| TWILIGHT Riku: silver haired teenager, decked in black, and trained in double swordplay Roxas: Riku’s brother, tan hair, decked in black, and wields a broadsword Roxanne: black hair to waist, Riku’s friend, wears black with white jacket, and wields a staff Keira: red hair, gunner, wears blood red trench coat over black attire, wields any gun but favors rocket launcher and semi-automatic pistols Prologue: The year is 2011, and something has gone horribly wrong. A few years back, robots were introduced into society and it was said that they would not fail for an eternity. Eternity ended one year ago. Robots turned on humanity and started killing everyone in sight. Only four people stand between humanity’s salvation and oblivion. This is their story. Chpt.1 Robots had found their hideout and were cutting through the door. Before he had time to think, much less move, the robots were in with guns pointed at them. “Oh shi…” Riku yelled. Roxanne screamed and Roxas reached for the sword at his back and then they were all shot. Riku woke up screaming and then they were all wide-awake. “What’s going on?” Roxas demanded reaching for the sword at his back. Roxanne looked at his face and immediately opened a laptop at her side checking to make sure no robots were in the building and all the traps were still set. “I prefer the alarm clock.” Roxanne mumbled and went back to sleep. Roxas looked at Riku with a questioning glance. “Nightmare. Go back to sleep.”Riku said, and watched in amazement as Roxas layed down and went to sleep within seconds much like Roxanne. How do they get to sleep so easily? Riku questioned inside his head and layed down himself and went to sleep with no dreams this time. The first thing Riku realized when he woke was the sound of someone typing rapidly. “What are you doing?” he groaned. “ I’m designing a program to keep robots from entering this building by lining electricity in the walls to send a negative magnetic impulse to force the robots back to a certain distance to put it simply.” Roxanne replied still typing. Riku looked at Roxas and nodded towards the door. Roxas nodded, sheathed his sword, and walked outside. Riku walked over and dropped a short sword next to the laptop causing Roxanne to glance up. “It’s made of the same material as our swords. Program it so our weapons don’t go flying when we come back. Be careful, Roxanne.” Riku explained as he walked out. Roxanne started to reply but he was already out the door. He must never know how I feel, Roxanne thought with tears running down her face, or it will hurt us all. Riku walked out and saw Roxas leaning against the wall. “You love her. Why wont you tell her?” Roxas demanded angrily. Riku raised an eyebrow at this outburst and Roxas muttered, “It isn’t right to leave her hanging.” Riku sighed, “I don’t want to make it harder for her if I die in this war. Now we have to go across town. I found a warehouse with supplies in it. Mainly food, water, bombs, you know the norm.” Riku replied with an evil gleam in his eyes. Roxas smiled and they walked over to a nearby car. Holding up his hand to indicate five minutes Roxas withdrew a pair of pliers, chopped off the dashboard, and went to work. After five minutes, Roxas walked over with a grim, determined look. “ Needs electricity” he said knowing the consequences. Electricity was good, but it brought trouble, robots, with it. Nodding, they walked back to the car and pushed it to the nearest telephone pole. Roxas unsheathed his sword to cut it and Riku unsheathed his two swords to provide protection. With one swing, Roxas swept the sword through the pole and waited. A few seconds elapsed and he smiled as the pole split in half with wires sparking from it. Grabbing the wires he touched them to the battery and started charging it. Roxas waited till it was full and then said, “ Easy.” “Too easy. We need to get to the warehouse. Now.” Riku said as he swung himself into the passenger’s seat. Roxas climbed in, turned the ignition, and floored it to the warehouse. As they drew closer they started to smell blood. Parking, they got out, stunned. Blood everywhere, okay. Scattered bodies ripped to pieces, no problem. Thousands of robots staring at them with claws raised menacingly, big problem. Drawing their weapons Roxas said, “Shit. Divide and conquer?” with a glance at Riku. Riku nodded as he readied his weapons, “Yup.” Roxanne stopped typing as she heard a clicking noise. Great, just what I need, robots. She thought sarcastically and resumed typing. Listening over the typing she tried to guess how many were in the building when she heard a crash and a screech of surprise. “ Oh, I’m sorry. Should have mentioned the swinging log that would send you through the wall at around 90 mph. Bad me.” Roxanne said as she playfully slapped her hand and laughed. Hitting a few more buttons, then enter, she watched as the install screen popped up and then sat down to wait and watch the show. As the robots entered the room the laptop beeped and they turned to stare at it. Reaching over she hit two keys and waved as the robots skidded across the floor. A few seconds later, several crashing noises echoed around the house as the robots inside and out went flying through buildings until they reached the five mile mark. Still laughing, Roxanne called Riku to tell him to be careful coming back and to bring something big that goes boom. A metallic hand pressed against the sensor and then waved at Riku. Sighing in exasperation, Riku walked over to the robot’s body, grabbed the head, and whipped it at the hand, sending it flying. “ Knock it off. We need to see the inside.” Riku growled and stepped through the door. Same as outside there were multiple bodies scattered inside. “ Christ Almighty. These were the best of the best. Were they here before?” Roxas asked as he took in the scene. “ No. But there is a survivor. Bleeding too. Quickly, find him.” Riku said as he stepped on robot remains and took off running. Roxas nodded and ran to the other side of the warehouse to search the rooms inside. Roxas leaned in a room and saw a door with a locked icon on it and a card next to it. I wonder what’s behind door number one? Roxas thought and slid his broadsword out. Swiping the card he stepped back and prepared for a fight but saw only a dead body holding a tape recorder with multiple holes in his chest. Picking it up he hit the play button and listened. “ If you are getting this then I am most likely dead. We made our last stand here and we failed you, humanity. There is one last survivor though. She is frozen in a chamber in the far back end of this closet. If this is past the year 2010, she is free. She is trained in combat already and she will stand and fight with you until the day she kills the robots’ leader. The code to the room is 144257. God speed. Oh, by the way, this will blow up at the end. Please put this next to my body. Good luck. Goodbye.” The message played and then started to beep. Crap, Roxas thought as he turned and ran to the door to get Riku and was hit in the head with the butt of a gun. “Stay down or die.” She whispered as she withdrew another machine gun and aimed out the door searching for more enemies and yelled, “ Come out or your friend dies.” Riku withdrew one of his swords and entered an unusually cold room. Looking around he spotted another door and a cabinet next to it. Walking over he opened the door and gasped. Rows upon rows of weapons were on the shelves. He saw machine guns, throwing knives, a rocket launcher, bombs, portable mini- nukes, and enough ammo to blast the shit out of everyone and anyone who entered this warehouse. Seeing two machine guns he opened the door next to it and saw an ice chamber that had already released its owner. Seeing a name “ Keira” scrawled on the side he went back and started to collect all the weapons in a bag, picked up the rocket launcher and loaded it, and then heard something that sent a tremor up his spine. These words, “ Come out or your friend dies.” Sheathing his sword he walked out and looked at the second floor carefully and fired a rocket at the girl holding two guns and yelling at him. After firing he ran over to a pillar lining it and ran up it withdrawing his swords knowing he better win to survive. The girl looked down at Roxas and smiled when she saw a flash of light heading her way. Reaching inside her coat she withdrew a magnum and fired three shots, dropped it, and ducked farther into the room to avoid being slashed by two swords as she took out four guns, loaded, and threw two into the air. Firing a few rounds she threw them up and grabbed the next two to deflect the swords slashing at her. Leaning back she scraped the guns across the swords and fired rounds at Riku forcing him to deflect them. Catching her previous two guns she reloaded clips into them and aimed them at Riku while sheathing the other two guns. Riku stared at her and smiled pointing behind her. Surprised, she turned and the she felt an explosion of pain on her face as Roxas who had a careful, concentrated look on his face punched her. Slamming into the wall, she reached for the guns and felt cold steel press against her neck. “Drop it. Now.” Riku growled into her ear and took them away jumping away as soon as he had the weapons. Standing up, she reached in her pocket and smiled as Roxas hefted the broadsword ready to swing, and withdrew a card. Tossing it in the air she grabbed two pistols from the groove in her back and fired two rounds into the card before aiming at them. “ A stand-off. Nice, hard to pull off with us, Keira.” Riku emphasized and sheathed his swords as Roxas did the same. “ Hard to best me. Who are you two?” Keira said as she put the guns away and caught the other two guns from Riku putting them in her pocket. “ Riku and Roxas. We’re brothers, not friends. There’s another one of us at our hideout. You are welcome to join us.” Riku said extending a hand. “ Pleased to meet ya. Just give me my bag of weapons and my rocket launcher. Oh, by the way, this is for that punch.” Keira said shaking his hand and kissing Roxas on the cheek, “ Not many can send me flying.” Roxas blushed, nodded, and walked out followed by Riku and then Keira. Riku and Roxas started down the stairs and were surprised when she ran down the wall to the floor to meet them. Smiling at the surprised looks, she went over to the bag, grabbed all the weapons, loaded them, put them in her trench coat in appropriate places with the ammo for them encircling her shapely waist, and hefted the rocket launcher walking out the door with Riku and Roxas leading the way. As they got in the car and started to the hideout, Riku’s cell started to ring. Flicking it open, he listened said, “Yeah, okay”, and turned in his seat to face Keira. “ Ready your rocket launcher and give me a few grenades.” Riku said as he turned back withdrew his swords and pocketed the grenades. As they got around six miles from the hideout Riku motioned to pull over and got out. Withdrawing his broadsword and readying her guns, Keira and Roxas smiled and started to walk after Riku, heading to the apartment where Roxanne was, knowing the games were about to begin. Roxas, Riku, and Keira walked around the next building and stopped. Stretched out in front of them were thousands of robots too preoccupied with trying to pass through what looked like air but was actually Roxanne’s barrier to notice them. Grinning and signaling for silence, Riku reached into his pocket and pulled out the grenades and handed a few to Roxas as Keira withdrew her own. Taking out the pin the launched the grenades into the center of the robots pile and yelled, “ Hey tin cans, you’re forgetting something aren’t ya.” The robots looked back saw them, looked down and saw the grenades, and tried to run but only caused a pile up. Then they heard a horrible noise: the final beep of the grenades strategetically thrown to blow the robots from one grenade to the next. Explosion and flying metal echoed one after another as many blew up and several were thrown through Roxanne’s barrier and then thrown back out on to Riku or Roxas’ swords. What seemed to take an eternity was in reality five minutes before the robots were all in a pile of smoking metal. Walking back to the car to drive the rest of the way Riku flipped open his cell phone and called Roxanne. “ Enjoy the fireworks?” he laughed out. Roxas pulled up to the curb and watched as Riku got out and ran inside. “Don’t worry, Keira. He’s just letting Roxanne know you’re here to stay. Give it a bit.” Roxas said as he got out and leaned against the corner of the car. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Riku ran up the stairs and into the room avoiding all the traps he forgot to turn off. “ Roxanne!” Riku yelled as he came in the door. Seeing the light on in the bathroom he ran in and stopped, stunned for once. Roxanne was standing in the glass shower with the door opened rinsing her hair and body and he could only stare at the magnificent curves shaping her body as she started to turn with an innocent expression on her face. “Riku” she gasped and started to close the door and stopped, “ Why are you in here?” Riku turned his face down to the floor and explained how Keira appeared to help them and was waiting downstairs. “ No, why are you in here? While I am taking a shower?” Roxanne whispered as a smile crossed over her face and she tiptoed forward. Riku swallowed slightly and slowly lifted his head to see she had a towel around her body. Still blushing crimson, he said, “ I love you. I hope you realize that but we can’t do this. Not now. Not during our fight. Please try to….” And was stopped as Roxanne’s mouth met his and they kissed. Angling his head for the kiss Riku wrapped one arm around her back and the other around her waist gently but firmly resting his hand against the curve of her ass through the towel. Groaning he slowly grabbed her towel where it was secured around her just above her chest and slowly started tugging it off but was stopped as Roxanne placed her hand over his. “ No. I want it to be after the war. I know this will test us both but if either of us dies there is two things you need to know. I will never stop loving you and I will follow you into death.” Roxanne breathed out and gave him another long kiss before separating. “ Ahem. Looks like you two admitted your love for each other. Riku, get out so she can get changed. You guys can love all you want but no sleeping together till after this war. Okay?” Roxas said from the doorway with a grin as Keira smiled knowingly. Roxanne and Riku looked at each other and smiled and then Riku walked out closing the door behind him. Roxanne smiled and thought, guess dreams do come true. Riku walked out and saw Keira but no Roxas. Riku raised an eyebrow at Keira as she cleaned all her guns and she smiled then pointed at the wall behind him. Riku had time to think, shit, before Roxas tackled him from behind, laughter bursting out. “ Too complicated, huh? Yeah right. ‘Bout time you admitted it to her. A little too much though Romeo. Keep the clothes on before the second date.” Roxas said and dodged to the side as he felt a presence behind him, joining Keira on the sidelines. Roxanne, who was about to tackle Roxas, yelped as she fell onto Riku, and then began to roll around on the floor with Riku, lightly punching and joking around. Roxas turned to look at Keira with an evil gleam in his eyes. Keira, noticing, put down her guns slowly and deliberately so he wouldn’t attack, and then tackled him into Roxanne & Riku, surprising him and the couple on the floor. Laughing and joking she ended up on top of Roxas with his arms pinned to the floor and Riku and Roxanne on the sidelines with smiles on their faces. “ Got you where I want you. Now, what to do with you?” Keira taunted as she lowered her face to his. Roxas reached up and pulled her head down to his and kissed her for a long time until they were breathless and then Roxas lifted her off him with a smile and looked at Riku as if to say, Go with the flow, eh bro? A week later things had settled down some. For the first few weeks it was hectic. We had to find somewhere for Keira to stay (like a bed) and teach her where all the traps were but most importantly to never touch Roxanne’s laptop. Then we were all trained in shooting from close range and long with semi-automatics and pistols. Riku and Roxanne both favor pistols that they keep loaded and clean all the time. Keira and I both favor the old automatics and have taken turns shooting cans around five miles away. Then there was the whole relationship thing. We had to set some ground rules for all of us. Basically, we can do anything but sleep with each other. Half the warehouse where we found Keira is now in our main room. Some robots thought they could attack us, but we had only let the barrier down temporarily for practice. So far there is about thirty piles of metal lying around. “ So, Riku, how have you and Roxanne been since earlier this week?” Roxas teased unmercifully as Roxanne and Riku walked out holding hands. “ Same as you and Keira have been, Mr. Stuck to Her” Riku shot back as Roxas stepped back wounded by such words and Keira laughed from on top of the car. “ Yeah. She loves it though.” Roxas said as he swung up onto the roof and gave Keira a long hard kiss to stop the laughter and then smiled as they separated. “ God, get a room.” Roxanne said before she was interrupted by a kiss of her own. “ Maybe we should all get a room and ignore the rules.” Riku said with a gleam in his eye as he got in the drivers seat. “So where are we going?” Keira asked as she started loading guns. “ Well, we got an emergency call from someone so we figured we’d check it out. Unless your scared?” Riku said with a grin. “ Only of your driving. Any idea where in this city we can find this person?” Keira replied. “ Yeah. He is currently hiding in the main office of a high school nearby. “ God, when were we there last?” Roxanne said as she stared dreamily into the distance thinking of fond memories. “ What the hell! Never too late to graduate!” Roxas yelled as they sped down the road. As they pulled up, Keira pulled out their guns from a case. “Modified for grip, accuracy, and speed.” Keira explained as they each took their own. We could get expelled, haha Roxanne thought as they walked in. “ I recommend splitting up to cover more territory. If you find them yell.” Riku said as he and Roxanne turned to go one way. “ Alright. Lets go, Keira.” Roxas said as they went in the opposite direction. What they didn’t realize is that they had walked right into a trap. Roxanne and Riku checked out all the rooms then went upstairs to check those. “ Well. A chemistry lab. Guessed wrong again.” Riku muttered as they walked down another hallway. “ I say we each take one side of the hallway.” Roxanne said in an annoyed tone. PMSing Riku thought as she started to kick doors open. After checking both floors they returned to the lower level and decided to step outside for a breath of fresh air. “ Crap. We need to find Roxas and Keira, Roxanne. We just walked into a trap.” Riku growled as he tried to force the doors open with no luck. Roxas and Keira turned down the hallway and noticed there were only two things on this half of the building, the library and an office. “ Well I could use some studying.” Roxas said as they walked in and saw rows of books covered in dust. “ Hello? Anyone here? We’re here to help.” Keira yelled looking for some sign of life and finding none. “ Oh well. While we’re waiting I think I should check out the female anatomy some more.” Roxas said as he walked over to Keira and picked her up, putting her on a table as they started kissing. “ Your brother… should be here soon… and what about the…rules?” Keira gasped between kisses. “ Screw them. If we hadn’t arrived when we did Riku would have been all over her.” Roxas moaned into her ear as he lifted her shirt off. “ Roxas.” Keira moaned as he unzipped her pants and dragged her up against him, tightly gripping her ass. Then they heard a distinct clicking noise coming from one of the rows. “ Shit. Get dressed. There are robots here and I hear Riku coming.” Roxas said as he lifted his gun from his waistband and put a bullet in the chamber. Keira put her shirt on and prepared for battle all the while thinking, those robots are a real pain. Roxas and Keira both crept towards the area where they had heard the noise and looked around the corner. Seeing a single robot Keira smiled and withdrew two throwing knifes. Stepping into the row with two knifes in both hands she made a whistling noise and threw. The robot had time to turn and then it felt a knife hit its chest and skull. Going down in a crumpled heap, the robot made a screeching noise and they heard the sound of hundreds of robots replying. Riku and Roxanne ran in as they heard the noise and motioned to the second floor of the library where there was a ladder leading to the roof for those who wanted to read outside. “Why are your pants undone, Keira? Roxas?” Riku inquired and then glared at Roxas. “Later, Riku. We can settle it later.” Roxas breathed as Keira nodded while they ran up the stairs. Reaching the trapdoor to the roof they burst through the door and slammed it shut as robots appeared on the landing below. Riku grimaced, slid a short sword through the handle, and then collapsed in agony. “Pulled my ankle on the way up. I’ll be okay.” Riku gasped as pain shot up his leg. Roxas and Keira blushed and walked away to look for a way off the building as Riku stared at them. “ Cut them some slack. Last I checked you were eager too.” Roxanne said slyly and moved a little closer. “ We need a way off this roof or a way to destroy thousands of robots quickly.” Riku whispered as he looked down at the ground and saw thousands of red eyes looking back from below. Roxas and Keira walked over to a side building and started to talk. “We can’t do that again, Roxas. Riku and Roxanne could have been hurt and we wouldn’t have noticed. It’s not fair to them, you know. I still love you though.” Keira said as she hugged him. “ I know. I love you too. Now, we need to find a way off the roof. Now.’ Roxas whispered in her ear and then released her. As they separated Roxas motioned for Keira to check the left side while he checked the right. He drew his gun and motioned her to do the same. Pulling down her shirt to give him a good view she withdrew an automatic handgun and then she withdrew one from behind her back. Roxas was stunned, for he had just had his hands in those two places and had not even so much as felt them. “ How did you..?” Roxas sputtered and Keira winked. Putting the two guns on the floor she reached into various parts of her clothes taking all the guns and ammunition she had and putting them on the ground ending with a pile half Roxas’ height and then put them back. Picking up the two she had withdrawn and putting them in her waistband she walked over, smiled, and pulled three out of his clothes he had never noticed. “ In case I run out I have you to help me.” Keira said and then withdrew a few throwing knives and a short sword from his back. “ Now you are always with me.” Keira said and gave him a quick kiss before running over to check her side of the roof. “Damn, I’d be a fool not to love that.” Roxas said grinning as he watched her go. Well, time to get to work Roxas said inwardly. Roxanne and Riku were on top of an overhang they had found searching for a way out while watching the show between Roxas and Keira and fixing Riku’s ankle. Tightening up the bandage while trying not to yelp Riku looked at Roxanne and said, “Well she has a lot of guns. What’s your secret weapon?” Roxanne smirked and knocked him upside the head with her staff and then stood up. Unzipping her jacket to show her black shirt Riku saw four shiny pistols to either side of her stomach and then sat back and closed his eyes as she motioned him to close his eyes. Coming over and straddling him she lifted her shirt up to reveal her impressive chest and told him to open his eyes. “ These are the last resort. You think they’re strong enough?” Roxanne said with a twinkle in her eyes and then laughed when first his eyes bulged due to the fact she wasn’t wearing a bra and then when he reached out and squeezed them. “ You know, you should practice… what … you preach.” Roxanne finally managed to gasp due to the fact Riku had been playing with the twins and pleasure was slowly building inside her. “ You’re right. I should.” Riku teased as he pretended to stop and be uninterested until Roxanne started to kiss him and then he stopped her as he remembered that he wouldn’t be able to yell at Roxas later if he did the same thing. “ Sorry. We have to continue this later. The robots don’t exactly set a good mood.” Riku said and soon after a crash was heard coming from the direction Roxas and Keira had gone in. Jumping to their feet they looked over and saw a giant hole where the roof had connected and feared the worst. “ You stinking pile of shit!” Roxas roared as him and Keira shot their automatics at the tanks sending bullets through the turret and causing them to blow up. Smiling as the last tank was destroyed he walked over and picked up Keira’s rocket launcher and loaded it while walking back. Sprinkling something into the gun he hoisted it onto his shoulder, aimed, and motioned Keira to come over. Roxas put her finger on the trigger and kissed her while the rockets flew at the groups of robots with dust falling the entire way. Where the dust fell, explosions followed and Riku soon realized it was gunpowder mixed with something else until he looked at Roxas’ hand and then he laughed showing Roxanne. In Roxas’ hand was a semiautomatic pistol that he was firing as he kissed Keira, hitting robots and causing sparks to ignite the gunpowder. Then they head a rumble and turned to see several robots climbing through the trapdoor. Shoving Roxanne ahead Riku motioned for her to jump the gap while running behind her at a slower pace. Clearing the gap easily Roxanne turned to look at Riku and realized he was running slower then she had which was weird considering he had always been faster and then remembered his ankle. He isn’t going to make it, Roxanne thought and then her vision turned red, he will make it! Roxanne roared as she undid her jacket grabbing two of the pistols and opened a barrage of bullets on to the robots that were following Riku as he kept trying to run to the gap, Jumping, Riku noticed right away he wasn’t going to make it and gave Roxanne an apologetic glance. As he fell he realized that he wasn’t going down without a fight and pulled his two swords from his pocket angling his body as he fell so he ran on the wall all the while thinking, I may go down but you are coming with me asswholes. “ Ugh” Riku groaned as he hit the ground and then readied himself in a fighting pose. Seeing all the red eyes looking at him and the feet moving towards him he put up his hand. Surprised, the robots stopped as Riku reached into his jacket with his free hand and withdrew four pistols while placing the swords upright in the ground. Flipping the chambers open Riku checked to make sure bullets were in them and then threw two into the air with a wink at the robots. Reaching a hand up Riku grabbed Roxanne from the air before she hit the ground as she fired bullets into the robots while Riku swung her out towards them by her feet holding her up and then spinning her so it was a barrage of bullets. As the smoke cleared Riku smiled at Roxanne as he drew her upright so she was standing upright before noticing only half the robots were down and the other half had guns aimed at them. Suddenly, another barrage of bullets appeared in slow motion above the robots before hitting them. Looking up, Riku saw Roxas and Keira firing down as they flew toward him and Roxanne while Roxas withdrew his sword. Stopping his guns Roxas flipped forward landing on his feet before jumping up to grab Keira from the air as she laughed while firing. Landing on the ground while carefully setting Keira down Roxas looked at Riku with a grin that said, Getting sloppy, aren’t ya? Grinning back Riku grabbed his two swords and put his pistols away. Keira withdrew several guns with a total of seven in each hand and Roxanne turned and grabbed her staff from its holster on her back before they all turned to face the enemy as one. “God, those robots really picked on the wrong group of people.” Riku said before running forwards to fight or die. For several minutes there was only the sound of metal hitting metal and the screams of robots as they were destroyed. Roxas and Riku were standing back to back hacking away at the robots that were foolish enough to come within range of their swords and shooting the ones that were smart enough to stay away but not enough to run like hell. Across from them were Roxanne and Keira making an extremely deadly pair with Roxanne crushing skulls with her staff while shooting others and Keira jumping from spot to spot unleashing a barrage of bullets and knives into the robots closest to her while avoiding their attacks. After half an hour of fighting Roxas and Riku turned towards Roxanne and Keira who were getting slightly over packed with the remaining robots (they had decided that Roxas and Riku were too good) and ran headlong into the fray disappearing inside the group and reappearing next to Roxanne and Keira as the robots fell over missing several limbs. Looking around and seeing no robots left Roxanne turned to look at Riku and frowned as she saw that he was on the ground. Noticing the frown Riku smiled and said in a clear voice, “Don’t worry. I just need to rest. My ankle hurts like hell.” At this everyone looked at his ankle and saw it had swelled to the size of a grapefruit. Roxas and Keira looked at Roxanne who nodded and they went to get the car leaving Riku and Roxanne alone. “ When they get back were bandaging the foot and then going inside to find the people who called us.” Roxanne said as she went around picking up all the knives and guns before grabbing a bag from her jacket and picking up the shells to reload later. As she walked back to Riku, Riku withdrew a gun and aimed it at her. Dropping to the floor she heard a bang and heard Riku say, “Don’t want to die, do they?” Roxanne stood up turned and saw half a robot behind her with a hole in its forehead. Smiling, she went over and took his swords putting them back in the sheaths before helping him up to wait for Roxas. Roxas pulled up and Keira stepped out with a first aid kit. Wrapping his leg up, Roxanne looked up as she finished and winked at Riku. Roxas walked over and dropped a pole next to Riku and muttered something that sounded like “ Sorry” and “Walking stick” before leaning against the car to wait for Riku to stand up. Using the pole, Riku stood up, nodded to Roxas, and the four walked into the building. CRASH! Roxas had just kicked the door open and was walking towards the office near the library with his sword drawn while the other three followed him. Sheathing his sword and withdrawing one of his guns Roxas slowly opened the door and was shocked at what he saw. Inside was a group of people staring at him holding makeshift weapons, possibly made from what was inside the office? A man stepped forward and introduce himself as Darren and then introduced his wife Debbie. “We run an organization that fights robots. A sort of underground operation and we heard of four people who were taking down as many robots in a day as we do in a month. We wanted to see your skills so we invited you and now that you are here we wish for you to join us as commanders of our army.” Debbie said and then stepped back waiting for their answer. “ We all need time to think this through. Follow us to our base if you will and we’ll talk there.” Riku said and then they all left the room. Reaching their car they all climbed in and waited to see if another car appeared. Shocked, they watched as a tank rolled up next to them. A hatch opened next to Roxas’ window and Darren appeared. ‘Sorry. Had to hotwire this thing and you wont believe the weapons we found in this beauty. Lead the way.” Darren said and then closed the hatch. Roxas started the vehicle and slowly drove down the road, all the while saying to Riku, “ A tank. We need to join. Imagine what else they have. A tank!” “Okay. Let me see if I have this right. You want us to join your underground army as commanders, lead groups of people into the city every day to find people, supplies, an just to kill a load of robots everyday, and train the others so that they may get as good as us. In return, we get food, lodging, high status in your army, reporting only to you in times of emergency, and unlimited access to your weapons and cars.” Riku said to Darren as the rest looked on from various spots in the room. “Yes. Also you only have to work for a few days a week. The more the better but it is your choice how many you want to work.” Darren replied with a glance at Debbie who nodded. “Okay except for two things. First, we all get to work in the same area. Second, where the hell is your base?” Riku asked after talking with the other four. “Well, as for the first request, we would have to be idiots to separate you guys after seeing you fight. For the second question we have several bases but we established one not too far away so you can stay here if you wish. We are using a garage for the vehicles with major security and we use a lift to bring people and vehicles up and down with a fingerprint scanner to ride it, to make sure the person is human.” Riku looked to the others who nodded before turning back to Darren and nodding. Darren drew out a map and gave it to Riku explaining what the signs on it meant and then walked out saying he would expect them later on that day. A couple of hours later as they were finishing packing, Roxas drew Riku to the side to talk to him. “ Do you think this is a good idea? Once we leave this place there is no chance of us coming back.” Roxas whispered to Riku so only he could hear. “Am I sure? Hell no. This is a fight for our lives though so I’m rarely sure of anything in this life. Lets gather the bags in the car and then take one last walk through these halls.” Riku whispered back. As they finished putting the bags in the car Riku turned and motioned everyone back inside with a look that clearly said what he wanted to do. Nodding, all four took a last walk back into the halls where they had been raised as children together, fought together, and comforted each other over the years. “Riku, Roxas, Roxanne! Come inside kids.” Riku’s father yelled through the door. “Alright, its lunchtime.” Roxanne cheered before running into the house. Riku and Roxas walked a little bit slower after the mock fight they had just completed. “ You rely too much on strength Roxas. That’s okay though because I’ll be the speed for you in a fight.” Riku said as he slung his arm around Roxas’ shoulder as they walked in. What they saw as they walked into the door surprised them both. Roxanne was still petrified with shock. All their parents were standing around the table gathering weapons together and throwing on body armor. “ I told you this would happen. This is why we didn’t get a robot in the first place. We are the only ones left in the county. At least your traps are working Shara.” Riku’s father said to Roxanne’s mother. “ Well it was only a matter of time in our case Ash. I regret this though and so does your wife, Yuya. Oh well this is why we’ve been training the kids I guess.” Shara said nodding to him and Yuya. “ Kids, we are going to fight for your future. There is a chance that we wont come back and robots will. Roxanne, here’s your mom’s laptop. We need you to learn how to set up programs to repel the robots just like we practiced. Roxas, Riku, follow your father. He has something to show you.” Yuya said as she loaded her crossbow and throwing stars. As they left the room Shara was walking over to Roxanne as she slung her staff over her shoulder and loaded her two pistols. Walking to Riku’s room, Ash hit a tile a few inches from the wall that was a different color from the rest of the room with his fist. A hiss was heard as the wall slid back to reveal a room with three swords stacked against the wall and two gloves with spiked knuckles in a display case. “Riku those two long swords are yours. They belonged to my mother. Use them well. As for you Roxas I want you to take the broadsword; it belonged to my grandfather.” Ash said as he went over to the display case and picked up the gloves. In one fluid movement he put the gloves on, disappeared in a cloud of ash, and appeared next to Riku with two fingers on a vital point that with the slightest pressure can kill a person. “ Back in the old days I was known as the Demon of Ash because of my ability with the martial arts.” Going back to the front of the house he motioned for Riku and Roxas to stay with Roxanne who was already typing away on the computer complex programs for defenses. Walking out of the door Ash followed Shara and Yuya down the road into twilight. A couple of hours later there was a sound of harsh hammering on the door. Roxas and Roxanne bolted to the front door to answer it before Riku could stop them. As they opened the door there was a sharp twang as Yuya shot the robot on the doorstep through the head. As the robot fell Yuya collapsed on the ground dead from all her injuries. Seeing his mother die Riku motioned for Roxas to stay with Roxanne and took off running down the road that their parents had taken. Appearing in the town square a few minutes later the first thing that Riku noticed was Shara dead on the ground and a pile of bodies surrounding Ash and a robot general who were busy fighting in the middle of the square. Ash was fighting hand to hand while the robot general wielded a sword against him. Just as Riku got next to his father the general got under Ash’s guard and stabbed him through the chest. Riku roared with anger as flames leapt into his eyes and he withdrew his swords, swinging them in one fluid movement. There was a sharp clash as his two swords met the general’s blade and they flew into the air. Riku’s eyes turned demon black as he kicked the general in the chest sending him back and rushed him. Knocking aside the general’s arm Riku proceeded to launch a barrage of attacks upon the robot’s body denting and breaking the metal in several areas. “ DIEEE!!!” Riku yelled as his hand glowed with an aura of darkness and he sent his fist through the robot’s chest and caused it to explode. Running over to his father’s body he realized that Ash was already dead. In shock Riku took the gloves off his father’s hands, grabbed Shara’s staff, and headed towards home where Roxas and Roxanne awaited. They would fortify that house and fight robots from within it for many years to come. Riku and Roxas went to where their old room had been when they were kids and touched the panel sending the door open. Going over to the display case they picked the gloves up out of it from when Riku had came back and put them there so many years ago. Wordlessly, they both left the room and went back into the hallway. Roxanne walked out of her old room where she had built a shrine for her mother. Keira met them at the bottom of the stairs and they all headed to the car, climbed in, and drove away from the last thing they had to remember their parents from. Flipping open her laptop Roxanne opened a program and hit start. After they got a mile away the building exploded and collapsed. Satisfied, Roxanne closed her laptop and leaned back to rest. A couple of hours later, Riku motioned towards an empty garage with the door open. Roxas turned into it and pulled the car onto the lift. Getting out they walked over to the elevator they would have to use. Just as they got near the elevator a guy swung a bat from out of the shadows towards Roxanne’s head. Riku grabbed the bat swinging it out of the guy’s hands before roundhouse kicking the guy in the chest and pinning him to the floor with a knife at the guy’s throat. “ Wait!” Darren yelled as he stepped out of the elevator. Darren walked over to the guy as Riku quickly leapt off of him and back to the other three. “ What’s going on here?!?” Riku spat at Darren as he withdrew a sword and sheathed the knife. “ Calm down. There was an attack so the guard was changed last second. I forgot to mention you guys were coming. This is Dante, and Dante these are the guys I mentioned while you were sleeping. You’re lucky to be alive.” Darren said as Dante nodded. Sheathing his sword Riku held out a hand to Dante. Dante reached forward and grabbed it before promptly flipping Riku over his shoulder and putting his fingers on the same place that Ash had put them on so long ago. Pissed, Riku jumped to his feet and caught the glove Roxas had thrown to him and put on his own. Crouching in a fighting stance Riku immediately threw himself at Dante who, surprised took the blow before turning and knocking Riku’s feet out from under him. After fighting for about five minutes they both stopped and shook hands before walking back to the group. “Done?” Roxas asked as Riku tossed the glove to Roxas and he tossed it back. “ Keep it. I’m unable to do half of that shit that you just did.” Roxas said shaking his head. “ Now I believe it is time for us to join the rest of the team.” Darren said as he motioned to the elevator. As Riku got on the elevator Dante waved before taking his place in the shadows near the elevator. Waving back, Riku muttered to Darren out of the corner of his mouth, “ I want him in my team.” Nodding, Darren hit the button to the basement and away they sped into the darkness. A few minutes after they had gotten on the elevator it stopped as the power was cut off to it. Motioning for them to watch him Darren walked over to the emergency box and opened it with a swift motion of his hand and started typing numbers into the phone dial that was inside. “ The code changes week to week. Every week we will send it out to the communicator that we’ll give you when you get settled in. Anyway, here we go.” Darren said as he opened the door and led them through an underground pathway to an open countryside a few miles outside of town surrounded by a thick wall with guards walking along the top, each equipped with a laser sniper rifle powered by a crystal that utilized the wind for power. Nodding to the top of the wall Darren showed how every few feet of the wall also had antitank rifles. “Each person is trained on how to use them and where to aim. The last attack was yesterday and the one before two days ago. We were at the school looking for medical supplies while another team was dispatched to find other supplies such as ammo, food, and water.” Darren said as he led them to a house near the top of the mountain. “ This house is for leaders, such as Darren and I, and then also army generals such as yourselves.” Debbie said as she walked out of the front of the house with a sawed off shotgun across her back. “ No one walks around without a weapon of some kind or at the least without someone that has one such as an older sibling or an adult. Spread out through town you will find several caches of weapons too. Those robots will not claim any more of our people.” Darren said as he motioned them inside the building. Walking them down a hallway on the left Darren blushed as he opened two sets of doors. “ You guys seem pretty familiar with each other so I naturally assumed that there wouldn’t be an issue with only two rooms. There’s a pull- out bed in the couch in case I’m wrong…” Darren said with an apologetic glance to all of them. Smiling, Keira calmly walked into one of the rooms with Roxas and closed the door. Nodding, Roxanne smiled at Darren before taking Riku by the hand and starting to drag him into the other room. “ See you in three hours.” Darren said with a sigh of relief. Roxas walked into the room patiently as Keira shut the door before turning and picking her up and carrying her to the bed. “ So, do we have to pull out the bed or is there room for two?” Roxas said with a serious tone before breaking into laughter. Pushing Roxas against her Keira stared into Roxas’ eyes with such love for Roxas that he knew she was the only one for him and god help the robot that tried to take her from him. Climbing under the covers Roxas pulled Keira against him before drifting off to sleep with her in his arms. “ Well, I think you should pull out the bed, Riku. Otherwise we might have an issue keeping the rules in check.” Roxanne said with a laugh as she tackled him onto the bed. Laughing, both of them wrestled around on the bed for several minutes before Riku pinned her down. “ Surrender?” Riku whispered in Roxanne’s ear. “Yeah. Now, time for your reward.” Roxanne said as she leaned in and started kissing him. After about a minute Riku pulled back to look at Roxanne and saw pure love radiating at him. “ I will always love you. Through this world and forever in the next.” Riku sighed as Roxanne curled up against him before going to sleep. Awakening to the sound of a pounding noise on the door, Riku carefully withdrew himself from next to Roxanne and walked over to answer the door. “ Darren is calling for us. I figured we should let the girls sleep a little longer.” Roxas said softly so as not to wake Roxanne. Nodding, Riku grabbed his swords and guns and followed Roxas down to a meeting room at the end of the hallway. “ This way. That way is currently packed with all our new recruits.” Roxas said with a slight grin before taking Riku down a side hallway to a small room where Darren waited with Debbie. “ Where are the others?” Debbie asked as they walked up. “ Sleeping. We’ll take care of the introductions.” Roxas said as Debbie started to smile. “ No you wont, Roxas.” Keira said as she tapped Roxas on the shoulder. Turning around with a grin Riku and Roxas smiled at Roxanne and Keira. Nodding, Darren motioned them out to the stage. “ Welcome. We will be your new instructors. I’m Riku and this is Keira, Roxanne, and Roxas.” Riku said pointing to each in turn before turning to speak to the audience once again. “ I will be teaching you hand to hand combat alongside Dante and swordplay beside my brother.” Riku said stepping back next to Roxanne. “ My name is Roxas. Like my brother said I will teach you everything I know about swordplay. I focus on strength and Riku will focus more on speed fighting. Now for my girlfriend to show you her forte.” Roxas said stepping back as Keira stepped up. “ Observe if you will. There is a target hanging on the back wall fifty feet away. Before I shoot it right through the center know this. I am proficient in every gun style known to man and some I invented myself. That is what I will be teaching you. Now, to hit that target.” Keira said as she walked back to where Roxas was standing. Nodding, Roxas made a foothold for Keira to put her foot in. Roxas waited until Keira had braced herself before hurling her up into the air. Flipping up into the air Keira threw several guns into the air. Flying past them Keira turned upside down and fired each clip into the target at the back of the room. Landing in Roxas’ arms she reached up and slid the falling guns back into her trench coat. Walking forward Roxanne took one look at the crowd before withdrawing a device from her coat and throwing it over the crowd. With two beeps a holographic window appeared where the device had been only a few seconds ago. Roxanne appeared on the screen and said in a monotone voice, “ I will teach you everything about electronics, traps, and a simple fighting style for those who prefer to stay away from guns and blades. By the way this took only two minutes to make. Good day.” the holograph ended as it flew back to Roxanne’s outstretched hand. Nodding, Roxanne turned and walked back to the rest of the group before they all exited the stage back to their rooms. Leaving the only thing they heard down the hallway was echoing applause resounding from the room. “ Well, the new recruits sure look promising, don’t they?” Keira said as her and Roxas wrestled around on the floor in Riku’s and Roxanne’s room. “ Yes. Now stop wrestling around please.” Roxanne tried to say with a straight face but was tackled by Riku from behind. Flying into Roxas and Keira they all wrestled around on the floor for a good period of time before there was a knock on the door. “ Come in.” Roxanne said as she flipped Riku off her and tackled into Roxas who was holding Keira down. “Well, it seems you guys are quite comfortable.” Dante said as he strode into the room. “ Easy.” Dante said holding his hands up as Riku walked up to him with his aura raging all over the place. Smiling, Riku stretched out his hand to shake Dante’s. Wary, Dante reached his hand out and was thrown across the room into Roxas and Keira who had resumed fighting while they were talking. “ Oh, a new toy.” Keira grinned as she threw him into Roxas who promptly tackled him in midair and laughed as Dante went to get up and was tackled by Roxanne. “Okay, okay, I surrender!” Dante laughed after several minutes of wrestling. With a grin Riku helped Dante up to his feet. “ That was your orientation. Now, you’re one of us.” Roxanne said as she got to her feet with Roxas and Keira. “I see. Well then I’m here to give you guys your communicators. It holds all the security codes as well as a map of the general area and a list of your assignments and students. I also took the liberty of adding Darren’s, Debbie’s, and my contact information.” Dante said rubbing the back of his head with a grin. “ Something tells me our first day is going to be hellish after what those kids saw.” Roxas said as he flipped the communicator open. “ Yup. We have four training classes each tomorrow.” Roxanne said as she opened hers. “ Looks like we get to have some fun though, eh?” Riku said to Dante with a wink after seeing that three of his classes dealt with hand-to-hand combat and then a sword fighting class with Roxas at the end of the day. “ We’ll see what they got.” Dante said punching Riku gently in the shoulder. “ Well I say bring it on. Those kids don’t know what they got themselves into.” Keira said and then tackled Roxas again. “ Well guess it’s that time again.” Riku said as him and Roxanne jumped into the fray. “I’ll catch ya later guys.” Dante said as he jumped out of the way of Roxas’ tackle and opened the door, laughing as he walked out. “ Ermm.” Roxanne said as she woke to the sound of the communicator beeping. Flipping it open she saw that it was an alarm to wake them up and decided to kill Dante next time she saw him. Smiling she reached over and grabbed Riku’s turning it off before he woke up. Climbing on top of him she leaned down and breathed across his neck with a grin as he twitched some and then settled back down. “Oh my dear Riku.” Roxanne whispered as she brushed her lips across his with a spark of electricity between them as he woke up into the kiss. “Hmmm.” Riku said as he saw what had waked him up and then looked at the clock and Roxanne’s position over him. “ Need to wake up to this more often.” Riku mumbled as reached up and laid her back down across him. “ Nuh-uh. The rules haven’t changed even though were somewhere new. You have to wait until then.” Roxanne said as she wiggled out of his grip and off the bed to get dressed. “ Aww pity. Oh well time for the day to start.” Riku said as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and started to get dressed as well. “ Well you two look like you can’t wait to see Dante as well.” Roxanne said as Roxas and Keira stumbled out into the hallway a few minutes after her and Riku had. Grimacing Roxas nodded as they started to walk down the hall to outside. Heading over to the breakfast hall they each got a plate of food and sat down at an empty table. Eating quickly they stood up as the rest of the town stumbled in. Darren and Debbie nodded to them as they walked out. “ Well catch you boys later.” Roxanne and Keira said as they walked off towards the areas where they would be training. “ God. How to survive without them.” Roxas muttered and waved as he headed towards the sparring grounds where he would be teaching. Dante met up with Riku just as he entered the area where they would be teaching for most of the day. “Oh this is from all of us.” Riku said as he threw Dante across the grounds and into the wall and then held up the communicator to indicate what he meant. “Trust me I did you a favor. You should see the kids at breakfast, man.” Dante said as he walked back over with his coat flapping in the wind. “ So why the black coat? It doesn’t really go well with the white shirt. You need a black one like your jeans.” Riku asked with a raised eyebrow. “ Oh trust me this isn’t what I normally wear. This is my casual attire. I’ll wear my fighting outfit next time.” Dante grinned as he thought of it. “ Okay. Well looks like the first victim has entered the ring.” Riku said as their class stumbled in with a short kid leading them. “ Time to teach them a lesson.” Dante said as he went into a fighting position next to Riku. Roxanne walked into her area with a look of apprehension. Most of the room was empty with several mats and materials for building traps and such. The rest of the room held computers for setting the traps up to trigger electronically. Placing her staff on the ground in front of her she sat down to meditate as she waited for the rest of the class to enter. After fifteen minutes she heard the sound of a door opening. With a grin she listened to the students as they made their way through the traps she had set as she entered. None of them would hurt them but their ego would be crushed and she would get a glimpse of what their abilities. She opened her eyes when she heard someone enter the room already. A girl was staring at her with ice blue eyes as she leaned against the doorway without a scratch on her. “ Not bad teach. I’m Rinoa and I will be the best.” Rinoa said with a grin as she walked over next to Roxanne to wait for the rest of the class to enter. Keira waited for the last student to enter the room before she walked inside herself. “ Okay you know who I am and I know who most of you are. Your skills will be tested here as well as your speed. Class begins now. All of you will set up a target fifty yards in front of you. You will then proceed to try and get as many bullets in the center as you can. Afterwards you will take apart your guns, clean them, and reassemble them. Go!” Keira finished as the kids ran to set up the target. Keira grinned as she started to take guns out of every pocket she had. Building two piles she called each student over to grab an automatic or a pistol. Grinning she sent each to their area and then listened to the barrage of bullets. Roxas ran into his class after he found it. He had been looking for the exact area for a while before he actually found it. Stumbling into the center of the room he regained his balance before withdrawing his sword and placing it in the ground next to him. “ Okay each of ya put on armor and grab a weapon. You will each fight me one- on- one so I can pair you up with a person of equal caliber.” Roxas said before withdrawing his sword out of the ground. After each student had put on armor and had a weapon a student looked at the armor less Roxas and asked, “Why don’t you have any armor?”. “You’ll see.” Roxas said as he motioned the kid forward and took a defensive stance. Holding his hand up Roxas turned and looked at the rest of the class first. Picking three others and motioning them forward Roxas lowered his hand said one word, “Attack.” With a roar the four kids flew forwards winding their blades up to slash. Shaking his head Roxas closed his eyes and focused on their presences. With a single slash he sent each one flying back into the rest of the class. Opening his eyes he saw the next four step forward with their weapons drawn and their eyes looking at the whole scene while whispering a strategy to each other. Well time to see what their made of Roxas thought and then was startled as each took a position on each of the cardinal points: north, south, east, and west. With a flash each flew forward at the same time. “ Not bad! But not good enough!” Roxas said as he jumped into the air causing each to attack each other and then slammed back into the ground sending them flying as well. With a grin Roxas looked at the rest of the class and motioned them all forward. “ Attack all at once.” Roxas said and then shouldered his blade as they walked forward. THUD! The short kid had tried to be bold and had paid the heavy price. He was sitting in a wall as both Riku and Dante withdrew the foot they had kicked out with when the kid had tried to attack them. Turning to the rest of the class Dante went to say something and felt a presence behind him. “ Kid doesn’t learn!” Dante muttered as he twisted around and threw a hard punch into the gut of the kid causing him to double over. As the kid went to get up he threw the kid threw the air to Riku who did a roundhouse kick sending the kid back into the rest of the class. “Damn.” Dante said looking at Riku with raised eyebrows after seeing the crater the kid had landed in. “ He needed it.” Riku shrugged as he turned to look at the rest of the class as the kid stumbled to the front with blood pouring down the side of his face. “ Enough, Tonnio” another, taller, kid said putting his hand on the kid’s shoulder. “Back off Leo!” Tonnio said crouching into a fighting position. “Tonnio eh?” Riku said as he whispered something to Dante with a grin. Nodding Dante walked to one side of the group of kids as Riku took the other side. “Everyone except Tonnio and Leo hit the sidelines. NOW!” Dante said as he crouched down. Riku raised his fists at the exact same time as Tonnio and Leo steeped back to back with Tonnio facing Riku and Leo taking on Dante. As the kids raised their hands Dante and Riku disappeared and reappeared right next to them sending the kids flying in opposite directions. Jumping to his feet Tonnio vaulted over Riku pushing off his back and landed next to Leo. Leaping into the air Tonnio threw a sidekick at Riku’s head as Tonnio threw a hard punch into Dante who had leaped into the air to meet Tonnio. With a crash Riku and Dante landed on the ground. Dante threw up a blood red aura as he straightened up with surprising seriousness. Riku appeared next to him with a cloud of ash as he stared at the kids with no mercy. Walking slowly forwards Dante’s aura disappeared and he stopped to look at Riku who was still advancing. Throwing the aura back up he flew forwards slinging in front of the two kids causing a gust of wind to send the kids backward. “ Dante. Time for that rematch.” Riku said in a monotone and jumped straight into the air. With a grin Dante flew right up next to him and all that could be seen were flashes as the fist met fist and kicks hit kicks. “ You wanted to fight them?!!” Leo said turning to Tonnio with a shocked expression at what they were seeing. It was truly master against master in this fight as the kids couldn’t even see the two combatants. “No. I still want to. These guys will teach us so much more then we could ever have learned without them.” Tonnio said in awe as the two appeared feet apart from each other with blood gushing through wounds caused by the sheer speed of their attacks. Grinning they walked over to each other and shook hands before turning to the rest of the class. Dante’s aura disappeared as well as Riku’s black ash. “ Now then young ones. You ready to learn?” Dante said as he stopped next to Kire. Walking forward Tonnio and Leo stood directly in front of them both with arms crossed defiantly. “ Let’s hit it.” Tonnio said with a nod to Leo. Rinoa was standing next to Roxanne as the rest of the class stumbled in with various states of character. Some looked at Rinoa with admiration while others more thoroughly set on by the traps had raw anger for her. Rinoa shrugged as she walked over to the class and stood in front of them. Roxanne smiled shyly and separated the class into three groups after looking at each based on their level of expertise. As she walked in front of Rinoa she stopped and motioned her over to her. “You’ll be my assistant.” Roxanne whispered and continued down the line setting people into each of the groups. “Alright. Those in group one will go back threw the gauntlet trying to avoid more of the traps this time. Rinoa will set these one’s so don’t start until she says so. Group two will practice designing their own traps for group three to do under Rinoa’s instruction after she gets back. Group three is with me. You are some of the best but don’t think you get special treatment. You will practice the art of combat with staffs or other weapons of your choice with me. Dismissed.” Roxanne said in what she hoped was the voice of authority. After talking with Rinoa and sending her on her way she pointed out the materials to group two for the traps before turning to her staff. Kicking it into the air she grabbed it as it came down behind her and twirled it around to an attack position in front of her. Each of the kids either had a staff or a small whip with a rubber tip to avoid injury. After practicing for half an hour she traded the group three for group one and sent group one to group twos spot forcing group two to fight. Rinoa walked over and grabbed a staff of her own and then raised a hand. “ Yes, Rinoa?” Roxanne asked politely. “I’d like to fight you. With my training weapons if it’s okay?” Rinoa asked politely in return. “ Okay.” Roxanne said motioning group two to the side of the room leaving a lot of room to fight. If her skills as a fighter are as good as her skills with traps it could get interesting Roxanne thought as she watched Roxanne draw to wooden chakra out of the bag. “This isn’t a projectile weapon class.” Roxanne said lowering her staff. “Oh don’t worry I keep them attached.” Rinoa said as she pulled on gloves and wound string through a hole in each of the chakras making it so she could attach the chakras to her gloves and throw them with ease while being able to retract them. “Hmmm okay I’m game. Just this once though.” Roxanne said as she rushed at Rinoa using the staff to vault over Rinoa. Not missing a beat Rinoa threw one chakra up to deflect Roxanne’s downward swing and the other far behind her. Grabbing the string of the one behind her Rinoa ruthlessly whipped it back towards her causing it to spin with startling speed. “ Uh-oh. Teach doesn’t know Rinoa’s serious.” A student chuckled from the sideline. Grunting, Roxanne pushed down heavily with the staff and then let the staff hit the ground as she landed just behind the chakra and grabbed the staff swinging it at Rinoa forcing her to hold the chakra up as a defense from inside the ring. Flipping over sideways Rinoa threw one of the chakra behind her again and the other forwards purposely past Roxanne. “What are you…” Roxanne said as she watched it fly back towards Rinoa’s hand along with the other. With a side toss off each Rinoa threw them both, grabbed the strings and whipped them out in a circle faster then Roxanne could move. With a blast Roxanne was thrown out of the ring by the startling speed. Roxanne stumbled back to her feet just as Rinoa whipped them into the air and then did a downward slice with each colliding with Roxanne’s staff as she raised it to avoid the hit grinning Roxanne let the chakra wind around the blade and then tugged hard sending Rinoa flying towards her. Dropping the staff Roxanne threw her leg out swiftly using Rinoa’s speed to increase the impact of the kick. Collapsing with no air in her lungs Rinoa doubled over as Roxanne flipped the staff into her hands and brought a crushing blow across Rinoa’s back forcibly knocking her to the mat. “Surrender?” Roxanne said as poised the staff over Rinoa’s neck. “Yeah.” Rinoa said as she took in her surroundings. “Good. Nice fight.” Roxanne said as she lifted Rinoa to her feet and gave her the chakras. “Next group please.” Roxanne said turning to the class. Keira watched as each kid caused a stream of holes to appear in their targets except for one girl. The girl had caused only one hole in her target but nonetheless hadn’t moved her gun at all. Keira walked over and touched the girl on her arm causing the girl to lower her arm. “What’s your name?” Keira asked as she took the gun from the girl. “Kirin. This class is pretty good huh?” Kirin said with a smile. “Yeah if you can hit the target.” Keira said pointing at the one hole in the target. “ Tell everyone to stop firing and I’ll show you.” Kirin said still grinning. Keira frowned but nonetheless did so turning to look at the girl again. Kirin dragged Keira down to where her target was and then behind it to show the wall. “ I haven’t been missing. I’ve just been hitting the same spot.” Kirin said pointing a glowing hole in the wall that was several feet through. “ You know kid. Me and you are going to have one hell of a time.” Keira grinned as they walked back and the class resumed firing. Roxas knocked each one back in a blur of swings sending almost everyone flying. As the group flew into a pile one kid flew forwards with a weird blade in his hands. It looked like a gun near the hilt but then stretched out in a blade. With a crash the two blades met causing a shockwave between the two fighters that emanated out around them. With a grin the kid jumped back and squeezed a trigger concealed near the beginning of the gun. The blade turned red as the kid flew forwards still squeezing the trigger. This time as the blades met Roxas was forced back a step. Laughing Roxas yelled, “This is more like it!” With a twist Roxas swung the blade around and brought it crashing down on to the kid’s blade sending the earth at the kid’s feet cracking all around. Jumping the kid flipped over Roxas and slashed sideways meeting Roxas’ blade with ease before flipping under it and sending it out of Roxas’ hands. Grinning the kid then slashed down at Roxas’ defenseless form. Nodding, Roxas jumped back and then onto the blade kicking the kid in the stomach sending him back towards Roxas’ sword with his staying in front of Roxas. “Tie.” The kid muttered as he grabbed Roxas’ blade and threw it to Roxas who threw the kid his. Catching it the kid slid it into the sheath at his waist without looking as Roxas slid his into the sheath on his back. “ Who are you and where did you learn to fight?” Roxas said still holding the hilt of his sword in case of an attack. “I’m Leon and I taught myself. By the way it’s a gunblade I designed myself.” Leon said bowing to Roxas as Roxas did the same. Roxas looked to the rest of the class with a grin and separated them into teams. Turning back to Leon he drew his sword. “We aint done yet Leon.” Roxas said as he ran forward to meet Leon’s blade yet again. |
