Yoshimitsu
Former Moderator
"Dammit!" Yoshimitsu cursed angrily, once again failing to catch a glass unicorn telekinetically. Vincent was sat on a nearby wall, watching his friend's progress. Yoshimitsu sighed, and threw an expensive plate, trying to mentally stop its descent. He failed. Again.
"As if it wasn't bad enough! We've lost the whole area the house used to be in, my powers have gone, I'm not even human…" Yoshimitsu listed angrily. Vincent slid off of the wall.
"I mean, it isn't all bad," Yoshimitsu continued. "I've got the speed and dexterity down, but the energy blasts are beyond me."
"It's getting late, we'd better get some sleep," Vincent said, slipping his bag off his back. "Here, you take the camp bed."
It was out of respect that Vincent gave Yoshimitsu the bed. Yoshimitsu had been through so much in the last ninety-six hours. He had discovered that he wasn't human, he'd had to fight his own people, he'd been stripped of his powers and he'd had his home ripped to pieces. Yoshimitsu said a quiet word of thanks, and started to set up the bed.
"Man… It's been pretty rough…" Vincent thought. "We'll have to start all over…"
"G'night," Yoshimitsu's voice came.
"'Night," Vincent replied. They quickly sunk into slumber.
• * * * *
"Boss, they messed," A male voice said.
"Just keep moving, Clen, we'll worry ‘bout that later," The one called Boss said.
A group of about seven people were moving through a forest, being chased by a few official-looking people. The shade of the trees covered their appearances, making them very hard to track. After a few minutes, they had lost their pursuers.
"Let's rest here," Boss said, jumping over a wall. "Clen, got the drinks?"
"Well duh," Clen replied, sliding a bag off his shoulders. "Only water, though, didn't have enough time for anything else."
"It'll have to do," Boss said, taking a bottle of water.
"Hey Boss!" Another voice yelled, female this time. "There are a coupla bodies here, think they're still alive!"
"Lesse," Boss said, walking over. He crouched, and examined the bodies of Yoshimitsu and Vincent. "Check ‘em, Saph, if they're alive, we'll take ‘em with us. They look starved, but pretty strong."
Saph nodded, and knelt down to check their pulses.
"They're alive, Boss," Saph said.
"Alright. Clen, D, you two carry them. We'd better get goin' now," Boss said. Two male figures nodded, and lifted the bodies of Vincent and Yoshimitsu.
• * * * *
When Vincent woke up, his groggy mind thought he was still in a dream. The place where he was lying was not where he had fallen asleep. It was much warmer, more comfortable, and there was no dew on him. He moved his right arm rather groggily, and jabbed his left arm with his thumb. It hurt. He wasn't dreaming.
He half-opened his eyes, his tired state not allowing him to full open them, and sat up.
"Ungh…" He groaned. He ached all over. "Whe… Where am I?"
A head seemed to appear out of no where. After a few seconds of thought, Vincent realised that the head was coming from a top bunk of a bed, the same one he was sitting in.
"Finally awake, are you?" The head said, smirking.
"Where am I?" Vincent repeated, his voice sounding very hoarse.
"The Aer Battalion, an Airship," The head replied. "I'm Clen, what's your name?"
"Vincent," Vincent replied, clearing his throat. "How did I-?"
"Carried you. And that blue haired guy," Clen explained.
"Yoshimitsu? He's here?" Vincent asked.
"Yeah, he's been up for a few hours now, said he'd check in soon," Clen replied. "You might wanna get changed, Boss said you can borrow some of my clothes." Clen's head vanished for a second, and some neatly folded clothes landed on Vincent's lap. Suddenly, Vincent became very aware that he was wearing nothing but his underwear. Clen's head reappeared.
"I take it the glasses are a fashion statement? At least they suit the rest of your outfit," Clen joked, smirking again. Vincent never took his shades off.
"Alright, I'm getting up," Vincent said, sorting through his borrowed clothes and taking the clean underwear.
"Not gonna look, I'm guessing?" Vincent said.
"Nope," Clen replied, looking at the ceiling. Vincent nodded, and got changed.
"Vincent!" A familiar voice yelled. Yoshimitsu jumped out from out of view, and ruffled Vincent's hair. Vincent grinned, but pushed Yoshimitsu's hand away. From the yell alone, Vincent could tell that Yoshimitsu had already settled into lifestyle aboard the Aer Battalion.
Vincent looked around the room.
"So, Vincent," Clen said, stepping forward. "This is the crew."
This was the first time Vincent had seen Clen properly. Clen wore what looked like a belt at first, but upon closer examination it was a leather headband on his head, covering half of his eyes and his forehead. His hair was either spiked, or just forced up by the headband, and was a very dark purple. He wore a leather v-necked vest top, with triangular sleeves that covered his shoulders underneath a dyed black denim jacket. His jeans were ripped in various places, his knees and the bottom of the legs amongst other places. His boots looked worn and the laces were frayed.
"Yeah… I guessed as much," Vincent said, looking around again.
"So, this is Saph," Clen said, gesturing to a girl, who looked to be about seventeen or so. Her hair was long, blue and tied back, the top of her head hidden by a black cowboy hat. She wore a long black top, and jeans, with high-heeled boots. Vincent got the impression that she was not someone to be messed with, but could be a lot of fun to hang around with anyway.
"That's Diago, we call him D for short," Clen continued, pointing at a tall male figure. He looked to be in his late teens, maybe nineteen. He was approaching six foot eight, and wore a lot of black. He wore a leather jacket that looked fairly new and black jeans which were ripped more than Clen's. He also wore black trainers and black gloves.
"She's Tina," Clen said as another girl stepped forwards. She looked more normal than the other two members Vincent had been introduced to. Her hair was fair, somewhere between light brown and sandy brown, and fell rather messily around her shoulders. She wore a white t-shirt that said "Rock is Dead, Long Live Paper and Scissors!" She was also wearing light-blue trousers, that weren't ripped, unlike Diago and Clen, and she had light blue Converse on.
"He's Ray," Clen gestured lazily to another male figure. He looked no older than sixteen, and had very messy, long-ish brown hair. He wore a black, Chinese-style top and the same style trousers as Tina. He was wearing dulled red Converse. Vincent assumed that he and Tina were related somehow.
"And this guy's Ivan," Clen finished as another male figure stepped forwards. He appeared to be about Vincent's age, but there was a sharp contrast in their appearances. They appeared to be complete opposites. He had long, tidy white hair, with a single earring that had what appeared to be a fang attached to it. He wore a navy green top, which was zip-up, and black jeans. His boots were silver-and-black.
"And as for Boss, you'll know him when you see him," Clen said, winking. Vincent nodded.
• * * * *
"Oi, Vincent," D shouted, bursting into Vincent and Clen's room. "Boss says he wants to see you."
"What?" Vincent asked, staring at D.
"Boss. Says. He. Wants. To. See. You," D repeated, speaking slowly this time.
"Vincent, if Boss said he wants to see you, it's probably important," Clen said. "Head up to his room."
"Err… Where's his room?" Vincent asked, feeling very thick.
"I'll take you," Clen said, jumping to his feet.
"Clen…" Vincent said, as he and Clen were walking through the airship. "What's Boss like?"
"Well… He's ok, pretty good strategist… Really good fighter… But, he can be a bit…" Clen said. "Well… Nasty. Just try to stay on his good side."
"Oh… Ok…" Vincent said.
"Here we are," Clen said, stopping abruptly. Vincent stopped, and turned.
"Oh, one last thing, he'll probably salute you. Here's the salute, so you can return it," Clen said. He brought his right arm up across his chest, and clapped his feet together.
"Right…" Vincent said, taking a mental note. He turned, waving to Clen, and knocked on the door.
"Enter!" A strong voice said. Vincent swallowed, and pushed open the door.
The room looked exactly like Vincent and Clen's room, only with a single bed instead of a bunk bed. It was decorated with a slightly rough carpet, and shabbily done wallpaper that had been scribbled over. A tall figure stood in the room. He was very bulky, clearly a strong person, and wore selective pieces of armour. He was wearing a breastplate, shoulder pads and gauntlets. Underneath, he was wearing a black shirt and jeans. Resting against a wall was a battleaxe.
The man saluted to Vincent, he saluted back.
"Bwahaha! I see you've got the salute down," The man laughed, looking at Vincent. "I guessed that if you got a proper meal you'd be right."
Vincent didn't say anything. He didn't want to comment in case he offended the Boss.
"Quiet one, eh?" Boss said. "I like that. So, what do you think of the Aer Battalion?"
"It's…" Vincent started. He didn't know what to say exactly. He liked the crew quite a bit, having spent some time with them. The food was good. It wasn't anything special, but it had a nice taste to it. The place felt very homely.
"Nice."
"Bwahaha! Nice, eh?" Boss laughed again. "Well, got settled in alright?"
"I guess so…"
"Good, good… Well, here's the deal. I'd like to keep you in this airship, you're clearly getting along with the rest of the crew, and considering how we found you, it'd probably do you a lot of good," Boss said. "So, how about it?"
Vincent didn't say anything. Boss studied Vincent for a second.
"I'm not expecting an answer straight away. Stay on for a little bit, and tell me in a few days," Boss said.
"Alright," Vincent said, relieved that he didn't have to answer straight away.
"Good good, you're dismissed," Boss said. Vincent wasted no time in leaving the Boss's room.
• * * * *
"So, how did it go?" Clen asked when Vincent returned. He was sat there on the top bunk, with D and Yoshimitsu sat on the bottom bunk.
"He asked me if I wanted to stay here," Vincent replied, slipping off his jacket and boots.
"Well, that's not the only news you've got. You an' Yosh have been put into this play we've gotta do," D said, pulling out a script and throwing it to Vincent, who caught it easily. "Character listing's on the first page, an' it tells you who you have to play."
"Ok…" Vincent said slowly.
"I best be off," D said. "Gotta finish washin' up, then I'm off to bed."
"I need to go too," Clen said. "I've gotta work with D in the kitchen. See ya, Vince."
After D and Clen had gone, Vincent looked at the character listing, and scanned through for his name. He found Yoshimitsu's first.
"You've gotta play some guy called… Jay?" Vincent said.
"Yup, not a leading role, but I don't mind. I'm not a brilliant actor," Yoshimitsu replied, shrugging. Vincent continued looking, quickly finding his character. He suddenly went oddly quiet.
"What's up?" Yoshimitsu asked, jumping off the bed. "Can't be that bad." He grabbed the script and looked at Vincent's character. Slowly, and grin spread across his face.
"Don't laugh," Vincent warned. Yoshimitsu tried to straighten his face. And failed.
"You've gotta play Celia Smith," Yoshimitsu said, still grinning. Vincent grabbed the script back.
"It isn't funny," Vincent said, flipping through the script. "I've only got a few lines, a couple in act three scene five, and some in act six sce…ne…three…"
"Oh? What's wrong with Six Three?" Yoshimitsu asked.
"I've gotta… I… It's a kissing scene…" Vincent said, his jaw dropping. Yoshimitsu burst out laughing.
"Who's the unlucky guy you've gotta kiss?" He managed to get out. Vincent went back to the character listing.
"Clen," Vincent said.
• * * * *
Over the next few days, Vincent had settled into his life aboard the Aer Battalion. He was working, just like everybody else, although his jobs were mostly washing dishes. He didn't mind, though. It was better that he started out pretty small.
"Alright, job call guys!" Clen yelled during breakfast. "D, Saph, you work in the kitchens, Tina, Ivan, you pilot, Yosh, clean the dining area, Ray, Vince, you work in the engine room."
Vincent stared at Clen for a second, who took him to one side.
"So, Vince, moving up in the jobs," Clen said. "Just so you know, Boss requested it. And he says he wants to see you when you've finished, but you should probably take a shower before you do. Working in the engine room makes you stink." Clen winked, and went off to help Yoshimitsu.
"Yo, Vince, let's get moving!" Ray yelled, gesturing for Vincent to follow, which he did.
Vincent could see why working in the engine room might make him stink. It was incredibly hot in there, with the engine giving off lots of heat, and the room looked less than clean.
"No point cleaning up," Ray said. "Oil and grease gets everywhere, usually. Gets too messy too quickly. Pass me that spanner, will you?"
After a few hours, Vincent's appearance had changed vastly. His hair was even messier than usual, if that was possible. His top was undone, revealing his chest off to the world, due to the head. Ray looked very similar, only he had oil covering his face.
"Alright, we're done," Ray said, wiping a layer of sweat from his forehead. "Better hit the showers."
"Agreed," Vincent said, grinning.
• * * * *
"You were supposed to come right after you finished working," Boss said. "But I think I'll overlook it, Clen said you smelled terrible." Boss laughed heartily.
"Sorry, Boss," Vincent said.
"So, what do you think? Willing to stay?" Boss asked.
Vincent thought for a moment. He loved life on the Aer Battalion. He loved all his friends, Tina, Saph, Ray, Ivan, D, Yoshimitsu and Clen. He enjoyed working with all his friends, and the work was never too hard. He had settled in almost perfectly. He tilted his head slightly, and looked at Boss.
"Yes."
• * * * *
"What'd Boss want?" Clen asked when Vincent walked in. Yoshimitsu was sat on the bottom bunk, with Clen lying on his back on the floor.
"Same as last time," Vincent said. "Asked me if I wanted to stay."
"What'd you say?" Yoshimitsu asked.
"I said yes," Vincent said. Clen jumped to his feet, and embraced Vincent.
"Awesome!" He said, after letting go of Vincent.
"What about you, Yosh?" Vincent asked Yoshimitsu.
"I said yeah too," Yoshimitsu replied, grinning. "Just came to remind you, been learning your lines?"
Vincent clapped his hand to his forehead.
"Dammit! Forgot all about them!" Vincent said, sounding half angry.
"Don't worry too much," Clen said. "You've got a week to learn ‘em in. Just don't forget again."
"Trust me, I wont," Vincent said, sitting on his bunk and pulling his boots off.
"I'd better go check my lines too," Yoshimitsu said, jumping to his feet. "Later, Vince."
"See ya," Vincent replied. Yoshimitsu ran out of the room, slamming the door by accident.
"Hey, Clen?" Vincent said. Clen, who was sorting through some of his possessions, looked up.
"Yeah?" Clen replied, throwing a medallion into the bin.
"Y'know the play?" Vincent said. He paused. "Act six, scene three…"
"Oh yeah, what about it?" Clen said, looking through his stuff again.
"Well… It's a… Y'know, it's a…" Vincent paused, and took a deep breath. "It's a… a… kissing scene."
"Oh yeah, what abou- oh, I see," Clen said.
"I'm sorry," Vincent said.
"You're first kiss?" Clen asked.
"I wouldn't mind…" Vincent said. "It's just… I wanted my first kiss to actually mean something…"
"So, if I meant it, you'd be fine with it?" Clen asked.
"If I knew you meant it…" Vincent said. "Yeah."
"Ok then," Clen said.
"What?" Vincent said, taken aback.
"I mean it," Clen said. "I'm gonna say this, but you're not gonna hear it again, alright?"
"O-ok…" Vincent said.
"You're… a gorgeous, sexy guy. I'd mean anything that we did together," Clen said, his eyes blazing into Vincent's. "So, do you still want to practice?"
"Y-yeah," Vincent stammered.
"Man, I can't believe it's already happening," Clen said.
"What?" Vincent said, suddenly a lot more panicky. "They didn't change the play time, did they?"
"No, no, nothing like that… It's just that, well, you're growing up loads… Hell, you're halfway through it now, I'd bet," Clen said.
"Come here," Clen said, sitting on the bed. Vincent stumbled across the room, though he was apparently stumbling over thin air. He practically fell onto his bed.
"Heh heh, if you act like that in the play, you'll get Boss on your case," Clen said, smirking. Vincent went slightly red, but quickly recovered. He raised his right hand, and pulled his shaded off, revealing his eyes for the first time in a long while.
"I don't know why you hide your eyes, y'know," Clen said, looking at Vincent. "They really are amazing."
"I like some privacy in where I look, I s'pose," Vincent said, putting his shades down next to him. Clen took a hold of Vincent's hand, and looked at him.
"Now, are you sure you want to do this?" He asked.
"Y-yeah…" Vincent said, stammering again. Clen nodded slowly.
"Alright then."
Clen moved his head forwards, tilting it slightly, and pushed his lips to meet Vincent's. It was a peculiar sensation, Vincent found. Clen's upper lip was just above Vincent's upper lip, his lower lip along the seam of Vincent's mouth. While unusual, it didn't at all feel unnatural to Vincent, who rather liked the feeling. Clen wrapped his arms around Vincent.
After about half a minute, Clen drew his head back slightly, still holding on to Vincent.
"How was that?" Clen asked.
"It… it was… amazing," Vincent said, breathless. His mind seemed to have shut down, still focusing on that kiss.
"Not bad, eh?" Clen said. "Or maybe you wish you hadn't?"
"No, of course not!" Vincent said, sounding horror-struck. "I'd never wish that!"
"Anyway, we still have to get your lines right," Clen said.
"I know…" Vincent said.
• * * * *
It was the night of the play.
"One last scene to go," Yoshimitsu said cheerfully. Vincent rolled his eyes. Yoshimitsu didn't have anything to do this scene, whereas Vincent was still dressed up as a girl, and he was in the last scene. Already, he felt nervousness wash over him.
"Yo, Vince," D yelled. "You're up! Go! GO!"
Vincent nodded, swearing as he stumbled on to the stage. Luckily, he was supposed to stumble, and everyone's attention was directed at Clen anyway. He delivered his opening line, but just as he finished, a low rumbling filled the air. Vincent crouched, feeling the vibrations in the ground.
"No… freaking… way…" Vincent said to himself. He turned his head, and saw two claws ripping open the backdrop. It must be something powerful — the backdrop had been re-forged twice because Boss didn't like its strength. Suddenly, the backdrop gave, and the thing clawing at it ripped it away.
"Ok, first thing's first…" Vincent said, standing up. A fiery aura formed around him, burning away his stage-clothes, revealing his casual wear underneath. Clen glanced sideways at him, and gave his a questioning look.
"I'd like to keep some indication of the fact that I am still a male," Vincent said, his armour forming around him. Clen pulled a sword from the ground, where it had been cleverly hidden by a trap-door. Vincent smirked. Actors really were prepared.
The rest of the crew were running on to the stage, Boss shouting orders.
"Keep them away from the audience at all costs!" He yelled. "And don't ruin the ship!"
"Aww, dammit," Vincent said. "Looks like no elements for me."
Vincent pulled out his sword, his weapon instantly extending into a spear. A golden blade formed at the end. Clen was already in battle. It was then that Vincent saw what they were up against.
Dragons. At least a hundred, navy blue dragons. All of them identical. Vincent swore, if he had been focusing, he could've warned everyone before they attacked. They must have been in the dragons' airspace.
"Well, whatever."
"GET SOME!" Boss yelled, smashing a dragon in the skull with his axe. Quickly, he spun and sliced through another's wing. Vincent stared for a second, realising why he was the boss. Vincent shook himself mentally, and jumped back. Everyone was holding them back a fair distance, but a couple were breaking through.
"Dragon Net," Vincent said calmly, throwing a string of energy at a dragon. The string wrapped itself around the dragon, constricting its movement efficiently. Vincent spun on the spot, catching another dragon with his spear, cutting its head and damaging its brain, rendering it unconscious and no longer a threat.
It was then that Vincent saw Yoshimitsu. However, what he saw worried him. Yoshimitsu wasn't fighting as he usually did — he was much more violent and aggressive. Vincent knew Yoshimitsu — he would never fight like that, even in the most desperate times. Yoshimitsu was cleaving the dragons in two, apparently not caring.
"Yoshimitsu!" Vincent yelled, moving in front of Yoshimitsu. "Stop! NOW!"
Yoshimitsu gave an evil, somewhat mad chuckle, and launched a powerful kick, which caught Vincent's ribcage, throwing him to the side. Vincent dragged himself up, kneeling and holding his side. Yoshimitsu ran at the incoming dragons, Bahamut's wings ripping out of his back. Vincent stood up, grabbed Clen's wrist, his hair turning golden as he shot after Yoshimitsu.
"Clen!" Vincent yelled over the wind. "Close your eyes, I need your help for this!"
Clen nodded, and closed his eyes. Vincent focused briefly, transferring his own power into Clen, making his friend's hair turn golden. Clen would have all the same abilities as Vincent until Vincent took the power back.
Up ahead, Yoshimitsu was darting through the dark sky. It was late, and it was stormy. There was no rain, only thunder and wind. Vincent knew where Yoshimitsu was heading — right for Mist. He let go of Clen's arm, and the two of them shot after Yoshimitsu.
• * * * *
"What the hell is going on?!" D yelled, crushing a dragon's skull with his fist.
"Just hold them back!" Boss yelled, slicing a dragon's wing off.
• * * * *
"STOP!" Vincent yelled, appearing in front of Yoshimitsu. Clen hovered around fifteen meters behind Yoshimitsu.
"No," Yoshimitsu said.
"Fine," Vincent said, his sword forming in his hand. "Then I'll stop you." Vincent shot forwards, and slashed at Yoshimitsu.
"No way…" Vincent said as Yoshimitsu caught the blade in his hand. With a mighty pull, he threw Vincent behind him. Clen dropped slightly, and shot forwards, ignoring everything around him. He would not slash, stab, punch or kick. He would just ram straight into him.
"NO!" Yoshimitsu yelled, spinning and kicking Clen's incoming head. Clen dropped out of the air, but it had given Vincent enough time to recover.
"I AM NOT GOING TO STOP!" Yoshimitsu screamed at the top of his lungs. Vincent stared at Yoshimitsu. This was not his friend. Something had taken over, something inhuman.
"Inhuman, that's it!" Vincent thought. "He isn't human… This is what he is really…"
"What are you planning to do, Vincent?" Yoshimitsu said, turning. "Why do you want to stop me?"
"Because…" Vincent said. Why did he?
"Yes?"
"I don't know! Because you're planning something? Because whatever this is, it isn't good? Because I want my friend back!"
Yoshimitsu laughed, a cruel laugh. Vincent's anger took over, his hair going beyond golden, turning silver. This was a power beyond anything he had ever felt. Yoshimitsu frowned, and shielded his face as Vincent discharged so much energy, creating shockwaves that ripped through the air.
"There is no fucking way…" Vincent said, sounding cold. "No fucking way I'll let you leave this…"
"You don't have a choice," Yoshimitsu said, throwing his arms out to either side. Vincent's eyes narrowed, and he started gathering energy in his hands, his sword fading away. Yoshimitsu laughed again, mimicking Vincent's actions. An orb of black energy formed in between his hands.
Vincent yelled, and threw a beam of energy at Yoshimitsu, who laughed and fired his own back. The blasts clashed, creating an explosion in the air between them. From below, another beam shot up, and hit Yoshimitsu, who dropped slightly, his focus gone. Vincent's energy blast hit the descending Yoshimitsu, blasting him back. Clen shot up from below, performing an uppercut which threw Yoshimitsu high into the air. Vincent shot forwards, and kicked Yoshimitsu in the gut.
Yoshimitsu flipped, and shot back at Vincent, Osafune drawn. Vincent spun, and kicked at the incoming Yoshimitsu very violently, catching his sword and kicking it out of his hands. Yoshimitsu watched for a second, before switching his attention back to Vincent. He launched a series of quick punches and kicks, but Vincent was more than ready for this. After about the seventh punch, and caught Yoshimitsu's fist. Yoshimitsu tried to punch with the other hand, but Vincent caught that fist too. With a smirk, Vincent forced Yoshimitsu's hands down, and slammed his head into Yoshimitsu's. Yoshimitsu fell backwards, dropping for about ten seconds before recovering nicely.
Yoshimitsu flew back, putting about fifteen meters distance between him and Vincent as he started gathering as much energy as he could in his hands. After a few seconds charging, he started throwing seemingly endless orbs of energy at Vincent.
Vincent laughed. As soon as the first orb got too close, he backhanded it, making it fly off in another direction. The second, he kicked away. The third, he punched into another incoming one.
"ENOUGH!" Vincent yelled, sending out a shockwave of energy. Yoshimitsu put his arms across his chest, and tucked in his knees, blocking the waves of energy. Vincent was already shooting at Yoshimitsu. Once he got close enough, he started pounding away with a mixture of punches, kicks and headbutts.
"Not bad," Yoshimitsu said. "But our time here is up, and I have to leave."
Yoshimitsu smiled, an evil smile, and vanished from sight.
"No… He's gone…" Vincent said, his hair fading into black. Clen grabbed Vincent, holding him in the air.
"It's not too late," Clen said. "Leave him, give him a day."
"It'll be too late then…" Vincent said, tears flowing freely from his eyes.
"No, it wont. Leave him, and we'll decide what to do then," Clen said, holding Vincent close.
• * * * *
"Alright, that's the last of it," Vincent said, taking his powers back from Clen.
"Phew," Clen said, a little light-headed. "It was fun an' all, but I feel a bit weird now."
"I got used to the after-effects of it," Vincent said, shrugging. "Had to, I've used that so many times now…"
"You two have fun, then?" D said, walking over with a plate of sandwiches. "Yosh made a getaway, eh? No idea what he's gone for?"
"I know already…" Vincent said. "He's gone back home, a floating island if you will. But, it's an extension of his mind, he can change its shape, its properties, he can even spawn new life there. He'll be doing something there."
"I don't mean to worry you fellas," Saph said, walking over. "But y'see, somethin' weird's going on."
"What do you mean?" Vincent asked instantly.
"A huge… Well, planet, for lack o' better word, just appeared, followin' the moon's orbit," Saph said, taking a sandwich.
"You're joking… He has that much power over it?" Vincent asked himself. "I'm going there. Now."
"No, Vincent," Clen said. "I'll go. He'll probably be expecting you, whatever he's planning."
"…Ok," Vincent said reluctantly. He understood what Clen was saying, and a part of him agreed with him, but he felt that it was he himself that was going.
"I'll go ask Boss ‘bout that teleport thing he has hidden away," Clen said, standing up.
• * * * *
"What's going on up there?" Vincent asked, talking to Clen through a small piece of magic he picked up. It created a link to whoever he wanted, as long as the other person was aware of it. It was essentially a video-phone.
"Well, it certainly is a planet," Clen said. "But it's easily accessible — it may as well be in the sky. I'm sure the Aer Battalion could safely get here."
"So what's with Yoshi?" Vincent asked.
"No idea, I haven't seen him. Everyone's talking about him though — he's the single best Kinsta Knight, or KK for short," Clen said.
"No way… Well, whatever, I'm coming up there soon. How're you doing up there?"
"I'm heading for a tryout for the KK's soon, they use something called Ruco energy here and I have to check my resistance to the stuff before I'm accepted," Clen explained.
"So?"
Clen was silent. Vincent quickly realised how he must have sounded.
"Sorry…" Vincent said, looking down. "I didn't mean it like that… I know you're making every effort… It's just that…"
"Don't worry about it, Vincent," Clen said. "I know how you feel. Look, I gotta go, my test's in an hour and I need to get ready. I'll check in later, after we find out if I get accepted."
"Alright… See you…" Vincent said, closing the link.
It was too much. He'd lost one of his friends, and another was risking his life. He looked around his room — it was lonely without Clen. Sighing, he sat on his bed, thinking about his two friends.
• * * * *
"Clen, dammit, pick up!" Vincent muttered, trying to open a link. He waited for a few minutes, but still nothing.
"Shit… There's only one reason he wouldn't pick up," Vincent said, throwing on a chain-mail jacket and walking to the Boss's room. Clen's test must have gone wrong, because Clen didn't know about the link. He threw open the Boss's door, something no one would've ever dared to do.
"Boss! I need permission to fly the Aer Battalion! Something's happened to Clen, and I need to know what," Vincent demanded. Boss looked up from what appeared to be a battle plan.
"No, but I'll teleport you there directly. I'm not having an amateur flying my ship, no offence," Boss replied, raising a hand. Vincent felt as though his body was being forced into a very small space, like he was being crushed from all sides. The sensation lasted for a few seconds, before he found himself standing somewhere, somewhere different.
"You there!" A rough voice yelled. "Who are you, Kinsta or Rebel?!"
Vincent spun on the spot, and found himself face to face with a tall, bulky man, armed with a very large sword.
"Am I what?"
"Get out of the way!" The man yelled, backhanding Vincent. Vincent caught the arm, ripping him off his feet, and threw him about ten meters away from where he had previously been stood. He soon regretted the action, as about ten more men, each wielding a different weapon, surrounded him.
"What the hell is this?" Vincent demanded.
"Give it up, you can't face ten First Class KKs," One of the men said. Vincent mentally slapped himself — KKs. He must have taken one of them down just then.
"Go on then, make your move," Vincent said, assuming a defensive stance. One of the men smirked, and drew his long sword. He lunged at Vincent, and slashed around Vincent's waist. Vincent dropped down, the sword going over his head. In one swift, solid movement, he brought his foot sweeping down, knocking the man off his feet. Then, he stood up and brought his foot slamming down into his stomach.
"Who's next?" Vincent demanded. Two men attacked at one, all the others backing off slightly. One of them was armed with a spear, the other with a buster sword. Vincent smirked, and jumped backwards a meter or so.
"Ready, Dave?" One man said, the one with the buster sword.
"You betcha, Cal," The one with the spear replied, smirking.
Dave launched the first move, lunging at Vincent and trying to stab the youth. Vinent jumped, and landed on the spear. He hooked a foot under the spear, and kicked it away from Dave. He was about to knock Dave out when he heard the other man moving behind him. So, he ran at Dave, and kicked off his chest, flipping over Cal and landing in a crouching position, a smirk on his face.
"Is this it?" Vincent asked, smirking still. He ran at Cal, and spun around the KK, dodging a stab from the buster sword. He brought his right foot swinging round, catching Cal's side. Then, he jumped again, dodging Dave's spear which caught the back of Cal's leg. This was too easy.
"Don't make me laugh," Vincent said, running at Cal, flipping over him and kicking Dave in the head on the way down. He spun, and smashed his hand into Cal's face. The pair of them collapsed.
"Enough!" One of the other KKs said. "He's good. He's very good — no one can take on three KKs and live through it normally."
"I concur. Let's take him to President Kinsta."
"There's that damn name again! What has Yoshimitsu been doing?!" Vincent thought to himself.
"Alright. Let's go," Two KKs stood at either side of him, and grabbed his arms, leading him off.
• * * * *
"Three?" President Kinsta asked, eyes wide. "He beat three? Without receiving a scratch?"
"Yes, Sir," One of the KKs said. Vincent was being held in place by the same two KKs that had dragged him here. However, he didn't care about that. The KKs were nothing but wimps to him. He was looking around the room for some hint of Yoshimitsu.
"Very well…" The president said, regaining his composure quickly. "Take him down to level 63, and have him tested."
"Yes Sir!"
Vincent found himself being pushed into a lift, with three security guards making sure he wasn't wrecking things. With a shudder, he felt the lift start moving. He was sorely tempted to knock out the security guards and start raiding the place, looking for his friends, but he knew that he couldn't fight every KK, Security Guard and Kinsta Soldier in the building.
"Alright, let's move," a security guard said as the lift stopped. Vincent nodded, and walked out of the lift, looking around.
"What is this level?" Vincent asked.
"KK Training and Testing," a security guard said. "We're having you tested for Ruco. You have more than what it takes to get in to the KK, First Class"
"Ok…" Vincent said. He found himself being ushered into a room.
"Is he the one?" A man said. He was wearing a lab coat, and very thick glasses, giving him a somewhat nerdy look.
"Yeah, he's the one," the security guard said.
"Alright. Please, lie down on the bed," the nerdy guy said. Vincent nodded, and obliged.
"This'll just take a sec, just a minor injection," The scientist said. Vincent nodded, and swallowed. He didn't like needles. He felt the sting of the needle, but the last thing he heard before passing out was:
"I put in a power limiter, and an amnesiac."
• * * * *
Vincent woke up in a fairly comfortable bed, feeling groggy as hell. He opened his eyes, and waited from his mind to kick in again. Where was he? What was he doing? How did he get here.
That's right. He was a Kinsta Soldier, he came from a small town called Drieb. His training was starting soon, and he had been doing this for a month now. He rolled over, and checked his clock. Six AM. He had half an hour before he had to get up and face another day of being talked about behind his back, and training that always made him feel exhausted.
He rolled over, and swung his legs over the side as he sat up. May as well get up now, at least this way he could get some studying in before hand. He got changed into his uniform, and grabbed a book on Trieb Mountains.
• * * * *
"Outta the way!"
Vincent stood, holding a tray, in the mess hall. It was around one pm, so everyone had been given a lunch break. Vincent might have liked his lunch breaks, but all the talk seemed to die when he went near someone. Everyone talked about him behind his back. He only wished he knew what it was about.
"I said move it!" An angry voice ordered. Vincent swallowed, and instantly moved, allowing a KK to move freely, instead of being blocked by a weedy little soldier.
Vincent walked over to an empty table, and sat down. He looked down at his tray, and stared at his disgusting-looking food. It looked more like worms thank it did a healthy meal. It probably was worms, knowing his luck.
It was about a minute before he realised that he wasn't alone on the table. He looked up to see a KK, about 21 years old, with spiky purple hair and a leather headband covering his forehead and the top half of his eyes.
"Heya," the KK said, extending a hand. "I'm Clen. What's your name?"
"V-Vincent," Vincent stuttered, shaking the older boy's hand. "Uh… Not to be rude, but… Why aren't you sat with the other KKs?"
"You looked like you wanted some company," Clen replied, stabbing his fork into his food absentmindly. Vincent felt a slight surge of anger.
"Besides, I wanted to see if the rumors were true, and they are," Clen continued.
"Rumors?"
"Yeah. People've been saying you're the prettiest face since Yoshimitsu," Clen explained. "And turns out the rumors are true."
Vincent stood up, having had just about enough of it. Clen had clearly just come over to poke fun at him. He turned to leave, but found Clen's hand wrapped tightly around his wrist.
"Don't leave, I'm sorry," Clen said. Vincent grudgingly sat down again. "I didn't mean to offend you. You looked like you wanted some company, and I wouldn't mind bein' your friend."
"Really?" Vincent said, suddenly hopeful. No one had offered to be his friend before.
"Yeah. How about I pick you up after the afternoon drills, and take you out for a drink?" Clen offered.
"S-sure!" Vincent said.
* * * * *
"As if it wasn't bad enough! We've lost the whole area the house used to be in, my powers have gone, I'm not even human…" Yoshimitsu listed angrily. Vincent slid off of the wall.
"I mean, it isn't all bad," Yoshimitsu continued. "I've got the speed and dexterity down, but the energy blasts are beyond me."
"It's getting late, we'd better get some sleep," Vincent said, slipping his bag off his back. "Here, you take the camp bed."
It was out of respect that Vincent gave Yoshimitsu the bed. Yoshimitsu had been through so much in the last ninety-six hours. He had discovered that he wasn't human, he'd had to fight his own people, he'd been stripped of his powers and he'd had his home ripped to pieces. Yoshimitsu said a quiet word of thanks, and started to set up the bed.
"Man… It's been pretty rough…" Vincent thought. "We'll have to start all over…"
"G'night," Yoshimitsu's voice came.
"'Night," Vincent replied. They quickly sunk into slumber.
• * * * *
"Boss, they messed," A male voice said.
"Just keep moving, Clen, we'll worry ‘bout that later," The one called Boss said.
A group of about seven people were moving through a forest, being chased by a few official-looking people. The shade of the trees covered their appearances, making them very hard to track. After a few minutes, they had lost their pursuers.
"Let's rest here," Boss said, jumping over a wall. "Clen, got the drinks?"
"Well duh," Clen replied, sliding a bag off his shoulders. "Only water, though, didn't have enough time for anything else."
"It'll have to do," Boss said, taking a bottle of water.
"Hey Boss!" Another voice yelled, female this time. "There are a coupla bodies here, think they're still alive!"
"Lesse," Boss said, walking over. He crouched, and examined the bodies of Yoshimitsu and Vincent. "Check ‘em, Saph, if they're alive, we'll take ‘em with us. They look starved, but pretty strong."
Saph nodded, and knelt down to check their pulses.
"They're alive, Boss," Saph said.
"Alright. Clen, D, you two carry them. We'd better get goin' now," Boss said. Two male figures nodded, and lifted the bodies of Vincent and Yoshimitsu.
• * * * *
When Vincent woke up, his groggy mind thought he was still in a dream. The place where he was lying was not where he had fallen asleep. It was much warmer, more comfortable, and there was no dew on him. He moved his right arm rather groggily, and jabbed his left arm with his thumb. It hurt. He wasn't dreaming.
He half-opened his eyes, his tired state not allowing him to full open them, and sat up.
"Ungh…" He groaned. He ached all over. "Whe… Where am I?"
A head seemed to appear out of no where. After a few seconds of thought, Vincent realised that the head was coming from a top bunk of a bed, the same one he was sitting in.
"Finally awake, are you?" The head said, smirking.
"Where am I?" Vincent repeated, his voice sounding very hoarse.
"The Aer Battalion, an Airship," The head replied. "I'm Clen, what's your name?"
"Vincent," Vincent replied, clearing his throat. "How did I-?"
"Carried you. And that blue haired guy," Clen explained.
"Yoshimitsu? He's here?" Vincent asked.
"Yeah, he's been up for a few hours now, said he'd check in soon," Clen replied. "You might wanna get changed, Boss said you can borrow some of my clothes." Clen's head vanished for a second, and some neatly folded clothes landed on Vincent's lap. Suddenly, Vincent became very aware that he was wearing nothing but his underwear. Clen's head reappeared.
"I take it the glasses are a fashion statement? At least they suit the rest of your outfit," Clen joked, smirking again. Vincent never took his shades off.
"Alright, I'm getting up," Vincent said, sorting through his borrowed clothes and taking the clean underwear.
"Not gonna look, I'm guessing?" Vincent said.
"Nope," Clen replied, looking at the ceiling. Vincent nodded, and got changed.
"Vincent!" A familiar voice yelled. Yoshimitsu jumped out from out of view, and ruffled Vincent's hair. Vincent grinned, but pushed Yoshimitsu's hand away. From the yell alone, Vincent could tell that Yoshimitsu had already settled into lifestyle aboard the Aer Battalion.
Vincent looked around the room.
"So, Vincent," Clen said, stepping forward. "This is the crew."
This was the first time Vincent had seen Clen properly. Clen wore what looked like a belt at first, but upon closer examination it was a leather headband on his head, covering half of his eyes and his forehead. His hair was either spiked, or just forced up by the headband, and was a very dark purple. He wore a leather v-necked vest top, with triangular sleeves that covered his shoulders underneath a dyed black denim jacket. His jeans were ripped in various places, his knees and the bottom of the legs amongst other places. His boots looked worn and the laces were frayed.
"Yeah… I guessed as much," Vincent said, looking around again.
"So, this is Saph," Clen said, gesturing to a girl, who looked to be about seventeen or so. Her hair was long, blue and tied back, the top of her head hidden by a black cowboy hat. She wore a long black top, and jeans, with high-heeled boots. Vincent got the impression that she was not someone to be messed with, but could be a lot of fun to hang around with anyway.
"That's Diago, we call him D for short," Clen continued, pointing at a tall male figure. He looked to be in his late teens, maybe nineteen. He was approaching six foot eight, and wore a lot of black. He wore a leather jacket that looked fairly new and black jeans which were ripped more than Clen's. He also wore black trainers and black gloves.
"She's Tina," Clen said as another girl stepped forwards. She looked more normal than the other two members Vincent had been introduced to. Her hair was fair, somewhere between light brown and sandy brown, and fell rather messily around her shoulders. She wore a white t-shirt that said "Rock is Dead, Long Live Paper and Scissors!" She was also wearing light-blue trousers, that weren't ripped, unlike Diago and Clen, and she had light blue Converse on.
"He's Ray," Clen gestured lazily to another male figure. He looked no older than sixteen, and had very messy, long-ish brown hair. He wore a black, Chinese-style top and the same style trousers as Tina. He was wearing dulled red Converse. Vincent assumed that he and Tina were related somehow.
"And this guy's Ivan," Clen finished as another male figure stepped forwards. He appeared to be about Vincent's age, but there was a sharp contrast in their appearances. They appeared to be complete opposites. He had long, tidy white hair, with a single earring that had what appeared to be a fang attached to it. He wore a navy green top, which was zip-up, and black jeans. His boots were silver-and-black.
"And as for Boss, you'll know him when you see him," Clen said, winking. Vincent nodded.
• * * * *
"Oi, Vincent," D shouted, bursting into Vincent and Clen's room. "Boss says he wants to see you."
"What?" Vincent asked, staring at D.
"Boss. Says. He. Wants. To. See. You," D repeated, speaking slowly this time.
"Vincent, if Boss said he wants to see you, it's probably important," Clen said. "Head up to his room."
"Err… Where's his room?" Vincent asked, feeling very thick.
"I'll take you," Clen said, jumping to his feet.
"Clen…" Vincent said, as he and Clen were walking through the airship. "What's Boss like?"
"Well… He's ok, pretty good strategist… Really good fighter… But, he can be a bit…" Clen said. "Well… Nasty. Just try to stay on his good side."
"Oh… Ok…" Vincent said.
"Here we are," Clen said, stopping abruptly. Vincent stopped, and turned.
"Oh, one last thing, he'll probably salute you. Here's the salute, so you can return it," Clen said. He brought his right arm up across his chest, and clapped his feet together.
"Right…" Vincent said, taking a mental note. He turned, waving to Clen, and knocked on the door.
"Enter!" A strong voice said. Vincent swallowed, and pushed open the door.
The room looked exactly like Vincent and Clen's room, only with a single bed instead of a bunk bed. It was decorated with a slightly rough carpet, and shabbily done wallpaper that had been scribbled over. A tall figure stood in the room. He was very bulky, clearly a strong person, and wore selective pieces of armour. He was wearing a breastplate, shoulder pads and gauntlets. Underneath, he was wearing a black shirt and jeans. Resting against a wall was a battleaxe.
The man saluted to Vincent, he saluted back.
"Bwahaha! I see you've got the salute down," The man laughed, looking at Vincent. "I guessed that if you got a proper meal you'd be right."
Vincent didn't say anything. He didn't want to comment in case he offended the Boss.
"Quiet one, eh?" Boss said. "I like that. So, what do you think of the Aer Battalion?"
"It's…" Vincent started. He didn't know what to say exactly. He liked the crew quite a bit, having spent some time with them. The food was good. It wasn't anything special, but it had a nice taste to it. The place felt very homely.
"Nice."
"Bwahaha! Nice, eh?" Boss laughed again. "Well, got settled in alright?"
"I guess so…"
"Good, good… Well, here's the deal. I'd like to keep you in this airship, you're clearly getting along with the rest of the crew, and considering how we found you, it'd probably do you a lot of good," Boss said. "So, how about it?"
Vincent didn't say anything. Boss studied Vincent for a second.
"I'm not expecting an answer straight away. Stay on for a little bit, and tell me in a few days," Boss said.
"Alright," Vincent said, relieved that he didn't have to answer straight away.
"Good good, you're dismissed," Boss said. Vincent wasted no time in leaving the Boss's room.
• * * * *
"So, how did it go?" Clen asked when Vincent returned. He was sat there on the top bunk, with D and Yoshimitsu sat on the bottom bunk.
"He asked me if I wanted to stay here," Vincent replied, slipping off his jacket and boots.
"Well, that's not the only news you've got. You an' Yosh have been put into this play we've gotta do," D said, pulling out a script and throwing it to Vincent, who caught it easily. "Character listing's on the first page, an' it tells you who you have to play."
"Ok…" Vincent said slowly.
"I best be off," D said. "Gotta finish washin' up, then I'm off to bed."
"I need to go too," Clen said. "I've gotta work with D in the kitchen. See ya, Vince."
After D and Clen had gone, Vincent looked at the character listing, and scanned through for his name. He found Yoshimitsu's first.
"You've gotta play some guy called… Jay?" Vincent said.
"Yup, not a leading role, but I don't mind. I'm not a brilliant actor," Yoshimitsu replied, shrugging. Vincent continued looking, quickly finding his character. He suddenly went oddly quiet.
"What's up?" Yoshimitsu asked, jumping off the bed. "Can't be that bad." He grabbed the script and looked at Vincent's character. Slowly, and grin spread across his face.
"Don't laugh," Vincent warned. Yoshimitsu tried to straighten his face. And failed.
"You've gotta play Celia Smith," Yoshimitsu said, still grinning. Vincent grabbed the script back.
"It isn't funny," Vincent said, flipping through the script. "I've only got a few lines, a couple in act three scene five, and some in act six sce…ne…three…"
"Oh? What's wrong with Six Three?" Yoshimitsu asked.
"I've gotta… I… It's a kissing scene…" Vincent said, his jaw dropping. Yoshimitsu burst out laughing.
"Who's the unlucky guy you've gotta kiss?" He managed to get out. Vincent went back to the character listing.
"Clen," Vincent said.
• * * * *
Over the next few days, Vincent had settled into his life aboard the Aer Battalion. He was working, just like everybody else, although his jobs were mostly washing dishes. He didn't mind, though. It was better that he started out pretty small.
"Alright, job call guys!" Clen yelled during breakfast. "D, Saph, you work in the kitchens, Tina, Ivan, you pilot, Yosh, clean the dining area, Ray, Vince, you work in the engine room."
Vincent stared at Clen for a second, who took him to one side.
"So, Vince, moving up in the jobs," Clen said. "Just so you know, Boss requested it. And he says he wants to see you when you've finished, but you should probably take a shower before you do. Working in the engine room makes you stink." Clen winked, and went off to help Yoshimitsu.
"Yo, Vince, let's get moving!" Ray yelled, gesturing for Vincent to follow, which he did.
Vincent could see why working in the engine room might make him stink. It was incredibly hot in there, with the engine giving off lots of heat, and the room looked less than clean.
"No point cleaning up," Ray said. "Oil and grease gets everywhere, usually. Gets too messy too quickly. Pass me that spanner, will you?"
After a few hours, Vincent's appearance had changed vastly. His hair was even messier than usual, if that was possible. His top was undone, revealing his chest off to the world, due to the head. Ray looked very similar, only he had oil covering his face.
"Alright, we're done," Ray said, wiping a layer of sweat from his forehead. "Better hit the showers."
"Agreed," Vincent said, grinning.
• * * * *
"You were supposed to come right after you finished working," Boss said. "But I think I'll overlook it, Clen said you smelled terrible." Boss laughed heartily.
"Sorry, Boss," Vincent said.
"So, what do you think? Willing to stay?" Boss asked.
Vincent thought for a moment. He loved life on the Aer Battalion. He loved all his friends, Tina, Saph, Ray, Ivan, D, Yoshimitsu and Clen. He enjoyed working with all his friends, and the work was never too hard. He had settled in almost perfectly. He tilted his head slightly, and looked at Boss.
"Yes."
• * * * *
"What'd Boss want?" Clen asked when Vincent walked in. Yoshimitsu was sat on the bottom bunk, with Clen lying on his back on the floor.
"Same as last time," Vincent said. "Asked me if I wanted to stay."
"What'd you say?" Yoshimitsu asked.
"I said yes," Vincent said. Clen jumped to his feet, and embraced Vincent.
"Awesome!" He said, after letting go of Vincent.
"What about you, Yosh?" Vincent asked Yoshimitsu.
"I said yeah too," Yoshimitsu replied, grinning. "Just came to remind you, been learning your lines?"
Vincent clapped his hand to his forehead.
"Dammit! Forgot all about them!" Vincent said, sounding half angry.
"Don't worry too much," Clen said. "You've got a week to learn ‘em in. Just don't forget again."
"Trust me, I wont," Vincent said, sitting on his bunk and pulling his boots off.
"I'd better go check my lines too," Yoshimitsu said, jumping to his feet. "Later, Vince."
"See ya," Vincent replied. Yoshimitsu ran out of the room, slamming the door by accident.
"Hey, Clen?" Vincent said. Clen, who was sorting through some of his possessions, looked up.
"Yeah?" Clen replied, throwing a medallion into the bin.
"Y'know the play?" Vincent said. He paused. "Act six, scene three…"
"Oh yeah, what about it?" Clen said, looking through his stuff again.
"Well… It's a… Y'know, it's a…" Vincent paused, and took a deep breath. "It's a… a… kissing scene."
"Oh yeah, what abou- oh, I see," Clen said.
"I'm sorry," Vincent said.
"You're first kiss?" Clen asked.
"I wouldn't mind…" Vincent said. "It's just… I wanted my first kiss to actually mean something…"
"So, if I meant it, you'd be fine with it?" Clen asked.
"If I knew you meant it…" Vincent said. "Yeah."
"Ok then," Clen said.
"What?" Vincent said, taken aback.
"I mean it," Clen said. "I'm gonna say this, but you're not gonna hear it again, alright?"
"O-ok…" Vincent said.
"You're… a gorgeous, sexy guy. I'd mean anything that we did together," Clen said, his eyes blazing into Vincent's. "So, do you still want to practice?"
"Y-yeah," Vincent stammered.
"Man, I can't believe it's already happening," Clen said.
"What?" Vincent said, suddenly a lot more panicky. "They didn't change the play time, did they?"
"No, no, nothing like that… It's just that, well, you're growing up loads… Hell, you're halfway through it now, I'd bet," Clen said.
"Come here," Clen said, sitting on the bed. Vincent stumbled across the room, though he was apparently stumbling over thin air. He practically fell onto his bed.
"Heh heh, if you act like that in the play, you'll get Boss on your case," Clen said, smirking. Vincent went slightly red, but quickly recovered. He raised his right hand, and pulled his shaded off, revealing his eyes for the first time in a long while.
"I don't know why you hide your eyes, y'know," Clen said, looking at Vincent. "They really are amazing."
"I like some privacy in where I look, I s'pose," Vincent said, putting his shades down next to him. Clen took a hold of Vincent's hand, and looked at him.
"Now, are you sure you want to do this?" He asked.
"Y-yeah…" Vincent said, stammering again. Clen nodded slowly.
"Alright then."
Clen moved his head forwards, tilting it slightly, and pushed his lips to meet Vincent's. It was a peculiar sensation, Vincent found. Clen's upper lip was just above Vincent's upper lip, his lower lip along the seam of Vincent's mouth. While unusual, it didn't at all feel unnatural to Vincent, who rather liked the feeling. Clen wrapped his arms around Vincent.
After about half a minute, Clen drew his head back slightly, still holding on to Vincent.
"How was that?" Clen asked.
"It… it was… amazing," Vincent said, breathless. His mind seemed to have shut down, still focusing on that kiss.
"Not bad, eh?" Clen said. "Or maybe you wish you hadn't?"
"No, of course not!" Vincent said, sounding horror-struck. "I'd never wish that!"
"Anyway, we still have to get your lines right," Clen said.
"I know…" Vincent said.
• * * * *
It was the night of the play.
"One last scene to go," Yoshimitsu said cheerfully. Vincent rolled his eyes. Yoshimitsu didn't have anything to do this scene, whereas Vincent was still dressed up as a girl, and he was in the last scene. Already, he felt nervousness wash over him.
"Yo, Vince," D yelled. "You're up! Go! GO!"
Vincent nodded, swearing as he stumbled on to the stage. Luckily, he was supposed to stumble, and everyone's attention was directed at Clen anyway. He delivered his opening line, but just as he finished, a low rumbling filled the air. Vincent crouched, feeling the vibrations in the ground.
"No… freaking… way…" Vincent said to himself. He turned his head, and saw two claws ripping open the backdrop. It must be something powerful — the backdrop had been re-forged twice because Boss didn't like its strength. Suddenly, the backdrop gave, and the thing clawing at it ripped it away.
"Ok, first thing's first…" Vincent said, standing up. A fiery aura formed around him, burning away his stage-clothes, revealing his casual wear underneath. Clen glanced sideways at him, and gave his a questioning look.
"I'd like to keep some indication of the fact that I am still a male," Vincent said, his armour forming around him. Clen pulled a sword from the ground, where it had been cleverly hidden by a trap-door. Vincent smirked. Actors really were prepared.
The rest of the crew were running on to the stage, Boss shouting orders.
"Keep them away from the audience at all costs!" He yelled. "And don't ruin the ship!"
"Aww, dammit," Vincent said. "Looks like no elements for me."
Vincent pulled out his sword, his weapon instantly extending into a spear. A golden blade formed at the end. Clen was already in battle. It was then that Vincent saw what they were up against.
Dragons. At least a hundred, navy blue dragons. All of them identical. Vincent swore, if he had been focusing, he could've warned everyone before they attacked. They must have been in the dragons' airspace.
"Well, whatever."
"GET SOME!" Boss yelled, smashing a dragon in the skull with his axe. Quickly, he spun and sliced through another's wing. Vincent stared for a second, realising why he was the boss. Vincent shook himself mentally, and jumped back. Everyone was holding them back a fair distance, but a couple were breaking through.
"Dragon Net," Vincent said calmly, throwing a string of energy at a dragon. The string wrapped itself around the dragon, constricting its movement efficiently. Vincent spun on the spot, catching another dragon with his spear, cutting its head and damaging its brain, rendering it unconscious and no longer a threat.
It was then that Vincent saw Yoshimitsu. However, what he saw worried him. Yoshimitsu wasn't fighting as he usually did — he was much more violent and aggressive. Vincent knew Yoshimitsu — he would never fight like that, even in the most desperate times. Yoshimitsu was cleaving the dragons in two, apparently not caring.
"Yoshimitsu!" Vincent yelled, moving in front of Yoshimitsu. "Stop! NOW!"
Yoshimitsu gave an evil, somewhat mad chuckle, and launched a powerful kick, which caught Vincent's ribcage, throwing him to the side. Vincent dragged himself up, kneeling and holding his side. Yoshimitsu ran at the incoming dragons, Bahamut's wings ripping out of his back. Vincent stood up, grabbed Clen's wrist, his hair turning golden as he shot after Yoshimitsu.
"Clen!" Vincent yelled over the wind. "Close your eyes, I need your help for this!"
Clen nodded, and closed his eyes. Vincent focused briefly, transferring his own power into Clen, making his friend's hair turn golden. Clen would have all the same abilities as Vincent until Vincent took the power back.
Up ahead, Yoshimitsu was darting through the dark sky. It was late, and it was stormy. There was no rain, only thunder and wind. Vincent knew where Yoshimitsu was heading — right for Mist. He let go of Clen's arm, and the two of them shot after Yoshimitsu.
• * * * *
"What the hell is going on?!" D yelled, crushing a dragon's skull with his fist.
"Just hold them back!" Boss yelled, slicing a dragon's wing off.
• * * * *
"STOP!" Vincent yelled, appearing in front of Yoshimitsu. Clen hovered around fifteen meters behind Yoshimitsu.
"No," Yoshimitsu said.
"Fine," Vincent said, his sword forming in his hand. "Then I'll stop you." Vincent shot forwards, and slashed at Yoshimitsu.
"No way…" Vincent said as Yoshimitsu caught the blade in his hand. With a mighty pull, he threw Vincent behind him. Clen dropped slightly, and shot forwards, ignoring everything around him. He would not slash, stab, punch or kick. He would just ram straight into him.
"NO!" Yoshimitsu yelled, spinning and kicking Clen's incoming head. Clen dropped out of the air, but it had given Vincent enough time to recover.
"I AM NOT GOING TO STOP!" Yoshimitsu screamed at the top of his lungs. Vincent stared at Yoshimitsu. This was not his friend. Something had taken over, something inhuman.
"Inhuman, that's it!" Vincent thought. "He isn't human… This is what he is really…"
"What are you planning to do, Vincent?" Yoshimitsu said, turning. "Why do you want to stop me?"
"Because…" Vincent said. Why did he?
"Yes?"
"I don't know! Because you're planning something? Because whatever this is, it isn't good? Because I want my friend back!"
Yoshimitsu laughed, a cruel laugh. Vincent's anger took over, his hair going beyond golden, turning silver. This was a power beyond anything he had ever felt. Yoshimitsu frowned, and shielded his face as Vincent discharged so much energy, creating shockwaves that ripped through the air.
"There is no fucking way…" Vincent said, sounding cold. "No fucking way I'll let you leave this…"
"You don't have a choice," Yoshimitsu said, throwing his arms out to either side. Vincent's eyes narrowed, and he started gathering energy in his hands, his sword fading away. Yoshimitsu laughed again, mimicking Vincent's actions. An orb of black energy formed in between his hands.
Vincent yelled, and threw a beam of energy at Yoshimitsu, who laughed and fired his own back. The blasts clashed, creating an explosion in the air between them. From below, another beam shot up, and hit Yoshimitsu, who dropped slightly, his focus gone. Vincent's energy blast hit the descending Yoshimitsu, blasting him back. Clen shot up from below, performing an uppercut which threw Yoshimitsu high into the air. Vincent shot forwards, and kicked Yoshimitsu in the gut.
Yoshimitsu flipped, and shot back at Vincent, Osafune drawn. Vincent spun, and kicked at the incoming Yoshimitsu very violently, catching his sword and kicking it out of his hands. Yoshimitsu watched for a second, before switching his attention back to Vincent. He launched a series of quick punches and kicks, but Vincent was more than ready for this. After about the seventh punch, and caught Yoshimitsu's fist. Yoshimitsu tried to punch with the other hand, but Vincent caught that fist too. With a smirk, Vincent forced Yoshimitsu's hands down, and slammed his head into Yoshimitsu's. Yoshimitsu fell backwards, dropping for about ten seconds before recovering nicely.
Yoshimitsu flew back, putting about fifteen meters distance between him and Vincent as he started gathering as much energy as he could in his hands. After a few seconds charging, he started throwing seemingly endless orbs of energy at Vincent.
Vincent laughed. As soon as the first orb got too close, he backhanded it, making it fly off in another direction. The second, he kicked away. The third, he punched into another incoming one.
"ENOUGH!" Vincent yelled, sending out a shockwave of energy. Yoshimitsu put his arms across his chest, and tucked in his knees, blocking the waves of energy. Vincent was already shooting at Yoshimitsu. Once he got close enough, he started pounding away with a mixture of punches, kicks and headbutts.
"Not bad," Yoshimitsu said. "But our time here is up, and I have to leave."
Yoshimitsu smiled, an evil smile, and vanished from sight.
"No… He's gone…" Vincent said, his hair fading into black. Clen grabbed Vincent, holding him in the air.
"It's not too late," Clen said. "Leave him, give him a day."
"It'll be too late then…" Vincent said, tears flowing freely from his eyes.
"No, it wont. Leave him, and we'll decide what to do then," Clen said, holding Vincent close.
• * * * *
"Alright, that's the last of it," Vincent said, taking his powers back from Clen.
"Phew," Clen said, a little light-headed. "It was fun an' all, but I feel a bit weird now."
"I got used to the after-effects of it," Vincent said, shrugging. "Had to, I've used that so many times now…"
"You two have fun, then?" D said, walking over with a plate of sandwiches. "Yosh made a getaway, eh? No idea what he's gone for?"
"I know already…" Vincent said. "He's gone back home, a floating island if you will. But, it's an extension of his mind, he can change its shape, its properties, he can even spawn new life there. He'll be doing something there."
"I don't mean to worry you fellas," Saph said, walking over. "But y'see, somethin' weird's going on."
"What do you mean?" Vincent asked instantly.
"A huge… Well, planet, for lack o' better word, just appeared, followin' the moon's orbit," Saph said, taking a sandwich.
"You're joking… He has that much power over it?" Vincent asked himself. "I'm going there. Now."
"No, Vincent," Clen said. "I'll go. He'll probably be expecting you, whatever he's planning."
"…Ok," Vincent said reluctantly. He understood what Clen was saying, and a part of him agreed with him, but he felt that it was he himself that was going.
"I'll go ask Boss ‘bout that teleport thing he has hidden away," Clen said, standing up.
• * * * *
"What's going on up there?" Vincent asked, talking to Clen through a small piece of magic he picked up. It created a link to whoever he wanted, as long as the other person was aware of it. It was essentially a video-phone.
"Well, it certainly is a planet," Clen said. "But it's easily accessible — it may as well be in the sky. I'm sure the Aer Battalion could safely get here."
"So what's with Yoshi?" Vincent asked.
"No idea, I haven't seen him. Everyone's talking about him though — he's the single best Kinsta Knight, or KK for short," Clen said.
"No way… Well, whatever, I'm coming up there soon. How're you doing up there?"
"I'm heading for a tryout for the KK's soon, they use something called Ruco energy here and I have to check my resistance to the stuff before I'm accepted," Clen explained.
"So?"
Clen was silent. Vincent quickly realised how he must have sounded.
"Sorry…" Vincent said, looking down. "I didn't mean it like that… I know you're making every effort… It's just that…"
"Don't worry about it, Vincent," Clen said. "I know how you feel. Look, I gotta go, my test's in an hour and I need to get ready. I'll check in later, after we find out if I get accepted."
"Alright… See you…" Vincent said, closing the link.
It was too much. He'd lost one of his friends, and another was risking his life. He looked around his room — it was lonely without Clen. Sighing, he sat on his bed, thinking about his two friends.
• * * * *
"Clen, dammit, pick up!" Vincent muttered, trying to open a link. He waited for a few minutes, but still nothing.
"Shit… There's only one reason he wouldn't pick up," Vincent said, throwing on a chain-mail jacket and walking to the Boss's room. Clen's test must have gone wrong, because Clen didn't know about the link. He threw open the Boss's door, something no one would've ever dared to do.
"Boss! I need permission to fly the Aer Battalion! Something's happened to Clen, and I need to know what," Vincent demanded. Boss looked up from what appeared to be a battle plan.
"No, but I'll teleport you there directly. I'm not having an amateur flying my ship, no offence," Boss replied, raising a hand. Vincent felt as though his body was being forced into a very small space, like he was being crushed from all sides. The sensation lasted for a few seconds, before he found himself standing somewhere, somewhere different.
"You there!" A rough voice yelled. "Who are you, Kinsta or Rebel?!"
Vincent spun on the spot, and found himself face to face with a tall, bulky man, armed with a very large sword.
"Am I what?"
"Get out of the way!" The man yelled, backhanding Vincent. Vincent caught the arm, ripping him off his feet, and threw him about ten meters away from where he had previously been stood. He soon regretted the action, as about ten more men, each wielding a different weapon, surrounded him.
"What the hell is this?" Vincent demanded.
"Give it up, you can't face ten First Class KKs," One of the men said. Vincent mentally slapped himself — KKs. He must have taken one of them down just then.
"Go on then, make your move," Vincent said, assuming a defensive stance. One of the men smirked, and drew his long sword. He lunged at Vincent, and slashed around Vincent's waist. Vincent dropped down, the sword going over his head. In one swift, solid movement, he brought his foot sweeping down, knocking the man off his feet. Then, he stood up and brought his foot slamming down into his stomach.
"Who's next?" Vincent demanded. Two men attacked at one, all the others backing off slightly. One of them was armed with a spear, the other with a buster sword. Vincent smirked, and jumped backwards a meter or so.
"Ready, Dave?" One man said, the one with the buster sword.
"You betcha, Cal," The one with the spear replied, smirking.
Dave launched the first move, lunging at Vincent and trying to stab the youth. Vinent jumped, and landed on the spear. He hooked a foot under the spear, and kicked it away from Dave. He was about to knock Dave out when he heard the other man moving behind him. So, he ran at Dave, and kicked off his chest, flipping over Cal and landing in a crouching position, a smirk on his face.
"Is this it?" Vincent asked, smirking still. He ran at Cal, and spun around the KK, dodging a stab from the buster sword. He brought his right foot swinging round, catching Cal's side. Then, he jumped again, dodging Dave's spear which caught the back of Cal's leg. This was too easy.
"Don't make me laugh," Vincent said, running at Cal, flipping over him and kicking Dave in the head on the way down. He spun, and smashed his hand into Cal's face. The pair of them collapsed.
"Enough!" One of the other KKs said. "He's good. He's very good — no one can take on three KKs and live through it normally."
"I concur. Let's take him to President Kinsta."
"There's that damn name again! What has Yoshimitsu been doing?!" Vincent thought to himself.
"Alright. Let's go," Two KKs stood at either side of him, and grabbed his arms, leading him off.
• * * * *
"Three?" President Kinsta asked, eyes wide. "He beat three? Without receiving a scratch?"
"Yes, Sir," One of the KKs said. Vincent was being held in place by the same two KKs that had dragged him here. However, he didn't care about that. The KKs were nothing but wimps to him. He was looking around the room for some hint of Yoshimitsu.
"Very well…" The president said, regaining his composure quickly. "Take him down to level 63, and have him tested."
"Yes Sir!"
Vincent found himself being pushed into a lift, with three security guards making sure he wasn't wrecking things. With a shudder, he felt the lift start moving. He was sorely tempted to knock out the security guards and start raiding the place, looking for his friends, but he knew that he couldn't fight every KK, Security Guard and Kinsta Soldier in the building.
"Alright, let's move," a security guard said as the lift stopped. Vincent nodded, and walked out of the lift, looking around.
"What is this level?" Vincent asked.
"KK Training and Testing," a security guard said. "We're having you tested for Ruco. You have more than what it takes to get in to the KK, First Class"
"Ok…" Vincent said. He found himself being ushered into a room.
"Is he the one?" A man said. He was wearing a lab coat, and very thick glasses, giving him a somewhat nerdy look.
"Yeah, he's the one," the security guard said.
"Alright. Please, lie down on the bed," the nerdy guy said. Vincent nodded, and obliged.
"This'll just take a sec, just a minor injection," The scientist said. Vincent nodded, and swallowed. He didn't like needles. He felt the sting of the needle, but the last thing he heard before passing out was:
"I put in a power limiter, and an amnesiac."
• * * * *
Vincent woke up in a fairly comfortable bed, feeling groggy as hell. He opened his eyes, and waited from his mind to kick in again. Where was he? What was he doing? How did he get here.
That's right. He was a Kinsta Soldier, he came from a small town called Drieb. His training was starting soon, and he had been doing this for a month now. He rolled over, and checked his clock. Six AM. He had half an hour before he had to get up and face another day of being talked about behind his back, and training that always made him feel exhausted.
He rolled over, and swung his legs over the side as he sat up. May as well get up now, at least this way he could get some studying in before hand. He got changed into his uniform, and grabbed a book on Trieb Mountains.
• * * * *
"Outta the way!"
Vincent stood, holding a tray, in the mess hall. It was around one pm, so everyone had been given a lunch break. Vincent might have liked his lunch breaks, but all the talk seemed to die when he went near someone. Everyone talked about him behind his back. He only wished he knew what it was about.
"I said move it!" An angry voice ordered. Vincent swallowed, and instantly moved, allowing a KK to move freely, instead of being blocked by a weedy little soldier.
Vincent walked over to an empty table, and sat down. He looked down at his tray, and stared at his disgusting-looking food. It looked more like worms thank it did a healthy meal. It probably was worms, knowing his luck.
It was about a minute before he realised that he wasn't alone on the table. He looked up to see a KK, about 21 years old, with spiky purple hair and a leather headband covering his forehead and the top half of his eyes.
"Heya," the KK said, extending a hand. "I'm Clen. What's your name?"
"V-Vincent," Vincent stuttered, shaking the older boy's hand. "Uh… Not to be rude, but… Why aren't you sat with the other KKs?"
"You looked like you wanted some company," Clen replied, stabbing his fork into his food absentmindly. Vincent felt a slight surge of anger.
"Besides, I wanted to see if the rumors were true, and they are," Clen continued.
"Rumors?"
"Yeah. People've been saying you're the prettiest face since Yoshimitsu," Clen explained. "And turns out the rumors are true."
Vincent stood up, having had just about enough of it. Clen had clearly just come over to poke fun at him. He turned to leave, but found Clen's hand wrapped tightly around his wrist.
"Don't leave, I'm sorry," Clen said. Vincent grudgingly sat down again. "I didn't mean to offend you. You looked like you wanted some company, and I wouldn't mind bein' your friend."
"Really?" Vincent said, suddenly hopeful. No one had offered to be his friend before.
"Yeah. How about I pick you up after the afternoon drills, and take you out for a drink?" Clen offered.
"S-sure!" Vincent said.
* * * * *
Last edited by a moderator: