Zone Of The Enders Fan Fiction ❯ Zone of the Enders: Resurrection ❯ Renegade ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

“Welcome to the jungle, it gets worse here everyday. Ya learn ta live like an animal, in the jungle where we play. If you got a hunger for what you see, you'll take it eventually.”
-lyrics from “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N' Roses

Chapter 3: Renegade

Raven woke up on his bed, back in his apartment building with a sudden shock. At first, he was expecting the dark dank surrounding of a brig to surround him, but when he opened his eyes and felt the cushion on his back, he saw he was no longer imprisoned. It took a moment, but his mind recollected that he had escaped Taskforce Aegis HQ and flew back to Nereidum with Anubis. Anubis was hidden outside the dome under a rock formation, he remembered. If need be, he could summon it again with the neuro-link watch, but for now, there was no need for that. When he got home, he noticed that his father was gone. Probably drunk somewhere from too much vodka or he got taken in by Mars Secret Police. Either way, Raven was alone in the house.

His room was still messy, just as he left it a few days ago. Clothes were all over the floor, the sound of the TV display could be heard from outside the room and the odor of the prison cell still lingered from his clothing on the floor. Muttering, Raven finally got up and cracked his neck, remembering he had a busy day ahead of him. Knowing how the UNSF worked, he'd probably be on Mars' most wanted list soon. Mars Peacekeeper Forces, the UNSF, gangs, bounty hunters, they'd all go after him, and this was the most obvious place to look. Glaring at the thought, he reached down to pick up his staff, which had been on the floor since he had gotten back. His teeth clinched as his hand gripped around the seethe, the pain from two days of torture and one really nasty fight catching up to him. "Damn electric freak..." he growled, the vaguer memory of Esteraund Legato entering his mind, “And that harpy…” then came Lieutenant Yuriko Ishikawa. He still maintained a tight grip around the staff, using it to prop himself up. I better not run into any bounty hunters or military goons, not in this condition. He thought.

Raven then remembered he didn't bother to undress when he got home, he was too exhausted. He was still wearing the attire from the night before, including the black Aegis field jacket. Realizing this, he slipped it off carefully and replaced it with a black leather jacket, basically the same as his Razgriz one but it lacked the logo and was more simplistic in design.

Run little raven...

Raven blinked at the sound, his hand almost drawing his staff in the process. What the hell was that? he thought. He looked around carefully; making sure no one else was in the room. He relaxed seeing nobody was there. "Am I supposed to say the apartment is haunted now?" he quipped. Run... the voice again.

"Raven Vostrikov!" came a loud banging at the door, "Open up and come out or we'll break in!"

Shit! was the only thing that ran through Raven's head at that moment. Cursing at himself for ever thinking to return home, he ran to one of the open windows in his apartment. As he entered, the men kicked the door down, which Raven assumed was the Martian Police, since they had a nasty tendency of going through the front. He got on the latter that was at the side of the apartment complex and started to climb down. At least he had a nice sleep...

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"So, you don't know anything about a 'Raven Vostrikov', eh?" Yuriko asked again, clearly annoyed at the defiant drug dealer. Her quarry was Zed Maynard, a hillbilly-looking man who wore a plad shirt, ruined jeans and ran the Mason-Dixon pawn shop.

"Damn nabbit… How many times do I have to tell ya, missy? I said 'I never heard of him'!" Zed snarled in anger, his Southeastern American accent enhancing the intensity in his voice. He was getting very annoyed with this oriental chick. First she comes out of nowhere and beats down his door and drags him out of his shop with the big, blue haired guy, and now she had the gall to interrogate him out in the open. He wasn't some average pawn shopkeeper, damn it!

Yuriko punched the Zed once, then grabbed him by the shirt collar and through him against the wall, back first. The dealer's glare still remained on his face, even as the young woman moved to place her .50 caliber handgun on his forehead. He even managed to smirk, as if Yuriko was joking. "That won't work either, missy." The pawn shopkeeper stated, "I have a lot'o friends in high places. You kill me, and it will make you popular with them, since yer a woman..."

"In my line of work, that just means a pay raise.” She then smashed the magazine butt end of her Ganymede Dragon against the arrogant dealer's forehead. The man cringed in pain, but he refused to yield to this woman. “Don't get me confused with the scum you've done business with. Do you, or don't you know Raven Vostrikov?" Yuriko growled.

"All ya're going to do is shoot me in the pecker anyway." Zed remained defiant.

Before Yuriko could pull the trigger, a massive hand covered over her wrist, and slowly pointed the gun away. Esteraund had wandered up to Yuriko during her impromptu intimidation, non-chalantly of course, and had reached out to her arm without making direct eye contact. In fact, he was looking down the alleyway. "Now, now, Yuriko, that is no way to ask a gentleman for information. Why, what would your brother think if he saw you like this?"

Yuriko's annoyance level tripled when Esteraund came up. He of all people should've known better than to annoy her. "Didn't I tell you to watch for this baka's back up? And that if you came interfered..."

"'I'd blow your brains all over Nereidum.' Yeah, I heard you say that, but you seem to have your hands full..." Esteraund tapped against the man's chest, keeping his amused expression. The dealer started to sweat, as if Esteraund had tapped a nerve. As if to rectify his claim, Esteraund sent a small bolt into the dealer, causing a popping noise, and then followed by the sounds of electricity short circuiting. Yuriko dropped the dealer and immediately opened his shirt, to reveal the remains of a bug device hidden underneath the shirt and to his chest. “Standard police issue. That means our friend here is either a cop or he's paid off.” Esteraund looked over at Yuriko, “You kill him, and the local authorities won't be too pleased. Neither will our boss.”

Yuriko snarled at the mercenary, then got up and walked down the alleyway, muttering some random curse words in Japanese. She was more than furious at Esteraund making her look like a fool, but she was too professional to not know when to bow out. Of course, that didn't stop her from beating a few garbage cans on the way out, much to Esteraund's amusement. “Now, where were we? Oh yes…” Flexing the fingers on his right hand, Esteraund reached and latched onto the shopkeeper's right arm, around the wrist. The shopkeeper yelped for a second at the man's strong grip. “What the hell is this…?”

”Oh, nothing. I just find it interesting how the human body works…” Esteraund replied, snidely, “You see, whenever you tell a lie, your blood pressure will rise just a little bit, because it takes more energy to make up a new story and explain it convincingly than to just tell the truth altogether. By applying just a hint of pressure over the nerve on your wrist or anywhere on your body, I can pick up the change in your nerves.”

”That's bullshit.” The shopkeeper spat.

Esteraund let a single shot of electricity run into the arm for that comment, making the dealer yelp. “As well, I can send an electrical pulse from my own body into your nervous system this way. The initial shock will only last for a good couple of seconds, but that's enough time for the energy to run through every vein in your body, from your arm to your torso and to your head and legs. Your internal organs, like your heart and lungs, will not be able to handle the excess energy, and thus will spasm wildly, until they overload and shutdown or I cut the energy flow.” He smirked, “Isn't science fun, `Zeddy'?”

”Ya're shitting me…” the shopkeeper challenged, but Esteraund's sadistic grin said otherwise. He soon found his body becoming numb, all due to that grin, “…no really, aren't ya? Ya wouldn't even dare threaten me…”

”First question: Where is Raven Vostrikov?” Esteraund asked.

”How would I know that, bo-ey?” Zed snarled.

Esteraund groaned and let out a single jolt that ran through the drug dealer's body for a moment, then powered down to let Zed cool off. That single jolt was enough to paralyze most of the guy's muscles, so there was no way he could escape now. What the hell am I, the Energizer Bunny? If I keep this up, I won't have enough power to turn a light on. Esteraund sighed. It seemed that all he did anymore was zap people for question. “Again, where is Vostrikov?”

“Up yours… Terran…” Zed muttered.

Another zap, but the guy still didn't answer. This was followed of course, by another one, but still the same. It was at that point the mercenary growled loudly. He was losing patience. “Look hillbilly, I just got off zapping another guy, so I'll make it easier for both of us. Either you answer my questions here, or the next jolt will paralyze all of your muscles permanently. Then I'll let the real professionals do it, the guys with the blowtorches and the testacle clamps.” Esteraund threatened.

Zed gulped at that. Although he was all numb now, he honestly didn't want to die by bleeding in that area. “Alright, you got your wish man. Raven usually hangs out around the industrial area, near the abandoned Jefferson block in an abandoned Hospital. It's the biggest building in that block, you won't miss it.” He coughed, “If you ask me, you'd be throwing your life away. He's pretty territorial, even the cops are afraid to go after him without a SWAT team.”

”I'll take that to note. Thank you for your services.” Esteraund nodded at Zed, and got up. He then slipped a twenty Martian dollar bill out of his wallet and placed it on the dealer's chest. “See, was that so hard?”

”Fuck ya momma.” Zed spat as he tried reaching up to the bill. However, his arms were numb, and he couldn't so much as twitch his index finger. He grunted, trying to focus all of his willpower to lift his arm, but he just couldn't overcome his disabilities.

Esteraund laughed at his straining, “You didn't listen to a word I said before, did you? I said you were going to be paralyzed for a while…” he bowed down again and placed his hand on the dollar bill, “Answer me one more question, and I'll put the bill in your pants pocket.”

”What's the damn question?” Zed asked.

”What's the news on that attack last Friday? I heard there was a black orbital frame flying around…” Esteraund said, pretending he didn't know anything about Raven's little stint with Anubis.

Zed grimaced at the energy it took to even open his mouth anymore, “What's the deal? It was just a random terrorist attack. And I haven't heard any shit about a black frame; ya'll shouldn't believe the tabloids, slicker.”

Yep, thank god for Earth's hold on the media. Take that, Martians, all your freedom of speech are belong to us. ”That's all I wanted to know. Sweet dreams, Speedy.” Esteraund said, before punching the dealer out. He then slipped the dollar bill from his chest and into the man's pocket, before walking off down the alleyway. If any onlookers were in the alleyway at that time, they would have seen electricity run up and down Esteraund's arms, as if in anticipation.

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"Nom de Dieu, I hate patrol jobs. Always nothing to do…" Lieutenant Louis Foqua muttered, as he maneuvered his AlterNeith across the scattered remnants of Phobos. His orbital frame's head twitched left to right, scanning the area for anything suspicious with its optic sensors. Nothing came up on the scanners, aside from rock debris and one or two pieces of titanium floating around. "What's the position of that BAHRAM battle cruiser, Guardian One?"

Two more AlterNeiths maneuvered through the field to come up next, all painted in void black colors and illuminated by red energy lines. The familiar red shield of Taskforce Aegis was painted on their shoulders, "About 20 klicks ahead of us, orbiting the planet." Nadia replied. Just ahead of them, as Nadia said, a large grey wedge was looming over the horizon. All three orbital frame runners recognized it as the infamous 'Martian Battleship' that BAHRAM used to enforce Mars with, up to the point of the class' decommission after a number of them were destroyed by one orbital frame over Vascilian air space, "Just got an ID on the cruiser. Margaritifer-class cruiser Sandra, formerly part of the BAHRAM Space Assault Force's 34th Fleet. It's now registered under Captain Taine Nikolai, a merchant trader from Antilia."

"An Ender?" her wingmate, Natalia Bajori asked as she leveled her AlterNeith.

The UNSF profile on Taine Nikolai soon came up on Nadia's monitor, "No, he's a Terran, born in Kiev, Ukraine, then later moved to the Antilia colony where he gained a high position in the Antilia Energy Fleet. He salvaged the Sandra and restored it in 2175, now uses it as his own personal flagship for anything from transport to bounty hunting."

"What are they doing here?" Natalia spoke out of annoyance.

"I dunno, Natalia, what would a ship of the Antilia Energy Fleet be doing here in Phobos? They're after the Metatron scattered all over this fuckin' sector, naturally." Louis scoffed into the comm. He was in a particularly bad mood, and although he was usually respectful to woman, he didn't feel like it now.

"It was just a simple question, you French son of..."

"Alright, knock it off!" Nadia yelled at the two AlterNeiths, "Guardian Two and Three, remain on standby, I'll handle this alone. If I'm dead, then you can shoot them all you want." Her sensors then beeped, signaling the new units arriving.

"Damn. Don't look now Guardian One, but the Sandra just launched a squad of orbital frames at us." James reported, "Four in total: three Raptors and a Cyclops. They're being followed by a team of worker LEVs." He lifted his machine gun, but stopped when Nadia had her AlterNeith's right hand wave back, gesturing to lower the weapon.

"I said I'd talk to them, we don't need to kill anyone. Not yet." Nadia stated. She turned her AlterNeith to the incoming party and activated her thrusters, jetting away from the other two black AlterNeiths. Sure enough, four gray shapes appeared from the horizon. Three of them were recognizable as manned Raptors, despite being painted in dark gray rather than the usual white, while the fourth was bulkier, sporting armor around its arms and torso. Notably, all four frames were equipped with cockpit modules, thus it was most likely Taine's Cyclops frame. The rest were just standard non-combatant LEVs equipped with extraction equipment. She tried to fly into the Cyclops flight path and cut it off, but she found her AlterNeith was too responsive, and she overshot. Damn it, I wish Aegis had taken Vjaya from VANGUARD and let me keep it. She opened a private channel with the Cyclops. "Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth, for God's wrath is upon them!"

"Glory unto Mars, for their time of ascension will soon come." The Cyclops runner replied, powering down his frame's arm blades. A video screen opened on the right side of Nadia's cockpit, displaying a rather young looking man in his early thirties, pale white from years of mining on Callisto and purple hair that was combed back, but still retaining a charming wit that was uncharacteristic of his profession. "Well, well, if it isn't Nadia Candido, all dressed for the ball with no date." he laughed at the comical glare Nadia gave him, "Been a while, hasn't it Nadia?"

"Too long, Taine. Far too long. And it's Colonel Nadia Velasgo of Special Taskforce Aegis now." Nadia replied, immediately cutting off Taine's reply, "I didn't contact you just to catch up. I need some information."

"What kind of information?" Taine wondered.

"You heard of the attack on Nereidum?" Nadia said.

Taine's humorous smile changed into a skeptical grin, but then folded up into charmed laugh, "Yeah, that's why I brought the additional security.” The Cyclops waved its arm at its three squadmates. “I thought the UNSF has dismissed it as a random attack. Or does Aegis believe in tabloid conspiracies?"

"Officially, yes, the UNSF believes it's a random attack. This is more of a personal interest." Nadia said.

"Alright, I tell you what, I'll explain to you everything I know, if you tell your guard dogs to back away." he had the Cyclops' hand point to the two seemingly agitated and possibly overanxious AlterNeith units that were taking aim with their arm blades. Nadia grumbled and switched a secondary channel with the two, "I thought I told you to carry out your mission."

"Sorry ma'am, but the Worker LEVs were trying to get into the field." Louis said, grinning like the devil, "We told them to leave, but they didn't, so we tried to scare them a little. Not everyday we get smartasses in LEVs just begging to be shot, Guardian One."

"You idiots. We didn't come up here to shoot them down…" Nadia growled, having a sudden urge to turn her AlterNeith around and blow the other two members of Guardian Squadron out of space, "Just let them through."

"Colonel, this is a quarantined area!" Natalia replied hesitently.

"I said let them through, Bajori. The UNSF picked this area clean long ago, High Command just put this area under quarantine for the hell of it." Nadia noticed the AlterNeiths didn't lower their arm blades, "Lower your weapons now, or I'll put you both on report for insubordination." She seethed, a combination of anger and irritation showing on her expression. This time, Louis and Natalia complied, lowering their arms and moving away, as a swarm of worker LEVs dashed into the area. She closed the channel, turning back to Taine.

"If the Space Force did clean this area, then why did you tell me there's Metatron here?" Taine asked.

"Like those two would dare question their bitchy Colonel?" Nadia said, "A certain General was too scared to clean up this area, with Aumaan's remains and all, so he declared it a quarantine zone and let it drift in high orbit for five years."

"Won't I get in trouble with the Space Force then, because a 'little' Colonel told me to?" Taine said.

"Don't worry, General De Franz lost his authority in space a long time ago, and nobody really cares about this area." Nadia brought her AlterNeith closer to the Cyclops, "Alright, I promised my end of the deal. Now I want yours. Otherwise you'll have a full AlterNeith wing to deal instead of three frames."

"Fine, fine." Taine said, nodding out of satisfaction, "Lets see, where to begin? Well, as you know, the highest bounty head on Mars is the reported ex-Major General William Browning. I'll send you the details." Another vidscreen came up in Nadia's cockpit, displaying the profile of a man in his late forties, with a handsome face, brown hair and notable green eyes. Next to the picture came his UNSF profile. Age 48, height 5'9", former UNSF Major General that has also served in the Space Force like Taggart, wanted for extortion, murder, treason against Earth and other charges.

"Charming." Nadia said with a sense of sarcasm, "Ok, why should I care about this guy?"

"Well, I had one of my men do a background check on him. He was in charge of the Earth's adoption of the orbital frame a couple years back, a really bright scientist and commanding officer..." Taine smirked at the next part, "He was the one who personally measured the synchronization between Anubis and Aumaan, with the data collected from Ridley Hardimaan's records, of course. Not only that, but it appears he also analyzed the designs for Jehuty and Anubis for the Space Force."

"Interesting." Nadia said.

Taine sat back in his cockpit, "After the UNSF formally adopted the orbital frame into their military, he disappeared, possibly joining an anti-Earth group during the Space Force's Operation Humble. Thus, we have plenty of motive to attack Nereidum, as you know is Mars' economic center."

"I see. Is there anything else you know on this?"

"Well, not much. Aside from the possible connection between an anti-UN group called the `Martian Vanguard', but my hacker couldn't find any evidence behind it." Taine explained.

"But there's still the possibility, otherwise you wouldn't be telling me this." Nadia replied.

"Exactly." Taine said, "I'll leave the rest up to you. If you excuse me, I have to make sure we get every last spec from this area before a patrol fleet finds us."

"Alright, go ahead. I'll take my men planet side, so you'll have this entire area to yourself." Nadia said, smiling, "See you around, Taine."

"Godspeed, Colonel, and thanks for the fish." Taine replied, smirking. Nadia closed the comm channel and recalled her wingmen back to the planet. She hated to admit it, but this wasn't her typical enforcement case. In fact, as luck would have it, it was something much more...

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Raven stood his ground to the three gangsters in his way. They didn't seem all the intimidating, just a group hispanic looking men dressed in panchos and sombreros, holding knives. If it wasn't for the fact the leader, who looked like an Antonio Banderas wannabe dressed in an El Mariatchi outfit, had a Desert Eagle in his hands, Raven would've ignored them completely. Well, maybe if there weren't so many of them, he would've ignored them. The leader had fired a few bursts in an effort to scare away pedestrians from the alley way, evident from the smoke leaking out of the gun's enormous barrel. Raven's only response to this was standing his ground and waiting for them to make the first move. It was kind of a tricky situation, because Raven was otherwise unarmed. He still had his staff, but it was kept in a bag that he had put down on the ground. He didn't need it to do deal with these guys, even if they did have a gun. He just stood there, arms down, eyes narrowed at the three, as if daring them to try and grab him. If it probably weren't for his reputation on the streets, they probably would have.

"C'mon, muchacho. We don't have beef with you." the leader said, in a smooth hispanic accent that seemed inappropriate for a street thug, "We just want that juicy bounty that's on your feathered head." Raven's expression didn't change, in fact, he didn't even respond. He just glared at the three and kept his stance. The leader shrugged, "Ah well, we don't have all day."

His hand began to squeeze the trigger. It was at that point Raven burst into action. In the split second the bounty hunter fired the gun; he ran to the right, dodged the shot and jumped into the air, landing a kick into the guy's face. He then ducked to avoid a swing from a metal pipe, which was being wielded by one of the bounty hunters, then countering with an uppercut to the attacker. His next victim fell to a single roundhouse kick, and the one after that to a punch combo at the stomach and then the head. Three more guys tried to hold Raven down after that display, but the gangster's struggle was far too much for them, and he broke free of their hold after a few seconds. This was followed by a flurry of attacks on everything around Raven, from martial arts moves to more gangland-style attacks. It was obvious that the bounty hunters were no match for the one boy, but they still kept coming at Raven, intent on collecting the his bounty. Soon though, common sense took over the bounty hunters, and they backed off for a moment in a group. At first, Raven thought they were going to retreat, but the sound of motorcycle engines proved him wrong.

”Shit.” He muttered, running back to the bag, opening it and picking up his staff and making it turn into its real form. The effects of a full weekend of torture and interrogation were starting to catch up with him, as he already felt like throwing up again. Raven knew he wouldn't last much longer under the pressure.

The sight of the staff caused most of the posse to jump back, but then when they realized what it was, they started laughing, “You're going to need a lot more than that, muchacho. These are Louie's boys, professionals from Tarsis. Believe me; they know how to bring down bounty heads.” After saying that, the posse leader felt someone move next to him. He turned to look at his comrade, but instead of the man he was expecting, it was a rather familiar man to Raven who had blue hair, a gray overcoat and a smirk. “Hey, who are you? One of Louie's boys right? A little young to be a bounty hunter, aren't you amigo…?”

”'Louie?' Whose Louie? Oh wait, you mean him?” said a female voice. The entire posse turned to see Yuriko thumbing back to a guy who looked like he was beaten around by a kangaroo than a human being. “Some bounty hunter. It only took two swings and this shithead goes TKO.” Yuriko said. “These are the people we hired to track him?”

”I'm not surprised.” Esteraund shot back.

Before the leader could respond to the new arrivals, Esteraund let out a full burst of lighting that struck two henchman with massive force, taking them out of the fight as well, while Yuriko slammed another one face first into one of the walls. The young Japanese girl then leap-frogged off the guy that came at him, grabbed the leader by the shoulder while in the air and swung around until she was right behind the guy. She then presented a combat knife to the man's throat.

“Shall I take away this your singing voice, or do you want me to make it better?” Yuriko lowered the knife to the man's pelvic area after finishing his sentence, “I'm sure he could make lots of money this way…”

”No! NO! I surrender!” the leader screamed.

Yuriko sighed, “Alright. Night-night, senor mariachi.” She then slammed the knife handle against the man's back, sending him with the rest of his men.

Upon seeing his hunters out of the fight, Raven attempted to relax a little, but as a result of his loosening up, his legs almost gave out and he almost fell to the ground. Only a quick movement which placed the staff between him and the alleyway floor kept him from the fall. He then started to cough up blood. He then saw Esteraund and Yuriko begin to pace over to him like sharks stalking a wounded fish, so he started to pull out his staff.

Esteraund didn't so much as raise his arms up, instead calmly making his way to Raven, while Yuriko drew her Ganymede Dragon .50AE and trained it directly at Raven. Esteraund also drew his Strayer-Voight Infinity Competition, but he didn't point it. Despite having been `saved', Raven was critically wounded and Esteraund knew he couldn't use his `special powers' on him. Raven also seemed to know this too. “I'll go back.” Raven said, “I don't know what you'll do to me, but I'll go back.”

Yuriko was about to stride over and slap a pair of handcuffs on Raven, but the booming voice of Esteraund's laughter stopped her. The mercenary took a moment to calm down, then continued. “Oh, come on Raven! I told you I'm not part of the Space Force, and you know how much I hate violence!” Yuriko arched an eyebrow at her partner, wondering if he noticed the irony, “I went so far to find you… I thought I'd treat you guys to dinner at the very least.”

”What?” Raven let out. Just a moment ago, he had brutally tortured him near death, and now the man was offering to take them for food? Then again, he also did allow him to escape…

”Pizza, Hamburgers, Tacos… You name it. Hell, I'll even settle for drinks.” Esteraund gave a `thumbs up'.

”You have got to be kidding, Legato…” Yuriko let out of shock. She looked as though she were going to explode.

Esteraund held out a hand to stop her. “We don't have time for this. You want the information on that frame?” Yuriko nodded, albeit reluctantly. “And you want the bounty on your head taken off?” Raven's eyes narrowed, showing facially that Esteraund was right. “Everybody has something they want, so there's no reason not to work with each other.”

”How can we trust you, after what you scum did to me?” Raven pointed out.

”Because, as you can see…” Esteraund flexed his left hand into a fist, electricity beginning to run up and down his arm, “You have no real choice. But I happen to be a reasonable man, and I think we can work our problems out in a different place. Besides, Raven there doesn't look too good there…”

Interrupting before Esteraund could go onto his second sentence, Raven suddenly gagged. He then ran over the side of the alleyway, hunched over and began to vomit blood and different chemicals over a pile of garbage. Yuriko rushed to his aide over this, not wanting to have him die before they get the appropriate info from him. “He's ODing.” Yuriko exclaimed.

She took Raven's hand and checked his pulse, then felt over his forehead. As she thought, he had a high fever, which meant one thing. ”The suppressor drug that keeps his Elemental powers in check is wearing off.” Yuriko explained, “His body's trying to excrete it, but it's been in his system for too long. He won't make it without an antidote.”

”Good thing I snagged this before we left…” Esteraund made his way to his former pupil. He had produced a syringe during the run, which he jabbed into the side of Raven's neck. It took a while, but soon the vomiting and pulsating faded out, even though Raven continued to cough and dry heave. Esteraund leaned over to look at the boy's face while he was dry heaving, looking even more smug now.

“You'll be alright in a few minutes, but you'll want to eat lots and lots of food after you're done. You haven't had proper nourishment for two, maybe three days, and the antidote requires that to work.” Esteraund looked back at the five, smugness withstanding their combined gaze, “And so, what'll it be guys? Pizza, tacos, chicken…”

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And the winner was pizza, after a heated debate of course. After making there way off the street with Raven out of sight, the group headed to a Pizza Hut restaurant, located in a nearly abandoned strip mall. The mall and the rest of the sphere for that matter were in this state because of the evacuation two days ago. Only a short number of people dared remain in a suspected war zone, and as a result, a number of things happened. School was closed, most of the residential businesses were shut down, and the Mall itself was all but deserted. Fortunately, the Pizza Hut remained open for whatever reason, and there were a few people in the restaurant besides Raven, Esteraund and Yuriko.

But that didn't matter now, it was all about the food. The warm feeling of a pizza settled well in Raven's stomach, as well as everyone else at the table. Whether the fact he hadn't eaten anything good in two days or the reason it was a pizza, he didn't care, he was too hungry. Yuriko was sitting across from Raven, sipping on a Pepsi and watching him devour his meal, and Esteraund was currently playing the antique Ultimate Mortal Kombat III arcade machine in the back. "And I thought the UNSF had pigs running around." she said sarcastically.

Raven looked up and everyone else looked up, their faces covered with tomato juice and crums from the pizza crust. "Would you prefer it if we used forks and knives?" he said in a mock accent. He followed this up by taking a napkin and lightly. He remembered some big pro-Terran official from NUT doing this after a large banquet he had been forced to attend as a child. Now, he used it as a sarcastic gesture to the person in front of him.

Yuriko just sipped her Pepsi more. "Whatever..." Esteraund then returned to the table after loosing at MK3 and began to chomp on the breadsticks.

"Well, since you kept your end of the bargain, Esteraund I guess it's fair to keep mine." Raven said, looking over at Esteraund while putting his hand up under his chin and looking away, "Though I don't know where to begin..."

"For one, how did you become a test pilot/runner for NUT?" Yuriko questioned before Esteraund could answer, "Your father was an employee, but it takes more than that to even become a janitor there."

Raven took a sip of his own drank, and then gobbled down a breadstick, at the same time, looking around the restaurant. It was sometime in the evening, so only a few people were in, and they didn't show any interest in Raven's little conversation, "I don't know really. I've been trained to pilot a LEV or OF since I was really, really young by my Dad, and out of nowhere, I got the job when I was fourteen. I know it's a little weird..."

"Actually, it's fairly common." Esteraund explained in between munches, "Children make less of a paycheck than adults, or they don't make one at all, so most corporations would hire them by the dozen for manufacturing and the like. I can't imagine NUT doing that, they're too big to resort to child labor."

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, something like a year after I was accepted into NUT, I started running orbital frames for them, just some UNSF operated models like manned Raptors. That's when I was introduced to the big A you saw." Raven spoke grimly, "I never ran it up until that point, but I did some simulations in a 'mockpit' using data supposedly collected from the frame."

"Be careful what you say here, Raven." Yuriko stopped him.

Raven rolled his eyes and turned around, "Anubis! ANUUUUUBBBBISSSS!" he yelled out loud with mock enthusiasm. The only response he got was an old man glaring at him for disturbing his reading the paper. What few patrons were in the restaurant continued with their own activities. "See? Nobody gives a damn. We're just a bible study group being chaperoned by an electric nut, no offense Legato."

”None taken.” Esteraund said as he took a sip of his drink.

"Fortunately, we're not." Yuriko replied skeptically, "Do that again, and I'll step on you with Grafficane."

Raven laughed at that, "I don't take idle threats." he said, looking over at Tayuya and Jiroubou, who both looked ready to rip out Yuriko's internal organs, "Besides, all I have to do is slip the watch on, and Anubis will be here in less than a minute."

"Less than a minute? I thought Anubis travelled faster than that." Esteraund said, "Speaking of which, why is the frame degraded like that? I'm sure NUT has more than enough money to build another frame like the original."

"So it would be more acceptable to the UNSF." Raven said.

"Yeah, you told me NUT was negotiating with the UNSF, but why do they want it so badly?" Esteraund raised an eyebrow.

"Anubis might not be that powerful, but it would be wise for the Space Force to take it." Raven sipped on his pepsi again, "As the average humanoid would know, over 80 of the OFs out there are ex-BAHRAM controlled frames that somehow got captured by rebels. Frames are usually self-operating, however, BAHRAM was cautious. They placed special command codes in those frames, which acted as a manual override. In case the frames were captured or something else happened to them, a 'master' frame with the codes could transmit them and subject the OF in question to the runner's control."

"I heard of this." Esteraund said, "What's the point to all this?"

"Only a few BAHRAM officers knew the codes, and only a few frames could transmit them. In fact, only three could. Isis, Hathor and as you'd guess, Anubis." Raven said, "And of course, all the frames, runners and officers who were capable of transmission have been killed off during the years, so the code was forgotten..."

"Until this Anubis was created, right?" Esteraund said skeptically, "You're saying that this Anubis harbors the Slave Code."

"Yes. However, as of now, it's inaccessible, because the Slave Code was provided by an outside source." Raven said, “It's designed to transmit the code by Soul Binder, or a direct stream of information through compressed space into a target frame. There's no way to block the transmission, and the range is pretty good too.”

"I can see the reason why the Space Force could use it, but..." Yuriko looked down at the table counter, "Why would somebody just give it to the Space Force? That would only cause Earth to gain more power than it should..."

Curiosity stirred in Raven's mind. "You know, for a Terran bitch, you seem rather concerned for Mars' welfare to be Terran." Raven spoke up for the group with a sneer.

"That's because I'm not Terran." Yuriko said. Nobody dared to show any expression, but she could tell deep down that none of them had saw that coming, not even Legato. Perfect.

"But Yuriko Ishikawa is a Terran name, unless you're of that Ishikawa family." Raven said, voice full of shock and at the same time, amazement, "Even then, you work for a pro-Earth organization."

"You're surprised, I see." Yuriko said, smiling, "I like that reaction. Especially when it comes from a cold hearted bunch like yourselves, it's just satisfying to see emotion from you kind of people."

"But why? Aren't you supposed to be in some liberation front somewhere trying to gain 'freedom and justice' for Mars?" Raven questioned.

”Or at least kill Terrans in the name of God, Allah, Vishnu or whatever else in some crazed Jihad?” Esteraund asked, bringing up an old Hollywood stereotype on a terrorist group in Earth's past.

"Well, I could, but it's much more fun working on the Earth's side." Yuriko replied.

"Then why don't you want the Earth getting more powerful?"

"Because I like the way things are now. The Earth's power being held only because they've deprived Mars of its resources. On the other hand, hatred for the Earth grows and more people begin to resist the Earth's control." Yuriko explained, "It's beautiful, you know? The ideal world for me. A world without unnecessary death, aside from those who are willing to die. This is as close to the 'Heaven' as humanity can get, in my humblest opinion."

"You've gotta be kidding." Raven said, now showing some anger. Yuriko was annoying him before, but now he really wanted to... "I live in this world while you've taken refuge with the Earthlings. It's no where near Heaven, in fact, it's more along the lines of Hell." he settled down the next second, "Then again, that's your opinion, so I guess it would make sense to you."

"It doesn't matter; humanity will always be in conflict with each other. Even if Mars were liberated, the Earth would only try to retake it in a few more years, or Mars will invade the Earth." Yuriko replied, "The whole point to Taskforce Aegis, the reason why I work for the Earth, is because I don't want it to change. I like the way that Mars is set up now. There aren't any major wars, no unnecessary deaths on either side, just people who want to change the world being wiped out. If the Earth gains too much power, and conquers Mars entirely, their power will only hold for so long before Mars gains enough to start another war."

There was an uncomfortable silence around the table for a moment, before the sound of laughter interrupted. "Oh, I get it." Raven laughed, "Another war's coming up, and you're afraid of the results. That's why you're fighting for the Earth."

"Please, Aegis could do their job without me. I'm just in it for the fun of it, and for my brother." Yuriko stated.

"You mean that Colonel with the funky headgear. I remember him in the news." Raven said, "Colonel Saijin Ishikawa, commander of the UNSF's 6th Battalion and original successor to the Ishikawa family name, KIA in at Vascilia. Must be fun being the little sister to one of the dead martyrs, not to mention heir to one of the largest ruling families in Mars Parliament."

”Oni-san and I both turned from that direction a long time ago. At least he died fighting for a cause he believed in.” Yuriko replied.

”And neither of you went down said direction… why?” Raven continued.

"Because..." she said, "That wouldn't be any fun for me. I personally like the sight of people who deserve to die being destroyed, but war? Nah, way too many die for my entertainment."

Now it was Esteraund's turn to look a little disturbed. "You know, I've taken a lot of kids in my experience, and I can easily say you, Yuriko, are one sick..." Esteraund started to say, before stopping. He saw her hand slip over her sidearm. "Nevermind."

"I would have it no other way." Yuriko smirked, taking another piece of pizza.

Before Esteraund could counter, his cellphone rang, to which he picked up, “Hello and welcome to Moviefone.”

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Why must I continue to waste my time with fools? Nadia rolled her eyes, just then walking out of the changing room, dressed back in her uniform and possessing a cellphone in hand. “If this is a bad time, may I call you back when you're not being a buffoon, Mr. Legato?”

”Not at all.” Esteraund said, “Before you ask, yes I found Raven, and now that he's in full mental health, I can say my earlier hunch was correct. NUT was going to send Anubis to the UNSF all along, probably for a hefty payment.”

”Which means what to us?” Nadia asked.

”That there's a conspiracy in Space Force-land, Nadia. It doesn't take half a brain to figure that one out. Orbital Frames are illegal in all Earth and Martian organizations save Aegis and a few exceptions.” Esteraund said, smirking on his end of the line. “Kind of hints at that big thing I told you about before, doesn't it?”

”That doesn't matter at this point; I've got another assignment for you, Mr. Legato.” Nadia continued, “We detected a large body of Metatron moving between the Nereidum/Margaritifer borders, possibly a Type A orbital frame. I want you to investigate with Raijin.”

”Ahhhh, and I was having fun here…” Esteraund mock-complained, “Can't you deploy an AlterNeith force or something?”

”All units are in standby phase until further notice, but I still want that Metatron investigated. If you do this, your pay will be doubled.” Nadia explained.

”Fine, fine, can't ignore the request of a lady, can I?” Esteraund joked, “Ciao, Colonel.” He then hung up, leaving Nadia to sigh alone.

The Aegis Colonel seemed to fold against a nearby corridor wall, looking up into the air, with a single image in mind. Legato's right, something big is coming up. Do I really have what it takes, Bolozof?

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”Well, duty calls.” Esteraund sighed, leaning back further against his chair and kicking his feet up. “It's kind of funny, Raven; I was actually hoping to spend some more time with you.”

”Miss me that much, eh?” Raven sarcastically replied.

”It has been about four years or so, and you've grown since I last saw you. Besides, present company wouldn't allow for personal moments.” He thumbed at Yuriko, who glared at him.

”Speaking about company…” Raven said, as he leaned forward, his eye catching something, “Here's a riddle for your Esteraund. What kind of gargoyle is not made of stone and has no wings, but in turn has dark grayish-brown hair, a mink coat, a diamond purse and a nasty shriek?”

Esteraund's eyes widened, “You don't mean…!”

”ESTERAUND!” came a voice from the entry way that made the blood in Esteraund's veins freeze, as well as change his electrical poles from plus to minus and vice versa.

”Ah crap! Check please!” Esteraund yelled at a waiter as he began filling out the said check and slamming it on the table. He was about to run for it, but he was too little too late as a pair of arms wrapped around his torso with the strength anaconda or an octopus. Or a gargoyle's. The arms belonged to Melinda Gargoyle, a petite, innocent looking woman whose loud wail of a voice said otherwise about her character.

Esteraund grimaced at the woman's grip, even looking at Raven for assistance. He simply waved an `ok' sign at Esteraund and continued to sip his drink. Yuriko gave him a similar reaction. That left the mercenary alone. “Not now, Melinda, I'm busy!” Esteraund yelped, trying to escape the woman's parasite-like hold.

”Oh come on, `Esty', how long has it been? I could surely make it worth your while!” Melinda hinted.

The blue haired WIRED agent-turned-mercenary wondered just how a woman of Martian origin could have such strength. He was even thinking about zapping her with his electrical veins, but another new comer dropped in before he could do that.

”Shit, I turn my back for one minute, and someone is already trying to steal my woman!” a voice called out at the door. It was a rather short height, but bulky man with blonde hair, dark eyes and possessing a white pin-stripe suit and mink coat. Accompanying him were a pair of thugs dressed in black suits, Blues Brothers-like glasses and hats.

”Heh heh, looks like it's not your day Esteraund…” Raven chimed.

”Hey, boss, isn't that brat wanted by the…” one of the henchman began to say, before a lightning bolt lanced across the room and zapped him, causing him to fall to the ground paralyzed and unconscious. Smoke rose from his singed clothing, and his eyes were crossed from behind his glasses.

The man, who was obviously a mafia boss, gawked at the sight of his henchman laying unconscious, and then looked at the person responsible. His gawk turned into a smile, “Esteraund Legato.”

Esteraund, who held his left arm out behind him to zap the man, steam rising off of it, slowly turned to face the boss. “Bashiriko Basilisk.” Melinda figured at this point she was in trouble, so she let go of Esteraund and attempted to run out the back way, but Esteraund grabbed her hand and held it up in the air, keeping her from running. “Before you get any funny ideas, let me remind you I have your girlfriend. Try anything, and she gets lit up like Disneyland.”

”Really, Esteraund, must you be so mean to a lady.” Basilisk said, “We didn't come here for Raven Vostrikov, I just want to take Melinda home…”

Esteraund shrugged, and pushed the girl across the room, where she stumbled into Basilisk. One of the thugs raised a Thompson sub-machinegun, but Basilisk gestured him to lower it. The deal had been made, “Nice doing business with you, Mr. Legato.” With Melinda and the unconscious thug in tow, the foursome exited the building.

That finished, Esteraund leaned over the table, “I suggest you get out of here as soon as you can. There's no telling who or what will come after you.”

”I figured that part out.” Raven said. “Now, if we can just convince Lady Kamikaze over here to drop the bounty…”

Yuriko gave him the finger in response.

”Sorry, can't help you there. They're paying me after all.” Esteraund picked up his gray overcoat and threw it over his shoulders, heading out the back door. “See you around, kid.”

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President Lenard Kapricon hated waiting for a late client. A man in his early thirties, he was very youthful compared to the other top officials in NUT Ltd. Despite the rather short amount of paperwork that he had for the day, and the 'pleasurable' visit he had received from his secretary earlier, he had waited too long and was now growing bored. He sat in his office, a lavish room made in the form of an art museum. White tiled, scarlet walls and a golden chandelier right over his desk, plus white marble pillars in the four corners of the room. Every few square inch of the walls had paintings on them, which Lenard spent day after day admiring. While they were all different in style and sometimes age, they were all classics from the old ages of Earth. Van Gogh, Picasso, Leonardo Di Vinci, they were all there in that one room in the main NUT business tower.

"Enter." Lenard said, just before the figure on the other end of the door could knock.

"That gets quite annoying after a while, Mr. Kapricon." said a deep, monotone, and yet somehow eerie voice. The door opened to reveal a well dressed man, fairly young looking, somewhere in his twenties or thirties, clad in a black overcoat with gold cuffs and buttons, the kind of overcoat seen on German secret service from World War II. A unique point, however, was the fact the overcoat actually had shoulder pads to it, like some sort of modernistic armor set. The man himself looked to actually be of European decent judging by his complexion, most likely Prussian if one would account his name. He had pale skin and a narrow, serpent-like face, complete with thin eyes and long fiery red hair. His hair was flowed down his back in a lion's mane, with spiked points around the head. As if showing his pride in his ethnical origin, he wore a saber clasped to his left side, the kind of saber used by the old Germanic warriors during the days of the Holy Roman Empire, except this one had a straight blade, and as Lenard knew from observing battle, this man could use it.

That man being Kapricon here, "That's the beauty of old Earth tile, I can feel the footsteps vibrating across the floor even if you're on the other side of the building. It's quite expensive, but well worth it." he leaned forward on his desk, having his hands clasp eachother and putting his head over the knuckles, "You've been rather impatient lately, General, and impatience is never a good start for a revolution."

"My sincerest apology, Mr. Kapricon. I was so eager to see Anubis' awakening, that I could not hold myself or the rest of VANGUARD back." Wilhelm justified.

"Of course, but it's what's on the check that justifies such a claim." Kapricon said, "Now, can we move onto business? You wished to buy about 500 kilos of high grade Metatron, am I correct?" Kapricon pulled out a list from his desk, "Correction, 550 kilos of Metatron, plus transport ships. You also owe quite a sum of money for the transportation and stealth equipment you've purchased from us. Don't worry, it's negotiable."

"What do you mean, Lenard? We already agreed on a price." Wilhelm stated.

"Of course, but officially, NUT Ltd. no longer manufacters orbital frames. And with the recent incident in our own Nereidum county, the UNSF has grown suspicious of our 'relationship'." Kapricon said, "So, I need to up the price on the equipment to 923.5 billion for the entire package."

"You worry too much, Lenard." Wilhelm said, "I can easily pay that price, but you worry too much about the Space Force. There's nothing to fear with them, they rely too much on your company for their Martian resources."

"The UNSF doesn't 'rely' on anything accept their precious Earth. They always have, and nothing will change that." he turned and pointed to a picture, this one displaying a man standing over a balcony with a telescope, "That is a picture of Galileo, the inventor of the telescope. In the dark ages, he proposed that the Earth circled around the Sun once every Terran year, which as we all know is correct. But, before that time, Aristotle proposed that the Earth was the center of the universe to the Catholic Church, and being the arrogant religious bastards they all were, the Church accepted the theory as a 'doctrine'. As a result, Galileo was put under house arrest for ten years until he died, and his theory remained ignored."

"I know all about my homeworld's history." Wilhelm said, "But I don't understand your point."

"The Catholic Church ignored basic logic and science because they wanted to believe the Earth was the center of the universe. In a way, that belief has carried over into this generation for your fellow Terrans." Lenard said, "So what if Mars was incapable of defending itself? They still conquered it in the name of mother Earth. So human beings are all the same, if you're born on Mars like I have, you're scum. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is despite the value of NUT Ltd. to the UNSF, they will throw away all relations to NUT if they found out we were selling to 'outlanders', because they have enough support from Earth to keep their forces strong. We don't have the same luck."

"That's the reason why VANGUARD needs all this equipment." Wilhelm said, "I may be Martian now, but remember I was once Terran. The Earth's strength lies solely on keeping people in fear of its power, but they have no power to back that fear up at the same time. Like a wild beast that lost its fangs, it will roar, but it cannot bite if you attack it. If a single faction with enough strength rose up against the Earth, the poor Terrans would be unable to defend themselves. VANGUARD changed two years ago to suit that purpose."

"So did BAHRAM." Kapricon responded, "And you know how they turned out."

"BAHRAM's flaw was its leadership. It was torn between people like Radium Lavans, Ridley Hardimaan and the Vascilian Parliament, each with a different goal. If they concentrated on one objective, liberating Mars, they would have undoutably succeeded." he said grimly, "I don't wish to repeat their mistake, and neither do my men."

"...And that is the reason I chose to support you in the first place." Kapricon replied, "The problem is, I need more than your word to keep the Terrans off my back."

"Leave the UNSF to me." Wilhelm said, "The whole point of this operation is to distract them anyway, they'll be too busy to realize where I got these weapons from."

"I see, and are you sure your associate will follow through on her end?" Lenard questioned, "She was one of their most decorated officers after all, and her squadron commander was an Earth hero."

"And they both turned away from the Earth when they saw the corruption behind it." Wilhelm reassured, "Don't worry, everything is going as planned." he then turned and began to walk out, "I will transmit your sum into NUT's account, once you deliver the weapons. Freedom to Mars." he said on the way out.

"Freedom to Mars." Kapricon responded. I hope for your sake, because if you screw up, Wilhelm, I'm not going to cover for you. Lenard thought to himself, My only goal is getting NUT back on the top, and nothing more. And 'supporting terrorists' isn't exactly going to help with that.

As Wilhelm left the room, one thought ran through his mind. As long as you worry about your petty little company and nothing more, Lenard, the UNSF will be the least of your fears. After all, true beasts tend to hide themselves in fields or trees before they pounce on unwary prey…

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Raven and Yuriko were now walking down a crowded street, to no real destination, other than away from the fast food Pizza Hut. Raven had made a good point not to stay there for too long, since others like Basilisk and the mafia was still after his head, and he knew what was happening when the restaurant manager reached for the vidphone. He and the other four had grappled with Yuriko to call of the bounty, but she refused, apparently enjoying the boy sweating in his own natural environment. "I'm getting really annoyed with this." Raven griped, spotting a black car across the street with men in business suits around it. He turned and went into the nearby alleyway, Yuriko following close behind.

"I don't know, this is rather entertaining." Yuriko chimed.

The usually calm and sadistic expression Raven had kept now appeared to be exhausted, which the UNSF officer couldn't blame him for. He was, after all, running for his life. Raven continued, "We had a deal. I told you what you wanted. Anubis is a giant control program for all the BAHRAM orbital frames running around Mars, meant for the UNSF. But, since you guys don't like Orbital Frames, NUT kept it hidden while it's negotiators made business under the table with the Space Force. That's all I fucking know that's important!" he burst.

"Careful, Mr. Vostrikov, those people across the street look like mafia men." Yuriko said cheerfully, "You wouldn't want them to hear you, now do you?"

"I said shut up!" Raven roared, pulling out his staff. Yuriko reached for her gun, but Raven beat her to the draw and had his staff at her neck.

"Now, now. Don't lose your temper, boy." Yuriko said, "I promise, I'll call off the bounty if Raven here answers one last question."

"And that is?" Raven quipped.

"Why do you keep Anubis?" Yuriko asked.

Raven seemed to calm down at that question, as if the girl had struck a relaxation point on his body. As well, the attention of the other four turned on him, wondering how their leader would answer such a question. He withdrew his staff, spun and seethed it, letting out a breath of air. Raven hadn't expected that kind of question, but he could understand why she asked. "I've got nothing else."

"I don't understand." Yuriko said, "All you have to do is destroy the frame and all this could be over."

"Destroy Anubis, eh?" Raven said, contemplating.

"I ran the frame myself, I know it has a self-destruct system. If you don't like Anubis, or the life that you're following now, than why not abandon it?" Yuriko questioned, "Your life will return to normal as soon as that frame is destroyed. Surely, you know this."

Raven just looked at her with a blank expression. He had thought about abandoning Anubis, but destroying it... It just seemed beyond him. "No." Raven said, "I told you, Anubis is all I have left now. My father is gone, as is my job and I never had a hope in the Mars academic system. If I lose that frame, then I'll just be another criminal on the Martian surface."

"You're keeping the frame because you want to be appreciated?" Yuriko said, holding the urge to laugh out loud, "That's pretty pathetic."

"Said the Martian sell out." Raven shot back. “At least I have the guts to keep something like that, no matter what happens to me.”

The statement surprised Yuriko, but she was prepared for it. "That won't work; I'm too different from you. I like who I've become, I like fighting people that deserve to die. You though, are so unstable, you can't even decide whether you can live a normal life or not."

"How the hell would you know?" Raven growled, "You like causing pain to people who did nothing to you. The only reason you fight them is because those Earthling bastards ordered you to." her eyes narrowed a bit at that, "Yeah, I've killed at least three people in the last few days, as well as beating several more to bloody pulps, but they were the one's who fired the first shot. I only defended myself!"

"By taking away their lives." Yuriko grinned coldly at Raven's shocked expression.

"I had no choice." Raven justified.

"Are you sure about that?" Yuriko said.

"Yeah." Raven said, now glaring, hand squeezing around the hilt of his staff.

At this point, Yuriko knew he had enough. Any more, and he probably would go so far as call Anubis' wrath down on her or worse. She reached into her pocket and picked out a cellphone, "That's all I wanted to know." Yuriko said, "Congratulations, Mr. Vostrikov, you're a free man in a few seconds." She nodded and turned to walk away, hitting a speed dial button on her phone.

Raven's glare remained, even as she ordered the verbally the bounty to be taken off. However, he did sling his staff over his shoulders, so most of the hostilities had ended when she left. He stood there for a moment, thinking about what she had said in their 'conversation'. "'By taking away their lives'... What a strange girl." he concluded, then walking away…

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TO BE CONTINUED…