Engine of Massacre Marissa was welcomed back to the team with open arms, although nobody was informed of her death, nor did Marissa have the heart or need to say otherwise. When Merry asked where she had been, all she got in response was "safe, and away—far away", which seemed to suffice. Sanaa was seen with a little more suspicion, but Marissa vouched for her and explained what a great help she would be. Once the two girls were introduced to everybody, they turned to Kagemusha, who some there knew as Stalker, and demanded she tell her tale. "First, in order to avoid confusion, just call me Amielle," she said deadpan. "That's my real name anyway; I better start using it. When we're out in the field, ‘Stalker' is fine. As for where I've been...I think this girl can answer that." "I was wondering who she was," said Aura, looking at Alicia. The younger girl smiled shyly, wheeled forward, and took her hand. "Alicia Moore, sometimes known as Pale." Merry, Julie, and Alisti all stared at each other in surprise. "You're Pale?!" they exclaimed at once. Alicia nodded. "Well, sometimes. It's...hard to explain. But yes, in a sense, I am Pale. Why, have you heard of me?" Merry and Julie exchanged a worried glance. "You might...say that." "Look," snarled Amielle, "whatever Mr. White told you all, you can forget it. Pale—Alicia—is a good person, and I'm not going to let her fall into his clutches." "What do you mean? I thought Mr. White wanted to get her to join us." "That's not the case," she said. "Look, even I don't have the answers, and I've been spending most of my time with her. All I know is that he's after her, and his intentions aren't good. I've got a feeling he was going to use the whole Lost to look for her, just so he could achieve his devious intentions." "...Oh." Amielle snorted. "Is that all you've got to say?" Merry smirked. "Well...you did say you spent time with her, and if I'm not mistaken, it sounds like you care for the girl. Has our little Shadow Warrior turned into a compassionate individual at last?" "Grow up," she huffed, but since that was the worst of her words, Merry just chuckled and tossed her arm over the younger girl. "Our little Kagemusha! Well who woulda thunk it! That makes me feel a whole lot better! But there's still the matter of Namie and Shalis." "What, they're not with you?" "No, we thought you might've seen them." Amielle shook her head. "Not me." Merry drew in a deep breath and sighed. Julie crossed her arms. FINE, Alisti said. STURDY. UNWORRIED. "She's just as hard to interpret as ever, I see," Amielle observed. "Though I guess she means our missing allies could very well be all right." "See, she's got an optimistic look on life," said Sally, nudging her girlfriend. "You shouldn't worry. Julie's told me enough about them to make me believe they're all right." "If they're all right," Merry countered dryly, "then where the hell are they?" "I don't know." She frowned. "Marissa?" "Please," winced the poor girl, "don't look to me for answers. I'm still trying to adjust. Lately I've been getting headaches just for nothing." She felt weak and sat down on a couch, attended to immediately by Julie and Sanaa. Since nobody knew that Marissa had died, her old body reduced to ashes, they couldn't be of much help or ask very many questions—maybe what Kamaguchi had in mind all along. Marissa vowed to grill the doctor about several things herself, once she was well enough to walk again. She no longer felt constant pain, but she still wasn't used to her new body, no matter how well it functioned or how closely it resembled her old one. She guessed it was a clone body, but where might Kamaguchi get something like that? "Marissa rest!" Julie insisted, taking the older girl's hand. "Look sick. Soon will even be greener than I!" Wainright managed to laugh softly, and her mood was brightened by Julie's smile. How wonderful this girl was, so pure and full of gaiety in spite of her looks! Even a newly-revived Marissa Wainright knew that Kris "Beekay" Masterson had a big crush on Julie; she hoped that relationship would be given the chance to blossom. "Well, once we all get a break, we should decide what to do with ourselves." This came from the one calling himself the Purple Spoon Man, one of the older and more bizarre members of the team. Few people really knew him, but he proved himself reliable and trustworthy, and in spite of his quirks he was already loved. "I have a feeling our main goal will be to find these people you were missing, then maybe we can get to the bottom of this Mr. White mystery. Speaking of which, would you mind filling me in on that? I'm afraid being new to the group has its disadvantages." "Here-here," agreed Kailin, and Rin and Kathy backed her up. About half the people there knew the general plight, but nobody could really say who Mr. White was or what he really wanted, except perhaps for Pale—and she was absent. Eyes turned to Alicia anyway, but it was the members of the Lost who spoke. Rancor: "He's this creepy-looking guy dressed all in white, hence his name. We don't know what he's really called. He took us in, the seven of us, if you count Names and Shays, and made a deal with us: we work for him and he gives us a better life. Now that miss Amielle has said her peace, I'm beginning to think that finding Pale was our ultimate task." Julie: "One by one we came, all monsters outside, but found love we did even though we were Lost. One day, shortly after I arrived, Kagemusha was not there anymore. Team worried. Long time passed, worrying made us feel bad. Lots of bad feelings come round the Lost, tension was up. Then the Seven came, and broke us up." "Ah yes, this part we've heard," said Sally. Amielle then filled in. "The part you didn't hear came about when I actually found Pale. Like I said, I spent most of my time protecting her and moving around so we wouldn't get caught. We ended up coming here because...uh...well, Marissa and Sanaa needed help." "Where did you find them anyway?" "In this town a few miles back," answered Sanaa coolly. "We were...in trouble, and these two rescued us. We had to be taken to a clinic, though, so I recommended the one stationed in MERCS, which I was familiar with." "That doesn't make sense," said Stevenson. "I mean, we saw Amielle and Alicia come in, but you two didn't show up till' later. Did you sneak in or something?" "They had to carry me," said Sanaa, which was truth enough. "That dark-skinned body that looked dead? It was me. As for Marissa, the doctor had to perform a special operation on her. Look, it's none of your business anyway." "Fine," he snorted, not used to being brushed off like that. "I've learned it's unwise to fight you anyway, whether with fists or words. So you're saying we should be content that the two of you are safe." "Indeed." "Okay." "Man," moaned Rin, "you guys lost me like, a long time ago! I just got here and I still don't know half of what's going on!" "I'm sure you'll learn everything in time," Kathy assured her. "As for me, I'm getting hungry. I hope the kitchen area is large enough to accommodate all of us." "Rin," Kailin squeaked, "I'm worried about Ferret. What do you suppose came of her?" "Who?" said Aura. "This really nice girl we met when we were dead," explained the elder Ronin. "Look, forget the details, we were just wondering what came of her. Yo Spoon Man! We can make finding this girl another priority! She's got powers that you all won't believe." "I believe it," came a voice from above them. The gathered friends and allies looked up to see Yohko Kamaguchi leaning over the railing from the second floor, looking down and smiling. As she descended down, she spoke. "Ferret and I know each other. She worked for me when I sponsored the Iron Games Tournament, though she didn't participate in the fight." "Oh yeah, that's right! I think she mentioned that. So what's she up to these days?" "Could be anything. I don't keep tabs on people once their services are up. If you want to find her, be my guest. Now—for the reason I came down here. I apologize for eavesdropping, but you all should go to a more private room for that. Since we're a few people extra, if you all intend to stay, you'll have to share rooms. Miss...Takamatsu and Lin, was it? Why don't you take Lyn Shival's room?" "Who?" "Bloodbane," answered Yohko. "You probably know her from the Arena as well. She's a bit antisocial, so there may be some problems. As for the rest of you, we just had some employees move out, so you're free to take the other room." "That leaves somebody out," noted Sanaa. "If I remember correctly, your rooms only house four, and there are five of us left." "Oh, whatever. I'm sure miss Shival would be pleased to have a room to herself. I don't think she'd mind if I moved...what was your name again, young lady?" "Kathy O'Hare," answered the Guardian Angel. "Right. You don't mind sharing a room with Miss Takamatsu and Lin, do you?" Kathy looked at Kailin, smiled warmly, and shook her head. Hsu blushed a little. "No, I do not." "All right. Then that's settled. Now. Marissa, I've got a few minutes to spare. You seemed to have some questions for me. Let's meet in my office, shall we?" "After you..." Marissa rose, still feeling wobbly, and followed Yohko into her office. The group decided to disband for lunch after that, Amielle wheeling Alicia and Skye wheeling Alisti. The two handicapped girls exchanged a heartfelt knowing gaze as they passed each other on the way to the mess hall. ...... After supper, Kristen Masterson found herself back in her room, reclining on her bed. It was no Battle Diva temple, but this new place would suffice until a more permanent residence could be found. There was certainly no lack of decent company, and of course there was Julie in the mix as well. Julie Smith...what were the odds? When she first met the kindhearted Lurker at the Iron Arena games, Kris never suspected the two would continue to meet afterwards, first at the beach and now here, in this place. Kris wanted to take this opportunity to really get to know Julie, to be friends and hopefully more, but she was still uncertain. It wasn't as if she were any good in these situations... "I wish Sal or Mora were here," she sighed to herself. "They'd know what to say." Strangely enough, Aura Valeria passed her room, and behind her came Julie, who had been busy making friends with all the new faces. As if Lady Luck really had meant for them to meet, Julie noticed Kris' door was open and poked her head inside. Her green face lit up in a smile as she squealed out the girl's name. "Beekay! Glad to see you! Had good lunch?" "Oh, uh, hi Julie. Yeah...lunch was great." Whatever you do, moron, don't stare at her breasts. ...Whoops! Damn! Thinking about it made me do it! Just look in her eyes...those mysterious, deep, playful red eyes, pure and sparkling like leaves in the autumnal breeze... Get a grip, stupid! "Something wrong?" said Julie, arching her head like a puppy would. She walked in and sat down next to Kris, looking concerned. Masterson just grinned and assured the younger girl she was fine. Then... "I, uh...well...I was thinking that...since we've been meeting all these times, maybe we could be friends or something. Uh, you know, get to know each other and stuff." "Oh. Not friends already?" "Oh! Uh...well, I guess...heh." Julie giggled, her emerald cheeks glowing with innocence. She scooted closer to Kris and placed her arm on the girl's shoulder. Kris noticed the diamond-hard claws Julie had—like the hand of a lizard, they were—but she wanted to grasp them and caress them regardless. "I want to know so much about you. Why you say your name is Beekay and also Krissy? Is it because that your full name—Beekay Krissy?" "No," she replied sweetly, "My full name is Kristin Bernice Masterson. BK Power just comes from the first two initials of my name, only put in reverse—B and K. Power is...well, because Power is my power." The look on poor puzzled Julie's face was priceless, if not a little heartbreaking. "I so confused!!!" Kris laughed out loud and hugged the poor girl, not yet realizing what she was doing. "It's okay! Just think of it this way: you call yourself the Lurker, but also Julie Smith. Kris Masterson is the name I was born with, just like Julie Smith is yours." "Oh." Lurker's face drooped suddenly. "I not know what name I was born with. Been called Lurker for as long as I know. Friends gave me pretty name; not sure what my real name is. Don't know mother, don't know father. So alone till' friends came." "That's so sad..." Kris touched Julie's face, caressing it gently in an effort to comfort the sweet girl. She was too wrapped up in her work to realize what she was doing, but perhaps being so close to Julie (and a bit of luck) had wiped her inhibitions away. Julie smiled softly and took Kris' hands as they traced her face and squeezed them with the gentlest care. "Krissy so wonderful," she whispered. "Could say even better than friends. All Lost see me as good person, not ugly monster—but Krissy not Lost and still like me. Krissy so beautiful and great, not missing anything, and yet she is nice to me. I really, really like that. Makes me so happy." She beamed sweetly, too sweetly for even Kris to endure, and so at last she blushed and shirked back, maybe a little afraid. Ironic indeed! Frightened of the one thing she wanted, of the one person she cared for the most! "Sorry," she whispered once Julie noticed her bashfulness. "I'm not...used to people saying nice things to me. I may seem tough, but I'm really shy, especially around girls I like." "Oh. But why? We friends. Krissy has no need to be shy around friends." Masterson smiled as Julie's childlike wisdom shone through and prevailed again. Why did she, and the world in general, need to be mired in such complexity? Couldn't they look at things in a simpler light, like Julie did? Kris resolved that she would love Julie in spite of her own complexity—she would accept this selfless love and sweetness, and hopefully return it. Julie smiled as Kristen Masterson leaned in to give her their first real kiss of love... And was thrown off her bed by a violent shake. "The hell?" she muttered. Lurker regained her balance easily and helped Julie up, grazing her just slightly with her claws (the mere touch of their hands outweighed any minimal pain she would feel). She sniffed the air and dragged Kris outside to see why they had been interrupted—but the ground shuddered again, more violently than before. Everyone had felt it—Alisti was cursing, Aura and Alyssa were looking outside, and everyone else was racing downstairs and outside to see if it was an earthquake, or worse. As the ground shook again, trembling the very foundation of the building, most everyone could assume that this was no mere shift of the planet's tectonic plates. "Everybody outside!" shouted the Spoon Man, guiding the men and women out through the door. "Don't take anything that you can afford to leave behind! We'll be safer out there! Steve, take Alisti to a safe place! Sally, get everybody that can fly outside! We may need to snatch people from the very jaws of our mother planet!" "If you say so!" There was pandemonium everywhere, and things didn't get any better as the ground shivered, as if some great giant were beating down on the world. This was, in fact, what was happening, for once the majority of the heroes got outside, they could see it was no earthquake: it was Titus, the Golem, one of the Dead Zodiac, and with it was Indira, another member. They had come to finish what their dead predecessors began. "Hooo...leee...cow!" groaned Rin as she stared straight up at Titus. The stone creature easily dwarfed the MERCS building, and was so huge that even the tallest person only went up to its ankle. With a single lumbering step, it crossed an immeasurable distance and was nearly in front of the building; Indira ran before it, brandishing a weapon for each of its six arms. By the time the two were close—Titus far behind, Indira nearer—everybody was outside and gawking at the monstrosity before them. "Un-be-freaking-lievable!" spat Cobra. "How the hell're we supposed to fight anything that huge?!" "No time!" shouted Alyssa, her blade already out and swinging. Indira pressed its full might against her; soon the Siren was relieved as five others came to her rescue, but even then the fight was difficult. Everyone else concentrated on Titus, knowing it was now a battle of life or death. These two monsters had no mind or reason, save to kill and destroy everything in their path. But never mind Titus; fighting Indira was a challenge in itself. Lurker, Siren, Rin, Bloodbane, Stalker, and even Sanaa were up against it, fighting six against one and just barely hanging in there. It seemed as if every warrior had a weapon to contend with, but these weapons changed violently as Indira whirled around like a cyclone, swinging everything everywhere, not caring where or upon what it struck. The only way they reckoned to win would be to cut off those arms, but what a difficult fight that would be! Even with so many worthy foes surrounding it, Indira seemed to be faring well, and gave them all a run for their money. Titus, of course, was the most dreaded challenge. Unimaginably large, with skin thicker than steel and the strength of a Titan to match, it literally took everybody else to fight the creature. Titus' only weakness was its speed: as everyone flew or fluttered around it, the best it could do was wave its gargantuan arms in a feeble attempt to swat them away. But oh, if it struck them even once! Not even Rancor's hard shell could withstand a single blow, as she learned the hard way. Titus slapped her like she was made out of feathers, sending her flying far away. Sally sped off to save her girlfriend, leaving everyone else in the fray. As it was with the previous war against the Dead Zodiac, Pandora and Kamaguchi remained safely indoors, content to let the two duke it out. But what could they do anyway? They stood no chance against either monster, even if they did help. The Gambler was merely happy to watch and laugh; Kamaguchi kept stroking her chin, keeping an eye on everybody, particularly the new ones. She wanted to see Pale in action, but Alicia was inside, protecting Joyce, who refused to go out and help—not that her powers could work against the brainless anyway. With a violent swing, Stalker hacked off one of Indira's arms, but no blood came forth. The severed limb fell to the ground and turned to gold, its original form. If Indira was injured, it didn't show it, for the weapons spun faster and more furiously. They struck Sanaa, then Lurker, before another was cut off by Rin, and still another by Bloodbane. With half its strength gone, Indira chose to flit around like a fly, jumping and swerving around its opponents until it found an opening. Lurker and Sanaa were both helped by BK Power, who took them inside and ran back to do what she could against the Golem. Titus was using its limbs to its advantage. Every step caused the ground to shake, driving all the little enemies it had to the ground, and even though they were slow, its arms were huge and could cover a wide area if they swung in the right arc. Having no bones, they would twist and turn in impossible angles, swerving like the slow blades of an airplane in its devastation. Whatever chunks the team managed to hack off (usually courtesy of Alisti's psychopathic blasting) regenerated in time as the earth beneath Titus' feet was absorbed. "This isn't working!" said the Spoon Man, bashing off several bits and pieces with a large spoon-club. "We've got to destroy it completely! I have no idea how...wait! I've got an idea! Marissa!" "Please, not me!" "I'm sorry, you're the only one that can help us. I noticed a fire hydrant nearby; I'll unplug it while you guide the water all over our friend. Make sure it freezes over!" "But how—" "You can do it!" he exclaimed, and before she could argue that no, she couldn't, he was off. The spoon he carried bent under his will and twisted around the hydrant until it opened up, gushing a stream of water. Marissa put her weakness aside—it was now or never—and used her incredible psychic ability to control the water, guide it up to splash on Titus, and willed the molecules of air surrounding it to stop, freeze, and cover the monster in ice. "Not the legs!" shouted the Spoon Man. "Everything else! Now, it's my turn!" Asking for everybody to keep the monster busy for just a few seconds more, the Spoon Man opened up his arsenal and poured out every last one of his trademark weapons on the floor, underneath Titus' feet. He commanded some of them to grow large, and urged everyone to back away once the beast started to wobble. Sure enough, after a few steps, poor Titus started to waver and tremble, unable to keep its balance. It was going to trip on the spoons! "RUN FOR IT!!!!!" Everyone fled as fast as they could, even Indira, as Titus finally tilted over and fell. When it crashed to the ground, the devastation was appalling: aside from the severe rumble and the cloud of smoke, its body shattered into millions of pieces when it fell to the earth. The ice had caused the rocks to weaken! Everyone guarded themselves against flying shards (Kailin trying to burn a few as they sprayed everywhere), but the fight was not over yet. "Sally!" shouted the Spoon Man. "Lift me up! I'm going to finish the beast off!" "How?!" she screamed. He pointed. "Look, its heart! It was buried underneath all that rock! I have a feeling that's the key to killing it!" Looking from high above, G-Force noticed a throbbing mass of purple gelatin amongst the broken stones that resembled a heart. She cringed in disgust, but did as she was told. As the Spoon Man was launched into the air, he produced his largest, heaviest spoon, and came crashing down upon Titus' frail heart, smashing it like an egg with his weapon. Everyone could hear the monster let out a death-groan, and stood in a shock as the pieces of broken stone and rock melted back into the earth, never to assemble again into the evil machine it once was. Of course, some people used this time to cut off Indira's arms. The monster let out a yelp as all its remaining limbs were hacked off, and stumbled backwards in surprise. It stood petrified before its enemies, but soon glared in contempt. It then opened its mouth and spewed fire! "Why won't this thing die?!" screamed Bloodbane. She thrust a crimson spear into its gut, slowing it down but not killing it. The beast looked at her and roared, ready to spew fire until it died; she roared back, created a large axe from her own blood, and with a mighty scream, cleaved the monster in two from head to bottom. The battle was over. The heroes were victorious, and the day was saved—but for how long? ...... Only one day passed. Haanz dutifully added "defend against further attacks" and "get to the bottom of the Dead Zodiac mystery" to the list of priorities, not that having any more helped. The team would be awfully busy from then on out, and not just with jobs and missions. They would need to see themselves as a team, not just a list of smaller teams who found alliances with others. That also meant that the more unsociable ones, particularly Jameson, Kreager, and Shival (people were now calling her Lyn, to distinguish her from Kathy, who most everyone liked). Joyce seemed happiest when she was alone, and so did Kathlyn. Not long into the day, Haanz Glücklig found out that he had yet another priority to add to the list. A guest came by early in the afternoon; it was a young girl, looking for her brother. Alicia and Amielle recognized her at once: it was Sarah Neuss, the Butterfly, the girl they had met while on their journey. Since they also knew her brother, Akio, they would prove to be a big help. "What makes you think he's here?" asked Moore. Sarah, face stained with tears, sniffled as she talked. "Because he...he...he told me he had a job, and it was somewhere around here. That was the last I heard of him. Now he's gone, and I don't know where he is! I came here, hoping for some answers..." Alicia took the girl in her arms and consoled her, leaving Amielle to ponder. Akio Neuss, involved in a job with MERCS? Kamaguchi would know—but when Yohko was interrogated, she said she had never met the boy. "Although now that you mention it," she said, "there was a boy that came around here a few days back—a most peculiar specimen. He could actually control the animals and get them to do his bidding." "That's him!!" she exclaimed, her face bright with hope. "Where is he, where is he? Is he safe? Did you see him go? Is he still here?" Kamaguchi's face darkened, and she prepared herself for the ugly task of delivering bad news. "Oh, he's still here." "Where, where?" She sighed. "No, maybe not. This boy's name was Valmont." "Valmont is my brother's middle name—Akio Valmont Neuss. It's the same person, I know it! Where is he?" Now Kamaguchi looked almost as green as the Lurker, without all the charm. She gestured towards the back and laid everything down. "He's buried in a graveyard out back. I'm sorry, Sarah. Your brother's dead." For awhile, the poor girl was paralyzed, stricken silent by the awful truth. She wailed—"No, that can't be," and finally screamed, tears falling endlessly: "That can't be true! That can't be true!!!" "I'm sorry," she said huskily. "I saw the whole thing with my eyes. He fought my employees, and we had to defend ourselves against him, and some others that were with him." "It's not true!!" she yelled, so loud that her voice hurt. "Stop lying!" "I'm not lying! He's dead and gone, killed in the battle!" "Who did it?!" she demanded, eyes ablaze with hate. Yohko frowned, and gestured over to the main den where most of her new employees were. "The woman that killed him is over there, in that room. Her name is Sally Redinger. Sarah, I—" But Sarah had stormed off, and nothing and nobody could stop her. She had came to check on her brother, to prove that he was still alive for her friends—but now she stayed for revenge! Sally Redinger would pay for murdering her brother: a life for a life. ---------- Next time: As grim as things may seem for the moment, now is the time to heal, to gather allies, and to form strategies for victory. Sarah Neuss is but the first of new allies: two familiar faces emerge to lend their strength to the heroes. They are going to need it all; a storm is slowly brewing in the distance. Will there be darkness or light? Next chapter, "Alliances". Don't you dare miss out!
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