#69 up and ready to be read! Don’t laugh at the episode number..

[EDIT]: Added a short paragraph to the beginning of the Perion scene involving Ryuu.

Episode 69 To Face the Past

The splashing spasms of pain wash over Arayu, gentle, yet firmly relentless, like the ocean’s tide. He lays there on the ground, his breathing heavy due to the pain billowing out of his chest. With some effort, he slides his arm into a crooked position under his chest.

He quickly realizes that there is no blood bleeding from his obviously deep wounds. Desperately, Arayu tries once more to push himself up from the ground. However, he merely flops, and collapses back down.

Arai’s footsteps suddenly stop short right in front of him. With a slightly melancholy look in his eyes, Arai stares down at the injured Ranger lying before him on the ground.

‘He is still in the purgatorial form,’ Arai says to himself, ‘meaning he can still feel pain. Being weak, and having the ability to feel pain…those are probably the two most valuable things about being human.

‘Unfortunately, if he gets sent to Idavoll, this is exactly what he will feel for eternity. There will be no death there for him. But, I suppose this is what he deserves. I must do my job, rather than try and defy fate.’

“Arai,” a voice sounds right behind the mage. Arai turns, spotting Yttrius standing just behind him. “Is the fight over already?” Yttrius inquires.

Arai nods humbly. “Yeah,” he replies, drawing out his cookie once again. He takes a large bite of it, finishing it in one gulp. Arai steps aside, allowing Yttrius to step up to Arayu. “You can go ahead and patch him up, then we’ll send him to the queue until he gets accepted into Idavoll.”

Arai stares off into the distance as Yttrius kneels over Arayu, shedding a humming, green light over his wounds. ‘I wonder where the others are now…’ Arai wonders, as he gazes wistfully into the black sky.

One by the one, as in a slideshow, the faces of Kunai, Ryuu, Ivy, and Ayame flash across Arai’s mind, brought about by some unknown memory. Arai suddenly catches himself, and the longing look suddenly disappears from his eyes.

‘Good luck, wherever your journey takes you.’

“TIMEEEEEE TO HEAD OUT!” Tide clamors boisterously. He dances about, waving his Zard high in the air like a flag. Indeed, attached to the end of the blade is a white piece of ragged cloth.

A repulsed look crosses Silver’s face as she sees the flag. “Is that cloth…?!” she says, trailing off.

“Yep!” Otis chips in cheerfully from astride Ryuu’s shoulder. “It’s human underpants! Tide’s, to be exact.”

Tide shrugs, seeing the angry look in Silver’s eyes. “Well, I was planning to use yours, Lady Silver, but then Sasha caught me looking and kicked me out! That witch!”

Silver clenches her teeth, a vein nearly popping near her temple. “Lemme have that!” she howls, grabbing Lily’s Helios forcefully. Lily, caught by surprise, nearly drops her axe on their feet, but grasps hold of it just in time.

“Speaking of which,” Ayame says aloud, turning to Sasha, amid the noise coming from Tide and Silver. “Are you feeling any better, Sasha?”

Sasha shrugs, rubbing her forehead, where a long thread of white bandages has been wrapped around. “Well, I’ve been better, but I’m getting there.”

“Need I remind you,” Ryuu growls irritably, “that we’re standing right in the middle of Henesys?”

A crowd of curious onlookers has already gathered around them, watching the fierce battle between Tide and Silver, who has the former in a relentless half nelson.

“Yeah, can it, gorillas!” Otis shouts, pointing an accusatory finger at the two of them. “You’re making a scene!”

From somewhere within the crowd, a whisper, carried forth by the wind, suddenly rings in the air, as someone mutters something about snail abuse.

Ryuu shakes his head, sighing heavily. “Look, for once, can’t we move along without creating a scene like this? You’re all worse than Arai, and he’s jumped out into Sleepywood butt-naked in broad daylight before.”

“Really?” Tide blinks. “Butt-naked?”

“Don’t get any ideas, you,” Silver mutters, glaring at Tide.

“Whatever,” Ryuu sighs, “I’ll be heading out now. If you guys wanna follow me, do so. Otherwise, I’m leaving for Perion without you.” He reaches into his pocket, withdrawing a newly bought scroll, price tag still attached.

Ryuu routinely raises the scroll into the air, and with a splash of white light, he disappears without a trace. Muttering amongst themselves, the others do the same, and quickly disappear from sight.

A man dressed completely in black sits at a bar, sipping from a glass of onion juice. He yawns heavily, not bothering to hide his obvious boredom. Across this man’s back is a sheathed Doombringer. Over his head is a Brown Bamboo Hat, masking nearly all of his facial features.

He scratches his chin idly, feeling the rugged contours of his lower jaw. With another gulp, he finishes the glass of onion juice. He raises a finger; the bartender stalks over to him, and without a word, refills the glass.

“Geez,” the man sighs, “this waiting stuff sure is boring. Never was for me, this patience thing.” He stands up, stretching his legs and kicking them slightly in restlessness.

Turning around, the man freezes on the spot, startled by the woman standing ridiculously close behind him. “Heh,” the man says, recovering slightly, “what the hell are you doing standing behind me like that? Trying to cop a feel?”

“Like I’d want to,” the woman replies coldly. She brushes a strand of surprisingly green hair away from her equally green eyes. Unlike the man, she is dressed in a simple, pink top and a skirt two inches too short.

“Midori,” the man scowls, “you know you’re not supposed to leave your assigned location.”

Midori shrugs, shooting the bartender a beautiful grin, who immediately drops the glass he’d been wiping clean with a clatter. “You know you’re not supposed to be drinking either, Recelo.”

Recelo smirks, glancing briefly at the bartender behind him. “Tch,” he howls, “whatever. But at least, try to look your age for once. You look like a little schoolgirl.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Midori winks girlishly.

Recelo sighs. “You know, of all the Fatalists, you’re the most difficult to handle. Yet, they keep sticking you as my partner. Frustrating!”

“That’s only because I’m the most intelligent,” Midori replies, “unlike you, who is the most stupid.”

Recelo grumbles to himself, folding his arms impatiently. “Whatever! Just stop bothering me. What the hell did you want, anyway?”

“I—” Midori’s eyes suddenly widen, as does Recelo’s. She quickly reaches into the pocket of her skirt, and retrieves from it a cell phone. “My radar’s detected—”

“Yep,” Recelo replies, “they’ve walked straight into our trap.”

A dusty haze of sunshine filters in through the partially dense canopy of forest trees and leaves hovering high in the sky over Kunai. He brushes a bough of leaves out of his way, proceeding to stroll stealthily, yet surely, ever closer to the premises of Haven.

Across from Kunai, on his right, lays the still-moving waters of the lake from which the excess fumes and pollution from Haven escape, the very same lake where the fight between Kunai and Gilford had previously occurred.

Kunai holds his sword loftily by his side, his grip on its twisted hilt tight, in case of a preemptive attack. Every now and then, he raises it, angrily slashing away at a branch sitting in his path.

At last, Kunai emerges out of a grove of trees, and arrives at last at the entranceway into Haven. A pair of guards stand on either side of the barbed wire gate. Two guard towers flank either side of the fortress as well, each stationed by a pair of foot soldiers equipped with flood lights and a loaded machine gun.

“Pretty well secured,” Kunai mutters to himself, half-hidden behind the darkened trunk of a tree. He peers forward, leaning over the tree. “I can probably move fast enough to beat them all, though.”

Without warning, Kunai disappears in a flash, and the next second, a couple stifled screams signals the ending of the guards’ lives. All six of them collapse almost instantaneously, leaving behind a flowing trail of blood.

Another flash later, and Kunai steals past the gates, shouldering his sword. He walks purposefully forward, straight into the open facilities before him, not bothering to even consider stealth.

Outside George’s house, Ivy, Rill, George, and Wing have convened. A soft patch of sunlight shines down from above, lighting the courtyard with a soft sort of dappled sunshine.

“Well then,” George grumbles, amid the chirping of the nearby river, “I suppose this is goodbye for the moment between all of us.”

“Yeah,” Wing replies, “we’ll all be heading out on our way very soon.”

“Good luck, then, with all your missions,” Rill says humbly into the following silence. “And Ivy,” he says, a little too eagerly, “I’ll help make sure that neither of us gets injured in this endeavor, so don’t even worry!”

“I won’t!” Ivy replies, returning the smile.

“Very well, then!” George says, chuckling slightly. “May us all have at least some success in our small efforts to put a stop to this evil that plagues our world.”

“Until the next time we meet then,” Wing states, “good luck to you all. Do not die and do not fail in your attempts. We shall all meet again very soon once our missions are complete.”

“Right!” George, Rill, and Ivy respond as one.

Ryuu, Ayame, Sasha, Tide, Silver, and Lily appear out of nowhere, materializing out of thin air and into the complex forms of human figures. They stand around for a moment, gazing at their newfound surroundings.

A large bustle of men and women dart about like ants, and a loud clamor of shouts and whistles rings through the air relentlessly. Everywhere, shopkeepers bellow out the names of their products to wandering customers from their booths.

Ryuu folds his arms, frowning at the sight of the huge Perion marketplace. His hair is slightly ruffled from the transition from Henesys to Perion. “Tch,” he mutters, “damn marketplace.”

“You still hate the Perion Free Market?” Ayame asks, a smile fluttering across her lips. “That’s so sweet! I can’t believe you still remember that incident back then.”

“Incident?” Sasha asks interestedly. “Why, what happened?”

“Nothing,” Ryuu retorts gruffly, waving it off. “I just gave back Ayame what was rightfully hers from a shady market dealer. Nothing particularly worth noting.”

“Actually,” Ayame grins, “it was this trader who’d tricked me into selling a necklace Ryuu had given me for my birthday. Although I begged him, he wouldn’t give the necklace back to me. Finally, I told Ryuu about it, and he rushed right over to the trader and forced him to give it back to me! He’s had a grudge against this Free Market ever since.”

“How sweet!” Sasha pines in a girly voice, as she and Ayame squeal annoyingly. “I never imagined that Ryuu could be that kind of sweet man!”

Ryuu grumbles to himself at their high-pitched squeals of joy. “Incidentally,” Ayame says slowly, calming down, “whatever did happen to that necklace?! The last thing I remember is giving it to you…before I left…”

Ryuu suddenly starts, jolted by surprise at the question. He staggers through speech for a few moments, unable to give a straight answer. Ayame raises an eyebrow. “What are you blubbering about?” she asks, attempting, but failing, to suppress a laugh.

Ryuu finally inclines himself with a shake of his head. “N-Nothing,” he mutters, “I don’t remember what happened to the necklace.” However, when Ayame is not looking, he idly places his right hand up to his right eye, holding it there for just a long moment.

‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve come to Perion since the last time we came here, with Arai. Things have definitely changed a lot since then…I’m the only one out of those original four who is still with this group. Is this what fate has in store for us?’

“Well,” Ayame interrupts him, “I suppose the first logical thing to do would be to request a meeting with the town leaders, since they’re in charge, after all. Then we can talk rebellion.”

“No good,” Ryuu answers immediately, “I’ve been talking to Wing about the best strategy for this. He says that the town leaders right now are nothing but pawns being controlled by Lord Gilford. Whatever we do, we can’t let them find out about this.”

“Well that complicates things,” Silver mumbles.

“I think what we should do,” Ryuu mutters, “is to rent out a room for a couple nights, and during the day, search out those who would be willing to join us. There’s bound to be at least one small revolutionary sect if we look hard enough.”

“So we’re gonna go illicit, eh?” Tide asks cheerfully.

Silver prods Tide painfully on the arm with the tip of an arrow. “Not ‘illicit,’ you idiot! The term is solicit! Illicit is what you do in your bars.”

“Heh, heh!” Tide sneers. “I knew that! And speaking of which, I think maybe I’ll go check out some of the local bars now…”

“You can’t, you moron!” Silver protests. “If you do, you’ll be seen by unwanted eyes! We’re here to recruit, not sit around drinking alcohol.”

“Actually,” Ryuu interrupts, “that might not be such a bad idea. Tide has the savvy to maintain good relationships with criminals. We might be able to do some recruiting from within, or at least earn some valuable information.”

“See!” Tide cries, sticking his tongue out at Silver. “Whoever said I wasn’t useful, after all?”

“Whatever,” Silver replies, waving him off. “As long as I don’t have to listen to you belching every few moments in between goggling at women.”

“And Silver,” Ryuu continues, “why don’t you go along with Tide, make sure he doesn’t get into trouble?”

“Must I?” Silver asks lamely, hanging her head down in shame.

Out in a tiny alley, where a few measly, rundown shops and dilapidated apartment houses lay, all remains quiet, as the sunshine calmly streams down over the roof of a particularly tall apartment.

Two figures stand side by side in the middle of the alley. From left and right, the silent, wary eyes of shopkeepers, bartenders, and general peasants watch in anxious fear.

Recelo stretches, yawning loudly and reaching his arms high into the air, as if attempting to grasp the sun. He is wearing his usual uniform robe; over his shoulder is his Doombringer. He reaches over with his right hand, grasping the hilt impatiently.

A large smirk crosses his face. “All right! I smell bloodshed!”

Midori sighs, folding her arms. She has changed into a similar garb; she ruffles her uniform black robe, staring at it with disdain. “I hate these robes. They’re so…restricting, and unfashionable!”

“Again with the complaints!” Recelo sighs, clapping his forehead exasperatedly. He reaches into his pocket, and hurriedly places over his face the skull-shaped, white mask, completing the disguise.

Midori quickly does the same, masking her smooth, light-skinned face with the pearly whiteness of the mask. She flicks back her bright green hair, reaching into her pockets with a slight hint of dangerous excitement.

“Well!” Recelo announces. “Get ready, Midori, because very soon it’s gonna get…”

“…Very interesting,” Kunai murmurs, standing in the center of a brightly-lit hall, surrounded by dozens upon dozens of foot soldiers.

Next Time: Episode 70 Perion Roars!

Otis: Things are starting to get tense! I can’t stand it anymore! This heavy feeling on my chest…oh, my! Get this shell off of me! What? Oh, right! The preview! What is going to happen now?! These Fatalists dudes have convened in Perion, and so have Redheaded Gorilla and the others! And what about Kunai-gorilla? Where shall this new path lead him…and Ivy-gorilla?

Episode 70 Perion Roars! coming soon!