of spaghetti.

    "What did you do to me?!" she cried, kicking Harry in the gut.

    "Gah! I- oh! Removed the bones," he whimpered between strikes.

    "PUT THEM BACK!"

    "Rictusempra," Harry replied. Tris fell over again, this time in a fit of violent laughter.

    "Hey- stop- that- hahahaha!- No! Ha! Oh!"

    Harry pushed himself to his feet, wiping blood away from his mouth with his long sleeves.

    "A tickling spell. See, we have one for everything. And unfortunately for you, we have ones to kill as well."

    "But-ha-ha! That wouldn''t be any fun," chuckled Tris, easing herself off of the ground.

    "It would not," said Harry sternly. "In fact, I normally have quite the issue with using them. But knowing that we all come back, I can justify one of the Forbidden Curses. Your death will be short and exceedingly painful."

    "Not as painful as yours," grunted the girl, flicking a handful of throwing knives forward with her good arm. All of them found their marks, with two plunging into his stomach and the third cleaving his jugular vein. The impact knocked the boy backwards, but he managed to retain his footing.

    "Ugh," he coughed, just before falling forwards onto the knives in his stomach. Tris threw her good arm into the air, shouting with triumph.

    "Yes! I did it! I finally won! Suck it, Everdeen!"

    She felt something touch her ankle, and looked down to find Harry''s wand cradled in the hand of his outstretched arm, its tip aglow with green energy.

    "Avada¡­ Kedavara," breathed Harry. Tris collapsed instantly, and the boy regretted his decision before he died.

    John-117 barged out of the crowd. "A double knockout? What the hell are we supposed to do with this?"

    "I am working on it," muttered Gandalf, scratching his beard.

    John-117 looked up, waiting for the clues to fall from above. They did- two white flecks materialized against the grey morning sky and proceeded to fall rapidly to the ground. John carefully stepped forward- making sure not to tread on the bodies of either of the teenagers- and snatched the clues out of the air, carrying them to the wizard.

    "Here you go," he grunted, dropping them into Gandalf''s outstretched hand. "Now how are we going to work this out?" The SPARTAN pointed to the paper-wrapped objects, indicating their shapes. "See? They''re different."

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    "Well, I suppose you can take one and we can take the other, provided that it doesn''t match the one you already have."

    "That sounds reasonable. Let me double-check mine." The supersoldier fumbled through his armor''s various storage compartments, finally finding what he was looking for. He held it behind huge, cupped hands to avoid anyone else seeing, looked down at it, then back up at the other two, then down again, then back up, only to find the other two clues missing. Gandalf looked down at his suddenly empty hand, gaping.

    "What manner of sorcery is this?"

    "Did you just swipe them?" growled the huge man in the armor.

    "No! Goodness, no! I believe they were swiped from me!"

    John felt something like a strong breeze whip by his hand, and felt his fingers snap shut over where the clue he had held before used to be.

    "You''re right!" he yelped, spinning in place in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the true thief. Despite his efforts, he saw nothing. Similar shouts of confusion began to rise up from several of the teams that had gathered. Someone or something had stolen their clues from them, too.

    "Tell them to calm down," ordered the SPARTAN of the wizard. "If we don''t, all hell''s gonna break loose."

    "Yes, of course," agreed Gandalf, who drove his staff into the ground once again with a commanding roar of "SILENCE!"

    The warriors obeyed the command, quieting themselves instantly. John-117 unclipped his sidearm, a rather bulky pistol, from the armor over his left thigh.

    "There''s something on the motion tracker," he said. "It''s hopping all over the place, like crazy. Is it teleporting, or is it just that fast?"

    Suddenly, there was a violent screech of rubber against pavement. A streak of smoke flared up in between the gathered fighters, zigging and zagging back and forth until it tapered to a mere wisp rising off of a pair of audacious-looking red shoes worn by a similarly audacious-looking creature, who skidded to a halt in front of John-117 and Gandalf. Its gloved hands were full of paper wads that no doubt contained the clues of countless teams, confirming it to be the thief. The sly grin across its short snout only further proved the point.

    "Believe me, I am just that fast."

    John aimed his pistol at the creature''s disproportionally large head. "Listen, buddy. We''ve got enough guys here to catch you no matter how fast you are. And they won''t have to if I put a bullet through you. Why don''t you hand those over and give up?"

    "Why don''t you make me?" he chuckled smugly.

    "Your funeral," barked the SPARTAN, pulling the trigger. The instant he did, the creature disappeared from where it was, reappearing balanced on its tip-toes on the barrel of John''s pistol.

    "Now''s the part where I ask you if you wanna give up," it said with a defiant stare.

    "You¡­ dodged a bullet¡­ at point blank¡­" stammered John.

    Gandalf nodded a slow, ominous nod. "Powerful sorcery."

    The supersoldier shook his weapon, causing the creature to cartwheel off and land with astounding grace for such odd proportions.

    "I''ll empty a whole clip into you, if I have to!" John threatened. The creature didn''t waver.

    "And you think that''s gonna work any better than one bullet? I''ll give ya a clue, it won''t."

    John''s hands trembled for the first time in a long time, and he lowered his pistol.

    "He''s right," sighed the gigantic power-armored man. "There''s no point in shooting you if you can dodge it."

    "That''s right, big guy. You catch on fast."

    "But¡­ we cannot simply let him take the clues!" protested Gandalf.

    "You think I want him to take them? I just don''t need to waste bullets on a target I can''t hit."

    Gandalf clenched his eyebrows together even further. "But¡­ those clues are essential to the success of this tournament!"

    "Then you get them back. I''m out," replied the SPARTAN, clipping his pistol back on his thigh. He reached into the crowd, pulled out Shuya, flung the teenager over his shoulders, and sprinted away. Both Gandalf and the sly creature watched him depart, the former with shock and the latter with smug satisfaction.

    "Well, if that''s all there is, I''ll be heading out too," scoffed the blue, spiky animal.

    "Hold, you fiendish rogue!" chuffed Gandalf, drawing his longsword, and lowering the point toward the thief. "This is not over!"

    "Nah," it replied, dropping a clue from between its fingers and catching in its palm in order to wag a finger toward the wizard. "It''s over. Look behind you."

    Gandalf turned, and barely dodged a stray blast of ki energy. The warriors he had spent so much time gathering had broken into a chaotic brawl.

    "They¡­ they did not listen¡­" he breathed in disappointment and fear, turning back to the thief. The reply he received did not come from the blue creature, as he had expected. It came instead from somewhere above him and to his left.

    "You seem surprised, Gandalf," it said. It was a very strange voice. In his ear, it was female, small, and light. In his heart, it screamed and bellowed with some unholy, primal force that he should be very afraid. He looked up, locating this newcomer, and was startled. Descending to the ground was the thin, short frame of the odd, small elf he had encountered earlier, though this did not seem to be the same person in the slightest. For starters, that elf certainly could not fly on her own. Yet here this one was, alighting between the wizard and the blue creature slowly and gracefully.

    "Look at them. You remove order and control and certainty for the briefest of moments and their nature is exposed," it continued, folding its arms across its chest and blinking its incomprehensibly-colored eyes. "Even animals have the civility to run from a situation they do not comprehend. But they believe that with their own strength they can set things right- that somehow they will be powerful enough to control that which they cannot. Only insects would sting that which is so vast they could not understand."

    "By my beard¡­ you¡­ you''re¡­"

    The elfish-looking thing smiled.

    "That is not dead which can eternal lie," it hummed, almost sing-song. "And with strange aeons even death may die."

    "No, no. It cannot be," whispered the wizard, his voice wavering. "Why would he bring you here? What logic-"

    "Logic?" smirked the being. "Of course it is logical. It is merely a logic you cannot comprehend. And like an insect, you find it offensive."

    "You¡­ why are you in¡­ that form?"

    "Oh, this?" It waved an arm to its slim, feminine figure. "A little present from an unwilling vessel. I think it looks rather nice. A mortal with just a hint of our ancient power¡­ magical creatures are like a glimpse into the true supremacy of beings such as me."

    "Hey, boss," the blue creature cut in. "If you''re done monologue-ing, can I get these clues back to the safe point?"

    The elf-looking thing sighed, placed three fingers of its left hand on its forehead, and gave the thief a sideways glare that could cause grown men to faint at forty meters.

    "Did it sound like I was done monologue-ing?"

    "Um, no, ma''am- er, sir-er- miss- I''ll just go take care of it."

    "You had better."

    With that command, the spiny animal sped away in a blue blur. When the grey elf turned its head back to Gandalf, he had narrowly dodged an unconscious body that had been hurled his way by the rioting crowd.

    "What is it that you want?" he cried, his terror evident.

    "Nothing with you, if that''s what you''re concerned about. My goal is to play by the Master of Games'' rules and utterly humiliate him. With one of the finest, most coordinated teams at my disposal, we will rise to any challenge he creates, we will emerge victorious, and when he is utterly broken, I shall destroy him again. Thanks to the clues we''ve received from your little tournament, we have all we need to win this round."

    "You''re¡­ just going to play along?"

    "You figured it out! Oh, how wonderful. I''m glad I don''t have to repeat myself for you, Gandalf, but I suppose I should expect a shred of competence out of a Maiar like yourself."

    "You told¡­ me¡­ everything. Are you not afraid that others will learn your secrets?"

    The thing laughed- it was an innocent, joking laugh, the sort that bubbles up when you see an inebriated friend stumble into the doorframe before exiting the room, yet the circumstances surrounding the laugh removed any sense of gaiety.

    "Ha-ha-hoo! Oh, no. You see, why do I care what anyone else knows? That knowledge cannot stop me. It''s like I told you. You are insects."

    And with those parting words, it vanished. Gandalf blinked, reassuring himself that what he had seen had been no hallucination due to his prolonged removal from hobbit pipe-weed. No, it certainly had not been- but that would not stop him from acquiring some of that smooth-smoking stuff later. He turned back to check the progress of the crowd''s senseless brawl, finding only a few fighters left standing, already grappling with each other.

    "Perhaps¡­ it was right," he groaned. He resolved to make a low-key escape before anyone could blame him for the chaos, and began to move toward the court exit, which emptied onto a major thoroughfare. However, the wizard''s streak of bad luck was only further prolonged by the team he found waiting on the street.

    "You!" yelped Dio, motioning for his underlings to seize the wizard. The Yautja and Nightmare obliged, each taking an arm of the protesting Gandalf.

    "You saw them, didn''t you?" the vampire asked.

    "Regrettably, I know exactly to whom you refer," trembled Gandalf. "It was working with a blue creature that departed in that direction-" he pointed further down the road, "and that is all I know."

    "Your assistance was appreciated, wizard," oozed Dio. "But I''m afraid your usefulness has come to an end."

    "Of course it has," Gandalf muttered.

    Filia tapped her master''s muscular shoulder. "Lord Dio¡­ m-may I?"

    "Fine. Go ahead. But make sure you get all of his blood. I''ve known a few-"

    The girl already had slipped her fingers under the wizard''s beard, siphoning his blood out along her arm.

    "Oh¡­ ah¡­ this¡­ feels awesome," she giggled.

    "Gughhhhh," gurgled Gandalf.

    "Just¡­ uh¡­ tell us when you''re done," Dio mumbled. He turned to his resident sniper and tracker, Mr. Everdeen.

    "Do you think you can still get a fix on them?"

    "I should be able to," replied the hunter.

    Nightmare let go of Gandalf''s arm, and the Predator followed suit. He couldn''t struggle anymore, anyway. "Wonderful," growled the demonic knight. "Another setback."

    Dio shook his head. "Not a setback. An opportunity. They have to regroup and plan. That gives us time to strike."

    Filia removed her hand from under the wizard''s neck, breathing heavily.

    "Whew," she gasped. "What a rush! I feel unstoppable!"

    "You had better be," muttered Dio.

    ***

    A girl''s voice. "And they made you live under the stairs? Harsh."

    Then, a boy''s. "In retrospect, it could have been worse. But it could have been a lot better. I would call the experience formative."

    Gandalf blinked the darkness out of his eyes to find himself back in the common hall, as expected. The table in front of him was occupied by the two young warriors who had been participating in the tournament when everything went awry.

    "Excuse me," he interrupted. "Would you mind if I sat down?"

    "Not at all, Mr. Gandalf," said Harry, gesturing to an open chair. "Really was a botched job, eh?"

    "I assume you saw everything?" the wizard asked.

    Tris nodded. "Yep. Including all the weird stuff. Like, what the hell was up with that girl''s hair? Always twitching. Messed up, I tell ya."

    Harry followed with another question. "So, who was that one that looked like Holly?"

    "Oh, that? That was one of the things I warned you about, Harry," said the wizard with a sigh.

    The younger wizard''s eyes widened. "Here? In the arenas with us? What should we do?"

    "If what it said was true¡­ and I have no way to tell, mind you- nothing."

    "Nothing?" Harry seemed dissatisfied.

    "What are you guys even talking about?" questioned Tris.

    "It is very complicated," said Gandalf. "To explain it to you would be a great risk. If you misunderstood, or took the wrong course of action, many lives would be at stake. Therefore, I am keeping that information within my own team."

    "Psh, whatever! Keep it ''within your own team''. See if I care. I''ll figure it out on my own, anyway."

    "What makes you think that you''ll be able to pull that off?" asked Harry.

    "I beat you. That means I''m on the way up!" Tris declared with a raised index finger. "If I just keep at it, I''ll get strong enough so that nobody can beat me! And then I can do whatever the hell I want!"

    The girl punctuated her statement with a slam of her fist, followed by her rising from the table and walking to the exit.

    "I''m pretty sure I won, though," mused Harry. "I got the last shot in, so to speak."

    "Indeed," concurred Gandalf.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-10

    Hermione looked concerned. "And you think this''ll work?"

    "Absolutely certain. The second he eats those charmed beans, he''ll never ask me for my treacle tart again. It''s wicked," Ron whispered.

    "But, isn''t playing a prank on your friend¡­ unethical?"

    "Unethical? This is a protection of my interests! He can have all the treacle tarts he wants, so long as they''re not mine."

    Harry returned to the table the three had acquired for studying. Mid-terms were close at hand, and snack-filled evenings pouring over textbooks had become the order of the day for the last week. The bespectacled boy stuffed two hands into his cloak and produced two napkin-wrapped pastries.

    "I managed to snag a couple treacle tarts from the Great Hall," smiled Harry.

    "Taking after Ron, are you? Heaven help us," Hermione sighed.

    "Wait, only two? There''s three of us," noted the ever-observant Ron.

    "I could only grab two. One of the ghosts would have spotted me. Here, you two take them. I see you''ve got some Bertie Botts'' Beans there, they''ll do."

    "No, no!" interjected Ron with a concern that startled Harry. Hermione gave the Weasley a sideways glance. "Listen- you can have my tart. You went to the trouble of getting it."

    "Oh. Well, thank you, Ron. They are my favorite."

    "Don''t mention it," replied Ron, idly scarfing down a few beans from the pouch. He paused, looked down, and moaned aloud.

    "What''s the matter, Ron?" asked Harry, worried for his friend. "You can have the tart if you really want it. It''s fine by me."

    "No! No!" wept the afflicted young wizard. "I''m fine, really."

    "I insist," said Harry, pushing the syrup-soaked pastry to Ron''s end of the table. Ron looked down at it with barely-concealable revulsion, and reluctantly took a bite, shivering with disgust. Hermione burst into riotous, if somewhat guilty laughter.

    That Ron. He''s just like that, even now.

    "What are you laughing about?" asked Piccolo, seated in midair a few feet ahead of her. The two had been meditating in complete silence in the Namekian''s vast, empty quarters until the girl''s outburst had broken their concentration simultaneously.

    "Oh¡­ it''s nothing. Just good old memories. Do you ever look back and think about when things just seemed simpler? And you feel like you wish it was that way again?"

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    A heavy green brow shifted under his turban.

    "I¡­ uh¡­ I guess so."

    "Those were the days," she sighed wistfully.

    Piccolo gave a nod that indicated he was just going to go along with what she said. "Uh¡­ huh."

    "Blast, that just made me realize!" she shouted, her voice filled with frustration. "This¡­ all of this-" she waved to her tween body- "and the reminiscing! I''m having a mid-life crisis!"

    "Um," mumbled Piccolo.

    Hermione stood up in midair, placing her hands on her head in exasperation.

    "I can''t have a mid-life crisis! I have to help save the metaverse! And more importantly, I have children to raise!"

    "HEY!" roared Piccolo, quieting Hermione''s conniption instantly. Once the Namekian acknowledged that she had his attention, he continued.

    "Listen up, kid. Meditation is about looking deep inside yourself. Not because you want to relive the good old days and not because you want to blame the way things are now on yourself, but because that inner peace is the only way to achieve a higher level of understanding as to how the universe works! Now, did you actually do anything productive while meditating at all?"

    "Well, yes," she said, sounding a little offended. "I devised a method of using my ki energy to augment spells."

    Piccolo blinked. "Oh. That''s- that''s good."

    "And I also have been theorizing a charm that allows me to enter a state of further-enhanced ki channeling."

    "You''re a smart kid, you know that?"

    "I do."

    Piccolo exhaled slowly and floated to the ground. Hermione followed suit, arms folded across her chest sternly.

    "Listen, you can head wherever now. Just be back in a few hours. We''ve got to get you to practice your abilities before they send you out."

    "Understood. I''m going to go pick up my new Scouter from requisition. Maybe I''ll see if I can get you an AEGIS so you don''t have to stay cooped up down here."

    Piccolo made a short, snorting sound.

    "I''d rather stay cooped up down here."

    "I''m getting you one anyway."

    And I think I''ll get myself a treacle tart.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-11

    The apple rose, reached the apex of its narrow arc, and fell into waiting hands. They tossed it back up again, and let it fall to catch it again. Shimmering green eyes followed the fruit through its repeated ascents and descents.

    "Bored," declared Morrigan. "Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored." She had lain herself across one of the loveseats in the hotel''s lobby, and was attempting to amuse herself the best she could in public. The next time she threw the apple skyward, it was splattered into a fine mist by a well-aimed bullet. A trail of smoke rose lazily from the end of an oversized revolver, held aloft by a lanky arm. The weapon''s operator frowned, removing the lollipop from between her lips to speak.

    "If you''re bored, why don''t you go make more advances on our pilot?"

    "I think he''s still recovering from meetin'' me," the succubus sighed. "He went and locked himself in his machine and I haven''t seen ''im since."

    The woman with the gun lowered her weapon. "You do know he''s-"

    "I know exactly what he''s doin''. It means I''ve accomplished my purpose, aye?"

    "You are an odd bird," muttered the woman, folding her long, shapely legs over themselves in her seat. "But I think that''s why I like you."

    "Aw, ain''t that cute?" cooed Morrigan, fluttering over to her companion''s couch. "Ye want to know the reason I like you?"

    "Am I interrupting something?" asked the blue, spiky creature pushing his way through the door. Morrigan hopped off of the woman''s couch and floated down to greet the new arrival.

    "Well, if it isn''t Sonnae the brush hog!"

    "Sonic," he clarified. "the hedgehog."

    "I daen''t care what yer name is, you cute lil'' fuzzball. I''ll take ye and stuff ye between-"

    "LOOK!" he cried in distress, holding up his hands. "I''VE GOT THE CLUES!"

    "That''s just divine, darling," called the other woman on the couch.

    Sonic scowled. "I don''t need any of your antics, either, Bayonetta. I do what the boss says and the rest of ya can keep your hands off me, you hear?"

    "Just set them on the coffee table," instructed their boss, appearing behind Sonic and giving everyone in the room a scare.

    "Would you STOP doing that?!" yelped the hedgehog, zipping to the indicated table and placing the clues as ordered.

    "No. I will not stop doing that," said the elfish creature flatly. "However, I do believe I have found something that will make our cooperative experience much more productive."

    "Is it something to keep those two''s hands off of everyone else?" asked Sonic dryly.

    "As long as it''s chains," smiled Morrigan. "Or bondage."

    Their boss let its forehead fall into an open hand.

    "No," it sighed. "It is none of those things."

    Everyone made disapproving noises.

    "It is, however, a name. From now on, you may address me as Poppy Short."

    Morrigan looked confused. "But yer nae''t actually related to that firecracker ''Olly, are ye?"

    "No. But it was something clever I picked up while I was stuck inside her head. An old nickname. While I normally would not approve of such informalities, I do believe it will streamline communication, which will be necessary for this sort of operation."

    "I wonnae have ''spected ye to give yerself a name, though."

    "I have a real name. But you mortals would butcher the pronunciation."

    "Whatever," moaned Sonic, dashing to an unoccupied couch. "You''re Poppy now. Woo-hoo."

    "I can understand your lack of enthusiasm," said Poppy. "So perhaps I can pique your interest with the next order of business. You girls, get to opening those clues. Sonic, go and find everyone else."

    "I''m on it," replied the hedgehog, zipping out of the room and leaving a clearly-defined blur behind.

    Poppy crossed its arms and tapped a foot in mock impatience, its vast intellect stewing with thoughts.

    I can lie to those fools for as long as I want. But the spell of that unicorn did something to me, and now I cannot escape this form. And worse, now I am acting without thinking. I laughed back there. And now I have given myself a name to help these insects communicate with me? No, I cannot defend these decisions as rational. My current directives stand, however. Perhaps I can humiliate that brother of mine before I am completely lost. Yes, I am sure that I can.

    Sonic raced back into the room with the other team members trailing far behind. He reclaimed his seat from earlier and crossed his thin arms and legs with a hmph. The two that followed were not in such a hurry. The first was a short, thin, and baby-faced man with well-defined muscles and a head of particularly erratic blonde hair. Over his shoulder was swung a gigantic slab of metal that could generously be described as a sword. He sunk into a recliner and kicked it back, planting his weapon in the floor next to him. The second was a teenager in a blue uniform jacket, who awkwardly found a seat as close to Morrigan as he could.

    "How''s my adorable le''l pilot doin''?" asked the Succubus.

    "Oh, uh, fine," he replied shakily. "How about y-you?"

    "Oll right," she said, floating up from the table and landing on the sofa''s arm next to the boy. "Jest a le''l bored."

    "Eheh-heh-heh," giggled the boy nervously.

    The final member of the team, a man clad in a military-spec stealth suit loaded down with weapons and equipment, tread into the room silently and took up a spot along a nearby wall. He opened a water-tight storage pouch and drew a cigarette and lighter, taking a few dignified puffs before strolling over to where the rest of the group sat gathered around the coffee table.

    "That''s everyone," confirmed Sonic.

    "Then we can proceed with our planning," said Poppy. "There are three different targets. What do our clues have to say about them?"

    Bayonetta raised a wispy hand with a set of three clues balanced in her fingers. "Addresses. A ballroom, a foundry, and an office building."

    Poppy closed its eyes for a moment, and began to synthesize a plan.

    "The targets are in varied structures. These structures, regardless of the targets inside, will provide us with different challenges and threat levels. I will divide you into two teams. Each team will silence a separate target."

    "But, there are three targets," noted Sonic.

    Poppy''s incomprehensible eyes opened, fixed on the hedgehog in an ambiguous glare.

    "I will destroy the target located in the ballroom, which I have assessed to have the lowest threat level, on my own."

    Sonic shrugged. "Suit yourself."

    "Your teams will consist of a long-range, close-range, and mid-range fighter. Sonic, Morrigan, and Haruto will compose team One. Your target will be the foundry. Make use of Haruto''s machine''s long-ranged weapons to draw the enemy out, then wear them down in melee combat. Cloud, Bayonetta, and Snake will compose team Two. You will infiltrate the office building, putting your subterfuge skills to use. Make sure to keep Cloud, your ''heavy-hitter'', safe until you reach the VIW. Then feel free to ''cut loose''. Understood?"

    "Infiltration," smiled Snake, exhaling a stream of smoke. "I love infiltration."

    Sonic raised his hand. Poppy gave him a go-ahead nod.

    "I don''t mean to question your, ah, wisdom," said the hedgehog. "But how are we supposed to avoid getting caught out in the open? With just teams of three, we could get overwhelmed pretty easy."

    "How interesting of you to raise that point," Poppy responded. "You are the last member of our team that would ever get overwhelmed. You care about the well-being of others."

    "Well, sorry," snapped Sonic. "It''s who I am."

    "It is not a bad thing," said Poppy, which genuinely surprised Sonic. "If a team does not care about its members, then it is certain to fail. To answer your question, by traveling near Haruto''s Valvrave unit, most other teams will avoid you. Only other mecha units would try and pursue, and the Valvrave is exceptionally maneuverable. You should be fine. However, if you wish to make sure, you could always scout the route to the foundry ahead of time."

    "I think I will," grunted the hedgehog as he got up.

    "Thanks, man," called Haruto from his seat.

    "Don''t mention it," replied Sonic.

    He waved an open hand toward Bayonetta. "Hand me one of the clues with the address, will ya?" The woman nodded and tossed him a re-wrapped clue, and the hedgehog sped out the door.

    "Ah, the wee creature," gushed Morrigan. "Selfless t''a fault!"

    "If team Two doesn''t plan on doing any scouting, then you had better head out," ordered Poppy.

    "We don''t," said Cloud, pulling his sword out of the floor. The rest of his sub-team got up from their seats and followed him to the door- except for Bayonetta, who paused on a squeaky floorboard.

    "What''s the matter?" asked the mercenary as he propped open the door with his arm.

    "You put your sword in the floor."

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    "Yeah. So what?"

    Bayonetta lifted her other foot off of the floor slowly. "The floor is hollow," she continued.

    "Most floors are," growled Cloud.

    "There''s something down there," she whispered.

    Poppy suddenly snapped to attention, as if it was a marionette being pulled up by the strings.

    "She is right. They are here. Prepare yourselves."

    Immediately the floor underneath Bayonetta exploded, sending wooden planks flying as a wiry, skeletal, pitch-black arm with greedy claws shot up in an attempt to snag the woman''s leg. Bayonetta, as an Umbran witch, was quite prepared, and immediately triggered the massive pistol that had been built into her suit as a high heel. The bullet severed the arm from its owner, and a splatter of dull green liquid threw itself onto the floor and began to smoke profusely. Bayonetta cartwheeled backward and drew her hand-held pistols as the Xenomorph used its remaining arm to hoist itself out of the floor, rising to its full, terrifying height in the lobby.

    "Gaaah!" squealed Haruto. "I don''t want to die! Morrigan, save me!"

    The succubus snagged the boy by the collar and stuffed his face into her chest, raising her free arm and firing a Soul Fist to stagger the creature.

    "Pardon me," she said. "But ey thocht ye said ye was immortal?"

    "Mmph mph," confessed Haruto.

    An armor-plated backhand sent Morrigan and Haruto tumbling forward. The Predator de-cloaked behind them, wiping the succubus'' blood off of its gauntlet as its plasma caster unfolded over its shoulder. Snake''s hand flew to his sidearm''s holster, and in less than a second, a bullet severed the caster''s plasma feed cable, rendering it useless.

    "Thanks!" called Morrigan, spreading her wings and flying off of the floor, still clutching Haruto to her chest. She spun to face her attacker, jetted forward, and drove a dent into the Yautja''s mask with her fist. Cloud rolled back through the doorway as the massive frame of Nightmare charged through it, showering the room in broken glass. The massive Buster Sword rose in time to halt a downward slash from Soul Edge.

    "Ha!" roared the demonic knight. "I have not faced a sword like that in years!"

    "Is that¡­ a good thing?" asked the mercenary.

    "Your soul will be delicious!"

    "I guess not." Cloud rolled backwards , pushing his opponent away with a kick. He knew that the logical follow-up would be to rush forward with a horizontal strike, in order to force Nightmare off-center. He stepped forward, bringing his sword to the ready, when something snaked out of the floor and wrapped itself around his boot.

    "What the hell?"

    Something else wrapped around the end of his sword, pulling it out of his grip and flinging it to the far side of the room. Cloud was about to object again when another something coiled around his neck and pulled him to the floor. More black strands rose to restrain him, locking down his arms and remaining leg.

    Poppy dove through the chaos to examine the struggling warrior, taking a close look at the bonds that were holding him down.

    "It''s¡­ hair," it whispered. She raised a hand and stopped Nightmare''s attack in mid-swing, giving the cursed warrior a disapproving look before flicking a wrist and sending him flying out of the building. Several more strands of hair rose from under the floorboards and attempted to restrict Poppy''s arms and legs, but the elfish creature ripped them apart before they could tighten.

    "Bayonetta, what do you make of this?" asked Poppy.

    "It''s not me," she hissed, firing another stream of bullets into the now-spongy-looking Xenomorph. "Why would it be me?"

    "I did not say it was you," barked Poppy. "I merely thought this would be your area of expertise."

    The witch shook her head. "Well, I don''t know what to- look out!"

    Despite Bayonetta''s brief efforts, Poppy was not able to avoid the drill-like, spinning mass of hair that had accumulated just out of sight, which promptly extended forward and impaled the elf-like thing.

    Poppy hacked up a stream of black, inky ichor.

    This is bad. This form cannot respond as quickly as I would like. I am certain I can recover from this injury, but if I am incapable of protecting my team members-

    "THE WORLD!"

    A pulse of light flashed the room into negative colors, freezing the cacophonic battle instantly. Dio sauntered into the room, his green heart charms jangling as he walked.

    "Nice place you had here," he remarked. "Well, nice enough. I would really appreciate something a little more high-end."

    He crossed over shattered floorboards and walked to where Poppy was held in place by the spike of hair, her black blood frozen in mid-air. Dio flicked a drop, causing it to bounce away.

    "I know the Master of Games will be very pleased to know that I''ve dealt with you. Can''t have you getting too far ahead, now can we?"

    Poppy remained frozen, an expression of shock and agony etched onto its face.

    "You''re really unlucky," continued Dio. "You may think that being on the receiving end of one of my apprentice''s Ringlet Spikes is bad, but I found an abandoned construction site nearby, and I decided to leave you a gift on the roof. Actually, it''s not on the roof anymore. Should be a few stories down. You''ll get it soon enough."

    Dio turned away from his target, took a few steps, and stopped. "Time will now flow again," he said.

    As the inverted colors retreated, havoc charged forward, enveloping the lobby in chaos once more. Dio dodged a few stray bullets and turned to watch his target die. He was aghast to find that the creature that called itself Poppy was not where it had been, leaving behind an ink-soaked ringlet of hair.

    "What? Impossible!"

    "Not impossible, Dio," said Poppy, suddenly behind him. It snapped its thin fingers, and Bayonetta unleashed a storm of lead toward the vampire, who activated his Stand again. He stepped out of the path of the bullets, only to find Poppy at his side, shaking its head.

    "You are not the only one who can manipulate time. And I suggest you use that Stand of yours to defend yourself."

    Too shocked to disagree, Dio brought The World''s ethereal form to his side, the Stand locking its arms around the vampire in defense. With a flick of Poppy''s fingers, the strands of hair that had once impaled the elf-like creature snapped around the vampire''s legs, immobilizing him.

    "Good," smiled Poppy. "Time will now flow again."

    Dio''s time stop was undone by those words, returning the room to normal once more. Bayonetta was shocked to see her boss reappear in another location, and significantly less harmed.

    "Poppy, you''re-"

    "Do not worry about me. Just take a few steps back."

    Bayonetta obliged, noticing a distinct rumbling from the ceiling as she did so. "What''s that sound?"

    "It''s a road roller," sobbed Dio.

    The witch looked puzzled. "A what?"

    "IT''S A ROAD ROLLER!" he cried, as the piece of construction equipment plowed through the ceiling and crushed him, drawing the attention of everyone in the room and bringing a close to the battle.

    Snake scratched his head. "What the hell?"

    "The Master of Games'' team," explained Poppy. "Expect them to be our perennial rivals."

    "Lovely," scoffed Morrigan, wiping glowing green Yautja blood off of her knuckles. "So wey''ll be seein'' ''em a lot?" She plucked Haruto out of her chest and set him on the ground.

    "I d-didn''t mind," he mumbled, seeming a little dizzy.

    "O'' course ye didn''t," she cooed.

    "I¡­ uh¡­ need to go check that no one sabotaged the Valvrave. I''ll¡­ uh, be boo- I mean, back." He stumbled off upstairs like a drunkard.

    "That hedgehog sure picked a nice time to make his exit," noted Bayonetta.

    "Coincidence, I am certain," defended Poppy. It noticed the mysterious hair-tendrils retract through the floorboards. "This apprentice of his intrigues me, though. Another maliakinetic. Interesting."

    "Do you think they''re still around?" grunted Cloud, pulling himself off of the floor. "''Cause I''d like to have a word with them."

    "With a power like that, I wouldn''t put them more than about sixty meters away," said Bayonetta. "Nobody could possibly top my abilities."

    "Your actual maliakinesis is not particularly strong, Bayonetta," Poppy pointed out. "But thanks to your other abilities, the effect is greatly enhanced."

    "Whatever," scoffed the witch. "I don''t care about the technical mumbo-jumbo."

    Poppy returned to order-giving mode. "Morrigan, I need you and Haruto to get out of here. I will accompany you to your destination to make up for Sonic''s absence. As for team Two, you should head toward your target as well. I know for a fact that Dio is not dead underneath that primitive road-paving device, and no one should be left around here once he gets out from under it. Understood?"

    Four nods confirmed that they did understand.

    "Good. Let''s move out."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-12

    Katniss gave Holly a disbelieving look. "So you just thought that if you did something that looked the same, it would work?"

    "Well, no. I understood the principles. You channel ki to enhance your striking speed, then you strike pressure points as fast as possible. I just didn''t have the exact order right," Holly explained.

    "That, and Dio was completely immune," Ryuko pointed out. "It was a bulletproof strategy!"

    "I was trying to buy time for you to escape," replied the elf with a healthy dose of snark. "But somebody figured, oh, gee, let''s watch Holly throw all the punches. That''ll be safe."

    "There is no need for such arguments. Our team won that round. And those events are in the past," said Adam.

    "You''re right, sighed Ryuko. "Sorry, Holly."

    "It''s okay. Ruby, where are we at?"

    Ruby checked the stop sign on the intersection. "We are currently crossing¡­ Thirty-Fourth street!"

    "We''re still a ways off, then," sighed Katniss solemnly. The team had been walking for a few hours, and as midday approached, the pavement got hotter and hotter. None of them were out of shape, but walking in the heat was significantly more grueling than walking in the cool of the night. That, and the fear of an ambush by another team kept the group irritable.

    Ryuko gave a dismissive wave. "Ah, don''t sweat it. We''ve got this one in the bag."

    "I''m not so sure. We did have a bit of a delay," sneered Holly.

    "Hey! It''s not my fault that we got ambushed by the crazy hair chick and then had to save your asses," Ryuko spat.

    "Yeah, but if you didn''t run off with your shiny new toy in the first place, we''d have fought Sol off with no trouble!"

    "You sure? ''Cause I think he would have pissed me off either way, and you all know how that ended up!"

    "To be fair, you wouldn''t have run into Sol Badguy if you didn''t go into the mall," offered Katniss.

    "And exactly whose idea was that, I wonder?" screamed the elf.

    "Hey! Don''t drag me into the middle of this!" Ruby protested.

    "Excuse me," said Adam softly.

    "Well, maybe if you were a half-decent fighter, you wouldn''t have to worry about relying on me to solve all of our big problems!" Ryuko fumed.

    Adam tried to interject again. "There''s something that you should-"

    "I may not be that strong, but I at least know how to use teamwork to gain the upper hand! The team is at its strongest when we''re not split up for our own private adventures!" roared Holly.

    "Oh, so I guess your whole ''I''m suspicious of Twilight'' thing doesn''t count? Or does kicking out our resident brainiac and immortal vampire guy actually improve our chances of winning?"

    "Look out!" yelled the artificial man, pulling Holly and Ryuko out of the middle of the street as a massive trail of dust ripped past, shattering windows and uprooting shrubberies from the sidewalk as it went.

    "What in Frond''s name was that?" asked Holly, bewildered. She did not have to wait long to find out, as the sound of screeching rubber echoed back and the dust trail floated off, revealing a short, blue figure that immediately turned around and rushed back toward them.

    "It''s coming back!" yelped Ruby. "Save yourselves!"

    The team drew their weapons, ready for an imminent attack. What they weren''t ready for was the strange creature halting in front of them and waving a greeting to Ryuko.

    "Hey, man!" it chirped. "Long time no see!"

    The girl blinked slowly. "Um, hello?"

    "What''s up with the cold shoulder, dude? Don''t you recognize me?"

    "Uh¡­"

    "C''mon, Shadow. Don''t tell me you''re having one of your bouts of amnesia again. You really need to have that looked into."

    "I have no idea who you are," Ryuko said flatly. "And I really don''t think I''m anybody named Shadow. I''m Ryuko Matoi, and I''m from-"

    "Aw man! You think you''re a Japanese android this time! That''s crazy. Well, I guess I''ll have to jog your memory. I''m Sonic, Sonic the hedgehog."

    Adam nudged Holly and discretely pointed a finger toward the blue creature as it carried on its discussion with Ryuko. "Look in his hand," he said. "He is carrying a clue." Holly confirmed that within the hedgehog''s gloved hand was a wadded-up piece of paper, identical to the two they had collected so far.

    "So there''s a fox," asked Ryuko, struggling with the concept, "and an¡­ enchilada?"

    "Echidna," corrected Sonic. "A spiny anteater."

    "Oh, okay."

    "See? You''re getting'' it!"

    "You know, I think you''re making a serious mistake here," sighed the girl. "I''m not-"

    "Oh my goodness!" yelped Holly. "You''ve figured it out! He was always brooding about where he came from, but you''ve figured it out!"

    "Don''t mention it," chuckled Sonic, shooting them a thumbs-up.

    "What are you doing?" whispered Ryuko.

    "He''s got a clue," mouthed Holly in response. "Roll with it."

    "Oh, yeah!" started Ryuko. "You know, I think I am beginning to recall some things¡­"

    "Hey, I bet I know exactly what would get you back on the right track. A race."

    "A¡­ race," she whimpered. "Just¡­ like old times?"

    "Exactly. I''ll run, and you can start off by trying to keep up. If you pass me, then you pick the route."

    "But how will we know who wins?"

    "Winning? Pssh, you''ll say you''ll win no matter what happens. I''m just in it for the thrill, man."

    "No, I''m gonna win," declared Ryuko. "''Cause I''m Shadow, and I''m the best!"

    "Typical Shadow," scoffed Sonic. "Let''s go!" he said, disappearing in a blue blur.

    Ryuko watched the hedgehog speed down the street. "What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

    "He''s got a clue!" exclaimed Holly. "Clearly, he''s leading a team to one of the VIWs! If they''re going to get there, they might win! So go steal it!"

    "Oh, okay, I see. Guess you''re lucky I''m the fastest one on the team," Ryuko laughed hopping into the air. "Senketsu SHIPPU!" Her outfit converted into its flight form and she blasted off after her quarry.

    "Wait¡­" said Ruby, looking concerned. "If she''s gone, then aren''t we in the same situation we were before? When we thought we killed her?"

    "Aw, crap," moaned Katniss.

    Holly nodded. "You''re right. But look at us! We''ve covered a lot of ground without needing Ryuko to fight for us, and we haven''t really run into much danger, have we?"

    A gigantic blue robot flew into the building to their left, the walls crumbling as it slumped against the frame. Down Thirty Fourth Street, two other huge robots were sparring.

    "D''Arvit," swore Holly.

    A light bulb went off in Katniss'' head. "Wait a minute. Maybe we''re not doomed."

    Holly rolled her eyes. "Oh, really? Please, tell me how this is not the worst possible situation."

    "What is the only thing as strong as Ryuko?"

    "I dunno," replied Ruby. "A jabberwocky?"

    Katniss answered her own question for brevity''s sake. "A giant robot."

    The elf lifted an eyebrow. "Go on."

    "As you can see, this robot-" she said pointing to the blue one, which was picking bits of apartment complex out of its armor- "and that other one down there-" she pointed to a tall, black robot with huge arms- "Are both fighting that little red one. I''m willing to bet that if we help either side out, they might owe us a favor."

    "You are one manipulative kid," smirked Holly. "And I mean that in the nicest way possible."

    "All right!" shouted Ruby. "Let''s go make some friends in high places!"

    ***

    Simon slammed into the back of his seat as Gurren Lagann toppled once again. What little his displays had to tell him was bad news. Spiral Energy output was low. Gurren Lagann was one tough machine, but it wouldn''t be any good if its pilots were reduced to smears on the inside of their cockpits.

    "Simon!" called Kamina''s voice over the intercom. "I don''t think we can take much more of this!"

    "C''mon, bro. We''ve got to pull through! We can''t just give up!"

    "But no matter what we try, we- argggh!" Kamina was cut off by another explosion rolling the already-grounded mech onto its faces. They had the misfortune of running into a team of two other large machines, both of whom were putting up much more of a fight than they had anticipated.

    The first of the two other robots stomped up behind them. Simon felt Gurren Lagann shift as the other machine''s massive hand closed and began to lift them skyward. It was a tall, stocky behemoth, several times Gurren Lagann''s size. It was coal-black, and looked a bit like a furnace and a stovepipe too, with lumbering pillars for legs and a single glowing vent in its portly middle. Its huge, lanky arms were like pistons, and atop a tapering neck sat a small, stern-looking helmeted head with inquisitive glowing eyes. The whole thing seemed like an angry steam locomotive.

    "Listen up," called its pilot. "This is your last chance at negotiation. I present to you the exact same offer. Abandon your Megadeus, and we will let you live. If you continue to resist, our party, The Hands Of God, Incorporated, will be forced to destroy you and your machine." Simon heard the panels surrounding him begin to groan as the giant hand clamped around Lagann''s head began to squeeze.

    "Simon! What if they-"

    "We''re not giving in, Kamina. We''re going to keep on fighting until our dying breath- that''s how Team Dai-Gurren rolls!"

    "If that''s the way you want it," snipped the voice of the second machine''s pilot. Another barrage of missiles jolted Gurren Lagann, tossing it from the black robot''s hand and onto the ground again. The other machine was about as large as the first, a few magnitudes larger than the Gunmen. Its tall, blue, and boxy arms and legs were decorated with a dramatic flame paint job. Currently, several panels in its long limbs had folded open to expose its seemingly endless supply of missiles.

    "Come on, Roger," he continued. "They ain''t gonna give up. Let''s finish ''em right now, before they try and get another good hit in."

    "Fine," replied the other pilot. "We could stand another clue anyway." The steam-engine robot''s upper body rose on tracks, and a small battery of gunbarrels peeked through the heavy armor.

    "Okay, we''ve got to act fast," commanded Holly. The whole team bore down on the brawling robots, sprinting as quickly as they could. "We need to decide who to support!"

    "The red machine appears to be losing," noticed Adam. "Therefore, the combination of the other two must be stronger."

    "Nope!" Ruby interjected. "That''s the red robot we saw earlier. It''s totes radical! We gotta go save it!"

    "Any objections?" asked Holly.

    "Having one of those things is a good strategy anyway," said Katniss.

    Adam shook his head. "I shall concede to Ruby''s judgment."

    "Okay, we''re fighting for the underdog! Ruby, Adam, take the blue one over there! Katniss, you''re with me!"

    The fighters split into their groups, chasing down their targets. Ruby shielded her eyes with her hand, looking up at the blue robot. "Its head looks a little funny. Different from the rest of it," she said.

    "Do you think it may be a weak point?"

    "One way to find out!" chirped the girl, who hopped into the air. Adam stretched out his arms just in time to catch her. "This time, we won''t miss! FASTBALL!"

    "BESONDERE!" Adam bellowed, flinging Ruby with all of his might. The huntress nimbly flipped, placing her back to her target and unfolding Crescent Rose to its full scythe form. A few blasts later, and she had propelled herself all the way to the machine''s bus-sized shoulders. With an extended blade, she arrested her movement in time to land gracefully.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    "HEY!" called a voice next to her. Ruby looked over and found the startled-looking face of a scruffy, stout man sitting in a cherry-red muscle car.

    Ruby put two and two together. "Oh. That''s why it looked funny. Its head is a car."

    "Yeah, it''s a car," barked the man, annoyed. "It''s a 1971-"

    Ruby silenced him by firing a shot into the air. "I''m just going to chop it off, okay?"

    She dropped down to the central body module and placed Crescent Rose''s blade along the beefy neck joints, firing the rifle portion of the weapon to drive the scythe through the reinforced metal. This made the man in the car quite distressed. He left his spot in the driver''s seat, tumbling out the door clumsily.

    "Wait!" he cried. "You can''t-"

    Adam landed on the car''s hood, his broad feet punching holes around the engine block.

    "Nope," giggled Ruby. "We will."

    The man scrambled back into the car, grabbing the mouthpiece of a CB radio. "ROGER!" he screamed, jolting in his seat as the car''s connection to his robot was severed beneath him. "I NEED SOME HELP!"

    Roger Smith eased back on his controls, looking up from the red machine. "This is really inconvenient, Coop," he moaned.

    "I''M ABOUT TO LOSE MEGAS!" crackled the voice on the other end of the line. "GET OVER HERE!"

    "Fine," sighed the negotiator, running a gloved hand through his neatly-gelled hair. He ran one arm forward along Big O''s control rails, and the black Megadeus gave his target one last punch before departing to assist his ally.

    "They''re leaving," breathed Simon with relief.

    "And the other guy stopped shooting." Already Kamina sounded more confident.

    Simon grinned a fiery grin. "Then let''s hit ''em with everything we''ve got."

    "Thanks, Simon," called the voice from below. "I would have given up if it wasn''t for you."

    "Don''t thank me. It was your belief in yourself that let you pull through."

    With the final bullet in the magazine, Crescent Rose severed the car from the neck of the robot. Ruby hopped out of the way to load another clip while Adam gave the vehicle a shove, causing it to tumble off of its gigantic perch- its occupant still inside. The two warriors gave each other a congratulatory high-five, and waited for the sound of steel crunching against the pavement.

    "Huh," wondered Ruby. "You think it would have gone smush by now."

    Suddenly, a massive black pillar rose from in front of the decapitated blue machine, cradling in its steam-engine hands the car they had worked so hard to remove.

    "That is not good," stated Adam plainly.

    The Megadeus shifted the car to its left hand, curling the right into a fist which it lifted far above its head.

    "Hold still," seethed Roger.

    "I do not think we should listen to him," whispered the artificial man.

    "I''m with you there," concurred Ruby. The two leapt off in time to dodge the meteoric strike that tore through the other machine like it was made of clay. The duo hit the ground running, but as the remaining machine began to pursue them, they realized that they could not outrun something with a 20 meter stride.

    "Now I''ve got you," called the voice of the juggernaut''s pilot. It once again slipped its armor up, exposing the bank of cannons. Roger''s gloved finger settled on the trigger. "CANNON! PARTY!"

    Two explosive arrows simultaneously found their marks in the machine''s eyes. It halted its implacable advance, firing a few shots wildly and missing every one. Katniss lowered her bow, collapsing it and latching it onto the back of her armor.

    "That''s all I can do, Holly. The rest is up to you."

    The elf nodded, twirling the arrow Katniss had given her in her hands before slipping it through a loop in her belt. "Just make sure this doesn''t go off in my face, okay?" Katniss gave her an OK sign, and she took off toward the black robot, which was now stumbling aimlessly. The tall, cylindrical legs were covered in ornate ridges, which Holly calculated to be just big enough to support her fairy body. She leapt onto the machine''s left foot as it passed and immediately clung to it as tightly as she could. It was no use to try and start climbing while the leg was in motion. As soon as it put its leg down, however, Holly leapt up and snagged the edge of the calf armor, beginning to pull herself up. She caught a glimpse of something red swing past, and turned to see a vintage muscle car hanging at her level. A very concerned-looking human sat in the driver''s seat, scrambling for an archaic radio receiver.

    "Roger? Roger! One''s climbing on your left leg!" he cried. "Shake ''em off!"

    "D''Arvit," swore Holly as the surface she was climbing on began to pitch violently. Her hand slipped from a protruding rivet and had to jam itself into a cooling vent in order to prevent a catastrophic fall.

    If it keeps shaking like this, I won''t be able to hold on. Then again, if I play my cards right, maybe I won''t have to¡­

    Holly stopped her attempts to advance up the robot''s leg. She found another handhold and locked herself in place.

    "No, no," gasped Coop into his radio. "They''re still on there! Shake harder!"

    Perfect, thought the elf. In order for him to shake harder, he''ll have to switch from lateral to vertical movement. And if he''s shaking his leg down¡­

    The metal underneath her rocketed downward before slamming into the ground. Holly''s fingers began to loosen their grip.

    He''ll eventually bring it back up.

    The robot yanked its leg up, and Holly chose that instant to release her grip. She was flung upward, up into the robot''s heavy skirt armor. She snagged a loose-hanging cable and abruptly stopped her brief, violent flight. Ahead of her was her goal- the machine''s hip joint. She rocked herself forwards and back, building up momentum. There was nowhere for her to stand near the joint, so she would have to achieve her goal on the fly, in one go.

    You''ve got it, Holly. Just go for it.

    She released herself from the cable, flying toward the joint. Holly drew the arrow from her belt, jammed it into the crevice of the ball-and-socket assembly, and dropped toward the ground. As the leg of the robot raced by, she made sure to wave to the poor, poor man in his car. Today was just not his day. A mere second before hitting the ground, Katniss tackled her out of the air, and the two rolled and skidded along the street for a few feet before stopping.

    "Get it?" grunted the human girl.

    "Yeah," gasped Holly, a little surprised that Katniss had managed to catch her as planned. She had been certain that she was going to break a few bones on landing.

    "Detonate," commanded Katniss, and the thermite arrow jammed into the robot''s joints exploded into superheated flame. Katniss tossed the elf under her arm and rushed away.

    "Hey, man! You got ''em!" cheered Coop excitedly. "They''re running away."

    "Great," said Roger. "But I''m still flying blind and you''ve lost Megas."

    "Well, I can guide you through the radio. Dude, it''ll be awesome!"

    "Yeah. Awesome. Sure. Just guide me back to the guys we were fighting before these annoying little-"

    "They just dug underground, man. Behind you."

    The Megadeus swung around, but its pilot quickly realized that one of his machine''s legs was not working properly. Unable to complete its turn, the machine plummeted forwards onto its face.

    "What?! Big O, what''s wrong?"

    Roger strained at the controls, trying to lift the robot back to its feet, but to no avail. Panicked, injured-sounding cries came over the radio from his ally, but his own disbelief drowned them out.

    How? How could we lose? They were on foot!

    A hideously loud grinding noise ripped through the cockpit as the dim red lighting cut out. Gurren Lagann stood victoriously in the hole it had formed through the center of their foe, holding its Giga Drill aloft.

    "Good thinking, Kamina," said Simon with a proud smile.

    "Every time we attacked it before, it defended with its arms. But when it fell, it couldn''t use them. We tunnel up underneath, and BAM! I have to say I took a little inspiration from you, though, Simon. You really have grown up."

    "Thanks, bro. But remember, in and out of Gurren Lagann, we''re equals. Don''t keep on praising me. I wouldn''t be where I am now without you."

    "Wow. Such fraternity," laughed Holly, approaching the wrecked robot with Katniss. Ruby and Adam ran up to join them.

    "Hello, down there!" shouted Simon through Gurren Lagann''s loudspeaker. "You''re not planning on fighting, are you?"

    "Not with you," replied Holly. "Not after all the trouble we went through to save you."

    "Save us?" bellowed Kamina. "Like we needed saving!"

    "We did need saving," corrected Simon. "Our strategy of picking the strongest possible guys to fight isn''t exactly a safe one."

    "But it is MANLY!" Kamina added.

    Simon nodded. "That it is."

    "Manly or not, we''ve got two clues and no giant robot!" yelled Ruby. "And you guys are the coolest and should totally join us!"

    A comet of pink energy exploded into the ground next to Team Mockingjay, causing quite the scare. However, once a familiar black outfit began to crawl out of the dust, everyone calmed down. Ryuko held a crumpled piece of paper above her head.

    "Three¡­ clues," she strained, clearly out of breath.

    A collective cheer went up from the team.

    "How did that go?" asked Katniss.

    "Never¡­ again," heaved the girl. Holly raised her arm to pat Ryuko''s shoulder.

    "Thanks. You know, I''m sorry about earlier. I''ve made my fair share of bad decisions, and I understand that everybody needs their own working space."

    "Yeah," sighed Ryuko. "And I understand that we need to respect each other''s choices for the good of the team as a whole."

    "So are you two going to get along now?" asked Katniss. Both parties nodded. "Good. Now give each other a hug."

    Ryuko picked up Holly and wrapped her in a bear hug, the elf struggling in vain to escape.

    "Simon, are you seeing this?" salivated Simon, staring at his viewscreens.

    "Bro, I see it all right. What in the world is she wearing?"

    "And they''re all hugging now! That''s one step away from pillowfights in pajamas, man!"

    Simon turned on his loudspeaker.

    "Uh, yeah. We''ll accept your offer and join your team. Clearly you''ve got a really, really good thing going there."

    "Wait, they''re joining the team?" asked Ryuko.

    "Yeah," said Ruby. "While you were gone we decided that we needed a giant robot. That''s why we got into this fight."

    "And so we''re just bringing on these total strangers?"

    "We don''t have to be strangers!" yelled Kamina, kicking Gurren Lagann''s chest hatch open. "I''m the incredibly manly, astonishingly handsome, and somewhat available Kamina of Team Gurren!"

    Ryuko blasted up to eye level with the young man, staring him down.

    "Those eyelashes don''t look to manly," she noted.

    "Well," huffed Kamina, using all of his effort to keep his eyes up there. "Your eyebrows don''t look too girly," he retorted.

    "It runs in the family," Ryuko growled, and smacked him in the face before floating back to the ground. "Fine," she sighed. "They can stay."

    "Good," smiled Holly. "Let''s resume our course to the Second Street Ballrooms!"

    "We''ll keep an eye on your six. I mean, we''ll watch your behinds. I mean, we''re just going to go on ahead," Kamina announced with a blush.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-13

    The pounding bass could be heard even at the distance Twilight Sparkle, Alucard, and Mikasa stood at.

    "That''s it, all right," confirmed Twilight. "The Second Street Ballrooms. It''s got a glass fa?ade, Alucard. Can you make out anything in there?"

    Alucard stared down the distant building, putting his vampiric enhanced senses to use.

    "Miss Sparkle, there are some people inside."

    "What are they doing?" asked Mikasa. "Fighting?"

    "No," sighed the vampire. "Dancing."

    Twilight furrowed her brow. "There are a few possibilities here. Either the people dancing are just a form of ambience for the location, or they''re actually part of the VIW''s forces."

    "Either way, how would we go about getting inside? We can''t just walk in the front door. We''ll stick out like sore thumbs," Mikasa pointed out.

    "We are going to need some subterfuge no matter how we come at this," said Twilight. "I suggest first and foremost that we adopt disguises."

    The unicorn began to cast a spell, focusing brilliant lavender energy into her horn. It glowed brighter and brighter until it exploded in a flash of light, with a rather unique result. Mikasa and Alucard stared in disbelief.

    "You''re¡­ human," whispered the scout.

    "A slightly purple human," Alucard corrected.

    "That I am," smiled Twilight. She had transformed into a slender teenaged girl, her hair replicating the patterns on her mane, and her neatly-kept school uniform bearing her Cutie Mark''s insignia.

    "I suppose I''m next," moaned Alucard. He dissolved into his fine black mist and reconstituted as a young girl in a crisp white suit.

    "I-I did not see that coming," stammered Mikasa.

    "Mikasa, in order to be able to infiltrate that ballroom, you''re going to need to lose your 3D Maneuver Gear. It''ll be too obvious that you''re armed. If you can stow it outside, I should be able to teleport it back to you when you need it."

    "I feel naked without it, though¡­"

    Twilight''s human eyes narrowed. "You''ll feel dead with it if you walk in there."

    "Fine." Mikasa then spent five minutes undoing latches and straps to unhook the unwieldy-looking boxes and cables. Twilight gave her an awkward glance.

    "Um¡­ maybe teleporting that in won''t be so convenient."

    Mikasa knelt down and untied Date''s sword from the 3DMG, holding it up.

    "How about this?"

    "That should be a little easier for you to use."

    The scout took off her jacket and undid a button or two of her shirt, picking up the 3DMG and tossing it over her shoulder as the group began to close in on the ballrooms. They swung around back, and after confirming that the back door was unguarded, proceeded to break in. They quietly stepped inside to dim fluorescent lighting, scratched tile floors, and dull, thumping trance music. Mikasa swung her 3DMG behind a trash can and propped her sword up against a wall.

    "ARE WE READY?" shouted Twilight over the music. "IT''S JUST BEHIND THOSE DOORS OVER THERE!"

    "DID I EVER TELL YOU I HATE TRANCE?" asked Alucard.

    Mikasa was confused. "WAIT, THEY CALL THIS TRANCE? HOW COULD ANYONE FALL INTO A TRANCE TO THIS?"

    "PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS," replied Twilight. "LET''S GO!"

    She motioned for the other two to follow her, and they slunk down the maintenance hallway until they reached the loudest double doors they could find. In one carefully-calculated motion, Twilight turned the knob and slipped through, with Mikasa and Alucard following. They found themselves in a particularly dark corner of the room, which was regularly illuminated by pulses of brightly-colored light. For the moment, it seemed as though no one had seen them, though the situation had become increasingly suspect.

    "They''re¡­ all girls," said Mikasa, barely audible over the music. Her observation was correct, all of the people dancing in the room did appear to be teenaged girls.

    "WELL, WE''LL FIT IN JUST FINE," shouted Alucard.

    "WE SHOULD TRY TO IDENTIFY THE VIW!" Twilight instructed. "IF WE CAN TAKE THEM OUT, WE DON''T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THEIR FORCES!"

    "WHAT''S THAT?" asked a girl approaching from the crowd. Alucard began to reach into her jacket to draw a weapon, but Twilight extended a hand, ordering her to stop. The vampire reluctantly did, pretending instead to fiddle with her buttons. The girl donned a semi-formal dress and wore a lace choker with a heart-shaped charm.

    "WE WERE JUST SAYING THAT THIS MUSIC IS GREAT!" replied Twilight.

    "YEAH," said the girl. "THIS DJ''S MY FAVORITE. GET A LOAD OF THAT SYNTH!"

    After a few seconds of buzzsaw leads, the music quieted down as the DJ began to transition into the next song.

    "Very nice, very nice," giggled Twilight awkwardly. "But I think we''d like to make a request."

    The girl beamed. "Well, go on up! Just don''t ask for any grime, I''ve had enough of that for one day, okay?"

    "Got it," said Alucard, giving a double thumbs-up. The trio made a beeline for the crowd of dancing girls and began to slowly work their way through it.

    "That was weird," whispered Mikasa.

    Alucard nodded. "Something is off about all of these girls. But I can''t put my finger on it."

    Twilight remained on-task. "Our best bet is the DJ. We''ll take them out first. If they''re not the VIW, I don''t know who is."

    The group pushed their way through the front of the crowd and into an open space in front of the stage where the DJ was set up. The speakers blasted bass loud enough to unfurl Mikasa''s scarf, which she continually had to adjust. Twilight waved toward the short steps to the left of the stage.

    "Come on. Let''s finish this."

    They stole up the steps and came to an uneasy stop behind the DJ''s sound booth. It was another girl, with a head of crazy bleached-blond hair, designer headphones, and an off-the-shoulder top. She turned away from her sound board, slipping the headphones off of one ear.

    "You guys making a request?"

    "Yes," said Twilight. "We''d like you to die."

    Mikasa''s recently-inherited katana teleported into the room with a flash of purple light- not too different from the pulsing strobes- and the girl fluidly snatched the sheath, drew the blade, and drove it through the DJ''s stomach. Quickly, they slipped her body to the floor to avoid suspicion.

    "Now what?" asked Mikasa, removing her sword from the corpse.

    "I don''t know," said Twilight, uncertain. "I thought the DJ would be them, for sure."

    "Maybe it was them," suggested Alucard. "And nothing''s happened yet."

    "WHAT''S THE HOLDUP?" asked a voice from the crowd. It was the girl from before, working her way toward the sound booth. "WE''VE BEEN ON THIS TRACK FOR, LIKE, THREE MINUTES!"

    "Hide the body," whispered Mikasa.

    "I''m trying!" grunted Twilight, attempting to slide the DJ''s corpse under the stool she had been sitting on.

    The girl from the crowd was on the steps now, a second away from seeing them. Twilight stopped bothering with the body and breathed deeply, enveloping all three of them in a teleport spell that sent them back across the room to the door they had entered from.

    "That was close," she gasped.

    "Tell me about it," said the girl, leaning against the wall. Mikasa drew her sword, and Alucard removed the pistols from her jacket. Twilight surrounded herself in brightly-glowing magic before returning to her unicorn form.

    "So it was you all along!" roared Mikasa, pointing the tip of the katana toward the girl.

    "Not exactly," she replied. "You stuck out like sore thumbs when you walked in. So I was the one that greeted you, but after that I stayed right here, knowing that you''d come back trying to make an escape."

    "Then who was the girl who started heading toward us?" asked Twilight. "She looked and sounded just like you."

    "Her? She''s nobody special. I just copied her form."

    The unicorn tilted her head. "Copied¡­ her form?"

    "That''s right," she smirked. She reached up and touched the charm on her choker. Her dress dissolved dramatically before another one formed over her body out of thin air, her hair lengthened and shifted from brown to blond, while her skin tone, facial structure, and eye color changed slightly.

    "The name''s Honey Kisaragi. I''m the VIW."

    "Want to explain to us why you went all naked and change-y there for a second?" Alucard snapped from behind her pistols.

    "Sure thing. It''s not like you guys are going to live long enough to tell the tale," said Honey nonchalantly. "Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic- Arthur C. Clarke."

    "So it wasn''t magic," mused Twilight.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    "Nope. I''m an android equipped with a nanomachine drive that allows me to alter the atomic structure of the air around me."

    "On the atomic level¡­" whispered the unicorn. "You''d be able to create any compound you wanted."

    "You''re smart for a stuffed animal."

    Twilight gritted her teeth. "I''m not a stuffed animal."

    "Is that so? I couldn''t tell," Honey spat. "Girls, get ''em!"

    At once the revelers stopped their dance and began to swarm towards the three fighters. Honey leapt into the air, somersaulting over the horde of girls and landing back on the stage. Twilight, Alucard and Mikasa turned to face the more pressing threat.

    "Alucard! Level five release!" commanded Twilight.

    "Control art restriction level five released," Alucard announced hungrily. "Maintaining release until all targets are silenced." She lifted her pistols and began to fire into the crowd, each silver slug finding a firm mark in the center of their target''s head. Bodies hit the floor, adding thumps to the bass loop that was still running.

    Mikasa stood at the ready, waiting patiently as three of the girls surrounded her. As one began to lean forward into an attack, a single crisp snik rang out as the sword cleaved all three''s stomachs open. As a pleasant surprise, Mikasa was not suddenly covered in entrails. Unfortunately, as Mikasa noted, this was because the girls'' innards seemed to be of a more robotic nature.

    "They''re not human!" called the scout to her allies.

    "You''re right!" cried Twilight, blasting the skin off of one with a magical bolt. A smoldering sliver of metal peeked through the burn. "Don''t let them hit you! They''ll be very-" the unicorn took a heavy boot from the side, smashing into a wall. "-strong," she coughed.

    Alucard ducked and juked left, firing at two more of the androids advancing on the fallen Twilight. A punch from behind blasted through her stomach, but did not concern her much. "I''m not too concerned about myself," cackled the vampire, ripping the arm out through her own abdomen, and knocking the assailant aside with its own severed limb. She slipped through the floor and rose back up next to her charge. "But are you all right, Miss Sparkle?"

    The unicorn rose to her hooves, shaking her mane out. "They just knocked the wind out of me. I''ll be fine," she explained.

    "Just be careful. You will need your strength later. Let me handle this."

    "All right, Alucard. Level four release."

    "Wonderful!" she shouted. "Control art restriction level four released! I''ll kill them all!"

    Alucard put away her pistols and transmogrified her arms into hellhounds, each one chomping up several girls and sucking them into the black abyss of their maws. Mikasa took advantage of the opening this created and rushed through the crowd, leaping up toward the stage.

    If I can take out Honey, her minions are sure to follow. Once we take care of this mess, we can link back up with the rest of the team. I''m done roughing it.

    "I didn''t expect you to be the one to make it this far," mused Honey, cracking her knuckles and turning to face Mikasa. "After all, you''re just a human. Not like those two."

    "I may just be a human, but humans can be capable of great things. That''s why I''m fighting. Not to survive! I''m fighting so that humans can live free!"

    "That''s a very noble sentiment," agreed Honey. "I have to concur. But I also can''t let you win just because we agree. So your little fight for humanity''s freedom ends here! HONEY FLASH!"

    She touched her charm again, this time causing even more dramatic changes. Her eyes glowed red, and her hair shortened and turned a similar shade of crimson, gaining enough wave to appear that it was a fire that had settled on her head. Her semi-formal dress was replaced by a much more revealing sleeveless unitard with the center cut out. A thin straight sword materialized out of the air, and the android snatched it with a flourish.

    "Sometimes, I''m a dancer, or a musician, or a reporter, or a movie star! But my true identity is Cutey Honey! The Crimson Warrior of Love!" she announced, twirling the tip of her sword. "Now, taste the blade of my Silver Fleurette! En garde!"

    Mikasa gripped her sword tighter. She had not yet attempted to best another swordsman with her new weapon, and she did not recognize the technique that the android was using. The straight sword was held mostly parallel with the ground, tilted up slightly. Honey''s arm was folded, not extended, so at any moment she could effortlessly jab forward into Mikasa''s gut.

    "What''s the matter?" asked the android. "Never seen a fencer before?"

    Mikasa did not answer, instead dropping to a crouch and performing an upward slash. Honey straightened her arm and blocked Mikasa''s slash with ease, sliding her sword along the katana until its tip nicked the scout''s shoulder. Honey called out "Riposte!" and took a step back, returning to her previous stance.

    Mikasa rolled backward, wincing from the incision. It was not a deep cut, but it hurt.

    I thought that a thin sword like that wouldn''t be able to stop this one at full speed. But if that doesn''t work, how am I supposed to get through? If I make a move, she''ll thrust and run me through. If she was fighting more like me- wait, that''s it!

    With sword at the ready, Mikasa took another step back, and performed a deliberately slow horizontal slash. Honey had to push her sword forward in order to stop the katana from slicing her hand- and as soon as she did, Mikasa released the full power of her strike, catching the straight sword just above the grip. The red-headed android''s once-confident expression faded.

    "You''re q-quite strong for a human, aren''t you?" she stuttered.

    Mikasa smiled. "I am. And now I know how to lure you out."

    "If you make this a battle of attrition, you''ll never win. I''ll bleed you dry!"

    "We''ll see about that," grunted Mikasa, pushing forward enough to draw her blade''s tip across Honey''s neck. The android flung her free hand forward, pushing Mikasa away, and the two returned to their stances, watching, waiting. One errant twitch, or an out of place breath, and they sprung at each other once again, a hurricane of deflected thrusts and parried slashes. Every once in a while, Honey would take a quick glance at her ever-decreasing number of troops.

    "What kind of monsters are you, that you just work through this kind of defense with no problem?" asked Honey, bewildered.

    "The kind of monsters that are going to win," retorted Mikasa, springing to her left and pushing her sword forward with a direct thrusting motion.

    "You''re OPEN!" shouted Honey, countering with a thrust of her own, aiming squarely for the center of Mikasa''s stomach. The tip of her Silver Fleurette was about to find its mark when Mikasa scooted even further to the left, Honey''s sword tasting nothing but air.

    "WHAT?" gasped the android as the katana tore into her chest, sinking in up to the hilt. Something in the sword''s path crunched and began to whine.

    "You''re good at sword fighting," Mikasa explained. "And your style is ideal for a one-on-one battle. But you fought too offensively, focusing on your target more than your target''s movements." She pointed a finger at her left boot. "I pushed off with this foot, but my other one was still on the ground. That''s how I was able to dodge and complete my attack."

    "That''s- zzt- an utter- zzt- load," crackled Honey, falling limp. Mikasa lowered the android to the ground, prying her sword out through the circuitry. At once, the few remaining androids dropped to the floor, deactivated. Alucard reluctantly set the few her arms were chewing down and returned her limbs to normal, before changing form entirely into the red-coated man they had been used to.

    "You did it, Mikasa," said Twilight proudly.

    The girl nodded. "Guess I did." With that, she promptly tumbled off the stage in a bleeding heap. The vampire and the unicorn rushed to their friend''s side, checking her injuries.

    "All of these little pinpricks," said the unicorn. "I''ve got a spell that will seal the wounds, but it''ll take her some time to get back to fighting strength."

    "She probably won''t need to fight much more, Miss Sparkle. They''re close, I''m certain."

    Twilight zapped Mikasa with a bolt of magic, and the vampire gently hefted her onto his shoulders.

    "The Second Street Ballrooms VIW has been defeated," declared Deep Thought. "Two remain."

    "Let''s get out of here," whispered Twilight, motioning with a hoof toward the main entrance. Alucard nodded, and the three were once again on the move.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-14

    "Come on, Lord Dio. We''re almost there."

    Filia carried her leader''s limb body over the sidewalk with the help of Mr. Everdeen. Filia had found it a little difficult to escape after tangling poor Samson up in the floorboards, but they got away in time to hide while the team left, allowing Filia to return to return for her master. She was surprised to find Mr. Everdeen was already there, trying to pry the road roller off of Dio, but with little success. Filia''s abilities had made the job much easier.

    "It''s the foundry, right, Samson?"

    "That''s what it says here, Filia," growled her hair, holding the clue they stole in the chaotic attack on their appointed targets. The team that Dio had explained that it was their mission to defeat had collected so many clues that it was easy to grab one of the extras while no one was looking. "But do we need to keep carrying this lug here? He''s slowin'' us down a lot, ya know?"

    "I cannot believe you''re saying that, Samson. How rude! After all Lord Dio has done for us!"

    "Somehow, he made you crazier than before. I dunno if that''s something for me ta be real thankful for."

    "I''m not crazy. I''m a vampire. And if that means I''m not a Skullgirl anymore, isn''t that a- ureeey!- good thing?"

    "Like I was sayin'', I just dunno."

    Filia pointed ahead, changing the subject. "Look! Isn''t that a foundry up there?"

    Tall smokestacks and their accompanying haze confirmed it to be so, even when no one responded to her. Dio coughed a few times before working up the strength to speak.

    "You two¡­ It is just amazing. You cared enough to save me."

    "Even when we have failed, it doesn''t make any sense to abandon your leader," said Mr. Everdeen quietly.

    "The rest of them, they wouldn''t do that, you know. They follow orders, but they''re not¡­ loyal."

    Filia turned and smiled.

    "It''s hard to not be loyal to someone who saved your life."

    I''m glad she''s speaking for herself, thought Mr. Everdeen. At first I thought that tagging along with the guys that get to bend the rules would get me closer to winning. But now they''re running suicide missions. I''m not sure about any of this anymore¡­ but I''ll be safe as long as I cooperate.

    "Not hard at all," Mr. Everdeen repeated.

    Filia suddenly stopped walking ahead. "What''s this?" she whispered, kneeling down to look at something.

    Mr. Everdeen set Dio down gently, raising a finger to indicate he would be right back. Filia was crouched over a small, blue creature, lying in a bruised heap on the street. A long set of skidmarks ran up to where it sat.

    "Hello, there," said Filia. "Are you all right?"

    The creature slowly opened its eyes, then shut them again in the light.

    "Oh, man," it groaned. "I don''t think so."

    "Filia, take a few steps back," ordered Mr. Everdeen. "Never corner an injured animal."

    "Oh. Okay," agreed the girl, stumbling back.

    "You know," it whispered, "I''m starting to think that wasn''t Shadow the hedgehog."

    "It''s hallucinating. It might be rabid," warned the hunter. Filia scooted further back.

    "Get me out of here," commanded Dio.

    "Don''t be too afraid, sir," reassured the man. "If it poses a threat, I can kill it very quickly."

    "Not that," coughed the vampire. "them." He raised a weak arm to point behind them. Filia and Mr. Everdeen turned to face the landing Valvrave unit, Poppy, and the succubus.

    "Step awae from the brush hog," shouted Morrigan. "If ye please."

    ***

    Hermione tapped at the edge of her AEGIS'' screen.

    "I don''t have too long before I''m deployed, you know." The turtle looked up from his work to give her a frustrated glare.

    "I know. I''m nearly done here," said Donatello, fiddling with the wires on the inside of the device. He opened his tool kit, removed the hyper-solder, and connected two circuits before slapping the maintenance panel back on. "There. Done. You see?"

    "Thanks," said the girl, taking the extra AEGIS she had requisitioned for Piccolo.

    "And don''t forget," Donatello reminded her, fishing a small black box out of his shell. "Your new Scouter."

    "You really are the best," she said. "Why Engineering wouldn''t take you astounds me."

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "I''m a tinkerer," explained the turtle. "Not an astrophysicist. They all like inventing their own machines. I like having some groundwork to go off of."

    "Not the worst philosophy," said Hermione. "But isn''t it hard trying to make things work with everyone''s bits and pieces?"

    "Sometimes. Sometimes it really is. But other times, the pieces just all come together."

    "I understand," replied Hermione, not sure that she really did. She was an analytical sort- Trans-Dimensional Analysts were expected to do some analyzing, after all- she saw things in patterns and numbers, logical progressions of enchantments and the carefully-constructed formulas of charms. She didn''t feel like she could always wrap her head around the ideas that sometimes things acted in ways they ought not, or that having a neat, set order didn''t always help things. But she had seen people who lived by that code do wonderful things, and she couldn''t deny that it was a valid worldview. She waved goodbye to the turtle and proceeded to walk towards the mess hall''s exit, until she was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the four Regulations officers she had seen before in the doorway.

    "WHERE ARE YOU HEADED, TRANS-DIMENSIONAL ANALYST HERMIONE GRANGER?!" bellowed the huge young man with pierced ears and bleached-blond hair. The girl with the pink hair mouthed along his words with a mocking glare.

    "To my trainer, Piccolo," answered Hermione, indignant. "I''m about to be deployed on a mission, and I need to drop off some things with him first."

    "Some seriously questionable things," intoned the second-tallest boy, who had a long, green bandana tied around his forehead, under a similarly-green mess of hair. "You''ve got an unlicensed AEGIS, there."

    The third boy unzipped his uniform, which he had done up far enough to cover his mouth, and adjusted his spectacles. "The distribution of an AEGIS system without the requisite license is a criminal offense according to the Illuminati Brotherhood Code, Article 12, section A9, subsection ¦Á."

    "Caught red-handed, huh, Curly?" sneered the pink-haired girl.

    "Why are you doing this?" asked Hermione. "I''m just trying to help my friend."

    "We''re doing our jobs," answered the green-haired boy.

    "LADY SATSUKI''S COMMANDS ENSURE THE SAFETY OF ALL!" roared the largest boy. "IF NOT FOR HER IRON FIST, ALL WOULD FALL INTO CHAOS!"

    "Lady Satsuki?" Hermione questioned. "Since when does she have a title like that?"

    "Since always," said the girl with a poisonous smile. "She''s the one in charge here and that''s the way it stays. You''d be better off not to question her authority."

    "Whose authority?" asked a voice from behind. Everyone was shocked to find that it was the Chief of Regulations herself, waiting along with several others in a line that had begun to form at the blocked door. She kept her sword tucked under her arm, and with one hand kept a saucer level while the other brought a small teacup to her mouth.

    "Your authority, Lady Satsuki," said the smallest boy, unzipping his uniform yet again.

    Satsuki raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

    "THAT''S RIGHT," shouted the largest boy.

    "So my authority is what is blocking this door, reducing productivity?"

    The Regulations officers looked out at the line that had developed and quickly stepped aside, allowing a strand of apparently-irate Reis to pass by. Hermione remained standing, surprised to find the authority the officers spoke of turned against them. Satsuki walked forward, coming to a stop at Hermione'' side. She took another sip of her tea and shot the witch a sideways glance.

    "Take your items, Trans-Dimensional Analyst Granger. I trust that you are not putting them to ill use. But believe me when I say that the law is not finished with you."

    Hermione nodded sheepishly and scurried down the corridor.

    "As for you four," said Satsuki, turning to her officers. "Do you know what you did wrong?"

    "We obstructed a vital thoroughfare," answered the green-haired boy.

    "We impeded productive conduct," offered the boy with the glasses and zipped-up uniform.

    "WE FAILED TO UPHOLD THE IRONCLAD TENETS OF THE REGULATIONS DEPARTMENT," screamed the large boy.

    "We lacked professionalism," sighed the venomous girl.

    "None of those things," replied Chief of Regulations Satsuki Kiryuin. "You failed to notice that she was also smuggling out a treacle tart."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-15

    "So you call them gunmen," said Katniss, working it over in her head. "The other guy called his a Gundam. So, what''s the big difference, here?"

    "Well obviously, this one''s not dumb!" giggled Ruby. "Get it? Because, Gundam? Get it?"

    The only response this received was a few distressed groans.

    "I found your wordplay clever," complimented Adam. "Though I am unsure you have used the word ''dumb'' correctly. I do not believe I have heard their machine speak."

    "No, silly," chuckled the huntress. "''Dumb'' means stupid. Everybody knows that."

    The group was close to their destination now. They had been on Second Street for about an hour, so it was only a matter of time before they ran into the Ballrooms- and they were certainly ready to obliterate the VIW in record time.

    "Well, I don''t know anything about other machines," replied Simon. "But Gurren Lagann is one special gunmen. It''s fast and strong, and with Spiral Energy it can do pretty much anything."

    "It can''t carry a gun," noted the girl.

    "Real men don''t need guns to win battles. They win through fiery spirit and manly determination!" defended Kamina.

    "Manly determination can''t put a bullet through a tango at eight hundred meters," said Katniss, rolling her eyes and closing her case.

    Holly turned back to the fairly-sizeable team following her. "All right, ladies and gentlemen. We''re closing in on our target. We can discuss the tactical advantages of firearms and the etymology of dumb once we blast through three of these things. But for now, we''re going to focus on maximum damage. With a giant robot, we can rip the roof off of this place an scatter everyone. After that, it''s just a matter of making sure nobody''s left standing. Are we ready?"

    Affirmatives of varying levels of enthusiasm called back in response.

    "Okay, then. I think that''s the ballrooms up there-" she shouted, pointing out a building in the distance. "-so let''s go give them he-"

    "The Second Street Ballrooms VIW has been defeated," declared Deep Thought. "Two remain."

    "Wait, what?" asked Ryuko. "Somebody beat us there? When we were this close?"

    "Yeah," said Holly, her mouth hanging open slightly. "I¡­ I guess they did."

    "But how?" protested the girl in the Kamui.

    "Well, there''s no denying we got a little sidetracked, regardless of whose fault it was," observed Katniss.

    "Yeah," mumbled Ryuko. "But I wonder exactly what sort of team had it together enough to pull it off."

    "That would be us," said Alucard, appearing suddenly behind Holly, who leapt almost high enough to convince her team members that her mechanical wings were not critically damaged as she had claimed. When several weapons were instantly trained on him, he merely patted the girl slung over his shoulder.

    "What are you doing with Mikasa?" growled Katniss, holding an incendiary arrow at the ready. "Using her as a hostage?"

    "No," replied Twilight, teleporting alongside her allies. "She is in no condition to walk."

    "YOU BROKE HER LEGS?!" cried Ruby with horror.

    "No, no, no," laughed Twilight, waving the comment off with her hoof. "She hurt herself defeating the VIW."

    "So it really was you guys," acknowledged Holly. Twilight nodded.

    "That''s right. And if you want to settle things with me, now is the time."

    "As a matter of fact, we do," said the elf, popping her knuckles. "Change of plans, ladies and gentlemen," she continued, turning to her team. "We''re going to make a unicorn cry."

    Twilight turned to her companion. "Alucard, I want you to take Mikasa as far away as you can. Keep her safe. And no matter how good you decide she looks in her uniform, do not turn her."

    "Yes, Miss Sparkle," said the revenant, slipping back through the ground.

    "That''s real honorable," chuckled Ryuko. "Sending away the immortal guy so we can all gang up on you."

    "Gang up on me?" smiled Twilight smugly. "Not quite."

    A shower of blue sparks tore the air above them in two. A thin, young girl emerged from them and began to float gently to the ground. She wore a blue, loose-fitting, sleeveless martial arts robe with a white sash around her abdomen. A thin, tapered stick had been slipped under the sash, perpendicular to the edge with exact detail. Around her neck, she wore a wide collar-shoulder-pad combination which supported a flowing cape. The exaggerated shoulder pads extended far past her comparatively small shoulders, creating the effect of a much larger presence. A black headband held back a head of wavy brown hair, and a boxy white device sat over her left ear and extended a red eyepiece over her left eye. Over her right arm was a silvery band with a sunken-in portion that could have been a screen. Simple cloth shoes lighted on the ground without a flourish.

    The sparks and the armband were immediately familiar to Katniss.

    Just like that Artemis guy.

    "Hello, there, Twilight," she smiled. "It''s been a while."

    "Yes, it has, Hermione," replied the unicorn, sounding surprised. "You''re... looking¡­ different."

    "Later," hissed Hermione. "I''ll talk about it later."

    "Who the hell are you supposed to be?" snarled Ryuko, pointing her Scissor Blade straight at the newcomer''s face.

    "My name is Hermione Granger. That is all I can tell you for now."

    "Just the same as Twilight- ''That''s all I can tell you''," grumbled Holly. "Well, we''re going to get answers out of you, too."

    Hermione ignored her comment and turned to Twilight. "Shall I?"

    "Be my guest."

    The girl nodded and floated skyward again, surrounded by a barely-visible shimmering, like a mirage, which caused her cape to dance as if it had caught a breeze.

    "Initiating analysis procedures," she declared, touching a button on her bulky earpiece. "Scanning. Seven targets identified. Commencing individual analysis."

    "What is she doing?" asked Ruby, staring up.

    "I don''t know," replied Holly. "But it can''t be good."

    "Subject one," continued Hermione. "Holly Short. Elf, subtype gamma. Magical reserve system with limited applications. Excellent small-arms marksmanship. Superior piloting abilities. Advanced martial arts training. Below-average damage tolerance. Regeneration. Power level fluctuating below three hundred. Threat level above average."

    "Above Average?" snorted Holly. "Huh. Makes sense. She definitely got the piloting bit right."

    "Subject two. Katniss Everdeen. Human. Superior marksmanship with most weapon systems. Excellent close-quarters combat abilities. Ansatsuken martial arts training. Advanced survival training. Currently equipped with advanced combat armor. Heightened adrenal gland function. Combat adaptability- requires further study. Power level fluctuating between eight hundred and one thousand. Threat level undetermined. More data required. Estimates low."

    "You sure are weird, Katniss," said Ruby.

    Katniss nodded. "Apparently."

    "Subject three. Adam Frankenstein."

    Adam shuddered a little bit at his full name.

    "Composite artificial human, biological. Large physical mass. Above average physical strength. Superior durability. Mild regeneration. Superior mental faculties and concept-practice learning speed. Power level stable, nine hundred thirty-four. Threat level average."

    "Me next! Me next!" shouted Ruby, hopping up and down. Hermione looked down with a stern glare until she stopped jumping, then continued.

    "Subject four. Ruby Rose. Human. Possesses natural passive magic ability for temporary enhancement of speed. Trained in advanced unorthodox combat techniques. Superior knowledge of unorthodox weapon types. Power level stable, nine hundred seventy. Threat level above average."

    "Now there''s some words I never thought I''d hear. ''Ruby'' and ''Superior knowledge''." Ryuko snipped.

    "Yeah, me neither," said Ruby.

    "Subject five. Ryuko Matoi. Life-Fiber enhanced human. Superior physical strength and speed. Superior damage tolerance. Symbiotic relationship with Life Fiber organism Kamui Senketsu. Activation of Kamui Senketsu further enhances speed and strength, enables flight. Variable nature of Life Fibers allows for multiple configurations of garment and wearer. Superior close-combat abilities. Power level fluctuating in excess of¡­ oh¡­ that''s a ten- twenty, no it''s a fifty, now- no, it''s¡­"

    "Watch this," whispered Ryuko to her teammates. She flexed her muscles and grunted angrily.

    "Now it''s climbing faster- it''s at three, no, four-" gasped Hermione. "Power level unreadable. Threat level extreme."

    "Ha-ha!" said the girl, throwing a victorious fist into the air. "How about them apples?"

    "She''s not done yet," warned Twilight.

    "Subjects six and seven. Simon the Digger and Kamina of Jeeha Village. Human. Skilled Gunmen pilots. Superior Spiral Energy conduits. Conducted Spiral Energy can enhance the performance of any piloted Gunmen. Subject six power level fluctuating between ten and twelve thousand. Subject seven power level fluctuating between eight and nine thousand. Threat level while piloting the Gunmen Gurren Lagann extreme."

    "How does she know all of this about us? We only just met these chicks," asked Kamina.

    "I don''t know," whispered Simon. "But it''s got me worried."

    "Hah!" shouted Ryuko back up to them. "I still win!"

    "Analysis complete," Hermione announced. "I''ll take the three highest."

    "Wait, what?" queried Holly.

    "We''re splitting this up," said Twilight. "Hermione''s going to go fight some of you and I''ll fight the rest."

    "That''s right," confirmed Hermione, dialing coordinates into her AEGIS. She disappeared the way she had come, but this time, Ryuko and the Gurren Lagann disappeared as well.

    "That''s not fair at all," growled Holly. "They were my strongest fighters. They were going to make kicking the answers out of you really easy."

    "Your remaining warriors should be sufficient."

    Holly scratched her head. "You say that like you think you''re going to lose."

    Twilight simply smiled, waving the remaining four on.

    Katniss turned to Holly, shrugged, and knocked the incendiary arrow she had been planning to use for Alucard.

    "Your little game ends here," warned the elf, changing the setting on her Neutrino.

    "Yes," whispered Twilight. "It does."

    ***

    Ryuko tumbled out of the air, falling directly onto her face.

    "The hell was that?" she groaned, picking herself up. She was on her feet in time to jump out of the way of Gurren Lagann, which fell in roughly the same manner and location. They were clearly in the same city arena, though far away from where they were before. They had landed in a wide, green park, a five or six blocks across in either direction, and surrounded by skyscrapers- a "natural" enclosure.

    "That was my AEGIS device," answered Hermione, hovering above, surrounded by her mirage. "I''ll cut you a deal. Beat me, and I''ll tell you how it works."

    "Why do I think it won''t be that simple?" grumbled Ryuko.

    "Because you are quite perceptive."

    "Don''t get all high-and-mighty with us, half-pint," snarled Simon, bringing Gurren Lagann to its feet. "We were along to win clues and stuff. Nobody said anything about smashing toddlers."

    "For your information, this body is approximately twelve years old. I was previously a grown woman."

    "Well, ain''t you special?" Ryuko roared, sliding the bolt across her glove, drawing enough blood to activate Senketsu. She fired the boosters that formed from the Kamui''s collar and rose to Hermione''s height, swinging her Scissor Blade as she flew. Hermione disapparated as the blade passed through, reappearing behind the stunned Ryuko.

    "Yes, I am," replied the witch, who kicked the girl in the square of the back hard enough to knock her into a tailspin. Ryuko managed to right herself before hitting the ground, returning to strike again. Hermione flicked out her wand from under her sash and drew a little spiral in the air, which glowed briefly, and suddenly Ryuko was sent flying in the opposite direction, the air forced from her lungs.

    "Flippendo," announced Hermione.

    "Why you little-" fumed Ryuko, firing up her booster again.

    "Excuse us, ladies," called the voice of Kamina from the central cockpit of Gurren Lagann. "But if you''re fighting each other, what are we supposed to do?"

    "Oh," said Hermione. "I almost forgot."

    ***

    "So- and just be honest with me here- is it true?" Rainbow Dash floated eagerly next to Char''s workstation, where he paged through inventory checklists.

    "Is what true?" he responded, not paying attention to the Pegasus.

    "The rumor," snapped RD, annoyed. "That all of your prot¨¦g¨¦s die horrible deaths?"

    Char pushed himself back in his seat, folding his hands in his lap.

    "You know, people say a lot of things that just aren''t true."

    "But¡­ is that true?"

    Char looked up at something invisible floating just above his eyebrows, silent for a bit.

    "They used to say that the moon was made of cheese," he continued. "Of course, when the Feddies started mining lunar titanium, we joked and said they were mining for cheese."

    "That doesn''t answer the question," said Rainbow Dash, her concern for her life growing.

    "Do you like cheese?" asked Char. "How about your parents? I''d like to be able to send them something when-" an alarm klaxon sounded, echoing off the rows and rows of giant robots. "Oh, that''s the signal. Someone''s calling up for Mobile Support."

    RD sighed and tapped the command on a nearby console. The storage rack containing her squadmates'' machines rotated down into place, and the circular AEGIS gate unfolded from the end. Ten pilot-suited Reis scrambled down the walkway, climbing the steps to each of their machines. Dash tapped another button, and her personal mech descended into the same row.

    "That''s quite the machine you''ve got there," said Char. "And it''s even got red bits. It''ll be a real shame when it-"

    Rainbow Dash glared back at him.

    "needs to be¡­ recalibrated," he continued.

    The Pegasus flew into her Mobile Suit''s cockpit, locking her helmet into place and closing the hatch. One by one, the other machines on the rack disengaged, powered up their thrusters, and began to float through the AEGIS gate.

    ***

    Ryuko was getting tired of being knocked back every time she attempted to attack. She was planning a way around this when the first of the machines began to fall from the sky. It was a huge, mostly-gray, boxy-looking chap loaded down in thrusters and plate armor. It carried a bulky shield in one hand and a bulky rifle in the other. As soon as it touched down, another appeared in the sky with another cascade of sparks, and then another. Soon, ten identical machines had formed a line surrounding Gurren Lagann. A final mech descended from its own glittering blue doorway, different from the rest. It was still bulky and blocky, but significantly slimmer, with a brighter color scheme of white, red, and several blue accents. A narrow V-shaped crest adorned its head, and across its back was slung the sheath for an appropriately-up scaled katana.

    "Rainbow Dash, are your troops ready?" asked Hermione.

    "As ready as we''ll ever be," replied the Pegasus over her machine''s loudspeaker. "I''ve been waiting to test out my Astray Red Frame since I customized it. This should be a good trial run!"

    "Then I will leave the rest to you," said the witch, turning back to Ryuko- only to find that she had disappeared. Something struck her hard in the gut, and she flew backward, her body putting a crater in the wall of an office building. Ryuko floated up to observe the damage of her attack.

    "So that thing you do where you disappear and reappear? I can do that, too," she gloated.

    "Apparition? Nonsense," grunted Hermione, picking herself out of the concrete. "No, I know you can''t use magic."

    "I don''t need magic when I''m this fast."

    Hermione grabbed a handful of her cape and tossed it across herself.

    "You may be fast, but you can''t hit what you can''t see!"

    Suddenly, the witch vanished, and Ryuko was sent spiraling upward by a hard strike to the chin. She heard something fly up faster than her, and clearly felt the impact of a foot on her back before being flung three hundred feet to the ground. Ryuko peeled herself off the pavement in time to take another kick to the gut, which sent her rolling down the street.

    Be careful, Ryuko, warned Senketsu. Getting overwhelmed like this is dangerous.

    "I know," she groaned.

    "This, Miss Matoi, is a mass-production invisibility cloak, one of the finest pieces of optical camouflage ever designed," explained the voice of Hermione from somewhere nearby.

    Wait a second, thought Ryuko. I''ve fought optical camouflage before. It wasn''t too hard.

    You''re right, Ryuko, said Senketsu. Let''s try the same technique we used then.

    Ryuko hopped to her feet and spun in the direction of Hermione''s voice. Senketsu then inflated his eye-crest to a truly gargantuan size, becoming a floppy canvas in the progress. The huge sheet fell forward, settling over the street ahead of them.

    "Gotcha!" shouted Ryuko triumphantly.

    "No, you don''t," replied Hermione, sweeping Ryuko''s legs out from under her. With a swish of her wand, she transfigured some loose pebbles on the street into vines to restrain the girl. "Did you forget what I just told you about Apparition? You can''t trap me like that."

    Ryuko lay quietly on the ground, thinking over her situation.

    She''s right. If she can just teleport away like that, it''s useless to try a slow-moving attack.

    Ryuko, let''s evaluate our other options. She said it was an invisibility cloak, right? So it''s clothing¡­

    I like the way you think, Senketsu.

    "No," said Ryuko aloud. "I can''t trap you. But I can strip you naked!"

    Ryuko ripped out from under the vines and swung her Scissor Blade upward in a single explosive movement, and Hermione suddenly appeared in the place from which her voice had come. Her expression turned from shock to fear as she realized that her invisibility cloak had stopped working.

    "How-?!"

    "SEN-I-SOSHITSU!" roared Ryuko as the girl''s cape burst into loose strands of thread, falling away slowly in the breeze generated by the attack.

    "No way," growled a defiant Hermione. "You just sliced the binding stiches out. That''s not a real Sen-i-soshitsu technique. A real one only works when the target has Life Fibers!"

    "It''s as real as it gets!" yelled Ryuko, pointing at Hermione. A small, glowing pink strand floated up from the tatters of the witch''s cape and disappeared into Senketsu, resulting in a faint pulse of light.

    Since when is Outfitting weaving invisibility cloaks with Life Fibers? Wondered Hermione. That''s bloody dangerous business. What is Artemis up to?

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    "Well, I stand corrected, if only by coincidence," huffed the witch. "But I''m nowhere near beaten. I haven''t even scratched the surface of my physical power, and I''ve barely had to use my spells at all!"

    "You might just have to," grinned Ryuko with gritted teeth. She launched back toward Hermione as the two clashed yet again.

    ***

    I''m not sure that I''ve ever seen Twilight do much fighting before, thought Holly. In the previous rounds, she always kept out of battle as much as she could. She fought that alien thing, right? I wonder how that went.

    "What do we do?" asked Katniss. "Now that we''re here, it just seems kind of odd."

    "I would like to tell you that you have as long as you like to fight me, but that''s not the case. You should probably hurry," said the unicorn.

    "Secrets upon secrets," frowned Holly.

    "Well, I''ll take the first shot," announced Ruby with unusual seriousness. She lowered Crescent Rose''s barrel and fired on their former friend, sliding backward from the recoil. Twilight stood still, and the bullet halted in her magical grasp. She set it down, and rolled it back towards Ruby with a tap from her hoof.

    "Try harder."

    Holly spun her Neutrino on her right index finger. "This is an energy weapon," she said. "It doesn''t have bullets for you to stop."

    "Does it not, now?"

    Holly frowned and squeezed off two shots, which fizzled out against a magical barrier raised by the unicorn.

    "Allow me," said Adam, stepping forward. Taking one hand in the other, he brought a double axe-handle down on top of Twilight''s barrier, which began to glow a little less intensely.

    "That did something!" shouted the elf. "Do it again!"

    Adam raised his arms again, crashing them through the barrier and into the street. Twilight reappeared above the artificial man, and drove her hind legs into the back of his head. He plunged downward, reeling after the sudden and unexpected attack. The unicorn somersaulted forward, landing behind him.

    "All of you," she demanded. "At once!"

    ***

    Kamina wrestled the controls back in time to dodge another energy beam. The machines that were facing them now were quite different from the ones they had fought before- they operated with a more efficient mindset.

    "They''re pretty dangerous," he called up to Simon.

    "Yeah. Not like any gunmen I''ve ever seen before," replied the pilot who sat in Gurren Lagann''s head. The red robot pirouetted to dodge yet another shot from one of the grey machines before spinning into an attack with their wrist-mounted drills. One of their old foes would have simply been impaled, but these uniform, visor-wearing machines expressed a significant desire to live longer. The unit they had planned on destroying with their attack raised a solid shield, deflecting the attack''s kinetic energy before swinging forward with a beam saber, hacking the Gurren Lagann''s drills in half.

    "And these are the goons," whispered Simon.

    "I wouldn''t call ''em goons," reported the pilot of the machine that was no goon. The sleeker, red-blue-and-white mech delivered a flying kick that sent Gurren Lagann tumbling forward. A comms window opened in Simon''s displays, and a small equine face smiled back at him. "They''re as good of pilots as anybody. They''re a little offended by that. Call ''em by name. Rei Ayanami."

    "Rei Ayanami?" repeated Simon. One of the grey machines walked up to the fallen Gurren Lagann.

    "Yes," said a nearly- robotic voice from its loudspeakers. "I am Rei Ayanami."

    "As am I," said another.

    "As am I," repeated a third. This continued until all of the pilots had announced that they were in fact Rei Ayanami.

    "And what about you?" asked Kamina to the horse peeking through the display. "Who are you? Some kind of little pony?"

    "My name''s Rainbow Dash," she replied, as her machine unsheathed the oversized katana from its back. "And this is my custom Gundam."

    "Oh, a Gundam," echoed Simon. "That''s what they mentioned before."

    The Gundam lowered the sword''s tip toward the gunmen. "Now prove to me these upgrades were worth it!"

    Kamina and Simon twisted their controls simultaneously, causing Gurren Lagann to leap off the ground and extend a single long drill to lock swords with Rainbow Dash''s mobile suit.

    "We''ll do more than that," yelled Simon.

    "Yeah," affirmed Kamina. "We''re not just some training dummy for you! Just who the hell do you think we are?!"

    ***

    Hermione tumbled backwards through the air, but stabilizing herself was a simple matter of calming down and focusing her ki. It was second nature to her now, and so she recovered from Ryuko''s attack with enough time to check on her reinforcements. Rainbow Dash had decided to engage the pilots of Gurren Lagann one-on-one, which meant that she must feel pretty confident against them.

    As for me, Ryuko is proving¡­ interesting.

    Hermione heard the telltale sound of Ryuko''s boosters approaching, and flicked her wrist to carve the sigil for Incendio in the air. The end of her wand became engulfed in an ever-expanding ball of flame, which had inflated to past the size of a yoga ball by the time her opponent had arrived. Ryuko came to a halt in front of the witch, raised her Scissor Blade above her head, and was instantly engulfed in the inferno. Hermione wound up and punched through the blaze, sending the girl flying back again.

    "You are very persistent," she remarked to her foe.

    Ryuko used her free hand to extinguish the flames as she halted in the air. "I wouldn''t be as strong as I am if I wasn''t a little persistent."

    "I thought you would say something like that," smiled the witch. She pointed her wand at the ground, levitating thousands of loose pieces of pavement from their battle to her altitude. The rubble began to swirl around her, forming a curtain of dangerous debris. By stretching her wand forward, the bits of pavement turned into a stream that launched itself at Ryuko with a great deal of speed. The girl brandished her Scissor Blade in time to perform a hurricane of rapid slices that turned the chunks of street into harmless gravel.

    "Looks like we''re about even," grunted Ryuko.

    Hermione saw an opportunity. "Then I''ll have to up the ante."

    The witch slipped her wand back under her sash and began to focus, taking careful, slow breaths. Ryuko noticed that the mirage surrounding the girl began to fluctuate more intensely, its shimmering growing ever faster. A faint humming could be heard, and what looked like arcs of electricity began to crackle around her.

    "What are you doing?" asked Ryuko, knowing that anything suddenly developing free-flowing electricity was a bad sign.

    "I''m focusing my Time Vortex energy into a stable environment to enhance my ki channeling," explained Hermione.

    I can sense something, Ryuko, whispered Senketsu. She''s getting stronger. Watch out.

    The mirage began to become more visible, taking on a distinctly yellow hue. The hum transformed into the sound of rushing wind, which may have been physically present- the girl''s hair began to dance upward as if lifted by a strong breeze.

    "When I was infused with Time Vortex energy," explained the witch, "I gained the ability to channel my ki thanks to the latent pathways created by the interactions between time and one''s life-force. Eventually, I devised a plan to force more of my Time Vortex energy to the surface, creating more and more pathways, further enhancing my abilities. The result¡­" she said, now with great effort, "WAS THIS!"

    Hermione exploded with golden light, forcing Ryuko to shield her eyes. The light shot upwards as well as outwards, creating a pillar of energy visible from across the arena. Enough air was displaced to uproot several trees in the park below, and pebbles on the ground began to levitate on their own accord. The hum returned, now a shrill pulse alongside the sound of hurricane-force wind. As the light died down, Ryuko found a slightly different opponent then what she had been facing before.

    The witch was now surrounded in a fluctuating golden field of energy, which seemed to be actively tossing her hair and clothes, adding further credence to the theory that the sound of the wind may have been actual wind after all. Her hair seemed a bit longer, but was most notable for having changed shades entirely from brown to blonde. Her eyes were bright beacons of even more gold energy. Her body seemed to have undergone a few changes as well- she was noticeably taller, and no longer looked like a twelve-year-old, having the proportions of a fairly-old teenager.

    "For a lack of a better term," she continued, her voice no longer so squeaky, "You may call this a super form."

    "We''ve got one of those, too," replied Ryuko, defiant. "SENKETSU! KISARAGI!"

    An awkward pause followed.

    "I said, SENKETSU! KISARAGI!"

    Ryuko, I cannot achieve that form without absorbing a large amount of Life Fibers. I am sorry.

    "Dammit. I really didn''t want to be one-upped."

    "Now, Miss Matoi," declared Hermione, "PREPARE YOURSELF!"

    She extended an index finger and drew the Incendio sigil in the air again, the magic needing no wand to be directed. The ball of flames that appeared at the end of her finger grew larger than most cars before she fired it, but Ryuko was prepared, as Hermione had instructed. With a slash from her Scissor Blade fast enough to be imperceptible, she created a thin stream of air that sliced apart the fireball with ease, leaving her and her outfit burn-free.

    "Lemme test just how super that is," she grunted, rushing ahead toward her target. The two began to exchange a flurry of punches, kicks, and slashes that hopped around the sky like an agitated bluebottle.

    ***

    "What the hell are they up to?" wondered Simon, taking a brief glance up from his target to observe the duel taking place above.

    "They''re coming back," reported Kamina on the Gatsby they were fighting. Simon looked back down and carefully noted the speed at which the machine approached with its shield raised. Once they got close enough, Gurren Lagann delivered a kick that sent the grey robot stumbling back. They followed up by detaching the dramatic sunglasses from the face on their machine''s chest and flung them like a boomerang, knocking a few more of the mass-produced Mobile Suits back before they turned with an extended drill to block another swipe from Rainbow Dash''s Astray Red Frame Custom.

    "They''re all so good at defending," Simon remarked, extending one of Gurren Lagann''s arms to catch the returning sunglasses. "Even if they can''t keep us down, we can''t scratch them."

    "If only there was some way we could get a little more powerful¡­" said Kamina.

    "There''s nothing to combine with," sighed Simon. "We''re just gonna have to tough it out." He shifted a control stick forward to parry a forward slash before using a shoulder barge to send another Gatsby tumbling back. "Let''s make some room!"

    "Right!" Kamina agreed. "GIGA! DRILL!"

    "MAXIMUM!"

    Gurren Lagann glowed with vibrant green Spiral Energy before unleashing a drill from every nook and cranny on its armor. Shockingly, the surrounding Mobile Suits managed to twist around the death spires and deflect any direct hits with their shields, but they were still repelled at least one hundred meters in each direction.

    "Let''s keep the pressure on the commander," Simon commanded. "If we can knock them out, the grunts will have to change their tactics."

    Kamina nodded. "Good thinking, bro! It''s good to have your level head around!"

    ***

    Twilight ducked under another swipe from Adam and leapt over a slice from Ruby. She sidestepped an explosive arrow and teleported out of its blast radius, only to dodge a handful of Neutrino blasts.

    "Better," she gasped, clearly growing tired.

    "Twilight, if you keep this up we''ll end up killing you," said Holly, firing another few shots past the unicorn.

    "Maybe she''ll tell us after she dies," suggested Katniss, stringing an anti-armor arrow.

    "I have no plans of dying today," corrected the unicorn. "Now, keep shooting at me!"

    ***

    After another few seconds of furious punches and kicks, Ryuko managed to land an attack, powering a fist up through Hermione''s chin. The uppercut caused the witch to soar upward, and as she fell, Ryuko followed up with a roundhouse to propel her target into the street below.

    "Even though you''re all super and stuff, I''m still stronger. How many more times am I gonna have to knock you down before you take us back to our friends?" Ryuko used the lapse in the fight to wipe a trail of blood off of her cheek.

    "That''s not- ack- how this works," coughed Hermione, picking herself up. "I''m going to keep fighting you until I say we''re done. And we''re not done yet."

    "I think we are," spat Ryuko, wagging a finger. "If your super form can''t keep up, why are you the one calling the shots?"

    "Because this isn''t my final form," replied the witch. She once again slowed her breathing, as more and more rubble, twigs, leaves and lose dirt began to levitate around her. Her aura began to shine more brightly, as if the air around it had become darker. The pulsing shriek grew even louder, and the windows of the skyscrapers nearby began to bow outward as the air pressure shifted, Hermione''s transformation drawing in nearly everything nearby. An even more dramatic explosion than before ripped through the park, knocking all of the mobile suits brawling a few blocks away off of their feet. Ryuko flew to the ground, tapping her foot impatiently.

    All show and no go. You''d think she would come up with a way to make it take less time, too.

    The dust settled, the changes not as drastic as they had been last time. Hermione''s hair still was blonde instead of brown, and it had certainly grown longer again. Her aura shimmered with intense heat, and moved more like a blowtorch''s flame than a mirage. She had aged once again, now resembling a woman in her late twenties, except with far more well-defined muscle than any ordinary twenty-something.

    "I have now ascended beyond super," stated Hermione with a subtle echo in her voice. "The energy of time''s passage from the beginning of eternity is powering me. I have unlocked more power than any sorcerer ever possessed."

    Unbelievable, she thought while making her speech. This kind of power could destroy worlds. I need to focus- all I need to do is keep them busy, not kill them. I''ll hold back as much as I can.

    "Yadda yadda yadda," mocked Ryuko. "Make a big deal about it and it''s sure to be a letdown."

    Hermione frowned and held up an open hand. A barrage of fireballs exploded forth from her palm, bearing down on the girl and her Kamui with supersonic speed. Ryuko managed to slice through the first few, but could not keep up. Overwhelmed, she collapsed backward in pain. Hermione disapparated from where she stood, reappeared next to the stunned Ryuko, and kicked her skyward. Hermione appeared at the top of Ryuko''s body''s arc, snagged her by Senketsu''s straps, and threw her back to earth, where she plunged directly through the side of Gurren Lagann. The impact sent the Gunmen flying into the low buildings along the edges of the enclosure, were it promptly buried itself head-first in a furniture store.

    "STAND BACK!" ordered Hermione to her reinforcements, aiming her extended arms toward the crash site. An orb of whitish-blue energy began to form in her cupped palms, rapidly growing in size.

    "EXPECTO!"

    This attack should knock them out, which will make my job that much easier. A supercharged version of the ultimate defensive charm.

    "PATRONUM!"

    A ghostly blue otter appeared on her shoulder, and, upon finding it very odd indeed to be so high in the air, hopped into the orb, which caused it to triple its circumference.

    "CANNON!"

    The ki-charged spell ripped open into a spectacularly wide beam, which upon hitting the ground created an explosion titanic enough to be seen on the other side of the arena. The blast scalded the paint off of the Gatsby squadron and tossed them away with ease, forcing the pilots to correct their flight attitude while blind from the light given off. This resulted in most of them crashing in quite spectacular manners, though thanks to their durable construction, all remained functional. The park at the center of the area was instantly burned to a crisp, the shockwave removing the ashes and leaving nothing behind but burnt soil. The windows of every building in a five-mile radius shattered, but within a 2-mile radius never hit the ground before they were vaporized.

    Hermione blinked until she could see again, disappointed with the results.

    "Oh," she whispered. "It wasn''t supposed to do that."

    ***

    "What was that?" asked Ruby, looking at the dome of light that had just erupted in the distance.

    "Doesn''t matter," grunted Holly. "It''s now or never!"

    The fighters'' plan had finally come together. Slowly, throughout the fight, they had changed their locations in order to completely surround Twilight Sparkle. They had staggered their attacks in order to provide the illusion of a chaotic skirmish, but now Holly''s plan was coming together. Or so she wanted to believe. With a raised hand-into-closed fist command, the warriors with ranged weapons fired simultaneously.

    Twilight analyzed her situation. It was simple- just teleport away. She could merely place herself on a vector that one of the projectiles would not hit. She charged her magic and did just that, only to find that she within range of one of Katniss'' explosive arrows, lodged in the ground. She quickly teleported again, only to find herself in range of another. Another teleport resulted in another arrow.

    When did all of these get here? She wondered.

    A final teleport finally put her outside of the reach of arrow-borne high explosives- and in the reach of one of Adam''s huge hands. The artificial man tossed her back to the ground, directly in the center of a ring of explosive arrows.

    "Clever," she remarked.

    "Detonate," replied Katniss.

    The high explosive arrows did not create much shrapnel, but they did knock back the fighters a few feet and created a smoky scorch on the pavement.

    "Guess she''ll have to tell us later," sighed Holly.

    "Unless she''s still alive in there," Katniss countered.

    "I am," replied Twilight''s voice from inside the smoke.

    "Do we shoot her again?" asked Ruby.

    "No," said Twilight, stepping out of the smoke and unfurling a pair of small, feathery wings. "I am about to explain everything. And I mean everything."

    Holly reluctantly holstered her Neutrino. "Those are new," she noted.

    "Actually, they''re old," corrected the alicorn. "But thanks to the stress of fighting you, I was able to access the Residual Magical Genesis field in order to get them back, if only for a little while. Now, where are your other friends? Hermione should have been done with them by now."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-16

    Ryuko. Wake up. We''re in trouble.

    The girl opened her eyes, finding herself in a dark, cramped, and very warm place. In fact, it wasn''t just warm, it was searing hot. Ryuko could see no fire through the darkness, but she could smell smoke.

    "W-where am I?"

    "I think¡­ you''re sitting on my face," said a muffled Kamina. Ryuko leapt back, ran into the other side of the cockpit, and kicked the offending party away.

    "You little pervert!" she screamed.

    "It''s not my fault," Kamina whimpered in reply. "That''s the way you ended up after crashing in here."

    Ryuko slumped against the cockpit''s wall. "Yeah, right. Now where are we?"

    "We''re stuck, that''s where. We fell into a building, and something hit us," coughed Simon from above. "Everything''s on fire, and I can''t get Gurren Lagann to move. We''re out of Spiral Energy."

    "We''re toast, bro," moaned Kamina.

    "I hate to say it, but it does look that way. We can''t break through the defenses of those weird gunmen. How about you, Ryuko?"

    "I kept kicking the crap out of that Hermione chick¡­ and then she kept getting more powerful. I guess I wasn''t having much luck either."

    Kamina pulled at his hair in frustration. "In other words, we''re royally screwed."

    "Damn," coughed Ryuko.

    Wait, Ryuko, said Senketsu. There may be a way out of this.

    I''m willing to try anything.

    You''re going to have to take me off.

    No way. We''re meant for each other. I can''t win without you.

    You will win, and you will win with me. Trust me, Ryuko.

    Okay, okay. I trust you.

    Good. Listen closely.

    Ryuko bolted upright against the wall, her outfit returning to its unassuming seifuku form. She quickly began to undo the skirt''s suspenders.

    "Good idea," said Kamina, carefully observing her. "If we''re going to die, we might as well-"

    Ryuko placed a shoe on Kamina''s neck as she slipped her top off.

    "Never gonna happen, pervert," she growled, setting Senketsu down. She kicked the hatch release open, revealing the inferno raging outside. "Now go upstairs. I''m taking over your robot."

    She snagged the boy by the neck and tossed him upwards out of the cockpit, with Simon opening Lagann''s hatch in time to save him. The robotic cranium sealed around the two pilots, leaving them in darkness again.

    "Kamina? What''s going on?" asked Simon.

    "I don''t know, bro. But you had better open up my channel on the display."

    Simon did so, though it took considerable effort thanks to the damage done to Gurren Lagann''s systems. When the feed did open, it gave them an intimate view of Ryuko''s screaming face.

    "Listen UP, you peeping Toms!" she roared. "Senketsu''s got a plan, and if we listen to him it just might work!"

    "Okay, what''s the plan?" asked Simon nervously.

    "It''s real easy, so it gets through your thick skulls! We''re gonna combine!"

    "We''re gonna¡­ combine?" repeated Kamina.

    "We''re gonna combine!" exclaimed Simon.

    Instantly the Spiral Energy readout shot up to operational levels, and Gurren Lagann began to shift in place. It placed a still-functional hand on the ground to steady itself.

    Senketsu pressed a single one of his strings into Ryuko''s hand with his sleeve.

    I am pretty sure I can do this.

    If we mess up, we''ll know we gave it everything we got, right?

    That''s right, Ryuko.

    The uniform hopped out of the hatch, using its sleeves to climb up until he sat on the machine''s right shoulder.

    I''m ready, Ryuko. Let''s go.

    "Got it," said the girl, pressing forward on the controls. Slowly, the damaged Gurren Lagann heaved itself to its feet, crashing up through the roof of the burning furniture store. It began to walk forward into what had now become a burned-out wasteland. The scattered Mobile Suits began to take aim at their target. Hermione floated down a little lower, clearly unhappy with what was happening.

    "You¡­ you¡­ survived?"

    "That''s right," said Kamina. "The spirit of Gurren Lagann is not something that someone can crush with a big attack! It lives on in the hearts and souls of everyone who has faith in the ability to keep on fighting!"

    "Because no matter how many times you knock us down, we keep getting up, keep pushing forward, like a drill!" yelled Simon.

    "That ability to keep fighting¡­ to keep pushing forward! That''s the thread that''s woven into us all! The only thing you need to wake it up is to believe in yourself and your friends!" shouted Ryuko. "I know I''m not always a perfect example, but I know that when push comes to shove, I need my friends as much as anyone else! And now, you''re gonna see how strong those bonds have become!"

    "You''re bloody joking," gasped Hermione.

    She swiped her hand across the partially-shattered viewscreen in front of her, and clamped her bleeding palm over the string Senketsu had left behind.

    "LIFE FIBER SYNCHRONIZE, KAMUI SENKETSU!"

    The Kamui sitting atop Gurren Lagann''s shoulder unraveled himself into loose strands, draping himself over the gunmen. As Ryuko''s blood ran up along the string, the Life Fibers became active, clamping down over the armor. Inside the cockpits, the pilots could hear the metal groan and pop under the pressure.

    "Is it¡­ is it going to work?" asked Simon.

    "I know it will," breathed Ryuko. "Senketsu says it will. And I believe in him."

    At that moment, the strands of fabric tangled over Gurren Lagann''s legs, simultaneously binding them together and crushing them into uselessness. The gunmen tripped forward, falling on its faces once more.

    "You were bloody joking!" exhaled Hermione, running a hand through her glowing hair. "That''s good, because I thought for a second that you were-"

    Pink and green energies began to pulsate across Gurren Lagann''s body, until it was a mass of solid alternating color.

    "Oh, fiddlesticks," said the witch.

    Gurren Lagann rose from the ground, levitating slightly and making sounds roughly equivalent to elastic stretching and leather snapping as its shape began to change. A burst of pink sparkles radiated away as the combination completed, and the gunmen drifted back to the ground.

    The machine''s once-stout frame had been squeezed into the shape that the Kamui had been intended to fit- namely, Ryuko. Gurren Lagann still possessed its defining traits- the human-looking face of Lagann functioning as the head, the snarling, feral face of Gurren as the chest. However, they had now been crammed down into a distinctly feminine form. Gurren''s sunglasses now echoed Senketsu''s crest, with a red-and-yellow eye glaring out menacingly from under the left lens, and the right lens being etched with the distinctive ''X'' of the Kamui''s ''eyepatch''. Excess Spiral Energy rippled out of Lagann''s head, forming a wild mane of glowing green ''hair'', and a spare bunch of pink Life Fibers hung forward in much the same manner as the girl''s red forelock. It drew something small from its skirt armor, which it twirled around its finger until it grew as tall as the machine that held it- A massive drill, attached to the finger-grip of a truly gigantic pair of sewing shears.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "THIS IS GURREN LAGANN!" roared Simon.

    "WE AIN''T MESSIN'' AROUND THIS TIME," Kamina joined in.

    "''CAUSE WE''RE DRESSED TO KILL!" screamed Ryuko.

    All three announced the name of the machine to the world in perfect, fiery unison.

    "GURREN LAGANN KIRU RA KIRU! JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?"

    "I¡­ I¡­ just don''t know what to-" stuttered Hermione, finding herself speechless. One of the Gatsby units began to advance toward the newly-enhanced gunmen, and Gurren Lagann responded by removing the aggressor''s limbs without a trace of doing so. In one moment, it stood where it had transformed, in the next, it was behind a stripped-bare torso, standing in a pile of manipulators and thrusters.

    Rainbow Dash slammed a hoof into her controls. "Don''t just stand there and get taken out! Shoot at it!"

    The other Gatsby units obliged, raising their beam rifles and firing a barrage of charged particles into their target. As soon as they stopped to reload, their weapons mysteriously split in half, exploding in their hands, with Gurren Lagann appearing directly in front of Rainbow Dash''s Gundam.

    "N-no way," cried the Pegasus, swinging her katana wildly. Gurren Lagann caught the blade with an open hand and jammed its fingers shut, snapping the weapon in half. With its other hand, it drew a second drill-scissor, which grew to a similar size as the first. It flew backwards until it reached the necessary distance, then threw both blades forward, each following an arcing, spinning path until it the weapons buried their edges between the arms and legs of the now-immobile suit. The gunmen raised its right arm above its head, generating a drill several stories tall.

    "GIGA!" cried Kamina.

    "It''s true," sobbed Rainbow Dash. "The rumor was true this whole time!"

    "DRILL!" followed Simon.

    "I''m gonna die a horrible death!" wailed the Pegasus.

    "BREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!" finished Ryuko, as the machine dove forward, plunging the weapon through the Gundam. Rainbow Dash spent her last few nanoseconds watching the front of her cockpit give way to the spiraling tip of her certain doom¡­ before she realized that one of her modifications to the suit was the addition of an emergency AEGIS evacuation system. With her trademark reaction speed, she tapped the button and was transported back to the safety of the Mobile Defense hangar. Below her, on the extended viewing deck, was a particularly-sedate crowd of Reis, each holding lit candles. Ahead of them stood Char, next to a closed casket and several large, sepia photographs of herself.

    "She brought such light into all of our lives," said the commander of Mobile Defense. "And never again will that light grace us ."

    Rainbow Dash floated down to her memorial service, taking a bite out of the bouquet that had been placed on her casket.

    "Never again, huh, Char?"

    A small alarm went off on Hermione''s AEGIS to notify her that Rainbow Dash had not expired.

    At least that''s good. But now I''ve got this to deal with.

    "You," seethed the combined voices of Simon, Kamina, and Ryuko as Gurren Lagann''s mouths echoed their words. "You''ve kept this up for long enough."

    "Yes I have," whimpered Hermione.

    The gunmen turned, both drill-scissors in hand, and began to advance toward the powered-up witch. Hermione began to charge up an attack to hold them at bay, but it was too late. With incomprehensible speed, it performed a diagonal slash with each blade-like drill, creating an X-shaped wave of energy that propelled Hermione back through thirteen city blocks. With no foes left to challenge them, the pilots of Gurren Lagann brought the mech to a kneel, deactivating it. Senketsu deactivated as well, reverting into a tangle of strings before reconstituting himself into the familiar black seifuku. Without a constant stream of Spiral Energy, Gurren Lagann also reverted into its previously-wrecked state. Ryuko leapt out of the cockpit and snatched the falling garment, holding him tightly in her arms as they bounced off the ground.

    "You did it, Senketsu! You did it!" she cried.

    No, Ryuko. We did it.

    Simon and Kamina climbed out of Lagann''s dented cockpit.

    "Unbelievable," whispered Kamina, looking out at the damage they had been able to cause in their combined state. "I''ve never seen us get that powerful!"

    "Kicking logic to the curb and making the impossible possible," said Simon with a twinkle in his eye. "That''s the way Team Gurren''s meant to roll. Ryuko, we''re honored to have worked with you. I think we''ll stick with your team for a little while longer, if you don''t mind."

    "Sure thing," said the girl, still giving her uniform a hug. "But expect to get hit if you keep on acting like perverts."

    Simon nodded. "Okay. So why don''t you put your clothes on?"

    Ryuko realized that she still was in her underwear, and was about to uphold her end of the bargain she had just made when a shower of blue sparks appeared behind them.

    "Not more of them," whined Kamina.

    Instead of further reinforcements, the figure that fell to the ground before them was, once again, Hermione. Her appearance had also undergone another change. She was no longer glowing with energy, or quite so youthful.

    "What happened to you?" asked Ryuko.

    "I''m¡­ not sure," said the woman, clutching her stomach. "I think I used up all of my Time Vortex energy in order to save myself from your attack."

    "Well, that should make it a lot easier for us to kick you around, right?" snapped Kamina.

    "Hold up, guys," suggested Simon. "I don''t think she''s here to fight this time."

    "You''re right," said the witch, picking herself up. "Now, hold still." She tapped a few buttons on her AEGIS, and all four of them were transported to the other half of their team, which Alucard and Mikasa had rejoined.

    "And that''s how I defeated Lord Tirek," concluded Twilight.

    "AWESOME!" cheered Ruby. "Everything needs that many explosions!"

    "Hey, guys," said Ryuko, announcing their arrival with a wave.

    Twilight held up a hoof. "Good. Everyone''s here. I need to act quickly!"

    Without further comment, she charged up her magic, her horn''s glow changing from lavender to a blinding white. In a flash, everything went dark, and slightly salty-smelling.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-17

    "Is that popcorn?" asked Holly.

    "Yes, it is," confirmed Twilight, slightly adjusting the dimness of the can lights along the ceiling.

    The group found itself seated in what appeared to be an absolutely normal movie theater, with a small podium set up in front of the screen where Twilight Sparkle sat.

    "What''s going on?" groaned Mikasa, only just coming to. "Why is it so dark?"

    "Are we watching a movie?" wondered Ruby aloud, shifting in her seat. "Are there going to be EXPLOSIONS?!"

    "I am sick and tired of getting teleported everywhere," growled Ryuko. "It''s too damn disorienting."

    "Ah, but we didn''t teleport anywhere," explained the alicorn, fluttering her wings. "Allow me to elaborate."

    "You see, I had to keep a few secrets from all of you in the beginning. I''ll admit, I had to tell a few lies. But I couldn''t just explain everything when prying ears were listening. I learned enough about you all to know that if I kept you in the dark just enough, you''d get tired and demand answers. And thanks to the nature of the Grand Combat, you would probably get those answers out of me by force. As I already explained to some of you, I needed that to happen to be able to harness the Residual Magical Genesis Field and break through the Limit to achieve my Alicorn form."

    "What is this Limit of which you speak?" asked Adam with raised hand.

    "I''ll get there," promised Twilight Sparkle.

    "What I''m about to tell you, I can''t let the Master of Games hear. I had to be at my most powerful in order to create this, which is an isolated pocket dimension."

    Kamina looked around worriedly. "Okay, this is getting weird. I was just in this for the chicks, not a lecture." Simon elbowed him in the gut and motioned for him to keep quiet.

    "A pocket dimension movie theater?" questioned Holly with a bit of disbelief.

    "Well, if it works," shrugged Katniss.

    "Twilight Sparkle''s full power allows her to manipulate space itself," added Hermione from her seat at the back of the room. "She can do a lot of other interesting things at full strength."

    "That''s right," smiled the alicorn. "I''m not going to be able to sustain this for long, though, so please keep that in mind throughout the presentation." She took a moment to clear her throat before continuing.

    "Now that I''ve explained why I have chosen these methods, I need to get straight to the heavy stuff. As you''re all now aware, there are multitudes of alternate universes and dimensions out there, and most of you all hail from different ones. That is the natural order of things, for you to be in your native reality. However, some time ago, a few individuals became aware of the existence of these other realities. They joined forces in order to maintain the balance of all possible realities, which we came to dub the metaverse. The organization was named the Illuminati Brotherhood, after an ancient group who sought to influence their world from the shadows. I am an honored member of the Illuminati, as is Mrs. Granger. Normally, our numbers are quite small, with fewer than one hundred members at any one time. But in light of this recent crisis, we have significantly bolstered our ranks."

    "The crisis being the Grand Combat, right?" the elf asked.

    "Exactly. It should come as no surprise to all of you that the Grand Combat is a far more sinister affair than it first appears. After all, how can the Master of Games summon you from your own dimensions, if we have established that this is not something that occurs naturally? The answer is that the Master of Games is not the being he wants you to think he is. He is Hastur the Unspeakable, a Great Old One- a being from the space between dimensions, of power so vast that attempting to comprehend even his true physical form can drive the untrained to complete insanity."

    "Oooh, spooky!" giggled Ruby. "I bet the explosions come next!"

    Twilight ignored her and continued.

    "The actions of the Great Old Ones are so difficult to detect and observe, that this is the first cosmic event that we have been able to respond to, if only because of its massive scale. It started millennia ago- mere days by measurement of beings so ancient- with a battle between Hastur and his brother Cthulhu."

    Cthulhu. That''s the name from that¡­ dream, or whatever, when this had just begun, thought Holly. So that''s the connection.

    "While we identify them as near-equals, it is important to know that the capabilities of these two beings could not be more different. From what we currently understand, Hastur possessed more reality-altering abilities, while Cthulhu''s specialty seemed to be in more subtle manipulation of minds. For all of his raw power, Hastur was defeated by his brother''s less overt methods, and was left to die. Or whatever cosmic beings like that do- we''re not quite sure yet; perhaps it is not our place to know. What we do know is that Hastur was not quite dead, and used what little power he had left to create what we currently identify as the Nexus of Carcosa- the location of the Grand Combat. His plan is simple- he will feed on the negative energies of your conflicts to restore himself."

    "And we''re going to stop him?" asked Katniss.

    Twilight shook her head. "No. Doing so would be too dangerous. The Illuminati may be powerful, but we are not powerful enough to challenge him directly. Our plan is ultimately to get you back home."

    "There''s no way he''s just going to let us go," said Holly.

    "You are correct," admitted the alicorn. "and we are still working on that. This rescue is a long ways off. And there have been a few complications to the plan."

    "Complications?" moaned Ryuko, who had never been a fan of complications.

    "Yes- as we mentioned earlier, Carcosa features something called the Limit. Think of it as a sort of passive magical barrier that prevents most warriors from achieving a certain level of power. It does not seem to restrict gains in physical strength, but it does impede access to forms that have reality-altering abilities, such as my alicorn body. This makes traveling in and out of the Nexus of Carcosa in order to coordinate the efforts of the Illuminati more difficult for me, as I''m their inside pony. I''ve been catching rides with Mr. Alucard to make up for it. We have begun to resolve this issue with the versatile AEGIS system, a compact space-time transit device. You saw Hermione use hers to arrive here."

    "As we move into the further phases of our plan, we''re going to be making more and more incursions into Carcosa," added Hermione. "We need to study it for weak points, and we need to catalogue everyone here into our dossiers. Expect to be seeing more of us. And stay out of our way, if possible."

    Holly raised her hand, and Twilight gave her the floor. "Would now be a good time to tell me what that thing I threw up was?"

    "That is another one of our complications," said Twilight uneasily. "For reasons beyond our current understanding, Hastur brought Cthulhu into Carcosa. How he was able to achieve this in his weakened state or what his motivation was is uncertain. However, in order to be able to achieve this, he had to condense Cthulhu down, and he seemed to pick you at random-"

    "So that was Cthulhu? And it looks like me now?"

    "Yes. It might be the largest wrench in our works. We have no idea what it wants or what exactly it will do, but we can be certain it will have little concern for the importance of our mission or the safety of others around it. If it interferes with our plans, it may throw our entire operation into ruin. Avoid it at any cost."

    "That helps a lot," muttered the elf sarcastically.

    "Unfortunately, it''s all I can tell you. And that about brings you all up to speed. I don''t have long left, so can I get any questions before I have to collapse this pocket dimension?"

    "What are we supposed to do?" asked Katniss.

    "What do you mean?"

    "I mean, what are we supposed to do between now and whenever you bust us out of here?"

    "Play along," sighed Twilight. "Keep doing what you''re doing. Making more allies is possible, but you''ll have to keep this secret from them the same way I withheld it from you. You never know who could be working for the Master of Games. Just move forward with caution¡­ that''s about all I can tell you."

    Katniss gave a mournful chuckle. "Playing along. At least I''m used to that."

    "Any other questions? Last chance."

    No one raised their hand.

    "Okay, I''m going to send you back now. I''ll join you shortly."

    Twilight''s horn glowed again, and the warriors disappeared. Only Hermione was left in the room.

    "How was that?" asked the alicorn. "Did I do okay?"

    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    "You did. You gave them enough to feel satisfied, and left the bits they shouldn''t know yet out."

    "Good, good," exhaled a relieved Twilight. "And you''re back to the way you were before, aren''t you?"

    "The ideas that go through Artemis'' head sometimes," sighed Hermione. "I think I''ll stick with being a grumpy old hag. My childhood wasn''t exactly an ideal one to relive."

    "I need to collapse this so you can get back."

    "Right-o, then. I''ll see you later."

    The fighters arrived in the exact same location from which they left, just down the road from the Second Street Ballrooms.

    "Well, I never want to be that elf, but¡­ I told you so!" sneered Holly.

    "We agreed to help you out," said Katniss. "It''s not like we doubted you that much."

    "I feel jipped," pouted Ruby. "There wasn''t even a movie at all! She was just TALKING the whole time! And there weren''t any explosions like she promised!"

    "I do not think she promised any explosions, Ruby," Adam pointed out.

    Twilight and Hermione appeared in a flash of light, but Hermione activated her AEGIS as soon as she was on solid ground, bringing her protracted visit to an abrupt end. The alicorn sauntered over to her once-again-friends as her wings dissolved away into ethereal lavender feathers, drifting upward like released balloons.

    "Good to have you back," chuckled the elf, ruffling Twilight''s mane.

    "I think that''s my line," she whinnied. Everyone had a good laugh about that one. "Now, I believe there are two VIWs left to snag."

    Holly nodded. "¡­ Because no time has passed since we left. All right, let''s go score us some-"

    "The Eighth Street Foundry VIW has been defeated. One remains," announced Deep Thought.

    "D''Arvit," the elf cursed. "Well, we can go for the last-"

    "The Forty-Ninth Street Insurance Office VIW has been defeated. No targets remain."

    The tinny sing-song of GLaDOS cut in. "Congratulations to team Night Terror for destroying a majority of the targets. I had no idea that you meatbags could be so efficient."

    "We lost," breathed Katniss. "After winning everything else¡­ we lost."

    "And we had that streak for a reason, we worked together. Now we split up, and this happens," pondered Holly.

    Adam shook his head. "We are not entirely at fault for our loss."

    "Whaddya mean?" asked Ryuko. "We were a mess. You saw it. We did pretty much everything besides accomplish our goal."

    "The team that won," explained Adam, "took out two targets in unnaturally rapid succession. They must be exceptionally powerful."

    "Or well coordinated," suggested Holly.

    "Or both," Ruby added.

    "If that''s the case, we''ll have to be on top of our game next time if we want to beat them," said Twilight.

    "Heh," sighed Holly. "After all of that intrigue, it''s just back to smashing stuff harder."

    The weary team enjoyed one last laugh before they sunk into the ground and returned to the common hall, which never would feel quite the same again.

    ***

    Hermione warped in on the ship''s bridge, surprised to find it nearly empty. A solitary Rei Ayanami sat behind a display console, typing a few notes into a data log. The witch scurried over as quickly as she could, acutely aware that she looked much sillier sprinting around as an adult than a child.

    "Excuse me," she said. "Where is everyone?"

    The girl turned, and Hermione instantly spotted the ''II'' pinned to the front of her uniform.

    "Everyone is down in the engine room, Mrs. Granger." replied Number Two. "We are about to go underway. I am almost finished here. I have the coordinates."

    "Oh, that''s very- thank you," Hermione whispered. "Listen, I''m sorry about what I said earlier."

    "I realize my demeanor may not be the most social. I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused due to my lack of ''suave''."

    "No, no!" cried the witch, suddenly wrapping the girl in a hug. "Don''t you tell yourself that! I was wrong to say what I did. It takes all sorts to keep us going- young and old, friendly and grumpy, quiet and noisy. It''s not my place to make an insult like that. So I''m the one who''s apologizing, and that''s final."

    "Mrs. Granger, I cannot reach my AEGIS if you continue to hold me so."

    "Oh- right- sorry," said the woman, releasing Rei to plug in their destination.

    They arrived on a stage that had been assembled in front of the ship''s central engine regulator. Several other high-rankers surrounded them- The Doctor, Chief Program Coordinator Suzumiya, the heads of Research and Development and Engineering, and Captain Littner stood next to Chief of Regulations Kiryuin with a particularly hostile glare. The cavernous room was filled to the brim with nearly everyone who could claim to work for the Illuminati- TDAs, scientists, and kitchen staff were all gathered together in anticipation, though for what Hermione was not exactly sure.

    "Ah, Mrs. Granger," said Artemis, working his way around the stage to shake her hand. "I just took a look at the report from your last incursion. I need to speak with you in my office privately after this is over."

    "Yes, sir," saluted the witch, who was beginning to realize that her custom-made training robes were quite ill-fitting now.

    A lecture on my failure, I''m sure. Though with Artemis, who knows. Maybe he''ll be dosing me up with gamma rays.

    He turned to address the crowd, tapping something on the lapel of his suit that must have been a microphone.

    "I will keep this short, because we all have very important jobs to return to. It is my honor to guide this organization as we set out to preserve the safety of the metaverse. The cornerstone of our success is this, our new base of operations, the Cathedral Cosmos."

    A round of applause rose from the crowd.

    "I feel that there is no one better to command our vessel than our very own Captain Yoko Littner. Let us give her a warm welcome."

    Another surge of applause, some wild and peppered with cat-calls, much of it restrained. Yoko stepped forward, bowing, which caused a few more excited whistles to rise from the crowd.

    "Thanks, Artemis. It''s great to have command of a ship like this, with all of you smiling faces working under me. It''s a dream come true, I really mean it. Except the parking."

    A few hearty laughs were quickly suffocated by the silence of the Reis. After Yoko''s attempt at comedy had been completely stifled, she continued.

    "But like Artemis said, you''ve got jobs to get back to so I won''t keep you much longer. Core Drill, please," she said, holding out her hand. Chief of Engineering Dexter pushed a few of the taller officials out of the way and scrambled over to Yoko, handing her a small object on a chain. Yoko held it up in front of the crowd.

    "Thanks to the geniuses we''ve got working for us, we were able to grab a chunk of solid Spiral Energy and synthesize it into a Core Drill, which is all we need to reach 100% operational capacity."

    Well, that all makes sense now, thought Hermione. Would a little transparency have hurt?

    "Okay, I''m going to need everyone to listen up here!" shouted Yoko, the microphone enhancing her raised voice. "We''re all going to need to be fired up for this to work! Can I get a YEAH?"

    Half of the audience shouted "YEAH!" in return, while the Reis whispered their response.

    "You can do better than that, come on!" roared their captain. "Can I hear that, but LOUDER?!"

    "I was not aware that this was going to be a pep rally," whispered Rei Two.

    "Only now are things not turning up how you expected?" giggled Hermione back. "You''ve had it lucky."

    "YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" screamed Yoko alongside her subordinates. "Okay, that''s good. Now you''re going to have to do that, and say, ''Cathedral Cosmos, Spin On''! You got that?"

    Another YEAH was her response. She grabbed the Core Drill by its tiny handle and thrust her index finger as high in the air as she could.

    "You see this? This is the drill¡­ that''s gonna save the heavens! CATHEDRAL COSMOS, SPIN ON!"

    With the mighty bellow of the audience behind her, Yoko drove the drill''s tip into the engine regulator. Bright green lines of energy radiated out in an unsurprising spiral pattern along the machinery as it began to churn and whine. The whine grew into a steady blast of sound as the engines purred to life, a slight shift in the floor indicating that the vessel had begun to move. Thunderous applause followed before Artemis held up a hand and announced "DISSMISSED!"

 Paradox Fighters, Part 5-18

    "So, do you want to explain exactly how you failed?" The Master of Games was not going to even pretend he was pleased.

    Dio rose from his reverent kneel and stood before his master. "They were simply too strong," he asserted. "Even with warriors as powerful as you have supplied me with, we cannot hope to counter them. Unless my team can get a serious upgrade, we cannot hope to defeat them in combat."

    "Such insolence," fumed the Master of Games, delivering a backhand the knocked Dio to the common hall''s floor. Filia rushed to the vampire''s side. "You were the one who claimed that your power would lead your team to victory. And now you have failed me twice. He''s mocking me, and you are useless to stop him."

    "But¡­ he tried," said the girl.

    "His own arrogance destroyed him. And the novelty of his wardrobe has worn off."

    Dio rubbed the side of his face angrily. "My arrogance would mean nothing if I was assigned a target I could actually kill!"

    "Wait-" cried Filia, raising her hand to halt another strike from the Master of Games. "just, hold on," she whimpered. "What if instead of focusing on destroying the team, we just complete the objectives ahead of them? You just tell us where to go, and we''ll finish before they can get there."

    "Humph," shrugged the kingly figure. "That is an idea, I suppose. That could work. You wouldn''t necessarily need to engage them directly, just hold them off at most¡­ yes, that''s not bad at all."

    Filia gave a feeble smile. "T-thank you, my liege."

    The Master of Games frowned. "Whatever. I need to plan the next round. Get out of my sight."

    The girl helped Dio to his feet and the two left to return to the rest of the team.

    "What is your problem?" the vampire hissed.

    "What? What do you mean?"

    "I mean, you''re obsessed with me. You follow me around everywhere and now you''re sticking up for me- there''s loyalty and then there''s annoying. Usually the ladies who obsess over me end up very dead."

    Filia blinked, and took a step away from him. "It''s just¡­ I think there''s more to you than just pure evil, Lord Dio."

    "That is laughable," he spat.

    "N-no," she replied. "I really think¡­ you let something inside you go wrong. You could have been a good person, I''m certain. You''re only mad with power because that was the only way up for you¡­ but here, it''s different. I''m not following you around because I''m drunk on your charisma or something. I just¡­ want to understand why."

    Dio sighed. "I''ll tell you a story. But it will be very long and very weird."

    "Samson and I are quite patient if we want to be, isn''t that right?"

    "I dunno if that explanation changed my mind, Filia," grumbled her parasite.

    "He says yes."

    ***

    "I quit."

    "You what?" roared Megatron.

    "I quit," repeated Samus. "I figured out that every other time the table of food shows up here, they''ve got millet puffs. I don''t need you to collect them for me."

    "But I also promised you a way to get even with the SPARTAN, did I not?"

    "I don''t need you for that, either," growled the bounty hunter. "I''ll figure that out, too. I never should have stopped working alone."

    "Then how shall I exact my much-needed revenge?" cried the Predacon.

    "Do it yourself," suggested Samus.

    "But how? I am but one mech against an entire team!"

    "Then make your own, stupid," she spat. "It''s not like anything''s stopping you."

    "But-"

    "But nothing," Samus grunted, turning away. "I''m out of here."

    She stomped away from Megatron''s table, leaving the Predacon alone once more.

    Curses. My plans have been foiled. She suggests that I form my own team- how na?ve the organics are. No one with half a processor would join a team led by me after my escapades for the Master of Games.

    Unless I could promise them millet puffs. Yesss, I may be onto something¡­

    ***

    Hermione knocked on the door of Artemis'' office gently. "Hello? Artemis?"

    The door slid open to reveal Rei Two on the other side. She held what appeared to be a red spear with a bifurcated tip in one hand, and in the other, a saucer and teacup.

    "Come in," she said softly. The girl stepped back out of the way, and Hermione entered slowly. The office was fairly expansive and well-furnished, which made sense- Artemis wouldn''t have it any other way. There was a small lounge area in the center, complete with reclining seats and couches and a small refrigerator. In the far corner of the room was his desk, complete with standing room for his butler and several conference chairs along the outside. In one of them was Chief of Regulations Satsuki Kiryuin.

    "Hermione, sit down," ordered Artemis from his office chair, indicating a seat next to Kiryuin. Hermione reluctantly did as she was told, noticing that everyone had a cup of tea.

    "Would you like some?" asked Satsuki.

    "Well, I wouldn''t want to impose- wait, did you just offer me something?"

    "I was under the impression that it was customary to be polite," said Satsuki. "Perhaps customs are different where you come from."

    "Well, I was under the impression that blocking doors was customary where you came from," snapped Hermione.

    "Ladies, please," insisted Artemis. "Let us keep things civil."

    "Civil?" cried Hermione. "She nearly slit our captain''s throat!"

    "I was only acting upon the authority that Artemis has placed with me. That is what we are here to discuss," Satsuki stated with a deliberate sip of her tea. She tapped a button on her AEGIS and another saucer and cup appeared on the desk in front of her, which she slowly pushed to Hermione''s place.

    "Miss Kiryuin is right. I have given her free reign to enforce laws as she chooses because her methods have been deemed effective, and because we need a crackdown now more than ever." He pushed a folder across the desk labeled FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. Hermione assumed that meant hers as well. Rei Two took a seat on Hermione''s left, leaning her spear-thing against the desk.

    "In order for the Illuminati to accomplish our goals, we have gathered a variety of experts to work with us. Regrettably, some with vital skills may pose a threat to our organization''s working order," he said, flipping the folder open. A personnel file with attached photograph sat on top of the stack of paper. It was a dignified looking middle-aged man with a beard and spectacles, his hands folded over one another in a resting position. He looked friendly enough to Hermione, but appearances were no way to judge one''s character.

    "Gendo Ikari," whispered Rei. "Human Resources Chief of Cloning."

    "I guess you two are familiar, then?" asked Hermione. Rei nodded.

    "Mr. Ikari is an invaluable asset to our organization," explained Artemis. "Without him, we would not have 80% of our work force. However, he is known for keeping his own agenda and there is no reason to believe he is not doing so now. He is our number one priority because he has at his disposal the means to create Reis on his own accord and for his own purposes."

    "Like a clone army," supposed Hermione.

    "Or worse," said Satsuki.

    "Of course, further complicating the matter is the nature of the clones, which are all genetically identical. On Rei''s suggestion-" he pointed out Number Two "-we brought the NERV cloning program aboard, and it does fulfill many of our needs. Rei, you are highly intelligent and adaptable to nearly any form of work, and so are your clones. However, tracking them in order to monitor their activity has proven difficult."

    "I apologize," whimpered Rei.

    "No, no, do not apologize," consoled Artemis. "The program is by and large an irreplaceable benefit to our organization, and I have not regretted following your advice for one moment. You are not at fault."

    "Understood," replied the girl.

    "This is where Miss Kiryuin and Mrs. Granger come in. Hermione, you are my most trusted Trans-Dimensional Analyst, and you''ve been with our organization almost as long as I have. That''s why I am choosing you for this assignment. You are going to work with a new investigative branch of Regulations under Miss Kiryuin in order to observe and monitor the actions of Mr. Ikari and other suspect individuals."

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    "So I have to work under¡­ her?"

    Satsuki frowned. "Any misgivings you may have about my character are the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, I assure you. Your colleagues can vouch for me, as well."

    Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Colleagues?"

    Rei got up from her seat and opened the door, which allowed the four officers from earlier to barge into the room and take seats in the lounge area.

    "I know you have met before, but I do not believe you have been properly introduced," said Satsuki. "These are my Elite Four. Ira Gamagori," the mammoth young man raised his hand gigantic hand, "Hoka Inumuta," the boy with the zipped-up uniform and glasses followed, "Uzu Sanageyama," who acknowledged himself as the one with the bandana, "and Nonon Jakuzure."

    "So we''re working for Curly now?" whined the venom-tongued girl.

    "Yes, Nonon," sighed Satsuki.

    "Step outta line once, and I''ll make sure Lady Satsuki puts you in your place," hissed Nonon to Hermione.

    "Well, this sure seems like a fun little project," said Hermione through gritted teeth.

    Artemis stood and directed Rei to open the door. Satsuki gave a bow and left, and her subordinates followed their original leader closely behind. "Your attention to detail makes you ideal for this kind of mission, Hermione. I thank you for your cooperation."

    Hermione looked at the open door, then back at Artemis.

    "My turn to speak with you privately," she grunted. Artemis nodded and directed Rei to close the door again.

    "I assume this is about the Time Vortex experiment?"

    "No, it''s about the flavor of scones for breakfast this morning. What do you think, Artemis?"

    "If it is any consolation to you, Research and Development reviewed your results and deemed it inefficient. We can''t enhance our soldiers and have them burn out halfway through a battle. We''re reviewing alternatives, such as uniforms with mild Life Fiber integration."

    "And I suppose you couldn''t tell me about that either? Because no one did."

    "I understand that you are angry. I betrayed your trust by selecting you to test both without your permission. At the time, I had no alternative. However, there is one now. Fresh in from Recruitment, she''s going straight to R&D. She''s from some espionage program- responds really well to all sorts of mutagens, and she can recover in a day flat for more testing. She''ll be the guinea pig from here on out."

    "Name?"

    "Clover somethingorother."

    "Like any proper lab rat, don''t bother with a proper name," Hermione hissed.

    "Hey!" cried Artemis. "She''s got one. I just have a lot on my plate right now."

    "You sure do," sighed Hermione, getting up and walking to the door. "You sure do."

    ***

    Gendo took another sip from his bowl of ramen. Rei sat across the table from him, mirroring his sip with her own.

    "How do you like it, One?" he asked quietly.

    "The ramen is fine, Commander Ikari. But I am concerned. Our contact said she would be here by now."

    A small figure, clad in an over-long uniform pulled over its head cut down the aisle suddenly, setting a tray full of chocolate cake down next to Rei One.

    "Here''s the report on the Time Vortex enhancement you wanted," said a small, female voice. She slowly worked her head out of her outfit, exposing her long, pointed ears and taking a furtive glance around before digging into her cake.

    "I was wondering when you''d get here, Opal," remarked Gendo.

    "It''s not easy to leave R&D. I''ve got minders on me twenty-four-seven. Artemis knows he made a mistake bringing me here."

    "That''s not good," said the man. "We want to be unassuming. We want them to not suspect us. Acting the part is not going to help us achieve our goals."

    "I-mph- don''t care," Opal replied through a mouthful of cake, sliding a file out from under her tray. Gendo brushed a smudge of chocolate frosting off of it before sliding it under his uniform.

    "You had better learn to start caring, or this is going to go nowhere."

    "Listen to you," laughed a woman''s voice nearby. "You''re one of those no-fun dads, aren''t you?"

    "We''ve been compromised," gasped Gendo, bolting up from his seat. Rei One followed, and Opal began her second piece of cake.

    "Relax, Gendo, darling. Nobody''s compromised anybody¡­ yet. You don''t want to look like you''ve completely lost your marbles, do you?"

    "Who are you?" he huffed, looking around frantically while trying his hardest to appear as though he was not looking around frantically. "What do you want?"

    "It''s simple, darling. What I want is to be in. Is that too much to ask?"

    "And what if it is?" he replied, directing his answer at no one at all.

    "Then I report everything you''ve been doing that the powers that be, and claim all the work you''ve done so far for my little old self," said the disembodied voice.

    "You''re bluffing. You don''t know what you''re talking about," Gendo insisted. "We''re not up to anything. I think that''s very prejudiced of you to assume that."

    "Is it prejudiced to assume if you start by saying you''ve been compromised, and respond to me asking to be in? Darling, you can''t put up a very good front."

    Gendo''s eyes widened. "So how did you find out? We''ve kept everything under wraps so far."

    "Did you know that they''ve started sewing Life Fibers into everything now?" cackled the invisible woman. "They told me everything. Everything."

    "And if we let you in¡­ you can tell us everything," said Opal through another mouthful of cake.

    "How clever. You are the genius everyone says you are."

    "Anything else they say about me? Things about my peerless beauty and awe-inspiring power?"

    "They say you get off to chocolate."

    Opal set her next forkful of cake down.

    "It seems we don''t have much of a choice," grunted Gendo. "But why should we let you in if you can''t prove where your loyalties lie?"

    "Oh, but I can," moaned the voice. A small, clear cylinder tumbled onto the table as if tossed from nearby. Inside the canister was a tiny, white blob. Rei began to reach for it, but Gendo smacked her hand away, giving her a scolding look.

    "A shard of the Second Angel," he whispered. "The last item I needed."

    "Then I assume I have won your trust?"

    "Gendo¡­" shivered Rei. "That¡­ that is making me feel¡­ odd. Very odd."

    "It''s supposed to, dear," replied Gendo. "Yes. You''ve proven that you can benefit us."

    "Excellent," said the woman standing behind him, her hair radiating an uncountable variety of colors. "Now prove that you can benefit me."

    ***

    TO: NONON JAKUZURE, REGULATIONS

    FROM: HARUHI SUZUMIYA, CHIEF PROGRAM COORDINATOR

    SUBJECT: RE:GLEE CLUB

    This is a response to your request for the formation of a recreational Glee Club for "the raising of morale among fellow crew members, the heightening of cultural awareness, and to force Uzu to learn how to sing".

    After reviewing your proposal and the attached list of participants required in order to form a club, we have approved your request and are filling out the paperwork now. You will receive some forms shortly that will need to be returned to confirm your starting members and meeting times. We have reprinted the list here for you to review:

    NONON JAKUZURE

    IRA GAMAGORI

    HOKA INAMUTA

    UZU SANAGEYAMA

    ELSA ARENDELLE

    APPLEJACK

    RARITY

    PINKIE PIE

    FLUTTERSHY

    MIKU HATSUNE

    REI AYANAMI II

    REI AYANAMI IV

    REI AYANAMI XLVII

    PROTOMAN

    However, we have found a scheduling conflict with the previously-requested meeting times. Multipurpose Room 4A has already been claimed for that time. The only room sized large enough according to fire codes that is not currently occupied is being used for elective martial arts training by a Mr. Piccolo. You will have to ask him for permission and send that written permission back to me ASAP.

    I look forward to hearing you sing. Just no show tunes. Do some covers or something, please.

    -Haruhi Suzumiya

 PF Side Story 2 Ghosts and Spartans-1

    Mikasa half-shrugged an arm towards her group''s meeting place, using a shallow nod to acknowledge her presence to the other members of Team Mockingjay.

    "And here''s our table."

    "Whoa, you guys have quite the setup here, don''t you?" bubbled Honey. Upon hearing her voice, Alucard and Twilight halted their discussion to perform a double-take. Twilight was the first to voice her concern.

    "Honey? What do you think you''re doing here?"

    Adam looked up from his sketch. "Excuse me, but I do not think I am familiar with this Honey."

    "Yeah, what''s up, Twi?" asked Holly, off-handedly scratching out a game of tic-tac-toe with Katniss. "Or is this one of those ''we-can''t-talk-about-it'' sort of things?"

    "No, it''s not that," sighed the unicorn. "My reaction was a little overblown. Honey was one of the VIWs from last round. We defeated her with Mikasa, who was seriously hurt in that fight. I just wouldn''t expect them to make amends so quickly."

    "She''s not a bad person," said Mikasa bluntly. The girl nodded.

    "Or, at least I''d like to think I''m not," she giggled. "I''d say I''m a pretty good person."

    Holly drummed her fingers on the table.

    "Okay, so what exactly do you do?"

    "I''m a master of disguise and swordplay, and a righteous warrior of love!"

    "Well, I already do the infiltration stuff," explained Holly. "And we''ve got two swordfighters already, and Twilight''s all about friendship so I guess that covers-"

    "No, I''m not trying to join your team. Just checking things out. Mikasa wanted to show me."

    "Or did I make a mistake?" asked the scout accusingly.

    "No, you didn''t," reassured Twilight. "It''s always good to make more friends. Just after the last round, we''ve been a little more cautious. Internal struggles and all that."

    "Yeah. Internal," spat Ryuko. "''Bout as internal as¡­ somethin'' external."

    Ruby hopped out of her seat and swung an arm over Honey''s shoulder.

    "What they''re trying to say is, we cool."

    "Yeah," mumbled Katniss, setting up another tic-tac-toe board. "That."

    Honey laughed gingerly and removed herself from Ruby''s embrace. "See you guys around, then," she smiled, darting away.

    "That was abysmal," blinked Mikasa.

    "Sorry about giving your friend the cold shoulder, Mikasa," Holly apologized. "But Twilight''s right. Ever since she told us everything, we''ve all been a little¡­ off."

    "No sense getting all worked up about it if we can''t do anything, though," said Katniss. "We''ve just got to wait it out."

    Mikasa slung herself into a seat at the table, crossing her arms in annoyance.

    "So we just keep doing what we were. Hooray."

    "Well, we could do activities," suggested Holly. "Like those question-and-answer games."

    Twilight raised a hoof. "I do love those!"

    "That''s not what I-"

    Holly lifted an index finger. "Okay, how about, ''What would you eat for your last meal?''"

    "Easy," replied Ryuko. "A plateful of mystery meat croquettes. And a lemon."

    "I''d take an alfalfa sandwich and anything baked by Pinkie Pie," answered Twilight.

    "Plum stew, a loaf of decent bread and five cakes," said Katniss.

    "Jeez," cried Ryuko. "You''ve got me beat."

    "My husband''s cooking¡­ can''t live without it," explained the girl. "I don''t figure I could die without it either."

    "This is pointless," growled Mikasa. "We''re not accomplishing anyth-"

    "How about you?" interrupted Katniss.

    "M-me?" Mikasa whimpered. "That doesn''t matter, it''d just be-"

    Ryuko shook her head. "Come on. Tell us!"

    Soon, the others joined in chanting. "Tell us! Tell us!"

    "Fine! Fine! Let me think for a moment," sighed Mikasa.

    Samus Aran made the mistake of taking a break from her training. Normally, it was a good idea to stop the treadmill for a while, as things like exhaustion and dehydration still very much existed here. However, it also left her time to think, which allowed her mind to wander back onto the horrible, agonizing, ruinous thing clawing away at her.

    They''re talking about it. I know they are. They have been ever since. They won''t stop until everyone knows. Those immature bastards.

    She took a long draw from her bottle of water as she sat down on the bench nearby, scowling at everyone who passed by. A few gave her a worried look back, and she quickly placed a hand on the material around her neck, checking that her Zero Suit was entirely zipped up. It was.

    Calm down, Samus. You''re overreacting. Be professional.

    "So is it really true?"

    "Well, that''s what I heard."

    "Man, that is weird. What¡­ color are they?"

    "Like, purple or something."

    Samus instantly exploded out of her seat, drove her arms forward, and clamped her hands down over the necks of the gossiping pair. One was a teenaged boy with particularly green eyes and a slight build. The other was clearly a peer of his, donning a flight suit with black and white markings.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    "Oh, shi-agh!" croaked the flight-suited boy.

    "You mean- nyeh! This is her?" strained the other.

    "We didn''t know you were- ack- there!"

    Samus lifted the two off the ground, squeezing her fingers shut ever tighter.

    "Does it matter that you didn''t know I was there? No!"

    "We- we''ll never talk about- oogh!- it again!" squeaked the first.

    "Lies! You''re going to, no matter what you tell me! So I''ve just put you two on the list!"

    "The¡­ list?" moaned the second.

    "The list of people I kill on sight," snarled Samus. "So why don''t you help me out with that? Names, both of you."

    "Why- why would we-" the first boy was cut off by Samus squeezing his airway shut. She slowly opened her hand to allow him to speak again. "Percy!" he gasped. "Percy Jackson!"

    "Wonderful," hissed the bounty hunter. She clenched her hand closed, snapping Percy''s neck instantly. She let go, and his body fell to the floor with a dull thump, turning to the other boy. "You next."

    "H-H-Hikaru Ichijo! D-Don''t kill-" With another crunch, his body joined the growing pile.

    Samus had now attracted the horrified stares of nearly everyone around her in the training area.

    "You scared?" she screamed out into the crowds. "You should be! I''ll kill anybody who says anything about me behind my back! I''m Samus Aran! The Ghost of the Chozo! Nobody talks dirt about me and lives!"

    "Samus, you need to calm down," said a familiarly grave voice from behind.

    "Quiet, you," she snapped. "This is all your fault anyway."

    The SPARTAN attempted to place a hand on her shoulder, and was rewarded with a punch to the helmet.

    "I told you- it''s not entirely my fault," growled John 117, stumbling backwards.

    "Bullshit!" called out Samus. "You were the only one who knew, John! You told somebody!"

    "What exactly is going on, here?" asked the Master of Games, appearing in their midst. Samus stamped her foot, pointing at the power-armored man.

    "I was about to settle things with him," fumed the bounty hunter.

    "Well, in case you were not aware, physical conflict outside of the arena is against the rules," noted the Master of Games, walking over to the bodies of the boys Samus had killed. He knelt beside them and placed a hand on each, causing them to sink into the floor the same way fighters normally exited the completed rounds. "Why don''t you two work things out when it''s okay to murder each other?"

    "Because it''s not that easy," whined Samus. "There are always other objectives, and the arenas are so big it''s a miracle I was able to pin him down once, till the brat with the scissor showed up."

    "Well, I can''t have you slaughtering my warriors all willy-nilly. Can I cut you a deal?"

    "Just make her happy," pleaded John. "I can''t deal with this anymore."

    "Fine. How about I arrange a round for just you two to duke it out?"

    "It might make me feel better," considered Samus.

    "Good. I''ll get right to that. You have forty-five minutes to prepare."

    With that, the Master of Games disappeared back into the crowd.

    "What are you trying to pull?" asked John. "It''s not like fighting me is going to do anything for you. We all come back, or don''t you remember?"

    "I don''t need you to stay dead," grunted Samus with a smile. "I just need to humiliate you in front of everyone here. Like what you did to me."

    "I swear I didn''t mean for this to happen."

    "But it happened. You betrayed my trust. And I''m going to make sure you suffer for it."

    Samus spun on her heel and walked toward the exit, with a final "Hmph!" John shook his head slowly, and began to move back toward the table his team was using as a home base. Shuya and Tris were arguing, as they usually were, and a familiar face seemed to be moderating.

    "Well, if it isn''t Harry Potter," waved John. "What are you up to? Things going well for you in Gandalf''s team?"

    "Well enough," replied the boy, crossing over to the SPARTAN and shaking his hand. "Hopefully I''ll be seeing you guys in the next round."

    "Well, not all of us," said the solider. "The next round''s just going to be me against Samus."

    Tris seemed surprised. "You against her? Is this because of that thing?"

    "Yes. And I''m not going to explain it."

    "What a cop-out," sighed the girl.

    "Well, I wish you well, Chief," said Harry, giving the soldier a salute. "I look forward to seeing you win this."

    "Yeah. You bet I will, kid."

    The wizard walked back toward his new team, and John found himself shaking his head slowly.

    I''m not so sure I can pull this off. Samus''s capabilities are on even footing with mine¡­ and she''s gone off the deep end. I can''t say that I''m that motivated, especially when I have to fight her.

 PF Side Story 2 Ghosts and Spartans-2

    "YEAH!" roared Samus triumphantly, kicking her door closed behind her. "Finally! I''m going to GET EVEN! And NOTHING is going to get in the way of that! Ha!"

    You are absolutely crazy.

    Samus was not pleased by this subconscious revelation, and refuted it angrily by throwing herself onto her bed.

    No I''m not. He started it. He is ruining my good name. He needs to take a fall here. And I''m going to be the one to knock him down.

    "Yeah¡­ knock him down¡­ couple flights of stairs¡­ into a vat of boiling Phazon!"

    Samus took a moment to catch her breath. She let her hair down, stumbled into the bathroom, and shut herself in a hot shower. Her heart raced under the steady beat of the water as she peeled her Zero Suit off. Anxiety tore at her in a way it never had before. How had this nagging little annoyance grown to consume her? She wasn''t sure. There was just something about this place that made her feel a little vulnerable, and she was not used to that at all.

    "I''m a mess," she sobbed. "A mess, a mess, a mess." Samus stepped out of her shower, dried herself off, and put on a fresh Zero Suit. "But¡­ I can clean up. I will. And I''ll teach everybody that they should fear me."

    "Miss Aran, please proceed to the prep room."

    "I was worried you''d never ask," chortled the bounty hunter off-handedly, sauntering to her door. She passed into the prep room, where her largest piece of equipment- the Power Suit- sat peeled open like a great brass fruit. She crawled inside and the armor sealed itself over her, beginning its exchange of information with her body. It would tell her when the armor got hurt, and the armor would tell her if she got hurt. Its weapons and systems, still cutting edge, were ancient- thousands and thousands of years old. The masterpiece of the Chozo, gifted to a young Samus as their parting gift to her and the universe, so that their legacy would live on with her. Of course, it wasn''t all they had left her.

    Samus reached down with her now-armored hand, and scooped up her helmet- not nearly as ancient or advanced, but it got the job done. She placed it over her head and her armor snaked upwards to lock it into place, incorporating the helmet''s systems into its own. She clenched her right fist, and the armor responded by folding the Arm Cannon out over its respective limb. The weapon shifted its panels, venting excess heat in its passive state.

    Okay, SPARTAN. Bring it on.

    The door of the prep room opened, and she stepped out into another well-lit room. The floor was metal, as were the walls, complete with exposed piping and humming vents. There was a sliding door ahead of her, and some scattered materials behind her.

    "A spaceship?" she muttered to herself.

    "As you two may have noticed, you are onboard a spacecraft," said the voice of the Master of Games. "But I''m afraid I can''t let you two just rip each other''s throats out right off. Where would be the fun in that? Where would be the entertainment? No, I''ve got something a little more interesting cooked up."

    "You bastard!" screamed Samus, shaking a fist angrily at the air. "That''s not what I wanted!"

    "There are three data terminals on this ship," he continued. "Your goal will be to download a file off of each terminal. Each of those three files is part of the map of the ship. You''ll need a map, because you''ll want to find your way to the engine room. The whole ship has lost power, you see."

    Suddenly, the lights flickered off, and the humming of the vents whined to a halt.

    What an idiot. It''s not like having the power off is going to stop me from finding that SPARTAN.

    "And regardless of what you think, you''re going to want to turn the lights back on. Toodle-oo!"

    Samus tapped a panel on the side of her helmet, activating its night-vision function, while turning around and scanning her dimly-lit surroundings. The room was a supply closet of some sort, with crates scattered around the grated-metal floors and cleaning supplies in hardened cubbies along the walls.

    Nothing useful here. I had better move on.

    She approached the door to test if it featured an auto-open system, which it did not, much to Samus'' dismay.

    I guess I''ll have to do things the old-fashioned way.

    Samus raised her Arm Cannon and fired a Power Beam straight into the door''s center, leaving the center warm and golden-brown and melting all over the place. A powerful kick buckled the weakened door outward, and Samus walked out into a darkened corridor, the heavy, pipe-laden bulkheads arranged in a hexagonal pattern, the interlocking girders hanging above like the ribcage of some long-dead animal.

    "Business as usual," the bounty hunter sighed, walking onward.

    ***

    What a stupid idea. Now I''ve got to deal with this.

    John-117 pried another door apart, shoving his hands apart from their hold between the two sliding panels. On the other side, he found a room quite unlike the corridor it branched off of. It appeared to be a mess, in both the literal and figurative sense. Bolted-down tables had been wrenched from their mountings, and plates from the once-sealed cabinets along the walls were scattered across the floor.

    "What the hell happened here?" whispered the SPARTAN, unclipping his assault rifle from his back and clicking the built-in flashlight on. He swept the weapon''s sight line across the room, illuminating further damage.

    Well, there are two possibilities here. Either the Master of Games added this as part of the ambience-

    Something creaked against a bulkhead nearby. Master Chief swung the flashlight''s beam in the direction of the sound, and found nothing.

    ¡­ Or something''s in here with us.

    He shook his helmeted head and advanced through the mess hall towards the back of the room, which had a counter leading into what was obviously the galley. He heard- however faintly, under the sound of his armor''s energy shield, his heart beat faster.

    There it is again. Fear. Not something I deal with too often.

    His memories flashed back to not long ago, to the last time he had felt that emotion. He sat in a more-thinly populated common hall, with a hand clenched over his helmet''s visor, cold beads of sweat rolling under his armor. He had just witnessed the girl he had seen so afraid earlier snap, effortlessly wiping out his team.

    This place really does bring out the worst in people, he thought, running his fingers over the place where her knife must have shattered the shatter-proof plastic.

    "What are you moping around about?" asked Samus, sliding into a seat next to him. John often hung around the space marines when not attempting to assemble a halfway-balanced team. The space marines were a rowdy lot, and John was used to their type. Samus was a bit different, though. Sure, she enjoyed her tales of raids on space stations and leaping from dropships and hideous monsters just like the rest. But her braggadocio eclipsed the others by light-years. Her feats were all the more incredible, all the more daring than theirs- or perhaps it only seemed that way coming from the skintight space-suit donning bombshell. Either way, she commanded the attention of all of them with ease. For her to approach outside of that circle of peers was unexpected.

    "I lost," sighed John casually.

    "Come on, now," giggled Samus. "I know that''s not enough to get you down. What''s the real deal?"

    "Well¡­ I''m just unsure about this whole thing. It''s just not right¡­ and I''m afraid of what could happen."

    "What do you mean, you''re afraid? You''re a big ol'' SPARTAN, aren''t you?"

    "I may be a SPARTAN but I''m still a person, deep down. Any rational person has a right to feel fear."

    "You know, I think that''s more than I''ve ever heard you say," smiled Samus. "And I think you''re right. There''s plenty of things I''m afraid of."

    "Really? I find that hard to believe. Or is the whole ''Ghost of the Chozo'' thing an act?"

    "The Ghost of the Chozo has a few secrets she likes to keep," chuckled the bounty hunter with just a touch of severity. "Maybe if you can stay in my good graces, I''ll let you in on them."

    "I wish she hadn''t," said John aloud, vaulting over the counter and into the galley. If something tore up the mess, they were probably after what was in the galley- John figured hunting it down now would save him the trouble later. However, he still advanced with caution.

    Fear is a good thing, if it keeps you alive just a little longer. That''s not what it''s doing for her, though.

    He stepped forward and brushed against a precariously-placed cutting board, which clattered to the deck beneath his feet. The SPARTAN felt himself draw a sharp breath, his grip on the assault rifle tightening. He pointed the flashlight ahead, and saw a trail of scattered food across the floor, leading into a walk-in freezer, door rent from its hinges. John crept around the corner and advanced toward the freezer, sweeping the assault rifle''s flashlight beam back and forth. Fog rolled out of the corners of the door and settled low along the deck as an ominous mist. Packages of freeze-dried food had been ripped open and discarded in a distinct trail, leading to a large pile in the corner. The pile, as John noticed, had a large open spot in its middle.

    It''s not there anymore.

    His motion tracker began to beep excitedly, and he turned in time to hold back the creature that sprung at him from the ceiling. Claws as cold and hard as steel clamped onto his helmet, attempting to wrench his neck in directions that would not agree with his spine. Luckily for John, even his neck had benefited from his SPARTAN II augmentation, allowing him to resist long enough to use his free arm to knock the aggressor back.

    "You are one ugly SOB," observed John-117 candidly. The creature that screamed back in response would probably agree, if it could see. But it had no eyes- a gaping mouth of railroad-spike teeth were the lens through which it viewed the world, and for that reason, its sole purpose was to consume. Its ebony exoskeleton reflected what little light there was, revealing a horrifying combination of suggestive curves and brutal, mechanical efficiency. The Xenomorph rose to its full height and bellowed a challenge down at the SPARTAN.

    John raised his assault rifle, but the creature seemed to be aware of this, and leapt out of the line of fire before he had a chance to shoot. It clung to the wall, shrieking and thrusting its tail-blade toward the interloper. John ducked out of the way and knocked the blade back, readying his weapon once again. The Xenomorph sensed this as well and leapt across to the other wall.

    So it''s going to run away, is it? I can use this to my advantage.

    He continued to track the alien in his sights, forcing it to leap from wall to ceiling to wall, waiting for it to realize it had run out of options.

    See? You''ve got nowhere to run.

    The Xenomorph dropped back onto the deck and immediately pounced toward John once again. But this time, the SPARTAN was ready. With a short, controlled burst, he put four rounds into the creature''s oblong head. The high-pressure circulatory fluid spat outward, leaking onto the rest of the creature as it fell and sending up fumes as the corrosive acid ate away at the beast it once kept alive. Some of the pale green ichor splattered toward the SPARTAN''s MJOLNIR armor, but was zapped into a fine, smoky mist by his passive energy shield.

    That was close. If my armor hadn''t protected me, I''d be a puddle on the floor right now.

    He watched the ever shrinking corpse of the Xenomorph melt into nothing against the floor. Amazingly, the deck itself seemed immune to the acid, but John figured that this was probably a concession to the workability of his challenge- explosive decompression would put a real damper on the fight.

    He turned to leave, having accomplished his goal, when his motion tracker began to beep again. Another blip began to move toward him.

    Could that be Samus? It seems a little soon for her to have found me.

    A second blip appeared, and then a third, and a fourth. The amount of blips began to increase steadily.

    No, that''s definitely not Samus. There''s more of these bastards out there¡­ which means that she''ll probably run into them, too. And her armor doesn''t have a shield like mine.

    The shrieks of several Xenomorphs began to echo through the nearby corridors. John returned his assault rifle to the hardpoint on his back and drew his combat knife, breaking off into a sprint out of the freezer, through the galley, over the counter, past the mess and into the hallway. Several of the aliens began to drop from the ceiling into his path, but John simply lowered a shoulder and barged through them.

    I made a mistake, Samus. And I''m going to try and make up for that. Hold on, I''m coming.

    ***

    "Ha-ha, score!" laughed Samus, walking up to the data terminal. It was a small screen protruding from the wall with a few chunky buttons built into the bezel. It was also a source of light, which Samus found herself appreciating in a primal sort of way. She disengaged her night vision in order to read the screen, which displayed only a simple message:

    USE CABLE FOR DATA TRANSFER.

    The message could have been a little clearer, as there were two cables- one hanging off of each side of the terminal. Samus examined both plugs and determined that one would fit with her helmet, while the other she figured must be compatible with Master Chief''s armors'' systems. She removed her helmet and folded up her Arm Cannon, using her now-available right hand to plug the cable into the helmet''s data port. A progress bar appeared, indicating that Samus would have to wait two minutes until the download was complete. She sighed and drummed her fingers along the inside of the helmet, carefully looking up and down the corridor.

    It''s been quiet. It won''t stay that way. Not if he shows up.

    Something clanked against the deck above her, causing her to twitch and instinctively reactivate her Arm Cannon, blasting her Power Beam upwards and sending a creature tumbling down from above. Samus took a quick step backward to avoid it falling onto her head, and immediately pinned it under her boot. It was a wide, insect-like creature, a mass of spindly limbs and a writhing tail all tied to a heart-shaped carapace.

    "Okay, wasn''t expecting a visit from you," growled the bounty hunter. She slipped her still-plugged-in helmet back on and activated its scan program, analyzing the struggling creature.

    "So you''re some sort of parasite, huh?" asked Samus of her guest. "And you''re just the first form of your species? Oh boy. This''ll be fun."

    She applied more pressure to her foot and crushed the creature under her heel, splattering her armor with the acidic blood. Her armor did its job, and reported the damage back to her central nervous system as excruciating pain, causing her to fling herself backwards at the wall.

    DOWNLOAD COMPLETE, stated the data terminal. Samus dislodged the cable from her helmet in a panic and stumbled off of the wall, attempting to snap herself out of the pain-induced daze.

    "Open file," she hissed into her helmet, and her HUD was replaced by a 3D map of the ship- or at least a third of one. She glanced over it briefly, committing the most important notes to memory. There were crew quarters and a sick bay nearby, but neither of those gave her any bearing on where the engine rooms might be. Her only choice was to head into unmarked territory and hope to find another terminal, or her target. She closed down the map and observed her smoldering leg armor, the outer polished surface having been peeled off by the creature''s blood.

    I wouldn''t want to deal with any more of that. If it dug any deeper, who knows what it could do to my armor.

    She turned to continue on her way, and ran directly into the chest of the Xenomorph warrior that had come to stand in the center of the hallway.

    "Well, hello there," grunted Samus, charging a Power Beam. "I don''t suppose you could help a dumb blonde with directions?"

    The creature howled, and drove its inner mouth directly at Samus'' frontal lobe. This did nothing, as there happened to be a helmet in the way, and ended up looking rather silly.

    "Oh, you don''t speak Galactic Common?" whimpered the bounty hunter mockingly. "Then I''ll just head down the road and find somebody who does."

    She leapt backwards, somersaulted in midair, and initiated the command for her Morph Ball mode. Her armor shifted around her, and she curled into as tight of a fetal position as she could. She fell to the ground as a gigantic metal sphere, pulsating with the suit''s energy. The ball spun in place, scattering sparks off of the deck in a truly bizarre-looking burnout.

    "See you," she chuckled, as the sphere took off, knocking the Xenomorph away like a particularly infuriated bowling pin. It scampered to its claws afterward, ready to chase the offender down, when it noticed something at its feet. A small, glowing metal orb, pulsating gently.

    "Screeeee," it whined, before the Morph Bomb exploded.

    ***

    "They are totally dead," asserted Ruby. "Totally."

    Holly rubbed her eyes and looked up from the nap she had been taking. "And what makes you think that?"

    "They''re split up!" squealed the girl. "Nobody lives when they split up! They''re just gonna get chased by the monsters, until one of them slips, and then BOOM! Game over, man!"

    "It is a distinct possibility," Adam agreed. "Neither one has a clear path to their objective. And both are recklessly throwing themselves into danger. Eventually, they will succumb to one of those factors."

    "I don''t think so," said Kamina, sitting in his chair sideways to avoid looking at the screen.

    Simon tapped his shoulder, causing the older boy to jump a little. "Hey, what''s the deal, bro? Don''t tell me you''re scared of those¡­ things?"

    "The mighty Kamina is scared of no beast!" he stammered. "What an absurd notion!"

    "It don''t seem too absurd when you''re breaking out in a cold sweat," noted Ryuko.

    "Whatever! If you guys want to keep focusing on unimportant details like that, I''ll never share my theory on how they can win."

    Ryuko exhaled flatly. "You want them to combine. There, I saved everybody the trouble."

    "Hey! How did you know that?!"

    "Well, bro, I think it is the majority of our fighting style," Simon pointed out.

    "That''s silly. They can''t combine. They''re not mechs, they''re wearing power armor," said Holly.

    Katniss paused, halfway through re-braiding her hair. "But they can cooperate."

    "Cooperate? In a match where the goal is for one of them to kill the other? Unlikely," stated the elf.

    Katniss blinked slowly. "It worked well enough for us, didn''t it?"

    "Oh yeah," Holly realized. "We did do that."

    ***

    John knew that they were close behind him. He could run faster than them in the straights, but the ship''s corridors had an annoying little thing called corners and they were quite a bit better through those than he was. He was closing in on another fork and decided to cut a left, halting his armored boots and skidding into the wall with great force. He pried himself out of the bulkhead and took off down the next hall, taking a look back to see a horde of xenomorphs scuttle around the corner with ease.

    I''ve got to widen the gap. Whether I find Samus or a terminal, I can''t have them on my tail.

    He pushed himself just a little harder, covering a few more meters in a stride, and then brought himself to a halt as quickly as he could. He stomped his foot down as hard as possible, denting one section of the deck''s grated floor. He then reached up and tangled his thick fingers around the similar grates that ran along the ceiling, just underneath the buttressed girders. He used one hand to hold the ceiling grate in place while he used the other to bend it downward. He then performed the same process with the section of the floor, forming a short barricade.

    It won''t stop them, but it doesn''t have to.

    He unhooked a small, round object from his belt, depressed a plunger, and tossed it at the barrier he had built. The little ball turned bright blue, leaving a trail of plasma in its wake, and stuck to the edge of the fortification. The xenomorphs finally caught up, and stopped briefly to examine the grates, plotting a way around.

    Gotcha.

    The plasma grenade detonated in a swirling blue cloud, killing at least two of the xenomorphs in the explosion. The spray of their blood took care of the rest. John was beginning to feel that was a little counter-intuitive for them- but he wasn''t going to complain about it. He turned to continue on his way, when he realized that a data terminal was peeking out at him from the wall.

    Now that''s convenient.

    The SPARTAN crept over to the console, still keeping a close eye on his surroundings. Following the directions, he plugged the cable into his helmet and let the download begin.

    That''s not all of them. There''s sure to be more lurking about. But I''ll see what this map has to offer.

    John killed time by refilling his weapons'' magazines and re-calibrating his heads-up display. Every few seconds he would look up to check that no one was paying him a visit. The download completed without a hitch, and John opened the file.

    I''ll be damned, it''s got the engine room. And on my first try. Guess I really am lucky.

    John felt a glimmer of hope, until further examination extinguished it.

    But it doesn''t have my current location. Great. Just great. Maybe I''ll work something out.

    He unplugged the cable and set off, keeping a close eye on his motion tracker as he sprinted away.

    ***

    It scampered along the ceiling, knowing its pursuer was close. A flick of its bladed tail failed to find its target.

    "Hey," said the Morph Ball rolling up alongside the fleeing warrior. "Who told you that you were getting out alive?"

    Samus exploded out of her Morph Ball, tackling the alien to the floor as she fell. She jammed her Arm Cannon into its protesting mouth and blew its brains out, causing her to question if it really had brains to blow out.

    She shook off the stinging acid from the tip of her weapon, and rose to her feet stretching.

    "Boring," she yawned. "You could keep throwing these guys at me, but it stopped being entertaining an hour ago. Couldn''t you mix things up?"

    Oh, what''s it matter? Sighed Samus internally. I''ve just got to tolerate it until that blockhead shows up. Then I swear I''ll make him pay.

    ***

    "The Ghost of the Chozo has a few secrets she likes to keep. Maybe if you can stay in my good graces, I''ll let you in on them."

    "I don''t think anybody could stay in your good graces, Ms. Aran," laughed the SPARTAN in response.

    "I¡­ I think you could," she mumbled, as if by accident.

    "What are you talking about?"

    "You''re different than the others, you know¡­ you''re different than me."

    "Oh, boy."

    "We can all sit there and talk about missions and feats, but¡­ you''ve gotten past that. You know that it''s not about what you did¡­ but why you did it."

    "Come on, now, you can''t be so diff-"

    "Money, John. I''m a bounty hunter. I did it because I got paid."

    "Okay. So how am I so much better? I was just following orders."

    "But you did that because¡­ you had hope that you could make somebody else''s life better, because of what you did. John, I understand why you''re afraid of this place. But¡­ what if it''s not all bad? I mean, you''ve seen people go nuts here. But what if¡­ they could- get better?"

    "Well, that would be gr-" stammered Master Chief, before Samus threw herself into his arms.

    "I want to get better!" she sobbed. John patted her on the back and carefully pried her off of his armor, placing her back in her seat. "I''ve lived my life for the wrong reasons¡­ and I want you to show me how to live for the right ones."

    "This is going to be weird, isn''t it?"

    "I¡­ well¡­ yes, it is. It is weird. But I think this is something I need to do."

    "So you need me¡­ to teach you how to care?"

    "Yeah. Pretty much."

    "Isn''t that your parents'' job?"

    "Yeah¡­ well, about that¡­ I think you need to come with me."

    She got up, looked around nervously, and shot out of the common hall.

    "Jeez," John-117 sighed, getting up from his seat to pursue Samus. He found her waiting in the hallway next to a door that was most probably hers.

    "Nobody followed you, right?" she said worriedly as John approached.

    "No, I don''t think so. What the hell are you doing?"

    "In here. Now," she hissed, slipping inside. John followed, finding a fairly basic room, equipped with a bed, a closet and a nightstand. Nothing to write home about.

    "Here''s the deal," she explained. "I- I think I can trust you with this. For you to get the whole picture¡­ you need to know."

    "Is this about-"

    "My parents. I was a colony girl. They were sweet- at least, from what I can remember. I was only three when they died. It was a pirate raid. Whole colony went up¡­ every once in a while, I can still hear him laughing over all of it¡­" Her eyes grew distant.

    "And who is he exactly?"

    "Sorry, off-topic," said Samus, snapping back to reality. "I was the only one to make it out, and only because the Chozo saved me. They gave me everything. A new home, a new life. They were my parents. Or that''s what it will always feel like."

    "And we needed to be in private to say that?"

    "No. We needed to be in private so that I could do this," she whispered, unzipping her Zero Suit. John quickly turned away.

    "Whoa, whoa, whoa! That is not the way to work out your problems!"

    "Oh, real mature, you blockhead! Would you like to find out exactly what I''m trying to show you, or are you going to run away so you don''t get cooties?"

    "Hey, if you insist," whined the SPARTAN. Samus was pointing a finger at her exposed left bicep. On it was something he did not expect to see.

    "Are those¡­ feathers?"

    "Yes. The Chozo were a dying race, you see. They knew their time had come and past. But they saw a lot of potential in me¡­ So they figured I could carry on their legacy. They shot me up with most of their genome, so I started growing these."

    "I get it," whispered John. "The Ghost of the Chozo."

    "Yeah. So I''m the last one¡­ sort of. That''s why I wear the Zero Suit."

    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    "I thought that was because it was the only clothing you had."

    "Oh, yeah. That too. But I just don''t want people seeing them. They''ll¡­ laugh."

    "I don''t think they''d laugh," said John. "They don''t look silly. They''re a very pretty shade of blue."

    "But they''re out of place- they won''t get it¡­ and I don''t want to tell them. So this is our secret, okay? Nobody else knows."

    John nodded. "Nobody else knows. Maybe someday I''ll tell you about my parents."

    ***

    Still haven''t lived up to that, have you, SPARTAN?

    Samus'' thoughts were interrupted by heavy metallic thuds in the distance, echoing off of the narrow walls of the spaceship.

    "Oooh, a big one. Now this should be entertaining."

    She extended her Arm Cannon forward, charging a Power Beam with extra energy. When her target barreled around the corner, she felt even better about shooting it in the face.

    "Samus!" yelped John, hitting the deck as the orb of swirling particles whizzed past overhead.

    "Nearly got you, SPARTAN! How does it feel to know that there''s no escape?!"

    The SPARTAN leapt off the deck, continuing his dash toward Samus.

    "Listen! Don''t shoot! For just once-"

    "I don''t think so!" roared Samus, rolling into a full-body punch that landed squarely in the center of the MJOLNIR chest plate. The collision of both suits rang out in a pure, and very loud warbling tone. It would have been interesting to stop and listen to it, but they had other concerns at the moment. John flew back down the hallway, his boots skidding along the floor grate.

    "Dammit, Samus, stop! If you want to have a chance to fight me-"

    "Blah blah blah can''t hear you fighting now!" cackled the bounty hunter, leaping forward and transforming into her Morph Ball. It skidded and hopped twice before racing ahead, with John barely having time to brace himself for the impact. However, as Samus found out, even a slightly-braced SPARTAN was a quite a sound structure. He caught the sphere ahead of him, holding the gyrating bounty hunter away with some effort. Samus spun uselessly, creating a shower of sparks that lit the dark corridor in a frenzy of flashes.

    "I''ve got the engine room map!" strained John. "If we work together- uhn!- maybe we can seal these things off and have a fair fight!"

    Samus stopped spinning and transformed back into the Power Suit''s bipedal mode.

    "And how exactly is this not fai-"

    Before she could finish her sentence, a long, skeletal tail coiled around her midsection and carried her up to the ceiling. Samus wrenched her Arm Cannon free and reduced the Xenomorph to soggy dust before falling to the floor.

    "Okay, I see your point. So, how do we get to the engine room?"

    "That''s the one part of the map I don''t have."

    "Of course it is."

    ***

    "Called it," said Katniss, munching on a granola bar.

    "That you did," replied Holly. "Another decisive victory for idealism. Now where did you get that granola bar?"

    "Uh, back there," she said, directing a thumb toward the table full of food. "Where stuff always is."

    "Right, right. First we talk about food, now you''re eating. It''s gotten me hungry. I''m going to go score some vittles, then. Can I get anybody anything while I''m up?"

    Ryuko raised her hand. "I''ll take another lemon."

    Holly rolled her eyes. "Anything else? No? Last chance."

    No one else replied.

    "All right, I''ll be back in a second. Say, that reminds me! Mikasa, did you ever come up with your last meal plan?"

    The girl looked up, furrowed her brow, pulled down her scarf, and declared "I''m working on it."

    ***

    "I think we''re about to be on my map," said Samus. "I remember passing this section earlier. The medical bays are just up ahead."

    "Good. Then we should head for those, catch a lift down a deck, and head aft. That should put us at the engine room. Or at least nearby," theorized John.

    Since they had started travelling together, the Xenomorphs simply cleared out of their way. It was good to know that they had common sense.

    "One step closer to getting what you deserve, SPARTAN," Samus spat.

    "Will you lay off? It''s not entirely my fault!"

    "You keep saying that, yet I have no reason to believe you."

    "Okay, you had better listen up because I''m only going to explain it again once. I got out of your room and all of the guys wanted to know what I had been up to¡­ I mean, you didn''t exactly go out of your way to make things not look a little suggestive. I told ''em that we just talked, because that''s the way it was. But Doomguy kept bugging me about it, and I figured he had never wronged me before, and he promised not to tell anybody else, so I told him. And then he went and told Duke-"

    "Of course."

    "And Duke''s an asshole, so of course he told everybody else."

    "You know what I just heard? That you told somebody. It''s your fault. Don''t pass the blame here."

    "But I-"

    "Think this over, SPARTAN. Are you acting like a man, or a kid? You know who does what you did? A snot-nosed kindergartener, that''s who. So you deserve every ounce of what''s coming to you."

    John-117 stopped walking forward, causing the trailing bounty hunter to bump into him.

    "Do you know what all of this is?"

    "Immature?"

    "No, Samus. It''s selfish. I know I did the wrong thing. But you are so concerned about your own image that you''ve gone on this whole quest of revenge. If you really want to learn how to care about other people, you have to stop caring about yourself."

    "How about no? I''m not going to let you turn this into some half-assed moral lesson. You have done nothing but prove that I should not listen to you. Keep walking."

    "Fine," grunted John. He stomped ahead, occasionally glancing at his motion tracker. The device showed no readings, until they reached the elevator. He extended an open hand and halted them once again.

    "What is it now? Going to try and shove another Aesop down my throat?"

    "No. There''s one in the elevator."

    "An Aesop?"

    "No, one of those aliens."

    "They''re called Xenomorphs. Don''t tell me your armor doesn''t have a scan function."

    "I also wish it had a mute function."

    He tapped the button to summon the lift, and brought his Assault Rifle to the ready as he backed up against the wall next to the sliding doors.

    "Now, when it opens, we''ll use standard breaching procedures. Got it?"

    "I''m going to just shoot it until it''s dead," Samus smirked.

    With a soft ding, the elevator arrived. John whipped around the corner and fired a burst between the doors as they opened. Samus unloaded several blasts from her power beam, scoring the back of the elevator with huge black burns. The creature that had been inside let out a ferocious hiss, pounced out of the still-opening doors, and proceeded to lick itself.

    "It''s a cat," observed Samus.

    "That it is," confirmed John. "Heh heh heh."

    "Whew," chuckled Samus, breaking into laughter as well. The two fighters collapsed to the deck with roaring guffaws and remained there for a few minutes.

    "Oh, boy," John sighed, grinning behind his visor. "That''s something you don''t see every day."

    "Or maybe you do," cackled Samus. "If you own a cat."

    "Meow," agreed the cat.

    "Is that right?" cooed Master Chief, delicately raising the cat in his armored hands. "Is that something you see every day? Ooo-who''s a good kitty?"

    "Oh, you big softie," Samus giggled. "Look at you and that cat. That''s picture-worthy."

    She tapped a panel on her helmet and saved the image.

    "Yeah. Cats are nice," replied the SPARTAN. "I think I may have had a cat once. It''s been a long while."

    "Should we¡­ get going?"

    "Oh, yeah. Right." He got up and unclipped his assault rifle from his back, stepping into the elevator and holding the door open for Samus to step in. Their armor was so wide that it was a bit of a puzzle for both to fit in, but after some trial and error, they worked it out. John had to pack himself directly face-to face with Samus.

    "Cozy," remarked the bounty hunter as the doors shut. She reached past his bulky arms to press the necessary button on the elevator''s panel.

    "It could be worse," grunted the SPARTAN.

    "Meow," concurred the cat.

    "D''awww," squealed Samus. "It followed us!"

    "Hey, listen. I''m right in range for you to slap me, so I figure now''s as good of a time as any. Just hear me out," asked John. "What if¡­ the things aren''t so bad?"

    Samus frowned. "What do you mean?"

    "I mean, your fea-"

    SLAP!

    "-those things." He finished.

    "Well, what do you mean by, ''so bad''?"

    "I mean, there are people with a lot weirder things going on here. You know why you haven''t seen under my armor? It''s bolted right on. Takes half a day to get it off. And you can''t do it by yourself."

    "But that''s one example."

    "There''s that guy with the demon arm. And that guy with the alien hand. Or that chick that turns into a wasp- the point I''m trying to make- well, I guess it''s two points. One, you could be a lot worse off¡­ and two, nobody seems to mind them. Except when they''re total asses. But you don''t have to be a total ass, right?"

    "I¡­ I see what you mean," whimpered the bounty hunter. "So¡­ you''re saying I should just¡­ be upfront about it?"

    "Well¡­ yeah. If it wasn''t a secret, people wouldn''t be talking about it behind your back. If you embrace it as a part of who you are¡­ then, it''s just you."

    "Maybe¡­ maybe I''ve been a little irrational about this whole thing," she sighed.

    "Just a little."

    "Meow," said the cat, sitting outside the elevator door.

    "The door''s open," said Samus. "I think it might have been open for a while."

    "And we''ve just been standing here," realized John. "¡­holding each other."

    An awkward pause followed.

    "Heh heh¡­ let''s get moving, uh, this way," stammered John, stumbling backwards out of the elevator.

    "Yeah. Moving ahead. Right," agreed Samus.

    John led Samus and the cat down corridor after corridor as they began to approach the engine room, but as they neared, their environment began to take a turn for the terrifying. The bulkheads began to become strewn with black, vein-y tendrils, forming an ominous web over the exposed machinery. A few passageways closer, and the web had transformed into a thick, chitinous coating decorated with rib-like protrusions and empty indentations. It was as if they had walked into the womb of some gigantic insect- if insects had wombs.

    "What the hell is going on here?" asked the SPARTAN.

    "It''s their hive," Samus whispered. "It''s some sort of biomass that they excrete to form a stable environment for their young. It''s a living structure."

    "And I bet it can tell them exactly where we are."

    "Oh, most definitely."

    A nearby shriek caused both of the warriors to tense up, adrenaline pumping through their veins. John''s motion tracker began to buzz with movement.

    "Get ready," he grunted.

    "I''m always ready," smiled Samus, placing her left hand on her Arm Cannon to stabilize it.

    Hundreds of dull-tan, spidery creatures began to swarm over the walls toward them, leaping into the air as they approached.

    "Don''t let them near your face!" yelped Samus, blasting a handful of them away.

    "I wasn''t planning on it," growled John, spraying rifle rounds into the advancing horde. As the two spread their fire out, they began to make a dent in the seemingly endless storm of facehuggers- until one managed to jump through the directed-energy fire to grab Samus'' right arm, wrapping its legs and constricting tail tightly over her Power Suit''s polished surface.

    "Get off," she hissed, snagging the small creature by the carapace. She tore it off, causing its legs and tail to vent acid all over her arm. She reeled in agony, incapable of using her weapon to suppress the monsters. Thinking quickly, John drew his sidearm with his left hand. He used the pistol to continue firing into his half of the swarm, while he aimed his assault rifle past Samus and emptied its clip. The bullets ripped through the advancing facehuggers, turning them into slowly-disintegrating mulch on the floor.

    "You saved me," she gasped, prying herself off of the eerie deck.

    "Of course," he grunted and tossed her the pistol, which she snatched out of the air.

    "This magazine is about empty," she noted.

    The SPARTAN rummaged through his myriad pouches and found a full magazine, handing it to Samus. She slipped the old magazine out and replaced it with the new one, giving John a thumbs-up. The two crept forward and found themselves in front of another sliding door, poking through the hive material.

    "There''s a lot on the other side," warned John.

    "Makes sense. So how are we going to approach this?"

    "Kick the door in, shoot until they''re dead."

    "Works for me."

    "Then let''s do it," said John, kicking open the door. Within an instant they were besieged by an army of Xenomorph warriors. Weapons drawn, Samus and John stood back-to back and felled each creature as it attacked. Soon, the engine room was a silent, empty expanse of melting corpses and darkness.

    "Is that all of them?" asked Samus.

    "There''s nothing else on the motion tracker," observed John.

    "Then that is all of them. Now, how do we turn the power back on?"

    "I''d bet we would use that terminal over there."

    The SPARTAN pointed, and glowing in the darkness was another screen like the ones they had encountered before. The two walked over and read the message.

    "Tap screen to restore power," repeated Samus. "Well, that''s easy."

    Samus delicately struck the screen with the edge of her Arm Cannon, and the sound of nuclear powerplants humming to life filled the room. One by one, the room''s spotlights cranked back on, revealing the large reactors in their thick housings, and the myriad cells and passageways the xenomorphs had built around them for their hive.

    "Crazy stuff," whispered the bounty hunter.

    "Motion tracker''s got something," reported John.

    "Where?" asked Samus.

    "Right over there," John replied, raising his assault rifle to indicate the direction of the threat.

    "Cover me in seafood and call me a Zebesian," swore Samus. "That is very large."

    The creature was undoubtedly another Xenomorph, though on a much grander scale than the ones they had encountered before. It crawled up over the reactors, down across the hive, and onto the floor, raising itself far above them on spindly digitigrade legs. Its head was fanned out in an ornate crest the size of several warriors combined, and its chest bore an extra set of seemingly vestigial arms.

    "So, what can your scanner tell us about that?" asked John.

    "It''s their queen," she mumbled. "And we just killed all of its babies."

    "It''s pissed?"

    "Like you wouldn''t believe."

    "This should be fun."

    The Queen unleashed a shrill bellow, swinging one of its larger arms down at them. Samus leapt over the attack and fired a few shots from her Arm Cannon, which burst uselessly against the monster''s thick hide. John emptied another magazine of his assault rifle, only to find that it was also ineffective.

    "How are we gonna kill this thing?" he shouted to Samus as he dodged a strike from the creature''s tail.

    "I''ve got an idea. We''ll only have one shot for it to work, though!"

    "If we''ve got a shot, we might as well take it!"

    "Okay! I need you to circle around behind it, and climb up on the reactors! I''ll tell you the next thing to do once you''re there! On my mark! Ready?"

    "Ready!"

    Samus fired a fully-charged Power Beam at the Queen''s face, which did not seem to do much damage, but did seem to cause it quite a bit of pain.

    "Now!"

    John blasted off at full speed, his armor leaving dents in the deck as he ran. With his full strength he leapt on top of the reactor housings, crouched down, and waved to indicate he was ready for further directions.

    Samus now had to fulfill her part of the plan, which was going to be exceptionally risky, but that was how she liked it. She fired a series of low-power shots at the enraged Queen, and stood perfectly still. The Queen screamed and swung its arm toward her again. Just before impact, Samus raised her right arm above her head. The Queen snagged her in its icy grip, but her Arm Cannon was still free.

    Okay, lady. Take a big bite.

    The giant Xenomorph roared in triumph as it brought Samus ever closer to its razor-lined mouth.

    "Push the crest down!" Samus screamed. John leapt from his perch and snagged the very tip of the Queen''s long, decorative head, forcing its mouth upward as he fell onto its back.

    Samus raised her Arm Cannon, and switched it from Power Beam to Missile mode.

    "Lights out, bitch!"

    She fired a salvo of fifteen missiles in rapid succession, each one exploding against the Queen''s thin neck. Xenomorph blood sprayed as a fine mist in the air before being evaporated by the heat of the multiple explosions. When the dust settled, the Queen''s head rolled back down, casting a furious non-glare at Samus, before sliding off and smacking into the floor with a heavy thud. With great effort, Samus pried herself out of the Queen''s cold, dead hands, and dropped to the deck next to quite the impressive trophy.

    "Amazing," said John, leaping off of the dead creature''s back. "And those missiles didn''t even touch my energy shield!"

    "The armor on her crest was thick on top- which prevented the shockwaves from doing much to you- but very thin on the bottom, and on the neck, since the crest was meant to protect those things. You learn how to guess pretty well about alien biology when you''re a bounty hunter."

    "I guess you do," chuckled John.

    "Yeah, yeah," she sighed. "So I guess this is the part where I kill you."

    The Spartan took a sudden step backwards.

    "But I thought we had worked everything out? I admitted to doing the wrong thing and you agreed that you were overreacting!"

    "Yes to both. But I''m still set on kicking your ass, and proving to everybody that you do not mess with me."

    "But- I thought we were-"

    "Winner gets the cat."

    John stood still for a moment, then raised his assault rifle.

    "That cat is mine."

    With their prize looking onward and mewing softly, the two armor-clad fighters charged at one another. As soon as they were two meters apart, they sprung their traps. John dropped to the deck, sliding forward on borrowed inertia. Samus leapt into the air over the SPARTAN and fired several Power Beam blasts down at him, which were absorbed by the shimmering field surrounding his armor. Samus fell to a knee after he passed, twisting her body to fire a few more shots at him. To her surprise, John did not return fire, but zig-zagged away. At the same time, she also became aware of a high-pitched whine. She looked down to find something blue stuck to her abdomen.

    "Ah."

    The Plasma Grenade detonated in a bright blast, leaving behind a haze of blue smoke and crackling electricity. Samus stood up, wiping the soot off of her immaculate armor.

    "Nice try, SPARTAN," she laughed. "But it''ll take more than that to-"

    She was beginning to turn back around to egg her opponent on, when a heavily-armored fist drove itself into the side of her helmet at a staggering speed. The impact sent her flying into one of the engine room''s radiation-shielded walls, which gave way under the force of her collision into a Samus-shaped dent.

    John coiled up and launched into a mighty leap that carried him from where he delivered the punch to Samus'' impact site. He reached into the deep crater and received a boot in the chest that sent him tumbling to the floor. The bounty hunter pulled herself out of the back of her hole in the wall and hopped out the front, transforming into her Morph Ball as she fell directly into the center of John''s chest. The sphere bounced off, drove a lap around John''s still body, and transformed back into the Power Suit.

    "I''ll admit, that was pretty potent," said Samus, running a hand under her helmet''s chin. "But that was what I was expecting out of you." John began to move, placing his hands on the deck to push himself up, but Samus halted him by placing a heel on his chest.

    "Ut-tut-tut! Not so fast. This is the part where I win," she cackled. John slipped his hands back to his sides and exhaled slowly, before snapping his grip onto the bounty hunter''s armored ankle. With a heave, he tossed her away, springing to his feet. The SPARTAN reached down and removed a small, cylindrical object from his left thigh and clicked a button on its center. Two tine-like blades of energy sputtered out of the side, curving forward.

    "Or is it the part where I win?"

    Samus had caught herself in mid-air, and had landed with a careful somersault. She was fully recovered in time to see the SPARTAN draw his Energy Sword.

    "So it''s a brawl you want, huh? Then it''s a brawl you''ll get!"

    She dropped to the floor and curled into her Morph Ball, speeding towards her opponent. John raised the sword as she neared, and began to slice downward at her when the oncoming sphere suddenly changed direction. It took a left.

    I hate it when they evade.

    Before John could react, Samus swung around behind him, stood up, and drove a knee into his back, which caused his energy shield to shatter in a scalding electric crack. With his body tensed from the brutal attack, John instinctively snapped his left elbow back. Samus was once again hit in the helmet, this time stumbling backwards, disoriented.

    John spun around and aimed his assault rifle at the bounty hunter, emptying his last magazine into the bronze Power Suit. The bullets bounced away, as he predicted, but he was certain that the neural feedback he had seen her armor display would have worn her down significantly. She staggered backwards, but remained standing, clutching the armor over her stomach.

    "Are you ready to give up?" asked John, his hands at his sides.

    "Not¡­ yet," she gasped.

    "Figures," scoffed the SPARTAN, dropping his weapons and ducking into a sprint. Samus shook herself out of her stupor and did the same. With fists raised, they collided in a punch that echoed throughout the ship, as their right arms crossed over one another, reaching their targets simultaneously- John''s fist against Samus'' visor, Samus'' Arm Cannon against his helmet''s chin.

    "A¡­ cross counter?!" growled Samus, attempting to wrench her head back around against the force of John''s punch.

    "You punched me¡­ with your gun arm?" grunted John.

    "That''s right!" she smiled, gritting her teeth. Orange energy began to charge up inside the Arm Cannon which sat directly in front of John''s visor. John raised his other hand, and simply pulled the weapon to the side as it fired, sending a bolt of energy harmlessly flying into the wall.

    "Oh, that was a cheap move!" she protested. John released her arm and stood still.

    "I surrender," he said quietly.

    "WHAT?!"

    "I said, I surrender. It''s clear to me we''re evenly matched. And I think that cat likes you better."

    "Dammit, John! That''s not what did this for!"

    "No. But maybe you weren''t motivated by the right thing after all. Look, you still win."

    "But¡­ well, this was the most fun I''ve had in a long time."

    "No, no no no no! Not AGAIN!" screamed the Master of Games'' voice. "You can''t do this again! No!"

    "We can, and we are," sighed Samus. "And he can have the cat."

    "Fine," the voice hissed. "Fine! But it will cost you!"

    Samus gave John a thumbs-up as the two of them began to sink into the floor. He returned the gesture with his own extended thumb. In an instant, both of them were back in the common hall, in front of a sneering Master of Games. Samus'' Power Suit had been removed, as it was considered part of her combat gear.

    "Okay, okay. You want to rebel? Fine! Here''s the deal! Ha hee ha hoo!"

    He removed from behind his back a shallow plastic tray, filled with sand, and extended it towards John-117, who took it cautiously.

    "This is a litterbox," grunted the soldier.

    "That''s right," giggled the Master of Games, removing something else from behind his back. He set the plastic scoop in the box, giving the wall a gentle tap.

    "Have fun with it," he cackled.

    "Uh¡­ huh," muttered the SPARTAN, setting it down on a nearby table.

    "As for you, Miss Aran," he beamed, overflowing with cruel joy. "For your punishment, you''re going to tell everyone your dirty little secret!" He stomped his foot on the floor. "Everybody, listen up! Miss Aran has a special announcement she''d like to make!"

    Samus turned to the Master of Games, placing a hand on his shoulder.

    "Aw, thanks," she said with a sly grin.

    "That is not what your reaction should be," said a concerned-looking Master of Games.

    Samus hopped up on a nearby table, assuring that she had everyone''s attention.

    "I''m only going to say this once, so keep your ears and eyes peeled!" she shouted. "My name is Samus Aran, the Ghost of the Chozo! The most feared bounty hunter in the universe! Yes, I do have feathers! They are a result of biological augmentation! Which means I am more than ready to kick your ass if you tell a joke about them! Here they are!"

    She unzipped her Zero suit and let it fall from her shoulders.

    "She has a lot more than just feathers," noted Kamina. "Hot damn!"

    "What a shameless exhibitionist," huffed Ryuko. "Showing herself off like that."

    Holly blinked at her teammate. "I think it might take too long to explain everything wrong with what you just said, Ryuko."

    "¡­ two-hundred sixty five Sachertortes, and six-hundred eighty two wiener schnitzels," finished Mikasa.

    Holly turned to the scout. "Were you just telling us-"

    "Yes."

    "Would you mind saying it again? Because I think everybody missed it."

    "Why would they miss it?" growled Mikasa, her left eyelid twitching in a very concerning manner.

    Holly pointed to where Samus stood. The bounty hunter had just zipped her Zero Suit back up.

    "And I used to dye my hair purple!" Samus declared.

    "I spent hours planning that," hissed Mikasa. "For your stupid little game. And you missed it for purple hair?"

    "No, she was just-"

    "Whatever. I''m going to go get some Sachertortes, and I''m going to eat them all in front of you. And you won''t get any."

    "How very passive aggressive of you," frowned Holly.

    "You wouldn''t want me to be active aggressive," pouted Mikasa, storming off.

    Ruby slowly raised her hand.

    "Yes, Ruby?" sighed Holly.

    "What''s a wiener schnitzel?"

    "It is a thin slice of veal, breaded and pan-fried," explained Adam.

    "Oh," said the girl. She raised her hand again.

    "Yes, Ruby?" Holly groaned, beginning to feel more than a little agitated.

    "What''s a veal?"

 PF Side Story 2 Ghosts and Spartans-3

    "Can''t you get them out of here?" pleaded Piccolo, still attempting to sound as gruff as possible.

    Hermione found a spot on the wall next to her friend and leaned up against it.

    "No, I can''t. They''re not under my jurisdiction. Sorry."

    "What even is a glee club, anyway?"

    "It''s a group of people that get together and sing."

    "So, like a choir?"

    "But exponentially more annoying."

    Nonon swung her baton about, barking orders.

    "The risers will be over THERE, Inamuta. No, to your LEFT! GAMAGORI! Be careful with that piano!"

    "I AM BEING CAREFUL WITH THIS PIANO!" roared the huge boy, removing the instrument from his shoulders and setting it on the floor gently.

    "Not there, you toad!" the pink-haired girl howled. "Over HERE!"

    "They really are more annoying," whispered the Namekian.

    Inamuta tapped a few buttons on the tablet he had sewed into his uniform''s sleeve.

    "That should be everything. And just in time, too. The potential members who signed up should be arriving-"

    "BAWITDABA DA BANG A DANG DIGGY DIGGY, DIGGY SAID THE BOOGIE, SAID UP JUMP THE BOOGIE!"

    Miku skipped into the room, producing her own accompanying guitar and drum track. Elsa followed just behind her, hands clapped over her ears.

    "Absolutely repulsive!" she moaned. Miku instantly stopped singing and pirouetted on a tip-toe to face Elsa.

    "Would you prefer I sing something else?" she asked politely.

    "If you must," sighed Elsa, removing her hands from her ears, "then something a little more pleasant."

    Miku inhaled, performed a few more revolutions on her toe, and began again.

    "Snow glows white on the mountain tonigh-"

    Elsa clenched a hand over the vocaloid''s mouth.

    "If you sing another word of that song, I am going to freeze your tongue and snap it right off."

    "Understood!" giggled Miku, who hopped away humming the song instead.

    "I swear, she''d be better off used for spare parts!" fumed Elsa.

    "Is that so, Trans-Dimensional Analyst Elsa Arendelle?"

    Elsa froze in place (metaphorically) as Rei Two walked up alongside her.

    "N-no¡­ that comment was in jest."

    "Good. Every member of the Illuminati is to be respected for what they can bring to our organization."

    "Y¡­yes, ma''am," stuttered Elsa.

    Rei Two was trailed by a pair of Rei clones, who were as silent and blank-looking as usual. After them, four small horses trotted through the door, discussing something amongst themselves excitedly.

    "Everything is simply wonderful," sighed Fluttershy. "The animals are all just so friendly."

    Applejack scratched her mane. "But I thought you was workin'' in the Menagerie. Ain''t it full of scary aliens?"

    "I like to think of them as friendly woodland creatures," said Fluttershy softly.

    "I don''t think any of them lived in the forest, though," Applejack replied.

    "The forests were different where they came from."

    "Well, how ''bout you, Rarity? How''s the work in Outfittin'' holding up?"

    "It seems fine. I mean, the work is interesting. I''ve never done a full line of uniforms before. But I do have some concerns about how things are being run."

    "Like what?" squealed Pinkie Pie. "Not enough SEQUINS?"

    "No, no. Nothing like that. First they tell us that an executive decision has been made to use trace amounts of Life Fiber- and the stuff is just awful! You have to wear these special gloves over your hooves, and a mask¡­ otherwise- well, they didn''t tell me! They just said it would be dangerous!"

    "Sewing? Dangerous?" pondered Applejack. "Well, I tried my hoof at it once, and I kept poking myself with the needles, so that doesn''t seem hard to believe."

    Rarity gave her friend a scowl and shook her head. "No, it''s more serious than that- and that isn''t even the worst part! They said they needed to add a staff member in order to manage Life Fiber use, and so they brought this lady in prison garb! With armed guards! Terribly suspicious, even if she has nice hair."

    "Welp, me and Pinkie Pie have been working our flanks off in the kitchen. Been a lot of fun. With the tools they''ve got down there, you can cook up anythin'' yer heart desires! Apple pies, apple tarts, apple dumplings, apple sauce, apple fritters, apple cake, apple-"

    "AND LOTS AND LOTS OF SUGAR!" squealed Pinkie Pie, bouncing away.

    "That''s everyone," noted Nonon, looking out over the potential members.

    "No, we''re still missing one Protoman," said Hoka, looking down at his tablet.

    "Protoman?"

    "Hey, I''m Protoman," called the figure rushing through the door. He was short and stocky, wearing massive boots, a yellow bandana around his neck, and a darkly-tinted visor. "Have you guys seen Bass?"

    "Bass?" asked Nonon, scrunching up her nose.

    "He''s not on the list," Hoka told the new arrival.

    "Aw, man. He told me he was going to sign up. You see, we''re getting the band back together. We''re on a mission from God."

    "Yeah. Sure you are," grunted Sanageyama, patting the squat man on the helmet.

    "Listen up, people!" shouted Nonon, tapping her baton against the music stand she stood behind. "We need to figure out everyone''s section. If you know what your section is, raise your hand when I call it out! Soprano!"

    A vast majority of the gathered members raised their hands.

    "Alto!"

    Rarity and Applejack lifted a hoof.

    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident."Tenor!"

    "I''m a tenor," declared Protoman.

    "Then you''re with Hoka and I," said Sanageyama begrudgingly.

    "Bass!"

    "He''s here?" gasped Protoman.

    "No, the section, you dolt," snarled Nonon.

    "Oh," sighed the Robot Master.

    "I, IRA GAMAGORI, SING BASS!" bellowed Ira.

    "So that''s it? We only have one bass? What a disappointment."

    Nonon''s disappointment was interrupted by a knock on the open door.

    "Is this where the glee club is meeting?"

    "That voice," whispered Nonon, eyes distant. "It''s a low baritone!"

    "Yes, this is where the glee club is meeting," replied Rei Two.

    A short, black hedgehog stepped through the door, carrying a clipboard and a pen.

    "Good. I''ve got some paperwork here for you to sign."

    "You little tease!" screamed Nonon. "I already filled out a half-ton of paperwork for Suzumiya!"

    The hedgehog shook his head slowly, wagging a finger. "Psssh¡­ but nothing for Personnel, kid."

    Miku pushed Applejack forward. "Well, excuse me, sir, but um, if you don''t mind us askin''¡­ can you sing?"

    "Yeah, I can sing. It''s been a long while since I did, but I can."

    "What she''s trying to say is CAN YOU SING WITH US?!" hollered Pinkie, appearing from thin air behind the hedgehog.

    "Hmph," he grunted, setting his clipboard down. "I''ll make you a deal. You fill out this paperwork, and I''ll consider it. As long as you''re not singing any damn Journey."

    "We were¡­ not planning on singing any Journey! None at all!" chuckled Nonon nervously. "Can I get your name, sir?"

    "Shadow the Hedgehog. Now get on that paperwork."

    "Fine. I will," Nonon snorted. "Hoka! Get on that paperwork!"

    ***

    Gendo opened the door slowly, sticking his head out and looking up and down the hallways. The woman grabbed him by the chin and shook his head mockingly.

    "You honestly didn''t think I already checked that it was clear? Silly little Gendo."

    He pulled himself out of her grip and opened the door, placing a gloved hand on his chin to rearrange his neatly trimmed beard. She entered the darkly-lit room, slowly moving her gaze from tank to tank of Rei clones in varying states of completion, all floating in bubbling LCL.

    "Quite the place you''ve got here," she said slowly.

    "Can''t stand it," shuddered Opal in her folding chair, clutching her chocolate bar closely. "They''re all staring at me."

    "Eat your candy, weakling. Those who cannot tolerate that which is unpleasant in their quest for power do not deserve that power."

    "Or we could use that power to make things a little more pleasant," Opal protested.

    "Ladies, please," said Gendo softly. "The layout and setup of my department is meant to mimic the environment I used in the production of the Rei clones during my work for NERV. It is entirely functional."

    "Functionally creepy," hissed the pixie under her breath.

    Gendo walked past them to a sliding door at the end of the room. "If you two would follow me, the project is this way." The pixie and the woman obliged and followed Gendo through the sliding doors into another room. This one featured brighter lighting and individual tanks for each Rei clone. The clones themselves were different from the other room, as well- they were expressing an incredible amount of individuality for something that was a clone. Certain ones were taller, others were shorter, some had different hair and eye colors. There were also a few that did not look like Rei at all, and an even smaller handful that bore little resemblance to a human being.

    "What is this place?" asked Opal, finding herself much less interested in eating her candy bar. "Where you put the mistakes?"

    Gendo stopped and turned suddenly, glaring down at the pixie.

    "I do not make mistakes. These are experiments."

    "Oh you are an evil bastard, aren''t you?"

    "Silence, worm," said the woman. "Where is she, Gendo?"

    "Over here," he said, crossing the room to a tank covered by what seemed to be a recycled bedsheet. He removed a series of magnet clips along one side and pulled the sheet back, allowing the woman to gaze directly into the tank.

    "So far she has matured well. By my current estimates, she will be completely operational in forty-eight hours," said the man, pushing his glasses up by the bridge. "I had to take a few liberties with the resources I had at hand, but I think you will find the results satisfactory."

    "She''s beautiful," whispered the woman in reply.

    "She''s blonde and smiling," grunted Opal. "Not even alive yet, and she''s already an idiot."

    The woman turned to Opal with a wicked grin. "I would kill you on the spot for saying that. But in two days'' time, she can make her own judgment on you."

    A choking, gulping sound escaped Opal''s throat.

    "I trust everything is to your liking, Mrs. Kiryuin?" asked Gendo.

    "Wonderful, Mr. Ikari," she smiled.

    "I will send Rei One to notify you as soon as this¡­" he checked a sticky note placed on the side of the tank. "¡­ Nui Harime is complete."

    "Do that. Then we will discuss how to move our agenda ahead," said the woman, turning away and bathing the room in the thousands of colors streaming out of her hair.

    "What a freak," observed Opal accurately.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-1: The Turtle School

    PREVIOUSLY, IN PARADOX FIGHTERS: Holly decides that she''s had enough of Twilight''s secrets, and vows to get answers from her in the next round with the help of Katniss, Adam, Ruby, and Ryuko. Meanwhile, Hermione Granger, an elite agent of the Illuminati, is chosen to participate in an experiment to restore her youth, inadvertently transforming her into a twelve-year-old. While our heroes slog their way through a grueling cityscape, Hermione learns to channel her mysterious new powers under the tutelage of the gruff Piccolo, becoming a force to be reckoned with. The King''s League targets a new team, led by none other than the abomination Holly threw up, which now calls itself Poppy. The so-called Night Terrors repel Dio with ease. Holly''s crew encounters the dangerous Sol Badguy, leading to a tense standoff that turns Ryuko into a rampaging monster, while Twilight and Alucard are ambushed by the Ghost of the Chozo, Samus Aran, before being saved by Mikasa. Hermione''s training continues amid tension aboard the Illuminati''s new starship, as the iron-fisted Regulations program exacts their own cruel brand of justice. Holly''s group eventually recruit two new members, the Spiral-Powered Kamina and Simon, pilots of Gurren Lagann. Twi, Alucard, and Mikasa meet the shapeshifting Honey Kisaragi, before confronting Holly and the rest. Twilight summons Hermione to assist her, and the two half-teams battle before Twilight reveals her true allegiance. With our heroes now aware of the Grand Combat''s true nature, and the impending rescue by the Illuminati, they believe they have new-found purpose in their struggle...

    ***

    "And so he said, ''You can''t beat me so long as I''m fighting under a yellow sun.'' And I said, ''Why?'' And he said, ''Because yellow sun radiation enhances my powers!'' So I asked, ''What if you were under a different sun?'' And he said, ''If I were under a red sun, my powers would be weakened!'' So the next time he tried to punch me I grabbed him and used Instant Transmission and I took him to a red sun and after that he wasn''t so hard to beat."

    The other fighters let a low gasp of amazement escape their throats. Ryu drug his thumb back across his chin, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

    "So you mean to say that you beat Superman?"

    "Well, yeah," giggled the man in the orange gi as he ran a hand through his messy and vertically oriented hair. "Like I said, it wasn''t too hard."

    "Were you disappointed?" asked Kenshiro, who sat quietly at a table nearby.

    "Whaddya mean?"

    The disciple of Hokuto Shinken stood up and walked to the man who had shared the story. He folded his arms in front of his chest and furrowed his brow.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    "I mean, you sought battle with Superman because you determined him to be a worthy opponent. But you would not have beaten him if he did not reveal his weakness to you."

    "Oh, I get it. I guess I feel like it could have been a better fight. He really had me on the edge there, up until he told me that¡­ so I guess I am disappointed. I''m disappointed in myself. I need to have an honest fight against somebody, to say that I''m really stronger than they are."

    "Interesting," said Kenshiro. "So how do you intend to correct that mistake?"

    "I''ll fight somebody else as strong as me!"

    "But¡­ you just beat Superman!" said Ryu, still incredulous. "Who else is there on your level?"

    "I know somebody," smiled Sol Badguy, stepping into the little circle formed by the listening warriors.

    "You want me to fight you?" asked the gi-wearing man. "Sure thing. We can talk to the guy and set stuff up-"

    "No, no," replied Sol, waving a hand. "I may be powerful, but I''m not on your level. But I ran into someone who might be."

    "Well, who could you mean? Is it that ninja kid with the jumpsuit? Because he''s always shouting and that really gets on my nerves!"

    Sol Badguy lifted a finger and slowly rocked it back and forth. "No. You''re looking for a little girl with half of a giant, red pair of scissors."

    "Are you serious?" blinked the man in the gi. "A little girl?"

    "She''s one tough cookie. Handed my ass to me when I was at full strength. And she wasn''t even scraping the top of her potential. Granted, she got real angry beforehand. I probably shouldn''t have talked to an angsty teenager about Freudian psychoanalysis."

    "Freudian?" asked Chuck. "Nobody uses Freudian anymore."

    Sol Badguy flung himself backward, aghast. "Why didn''t someone tell me sooner?"

    "Because you were too busy surrounding yourself with women?" suggested Kenshiro.

    "You make it sound like I had to try for that to happen," grinned Sol.

    The gi-wearer began to look impatient.

    "So what''s this girl''s name, again?"

    "Oh, of course. Matoi- Ryuko Matoi."

    "Huh. Well, I''ll be on the lookout for her. Thanks for the tip, Headband Guy."

    "No problem, Spiky Hair Man."

    "You can call me Son Goku."

    "And you can call me Fred."

    "Will do, Headband Guy."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-2 Night Terrors Forever

    Katniss sat quietly at their table and watched her teammates participate in some sort of role-playing board game that Adam had constructed. She was thankful that the space of a few chairs separated her from the ruckus, because pieces were being thrown. Katniss ducked to the left to dodge a papier-mach¨¦ miniature, and took another bite of her orange. Holly approached with a plate of something dark brown and pleasantly aromatic, taking a seat next to the girl.

    "Is that one of those things Mikasa kept eating?"

    "She''s still eating them. I followed her the last time she decided to go get one. They''re sort of hidden on the table. You''ve got to be clever to find it."

    "It''s a wonder how much that girl can eat and maintain her figure."

    "Actually, she''s sort-of cheating," explained the elf. "She''s got an overclocked metabolism. Her body is operating on all of the latent strength it has all the time, so she has to eat like that to keep it fed and repaired. With what I saw of her house, I''m surprised her family could keep her full."

    "Especially if they fed her nothing but cakes."

    The two laughed softly at the idea, and Holly passed Katniss her plate so the girl could try some Sachertorte. Katniss took a forkful and grinned as she chewed it.

    "That is nice. Reminds me of home."

    "Oh- I''ve been meaning to ask you," said Holly suddenly, "How have you been doing lately? With¡­ this?"

    "Oh¡­ better, I suppose. I''ve come to the realization that it''s at least a little better than the Games. Sure, half the people are crazy. But the other half are all right, if you get to know them. And plus, there''s that whole coming-back-from-the-dead thing."

    "You still haven''t needed that, have you?"

    "You''re right. And neither have you."

    "I guess that means we''re a pretty functional team."

    "We could always improve, though."

    "No faaaiiiiiiir," whined Ruby, tossing another miniature away. "Why can''t I have my scythe?"

    "Because the Rogue uses knives," Ryuko groaned. "You wanted to be the Rogue."

    "Yeah, but I didn''t know that he would be so lame."

    "Do you realize how impractical your weapon would be for a Rogue? You couldn''t do anything stealthy!"

    "That''s why it folds up!"

    Twilight slammed a hoof onto the table. "Will you two KNOCK IT OFF? I''m trying to barter with this elf."

    "You''ll need seventy florins for that phoenix feather," read Adam from his reference sheet in the squealing voice of the elf shopkeeper.

    "I''ll give you fifty and this enchanted whetstone," continued the unicorn.

    "Listen, my Fighter doesn''t have my Scissor Blade and you don''t see me complaining."

    "But if I had Crescent Rose I could totally fight at range and up close."

    "The point is so you can''t. It''s called balance."

    "I think I don''t like balance!"

    Adam shook his head. "I would take fifty and three whetstones. Or I would trade evenly for a dragon scale."

    "Well, I don''t have a dragon scale, but I have two wyvern talons," offered Twilight.

    Alucard raised his hand. "I shoot the shopkeeper."

    "WHAT?!" Twilight howled. "I WAS ABOUT TO SEAL THE DEAL!"

    "Rolling," grunted Mikasa between bites of wiener schnitzel, before tossing the paper d20 onto the board.

    "Five," read Adam. "Critical miss. You take twenty-five damage, which kills our ranger."

    "That went better than expected," mused the vampire.

    "You little troll," hissed Twilight. "Now you''re dead and the shopkeeper is hostile!"

    "How do we shave our beards?" asked Kamina. "I don''t want my dwarf to have a beard."

    "Wait, we''re dwarves?" Simon exclaimed. "Bro, I thought we were human miners!"

    "No, the Miner class is all dwarves," grumbled Adam.

    Ryuko sighed and pushed her chair back from the table.

    "Does anybody even want to play anymore?"

    "No," answered Mikasa.

    "Nope," replied Ruby.

    "I don''t think so," said Kamina.

    "Well, I do!" shouted Twilight.

    "Regrettably, I believe there is not enough interest to continue our team-building exercise. Perhaps we should find something else to do," Adam muttered.

    "Let''s go and play in the simulators!" suggested Ruby excitedly.

    "I do not think those are for playing with," he replied.

    "Sure they are! They''re just big videogames!"

    Ryuko nodded. "Ah, what the hell. I''ll go check it out with you."

    Twilight waved to catch Holly and Katniss'' attention. "We''re going over by the simulators. Care to join us?"

    "Of course!" chirped Holly, rising from her seat. Katniss joined her, and the whole team made their way toward the banks of large, oblong pods that rocked and rotated as they passed. A display screen extended from the side of each one, allowing those nearby to watch the proceedings of the simulation. As they passed, they found a pair of pods that seemed to be rocking a little more violently than the rest.

    "What''s going on with these?" asked Katniss.

    "Well, if these displays are anything to go by, it looks like there''s a multi-player training option," the elf noted. She pointed at the screen on the nearest of the two pods, which cycled through several views on a familiar red-white-and blue Mobile Suit, crouching in the burned-out skeleton of a ruined high-rise.

    "Have I lost ya?" called Amuro, tugging at his controls. The simulated RX-78-2 clipped its Beam Rifle onto its rear skirt armor and removed one of the short, narrow cylinders from its backpack. The pilot tapped a button on his helmet and flipped up his visor to wipe away a few beads of sweat. He quickly snapped it back down into place and focused on his instruments, keeping a keen eye on his radar.

    Holly tilted her head sideways in thought. So who''s he talking to?

    The answer revealed itself in the form of a great purple hand pressing its way through the ancient building, crumbling the girders in its path as it flew open-palmed toward the Gundam. The Mobile Suit fired its thrusters and performed a short hop upwards, skipping over the massive manipulator and landing cleverly on the arm it was connected to.

    The even-more gigantic, sinister-looking machine to which the arm belonged began to retract its hand back through the building. Shinji''s typically-unstable voice croaked out, "Got you, Amuro!"

    "No, you don''t!" grunted the Mobile Suit''s pilot, firing his thrusters again the second the arm emerged from the building. The Gundam leapt from the Evangelion''s arm, activated its beam saber, and forced the crackling blade of pinkish-purple energy through the tall tower mounted on the Eva''s right shoulder before landing behind its target. Shinji yelped in surprise as the simulated Evangelion simply gave him an error message, rather than route the damage report straight into his own nervous system.

    "I feel blind in this thing¡­ not like the real EVA," whimpered Shinji as he assessed his losses. By knocking out the shoulder fin, Amuro had cleverly removed one of his weapons- the Progressive Knife stored there. He still had the second knife on his left shoulder, and the oversized pistol he carried off-handedly. He could do this. He was certain.

    "Come on, Shinji. Don''t just stand there," warned Amuro. "Remember to treat this like a real fight."

    "Looks like Amuro''s trying to give the kid a few pointers," commented Holly.

    "Shinji certainly needs it," Katniss concurred. "Last time those two fought, he couldn''t even put a scratch on Amuro."

    The Gundam stomped around to face his opponent again, replacing its beam saber and drawing its beam rifle again. This time, the Mobile suit also removed the hexagonal tower shield from its back, using its left arm to bring the defensive weapon across its chest.

    Okay, think, Shinji. You know that gun of yours is large enough to punch a hole in my Gundam in one shot. But will you be able to hit me?

    The Evangelion carefully placed the pistol in its right hand and aimed it toward the Mobile Suit. A purple finger squeezed the trigger down, and the weapon hurled a round at the Gundam. Amuro shook his head, eased his controls forward, and caused the Gundam to simply step out of the way of the shot, which tore chunks out of the asphalt behind him.

    "W-what?" cried Shinji. "H-how did you-"

    "As a Newtype, my spatial awareness and reaction times are much higher than most humans. I knew where your bullet would be, and I made sure I wasn''t there. Here''s your first lesson: study your enemy. If you know what they''re capable of, you can find the things you can do that they can''t."

    Shinji nodded. "I think I understand."

    "Good. Then let''s continue!"

    Amuro pushed his controls forward, raising the beam rifle. A bright pink pulse blasted out from the barrel, ripping toward the Evangelion. Those watching were stunned to see it halt in midair, fizzling away against an ethereal wall of faint orange octagons radiating out from a central point.

    "What happened?" asked Adam. "Why did the beam stop?"

    "There''s some sort of defensive barrier," explained Katniss.

    "So all Amuro has to do is take out the shield generator, and this kid''s as good as beaten," Holly declared.

    Twilight shook her head. "Perhaps if this was an ordinary force field. But this is an AT Field."

    "This is my AT Field!" shouted Shinji behind his wall of concentric octagons.

    Holly turned from her friend, to the screen, and back again, before sighing wearily.

    "Do you want to explain what this is for us laymen?"

    "Oh, I was hoping you would ask!" giggled the unicorn. "An AT Field differs from other energy barriers in that it isn''t some form of mechanical system- it''s a natural ability possessed by certain organisms."

    "Organisms?" asked Holly. "So the purple one''s alive?"

    "Yes. A clone of a giant alien in a suit of mechanical armor."

    "You know, I''m starting to understand why that Shinji kid is so weird."

    Amuro made his simulated Gundam take a step back.

    If it''s anything like an I-field I''ll have to get through it at close range. But his machine is strongest at close range. That''s a predicament. Luckily, I still have a trick or two up my sleeve.

    "All right, Shinji. That''s a neat ability. But I don''t think it can block my next attack."

    "No, I''m pretty sure this can hold back just about GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Shinji grabbed his head in agony. The simulation up until this point had done a fine job of separating him from reality, but he was now experiencing a horrible pressure at the base of his skull that was all too real. The colors of the screens in front of him intensified and his teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.

    "Sometimes, your opponents won''t play fair. They''ll have abilities that you simply won''t be able to counter," lectured Amuro. "In these situations, you need to learn how to retreat and reassess your situation, and see if your allies can help."

    "AAAAAAAGH!" Shinji gurgled in reply. The Evangelion lost its footing and fell backward along the street, severing the pavement like a great purple knife.

    "You''ll have to up your game if you want to keep up with a Newtype like me," smirked the boy in the Gundam.

    "Shinji can''t ever catch a break, can he?" asked Katniss. "That''s the second time I''ve seen him lose to Amuro."

    "I guess that just says something about his skill as a pilot," sneered Kamina. "If he can''t get fired up enough to fight his opponents with MANLY DETERMINATION, I can''t see why he''d ever win."

    Simon shrugged. "I don''t know if it''s always that simple, bro. But I agree that he''s certainly not getting fired up. I mean, if he really was, he''d- wait a second, who is she?"

    Simon directed a finger in the direction of his inquiry, and Holly quickly averted her eyes.

    "D''Arvit, not her again," moaned the elf.

    The woman was suspended from a cloud of diligently-flapping bats, which she reclined against languidly. She twirled a finger through a green lock, curled it into a tight ball, and let it flop down again as her bats dissipated into nothing and she came to a rest with her feet on the floor.

    "Would ye look at that!" she giggled. "Ah don''t suppose ye were here t''watch that wee lel boy-toy show off his robot, too?"

    "Who?" asked Holly, avoiding eye contact. "Amuro? I didn''t know he was your type." She made sure to fill her words with enough callousness that maybe the succubus wouldn''t notice how much she was blushing.

    "Miss Short, ye fiery wee Eireann, everyone is my type. I thocht ye knew tha'', but I''m not ''ere for Amuro."

    "Shinji, then? Ew."

    "Neither of ''em," smiled Morrigan. "Haruto''s a lel different."

    "Holly, do you want to tell us who she is?" asked Katniss.

    "Trouble," muttered Alucard, who glanced back up at Morrigan and courteously tipped his hat. "How''s Maximoff?"

    "Ye keep askin'', but I wonnae know. He''s not ''ere."

    "So this Haruto guy is a pilot, too?" asked Simon.

    "Aye. ''Is machine''s called ''Valvrave''. Cannae think why ye''d name it somesuch like that. Makes as much sense as haggis without neeps an'' tatties."

    "Is she talking about her breasts?" asked Kamina. "''Cause that''s what it sounds like. I''m not complaining."

    "Neither am I," said Simon.

    "Neither am I," echoed Ryuko, before realizing what she said. "Wait! I mean-"

    "Relax," oozed Morrigan. "It''s only natr''l to feel a wee bit foggy around me. Most folks realize they like it."

    "Oh! Look at that!" interrupted Holly suddenly. "Something''s going on in the screen!"

    Amuro frowned at the thing that was descending toward him.

    Another Mobile Suit? I didn''t invite them, but I suppose I could try and entertain them.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story."Hello, there," he said, opening a few hailing frequencies. "I don''t believe we''ve met."

    It was a mobile weapon of unorthodox design, its features not immediately connecting with the distinct functions Amuro had grown accustomed to looking for. Then again, very few of the mobile weapons he had fought so far had seemed familiar, so he was not particularly surprised. It was a gracile machine; with long slender legs connecting to a simple, blocky waist that descended from an angular, vaguely cylinder-shaped chest covered in fins and vents so numerous that Amuro could only guess at their purpose- intakes? Heat sinks? Its arms were proportionally shorter than the legs, but similarly thin; almost skeletal in their design. The burgundy shoulder armor hung down in segments like some elaborate medieval garb. Amuro didn''t like the way it looked. There was something disconcerting about its shriveled-up faceplate and the glowing green bits that extended out from its head like ears. It reminded him of something that he was certain he did not like.

    "No, no we have not," replied a fairly-normal sounding boy over the Gundam''s radio. "Name''s Haruto. And you must be the legendary Amuro Ray."

    "Yeah, that''s me. I assume you''re here to fight?"

    "It''s always useful to scope out the- ugh- competition," winced the new boy in reply.

    "Are you all right?" asked Amuro.

    Haruto grunted painfully again before answering. "Oh, yeah. My pelvis is just a little bruised, that''s all."

    Amuro narrowed his eyes. "And how exactly did that happen?"

    "Not telling," smirked Haruto. "But it was totally worth it."

    "¡­Okay, then," Amuro replied, slowly raising his beam rifle. "Well, why don''t we see what your machine-"

    "Valvrave," corrected Haruto, the machine suddenly a few meters behind the Gundam. It slowly sheathed the thin, straight sword that it had somehow drawn. "Its name is Valvrave."

    Amuro blinked, thinking aloud. "What does that even mea-"

    The weight of the simulated Gundam shifted, and the beam rifle fell out of his field of vision. Warnings began to flash across his manipulator systems. Amuro had piloted long enough to know what this meant- he had just lost both of his machine''s arms.

    Incredible. He was able to move fast enough that even I wasn''t able to sense his presence¡­ unless he''s found some way of hiding his thoughtwaves from Newtypes.

    "Okay, kid, you''re pretty good. But speed isn''t everything. Did you see what I did to Shinji over there?"

    Shinji moaned softly, to illustrate the point.

    The Valvrave turned in place to face the arm-less Gundam.

    "No, I didn''t," replied Haruto. "But it must''ve been pretty impressive."

    "It still is," growled Amuro, focusing his thoughtwaves into a psychic assault on the other boy''s brain. Haruto shrieked over the radio, and the Valvrave stumbled backwards.

    Got him.

    "Look at that, Morrigan," smiled Holly. "Looks like Haruto''s a one-trick pony."

    "Ponies present," noted Twilight.

    "Oi, is mah ''Olly a wee bit jealous?" she crooned, pinching Holly''s cheeks. "Don''t worry. I still love ye, jest the way ye are."

    Oh gods she''s touching me. I shouldn''t like this. D''Arvit. Holly yanked herself away from the succubus'' grip.

    "The feeling isn''t mutual," she gasped, finding herself a little short of breath.

    "Ye''ll warm up to me soon enough," grinned Morrigan. "Anyhoo, I assure ye that Haruto''s got plenty of tricks up his wee sleeve."

    "And now she''s talking about wee sleeves," murmured Ryuko.

    On the screen, the Valvrave took another step backward before planting its feet and drawing its sword again. Instead of cries of pain, laughter began to echo back over the communications channels.

    "Nice try," hissed Haruto. "But it''ll take more than that to put me down."

    "How?" cried Amuro. "A mental attack like that should have put you out of commission for at least ten minutes! No human could recover that quickly!"

    Haruto''s grin widened. "That''s because I''m not human. Haven''t been for a long time. I''m a Magius, or in simpler terms for all you laymen, I''m an immortal vampire. I heal real quick."

    "So I can''t beat your Mobile Suit, and I can''t overpower you¡­" Amuro realized he was out of options.

    "That''s what you''d call checkmate," boasted Haruto. The Valvrave stepped forward and plunged the sword through the Gundam''s chest, resulting in Amuro''s simulator pod going dark. Within the simulation, Haruto commanded the Valvrave to place a foot against the Mobile Suit as a brace, and ripped the sword from its unwilling scabbard.

    "Night Terrors forever!" he howled, before exiting the program.

    "Night Terrors? That sounds familiar," whispered Katniss.

    Holly nodded. "Yeah. Wasn''t that the team that won that last big city round?"

    "Aye! That was us!"

    Twilight Sparkle looked concerned. "¡­Us?"

    "Ye didn''t think the whole team would be jest me an'' Haruto, did ye? Oi, Poppy!"

    A small, greyish figure materialized next to Morrigan. Holly felt her heart skip a beat when she recognized it.

    "It''s¡­ that thing," she murmured. She exchanged glances with Twilight and Alucard, who nodded in confirmation.

    "What is it this time, Morrigan?" it asked in a voice that sounded exactly like Holly''s, if only a little wearier, before it glanced up at the other team.

    "I was jest talking to your twin Holly when I thocht ye could show ''em the rest of the team."

    "Oh," it said, sounding a little surprised as it noticed the elf whose form it wore. "It''s you. And your little friends. That''s cute."

    "So you''re going by my childhood nickname now?" asked Holly.

    "It makes things easier when the mortals have something to call you. It gives them something to scream, too," it said with a nasty grin. It raised its left hand and snapped its fingers together, and a host of tough-looking characters appeared alongside Poppy and Morrigan.

    "Team Night Terrors is composed of some of the most powerful, well-trained warriors in their fields," explained Poppy. "And Morrigan."

    "That''s me!" the succubus laughed.

    "Morrigan, as I''m certain you''re aware, is a succubus. But she is far more than just that. She is one of the most powerful Makai to have ever lived, the first-ever double-S-plus rank noble."

    "So that''s what they call that size," whispered Ryuko, evidently entranced.

    Poppy indicated one of the warriors that had appeared on her command, which was a gritty, unkempt looking man in a spec-ops sneak suit.

    "Snake is perhaps the world''s finest infiltrator. He is exceedingly capable both with firearms and in hand-to-hand combat."

    "Yep," he grunted, drawing from his worn-looking cigarette. Haruto limped out of his simulator pod and joined the group, adjusting his loosely-hanging tie and turquoise jacket.

    "You''ve already seen a demonstration of Haruto''s power, but rest assured that he and the Valvrave have many more abilities that makes them one of the most versatile mecha units ever fielded."

    The next man in the lineup was clad in light leather armor, baggy pants, and bulky boots. His face seemed unusually youthful on his muscular body. His eyes glowed blue faintly, even in their well-lit environment.

    "The most potent sell-sword in Midgar, Cloud Strife," Poppy explained, "gifted in combat both physical and magical."

    "Well, you know," he mumbled, blushing. "I try."

    "Our high-speed scout, Sonic the Hedgehog," continued Poppy, pointing at the instantly-familiar blue creature, "Widely acknowledged as the Fastest Thing Alive."

    Sonic leapt into the air, pointing at Ryuko excitedly.

    "Hold on a second, Boss! I ran into these guys before! That one there is Shadow the Hedgehog!"

    Ryuko''s face sunk into confusion and dismay. "You''re still on about that?"

    Poppy gritted her teeth and continued. "That leaves us with¡­"

    She paused, looking around for something that wasn''t there.

    "Where''s Bayonetta?" asked Poppy of the succubus.

    "I don''t know," Morrigan replied. "Pro''lly off combing her hair all stubborn-like. Tha''s typical of her."

    "Man, this is getting weirder and weirder," whispered Kamina.

    "You said it, bro," Simon replied.

    "That''s the only way things go around here," said Mikasa flatly.

    "She can do whatever suits her, I suppose," muttered Poppy. "Anyway, Holly Short, this is most of my team. You should expect to start losing to us regularly."

    Holly smirked. "Yeah, right. We''ve got more team members than you. Advantage, us."

    "Quality over quantity."

    Twilight Sparkle stepped forward, her face unusually stern.

    "What do you want?" she asked, making sure to lower her horn toward Poppy as she spoke.

    "Haven''t I been over this already?" sighed Poppy. "I have my own plan. All you need to know is that it involves me winning. This is the team I intend to use to further that plan. It''s really quite simple- but I can see why a mortal like you would have trouble keeping that in your head. So I''ll make sure to give you a little reminder in the next round."

    Twilight gritted her teeth and dug at the floor with her hooves. "You sound awful certain that the next round will be a big team battle."

    "Hello, my fine combatants!" giggled the Master of Games from his throne. "It''s just about time for me to announce the next round, so listen close! I think you''ll all appreciate what I''ve got lined up. It''ll be a large-scale team battle!"

    Poppy tilted its nose up, turned around, and walked away, its team following closely behind.

    "Those guys are going to get really annoying, aren''t they?" asked Holly.

    "I''m afraid so," replied Twilight.

    The Master of Games continued his speech. "The arena will feature seven small towns. Each town will have a bank, and each bank will have a vault. Inside that vault will be a single gold coin. Your goal is to be the team that collects the most gold coins possible. And I''d pack a canteen, because things are going to be hot out there!"

    Katniss frowned. "Was that supposed to be some sort of clue?"

    Twilight nodded. "I assume so. A desert would be my first guess."

    "A desert?" Adam''s eyes lit up. "Long ago I read a book about the fauna of the desert biome. The creatures sounded fascinating."

    "Don''t get your hopes up on that," said Holly. "I haven''t seen a single animal in a round before."

    "What about the titans?" asked Mikasa. "Would they count?"

    "That''s an interesting question," Twilight cooed. "Perhaps they do. It would indicate a continued increase in the Master of Games'' strength for conjuring the arenas. After all, two rounds ago there were Titans, and the last big round had foot soldiers for the VIWs. And there was one after that with a bunch of Xenomorphs."

    Ryuko scratched her head. "So, this is all a bad thing, right?"

    Twilight laughed in a distressingly insincere way.

    "Oh, my, yes."

    <hr />

    "Let''s see. One, two, four, seven¡­"

    Honey Kisaragi had never been very good at Sudoku. Or rather, she had always been a little too good at Sudoku, and had quickly decided that she had to make herself look like she was bad at it. She was quite used to hustling. She didn''t train on the dummies, because everyone would see that she could break one in half with a well-aimed kick. She didn''t lift weights because her expression would betray the little effort it took to move any of them. It was, in actuality, her favorite game to play. To hide one''s self away, to not even give an opponent a glimpse of your potential- until the last possible second, when you demonstrate your full power. The rush of watching their faces fill with fear and shock as they learned that the foe they were prepared to fight was not there, suddenly replaced by something much more deadly.

    "Nine? No, no that doesn''t work there," she whispered to herself, smiling with mock embarrassment.

    They''ll just look and see your average Catholic Japanese schoolgirl. But in reality, I am-

    "Honey Kisaragi, right?" said a small voice in front of her. She looked up from her little game with genuine surprise.

    "Ah- ahm, yes! That''s me! Honey Kisaragi."

    It was a young boy, maybe ten years old, with slicked back hair and big, bright eyes. He was sitting across from her at the table, and he held in his hands a small piece of paper.

    "Hi there!" he said with an awkward smile. "I''m Tobio Tenma." He held out a fat little hand and Honey shook it with a deceptively gentle grasp. His fingers felt odd under hers¡­ cold.

    "Nice to meet you, Tobio," she smiled back politely. "And what brings a cute little guy like you over here to me?"

    Tobio blushed visibly and pushed his piece of paper across the table. "I-I''m on a team, and our leader thinks you should join us."

    Honey took the paper and kept her innocent grin up. "And what does he think a silly girl like me could do for him?"

    "He wants you on the team because you''re like me," said the boy softly, pulling up his shirt to reveal a retracting panel on his chest. Underneath, a nest of wires coiled around a softly-pulsating reactor. Honey froze.

    "H-how did you-"

    "We''re going to shoot up a flare in the next round with that symbol on it," whispered Tobio as he pulled his shirt back down. "So when you see it, you should head straight there. You don''t have to be alone anymore."

    And with that, he scampered off. Honey was left staring into empty space.

    What? He knew? And somebody else did, too? How many plans did that ruin? And ''I don''t have to be alone anymore?'' Seriously? That''s already two points against this team. If they try anything else that stupid, they can kiss me goodbye.

    She looked down at the piece of paper. Neatly drawn in the middle was the symbol. Two long lines joined at a right angle, while two more lines, one perpendicular to each, split off downward. Together, the lines formed a rhombus with short little line-wings.

    Okay. Whatever. A team of androids, huh? Maybe this won''t be so bad.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-3 Agendas

    Hermione held her AEGIS up to the sensor next to the door, which beeped softly before sliding the plastiglass panels open in front of her. The gym was expansive, and unlike Piccolo''s ''Training Room'', was full of equipment. A track ran along the perimeter of the room, which sprinters currently tackled with great haste; guide hoops floated lazily near the ceiling for fliers to swoop in and out of. Behind clear plastic several sparring rings were bunched together, and weight machines for every muscle in the body were scattered around the floor. It was a good thing that the Illuminati could not use their combined resources for their own gain, because this was the kind of workout that could turn any bum off the street into a world-class fighter. A group of unhappy-looking young people standing by the track waved her over, and Hermione took off toward them at a light jog.

    "We thought you of all people would be early," said Hoka, zipping and unzipping his uniform as he spoke.

    "Guess you''ve proven us wrong again, Curly," sneered Nonon.

    "Lighten up, Jakuzure. You could''ve been productive with this time. Gotten in a few reps or something, like Gamagori."

    "TODAY IS ARM DAY," roared Gamagori from underneath a barbell.

    "Hey, don''t you blokes get angry at me. We''re all still waiting for Satsuki," huffed Hermione.

    "Lady Satsuki," corrected Nonon. "And she''s been here the whole time. She should be back in about ten¡­ nine¡­ eight¡­"

    Hermione turned around and saw a familiar stream of long, black hair racing down the track toward them. It was quite the unusual sight to see the Chief of Regulations not clad in her dress uniform, but a sports bra and athletic shorts. The witch was shocked to see just how muscular her superior was under her normal garb. She skidded to a halt inches from Hermione.

    "Time," Satsuki ordered.

    "One minute thirty-five seconds," noted Hoka, poking at a laptop he seemed to have drawn from nowhere. "That''s a new human record for the mile."

    "A one-minute-thirty-five-second mile?!" stammered Hermione, astounded.

    "It''s not fast enough," frowned Satsuki. Even though she was not in formal attire, her eyebrows were.

    "But¡­ how? Is Artemis experimenting on you, too?"

    "No, Mrs. Granger. If one simply wears Life Fibers long enough, hidden potential is unlocked. This is most assuredly what Artemis hopes to achieve with his current program for Outfitting."

    "Then I assume-"

    "I have worn Life Fibers for a very long time," replied the Chief of Regulations gravely.

    "So what''s the mission, Lady Satsuki?" asked Nonon, twirling an exceptionally-well-balanced baton on her pinky finger.

    "You are to pay Mr. Gendo Ikari a visit. Say you''re there for a routine inspection. Have a look around, because that man would never tell you anything, not if you asked him nicely, not if you had him at gunpoint. After you''re done with that, I''m afraid you''re going to need to do some errand-running. Research and Development have borrowed a few weapons, and they need to be returned to Requisition."

    Nonon pouted, quite visibly. "Couldn''t anybody do that?"

    "Artemis trusts you five in particular," Satsuki stated. "And you''ll just happen to be nearby."

    "Very well then, Miss Kiryuin," nodded Hermione. "We won''t let you down." The witch turned and began to walk back to the door, with the Elite Four trailing her as she went. Satsuki smiled softly and followed the track down to the sparring rings, and slipped through the transparent door of the first one, finding a seat against the wall.

    "Are you certain that you''re ready?" asked the young man from under the bill of his heavily-modified uniform cap.

    "Come on, you know I can take another round. Hit me with your best shot," growled the mountain that went by the name Butler. Artemis noticed Satsuki enter and made his move across the ring before fists started flying. He drew a small, flat panel from his pocket and gave it a flick of the wrist, causing it to expand into a collapsible chair. He placed the chair next to the Regulations chief and took a seat.

    "What is that?" asked Satsuki dryly.

    "It''s a pocket chair," replied Artemis. "I wouldn''t want to ruin these pants of mine, would I?"

    "I need to get myself one of those," she noted.

    The man who stood across from Butler was incredibly well-built for his age, his uniform coat seeming out of place across his broad shoulders. He exhaled slowly and deliberately, and a few bits from the rubber-turf flooring were kicked aside.

    "Star Platinum," he announced.

    "Butler''s been insisting that the trains with Jotaro more often," explained Artemis.

    Butler brought his arms up in a fighting stance and braced himself. The young man in front of him inhaled and twisted his cap''s bill to the left.

    Artemis continued. "He says it''s the perfect defensive training. And I see his point."

    Without warning, Butler threw himself to the right, spun on his heels, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. His neatly-tailored suit was riddled with fist-shaped dents. Butler grunted under the force of each impact.

    "How clever," mused Satsuki. "Using a Stand to train against. It''s an opponent he can neither see, nor hit. It''s the ultimate sparring partner."

    "Exactly. He''s gotten pretty good at blocking it. But watch his counter."

    Butler stepped backward against the assault, slowly lowering an arm. Suddenly, his huge hand snapped forward and grabbed something in midair.

    Satsuki lifted a heavy eyebrow. "So he''s figured out a way to touch the Stand? How is that possible?"

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    "A Stand is a being created by the user''s spirit. The only things that can interact with Stands are other Stands¡­ or another form of spirit," said Artemis with a sly grin. "We learned from our inside pony that ki attacks can disable Stands, so there had to be some sort of a connection. Now, Butler isn''t exactly a ki-channeling master¡­ but if he focuses, he can create a small disk of ki in his palm."

    "Enough to make contact with a Stand. Fascinating."

    Butler flung whatever he had grabbed over his shoulder and to the ground, causing Jotaro jolt in place. "Nice job," the man winced.

    "I try," smiled Butler.

    Jotaro shrugged, placing his hands back in his pockets. "That''s all I can do for today. I''ve got business elsewhere. Team-building seminar, or something."

    "Make sure you pay attention, Mr. Kujo. We have those seminars for a reason," chuckled Artemis.

    "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Jotaro pulled his cap back down and walked out the sparring ring''s door with a scowl.

    "Typical," grunted Butler.

    "Butler, why don''t you head back to my quarters? I''ll meet you there momentarily."

    "But, Artemis-" gasped the huge servant.

    "Don''t worry about me. I won''t be in any danger," he smirked, tapping the AEGIS on his wrist.

    The bodyguard''s face betrayed his concern is spite of his charge''s words. "I-If you insist."

    The man left, and only Artemis and Satsuki remained.

    "Well, get on with it," he sighed. "I know you have better things to do than watch my butler practice. What do you want?"

    Satsuki rose to her feet and placed her hand on the plastic wall, depressing a cleverly-hidden panel. The transparent plastic that surrounded them began to cloud, shifting from clear to black in seconds. The overhead lights in the chamber kept things visible.

    "I don''t remember designing that feature," said Artemis, startled.

    Satsuki''s face was sterner than before. "I want answers."

    She ran a hand over her athletic shorts and a switchblade appeared in her hand. She tapped a button on the tiny weapon, causing the knife to open with a cruel click.

    "Now, Miss Kiryuin, there''s no need to brandish-"

    He was silenced by a hand around his neck.

    "How far are you willing to go, Fowl? Do you have any idea what you''ve done?" hissed the Chief of Regulations.

    "I¡­ Butler¡­" he strained.

    "It''s no use. He can''t hear you. And even if he could, he won''t be able to get here in time. I''ve got a field disruptor built into my AEGIS that inhibits the function of other AEGISes nearby. It''s useful for hunting down suspects¡­ or cornering slime like you." She tightened her grip with the last few words.

    "What¡­ do¡­?"

    "I told you already. I want answers, Fowl." She brought the switchblade to the thrashing young man''s hazel eye, tapping the flat of the knife against his feverishly-shut lid. "I want to know why you brought her here."

    Satsuki relaxed her grip so Artemis could respond.

    "We needed her for¡­ the Life Fiber program," he wheezed.

    "No, you wanted her for the Life Fiber program. You didn''t have to do-"

    "It was to maximize efficiency!"

    Satsuki''s grip tightened again. "How much danger are you willing to put everyone in, in order to maximize efficiency?" She turned the switchblade in her hands, so the tip hung just over his pupil. "We both know what this is all about. You don''t care about anyone else on this ship or in the Nexus. You want your little elf back and you don''t care who gets hurt in the process. I am here to deliver a warning, Fowl, so listen close."

    Artemis made a feeble motion that could be interpreted as nodding. Satsuki smiled, and drove the knife down. The young man cried out. There was a short, sharp tear as the switchblade sliced through the outer layers of his designer suit.

    Satsuki released her grip and took a few steps back.

    "The next time you make a decision like this, I will cut more than your suit, Fowl."

    She tapped a button on the knife which clicked closed. Artemis smiled.

    "You must think you are very clever, Miss Kiryuin, but threatening me like that was a bad idea. I''ve got a contact-lens camera that sends a live feed to a closed-circuit television in my room. Butler has no doubt seen it and is heading this way to apprehend you, along with your Regulations officers."

    "No. Butler will not return, because I sabotaged that feed during our last team-building seminar."

    "That was a confession, Miss Kiryuin. A confession that my dermal audio patch recorded."

    "The one around your neck, Fowl?" said Satsuki, holding up a translucent, bandage-shaped device with a few wires dangling from it. She crumpled it in her hand, tossed it to the floor, and ground it underneath her track shoe''s heel. "You will have some difficulty uploading it."

    She pressed the transparency button and swung open the door, a smile spreading across her face. She spoke, far louder than she needed to for Artemis to hear.

    "Nice try, Fowl. But no matter how dark you make that room, I am not going to kiss you."

    Artemis collapsed to his knees, slack-jawed, as the Chief of Regulations teleported away.

    Unbelievable. I''ve been beaten at my own game.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-4 The Kings League Hits the Road

    "So you really had it out for those Joestars, huh?"

    Dio stopped cramming knives into his pockets and looked down at the girl.

    "Yes," he grunted, his irritation having steadily increased over the past few days of her constant pestering.

    "And no matter what you did, they would always stop you?" Filia continued.

    "Yes," he growled.

    "Even when you weren''t doing anything to them?"

    "Not actively, no- don''t you have something better to do? Like, get ready?"

    "Oh, I am ready, Lord Dio," she said softly. "As long as I''ve got Samson, I''ll be okay!"

    "That''s wonderful," he groaned.

    The prep room was not a happy place. There was a great deal of pressure on them to not lose, and yet every time, something came along and beat them. First the elf and the girl and the unicorn and their team; now this new one that came out of the blue and could snag so many objectives at once- it was just impossible, despite the Master''s best efforts to give them an edge. The tension hovered over them like a weighted blanket. But not the nice, therapeutic kind that helps kids go to bed; no, it was the sort that made it annoying to get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The warriors were groggy and in a foul mood. Except Janice.

    "Ah-ha-ha! Ah-hahahahaha!" she cackled, gazing at her hands.

    "What do you find funny, insect woman?" grumbled Nightmare.

    "Finally¡­ thanks to that dashing Fred¡­ my power is entirely under my control! I can feel it now, the wasp and I are one and the same!" Ha-ha!"

    "Well, good for you!" snarled the vampire.

    "Lord Dio, may I ask you to remain calm?" stated Mr. Everdeen sternly.

    "Are you giving me orders?"

    "Yes," frowned the man. "Because if I don''t, we''re all going to kill each other before anyone else gets the chance!"

    "Too late!" Dio roared, snagging the man by the neck. He threw him toward the wall with great force, which did nothing to Mr. Everdeen because it decided to open at that exact moment. Katniss'' father tumbled onto a hard-packed dirt embankment, rolled up it a ways, and slid back down into the ditch before standing up.

    "You idiot," he grunted, dusting himself off. "You could''ve broken my bow! Where would your tracker be, then?"

    "Dead! Like I intended!" shrieked Dio, rushing out of the prep room. He was about to call for his Stand when an interloper suddenly materialized in between him and his target.

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    "Hello!" said the man in the orange gi, floating in midair.

    "Ureeey!" yelped the vampire, grabbing a handful of knives to hurl at the newcomer. The man floated in place, and snatched every knife out of the air before dropping them to the ground.

    "Whoa, easy there," he laughed. "I''m not here to fight you."

    Mr. Everdeen frowned. "Then¡­ why are you here?"

    The man placed his hands on his hips and laughed. "Because I''m looking for somebody that I do want to fight!"

    Silence settled over the group briefly.

    "Well, who is it?" snapped Starling, irritated by the pause.

    "I''m looking for a girl with half of a pair of giant scissors."

    "Matoi," spat Dio. "No. We haven''t seen her. Why would we? We only just started the round!"

    "Okay," smiled Goku. "Do you know where I could find her?"

    "Probably with an elf or a small purple horse. She betrayed us for them!" With one sentence, Dio expressed more concern for Matoi than he probably ever had.

    Betrayed is a strong word, thought Mr. Everdeen. Escaped works better.

    "Really sorry to hear that," said the ever-jovial Goku. "But thanks for the tip anyway!"

    With that, he placed two fingers to his forehead and disappeared.

    "That was strange," growled Nightmare.

    "That it was," confirmed Dio. "But it might just be a stroke of luck."

    The Predator played back a voice recording of Filia asking "How?"

    "How? Simple. If that guy runs into Team Mockingjay, he''ll ruin them."

    Mr. Everdeen wiggled his quiver back into place with a scowl. "And how are you so certain of that?"

    Dio returned the man''s glare with a coy smile. "Because that man might be the single most powerful fighter in the Grand Combat."

    A dusty-looking tractor-trailer cab thundered past behind Mr. Everdeen, traveling parallel to the embankment.

    "What was that monstrosity?!" cried Nightmare.

    "A truck, you dolt," hissed Janice.

    Mr. Everdeen turned around and scrambled up the embankment, swinging himself over the top.

    "Well, I''ll be," he muttered, looking off into the distance.

    The other warriors quickly followed his lead, and found themselves on a weather-worn, dusty highway. Squatting on the horizon under a wavy mirage blanket were a few buildings.

    "That''s a town, then," grunted Dio. "Let''s get moving."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-5 A Dangerous Proposition

    Katniss slung her bow over her shoulder and slipped her hands into the pockets of her jacket. They had started together again, which Katniss had found odd, since they were no longer trying to wring the answers out of Twilight as he wanted. She was less concerned with that than the fact that she had not been given her Mockingjay armor again, as it really did help last time. She dismissed the trivial complaint- or so it felt at the time- with a shake of her head as she read the sign aloud.

    "You are now entering Northville."

    Holly snickered. "They''re as bad at coming up with names as you."

    "It''s probably all for the better," said Twilight. "If the towns are named after the cardinal directions, navigating between them should be pretty easy. If you''re at Northville and want to go to Southville, you head due south, and so on."

    "It''s totally going to be called Southville," smiled Ryuko. "I can bet money on that."

    "I was not aware that any of us were in possession of currency," Adam breathed, surprised.

    "That''d be silly," giggled Ruby. "Do any of us look like we''re being controlled by money demons?"

    Holly looked back at the rest of the team, who were taking a moment to stretch as the paused on their journey down the road toward Northville. There were seven frowning faces under the sunbeams and one towering robot, but what they had in numbers they made up for in quirkiness.

    But it''s a good quirky, right? My clone''s got her facts wrong. There''s more of us and we''re stronger than them. I''m sure of it.

    She did, however, take the time to direct a skeptical glare at the Huntress.

    "Ruby, when you were young, did you ever trip and fall on your head?"

    "Of course!"

    "Really hard?"

    "You bet!"

    "I thought so."

    Holly groaned audibly.

    "All right, team. We''re nearly there. We don''t really know what to expect, but chances are this won''t be a walk in the park. Keep your wits about you and don''t hesitate to inform your teammates if you thing something''s going on. Got it?"

    A collection of nods responded.

    "Good. Let''s rob a bank or seven."

    They continued their advance down the road, toward the squat buildings ahead. The sun hovered oppressively above them, baking the asphalt and the hard, dry earth that extended out endlessly on either side of the dusty road. Only sparsely-located scrub vegetation broke up the field of bleached-white dirt. Mountains rose from even further in the distance, circling the horizon as a thin, blue silhouette.

    "Reminds me of home," whispered Simon.

    "I wish I had gotten to live on the surface," commented Kamina from below in the Gurren. "You know- really live. Settle down and stuff."

    "I can''t imagine you settling down, bro. It just doesn''t sound like you."

    "Believe me, Simon¡­ I wouldn''t have done it for just anybody. But¡­ I had somebody in mind."

    "Now that doesn''t surprise-"

    "HALTE!"

    Simon instinctively yanked back on the controls, stopping Gurren Lagann''s foot in mid-step, just above Adam''s head.

    "Hey, what are you doing under there, big guy?" asked Kamina.

    "I am standing at gunpoint," said the huge man from behind the barrel of an assault rifle.

    Kamina and Simon looked down, and saw that their team had not only been surrounded by a ring of armed men, but each member had an assailant with another weapon aimed squarely at them.

    "Alucard," hissed Twilight from between gritted teeth, "Why didn''t you warn us about them before they ambushed us?"

    The vampire pulled his lips back in a fanged smirk, causing the man pointing a shotgun at his face to take a small step back.

    "You didn''t ask me to."

    "Pretty sure I did," growled Holly.

    "I only take orders from Miss Sparkle."

    "Shut up, all of you," barked a man stepping into the center of the circle. He was of medium height, and middle age, and he wore a brown vest and a short, sharp hat. He brandished an ornately-carved revolver, which he briefly swept over every member of the team before lowering it. He looked up at the towering frame of Gurren Lagann. "Whoever''s drivin'' that thing, if you make a move every one of your friends here is gonna get a bullet between the eyes, so don''t do nothin''."

    "We won''t," replied Simon nervously.

    Holly looked up at the badge the man wore on his chest.

    "So, you''re the Sheriff, huh? I''m in law enforcement myself-"

    "Shut up, freak. I don''t know where the hell you enforce the law but it don''t mean a damn thing here."

    "Hey," she chuckled feebly, staring at the automatic pistol sitting just in front of her nose. "You''re the boss."

    "Damn right I am. I''m Northville''s Sheriff and I''ve had it about up to here with all of this nonsense."

    "If we may ask," Said Twilight quietly, "What nonsense?"

    "Another buncha freaks, like yourselves, showed up in town square about an hour and a half ago. They did some¡­ freaky things to the people in town, and they told me that Northville was their territory now. They also said to be expecting more of y''all coming up the road, and that I should bring them back to their¡­ base of operations."

    Holly tried out her best Western accent.

    "So you gathered up the posse and showed up to head us off at the pass?"

    "You mockin'' me, freak?"

    "She''s got an abrasive sense of humor, sir," said Katniss.

    "Well, I don''t like it. And yeah, I gathered up a posse. Y''all are gonna follow me into town if you have an aversion to hot lead."

    "Fair enough," muttered the elf. "Besides, we were heading toward town anyway."

    The Sheriff gave a signal to his posse, who loosened their circle to surround the group from behind. Slowly and surely, Team Mockingjay resumed their march toward Northville, at gunpoint.

    "Unbelievable," whispered the unicorn. "Fully-fledged arenas, with intelligent inhabitants¡­ he''s much stronger than he was before."

    "Yeah, I had the feeling these guys weren''t an ordinary team," replied Holly.

    Katniss nodded. "I just wonder who''s waiting for us in town."

    "I''ve got a couple guesses," frowned the elf.

    "If you freaks keep talkin'', we''ll start shootin''," the Sheriff snarled.

    "Okay, okay!" conceded Holly.

    After another fifteen minutes of walking, they turned off of the paved road and onto a dirt one that led between the modest collection of structures that composed Northville- A saloon, an inn, a city hall, a general store, and five or six houses. Not a soul walked the streets, but a few shutters were pulled shut hastily as they passed. The Sheriff''s posse directed them toward the city hall with the barrels of their weapons. Kamina and Simon dismounted from Gurren Lagann and joined the rest of their team at gunpoint, hands raised. The Sheriff himself moved ahead to the door of the two-story structure, climbing up the short steps and passing a window replaced by heavy iron bars. He turned to address Team Mockingjay.

    "All right. They''ve set up shop in here, so¡­ from here on out, you''re theirs."

    "I understand. Sheriff, I noticed that you didn''t take our weapons."

    The man furrowed his brow. "Welp¡­ frankly I was hoping that you might get rid of them."

    "I don''t think this will be that easy," said Twilight with gentle dissuasion. "But thank you."

    The man removed a handkerchief and wiped it across his forehead, swinging the door open. Team Mockingjay filed inside. The town hall was about what one would imagine, an old, hard-wood floored building with a foyer branching off into more specialized rooms, like the small jail and a hall of records. A set of steps led to the second floor. At the bottom of the steps sat what must have once been a secretary, his head cradled in his hands, weeping. Ink ran down the front of his once-white shirt.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    "So small! So small!" he cried. "We''re all so small!"

    "Sir, are you all right?" asked Katniss.

    Ryuko raised an eyebrow. "On what planet does that look like ''all right''?"

    Holly knelt down to below his eye level- which did not take much- and spoke softly.

    "Hey, there, Mister. We''re trying to find-"

    "MAYOR''S OFFICE!" he yelped, drew a fountain pen from his pocket, and thrust it towards his left eye. Holly''s quick hand intercepted the nib and removed it, resulting in him simply poking his eye instead of gouging it out. He threw himself onto the floor, curled into a ball, and began his "so small" chant again.

    "What happened to him?" asked Mikasa.

    "Not what," intoned the unicorn. "Who."

    They marched up the steps to the second floor and located the doorway labeled Mayor''s Office. Holly sheepishly knocked, and the door was opened by the man Poppy had earlier identified as Snake.

    "Oh. Good," he grumbled. "The Boss was expecting you."

    "Does somebody hear that?" asked Alucard.

    "What?" asked Mikasa. "The sound of squeaking bedsprings?"

    "No, not that. That''s probably Morrigan. I was referring to the phone."

    Katniss turned to the vampire. "What pho-"

    "Because I called it."

    "Of course you did."

    "You guys can come in, you know," huffed Snake, exhaling a thin stream of smoke. He opened the door further and the warriors walked inside. The room was well-furnished, with two leather sofas, a massive desk, four office chairs surrounding the desk, and several filing cabinets. Two small, elfish feet graced the desk''s top in a worldly recline.

    "Take a seat," Poppy said, nearly smiling.

    "You know, with that whole beating-us-soon speech I really thought our next meeting would be on more violent terms," smirked the elf.

    "I already know my warriors can outclass yours. No, I''m going to have a little fun with you."

    Holly, Katniss, and Twilight decided to accept the comparatively pleasant situation and sat at the office chairs around the desk. Alucard took the seat closest to his charge. Ryuko and Mikasa snagged one of the sofas, while Simon and Kamina grabbed the other. Adam sat on the floor, folding his legs, and Ruby plopped down next to him.

    "What happened to the guy down there?" asked Katniss suddenly.

    "I''m surprised you still have an ounce of compassion in that soul of yours, Everdeen," oiled Poppy. "I thought emotions like that tend to disappear after one time in the Games."

    Katniss froze in place, her mouth contorting into something between slack-jawed and a grimace.

    "You¡­ you take that back!"

    Poppy ignored Katniss'' request, but continued. "To answer your question, mortal, he and several other of the Master''s pitiful attempts at creating life this round are simply not strong-willed enough to comprehend me, even in this physical body. Many of this town''s residents have completely lost their minds. That puts me in quite the bit of a predicament, you see."

    "No," replied Holly. "I don''t."

    "Maybe if you mortals could think about something other than self-preservation and copulation, you would figure it out. If I move from town to town, I''d leave a trail of insanity in my wake. Even insects like yourselves would eventually realize that they could follow that trail to my location."

    Twilight tilted her head. "So you''re afraid of getting beaten?"

    "No. That is something far beyond the power of any warrior here. But my teammates- as skilled as they are- would not appreciate being constantly attacked by the fighters clever enough to deduce my position. Therefore, I am opting to put them in the most advantageous situation possible- we shall remain here, defending, while your team acquires the coins for us."

    "What?!" fumed Holly. "Why would we ever agree to something like that?"

    "Because if you don''t, you''ll have to fight us. And me. And if you recall our last encounter, I believe you are aware that I am leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else here, even your little vampire god."

    "She has a point," said Alucard.

    "No, she doesn''t," growled Holly, a look of sly determination spreading across her face. She rose from her seat and slammed a fist onto the desk''s surface. "Because Team Mockingjay is stronger than you guys. I''m certain of it."

    "How?" asked Poppy, looking genuinely stunned. "How do you possibly think you could stand a chance?"

    "Because, we''re fighting together. Not because we all want to win. We''re fighting because we all want to help each other!"

    "Fighting together? In the last round you fought as a team, you failed miserably because you could not fight together. Now you claim that it is your strength? I grow weary of your foolishness."

    "Well I grow weary of your FACE!" shouted Ruby from the floor.

    "Ruby, her face is my face," snapped Holly.

    "Oh. Well¡­ then¡­ I¡­ don''t grow weary of it."

    "Tell you what, elf," mused Poppy. "I am really in the mood to watch you fail again, so I''ll give you two chances to screw up. If you want to prove that you''re stronger than me, you can¡­ after you''ve collected the coins. If you can, through some miracle, beat my team, I''ll let you have them all, and win this round. But I seriously doubt that you''ll be able to accomplish that."

    "Twilight, you''re the brains here," whispered the elf to her unicorn friend. "What do we do?"

    "If we don''t take her offer, we walk out that door and get shot. Sure, Alucard and Ryuko might live but the rest of us will be out of commission. And I don''t think Alucard would bother completing the objective without someone holding his hand-"

    "She also has a point," noted Alucard.

    "And poor Ryuko would eventually get herself overwhelmed-"

    "LIKE HELL I WOULD!"

    "So I think our best option¡­ is to accept her offer."

    "Okay, then. I''ll go with what my consultant says," groaned Holly. "We accept your offer."

    Poppy gave them an unnerving smile, and pulled out one of the desk''s drawers. A small, ornate bottle of amber liquid was produced, and was poured into an equally small, ornate glass.

    "A toast, then," the creature beamed, "To our cooperation."

    "You know, generally a toast involves multiple people with drinks," Holly pointed out.

    "I am certain that I am the only person in the room," said Poppy, raising her other hand and snapping. As soon as the sound rang out, Team Mockingjay disappeared. Poppy tilted the glass back and took a sip, reeling in her seat. Snake rushed to her side.

    "Boss, are you all right?"

    "I am fine," Poppy hissed. "But I cannot comprehend why mortals would actively try and poison themselves with such beverages!"

    Snake took a step back, removing the glass from Poppy''s hand.

    "Alcohol numbs you up," he grunted. "Sometimes, people don''t want to feel anymore."

    "Repulsive," grunted the elf-looking thing.

    No. It''s fascinating. Why is it fascinating?

    "Then I hope you don''t mind if I finish your scotch," smirked Snake. Poppy nodded him on, reclining back in her seat, but before Snake could take a sip the door to the office burst from its hinges as an excited-looking succubus exploded into the room.

    "Did somebody say scotch?"

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-6 Transcendent Technomorphs

    Honey sprinted across the sandy dirt toward the flare that hung ahead of her. It was difficult to make out against the bright, sunlit sky, but it was there. A flickering rhombus with little tails off to the side. She supposed it looked a bit like a Masonic symbol, but the resemblance was probably coincidental. She would arrive soon at her current pace, which was causing a few problems- namely, the sand in the air really stung as she ran through it. Her current outfit- a short, orange-and-white sun dress- did little to impede the biting granules.

    I could make a wrap of some sort. Or I could wait on that. I''m almost there. Yeah, I''ll definitely make a wrap after I get there.

    She leapt over a short hill and found several figures ahead of her. Honey skidded to a halt in their midst. Interestingly, they all looked quite human. Except one.

    "You must be Miss Kisaragi, yesss," said the tall purple robot wearing scattered pieces of Tyrannosaurus Rex. Honey recognized him instantly- he had been in the earlier rounds. He was not who she was expecting.

    "Nice to see you again, Honey!" giggled Tobio nervously.

    She returned his smile, while quickly scanning the others. "Nice to see you, too, Tobio."

    The other team members were varied: A tall, imposingly built man with dark sunglasses and a black leather jacket, armed with a scoped pistol; a woman in a trenchcoat carrying an assault rifle; a boy with a bright red jacket and gaudy-looking goggles, and the diminutive Tobio.

    Not the oddest crowd I''ve seen... But I''m not sure what to make of them yet.

    "Miss Kisaragi, I am delighted that you could join us," said the large robot. "This marks the founding of a glorious new team, with a clear vision and philosophy."

    Honey tilted her head skeptically. "And that would be¡­?"

    The robot made an offended-sounding snort, and continued. "Each one of you dons the appearance of a human, but the reality is that you are much more. Each one of you embraces technology to exceed the limits of the human body. In that sense, you are beings that have transcended beyond mere machines- you are perfect humans, and you are the key to humanity''s future. Together, we are the Transcendent Technomorphs."

    "Ay! Yo intiendo!" exclaimed the boy in the red jacket. "The symbol is two ''T''s leaning into each other!"

    "Correct, Mr. Salazar," said the large robot.

    "Oh," muttered Honey. "I thought it was a Masonic symbol."

    The large robot frowned down at her.

    "You were wrong."

    Honey smiled. The moment had come.

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Yes, I was wrong. But I''m not wrong to point out that you are in fact Megatron, former leader of a questionable team of failures!"

    The robot smiled. "Kusanagi, show her the photograph."

    The woman in the trenchcoat pulled something out of one of her many pockets and handed it to Honey without a word. It was indeed a photograph, which showed two robots similar in appearance to the one before her. The only difference between the two was a slight variation in color.

    "You see," the robot explained, "Megatron and I share a chassis style, so I am confused for him often. I am in reality a humble mech by the name of Joe, and I wish nothing but peace and happiness on those around me."

    Honey looked at the photograph and back up at the Cybertronian.

    Well¡­ they are different colors. Megatron''s a light purple and Joe here is pretty clearly a dark pink. But I''m certain there''s a more sinister reason for their similarity.

    "Now that we have worked past that misunderstanding, it is time for me to explain your roles. Honey, you will provide close-range combat support for-"

    "Just wait one second!" shouted Honey, throwing an index finger towards Joe. "You claim that you''re not Megatron¡­ that you love everyone around you. And Megatron said that he despised organics."

    "My patience wears thin with this nonsense, Kisaragi."

    Honey grinned up at him smugly. "I just find it highly suspicious, then¡­ that you''re assembling a team exclusively composed of non-organics!"

    "Miss Kisaragi! Are you trying to undermine my authority, and by extension, your team?"

    "One, I didn''t say I was going to join. Two, I''ve got a thing against being lied to, especially by a jerk like you. So yeah, I am trying to undermine your authority. I''m out of here."

    Honey turned and began to walk away, satisfied that she had done her part for love and truth. That is, until the bullet passed within inches of her ear. She slowly, passively turned back to find the big man''s pistol aimed at her, the barrel still smoking.

    "Miss Kisaragi, I''m afraid we can''t simply let you go. I can''t have you spreading lies about this team," said Joe with an evil grin. "And I also think that you will change your mind about us after I demonstrate to you the power of the Transcendent Technomorphs."

    "Orders?" asked the man with the pistol, keeping his eyes on Honey- or at least that''s what Honey assumed was going on behind the sunglasses.

    "Terminate her," Joe growled. "With extreme prejudice."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-7 Routine Inspection

    "Oh! I wasn''t expecting a visit," said the bearded man behind the door.

    "Neither were we," grumbled Nonon.

    "Shut up, Jakuzure," hissed Inumuta.

    Hermione brushed her colleagues aside and stepped up to the door, shaking the man''s hand.

    "We''re with Regulations, and we''re here for an inspection. It won''t take long, I promise."

    "Then, you can come in, I suppose," said Mr. Ikari, opening the door further. The quintet entered a dark room lit by the dim orange glow of the wrap-around tanks in the walls. Floating in each one were uncountable Rei clones, their pale bodies reflecting the orange light, their red eyes staring out at them pathetically.

    "Whoa, that''s creepy," whispered Sanageyama.

    "Say what you may about the process, but without Rei the ship would be dead in the water, as it were." Gendo''s voice betrayed only the slightest hint of offense.

    "Well, I think it''s fascinating," said Hermione with genuine-sounding sincerity. "How does it work?"

    The man looked stunned. "You¡­ really want to know?"

    "Certainly. Knowledge is power, and all that."

    Gendo used a gloved hand to push his glasses up by the bridge. "I''d be happy to show you."

    He led them to a door that opened as he stepped in front of it, leading into another room. Unlike the first, it was very well-lit, revealing row after row of hospital beds and fold-out nightstands. On a few of the beds lay Rei clones, either reading heavy-looking books, sleeping, or staring aimlessly at the ceiling. In the center of the room stood a very concerning-looking black obelisk, with an unusual emblem seemingly carved out of the material in its center. The emblem immediately brought to mind a skull, but it was like no skull Hermione had ever seen. It was almost completely round at the top, where the cranium might be, and it extended downwards in a long, thin, triangular beak. Its only other feature were two perfectly circular, perfectly blank eye sockets. It was not a pleasant-looking thing, and Hermione was quite certain it would be visiting her in a wide variety of disturbing dreams very soon. Gendo did not seem as disturbed by the device, as evidenced by him picking a spot on the floor to stand and address them immediately adjacent to it.

    "Miss Ayanami may seem like a fairly normal girl on the exterior-"

    Nonon suppressed a giggle. Gendo suppressed a snarl. He then continued.

    "But she is in reality much more than that. She is a vessel for the soul of Lilith, the Second Angel. Under NERV, only one Rei was ever active at a time. But with the resources here, Number Two and I came up with a brilliant solution. Lilith, as an Angel, was an impossibly powerful being. In fact, it was powerful enough that its very existence had the ability to permeate an infinite number of dimensions."

    Hermione''s eyes widened.

    "But that''d be on par with-"

    "A Great Old One? That is correct. Rei and I were able to work that omnipresence to our advantage by using this," he placed a hand on the terrifying structure. "The Angel Drive."

    "I''ve done just a little reading on the Angels," said Hermione, with a nervous grin. "So forgive me for assuming- that''s an S2 engine?"

    "It doesn''t look like any sort of engine I''ve ever seen," observed Hoka.

    "It is," replied Gendo to Hermione. "And that''s because it''s not quite an engine," he explained to Inumuta. "The S2 engine is actually an organ possessed by most Angels. It is the source of their phenomenal power. In the Angel Drive, it runs a complex network of inter-dimensional exchanges."

    Hermione''s old eyes lit up with an enthusiasm they had not seen in a long time. "So using the power of the S2 engine, you''ve been able to pull souls of Lilith out of alternate dimensions to populate the vessels of multiple active Rei clones. Amazing!"

    "I''m surprised you were able to deduce that, Mrs. Granger," said Gendo behind raised eyebrows. "You really are a prodigy."

    "Oh, I''m certain I''m on the dumber side of the founders," blushed Hermione. "I''m as smart as I am because I''ve put time and effort into it. Guys like Artemis or Dexter¡­ they''re on another level."

    Gendo waved her response off with his hand. "You underestimate yourself, Mrs. Granger. And I''m certain that your maturity gives you a few advantages over them as well."

    "Every once in a while I think that some of the decisions are¡­" Hermione paused, and shook her head. "We''re getting off-topic. Very off-topic. We''re here for an inspection."

    "Of course," sighed Gendo. The investigators spread out through the room, pretending to casually observe the room as a disgruntled inspector might, while carefully processing the details as a disgruntled private eye might. It turned out that being a gumshoe was harder than it sounded on paper. The room seemed to be fulfilling its purpose normally. There were no signs of tampering or anything out of the ordinary. Even if something was awry, none of the Reis would be of any use, as talking to them was about as productive as asking vending machines for refunds.

    Perhaps Gendo isn''t up to anything at all. Perhaps this is one of Artemis'' schemes. Maybe Gendo got on his bad side, and we''re his show of force. Or perhaps he wants a normal inspection done properly and used the investigation as a ruse to heighten our perceptiveness. Or maybe-

    "WHAT IS THIS?" roared Gamagori, causing the sleeping Reis to bolt upright in surprise. Gamagori stood in front of a sliding door that was certainly not the one they had entered through.

    "That''s the experimental wing," said Gendo, sounding a little concerned. "You shouldn''t go in there." After saying that, he furled his lips in an awkward manner.

    "Shouldn''t go in there?" Hermione repeated severely. "Our job is to inspect your entire operation. Why shouldn''t we go in there?"

    "I¡­ um¡­ I mean," he stammered. "It''s just¡­ if you thought the holding room was creepy, you will like that less."

    "Nobody said we liked this job," snapped Nonon. "You''re taking us in there."

    "O-of course," smiled the man weakly. He walked over to the door and it opened for him.

    He must have some sort of receiver on him, Hermione noted. I wonder if there are other doors that can only be unlocked when he''s around.

    Gendo led the group into the room, which was as well-lit as the one they had been in before. Hermione decided that she would rather it had been a bit darker. Individual tanks lined the walls, each one holding a single Rei. These, however, were no clones. The alterations from Rei to Rei were sometimes as simple as a different eye color, and sometimes as horrifying as a few extra appendages. One of the Reis bore the skull-like emblem from the Angel Drive for a face.

    "Nonon, I blame you for any nightmares I''m having tonight," quipped Inumuta.

    "Jeez¡­ it''s like a freakshow in here," Sanageyama muttered.

    Hermione turned to an increasingly-nervous-looking Gendo.

    "Mr. Ikari, how much of this is... on-the-books?"

    "All of it, I assure you," he replied, wiping the back of his glove across his forehead. "Research and Development sends me ideas for¡­ prototypes. They''re always tinkering¡­ they always want to see if they can do something better."

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "And you just plug the numbers in and see what happens¡­" whispered Hermione, slowly being consumed by the horrific sights. Her eyes were drawn across the room against her will, encountering hideous abominations that would in no universe be called human without dishonesty. As she moved from one Rei to the next, she felt her stomach churn and force something upward. Carefully-timed breaths held it down temporarily, but could not keep it there for long. She was about to wretch when she arrived at a tube that was different from all of the others. It seemed to have a bedsheet drawn over it.

    Hermione swallowed hard. "Shouldn''t a lot more of these have sheets over them?"

    "Listen, you''re not feeling well," said Gendo, rushing to her side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, but the sudden movement was too much for the witch to handle. She pulled herself away and heaved the contents of her breakfast onto the floor. She was about to wipe her mouth off when another liquid splattered on the floor caught her eye.

    "Oh my goodness," cried Gendo. "I''m sorry, Mrs. Granger. Really, I am. I''ll clean that up right away."

    Hermione picked herself up off the floor and made a brief attempt to pull herself back together.

    "Yes¡­ thank you," she mumbled, pulling a sleeve across her mouth before returning to her previous demeanor. "So why does this one have a sheet over it?"

    "It''s¡­ being serviced."

    "Well, I think we ought to inspect the repairs."

    Hermione snagged the edge of the sheet and pulled it off. The Elite Four rushed to her side.

    "It''s empty," noted Sanageyama, stating the obvious.

    It was indeed empty. The tank was stark white compared to the other ones'' gentle orange glow, though a few small rivulets of LCL dripped down the glass.

    "It''s empty because it''s being serviced," grunted Gendo.

    "What was wrong with it?" Hoka asked.

    "Current distributor," replied the man.

    Nonon frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

    "There''s nothing here, Curly. Can we get going?"

    Hermione frowned at the girl, then nodded. "I think we''ve seen all there is to see," she sighed. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Ikari."

    The man nodded, and the five Regulations officers made their way out of his offices as quickly as they could. Hermione took a gulp of air as she stepped back into the ship''s corridor and began to walk towards Research and Development''s facilities.

    "That was a waste," grumbled Nonon.

    Hoka shook his head. "I learned about how the Reis were made. I wouldn''t say it was a total waste."

    "I, IRA GAMAGORI, FOUND THE WHOLE THING UNPLEASANT!"

    "Never before have I wanted to get out of a room filled with naked chicks that badly," muttered Sanageyama.

    "Ikari was clearly hiding something. I wouldn''t call that a waste," said Hermione.

    Nonon shrugged. "But how are we supposed to find out what he was hiding? He''s got a whole room full of suspicious stuff."

    "And clearly some of it was more suspicious than others," the witch noted. "Let''s look at the facts."

    "Oh boy," cheered Sanageyama unenthusiastically.

    "Gendo claims that all of the experimental projects have been authorized. One tank is empty and covered by a sheet."

    "He said it was broken," scowled Nonon. "So what''s wrong with that?"

    "For starters, why would you hang a sheet over the tank if it''s broken?"

    "If the glass was shattered, you wouldn''t want it to go over the floor¡­" whispered Sanageyama, realizing the problem as he spoke.

    Hermione lifted a finger. "But the glass wasn''t shattered, was it?"

    "Maybe the guy doesn''t like to look at problems," offered Nonon.

    "But that would imply that there actually was a problem to begin with," said Hoka, zipping his uniform up past his mouth.

    "HE SAID THE CURRENT DISTRIBUTOR WAS BROKEN," shouted Gamagori.

    "But there''s evidence to the contrary," replied Hermione. "Let''s think this through. What is the tank normally full of?"

    "That orange stuff," recalled Sanageyama. "LCL."

    "Exactly. LCL is orange."

    Nonon glared at her superior. "What are you trying to get at?"

    Hermione smiled. "When you run a current through LCL, it becomes clear in color and its viscosity is greatly reduced¡­ you can essentially breathe it like air."

    "Right," Nonon snapped back. "And that tank was broken."

    "So if it was working, what color should the LCL in it be?"

    "Clear."

    Hermione stopped, and her colleagues halted with her.

    "Now¡­ what color was the LCL in all of the other tanks?"

    Nonon''s eyes widened. "¡­Orange."

    Hoka unzipped his uniform back past his mouth. "Then we can assume that the normal operation of those tanks involves no current at all."

    Hermione nodded. "None of the other tanks were operating with charged LCL, which is only used in cases where a conscious subject must be immersed in LCL, in order for them to breathe. None of the Reis in the tanks were conscious, and were therefore kept suspended in the inactive LCL¡­ which means that the current distributor being broken is a lie."

    "So the sheet''s real purpose was to hide whatever was in that tank," gasped Sanageyama.

    "But what if it was empty?" asked Nonon.

    Hermione''s confident grin faded. "You are really dedicated to playing Devil''s Advocate, don''t you?"

    "Who said anything about playing?" replied the pink-haired girl smugly.

    "Oh, God, you''re serious."

    "We can''t make an assumption unless we''ve ruled out all of the possibilities," noted Hoka. "For once, Jakuzure''s contrary nature might be useful."

    "You keep on yapping, like one of those annoying little dogs," hissed Nonon. "The tank could have been empty beforehand. What if they just hadn''t put a Rei in it yet?"

    "There were drops of LCL on the inside of the tank," countered Hermione.

    Nonon already had a rebuttal. "He could have just filled the tank with LCL and no Rei. That would have left drops all the same."

    Hermione looked up at the ceiling and paced in a little circle. Nonon''s conclusion was logical¡­ but there was once piece of evidence that she didn''t have.

    "You didn''t puke on the floor," Hermione said aloud.

    "And that means I''m a step ahead of you, Curly," snarled Nonon venomously.

    "No, it means that you didn''t see what I did. There was LCL on the floor in front of that tank and trailing around the room. The tank wasn''t empty and it wasn''t just full of LCL. Something alive was in there and it left at some point."

    "And there we have it. Let''s go to Research and Development," chirped Nonon, starting off down the hallway. Hermione''s jaw dropped in astonishment.

    "Wait, you''re just going to walk away?!"

    "Well, what else are we supposed to do?" asked Inumuta. "We weren''t told to arrest Gendo, and even if we were bringing him in for questioning wouldn''t get us anywhere. We''ve found out all we can, and we''ll report it back to Lady Satsuki after we complete the second half of our mission."

    "Of course," groaned Hermione, taking point of the group as they continued walking. "Errand running."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-8 Danger Zone

    Darkness surrounded her on all sides, but it was not an empty darkness. It was filled with sound and air and it made her head spin. Holly realized very quickly that this was because her eyes were closed, and upon opening them she discovered that she was tumbling from an impossible height toward a dirty, brownish plain below.

    Oh, she thought. This could be worse.

    Holly twisted her abdomen and rolled until her feet were pointing toward the ground. She then extended her body to its full height, and activated her wings, bringing her descent to an abrupt halt.

    Okay, where''s everyone else? If they were all falling, I''d be able to see them below me now. They''re not there, so¡­ am I alone? Did she really just teleport me all the way up here? What good does that do her?

    She tapped a panel on her helmet and brought up her instrument panel HUD. The altimeter read 3 kilometers, which was a little closer to the thin-oxygen barrier than Holly would have liked. Thankfully, her helmet did include a high-altitude mode, which she promptly engaged. A compact oxygen mask slid out and locked itself in place over her head as the helmet''s airtight gel seals activated.

    Now it''s just a matter of getting to the ground and finding the rest of my team. The coins can come second.

    She curled downward into a nosedive, picking up speed before leveling out. She scanned the ground below her, finding the thin, twisting black line of a road to follow. However, she also found something she did not want to see- a faint, flickering glint just out of visual range. It was something she had been taught to fear in the Lower Elements Police Academy, what the old fly-boys called the "Shining Omen", and the fastest way to ruin a smoothly-running aboveground mission.

    Her helmet picked up the hailing frequency and immediately tuned itself to it, transmitting the sharp crackle straight into her ears.

    "This is Hikaru Ichijo, Skull One to unidentified bandit. Change heading to 099 and depart the airspace immediately, or you will be destroyed."

    Fighter jets. Why did it have to be fighter jets?

    Holly tapped a panel on her helmet to respond.

    "This is Holly Short of the Lower Elements Police. I''m just passing through, so why don''t you drop the professional act? There''s two ways this can go down, one where both of us walk away and one where only I do."

    "Unidentified bandit, I have achieved missile lock. If you do not comply within fifteen seconds, you will be destroyed."

    Holly could swear she heard Kenny Loggins playing faintly in the background of the pilot''s transmission. The glint jolted forward and began to rise to her level.

    He won''t back off. I''ll have to knock him out then. It''ll be difficult, but not impossible.

    The jet''s whining engines became audible as the bulky silhouette rose from above a layer of low-hanging clouds and finally moved into visual range. It was a big, heavy fighter, with swing-wings. Holly would have pegged it as a US Navy F-14, but its shape was a little different, the engines much larger, the tail-planes completely missing.

    It''s an unorthodox design, but that shouldn''t make fighting it much more difficult. I can do this.

    "Your fifteen seconds are up, unidentified bandit. You''ve just entered¡­ the DANGER ZOOOOONE!" the pilot sang, accompanying Mr. Loggins'' dramatic cries.

    The jet sped up, banking slightly as it pulled closer in behind Holly. The elf countered by increasing the speed, the wings roaring as they approached their maximum speed.

    He''ll have the speed advantage, but I''ll be far more maneuverable.

    "Beginning intercept," warned the pilot. A low, long bark signaled the firing of a Vulcan gun pod. Holly twisted her body, rolling to the left as the wall of red-hot tracer rounds tore through where she had been seconds ago.

    "D''Arvit, he''s using guns?!"

    Another bark and Holly pulled up, looking back to watch the jet echo her movements as its burst of cannon fire missed.

    Maybe I can force him into a stall.

    Holly arced further upwards, aiming for the sun which hung above the desert. Her wings pushed hard, carrying her up in a graceful pirouette. Her helmet''s built-in tracking system indicated that the jet was still following. The gun roared again and Holly managed another dodge, but only just.

    I can''t keep this up much longer. If even one of those rounds hits a wing, I''ll lose my maneuverability advantage. And if one hits me, I''ll get turned into a fine red mist.

    The tracking system indicated that the plane was beginning to lose speed, which meant it was stalling. Now was Holly''s chance. She somersaulted backward, now facing the stalling jet, and snapped her Neutrino out of its holster. She fired three shots, each meeting their mark on the aircraft as it lazily floated up towards her. Holly hovered a bit to her right as the jet closed in, her blaster having disabled its control mechanisms and sensors. The huge aircraft lazily floated up, the cockpit passing the hovering elf only inches away. Holly snagged one of the cockpit''s latches as it passed by, swinging herself over to straddle the glass.

    "Well, it''s been fun," she chuckled, "But I''m afraid this dogfight is over, Mr..?"

    "Commander Hikaru Ichijo," smiled the pilot behind the glass, flipping up his large helmet''s polarized sun-goggles. "And this is far from over."

    The nose of the jet, and Holly with it, suddenly rolled backwards. Holly pressed herself closer to the glass in an attempt to stay on.

    "What? I shot you three times!"

    "This is no ordinary air-superiority fighter," grinned Hikaru. "This is a VF-1S. It''s EMP-shielded!"

    "I don''t care what it is!" screamed Holly, pressing her Neutrino''s barrel against the glass. She flicked the setting dial to the cutting beam, but it was no use.

    Hikaru shook his head mockingly and twisted his yoke, sending the jet into an aileron roll. Holly was flung from her hold on the canopy, spinning dangerously through the open sky as the jet thundered off, banking to return like some great prowling shark.

    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    If my weapons have no effect, I''ll have to get him out of the cockpit¡­ but he can shake me off before I can get anywhere with the Neutrino. I could try mesmerizing him, but it''ll be difficult.

    The VF-1S completed its banking turn and began to charge toward Holly again, rolling as it approached.

    "HIGHWAY TO THE DANGER ZOOOONE!" screamed Hikaru through the hailing channel as a multitude of white, feathery trails erupted from his jet and arced toward the elf.

    "What kind of missiles are those?" cried Holly, turning and revving her wings back up to top speed. She heard the shrill cry of the approaching munitions and swept to the right as a short, gyrating cylinder passed her by.

    It''s some form of micro-missile¡­ probably not much better than a dumbfire rocket.

    Holly was proven wrong when the cylinder spun along its horizontal axis and dove back toward her.

    "D''Arvit," she cursed, dipping into a vertical dive. Her helmet informed her that fifty incoming objects had shifted course to intercept her. If the missiles were that good at tracking, the only solution was to outlast their fuel supply.

    If it''s a circus you want, it''s a circus you''ll get.

    Holly dove toward the ground at maximum speed. A missile pulled up on her left, and she rolled to her right again, turning her ventral surface toward the weapons in order to fire her own. A quick blast from her Neutrino caused the tiny missile to explode into a fiery orb, which took out a few more of its companions. The storm of missiles shifted again toward her current position, and she rolled left to swap places with them, firing again and removing a few more from her pursuers. Her helmet warned her that her altitude was about to drop below one hundred meters, so she somersaulted back up into a foot-down, head-up position and cut her speed in time to avoid becoming a splatter on the dry yellow dirt. She rotated backwards at full speed and watched the missiles at the head of the pack explode harmlessly against the ground, but a few stragglers managed to alter their course in time to follow. Holly rolled back into a prone position and blasted off ahead. The missiles began to draw near, and so Holly pulled up into another vertical climb. The missiles adjusted their flight and began to curve up towards her, only to find her waiting with her Neutrino drawn. She expertly put a blast into each approaching munition but one, which sailed up to her height, ran out of fuel, and fell away.

    "Oh, gods," gasped the elf. "I think that might have been the most intense flying I''ve ever done."

    She had little time to celebrate her accomplishment, as a sudden, concussive explosion sent her spinning. An unnatural dizziness settled over her as she felt something warm trickle out of her ears. The wings'' emergency stabilization system kicked in, yanking her back into an orderly flight pattern, but her world was still spinning.

    A sonic boom¡­ at this range¡­ D''Arvit.

    She caught a glimpse of the jet rocketing away over the desert, pulling up to circle back toward her. Holly looked around, desperate for something to use to her advantage. She was recovering from the boom, but another swarm of missiles would be the end of her right now, she was certain. Another advantage had to be found, and as luck would have it, there was one right behind her. A long, shallow plateau rose in a fairly humble manner, not really imposing or majestic. Holly didn''t care. It was enough.

    Hikaru rolled the VF-1S back in line with the horizon, having completed a perfectly-executed Immelmann. His target was dead ahead, hovering in front of a plateau.

    I guess she''s given up. Good for her. It makes things easy for me.

    Hikaru eased back on the throttle, bringing himself low over the sunbaked dirt. His gun pipper floated into his targeting reticle, and he lowered his finger to the Vulcan pod''s trigger.

    "I''ve got you now," he lilted, keeping beat with good old Kenny. He squeezed the trigger down and the elf juked to her left, leaving nothing but the plateau in front of him. Hikaru pulled back on the yoke and deployed his flaps, sailing upwards past the landform.

    The pilot roared with laughter through the hailing channel. "Ha-ha! You really thought I would fall for a last-second feint like that? You thought I''d go flying into the cliff? That''s the oldest trick in the book! Come on!"

    "I didn''t think you''d go flying into the cliff," said the elf who swung herself up from the bottom of the jet''s nosecone. "You''re just too smart for that."

    Hikaru knew he should probably roll and shake her off, but he found himself wanting to listen to her some more. She really did have a pretty voice.

    "I am pretty smart," he agreed.

    "No, I just had you pull up so you would slow down, so I could grab on to this fancy jet of yours."

    "It is pretty fancy."

    "Yes, it is. Actually, I''d like you to show me more about it. Can you show me the autopilot?"

    "Yeah, sure," he giggled.

    She''ll love this. The autopilot is amazing. I wonder what she''ll have me do next.

    He flicked a switch on his instrument panel, and the plane leveled out.

    "That''s really nice," Holly smiled, her voice loaded with the Mesmer. "Now could you step out here for a moment?"

    "Of course," Hikaru smiled, pressing the hatch release button. The canopy slid back, and Hikaru undid the clasps on his harness. "Gosh," he said as he was pressed back into his seat by the speed. "It''s really windy out here."

    "Ooh, you''re right," she nodded. "Why don''t you open your parachute and shield us from the wind?"

    "That''s a great idea," he concurred, pulled his emergency chute''s ripcord, and flew away.

    Holly exhaled with relief and pulled herself into the cockpit, sliding the canopy back into place.

    "That was a real pain in the arse," she groaned, clipping the harness down around her. "But at least I got this puppy out of it."

    She reached forward and pressed the play button on a cassette deck that had been taped to the instrument panel. The speakers crackled to life, and the elf couldn''t help but sing along.

    "Right in-tooo the danger zoooooone!"

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-9 The Touch!

    "Now, let''s not do anything hasty," said Katniss cautiously. As per usual, the situation had gone from bad to worse. She had woken up on the floor of some sort of bakery- which was pleasant enough, since it reminded her of home. It became quite unpleasant when the owner began to aim his shotgun at her.

    "Hasty? I don''t care what you call hasty- you''re one of them, those crazy folks. Who knows what you could do!"

    "Listen, sir," whispered the girl, her hands in the air. "I''m not going to do anything. I''m going to walk out that door back there and never come back. I promise. Just don''t shoot me."

    "What makes you think you can tell me what to do?" cried the old man, sweat dripping down his bald head. "I can shoot you if I damn well please."

    "But what do you stand to gain from it? I''m just going to leave."

    "The way I see it, you ain''t got any way to prove that."

    Katniss backed into a glass cabinet of donuts. There were a few tables in the room where two families sat with their children, nibbling on coffee cakes. Or rather, they had been nibbling. Now the parents kept their heads ducked low, their children pressed down under the shields of their arms.

    "You''re making a scene," Katniss noted.

    "I don''t care," he growled. "I don''t want you trying anything, and if I have to make a mess outta you to stop that I will."

    "There are kids over there," she warned.

    "Well, you look like a kid yourself so I don''t figure you''ve got anything wrong with ''em being exposed to a little blood."

    Katniss frowned. "No, I''m the last person that would want that. Honest."

    "Then I''m real sorry for what I''m about to do."

    Katniss watched the man''s finger begin to slip down on the trigger. She knew she had to act, and fast. Her hands dropped from the air and to her sides, running along the edges of the cabinet behind her. Below it was a counter, as she had expected.

    This is it. My only chance.

    She grabbed onto the counter as tightly as she could, and jumped with all of her might. Katniss vaulted backwards over the counter and dropped to the floor as the wooden panels above her were torn apart by the blast. Her heart racing, she scampered on all fours out the door and into the street, ducking behind a barrel across the way. The man rushed out the door, swung his weapon around in search of his target, and upon not finding it, walked back into his establishment. Katniss attempted to collect her thoughts as she breathed heavily.

    This town doesn''t look like Northville, so I''ve been taken somewhere else. And I was almost shot to death by¡­ a donut man. The odds aren''t exactly in my favor, are they?

    She took a moment to examine her surroundings more thoroughly. The bakery was across the street, which appeared to be the main road around which the town was clustered. The building she now cowered under was, according to the sign that hung over her, the Southville Tavern.

    Look at that. Ryuko was right. And if Twilight was right, too, then I''m straight south from where I started. I wonder where the rest of the team is, though. Probably at other towns.

    She heard some voices from down the road and immediately lowered herself as far along the barrel as she could. When she realized that she recognized those voices, she attempted to move lower, which was not very successful.

    "Well, at least they''re doing us a favor and staying off of the street," sighed her father.

    "If they were on the street I''d have something to play with," Dio seethed in response.

    "Or eat," oozed Starling. "I''m just starving, trying to keep my figure¡­ and I think it''s about time I let myself go."

    "You sicken me," grunted Nightmare. "Human flesh is weak! It has no value! But the soul- the soul is wonderful."

    No, no, no! I can''t deal with them on my own. I need to hide.

    Katniss looked up and down the street for potential spots. Every building would have worked in theory, except they were full of people that wanted her dead. That meant that they were not an option. She had to pick something expansive, with enough hiding spaces that if the King''s League decided to pursue her, they''d have to look around for a while. She also had to pick something uninhabited. Nothing within sprinting distance met both requirements¡­ until her eyes fell on the shed. It was an old, dilapidated building with huge, wooden doors on the front-perhaps it was once a barn- and it sat inconspicuously on her side of the street. Katniss knew it was her only hope. She darted forward, found that the door was open, and slipped inside, drawing a crossbar shut behind her. If she could stay quiet, she''d be fairly safe.

    Well, as long as those two monsters don''t come looking in here. They always seem to know right where you are.

    Katniss decided it would be a good idea to check for any further hiding spots in the shed. It seemed that it really had been a barn, as it was full of old, cob-webbed stalls, but no animals. It even had a loft filled with dusty-looking hay bales. But the most striking thing about it was not part of the building at all, but rather what was also in it, right in front of Katniss. A truck- and not just any truck. It was one of those heavy-duty hauling machines Katniss had only glimpsed maybe once or twice hauling trailers full of coal away from District 12. This one was not flat gray or stained with soot, however. It was custom-painted, with candy-red flames racing across its long nose, its grille and wheels glittering chrome. Katniss found it very odd that someone would put the effort into making a vehicle designed solely for heavy work so fancy. What good would it be if you couldn''t use it without fear of ruining the paint job?

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    She was going to contemplate the further impracticalities when she heard the voices nearby. She had to hide, and while the truck was fairly conspicuous, it probably was a little more secure than crouching in one of the stalls. Katniss dove to the driver''s side door and tried the handle, finding that the unlocked door swung open with ease. She flung herself inside, noticed the shallow bunk behind the driver''s seat, and scrambled up to it. It was on a folding mechanism, which Katniss attempted to pull as shut as possible with her inside. Wedged between the back wall of the truck''s interior and the small, uncomfortable bed, she listened for her enemies'' banter.

    "What''s this? A barn?" asked Dio.

    "I think that''s what it is," replied Filia.

    "It''s not the bank," said her father. "Which is what we''re here for, may I remind you."

    "You don''t need to remind me of anything," growled the vampire. "Fine. We''ll go for the bank."

    The voices moved away, but Katniss wished she could relax. Even if those three were gone, the Predator or Xenomorph could still be lurking nearby. They could even be in the barn, for all she knew. She remained silent, listening for anything else above the soft gasps of her own breath, which was beginning to mist up the sticky fake leather. As it turned out, she didn''t have to wait long to hear something.

    "Human girl," boomed a commanding, gravelly voice. "They have left. If you wish to make your escape, do it now."

    Katniss curled further up in an involuntary spasm of fear.

    Who was that? How do they know I''m here?

    "If you wish to remain longer," it continued, "I will allow it. But I cannot guarantee your safety."

    Katniss did not move, her breath becoming panicked and short. "Guarantee¡­ safety?"

    "For too long have I chosen to fight, but because of this, I have lost everyone I loved. Now that I am in this tournament, I have vowed to remain as passive as possible, lest my actions lead to more sorrow."

    "Who¡­ who are you?" whispered Katniss, lowering the bunk back into place.

    "Step out of the truck," the voice commanded. Against her better judgment, Katniss worked her way out of the bed and climbed over the driver''s seat, cautiously opening the door and dropping to the straw-covered ground. Almost immediately the truck began to produce grinding, clanking noises as the body panels began to detach themselves and move. The tires segmented themselves and folded up, with the hubcaps tucking away inside of long, pillar-like structures. The cab split in half and began to collapse in on itself, while gigantic limbs formed from within the engine block. The flying pieces of metal began to slow down, and congealed into a huge, mechanical form. It lowered itself onto a knee and bowed a blue helmet toward Katniss, its glowing blue eyes flitting around as it observed her.

    "My name is Optimus Prime," he said. "I was once the leader of the Autobots, the proud defenders of Cybertron."

    "Oh. You are the truck."

    Cybertron¡­ I''ve heard that before.

    "Yes," replied Optimus. "We are robots in disguise."

    "I see that."

    "You are not surprised?"

    "I''ve seen a lot of weird stuff lately," said Katniss. "This could have been weirder."

    "Very well, then. Now, please leave," he commanded gravely. "I do not wish any harm to befall you."

    Katniss stood still, thinking the situation over. Should she just leave? No. This could be advantageous.

    "With all due respect, Mr. Prime, I''m not going anywhere," she replied at last. "Not without you. Harm''s going to befall me whether I tag along with you or not, and I''d much rather have somebody with me. So why don''t we work together on this one? I think I''ll need a ride to the next town up the road, and a guy who can turn into a truck sounds pretty useful for that."

    Optimus leaned back into a sitting position on the barn floor, scratching at his faceplate with a great mechanical hand.

    "Very well, human girl. I will honor your request and transport you to the next town. But the path of the Autobot is filled with pain and suffering."

    "Believe me, I''m used to both."

    Optimus nodded and rearranged himself back into the truck he had been only minutes earlier. The driver''s side door opened on its own, as if to beckon Katniss in. She accepted, and hopped into the driver''s seat.

    "If I may ask, what is your name, human girl?"

    "Katniss," she said, buckling her seat belt. "Katniss Everdeen."

    "Katniss Everdeen, it is my hope that I can call you friend."

    "We''ll see, Mr. Prime," she smiled. "Now, let''s get the hell out of here, and fast."

    Optimus revved up his diesel engine as his smokestacks belched black exhaust. The truck jolted forward and smashed through the barn doors, sliding onto the dusty dirt road that crawled through the center of town. Katniss checked the rear-view mirrors to see if the King''s League had caught on. So far as she could tell, they had not. Optimus turned and pulled onto the otherwise-empty road, while Katniss gazed sternly out toward the horizon.

    With any luck, snagging the coin from the next town will be a cinch with this guy''s help. Or at least I''ll get a ride out of it. Either way, getting toward another town has to increase my chances of running into the rest of the team. That''s what I''m holding on to¡­ because Holly''s right. When we''re together, there''s nothing that can stop us.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-10 B-Team

    Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow in concentration as the suit continued to accelerate. She could see that little red speck out in front of her, and she wasn''t going to be happy until she had caught up with it. The only problem was that everything worked a little differently in space, which meant that when the red speck suddenly jolted to her left, she was stuck swinging her Mobile Suit''s limbs uselessly.

    "Come on, Dash," encouraged Char''s voice through the pony''s headset. "Use AMBAC. That''s how you''ve got to move around in space."

    "Right, right," mumbled the Pegasus. She twisted the Gatsby''s torso toward her target and then fired her boosters, causing the desired change in direction. "Man, I''ll never get the hang of this. Moving in space is so weird. You let up on the controls and you just keep going."

    "That''s because there''s nothing to stop you from moving," explained Char as his Gatsby moved closer, turning from a speck in the distance to occupying the larger part of Dash''s panoramic cockpit. "In an atmosphere you''ve got friction and gravity slowing you down, but out here, you''re free to go as fast as you like."

    Those last few words brought a smile to Rainbow Dash''s face. "Well, when you put it like that¡­"

    Char''s Gatsby curled its right hand into a mechanical thumbs-up. "Good. Let''s try for another few runs, so we can get you-"

    A third channel crackled in over their headsets.

    "Mobile Defense Commander Char Aznable, Miss Rainbow Dash is requested to return to the ship and report to Personnel immediately."

    "What''s up?" queried Dash into her headset.

    "That''s classified information," replied the voice. "Miss Dash, please comply quickly."

    "Ha!" laughed the Pegasus aloud. "Quickly is the only way I comply!"

    She twisted her hooves in their controls and spun her Mobile Suit back towards the gigantic frame of Cathedral Cosmos. Char''s Mobile Suit followed at her side.

    "What do you think it is?" asked Dash of her superior.

    "Oh, heavens, I don''t know," sighed Char. "I''m kept in the dark about even the most basic of deployments of Mobile Defense. But that''s the way Artemis likes to operate. Like we''re all cogs in one big machine of his, and he''s the one pushing the button. We don''t see what it does, but as long as we do our jobs, something happens."

    Char delicately pressed his controls forward, causing his Gatsby to tap a button on the side of the ship''s hull. A massive hatch opened, and the two floated back inside of Mobile Defense''s hangar. Rainbow Dash carefully moved her machine back into the servicing rack it had come off of, and fluttered out of the cockpit.

    "Well, whatever it is, it''s gonna be awesome!" she giggled, blasting away toward the hangar''s exit.

    "How na?ve," sighed the Zeon ace as he clambered down the ladder from his own mobile suit''s cockpit. A Rei waited for him at the bottom of the steps, holding a clipboard.

    "Ah, Forty-Seven. You''re always a bearer of¡­" he hesitated. "News."

    "Research and Development have completed the plans for the Gatsby Mark II according to your request," she reported stoically. "Production will begin in five hours."

    "And when will the prototypes be ready for deployment?"

    "Seven hours."

    Char patted the clone on the head, making sure to ruffle her hair. "Excellent," he said, beaming. "Make sure the first production model is a Red Comet special."

    "But sir," protested the Rei as passively as possible, while smoothing her hair back out. "You already have two personal units."

    "The Gatsby''s just for giving the fresh blood a chance," he smiled. "And you know how the Nightingale II is. Something''s always breaking. I need, for lack of a better term, a daily driver."

    "I will put in another request," said Rei Forty-Seven.

    "If I wasn''t a grown man I''d be skipping around in excitement," cheered the ace pilot.

    "I am sure you would, Commander," whispered the Rei as she walked away.

    Rainbow Dash zipped through the door, feverishly buzzing her wings to prevent a collision with the front desk. The secretary, a small black-and-red creature, peered up from behind a vast plain of paperwork, stamps, and eraser shavings. He set down the massive ledger he had been paging through and folded his hands together.

    "Miss Rainbow Dash, I presume?" he groaned, his voice a work-weary monotone.

    "Uh-huh!" squealed the Pegasus from her seat on the floor.

    The creature turned back to a filing cabinet and ran a gloved hand through several cabinets before his fingers clamped down over a folder and pulled it out with a flourish. He set it down in front of him and then pushed it across the desk into the waiting hooves of Rainbow Dash.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    "You''ve been selected as a team member for an important mission," his voice lacking the enthusiasm Rainbow Dash thought it should have. "That''s all I can tell you. Head to the briefing room listed in that dossier and you''ll find the rest of your team. Your team leader will get you up to speed."

    Dash blinked, then narrowed her eyes.

    "That''s it?"

    The hedgehog gave her a dry stare.

    "Yes. Move along."

    Rainbow Dash nodded and then backed out of the dreary office, clutching her dossier tightly as she headed for Briefing Room 22B.

    Shadow slumped back into his seat and watched the clock''s second hand make a few short, quick jumps. This forced the minute hand to move, which forced Shadow to slide out of his seat and drag himself to the corner workstation computer, where he clocked out.

    I really need this break.

    He walked to the end of the hall and tossed himself into an elevator, beginning to think up strategies for the upcoming game. He wasn''t going to bet all of his bottlecaps on one hand, not again.

    "I just want to know why I''m stuck with you," growled Elsa. She wrinkled her nose at the Vocaloid that sat across the table from her.

    Miku smiled innocently and kept on singing. "Wah-oh, wah-oh, stuck on you, you and me baby we''re stuck like-" Elsa was glaring at her in a manner that convinced her to stop.

    "That''s enough from the both of you," snapped Jotaro from underneath his cap. He had his feet kicked up on the table and his hat pulled down over his eyes, but evidently he was paying attention. He pulled the brim of the cap up a little and shot disgusted looks at the other two. "Good grief. You''re like a bunch of amateurs."

    "I''d be more professional if she wasn''t singing all day," Elsa snarled. "It gets really annoying really fast. At first you think you can put up with it, but then it starts wearing you down, the j-pop and the nightcore and the death metal and the Eurobeat and eventually you just can''t take it anymore!"

    The young man frowned. "You''re overreacting. Not only is Miss Hatsune a fine individual, but her singing abilities are incredibly useful. Observe."

    He swung his feet off the table, stood up, and clearly announced. "Miku, shuffle playlist ''Michael Jackson''."

    The Vocaloid smiled, nodded, and proceeded into her own version of "Bad". Jotaro nodded along to the beat, turning to Elsa.

    "See? That''s good stuff."

    The door slid open, and a pegasus floated awkwardly outside, a folder in hoof.

    "Umm¡­ is this 22B?"

    Jotaro looked back over his shoulder and commanded, "Miku, pause." He then turned to the newcomer. "Yes, this is 22B. I assume you''re Rainbow Dash, then?"

    "Well, I don''t mean to brag, or anything," she said, flying a little loop through the air, then striking a pose. "But I totally am."

    Jotaro rolled his eyes. "Yes, you are. Rainbow Dash, welcome to TDA Group 7."

    Dash landed at an open chair across the table from Jotaro.

    "So you guys are Trans-Dimensional Analysts, then?"

    "Yep," sighed Elsa. "And we''ve got a mission coming up. You''ll be our fire support."

    "Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh, YES!" squealed Rainbow Dash. "What are we going to do?!"

    "We''ll be infiltrating the Nexus of Carcosa," explained Jotaro.

    YES! AWESOME! THESE ARE THE BEST!

    "And recording some readings about the dimension''s resonant frequencies, or something."

    The Pegasus'' enthusiasm deflated.

    "Aw, man. I thought it was going to be cooler than that."

    Jotaro shook his head. "No, it''ll be plenty interesting. Nothing ever as easy as it should be around here. Or, rather, in there. Or¡­ oh, this is too confusing. You know what I meant."

    "Yes, sir."

    While the mundane description of the mission had put a damper on her excitement, Rainbow Dash realized that all was not lost. Like Jotaro said, nothing ever went exactly as planned. After all, her last mission into the Nexus nearly got her impaled. But, the danger was part of the fun. Hopefully, this would turn out just as dangerous.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-11 Whiskey Sour (Hold the Whiskey)

    As far as anyone could remember, The Halfway Point had always been there. It was an oddity in the area- an establishment between towns- but its mythical status outweighed its poor location. The fact that people would go out of their way to visit proved that, as the bar routinely filled house even on the slowest of nights. But Ryuko Matoi was not aware of the legend, nor would she have been particularly concerned by it. She held up her gloved hand and halted the group, turning back to her two companions.

    "Now, Adam, Ruby¡­ I need you two to behave in there. We don''t want to make a scene. We''re here for one thing, and I don''t want you guys fudging this up."

    Ruby placed one hand on her hip and thrust the other forward into the most dramatic thumbs-up possible. Ryuko rested her forehead against her palms. When she suddenly showed up in the middle of nowhere, her first priority was to find some teammates. Ryuko wasn''t concerned about herself- she was positive that she could handle whatever showed up. She was concerned about what might happen to everybody else. Ryuko and Senketsu both agreed that they had become pretty attached to their little group, although it wasn''t really all that little anymore. However, there were a few things they agreed upon, and that would be that Ruby and Adam were a little too kooky for their own good. So it was much to Ryuko''s chagrin that she realized that she was not alone in the middle of nowhere, but rather accompanied by the aforementioned kooks. She endeavored to put up with them until she could find someone else to share their burden with, and had set off toward the only visible landmark nearby- the saloon which they now stood in front of.

    "Do not worry, Ryuko," assured Adam. "We will not let you down."

    "You had better not," she growled under her breath, pushing her way through the swinging caf¨¦ doors. The saloon was packed, just like the legend that Ryuko was oblivious to foretold. Grizzled old men traded curse-laden tales of "watering holes" and "rustlers", while a wiry man plucked away at grey-brown keys on an out-of-tune piano. Smoke from a multitude of pipes and cigars hung uneasily in the air, as if to inform them that the slightest little movement could make all of this blow away like some ethereal wisp.

    Ryuko spotted an empty table and waved her companions in its direction. She then made a beeline for the bar and plopped herself into a seat, propping herself up with one elbow as she had always seen the guys in the movies do it. The bartender, a balding man with big shoulders and spectacles, did not seem very impressed.

    "Can I get you something?" he grunted.

    "Whiskey sour," she replied coolly. "Hold the whiskey."

    The bartender gave her a quizzical look but turned to his bottles to begin preparing the drink anyways. The man seated on Ryuko''s right set his glass down loudly, which caused the girl to notice who he was. Behind a wall of muscle and tight vest, pale yellow eyes peered down at her playfully.

    "Sol¡­ Badguy¡­" whispered Ryuko, feeling her breaths become a little more difficult.

    "Easy, there, Iron Maiden. Don''t go freaking out. I''m just here for a drink."

    Ryuko regarded him warily, then shifted her gaze elsewhere.

    "You''re not still doing that psychoanalysis thing, are you?"

    "Apparently, nobody uses Freud anymore," he sighed.

    "Yeah, and isn''t that job for psychiatrists, not psychologists?"

    "Are you telling me I had the name wrong, too? Aw, man."

    Ryuko got up the nerve to look back at him. She wasn''t afraid of the man. She was afraid that somehow, just looking at him might some of that anger she had sealed so deep inside to boil up. Not that it was his fault, but just remembering him felt uneasily close to a trigger. She didn''t want to be the one to botch this, that was Ruby and Adam''s job, right?

    "You''re not half the things you said you were, are you? You''re not a scientist, or a bounty hunter, or a-"

    "No, no, I am. I was what they called a hypothetical biologist. I tried picking up psycholo- sorry, psychiatry ''cause I figured I had, you know, some ethos going. But honestly there ain''t much intersection between those fields."

    "Sure, sure. Whatever," she groaned, using her thumb and middle finger to massage her temples. The bartender pushed a short glass underneath her nose, and she took it gratefully.

    "A whiskey sour, hold the whiskey," muttered Sol. "That''d be-"

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    "Lemon juice."

    "I see. So what are you doing out here? Where''s the rest of your team?"

    "Well, Ruby and Adam have a table back over that way," she said, pointing with her thumb while finishing off her non-whiskey sour. "But that''s it for the moment. We were actually all together, but we ran into trouble, and now¡­ well, who knows? Maybe it''s just us. I figured somebody here would be able to tell us how to get to the nearest town."

    "Honestly, I showed up right around here and have been drowning my cares ever since. I couldn''t tell you how to get there, or how to get to the door."

    "You seem like a pretty sober drunk to me."

    "Drunk? I never said I was drunk," he grinned. "Say, that reminds me, that I''ve got to warn you."

    Ryuko halted her attempt to remove the last few drops of juice from her glass. "Warn me?"

    "Yeah. There''s this odd guy, by the name of Son Goku¡­ you''re strong, kid, and word gets around. He''s heard and he wants a fight."

    "Well, you can tell him the fight can wait. I''ve got more important things to do."

    "I would, but this guy''s Son Goku. He''s probably one of the strongest-"

    "Well, I''m Ryuko Matoi!" she shouted, slamming her glass into the counter for emphasis. "He can get his fight, with me, whenever I damn well please."

    "All right, but I don''t know if he''ll agree with your reasoning," said Sol, sliding his glass aside with the back of his hand. He was about to ask Ryuko if she had dealt with any more traumatic transmogrification events lately, when he noticed the semi-automatic pistol that had its barrel resting on the back of her head. The weapon''s owner, a man in a dirty vest and bandolier, scowled at the man who demanded that others call him Fred. He then returned his attention to his target.

    "Pardon me, miss," he grunted. "But I believe you just said you were Ryuko Matoi, is that correct?"

    "Y-yes," she whispered.

    "Well, I''m not sure if you''re aware or not, but there''s quite the hefty bounty on your head, and I intend to collect."

    "Dead¡­ or alive?"

    "Either, so be polite and this might not go too badly for you." She managed to get a glimpse of him from the corner of her eye. He clearly hadn''t shaven in a while, but his short beard was broken up by a pair of white-pink, puffy scars on his right cheek.

    "Okay, okay," she whimpered, raising her hands above her head. "But¡­ you wouldn''t want to bring in the rest of my gang, too, would you?"

    "Do they have bounties on their heads, too?"

    "You tell me," she replied. "Ruby, Adam, come over here for the nice man with the gun."

    "GAAAH!" squealed the huntress, hopping over the tables in her path as she sprinted to Ryuko''s side. "Ryuko! What''s going on?! What are you doing?!"

    "I believe she is turning herself in," said Adam, attempting to delicately squeeze himself between tables.

    "Look at that¡­ they sure do have bounties on ''em, too," smiled the man with the gun.

    "Seriously though, what are you doing?!" gasped Ruby, before the man drew a second Mauser and aimed it her way.

    "If y''all value your brains where they''re at, I suggest you shut up."

    "Just¡­ trust me," whispered Ryuko. The man nudged her back toward the door with his weapon, with Ruby and Adam following compliantly. They were marched out the door to a horse hitched at a post. The man produced a rope from one of the saddle-bags and began tying Ryuko''s limbs together. She knew that, at any moment, she could break free of the restraints, and slice the man in half before he could ever manage to land a shot- not that it would do anything to her- but she remained passive as he tossed her hog-tied onto the back of the horse.

    Ruby found her way to Ryuko''s head, which currently dangled unceremoniously off the side of the horse. Her lower lip was curled over and tears were starting to escape her eyes.

    "Hey, calm down. I''ve got a plan."

    "I''ll give you another warning before I start shooting," growled the bounty hunter.

    "Sure thing, mister-" Ryuko paused. "Uh, what''s your name, anyway?"

    "Marston," he huffed.

    "I''m sure it''ll be a pleasure working with you, Mr. Marston."

    The man did not respond, but the horse replied by smacking her face with its tail.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-12 Devil May Cry, Too

    Mikasa did not feel certain of much at the moment, except that she did not like this place. After about an hour of walking, the dirt under her boots had turned into something soft and grainy, and exponentially more difficult to traverse. There were no buildings or trees, so her 3DMG was useless. It was unbelievably hot, and to make matters worse, her stomach would not stop complaining to her.

    Maybe I shouldn''t have eaten nothing but cake for my last five meals. Empty calories don''t get you very far.

    Her guts had been churning non-stop for the past thirty minutes, and before that had been on about one-minute intervals. She was beginning to feel light-headed, and maybe a little dizzy. But if she kept on heading forward, she''d eventually find something, so she kept treading through the sinking ground toward the horizon, pulling her scarf further up over her face, fascinated by the little waves that sat on the ground in the distance and the second set of footsteps from just behind her.

    "Hey," whispered the owner of the footsteps. "Isn''t that beautiful?"

    She turned and found the same face she had last heard speak with that voice. His young cheeks were still warm with that optimism she knew she would never have, his big green eyes still looking so innocent. Those eyes had never changed- they were a boy''s eyes in a young man''s eye sockets. Mikasa was more than a little surprise to see him, but she found herself having difficulty expressing that.

    "E¡­Eren," she croaked.

    "All of this," he continued. "The land just stretching out until it touches the sky¡­ and it''s all yours. Nobody here to take it from you."

    "Yeah," she replied, her throat hoarse and dry.

    "C''mon, Mikasa. This is what we wanted, right? We''re free."

    "If this is what the world beyond the walls is like¡­ I don''t feel so good about it anymore."

    "No, but- look, this is only part of what it''s like. Some of it''s desert, and some of it''s ocean, and some is forest, like what we''re used to. But you''ve got some of it all to yourself, right here."

    "So what? I can''t really enjoy it now."

    Eren halted her by grasping her shoulders.

    "No, no, it''s not about now. It''s about the future. It''s about what the people after us get, because of what we had."

    "I- I don''t- know," she stuttered, stumbling forward into the soft sand. He quickly pushed her back upright and slung an arm across her, hefting her weight onto his left shoulder.

    "C''mon, sis. Let''s go."

    Mikasa nodded, let him support her taking a step, and promptly fell into the sand. She was so tired¡­ maybe it would be best for her to take a nap. No, then she''d never get anywhere, and she had to keep moving. She resolved to pick herself up off the ground, but upon her first attempt, she blacked out.

    "Kid? Kid? You awake yet? You''re not looking so hot."

    She struggled to open an eye, the lids requiring an abnormal amount of effort to move. Her entire body felt horribly sore, and she was still as light-headed as before. Mikasa had no idea where she was or who was talking to her, and she had no means of finding out.

    "Listen, if you do decide to wake up, I''ve got a pizza here for ya."

    Her shallow breaths managed to draw something into her nostrils- a warm scent full of spices that she did not recognize. Her body, useless only moments before, suddenly began to act on its own accord. It violently sprung toward the smell, her shoulders twisting her limp arms until they found something hot and greasy, which was promptly shoveled into her mouth. The hot, gooey bread was shredded and forced down her throat by a weary tongue. She was halfway through another slice before her eyes decided to open, revealing a dimly-lit, messy room filled with empty tables and soggy cardboard boxes. She looked down and found herself on top of one of those tables, and squatting in one of those boxes, half of a whitish-orange disc under her feet. The man who sat at a spot across the table from her looked concerned.

    "I guess you were¡­ ah¡­ hungry."

    Mikasa hopped down from her perch and eased her still-aching body into a seat, dragging another slice of pizza towards herself.

    "Kid, you are just full of mysteries. You want to tell me what you were doing out there in the desert, by yourself?"

    Mikasa finished her third slice.

    "I was just passing through."

    "Don''t play stupid with me. Where''s the rest of your team?"

    Mikasa''s mind was beginning to function again, as vitamins and minerals made their presence in her stomach known.

    The people that stopped us on the road didn''t seem to know what was going on with the Grand Combat, but he does¡­ so is he a fighter, too?

    "We got separated," she mumbled through a mouth of mozzarella.

    "I suppose that makes sense," he said, leaning back in his chair and propping his boots up across the table. He wore a long, red coat that instantly reminded the scout of her vampire acquaintance, Alucard, though the man was clearly not him. He had a friendly-looking face framed by slivery-white bangs, and his casual mannerisms did not betray any sort of supernatural horror lurking behind his smile. "Nobody with half a brain cell would try and wander through the Abingdon Wastes alone."

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    "Abingdon Wastes?"

    "Well, that''s what I call ''em, at least," chuckled the man with a gentle shrug. "This town''s called Abingdon, and just outside the desert gets a heck of a lot worse. I was on my way back from Easton with some supplies when I saw you from the road, pretty far out there. I thought I''d do my part and make sure you were all right, so I tossed you on the bike and drove you back here."

    "Oh¡­ thank you, sir," Mikasa whispered, having finally cleared the box of its contents of ''pizza''.

    The man waved off Mikasa''s indebtedness. "Ah, don''t mention it. Now, I can''t guarantee that I''ll get you back to Eren or whoever-"

    "So Eren was there?" she gasped.

    "I didn''t see anybody, but as you started coming to, you kept talking about him in your sleep."

    "Oh¡­ I thought I saw him, right before I passed out."

    "Could''ve been a hallucination. Going long enough without water or food does strange things to the human body. So what''s the deal, have you got the hots for this guy, or-"

    "He''s my brother."

    "And that conversation took a nose-dive into the awkward underworld," he groaned as he pushed himself up from his seat. Mikasa''s eyes followed him as he walked across the dull green-gray room and slipped behind a grimy counter, snagging two glasses off of a drying rack. He then opened a tall, bulky cabinet from which some mist escaped, produced a bottle, and used it to fill the glasses with clear liquid before bringing them back to the table. He passed one to Mikasa and slugged the other down himself.

    The scout looked at the glass warily.

    "What is it?"

    "It''s water. Because we just established that you were in need of some?"

    Mikasa blinked slowly and then took a sip. It was indeed water, and particularly cold water at that. It was wonderfully refreshing.

    "Thank you, sir," she gasped between swallows.

    "Hey, there''s no need for all that formality. Name''s Dante."

    Mikasa paused between gulps of water, giving the man a skeptical look. "You''re not related to any samurai, are you?"

    "Umm¡­ not that I''m aware of."

    Mikasa made an audible hmmm before finishing the rest of her glass. She set it down and got up from the table, her body still uneasy but in far better shape than it had been. She reached for her 3DMG''s hilts, but found that they were gone.

    "Where is it?" she growled.

    "Hold on, I''ll get it," said Dante, waving his arms in front of him to deflect Mikasa''s anger. He walked back toward the counter, hung a left, and pushed through a freely-swinging door into what might have been a kitchen. He emerged a few seconds later carrying the bulky 3D Maneuver Gear.

    "Here you go," he grunted, dropping it onto the table. "I guess you can leave now if you want."

    She began to reach for the 3DMG, but pulled her hand back halfway through its motion.

    "I think I''d like more of that ''pizza'' first."

    "Okay," smiled Dante. "I can work on that. But may I suggest hanging around until business picks up?"

    "Business?"

    Dante rolled his eyes. "You ain''t never seen a bar before, kid? This is my establishment. I originally figured I''d set it up as an office, like I normally do, but hey, saloons are rustic, plus it helps bring in customers. Devil May Cry, Too, because it''s the second one."

    "And what good will that do me?"

    Dante shook his head. "C''mon, you big dummy! If I''ve got patrons, you''ve got people to talk to. And if you''ve got people to talk to, you can ask if any of them have seen your team. And if not, you could always just hitch a ride with them. It beats walking alone in the desert, right?"

    Mikasa furrowed her brow. The man who called himself Dante certainly had a point. Gathering information always yielded a tactical advantage. Plus, finding another group of fighters to tag along with wouldn''t be the worst idea, either. But there was one problem with that plan.

    "What am I supposed to do until then?" asked the scout.

    "I''ve got a jukebox," shrugged Dante. "And a pool table. And¡­ uhh¡­ I guess I could get some more pizza, like you asked."

    "Let''s do that," she replied, taking her seat again at the table.

    This so-called pizza is amazing. Perhaps on even footing with mom''s wiener schnitzel. Maybe better¡­ no, not better. But close.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-13 Crimson Corsairs

    AN: Special Paid Advertisement Bonus Chapter! That means you get two chapters this week!

    Twilight was intensely focused on the piece of paper in front of her, and kept rotating it under her hooves while muttering things like, "Not quite," "No, that doesn''t work," and, "That might do it."

    "That might do it," she announced triumphantly, leaning back into the sofa.

    "Oh, really?" asked Alucard, seated across the coffee table from her on another couch.

    "Mmm-hmm," nodded the unicorn. She spun the map around so her companion could see. "There are seven towns, which you can see here. Northville, Southville, Weston, Easton, Terre Sombre, Abingdon, and Mare Sanguine, where we are now." She pointed her hoof at the map''s bottom left. "There are roads between each town on the cardinal directions, and roads between them and Abingdon, which is in the middle. We''re off of the road between Weston and Southville, and we''re going to want to get back to Northville while passing through as many towns as possible in order to collect coins. So this is the route that gives us exactly that."

    She dragged the hoof counter-clockwise, passing over Southville, Terre Sombre, Easton, and finally Northville.

    "So what do you think?"

    "Terrible," cooed the vampire.

    "WHAT?! How exactly is this terrible?"

    "Because I might be invincible, but you aren''t," he replied, pulling his sunglasses out of his coat and slipping them on. "And on more than one occasion, I''ve nearly lost you."

    A smile crept across her muzzle.

    "You know, I sometimes forget that you really do care."

    Alucard did not reply, so Twilight filled the silence with an awkward giggle.

    "Heh-heh, okaaay then. So do you suggest that we take a shorter, more direct route?"

    "No."

    "Then¡­ what do you want?"

    "I want us to travel with a bit more cannon fodder," he oozed. "Because if we get jumped in the middle of nowhere again, I want there to be a few more bodies between the bad guys and you."

    "That is really sweet in the most horrifying way possible," gushed the unicorn, getting up from her seat and trotting towards the lounge''s exit. "Now, let''s go see if there''s anybody out of bed yet."

    Alucard rose and silently followed his charge down the motel''s hallway. He had been genuinely surprised to find they had been transported to such a hospitable location, but was wary of their surroundings all the same. The operators of the establishment did not seem as averse to the fighters as the residents of Northville had been, which was highly suspicious. Or perhaps he was overreacting. Before the boffins with their time machines had brought him on board, he had spent quite a bit of time hovering between dimensions as he pleased- it had been a long while since he had someone to care about.

    They entered the lobby to the sounds of idle chat from the guests gathered there. Some were the ambient humans that had seemed to be living in the arena. Others were clearly fighters from the Grand Combat. It was odd to see so many gathered in one place and not tearing each other to shreds, considering that they were in the middle of the round. Maybe they just hadn''t woken up yet. Alucard found himself laughing softly at that thought. He had not needed to sleep in ages.

    "What''s so funny?" queried the unicorn from ahead.

    "Nothing, Miss Sparkle."

    "Okay, then," she sighed. "Let''s start asking."

    "Of course, Miss Sparkle," he replied, and loudly cleared his throat. This failed to attract the attention of anyone in the room, so he succinctly drew his left-hand weapon and fired a single round into the ceiling. The chatter diminished considerably after that.

    Twilight Sparkle stepped forward. "Thank you. Now, my well-armed associate and I were wondering if anyone was interested in taking the long way to Northville?"

    The crowd bulged and parted as an odd-looking man pushed his way through, tumbling to the floor in front of the unicorn. He picked himself up with a sheepish grin revealing that he was missing a few of his own teeth, and had opted for a few metallic replacements. He was also clearly a fan of eyeliner, which he had applied generously; and distilled sugar beverages, which he might as well have washed his clothes in for their smell.

    "Act-actually my crew is, ah, headed that way," he mumbled groggily. "And I suppose you''re looking, to, ah, join us then?"

    "Yes, if possible," said Twilight, wrinkling her snout.

    "Well, that is good and all," he continued, waving his arms about in wild gesticulations, before resting them around Alucard''s shoulders. "But I''d like to know if there''s anything in it for me, savvy?"

    Twilight frowned. "We will assist you against any opposition you may encounter. We only ask for one-half of the coins collected by your team in return."

    The man stroked his braided beard, his eyes attempting to look behind the vampire''s sunglasses. "We get all the coins, and you''ve got a deal."

    Twilight was uncertain. In the end, they needed as many coins as possible if they wanted to try and steal a win from the Night Terrors. "I don''t know-"

    "We accept your offer," grunted Alucard, prying the man off of him.

    "Oh, ahm, wonderful," said the man, dazed. "I suppose you would not mind gracing the rest of the crew with your presence before we depart?"

    "Uh, certainly," nodded Twilight.

    "They''re in¡­ um, three fifteen, I think," he said, wandering toward a chair to collapse onto.

    "Let''s go," hissed the unicorn angrily, trotting back down the hallway they had come from.

    "What''s the matter, Miss Sparkle?"

    "You just agreed to that deal," she fumed.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    "Protecting you is my priority, not winning."

    Twilight shook her head, tossing her mane back and forth. "Yes, but if Poppy''s revenge plot builds any steam, it could upset the balance of everything in the Nexus! We might have to rethink our whole strategy! It''d be a disaster!"

    "I am sorry, Miss Sparkle."

    "¡­But, you did do that in order to make sure I was safe. Which was really nice of you."

    Twilight paused, expecting a response, but there was none. She wasn''t certain whether she should be angry or charmed, and that uncertainty was more than a little annoying. She decided that, in light of there being no clear-cut right answer, she should simply bury said emotions and deal with the problem at hand, which was a far simpler task.

    "Okay, then, room 315. We''ll have to take the elevator up."

    "Or we could teleport," noted the vampire.

    "¡­Or we could teleport," echoed Twilight, a little flustered. She focused her magic and calculated the height of the ground level, their distance from the floor, and the room numbering scheme based off of the doors they had passed. She then took all of that data, and moved it up two floors. She executed the spell, and they disappeared in a small, purple explosion. They reappeared in front of a door marked 315, which had a DO NOT DISTURB tag hanging on the handle. Alucard stepped forward and gave the door a knock.

    "Nobody''s home!" shouted a young female voice on the other side.

    "Aw, you idiot! It doesn''t work like that! You''re supposed to not say anything!" barked a slightly-more mature male voice.

    "Oh, OK. I didn''t say anything!" corrected the first voice.

    "Just shut up!" said the second, prying the door open an inch so a wide, bright eye could peer through. "What''s the deal? Are you here for our coin? ''Cause if so, you''re in for a world of hurt."

    "We aren''t. We just spoke with your team''s leader, and we''ll be accompanying you up to Northville," explained Twilight.

    The door was swung open, revealing the crummy little motel room and its two occupants. The first, who had opened the door, was an intense-looking young man clad in a worn red vest and baggy shorts. The other was mostly hidden behind the bed, but some blonde hair rolled into tiny buns and two vacuous blue eyes peeked over the edge to survey the situation.

    "You''d better not try anything," warned the boy.

    "We''re not going to," assured Alucard.

    Twilight stepped inside and her bodyguard followed. The room that they had found themselves in earlier did not seem nearly as bad as this one. The wallpaper was stained and peeling, and smelled of the same rum that had perfumed the man in the lobby. Twilight held a hoof to her nose as she took a seat on the bunched-up sheets over the bed.

    "Quaint," she breathed.

    "Oh!" squealed the girl from behind the bed. "You''re really cute!"

    Twilight looked back at her, still attempting to hide herself. "Um¡­ thank¡­ you?"

    "So what do you guys do?" Asked the boy, folding his arms across his chest.

    "Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle," explained the unicorn. "I cast spells. Alucard over there shoots things."

    "Spells? Shooting things? That''s it?" he scoffed. "We here in the Crimson Corsairs can do a lot more than that!"

    "Really? Like what?" asked Twilight, partially smug and partially interested.

    "You''re just gonna hafta wait and see," he said. "What exactly do you want in Northville?"

    "We have to¡­ make a deposit," Twilight lied through her teeth.

    "Nobody''s got to make a deposit," he spat. "We''re suppos''ta take money out of the banks, like we already did here. So you wanna cut the crap and tell me the truth?"

    Twilight sighed and broke down. "Fine, fine. We were part of a much bigger team that was headed to Northville. But when we got there, another powerful team was waiting for us. To make a long story short, they were able to split us up. So we''re heading back there hoping that the rest of the team will do the same."

    "So why are you taking the long way, then?"

    "Originally, we were bargaining with your leader to get half of the coins we might collect, but that fell through. So, I guess it''s so that¡­ no one expects us?"

    The boy lifted his eyebrows approvingly. "That makes sense, or something."

    That didn''t make sense at all, thought Twilight. But if he thinks so I''m not going to correct him.

    "Omygosh, you''re a horse, aren''t you?" asked the girl behind the bed.

    "W-wasn''t it obvious?" stammered the unicorn, incredulous.

    "Can I ride you?"

    "No!" whinnied Twilight. "Certainly not! Do you honestly think you''d fit on my back? And even if you did, I wouldn''t lower myself to that!"

    "Oh¡­ okay!"

    I am surrounded by idiots.

    A limp thud from the door indicated the arrival of the man that they had met in the lobby. The boy walked over and let him tumble in.

    "How is everyone¡­ doing?" he groaned.

    "He doesn''t look like he''s in shape to travel," noted Alucard.

    "Aw, relax. We''ll just toss him in the back," assured the boy.

    Twilight was concerned with where this was going. "The¡­ back?"

    "Yup!" said the girl, leaping up from behind the bed while pressing her baggy white seifuku back down. "We''ve got a car! We''re gonna have a ROAD TRIP! First stop, SOUTHVILLE!" she giggled.

    "This just keeps getting better," moaned Twilight.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-14 The Imp of the Perverse

    "I believe that is the next town," boomed the voice of the truck. Katniss pried her face off of the window and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Travelling by vehicle sure made things a lot easier. She looked up past the long hood and saw the tiny lumps of buildings on the horizon, slowly swelling into view. The sun was slowly crawling down the sky, but would still guarantee a few hours of light.

    That should be enough to get in and out, if I''m careful. Of course, I might want to take the time to convince Optimus to take me to the town after this one, too. It''s nice to cover ground without actually having to walk, for once.

    Katniss nodded- though she was unsure if the truck could actually see her do so- and nestled her head back into the window. Even just a few minutes of rest felt so wonderful, which is precisely why she was very annoyed when the cabin suddenly jolted to the left, then swung back right, accompanied by the screaming of the big rig''s tires.

    "What the hell?!" she screamed, leaping up from her seat.

    "There was a man on the road," explained Optimus. "I swerved to miss him. I think he was trying to get our attention."

    "Hey! Uh, hello!" called a voice from outside. "Mister Trucker Man, hello?"

    "I''ll look into it," growled Katniss. She snagged her bow from the back seat and strung an arrow lightly, quickly dropping a hand to open the door before returning it to the weapon and hopping out of the truck. She scanned left and right for the man who she had heard, but saw nothing.

    "Oh, you''re not a Trucker Man at all, are ya?" said a voice from behind. Katniss wheeled in place and found her bow pointed at stomach-height of a very tall, lanky fellow. He wore a long red duster- not unlike the one that vampire wore, but he certainly didn''t make it look quite so sinister. Despite his size, he looked very, very young, with bright green eyes and a youthful spiky haircut.

    "No need to go pointing that thing at me," he said, gently pushing Katniss'' aim away from his vital organs. "I ain''t lookin'' for trouble."

    Katniss frowned as she placed her arrow back in her quiver.

    "Then what are you looking for?"

    "You guys looked like you were headed up the road. I thought I''d save myself some time by catching a ride with you into town."

    "So you can try and get the coin before me?"

    "Oh, no! I''m just trying to keep moving, that''s all. I really couldn''t care less if I won or not."

    Katniss looked back at the truck, then up at the sun, then down at the road leading into the town.

    "Fine. Hop in," she sighed.

    "Aw, thanks!" he cried, wrapping his arms around her in a forceful embrace. "You don''t know how much this means to me!"

    "No," she coughed. "I think- ngh!- I do."

    The man eventually set her back down, and she crawled back up into the driver''s seat while he swung himself in on her right.

    "So, you know how to drive one of these things?" he asked innocently.

    "Nope," Katniss grunted, as Optimus Prime began to accelerate back down the road.

    "Oh, it drives itself! That''s pretty cool."

    Katniss was not a fan of the man''s antics.

    "Just who are you, exactly?"

    The man blinked nervously, tapping his index fingers together.

    "Umm¡­ nobody special," he mumbled.

    Katniss shook her head. "Come on, spit it out. Everybody here''s somebody."

    "No, I really can''t tell you. It''s kinda dangerous."

    "Can you tell me anything about yourself?"

    The man stroked his hairless chin. "Well¡­ I''m like a hunter of peace, if you will. One who chases the elusive mayfly known as love." He punctuated the statement with a few suggestive movements of the eyebrow. Katniss placed a hand to her head and lamented for those who tolerated hitchhikers on a regular basis. When she looked back up, she found the man had slumped into a very sudden slumber, snoring quietly.

    I''m glad I''ll be able to ditch this freeloader once we get to town. I''m not sure how long I''d be able to put up with him.

    After another five minutes of driving, they passed a sun-faded sign declaring that they were always welcome in Terre Sombre, and another two minutes after that they rolled into the parking lot of a quiet-looking bed and breakfast on the edge of town. Katniss opened her door slowly and crept out of the truck, hoping to avoid waking the man, who she knew would probably follow her around if he was conscious.

    "Okay, I''m going to go ask for directions in there," she said to the chromed grille before her. "But things might not go so well, so I need you to stay here in case I need to bail out and head further into town, got it?"

    "Understood," said the truck.

    Katniss acknowledged his understanding with a nod and headed for the door. As she stepped inside, something immediately seemed amiss- no one was there. If the town was really populated as the other ones had seemed to be, a place like this should''ve at least had some staff on-duty at this time of day.

    "Um¡­ hello?" she called, doing exactly what her survival instincts told her not to do. She suppressed them even further when she shouted "HELLO?" again. She received no answers.

    This doesn''t look good. How am I supposed to figure out where the bank is? If this was a smaller town like Northville or Southville- yes, those are stupid names- It''d be easy to find, but this one''s a lot bigger. That, and this place being so quiet seems a little suspicious. Where''d everybody go? Maybe they''re in the bathroom?

    She made up her mind that the place could not be empty, and resolved to search a little before giving up. Katniss had stayed in hotels when her Victory Tour made stops in District 1 and the Capitol, and knew that it was common practice that the front desk held keys to access the rest of the rooms. She located the desk, tucked into a nook on her left, and was beginning to approach when she smelled it. Blood.

    Aw, crap.

    Katniss cautiously made her way closer to the desk, and just as she had suspected, the scent grew stronger. She peeked over the edge and found the hostess very dead on the floor, with a large hole torn into her stomach five long gashes across her face.

    "Aw, crap," she whispered aloud.

    Knowing that this was the signal to get the hell out of Dodge, she sprinted back for the door, nearly knocking it off of its hinges as she shot through. She scrambled to Optimus'' driver''s side and began to fumble at the handle.

    "What is the matter?" asked the truck.

    "People in there are dead," she barked. "We need to get out of here."

    Optimus opened his door for her, and she threw herself into the seat. The man across from her was still asleep, which she was thankful for.

    "Should we move to the next town, then?"

    "No," replied Katniss. "We can still take care of things here, if we''re careful. That''s just one hotel, right? There were bound to be enemies here, anyway," she said, though she still felt uncertain. "If we can just find the bank, we can get in and out pretty fast. Then we won''t have to worry about why people are dead."

    That''s right, she thought, attempting to reassure herself. After all, they only killed one person. Compared to the other horrible things I''ve seen here, that''s not so bad, right? And if they''ve already passed through and gotten the coin before us, we''re really not in their way. We''re fine, I''m fine. The team needs me to come through on this.

    Optimus fired his engine back up and trundled out of the parking lot, rolling deeper into the town. Unlike the little dust-ridden collections of old wooden buildings she had seen so far, this place was a touch more modern, and certainly bigger. It had paved streets, and brick buildings, but even those couldn''t hide the fact that just beyond lay that huge desert, smothering the land with a hot and heavy blanket until it suffocated. Katniss warily peered out of the windows of the air-conditioned cabin as they rolled down the streets, and began to lose her faith in the explanation she had crafted. The town was silent- no people walked down the streets, or fled as Optimus approached. None pulled shutters closed as they had in Northville.

    "Turn here," the girl instructed as they approached the intersection of a two-lane-wide street. Multiple businesses ran up and down the road, indicating that it was probably a major thoroughfare. If the bank was going to be anywhere, it would be there. Optimus obliged, and they made a left, only to come to a screeching halt. In front of them, strewn across the road, were seven wrecked cars, arranged like a barricade. They could not drive around them.

    "Hmm," grunted Optimus. "This seems suspicious."

    "Everything here seems suspicious," Katniss concurred.

    "I could transform and step across," he offered.

    Katniss thought about it for a moment. He''d definitely wake up their hitchhiker if he did so, and the last thing she needed at the moment was a bumbling idiot like him following her around as she tried to be stealthy and expedient.

    "No. I''ll go on ahead. Just stay there."

    "Very well, then. Be careful."

    "I will be."

    Katniss stepped out and vaulted over the barricade of vehicles, finding that a few more abandoned cars had been strewn up and down the street. The sun hung low enough to catch on their windshields, creating a storm of glares for her to press onward through. She passed a diner, vacant; a general store, empty. The air was still except for one constant, pulsing sound that she realized were her own breaths.

    You''re terrified. You know this is a bad idea. Why do you keep going forward?

    Because I know the stakes. If I can''t help my team collect the coins, then we''re going to have two Great Old Ones against us. That''s what Twilight told us, right? That''s something bigger than just myself, something that impacts a lot of people. I can''t let concern for myself get in the way of that.

    Something made sharp noises under her boot. It was broken glass, shattered out of the barbershop to her right. While there were no people visible from where she stood, there must have been some in the store at some point, as their blood was splattered all over the walls, and through the door, and out into the street in a splotchy trail. Katniss let her eyes follow the trail with morbid fascination until it culminated in a small pile of corpses leaned up against an abandoned car.

    No¡­ someone actually took the time¡­

    Her eyes floated to the other side of the street, where several other businesses had been ruined in similar ways. Next to each scattered car, another set of bodies. Women, children, men.

    ¡­ They actually killed everyone¡­ everyone in this town. That''s not even the objective, why- why would they do something like that?

    Another fragment of glass crunched behind her.

    "Hello, there, friend," said a voice from the same place. "Missing someone?"

    Katniss'' heart accelerated further. She felt the familiar sensation of adrenaline surging out into her body.

    "Missing¡­ someone?" she asked, carefully planning how to draw her knife in the shortest time possible.

    "I probably know where they are." It was a girl''s voice, not much older than her by the sound of it. It did not sound particularly spiteful, either, but the calm tenderness was lost in the sea of horror that surrounded it. "I''ll help you find them, if you like. How do they look? Ugly? Pretty?"

    "I''m¡­ not missing anyone," whispered Katniss, trying her luck by reaching for her knife''s handle. She spun and drew the weapon, bringing it up in a coiled-spring arm, held in an obvious manner to inform her assailant that she was armed.

    The girl that crouched in the bloody glass now in front of Katniss was not what the tribute had pictured to fit with the voice. A grey sneak suit festooned with circulatory fluids clung close to her body, which had been seemingly chiseled to some halfway point between a feminine ideal and utilitarian fitness. Long, dark hair framed a pale, intense face. Tattoos crawled from the corners of her eyes down her cheeks, but as she breathed, the ink pulsated and moved, drawing lazy, smoke-like patterns past her mouth. The mouth itself was perfectly-shaped, but between her uncolored lips, rows of razor-like fangs shone in the fading light. Her nose was similarly inhuman, not unusual in size but in shape, with a tip that tilted up flatly as if to evoke the snout of a wolf. Along the straps and belts of the sneak suit, two compact, plastic-framed sub-machine guns hung idly, and would continue to if the amount of blood that traveled from her silver nails up to her elbows was any indication.

    "You''re not missing anyone?" she asked, her voice still sounding not the least bit demented, even as her sharp-looking tongue involuntarily slipped out from between her lips, tested the air, and then retracted back behind her fangs. "How can that be? I was pretty sure I had nearly¡­ run out."

    "What are you?" gasped Katniss, feeling the same fear she had when she had encountered the Capitol''s terrible mutations in arenas and out- that something horribly unnatural had found her, and she had no idea what it would do next.

    "I''m cursed," spat the girl, rising to her full height, which was not much taller than Katniss. "Cursed with flawed perfection."

    Katniss knew that the longer she could get her to talk, the longer she would have to plan how to beat her, so she replied with "Flawed perfection?"

    "I made it sound a little more poetic than it is," she sighed. "I used to be normal, ugly, like you."

    The remark forced Katniss to stop her planning. She had never been particularly concerned with her physical appearance, and had even felt a little violated as the Capitol would pretty her up. But she hadn''t ever thought she was particularly unattractive, either. So why had the girl so quickly pegged her as ugly? Katniss was unsure of why the thought had occurred to her, as that was the last sort of thing she would ever think about, until she realized that the girl had said it before, with some emphasis.

    Ugly or Pretty, she asked¡­ but what does that mean?

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    "Back then, I only knew¡­ just a fraction of what was happening. Then they made me pretty-"

    There she goes again.

    "And I was an idiot¡­ but now¡­ now I have it the worst. Special. And do you know what that means?"

    "N-no."

    "I can''t feel. I can''t feel anything anymore. It''s all a haze, a blur. And the only thing that makes it better¡­" She lifted a hand to her own face, clenched the fingers, and raked her nails across, creating a familiar set of gashes. Her tattoos bubbled out of the way as the nails dragged past, and a sick, razor-filled smile spread across her face. She breathed heavily for a moment, her eyes rolling up in apparent ecstasy.

    "Is when¡­ I can hurt something," she gasped.

    "Is that why¡­ you did this?" asked Katniss.

    The girl lowered her hand, her own blood dripping to the ground slowly as her smile disappeared. "Feeling¡­ that''s what makes us human. Look at me, nothing''s human anymore. Too perfect, too cruel. I can only be human now if I feel. And if this is how I have to do it¡­ then that''s what has to be done. I can''t let myself slip any further away."

    "You''re insane," hissed Katniss.

    "No, we''re all insane," growled back the girl. "Every day we make little choices to hurt someone else so that we feel better. How many people get hurt in one lifetime, like that? More than in this little city, that''ll be gone in five or six hours when someone wins, right? No, if you have to call me insane, it''s so that you feel better about yourself."

    Is she right? Katniss thought. No, I don''t have time to think about that. She''s crazy and I need to get her out of my way.

    "Regardless of whether you''re insane or not, you''re either going to let me get that coin and get out of town, or die," growled Katniss. "So make it easy on yourself when choosing."

    "Easy?" laughed the girl. "Things were never easy for Tally-wa. If you put up a fight, I''ll feel that much more!"

    She pounced toward Katniss, swinging her clawed hands through the air. Katniss juked out of the way, seeing an opportunity. When the girl landed, it''d take her a second to get up, a second Katniss could use her knife in. Tally dropped out of the air onto the bloody glass below, unfazed by her target''s dodging. She began to rise, slowly, deliberately, as Katniss swung her knife toward the girl''s back. It never arrived at its destination, as an inhumanly strong arm shot out and clamped razor-nails around Katniss'' wrist. Tally looked back, almost disapprovingly, her tongue once again moving out of her mouth on its own accord. Partially out of defense and partially out of revulsion, Katniss swung her left leg up, booting Tally in the face. The other girl let go and staggered backward, but began to smile unnervingly.

    "Oh, you''re a fighter," she breathed, the genuine gratefulness in her voice terrifying. "That''s wonderful. I''m feeling so much now¡­ everything''s so clear!"

    Katniss felt unusually cold sweat develop along her brow, odd for the weather.

    She''s too close for me to use my bow. And my knife is clumsy compared to her nails. I need to create some distance between us, and that leaves me with only a few options.

    Katniss replaced her knife and took her jacket off, wrapping it around her waist by the sleeves. She raised her left fist to guard her midsection, and brought her right just below her chin. She rocked gently on her toes, bending her knees slightly. Her breath became more deliberate, and she felt the warmth of her ki beginning to swirl around her. Tally rushed at her again, but this time, she really was ready. She ducked under the girl''s initial lunge, and sprung upward with all of her might, propelling her fist into Tally''s chin. A brief flicker of fiery ki marked the trail of the shohiken as it sent her target skyward. Katniss landed before her opponent, her fist aching. She hadn''t performed an Ansatsuken maneuver in a while, but it had hit just as hard as the ones before.

    Now, close in. Kill her. No, don''t! Remember why you did that, to put distance between you and her. You can''t lose yourself again- you''ll end up like her, or worse.

    Katniss managed to shut out the Satsui no Hado''s urgings long enough to turn and sprint away, making it another block down the road before Tally began to recover from the stupor the punch had shot her into. Katniss swung her bow back off of her shoulder and nocked an arrow into place, letting it fly towards the killer''s limp body. However, as the arrow neared its target, the body was not so limp anymore. Tally sprung to her feet, snatching the arrow out of the air and snapping the shaft in half.

    She keeps countering only right before she''d take a lethal hit¡­ she''s just toying with me, realized Katniss.

    "Tsk, tsk, tsk," taunted the Special. "That''s not how this works. I''m the one who shoots you." She unclipped both of her weapons from her belt and spun them around her fingers before leveling them at Katniss. "Now, let''s make things ugly!"

    Katniss barely had time to jump out of the way before two torrents of lead skittered off the pavement where she had been moments before. She ducked towards one of the abandoned cars and swung herself behind it for cover. A few more of the small-caliber bullets plinked off of the metal behind her, giving her a moment to appreciate that there were no bodies tucked behind the car. In the brief respite, a thought occurred to Katniss, and she began to put a plan into motion.

    It''s a gamble, but it might pay off.

    She sprinted for the next abandoned car as quickly as she could, rolling into cover as another spray of bullets whipped past behind her. She took a deep breath, and hopped up behind the car. Tally had her weapons trained on her the moment she appeared, and clamped down the triggers with an iron grip. Katniss ducked back down again, pulling herself down by the edge of the car to speed her descent, and the bullets flew past again.

    Now.

    She strung an arrow, popped back over cover, and let it fly. Tally saw this first and foremost as an opportunity to shoot again, so her first response was to line her Fabrique Nationales back up and catch her again, since it''d take longer for her to dive back behind her cover when she had to manage her bow. So she centered the girl in her iron sights, pulled the trigger, and heard a very heavy and distressing click. Her superhuman reflexes had assessed the situation, and knew the only option left was damage control. Her hands slipped out of the weapons'' grips and rose to her face, with barely enough time to grab the arrow''s shaft as it entered her right eye.

    Yes! Thought Katniss triumphantly, watching the blood begin to flow from the Special''s eye. She''ll collapse any second now, and I can get to the bank and get this over with and she is not collapsing.

    Tally grimaced while removing the arrow and a large portion of the eye with it. She cupped her hand over it, and directed her left eye''s gaze back at Katniss as her mouth curled into a toothy grin.

    "Now you''ve done it," she hissed. "Now you''ve gone and made me mad! Why couldn''t you just die like everyone else?!"

    "Because when someone tells me to die, I''m not inclined to listen to them," grunted Katniss.

    "Maybe YOU SHOULD!" screamed Tally, suddenly bursting forward at top speed, her upper body leaned forward, her left arm hanging loosely at its side. Katniss was shocked by her sudden speed, and only had time to take a few steps back before the Special had vaulted over the car she was currently using as cover and drove a butterfly kick into her face. The tribute flew backwards a few feet, lights spinning in front of her eyes.

    "That''s payback for earlier," growled Tally as she landed, catlike, on her feet and free hand. She rose and walked over the dazed Katniss, lowering her right hand from her eye. Blood and gore fell languidly from it as she reached toward a silver-gray right eye. "And this¡­ is payback for just now."

    Katniss saw the blood-covered hand advance through the twirling stars in the fading light, the metal nails forming a ring around her vision. She had been very aware that this could end badly, but she had held on to a glimmer of hope that she would somehow pull through.

    I guess that was pretty silly of me. I''ll make sure to tell Holly that I''m sorry that I let her down. And probably Twilight too. And Adam, and Ruby, and Ryuko¡­ and everybody else. In the long run, losing here hurts everybody right? Or am I just thinking nonsense here?

    Tally carved a little circle into the skin around the eye, tracing her line below the lid and above the eyebrow, making sure things were nice and neat, so that if anybody else decided to wander through this town they would know that this was a special case. She raised the arm back, like a waiting piston, ready to drive it forward through the circle she had drawn. Deep down, she knew that she didn''t really want to do it. She hadn''t really wanted to kill anyone in this town. She was aware that there was some evil thing sitting on her mind, a cancer blotting out her morality in exchange for her Special-ness, that told her that being clear justified these deaths. And she knew it was wrong. But something about this place made it a lot harder to listen to the inner voice telling her to stop, to listen instead to the inner voice telling her to go ahead. What was it, that they had called it in her training? The Imp of the Perverse. A lot of Specials lose themselves to it, they said, because if you can do anything, at some point you want to do everything. But here¡­ what was the harm in slitting the throats of a few innocent bystanders, snatching a few families out of their cars and driving your hands through their lungs? It wasn''t real, none of it was real, and everything was so wonderfully clear.

    Her hand shot forward, but lost its speed and direction halfway to its destination. At first she wondered if she had finally gone soft, that the legendary Tally Youngblood could no longer execute a mission properly. But a quick report from her arm muscles indicated that it was not a voluntary decision. Hot, dull, explosive pain radiated out from the limb as it fell to her side. A sharp, deep crack told her the source of that pain. She lifted herself to her feet and turned from her prey to the man holding a massive revolver aloft, his sunglasses glowing in what little light was left.

    She moved her left hand to the source of the pain at her shoulder, and it came away covered in fresh blood. Her blood.

    "You shot me," she stated, incredulous.

    The man frowned.

    "That''s right, I did," he said.

    "You''re going to die for that," coughed Tally, sprinting forward.

    Katniss pried herself off of the ground, her vision slowly returning to normal. She still felt dizzy, and wasn''t quite certain if what she was seeing was real. It appeared as though the hitchhiker was armed and was engaging Tally. Or rather, Tally was engaging him. She leapt into the air, swiping her good arm towards him. In an instant, the position of the man''s weapon had changed, and another shot rang out, and then another, and one more. Tally fell to the ground, each of her limbs now useless.

    "Gyaaah," she moaned weakly, rolling onto her back.

    "You¡­ saved me?" asked Katniss, attempting to gain her balance.

    "I did my part," said the man softly, with a smile. "You gave me the ride here, didn''t you?"

    Katniss blinked the little lights away again. "Yeah, but¡­ I thought that''s all you wanted."

    "It was. I was trying my best to travel alone, but this kind of thing is bound to happen."

    "What do you mean, bound to happen? Did you have some part in this?"

    The man pushed his glasses up further, even as the sun now slipped below the horizon.

    "Knowledgeable people in the insurance industry called me a Human Act Of God. Wherever I go, disaster follows. Wherever there are people I care about, they''re bound to get hurt. That''s why I was trying to travel alone. But I got lazy, and now look what happened here. It''s a tragedy, all of these lives lost. And it''s somehow, indirectly, my fault."

    Can he really be serious? Does he really think this is all because of him, and not the girl who actually went to the trouble of killing everyone here.

    "No, it''s¡­ it''s her," said Katniss, stumbling over to Tally. The Special''s remaining eye locked onto her, and pained whimpers began to escape from between her fangs. "You want payback?" she asked of the immobilized girl, whose eye widened in fear.

    "N-no," whispered Tally.

    Katniss drew an arrow from her quiver, her fingers clamping down until her knuckles were white.

    "This is for everyone that you killed," she hissed, driving the arrow through the remaining eye, this time digging far enough to silence her permanently.

    "No!" screamed the man, diving toward them, but he was too late. He fell onto the ground uselessly next to Tally''s body.

    "No, what?" asked Katniss. "You just said this was a tragedy. It''s her fault. You''re the one who shot her, after all!"

    "You''re the one who doesn''t understand," he cried. "No human has the right to take the life of another!"

    "But she took the lives of everyone else!"

    "But does that mean that she wasn''t human?"

    "She said that killing them made her human! What kind of moron are you?!"

    "Am I a moron because I believe in love and peace?"

    "If believing in love and peace means that people like that get more chances to keep on killing, yes, yes you are!"

    "I have to let them live," he said, suddenly sorrowful and distant. "Everyone''s ticket to the future¡­ is blank."

    "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" asked Katniss, who realized that all of this arguing had really worn her out. Or maybe it hadn''t. She was really feeling dizzy, like maybe she should lie down. Yes, lying down would be a good idea, she resolved, and fell face-first into the ground.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-15 Superficial Cover

    Night had fallen over the desert in much the same way that a glass of wine falls onto a white carpet, sudden, dark, and irritating. Honey supposed it could be worse, as it at least provided a superficial layer of cover between her and her pursuers. They would no doubt be upon her at any moment, and while she felt confident enough against any one of them, she doubted she could handle all of them. Certainly not in the open, as she was now. She had made the wise decision of shrouding herself in a heavy wrap, and had replaced her schoolgirl''s outfit with some more weather-resistant jeans and chaps. Completing the new wardrobe was a wide-brimmed fedora, which she kept pulled down low above her eyes. The outfit was yet another superficial layer of cover- nothing that they couldn''t see through, she was certain.

    What if I''m wrong? She thought, her feet propelling her onward through the thick darkness. Is Megatron being their leader a real reason to leave? Before, he was leading a team of miscreants, but was he all that evil himself? Arrogant, but evil? It''s not like I was paying enough attention to be a good judge of his character. And now to think I''ve turned down a whole team of people like me. Yes¡­ people.

    "What is a human? What is a robot?" asked the hologram of the old man that had once called her father. Honey involuntarily took a step back, wishing to escape from the truth that was being presented to her. She bumped into one of the lifeless metallic bodies hanging around the room on cables from the ceiling, and she made the mistake of looking back into its dull, lifeless eyes. Horror crept through her as she realized that underneath, her eyes were just like that. She sat down, watching her hands open and close. The boy that had followed her in took a very voluntary step back, now quite uncertain about the girl he had been comforting only moments ago.

    "I''m¡­ I''m¡­ I''m¡­" she whimpered, her sudden inability to vocalize causing a pang of fear that she might be malfunctioning.

    The hologram looked down at where she was curling up in terror. "Even if you are a robot, you are still my daughter."

    And with those simple words, she realized that nothing had changed. Her sudden, world-wrenching panic had been misplaced. Because even if she had wires instead of veins, and servos instead of muscles, she was a person, and she knew it. She also knew that because she was just a person- even if she could leap over small buildings and punch through walls- that she was no more entitled than anyone else. In fact, her strength meant that she was obliged to defend the weak.

    It''s not meant to be access to some special club. That''s why.

    Honey directed her focus away from her memories and back to the task at hand, namely fleeing. Her eyes detected something hovering ahead in the night- a small, flickering lantern, swinging in the breeze. It barely illuminated a sign hung above it that read "WELCOME TO LUCE POPULATION 23 AND GROWING!" The lantern''s glow also caught the edges of a building, just peeking out of the darkness.

    That might afford me something a little better than superficial cover.

    She tucked her arms back, leaned forward and took a fist to the gut, stopping her dead in her tracks. Honey''s inertia curled her over the arm before she dropped off, attempting to process what was occurring. Something stood above her in the night, even if she could not see it.

    "Give up, kid," said that something. "You can''t keep running forever."

    "W-what if I do?" asked Honey, regaining her bearings at a rapid rate. She had judged the impact to be a right hand''s indentation, and since she collided head-on, it meant that her opponent could not be on the left. She extended her left hand slowly, as if it was still uncurling from shock.

    "You''ll make yourself a permanent enemy of the Transcendent Technomorphs," explained the figure that de-cloaked above her. It was the woman that had been wearing the trenchcoat, although she now wore a paper-thin sheet of cam-foil. "If you just give up now, you''ll make things a lot easier on yourself. You''ll have a shot to win¡­ and I wouldn''t want to end up on Joe''s bad side."

    "H-have a shot to win?" stammered Honey, feigning injury. Almost. Come on.

    "Sure thing, kid," she said, squatting down and extending a hand.

    Now.

    Honey sprung off of her extended left hand, swinging her legs around to strike her opponent in the back of the head as she rose. She just as quickly dropped her feet back to the ground to dash away, making another sprint toward safety. The building rushed closer, revealing a swinging door but no windows. Honey charged through and found herself surrounded by a half-dozen inebriated men, and some very unmotivated-looking dancers.

    She stood still, assessing the unusual situation for a moment.

    "Um¡­ hello, there," she said, her cheeks burning. "Ahm¡­ if you all would look away for just a second¡­ I''ve got to change."

    No one complied as the fire-like energy consumed Honey''s clothes. One of the dancing girls stepped away from her spot on the stage, knocked over a table and charged out, muttering something about quitting and kids with tricks.

    "And they say this club is for who?"

    "Gentlemen," sighed Rex. "Escuche, you''d probably better stay out here, Tobio. Just to be safe."

    "Well, I wanna help!" protested the boy. "I wanna make sure Honey will be okay!"

    "We''re trying our best," growled The Major, slipping her trenchcoat back on and massaging her head. "We don''t want to hurt her if we don''t have to. We''ve got to lead in with non-violent approaches, to see if we can convince her."

    "I''d rather not think about what''ll happen if she doesn''t listen," frowned Rex.

    "She will be terminated," breathed the hulking man in the black jacket, approaching from behind.

    "But if we go that far, she''ll never want to join us," Tobio cried.

    The Major patted him on the head. "That''s why we need to stick to the plan. Rex, why don''t you give it a shot this time?"

    "Excelente. I''m on it," said the boy in the red jacket. He turned from the group and began to walk toward the door, but he quickly heard the tromping of heavy boots behind him. He turned and received a glare from behind the huge man''s dark sunglasses.

    "What, you''re comin'', too?"

    The man said nothing.

    "Fine, fine, whatever, ese. But remember that the terminating don''t happen yet, got it?"

    The man still said nothing.

    "Friggin'' cold, hombre."

    The two walked toward the gentleman''s club and pushed their way through the swinging doors. It looked pretty much how Rex imagined a bad strip joint to look, crummy tables on a crummy floor with crumbling paint on the walls and poor lighting.

    "You folks gonna pay or what?" asked the bouncer, approaching with his arms flexed at his sides.

    "Ah, no, se?or," said Rex sharply. "We''re looking for-"

    "I am good friends with Honey Kisaragi. I would like to visit her," barked the huge man. "Where is she?"

    "I don''t know about any Honey Kisaragi," grunted the bouncer. "If you ain''t gonna pay, get out."

    "We''re just looking for the girl. We''ll be done in a minute, I swear," assured Rex.

    "You had better," the bouncer fumed. "And if I hear anything funny going on, you''re outta here."

    Rex gave him a nervous nod and continued past the dancers, making sure to give them an adequate glance as he passed. Upon his closer examination, he wished he hadn''t.

    Old enough to be my mother. Euuughh.

    He reached the door at the back of the room, his companion only a few steps behind.

    "Well, did you get anything?"

    "Negative," grunted the man in his typical monotone. "Failed to acquire target Honey Kisaragi."

    Rex pointed a thumb toward the door. "Then she''s probably through here somewhere. Let''s go."

    He turned the knob and swung through into a plain, cinder-block hallway, with a few more doors along its length. One was marked as the dressing room, and the other was not marked at all. Probably a storage or supply closet, Rex figured.

    She''s got to be in one of them, unless she''s jumped ship. In which case the Major or Tobio would be getting her now.

    "You take one, I''ll take the other," he instructed the man following him.

    The reflections from the sunglasses bobbed in the dim light as he faced his door. They reached for the handles, twisted them down, and walked into their rooms simultaneously.

    Rex found himself in the pale yellow light of a dressing room, its long, smudgy mirror sequined with fading incandescent bulbs. Personal effects were strewn across the counter, purses and lipsticks and bracelets. Behind it sat a rotten-looking couch, and behind that, a few stalls.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Might as well check them all.

    Rex pushed the first stall open, finding nothing inside except a crumpled-up pair of jeans. They certainly could have belonged to Honey, or any one of the dancers; but such a clue couldn''t help him. Honey could be anywhere at this point. He moved to the next stall and found it completely empty. The third, and final stall was not. Rex stood, puzzled and a little concerned, as he stared at the grungy-looking man that was slumped against the back wall, asleep.

    "Excusame, se?or. You wouldn''t have happened to see a Japanese Catholic schoolgirl run through here by any chance?"

    The man did not reply, and continued snoring.

    "Se?or, I''m going to ask one more time," said Rex sternly. He patted the man''s cheek with the back of his hand. The man opened an eye slowly, regarded the youngster in front of him, and punched him across the room.

    "AAAARGH!" screamed Rex as he flew into the mirror, shattering its glass and the light bulbs alike. He fell to the floor, hitting the counter on the way, and landed in a sharp pile of crystalline fragments.

    "Hey, man, I''ve got her in here!" he called, picking himself up off the ground.

    "He won''t be able to help," said the man, stumbling out of the stall. His clothes ignited and burned away, revealing the blonde girl underneath. An orange-and-white dress formed over her briefly-naked body as she placed her hands on her hips. "He''s locked in the storage closet. It''s a pretty heavy-duty door, so I don''t think he''ll be getting out very soon."

    "You trapped him, but not me. What''s your game, chica?"

    "He didn''t seem like the talkative type last time we met," smiled Honey. "And I want some answers. I figured you''d suffice."

    "If you want to talk this out, that''s fine," said Rex. "What do you want to know?"

    "I want to know why you''re taking orders from that slimeball."

    Rex gave a half-shrug. "It''s complicated. Nothing weird, no brainwashing, or anything like that- it''s just, here we are, in this wild and crazy place, surrounded by all of these real people. And you''d be surprised how many ''droids feel kind of left out. Kindred spirits, and all that. It ain''t that we think we''re better, or anything. But we kinda want to prove we can compete, too. So a team like that, I said, ''sure, that seems like a great idea''. And I don''t see anything wrong with that, do you, chica?"

    "Uh, yeah. You''re leader''s a cheating bastard."

    "Maybe he was but we certainly didn''t get any help setting things up this round, that''s for sure. We''re just a team, that''s all. So, will you join us? ''Cause it''s not going to get any better if we keep chasing you down."

    Honey placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully, staring away into the grimy ceiling tiles.

    "No," she stated, after an agonizing pause. "What you don''t get, is that there''s no need for kindred spirits. If you can think and feel like a human being, then you''ve got the human experience- you are a human being. I''M a human being, even if I''m an android. Also your leader is still a jerk considering he sent Mr. Tall Dark and Austrian back there to kill me. So there. My answer is no."

    "Okay, that''s a pretty decent explanation you got there, but it''s got a problem," chuckled Rex. "''Cause I''m a human being too. Not just in spirit, I''m a bona-fide fleshbag."

    "Then why are you even on the team?" asked Honey, mildly confused.

    Rex pulled his goggles down over his eyes. "Because of these little hombres." Dull-grey liquid metal surged from his shoulders, wrapping around his arms as they swelled into trunk-like limbs with brick-shaped fists.

    "Nanomachines," whispered Honey, simultaneously impressed and concerned.

    "That''s right," smiled Rex. "I''m Rex Salazar, the fourth Transcendent Technomorph, master of nanites and general butt-kicker, at your service."

    "Tsk-tsk-tsk," scoffed Honey. "You''re the one getting served today. Don''t you know who I am?"

    Rex frowned. "Uh, yeah, I just spent the last day chasing you down, and the last couple minutes talking to you. You''re Honey Kisaragi, an android who really likes to hit people in the face."

    "I''m a lot more than that, Rex," roared Honey, a manic grin spreading across her face. "Sometimes, I''m a bouncer; sometimes, I''m a dancer; and sometimes I''m a peeping tom! But my true identity is, HONEY FLASH!" she touched the heart-shaped pendant that hung on the choker around her neck, causing her clothes to explode once more. The flames settled down over a different girl than the one they had leapt out of, with glowing red eyes framed by a wild mess of equally-red hair, her dress replaced by a revealing black leotard. "Cutey Honey!" she continued. "The Crimson Warrior of Love!"

    "I don''t care who you think you are," grunted Rex. "If I don''t bring you back, Tobio will never shut up. So you''re coming with me whether you like it or not!"

    "We''ll see about that," giggled Honey, drawing her rapier from thin air and aiming its tip at the young man''s neck. "Bailemos!"

    Rex obliged, and fired his massive right arm forward. Honey leaned back, retaining her footing as the mechanical fist soared past her nose. She extended her sword forward, and flicked it past the boy''s face. Rex winced, expecting physical injury, only to feel a sudden lightness as his goggles tumbled away from his eyes.

    "Hey! Those were my favorite goggles!"

    Honey twisted her way back up around his arm, performing a flourish with her Silver Fleurette.

    "You''re lucky I didn''t slice off your favorite nose," she giggled.

    Rex clenched his teeth and swung his other Smack Hand toward her, but Honey simply rolled her eyes, grabbed his head, and vaulted over the attack. She landed behind him, laughing aloud.

    "What''s the matter, Rex? You''re slow- do you need a siesta?"

    "I liked you better when you were blonde, chica," snarled Rex, his arms collapsing back to their normal size. "And that''s saying something, ''cause I really dig redheads."

    "I guarantee you''ll loathe me by the time we''re through," she snickered.

    "You don''t seem to want to change that opinion," he sighed, his arms changing once again. This time, they sharpened as they lengthened, turning into huge, bright-orange blades.

    "Looks like someone''s compensating for something!"

    "Shut UP!" screamed Rex, swinging his left arm towards her. Honey cartwheeled backwards, the blade slicing only air. He lunged forward with his right arm, which scraped across the top rapier Honey had suddenly placed in its path.

    "Parry," she beamed, running down the length of the massive sword, toward a very concerned-looking Rex. At the last moment, she tilted the blade''s tip forward, raking a line across the boy''s still-human upper arm. "And riposte!"

    "Ay, basura!" howled Rex, deconstructing his right arm back into its human form to grab his fresh wound. This was Honey''s opportunity to sweep his legs out from under him, causing him to tumble to the floor. She pinned him there with a high-heeled boot to the back.

    "Well, Rex, it''s been fun. I''ll play with you some other time. But considering that it''s been nearly seven minutes now, I should probably get going."

    "Seven-ngh- minutes?"

    "Okay, I''ll make this quick since I''m on the clock," explained Honey, her face still bearing a cunning grin. "When you walked in, you walked into a trap. I was the bouncer. There''s a hidden door behind the stage to the dressing rooms, where we are now. As soon as I convinced you to turn your back, I snuck back here to hide as the peeping tom and get the drop on you. When you opened that door over there, everybody in this dump bailed out, except one dancer who was nice enough to shut the door on your friend in the storage closet- what a sweet, old lady. They got out of here because I whipped up a makeshift bomb out of supplies I scavenged from the supply closet- and you''d be amazed the kind of things the janitor keeps in stock- and planted it on the propane tank out back before you even stepped in the front. It should be going off in about¡­ ten seconds. So on that note, vaya con Dios," she chirped, and bolted out the door, scrambled down the hall, out the back door, patted the propane tank for doing such a good job, and ascended a nearby dusty hill to watch the massive explosion envelop the Luce Gentlemen''s Club.

    "That''s a good, clean burn," she chuckled, before turning away to charge into the night once more.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-16 Wild Goose Chase

    Hermione held her AEGIS up to the sensor, which processed her top-level clearance and opened the sliding doors into the Research and Development wing. The witch and her companions entered into a small lobby, which three hallways branched out of. A large, circular desk sat in the middle of the room.

    "Welcome to Research and Development!" chimed the centaur behind the counter, who was too busy looking down at something he was fiddling with to turn and meet his guests. He seemed to be disassembling a motherboard of some sort, delicately using a laser cutter to strip away the semiconductors.

    "Hello, there," said Hermione, giving a slight bow even though the centaur could not see her. "We''re here from Regulations, and-"

    "Oooh!" squealed the centaur, dropping his laser cutter and whirling around to face them. "Oh, I''m sorry, Regulations? How can I help?" He seemed to have a bit of pastry stuck to his muzzle.

    "Requisition reported two weapons missing about fifteen hours ago," Hermione explained. "Chief Donatello said that someone here probably borrowed them for study."

    "Oh, then you''re looking for the Munitions wing. It''s off to the right, over there. I mean, your left. You know. If you ask someone down there, they''ll know where to find what you''re looking for."

    Nonon jabbed Sanageyama in the side. "This guy''s so klutzy you''d swear he had two left feet¡­ oh, wait, he does!"

    "That''s not very polite, Nonon," growled Hermione.

    "Busted," whispered Inamuta.

    "Thank you," she replied to the centaur. "And I apologize for my colleague''s imprudence."

    "There''s no need for an apology from you," assured the centaur. "And I''m afraid she''s completely correct. I do in fact have two left feet." He leaned over the counter and gave Nonon a terrifying glare. "Which I will not hesitate to use to step on your one left foot the next time I see you in the mess hall."

    Hermione and the centaur exchanged a high-five before the witch led her team, including a very defeated-looking Nonon, down the hallway on their left to the Munitions wing. The hall soon opened up into a larger room featuring a large, heavy-looking metal blast door.

    "I bet they''ve got each lab sealed off like this," whispered Hoka. "Thick enough walls to stop any sort of explosion, and probably biohazard containment systems, too."

    Hermione nodded. "Because if something went wrong down here¡­ it''d go very wrong."

    "That''s charming," mumbled Sanageyama.

    They advanced to a small sensor panel like the ones on all of the other doors, which had an additional screen on top of the sensor pod, cycling through a single text message:0 DAYS SINCE LAST INCIDENT

    "THAT IS EVEN MORE CHARMING," bellowed Gamagori.

    "Here''s to hoping we don''t witness one of these incidents today," sighed Hermione, holding her AEGIS up to the sensor. The massive blast doors began to slide down, revealing a cool-blue room lit by bright lights, with a massive ceiling stretching up into the bulkheads above. The room''s outer wall was lined with drafting tables, each divided out into their own cubicles. Some were occupied by researchers, who were eagerly sketching out plans. Others were empty, their owners tinkering at workbenches at the center of the room or observing the long firing ranges that had their own partitioned-off area.

    "That''s pretty impressive," whispered Hermione. She may have been a bit more of a scholar than a scientist, but the facility was certainly striking some chords of childlike awe. It struck them loud enough that she did not notice the rotund robot spiraling towards her.

    "LOOK OUT, MRS. GRANGER!" roared Gamagori, placing himself between her and the automaton. The robot smacked against the huge boy''s chest uselessly, tumbling to the floor without a few of its limbs. Hermione stared first at the wrecked machine, and then at the surprisingly resilient young man, simply stunned that he had come to her defense when the others seemed like they could not have cared less about her.

    "Oh! Oh my goodness!" yelped the man waddling towards them. It seemed improbable that his thin legs could support his particularly rotund body, especially at that speed. His moustache flapped like a bird attempting to escape his upper lip. "I''m so sorry! Are you all right?"

    "Y-yes," stammered Hermione. "Was that your robot?"

    "I''m afraid so," said the fat man, placing a gloved hand behind his bald, squat head. "I''ve been trying to reprogram them to be Three Laws compliant, but every time they go haywire! It''s simply dreadful!"

    "Why were the robots not Three Laws compliant in the first place?" asked Inamuta, tapping away at his PDA''s keypad, evidently taking notes.

    "Because they were originally military designs. And for that you have to circumvent the First Law," said the man. "Now, are you sure that you''re all right? How about you, sir?" he asked of Gamagori.

    "I AM FINE! I HAVE RELATIVES IN THE ROBOTICS INDUSTRY!"

    "We''re really okay, sir," Hermione assured him. "Thank you for your concern."

    "It''s just- I''ve really been trying to prove my worth around here, and things haven''t exactly gone swimmingly."

    Hermione gave a sympathetic nod. "I understand. It seems like every time I was under pressure back at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement- I had just been promoted, I think, and it seemed like every case that came up was a nightmare. It was tough- it was the worst time for things to be harder than ever, because more people depended on me than ever! But I buckled down and got through it, but I probably wouldn''t have without my family cheering me on. Knowing that the people you''re taking care of care back is a wonderful motivator. So, here''s me thanking you for that flying robot." She charged toward the fat man, and before he could protest, trapped him in a hug.

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    "That was unexpected," noted Sanageyama.

    "A real font of wisdom, that Curly," sneered Nonon. "Free hugs never helped anybody."

    "Oh¡­ thank you!" sniffled the man as Hermione pulled away. "I know it''s silly but that meant a lot to me. That might be the nicest-"

    "HEY!" shouted a voice from one of the drafting tables. "Robotnik! Get back over here, and work on your actual project, instead of your damn machines!"

    "I- I had better go," Robotnik stuttered. He turned and sprinted back towards the tables. Hermione turned back to her team, who all gave her the go-ahead nod before she followed a few paces behind.

    "If you spent maybe half the time doing actual work instead of your hobby, maybe you''d actually finish something on time for once!" continued the voice, which belonged to a small, slender figure seated at a hover-chair in front of a drafting table. Her workstation was neatly organized into stacks of papers and piles of parts, though the center was cluttered with brown-stained wrappers. The source of the wrappers must have been chocolate bars like the one she currently had crammed into her tiny mouth.

    "Right, right," whimpered Robotnik. "Now, what was it that you needed? A fusion coil?"

    "I already got the fusion coil while you were tinkering with your Egg Robo. Actually, I finished the whole thing. I''m going to take it to the test range so I don''t need to worry about you fudging it up like everything else."

    She hopped out of her seat, grabbed her current project off of her desk, and collided with Hermione''s carefully-positioned body. The witch scowled down at her.

    "Um, excuse me?" asked the pixie. "I''m trying to get work done, here."

    Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You''re Opal Koboi," she noted.

    "Normally, people say that with a little more respect, but yes, the one and only. Now, are you going to get out of my way?"

    "No. We''re from Regulations and I have a few questions I need to ask you. I assume since you''re bossing your colleague around that you hold a higher rank than him, so you should be¡­ in-the-know."

    "A-actually we''re, ah, the same level-"

    "Too bad. You''re getting grilled, Miss Koboi."

    "And to whom exactly do I owe the... pleasure?" Opal growled, taking another bite of chocolate.

    "Hermione Granger, Special Investigations."

    "I''ll remember that. Might come in handy later."

    "I''m sure this won''t be the last you''ll see of me, especially with that attitude of yours."

    Opal turned her nose up even further than it already was. "Get on with it."

    "Requisition evidently reported two weapons missing. My superiors seem to think that they were appropriated by the Research and Development program for study. I''d just like to verify their location."

    The pixie looked genuinely confused. "Two weapons? Which ones?"

    "Um¡­ I¡­ I don''t know. They didn''t tell me. Inamuta, send a message to Requisition. Ask for which weapons they''re missing."

    "And you guys call yourself Special Investigations?! You''re pathetic! They send you to find weapons, but don''t tell you what to look for, and you wait until now to find out?! Ha! I wish the Lower Elements Police had been as big of idiots as you, it would have made things a lot easier." Opal scarfed down the rest of the chocolate, wiping her mouth off with a sleeve.

    "You little imp," snarled Hermione.

    "Pixie, actually. Imps aren''t nearly so beautiful," she gloated, drawing an arm across her body.

    "I don''t know if I''d say someone with a three-year-old''s figure was beautiful," sneered Nonon.

    "Shots fired," called Sanageyama.

    Opal raised her eyebrows, a thin smile spreading across her tiny face. "Please, keep the insults coming. I''m sure everyone wants to hear more of the tenor saxophone you''ve shoved down your throat."

    "Why I oughtta-" snarled Nonon, leaping toward the pixie. Hermione moved quickly enough to snatch the girl out of the air before any damage was dealt.

    "Look at you," guffawed Opal. "You''re not a special investigation team. You''re a babysitter and a bunch of unruly children. You''re not worth even a quarter of the things I''ve contributed to this organization."

    "Got it," said Hoka, looking down at his PDA. "It says here¡­ the Andalite Cube and¡­ oh. The blue Scissor Blade."

    "Blue Scissor blade?" asked Sanageyama. "Are you serious?"

    "Yes. It says so right here."

    "Oh¡­ well, that''s interesting," grunted the green-haired boy. "I can see why Satsuki sent us to look into it."

    "No, I haven''t seen either of those weapons around here," snapped Opal. "You''ll have to find them somewhere else. Maybe after nap-time."

    Hermione gritted her teeth and turned around, walking away from the combative pixie. She turned and nodded at Robotnik as she passed him.

    "I''m sorry you have to put up with that," she whispered.

    Her colleagues formed up behind her as she walked out of the blast doors. Nonon scooted up alongside her.

    "Leaving so soon, Curly? We didn''t find anything out yet."

    "There was nothing to find out. It was all a big wild goose chase, all of it. We''ve learned nothing except that Gendo is hiding something, which is exactly what Artemis and Satsuki already thought. Everything else has been a waste of time. I''m starting to think I liked being a guinea pig better."

    "So if we''re giving up now, we''ll need to go report what we found-" Inamuta paused- "Or rather, what we didn''t find, to Lady Satsuki."

    "Well, might as well get it over with," sighed Hermione.

    "LIKE RIPPING OFF A BANDAGE," roared Gamagori.

    "I''m certain that would be more pleasant," groaned the witch.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-17 Revolution

    It''s amazingly stable for something with no tailplanes, Holly thought, putting the jet into a quick aileron roll. It''s certainly more responsive than a fighter of this size should be. And the engines have plenty of power, too, even if climbing isn''t this thing''s strong suit. Rather nice, all things considered.

    She had long since silenced the tape deck, which she realized contained only the song Danger Zone on loop for thirty minutes. It was a good song but it got old after the third play-through. Holly had found that there really wasn''t much to do at her altitude, so she had brought the plane down a little lower to survey the arena from an aerial perspective. She had been making high-altitude passes over the individual towns, trying to commit at least some of their locations and layouts to memory as to help her team out once she found them- which was her next order of business. Holly knew that she was probably travelling faster than any of them, and as such had a certain obligation to track them down and get them back together. This would require some extremely low-level flying, because human beings were very small creatures at a jet''s normal operating altitude.

    She lowered the fighter down along a dusty highway, taking the time to even the nose up with the center line with a few careful taps of the rudder pedals. Holly was very thankful that the controls were adjustable, as the plane''s previous owner had been a fair bit taller than her. Now that the joystick and pedals were much closer, she could move the huge machine with her typical grace. With a flick of a switch she engaged the FLIR scan mode, turning the dark of the night outside the canopy into a slightly-brighter dull green. It was very clever for the humans to have integrated the display right into the glass, since it gave such a fantastic field of vision. A brighter-green speck popped up on the horizon and quickly sped into view, hurtling past on the road below.

    A semi? Huh. That''s the first bit of traffic I''ve seen so far. It had to have been other fighters¡­ I''ll circle back and check them out after I make my pass over the town just up the road.

    The forward search radar informed her that a cluster of low-lying objects was approaching, which was without a doubt the southernmost town. Holly had to be sure to get a good look at the ground, so she twisted the joystick until the jet held itself upside-down in the air, turning the cockpit glass into a panoramic viewing dome.

    Mr. Everdeen was at least a little grateful that he was on patrol. It meant that he didn''t have to spend any more time near Dio- something he was beginning to dread. Dealing with the vampire was insufferable, and the worst part was that he was stuck as his subordinate. Despite his claims that he respected his loyal warriors, he certainly didn''t go out of his way to show it. That, and the man was clearly insane. But Everdeen did not have much choice in the matter. This was where he was now, and if he wanted to have any chance to get back- to change the way things happened¡­

    "You doin'' all right, Everdeen?" asked Hawthorne. He was a stoutly built man with dark skin and big hands. He was a fighter, and had pulled his family through a number of tight spots. His dedication and work ethic were without equal, which was a little more than what could be said of Everdeen as of late.

    "Yeah, yeah- I''m¡­ I''m fine."

    "You''re sure you wanna go through with this?"

    "We have to, don''t we? If we don''t, who will?"

    "Yeah, you''re right," sighed Hawthorne. "Well, let''s get moving. Wouldn''t want to keep anyone waiting."

    Everdeen nodded and picked his pail up out of the gravel. The two men advanced to the lift, and Hawthorne pressed the button that plunged them downward into the black, cold heart of the earth. Down there, other men scuttled about in the dark, grappling with heavy equipment that could just as easily break them as it did the stone that surrounded them. Even in the lantern light, the men were black silhouettes of the people they were, husks worn out from endless toil to put a scrap of bread on the table for their families. Everdeen knew there was a better way. And today, he would begin to work toward it.

    He and Hawthorne walked toward the end of the shaft that the men had been cutting through for the past week or so, gently instructing the men at the boring machines to stop for a moment and listen. The others gathered around, forming a half-circle around the men.

    "What''s up, foreman? It ain''t break yet."

    "No, it''s not," replied Everdeen. "But they gave us a moment of privacy down here, and I''d like to use it to address something. I''ve worked with you for the better part of my life, digging these God-forsaken holes in the ground. And you''ve been there the whole time, every one of you- except those we''ve lost, God rest their souls. But I stand here before you today with a proposition. A proposition that one day, nobody will have to dig these holes, that one day nobody will get crushed by a cave in, or suffocate alone down here."

    "What are you talkin'' bout, Everdeen? Don''t tell me you''re-"

    "I''m talking about exactly what it sounds like," he snapped. "Three score ago, our great-grandfathers and mothers gave the Capitol the middle finger and they almost got away with it. And I''ll be damned if we can''t do one better, because I''ve found something they never had."

    "And what''s that?"

    Hawthorne patted him on the shoulder, and quietly whispered that he was doing well. Everdeen gave a thankful nod back before continuing.

    "It may be no secret to you that I''ve spent a fair amount of time outside of our District''s lovely fences-" that merited a chuckle from the crowd- "and I''ve found some very interesting things out there. I''ve found ruins from when our District was a lot bigger than it is now- buildings, homes, cars, books. And I read some very interesting things about the way Panem used to be. You see, before Panem was Panem, it was a place called the United States of America. And they had figured out something called nuclear fusion. Now, that''s a bunch of fancy science-talk, but it''s really simple- it''s how the sun works, how it keeps on burning forever. It was the secret to unlimited energy, and they had it. Now, if they had it, why doesn''t the Capitol? Any guesses?"

    Silence.

    "Because they don''t want to. Because as long as they can say they need us, they can put us under their thumb, they can kick us around! But they''re gonna regret doing that. You see, I found something else out there, something that the bigwigs were real stupid to not find themselves. I found¡­ a bomb."

    The crowd began to mumble with concern and excitement.

    "You didn''t tell me that," said Hawthorne, astonished.

    "Sorry. That was something big enough I had to be really careful. I mean, I trust you. It''s just something you can''t talk about out loud. At all. But we''re going to change that." He addressed the crowd again. "That''s right, a bomb. And not just a little bomb. It''s one of the bombs that turned the United States of America into Panem- it''s a fusion bomb. Like opening up a little sun on earth! And I know of a few people in the Capitol that could use a little more sunshine in their lives!"

    "But¡­ how are we supposed to get it there?"

    Everdeen smiled. "With the truck the Peacekeepers will so generously lend us, after all of them are dead."

    Hawthorne pushed his way through the murmuring crowd to the center of the tunnel, where he crouched over one of the boxes of blasting charges. He pried open the lid and pulled something out that was most definitely not a blasting charge. He rested the rifle over his shoulder and lifted another out of the crate to hold aloft.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    "Now, there aren''t many Peacekeepers in District 12. Maybe twenty on off days. If we get the jump on ''em, we can put them down before anybody knows what''s happening. Then we''ll head for the Capitol."

    "This is insane," shouted one of the men at the drills. "But if I can make them pay for taking my son away, I''ll do it."

    One by one, the miners agreed to join in his rebellion, taking up their weapons and denouncing the Capitol. He had felt a little overwhelmed by the response- even though it had all been his plan, he still couldn''t believe that a change could be made, and that he''d be the one to do it. Everdeen leaned up against the shaft wall, exhaling with relief. Even though the mine grew louder and more riotous with each passing second, he felt as though all of the chaos and madness that the plan had caused in his mind had slipped away, leaving a void of blissful silence. And it was in that silence that he heard a distinct, steady beeping noise¡­

    No, wait¡­ that''s not-

    Mr. Everdeen returned to reality. Even lost in his thoughts, his senses had detected something amiss. A constant sound had indeed begun to echo against the sunbaked expanse of the desert, but it was not that loathsome beeping. It was, however, another sound he recognized, the rumbling roar of a distant jet engine. He looked up and saw a strobe light flicker in the distance, flying straight down the road on which he was currently walking.

    Well, it''s not ours.

    He slipped his bow off of his shoulder and drew an arrow from his quiver, nocking it into place and pulling the string taut.

    Now, if I shoot the pilot, there''s a good chance that the plane will lose control and plow into the town. So I''ve got to make sure it goes down with hands at the wheel. A shot to the engine ought to do it. It''ll be tricky, but nothing I can''t handle.

    Mr. Everdeen adjusted his aim for the slight breeze and began to track his arm upwards to compensate for the approaching target. When he was certain he had accounted for all possible variables, he let the arrow fly.

    "Warning: Foreign material detected in intake. Warning: Critical Engine failure," announced the fighter jet''s heads-up display.

    "What in Frond''s-" gasped Holly, as the plane jolted with a heavy mechanical clank. Holly twisted the joystick to her right and rolled right-side-up again, taking a look back past the vertical stabilizers at the white-green flames now produced by the aircraft''s left engine. The jet''s nose began to sag, and the altimeter began to bleep out warnings.

    It''s too heavy to fly without all of that thrust. D''Arvit, I''ll have to put it down.

    Holly flicked the landing gear release, dropped off the throttle and put the flaps up, halving her airspeed in seconds. She slammed her feet against the rudder pedals and rolled left, resulting in a lazy stall that slowed the plane even further, until it floated to the ground like a dried leaf. The dried leaf promptly shaved off its landing gear and tilted its right wing into the dirt with a grating scream, but Holly was alive.

    "Any landing you can walk away from," she sighed, undoing her harness and prying the canopy open. Holly tossed herself out of the cockpit and landed lightly on the warm dirt, its surface scored by the cracks her plane''s landing had driven into it.

    Well, I suppose it''s back to basics. I''ve still got my wings, so I can keep searching for the rest of the team if I need to, she thought, activating her own helmet''s night vision mode. The helmet''s heads-up display lowered into place and began to illuminate her surroundings. But losing an engine back there was pretty suspicious. I never had any trouble with the jet''s engines before¡­ and I wasn''t pushing them hard, so it couldn''t be a stress-based failure. It''s possible I was shot down, in which case-

    A sudden movement created a sharp pain in her right eye, and in response the elf threw herself backward- only to collide with the wrecked plane.

    "D''Arvit," she swore, reaching up to find an arrow lodged in the eyepiece. "Not again."

    A hand closed around her neck and lifted her into the air, but even without her night vision, Holly knew who it was.

    "Didn''t know you had a plane," growled Mr. Everdeen.

    "I don''t," strained Holly. "I stole it."

    "Ain''t you supposed to be a cop?"

    "Aren''t you supposed to be Katniss'' dad?"

    He slammed her against the cockpit tub, though certainly not as hard as he could have.

    "I am and my actions speak to that, regardless of what you or she thinks. Neither of you has any idea- you wouldn''t understand."

    Holly wriggled her neck up a little further in an attempt to open her windpipe by a few millimeters. "You¡­ sure about that?"

    He loosened his grip, but maintained a steady hold on the elf.

    "Yes."

    "I''m not too sure about that," gasped Holly. "You seem a lot more balanced than some of the guys on your team- I''m certain you have your reasons."

    "I do, and I''m not telling them to you."

    Holly surprised the man by letting out a giggle.

    "You Everdeens! So secretive!"

    "I don''t see what''s so funny about wanting a little privacy," he growled.

    "That''s not what''s funny. It''s just that she''s really just like you," explained Holly.

    "Well, I spent a lot of time with her when she was-"

    "-and that I''ve got a fully charged Neutrino pointed straight at your heart."

    Mr. Everdeen froze.

    "Yeah, it''s pretty dark out here. Dark enough that somebody small and quiet could make a few little movements without you noticing. If I fire, you''ll be stunned long enough that I could shove that arrow down your throat, but I''ll only do that if you turn down my offer."

    "Offer?"

    "Yeah. You open up about why you''re such a jerk, and not only will I not shoot you, I will surrender quietly. How about that?"

    Mr. Everdeen released his grip on the elf''s neck.

    "Fine," he muttered. "I''ll talk. But don''t think that means I''m about to give up the fight."

    "Oh, no, that''s understandable," said Holly, pressing the grip of her Neutrino into his hand. He took it, weighing it with careful, short motions, then quickly pointed it away into the night sky and discharged it three times, the flickering bolts of energy fading away into the darkness.

    "Nice gun," he noted.

    "Let''s not change the subject," frowned Holly. Mr. Everdeen sighed and placed the barrel at the back of her head.

    "I''ll start talking when you start walking."

    "Okay, okay, I''m walking," whined Holly, placing her hands above her head. She found it a little amusing to be on the other side of an arrest. She stepped forward, making sure that her movements were not too sudden.

    "I worked in the mines," explained the man. "Stuff happened. I guess you want to hear about that stuff."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-18 Jailbirds

    "Ohhh, there''s twenty-two bottles of Dust on the wall, twenty-two bottles of Dust! Take one down, pass it around, twenty-one bottles of Dust on the wall!"

    "Is she gonna shut up?" growled Marston.

    "When she gets to zero, maybe," moaned Ryuko. For a while, she had convinced herself that being stuck on a horse''s rear end could be a lot worse. It''s warm, she had said. And it''s soft. However, Ryuko quickly realized that her mind had been lying. Well, it was warm. Soft was a thing it was not.

    I swear one of these days I''m going to make sure Twilight has to do this. Or would that come off as kind of weird? Like, would that be kind of sexual? Would she consider a horse like this to be an equal, or of a lesser species? Would she speak its language? What do they use in her world instead of horses? People?

    "She got to zero once already," the bounty hunter hissed, looking back over his shoulder at Adam and Ruby''s silhouettes in the night. "She just started over."

    "Because that''s how the song goes, dummy," yelped Ruby. "Now, what number was I at? Twenty? Twenty one? Guess I''ll have to head on back to ninety-nine bottles of Dust on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of Dust!"

    "Goddamn it, we''re here!" roared Marston, pointing at a sign ahead of them in the dark. It was illuminated by fading incandescent bulbs, the once-bright lettering stating that Weston was "a friendly place."

    "I have never been so happy to be thrown in jail," sighed Ryuko.

    "Oh, Ryuko! You never told us you''d been in jail before," exclaimed Ruby.

    "Yeah, I''ll tell you that story, later," she huffed.

    "Five more minutes, John. Five more minutes," whispered Marston, commanding his horse to the steps of a medium-sized building with a proper door. He dismounted the horse, threw Ryuko over his shoulder, and used his free hand to knock on the door. After a pause, it opened, revealing a short, scrawny man with an equally-wiry moustache.

    "I''ve got a bounty here, on one Ryuko Matoi," barked Marston. "And I got a few accomplices, too."

    "O-oh," mumbled the thin man. "It''ll be a while before I''ve got the paperwork done- can you come back in the morning? I''ll get it to you then."

    Marston narrowed his eyes. "If you''re trying to pull something, you''ll regret it."

    "I ain''t, I ain''t!" trembled the man. "I just gotta confirm that you were the one who brought in the bounty, when, I gotta put their information on file, and I gotta write up your receipt to take to the bank so you can get your coin, that''s all, honest."

    "Fine. But you better be locking ''em up right now."

    "Oh, yes, sir," said the thin man. Marston plucked Ryuko off his shoulder and dumped her into the thin man''s arms before turning and walking away. The man struggled to hold her for a moment before setting her on the floor in exhaustion.

    "Oh, geez, you''re- I can''t carry you around like that," he wheezed. "Can you just¡­ walk to your cell? I mean, I''ll shoot you if you don''t, I swear to God, I''m just a little out of shape, you see."

    Ryuko blinked.

    "Uh¡­ yeah. You want to untie me?"

    The man knelt down and undid her restraints. Ryuko stood up and waved Ruby and Adam in, who had been standing at the doorway idly.

    "I''m going to need any weapons or tools you might have on your person," he explained. Ruby handed Ryuko the collapsed Crescent Rose, and ten magazines of ammunition. Ryuko fumbled with the heavy equipment and eventually dumped it onto his desk, removing her shrunken Scissor Blade from a pocket and adding it to the pile.

    "So¡­ some cells?"

    "Oh, they''re uh, down the ways a bit. Here-" he said, picking up his revolver from a paper-cluttered desk. "I''ll show you."

    He led them at gunpoint down a narrow hall and around a corner to a part of the building made of sturdy-looking concrete. Eight-foot by eight-foot cells lined the walls, all empty. The man ushered them to the end of the row, drew a key from his belt, and unlocked three gated doors.

    "You know, I think you all are the most polite prisoners we''ve ever had," he noted.

    "Wow. That really means a lot," scoffed Ryuko, wandering into her cell. The man shut the door behind her and locked it, walking across the hall to lock Ruby''s cell, and stepping to the side to secure Adam''s.

    "Now, don''t y''all try anything. Maybe I can get you out early on good behavior."

    He left the prison wing, shutting a door behind him.

    Ryuko¡­ have you been in jail before?

    No. But I''ve watched enough movies to know what to do.

    "Hey, psst," whispered Ruby. "Ryuko! What did you do when you were in jail?"

    "I learned stuff," replied Ryuko smugly, finding the small arrangement of wooden planks that composed what might be generously called a bed and lowering herself onto it.

    "Like what?"

    "Don''t drop the soap."

    "Aw, man," hissed Ruby. "I hate it when that happens!"

    "Ryuko, you said you had a plan," whispered Adam.

    "That''s right. I still do. This is part of it. Tomorrow morning, you''re gonna learn the rest."

    "So¡­ you mean we''re going to have to spend the night here? We''re not gonna bust out?!"

    "Go to sleep, Ruby," groaned Ryuko, closing her eyes.

    In a surprising twist, the tiny jail cell''s bunk was far more comfortable than the horse had been. The concrete walls made the room cold, but Senketsu''s cloth remained warm enough to keep her comfortable- Life Fibers were very nice to have around, sometimes. She drifted off into much-needed sleep, and dreamed the same dreams she usually did- half surreal visions of her mother exploding, over and over, half Suzuki B-Kings.

    "What I wouldn''t give for a B-King," she mumbled, realizing that she was awake. She opened her eyes and looked around- everything seemed like it had been. She was about to go back to sleep when she heard what must have woken her up before. A cell door a few down from her slammed shut. Voices discussed something a little more loudly than she would have liked. Against her own will, she listened in.

    "Well, yeah, but, I''ve got to do this paperwork. If you come by tomorrow morning, I''ll have it done, and you can take your receipt."

    It was the thin man from before, who Ryuko concluded thanks to her partially-recharged brain was the town''s Sheriff. Two other voices replied to him.

    "Make it quick. We''re busy people," grunted the first, a gravelly voice projected from fairly high-quality speakers. Ryuko had heard that voice before, it was the man that most people called Chief.

    "And you wouldn''t believe how long it took us to bring him in," said the second. It was also familiar, female, arrogant, lilting. It was the lady who called herself the Ghost of the Chozo, who was his¡­ girlfriend? Daughter-figure? Ryuko hadn''t really been paying attention during the last fight they were in. She watched to cool alien-killing bits, though. They were pretty tough, especially working together. Clearly, they had collected a bounty, just like Marston had. But who would have given them that much trouble? Not anyone Ryuko could think of, other than herself, of course. Maybe Alucard? Doubtful, they''d both be dead if they had crossed him.

    "Well, I''m glad you did, though. You''ll get your coin tomorrow, as promised," assured the Sheriff.

    "We had better," barked Chief, the sounds of heavy metal boots clanking away indicating the departure of himself and Samus.

    So the bounty''s price was the coin? Damn, that screws up my plan quite a bit. But they''re not going to be able to get that until tomorrow morning, or if that guy finishes his paperwork. So there''s time to plan around that. Senketsu, wake me up as soon as it''s light, or if you hear those guys come back.

    Of course, Ryuko.

    Thanks. No, mom, it''s just a bike¡­ no, it''s not a phase, it''s who¡­ I really am.

    Something tickled her nose, and she was obligated to swat at it. It came back, and she swatted it away again. The third time, she opened her eyes and found Senketsu''s necktie poking her.

    Ryuko, you told me to wake you up.

    "Sorry, buddy," she groaned, propping herself up with an elbow. The jail cells across the way had barred windows, which were beginning to let in a little purple-orange morning light. She rubbed her eyes and, with a great deal of effort, convinced herself to get out of bed. Ryuko knelt on the filthy floor and picked a few clods of mud that had been caked there by previous visitors (though she wondered if there really had been previous visitors). With a careful hand, she tossed one between the bars and into Ruby''s cell, hitting the sleeping girl squarely in the forehead. She leapt from her bunk and was about to start screaming when she noticed Ryuko''s death glare and index finger raised to her lips.

    "We''ve got a visitor," whispered Ryuko, tilting her head to her right, which was Ruby''s left. "What''s he look like?"

    Ruby craned her neck to the edge of her cell.

    "Normal-looking guy. Still asleep."

    "Okay. I''m going to wake Adam up and I''ll explain the plan. Quietly."

    Ryuko tossed a second clod and the giant awakened from his slumber, looking annoyed. Ryuko gave him the be-quiet gesture as well, and after a moment of contemplation, he nodded and sat at attention on the floor of his cell.

    "Okay. Here''s the plan," explained Ryuko. "We were stuck in the middle of nowhere. Mr. Marston conveniently helped us out with that by taking us to a major town, Weston. He did that in exchange for one of the coins we need to win this round. It''s currently in the bank here, so we need to get it before he does."

    "So, are we gonna bust out?" asked Ruby.

    "Yes, but, hold on, I''ll get there. There''s a bit of a problem. You see, last night, Master Chief and Samus-"

    "Oh, man those two are so cool when they work together!" giggled Ruby. "I wish I had a cool suit of power armor like that! Then I could say cool one-liners like, ''FINISH THE FRIES'', or ''HEY, BLAKE, SCREW YOU'' and then I''d totally impale her with a power drill, I mean, if we were enemies and we were like on Mars or something."

    "Second thing I learned in jail: shut up or get shivved."

    Ruby was quiet after that. Ryuko cleared her throat and continued.

    "Master Chief and Samus brought that guy in, and apparently the reward is the very same coin that Marston''s after. The Sheriff''s played them both."

    Adam nodded. "The parties are due to come into conflict at the same time, at this location. Such an altercation may provide sufficient cover for our escape."

    "Bingo," smiled Ryuko. "Now, look out your windows."

    Ruby hopped up to grab the bars and hoisted herself to look through them. Adam simply stood.

    "It''s the rest of the town," noted the artificial man.

    "That''s right. See the bank anywhere?"

    "Umm¡­ yeah! It''s just across the way!" yelped Ruby.

    "Perfect," grinned Ryuko. "Memorize where it is, because we''re not going to have long to get there when stuff starts hitting the fan."

    "What are we going to do about¡­" Ruby tilted her head to the left. "-him?"

    Ryuko shrugged. "Leave him, I guess. I mean, if he''s actually crazy or something I sure wouldn''t want to have to deal with him when we''re trying to escape, right?"

    "Okay," said Ruby, sounding a little disappointed.

    A distant knock silenced them.

    "This is it," whispered Ryuko. "Get ready."

    The front door of the Sheriff''s office opened slowly. A weary-looking Sheriff peered up at Marston.

    "Mornin''," he groaned.

    "It''ll be a good morning if you''ve got my receipt," countered the bounty hunter.

    "I do, I do," grumbled the Sheriff. He limped back to his desk, rummaged around in the papers, and drew one which he handed to Marston. Marston snatched it, looked it over, then folded it and stuffed it into one of his vest pockets.

    "I appreciate it, partner," he growled unappreciatively. He turned from the door to find his path blocked with a living wall of metal, wrapped in a heavy canvas cloak.

    "Haven''t seen you around before," grunted John-117, looking down at the comparatively small man in front of him.

    "Same goes for you," scowled the other John.

    "You were just talking with the Sheriff, weren''t you?" asked Samus, her helmet tucked under an arm. "You wouldn''t happen to know if he''s got our receipt ready, would you?"

    "I don''t know nothing ''bout yours, but I''ve got mine," snickered Marston, drawing the folded up paper and waving it a safe distance away from them. "Good for one gold coin."

    Samus raised an eyebrow maliciously. "Funny, that''s what ours was supposed to be for."

    Master Chief pulled his pistol from his cloak, pointing it down toward Marston''s head.

    "So you thought you could get away with stealing our bounty? What put that kind of crazy idea in your head?"

    "Far as I know, I didn''t steal anything," huffed Marston, undeterred. "I collected a bounty on Ryuko Matoi."

    "Matoi¡­ no, that''s not who we brought in," thought John-117 aloud.

    "Well, real sorry," snorted Marston, stepping past the power-armored warriors. "But I guess you''re outta luck."

    "Samus, go get some answers from the Sheriff," barked Master Chief. "I need to have a word with that guy."

    "Sure thing, Chief," smiled Samus, clipping her helmet back on and coiling into her Morph Ball, which exploded through the office''s front door and deposited the Ghost of the Chozo onto the Sheriff''s desk.

    "All right, you two-timing space-weasel-"

    Samus quickly realized as the dust began to clear that the Sheriff did not appear to be in his office. In his place, on his chair, was a half-packed suitcase.

    Samus became aware of a sound coming from the floor above, and after locating the stairwell, charged up to investigate.

    "Now''s our chance," whispered Ryuko, pulling her ear from the cell''s wall. She grabbed the iron bars closing her in and twisted them apart, stepping though the gap. She then sprinted to Adam and Ruby''s cells and freed them likewise.

    "Let''s get out of here, Senketsu," said Ryuko to her uniform.

    Right, Senketsu replied. Ryuko pulled the bolt across her glove, which emitted an explosion of pink energy, fading into wispy sparkles as her transformation completed.

    "LIFE FIBER SYNCHRONIZE, KAMUI SENKETSU!"

    "Well, it''s nice that you can do that and get all naked and everything," mumbled Ruby bashfully, "But I''m kind of useless without Crescent Rose."

    "I''ve got you covered," smirked Ryuko, snapping her now-gloved fingers. The wooden door to the jail wing burst into pieces as Crescent Rose and its spare ammunition crashed through, flying through the air into Ruby''s hands.

    "H-How?" stammered the huntress.

    "When we were giving up our weapons, I managed to slip a single Life Fiber from Senketsu around all of our gear. All it took was a tug to get it all back," Ryuko replied, raising an open hand to catch her Scissor Blade, which expanded to its usual size. "Now, if you guys would just step aside."

    Ruby and Adam complied, allowing Ryuko to make a brief movement with the weapon, which ripped the wall between them and the rest of the town into large concrete chunks.

    "Follow me," instructed Ryuko, sprinting away. Adam began to follow, but quickly noticed that Ruby was not. She was instead looking back into the jail.

    Adam turned and rushed back to his friend. "Ruby, what is wrong?"

    "It''s just, that guy. We don''t know him or anything, but¡­ it''d be wrong to just leave him there," explained the huntress.

    "Are you suggesting we free him?"

    "Yeah. We''re gonna get him out of there."

    Adam was about to protest, but Ruby had already disappeared in a cloud of rose petals. Begrudgingly, Adam ran back into the jail. The Huntress was already at the stranger''s cell.

    "Hey, excuse me, mister? I''m going to let you out."

    Adam pulled Ruby aside gently.

    "Ruby, I am not sure this is such a good idea."

    "I know¡­ but it''s the right thing to do. Besides, he looks pretty harmless."

    Adam took a look at the man who was cowering in the corner of his cell. Ruby was right- he was thin, perhaps in his late thirties, with curly brown hair and glasses. He wore no armor, nor any weapons- just a ragged-looking white shirt and a pair of threadbare jeans.

    "Fine," sighed Adam, ripping the cell door from its hinges.

    "Th-thank you," stammered the man. "I don''t like confined spaces."

    "Who does?" giggled Ruby.

    "Finally got you," roared Samus, clutching the Sheriff by the neck as she dragged him back into the office. "You thought you could dupe us and skip town? You''re out of your-" she noticed the lack of a door between the office and the jail wing, and also noticed her bounty running out of his cell.

    "Oh, no, you-"

    "What?" strained the Sheriff from his headlock. Samus answered his question by tightening her grip and snapping his neck, tossing his body aside and transforming her armor into its Morph Ball mode.

    Adam was unsure about having the stranger follow them, but he really did seem harmless. They had made it about halfway to the bank, with their new companion keeping up surprisingly well, when a bronze orb skidded directly into their path and unfolded into a large suit of power armor.

    "Stop right there!" shouted Samus, leveling her Arm Cannon at the trio. Adam and Ruby halted fast enough that their fellow prisoner collided into them from behind. Samus leapt forward, and much to their surprise, grabbed only the now-dazed man, tucking him under her arm.

    "Do you kids have any idea what you''re doing?" she cried.

    "Standing between you and the gold coin?" asked Adam.

    "Running towards a bank?" suggested Ruby.

    "No, not that," grunted Samus. "If I wanted to, I could bust in there and get the coin myself. I was actually trying to do a bit of good by locking up this guy- the reward wasn''t my priority!"

    Ruby raised an eyebrow dryly. "Really?"

    "Okay, maybe not," conceded the bounty hunter. "But my point still stands. Do you even know who this guy is?"

    "No," admitted Adam and Ruby simultaneously.

    "Then it''s a good thing I''ve got him now. No doubt you would''ve made him angry at some point. I just hope there''s a few cells left in that jail so I can-"

    Samus stopped talking when she noticed that the man slung under her arm was giggling.

    "What are you laughing about?"

    "Heh¡­ I don''t want to go back in jail," he chuckled.

    "I''m sorry, Bruce- I know you''re not a bad guy, but-"

    "If you would have just left me alone in the first place, none of this would have happened," he sighed. "But if you think you can solve things like that, there''s only one thing left for me to do."

    Ruby poked her companion''s arm. "Adam, do you have any idea what''s going on?"

    "Nein."

    "Neither do I."

    Samus was rapidly becoming more flustered.

    "Don''t you start with that ''one thing left to do'' stuff- you''re not even pissed off yet!"

    "Oh, Miss Aran, don''t you get it?" grinned Bruce. "I''m always angry."

    She dropped him and leapt back, bracing the Arm Cannon with her free hand.

    "Get back," she screamed. "He''s gonna transform!"

    "Transform?" asked Ruby.

    Bruce''s body began to swell, ripping his shirt off to reveal expanding, pallid-green flesh.

    "Oh, transform," repeated the Huntress. "I get it."

    Bruce now towered over even Adam, his massive green body impossibly muscled. Somehow, his jeans remained on.

    "If he gets angry, this happens," warned the bounty hunter. "And then he just gets stronger if he gets angrier! It was nearly impossible for me and Chief to bring him in last time!"

    "Just like Ryuko," breathed Adam.

    "BLONDIE NOT ''BRING IN'' HULK AGAIN," roared Bruce, wrapping a gigantic hand around her midsection and flinging her into the sky fast enough that she quickly disappeared from their vision.

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "Yeah, I think she''ll have trouble with that," Ruby agreed.

    Bruce immediately fell back onto his haunches in an incredibly bulky and rage-filled version of sitting. Hot and heavy breaths were ejected at regular intervals from his nostrils as his eyes danced about, as if searching for something.

    "Fascinating," Adam remarked. "It seems that he is attempting to calm himself down, and perhaps revert to his human form."

    A shout from behind them broke his concentration.

    "Hey, guys!" yelled Ryuko, bursting the bank''s wall. "I grabbed the coin, even without your help! Now let''s get the hell out-"

    Upon sighting Bruce, she froze.

    "What the hell is that?"

    Bruce pushed himself up off the ground, which nearly created a small tremor, and turned towards Ryuko, slowly advancing towards her.

    "The, uh, normal-looking guy," whimpered Ruby.

    "Ah. I see," said Ryuko. "Well he certainly does not look very normal now."

    "Nope!"

    "With all those muscles of yours I assume you''re a pretty strong guy, aren''t you?" Ryuko was completely enveloped by the shadow of the monstrous man that stood in front of her.

    "HULK IS STRONGEST THERE IS!"

    "The strongest, huh? And I bet you want to prove that by taking this coin, right?" she asked, drawing the simple gold disc from the thin strip of cloth that composed Senketsu''s ''skirt''.

    "HULK NOT WANT COIN! HULK WANT TO SMASH PORCUPINE!"

    With that, he brought down his two massive fists in a double axe-handle. Ryuko barely had time to replace the coin and raise her Scissor blade in defense, the weapon taking the attack instead of her skull. While no clouds hung in the air, the sound of thunder could be heard as the impact drove a crater into the ground.

    "Again with the hedgehog stuff?!" groaned Ryuko, struggling to keep the Scissor Blade aloft.

    Ryuko! His strength is incredible! Don''t let your guard down!

    I wasn''t planning on it, Senketsu.

    "Why did he attack? He seemed to be quite calm once he got rid of Samus," wondered Adam.

    "Maybe he sensed how strong Ryuko was," suggested Ruby. "I mean, she''s really tough! If he wanted to prove that he''s the strongest, he''d definitely have to get her out of the way!"

    "That leads us to ein klienes problem. We know that Bruce''s transformation was triggered by anger, and that he becomes stronger as his anger increases. We also know that Ryuko has a similar anger-driven transformation."

    Ruby''s eyes widened. "And it tried to kill us last time..."

    "Correct. I would not think it wise to allow this battle to continue."

    "But¡­ how are we gonna stop them?"

    "SENKETSU SHIPPU!"

    Ryuko''s outfit contorted into its flight mode, its boosters filling the crater with white-hot exhaust. She slowly began to press upwards against the Hulk''s arms, lifting them back above his head until her feet were at head-level with the monster.

    "I am not a porcupine!" she roared, driving a kick into his chin. The Hulk exploded backwards, ripping through a building that probably was an inn, and plowed into the desert.

    "Guhh," grumbled the Hulk, picking himself out of the dirt. The little porcupine was very strong- but not stronger than him, he was certain. He noticed something shiny in the distance, approaching him quickly.

    "I''m gonna finish this right here!" screamed Ryuko, diving towards her target at full speed. "SCISSOR BLADE, DECAPITATION MODE!"

    The Scissor Blade did as it was told and extended to its full length. She charged ahead at maximum burn, sized up her opponent, swung the sword, and came to a violent stop. The Hulk had wrapped his fingers around the weapon, and looked inquisitively at Ryuko, who now dangled from the Scissor Blade''s handle.

    "PORCUPINE NOT CUT HULK. HULK STRONGER THAN PORCUPINE!"

    The Hulk then smashed the blade''s handle into the ground, taking the porcupine with it. Or so the Hulk thought, until he felt something land on his shoulders. The face of the porcupine lowered itself into his vision upside-down.

    "But not faster. And I ain''t sold on that ''stronger'' thing either."

    Ryuko performed a front-flip off of his shoulders and landed facing him, having returned Senketsu to his standard combat mode. She drew her Scissor Blade from the earth and collapsed it into its storage-friendly size, which she deposited into her skirt along with the coin.

    "If I can''t cut you, I''ll have to do this the old-fashioned way."

    The Hulk roared in response, winding up his right fist into an oversized haymaker. Ryuko adjusted her footing and opened her arms, catching the attack. Her heels dug into the ground as she slid backward across the dirt, but Ryuko remained standing.

    "Nice try, buddy," she growled, using her grip on the giant''s arm to fling him backwards over her head. He landed face-up, dazed, which left her with an opening. "But now it''s my turn!"

    She leapt into the air with a backflip, and drew back her fist.

    "RYUKO SMASH!"

    Senketsu fired up his boosters, propelling her punch down into the Hulk with enough force to create a several-story-high cloud of loose dirt. Ruby suppressed her excitement and replaced it with mature concern.

    "We can''t let them keep fighting like this," she said, making a beeline for the explosive melee.

    "Agreed," huffed Adam, following closely behind.

    Ryuko folded her arms across her chest triumphantly. Knocking the wind out of the creature had seemed to work, as it no longer was thrashing about.

    "Looks like I''m the strongest," she taunted, accentuating her superiority with a heel stomp. This caused the giant''s arms to immediately leap back to life and seal around her, forming walls of green muscle that began to creep closer.

    "HULK CRUSH STUPID PORCUPINE! HULK STRONGEST THERE IS!"

    "Can''t-ugh-breathe," Ryuko gasped.

    But there is something we can do, Ryuko.

    "Right-ngh! SENKETSU SENJIN!"

    The Hulk roared and retracted his arms in pain, wrenching them away from the sharp red spikes that had suddenly grown from Ryuko''s body.

    "What''s the matter, big guy?" sneered Ryuko, standing back up. A few droplets of something green rolled down the blades that extended from her wrists. "I thought you said I couldn''t cut you."

    The Hulk leaped up, displacing Ryuko onto the dirt once more. He slid backwards and slammed his fists into the ground with a mighty bellow.

    "HULK NOT CARE! HULK SMASH PORCUPINE EVEN IF PORCUPINE IS SHARP!"

    "You know, the way you keep getting back up is really startin'' to piss me off," Ryuko snarled, jets of steam escaping her outfit.

    "Friendship-saving ultimate slap attack gooooooo!"

    Though it was almost unnoticeable, the pricking of a hand across Ryuko''s face was enough to distract her from her opponent. She lifted a hand to her cheek, and found Ruby standing at her side.

    "Wha- Ruby?"

    "Ryuko, you need to stop, now. You''re gonna drive yourself crazy, like last time¡­ and me and Adam don''t want to see that happen."

    "Y-yeah, but¡­ who else is going to get rid of this guy?"

    Adam stepped forward, taking a moment to catch his breath.

    "Ruby and I have developed a strategy that should allow us to overcome Mr. Bruce''s strength."

    "Well, okay, I''m all-"

    "Ryuko, we can''t let you fight him," said Ruby. "We''re going to take care of this. If we let him out¡­ we''ve got to put him down."

    "Oh. Oh. Um, okay," mumbled Ryuko, de-synchronizing with Senketsu. "I''ll, uh¡­ wait over there." She pointed towards a rock and began to walk towards it.

    "Ryuko seems a bit upset," noted Adam.

    "Yeah. She really likes to prove that she''s stronger than anybody¡­ just like Mr. Hulk!"

    "Indeed. Thankfully, once we disable that green menace, there should be no other similar threats."

    "Yep!" grinned Ruby. "I can''t think of anybody who just travels around challenging people to test their strength! Nobody at all!"

    Adam gave her a concerned glance. "Ruby, why are you emphasizing those words?"

    "I have no idea!" bubbled the Huntress.

    "HULK WANT TO FIGHT PORCUPINE!" roared Bruce.

    Ruby shook her head. "Too bad! You get to fight us now!" She drew Crescent Rose, extended the weapon into its scythe form, and jammed a fresh magazine into the receiver. "Because we''re pretty darn strong, too!"

    "HULK NOT WANT TO FIGHT RIDING HOOD AND YELLOW HULK. WANT TO FIGHT PORCUPINE!"

    "Now, to change his mind," whispered Adam. "A warning shot."

    Ruby lowered her scythe and fired an entire magazine at the giant, sliding backward with every shot. She dropped the empty mag out of the weapon and replaced it with a fresh one, running back to Adam''s side.

    "How was that?" she asked.

    "A warning shot is singular," groaned Adam. The Hulk reached up to his forehead and removed something very small compared to his huge fingers, and a small darker-green spot began to appear.

    "Uh¡­ oh," Ruby squealed.

    "RIDING HOOD SHOT HULK! NOW HULK MORE ANGRY!"

    "That certainly attracted his attention," Adam sighed.

    "Great! Let''s kick his butt!"

    "I doubt such a maneuver will be effective."

    Ruby spun her scythe to face the opposite direction and fired twice, which flung her into a high-speed dash toward the giant. Adam took off in a comparatively-slow sprint, still covering far more ground than any human would have.

    The Huntress reached the target first, lifting Crescent Rose to catch the Hulk''s armpit inside its blade. Her momentum swung her off the ground and onto his shoulder, where she landed on one foot.

    "''Scuse me! Mr. Hulk! I have a question!" she called, causing the monstrous Bruce to twist his neck towards her.

    "So what''s up with my nickname?" she asked candidly. "I mean, Ryuko is porcupine, makes sense, ''cause she''s all spikey. And Adam looks kinda like you but a little more refined and stitch-y and stuff, but ''Riding Hood''? Really? That''s the best you could come up with?"

    The Hulk responded by emitting a bestial howl, replete with saliva, which Ruby wiped off of her face with a sleeve.

    "You know, I don''t think you''re very creative."

    The Hulk was about to pluck her from his shoulder and rip her in half when something caved in his stomach- a downward glance revealed it to be Adam''s fist.

    "That is quite enough," he stated, spinning the stunned Hulk in place by his shoulders as Ruby leaped clear. Once the creature''s back faced him, Adam locked his arms around Bruce''s midsection and twisted backwards, plowing the Hulk''s head into the ground. Adam released his grip, rolled back to his feet, and began to backpedal.

    "Now, Ruby!" he called, keeping his eyes fixed on the monster. "This won''t keep him dazed for more than a minute! Get all the distance you can!"

    "Got it, Adam!" replied Ruby, who took off in the opposite direction. Both warriors charged away from the Hulk at full speed, until they were nearly specks on the horizon from where Ryuko sat.

    "What the hell are they up to?"

    Adam continued to sprint away. He knew that the most critical distance for this operation was between him and his foe- it had to be as great as possible. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw the Hulk''s massive frame begin to stir, the effects of the suplex wearing off.

    Not yet. A little further.

    Ruby skidded to a halt a few meters from Ryuko.

    "OKAY!" she shouted. "I''M IN POSITION!"

    "Position for what?" asked Ryuko.

    "The attack, duh," scoffed Ruby. "It''s a new one me and Adam came up with."

    "It''s not like that¡­ fastball thing, is it?"

    "No, no, kinda the opposite! You''ll see."

    "I AM READY!" echoed the voice of Adam in the distance. The Hulk began to pick himself up, rising from the ground with more anger in his glowing-green eyes than ever.

    "Then let''s shift into turbo!" giggled Ruby, pointing her scythe behind her again and propelling herself forward with a few more carefully-timed shots. She loved the feeling of speed, the embrace of inertia. Their combination was an amazing, unlikely combination. Speed was so unpredictable, so violent, so dangerous. On the other hand, the momentum objects possessed as they travelled at those speeds- it would always carry along in the same way. It was reliable. Once one learned to use the predictable nature of inertia to control such extreme speeds, an entire world balanced on razor-wire opened up, and it was wonderful. It was while exploring that speed that Ruby had discovered her Semblance, perhaps an even greater gift than naturally-occurring velocity. She could feel the magic pulsing within her very soul, always eager to go faster. When she agreed to turn up the speed¡­ that''s when the fun started. She gave into that acceleration-craving pulse as she sprinted, and felt it began to work its wonders. In the span of a few nanoseconds, the distances between the places she had been and the place she was now began to climb from a handful of meters to a few dozen meters, the ground beneath her feet shifting from a dry, cracked wasteland into a featureless brown sea. The Hulk swelled from a tiny thing she could squeeze between her fingers and became a vast obstruction blocking her view ahead. And with a very small adjustment to her own inertia- a foot placed at an ever-so-slightly different angle- he was left far behind.

    For a moment, the monster seemed confused. Riding Hood was going to hit him, right? Then, why didn''t she? He turned to watch her race away, but something small and light struck his cheek. He turned back and was bombarded by thousands of rose petals, carried along by an unseen force. Hulk began to feel that force, at first a gentle nagging, then a steady pull, and finally a vast hurricane-like push, knocking him off of his feet and into the air. He fell backwards, but never hit the ground, hovering slightly above the desert''s surface as he began to speed along in the direction that the girl had run.

    Adam saw the trail of dust begin to rise towards him. That was his cue. He leaned forward into an all-out sprint, pushing his body to its limits. He felt the seams that held him together strain under the pressure of his movements, but he was certain they would hold. They would not be under such stress for long. They would be, however, if he missed; of that he was certain. He could not miss. He began to make out the thin silhouette of Ruby at the head of the dust cloud that was rocketing his way, and behind her, a great, black form- his target. He would have to be precise, as another chance was unlikely to present itself. He twisted his upper body perpendicular to his direction of motion, curling his right fingers inward to form a fist. Within seconds, he could make out Ruby''s hair and clothing separate from her body.

    Almost.

    Ruby extended her boots forward in mid-gait, digging her heels in as she came within one hundred feet of Adam. The wonderful high of velocity wore off, and she focused on her task with renewed clarity. She extended her left hand and clapped it into the center of Adam''s as she passed him- that was the signal he had asked for. She thought it was a little silly that it was essentially a low-five, but she wasn''t going to question him. It was mostly his plan, and he was pretty smart about this kind of thing.

    The impact against his free hand was his signal- his brain now sent a message to the coiled muscles in his right arm to expand on one side, and contract on another, forcing his fist forward. He had read long ago that some Oriental philosophers claimed that by shouting, one could channel their spirit''s energy into an attack. Adam was not usually one to believe in such superstitious claims, but he had seen a fair number of unusual and otherwise inexplicable things since he had arrived here, and was willing to take a few gambles. As his fist hurtled towards its target- and his target hurtled towards the fist, he cried out the most logical statement he could make about the attack.

    "EINEM SCHLAG!"

    He adjusted the course of his hand slightly- not enough to harm its momentum, as that would ruin the one strike he had- and made sure it would hit exactly where he intended. The massive figure of the Hulk drifted towards him at incredible speed, rolling and twisting in place as it flew. He could see the flashing eyes full of powerless anger hurtle towards him, completely unaware of the carefully-laid plan in motion.

    That is your problem, Mr. Bruce. I have few doubts that you are a reasonable human being. But for whatever strength you gain as a monster, without reason, you are doomed.

    Ryuko saw it happen first- the trail of dust was suddenly split- a spherical space was knocked out of the very front, which then rapidly expanded, scattering dirt and rose petals alike. The distant shape of the hulking creature''s body hung in the air for a moment, as if clinging desperately to the inertia it had collected, then gave up and fell to the ground, absolutely still. Ryuko activated Senketsu and flew toward her allies, skidding to a halt next to Adam. His right arm hung at his side, what little skin had covered his hand previously had now disappeared. He was breathing heavily, but was smiling. The body of the Hulk, on the other hand, was not. A massive dent had caved in his stout, broad nose, which now no longer spat out hot air with each breath.

    "Abschlusswirbelwind," declared Adam softly.

    "Woo-hoo!" cheered Ruby, leaping for joy as she returned down the long trail of ruts her boots had dug into the ground. "We did it!"

    "Yeah, you did," stammered Ryuko. "But how?"

    "Simple," gasped Adam. "Ruby''s Semblance ability not only allows her to travel at extreme speeds, but creates the side-effect of a powerful low-pressure zone behind her. This zone exhibits a powerful jet-stream effect that draws objects along with it. By giving Ruby enough room to accelerate, she was able to reach a speed where the jet-stream effect was powerful enough to lift and carry Mr. Bruce. By placing a great deal of distance between myself and Mr. Bruce, I was able to achieve my top sprinting speed and punch him at full force. The net velocity of the objects in the collision- namely, my fist and Mr. Bruce''s face- caused sufficient central-nervous stress to initiate a loss of consciousness."

    Ryuko looked down at the Hulk''s body, only to find the normal-looking guy from before, sans shirt and with even rattier-looking jeans.

    "And if he''s not conscious, he''s not angry," she mused. "That''s really smart."

    "It was a difficult solution for a difficult problem," winced Adam, cradling his hand. "But it was necessary for me to solve it. Ruby and I unintentionally created this predicament."

    "No, no," said Ryuko weakly. "This was all my fault. If I hadn''t hatched this hare-brained scheme-"

    "Actually," Adam refuted, "While you may feel some guilt for foolishly engaging Mr. Bruce, most of your plan was a success. By being arrested by Mr. Marston, we easily located our objective, and you were able to retrieve it with little resistance." He managed a smile through his pain. "Not too bad, ja?"

    "I- I guess so," Ryuko shrugged.

    Ruby fiddled with the clasps on her shoulders and removed her cloak, carrying it to Adam''s side. She began to wrap it around his injured hand until it crept up his arm as a bright-red cloth tourniquet.

    "There you go!" she chirped. "Now, we''re off to the next town, right?"

    "Yeah, but¡­ where? We''re in Weston, I know," mulled Ryuko. "But the sun''s right overhead- there''s no way to tell exactly which way is east or west or north or south from here. So how are we gonna find our way anywhere?"

    Far to their left, a gigantic pillar of blue light erupted over the desert, ripping the clouds overhead apart and leaving a whining echo hanging in the air.

    "That looks like somewhere," suggested Ruby.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-19 Honest Opinions / A Wonderful Place

    The morning air was quiet and still. It was not really how Sonic preferred it- he would have liked to be speeding about in search of new records to break- but he could at least appreciate the sort of charm it must have held for others like Cloud. The mercenary was the only other occupant of the second-floor veranda that looked out over the town, towards the rising sun. Sonic shut the door quietly behind him and decided to make conversation.

    "You been up for a while, Cloud?"

    "Since midnight," yawned the man, continuing to gaze out toward the horizon. He patted a spot on the railing, which Sonic zipped to and rested himself against. "Sure is pretty, up here."

    "Yeah, I guess so," agreed the hedgehog, taking another look back out at the vibrant tones of orange and salmon rising in the distance. "But¡­ it''s just a desert. Nothin'' real fancy."

    "It may not look like much to you, but it''s beautiful to me," explained Cloud. "It''s not very real or anything, but any time I look out at one of these arenas, all I see is what could be- what I could be doing, back home. Making people''s lives better."

    "A sunset reminds you of that?"

    "My world was one that had been ruined by foolish people, the very life sucked out of the ground in pursuit of money and power. The whole planet was dying¡­ even a desert wouldn''t have been as vibrant as this. I was going to make things better."

    "Huh. I never would''ve pegged you as an environmentalist type."

    "I don''t know if I''d say I was doing it so much for the planet, as the people in it."

    "Honestly I wouldn''t have taken you as a people person either."

    Cloud turned from the sunset, smiling. "Heh. Yeah. I guess I don''t run my mouth a whole lot, but I like having some company, to pass the time."

    "Well, it''s a pleasure to be of service to ya," replied Sonic. "So¡­ can I ask you something?"

    "Uh, yeah, maybe. Is it weird? ''Cause you''re making it sound like it''s going to be weird."

    "No, not weird, but personal. What do you think of¡­ the boss?"

    Cloud''s smile grew a little fainter. "You mean, Poppy? That''s a tricky question. I guess you could say there''s two answers to that. What she really is¡­ it''s a mean thing. None of us could really wrap our heads around the kind of evil power she''s got, that''s undeniable. But her beef isn''t with us, it''s with the Master of Games. And for her to acknowledge that she needs our help, to offer to cooperate with what she considers lesser beings, means she''s got some spark of good in her, somewhere. I can feel it. So in that regard- which is more important than how I feel about her personally- I think I''m content taking orders from her. After all, we''ve done well so far. Why''d you ask?"

    "I don''t know what you''d call it," shrugged Sonic. "It hasn''t happened to me, but¡­ I''ve seen a lot of deals like this go sour. And I just can''t shake the feeling that-"

    "Eventually, you may be betrayed?" said Poppy, finishing his sentence.

    Sonic shed a few quills in fright, turning to find his boss standing with her arms crossed behind him.

    "How- when- did you-"

    "While my omnipresence isn''t what it used to be, these elves'' ears are useful for hearing things far away," she explained.

    "So you heard¡­ all of that?" whispered the hedgehog nervously.

    "Yes."

    "Well, I said how I really felt," stated Cloud. "If you''ve got a problem with that, just say the word and I''m out of here."

    Poppy shook her head.

    "That will not be necessary. I understand your concerns¡­ you, Sonic, desire your own freedom above all else. Cloud, you wish to protect others. Neither are uncommon wishes among mortals such as yourselves, and with your motivations as such, you may doubt my agenda. But I assure you, my intentions are as I stated. Through our cooperation, I will shame my loathsome brother, and you will achieve victory. There is no more to it than that. I do not care if you do not trust me, nor if you find my methods displeasing. All I care is that you are willing to do as told and help your allies for your mutual benefit."

    "So¡­ you don''t care what we think of you¡­ at all?" asked Sonic.

    Poppy shook her head again, looking a little weary of it. "When one lives as long as I have, one learns that what others think has little to do with their actions. Most creatures are motivated by their thoughts second, and their primal urges first."

    "Well, you''ve chewed us out all you need to, then," Cloud sighed. "I''d better get back to guard duty."

    "Actually, I was searching for you two on another matter entirely. I am in need of your assistance."

    "What''s up? Is somebody closing in on us? Need me to run a scouting mission?" asked the hedgehog excitedly.

    "No. Morrigan woke up. I''m certain she had something very profound to say when she stumbled into my office, but she ended up vomiting instead. I''ve already put her back to bed with a glass of water, but somebody needs to clean it up."

    "Well, um, look at the time!" cried Sonic, dashing away.

    "Wait!" shouted Cloud, but it was no use. Sonic was no doubt far out of earshot already, and Cloud was certain that even if the speedster had been close enough, he wouldn''t have stuck around anyway. He turned sheepishly to Poppy.

    "Uh¡­ can''t Snake help you?"

    "He is currently securing the town''s gold coin."

    "How about Bayonetta?"

    "I actually have no idea where she is," admitted Poppy. "Morrigan mumbled something about her and a trap- I think right before she ejected a bottle of scotch onto my carpet."

    "Oh. And Haruto?"

    "Broken pelvis."

    "Fine, I''ll go clean it up."

    Cloud trudged back through the door reluctantly. He was a little surprised to find Poppy crouched on the floor of the office, scraping a rag back and forth across the carpet.

    "But- I thought you wanted me to-"

    "I did not say that I was not going to help, did I?"

    Cloud smiled weakly. "Thank you, Poppy."

    ***

    Hermione made sure to wiggle back into her seat as far as possible. It was illogical, but she felt as though the few extra millimeters might keep her a little safer from her superior.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "So, Granger. Report."

    Hermione cleared her throat and pulled on her collar, which suddenly felt quite restrictive.

    "Well, we spoke with Ikari. He was evasive."

    "So he didn''t give you any answers?"

    "No, Chief Kiryuin. But there was some evidence pointing towards¡­ something."

    "Something?"

    "In his experimental lab, there was a single empty tank. It had some signs of recent use, and there was a trail of LCL on the floor, like something exited it."

    "There was no possibility that this was a sanctioned project?"

    "He claimed that the tank was out of order, that its current distributor was broken. But the tanks don''t use charged LCL. He was lying."

    Satsuki raised an eyebrow, and Hermione wondered if those muscles were as strong as the rest of her. Probably so.

    "Interesting. And you retrieved the weapons from Research and Development?"

    "We were told that they were most likely in the Munitions wing. We checked there, nobody had them."

    The corners of Satsuki''s lips turned further downwards. "And you did not think to investigate the other two wings?"

    "I did not have any reason to believe they were there."

    "I''m disappointed in you, Granger. I thought you would have been more thorough in your investigation. I cannot allow those weapons to be unaccounted for any longer."

    Kiryuin pushed her chair back and picked up her sword from her side of the desk, marching towards the door.

    "But, Chief-"

    "You are dismissed, Miss Granger. If I have another assignment for you, I only hope you will be a little more diligent."

    With that, the younger woman stormed out, tapped something on her AEGIS, and disappeared. Hermione dragged herself from the chair and sulked into the hallway.

    "Didn''t go so well, huh, Curly?" sneered Nonon.

    Hermione would have snapped back, but she was too tired. She instead nodded and began to enter the mess'' coordinates into her AEGIS.

    "Where are you going?" asked Sanageyama. "You''re not planning on leaving us out, are you?"

    "Well, I actually was," admitted the witch. "But I suppose you could come along. As long as I don''t hear anything from Nonon while we''re there."

    "I BELIEVE WE CAN KEEP HER QUIET," Gamagori supposed.

    "Fine. You can come."

    ***

    "That is a simply stunning cake!" the Doctor remarked. He was a human-looking fellow of middle height and a dark complexion, his tightly-knotted hair drawn back into a ponytail. He pulled off the apron he had been wearing, and wiped a few stray spots of flour off of his greatcoat. "You''re really outdone yourself, Pinkie!"

    "Aw, thanks, Mister The Doctor!" giggled the pony. "I really hope Haruhi likes it. I mean, I even fixed how I spelled her name wrong earlier!"

    "I don''t reckon she''ll get real upset over a little bit of icing," assured Applejack.

    Rei Forty-Seven removed her oven mitts and placed them back on the counter. "Program Coordinator Suzumiya is a woman of discerning tastes. Regardless of her sentiment on the cake, displeasing her is not advisable. Her powers alter the metaverse on a massive scale. If she merely thought of a world where any one of us did not exist, it could become reality."

    "Is that why she has to wear those limiters everywhere?" Applejack asked.

    "Spot on," confirmed the Doctor. "A lot of the Illuminated have powers that could be dangerous to others, and have to wear limiters to prevent them from hurting anyone. If they were ever in serious danger, they could pop those limiters right of and save their own skins- or anybody else''s, if need be."

    "Here''s to hoping that the cake finds her with those limiters on," laughed Applejack, and the rest followed her example. The kitchen was busiest during meals- since they were at a lull, they had time for special projects. Pinkie and Applejack were certain that the cake had turned out just fine, but wanted some advice on the decorations. The Doctor knew Suzumiya well and volunteered to help after finishing a tin of kippers. Rei Forty-Seven happened to be passing through the line and had wondered what the commotion was, and was invited to stay.

    "It''s just a wonderful place, this ship," roared the Doctor. "All of you brilliant, wonderful people doing brilliant and wonderful things. Nearly as nice as Equestria was."

    "You can come back any time, Mister The Doctor!" chirped Pinkie Pie. "And you can bring your companions or whatever, too!"

    "I''m certain I will," said the Doctor, suddenly more serious. "Because as much fun as we''re having now¡­ one day, this will be over. And we''ll all have to go back. I''ll try and pay everyone a visit as much as I can, but I''m sure we''ll all miss each other."

    "Yes, we will," whispered Forty-Seven. No one was laughing anymore.

    "Hey, let''s not get so glum!" cheered the Doctor. "Pinkie, didn''t you tell me about a surprise you made for everyone?"

    "OMIGOSH you''re right! I almost forgot!" she squealed, hopping in place. "Me and Applejack baked a whole extra cake for ourselves to try! Rei, you''re close, can you get it out of the oven?"

    "Of course," nodded Forty-Seven. She made her way to the oven, retrieving her mitts from the counter as she passed them. She opened the heavy door and removed the second cake, but halfway back to the table, she stopped, and looked up at the ceiling.

    "This vent, Pinkie?"

    Pinkie Pie turned around, a little confused.

    "I didn''t say any-"

    Words eluded her when she saw it- above Forty-Seven, descending from an innocuous ventilation port, was a horrible black tendril, writhing back and forth. Before any of them could say anything, it coiled around her midsection and lifted her up into the vent, the cake falling from her hands. Several dull thumps were followed by a messy crunching sound, and Rei fell back through the vent covered in her own blood.

    "Wonderful place, this ship," repeated the Doctor, whose greatest defense mechanism was sarcasm.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-20 Makeshift

    Author''s Note: 300+ Average views and 35+ follows? No way! Thank you guys so much for all of your support! Enjoy this super cool chapter!

    ***

    "What do ya do with a drunken sai-lor, what do ya do with a drunken sai-lor, what do ya do with a drunken sai-lor, ear-ly in the mor-ning?!"

    They had been at it for about three verses now. Twilight was not a fan of drunken sailors.

    "I have to wonder if anybody else is having to put up with this," she whispered to Alucard. The vampire nodded.

    "Probably so, Miss Sparkle."

    The van swerved again, tossing the unicorn into her bodyguard''s arms. He promptly set her back in her seat, and drew the limp safety belt more tightly across her stomach.

    "Thanks," she mumbled.

    The driver swung the wheel erratically again, causing another jolt. "Whoopsie," she giggled.

    "Usagi, I thought you said you knew how to drive this thing!" roared the boy with the straw hat.

    "Well, I mean, I read a couple chapters in the driver''s guide once, when I was waiting to get my hair done, so, yeah," replied the driver.

    "As long as we keep moving forward we''re bound to make it down the road in some fashion," muttered the adult of their group, seemingly a little more sober than before.

    "But, Jack, if she keeps goin'' like this, we''re gonna get killed!" protested the boy.

    "Luffy, my boy, it''s the journey that counts. Embrace it. And that''s Captain Jack to you."

    Jack rubbed his eyes- miraculously not smearing the absurd amount of eyeliner he had applied- and turned his attention to the back of the van.

    "And how are our esteemed guests doing?"

    "I''ve had worse," stated Alucard flatly.

    "Fine, thank you," replied Twilight. "How close are we to Southville?"

    "It''s right up ahead," Usagi announced, hunching down to look at the road through the spokes of the steering wheel. "So we''ll get that coin in no time!"

    "Sure we will¡­ provided no one tries to stop us," warned the unicorn.

    "Hah!" cackled Luffy. "Let ''em try! The Crimson Corsairs are invincible! Nobody can take us down!"

    At that moment, a Combi-Stick punctured the roof, shot down between Jack''s reclining legs, and severed the van''s brittle driveline. The van slowly rolled to a halt, with Usagi revving the engine uselessly.

    "I believe they are trying," observed Alucard.

    "That they are," gasped Jack, inching away from the spear-like weapon that had missed his more sensitive regions.

    Luffy pulled his hat down tighter over his head as he scrambled to the door. "There''s no sense sittin'' around! Let''s go kick some butt!"

    He swung his door open to find the owner of the Combi-Stick, a hulking Yautja hunter, standing outside.

    "Are you the jerk who did this?" he asked, undeterred by the seven-foot tall alien.

    "While he is directly responsible for destroying your vehicle, I gave the order," oozed a familiar voice from outside. Twilight looked up at Alucard, who gave her a concerned nod in response.

    So we''ve run into Dio''s team, she thought. This isn''t good. The rest of the fighters, I''m not too concerned about, but Dio himself is always a challenge. We might need to retre-

    "Hey, mister I-Dress-In-Too-Much-Yellow! Yeah, you!" shouted Luffy from mere feet in front of the vampire.

    Dio blinked. "You''re not who I was expecting."

    "You had better START expecting me, ''cause the Crimson Corsairs are the new team in town and we are ITCHING for a fight, right, guys?"

    Jack stumbled out of the car, shielding his eyes against the sun.

    "Hold on, hold on, just- just a moment," he stuttered. "Let''s not get ahead of ourselves. We''re just weary travelers, searching for a-"

    A knife whizzed past Jack''s face and removed one of his dreadlocks.

    "Your comrade just said you were a team here to fight," hissed Dio. "What makes you think I''m going to believe that drivel?"

    "The¡­ ahm¡­ goodness in your heart?"

    Dio grinned. "Now that''s quite the mistake. Hinging your plan on my own generosity will prove¡­ useless."

    He raised an open hand and waved it forward, and the massive blue suit of armor that called itself Nightmare stomped down the road to his master''s side.

    "You two should suffice to deal with these maggots," said the vampire, turning to walk back towards the town. "I must return to question the elf."

    "The elf?" whispered Twilight, hunkered between the seats to avoid being seen. "Could that be Holly?"

    "It is possible that there could be other elves here, but I doubt Dio would have reason to question them," replied Alucard, who had simply phased into the bench seats. "It''s the Police Elf, I''m certain."

    Twilight nodded and proceeded to teleport outside the vehicle, followed closely by her bodyguard. "Then it seems a rescue mission is in order."

    "You guys go and do that!" squealed Usagi, slinking lower into the driver''s seat. "I''m gonna stay right here!"

    Jack tucked his severed lock back underneath his bandana. "All right, lad, what are we looking at here?"

    "Two big guys, one with a stick and one with a sword," said Luffy, stating the obvious.

    "All right then, I suppose I''ll take the one with the sword?"

    Luffy gave Jack a thumbs-up and a goofy grin. "That sounds fine by me!"

    "Dio''s enforcers," noted Alucard quietly from their shelter behind the van. "I should be able to take care of them easi-"

    The van suddenly jolted behind them with a metal-tearing scream, amplified by Usagi''s own wails of terror. Alucard and Twilight circled the vehicle quickly to find an unconscious Predator lying in a caved-in sliding door.

    "There''s more where that came from!" said Luffy through gritted teeth, cracking his knuckles.

    Twilight looked incredulously at the boy, muzzle agape. "You¡­ knocked him out?"

    "Well duh. How else would he end up knocked out?"

    Jack scurried back from another one of Nightmare''s brutal slashes, which met nothing but dirt. He wobbled his own rusty blade in the air, perhaps as some sort of taunt.

    "That''s all well and good, but I''ve, ah, got some things to clear up here first," he said, dodging a horizontal slice by flopping to the ground on his back.

    "I''ve got it," grunted Alucard, raising his pistols and firing into the wall of ancient, blue metal. Each bullet caved in chunks of armor, and soon Soul Edge''s wielder was reduced to nothing more than a pile of scraps that glowed a faint red.

    "Whoa," gasped Luffy.

    "This team has evidently captured a friend of ours," said Twilight. "Alucard and I must attempt to retrieve her. We know this team and they''re very-"

    Jack sheathed his sword and raised a finger. "Hold on just a minute. We let you two tag along with us under the condition that you''d be helping us towards our goals. But now you''re going to run off and leave us ''ere to take on these rapscallions on our own? Awful suspect if you ask me."

    "Believe us or not, it''s the truth," protested Twilight. "We can''t just sit around and let our friend get hurt!"

    "And we can''t let you sour our deal," snapped Jack. "So you can go and ''rescue your friend''¡­ but you''ll have Usagi with you."

    Usagi fell out of the ruined van onto her face, evidently in shock.

    "WHAAAAAAAAAT?!" she cried.

    "And we''ll take the bloke with the guns as collateral," continued the pirate. "Savvy?"

    Twilight gritted her teeth. Alucard''s job was to stick around her, and them being separated would be very dangerous to her health- especially in the middle of The King''s League territory. The vampire knelt down next to his charge, removing his sunglasses.

    "We''ll act as a distraction," he whispered. "I''ll be a big enough threat to draw their manpower away from you. There won''t be many left guarding the police elf."

    "Are¡­ are you certain?"

    "No. But it''s our best shot, if we want to keep the deal. I believe you can do it, Twilight."

    He patted her mane and replaced his sunglasses, turning to join the other fighters. Twilight trotted over to where Usagi still knelt in the dirt.

    "Don''t worry. I''ll keep you safe," she said to the wet-eyed girl.

    "O-okay. You''d better."

    "Now hold still. I''m going to teleport us into the town. If you move too much, it''ll hurt a little."

    "Wait, wha-"

    In a flash of light, the two disappeared. They reappeared further down the road, surrounded by the buildings of Southville on either side. Twilight began to scan the area, and Usagi tucked her head behind her knees and wept.

    "We need to move quickly," explained Twilight, finding one side of the street occupied by an empty barn, a tavern, and a few houses. The opposite side featured a town hall and the bank- it was remarkably similar in layout to Northville, only reversed. "If any one of Dio''s fighters, or, Celestia forbid, Dio himself shows up, we are in serious trouble. Now, if I was holding hostages, where would they be?"

    "In a fluffy unicorn castle?" answered Usagi.

    "No, I mean-"

    "Or, like, a rainbow jail?"

    "You''re missing the point."

    "Is it a magical bouncy cloud?"

    "We''re checking the town hall first," growled Twilight, galloping towards the door. Usagi didn''t understand why the pony was so mad all of a sudden, but decided not to make her any angrier by following her closely. Twilight spun on her hooves and directed a fierce kick with her hind legs into the edge of the door, which proved forceful enough to knock it open without obvious damage. She charged through and waved the girl in, using her magic to shut the door behind her.

    "Oh, what is that smell?" Usagi asked, wrinkling her nose.

    "Death," frowned Twilight, deciding not to point out the pile of corpses that were stacked behind the front desk. She ushered the girl away from the cadavers and up a flight of stairs to the second floor, where- if the interior layout was the same as the town hall in Northville- they would find the Mayor''s Office.

    "This has to be where Dio made his base of operations," explained Twilight. "So I''d bet he''s got Holly locked up in here to question her."

    Usagi responded with a blank stare.

    "Ugh, you''re useless," Twilight snarled. "Let''s get this over with."

    The unicorn tested the knob and found it unlocked, which could have been an early warning sign that all was not as she predicted, or merely a slip in security- something not entirely impossible for a band of bloodthirsty killers. She summoned magic into her horn, ready to blast whatever might be on the other side of the door, and swung it open.

    The room seemed vacant and neat- no shelves in disarray, no papers strewn over the coffee table. In fact, it seemed rather uninhabited¡­ until the office chair behind the mayor''s desk rolled around to face them.

    "Looking for someone?" asked Janice Starling, undoing the top button of her navy-blue suit.

    "Where''s Holly?" asked Twilight with a grimace, lowering her horn towards the woman.

    "The elf? Not here. But that much is obvious. Lord Dio put her somewhere where she''s nice and safe, unlike you two. I''m just using this room as an office. I don''t believe we''ve met, I''m Janice Starling, CEO of Starling Cosmetics."

    "You pick an odd time for introductions," grumbled Twilight. "But I''ve heard of you. Holly and Katniss have both put you down before, and I''m certain I can do the same if you make me have to."

    "Oh, so you''re with them? Then maybe you can tell me about what I saw a while back."

    Twilight raised her horn, the magic simmering to a more comfortable level. "What you saw?"

    "I was just about to kill your budding martial artist when a blue light flashed, and two men appeared and tore me apart. I''m helping Lord Dio catalogue our opponents," she explained, undoing another button and leaning forward over the desk in a manner that was probably not intended for most business transactions. "And I''d just like to know their names. So I can have your whole team wrapped up, before I kill you."

    Cold moisture began to gather above Twilight''s eyes. So she''s remembered Artemis'' intervention¡­ I thought her file said she experienced memory loss after transforming. This just keeps getting better.

    "Why should I tell you?" the unicorn countered.

    "I''ve found a way to¡­ enhance my changes, lately. Let''s just say that if you tell me, I''ll be in enough control to leave you alive, so you can get locked up with your elf friend before we let you have the little surprise we made for her."

    "Surprise? Changes? What''s she talking about?" asked Usagi, preparing to cower once again.

    "We''re going to have at least one of those things answered very soon," replied Twilight. "Fine. I''ll tell you."

    "Excellent!" cheered Janice, tossing her jacket aside and drawing a notebook from the desk. "So, I''m looking for names on two guys. One little, one big."

    "Simon the Digger is the little one. Kamina is the big one," Twilight lied.

    "¡­ and Kamina," Janice echoed, scribbling something into the book. "All right. Let''s get this started, shall we?"

    "Twilight, can you please tell me what''s going on? I have, like, zero knowledge about anything she just said," whined Usagi.

    Twilight frowned back at the girl. "Well, that lady over there is about to turn into a wasp monster and brutalize us."

    "Oh, that totally makes- wait, no it doesn''t!" Usagi cried. "That only raises more questions!"

    "Forget about whether it makes sense! If you can fight, get ready to!"

    "I''ve been waiting for an opportunity to test this out for a while now¡­ Dio and that other bug thing wouldn''t let me have any fun with the boys running the place." She stepped out of her heels and began to unfasten her skirt, which was removed entirely by the sudden growth of a bulbous insect abdomen. Her legs became segmented and digitigrade, and a third pair of limbs emerged from her hips as spindly sticks compared to the legs that had once been human. These came to rest against the larger set of legs as chitin rapidly advanced up her human torso, giving her a segmented suit of armor. Her face contorted to incorporate a set of mandibles that closed over her human mouth, and her eyes swelled into large, compound masses complemented by antennae that emerged from her retracting hair. Yellowish fur emerged around the base of her neck, forming a collar of sorts, and finally a set of transparent wings emerged from her back.

    "That''s not the form Katniss or Holly described," observed Twilight.

    "That''zzz correct," replied Janice.

    Twilight took a step back in surprise. "You can talk?"

    "I can do much more than that. Thankzzz to Zzzol Badguy''zzz help, I am in total control of the wazzzp. We are one in the zzzame, now."

    "Well, it won''t do you a bit of good. Usagi and I will beat you all the same, right, Usagi?"

    Twilight located the girl, who had curled into a ball underneath a wooden chair and was weeping profusely.

    "Ugh! You''re useless! Never mind her, Janice. Focus on me instead."

    "No promizzzezzz."

    Janice sprung forward, propelled by the longer of her two pairs of legs, letting the other two trail behind her limply. Twilight dodged to the left, and teleported to the room''s back corner in order to observe her opponent briefly.

    So, she''s found a way to control her transformation and create a wasp form with more human features¡­ like making her second set of legs vestigial. Interesting. Twilight watched Janice look down at where she had been moments before, clearly confused as to where the unicorn had gone. And while she may retain slightly more of her intelligence, she''s still not as sharp as a human. I bet she might fall for the same tricks as the Xenomorph. Which reminds me, where is that thing? I wouldn''t want it sneaking up on me.

    As Janice located Twilight, the unicorn deployed her defensive shield spell, applying the reversal effect. The wasp woman stalked over to the pink dome, flicking her antennae back and forth rapidly. She reached out a cautious hand and tapped the spell''s shimmering surface, which caused her finger to rapidly re-orient itself towards her face. She made a surprised clicking sound, then pulled her claws back.

    "Nizzze try," she laughed, and turned away.

    So she figured it out and gave up? That''s nice, but- Usagi!

    Janice crept over to the wooden chair under which the girl was cowering, clamped her talons around it, and threw it against the office wall, causing it to splinter into large fragments.

    "P-p-please, nooo," whimpered Usagi.

    "Why not?" asked Janice. "Have you got a reazzzon? Why I shouldn''t kill you?"

    "B-b-because¡­ I asked?"

    "Wrong anzzzwer," Janice growled, lifting the girl to her feet. "Here''zzz why I should. I''ve taken my own life into my handzzz¡­ this was my decizzzion. I figured it out- I''m immortal, and beautiful, and-"

    "A monster," finished Twilight, firing the shattered chair leg towards Janice''s paper-thin wings. Janice turned from the girl and batted the piece of wood aside, crushing it into smaller chunks with a clawed foot.

    "I can do whatever I want," continued the wasp woman, with great irritation.

    So she''s fast enough to block, even at this range¡­ thanks to this new form of hers, most of my attacks will be useless. Of course, if she were to suddenly lose control, things might be a little different.

    Twilight stamped a hoof to draw Janice''s attention. "So let me get this straight¡­ you decided- for yourself, as you claim- to partake in a risky experiment in order to enhance your own appearance, according to a subjective standard of beauty?"

    "Yezzz," answered Janice, turning away from Usagi and slowly stomping towards the unicorn. The girl fled underneath the desk, poking her eyes above its surface to observe the fight.

    "A subjective standard of beauty¡­ is entirely dependent on the opinions of others. You didn''t do that for yourself, you did it for everypony else!"

    Janice made a deep gurgling sound before firing up her wings and dashing towards Twilight stinger-first. Twilight teleported away, beginning to feel like the world''s most inappropriate bullfighter. Bullfighting was an odd sport: One big guy against a smaller, nimbler pony. It was the pony''s goal to cover the bull with as many ceremonial leaves as possible, whilst the bull tried to pin the pony. Twilight herself had been much more of a fan of the Mixed Mare Arts tournaments, since they showcased a wider variety of styles, but she was glad all the same that she had attended a few bullfights as she dodged the wasp woman again.

    "Shut up," snarled Janice, pounding a chitin-covered fist against a wall after failing to capture the unicorn a third time. "You''re wrong!"

    "Am I? Let''s look at another point of yours: that you can do whatever you want. Unless I''m mistaken, you''ve had a lot of trouble controlling your wasp side''s instincts to kill and eat and secure your mate. You were doing whatever it wanted. Everything you did was a response to the desires of others. You were right about one thing, though- you look a bit younger."

    "I''ll rip you limb from limb, you little piezzze of-" Janice was interrupted by a small bolt of magic exploding on her face. It was a little too bright for her compound eyes, so she clasped her hands over her face with a screech of pain.

    "You''re a weak woman, Janice. All of these poor decisions, because you couldn''t stand the thought of a few wrinkles. People with values that petty clearly haven''t learned about what true friendship is," the unicorn intoned, slowly trotting towards Janice.

    "Grrraaaargh!" howled the wasp woman, stumbling away from the wall, slashing the air madly with her claws. "My head- zzztop talking, you''re giving me a headache!"

    Twilight let a sly smile flash across her muzzle.

    "I''m not giving you a headache. You are."

    Janice''s mandibles clamped shut in agony as her insect abdomen swelled up to drag across the floor and her vestigial legs also began to increase in size. Her waist twisted backwards to form a thorax, against which her human torso writhed as the chitin armor shifted around her human skin.

    "Twilight, she just got bigger and scarier!" screamed Usagi.

    "Bigger and scarier, yes," replied Twilight. "Stronger, no."

    The unicorn hopped backwards, putting more space between her and the more-monstrous Janice. Can''t take constructive criticism? What a shame. Now you''ve lost your speed advantage.

    The wasp woman released a guttural, clicking howl before firing her wings up to charge at Twilight again. Twilight stood still, allowing Janice to pick up more and more speed. She raised her talons toward her prey, her antennae frenzied with excitement. Finally, she would get that little horse to shut up. She was so focused that she did not see Twilight''s magic pick something up off the ground.

    Come on. ?Toro, toro!

    Janice''s clawed feet dragged just an inch above the ground as her massive frame sped ever closer to the unicorn. Fifteen feet, ten, five, three, two, one¡­ Twilight disappeared one last time, and Janice felt something sharp in her chest. She looked down, and found an elongated chunk of wood, shattered on the end exposed to the air, and probably similar on the end that had torn through her body.

    "In both of your forms, you''ve got a pretty big weak spot," Twilight explained, pointing a hoof towards the piece of wood. "Your chest there stays human- you might find it soft and weak if you didn''t like that area for, ahem, other purposes. When you were in your advanced form, you were fast enough to repel my attacks, but like this you couldn''t- and you put more mass behind your charge. All it took was a bit of that chair to ruin your human heart, which if I''m guessing correctly, supplies blood to your brain."

    Janice''s body slumped to the floor, her wings fluttering a few times before coming to a rest.

    "Looks like I did guess correctly," frowned Twilight. "Come on, Usagi. We still need to find Holly."

    "After that?" cried the girl. "Can I have a breather first?"

    "Only for as long as it takes me to figure out where Holly actually is."

    "She said she was somewhere nice and safe."

    "Nice and safe, that''s it!" yelped Twilight in epiphany. "The most secure place in the town! The bank! Oh, Usagi, I''m sorry I said you were useless."

    "Yeah, it''s okay, whatever. Can we just sit down for a sec? I need a moment after all that."

    "Sorry, but we need to get moving. As much as you didn''t like Janice, if Dio shows up things will be worse."

    "Worse?"

    "Notice how we''re still alive. If Dio finds us, we won''t be."

    "Oh."

    Twilight waved the girl on and led her back down the stairs cautiously. Her eyes were searching for the slightest hints of movement or misplaced shadows, her ears listening for the creaking of boards below them. They crept back into the lobby, and Twilight used her magic to wrench Usagi''s head away from the bodies a second time and yanked her out the door.

    "Jeez, what was all that for?" whined the girl.

    "One, be quiet. And two, trust me," whispered Twilight. The unicorn checked up and down the street, then scampered toward the bank with Usagi in tow. Upon hearing some faint noises from within the building, she skidded to a halt, nearly causing the girl to trip over her.

    "Hey, what''s the big-"

    "There''s someone in there, talking," Twilight hissed. "Listen."

    "I mean, if ya think about it guard duty''s not so bad," growled a deep, burly voice. "Ya get to stay outta harms'' way and the only thing ya gotta do is make sure the prisoners don''t escape. Piece o'' cake."

    "But¡­ I wanna be out there," replied a second, distinctly female voice. "I can''t just sit around knowing that Dio might need help."

    "Listen, Dio can take care of himself fine," grumbled the first voice. "I don''t get why you''re all caught up with him. ''E''s really kind of a jerk, if ya ask me."

    "Okay, we need to get inside without being detected," instructed Twilight. "But we need to figure out how quickly, or Dio will-"

    "Kill us!" squealed Usagi, leaping to the door and vaulting through.

    "Or they will," hissed Twilight, galloping in after her with her magic charged. The bank had a fairly simple layout: a white tile floor led up to the teller''s counter, which was guarded by wooden slats. It was divided to allow two queues, one on the left and one on the right- though Twilight doubted that a town of this size would ever need a second queue at the bank. The left counter was empty, and the right was occupied by a girl who had been in the process of filing her nails, until Usagi had burst in. She put down her file, cinched up her tie, and patted her hair down.

    "Um, hello there," she said.

    "Hello to you, too?" asked Twilight, confused by the less-than hostile greeting.

    "Listen, if you guys are looking for the coin, it''s not here anymore. Dio''s got it and I don''t think he''ll give it to you."

    "Actually, we''re not here for the coin," said Twilight severely, lowering her glowing horn. "You''re holding a prisoner that we''d very much like to free."

    "Oh, you mean Holly?"

    "Dammit, Filia, you''re not supposed to say that!" roared the deep voice from before. Twilight looked around frantically for the source of the words, but could not see one.

    "Well, Samson, what am I supposed to do?" questioned the girl, looking up. The unicorn tried to locate the voice on the ceiling above the girl, but again, she saw nothing.

    "You''re supposed to keep your mouth shut! Tell ''em there''s no prisoner, or that they can go fall off a cliff or somethin''!"

    "There''s no prisoner," winced Filia. "And you can go fall off of a cliff, or something."

    "I WAS SPEAKIN'' HYPOTHETICALLY!"

    Twilight noticed that a movement from the girl''s studded headband synchronized with the deeper voice''s words.

    "Is that¡­ your hair talking?"

    "Oh, yeah. That''s Samson," explained the girl.

    "DO YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO DO THIS, KID?!"

    "I know the way you feel," sighed Twilight.

    "I''m tellin'' ya!" concurred Samson.

    "So you guys just want the prisoner, huh?" Filia placed a hand on her chin and tapped her nose with her index finger. "I guess I could let you have her."

    "WHAAAAAT?!" cried the girl''s parasite.

    "No, think about it, Samson. If I don''t have a prisoner to guard, I can be out there helping Dio!"

    "Suddenly your friend is making a lot of sense," agreed Twilight, who wasn''t about to let the offer slip.

    "Here, I''ll take you to her," said Filia, opening the latch on the teller''s counter and slipping through to the lobby. "This way," she instructed, leading them around the corner and down a narrow hallway. They arrived in front of a large, stainless steel vault. Filia ran her finger around the edge of the lock mechanism, and a small panel popped off of the front, revealing a keypad. She tapped a few numbers in, causing the panel to reaffix itself to the lock and the entire mechanism to begin spinning. Gears ground and shifted within the door, and then halted with a clang.

    "There you go," chirped Filia, pulling the door open. Holly sat, legs crossed, in the center of the floor. She was handcuffed and blindfolded, but seemed unharmed.

    "Is this a jailbreak, or am I getting a new cellmate?" asked the elf. "Please don''t tell me it''s Alucard."

    "It is a jailbreak," Twilight announced proudly. "Are you all right?"

    "Oh, once you''re a hostage once it gets a lot easier from there. I''m fine."

    Filia poked Usagi on the shoulder and pointed at her head.

    "I love what you''ve done with your hair. Like little meatballs! So cute!"

    She then proceeded to leave, Samson protesting futilely.

    Twilight removed Holly''s blindfold and cuffs, and the elf blinked her eyes open.

    "So, how''d you end up finding me? And who''s your friend there?"

    "Alucard and I hitched a ride with another team. He''s off fighting the rest of Dio''s goons, so I could come and save you."

    "That''s very nice of you, Twi. And, you, too, miss¡­?"

    Usagi was busy looking into a compact mirror, evidently entranced with her own hair. After a moment, she realized that someone was speaking to her, and fumbled to put the mirror away.

    "Um, ah, what was that?"

    "Your name," repeated Holly.

    "Usagi Tsukino!" cheered the girl, executing a flamboyant salute.

    Holly performed a short bow. "Thank you, Twilight and Usagi." She gestured for Twilight to come to her side, and quickly turned her away from the newcomer.

    "I found out some interesting things about Katniss'' dad¡­ stuff I''m sure she doesn''t know. Do you think it would be wise to tell her?" whispered the elf.

    "That would depend on what those things are," replied Twilight. "We''ll talk later. Right now, we need to help Alucard."

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    "Now, why on earth would we need to actually help Alucard? Sure, it''s a nice thing to do, but he can''t actually die, can he?"

    "He may not be able to die, but Usagi''s team members can. I don''t intend on breaking the deal I made with them."

    "Okay, suit yourself. I''m going to need to grab my wings and gun. They''re locked up behind the front desk, I think. That''s where Mr. Everdeen threw them when he brought me in."

    Holly sprinted off, and Twilight left the vault. Usagi poked her flank, and the unicorn returned her attention to the girl.

    "What is it, Usagi?" she asked, afraid for the answer.

    "So, does she help deliver the presents, or what?"

    ***

    Alucard snapped the alien beast''s neck, and tossed its slowly-corroding corpse onto the ground. Perhaps he had toyed with the creature for a little too long, but he wanted to make sure that the pirates got a good show.

    "Oh, dear," whispered Jack, dumbfounded by the vampire''s ease in dispatching the monster.

    "Come on," grunted Alucard. "We need to head into town to get back to the others. Keep up if you can."

    He holstered his pistols and took off at a fairly slow pace- just a bit faster than any human could run. Teleporting wouldn''t have been any fun; there was no spectacle to it. And he was enjoying his ability to scare the living daylights out of these two. In addition, he supposed it would be a good idea to stay near them, in case Dio somehow found a way to ambush them.

    No, he thought, Dio is not one for an ambush.

    Alucard''s superhuman vision spotted his charge, the girl that had been sent with her and the police elf exit a building not more than fifty meters ahead. They seemed to be unharmed, which was frankly better than he had expected. His priority now was to make sure they could regroup safely. He came to a halt, drew his weapons, and scanned his surroundings¡­ no sign of Dio or his subordinates.

    There should be at least one left. Something''s up.

    Something was up, and it travelled downward very quickly, tearing through Alucard''s sunglasses and removing his right eye. Jack and Luffy slowed from their sprint once they saw the blood begin to fly.

    "Hmm," purred Alucard. "I wonder who that could-"

    His body was perforated by another missile, and then another, and another. He stumbled backwards, and fell over- dozens of wooden shafts protruding from his body. Luffy and Jack dove behind a barrel underneath a nearby porch, desperate for cover.

    "After all he did back there¡­ he just got shot to death?" asked Luffy quietly.

    "With a bow and arrow, no less," whispered Jack.

    A purple explosion crackled out of the air in front of them, depositing Twilight, Holly, and Usagi onto the porch.

    "These are the guys you''re hitching a ride with?" Holly asked in disbelief.

    "They are slightly more useful than they look," insisted Twilight.

    "I hope not," said Mr. Everdeen, vaulting over the roof across the street that he was using as a sniping perch. He bounced off of an awning and rolled when he hit the ground, getting up without a scratch. He nocked an arrow into place and aimed it at Holly. "You''re not getting away."

    "With all due respect, Mr. Everdeen," replied the elf, "I don''t think that''s your decision to make."

    "You''re awful cocky for someone in my crosshairs."

    "And you''re awfully desperate to work with Dio," spat Holly. "But I suppose that makes sense."

    Mr. Everdeen gritted his teeth. "What are you talking about?"

    "Come on, can''t you see it? You want to go through with your plans, so that your daughter can live a normal life. Except, that''s not the real reason, is it?"

    "Dammit," cursed the man, releasing his grip on the arrow, causing it to fly just under Holly''s ear and provoke a scream from Usagi. "I never should have told you-"

    "If all you wanted was for everything in your world to be right¡­ you wouldn''t care what Katniss went through to get it that way. You''d be proud that she achieved what you couldn''t. But you insist on doing things your way. You''re selfish."

    "Everything I did was for her-"

    "If it was, then you wouldn''t be where you are right now."

    Mr. Everdeen froze halfway through drawing another arrow. Twilight looked up at Holly''s grimly determined face. What exactly had she learned about him? Whatever it was, it did not sound like the sort of thing he wanted to talk about. He grimaced and shouldered his bow, and sat down with a stressful sigh.

    "Kids like you wouldn''t understand," he huffed.

    Holly''s frown lightened into a thin smile. "I''m quite a bit older than you."

    "Whatever."

    "You are going to need to catch me up on what you learned from him," said Twilight.

    "Damn manipulative little bastards," cursed Mr. Everdeen. "You planned this all out, didn''t-"

    There was a muffled smacking sound, and the man was thrown from his seat on the ground across the street, half of his face suddenly quite purple.

    "Useless," growled Dio, using his Stand to teleport to the man''s feet.

    "Gargh," Mr. Everdeen gasped. "Wha-what was that for?"

    "That was for talking to the people you should have been killing," snarled the vampire in yellow.

    The man struggled to get off the ground, holding his injured face. "You piece of sh-"

    Instantly, Dio''s hand was embedded in the man''s throat.

    "And this is for disrespecting me."

    Mr. Everdeen struggled, but ultimately could not escape as Dio drained his body of blood, leaving a shriveled corpse behind. It fell to the ground like a bit of dirty cloth, and looked about the same.

    Jack dropped back down behind the barrel. "Well, we have stumbled into quite the situation, now, haven''t we?"

    "That''s an understatement," Luffy concurred.

    "What is even going on?!" squealed Usagi.

    Dio licked off his fingers and put them to his chin, looking over at the warriors. "So Team Mockingjay is along for the ride? Let''s see here¡­ the elf, and the pony¡­ but no sign of daddy''s little girl, or Miss Matoi, or the monster and his favorite idiot."

    "You guys get out of here," whispered Holly. "I''ll hold him off."

    "No, I''m not letting you pull that again," hissed Twilight. "He''ll just stab you in the face and go after us. It won''t work."

    The elf reached for her Neutrino as the vampire began to approach. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

    "You''re not supposed to do anything," oozed Alucard, having finally removed all of the arrows from his body, which was nearly done repairing itself. "Dio is mine."

    "Oh, it''s you again," smiled Dio, turning to face the other vampire. "I suppose you think you can do better than them?"

    "This isn''t about me," Alucard declared. "It''s about everyone out there who calls themselves bloodsuckers. Scum like you don''t deserve to sully the name of Nosferatu."

    Alucard reached into his coat and drew his pistols, pulling the Casull''s slide back with his teeth.

    "I suppose a rematch couldn''t hurt," said Dio, fishing for his knives and producing two handfuls from his pockets. "¡­ Couldn''t hurt me, that is."

    Alucard made the first move, firing the larger of his two weapons into Dio''s center of mass. He immediately followed up with another shot, placed on the vampire''s left shoulder. Neither bullet seemed to have much effect, as Dio was able to throw both sets of knives into his opponent. Alucard stepped back, shaking a few knives free, and returned his pistols to his holsters.

    "If these won''t work, I have other weapons," he growled, looking toward Twilight. The unicorn nodded back.

    "Alucard, level four release."

    "Releasing control art restriction level four," the vampire announced. "I''m going to wipe that smile off of your face, Dio."

    "No, you''re not!" cried a familiar voice. The ground at Alucard''s feet gave way to a spire of razor-sharp tendrils, which ran the vampire through and eviscerated him with multiple thorny projections.

    "That sort of hurt," noted Alucard, struggling to free himself.

    "You bet it did!" Filia shouted, kneeling on the ground behind Dio. Her hair was stretched down past her face, trailing into a fresh-looking tunnel in the dirt.

    "Hey, it''s that nice girl that let Holly go!" noted Usagi.

    "So that explains why the prisoner is free," mused Dio.

    "Yep!" chimed the girl. "So I could save you with that Ringlet Spike!"

    Dio placed his hands on his hips, giving Filia a look of approval. "Oh, yes. Very well done."

    "Thanks! Now, I''m gonna hit ''em with a Hairball Attack!"

    The spire retracted, tearing Alucard further apart, and returned to Filia''s head through its tunnel. She leapt into the air, and her Parasite formed a spiny, keratinous shield around her body as she curled into a ball. It fell to the ground, bounced, revved up, and was immediately stopped by Dio''s foot. Filia''s hair retracted back into its normal state, allowing the girl to give her leader a quizzical look.

    "Lord Dio, what are you doing?"

    Dio''s face no longer showed any approval. "You actually let our prisoner go?"

    "¡­So I could help you."

    "When I didn''t need any help in the first place?!"

    "I mean, I-"

    Dio reached down and snatched Filia off of the ground, hoisting her up by the neck.

    "I have had enough of hearing you talk," he roared. "Do me a real favor and hold still."

    His fingers slipped through her skin and siphoned her blood into his body, leaving Filia and her parasite a second withered corpse.

    "Oh, this is not good," whispered Twilight.

    "You see, by my calculations, there''s actually fewer of them now," said Jack. "I can''t really see how this is any worse than the spot we were just in, savvy?"

    Twilight shook her head. "Dio''s power increases proportionally to the amount and strength of the victims he drains. He just downed two, so he''s running very hot. The last time we fought him with this much power¡­"

    "He killed me," muttered Holly.

    "Whaaaaaaaat?!" Usagi cried.

    "That''s right, I did, didn''t I?" cackled Dio. "But who knows what will happen, this time! That last one was something special."

    Holly pointed her Neutrino at the vampire, knowing that it was, as he would say, useless. Still, even stunning him might be all they would need to escape- but she doubted it. This time, she would not turn into a city-crushing giant, that she was sure of. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

    "Poor little Filia may not look it, but she''s been turning into a monster for quite a while now- a Skullgirl. She''s had some luck suppressing it, but the Skull Heart was still actively re-shaping her from the inside out. And now that I''ve absorbed a bit of those insides¡­"

    "Oh, no," whimpered Twilight.

    Dio tossed his jacket aside, cracking his knuckles. "Scared, are you? You should be. Let''s test this out. THE WORLD!"

    Holly instantly felt her stomach slosh around, and realized that the dirt under her feet was now suddenly above her head. She was standing on her head, and as she looked up (or down?) she could see that Twilight had been hung from the rafters of the porch they were standing under, tied up by her tail. Jack and Luffy had now been placed inside the barrel they had been hiding behind, Usagi had her legs tucked behind her head, and Dio was beside himself with laughter.

    "Urreeeey!" he screeched. "Twenty-five seconds! The World can stop time for twenty-five seconds now! This feeling¡­ ha-ha! This is the best kind of high!"

    "Haven''t you heard?" asked Alucard, fully healed again, with a pistol aimed squarely at the center of Dio''s head. "Euphoric highs are usually followed by severe disappointment."

    The weapon barked as it unleashed five rounds into the vampire, but again, the bullets had no effect, and tumbled away as flattened silver lumps. Dio''s manic grin only spread further.

    "Not this one. THE WORLD!"

    The Stand''s appearance kicked up dust from the ground, but other than that, Alucard had no warning before thousands of lightning-fast, brick-like fists tore his body to pieces yet again, finishing with a punch powerful enough to send what was left skyward. A tattered red coat floated to the ground behind Dio, who continued his advance towards the warriors.

    "Ha. Hee-hee. Time''s up, ureeey."

    "It''s almost like he''s somehow more insane this time," hissed Holly, firing a barrage of Neutrino blasts into the vampire to no avail.

    "Oh, I''m just as sane as ever," laughed Dio. "Right now, I''m rationally thinking about all of the wonderful ways to dismember you. Since I started with the arms last time I think I''ll tear your legs off this time. And I''ll skin the unicorn and use her hide as a bath mat!"

    "That sounds a lot more pleasant than being hung up here right now!" screamed Twilight, her hooves pawing the air.

    "I can''t feel my anything!" whined Usagi, incapable of untangling herself.

    "Well, I''ve had fun with you lot, but this must be the end of the road," sighed Jack.

    "Um, you know, there is that one thing we haven''t done yet," Luffy pointed out.

    "What thing?" asked Jack.

    Luffy blinked incredulously. "You know, my thing. The thing that I do? The thing you asked me not to do?"

    "Because it''s terrifying," whooped Jack. "It''ll give me nightmares for weeks!"

    "When I get down from here, I''M going to give you nightmares for weeks," roared Twilight. "I''m overriding his authority. Whatever it is, DO IT NOW!"

    "All right," smiled Luffy. "I''ve been waiting for a chance to show off." He vaulted out of the barrel and marched directly in front of the other warriors. Dio stopped, no more than fifteen feet away.

    "What''s this? Fresh blood?" giggled Dio.

    "Naw, not really," grunted Luffy. "I''m just a guy that doesn''t put up with sickos like you."

    "That''s cute," snarled the vampire. "What are you going to do, spit on me?"

    "I was thinking something more like a Gum-Gum Pistol."

    "A what now?"

    The boy punched forward with his right arm, as if striking someone much closer to him. But where one''s fist would stop travelling, his continued onward, pulling the rest of his arm out- stretching it as if it were made of elastic. His hand crashed against Dio''s face, knocking a fanged canine free. It then retracted back to its normal length.

    "Ewwwww," groaned Jack.

    "D''arvit," cursed Holly.

    "KEEP GOING!" screamed the unicorn.

    "Sure thing," grinned the boy, tilting his straw hat down.

    "You little¡­" coughed Dio. "THE WORL-"

    Another fist ended his sentence prematurely. Luffy smiled through gritted teeth.

    "Sometimes, there''s an advantage to hiding your full abilities from your opponent. Otherwise, nobody would''ve given it a name¡­ hustling, right?"

    Dio''s brow curled down in absolute rage. "How dare you make a mockery of me, Dio?!"

    "Well, I''m done hustling," Luffy continued. He squatted and drove his right fist into the ground, and his elastic flesh followed it down, bunching up at the hand before springing back into place with a squelch. His body produced a sound not unlike water vaporizing as it hit hot coals, and it appropriately began to vent steam. Sweat began to make his body glisten unnaturally. "Gear Second," he announced.

    "Why do you even try to use such a technique?" snarled Dio. "It will be useless against my Stand!"

    "Gum-Gum Jet Gatling," yelled Luffy, his arms suddenly disappearing from the speed of their movements. They only left trails of vapor, which was in turn whipped out of place by their rapid movements. So far as any of the other warriors could tell, there were only puffs of steam between the boy and Dio, who did not look comfortable in the slightest. He thrashed back and forth, overwhelmed by the multitude of strikes. Fists caved in his face and ribs, shattered his limbs, and snapped his neck. The torrent of blows extended outward, carrying him into the buildings across the street, the walls disintegrating much more quickly than the vampire. His pulped body flew through the bakery, and landed on a table full of broken glass.

    "Ureeeeeey," he groaned weakly. In his fading vision, a red-clad figure approached, locked its fingers down over his dented skull, and hoisted what was left of him into the air.

    "Look who''s all high and mighty now," sneered Alucard. "That twenty-five seconds was kind of¡­ useless."

    Dio coughed and shuddered, his body failing to regenerate. The attack had lasted long enough to burn through all of the power that his comrades'' blood had given him, leaving him vulnerable. He was beginning to think that killing his own allies had not been the best idea.

    "You¡­ack!...haven''t won¡­ yet," Dio gasped.

    "I think we have." Alucard jammed his hand into Dio''s stomach and removed a wet, glittering coin. "Though I''ll admit this was pretty damn clever."

    "Nnngh."

    Alucard placed his other hand around Dio''s neck. "You know, I''m getting real tired of hearing you talk." With that, he tore the lesser vampire''s head from his body, cleanly separating the spine above the neck. "Any last words?"

    Dio''s severed head managed to curl its lips into one last smile.

    "Nine¡­ball."

    Alucard''s enthusiasm vanished. He tossed Dio''s head against the bakery''s back wall, and sprinted back across the street at full speed. Holly was holding Luffy''s still- steaming body, applying some magic to the boy- it seemed that attack had taken a lot out of him.

    "Way to go, Alucard," cheered Twilight, swinging back and forth. "Now can somebody get me down?!"

    "We''ve got bigger problems than that," warned the remaining vampire, as the ruined bakery exploded to reveal the black-and-ruby frame of the Armored Core Nineball.

    "That is a very large thing," observed Jack in terror.

    "No, not that again!" screamed the unicorn, galloping against the air.

    "Hold your hippocampi," said Holly, setting Luffy down. "I''ve got a solution. But I need to get about half a mile away, very fast."

    "I can teleport you JUST AS SOON AS SOMEONE GETS ME DOWN!"

    Alucard reached up and untied the unicorn''s tail, setting her on the ground. Holly waved her along, and the two rushed away.

    "What do we do now?" grunted Usagi, prying her legs free.

    "Stay alive," instructed Alucard.

    ***

    Holly exhaled thankfully as she was deposited next to the plane without a scratch. She was definitely getting the hang of being teleported, which she realized was beginning to be quite a regular occurrence, between the Master of Games, Poppy, and now Twilight.

    "So what''s this thing?" asked the unicorn, trotting to Holly''s side.

    Holly leapt up to the side of the canopy, and pulled the release lever. The glass swung backward, and she hopped into the cockpit.

    "A fighter jet. I suppose you didn''t have them where you come from."

    "No, no, I know what a fighter jet is," assured Twilight. "I learned of them from my¡­ associates. But what are we going to use a wrecked plane for? It won''t ever fly again."

    Holly flipped through several switches as the jet began to power up. She quickly shut down power to the ruined engine, re-routing the systems to compensate.

    "It doesn''t need to fly. Now get up here." Twilight teleported up into the cockpit, squatting down behind the pilot''s seat. It was not meant for a passenger, but the pony''s small frame fit, if only just.

    "Hang on. This is going to be bumpier than¡­ pretty much anything."

    Holly closed the canopy, did one last check of her instruments, and jammed the throttle forward. The remaining engine roared to full power, and the jet''s body screeched and complained as it began to shift out of the ground. With an unhappy groan, the fuselage freed itself from the rut it had dug, and began to skid across the desert''s surface, scraping along without wheels. Holly furiously worked the rudder to keep the lop-sided power under control, as the cockpit began to shake violently.

    "DON''T GRIT YOUR TEETH IF YOU DON''T WANT TO LOSE THEM!" screamed the elf over the screams of the jet and the ground.

    "THANKS FOR THE TIP," screamed Twilight in reply.

    Holly wrenched the joystick back and forth, messily lining up the jet''s nose with the buildings of Southville in the distance. The silhouette of Nineball could be seen clearly above them, twisting and turning as it hunted the remaining warriors. "SO THIS PLANE HAS A LOT OF INTERESTING FEATURES," shouted Holly.

    "IS BEING A SLED ONE OF THEM?"

    "NO," replied Holly, pulling back on the yoke as the town grew closer. "YOU''LL SEE WHAT I MEAN IN A SECOND!"

    Luffy sprung out of the way of another blast from the Armored Core''s rifle.

    "Whoo! I''m feeling great!" he cheered. "I''ve never recovered from a Gear Second this fast. Your elf''s magic is a-ma-zing!"

    "The police elf is quite useful," agreed Alucard, firing a few rounds at the machine to distract it from the cowering Usagi. It turned back towards him, folding its grenade launcher over its shoulder. The vampire was prepared to either take the blast or dodge, but he noticed something new. A sound¡­

    "Is¡­ that a jet?" he asked. He turned around, saw the approaching fighter, and took note of its trajectory.

    "I think we should all take a moment to get away," he suggested. Luffy and Jack complied, sprinting for cover. Alucard simply teleported back under the porch, threw Usagi over his shoulder, and teleported back to her allies.

    "What''s going on?" asked Luffy.

    "The police elf, no doubt."

    Holly lined up the mech in her heads-up-display.

    "CROSS YOUR FINGERS," she roared.

    "I DON''T HAVE FINGERS," bellowed Twilight.

    Holly clamped down a button on the joystick, and the plane''s motion seemed to reverse direction instantly. She was thrown forward in her seat by the g-forces, which also tossed Twilight into the front of the cockpit. Holly was clearly more used to such violent maneuvers. She found herself doubting that for a moment when the cockpit suddenly went dark- until she realized that it was not her blacking out, but rather a metal plate extending over the glass canopy. The entire cockpit began to tilt in place, much more smoothly than the scraping motions they had endured to get here.

    "What''s going on?" cried Twilight. Displays suddenly lit up the dark canopy glass, showing a video feed of the world outside. Strangely, they seemed to be quite a ways off of the ground, as if they were flying.

    "No way," gasped Luffy.

    "That''s amazing," whimpered Jack.

    "I WANNA GO HOME!" screamed Usagi.

    Where there was once a floundering jet, there now stood a second giant metal warrior, with great turbine engines for legs, and a thin visor for eyes.

    "According to the instructions, this is Battroid mode," explained Holly. She took hold of an extra joystick that folded out in front of her, and wheeled it around. The screens displayed a giant limb reaching up and over their view, returning with a black gun pod in hand. "It''s just you and me, hoss."

    "And me!" cried Twilight. "So don''t do anything stupid!"

    The Armored Core immediately turned its attention to the newcomer.

    "SCANNING TARGET," its computerized voice grated. "AC NOT RECOGNIZED."

    "Recognize this," barked Holly, pushing the sticks forward. The Battroid lurched ahead, firing its left hand forward. Nineball dodged backward, its boosters sending it back into the left over bits of the bakery. The machine began to tip backward, and crashed into the ground face-up.

    "It''s down, it''s down!" yelped Twilight.

    "Not yet," observed the elf, seeing the Armored Core raise its rifle. She shoved the sticks to the right, and the single functional engine awakened from within the Valkyrie''s leg, causing an awkward half-jump, half-limp that barely put them out of harm''s way. The stray blasts from the beam rifle flew away into the midday sky, dissipating in the clouds overhead. Holly rotated the gun pod back into view, and a crosshairs appeared on the display. She re-centered the pip and pulled the extra joystick''s trigger, and the Armored Core disappeared under a cloud of dust and debris as the Vulcan gun chewed through mech and building alike. "Now it is."

    Nineball did not agree, and promptly flew out of the dust cloud, brandishing its laser blade. It swung the purple beam towards the Valkyrie with astonishing speed, but Holly was just as quick, moving her controls to toss away the gun pod and intercept the sword arm. She caught the Armored Core''s limb by the elbow, but the impact knocked loose the Battroid''s footing, causing them to slide backwards. Nineball was about the same size of the transformed Valkyrie, but on the violently shaking displays, it seemed much larger.

    Twilight pushed herself back from the screens frantically, falling into Holly''s lap. "It''s too strong," she cried.

    "I know," grunted Holly. She searched their inflated view of the Armored Core, desperate for an advantage.

    Don''t you have any weak spots? Anything?

    As the attacking machine twisted its torso to put more weight on its sword arm, Holly saw what she was looking for. A section of armor plating had been torn away from just above its waist- clearly, the gun pod had been somewhat effective after all.

    "Okay, Twi, it looks like I''ve got one shot at this. When I say ''jump'', you''re going to put yourself as far to the right of this cockpit as you can. Got it?"

    "But I AM as far over as I can-"

    "JUMP!"

    Holly removed the Battroid''s right arm from Nineball''s elbow, which caused the laser blade to begin its descent. It dropped down to their shoulder, which boiled away under the high-temperature beam. Holly then shoved the right hand forward, into the gap in Nineball''s armor. The metal fist clamped down over the other machine''s guts, and ripped them back out as the laser blade tore down into the Battroid''s chest. Holly could hear the scream of the laser blade from above her, as the dark metal plate over the cockpit began to glow.

    "H-Holly," whimpered Twilight. "It''s gonna-"

    The blade ripped into the cockpit, shearing away the left side entirely. Holly simply tilted her head to the right, allowing the beam to pass within inches of her head. As it descended further, the sword nicked the Valkyrie''s left thigh, and promptly fizzled out as the Armored Core''s own legs gave way. The machine fell back onto the ground again, and did not get back up.

    "Well," said Holly, undoing her harness to stand up and stretch in the now open-air cockpit. "That went much better than I anticipated."

    Twilight decided right then and there that she very much preferred to be guarded by Alucard. Their perch began to shift underneath them, as evidently the wounded Battroid could no longer support its own weight. Holly reached out and snatched Twilight, fired up her wings, and flew out of the tumbling wreck, which crashed to the ground next to the broken hull of its opponent. She landed next to the other fighters, who were slack-jawed in some combination of awe and respect. Except Alucard.

    "Wasn''t that a little risky?" he intoned, glaring down at the elf behind glowing sunglasses.

    "It was my only option," she protested.

    "Fair enough."

    "All things considered, this could have gone much, much worse," noted Twilight. "Running into Dio''s team this early means that we won''t have to deal with them again."

    Holly lifted an index finger. "That may be so, but we still haven''t dealt with the Night Terrors. All seems to point towards them being just as much of a threat, if not more."

    "They''re in Northville and that''s where they''re going to stay, as long as they think we''re doing their work for them," countered the unicorn. "We can worry ourselves about them once we''ve found back the rest of our team."

    "And the best way to do that is to keep moving," stated Alucard.

    "But¡­ the car''s trashed," Usagi whined.

    "And both of the mechs are dead," Holly added.

    "No, wait¡­ When they first attacked, Usagi could rev the engine, right?" asked Twilight.

    "Y-yeah," said the girl. "I put my foot down but it wouldn''t go anywhere."

    "Then maybe it''s not totally wrecked after all. Holly, Luffy, go find the fighter''s gun pod and drag it back to the van. Alucard, take Usagi to the van. Captain Jack, you''re coming with me."

    "Wait," mumbled the pirate. "Wha-"

    Twilight teleported them to the van''s resting place just outside of the town. Jack came out of the lavender explosion looking particularly burnt, but his curses told Twilight that he was no worse for wear. Alucard reappeared next to her, holding a screaming Usagi. The vampire let the girl go, and she flung herself into the dirt, flailing her arms.

    Twilight motioned to the vehicle. "Alucard, lift this up. I want to look at the bottom."

    The vampire did as instructed, and gently tilted the van onto its side. A long metal bar hung loosely down the middle.

    "Just as I thought, the driveline''s busted. Alucard, go help Holly and Luffy get the gun over here. I think we may just have a ride to Terre Sombre after all."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-21 Dark Prophecy

    Mikasa had appreciated the pizza at first, but as she ate it for the third meal in a row, she realized that its novelty was wearing thin. It was filling, however, and she would not complain about that. She shoved a second piece down her throat as Dante took another sip of coffee.

    "So¡­ I got quite the interesting visit last night."

    Mikasa reached for a third slice.

    "Old dude, long beard, had a little yellow fuzzy thing on his shoulder. He had this really neat idea."

    "What?" mumbled Mikasa through a mouthful of crust and sauce.

    "He offered to help organize a little fighting tournament. Devil May Cry, Too will cater and host the event, and since we''re technically a local business, the town''s agreed to give up the coin as the grand prize."

    Mikasa swallowed, and wiped a stray string of cheese from her lips.

    "Don''t you think that could go very wrong, really easily?"

    "Maybe," admitted Dante, scooping up a slice of pizza with his off-hand. "But iff erryfing gosh to heck inna hanbashket," he held up a finger and swallowed. "Then I''m the best guy to have around."

    Mikasa shook her head, almost smiling. She was definitely feeling better than she had-it had taken the majority of the last two days for the constant stream of pizza to replace the nutrients she had lost to the cakes. Business had been glacier-slow, Mikasa believed there may have been a customer that showed up while she was trying to sleep- could that have been the bearded man? What she had gleaned from the often-absent Dante is that he meant well, but was little more than a man-child with a particular obsession with appearing as dramatic and dangerous as possible, often by throwing his coat into the air, juggling his sword, and throwing darts, usually simultaneously. He was harmless, except when he made stupid decisions, like trying to catch his coat on his legs, or inviting every fighter nearby to the front door.

    "Sure you are," she groaned. "But if it''s all the same, I''d rather not get caught up in anything."

    Dante contorted his face into something that resembled a watery-eyed, young dog. "Aw, but come on! This is a chance for your friends to show up, right?"

    "I guess you''re right," relented Mikasa. "But I''m only around to look for them. I don''t need to fight."

    "No, no you don''t, unless you feel particularly motivated to sign up."

    "Okay, yeah. Whatever."

    "Good to hear that you''re on board. The entrants will be showing up in about ten minutes."

    Mikasa froze, a piece of pizza halfway through her mouth.

    "Wha-?"

    "Yep. I''m going to go start fixing some sundaes," said the man, hopping away from the table.

    Mikasa grumbled a few curses as she got up from the table and returned to the little mat she''d been spending most of the past two days on. It was sheltered from the light by the pool table, the legs of which formed a nice little nook for her to store her 3DMG. It had a full tank of gas and a complete set of blades, since she didn''t have a chance to use it before they had gotten captured and separated. She clipped the system back on, straightened out the wrinkles in her jacket, and tied her scarf back around her neck.

    Might as well look professional.

    She wandered back to the bar to find it covered with ornate glass dishes filled with a fluffy white substance and topped with something pinkish. Dante was assembling them at a truly remarkable speed, shoveling the fluff out of a large paper drum while ladling the syrup from a pot.

    Maybe that''s why he juggles swords while throwing darts.

    Dante looked up from his work, still cranking out sundaes at an astonishing rate. "Hey, why don''t you grab the guestbook from by the door? You can do the registration, just grab a table from in here and move it outside."

    Mikasa nodded back. She may have preferred not to do the work, but it would put her closer to reuniting with her team- the registration desk would be the first place for them to show up, right? She picked up a nearby table and slung it over her shoulder, snagging the guestbook on the way out. She shimmied the bulky table through the door and set it down lightly, sliding it to just underneath a window. Mikasa placed the book in the center, opened it to the first page, set the attached pen in the middle, and prepared to wait. As it turned out, she didn''t have to wait long.

    The air in front of the table parted, sliding away to reveal a dimly-lit room. Two figures stepped out of the darkness and into the desert sun, and the air sealed back up behind them. Mikasa had seen some very unusual things as of late, but this was among the strangest. She would have been more concerned, but since the people that walked through the mysterious doorway did not seem to be attacking, she assumed they were there for the tournament, and pushed the guestbook forward for them.

    They could not have been more different from one another. On the left, a tall, dark figure, clad in a heavy, sleek body suit and a dramatic cape. His head was completely covered by a skeletal-looking helmet with buglike eyes, and he seemed to be emitting a rhythmic click-wheeze-click sound. His companion to the right was a young woman clad in an oddly-patterned deep blue dress and matching cap. Her platinum-blonde hair (which bore more than a passing resemblance in color to Dante''s) was cut into a very short bob, which framed her golden eyes against her pale skin. It was an otherworldly sort of beauty- Mikasa figured it was what the royalty looked like. The helmeted figure arrived at the table first, stomping his way into place with a few more clicks and wheezes.

    "Is this the location of the tournament?" he asked, the words booming and modulated almost beyond understanding.

    Mikasa nodded. "Apparently. Are you two a team?"

    "We are," he replied. He took the pen and scribbled something into one of the columns. "Where do you wish for us to go?"

    "Oh, I''m not the organizer," pointed out Mikasa. "I''m just doing registration. I''m sure everybody else will be here soon enough." The helmeted man nodded, but stayed put. Mikasa quickly realized that his companion was staring very intently at her.

    "Can I help you?"

    The new girl blinked, and drew a large, ancient-looking book from nowhere in particular. She paged through the yellow sheets, occasionally looking back up at Mikasa, until she found what she was looking for. She pulled something out from between the pages and held it out- a card, and a familiar one at that. A woman stood over a huge, feral beast, seemingly under her control. At the bottom of the card, a set of characters read ''VIII''.

    "Strength," said the girl. "Am I correct?"

    Mikasa remembered that card- it had been some time ago, but she was certain she still had it in her room somewhere. The version this perplexing girl had was different from hers, of course. Mikasa''s was hand-drawn by Adam, with thin, ornate lines, while this one used a bolder, more minimalistic style. But it was certainly the same thing, the eighth major arcana of the tarot, Strength.

    "Yes," she said, half-stunned. "How did you-"

    "It stands for not only strength of mind and body, but control over the bestial nature of humanity," interrupted the newcomer. "I sense that you have already begun your journey to learn the true meaning of Strength."

    Mikasa was not exactly sure what to make of all of this, especially when she was soon to be overwhelmed with registrants. She smiled and nodded to the girl and waved her and the helmeted man away, slumping back against the wall behind her.

    So she knew about the tarot cards¡­ I knew Adam traded a few of those around, but I''m certain I still have mine. So how did she know? Is the book of hers some sort of guide to the deck, or divination with it?

    She could have kept going for quite some time, but Mikasa became sure that she had no real answers. And she was also sure that it shouldn''t be such a concern- there was no benefit that girl could really gain from knowing something as trivial as that. But as the other warriors began to flood in from the road, Mikasa couldn''t stop pondering what she had said.

    Control over the bestial nature of humanity¡­ already begun my journey¡­ Could it have something to do with what Masamune told me? That''d have to be it.

    A light tap on the head brought her eyes back from the sky to the tall, bearded man in front of her.

    "Has everyone signed up?" he asked.

    Mikasa shrugged. "I don''t know. A lot of people have. Why don''t you take the book, if you''re the guy organizing this?"

    "I suppose I could ask and make sure," agreed Gandalf, picking up the guest book and walking away. The crowds were beginning to form themselves into circles that Mikasa was sure would be used for each fight. She wandered back in the door- it was comparatively quiet in the bar, with only a few patrons appearing to grab a sundae or beverage. Mikasa found a seat and slumped into it.

    How did that wear me out so much? Dealing with people, I think. I''ve had enough of them for one day.

    Mikasa was about to put her head down and take a nap, when she realized that she had forgotten something very important.

    "The guest book!" she shouted. "I wasn''t looking for my friends!" A few patrons gave her a disapproving look, and put a few extra paces between themselves and her.

    "What''s the trouble, now, little one?" asked a lightly accented voice from the bar. Mikasa turned to find an odd-looking woman approaching her, a little too long-limbed for her own body. She wore ornately-decorated glasses, and held a strawberry sundae with one hand and her spoon with the other.

    "Oh, I- I meant to be looking for my other team members out there as they signed the guest book, but I didn''t. I got¡­ distracted." It was not something that happened to Mikasa often.

    "Don''t you think your friends would have noticed you and said something if they were signing up?"

    "I- yes, they would, you''re right," realized Mikasa. "So they must not be here after all."

    "Who knows if they might show up later, though," warned the woman. "You''d probably better keep on out there, looking for them."

    Mikasa was a little unsure why someone would be nice enough to help her with such a childish mistake, but she was not going to complain about it. She nodded to the woman and charged back out the door.

    "Each team will field a single fighter for every round. If they are too injured to continue, another may take their place," explained Gandalf, standing in the absolute center between the crowds. "If your team wins the round, you move on to the next round. But a single failure will eliminate your team from the tournament."

    Mikasa found it a little ironic that a single old man could set up a fighting tournament better than the Master of Games, but knowing his true intentions made his actions seem slightly more logical. The teams were already producing the fighters for the first round, but Mikasa was having trouble seeing further than the closest circle of warriors. She watched a small, plump man in overalls enter the ring, tightening his gloves and tipping his hat.

    I''ve seen him around before. What was his name?

    "Mario," said the woman''s voice from an uncomfortably close distance. Mikasa was surprised to find the same lady as before leaning against the wall next to her. "He seems like a gentleman, but rumor has it that there''s more to him than meets the eye."

    Idle gossip was not Mikasa''s favorite thing, but since the only group she could see didn''t include any members of Team Mockingjay, she guessed there could be worse ways to pass the time, and replied with an "Oh?"

    "I haven''t asked him myself," the woman continued, "but I have a close friend that plays card games with him on occasion. And though my friend''s assertions that Mario always cheats at Go Fish are highly suspect, it seems as though he may actually be a shifty sort of fellow."

    Mikasa rolled her eyes, specifically in a direction that would not be visible to the woman, lest she be offended. "Really?"

    Mario''s opponent, a white-robed man bristling with knives, stepped forward, bowing.

    "Salutations, Signore Mario," said Ezio politely. "You know, I had an uncle named Mario."

    "Is that-a so? What-a coincidence."

    Ezio rose back to his full height, drawing a sword. "A coincidence, and no more! I would never associate myself with someone who makes a mockery of il popolo Italiano!"

    "What''s-a your problem, paisano?" snickered Mario, adopting a fighting stance and lowering the brim of his hat.

    "Really," continued the woman. "He lives in a place called the Mushroom Kingdom, but he''s not a local. Originally, he was from a world not too different than mine. Somehow, he traveled through dimensions and ended up there, and proceeded to make a fuss. He thwarted a kidnapping attempt on some royals and got in good with the higher-ups- and made quite the stack of cash, too. Then he used the funds to travel to the Flower Kingdom, their mortal enemies. Turns out they were suffering from a kidnapping, too, so he goes and rescues another princess and the warring nations decide to give him the disputed territory as a reward! And the funny thing is, the same terrorist was pulling the strings both times. Awful suspicious, don''t you think?"

    Mario leapt into the air, simply jumping over Ezio''s slash. A sturdy boot found purchase on Ezio''s head, and carried the plumber behind his foe safely.

    "Very suspicious," mumbled Mikasa.

    "My friend''s theory, is that he''s got a deal worked out with this Bowser chap. Every time the bank accounts are looking a little thin, the bloke goes and stages a kidnapping. Mario comes to the rescue, saves everyone, and pays a cut of his prize to him. Manipulative bastard."

    Ezio spun around to face his opponent, sheathing his sword and extending two small blades from the undersides of his heavy gauntlets. "Do not test me," he warned.

    "Do you really believe that?" asked the scout.

    "Well, I don''t really care. It''s what my friend thinks," she replied. "But it goes to show that not everyone is quite what they seem."

    "Let''s-a go," taunted Mario, who had to immediately duck under one of the Assassin''s hidden blades. The plumber threw himself forward, sliding between the taller man''s legs before somersaulting to his feet. He clenched a gloved hand, which began to emit flames. Ezio turned again, obviously agitated by Mario''s antics, and lunged toward him a second time.

    Mikasa looked back at the woman, who was pushing up her glasses by the bridge. "What do you mean by that?"

    "I meant exactly what I said, dearie," she smiled, heading towards the door of the bar. "Now, I wonder if he''s finished making that lolly¡­"

    She slipped back through the door, and Mikasa returned her attention to the fight. Mario had leapt out of the way again, putting a fair bit of distance between him and his opponent.

    "Would you quit running and fight me like a man?!" snarled the Assassin.

    "If that''s-a what you want," said Mario, opening his clenched fist. A volatile sphere of energy fell from his hand, bouncing across the ground until it reached Ezio, at which point it burst into flame. The Assassin''s robes caught alight, and the man flung himself to the ground, rolling and yelping with pain.

    "Gi¨¤ abbastanza! I yield!"

    Mario snapped his fingers, and the flames subsided instantly. He wandered back into the crowd, and Ezio''s team members rushed to his side.

    "Are you all right?" asked Leonidas.

    "S¨ª, S¨ª," gasped Ezio. "My robes are thick enough that the flames did not burn me- but they would have if I had let them go any longer. In that time, my opponent would have defeated me, I am certain."

    "It is a shame that we have been eliminated," the Dovahkiin mused. "I would have liked to face your foe. I fight best when on fire."

    "I somehow doubt that," said the Spartan.

    "Look at that, the little bastard cleaned up." Mikasa found the tall woman at her side once again, this time spinning a green lollypop between her fingers. "Maybe I jinxed things a little, talking about him like that."

    Mikasa raised an eyebrow at the sweet. "So, you asked Dante to make¡­ a piece of candy?"

    "Dante, is that his name? I don''t know if I''d call him a poet, but he certainly is a chef. That strawberry compote- to die for."

    The scout was unsure of how to respond, but as luck would have it, she did not have to. The woman poked her in the face lightly, smiled, and was absorbed by a purple disc of occult-looking characters that appeared above her head and traveled down her body, zapping her away.

    What the hell was that? Mikasa wondered, scratching her head. Too many confusing things are happening here. I don''t think I''m going to run into anyone I know- no sense wasting any more time.

    She looked up at the sun to gauge her direction, adjusted her bearing to the north, and immediately ran into a cloaked figure.

    "Oof," she grunted, falling backwards. The cloaked figure spun to its feet, extending a hand down to Mikasa''s level. The scout took it and was hauled upwards. The face hidden under the wide-brimmed fedora was immediately familiar.

    "Honey?" she said aloud. "What are you doing-"

    Honey clamped a hand over Mikasa''s mouth.

    "Ssh! Don''t say that out loud!"

    She removed her hand, allowing the scout to speak under her condition.

    "What are you doing here?" whispered Mikasa again.

    "I''m being followed. You know that big dinosaur guy, Megatron? He''s got himself a team and they''ve been hunting me since the start of the round. I''ve been making a fool of them the whole way."

    Mikasa couldn''t claim to know Honey all that well, but from the little she could discern of her character, it did not surprise her that she was treating this like a game.

    Some people have more courage than sense.

    "Well, shouldn''t you get going, then?"

    "Aw, you don''t get it," cackled Honey with a wicked grin. "That''s what they''d expect me to do. What they don''t expect me to do¡­ is sign up for this tournament."

    "Honey, I don''t think that''s very smart."

    "I do," snapped Honey. "Now where do I sign up?"

    "The organizer is a tall guy with gray robes and a beard," sighed Mikasa. "He''s probably wandering around, so you''ll have to-"

    Honey shot into the air, tucking her arms in to perform a double-full backflip before landing on top of the bar''s roof.

    "Gray robes?" she called back down to Mikasa.

    "And a beard," moaned the scout.

    "Got it," shouted Honey, leaping from the roof back into the crowd.

    Mikasa was concerned with Honey''s plan of action, but she knew that the girl''s appearance might have been a godsend. If she could not locate Team Mockingjay, Honey might be her next best option. Mikasa wasn''t exactly sure why she could tolerate the girl- or rather, the machine, as Honey had explained- but she had a feeling it was because her headstrong impulsiveness reminded Mikasa of Eren. Admittedly, a more-capable, wisecracking version of Eren, but the similarities were still there. Her brother had meant a lot to her, but did she really need a surrogate for the time being? No, but a friend was useful. Conflicted as she was, Mikasa decided to stick around and escape with Honey. Surely the android would help her find her team.

    Honey shoved her way back through the crowd, emerging a short distance from Mikasa.

    "It worked, I''m in as ''Harriet Kidman''. If there''s a hundred guys between me and them, I don''t think it matters if my disguise is paper-thin."

    "So who do they have you lined up against?" asked Mikasa.

    Honey smiled. "Somebody I''ve never heard of. A team called ''Dark Prophecy'' or something. Should be fun."

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    Dark Prophecy¡­ have I seen that somewhere before?

    Honey headed back toward the crowd, waving Mikasa along. The scout followed her to the second-nearest circle. Honey stepped into the center slowly, her long wrap billowing out into the air. It made her look a lot more intimidating than she did in her sun dress- or perhaps, simply more appropriate to the situation.

    "All right, let''s get this started," she roared into the crowd. "Who''s first?"

    Heavy boots stomped into the ring, followed by a click and a wheeze. It was the helmeted man Mikasa had seen before- Dark Prophecy is what he had written when registering his team, she was sure. The black, blank, buglike eyes etched into the faceplate gave a death glare to nearly everyone around the circle at once. A slight breeze picked up his cape, billowing it to a far greater size than Honey''s wrap- amplifying his dramatic presence. Even though no one in the crowd seemed familiar with the black-suited man, everyone seemed very, very concerned about his presence.

    A sucking sound was followed by another heavy click, and a long wheeze.

    "I¡­ am your opponent," echoed the deep, mechanical voice.

    Honey, undaunted, laughed into his helmeted face. "Well, duh! You got a name, mister?"

    The man extended a gloved hand toward the girl, holding it open in the air. One by one, he began to curl his fingers inward. Honey''s expression quickly changed from one of smug confidence, to one of surprise, and then one of pain, as she slowly rose into the air, clawing wildly at her own neck.

    The man''s words reverberated out, cold and processed, into the charged air of the ring.

    "You will address me as Darth Vader. Now, die."

    He flung his extended arm downwards, and Honey was slammed into the ground by some unseen force. The man reached to his belt and drew a small, silver cylinder, on which he depressed a button. With a crackle and hiss, a glowing shaft of red energy extended from the device, and Darth Vader brought it to his side like a blade.

    Mikasa may not have been facing the mysterious swordsman, but she felt the beginnings of panic set in.

    Honey''s in trouble- she has to change forms to use her own sword, and if she does that, she''ll risk getting spotted.

    "Okay," Honey gasped, picking herself up. "You''ve got some decent tricks. But a big guy like you won''t be fast enough to catch me." She sprung forward, telegraphing a right hook as she sprinted toward the man. Just before reaching him, she shot her right foot upward into an axe kick, having feinted the punch- but her clever attack did not find its mark. Vader had simply disappeared.

    "Where-"

    "Foolish," wheezed Darth Vader from behind her. He extended his arm again, and Honey was jolted into the air as if by some invisible hand. She hovered above the ground, and slowly spun to face him.

    "How did you-"

    "I find your lack of understanding¡­ unsurprising," echoed the man''s modulator. "A droid such as yourself could never sense the Force."

    He could tell? Wondered Mikasa. How? Honey is a pretty convincing human.

    "The force?" struggled Honey. "What''s that?"

    "An energy field that binds all life together," explained the man. "Those who sense the Force''s flow can learn to manipulate it, as I do."

    Honey wriggled in place, to no avail.

    "Well, you learn something every day."

    "It will be the last thing you process, droid," growled Vader, swinging his energy sword at the girl. Mikasa began to push her way back through the crowd- if Honey was dead, she would have to find some better way back to her team. She stopped when she heard an unfamiliar sound- a crash, followed by an elevated pitch of the energy weapon''s hum.

    Don''t tell me.

    She turned back around, and saw that Honey''s disguise had dissolved in favor of her sleeveless leotard, her eyes now burning with the same crimson as her suddenly-shorter hair. A thin sword was held to her side, blocking the blade of energy from slicing the android in two.

    "Sorry," she grinned. "I should have told you to look away while I was changing."

    "An illusion?" asked Vader. "And a lightsaber-resistant sword?"

    "It''s no illusion," growled Honey, shoving the glowing red blade away and skidding to a safer distance. "It''s the real deal. My Kuchu-Genso-Kotei-Sochi Drive allows me to reconfigure air molecules on an atomic level. Wrap your universal life-force around that!"

    "So you used that device to create your weapon, with materials that can withstand my saber. But why did you change your outfit?"

    Honey shrugged. "Freedom of movement, or something," she suggested, looking down at herself. "Or maybe to let the girls get a little air. When you''re a red-hot warrior of love, sometimes you can use such assets to your advantage!"

    "Preposterous," roared Vader, dashing forward with inhuman speed. Honey blocked his slash again, twisting her Silver Fleurette to force the masked man to slip forward. She finished her counter with a roundhouse kick into his gut, destroying the complex-looking machine that was strapped to his abdomen.

    "GHAKK," he coughed, the click-wheezing suddenly becoming erratic.

    "What''s up, Darth? Technical difficulties?" Honey sneered as the man collapsed to the ground. "Where''s your life-binding energy now?"

    "Most¡­ impressive," he strained. "I¡­ could not sense your¡­. true power. The next¡­. time we meet, I¡­ shall not hold back."

    He coughed again, crawling back out of the ring on his knees. He was helped up by the girl in the blue dress, who wrapped an arm underneath his and hefted him to his feet. With her free hand, she drew her book, the pages turning on their own accord until she seemed to find what she was looking for. A card floated up out of the tome and into the center of the ring, hovering at Honey''s eye level.

    "Chariot," said the girl. "Number seven. You burn like a flame, but is it truly for others, or to create an illusion for yourself?"

    The card then floated back to the book, which the girl closed before hauling Vader away.

    Honey gave the departing girl a skeptical look. "All-righty then... who''s next?"

    Mikasa rushed into the center of the ring. Honey grabbed her by the shoulders, frowning.

    "Whoa, hold on a minute. I''m not fighting you next."

    "No, listen," shouted Mikasa, shaking her head. "You changed- if those people are really that close behind you, they probably saw you. They know you''re here."

    "Yeah, but how likely is it that they can get through all of the fighters here? There''s no way they can just barge in and interrupt everything."

    A bit of dirt next to Honey''s foot exploded up with a crack to announce that it had been hit by a bullet. Standing above the crowd was a purple Tyrannosaurus Rex, and perched on its head was a woman clad in heavy tactical armor.

    "This tournament is over, yesss," cooed Megatron. "Anyone who wants to get shot can stick around."

    "Not again," wailed Gandalf, hastily retreating. His own team followed his lead, and were soon joined by nearly everyone there. Warriors scattered in every direction, soon leaving the town nearly vacant.

    "Hey, Mikasa," whispered Honey. "You know that motorcycle sitting behind the building?"

    "How do you know about that?"

    "Doesn''t matter, just go get it."

    "Fine," sighed the scout, not too disappointed to be out of the line of fire. She was genuinely surprised to see Megatron again, she thought for sure that he had found better things to do since Dio had shown up.

    Though for him, perhaps chasing Honey counts as "better things".

    "Was that Mikasa Ackerman there?" the Predacon mused, his words looking unnatural as they were spoken by a gigantic, fanged mouth. "It has been a while since I saw her¡­ since she sliced my head off."

    "Forget about her," shouted Honey. "You''re here for me."

    "That I am. You''ve proven to be quite the thorn in my side. But I''m here to send a message, and the message is that if you do not stand with us¡­ your life will become a living hell."

    Major Kusanagi leapt off of Megatron''s head, landing fist-first with a heavier-than-usual thud. She raised her bullpup assault rifle, locking Honey into her sights.

    "You''ve got a lot of nerve, Kisaragi," grunted the police officer. "How can you call yourself a hero, turning that club into a deathtrap?"

    "I''m pretty certain I made sure that everyone left," retorted Honey. "And how do you call yourselves heroes, chasing me around on some madman''s orders?"

    "You have to be pretty sadistic to come up with a scheme like you did," hissed the Major, changing the subject.

    "I said I was a warrior of love," smirked Honey. "I never said I was nice."

    "Oh, that''s fine," snapped Rex, emerging from behind the dinosaur, one of his arms converted into a gigantic sword and rested over his shoulder, his clothes in varying states of disrepair. "It''s just making me have a hard time believing that you''re supposed to be the good guy in all of this."

    Honey''s eyes widened. "You''re still alive?"

    "Nanomachines, chica!"

    "Well, that figures. How about your best buddy?"

    The huge man moved out from his cover behind Megatron next, his clothing in similar distress. Unlike Rex, he did seem to have been damaged by the explosion, as large chunks of his flesh had disappeared to reveal the metallic, skeletal workings underneath.

    "Looking as charming as ever, I see," she jabbed.

    "All right, I''ve got a few strawberry sundaes left," announced Dante, carrying a few dishes outside. "So who wants so-"

    He noticed that the tournament had seemed to have disappeared, and that there was something of a confrontation occurring.

    "Let me go back inside and get my sword," he said.

    "Actually, I''ll take one of those," said Rex, waving Dante over. The bartender reluctantly came, and handed over the dessert. Rex, who had one free hand- since his other, which was currently a sword, was not an ideal utensil- simply chomped down on the ice cream without a spoon.

    "Ay, la salsa de fresas¡­ ?que rico!"

    "I''m¡­ glad you like it?" said Dante, backing towards his establishment.

    Tobio sprinted up next, sliding to a halt next to Rex and sampling a bit of the sundae before addressing Honey.

    "Listen, this doesn''t have to be so bad," he pleaded, wiping strawberry compote off of his face. "If you just work for Joe, we can be friends and everything!"

    "Thanks, but no thanks, kid. I don''t want to work for your crummy boss."

    "Then you will be terminated," droned the large, half-burned man, drawing his scoped pistol.

    "It ends here, Kisaragi," growled Megatron, converting into his robot mode and aiming his dinosaur-head-beam-cannon arm towards her. Honey gritted her teeth. Mikasa wasn''t back with the motorcycle yet, which meant that she didn''t have any options left. She had lost this time, and she was doubtful she really could have taken them all on anyway. She''d have another shot next round, no doubt, and she would again stand by her beliefs, regardless of the cost.

    Oh well. It''s been fun. Or rather, an annoying sort of diversion. Like trigonometry, or eggs Benedict, or a Hail Mary. So really not fun at all.

    The guns fired first, followed by the bellow of the beam cannon''s charged particles, but Honey was surprised that she hardly felt them ravage her body. Actually, she really felt no different at all. She blinked her eyes and looked directly into the bright purple in front of her- yes, in front of her. The beam, and evidently the bullets, was being stopped. The light faded, and the gunfire halted, and Honey was astounded by what she saw. In front of her stood a man, clad in orange martial arts garb, with the most ridiculous head of hair she had ever seen.

    "Excuse me," he said. "Have any of you seen a girl carrying half of a red pair of scissors? I''ve been looking everywhere and I just can''t seem to find her."

    "Holy Mary, full of grace," stammered Honey.

    "Insolent organic garbage!" roared Megatron. "How dare you interrupt our battle?"

    "I just wanted to check with you guys, that''s all."

    "We have not seen her! Now, you will pay for obstructing our business!" screamed the Predacon, charging another blast of his cannon. He fired, and this time, the man simply deflected the blast away with the back of his hand, as if swatting a fly. The errant beam of energy fizzled away as it careened off into the sky. The man did not seem very impressed.

    "You know, you could learn to be more polite."

    "I take orders from no one," snarled Megatron.

    "Really, I wouldn''t want to have to hurt you guys."

    "Like you, a mere organic, could possibly harm us?"

    "Um, Mister Joe? He did just totally shrug off that beam," warned Tobio.

    "That means nothing. He may have mastered the art of defense, but he must be so specialized that he could not hurt a cyberfly."

    "Well, if you want a demonstration otherwise," laughed the man, bringing his open palms together in front of his stomach. "Kaa¡­." He began to chant.

    "Joe, I''m not sure about this," gulped Motoko.

    "Yeah, this hombre really seems like he means business," agreed Rex.

    "Me¡­..haa¡­." A blue sphere of energy began to gather between the man''s hands as he brought them to his side, circling them around one another to cradle the ghostly-looking ball.

    "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus," continued Honey.

    "I''m not concerned by your little light show, organic," Megatron spat. "Come on, let''s see the best you can do, yesss."

    "Me¡­"

    Dante rushed outside, his sword in hand. Upon seeing how the situation had declined further, and upon noticing the man charging a ball of energy in his hands, he quickly returned to the building.

    "Pray for us sinners now and the hour of our death, Amen," finished Honey.

    "HA!" screamed the man, thrusting his hands into the sky. The ball exploded into a gigantic pillar of blue-white light, tearing apart the clouds and boiling the air as it ripped into the atmosphere. The beam screamed with a rushing, undulating pulse, a sound not unlike the secret child of a hurricane and a volcano. It shattered the windows of every building in the town, and ripped the wooden planks from the walls. It shook the earth and splintered the very surface of the desert with even more cracks and crannies, the arena itself terrified of the attack''s power. For nearly five seconds, the white-hot scar ebbed into the sky, informing the Transcendent Technomorphs that perhaps they should not trifle with this man. Then, the beam dissolved away, leaving a glowing speck high above them that Honey suspected was burnt ozone.

    "What was that?!" screamed Mikasa, towing the motorcycle alongside her.

    "Oh, hi, Mikasa, thanks for the bike," gasped Honey, rapidly exchanging her leotard for a white racing suit and matching helmet in a burst of flame and nudity. She flung herself over the machine, which roared to life underneath her. "Sorry, gotta run, bye!"

    She revved the motorcycle up and sped away, disappearing behind a trail of dust.

    "Hey, but- wait!" cried Mikasa, stuck once again.

    "I''ll see you guys around," said the man in the orange gi, waving goodbye to the Transcendent Technomorphs and vanishing with his fingers to his forehead.

    "Madre de Dios," whispered Rex, in awe.

    "Will you buffoons stop standing around slack-jawed, and start after the girl?!" roared Megatron, attempting to return some sense to his troops. The team shook themselves out of their shock and sprinted away after Honey, leaving Mikasa alone once again. The disgruntled scout fell back onto her hindquarters and wrapped her arms over her head in despair.

    Yeah, I had better crawl back into the bar and give up. I''m never going to get out of here.

    A house across the street suddenly imploded, as if something had crashed down through it from above.

    "I''m okay!" insisted a voice from inside the house. "Adam broke my fall!"

    "Ruby?" Mikasa gasped. "Adam?!"

    The artificial man pulled himself out of what was left of the building''s front door, with the Huntress in tow.

    "Mikasa, what a pleasant surprise! We came when we saw the light from Easton. Is there anyone else here?"

    "Not from our team. There''s the guy running the bar back there, but he''s friendly."

    "Great," shouted Ryuko, touching down in a typically rough manner in the center of the road. "I wanna get myself a whiskey sour before we head north."

    Mikasa frowned. "North?"

    "Yeah, north," replied Ryuko. "Where those jerks that teleported us are. We''ll go and clobber ''em."

    "Do you really think we can just go back and try again, when we don''t even have everybody with us?"

    Ryuko, I believe she has a point.

    Yeah, you''re right, Senketsu. It wouldn''t do us any good to rush in and get scattered again.

    "So what do you have in mind, instead?"

    Mikasa almost smiled. Finally, she had found her team- or rather, they had found her. While she often wanted to avoid them outside of the rounds, she realized that she really did appreciate them, regardless of their quirks. Of course, being around to save your life helped, too.

    "A friend of mine is being hunted by Megatron, and a new team he''s formed," explained the scout. "If we can catch up with them, and knock them out, she''ll be willing to help us, I''m sure."

    "Oh, it''s not that Honey chick, is it?" Ryuko groaned. "I don''t know what it is but there''s something about her I can''t stand."

    "It is that Honey chick and she''d be perfect for sneaking into the Night Terrors'' base."

    "Fine, we''ll chase her down," Ryuko relented. "But first, my drink." The four walked back into the bar, where Dante had begun to clean out a few cups.

    "So these are your friends?" he asked Mikasa.

    "Yeah. I''ll be hitting the road."

    "Is there anything I can do for you, before you go?"

    Ryuko threw herself onto a stool, scowling. "I''m gonna need a whiskey sour, hold the whiskey."

    "That''s just¡­ lemon juice," said Dante.

    "Exactly. Now get to it."

    Dante shrugged and began to prepare Ryuko''s drink. Mikasa turned to her friend, sighing.

    "These last couple of days have been pretty rough. I sat here eating ''pizza'' for every meal, and then got to watch a fighting tournament fail spectacularly. What did you do?"

    "I got arrested, grabbed a coin, beat up a rage beast."

    "Technically, Ruby and I defeated the rage beast," noted Adam, putting a hand out to halt Ruby''s spinning on the bar stool.

    "So, you know, the usual," sighed the girl, receiving her drink from the bartender and downing it in two hearty gulps.

    Mikasa walked to the door, swinging it open and standing aside to let her allies through. "We should get going. She''ll be moving pretty quickly."

    "Wait," groaned Dante. "Did she take my bike?"

    "Yes."

    Ryuko leaned a little further over the bar, almost uncomfortably close to Dante.

    "What kind of bike are we talking about here?"

    "It''s a custom, two-liter hyper-sport cruiser with a candy-red metallic flake under a burnt orange lacquer, modified fenders and tank, and double storage bins," he wept.

    Suddenly, Ryuko stood next to Mikasa at the door. "Well, come on! What are we waiting for? Let''s go save Honey!"

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-22 Things Go South

    "Oh¡­" whispered Hermione. "Forty-Seven. I knew her."

    The witch drew the girl''s eyelids shut. When they had arrived at the mess hall, they had noticed the commotion from the galley. Hermione was the first on the scene, followed by her four colleagues, and then by hundreds of other Rei clones, staring at their fallen sister. The Doctor and the ponies stood aside, as instructed.

    "She¡­ was in the glee club," said Nonon, holding back tears. Hermione was genuinely impressed at the pink-haired girl''s response- she was surprised that Nonon could sympathize with anyone. Perhaps her callousness was some sort of mask she wore, to hide the innocent person underneath¡­ Hermione had more important things to do than think about Nonon at the moment.

    "What did you see?" she asked, turning back to the witnesses.

    "She was helpin'' us make a cake for Coordinator Suzumiya," swallowed Applejack. "An'' then something came out of the vent and grabbed her- I couldn''t tell ya what it was."

    "Grey and black and horrible," said Pinkie. "And fast.."

    Hermione returned to the Rei''s body. There were deep lacerations along her arms and legs, and three distinct gaping holes in her abdomen.

    "What could have done this?" wondered a pale-looking Sanageyama aloud.

    "These wounds aren''t typical of a stabbing. This was an animal, and that lines up with what our witnesses say." Hermione turned back to Inumuta. "Hoka, I want you to look up her file. I need to know everything about her."

    Hoka nodded, and began to type on his PDA rapidly.

    "Why?" sniffled Nonon. "What good is going through her stuff going to do? She''s dead!"

    "Because, did you hear anything about an escape from the Menagerie?"

    Nonon wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "N-no."

    "That''s right. It''s supposed to be secure. So if something got out¡­"

    "It was on purpose," whispered Sanageyama.

    "But Fluttershy works at the Menagerie!" gasped Pinkie Pie. "She would never-"

    "We can''t say that for sure," snapped Hermione. "Not when there''s something out there that¡­ does this."

    "I''ve got her file," reported Inumuta. "She was activated approximately five weeks ago. She was the forty-seventh mass-production Rei clone, and she was employed as a courier for Research and Development."

    "Research and Development," echoed Hermione. "The division Satsuki thought took those weapons."

    "It could be a coincidence," sobbed Nonon.

    "Or it might not be. We don''t know. What was her clearance level?"

    "Level one," read Inumuta. "Full access."

    She could get anywhere. A valuable ability. Did that make her a target?

    Hermione knelt back down next to the body, examining her forearms. "She didn''t have an AEGIS, so she would have had a security keycard, right?"

    "Right," replied Inumuta. "I have the record of one being issued to her here."

    Hermione delicately searched the bloodstained uniform''s pockets.

    "Nothing. It''s not here."

    "She couldn''t have gotten into the galley without it," noted Sanageyama.

    Hermione felt her heart rate begin to accelerate. "So whatever killed her¡­ took it."

    "What a web we weave," muttered the Doctor.

    "But, is that really possible?" asked Applejack. "Could Fluttershy have let some kinda monster out¡­ to take a keycard? I mean, that don''t sound like her at all!"

    "No, it doesn''t, I know," agreed Hermione. "But we need to consider that as a possibility. We also might need to consider the possibility that your friend might have accidentally released it, and could be just as dead as Forty Seven."

    Pinkie Pie burst into tears, and Applejack and the Doctor tried their best to console her.

    "So," whispered Nonon, seemingly having pulled herself back together. "What kind of animal is responsible for this?" Hermione detected something new in Nonon''s voice, something beneath the taunting, nasal sing-song. It was anger.

    "Well, it was fairly large, to be able to lift her into the vents," observed Hermione. "But not too large to fit through them itself. The lacerations on her limbs are in groups, so it had claws or claw-like appendages, and those deeper wounds could have been caused by a tusk, or horn."

    Nonon wandered closer to the bloody mess that had been one of her sopranos, and looked intently at her face. She then pulled her bangs back, revealing another wound, more sickening than the rest. A huge chunk had been removed from her forehead, past skin and bone, deep into the grey matter of her brain.

    "And what did this?" asked Nonon.

    Hermione knew the answer. The wound was incredibly distinct- it was a calling card. There was only one creature that did that, and it was the last thing that she ever wanted to deal with.

    "Double x¡­ one-twenty-one," gasped Hermione, who found herself very short on breath.

    Sanageyama rolled his eyes. "Do you want to use, you know, words, so the rest of us understand?"

    "Hoka¡­ look up Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them."

    Inumuta scrolled through his PDA.

    "The fifty-fifth edition, Mrs. Granger?"

    "That''s the one. Chapter eighty-two."

    "Why do we need to hear this out of a dusty old textbook?" asked Sanageyama. He noticed his superior''s apparent distress, and followed with "Are you all right, Mrs. Granger?"

    "No," she said. "And soon, none of us will be. Get Medical," she cried, before fainting on the floor.

    "I''m already paging them," said Inumuta. "Regulations officers have been informed, as well."

    Jakuzure poked Hermione''s side, and confirmed that she was indeed unconscious.

    "Curly''s out like a light. Why?"

    "Perhaps, it is because of this," murmured Inumuta gravely. "Chapter eighty-two: Supplemental. For Illuminati Brotherhood Reference Only. Entry: Xenomorph XX121. Author: Hermione Granger.

    "We, as the Illuminati Brotherhood, are an organization devoted to the acquisition of knowledge. The unknown is merely an invitation from the meta-verse for the illuminated to explore. That is the creed we live by. I write this chapter first among my additions to Scamander''s reference to serve as a warning: there is some knowledge not worth possessing. My colleagues and I are few in number, and we do not visit often. When we do, it is always a momentous occasion. Our last meeting is not one that will be remembered fondly. We were scouting through an as-of-yet uncatalogued universe, from which we had detected signs of interstellar communication. Hoping to chance upon a technologically advanced society, we set out into the deep reaches of space in order to locate a colonized world, or space station, or starship. We succeeded in that regard, as we indeed found a colonized world. Regrettably, its original inhabitants were long gone. In their place was something far more sinister.

    LV-246 is a world identified in multiple universes as Archeron, after the Stream of Woe in Greek myth. It was here, fittingly, that Thanatos and Eros conceived their vile offspring."

    "Greek stuff? Lame," grunted Sanageyama.

    "Thanatos, the spirit of death," noted Inumuta. "And Eros, the god of desire."

    "I BELIEVE THOSE ARE BOTH MEN," Gamagori pointed out.

    "Curly, you are messed up," sneered Nonon, stepping aside as two teams of medics poured into the room. They lifted both Hermione and Forty-Seven onto their own stretchers, and began to haul them towards the medical wing. The Elite Four followed them closely, and Inumuta continued reading.

    "It was as we explored the ruined colony that we found evidence of a struggle. Fossilized remains of humans were found nearly everywhere, with unusual injuries. Their craniums were punctured, and their ribs had exploded. At first, we assumed that this was the work of human hands, a gun battle, perhaps. But after five or six skeletons with the same injuries, we knew we had found something else. We journeyed through the facilities of the colony, and found general states of disrepair and destruction. When we located the atmosphere processor- a basic terraforming device, we were astounded by what we found. Bizarre constructs, organic in nature had been fossilized in the walls. We had discovered our first concrete evidence of the presence of non-human life. We pushed deeper into the structure and found a chamber filled with dormant creatures. Upon us discovering them, they decided to no longer be so dormant. It took us three days to fight our way out, and we lost one of our own. We fled as soon as we could, but we had only just boarded our ship when Artemis began to express interest in further study of the creatures. Upon this point, I still disagree with him.

    Threat Level XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.

    Do not approach."

    "That''s all it says?" asked Jakuzure.

    "That''s all it says," confirmed Inumuta.

    The medical officers rolled Hermione''s stretcher into place and began to adjust the climate controls. The Medical wing was clean and sterile, complete with that odd unidentified smell that hospitals tended to have. As soon as everyone but the Four had left, Hermione''s eyes fluttered open.

    "Are they gone?" she asked, quietly.

    "Wait, you didn''t actually pass out?!" cried Inumuta.

    "No, I did. I came to about a minute ago. We can''t stay here."

    "And just where do you intend on going, Curly?"

    "One, we can''t stay put. Staying put gets you killed. Moving gets you killed." Hermione shivered, and looked around the room frantically.

    "Hey, calm down," said Sanageyama. "You''re safe."

    "No, I''m not. You''re not. No one on this ship is. Two. This is a mystery we are going to solve." She swung herself out of bed, and began to type coordinates into her AEGIS.

    "So I''ll ask again," repeated Jakuzure. "Where are we going?"

    "Menagerie. We''re paying Fluttershy and her little friends a visit."

    ***

    "Full stop," called Yoko. "Inertial dampening to maximum. Maintain powerplant output."

    "Aye, captain," replied the bank of Reis behind screens, adjusting their systems simultaneously. The ship slowed down so smoothly that the change in velocity was nearly imperceptible, which really was an achievement for such a large vessel.

    "I assume we are ready to begin negotiations?" asked Artemis, stepping out of the sparks produced by his AEGIS next to the captain. His bodyguard followed him, as stern-looking as ever.

    "I believe so," smiled Yoko. "I hope everything goes smoothly."

    "In the case that it does not, we are prepared." Artemis gestured to the platoon of armored Reis that began to flow onto the bridge through the main entrance. Each one held an assault rifle, and carried an anti-tank weapon across their backs. Yoko was not sure that was the best impression to make, but would not question Artemis'' decision aloud. The bright light ahead of the bridge, drifting through space, began to move again, much faster than before. It then disappeared for a moment, only to reappear within the ship, the light too radiant for unshielded eyes. Artemis flipped out a pair of polarized sunglasses, as did his butler, while Yoko scrambled for her goggles. The light slowly began to relent, but it never fully subsided. What was left was a faint glowing from the skin of a towering figure, a woman of unnatural size, clad in a similarly-scaled blue dress. She drifted to the floor, her head still far above the crew of the ship. Her hair hung down over half of her face, but the other half did not seem very happy.

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    "You trespass in the Garden of Rosette," she said, her voice soft, but almost painfully loud.

    "We are travelling to secure the fate of the cosmos," explained Artemis. "Let us pass, and your Garden will be unharmed."

    "The Garden is under my protection," she continued. "Why do you seek to secure that which already is?"

    "Our goal is far beyond your Garden, in regions you know not. We mean you no harm," assured the young man.

    The woman narrowed her eyebrows. "Do you attempt to deceive me? I am the sole master of the stars. I know there is naught beyond my Garden."

    "Let us pass," repeated Artemis. "And join us. We can reveal to you mysteries of the cosmos."

    "Silence!" boomed the woman, the bridge''s displays fizzling at the sound. "Are these ''mysteries'' falsehood as well? Do you wish to defile the Garden?"

    "No," whispered Yoko. "Say ''no''!"

    Artemis nodded. "No, great Rosalina. We wish to save the one known as Mario."

    The woman''s visible eye widened. "You know of him?"

    "Yes," replied Artemis. "A courageous warrior indeed. We know where he has been taken, with many others- we seek to free them."

    "You deign to restore balance," mused Rosalina. "A virtuous cause. But only those also of virtuous nature may be allowed to pass through the Garden."

    "Our nature is wholly virtuous," Artemis claimed, casting himself prostrate. Yoko, unsure of what to do, mimicked her commander.

    "Rise, neophytes. Your actions will not be the judge of your character. Your hearts shall. The stars through which you sail are my eyes- they will look into the nature of your beings. I shall consult them, and they shall tell me if you are worthy."

    Rosalina folded her hands together, tilted her head down, and closed her eyes.

    "What do we do?" asked Yoko. Artemis shrugged.

    "We wait."

    They did wait, for what seemed like much longer than it was. All eyes were fixed on the radiant Rosalina, as she plied the depths of every heart on their ship. When she lifted her eyes, everyone on the bridge snapped to attention, their focus on the Guardian of the Garden of Rosette.

    "I have consulted the stars," she declared.

    Artemis bowed low before her again. "And what is their verdict, O great Rosalina?"

    "You are unworthy."

    Murmurs began to spread throughout the room. Artemis entreated Rosalina once more.

    "O great Rosalina, where have you found fault with us? Surely it is excusable."

    "There are those among you that have no interest in your goal. They only seek to acquire more power. Their blot has stained you all. And my name is not Shirley."

    "Kiryuin," hissed Artemis under his breath. He straightened his tie, and waved Butler closer.

    "Well, Miss Rosalina, I am deeply sorry that we could not come to terms. However, since our goal is of the utmost importance, I am afraid I must prioritize it over the purity of your Garden."

    "Your words hold a treacherous intent," noted Rosalina.

    Artemis smiled. "Why, yes, they do. Open fire."

    The armed Reis aimed their weapons at the huge woman and did exactly that, sending hundreds of rounds towards her. Rosalina drew a wand from within her dress'' sleeve, waved it in the air, and was instantly surrounded by what appeared to be a large bubble. The bullets caught on the bubble''s surface, slowed to a halt, and fell to the floor.

    "Hmm," mused Artemis. "A bubble. Pop it."

    The Reis set their rifles on the floor and slung their rocket launchers over their shoulders, firing in unison again. Rosalina simply waved her wand again, and the bubble was replaced by a single star orbiting her body. As the explosives neared, they slowed down as well, and eventually joined the star in orbiting Rosalina. She then opened her free hand, causing a rift to open above her- on the other side, the vacuum of space began to draw the air from the bridge out. She raised her wand, and the orbiting explosives flew through the portal, and reappeared in space ahead of the bridge, where they exploded harmlessly. Rosalina lowered her hands, and the rift closed.

    "The Garden will erase your impurities," Rosalina''s voice echoed. "Make your peace while you can." With that, she glowed brightly again, and disappeared.

    "Multiple celestial bodies within this sector have broken free of their orbits," called one of the Reis at a bank of screens. "They are on a collision course with our ship."

    "Bring us to ahead full!" shouted Yoko. "Lower inertial dampening to seventy-five percent! Re-route additional power to the main guns!"

    "Aye, captain," replied the Reis.

    Yoko pulled off her captain''s hat and scratched her head. "Was that such a good idea, Artemis?"

    "Of course," said the young man. "Now we merely need to repel her attacks to pass through this sector. A simple task."

    "Simpler than being pure of heart?"

    "A simple task," Artemis repeated.

    "All defense crew to battle stations," instructed Yoko over the growing clamor on the bridge. She began to walk to the exit, but turned back to Artemis before the sliding doors closed.

    "So, I''m heading for the battle bridge. And you are¡­?"

    "Going to my office."

    "Of course."

    ***

    Shadow peered over the tops of his cards at his opponents'' faces. They were just as focused as he was, if not more. The air of their little storage-room hangout was charged with unbelievable intensity. Shadow knew that there were a lot of bottle caps on the line, and he did not intend to lose any more of his. A few more rounds, he was certain, and there would be a catastrophic failure for either of his foes. Then he could make his move. He just had to hold out. The young woman across the table fluttered her golden eyebrows in a wave-like fashion, and pulled her lips back into a fanged grin.

    "Oi, Shadow¡­ got any fives?"

    Shadow froze, and double checked his cards.

    "Damn," he sighed, handing her three fives.

    "And that''s a book," she giggled, setting her set of fives out on the table.

    The man seated to Shadow''s left folded his cards into a stack and placed them as close to his body as he could, to free up his arms for wild gesticulations. He was short, but well-built, with a tall forehead and slicked-up hair, a wardrobe consisting of a blue A-shirt and jeans, and a foul mood, as usual.

    "So, the other day, my wife calls me up, and asks me why I don''t buy her flowers," he roared. "Goddamn flowers! Why the hell am I supposed to buy her flowers?"

    The young woman rolled her glowing red eyes. "I dunno, because it''s a nice thing to do?"

    "But there''s the thing!" he cried. "She''s got flowers! She''s got a great little garden going! Why does she need me to get any?"

    "Because she wants you to," replied Shadow. "And she''s the boss."

    "Hnph, she''s the boss, yeah, right," he muttered. "Seras, you got any twos?"

    "Nope," chuckled the woman. "Go fish."

    "You''re using your vampire powers to cheat, aren''t you?" growled the man.

    "No, I''m not. I can''t see how I would," retorted Seras.

    "Aren''t you related to that Alucard guy, though?" asked Shadow.

    "Well, yeah," admitted Seras. "Sort of."

    "And can''t he do pretty much anything?"

    "I don''t think it involves card tricks."

    "You know, I don''t think I ever put two and two together before, but you dress just like him," said the man.

    Seras looked down at her red duster and black suit.

    "Huh. You''re right, Vegeta."

    "Like always," smiled the man, rocking back in his seat. The surprise of an alarm klaxon caused him to lose his balance, and he toppled to the floor.

    "What''s that?" asked the vampire.

    "It''s probably just a drill," Shadow assumed.

    "THIS IS NOT A DRILL," echoed a voice on the PA system.

    "Well, I don''t think it''s a drill," corrected the hedgehog.

    "Well, it looks like our game will get cut short yet again," grunted Vegeta, picking himself up from the floor.

    Seras'' eyes widened with joy. "So I win, right guys?"

    "Yeah," sighed Shadow. "Whatever. You win."

    They still suspect nothing, she cackled internally.

    Shadow, Seras, and Vegeta pushed through the old-fashioned swinging door to the hallway. Already Reis were bustling around at a much higher frequency than normal.

    "What do you think it is?" asked the man.

    "On this ship?" countered Shadow, "Who knows?"

    ***

    Rainbow Dash was having a hard time finding the right words to describe what she saw. "That thing sure looks¡­ serious?"

    "Come on, really? Not majestic? Not regal?" cried Char. "You''re tearing me apart, Dash!"

    The Pegasus took another long look up at the new machine. It was roughly the same height as the old Gatsbys, but its appearance was completely different. The first model was aggressive, with wide calves loaded with vents and boosters, broad stocky arms and gaping intakes. The Gatsby Mark II seemed far less threatening. Its head unit was capped with a tall cylinder, as if it were leading a marching band. Its torso was comparatively smaller, with no high-thrust backpack. Its waist was thinner too, but it fanned out into what appeared to be a gigantic metal dress.

    "Well, it''s¡­ fancy?"

    "Ah, the skirt armor. It''s like a set of extra limbs," explained Mobile Defense'' commander. "Each one of those panels not only defends the joints of the legs, but they''re loaded with boosters to enhance mobility. The Mark II''s agility has increased by a factor of three!"

    "Going faster is nice," conceded Rainbow Dash.

    "As is dealing more damage," Char added, drawing a remote from his pocket and clicking a button down. A gantry began to descend from the hangar''s ceiling, carrying an extraordinarily large beam rifle. "So we''ve replaced the main weapons systems entirely. This beam rifle is derived from After Colony tech- it''s just as dangerous as it looks."

    "I''m suddenly feeling a lot better about the dress."

    Char patted Dash''s head and ruffled her mane. "I thought you would."

    "ALL HANDS TO BATTLESTATIONS," roared the PA system as klaxons began to sound. Alarm lights descended from their places in the ceiling and began to flash their high-alert pulses. "THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

    "Now what could that be?" asked Char, checking his AEGIS.

    "Let''s go find out!" Rainbow Dash shouted above the alarms. She flapped her wings and rocketed towards her new Mobile Suit''s cockpit. Char extended his arm and caught her hoof, pulling her back down. He was still reading intently from the screen of his AEGIS.

    "Not so fast," he instructed. "It says here that you''re committed to a team that''s deploying in five minutes. With that timeframe, your mission has priority."

    He let go of her hoof, and the Pegasus settled back into the air.

    "But, I want to-"

    "No buts. Now get up there and start running your pre-launch checks. You won''t have time to practice running this thing, so every second counts."

    "Yes, sir, Commander Aznable," sighed Dash, floating back up toward the Mark II''s cockpit.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-23 Recuperation/XX121

    Something gently crossed her forehead, which prompted Morrigan to open her eyes. The light certainly didn''t hurt as much, so she had no trouble identifying Lilith sitting cross-legged next to her on the bed.

    "Are you feeling better, Morri?"

    "Aye, a bit," groaned the succubus, pushing the covers off and massaging her temples.

    "She says she''s doing better," whispered Lilith across the bed. Morrigan followed her words until they reached Poppy, who was standing in the corner sternly.

    "Gah! Ye''d think tae knock first!"

    "It was unlikely that you would have woken up, even if I had knocked on the door. Since I was bringing you some more water-" she held up the glass- "I deemed your recovery more important than your privacy."

    Lilith hopped off the bed and took the glass of water to Morrigan''s side, where the older succubus accepted it readily.

    "So you''re playin'' mum, then?"

    "There is some similarity in the roles I am currently filling in your recovery and the roles of a mother, yes."

    Morrigan frowned. "Ah, me old mum. What was her name, Nancy, maybe? Aw, I cannae remember. ''S been a ways. She wasn''t half the mum you''ve been, too busy, I suppose."

    "I am sorry to hear that," said Poppy evasively, hoping to make an exit before the conversation would pick up any momentum. Unfortunately for her, Morrigan had more to say.

    "She''d be gone oll the time, outwith the castle. Always left on an auld war movie ''fore she went. Ey''d ask fer somethin'' diff''rent, but every time- ''It''s so ye know why we''re better than the humans, ''coz oll they ever think about is war, an'' we''re in the business of love."

    Poppy nodded slowly. "What an interesting worldview. And not entirely incorrect."

    "That''s the thing, though," continued Morrigan. "I''m jest not sure if she was right. Humans can cook a fair bit better than we used to, an'' I know there''s a lot with their minds on things o''er than war."

    "Oh, really?"

    "Well, Ey''ve spent a lot of time buildin'' intimate relations with ''em, ye know. I think I''m an expert."

    Lilith giggled. "On intimate relations, amirite?"

    Morrigan joined her laughter, but both were cut short by Cloud bursting through the door.

    "Bayonetta''s back," he gasped.

    "¡­is fantastic, I know," interjected Morrigan.

    "No, I mean, she''s here."

    "Oh," whispered the Succubus.

    "Stay here," instructed Poppy. "I do not want to deal with what happened last time you two were in close proximity again."

    Lilith wrapped an arm around Morrigan, beaming. "Don''t worry, Morri! I''ll keep you company until you''re better!"

    Poppy followed Cloud out the door, down the hallway, through the foyer, and onto the porch where the witch stood.

    "So you''re still around?" growled Poppy.

    "I was making myself a bit scarce, wasn''t I?" Bayonetta cooed. "I assure you it was for a good reason." She ran a hand over her suit, and a green lollipop worked its way into her hand. Poppy knew exactly what it was.

    "So, do you believe you are adequately prepared?"

    "As much as I''ll ever be," the witch smirked. "Although there is one thing."

    "And what would that one thing be?"

    Bayonetta threw a thumb over her shoulder, towards the tallest building in town.

    "I''m going to need that church."

    ***

    Admittedly, the donuts were probably the best thing Katniss had woken up to in a long time.

    "Doing better today?" asked the man, dunking his own pastry into a mug of coffee.

    "I feel okay," the girl replied, breaking off a bit of the donut and leaving it on her plate.

    "That''s good enouff fer a couple daysh being knocked out."

    Katniss ate the piece of donut, and made sure her mouth was empty before speaking. "Are you some kind of doctor or something?"

    "Naw, but I spend a lot of time patching people up. I was going to fix your friend up, too, but-"

    "She was not my friend," hissed Katniss. "She was a psychopath that was out to kill everybody. I have no idea how you can''t see that."

    The man''s smile quickly disappeared. "The life of a psychopath doesn''t hold any more or less weight than ours. Everyone deserves a second chance."

    She tore off another chunk of her donut. They were in a restaurant of some sort, in a booth next to a window. The man was so tall he was half-hunched over, his knees almost peeping over the edge of the table. Outside, the horizon stood as a massive wall of brown meeting a dark-blue sky- early morning, she guessed.

    "I''m getting really tired of those lines. What gives you the right to let people like that take the lives of others, when you can stop them?"

    "Because if we tried to exact justice for every sin, we''d damn everyone."

    "I''m not saying that, I''m saying, people like that don''t have a right to live!"

    Katniss heard the clicking of a hammer being drawn back beneath the table.

    "If that''s the case," the man said sternly, "do you have any last words?"

    Katniss cleared her mind to try and find the weight of her bow on her shoulder, but it was absent. She also failed to find her backpack and quiver. She had no options to resist.

    "Why?" she asked, hoping that this insane character would at least say something that made some sort of sense.

    "She did something that you didn''t like, so you killed her. According to that logic, you did something I didn''t like, so I can kill you, right?"

    "N-no, I-"

    "Listen, kid. I know you''re not a bad person. And I know that she was crazy. But if everybody lived by an-eye-for-an-eye, nobody would see anything. Somebody''s got to be the one to give second chances, right?"

    "I¡­ I guess¡­"

    He stood up from his side of the booth, spun his weapon around his finger, and slipped it down into his holster.

    "I know it doesn''t make sense, but that''s the code I have to live by."

    Katniss was partially frustrated, partially astounded. Could he really live the way he said? All evidence pointed toward that being so. How? Surely a dangerous man like that must have seen first-hand the damage that people like Tally could do. So why would he try so hard to keep them alive? She let her head sink to the table, folding her arms under it.

    "Just who do you think you are?" she groaned.

    He looked up and down the diner''s narrow aisle. There were no patrons other than themselves, and but one employee, who was falling asleep at a griddle.

    "My name is Vash," he whispered. "Vash the Stampede."

    "Oh, wow. Nice nickname, Vash," she sighed, unimpressed.

    "I didn''t tell you before because there''s a huge bounty on my head. I know, I checked. So I was trying to keep moving around, so I could avoid anybody trying to collect, ya know?"

    Katniss kept her head on her arms.

    "Yeah, gotcha," she yawned. "So where are we?"

    "Easton. Your talking truck is parked outside, if you want to get out of here."

    Katniss considered it, but she was tired, and the donut was not that bad.

    "No, I think we can stay here for a while."

    Vash smiled. "Great. I''ll go get another round of donuts."

    ***

    "Day three," she whispered, dragging the rock across the wall to tally off another day. "Supplies dwindling. No chance of escape."

    The man in the white suit who stood guard looked back over his shoulder at her briefly.

    "Hermione, you can stop saying that now. Artemis is figuring a way out, I''m certain."

    "Do you really think so?"

    "Hermione dear, that''s what I''m certain means. Don''t worry."

    The little fire they had been keeping was beginning to wear down, open flames did not like to last very long in the planet''s atmosphere. Hermione broke off another portion of the portable firestarter and tossed it into the center, causing the fire to grow back to its normal size. She had one piece left, a bundle of wax and wood and accelerant. There were two energy bars now, a single flare, a half-charged flashlight, and a single fragmentation grenade. Their ''camp'' in the colony''s cargo bay had remained fairly secure, though by their current standards, that meant they were in danger about every three hours. The fire helped immensely- though they had lights above them in the loading dock, they tended to lose power. When they did, the fire provided some light. It was also warm, and it seemed to Hermione as if they didn''t like it. She wasn''t certain yet, but she had a hypothesis. Every time the fire died down, they would show up.

    "Eliza sure has been gone for a while," Hermione whispered.

    "She''ll be back," repeated the man.

    It was at that moment that the wind picked up, shimmying the loading dock doors and invading the cargo bay. Hermione dashed to block the fire, but it the wind extinguished it with instant cruelty. The old, rusting dock doors eased back under the wind''s attack, and scraped through the lights, destroying them.

    "A-Atticus," whimpered Hermione. "We just lost both-"

    "I know," replied the man softly. "Get your wand ready. Stay close. Everything will be fine."

    The ceiling above them gave off a clatter, followed by a rumble, and a set of sharp clicks.

    "They''re here," gasped Hermione.

    "Hey, Curly? We''re here."

    Hermione inhaled sharply, and snapped her head to the source of the noise. It was Jakuzure, waiting impatiently at the heavy set of doors in front of her.

    "I''m sorry," she mumbled. "I¡­ zoned out there, for a bit."

    "We know," said Sanageyama. "Is this going to keep happening?"

    Hermione did not answer his question, and instead held her AEGIS up to the door''s scanner. The system beeped, and the locks within the door began to noisily disengage. It was clear that the Menagerie was sealed off with the same level of security as Research and Development, which did make a creature escaping seem quite suspicious.

    "Nonon, move away from the door." Hermione waved her hand to indicate where the girl should go, but Jakuzure simply pouted.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere."Why?"

    "Because, what if there''s something on the other side?"

    The doors began to slide apart with a grinding howl.

    "There''s not anything on the other side," snapped Jakuzure.

    "Oh, um, hello there, Nonon, and, uh, Mrs. Granger," whispered Fluttershy, who was on the other side. Hermione twitched in place a little, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

    "I don''t know if you''re aware, Fluttershy, but there''s been an accident."

    "An accident? No, I don''t think I''ve heard-"

    "Forty-Seven is dead, and one of your creatures is responsible."

    Fluttershy slumped to the floor of the entranceway, her eyes welling with tears.

    "R-r-really? R-really dead?"

    "Yes."

    The Pegasus transformed into a sobbing mess on the floor, wailing incoherently. Jakuzure looked back up at Hermione.

    "Guilty?" she mouthed.

    Hermione shook her head, reached down, and tossed Fluttershy over her shoulder as the group moved down the entranceway. As soon as they passed, the heavy doors sealed behind them, to prevent anything from escaping. The Menagerie was another sort of sterile place, with white walls and grated floors, all sparkling clean. And despite its cleanliness, there was a definite funk in the air that indicated that, at some point, an animal had defecated there. Every few feet there were crooks and prods mounted on the walls, clearly more than enough to wrangle any number of creatures. It was clearly well-equipped, but one thing seemed to be missing.

    "Where are all of your animals?" asked Hermione.

    "Oh- let me get that," sniffled Fluttershy. She floated off of Hermione''s shoulder and pressed in a panel on the wall. The clean, white surfaces split open, pulling away to reveal hundreds of enclosures behind heavy glass. The range of creatures represented was truly immense- there were benign-looking Pok¨¦mon, deceptively innocent Tribbles, and a hulking Ravenous Bugblatter Beast. All of them were settled into a rough facsimile of their natural environments, complete with nutrient dispensers. It was about as nice of a setup as one could ask for, especially since most of the animals were there for study and experimentation.

    "Now, I-I haven''t had any breaches of containment," whimpered the Pegasus. "So I don''t know how something could have gotten out. Do you know what it was? We can check and see if anything is missing from its enclosure."

    "Double X One-twenty-one," said Hermione grimly.

    Fluttershy''s eyes widened. "Oh, dear. This way, please."

    She led them down a few more corridors, passing by every sort of creature imaginable, from various Earths and otherwise. Hermione looked back over her shoulder at her colleagues, who (excepting Jakuzure) were amazed by the sights.

    Typical.

    <Are you the one looking for me? Oh, it''s like un jeu! I''m so excited!>

    Hermione stopped violently, searching for the source of the voice.

    "What are you doing, Curly?" groaned Jakuzure.

    The witch could not seem to find anyone else nearby. "Did you- did you hear that? Was that¡­ Pinkie Pie?"

    "I DID NOT HEAR ANYTHING," shouted Gamagori.

    "Yeah, are you sure you''re doing all right?" asked Sanageyama. "You''re spacing out, and hearing things- maybe we shouldn''t be doing this. You need to chill out."

    "No, no," Hermione insisted. "We''re going to make up for our earlier mistakes. I have to figure this out."

    "Well, um, Mrs. Granger, we''re here." Fluttershy pointed a hoof towards a large, grey cylinder that rose from the floor. It was covered in locking mechanisms and pipes, which coiled around it like vines. "We only have one, but we have to be careful with it¡­ all it takes is one to-"

    "I know," grunted Hermione, stepping closer to the chamber. "Let''s have a look inside."

    The Pegasus floated towards a panel on the cylinder''s right and began to adjust a few dials. "All right, I''ll have to make sure it''s sedated, first." The cell vented steam and began to make heavy unlocking noises, not unlike the door to the Menagerie itself. Individual panels began to retract out of the way at a painfully slow rate.

    "How long is this gonna take, exactly?" asked Jakuzure.

    "Oh, it''ll be a while. It''s very important that this one stays secure," Fluttershy gushed. "So we''ve got a lot of layers between us and it. Why, just earlier we had a mechanic come in to work on the system and make sure it was working properly."

    As the cylinder slowly opened, Hermione sunk deeper into her anxiety. If they were mistaken, and the creature had not escaped, it would still be there, in its enclosure, waiting for them. Sedation meant very little- they were very resourceful. And if it was not there, where it should be, that meant it was roaming the ship as she feared. Hermione did not want to face either outcome; she did not want to face anything anymore. She could still feel herself suffocating in the darkness, desperately holding her breath to avoid being detected by her invisible, insatiable foe¡­

    Jakuzure poked Hermione''s shoulder. "That''s it? That''s what you''re afraid of?"

    Hermione looked up into the freshly-revealed enclosure. There were no simulated rocks, no vines, and no branches to crawl across. There was no nutrient dispenser, or pool of water. There was a flat white floor, the glass surrounding the chamber, and an infernal visitor from her past.

    "Yes," she gasped. "That''s it."

    It was sitting on the far side of its circular room, as far from them as possible. It did appear to be sedated, as it was curled up into an egg-shaped ball, its head and tail between its legs.

    "It''s a drone-type," explained Fluttershy. "And an unusually large specimen. It was single-handedly responsible for something called the Sevastopol Incident, but I''m not sure what that is. All I know is that it''s bigger than it''s supposed to be, and that''s why Artemis wanted to study it."

    "Of course he did," Hermione whispered, taking cautious steps towards the glass. There was some sort of morbid fascination drawing her eyes back to the very thing she did not want to look at, but she managed to overcome it for long enough to notice something else in the enclosure.

    "Did your mechanic¡­ get inside the tank?" she asked, slowly and deliberately.

    "I don''t know," said Fluttershy. "I can''t remember."

    Hermione extended a finger and carefully pressed it against the glass. Fluttershy and the Elite Four gathered around, and saw exactly what she was pointing to.

    "So¡­ whose blood is that?"

    Not far from the opposite edge of the tank, away from the creature, was a very small puddle of human blood. There were a few drops along the puddle''s edges, but for the most part, it was contained in a single pool.

    "I just really don''t know," whispered Fluttershy. "Who would it be?"

    "What about what Mrs. Granger said- about it being the mechanic?" offered Inumuta.

    "Well, um¡­ I saw on my schedule this morning that someone was coming by to look at a few of our containment systems. So it was about an hour later that they paged me- they didn''t have the clearance to open the door. So I went and opened the door and¡­" Fluttershy looked up, puzzled, then pawed at the ground. "I¡­ opened the door, and then they- argh!" she threw her head towards the floor in pain, but Hermione caught her just in time. "Why?! Why can''t I remember?"

    "Okay, okay, ssh," said Hermione softly, lifting the pony back to her shoulder. "We''ll figure this out."

    "It is certainly suspicious that you just can''t remember what happened after that point," noted Inumuta.

    "Oh, I know it looks bad," whinnied the Pegasus. "But I really want to help you! I''m no good at lying, honest! It''s just when I try to think about it, my head starts hurting!"

    Hermione set Fluttershy back down.

    "That''s all right. We''ve seen what we need to here. Fluttershy, I want you to lock that thing back up again, and then I want you to visit Medical."

    "Okay. I''m really sorry," she whimpered.

    "Don''t apologize to us. I have a feeling this whole thing isn''t your fault. Uzu, Ira, Nonon, Hoka, let''s go. We need to visit Personnel to find out who they have signed up as mechanics."

    The group began to depart with the sound of the sealing chamber behind them. Jakuzure sprinted out in front of them, and turned to face their leader.

    "Are you serious?" she snapped. "She just tells you that she can''t remember and suddenly she''s innocent? That''s the biggest red flag I''ve seen today!"

    Hermione frowned. "I know Fluttershy, just as much as you do. We know she has a tightly-knit group of well-balanced friends whom she consults about nearly anything. She''s far from running with the wrong crowd. Furthermore, she wouldn''t hurt a fly, let alone a human being. So I doubt that she could have orchestrated the murder whether by her own accord, or on someone else''s orders."

    They passed back through the entranceway, just as a team from Medical began to arrive. Hermione shot a triumphant glare back at Jakuzure.

    "And look- she''s really going to medical. She clearly wants to figure out why she can''t remember."

    "OR THIS COULD ALL BE AN ELABORATE RUSE," suggested Gamagori.

    "You see, that''s what I''m thinking," Jakuzure agreed.

    "Or someone forcibly altered Fluttershy''s memory. Then they opened the tank to release it, but it got them on the way out."

    "So who would put it back into its enclosure?" asked Inumuta.

    "Oh. I didn''t think of that," admitted Hermione.

    <The real answer is much more interesting! You''re getting closer! Tr¨¦s bien!>

    Hermione let a hand fly to her head. "There it is again! Didn''t you hear it?"

    "No," said all four of her colleagues simultaneously.

    "Bloody hell, maybe I am going crazy," sighed the witch.

    At that moment, alarms began to blare from above them. Hermione was nearly convinced that she had preferred being in the line of fire as a Trans-Dimensional Analyst.

    "Definitely crazy," she hissed.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-24 Three Chapters with Dumb Names

    Holly pressed her foot down a little further, and the engine picked up speed just as it should.

    "This replacement driveline is probably better than what this jalopy had in it in the first place," she noted.

    "I''m just glad that you''re driving instead of Usagi," called Twilight from her seat in the back. Usagi evidently took offense at that.

    "Hey! I''m a great driver! I''m going to pass my driver''s exam with flying colors!"

    "You''re not," stated Alucard.

    The van, while more full than it had been before, seemed far more peaceful, if only because it was no longer jolting back and forth across the road. Twilight''s plan had worked wonderfully, and after a little trimming with the Neutrino''s laser cutter mode, the new driveline was in place, and they were on their way. They were making good time- they had nearly made it to Terre Sombre before midnight.

    "We''ve got to be close by now," said the unicorn.

    "And we are," replied Holly, pointing out the window at a passing sign briefly caught in their headlamps, which read "YOU ARE ALWAYS WELCOME IN TERRE SOMBRE!"

    "Woo-hoo! We''re here!" cheered Usagi.

    Holly peered up the road from her several-phone-book perch. "Huh. It''s a pretty big town compared to the others, but where''s all the traffic? Shouldn''t there be more?"

    "Maybe they''re all in bed?" Jack suggested.

    Alucard pushed his sunglasses up further.

    "No. There is death in the air."

    Holly took the van out of gear and brought it to a gentle stop. She kicked the release on her captain''s chair and swiveled back to face the rest of her passengers.

    "How much death?"

    "A lot," the vampire replied.

    Holly kicked her feet up onto the center console. "Why don''t I go scout ahead? If there''s another team out there, it''d be good to know in advance."

    "I''ll go with you," offered Twilight.

    Alucard undid his seatbelt. "I must accompany Miss Sparkle."

    "Hey, sounds good to me," shrugged the elf. "The more of us out there, the better chances we have."

    Luffy flipped his hat onto his head excitedly. "Then I''m going too."

    "You two guard the van," instructed Holly. "We''ll be back."

    The expeditionary party set out from the van and travelled into town on foot, passing silent buildings and wrecked cars by the light of Twilight''s horn. Holly drew her Neutrino as the four moved onward down a deserted road.

    "Yeah, Alucard, I''m thinking that you''re right. This place is pretty¡­ dead. Are you sensing anyone out there?"

    "No, police elf. For the moment, we seem to be alone."

    Twilight cautiously charged her magic up a bit further. "The second you hear or see anyone, tell us, okay?"

    "I shall, Miss Sparkle."

    Holly held up her free hand, indicating for the rest of the fighters to stop.

    "There''s a barricade along the road up there," she whispered. "I''m going to go fly over, and see what''s on the other side."

    Twilight and Alucard nodded their approval, and the elf took off, circling over the wreckage before coming back in for a landing.

    "You''re going to want to see this."

    Twilight''s magic deposited Luffy in a smoking pile on the pavement, which he was not pleased with.

    "Hey! Why don''t you warn somebody before you do that-"

    He realized that the unicorn was ignoring him, as was the vampire and the elf. They were all gazing silently at the ground, for beyond the barricade lay a truly gruesome scene. Hundreds of bodies were strewn across the ground, piled against cars, and hung from low windows. Twilight placed her hooves over her eyes.

    "Oh, it''s¡­ worse than in Southville," she gagged.

    Even Holly was having a little trouble looking at the carnage close-up. "Who could be worse than Dio?" she wondered, hand over her mouth and nose.

    Alucard moved toward a single body that sat alone, facing the sky. It was a girl, not much older than most of the child warriors, clad in a bloody special-forces suit. One of her eyes had been removed, and an arrow protruded from the other.

    "I have a feeling it was her," he grimaced.

    "And that arrow- that''s one of Katniss''," confirmed Holly. "Did she-"

    Alucard wrinkled his nose. "She is not here. She escaped."

    "If we didn''t see her on the road or back in Southville, she must be moving the other way- along the road, like we are," Twilight hypothesized. "If we can move- ugh- faster than she does, we should catch up to her."

    Alucard fished a glove into one of the girl''s tactical pouches and removed a single gold coin, which he flicked squarely between Luffy''s eyes.

    "You heard Miss Sparkle. Let''s move."

    ***

    Yoko burst through the doors and skidded to a halt at the command chair. Rei Four, who had been waiting patiently at her own console, snapped to a salute.

    "Captain on the bridge," she announced.

    The other gunnery officers turned and saluted as well, and Yoko did her best to wave their respect off.

    "Don''t worry about formality, folks. I''m your captain and I''m wearing a bikini, in space. Do you think I care? Let''s focus on the task at hand. Four, give me a sitrep."

    Four tapped a few buttons at her console, and the bridge''s physical windows were overlaid with a three-dimensional panoramic hologram. The effect was startling, but very convenient for their job. Four pressed another button, and the void of space was instantly separated into glowing green boxes, denoted with complex alphanumerics and minimalist symbols- a tactical overlay. Several zoomed-in images appeared, displaying slowly-rotating planets.

    "There are approximately five hundred celestial bodies in this sector. Approximately four hundred of them are now on a collision course with the Cathedral Cosmos," she explained. "Many of these targets are small planetoids. Despite their lack of mass, a collision with any one of them would deal serious damage to the Cosmos, which would take time to repair."

    "And that''s time we don''t have in hostile territory," added Yoko. "What can we bring to bear at the moment?"

    "Our Spiral Energy reserves are at fifty percent," expounded Four. "Activation of the main battery is expected to draw thirty percent, leaving the engines with twenty percent power."

    "That''s too dangerous. The main battery is not an option. What about our secondary weapons systems?"

    "Considering the situation, I recommend activation of the Wave Motion guns, Captain."

    "And what exactly will those do to our planetoid friends?"

    Four tapped with dull excitement at her console until long strings of equations began to appear next to each zoomed-in view.

    "Breaching the cores of these planetoids may trigger a catastrophic disintegration event," she explained stoically. She drew an index finger through the air, and a green circle appeared as an artificial horizon across space. "This is the maximum range necessary for causing such an event."

    "All right, ladies and gentlemen!" shouted Yoko quite suddenly, visibly startling her gunnery officers. "There''s your mission. Everything that enters the killzone gets blown to high heaven, or you can kiss your universe goodbye!"

    Yoko took her turn to press buttons, flicking a switch on the armrests of her command chair. The mechanical arm on which it was mounted raised the chair into the center of the room, giving her a full view of the proceedings.

    "First target is entering firing range!" exclaimed an officer.

    "Wave Motion Engine charged! Engaging the firing conduit!" shouted another.

    Yoko watched the zoomed-in image disappear, their target becoming a green-highlighted twinkle tens of thousands of miles away.

    "Firing solution ready," said Four, reading off her displays.

    "On my mark," commanded Yoko, waiting for the planetoid to drift closer. Her officers knew this was what she was doing, but after a minute of her waiting, they began to doubt her methods.

    "Captain Littner, we are ready to fire," reiterated Rei Four. "At any time you could issue the command."

    "I know. I''m just waiting for it to get close enough that Artemis will remember what he''s gotten us into."

    "Excuse me, ma''am?"

    A mischievous grin crept across their captain''s face as she pulled her hat''s brim in front of her goggles.

    "Just make sure you all grab onto something. Mark."

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    The hologram was overwhelmed with white-blue light as the Wave Motion Gun discharged its planet-busting beam into the center of its target. The zoomed-in screens reappeared, showing the once-vibrant planetoid crumbling away into the briny black.

    "Excellent shooting, guys," smiled Yoko. Four did her best to express a foreign emotion called ''concern''.

    "Captain, at that range, some of the debris will impact our shields."

    "Which is why I told you to hold onto something."

    "But, Captain, this action may put the ship in danger."

    "There are two things that will get put in danger, Four," explained Yoko. "One, whatever sector gets hit might get a brownout as the shields try to compensate, so your buddies may not be able to read their Nietzsche; and two, Artemis is in grave peril of losing his freshly-poured glass of spring water. And that will be quite worth the danger."

    Four could not think of anything better to say, so she replied with, "Of course, Captain."

    Robotnik slowly tightened another screw into place, which would finally lock the primary servo in. The replacement arm for his Egg Robo would be complete, and he could then spend the last hour of his shift calibrating it. Machines were nice and orderly like that, everything about them boiled down to a process. If only people could be so simple.

    "Hey, fatso, you''re getting paged," snarled Koboi from her workstation. Robotnik looked up and found that, yes, his communicator was indeed buzzing. He picked up the small, square tablet from the corner of his desk, scrolled through the menus, and found that he had received a text message. It took him a moment to recognize the name.

    Granger? That was the lady from earlier, right? What does she want?

    He opened the message-

    Are you busy?

    Robotnik was not exactly sure what to make of it. He looked to his left and right, as if he was about to stuff a tube of toothpaste under his jacket and walk out with a tip of his hat to the cashier, to realized that he and Koboi were the only ones left at their stations. He had let time get away from him again, but it was no matter. He did his best work on as little sleep as possible, so a late evening at the lab was nothing he was concerned about, much unlike the text. He typed his reply quickly.

    No

    ...GET A LOAD OF THIS

    Have u ever built exoskeleton?

    Robotnik let out a sigh that was half disappointed, half relieved. He had sort of expected an offer for a date, but he knew that robotics was his forte, not romance, and that if she approached him, he would undoubtedly screw it up. That, and he was certain he recalled seeing a ring on her finger, which would make things very complicated. So he thankfully returned his focus to the question- exoskeletons, yes, he had indeed built them. He was very good at building them, even if they had never been successful. That wasn''t his fault, for once.

    Yes

    ¡­GET A LOAD OF THIS

    R u using a signature?

    No

    ¡­GET A LOAD OF THIS

    OK so if I needed to lift some things could u make an exo for that

    Yes

    ¡­GET A LOAD OF THIS

    OK do that and fast and send it on an elevator to Personnel

    Koboi is a bitch dont listen to her

    why do u need exo?

    ¡­GET A LOAD OF THIS

    to lift some things. Thnx bye

    "Koboi, I''m going to need your help with something," he grunted, getting up from his seat and wandering to the parts storage bins.

    "Oh, so I get your work done, and now you need my help, that''s how it''s going to be, fatass?"

    Robotnik drew something flat and rectangular from both of his back pockets.

    "Oh, what''s that? Are you going to bribe me with chocolate? It''s going to take a lot more than that-"

    He fanned the five extra bars he held in each hand open.

    "And what do you need help with, Robotnik?" asked the pixie, suddenly more cooperative.

    "We''re going to build an exoskeleton," he declared.

    "Like, a heavy lifter?"

    "Ho ho ho!" he chortled. "An Egg Lifter!"

    ***

    Twilight found the warm light against her eyelids to be too annoying to sleep any more. She stretched as much as she could in her seat, removing her head from Alucard''s shoulder- all of the other passengers seemed to be asleep, including her bodyguard. She doubted he really was, and was most likely resting his eyes, or something. Out the van''s windows she could see the wisps of white clouds peppering the blue sky slowly trundle past, faintly cognizant of where they had been, and unsure of where they were going- borne along by some convoluted invisible force that they could not understand. Twilight smiled at the parallels.

    "How are you doing, driver?" she called softly.

    "Fine, fine," assured Holly. "The long-cut around Terre Sombre was a pain in the bottom, but we''re nearly to Easton now. No sign of Katniss on the road."

    "Do you think she''s there, in Easton?"

    "Either that or she got carried off by some giant desert death-bird, but I guess both are equally possible."

    "We''ll find out soon, then," said the unicorn, settling back into her seat. Across Alucard''s shoulders, she could see across the sea of salt-packed dirt, until it was eventually halted by great hazy, distant mountains. Somewhere in the haze, something flickered.

    "What''s that?" she asked quietly, hoping not to wake her more excitable companions.

    Alucard stirred, pulling his sunglasses off and blinking into the distance.

    "I don''t know," he murmured. "But it''s very strong. I can feel it."

    The flicker at once erupted into a great pillar of light that tore into the sky for miles, suddenly bleaching the normally sun-lit landscape.

    "D''Arvit," swore Holly, keeping check on her volume as well. "It''s a good thing we''re nearly there."

    "Agreed. Whatever caused that¡­ I wouldn''t want to run into it," said Twilight.

    Holly eased off of the accelerator and began to shift down as they rolled into a dusty patch that might have been a parking lot next to a run-down looking diner, sliding up alongside a custom semi-tractor. She opened the door quietly and pounced to the ground, motioning for Twilight to do the same. The unicorn and the vampire followed Holly out, with Alucard doing his best to push the sliding door back into place silently. Holly drew her blaster as the other two formed up, and the trio whipped around the corner, ready to fight. They were not ready to be greeted by the tall, wiry man in a red coat that was sitting along the wall with a box of donuts.

    "Hello!" he cheered, taking another bite of an ¨¦clair.

    Holly gave the man a skeptical look. "Uh-huh. And you would be¡­?"

    "Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III, don''t hesitate to call."

    "What a colorful name," gushed Twilight, before turning to Alucard and whispering, "Seriously?"

    "I like his coat," the vampire replied quietly.

    Holly scratched her head. "And you''re eating some donuts, there?"

    "Yeah, and watching the fireworks. You want some?"

    "No thank you," declined the elf. "And are you sure about those fireworks? I don''t think that''s something you want to stick around for."

    "I dunno," he shrugged. "We thought they looked cool."

    Twilight raised an eyebrow. "We?"

    The door to the diner jingled open, and a girl emerged carrying a soggy white cardboard box.

    "Okay, Vash, this is the last box they''ve got."

    When both parties saw the other they set down their respective weapons and donut boxes and charged headlong into an enveloping embrace.

    "Oh, Katniss! You''re okay!" cried the elf.

    "Yeah, I''m fine," strained Katniss.

    "So we''ve got Katniss back. That''s a relief. Thank you for taking care of her, Mr. Vash," said Twilight gratefully.

    Vash let out a nervous giggle. "He-heh, no problem. Just doing my part, ya know?"

    "I''m going to go tell the children that we''ve got breakfast," groaned Alucard to Twilight. "And when I get back, I want to know where you got that coat," he added.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-25 Hiatus

    "No," cried Hermione. "No, no, no!"

    Her friend''s body was still recognizable, which did not do her any service. Back arched, with limbs twisted around a gaping hole in her chest, Eliza''s body lay in a red pool in the corner of the stock room, with a limp spider-like creature at her side.

    "Hermione, I''m sorry about your friend but if we don''t get to the evac ship, we''re both going to end up like her," warned Atticus from the door as he reloaded all three barrels of his combo rifle. "Now, come on."

    "O...okay," she wept, turning away from the husk she had once joked and laughed with, and returning to Atticus'' side. The man punched the door release, and the two dove into the dark hallway again. Atticus walked swiftly and quietly, his weapon at the ready- it was almost funny how out-of-place he looked in his white suit and thick glasses as he led them through the corridors. He stopped and held up his hand before returning it to his weapon.

    "Did you hear that?"

    "No, not this time."

    "One''s close. I know."

    Hermione bit her lip and slowed her breaths down, huddling closer to the lawyer. If she was comparing herself to him IQ-wise, Hermione was certain she would come out ahead, but the man was far, far wiser than she would ever be. He was the sort of person that she had joined their organization to meet, the sort that could really show her how to better herself. That, and his legal expertise would be invaluable to pick up on for any future career opportunities. His proficiency with a weapon was an added bonus, and had not failed to keep her safe so far. Hermione sensed that was about to change as she felt cold, metal fingers begin to seal over her shoulder. Her brain was processing conflicting messages, attempting to remain quiet yet simultaneously warn the lawyer, so her only communication was an ineffectual "Eep."

    The man, moving much faster than his age would indicate, reeled in place, jammed his weapon into the creature''s wet mouth and pulled the trigger to the shotgun barrels.

    "So who were you texting, Curly?"

    Hermione looked up from her AEGIS'' screen, shaking her head as if the memories were something clinging to her hair that could be removed if agitated.

    "Nobody," she replied. The sirens had stopped their wailing a long while ago, but the warning lights were still on. If Hermione was remembering correctly- which, at this point, she was not so sure of- that indicated that the ship was engaged in combat. She wasn''t surprised that Artemis had managed to offend someone, but their mission really was more important than any interstellar trade regulators or hyperspace toll disputes. If they had to barge through, weapons blazing, so be it. She only hoped it was not a fight that they could not win.

    <You''re so close! Do you want the answer now? I could give you a hint.>

    Hermione locked her fingers around her scalp. It didn''t hurt, which made her wonder about Fluttershy. It was rather the insecure, unnerving nature of the voice; that she could not control when it decided to speak to her. It was a horrible feeling, even if there was nothing directly unpleasant about it. And she couldn''t help but notice how much it sounded like Pinkie Pie.

    "You know, I don''t know why Lady Satsuki thinks you''re halfway qualified to do this," grumbled Jakuzure.

    "You''ve made that more than evident before," sighed Hermione. "And sometimes, I don''t know why either. Before all of this, with the ship, and our mission¡­ I had thought about quitting."

    Inumuta unzipped his uniform far enough to expose his mouth. "Oh?"

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    "Yes. I never really felt the same about the organization after¡­ the incident. So I hadn''t gone to the meetings in years. Then I get this message from Artemis, about everything being in danger- I knew I had to help. But rubbish like this is reminding me why I stopped coming."

    "Sometimes, we have to face our fears," suggested Sanageyama. "It''s a part of life."

    "It''s not about what I''m afraid of, that''s my problem, I know. I''m more concerned about the whole Illuminati. If we can sail through deep space with some sort of murderer on board, be they human or otherwise, what does that mean about our priorities?"

    "So, it''s the management, then?" asked Inumuta.

    "More or less. It just seems like Artemis would have learned something all those years ago. And maybe he did, but he just doesn''t care anymore- like he''s willing to take whatever risks he wants, so long as he''s getting a leg up on our goal. And we''re not supposed to be rushing in like that; this is a collective of geniuses! We should be thinking this out, minimizing risks!"

    "To be honest, Lady Satsuki has her doubts about Artemis as well," whispered Jakuzure. "But just because you two agree doesn''t mean I think any more of you, Curly. Now are we going to Personnel, or not?"

    "Right, yes. Let''s do that."

    ***

    With a heavy hum and a zap, the hangar''s AEGIS gate deposited Rainbow Dash and her machine onto a lifeless brown plain. Dash checked the radar, found nothing, and broadcasted the all-clear back to her waiting teammates. With their own smaller hums and zaps, the other three appeared at her machine''s feet in a cascade of blue.

    "Never gonna get used to that," muttered Jotaro, fishing into his coat for something.

    "Ugh, a desert," Elsa groaned. "All sun and heat and dirt and sandstorms-"

    "DUDUDUDUDU!" chirped Miku. Elsa gave the Vocaloid a rude gesture in response.

    Jotaro finally located what he had been looking for- he removed a bright-green-and-pink box from his coat, which was festively adorned with images of toucans and palm trees. From it, he drew a small black-and-white disc, which he took a generous bite of before offering the box toward Elsa and Miku.

    "Sandwich cookie? No? They''re organic."

    "Sure, I''ll try one," said Elsa, accepting a cookie. "It''s pretty decent, but it''d be better frozen."

    "How about you, Miku?"

    Miku shook her head in decline. "No thank you. I will take one after our mission is complete, to celebrate."

    "Sounds like a plan to me," agreed Jotaro, putting the cookies away. "You''ve got the coordinates, right?"

    "I do," replied the android. "We are approximately 15 kilometers from our objective."

    "Fifteen kilometers?!" cried Elsa. "In this weather?! Oh, I don''t know how much more of this I can stand."

    "Well, we''ve got some options," Jotaro offered. "We could walk all that way, as Elsa assumes that we do, or we could catch a ride on RD''s machine. How does that sound, Dash?"

    Rainbow Dash couldn''t help but smile. "It sounds AWESOME!"

    "All right, then. That''s how we''ll do it. Now, you won''t be able to move very quickly, for safety reasons, but if you can at least do fifteen kilometers per hour, we''d be doing well."

    "No problem, Mr. Kujo! I won''t let you down!"

    Jotaro pulled his cap down as Rainbow Dash lowered the Mark II''s hand like an elevator. "Let''s hope not," he warned, "Or we''ll have a long walk ahead of us. Miku, how well do you know ''Walk Like an Egyptian''?"

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-26 One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall

    "Well, I''m just glad you''re all right," said Holly, giving Katniss another hug.

    "Holly, you''ve said that eight times now," the girl pointed out.

    "Right, right, sorry," said the elf, pulling back.

    Twilight swallowed another forkful of her garden salad. "We''ll have to keep an eye out for this Tally in the future. Who knows what could happen if she were to ally herself with The King''s League, or worse, the Night Terrors."

    "I doubt she could ally herself with anyone, if her first impulse is to kill people. And are we certain that the Night Terrors are really worse than Dio?"

    "As horrible as Dio is, Poppy is far and away a larger threat," said Twilight gravely. "Not only does she have more raw power, but she''s a manipulator. And that''s the most dangerous thing of all. Right, Alucard?"

    The vampire was staring silently into the distance, and seemed to have ignored Twilight''s question.

    "Right? Come on, back me up here."

    Alucard turned back to the rest of the group.

    "Something''s coming," he announced, drawing his pistols. "Get ready."

    Luffy quickly crammed the rest of the box of donuts into his mouth and balled his fists. Usagi scrambled back towards the van, Jack scraped his sword from its scabbard, and Katniss turned back to Vash.

    "Hey, do you want to give me back my bow anytime soon?"

    "It''s in the truck if you want it," he replied, dusting his coat off as he got up. "But I''m going to talk to whatever''s headed this way first."

    "He''s not serious, is he?" asked Alucard.

    Katniss frowned. "He is."

    Dust began to swirl on the horizon, billowing up to the sound of a choppy rumble. In its center was a small silhouette, slowly growing larger.

    Twilight set down her salad. "Alucard¡­ what is it? Is it what created that light?"

    "Interestingly, it is not. It looks like a girl on a motorcycle."

    "Well, here''s to hoping this won''t end up as a repeat of last time," said Katniss, removing her weapons from the truck.

    Vash set out toward the dust, open hands raised above his head.

    "Wish me luck, guys," he called back.

    "There''s always room for the ancient art of parley," hiccupped Jack.

    Vash knew that he looked silly, but it was his duty to give whoever it was a chance. The sandstorm loomed much closer now, and he was beginning to be able to make out the rider of the motorcycle. He waved his hands with sweeping, slow movements, and shouted as loud as he could.

    "HELLO! HEY, CAN WE TALK FOR A SECOND? WOULD YOU MAYBE LIKE A DONUT?"

    The girl seemed to look up and take notice of him- Vash was impressed that his plan was going so well. He was less happy to see her leap up onto her seat, then vault off of the motorcycle in an elaborate backflip. Vash ducked out of the way to dodge the large, cumbersome machine as it ripped across the patch of dirt he had been standing on moments before, flipped onto its side, tumbled into the diner, and exploded violently. The rider landed with extreme grace, and removed her helmet.

    "I''m sorry, what was that? I couldn''t hear you. That''s a loud bike."

    "That diner¡­ had excellent donuts," whispered Vash feebly, looking back at the carnage.

    "That''s what you were going to tell me?" asked the girl. "Well, I guess it''s kind of irrelevant now. Say, do you want to help me fight these guys on my tail?"

    Vash raised an index finger. "I can do you seven better! Right this way, milady!" He then turned and sprinted in the direction that he came from, with the girl following closely behind. They emerged from the dust cloud in front of the other gathered fighters, who looked a little concerned about the sudden loss of the diner.

    "Vash, what was that?" cried Katniss.

    "The motorcycle. No biggie, right? The diner closed fifteen minutes ago, it''s empty."

    "Oh, yeah. I guess we were the last customers," the Tribute admitted.

    "So what''s up with this new chick?" asked Luffy of Jack quietly. "She''s pretty cute."

    "That she is," replied the captain. "And I haven''t the foggiest about ''er."

    "Hey, I know you guys," exclaimed the new girl. "Psycho coat-guy, survival girl, the leprechaun and the stuffed animal! Yeah, you''re Mikasa''s friends!"

    "I''m not a stuffed animal," protested Twilight. "And I''m not sure I''ve made your acquaintance."

    "No, you have," assured the girl, touching a heart-shaped brooch on her neck. Her white racing suit- which by all appearances should have been fireproof- burst into flames as her briefly-exposed body subtly changed shape, her hair shortening and her curves becoming more pronounced.

    "C''mon," she jabbed. "Who could forget Cutey Honey, the Crimson Warrior of Love?!"

    "Did you see that?" whispered Luffy to his captain once more.

    "I did. My only regret is that I didn''t have an artist on hand to capture the moment."

    "Don''t worry," called Honey to the pirates. "I''ll send you all the pics you''d like later. But right now, we''ve got bigger problems. I''ve been hunted for this whole freaking round by a bunch of android sheep, and it''d be most appreciated if you''d help me knock them outta commission. Heck, I''ll even tell you where I hid the coin in Abingdon."

    "All right, miss," bowed Jack. "I happily accept your offer. Just point us at the ruffians, and-"

    The rumbling bellow of a Tyrannosaurus Rex shook the ground at their feet as the massive creature split through the dust cloud with its rail-spike-filled open jaws. The huge teeth then clamped shut, and began to articulate words.

    "Isn''t this a most interesting surprise? Miss Kisaragi has found her way back to my old nemeses, Team Mockingjay. And to think that I now have the opportunity to crush you both at once, yesss."

    A boy clad in nothing but underwear and boots tumbled off of the dinosaur''s head and bounced off the ground, from which he picked himself up rapidly.

    "But, Mr. Joe, I thought we were trying to get Honey back, not destroy her."

    "She has proven that she will not join us. Now we will prove to her the error of her ways."

    A young man, clad in a ragged red jacket, emerged from the dust to kneel next to the boy. "Hey, she''s not that great. She can be kinda mean, anyway."

    "I''ve had about enough of her, too," growled a dark-haired woman clad in tactical armor and a trenchcoat. "I suggest the rest of you get out of our way."

    "That ain''t gonna happen," smirked Luffy. "Honey cut us a great deal, and we''re not about to let that go. Let''s get ''em!"

    Jack raised his sword and hollered an unintelligible battle cry, as the warriors began to rush toward their foes. Honey decided that the lady with the assault rifle should probably be stopped first, and as such aimed to disable her first. She hunkered her body down into a full sprint, sidestepping a three-round burst while drawing her sword from the air. The woman seemed to notice what Honey was up to, and caught Honey''s thrown-forward face with her boot, sending the android sprawling backwards into the dirt.

    "You''re a miserable little ingrate," she hissed. "All you ever had to do was say yes, but, no, you can''t do that, and now you''re the victim."

    Honey wiped a dribble of blood from her nose. "But at the end of the day, you''re the one antagonizing me."

    "I''m just following orders," said the woman through gritted teeth. "That''s what I''m here for. It''s what I''m good at."

    "Just a bunch of sheep," spat Honey, leaping to her feet. "You''re no better than an assembly bot."

    "Not true," smiled the woman. "It might surprise you to know that I''m a human being."

    "For a team of androids a lot of you sure do seem to be humans."

    "That''s not the point," she countered, her smile gone. "Machines are stronger, more efficient than organic life. I was a human being- but the lives of others mattered enough to me that I got rid of my humanity, so I could protect theirs. Motoko Kusanagi, Transcendent Technomorph number five."

    "Bra-vo," cheered Honey mockingly, complete with a slow clap. "Aren''t you a selfless hero? Somebody, get her a peace prize, stat!"

    "I''m not going to make any progress arguing with you, am I?"

    "None at all."

    "Very well then," grunted Motoko, launching herself at the girl. Honey stepped to the left and successfully dodged the Major''s body, but the cyborg countered by flinging her left arm out, catching Honey''s chin with a hammer strike. Honey reeled backwards, but recovered quickly enough to lock her Silver Fleurette against the barrel of Motoko''s assault rifle and push the weapon''s firing line away, just before another three-round burst would have met its mark. Honey flicked her wrist and swept the blade''s tip into the bottom of the woman''s wrist, which allowed her to knock the weapon out of her grip.

    "Now how are you going to beat me without a weapon?" asked Honey with her usual coy grin.

    "Don''t you get it? I am a weapon," roared Kusanagi, sweeping a lightning-fast roundhouse kick into the place Honey had been just a moment ago, if she had not jumped over the attack.

    "Right, because you replaced your old body with a robot one," mused Honey as she landed. "So what part of you is still human?"

    Motoko let out a pleased-sounding grunt, evidently happy to talk about it. "Nothing on me''s original except my brain stem. The rest is all high-performance cybernetics."

    "Thanks," said Honey, suddenly behind her. Too late, Motoko realized her error. Honey rammed the tip of her Fleurette upwards through the back of the cyborg''s neck, leaving her body just underneath her high-performance cybernetic chin. Her body was wracked by a short spasm, and then fell limp. Honey held the back of Kusanagi''s metal skull still as she neatly removed her blade, which had little blood on it- somehow quite fitting.

    ***

    Luffy dodged under another swing of the young man''s gigantic sword arm, which Jack parried as the blade slowed at the end of its arc.

    "What kinda fruit did you eat to do that?" yelped the boy from underneath his straw hat.

    "Man, I don''t even like fruit all that much," said Rex. "Soy un junkie de comida basura."

    "Oh, he''s a New Spaniard," the captain remarked.

    "Actually, I was born in Switzerland. I can''t show you the certificate, but I swear I ain''t yankin'' your chain."

    "A Swiss Spaniard with swords for arms. Now I really have seen everything," mumbled Jack, swinging for a counter. Rex lifted his BFS and effortlessly blocked the attack, but was stunned by an elastic punch from Luffy.

    "?Ay, Dios Mio! You gonna quit that?"

    Luffy''s response was not a yes, as Rex had hoped, but instead a "GUM-GUM PISTOL!"

    A stretchy uppercut lifted Rex off the ground, but the Swiss Spaniard showed no signs of defeat. He retracted his BFS back into a normal human arm, as two large turbines sprouted from his back.

    "HA! I can fly! What are you hombres gonna do now?"

    "GUM-GUM BAZOOKA!"

    "Say what now?"

    Luffy''s arms shot upwards, each one sailing past Rex''s head.

    "Heh, you missed!"

    "I swear, that is just disgusting," moaned Jack.

    "Yeah, but it works," countered Luffy.

    "True, true."

    "No, it doesn''t work," called down Rex. "''Cause you miss-"

    Luffy''s arms, having begun to contract back to their normal length, sped back to Rex''s head with hands open. Luffy caught the back of Rex''s head, and returned him to earth, while putting in the extra effort to introduce Rex'' face to his knee on the way. His nanite backpack receded into his unconscious body.

    "Good work, lad," said Jack. "Let''s clear out before this gets any hairier."

    Luffy swung his straw hat back around his neck. "Whaddya mean?"

    "I mean, we haven''t been here long, right?"

    "Yeah, so?"

    "And this is the first team we''ve seen come through here, right?"

    "Yeah¡­ so?"

    "So no one''s come by to snatch the coin, savvy?"

    "Ohh, I get it," grinned the boy.

    ***

    Holly''s punch connected with the center of the boy''s chest, but it did very little to him. In fact, Holly felt as though she might have taken more damage from the attack than anyone.

    "D''Arvit," she said, pulling her hand back. "That smarts!" She maintained her hover above the ruckus below, as the boy''s heavy boots kept him aloft on high-intensity jets.

    "Why don''t you all stop? I just wanted to hang out with Honey!" cried the boy.

    Holly was a bit confused. "Hang out with her? I thought you were trying to kill her."

    "No, you don''t get it. Mr. Joe wanted Honey to be on our team, but Honey said no," explained the boy. "So Mr. Joe told us to chase her down and try and convince her to join us anyway, but she kept tricking us!"

    "¡­Because she didn''t want to join your team. What''s so hard to get about that?"

    "I know that, but¡­ I wanted to be on her team."

    "Oh, so you''re saying-"

    "She''s really pretty," he continued. "And I think I love her."

    Holly slipped her Neutrino back into her holster and patted the boy''s hair. "There, there, kid. If you want a romance to blossom, you can''t have it be part of somebody''s agenda. Go talk to her yourself. Tell her how you feel."

    "R-really?" he sniffled.

    "Of course! Just make sure to be honest, and be prepared for rejection."

    "Wait, what?"

    "See you," shouted the elf, carried away by her mechanical wings.

    Tobio dropped back down to the ground, hopping over a stray sword slash and rolling under a spray of bullets on his way to his goal. Honey was prying her sword out of a very dead-looking Major Kusanagi. She didn''t look like she was in the mood to speak with him, but Tobio figured it was his best chance.

    "Um, Honey? Can¡­ can we talk?"

    "Considering that the rest of your team is getting run through a meat grinder right now, sure, I guess I can spare a moment. Are you going to give me your whole introduction, too?"

    "No, there''s nothing to that. I''m Tobio Tenma, Transcendent Technomorph three. That''s all you need to know about me."

    "Wow, you actually spared me all of that pretentious babbling. Thanks, Tobio. I think I like you."

    "Y-you do?!" he whimpered, his eyes widening.

    "Yeah. Definitely better than the rest of those shmucks."

    He dug the toe of his boot into the ground and wiggled it across the dirt. Now''s your chance, Tobio. Don''t screw this up!

    "Well, the thing is, I really like you. Like, a lot."

    Honey covered half of her face with her hand. "Ho, boy."

    "''Cause you''re really pretty, and smart, and stuff, and-"

    Honey crouched down to his eye level, wrapped her arm around his neck, and planted a kiss on his cheek. The boy was stunned- had it really worked?

    "Listen, Tobio- that''s really sweet," she whispered. "But you''re not my type."

    Tobio''s illusion of success crumbled with a single sentence. He desperately attempted to repair the damage.

    "I mean," he stammered, her face still so close to his. "We can''t- I don''t think that we could, you know- cross-platform integration."

    "No, Tobio. I mean, people like you aren''t my type."

    "B-because I worked for Mr. Joe?"

    Honey narrowed her eyes, blushing slightly.

    "Kid, you don''t get it, do you?"

    "No, I-I don''t."

    Honey removed her arm from around him and stood up, patting him on the head- which he was honestly getting quite tired of.

    "You''ll figure it out someday." she said sternly.

    He swatted her hand away. "But I don''t want to figure it out someday, I wanna know now! What am I doing wrong?"

    "For starters, you''re throwing a fit," replied Honey, raising her voice. She lowered her sword towards the boy. "And if you keep it up, you''re going to be sent to time-out."

    "Fine, I won''t throw a fit," Tobio huffed. He hopped into the air as his feet transformed into rockets, keeping him aloft on pillars of blue flame. "But if I beat you, you''ll have to tell me."

    "Deal," smirked Honey. Tobio blasted away into the sky, leaving the female android to stare up into the clouds.

    So he''s putting distance between us¡­ If he''s a long-range fighter, I might not be able to stop him.

    A twinkle directly above her was Honey''s only warning of the attack. She dodged backwards as the boy returned to earth like a meteor, plowing the earth aside with the impact of his own body. Honey''s boots lost traction as the ground underneath them shifted, and she began to slide downward into the crater. Tobio''s silhouette stood in the center of the depression, with a single arm extended towards her. At the arm''s tip was a long, silver barrel, crackling with energy.

    It''s a beam weapon- I don''t know how effective that thing will be against me, but I can''t take my chances.

    Honey yanked the ribbon tied around her left arm off, and felt her engine transform the strip of fabric into a cruelly-curved blade.

    "Honey Boomerang," she whispered, and flicked her wrist outward. The boomerang looped into the barrel protruding from Tobio''s arm and knocked him off-balance, giving Honey the opportunity she needed. She transferred her downward movement into a pounce that forced the boy into the back of the crater, pinning him under her heel.

    "No fair!" he protested. "You cheated or something!"

    "Did not," insisted Honey.

    "But I wanna know! Why?!"

    "Like I said, you''ll figure it out," frowned the girl, running her sword''s tip over a panel on Tobio''s chest. It swung open to reveal a few wires, which she quickly clipped. Tobio stopped struggling after that.

    ***

    The large man continued to advance toward them slowly, drawing a scoped pistol from the heavy rucksack slung over his broad back.

    "So what is this thing?" asked Vash worriedly.

    "A machine," replied Alucard. "Like the others."

    "Let''s give it a chance to be reasonable."

    "Additional targets identified. Beginning termination," it grunted in a thick accent.

    "And the chance is gone!" cackled the vampire, drawing his weapons. He emptied both magazines into the man, each slug visibly knocking his body about. However, at the end of the assault, the machine seemed no more deterred for the huge, bleeding holes now scattered across its body. Alucard was visibly disappointed as he put his weapons away.

    "So, if bullets can''t stop it, then what can?" Vash wondered. Alucard cracked his knuckles and began to advance toward the man.

    "Lively discussion, perhaps," he suggested, throwing his fist into the man''s chin. The leather-jacketed machine stumbled backward, but quickly righted itself, lifting its weapon to fire into the vampire''s gut. Alucard responded about the same way the man had to his bullets, and returned for another strike. However, the machine was ready, and intercepted the punch. Before Alucard could escape, the pistol was pressed against his forehead. "Or not."

    Vash watched his fellow red-coat''s head get turned into pulp, as the mechanical man began to move towards his remaining target. He purposefully drew his own pistol, even though he knew it would probably do him little good. He aimed it into the advancing machine''s forehead.

    "Mister, prove to me that you''re not some dumb robot! Come on, surely you can think and feel like your friends could!"

    The man said nothing, moving within three meters of Vash.

    "I said, come on, dammit! Don''t make me shoot you!"

    Another heavy boot pulled the man closer.

    "Fine. You leave me no choice," frowned Vash, firing a single shot. The bullet went exactly where he intended, and the gun was removed from the mechanical man''s hand.

    Vash pulled his sunglasses down, offering the man a warm smile. "Now, let''s work this out."

    The man simply reached back into the rucksack he was carrying, and began to slowly remove something large. It was bulky and mechanical, with a large drum slung underneath. All mystery surrounding its identity was dispelled as the several gleaming barrels appeared.

    "That¡­ is a big gun."

    The minigun''s barrels began to wind up to speed, which was an excellent indicator for Vash to run for cover. He complied by ducking towards the beat-up minivan that the other warriors had arrived in, and found that he was not alone. A purple unicorn was drawing lines into the dirt, her brow furrowed.

    "Twilight, right? What are you doing here?"

    "Planning a way to defeat our implacable friend, there," she explained.

    Usagi crouched behind her, arms around her knees. "And I''m here for moral support! Go, Twilight, go!" she whispered.

    "All right, I think I''ve got it," she said, looking up from her calculations. "He has a hyperalloy frame. It''s a lot of different metals, but I think I should be able to cast a spell that will magnetize him, if only briefly."

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Vash scratched his head. "That''s great and all, but what''s making him magnetic going to do?"

    "It''s going to make things stick to him, like this minivan. But it''s going to take some time to cast. I''ll need a distraction."

    Vash stood up, and flashed a crooked v-for-victory sign proudly. "Have no fear! I, Vash the Stampede, shall provide a distraction!"

    "Thank you, Vash. For everything."

    "Hey, don''t mention it. They were just donuts."

    He sprung out from behind the van, and directly into the sights of the man with the minigun. The barrels were already at speed, so the man simply moved his finger to the trigger and unleashed a storm of lead accented with glowing tracer rounds. A minigun''s trajectory was a little difficult to read, due to the shifting positions of the barrels, but Vash had dealt with them before. With a single, carefully calculated burst of speed, he stepped out of the way of the bullets. The man began to swing the barrels toward Vash''s new location, but the gunslinger was much faster than he had anticipated, closing the gap between them almost instantaneously. There were several conflicting runtimes on how to respond to such a situation, but before his processor could decide on one, he felt a hand on top of his head, and a significant amount of pressure. The pressure then disappeared, as his target swung back into view.

    "What''s happening?" squealed Usagi from behind the van.

    Beads of sweat dripped off of Twilight''s straining face, as she put all of her effort into her spell. "Have you ever heard of a log roll?"

    "Where the big guys run on the tops of them? Yeah."

    Twilight grunted against the force of the collecting magic and motioned toward the scene, which Usagi crawled forward to observe. Never before had either of them seen something so stupendous, nor so ridiculous. Vash had vaulted up onto the gun''s spinning barrels, and was currently running against them. It seemed that the mechanical man was equally dumbstruck by the unusual maneuver, as he stood, letting the barrels spin, with his jaw hanging open. The gunslinger was visibly panicked as well as he carefully measured each of his strides.

    "If you could hurry up that spell, that''d be great!" he cried.

    "Done!" shouted Twilight, nearly collapsing. The man was suddenly surrounded by a faint pink glow. "It''s got a five second delay! Run!"

    Vash hopped off of the spinning weapon and sprinted away, keeping his hand on his holstered pistol. It was good thinking on Twilight''s part to incorporate a delay, otherwise he''d get stuck as well. Exhausted, Twilight dragged herself to the side of the van, and tapped a metal panel with her horn. The vehicle instantly began to slide toward the man. At first, it traveled right-side up, but soon the friction on its wheels tilted it onto its side as it raced roof-first towards the man. He adjusted the aim of his heavy weapon toward the sliding van, but was unable to fire before he was engulfed by the mass of metal, the weak roof crumpling around his solid frame, the engine block and transaxle warping inward to surround him. With a mighty pop, the replacement driveline jumped out of the transmission. With several other pops, a few bullets entered the exposed gas tank.

    "Aw," groaned Alucard. "I thought it would explode."

    ***

    Katniss sprinted past the advancing dinosaur''s leg, extending her knife to her side to rip away the flesh to the metallic bone beneath.

    "GAAAARGH!" screamed Megatron, swinging his head down to unsuccessfully snap at the girl, who had rolled to one knee with a drawn bow. A single arrow found its mark in his eye, and the Predacon bellowed more as he tried in vain to remove it with his stubby arms.

    "It''s almost like you''re easier to beat, this time around," said the girl, drawing another arrow.

    "You FOOL!" hissed Megatron. "I am FAR from defeated. Have you forgotten that I have another pair of optics?"

    The brightly-colored scaly hide lifted away as the beast''s body rearranged itself into the Predacon''s robot mode. He lifted the reptilian head, which was now mounted on his right arm, and began to charge purple energy from within its throat. Something small, yet very fast, drove a flying kick into the arm the moment before his beam discharged, resulting in a nearby piece of desert scrub being vaporized instead of Katniss. Holly performed an elaborate aerial loop away from Megatron and landed where the shrub had been.

    "Yeah, we know about your optics. I''ll tear them out like last time."

    "The great Megatron will not be defeated the same way twice," he roared, driving his melee-weapon bearing left arm into the ground underneath Holly, who lifted Katniss with her into the air, with some effort from her mechanical wings.

    "You pester him from one side, I''ll go for the other," Holly instructed. She set the girl back down opposite where they had been, while the elf returned to face the Predacon.

    "So, you believe you can surround me? You will not be successful, no."

    "What makes you think that?" shouted Katniss. "We''ve beaten you every time we fought you!"

    "That may be so, but I now have a team," corrected the robot. "See? I can defeat you at your own game, yes!"

    "Your team is dead," announced Alucard, leading Twilight Sparkle, Vash, and Usagi to Holly''s side.

    "Maybe if you had spent less time chasing me around you could have accomplished something," Honey sneered. "But, what goes around comes around."

    Holly holstered her Neutrino, knowing that it would not take the warriors much to finish off their opponent. "Are you ever going to learn?"

    "I need to learn nothing!" screamed the robot. "I am the great MEGATRON! Predacon mastermind extraordinaire!"

    "Excuse me, did you say Megatron?" asked a deep, gravelly voice.

    Megatron looked around, unsure of the source.

    "I did, yes. Who wants to know?"

    The truck, which had spent the entire battle parked, backed out of its spot and rolled towards the Predacon. The gathered fighters stepped aside to make room as it came to a stop, its brakes letting off a hiss as it halted. Four short, mechanical sounds were followed by a storm of others as the vehicle began to disassemble and reassemble itself into another large mechanoid. Unlike the sleek lines of Megatron''s armor-like body, this new machine was very clearly made from the parts of the truck it had once been, which jutted from its body at improbable angles. It stood a fair bit taller than Megatron, who was looking rather concerned.

    "Optimus!" cried Katniss, in an unusually obvious fashion.

    "So that''s why it talks," Vash realized.

    "Like some vast, overgrown action figure," whispered Twilight.

    "My name is Optimus Prime," it grated.

    "Now, that''s not right," stammered Megatron. "I''ve seen Optimus Prime, and he''s not quite as ugly as yourself."

    "And your appearance is unlike the Megatron I once knew," admitted Optimus. "But your actions cause strife all the same. Any Megatron is an enemy of mine."

    Optimus extended his right arm outwards, and the ever-shifting metal rearranged itself around a glowing-orange blade.

    "Well, I ah, misspoke myself. My real name is Joe, Joe Convoy."

    The glare from the red-and-blue robot''s shifting, metallic eyes showed that he was not convinced. He began to stomp closer to Megatron, holding his sword at the ready.

    "I think we should give these two some room," suggested Holly, and the warriors retreated to the diner.

    "Let''s not let this get out of hand," cried the Predacon, taking a nervous step backwards. "This is all just a big misunderstanding."

    "Misunderstanding? Did I misunderstand how you antagonized my friends? How they claim your actions in the past were no nobler than your actions now?"

    "I may have enhanced the truth just a little, yes."

    "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. For you, I can make an exception," roared Prime, swinging his blade arm towards the target of his ire. Megatron raised his melee weapon to block the attack, which resulted in the sword sinking into the weaponized tail before coming to a halt. Megatron countered by bringing his Tyrannosaurus head-beam cannon to bear, jamming it into the side of Optimus'' body. The larger bot used his free hand to drive a punch into Megatron''s face, which forced the Predacon further back. Megatron seized his backward momentum as an opportunity to disengage his left arm from the tail, freeing his robotic hand beneath. His talon-tipped feet dug into the ground as he lurched forward to bring an armored knee into Prime''s abdomen. The stunned Autobot took his turn to fall backwards, but Megatron would not let up on his attack, following with a bodyblow from his now-unoccupied fist. A roundhouse kick to Prime''s chest knocked the robot to the ground, as Megatron drew his arms into a complex stance.

    "I see you''ve never taken the time to study Metallikato- a very effective art, yesss."

    From inside the diner, the warriors anxiously watched Optimus fall.

    "I don''t think the truck can get up from that one," murmured Vash.

    "He will if I have anything to say about it," growled Katniss, snatching the gunslinger''s heavy pistol from its holster and clicking the safety off. Before anyone could stop her, she pointed it out the window and fired.

    Megatron''s first instinct was to find what had plinked against the back of his head- an instinct he should have suppressed. He turned away from Prime and looked back towards the diner, only to have his left optic destroyed by a high-velocity slug of lead. His instincts then led him to howl in pain, and turn away from whatever had hurt him. This meant that he had to shuffle around on his big legs, one of which caught against another that Prime had subtly lifted while the Predacon was distracted. In turn, this caused Megatron to topple face-first towards the Autobot, directly onto the lifted Energon sword. Optimus shoved his impaled opponent to the side, removing the blade from his chest and collapsing it back into his own arm.

    "One shall stand, one shall fall," he grunted, gingerly removing the dead Predacon''s face.

    "That was pretty brutal," remarked Honey, the others having followed her from the diner. "Even by my standards."

    "I do not apologize. Those that pursue the Decepticon ideals, regardless of what they call them, must be stopped. No matter the cost."

    "Whatever happened to your vow of non-violence?" asked Katniss, handing the revolver back to Vash.

    "I forgot. My bad."

    "It was very convenient of you to forget," chuckled Holly nervously. "Just make sure you direct that forgetfulness at the bad guys."

    Usagi, who had been weeping through the duration of the fight, took a moment to wipe off her tears. "Hey," she sniffled, "what happened to Captain Sparrow and Luffy?"

    "We''re here, we''re here!" called the younger pirate, dashing back from the scattered buildings that composed the center of the town, which the warriors had nearly forgotten about.

    "You''ve found your mate and we''ve found the gold," grinned Jack, tossing their new coin into the air and catching it as it fell. "So all that''s left is to keep sailing north, right?"

    Honey, certain that all threats had been eliminated, transformed back into her default state, her hair turning blonde as it lengthened. "Unless you want to head east."

    "And why would we want to do that?" asked Luffy.

    "Because there''s a coin left in Abingdon''s bank, and everybody else skipped town."

    Jack began to stroke his beard thoughtfully. "I do like the sound of that. But what about our standing agreement with the Miss?"

    "You may travel on your own if you desire," stated Alucard. "You have taken us far enough."

    Twilight Sparkle pulled on his coat, and the vampire knelt to speak with her quietly.

    "Are you sure about this?" she asked.

    "Absolutely. We now have Katniss and the police elf with us. I trust they can protect you far more than these buffoons could. And we must keep moving north."

    "Of course, I- I just had gotten a little attached to them."

    "They''ll be fine, Miss Sparkle. Luck seems to be on their side."

    "All right." Twilight turned to the pirates. "You may go."

    "But¡­ our van got trashed!" cried Usagi.

    "I believe I may be of some assistance," offered Optimus Prime, as his parts began to shift back into the custom truck the warriors were more familiar with.

    "Well, what are we waiting for?!" shouted Jack. "The Crimson Corsairs set sail again!"

    "Yeah!" screamed Luffy, sprinting for the truck. Usagi followed obediently, and soon the pirates had packed themselves into their new vehicle and drove away.

    "Now, why in Frond''s name did you do that?" asked Holly of Honey.

    "I wasn''t going to be able to win this round with them chasing me," explained the android, jabbing a thumb back towards Megatron''s cold metal frame. "So I decided I would settle for good, old-fashioned revenge. And I got it in spades. I think I''m just going to take it easy from here on out- I''ll see if the diner has anything decent left in their fridge."

    With that, Honey spun on her heel and waltzed toward the squat stainless-steel building, whistling as she went. She paused and turned back, and looked up at the sky.

    "Do you hear that?"

    "Yes," said Alucard. "Interesting."

    Soon, the sound could be heard by the others, and odd mixture of struggling turbines and cursing. Holly located the source first, cupping a hand over her eyes to see through the midday sun.

    "Is that-?"

    The object dipped and sputtered through the sky, cutting an uneven path towards them. It was lopsided, and as it drew closer, it became clear that it was not one object, but four. Adam was being held up by the back of his pants, and was clutching Ruby tightly to his chest. Mikasa, on the other hand, was clinging fearfully to Ryuko''s arm. The girl''s Kamui was in its Shippu form, which was evidently not designed for passengers. The four warriors began a pathetically uncoordinated descent, which failed about twenty feet from the ground to end in a clumsy crash.

    "Hey, guys," groaned Ryuko.

    "Oh, wow! The whole gang''s here!" cried Ruby. "Except for Kamina and Simon and their cool robot."

    Mikasa pried herself out from underneath a good portion of Team Mockingjay. "Where''s Honey? Is she okay?"

    "Right here," waved Honey, rushing back towards them. "Sorry about ditching you back there, Mikasa."

    "I forgive you," grunted the scout, subtly apologetic.

    Ryuko pushed herself free and dusted her Kamui off. "Now, the real question is, is the bike okay?"

    "That would be a no," said Vash, pointing back at the pile of wreckage that had put a significant dent in the diner.

    "Damn, just my luck," cursed the girl. "And who the hell are you?"

    "Oh, I''m Vash, Vash the Stampede, the Six Billion Double Dollar Man, a hunter of Love and Peace, and the world''s greatest gunslinger," he said, sliding over to Ryuko and bowing before her.

    "He hitchhikes with me, and won''t say a word; Ryuko walks in with less than her underwear and he won''t shut up," sighed Katniss, rolling her eyes.

    "Hey, now," chuckled Vash. "You can''t blame a chivalrous knight for honoring such a fair lady." He picked up Ryuko''s hand, moved his lips toward it, and was knocked thirty feet away by a backhand slap.

    "The fair lady says you can cram your love and peace down your fancy coat," sneered Ryuko.

    "Okay," whimpered Vash, massaging a new bruise.

    Adam looked out across the mangled frame of the minivan, the lifeless chassis of Megatron, and the still bodies of Motoko and Tobio. "Judging by the excess of corpses, I assume that you were already able to rid Honey of her pursuers?"

    "Mmm-hmm," nodded Twilight. "Alucard and I were travelling with another team when we picked up Holly in Southville-"

    "Ha-ha! Called it!" cheered Ryuko.

    Twilight placed a hoof on her face before continuing. "- and defeated Dio''s team. We then continued northeast, passed through another town, and found Katniss and Vash here in Easton. After that, Honey showed up and we helped her defeat Megatron and his new goons."

    "I had a jet," noted Holly. "It turned into a robot."

    Ruby''s eyes lit up. "Awesome."

    "So you guys were able to grab a bunch of coins, right?" asked Ryuko.

    "We relinquished all of our coins to the team we were travelling with as payment for their assistance," Alucard explained.

    "You did WHAT?" cried the girl in the Kamui.

    "As odd as it sounds, we have bigger priorities than winning this time," said Twilight. "Poppy''s revenge scheme is seriously dangerous. We can''t have her actions upset the way things are, otherwise our..." she twitched her hooves to indicate quotation marks- "friends might have trouble with their mission. Collecting the coins before confronting her would only be furthering her goal and putting us all in danger. If we need to prove to her that we won''t work for her, then that should be our first priority. That means we need to be making our way towards that confrontation."

    "But before we can get to Northville, we''ve got to find Simon and Kamina," Holly pointed out. "Without a mecha, we''ll have nothing to counter the Valvrave."

    "How are we supposed to find them, though?" asked Katniss.

    "Process of elimination," explained Twilight. "Alucard and I started out in Mare Sanguine, to the southwest."

    "Okay, I was in Southville," said Katniss. "Before I got a ride with Optimus to Terre Sombre."

    Ryuko raised her hand. "Wait, who''s Optimus?"

    "A truck," replied Holly. "Just left, with the other team we mentioned."

    "Oh, okay. I think I might have seen that. I was in the middle of nowhere with Ruby and Adam, but we eventually made it to Weston."

    "Poppy dropped me out of the sky," bragged Holly. "I think it was northwest of here."

    "I was outside of Abingdon," Mikasa added.

    Twilight'' eyes lit up. "So the only place that wasn''t covered¡­ was the far east."

    "Which is where we are now," Katniss realized.

    Holly nodded. "So they can''t be far."

    "Maybe we could watch for more of those bright flashes!" suggested Ruby. "Their robot always makes those!"

    Honey spoke up. "Hey, that reminds me. The big blue light from back in Abingdon? That''s a guy looking for you," she pointed at Ryuko.

    "Wait, that was this Goku guy? Are you serious?"

    "I didn''t get his name," scoffed the android. "He was too busy firing his world-ending laser beam to get to that. But if you''ve heard of him, then, yeah, that''s probably who it was."

    "Hmph," Ryuko snorted. "I still don''t have time for a fight, even if he''s some kind of living light show. I''ve got more important things to do."

    "There''s some guy chasing you?" asked Katniss.

    "Yeah, Sol Badguy filled me in."

    "And you didn''t¡­?" Holly''s voice trailed off, and she replaced her words with gestures indicating extra teeth and a monstrous stance.

    "Nope. It was very formal. Until we got arrested."

    Katniss stamped her foot. "Let''s focus, here, people. How are we going to find our pilots?"

    "I said, we could look for bright flashes," pouted Ruby. "Like that one."

    She pointed to the northeast at a series of concentric glowing octagons that flickered in and out of existence sporadically.

    "That looks familiar," noted Mikasa.

    "It''s an AT field," concurred Twilight. "From Shinji''s EVA. Nopony would be stupid enough to fight that thing on foot, so there''s got to be other mecha out there."

    Holly cleared her throat. "Well, if you want to get technical, we did once fight it on foot. Sort of."

    "How did you-"

    "Shot him in the hand, dropped a building on him."

    "Oh. Clever."

    "Madre de Dios," coughed a feeble voice from behind them. They turned to find Rex sitting on the ground, holding his head in his palms. "Que duele de la cabeza," he moaned.

    "Oh, they didn''t finish you off?" snarled Honey. "Shame. I''ll have to do it myself."

    "No!" cried Vash, leaping to the young man''s side. "Don''t do it! He''s hurt!"

    "Well, duh. That''s the point."

    "No, it''s not. Listen, kid, you''re not going to try anything funny, are you?"

    "Claro que no," groaned Rex. "I just want this headache to go away."

    "See? He just needs help."

    "Ugh, you''re pathetic," growled the android.

    "Let''s get some ice for that bump of yours," said the gunslinger, examining the young man''s head. "Honey, could you go check in the diner?"

    "Fine, fine," she grumbled, turning back.

    "We need to go," sighed Katniss. "Vash, you can keep Honey in line, right?"

    "Love and peace will always conquer hatred," he grinned. "I''ll see you guys later, as long as you''ve got some donuts."

    "All right!" declared Holly. "Let''s go find that AT field!"

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-27 Fifty-Three

    Hermione again lifted her AEGIS to be scanned by the door, which slid open to let her into a small waiting room ahead of a large desk, covered in stray sheets and half-finished paperwork. Behind it were a few other desks with computer workstations, but not a single living creature was in sight.

    "No," whispered Hermione, almost gagging on her defeat. "No! We''re so close, and nobody''s here!"

    "We''ll come back later," Inumuta assured her, but failed to improve the witch''s mood.

    "You don''t get it, do you? If we can''t figure this out, track this guy down, and initiate the containment protocol- there won''t be alater, not for us, not for anybody!"

    "Quit your screaming, Curly," snapped Jakuzure. "For all we know, Fluttershy could have had something against Forty Seven and decided to off her. Regulations will take her into custody after she checks out of Medical anyway. The alien is back in its cage, it''s not going to hurt anyone else."

    "But, none of this is adding up. Why would it take the keycard? Why was there blood in its enclosure when Fluttershy wasn''t injured? Why would she use such a paper-thin alibi? There''s got to be some other answer."

    "Answer to what?" asked a familiar voice. A small, black-and-red hedgehog walked between them and vaulted over the front of the desk, landing in an office chair which he swiveled up behind a large book.

    "Hey, how''s my best baritone doing?" asked Jakuzure, her voice unusually sweet.

    "Surviving," sighed Shadow. "These damn alarms mean my break''s been interrupted."

    "Ours, too," moaned Seras, entering with Vegeta in tow.

    "You all work here in Personnel?" asked a bewildered Jakuzure.

    "Yep. They''re my card-playing buddies," the hedgehog explained.

    "Maybe they''d like to become glee-club buddies," she suggested.

    Instantly, Shadow clapped his hands over his face.

    "Wait, you''re in theglee club?" crowed Vegeta.

    "Blimey, that''s funny!" Seras guffawed.

    The Saiyan found his workstation and threw his joyously convulsing body into his chair. "He told us he was doing combat training! Ha!"

    "What do you want?" moaned Shadow, mortified.

    "We''re looking for records on a maintenance technician that worked in the Menagerie," Hermione explained. "There''s been an accident. People have died."

    "Hoo-ha-ha! Oh, this just keeps getting better!" roared Vegeta.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    The vampire turned to her laughing coworker. "I don''t think she''s kidding, Vegeta."

    "Oh. I''ll, ah, get on it."

    Both of Shadow''s colleagues began to type furiously into their workstations, sifting through hundreds of archived files. The hedgehog himself pulled out a notebook and began to scribble furiously.

    "Uh, yeah, let''s see here. I''ve got a file of an Engineering boffin being sent to the Menagerie earlier today," said Seras.

    "So Fluttershy wasn''t lying," whispered Hermione. "Does the file say who they are?"

    "Rei Ayanami 53, according to this. I''ll open up her personal record here¡­ and, boom. Looks like she''s off-duty right now if you want to go find her," added the vampire. "And her room''s just down the hall. I''ll send the specifics to your AEGIS."

    "Thank you," sighed Hermione, turning for the exit. "And make sure you lock your doors."

    The witch sped out of the room, the Elite Four trailing close behind.

    "DO YOU THINK YOU WILL FIND WHAT YOU''RE LOOKING FOR?" screamed Gamagori.

    "I''m not looking for anything in particular, except answers," Hermione replied.

    "I still think you''re nuts," scowled Jakuzure. "All evidence points toward Fluttershy being responsible. How long are you going to let your feelings get in the way of this?"

    "Until I have evidence that proves them wrong."

    "You might just get your evidence here, then," said Sanageyama, as they slowed down in front of the room their suspect apparently lived in. As a private room, Hermione''s AEGIS couldn''t open the door automatically, so she had to manually enter the door code provided on the file she had received from the nice people at Personnel. A few taps of the built-in keypad later, and the panels slid apart.

    "Ugh," gasped Jakuzure, covering her nose and mouth to shield against the smell. "That''s evidence, all right."

    The bed sheets had once been white, but were now dyed a dark red, thanks to the pale body lying on top of them. Fifty-three''s eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. Hermione slowly entered the room, as if moving quickly might disturb her rest.

    Sanageyama squinted at the gory scene. "Okay, this is all kinds of weird. There was blood in the monster''s enclosure, wouldn''t it have gotten her then? Why is she here?"

    "Because it got hungry while it was out," said a muffled Jakuzure from behind a finger-thin breathing mask.

    "No, they don''teat," whispered the witch. "Anditdidn''t get her. Look," she pointed at the dead girl''s stomach. A deep, gaping hole was sliced into it. "That''s not like what we saw on Forty-Seven. She was torn up, savaged. Fifty-Three has only one wound, right there. This wasn''t an animal." Hermione ran her hand through the blood-drenched uniform, her hand coming up empty from every pocket. "And no keycard, either."

    Inumuta zipped his uniform up further than usual. "Oh, dear."

    Hermione backed away from the body, staring at the parts of the floor that were un-bloodied.

    "So Fluttershywasvisited, as the records show. But the engineer was dead, her identity stolen. So the killer must have been the one who went to the Menagerie, and blocked out Fluttershy''s memory before releasing the XX121 specimen. But that doesn''t explain everything. Why was Forty-Seven''s keycard missing? It would have no use for something like that¡­"

    <Or would it?>

    "No, no, not again," cursed Hermione.

    "Don''t tell me it''sthe voicesagain," scoffed Jakuzure.

    <Maybe I can help you find the answers you''re looking for.>

    "It is," the witch gasped, "They''re talking about¡­ this."

    <I''ll meet you in the cargo transit room on this floor. Bring whoever you like, hee-hee!>

    "Cargo¡­ transit," she gulped, breathing heavily. "We need to go, now. Stay close."

    "Wait, are the voices actually telling you todothings?" Jakuzure whined. "Great. I''m stuck on a field trip with a teacher going off the deep end."

    Hermione was past the point of caring about her subordinate''s complaints. These voices were real, she knew that. And if they were going to help her, she would do whatever they asked. Anything was a fair trade for preventing the horror she had witnessed all those years ago from destroying what they were trying to do now. This nightmare would end, she resolved. And she would be the one to end it.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-28 Tohoufuhai

    "AGAIN!"

    Gurren Lagann did as instructed, sweeping downward to drive the drill covering its arm into the purple robot''s face. Again, it failed, the point bouncing off the screen of orange, transparent shapes that appeared in the air just short of their target.

    "I don''t think it''s going to work, Kamina," conceded Simon in the most determined manner possible. "There''s got to be another way around this."

    "And you''re not going find it!" screamed Shinji, twisting the Evangelion''s controls. The massive robot lifted its oversized pistol, identical in appearance and function to one a human might carry, and threw a round into the air where Gurren Lagann had been moments before.

    Simon''s concern had been growing since the beginning of the fight. He was not afraid, nor was he ready to give up, but their opponent was presenting a unique challenge. Shinji''s machine was very large, and its attacks, if landed, would surely cripple their gunmen in one hit. Shinji was not a particularly accurate pilot, however, which meant that it was fairly simple to keep dodging around the large, clumsy Evangelion''s strikes. But its armor was impenetrable, a distinct problem, since their main weapon-drills- were a penetrating thing by nature.

    "C''mon, Simon! What are we gonna do?"

    "No idea, bro. Amuro used some kinda mind attack to get through that barrier, but we don''t have one of those¡­ We''ll just keep hitting it until we think of something."

    The pilots let out a battle cry in unison as they redoubled their efforts, picking away at every angle of the massive Evangelion. Their desert arena was large, a few miles across of flat, empty space. Scattered along the ground were a few bits and pieces left over from the earlier brawls, the audience eagerly awaiting Gurren Lagann''s chassis to be crushed and scattered among them. They had been following the brackets closely, and would like nothing more than to fight an opponent that wasnotundefeated. Three of the warriors, standing atop a massive pillar of weapons and armor, did not.

    "They lack strategy," noted the boy in the khaki jacket, handing the field binoculars to his peer, a soft-looking girl who stood with her arms crossed in a most defiant manner. She removed herself from her indomitable stance to receive the binoculars, which she glared through intently, watching the ballet play out between two very distant, very different dancers.

    "But they''ve got a lot of guts."

    Their master watched the horizon with them, without the assistance of lenses, or even his eyes for that matter. The younger ones thought his methods were odd, but they had a great deal of respect for him. So when, without looking up, he declared, "Then we ought to write them up as the winners of this round," they did not protest. The boy drew another leaf of paper and began to calculate how the other participants would advance, but quickly found something interesting in the numbers.

    "One of us will be fighting them next,Sifu."

    Their master looked up into the distance, his headband''s tails flapping in the wind.

    "Good. No matter the outcome, this will be a learning experience. Inaho, you will go first to gauge their weaknesses. Noriko, you will face them second to test the limits of your machine''s power."

    "If you say so,Sifu," said the girl, moving towards the edge of their perch. She paused, stared into the ground, and turned back.

    "Wait, how are we supposed to get down?"

    <hr>

    "Even without manly determination, this guy''s pretty tough," admitted Kamina as Gurren Lagann was again reflected by the AT Field.

    Simon pulled back on the controls, and the Gunmen jetted out of harm''s way once again.

    "C''mon, think," he grunted. "What are the limits to that field? It repels everything."

    Wait a second, no, it doesn''t. Twilight said it''s the EVA itself that makes the field¡­ so if that field was stopping everything from touching it, how can it hold its gun?

    "That''s it! Kamina, is the hailing frequency on?

    "Has been this whole time, bro," replied the older boy.

    Simon pulled his hands from his controls and used them to cover his mouth, forcing air between his lips to create a hissing sound.

    "Ksssht- need to get out of range- ksssht- weak to grappling attacks- ksssht- can''t recover," he shouted, followed by a whisper, "Now, turn it off!"

    Kamina did as instructed. "What was the point of that?"

    "In order for us to attack," grinned Simon, "We''re going to have togetattacked."

    "They must have damaged their communication system," mused Shinji. "They meant to turn it off, before they revealed their weakness. They''re mine, now!"

    Shinji pushed the joysticks forward, and the EVA''s free hand shot forward to clamp down on the smaller machine''s chest. Simon and Kamina clung to whatever they could to avoid being splattered on the close cockpit walls. Warnings began to cover the screens as the pressure of the giant fingers around them began to dig into their comparatively small frame.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    "All right, it''s now or never," growled Simon. "GIGA!"

    "DRILL," Kamina joined in.

    "MAXIMUM!" they screamed together, as the Gunmen produced drills from under every armor panel in its body. No AT Field was raised to stop the attack, so the multitude of spiraling spines erupted through the back of the Evangelion''s hand, each wound producing an over-pressurized stream of blood.

    "Gyeeeeeeeeeaack!" squealed Shinji, clutching his own hand in agony.

    "NOW!" screamed Simon, as both pilots of Gurren Lagann simultaneously pushed its boosters to maximum thrust. The Gunmen jolted away from the EVA''s wounded hand and climbed further into the air, leveling out a hundred meters above their opponent.

    "Let''s throw him off his game!" bellowed Kamina, as the Gunmen pulled the oversized sunglasses off of its chest. The heavy black glass caught the light of the sun above, and could be seen by the distant audience as a bright flicker on the horizon.

    "Yeah! We''ll trash him, Team Gurren-style!"

    "JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?"

    The Gunmen, empowered by their boisterous nature, flung the angular glasses down as a giant boomerang which arced point-first into the EVA''s left eye. An explosion of blood signaled their attack''s success.

    "Okay, left hand, left eye- its whole left side should be weak now," calculated Simon. "GIGA!"

    "DRILL!"

    "BREAAAK!"

    With a flash of blue-green Spiral energy, Gurren Lagann returned to the ground, passing through the Evangelion''s left side on its way. Shinji doubled over inside his cockpit, gripping his gut in pain.

    "No more!" he cried. "I give up!"

    A massive horn bellowed across the arena, signaling that the battle was over. The victorious Gurren Lagann, drenched in the defeated the EVA''s blood, set a course for the tournament grounds.

    A pudgy, unkempt man took a spiteful chunk out of a philly cheesesteak sandwich. "It''sh jussh dumb luck," he scoffed. "We would have beat them back then, if it weren''t for those randos showin'' up."

    "Oh, Lord, you just usedrandosin a sentence," groaned the sharply-dressed man next to him.

    "So what? Theywere."

    "When are you going to grow up, Coop?"

    "Never, as long as I can help it."

    "You keep telling yourself that, see how it turns out."

    "Aw, don''t be such a grump," prodded Coop. "Where has you acting all professional ever got you?"

    "It made me a fortune in a highly competitive field, and got me not one, buttwonice-looking things fawning over me."

    Coop wrapped his sandwich back up.

    "Fine, you win."

    The whine of heavy thrust units boomed overhead as the Gunmen landed back in the tournament grounds. Various pilots began to head down the alley formed by the two rows of machines that had parked there.

    "ALL RIGHT, GATHER ROUND!"

    The booming voice of the event''s organizer drew the pilots together in a larger open space at the end of the robot-framed alley. The man stood on a dismembered mechanical hand, conveniently left behind by another fight.

    "DO I HAVE EVERYBODY HERE? YES? GOOD!"

    He was certainly a loud sort, with equally loud hair tied back with a long-tailed headband- no doubt a testament to his martial arts training. A red cloak was pinned over his khaki jacket, which was unusually heavy apparel for the desert sun. He raised his right hand over the two boys at his side.

    "The winners of the last round, SIMON and KAMINA!"

    The audience gave a half-hearted cheer.

    "What''s the matter? Did you forget the reason you signed up for this?" roared the man into the crowd. "You wanted to become the best pilots that you can be! That''s why I''m offering to train the winners in the School of Tohoufuhai! Not for bragging rights! Even a defeat is a learning experience!"

    "Thank you, Mr. Kasshu," said Simon.

    "I''M the one who should be thanking YOU," he replied. "Ever since you showed up you''ve made it a lot easier to weed out the quitters! There''s no room for quitters in the School of Tohoufuhai!"

    Kamina swung an arm around the organizer. "Simon, isn''t this guygreat?"

    "Oh, definitely!" agreed the boy. "But, Mr. Kasshu, I was wondering, who do we have to fight next?"

    "Well, you''ve worked your way up the whole bracket. So it''s time for you to face the students I''ve already taught. Inaho, Noriko!"

    At his command, a girl and a boy stepped out of the crowd, and gave a respectful bow.

    "You''ll be fighting Inaho first," Kasshu explained. "So get ready."

    <hr>

    "That¡­ is alotof robots," whispered Ruby, beginning to hyperventilate.

    "Yeah, it is," agreed Ryuko. "If Kamina and Simon were anywhere, it''d be here."

    "But¡­ what are they all doing here?" asked Katniss.

    "Perhaps we should ask that man, over there," suggested Alucard, pointing toward a distant figure reclining in a lawn chair next to an unconventional-looking war machine.

    "Twilight, you''ll get what information you can out of him, while I get in position," commanded Holly, drawing her Neutrino and engaging her wings.

    "Wait,what?" the unicorn cried.

    "Just go sit down and act cute!"

    <hr>

    Bit reached down and cracked open another can of soda, which he lifted to his lips eagerly. Everybody else was taking this all too seriously- they didn''t realize how muchfunthey could have if they would just kick back and relax. Bit himself found that the shouting man''s tournament was fantastic entertainment, what with the clashing robots and the bright lights. And, it gave him an opportunity to finally utilize his secret stash of soft drinks. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the cola was cherry-flavored, and life was good. He was halfway through a sip when the fireworks displays suddenly got much closer than he had anticipated.

    "Hello!" said the small unicorn that materialized in a glowing lavender flash.

    Bit coughed up his soda in surprise, and although he was quick to seal his mouth, the effervescent beverage found a new escape route through his nostrils.

    "Aiiieee!" he cried, nearly flinging himself out of his lawn chair.

    "Oh, I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to alarm you!"

    "No, no, it''s okay," he gasped. "Um, who are you, though?"

    "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I was just wondering about your robot there."

    "Well, I''d be happy to tell you about it," the man chuckled. "You see, it''s not a robot, it''s a Zoid. A fully-mechanical life form."

    "Wow," said Twilight, looking up at the great white-on-black creature. Creature was an accurate term, as unlike most of the other machines, it stood on four legs, its sleek body sculpted into the predatory contours of a big cat.

    "It''s the Liger Zero," he continued. "Super-rare. The old Republic only made, like, three of them before the war ended."

    "And there''s no pilot lockout systems?"

    "No. Zero''s a little cantankerous, he doesn''t let just anybody pilot him, though."

    "That''s all I need."

    "All you need?" asked Bit, confused.

    "Allweneed," Holly clarified, pressing her Neutrino''s barrel against his neck and firing. Bit convulsed and fell to the ground, stunned. The rest of Team Mockingjay burst out of hiding, and closed the gap between them and the great white cat.

    "Nice work," called Ryuko, "But what are we supposed to do with this?"

    "I do believe Holly intends to pilot it," explained Twilight. The elf confirmed this with a nod.

    "Are you sure you can?" asked Katniss.

    "Katniss, I could pilot a microwave oven if I wanted to."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-29 A Perfect Organism

    Hermione was disappointed to find that there was nothing in the cargo transit room. Nothing, that is, except for the massive lift door on the other side, a pallet topped with a few empty plastic barrels, This, of course, meant that the voices had lied, or were never really there to begin with. It also meant that she was about to be berated by Jakuzure.

    "You know, Curly, I''ve heard that they have really nice cells in Medical for people like you. The walls are very soft and they give you mashed potatoes twice a week!" cackled the girl.

    Sanageyama was less abrasive in his sentiments. "Yeah, Mrs. Granger, I think we need to give this up. You''re too stressed out. We''ll report what we''ve found and let the rest of Regulations take care of it."

    "You could put in a request for a few days off," suggested Inumuta.

    "I can''t take time off, not now- there''s something¡­ and if anybody else tried to¡­ they''d¡­ nobody''s going to make it!" Hermione sobbed.

    <Don''t cry. You''re right.>

    "The voice!" the witch yelped, looking around for the source, even though she knew it was useless. It was light and innocent and bubbly- it really did sound like Pinkie Pie, maybe notexactlythe same, but close. Perhaps if Pinkie had an older sister. No, wait, shedidhave an older sister, and she didn''t sound like Pinkie.

    Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes, and drew running snot back into her sinuses. "Who are you? Why are you talking to me, and just me?"

    <Who I am isn''t important. And I''m talking to you because you''re the one working on this. You''re the only one who knows.>

    "Curly, you had better stop that," warned Jakuzure, looking more concerned than spiteful.

    "I''m¡­ the only one who knows?"

    <You''ve been working on this all day. And you''ve come so close to figuring this out.>

    "I¡­ have?"

    <Yeah! You''ve almost got all of the pieces to the puzzle.>

    "So¡­ I have all of the clues I need, or something? Can I figure out why Rei died?"

    <That, and more! Come on, what were you doing this morning?>

    "I was interrogating Gendo¡­ and looking for the weapons."

    Inumuta lifted an eyebrow. "What''s going on?"

    "The voice¡­ I think it''s telling me that everything''s¡­ been connected. Is that right? Forty-Seven, Fifty-Three, Fluttershy, the weapons¡­ this is all the same thing! Of course! The killer took the weapons, used them to kill Fifty-Three, visited Fluttershy, and released the creature! R-right?"

    <Almost.>

    Hermione''s mental elation died down, sinking her face back into a grimace. "Almost?"

    The door behind them suddenly began to move along its tracks, until it sealed itself shut. The investigators scrambled their way back, and found the access panel had been crudely modified.

    "It''s been tampered with," explained Inumuta. "Hacked. And they''ve messed with the physical systems, too, I can''t undo this."

    "You mean, we''retrapped?" yelped Jakuzure.

    "Imaginary voices don''t set traps," Sanageyama growled.

    Hermione turned away from the door, looking up as if the invisible voice was really just some moth fluttering over her head.

    "Are you doing this? Why are you doing this?!"

    <Because you almost got it, he-hee! This is the fun part!>

    "The¡­funpart?"

    "A FUN PART DOES NOT SOUND LIKE WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW," shouted Gamagori.

    <Yeah, the fun part. I''m going to tell you the real answer, and then you''re all gonna die! He-hee-hee!>

    "Oh¡­ bloody¡­ hell," gasped Hermione. "It says¡­ she says we''re going to die."

    "No¡­ you don''t mean," Breathed Jakuzure, "that the voice in Curly''s head¡­ was the killer?"

    "I think it does," the witch whispered.

    <Hey! You finally got it! Now I can pay you a visit myself!>

    Just then, Hermione heard a sound she never wanted to hear again. It was not painfully intense, nor grating on the ears. It was simple, and instantly recognizable, with a source she found at once. Above her, running into the center of the room, was ventilation shaft. Something was moving inside of it.

    "Oh¡­no."

    "Curly, what''s happening?! Tell us,right now!" Jakuzure screamed.

    "Double X¡­ one-twenty-one," she gulped. "She''s right. We''re all going to die."

    The lights flickered ominously as the vents continued to be drummed on from the inside, like the beat of some awful, non-Euclidean Viking longboat''s oars, paddling away on a sea of blood. The Elite Four were concerned, but resolute- Hermione could tell by the looks on their faces, they expected that whatever would come out of that vent would have a poor attitude, and after some tussling, would give up. They were not expecting, as she was, death itself.

    The banging stopped, which meant that it was done travelling the length of the vent.

    Hermione held her arms out to her side, and backed up slowly. "Get back," she whispered, even though she knew it would only delay the inevitable. A metallic series of cough-grunts echoed from the vent''s outlet, and the boxy opening spat out a horrifying black droplet of liquid death. It collected on the floor into a lurking, waiting puddle.

    Hermione heard some of the others call thembugs, but that was an immature, primitive way of looking at it. It really wasn''t like a bug at all. One could argue that it moved like a bug, with slow, cautious movements; but it would more accurately be described ascatlike. It was more like acatbug.No, that was something else, wasn''t it? It certainly did notlooklike a bug. Its body, horrifically, was most like a human being, with limbs contorted and twisted into devices of pure evil. From its back, a double-pair of long, gently-curved stalks grew, steam subtly swirling at their tips. It was most probably exhaling from somewhere within its hellfire stomach, though Hermione knew they did not need air to live. Every part of its skeletal body was covered in tight ribbing, like some deadly rubber hose- or something else rubber. That was maybe the most disconcerting thing about them, and there was no way around it; they lookedsexual. Every inch of its body looked like something you shouldn''t talk about loudly in public. Obscene patterns were drawn into its grey-black shell, its shoulders covered by a bulbous, lobe-like collar, its terrible, eyeless, domed head stretched back into the most phallic shape possible. Eros, the ancient god of lust. Thanatos, the angel of death. Its steaming mouth dripped hot, grey saliva onto the floor as it sat, with its tail between its legs, like it was waiting. Hermione felt her chest tighten. She knew it was anxiety, but she remembered what had happened to Eliza, and her fear only caused the biting pain to increase, as if something really was chewing its way out.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Inumuta continued to enter variables into his PDA. "But¡­ if it was still in its tank at the Menagerie, how is it out here?"

    <It never left, silly.>

    This time, the boy''s eyes widened.

    "Did you hear that?!"

    Hermione could barely tell what was going on anymore- she felt a little numb, except for her chest, which still sent out pulses of explosive pain. Everything was going fuzzy at the edges, and her ears were ringing.

    "Y-yeah," stammered Jakuzure, no longer quite so resolute. "It sounds kinda familiar."

    "Like¡­ Pinkie¡­ Pie?" grunted Hermione, finding her breathing more and more difficult.

    "What? N-no! It sounds like-" Sanageyama was cut off by his own shudder.

    <Come on, you guys.Think.What were the weapons that were stolen?>

    "THE BLUE SCISSOR BLADE," began Gamagori.

    "¡­and the Andalite Cube," Inumuta finished.

    Hermione weakly plugged a few digits into her AEGIS, opening a communications channel.

    "Regulations¡­ we¡­ need backup," she strained. "Pulse¡­ weapons."

    With that, the witch collapsed to the floor, gasping. Gamagori gritted his teeth and took a step forward, toward the still-waiting creature.

    "JAKUZURE, GET MRS. GRANGER TO SAFETY. SANAGEYAMA, INUMUTA, LET US TEACH THIS CREATURE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE IRONCLAD RULES OF REGULATIONS ARE VIOLATED!" The pink-haired girl nodded and slipped her arms under their superior''s shoulders, dragging her towards a corner of the room as the boys began to advance toward the alien.

    "I was hoping you''d say something like that," smiled Sanageyama, drawing a thin grey cylinder from his belt. With a flick of his wrist, it unfolded its segmented sections into a long, narrow line, and a small guard appeared above the handle. "Come on, you monster! Nothing can stand before my shinai!"

    Gamagori drew a similar device from his own belt, but it transformed in a different manner, extending into a long, coiled whip. Inumuta tapped a button on his PDA and clipped it to his uniform''s left sleeve, as he began to furiously type into it.

    <Oh, boy, a fight! This is really going to make things interesting! I thought you were just going todie!>

    "Enough talk!" screamed Sanageyama, leaping forwards with his shinai. "MEN!"

    He forced the blunt tip of his sword forward, evidently surprising the creature despite his obvious calling of the attack. The strike hit the center of the monster''s bulging forehead, causing it to stagger off the floor with its catlike grace. It tensed its body and prepared to charge, but Sanageyama was already beginning his second attack.

    "DO!"he called, swiping his shinai into the alien''s side. It let out a mechanical shriek and swiped a six-fingered claw down at the aggressor, only to have its hand deflected with a call of"KOTE!"

    Sanageyama was about to move into his more rapid strikes, when he noticed a flicker of purple moving behind the creature. He barely had time to raise his own weapon to block the huge half-scissor that jumped out towards him. A grey-black tail was coiled around the handle, and the monster''s leaking mouth shifted slightly, into something that might have been a smile.

    "It''s got the Scissor Blade!" he cried, though everyone else could see it.

    The alien''s mouth was suddenly jolted closed as something wrapped around its head. Against its will, it was drawn halfway across the room by Gamagori''s whip. As the sliding beast approached, Gamagori wound up a punch that sent it back across the room, crashing through a pallet of barrels to collapse in a stunned heap.

    "I THOUGHT THE KILLER HAD THE SCISSOR BLADE!"

    <Do I have to spell it out for you idiots?> moaned the voice, agitated.

    Hermione forced her eyes open, finding a worried-looking Jakuzure crouched over her.

    "Did you..."

    "Perform CPR? Yep."

    "But¡­"

    "Listen, Curly, and save your breath. You''re a terrible detective and you''ll never be half the leader Lady Satsuki is. But that doesn''t mean we don''tcareabout you."

    Hermione would have smiled if the situation was any different.

    "The¡­ voice¡­ the cube. It''s bluffing," she said weakly.

    "Bluffing?"

    "The Andalite cube¡­ it''s a quantum-space manipulator. It lets people turn into animals."

    "So¡­ thatthingis a person?"

    "No¡­ it couldn''t be," coughed Hermione. "Double X one-twenty-one has corrosive blood¡­ morphs with the cube are unpredictable. If the blood changed before the veins¡­ they''d die. It''s not possible to morph one. Is that a maintenance access door over there?"

    Jakuzure looked at where the witch was pointing.

    "Yeah, but it''s for the lift. We can''t get out of here through there."

    "If this works¡­ we won''t need to."

    "I''ve calculated a weak point," announced Inumuta. "There''s a sensory organ between its dorsal spires, just below its neck. Hit that, and we might overwhelm it."

    Sanageyama repelled another one of its attacks, but knew that the creature was getting closer to hitting him each time.

    "It''s got claws at the front and the Scissor Blade on its tail. How are we going to get a hit in?"

    "I know," called the muffled voice of Hermione. The alien turned from the young men as the massive lift doors at the back of the room began to grind open. Inside, heavy feet stomped toward the growing entrance. A tall, broad-shouldered figure trudged into the room, covered in bulbous armor plate. Its huge, robotic hands coiled their oversized fingers into fists, and it took the time to mimic cracking its knuckles. Hermione flicked a few switches in the open-air cockpit and checked the readouts on the hydraulics. "All systems, full power."

    <An exoskeleton?>

    "An Egg Lifter," corrected Hermione, twisting her arms at the controls as the larger robotic ones followed her lead. A huge robotic hand extended and contracted two fingers to wave the creature on. "Get a load ofthis."

    The alien scrambled toward the new, more immediate threat, but Hermione simply commanded the machine''s massive arms forward, and caught the monster in mid-sprint. She carefully removed one hand from the beast, then brought it crashing down as a fist on top of the eyeless head. She followed with another punch, and another, before tossing away the battered creature.

    "That was unexpected," stated Inumuta, typing a few new variables into his PDA.

    "Are you okay, Mrs. Granger?" called Sanageyama.

    "I just recovered from a minor heart attack and I''m staring down my greatest fear, yeah, I''m doinggreat," she hissed, charging ahead on the exoskeleton''s heavy feet. The Xenomorph gracefully pounced upward, seemingly no worse for wear after Hermione''s assault. It tangled itself over the exoskeleton''s torso, knocking the witch off balance, and forcing her to the floor. The creature''s boiling saliva rolled down from its twisted mouth as it hungrily stared into Hermione''s soul. She would have none of that, and brought the exoskeleton''s arms back around the creature, trapping it in a bear hug. The bulky mechanical legs pushed the Egg Lifter back off of the floor, as Hermione kept the alien locked in place.

    "I''ve got you now, you little bastard," Hermione grunted, struggling to keep the writhing creature contained.

    <That''s what you think.>

    Much to her surprise, the alien stopped twisting around. It flicked its tail upwards, sending the purple half-scissor into the ceiling blade-first before becoming totally still.

    "What''s it doing, Curly?" shouted Jakuzure.

    "I don''t bloody know," cried the witch, throwing the creature against the wall. If it was up to something, she didn''t want to be close to it. She stomped toward her allies, her heavy metal feet sparking against the floor as she pivoted to keep the alien in sight.

    Never let it out of sight. Never ever.

    "Why the hell did you throw it?!" cried the pink-haired girl.

    "BecauseI didn''t know what it was doing," Hermione hissed.

    "It''s getting back up," shouted Sanageyama, as the investigators readied their weapons again. The Xenomorph uncoiled itself from the floor, turning its terrifying head towards them.

    <Useless, useless, useless,> giggled the voice. <It''s been fun playing around but I really do need you all to die. I''ll just have to take matters into myown hands.>

    The alien twitched and jolted in place, and much to Hermione''s surprise, began to shrink.

    "No¡­" she whispered. "No, that''s not possible."

    "Curly, I swear, if you can''t learn to starttelling us what''s happening-"

    "It''s¡­ morphing."

    "The thing you saidWASN''T FREAKING POSSIBLE?!"

    "I JUST BLOODY SAID IT WASN''T POSSIBLE, WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY ABOUT IT?!"

    As Hermione watched the creature, she wasn''t sure what exactly shewouldsay about it. Slowly, sickeningly, the nightmare beast became less and less obscene. As it shrank, its skeletal frame softened. The ribbed patterns gave way to pink flesh, its metal fangs undergoing miracle orthodontia to become small, white squares. Its tail retracted back into its spine as its dorsal piping was sucked down into a flat surface. Its digitigrade stance changed as its elongated, clawed toes shrunk back into its feet. The horrifying, domed head collapsed down into a more familiar, human shape. New patterns began to emerge across its skin, folding out into a short, frilly dress; and long, voluminous pigtails.

    "No, no, no, no, no," gulped Jakuzure. "No, no, no, no, no."

    Sanageyama seemed equally concerned. "That¡­ that better not be-"

    "I DO THINK IT IS," cried Gamagori. Inumuta stopped typing.

    Hermione was surprised by the reactions from her colleagues- there was something different about them. They certainly were not as resolute anymore, no, they wereafraid. Perhaps just as afraid as she had been upon seeing the hole punched into Forty-Seven''s head.

    "So¡­ who is she?" Hermione asked quietly.

    The girl drew a line through the air with an index finger, and the Scissor Blade in the ceiling jolted down as if pulled by an invisible string. She caught it by the circular thumb grip and spun it around her arm a few times before resting it on her shoulder with a coy wink of a dark blue left eye.

    "I told you," she smiled, "I''mthe killer."

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-30 Strike Laser Claw / Chance Encounter

    Kamina took a closer look at his monitors."Thisis Mr. Kasshu''s student?"

    Unimposing was a good word to describe the machine that faced them now. After having seeing the heroic Gundam, the monstrous Evangelion, the broad-shouldered Gipsy Danger, and a walking furnace like the Big O, this small, orange craft seemed quite plain. It was just a little taller than Gurren Lagann, but it did not seem nearly as threatening. Its legs were simple boxes, as were its stubby arms. There were no gaping vents to draw in cool air for a hungry reactor, and no gigantic weapons slung over its back. A set of folding wings were bolted to the sides of those simple, boxy legs, giving the slightest hint that it might be capable of some mid-air maneuvering. It did carry a heavy-looking assault rifle in its right arm, complete with underslung grenade launcher.

    "We can''t let our guard down," said Simon. "Even if it doesn''t look impressive, it could be really dangerous. And who knows about that pilot?"

    "Yeah, you''re right," agreed Kamina. "We can''t get too cocky."

    "It is an honor to fight you," said the voice of their opponent over their communications channel. From the little they had gotten to know him, Inaho seemed like a smart, quiet kid. Intelligence could be dangerous, but when he didn''t talk much it made him hard to read. Simon carefully moved the controls to bring Gurren Lagann into a fighting stance.

    "Same to you," he replied. "Let''s go."

    The orange robot began to move the only threatening thing about it- the rifle, which was a sign that Gurren Lagann should get out of the way. Simon tilted the controls back and hopped out of the way, but Inaho had not fired.

    Hmm. Their first response to the rifle being drawn is to run. They have no ranged weapons of their own. This is logical,he thought.This is exploitable.

    "He''s just faking us out," grunted Simon.

    Kamina pushed his own angular sunglasses back into place. "Well, Team Gurren doesn''t get faked out! Let''s show him what we''re made of!"

    "Right, bro!"

    Gurren Lagann dropped to one knee and sprinted forward, extending a long, thin drill from its right forearm. The orange robot took a step back, as the wings on its legs unfolded to their full length. The feeble booster on its back warmed up, and it slowly floated out of the Gunmen''s path. Inaho lowered his sights over Gurren Lagann''s exposed back.

    Your Giga Drill Maximum move is the only time you have any coverage for your back. Otherwise, your jets are completely exposed. Anyone just needs to wait for you to charge to clip your wings.

    "He¡­ just dodged?" asked Kamina, swinging Gurren Lagann''s drill out to pierce nothing but air.

    "No, wait! He''s trying to shoot us in the back!" cried Simon, knowing it was too late. The Gunmen was fast, but it was not faster than a trigger pull. Yet, the bullets never came.

    <hr>

    Her target lazily floated around in the zoom optics. Either he was hustling, or he was actually that slow. Considering that they were fighting Gurren Lagann, Holly assumed that they really werethatslow.

    "So we''ve got a nice, plump turkey for you to shoot, Liger," grinned the elf. The cockpit had a little inertial damping, but not much- it was an unusual feeling to bounce up and down so much as she sped across the desert. Being seated inside of the robotic cat''s head certainlylookedamazing, from the big holographic displays to the tapered canopy, with the huge, heavy control arms providing wonderful feedback- considering the luck she had with the jet and now this machine, Holly decided to addstealing vehiclesto her internal list of viable strategies.

    "Now, what kind of weapons have you got? Let''s see¡­ double-barreled shock cannons and a beam gun. Not bad. But which one will do the most damage to that big turkey?"

    The Liger let out a soft, metallic roar as the weapons display panel shifted to a new image.

    "Strike Laser Claw? Now that''s a name I can stand behind. Claws, good; striking, good; lasers, even better. Strike Laser Claw it is."

    Maybe she was being childish, but piloting the Liger was just too much fun. A targeting reticule moved into the center of the display, and instructed her to increase her speed. Holly shoved the control arms to the full-throttle position and clicked down the oh-so-wonderfulboost button. Twin turbines and accompanying winglets folded out from the Liger''s flanks to provide extra thrust and downforce. The speed shoved Holly further back into the racing-bucket-like seat.

    Gods, it''s like a mecha death cat sports car! Amazing!

    Her target closed to three hundred meters, two hundred, one hundred. She jolted the controls backward and the Liger leapt into the air, placing the oblivious orange robot below her. In the corners of her display, the front paws glowed with energy channeled through the Liger''s metal mane.

    "Okay, Zero, let''s tear ''em apart! Strike! Laser! Claw!"

    I need to calm down. This is just too great!

    The massive robotic liger crashed down on top of the orange machine, its energized claws slicing through the Kataphract''s thin armor like paper. Gurren Lagann hesitated before turning around to find that their opponent had suddenly been mauled to death. Holly opened a hailing frequency, kicked her legs up onto the center console, and folded her hands behind her head.

    "Simon, Kamina, how''s it going?"

    "Uhm, just fine, thanks," replied the younger boy.

    "Well, we''ve just spent the rest of the round getting the band back together, and we wondered if you guys were in for one last gig?"

    "Aw, yeah! The indomitable Kamina always is ready for a new challenge!"

    "Great. Just give me a ride back to the others. I''m going to set this beautiful creature free." Holly tapped the canopy release and hopped out of the Liger Zero''s head, flying over to Gurren Lagann''s waiting hand. The Liger gave the elf a wistful look before turning towards the horizon and releasing a triumphant roar. Holly waved the Zoid goodbye as it loped away.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    "I''m going to miss that cat," she sniffled.

    "Our objective is now only one kilometer away," chirped Miku, halfway through her rendition ofHooked on a Feeling.

    "Finally. This heat is killing me," groaned Elsa languidly.

    Jotaro rolled his eyes. "Weknow, you haven''t shut up about it."

    "There''s a town just up ahead," announced Rainbow Dash, pointing ahead with the barrel of her Mobile Suit''s massive rifle.

    "Miku, is our objective within that town?"

    "By my calculations, yes."

    "Okay. Let''s stay on our guard. With buildings surrounding us, we won''t be able to spot anyone approaching from the ground until it''s too late. Dash, you''ll be our lookout and early warning system, got it?"

    "Yes, sir, Mr. Kujo!"

    "Good. Let''s hoof it from here." The young man placed a hand on his cap and used the other to vault out of the Mark II''s hand. Towards the end of his plummeting, he cautiously slowed his breathing, and his speed gradually decreased until he simply stepped onto the ground as if he was descending a staircase. Elsa, not one to foolishly throw herself down twelve meters, pulled off her gloves, pointed her open hands toward the ground and constructed an actual crystalline staircase, while Miku simply jumped out of the hand and careened into the ground, plucking herself out of the dirt as Elsa reached the bottom of her icy stairs. Jotaro made sure that his team was ready, and signaled them onward. They sprinted across the open desert until they reached the comforting shadows of the town, the buildings providing them long-awaited cover.

    "Abingdon," Elsa read off of a general store''s sign as she pulled her gloves back on. "It''s really quiet."

    "Like everybody decided to leave town all at once," muttered Jotaro.

    "Our objective is approximately fifty meters in that direction," said Miku, pointing down the street at another building.

    Jotaro raised an eyebrow. "The bank? Okay, everybody, take off your masks."

    "I don''t get it," frowned Elsa.

    The young man shook his head and led them towards the building, ducking into and out of cover when possible. After a series of potentially excessive combat rolls, he arrived at the door.

    "Everyone ready?"

    "Yes, sir."

    "I''m so excited/ And I just can''t hide-"

    Elsa clamped a chillingly cold hand over the Vocaloid''s mouth.

    "She is also ready."

    "Good," grunted Jotaro, swinging the door open. The Trans-Dimensional Analysts charged through the door, prepared for anything on the other side, to find nothing but an empty teller''s counter. Internally, Jotaro breathed a sigh of relief. Actually having to fight someone with a team at each other''s throats was not going to be pleasant.

    "Miku, do you have the exact location within the building?"

    "Our objective should be seven meters ahead, presumably down that hallway."

    She pointed a green-painted nail toward a corridor past the teller''s counter, guarded by a heavy wooden door.

    "Elsa, would you do us the honor?"

    "Certainly," replied the young woman, removing her gloves again. She placed a bare hand on the door, which quickly became surrounded in a thick sheet of ice. Elsa then stepped back, put her gloves back on, and drove her heel into the center of the door. The entire structure gave way, splintering beneath her kick.

    "Thank you," nodded Jotaro, leading the Analysts further into the bank. Miku pointed to their left, and they found themselves facing a massive vault door.

    Elsa folded her hands across her chest. "So our objective is¡­ behind this?"

    "Yes. My sensors indicate that there is a small space-time distortion within this vault. If our organization can capitalize on the instability of these structures, we will be able to gain access to the Nexus of Carcosa upon our arrival."

    "Well, there''s no time for sitting around. Miku, can you interface with the vault''s systems?"

    "I believe so."

    "Then get started. Elsa and I will cover you from in here."

    Much to Jotaro''s chagrin, a sudden beeping in his Scouter''s earpiece indicated an incoming call from Rainbow Dash, which could not be good. He tapped the receive button and answered the call.

    "What''s up, Dash?"

    "We¡­ may have a problem."

    <hr>

    "That''s quite a large thing, that is," murmured Jack as the stared wide-eyed out the windows at the gigantic machine in the center of the town.

    Luffy stretched anxiously in his seat. "So somebody''s beaten us here for the coin?"

    "Well, considering the way it''s just sitting there, I''d say they were rather in theprocess ofmaking off with it, as opposed to them having already snatched it, savvy?"

    "So there''s still a chance for us to stop them?"

    "It would seem that way, yes."

    "Optimus, you could take care of that big machine, couldn''t you?" Luffy asked of the truck he was seated in.

    "It may be possible."

    "Okay then," grinned the youngest pirate, pulling his straw hat down tightly over his head. "Let''s go do some hurt!"

    "Hooray!" cheered an exhausted Usagi.

    <hr>

    "Irepeat,do not engage them," barked Jotaro, sprinting out of the bank with Elsa following closely behind. "We''ll do whatever we can to avoid a confrontation."

    "Got it, Mr. Kujo!" called Rainbow Dash, lowering the Mark II into a passive kneeling stance.

    The candy-red-and-blue truck rolled to a noisy stop a few meters in front of the TDAs, as three figures emerged from within. A man clad in exotic seventeenth-century garb, a boy in a red shirt and denim shorts, and a girl in a sailor fuku- they didn''t seem overly threatening.

    "Greetings," waved Jotaro, doing his best to seem polite. It wasn''t his natural state, but he was certain he had learned to fake it well enough.

    "''Greetings''? What do you think this is, a book club?" The boy did not look receptive.

    Jotaro kept his urge to punch him in the face under control. "No, no- we were just wondering if we could help you with anything."

    "I''m not sure ifyoucan," said Jack, sauntering toward Elsa, "But perhaps the mademoiselle could help us find the coin within this township''s banking establishment?" Elsa blushed, which she attributed to the heat.

    "W-was that a dirty joke, sir?" asked Jotaro through gritted teeth.

    "No, there''s actually a coin in the bank here. And we''re pretty sure that you''re just stalling us so that you can steal it," snapped Luffy.

    "Well, we aren''t," replied Elsa, biting her lip. "We''re just¡­ examining it."

    "Yeah, what she said," Jotaro agreed.

    "That doesn''t sound very convincing to me," called Usagi from next to the truck.

    "I don''t believe it is, either," oozed Jack. "So let''s say we stop pretending that we''re trying to sneak into a ball-"

    "Or a book club," interrupted Luffy.

    "-and get to the bit where we trounce you, savvy?"

    Jotaro lifted a finger to his Scouter.

    "Rainbow Dash, hold your fire. We will attempt to neutralize this threat on foot."

    "Copy that, Mr. Kujo."

    "Okay. If you want a fight, we''ll be happy to oblige. Elsa, call Miku out. We''ll need her support. I''ll begin analysis."

    "Yes sir," replied Elsa, taking a step back and fiddling with her own Scouter.

    Jotaro''s eyepiece began to cycle through the targets, processing each one. Since there was no way to predict who he would be encountering in the field, he hadn''t been given any dossiers to read. It didn''t matter if he didn''t know their names, though- he just needed to know how hard they could hit. The man with the mascara was targeted first, and gave off a steady reading of 13.

    Average for a typical human fighter. No trouble there.

    The reticule then moved to the girl, cowering next to the semi. The Scouter took a while to process her level, but eventually it spat out a measly reading of 3.

    That is just pathetic. Now for Straw Hat over there.

    The scouter buzzed with a few alarms as it processed the scowling boy''s power level. Jotaro gasped when the reading- a fairly high 10,000, appeared.

    So it''s true¡­ many teams really do rely on a single stronger fighter to support weaker ones who perform other roles. 10,000''s a bit higher than even my power level, but with Miku and Elsa we should be able to leverage that out. If we can stick together and coordinate our attacks, we''ll make it through.

    "I''m here, Mr. Kujo," announced Miku, sprinting to her leader''s side.

    "Great. Open up the Fight Music playlist and shuffle."

    "Excellent choice," she chirped, and began to whisper.

    "What''s she doing?" asked Luffy, watching with concern as the girl''s arms split apart to reveal electromagnetic rails.

    "I think it''s pretty self-explanatory," replied Jotaro.

    Several rhythmic cymbal strikes were followed by the Vocaloid floating into the air, lowering her railguns toward the pirates, and screaming "FLOOR!" in an uncharacteristically harsh manner. The weapons produced a sharp cracking sound as they propelled two metal slugs into the ground at the men''s feet.

    "Luffy¡­ you can do the thing," sighed Jack reluctantly.

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-31 Fighting a Paradox

    "So¡­ we were in jail," offered Ruby quietly.

    "We know," said Holly. "Ryuko told us."

    "And we fought a giant green dude."

    "Who kept saying, ''Hulk smash''," groaned Katniss.

    "Jeez, you guys are a bunch of killjoys."

    "It''s not that your story isn''t totally badass, which it was," replied Ryuko. "It''s just that everybody''s worried about what''s going to happen when we get to the Night Terrors. If Poppy''s strong enough to just zap us away¡­ what''s she going to do when she finds out that we didn''t get the coins?"

    Silence hung in response to Ryuko''s question, with the only reply being the steady footfalls of Gurren Lagann, whose metal hands were cupped together to carry them.

    Finally, Holly put together an answer. "I don''t know. All we can do is hit them hard enough that they regret trying to use us."

    "I hope that''s the kind of logic that will get through to them," sighed Twilight. "Because if we have to deal withthisevery time a new round comes up, there''s no way to keep Poppy in check. And then we may really be doomed."

    "We can''t give up until we''ve given it our best shot," said Mikasa.

    The team reluctantly nodded, agreeing to the course of action and leaving the rest to fate, since it was all they could do. The sun, which had yet to be obscured by a single cloud for the three days they had spent wandering, shone down from directly above them, keeping the metal surface of Gurren Lagann''s hands an evenly scalding temperature. Through the haze that clung to the earth for miles ahead, the low shapes of Northville loomed.

    "They''ve got a sniper, right?" Katniss asked.

    "No half-balanced team wouldn''t," mused Alucard.

    "We only seen a few of them in action," replied Holly. "Poppy''s near-omnipotent, Morrigan flies and hits hard, Sonic is fast on foot and Haruto and the Valvrave are pretty quick too. But as for the others like Cloud and Snake and Bayonetta, we can only guess. Considering his military gear, I would assume that Snake is their sniper."

    "You don''t think he''s got us in his sights right now, do you?" giggled Ruby nervously.

    Katniss moved her head to a slightly different position against Gurren Lagann''s hand. "He wouldn''t be much of a sniper if he didn''t."

    <hr>

    Snake backed his eye away from the scope on the PSG-1. It had been unreal- at this range, there would be a mirage masking his location,andhe was lying under a tarp. So there was little explanation as to how the girl had looked straight at him, frowned, and moved her head out of his sights, other than a level of sharpness of the eye he had not ascribed to her at first glance.

    "Are they all there?'' asked Poppy, suddenly seated behind him, small enough in stature to avoid being seen past the roof- but then again, so was Snake''s little sniper nest, and the girl had seen it.

    "So far as I can tell, boss. Every non-mechanized combatant, and they''ve got their heavy support too."

    "Get everyone ready. I will go and speak with them."

    "Are you sure about that?"

    "Of course," she said, and disappeared.

    Poppy reappeared atop Gurren Lagann''s broken-circle head crest, perfectly balanced despite the small platform it offered her. It did not take long for one of the warriors resting in the robot''s palms to notice her. Ruby scrambled for her weapon, and fired up from her seat, startling everyone. Poppy glared back down, holding the bullet by a thumb and index finger.

    "Hello to you, too."

    "D''Arvit," Holly cursed. "How long have you been-"

    "Long enough to get shot at."

    "Ah."

    "Your hostile response would seem to indicate that you have not cooperated with my request to acquire the coins. Tell me, Team Mockingjay, is that correct?"

    Ryuko pulled a coin out of a small pouch affixed to Senketsu''s waistband. "Nope."

    "You collectedonecoin?"

    The team was unsure of how to respond. They had been hoping to be on the offense, to come crashing into the town before Poppy could react. But instead, she had come to them, and she was the one variable they did not know how to solve for. They were quiet while they calculated, which Poppy decided to interrupt.

    "This is not a surprise. I had little faith that you would do as told. Bring me the coins, give up, and lose. Bring me the coins, fight me, and lose. Gather the coins, avoid me, and be hunted down by myself and anyone else interested- you lose. There was not much incentive for you to obey. So the question remains, why are you here?"This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    "So we can prove to you that we''re not pawns to order around," said Holly, balling her fists in defiance.

    Poppy''s frown crawled upwards into a flat line, then just a tiny bit further. "Really?"

    Team Mockingjay suddenly found themselves in the center of Northville once again, jumping a half-mile with no traces of their movement. The instantaneous change in scenery was quite unsettling, but nearly everything involving Poppy was. The elf-like creature leapt from above Gurren Lagann''s head and floated to the ground slowly, maintaining her vague smile as she dropped below the other warriors.

    "That is a very interesting thing for you to do. Defiance is not a character trait one expects frominsects."

    "We''re not insects," snapped Katniss.

    "Perhaps you are not. I may have sent you away to collect coins, but the fact that you were able to reunite and return here shows that you may have other uses. Join me, and together we can destroy the Master of Games."

    "No," replied Twilight sternly. "To actively rebel against him might put the lives of everypony here in danger. We can''t let that happen."

    "A crude and illogical assertion," mused Poppy. "Allowingthat scum to further his plans endangers more than direct action. Unless you know something thatIdon''t."

    Twilight quickly buried her secrets. "No, we¡­ we don''t."

    "Then you ascribe to faulty reasoning. Everyone here fights for their life. To claim that your battle is any more just- that your actions are more righteous, is baseless. In fact, every victory you claim may be pushing your fellow warriors closer and closer toward whatever fate the Master of Games has designed for the defeated. To passively carry on in light of this is not only asinine, it isparadoxical. How will you rectify that?"

    Holly sprung out of the Gunmen''s hands, landing in the dust in front of Poppy to look her doppelganger in her unfathomable eyes. Simon pushed the controls forward and commanded the robot to set the others down as well, since it was probably unwise to leave her alone with the abomination that continued to taunt them. The elf wasn''t exactly sure how to respond. After all, Poppy had made a few decent points. Still, she needed to answer, and began to twist her brain around to find something passable.

    "Rectify a paradox¡­. Hmmm," she muttered. "No. You''re right. We can''t do that."

    "And so you admit your flawed logic. Again, I offer you the chance to join me."

    "And again, we reject it," smiled Holly, having pieced something together. "We don''t need to rectify that paradox."

    "Absurd," scoffed Poppy.

    "No, it''s not. A paradox is a contradiction, a logical mess, like you said. But look at us- we''re not logical people," she waved a hand back towards her team. "Really, we''re not all that smart, if you think about it."

    "Hey!" cried Twilight, but Alucard nudged her, dissuading further complaints.

    "Gun-toting maniacs, freaks of nature, people who fought the system without a chance. No, nobody here is going to be able to figure that out. But, again, like you said- defiance is an unusual character trait for insects. Maybe we don''t have much in the way of brains, but we''ve got plenty ofdefiance. And if you were surprised by that, I bet the Master of Games is too. No, not just surprised, afraid. I''ve seen it. I''ve seen it in his eyes when I wouldn''t pull the trigger on Katniss. I''ve seen it every time we''ve won, because we don''t win asallies, we win asfriends. He brought us here to be enemies, and it turns out a lot of us really get along- and that defiance is what scares him the most. And it burns in the hearts and souls of every man, woman, child, robot- everywhateverhere. I don''t know if the Master of Games is winning here or not, but he knows he''s walking a thin line. We''re fighters, that''s what we do best. So we don''t need to solve that paradox¡­ when we can just fight it."

    Poppy felt something inside of her despicable mortal body. It had a little organ that pushed her circulatory fluids around, and it was speeding its beats up. There was some sort of rushing sensation moving up through her diaphragm and into her chest, despite the fact that she was not moving at all. In her eons of cold isolation, in the spaces between universes and at the bottom of the sea, she had never felt this before. Mortals had a word for it, but which was the most appropriate? Excitement? Amazement? Anticipation? Perhaps it was all of them, but Poppy found herself no longer caring about the word attached to it. She was instead reveling in its physical delight. Infinite in intellect, her brain had never found something to be excited about. It was truly telling of her worrisome state that the first bit of information that could make her feel this way was something so absurd, so idiotic. She was a pathetic shadow of her former self now, trapped in a feeble mortal body, and being roused by a speech.

    "Fight¡­. A paradox," she whispered. "What a¡­ fascinating notion¡­"

    "Holly, what was that?" asked an astounded Katniss.

    Holly turned back, shrugged, and mouthed, "No idea."

    Poppy slowly tried to bring herself back to reality, but was finding herself lost in the giddy thoughts this delightful fallacy was creating. "Ha," she giggled. "Ha-ha-ha!"

    "I think you broke her," whispered Ruby.

    "I''m not broken!" cried a babbling Poppy. "I''m just intrigued! Show, me, Holly Short! Show, me, Team Mockingjay! Show me that you can fight this paradox!"

    Between her riotous spasms, she lifted her left hand and snapped her fingers, causing her team to appear behind her. They snapped to attention, but quickly became concerned for their leader''s most uncharacteristic emotional state. Morrigan crouched to bring her head over the elf-thing''s shoulder.

    "Ahm, Poppy? Are ye feelin''¡­odd?"

    "Oh, yes, Morrigan," cackled Poppy. "Wonderfully odd! No, amazingly odd! Ilovethe way I feel right now! Ha-ha-ha!"

    "As long as you''re all right, boss," said a concerned-looking Sonic.

    "I''ll only be all right¡­ if you can prove it to me, Holly," she grinned maniacally.

    "We can," replied the elf, placing a hand on her holstered Neutrino. "I''m sure of it."

    "Good, good. Night Terrors, att-"

    Morrigan cleared her throat loudly to interrupt. Normally, one would expect Poppy to be filled with ire at such an inconvenience, but it seemed as though nothing could kill her mood. She turned back to the succubus with a smile.

    "What is it?"

    Morrigan pointed a thumb over her shoulder, tilting her head sideways. "Ye know¡­ thething."

    "Oh, right!" gasped Poppy, turning back to Team Mockingjay. "I almost forgot. "

    She snapped her fingers, and suddenly Alucard disappeared from Twilight''s side.

    Twilight nearly toppled over from surprise. "Wha-?"

    "I just needed to send him to his appointment before we begin. That''s not going to change that wonderful defiance you have burning in your hearts, right?"

    "N-no," grunted Holly. "We''ve still got it, right?"

    "Alucard is one of our strongest fighters," noted Adam.

    "Who needs him?" interjected Ryuko, "When we''ve gotme?"

    "She has a great point there," agreed Kamina.

    "Yeah, we''ve still got it," sighed Holly with a smile.

    "Fantastic!" Poppy cried. "Night Terrors, attack!"

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-32 Overflow

    Jotaro adjusted his footing, tilted his cap, and exhaled deliberately. "Star Platinum!"

    His Stand appeared at his side, a ghostly, muscular warrior with ethereal hair and a painted face. Star Platinum closed its arms around his own tough frame and absorbed the multitude of long-ranged punches, each of the boy''s elastic limbs disappearing in a puff of steam before delivering a high-velocity fist to his person.

    Damn, I can''t keep this up. He''ll punch right through me if this goes on any longer.

    Miku, witnessing Jotaro''s distress, flew back down, sailing over Luffy''s Jet Gatling to knock the boy over with a clothesline.

    "Thanks, Miku," grunted Jotaro.

    "Anyway you want it/ That''s the way you need it," she replied, soaring back up to surround the younger pirate.

    "You guys can''t just gang up on me," Luffy smirked, reaching up behind him. His arms extended in length until they reached Miku''s altitude, allowing him to snag her legs and catapult the Vocaloid back at the still-recovering Jotaro. The flying green-haired girl knocked Jotaro off of his feet, and sent him crashing through the door of what may have been a barber shop.

    "Ugh, Miku, are you okay?"

    "Address all complaints to the Yamaha Corporation," she moaned.

    "I''m sure I will," noted Jotaro, picking himself and the robot girl up. The boy was tough, even for a 10,000-plus. Jotaro knew that in order to defeat him he''d have to get close enough for his Stand to work its magic. But those stretchy limbs were keeping him away. There had to be some way to circumvent this- and he knew that a solution was not far away.

    Elsa deflected another sword strike with the back of a heavy glove, then pivoted on one heel to send the other into Jack''s gut. The pirate coughed under the roundhouse''s impact, but gritted his teeth and raised his sword again.

    "You''re terribly strong for such a beautiful young lady," mused Jack, missing another slice.

    Elsa gave him a skeptical look before diving into a three-inch-punch. "So pretty girls can''t be strong? Is that what you''re saying?"

    "No, no, because clearly, you are,both, that is," he winced, sweeping a leg underneath her and forcing her to cartwheel backward a few feet. "It''s just at first glance I wouldn''t have said, ''Ah, that pretty young thing is a prizefighter.'' Maybe, royalty, perhaps?"

    "Aren''t you perceptive!" she beamed. "I''m the queen of a small principality."

    "Then, milady, it has truly been an honor to bask in your presence."

    "Basking? Oh, that''s very kind of you. But I would prefer it¡­" she removed one glove and wiggled her fingers freely, "if youbowed."

    Jack was going to object when Elsa opened her hand towards him, causing a fine white mist to travel from her palm to his legs, locking them in place as it congealed into a block of ice.

    "Oh," he yelped. "That''s not gone well."

    "No, it hasn''t," Elsa smirked, giving the pirate a push and tipping him onto his face.

    "Elsa! I need your help!" shouted Jotaro, sprinting towards her. Behind him was the boy in the straw hat, steam erupting from his body in short bursts. "We have to slow this guy down!"

    "No problem," smirked Elsa, stomping her foot into the dirt. Ice sprung forth from the edges of hertabi, forming a rapidly-growing sheet that quickly reached the other two fighters. Jotaro knew what was happening and leapt toward a clear patch of dirt behind Elsa, but Luffy''s sandals did him little good, and he promptly slipped onto his back.

    "He''s got a rubber body," explained Jotaro. "He can stretch any of his limbs. Favors rapid attacks, too."

    "A martial artist?"

    "Sort of, I guess," Jotaro admitted. "What are you-"

    "Stretchy kid, you didn''t hit your head when you fell, did you?" shouted Elsa to the fallen Luffy.

    "Yeah, I did hit my head," he replied.

    "Thank goodness, you''re still conscious. What do you say about fighting me, one-on-one?"

    Jotaro''s eyes widened. "What the hell are-"

    Elsa shushed him by pressing a finger to his lips, temporarily freezing them together. Luffy pressed his steaming hands into the ice and bounced to his feet, which slipped further. He carefully rearranged them until he was standing upright.

    "Yeah, sure! As long as you don''t try anything funny!"

    "I promise I''m not going to do anything without telling you about it."

    "Okay, then! What are we waiting for?" he cheered, throwing a single fist forward. Elsa ducked underneath the elastic limb as it stretched past her, making sure to brush her fingers against it as it passed. Luffy felt something chilly at his fingertips, and pulled his arm back to find his hand had become surrounded in ice that was slowly creeping up his arm.

    "You didn''t tell me about that," cried the boy, staring wide-eyed at the ice.

    "Whoops," chuckled Elsa. This would be easy- the other limbs would be no more difficult to freeze. But the Trans-Dimensional Analyst''s confidence began to fade as she saw the smug grin that had replaced Luffy''s surprise.

    "Why are you smiling like that?"

    "Because I don''t have any reason to be afraid of an ice attack," he explained, the ice falling away in wet chunks. "In Gear Second, my skin gets really hot, so it won''t stick."

    "I don''t need to keep you still for long," Elsa growled, slamming an open hand into the ground. A torrent of icy shards erupted forward, creating a wave that swallowed the boy whole. Within an instant, the interior of the ice began to fog up as it was melted away. Elsa dashed forward, knowing her only option was one she would rather not use. The ice begun to crack under the heat of Luffy''s body. Elsa felt her powers begin to surge within her body- no matter how liberated she felt with her gloves off, she knew that she was a danger to herself and others. As a Trans-Dimensional Analyst, she was glad to have an outlet for that energy, but it did little to solve the problem at hand. She was lucky that the Illuminati found her, as her powers had continued to grow over time. She was always needing bigger, stronger gloves, and she knew that one day the gloves would be no use. Her peers thought she was foolish to take up martial arts, but she had deduced that physically controlling herself might be the only solution to her problems. Now, as she raced toward the half-frozen pirate, she forcibly pushed her training aside. The mental limits she had placed on herself faded away as her hand raced towards the boy''s exposed chest.

    "FULL RELEASE!" she screamed, channeling an icy blast into Luffy''s heart. He had just freed himself from his frozen prison, and upon receiving the attack fell backwards onto the ground, his body no longer venting steam.

    "Full release?" asked Jotaro. "That is the worst attack name ever."

    "It sounds a lot better than-"

    "Let it go/ Let it go! Can''t hold it ba-"

    Miku was removed from the air by the sudden formation of a large block of ice around her body.

    "Be careful," warned Jotaro. "We need her for the mission."

    "Ineeded her to not sing that."

    "Whatever," sighed the young man, crossing over to the boy. "Is he dead?"

    A rubber fist connected with his chin and told him otherwise.

    "Wh-what¡­ did you¡­ do¡­ to me?" gasped Luffy through ragged breaths, staggering to his feet uneasily.

    "I just reduced your lifespan to a few hours," said Elsa with a grimace. Luffy threw a shaky punch towards Elsa, who caught the attack in an icy grip. "I think he''s slow enough now."

    Jotaro rubbed his aching chin. "Good. This guy was starting to piss me off. Star Platinum!"

    Star Platinum burst forth from his spirit, scowling as always. With a mere shrug, Jotaro sent the Stand floating towards the weakened boy. With one ghostly arm, it lifted him into the air.

    "Elsa, do you want to tell him about what''s going to happen now?"

    "Certainly. You''re about to become well-acquainted with the seventeenth Tarot."

    "ORA!" cried Jotaro, as his Stand tossed Luffy a short distance into the air. Star Platinum then suspended his dying body on a cushion of machine-gun punches, each strike visibly deforming Luffy''s elastic frame, and punctuated by a stream of "ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!" Eventually, Jotaro''s attack relented, and Luffy fell to the ground, motionless.

    "Good grief, what a pain," sighed Jotaro.

    "Is- Is he dead?" asked Jack from the ground weakly.

    "No," Elsa replied. "With his body, it''s unlikely that did any lasting damage. But his heart will give out soon, and then he will be."

    "Ghee," Usagi yelped, reminding everyone that she was still cowering by the truck.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    "Ice her, too, in case she tries something," ordered Jotaro.

    Elsa nodded and complied, opening a hand to instantly freeze the girl to the side of the vehicle. Jotaro sulked back toward Miku and began to chip her out of the ice with precise strikes from Star Platinum.

    "Hey, you''re¡­ you''re okay with what you did back there, right?" he asked, his tone low and soft.

    Elsa looked back at the boy lying on the ground.

    "We had to do whatever was necessary to complete the mission," she said, her voice wavering slightly. "But that doesn''t mean I feel any better about it."

    Jotaro''s Stand struck the center of the already-weakened block of ice, shattering it completely and freeing the chilled Vocaloid. "They''ll come back."

    "Right, right," murmured Elsa. "Sorry, Miku."

    "Apology accepted," chirped the girl. "Shall I initiate reciprocation protocols?"

    "No, we don''t have time for that," Jotaro grunted, lifting her to her feet. "Let''s head back to the vault."

    He stepped forward, and ran into Miku, who did not move.

    "What are you doing, Miku? Let''s go."

    "Should I freeze her again?" asked Elsa.

    "No," replied the Vocaloid, pointing behind them. "We are not done here."

    Jotaro and Elsa turned back, and immediately saw what Miku was referring to. The chunk of ice stuck to the side of the truck was now emitting a bright, white light.

    "What''s going on?" Jotaro called to Jack, who had not yet freed himself from the ground. The pirate looked over his shoulder, blinking into the light.

    "To be perfectly honest, I haven''t the foggiest."

    Elsa placed a hand against her earpiece. "Then it''s time to check the Scouter." The device made a few beeps as it acquired its new target, briefly flashed a few numbers, and exploded violently.

    "Aiee!" cried the Trans-Dimensional Analyst, shutting her eyes to block any small, sharp debris that might want to take up residence there.

    That looked just like the Overflow Failure¡­ but these things are supposed to have been designed to solve that. Her scouter was just defective,thought Jotaro. He tapped the button on his own Scouter, which began to target the ice. It locked on and began to calculate, before displaying a readout of nine.

    "Nine. Whew. That''s good. She went up by six."

    The scouter beeped again, and Jotaro looked at the reading to find that another nine had been added.

    "Wait, no, ninety-nine. That''s odd, I didn''t know that the Scouter could have this kind of lag, unless it was-"

    Another nine appeared at the end of the number.

    "Oh¡­crap."

    Suddenly, his display was flooded with nines, until the Scouter''s eyepiece ran out of room for them. It then replaced the nines with a single line of text:

    CRITICAL SYSTEM ERROR_OVERFLOW

    The device then exploded. In an unusual echo, the ice they had been watching also did, scattering shards into the dirt. The light took a familiar form- that of the girl that had arrived with the pirates. She seemed to have undergone a slight transformation, not in physical form, but in outfit. Her once-baggy sailor fuku had metamorphosed into a shorter, more tightly-fitting garment with a similar skirt and collar and several ornate decorations. A thin red choker wound around her neck, and her sleeves had been replaced by long gloves. Similarly, her shoes were now long, red boots, which began to plant themselves one after the other as she stepped away from what had been her icy prison.

    "Hey, Mr. Kujo, what''s going on down there? I lost contact with your Scouter''s signal," said the tinny voice of Rainbow Dash through her Mobile Suit''s loudspeaker.

    "Miku, send her a message to be quiet and not move," whispered Jotaro. "And don''t use your scouter software."

    The transformed girl turned to face them, slowly moving closer, her long pigtails drifting in a breeze that only seemed to affect her. She stopped no more than thirty feet from the Trans-Dimensional Analysts, her eyes focused directly ahead.

    "You hurt my friends." She sounded somewhere between surprised and angry, which was terrifying for someone they had only ever seen display fear.

    "You were the ones who decided to attack us," grunted Jotaro. "We were only acting in self-defense."

    "Luffy''s dying," she stated clearly.

    "Like we said, we weren''t trying to start anything-"

    "And Jack''s feet are getting frostbitten."

    "She''s right!" the pirate called. "It stings!"

    Jotaro knew he wasn''t really in a position to be snarky, especially considering that his Scouter couldn''t measure her power level, but he thought, for just a brief moment, that a biting remark might get through to her. "And you''re going to make things right by doing the same to us?"

    She folded her arms into a complex pose that ended with her right hand aimed through the crook of her left elbow, which held a hand with extended index, pinkie, and thumb off to her side.

    "In the name of the moon, thou shalt be punished."

    "Great, she''s nuts," sighed Elsa. The queen of Arendelle was instantly blown away in a flash of light from the girl''s palm, sending her crashing through the bank''s wooden exterior walls. Jotaro had to force down a cry of fear- that would show weakness, which was something that one shouldneverdisplay to an unknown enemy.

    "Miku, go find Elsa, make sure she''s all right," he said, slowly and clearly. "I''ll take care of The Moon Pie Guardian here."

    "That''s Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon to you," announced Usagi sternly.

    Miku floated back towards the bank, the cheeriness having mostly vacated her face. Jotaro stood alone before the Sailor Scout, his mind racing to assemble a plan that would allow his team to leave alive. If he counterattacked, she would retaliate, and he would most probably be severely injured. If he did nothing, she would attack preemptively, and he would most probably be severely injured. So Jotaro decided to do something in between those things.

    "So, you''re going to kill us?" he asked.

    "In the name of the Moon, yes. Didn''t I say that? I think I said that. I can''t really remember. These routines, they''re kinda all similar."

    "In the name of theMoon?"

    "Uh, yeah. SailorMoon. That''s pretty obvious."

    "It''s just¡­ I don''t really see anything that screamsmoonabout you. You''ve got the little choker and the little bits on your boots-"

    "I really like those."

    "But do youactuallydo anything with the moon?"

    Usagi looked a little confused. "What do you mean?"

    "I mean, you shot Elsa with a big light blast, and you exploded out of the ice with light. Why aren''t you Sailor Light?"

    "Well, I came from the Moon, originally¡­ and um¡­ I have a lot of attacks withmoonin the name."

    Jotaro smiled. "Tell you what. If you can actually do something related to the moon, I''ll just step out of your way."

    It''s risky, but I''ve got her pegged. She doesn''t seem too bright, anyway. Sailor Light, my ass.

    "Umm¡­ I could¡­ ah¡­" She stared at the ground, tapping her feet. "No¡­ that''s not¡­ hrmmm¡­"

    Jotaro discreetly looked back over his shoulder. There were no signs of Miku or Elsa returning. He took a slow step backward, keeping a careful eye on Usagi.

    "Wait, that''s it! Icando something with the moon!"

    "Oh, hell, no," groaned Jotaro. "You better tell me you can make it sparkle or something."

    "Kinda. It''s actually the one thing they told me I should never, ever do."

    "Oh¡­great."

    "Yep! It is! Here! WE! GO!" She spun her arms in a flurry of movements, ending with her right hand across her forehead and her left hand extended, palm facing the ground. Only her index finger pointed out. "MIDNIGHT!"

    "No, you- you don''t have to," stammered Jotaro.

    "MOON!"

    "Really, you could just stop-"

    "MASSACRE!"

    And with a scowl, she turned her extended index finger toward the ground. Nothing else happened.

    "What¡­ did that do?"

    "I''m not really sure," she blushed. "I just remember that the cats were always telling me, ''Sailor Moon, whatever you do, don''t do that.'' So I didn''t."

    "So¡­ you''re going to go kill the rest of my team, now, right?"

    "No, I think that should take care of them."

    "But¡­ nothing happened."

    "I think it''s supposed to take a while."

    "Well, we''ll sit here nicely until it gets us."

    "Backstreet''s back, all right!" giggled Miku, returning with a limp, but conscious Elsa in her arms.

    "Are you all right?" Jotaro asked.

    "Arm''s broken," she grunted, tapping her left arm with her right hand to form an icy cast over it.

    "You''ll live," sighed Jotaro.

    Usagi raised an eyebrow. "But I thought you guys were gonna get hit by my attack?"

    "Oh¡­ yeah¡­ Dash, cover our retreat."

    Jotaro began to plug coordinates into his AEGIS as the once-still Mobile Suit began to rise to its full height. The Trans-Dimensional Analysts disappeared in a swirl of blue sparks, and a huge foot moved to occupy the space where they once stood.

    "And there I thought I was going to let this sweet new machine go to waste," snickered Rainbow Dash, lowering the gigantic beam rifle''s barrel toward the girl. "Try this on for size!"

    With a click of a trigger, the massive weapon began to charge, drawing in ambient particles as it ionized its own supply in its reaction chamber. Sailor Moon''s hair danced in the air the weapon sucked in, and raised an open hand toward the barrel. Rainbow Dash pulled the trigger, and the girl was swallowed in a thick torrent of yellow light that burned a kilometer-long scorch down the dirt thoroughfare.

    "Okay, that was pretty cool," giggled the Pegasus. "Now to get back in contact with the ship to get ported out."

    "You''re not going anywhere," said Usagi from behind a spherical screen of smoke that quickly drifted away, revealing her to be none the worse for wear. "Optimus, destroy that rotten machine while I help Luffy."

    The truck split into a surprising amount of small, sharp pieces that rapidly reconfigured around one another to form the Autobot, who rearranged his right arm into a glowing blade.

    "I want one," whispered Rainbow Dash, reluctantly turning the beam rifle on the fascinating robot.

    "I have no problems killing a lifeless machine," grunted Optimus Prime, charging forwards. Rainbow Dash pulled her trigger, and was treated to an error message about the rifle''s recycle rate.

    "Are you kidding me? Now of all times?!" She clicked the trigger a few more times, but to no avail. The Autobot leapt into the air and sliced the barrel off of the rifle, leaving it a few-ton chunk of scrap. Rainbow Dash twisted a joystick and caused the Mark II to cast the weapon aside, replacing it with a thin cylinder drawn from the side skirts. The Mobile Suit''s fingers pressed a button on the cylinder, and it ignited into a blade of crackling energy.

    "Well, at least I can say that things are finally getting exciting," smiled the Pegasus as she watched the smaller robot convert its other arm into another sword. The boosters within the Mark II''s skirt armor kicked on, and the Mobile Suit slid backwards across the sand until Dash was comfortable with the distance between her and the robot.

    "Huh. Itispretty fast," she noted.

    Now, if I can just charge back fast enough, I should be able to slice that guy up, retreat to a safe distance, and wait for extraction. I''ve just gotta stay alive.

    She shoved the twin joysticks forward, and the thrusters climbed to their full power. The Gatsby Mark II jolted ahead, kicking up a monstrous dust cloud in its wake. The Autobot still charged toward her, though nowhere near as fast. Dash''s targeting computer brought up a range indicator, which rapidly scrolled through ever-shrinking numbers, until the beam saber''s optimum range came into view.

    "Now¡­ takethis!"

    As Optimus jumped towards her, the Mark II swung the beam saber in a wide arc, forming a half-circle of yellow death in the air. Half of the robot''s body disappeared below the saber''s path, while the other half carried on through its leap and collided with the Mobile Suit''s chest. Rainbow Dash was thrown back into her seat by the impact, disoriented by her fizzling viewscreens. The displays began to clear- and Dash did not like what she saw. Looming in her Mobile Suit''s cameras was the upper body of the smaller robot, which had evidently dragged itself to the Gatsby Mark II''s head.

    "Give me¡­ yourface," it growled, jamming a sword into the faceplate. Rainbow Dash''s screens went dark as the cockpit, which was nestled in the chest, began to ring with alarms. She sighed with defeat, activated the self-destruct mechanism, and hit the personal evacuation AEGIS. Instantly she found herself back in the Mobile Defense hangar. Char Aznable was milling past with a clipboard, taking notes on the docked machines, when he saw the dazed-looking Pegasus.

    "So, we''re going to need a Mark III, aren''t we?"

    "Yeah¡­ probably," groaned Rainbow Dash, slumping to the floor.

    <hr>

    "Come on, Luffy. Wake up," Usagi whimpered.

    The pirate opened his eyes with some effort. "U-Usagi? What¡­ happened to you?"

    "I''m not Usagi! I''m Sailor Moon!"

    "No, you''re definitely Usagi."

    "Whatever. So do you want to explain why I''m feeling fine?"

    "I healed you with the power of the Moon!"

    "Yeah¡­right," the boy groaned, picking himself up. "Thanks, for whatever it was. Where''s Optimus?"

    Usagi pointed to the staggering mecha just outside of town. "He''s going and fighting that big machine out there. I''m sure he''ll be fine."

    At that moment, the Gatsby Mark II exploded in a plume of blue-white fire.

    "Or he¡­ won''t."

    Jack kicked his legs against the ground, shattering the half-melted ice that bound them together. "Either way, those nasty blokes are gone, so there''s nothing between us and that coin."

    "Except a vault," noted Sailor Moon.

    "Bugger," Jack cursed.

    Luffy began to lead them toward the bank, when he noticed something in the sky. At first, he dismissed it, but when he checked again, it was still there.

    "Hey, guys," he asked. "Was the moon out, earlier?"

 Paradox Fighters, Part 6-33 The Killing Curse

    Hermione stepped backwards, a simple, small action turned into a clunky caricature by the exoskeleton. Now that she had the information that had eluded her, it was very simple to put two and two together. This girl, whoever she was, had stolen the Scissor Blade and Cube. She had then used the Blade to kill Fifty-Three, and acquired her form. She then disguised herself as Fifty-Three, infiltrated the Menagerie, overpowered Fluttershy, and tampered with the Pegasus'' mind. Against all logic, she somehow acquired XX121 as a morph and used it to skulk about in the ventilation systems until she could kill Forty-Seven and steal her access to Research and Development. The motive was still a mystery, but the method was now clear. What that told her is that this girl was one bloody good schemer, and far less innocent that the frilly dress and bows implied.

    "You know, it''s been a long time since I saw these clowns," she giggled, taking a step towards them. Hermione heard Jakuzure swallow a gasp of fear.

    They reallyarejust as scared of her as I am of the Xenomorph- is she really just as bad?

    "Is that so?" asked the witch, folding her exoskeleton''s arms.

    "Yeah," grunted Sanageyama. "We''ve dealt with her before, but we had Life Fiber uniforms. Without them, we don''t stand a chance."

    "Nice to see that everyone''s staying positive."

    "Oh, shut up, Curly. You''re the one afraid of a pathetic excuse for a monster with a stupid-looking head.Thisis something worth being concerned over."

    "You''re right, Nonon," cooed the killer. "But you won''t need to worry for long. Because soon, you''ll all be dead, starting with the old lady you keep dragging around."

    She darted forward, and the Elite Four moved to intercept, but it was no use. The girl dodged past each one like a drip of mercury before arriving at Hermione''s exoskeleton. Hermione raised an arm in defense, but a lightning-fast whip of the Scissor Blade severed the hydraulics, causing the heavy metal to drag the witch''s arm down to her side.

    "No, no!" she cried, quickly moving her still-functional arm towards the other in an attempt to free heractualarm from the straps that bound it to the exoskeleton. A pink blur destroyed that possibility by slicing through the hydraulics on that limb as well, the exoskeleton now doing her more harm than good.

    "See, I want to deal with these idiots alone, so I need to get rid of you,non?" laughed the girl, leaping in front of the immobilized Hermione. "I know you won''t mind, since you''re pretty close to dead anyway!"

    She jumped forward, primed to drive her Scissor Blade through the front of the exoskeleton and into Hermione''s chest, but fell short with a violent snap.

    "YOU WILL NOT HARM MRS. GRANGER, HARIME!" roared Gamagori, yanking the whip that had coiled around the girl''s leg back. He caught ahold of her briefly to throw her further away, and quickly snapped Hermione''s arms free of their restraints.

    "Thanks, Ira," said the witch, prying her feet out of the now-useless exoskeleton and drawing her wand. "I don''t care who she is, we can''t let her get away."

    "Nui Harime is an extremely dangerous threat," explained Inumuta, dialing away at his arm-mounted PDA. "Incapacitating her will require a great deal of teamwork."

    Hermione watched the girl in the pink dress pick herself up from the floor. "Well, we''ve got a team, let''s get to work. Ira, Uzu, lock her down."

    "R-right, Mrs. Granger," stammered Sanageyama, charging ahead with the hulking Gamagori at his side. His collapsibleshinaicrashed against an extended Scissor Blade, daintily held by a grinning Nui.

    "So how have things been for you lately, Monkey? I see you''ve all ditched those tacky Goku Uniforms. That''s really smart, it''ll make this so much quicker for me."

    Sanageyama used every ounce of strength he had to keep the blade from slicing through his shoulder, despite the fact that the girl gripped it with only one hand, pinkie extended. "Dammit, Nui¡­ how the hell are you here?"

    "I crawled through the vents, didn''t you see me earlier?" she said with a coy grin, increasing the pressure on Sanageyama''s training sword.

    "That''s not- ngh!-what I meant," grunted the young man, his legs buckling. Fortunately for Sanageyama, Gamagori''s whip wound around the purple weapon and tugged it backwards, relieving enough pressure for him to rush into a series of rapidMen-Dou-Kotestrikes. Momentarily stunned, the girl was dragged backwards into Gamagori''s waiting hands, to be repeatedly slammed into the floor.

    "She can just take all of that abuse?" asked Hermione. "What is she?"

    "A human-Life Fiber hybrid," explained Jakuzure. "With Lady Satsuki, you''ve seen whatwearingLife Fibers for long enough can do to one''s body¡­ but monsters like her aremadewith them. Pretty much indestructible."

    "We''ll see about that," the witch huffed. "Ira, Uzu, get back!"

    The young men did as told, as Hermione spun her wand in a wave-like pattern."Incendio!" A jet of flames raced forth from the wand''s tip, swallowing the weakened Nui. Hermione felt some sense of justification, knowing that her greatest nemesis'' fear could also harm her current opponent. She would have felt even better about it, had Nui not leapt from the fire, her body wreathed in flame, to swing her Scissor Blade towards the vulnerable witch.

    "Oh, bloody-"

    A burst of sound cut Hermione short, created by Jakuzure, who had placed herself between the killer and her superior. The girl stood with her legs and arms stretched apart, surrounded by a shimmering spherical field, against which Nui''s Scissor Blade had come to a halt. Hermione found that the field was easier tofeelthan to see- it was vibrating her guts into different locations with its sheer volume.

    "JAKUZURE SOUND BARRIER!" declared the girl, somehow audible over the field. "INUMUTA, COUNTER!"

    The boy plugged a few more digits into his PDA before pressing his way into Jakuzure''s barrier. The field then disappeared, and he caught the falling Harime on several well-placed open-handed strikes.

    "Ack!" she wailed, collapsing to the ground, both of her eyes rolling in their sockets.

    "I calculated those pressure points to within three millimeters," noted Inumuta. "But even I''m surprised it went that well."

    Sanageyama scratched his head. "Is anyone else weirded out by the fact that she''s got both of her eyes, now?"

    "A LITTLE," replied Gamagori.

    "Nice teamwork, everyone," smiled Hermione. "Even if my ears are still ringing."

    "We can''t stop now," Jakuzure grunted. "It''ll take a lot more than that to put her down for good."

    As it happened,a lot more than thatchose that exact moment to appear, materializing ten armored Reis clad in Regulations colors, each with a pulse-action rifle in hand, in a large-scale AEGIS burst. They silently established a formation around the Elite Four, Hermione, and the stunned Nui, lowering their weapons.

    "Command, this is Romeo Five," said one of the Reis softly, evidently addressing some sort of microphone inside her helmet. "We have arrived at the coordinates. Awaiting further instruction."

    "It''s her!" gasped Hermione, pointing at Nui. "Get her, or-"

    "Madam, I need you to calm down," the same Rei interrupted. "Are you saying that she is responsible for the homicide that occurred-"

    "I am indeed," giggled Nui, hopping to her feet. Her burns were now glowing as small red strands bridged the gaps between damaged tissue. Instantly the Reis focused their rifles on the girl, who raised her hands above her head, dropping the Scissor Blade to the floor. She closed her eyes with a smile, cocking her head sideways. "You can arrest me if you''d like."

    "She''s just¡­ turning herself in?" asked Hermione as Nui walked into the center of the formation of Reis.

    "Yeah, I am," the girl laughed. "Though I will say, I learned some very interesting things while I was in the vents. Do you wonder why I asked you to meet me here?"

    "She''s up to something," whispered Jakuzure.

    Hermione''s grip on her wand tightened. "B-because it was close?"

    "No, silly," said Nui with a wink, as the floor shook beneath them, and the lights flickered out. At first, Hermione stood her ground, attempting to let her eyesight adjust. But she began to remember the last time she had felt this way, and blind fear began to seize her. A faint scream, no doubt emitted by one of the Reis, was enough to confirm this fear. She fell to the ground, curled into the fetal position, and wrapped her arms around her head, as if that was enough cover to save her from the monsters that could be lurking in the dark. Her heart rate raced, beginning to wind her chest tightly.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    No. No, I can''t let that happen again.

    She slowed her breathing and began to move her wand in a small loop.

    "Lumos," she breathed, causing the tip of the wand to glow brightly. The hazy light formed a halo against the back wall, the remains of the exoskeleton casting a chilling mechanical shadow. Hermione quickly swept her wand''s aim across the room, hoping to find her colleagues. Having the light on was a liability, since it was a double-edged sword; she could see, but anything in the dark could see her. Whatever was in the dark must have been oblivious, because Hermione found what she was looking for first. The Elite Four stood back-to-back, although with Gamagori towering over the rest, it could be said that only three of them truly stoodback-to-back.

    "What are you doing?!" hissed Jakuzure.

    "Trying to see if you''re all right," whispered Hermione.

    "Well, now we''re not going to be!"

    "We don''t know that yet. Stay close to one another- if any of you think you hear or see something, say so. What happened to the Reis?"

    "DEAD, PROBABLY," shouted Gamagori, who was met with several exasperated shushing sounds.

    Dainty giggles echoed off the walls. "They''re not dead, they''re just fine!"

    The lights clicked back on, revealing a scene not too different than the one before the lights went off. The only difference Hermione could detect was that the Reis, who were all still accounted for, were no longer wearing their helmets. Nui twiddled her thumbs and swayed in place idly under their watchful gaze.

    None of it made sense to Hermione. "You didn''t escape?"

    "No. Don''t you get it? I planned this. I heard that there was going to be a temporary outage in this part of the ship, which would give me some more time to play around with you guys! And it all worked out, too!"

    "But¡­ you could have turned tail and ran," said the witch.

    "But then I wouldn''t have gotten such nice new playmates!"

    She raised an index finger, and a thin red trail glittered in the air before disappearing. As she did, each of the Reis convulsed in place, lifting their pulse rifles to aim them at the investigators.

    "Oh, no," gasped Inumuta.

    Nonon threw herself in front of her allies. "JAKUZURE SOUND BARRIER!"

    The field absorbed a slew of armor-piercing rounds before dissipating, leaving the others unharmed. The Reis began to scramble for new magazines to replace their empty ones.

    "She''s controlling them?!" yelped Hermione.

    "The seams in their brains were a little loose," smiled Nui. "So I stitched them a little tighter. Now they''re just fine!"

    This must be what she did to Fluttershy,realized Hermione.

    "I don''t like your definition offine," said the witch, flicking her wand forward. "Expelliarmus!"

    The first Rei on the left of their formation suddenly lost her grip on her pulse rifle, which flew across the room, driven by an unseen magical force. Hermione followed with a secondExpelliarmus, and then a third, and continued until every Rei had been disarmed.

    Nui adjusted her smile to reflect her disappointment. "Aw, you ruined it! But, it was fun while it lasted.La vie est dr?le,non?" She twitched her index finger again, and the Reis collapsed to the ground, blood running from their ears. "Nowthey''re dead," she giggled.

    "Twelve¡­ you killed twelve people, and you''re still bloody laughing about it," hissed Hermione.

    "Hee-hee! You saidtwelve!"

    Hermione gritted her teeth. "You''re more of a monster than that alien. From here on out, I don''t care about bringing you back in. I''m going to make sure¡­ that you never take another bloody breath."

    Nui kept on smiling. "But then, aren''t you a monster too?"

    "No, because I''m doing this to stop you from hurting anyone else. Even if I can''t forgive myself, everyone will understand. This is how it has to be."

    Before Nui could make a move, Hermione used her wand to etch a small lightning-bolt shape into the air.

    "Avada Kedavara," she whispered.

    A nearly-silent pulse skipped from her wand to the girl''s body, the two points briefly connected by a green arc of electricity. The current skipped upwards from Nui''s stomach, danced across her chest, and licked the side of her face within the mere nanoseconds of its existence, before fading away with only the smallest of traces. For a moment, the girl stood still. She then began to topple forward, falling first onto one knee, then the other, before slumping to the floor face-first.

    "Oh, jeez," gasped Jakuzure. "You did it."

    "I-I did," mumbled Hermione, feeling numb as she slipped her wand back into her belt. "And I had to."

    "Don''t feel down on yourself," assured Sanageyama.

    "My calculations show that killing Harime was the strategy with the highest rate of success," Inumuta chimed in.

    "And she was really kind of an ass," noted Jakuzure. "Like you said, nobody''s going to blame you for offing her."

    "I know¡­ but I just- can''t feel right about using that spell. I know a lot of people that died because of it."

    "AND YOU CAN ADD HER TO THE LIST," shouted Gamagori. "PERHAPS WE SHOULD WORK ON GETTING OUT OF HERE."

    "Or, you could take me off of that list," came a weak laugh from the floor. All eyes at once returned to the body of Nui, which was slowly pushing itself back up.

    "W-what t-the h-hell?" stammered Jakuzure.

    Hermione was similarly terrified. "But¡­ that was- nobody can survive that!"

    "Well, you can call me nobody if you want!" giggled Nui, standing limply with the help of her Scissor Blade. Her condition appeared to be rapidly improving, though a distinct bolt-shaped scar now ran up from under the left side of her dress, curled up under her cheek, and streaked across her left eye, which was now a milky blank white.

    "I don''t understand," gasped Hermione to her subordinates. "The killing curse instantly kills any living thing it hits¡­ how did it not kill her?"

    "She''s got Life Fibers in every inch of her body," explained Inumuta. "They could have taken the hit instead of her."

    "Which means you could slug that spell at her all day, and she''d never drop as long as there was one Life Fiber left in her," Sanageyama realized.

    "THAT IS MOST DISTRESSING," whimpered Gamagori.

    "Look at that," cooed Nui. "The amazing power of love! Life Fibers,maman, and me. Love is just wonderful!"

    "So how are we supposed to kill her, Curly?"

    "I don''t have an answer for everything, you know!"

    "And soon you won''t have an answer foranything! Because you''ll be dead!" The girl dropped to a crouch to pounce forward, her Scissor Blade once again meeting Sanageyama''sshinai.

    "I''m not opposed to usmaking one up," screamed the young man.

    "Perhaps my data will assist us," Inumuta suggested, darting behind their opponent. He delivered a quick series of jabs that distracted Harime long enough for Gamagori''s whip to deal a storm of lashes.

    "Does your data tell us to keep hitting her ''till she doesn''t move?" asked Jakuzure, drawing two metal cylinders from her pockets which extended thin, short blades with a touch of a button. "Because I''m thinking that''s our best course of action."

    "We''ll have to start there," Hermione grunted. The remaining two investigators sprinted into the fray, with Jakuzure scoring two gashes into Nui''s gut before the witch followed with another casting ofIncendio.Burnt and bleeding, the killer hopped backwards to let her wounds seal.

    "You know, I''m really glad I got to fight you guys again. It was always so fun dealing with you before," she grinned as a red streak across her face closed up, but failed to repair the lightning-bolt scar Hermione''s curse had left.

    "THE FEELING IS NOT MUTUAL!" roared Gamagori, cracking his whip towards her again. She raised her Scissor Blade and stopped the lash in its tracks.

    "Tsk, tsk, tsk," smirked Nui. "You''re not being very good friends."

    Hermione waved her subordinates on in a charge toward their opponent. "Well, you can consider our relationship over!"

    The investigators surrounded the girl and began to pummel her with their varied attacks, letting up only to parry any strikes from the purple Scissor Blade. Horrifically, despite being stabbed, whipped, burned, and beaten to a pulp, Nui never stopped smiling.

    "Why?" asked Hermione, pulling back from her assault. "Why do you always smile?"

    "Because I''m so very, very happy!" giggled the girl as she repelled a barrage ofshinaistrikes. "Mamanloves me and I love everyone! Except maybe you, because you messed up my eye, right after I got it back! But I''m willing to forgive you," she cooed as something long and dark whipped out from behind her to slash through the midsections of the Elite four, "because I only¡­justmet you."

    She stalked away from the falling investigators on increasingly long and skeletal legs. Hermione realized what was happening and attempted to run, but she knew it was too late. Without any other targets to distract her, Nui could easily single her out. She tossed her Scissor Blade into the air and caught it on her prehensile tail, which settled to smear its fresh blood across the floor. Before she could make it another ten feet, steel claws clamped down around Hermione''s shoulders and forcibly turned her around. Hermione had nothing else to see except that innocent smile, which slowly bulged into an eyeless, slavering death maw filled with glittering fangs. Boiling saliva dripped down onto her cheek, but she was too afraid to flinch in pain. For all of the twists and turns the case had taken, this had been the exact end she knew it had come to. All those years ago, when she had shaken the hands of her fellow Illuminates, she had started down this path; when she landed with her team on that desolate planet, she had set her own death in motion. Even her lengthy hiatus in the organization had not changed her fate. This time, there was no Atticus to save her.

    <Come on! Let''s bebestfriends.>

    Nui''s skeletal jaws creaked further open as a slick, oblong structure moved closer toward the teeth. It was the pharyngeal jaw, XX121''s favored instrument of death. It began to vibrate in place as the massive, mechanical muscles attached to it began to prepare for their sole purpose; it would be jammed forward with enough force to rupture steel, and would destroy her skull like the teeth against the thin skin of a grape. The sharp, metallic grinding signaled the beginning of the jaw''s journey into the soft, physical depths of her mind. In her last few seconds, Hermione had accepted this fate, had closed her eyes, and had released what she intended to be her final breath. She supposed it could be worse, with such a large chunk of her brain gone, she would feel no pain. The Illuminati were very good at lying, and they would no doubt give her husband a very solid explanation as to what happened. Perhaps they would even mind-wipe him, or convince him that he had never really liked her anyway, and was glad to be rid of her. They would make sure that someone competent would take up her position at the Ministry, and would make sure that her children''s schooling was paid for. It was highly probable that her body would not turn into an egg with which to spawn more of the hateful creatures, since it was a rare occurrence, but if such an outcome did arise, she resolved to be a very poor facehugger, and get shot before doing any damage. Yes, she was certain that she had thought of everything, which meant that she was very surprised when the grinding noise continued, and her life did not end. She opened her eyes and found that Nui''s long, terrible head was instead looking towards the door they had come in through. She took a stealthy breath and slowly turned her own to investigate.

    The grinding sound was not coming from the creature, but instead from a thin, black protrusion that was making its way around the door. After forming a complete circle, the disk was knocked out of the door and into the center of the room, where it spun on its edge before settling to the floor. An unusual figure stepped through this makeshift entranceway, carrying the long, black blade at its side. It was most definitely a woman, as the absurdly tight and revealing outfit left very little to the imagination, its bright, shining white framing similarly alabaster skin. Heavy, clenched eyebrows turned the eyes beneath them into fiery slits, echoed by the glowing eyes mounted on the gigantic shoulder pylons.

    Satsuki Kiryuin pointed the tip of her sword towards the alien that was Nui, and bellowed her command with regal authority.

    "Get away from her, youbitch."