Chapter 8: The Prince and the Jester

Disclaimer: I own nothing

It had been two weeks since the incident at Lake Kawaguchi, and during that time, people couldn't keep their mouths shut.

"What do you think the story is with this 'Gyudondond tribe'?"

"Do you think Zero is a member of the tribe?"

"I think that at the very least he's a disciple of the tribe."

"Didn't that Bonolenov person say that Zero was the disciple of that clown guy?"

"This is so confusing! The clown didn't even use armor. It was like a completely different power."

"Don't forget, Bonolenov had to dance to activate his powers. Zero and the clown didn't have to do that."

"But what about this 'Phantom troupe'?"

"Maybe the Phantom troupe is the Gyudondond's most elite warriors."

"Maybe the troupe is the Gyudondond's oldest and bitterest enemies."

"Wasn't that Bonolenov guy part of the troupe? If the troupe and the tribe were enemies, why would Bonolenov be a member?"

"He could be a traitor to his people."

"Where do you think the clown fits into the equation?"

These were just some of the whispers that Lelouch heard day after day as he walked through the school hallway.

'This couldn't be more perfect.' Lelouch thought happily 'Theories and rumors are abundant. Confusion grows with each passing day. Britannia is going nuts and the Japanese are becoming hopeful. That battle between Hisoka and Bonolenov is sending the reputation of Zero through the roof.'

Indeed, children all over the world, including the children of Britannia, were playing Zero and reenacting the battle between the clown and tribesman. Plus, rebel cells all across the globe were becoming more daring in their respective ongoing struggles against the empire.

'It was quite the stroke of luck that Bonolenov was the troupe member to show up. Fortunately, he has nen abilities that are very similar to mine. If not for that, the rumors wouldn't be half this chaotic.' Lelouch thought.

Out of all the big changes that had transpired in the past two weeks, Lelouch's favorite by far was the fact that he had recruited another four rebel groups to his cause. Those four, along with the Kozuki resistance and the Yamato alliance, brings him to a total of six terrorist groups united under his command.

Lelouch's phone buzzed, alerting him to a text message.

It was from Ohgi.

Apparently, there was a seventh terrorist group that wanted to unite under his command. The message said that they wanted to meet Zero in person. Lelouch now knew what he would be doing after school today.

(Viceroy's palace, Cornelia's office)

Cornelia was lying back in her chair looking half-dead.

'How could things have escalated so far out of control so quickly?' Cornelia thought. 'I'm supposed to be the pride of the Britannian military, and look at me now. I can barely find the motivation to get out of bed.'

Knock knock! Someone was knocking at the door.

"Come in!" Cornelia answered in a soulless voice.

Jeremiah Gottwald entered the office.

"You summoned for me, Princess?" Jeremiah asked.

"Take a seat." Cornelia ordered with far less authority in her voice than was standard for her.

Jeremiah closed the door behind him and proceeded to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

Cornelia sat upright and said "Jeremiah, I want to apologize."

"Apologize?" Jeremiah asked.

"You understood the true danger of Zero and his clown before any of us. I had marked you as a coward, unfit to be in the military. That was before Lake Kawaguchi. I've… I've come to understand the true power of the threat I challenged with such bravado." Cornelia explained as she started tearing up.

"Your Highness!" Jeremiah uttered in shock.

"I'm not going to try to fight Zero anymore." Cornelia stated as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Please Princess, you can't simply give up." Jeremiah urged, only to be stopped by Cornelia holding up her hand to tell him to stop talking.

"I believe there's something you should know." Cornelia stated.

(Flashback, last night)

Princess Cornelia was having a video conference; the face on the large monitor was none other than the Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia.

"Cornelia, your time in Area 11 has proven to be nothing short of a total disgrace to the empire. First, Zero captures and interrogates you, then to add insult to injury, he delivers you back to the Viceroy's palace without even taking the effort of taking your life. Then, he eliminated a terrorist cell which you yourself were supposed to eliminate. He even saved the life of Euphemia, a Britannian royal saved by a terrorist who had already taken the life of Clovis, another Britannian royal." Charles scolded angrily.

"Did you not see the news footage? There's no way to beat those monsters. Not even with the entirety of the might of the empire." Cornelia argued in despair.

"Is this it? Have you been broken so easily? Britannia's 'Goddess of War' reduced to a mere shell because of a few magic tricks?" Charles retorted.

"You weren't there. You didn't suffer the tangibly immense power that those two were emitting during their fight." Cornelia cried as she fell to her knees.

"To think that one of my finest children would become such a disappointment in such a short period of time. Since you clearly lack what is necessary, I shall send Nonette Enneagram and Luciano Bradley to eliminate Zero for you." Charles declared.

Cornelia could only stare at the floor, eyes widened.

(Flashback end)

"The… The Knight of Nine and the Knight of Ten are coming here?" Jeremiah stuttered.

"It's just as well. I always hated those two anyway." Cornelia mused.

"The Knights of the round are the greatest military power in all of Britannia. Do you really so easily believe that they'll fall to Zero and his clown?" Jeremiah asked disbelievingly.

"Don't ask a question that's already been answered." Cornelia responded.

"I apologize your Highness." Jeremiah stated as he bowed his head.

"Originally, my plan was to completely eliminate the terrorist presence in Area 11 and then turn my Viceroyship over to Euphie. Now, my plans have changed; once Nonette and Luciano have been defeated, I'm going to use their defeat as an excuse to turn over this country to Zero, finally putting an end to this nightmare." Cornelia explained.

"Your Highness, if Zero takes over, then the Britannian people will face countless hardships in retribution for all that's been done to the eleven population." Jeremiah countered.

"I'm fully convinced that Zero will take this nation one way or another. This is to cut out the middleman and minimize further casualties." Cornelia countered.

'Just under two months ago, everything was so perfect. How did things all go to hell so quickly?' Jeremiah thought in despair.

"You both seem quite down today." Zeno stated as he emerged from the shadows.

"Please leave!" Cornelia requested. "I'm honestly not in the mood."

"I see, you must be the man I heard about, the assassin who refuses to leave the Princess alone." Jeremiah deduced as he started to reach for his gun.

"There are at least twelve different ways I could prevent your bullet from hitting me, all of them ending with your corpse falling to the floor. That said, I suggest you choose your next action carefully." Zeno explained with a mild wave of malice.

Jeremiah immediately let his arm fall, knowing he couldn't win.

"Just tell us why you're here." Cornelia demanded as a severe headache began to take form.

"Oh honestly, can't a creepy elderly man of questionable origin check in on a beautiful young lady and her large breasts without everyone making a big stink about the whole thing?" Zeno asked.

(Ashford Academy, Lelouch and Nunnally's home, after classes were done for the day)

"So, just place my hands around the glass and channel aura out of my palms?" Suzaku asked as he stared at the thing in front of him, a wine glass full of water with a leaf on the water's surface.

"That's correct?" Hisoka clarified. "An enhancer will cause the water to change amount, a transmuter will cause the water to change taste, an emitter will make the water change color, a conjurer will cause the water to be polluted, a manipulator will make the leaf move around, and a specialist will cause some other effect."

"I'm an enhancer, right?" Suzaku asked.

"We're about to find out." Hisoka answered.

Suzaku did as instructed.

Once his aura started to flow, the volume of the water expanded ever so slightly, and a single small trickle began to spill out the side.

"Ok, so I am an enhancer after all?" Suzaku questioned.

"Sayoko, could you come in here for a moment." Hisoka called out.

Sayoko walked in from the other room and asked "Yes, Mr. Hisoka?"

"I'd like you to demonstrate your hatsu." Hisoka said while pointing at the wine glass.

"Oh, alright!" Sayoko agreed.

She put her hands around the glass and channeled her hatsu.

A ten inch tall geyser of water immediately shot up and the glass was left with several cracks.

"Oh no, now look at what I've done. This glass is ruined and there's water everywhere." Sayoko stated regretfully.

She took the damaged glass away with the intent of returning with a rag to clean up the mess she had made.

"Practice your hatsu until you can do something like that." Hisoka said to Suzaku who was in awe at the incredible hatsu that Sayoko had just displayed.

"Uh, exactly how long did it take her to master that level of strength?" Suzaku asked.

"If I recall correctly, it was around four months." Hisoka answered.

"I've got a long way to go." Suzaku realized out loud.

"You work on that, I've got a quick errand I need to run." Hisoka said as he stepped out the window.

(In the nearby park)

Lelouch and Kallen were sitting on a park bench, enjoying a celebratory ice cream following the recent recruitment of their newest subordinate terrorist cell, a small group of nineteen people calling themselves 'The Crimson Eclipse'. Not that Lelouch really cared what they called themselves. As far as he was concerned, they were the seventh division now.

As they were enjoying their frozen treats, they saw a group of Britannians harassing a Japanese food cart vender.

Kallen stood up to teach them a lesson, but Lelouch put a hand on her shoulder from behind.

"If you help him today, he won't be able to make a living tomorrow." Lelouch pointed out.

"So I should just do nothing?" Kallen whispered angrily.

"Kallen, I have big plans for this world. Soon enough, situations like this one will be nothing more than a bad memory." Lelouch reassured. "That poor man will want to be there for it, but he can't if he starves to death before it can happen."

"I'd still like to turn those Britannian bastards into chum for doing such horrible things." Kallen stated.

"Just so you know, it really turns me on when you talk like that." Lelouch informed, much to Kallen's embarrassment.

Just as Kallen was starting to calm down, the Britannian bullies fell dead one after another from broken necks.

There were two assailants. The first was a tall man with blonde hair and a green tracksuit. The other was a short man with black hair, pale skin, and wore a black coat with a high collar that covered the lower half of his face.

Lelouch immediately recognized them. 'Phinks Magcub and Feitan Porter!'

Everyone in the park began to clear out, wanting to get as far away as possible from the killers. Shortly, there were only five people left in the area, Lelouch, Kallen, Phinks, Feitan, and the food vender who had been bullied.

'Great, now the police will swarm this place and they'll have the park closed off as a crime scene. Damn, I really enjoy coming here. Now I'm gonna have to wait days or even weeks before I can come back.' Lelouch thought annoyed. 'But on to the more immediate problem, there's no way those two monsters haven't already noticed that I'm a nen user.'

"W-w-why would you…?" The food cart vender tried asking as his question died in his throat.

"We just did you a favor. Don't question it when someone commits a good deed out of the kindness of their heart. We didn't have to save you, ya know." Phinks argued.

"I guess some people are too idiotic to consider the demise of their foes as beneficial." Feitan mused.

The vender hastily got to his feet and ran away as fast as he could.

The two Troupe members walked over to Lelouch and Kallen.

"Hey, you're Zero, right?" Phinks asked looking to Lelouch.

Kallen's eyes widened and she asked Lelouch "Hey, who are these two?"

"They're both members of the Phantom Troupe." Lelouch answered.

"The Phantom Troupe? You mean like that tribe, flute guy?" Kallen asked.

"Yes!" Lelouch responded. "The man with the blonde hair is Phinks. He currently holds the position of greatest physical strength among all the Troupe members. His ability is called Ripper Cyclotron: Every time he cranks his arm, the following punch becomes that much more powerful."

"And the man with the black hair is Feitan. He's the Troupe member who specializes in torture and interrogation, but mostly torture. His ability is called Rising Sun: When he gets hurt, he can unleash a wave of scorching heat. The more damage he takes, the more intense the inferno." Lelouch finishes.

"So, I guess you are Zero then." Phinks stated.

"Only someone who's had contact with Hisoka would know who we are, and know our abilities." Feitan declared.

'Damn, now what? If these two are as strong as Bonolenov, then I'm in real trouble. Fighting one of them would be difficult. But two?' Lelouch thought.

"Listen, we don't really have any interest in fighting you." Phinks stated.

Lelouch let go of a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"We just want to kill Hisoka. Do you happen to know where he is?" Phinks asked.

'Not good, Hisoka is far too valuable for me to lose, and I know I can't beat these two in a fight, and playing dumb will only make things worse for me, I need something else… I know.' Lelouch thought.

"I'm afraid I don't know where he is." Lelouch replied. "He's the one who contacts me, and he won't give me a way to get in touch with him. I don't know where he comes from, where he goes to, or what he does when he's not with me." Lelouch answered truthfully.

"Yeah, I guess that's pretty much what I was expecting." Phinks stated in annoyance.

"You Phantom Troupe are stealth masters, right? You can follow behind me and wait for Hisoka to show up if you want." Lelouch offered. "You don't need to worry about me getting involved, I really couldn't care less about the grudge between you and Hisoka; my only beef is with the empire. Hisoka hates when I steal his kills anyway."

"Yeah, okay!" Phinks agreed, followed by him and Feitan jumping out of sight.

'I can't believe they agreed so easily. Are they arrogant or are they planning something?' Lelouch wondered. 'My plan was for them to face the combined strength of me, Hisoka, and Sayoko. This could get ugly.'

"Come on Kallen, let's go." Lelouch stated as he grabbed Kallen by the hand and pulled her with more force than was necessary. Not that one could really blame Lelouch for being on edge.

(In the warehouse district)

In a warehouse, all across the floor, there were countless corpses. Some belonging to drug dealers; some belonging to drug addicts.

The warehouse was actually a major supplier of the drug known as Refrain, a liquid injection type drug that causes you to hallucinate the happiest moments from your memory.

Standing amongst the dead bodies, having claimed the vast quantities of the psychedelic substance, was Hisoka.

"This will do quite nicely." Hisoka said with a chuckle. "Theses drugs could come in very handy in the coming war. Hmm, I'll need to get some darts… And dart guns. I doubt it will be as effective as the actual injection device, but at the very least, I suspect the victims won't be able to see straight."

(That Evening, Lelouch and Nunnally's home)

Hisoka climbed in the window, as he usually did. Already in the room was Lelouch, Kallen, Suzaku, Nunnally, and Sayoko. C.C. was standing in the corner not really caring about what was going on.

"I have some good news. I managed to round up a heavy supply of chemical weapons. Now we just need darts to load the stuff into and some dart guns to fire the darts." Hisoka informed.

"We have a tiny problem." Lelouch stated.

Hisoka noticed something in Lelouch's eye; a reflection.

Hisoka turned around to see Phinks and Feitan standing in front of the window he had come in through just moments earlier.

"Hey Hisoka, it's been a while." Phinks greeted.

"Bono is probably gonna hate us for taking away his chance at revenge." Feitan stated as he pulled out his umbrella and unsheathed the hidden sword.

Lelouch conjured his Black King and said "Suzaku, Kallen, Nunnally, you three go, Hisoka, Sayoko, and I will handle this.

Hisoka drew some cards from his deck and Sayoko pulled out a pair of kunai knives.

"Oh, you know what? This totally slipped my mind." Phinks said, faking embarrassment. "We got some new friends who've been wanting to meet you."

Phinks moved out of the way to reveal two other Troupe members who had just come in through the window.

The first was Daimaru. The second was Naota, who was just finishing his second 500ml bottle of water.

"Ah, new Troupe members to replace Shalnark and Kortopi. I wonder what abilities they have?" Hisoka said, failing to hide his sadistic excitement.

"Let's see here!" Phinks exclaimed. "On your side are three strong nen users, two weak nen users, and two non user… Okay, I know how to divvy it up."

"Divvy it up? What does that mean?" Lelouch asked.

Phinks responded by punching the ground and shouting "Other Battle."

Several streams of aura shot from the blonde mans fist and crawled across the floor. The aura headed straight for Lelouch, Suzaku, Sayoko, Nunnally, Daimaru, and Naoto.

The aura took on a disc-like shape beneath their feet and all six fell through.

(Near downtown Tokyo, on the roof of a five story building)

Three aura disc's appeared in mid air. Out of them fell Lelouch, Suzaku, and Naota.

"Well would you look at that, I got one strong and one weak." Naota stated, seeing who Phinks had decided his opponents would be. "Tell me, have either of you ever been mauled by a shark?"

Naota activated his ability. "Great White." His aura took on shark-like characteristics.

Lelouch retaliated. "Black Queen." The scythe appeared in Lelouch's hands.

Suzaku simply took a fighting stance, hoping that his nen training would be enough to ensure that he at least wouldn't be dead weight.

(In the forest outside the city)

Three disc shaped auras appeared just below the low branches.

Sayoko, Nunnally, and Daimaru fell from the portals.

"I was hoping I'd get both of the strong ones, but I guess that's too much to ask. Oh well, one of the strongs and a weak will just have to satisfy me." Daimaru lamented.

"Mistress Nunnally, please stay behind me." Sayoko insisted. "I swear I will protect you."

Nunnally, with full faith in Sayoko ducked behind a nearby tree to watch the battle from there.

(Back at Ashford)

"What do you think of my new ability, Hisoka?" Phinks asked with a smirk. "A lot can happen in two years, and the story behind my new power is a real doozy. Too bad you're gonna die before I can tell you about it."

Phinks began to wind his arm.

"An Emission type portal? Does that mean you're the one who saved Bono from the bridge?" Hisoka questioned.

"No it wasn't you." Hisoka deduced. "The action that caused his disappearance was so subtle, even I didn't notice. Subtlety was never your specialty."

"Like that really matters to a dead man." Feitan stated. "All you have left are the two non users." Feitan pointed his blade toward C.C. and Kallen who had not been teleported.

"DIE!" Hisoka, Phinks, and Feitan shouted simultaneously as they charged toward each other. Hisoka with his playing cards, Feitan with his umbrella sword, and Phinks with a punch charged with sixteen cranks.

(Downtown rooftop)

Suzaku activated Ren and charged toward Naota with a punch.

"WAIT!" Lelouch shouted at his friend, but it was too little, too late.

Suzaku got in close and threw his punch… Which Naota easily caught with a hand strengthened by Gyo.

"Ren? Really? Either you're an idiot or your training is incomplete. Then again, I shouldn't rule out the possibility of both." Naota laughed.

"Dammit!" Suzaku shout as he raised his left leg to kick Naota in the side. This endeavor was a failure as Naota used Ryu to focus 75 percent aura into his right side.

Naota took the kick and didn't even flinch.

Naota raised his free hand so that he could bring it down and use his transmuted shark teeth to shred Suzaku's face.

Before he could, however, his survival instincts told him to jump back immediately.

It was a good thing he did, because Lelouch had jumped in, swinging his scythe to save his friend.

"That was close, you nearly chopped my arm off." Naota stated with amusement. "I don't appreciate you trying to chop my arm." He stated with irritation.

Naota ran to the edge of the roof and jumped down to the street below.

Lelouch and Suzaku ran over to the edge to see that Naota had started using his shark fangs to kill random people on the street, an action that had completely disgusted the two of them.

"Wait here." Lelouch said before jumping down after the shark man.

'Watching from the sidelines is all I can do, isn't it?' Suzaku thought depressed as he remembered the difference in scale of his Hatsu from Sayoko's.

Lelouch confronted Naota and said "Killing bystanders? Is there a reason, or are you just a sadist?"

"Tell me, Zero, have you heard of a band called Black Planet?" Naota asked.

"Black Planet? Never heard of them." Zero replied.

"Boy, do I feel sorry for you, then." Naota stated as he pulled out a pair of earbuds and inserted them into his ears. "You should really look into them. Their second album is absolutely the best. Once you finish all twelve songs, it's like you just got through a really awesome story." Naota explained as he pulled out a music player and plugged in the earbuds.

'I won't mention that the second album is exactly one hour long. The same length of time that I can use Aquarium.' Naota thought sinisterly as he selected the album and put the music player back in his pocket.

"Aquarium." Naota shouted as a giant deluge of water emerged from his body and began to flood the area.

Zero jumped back to avoid the waters. He managed to get clear as the water reached its stopping point at eighteen meters and formed a dome-like shape.

"Waters warm Zero. Come on, take a dip." Naota called out from the water. "Don't worry, the waters breathable."

Zero dismissed his scythe and conjured his hammer. "Black Rook."

Zero tried bashing his hammer against the bubble, only for the impact to be nullified.

"That won't work Zero. Attacks can't penetrate the outside of the water, but there's nothing stopping you from entering the water and attacking me then." Naota explained.

"If I did that, I would be giving you the home field advantage." Zero deduced.

"Like jumping into a shark tank." Naota confirmed.

"And why would I do that?" Zero asked.

"Because it's the only way you'll have a chance at stopping me from posting your real identity online." Naota threatened.

Zero dismissed his hammer and charged into the water. As promised, it was, in fact, breathable.

'I managed to kill seven people before Zero jumped down from the rooftop. The average person has about five liters of blood in their body. With the corpses bleeding out in the water, I should be able to reach level thirty-five.' Naota analyzed. 'With the blood that's already spread, I should be at level eight or nine.'

"Alright Zero, time to die." Naota shouted. "Shark Frenzy."

"Black Bishop." Zero conjurered his chain and sent it toward his foe.

Naota swam and avoided the chain, but it still pursued. He headed for Zero to deliver a finishing strike, but Zero was prepared.

"Black Queen." Zero brought back his scythe in his free hand.

Zero slashed, but resistance from the nen water prevented the scythe from being fast enough.

Naota dodged and continued swimming away from the chain. He started to use his shark jaw finger to further damage the corpses in the water, spreading even more blood, making Naota even more powerful.

'I should be at level nineteen now.' Naota thought.

The shark man saw the figure of Zero through the blood and swam in for the kill.

Naota slashed the figure in the chest and it seemed as though Naota had won, but…

"Wait, that hit felt wrong." Naota uttered.

This distraction caused Naota to hold still long enough for the chain to bind him.

After struggling for a moment, Naota took notice that the person he slashed was not Zero.

"I highly doubt you're loyal enough for the Black Bishop, but fortunately, Black Queen can rectify the problem." Zero stated as he swam up and took his scythe back.

'Damn, he put his scythe in the hand of one of the corpses and used it as a decoy. With all the blood in the water, I didn't see it.' Naota thought.

Zero put a great deal of aura into his arms so the water resistance wouldn't be an issue. He swung his scythe at Naota's neck.

To onlookers who had come to see the cause of the giant water bubble, the water just seemed to vanish after Zero chopped off the head of the person who seemed to be his opponent.

As Zero walked toward the viewing crowd, he looked toward a group of people who had been recording and streaming the event on their phones.

As he walked by, Zero said "Whew, I'm beat!"

(In the forest)

"Alright little maid, let's see what you got." Daimaru taunted.

Sayoko used Shu to coat her knives in aura and charged toward her opponent.

Daimaru activated Sunshine Child, and countered Sayoko's advance by charging toward her and punching her in the gut at light speed.

Sayoko was sent flying backwards many meters through dozens of trees and rocks.

"Well, that takes care of her." Daimaru said as he turned toward a cowering Nunnally. "Now for you, little girl."

As he was about to make his move against the girl, he sensed someone running toward him. He turned and saw a very pissed off Sayoko about to slice his head in half.

As Sayoko was about to strike, he activated Sunshine Child and moved out of the way, leaving a very confused Sayoko where he once stood.

"I'm very impressed. You not only survived my attack, but to recover so quickly, and without any visible strain. Should I even mention how fast you were able to get back here from where you landed?" Daimaru praised from across the battlefield.

Sayoko regained her composure and attempted to interrogate him. "You have super strength and it seems you can teleport. Care to elaborate on your abilities?"

"What, and spoil all the fun that is your confusion? I don't think so." Daimaru responded.

Daimaru activated Sunshine Child once more and charged toward his foe to give her a swift high kick in the face. Once again, Sayoko was sent flying.

Sayoko wasn't down for long. Once again, she got back up and charged toward Daimaru.

Sayoko tried again and again, but no matter what she did, she couldn't land a single hit. He would just disappear and reappear on a different part of the battlefield. Although, Daimaru did start panting a bit, which Sayoko considered a bit odd. He shouldn't be out of breath already.

"Sayoko!" Nunnally called out from her hiding place.

The maid turned her head to see that Nunnally was sitting on the ground. She had no aura in her crippled legs, and thus, wasn't able to manipulate them. The reason for this lack of life energy in her legs; she was focusing all of her aura into her eyes using Ko.

"I think I've figured out his ability. It was very difficult to see, even with Ko, but I think he's just moving really fast." Nunnally informed.

"Ha ha ha ha ha, I plea guilty, I'm not denying your claim. I transmute my aura to match the qualities of… LIGHT." Daimaru laughed as he made a bright glow shine from his body as he said the word 'light'.

'I see.' Sayoko thought. 'His teleportation is just him moving faster than the eye can see. His super strength, that was the transfer of kinetic energy. So now the question is, how do I beat someone who moves at the speed of light?'

"Let's finish this." Daimaru declared.

Daimaru activated Sunshine Child once more and charged in to attack. Sayoko braced herself for another flight with Ken.

'Like I'm that predictable.' Daimaru thought before he charged.

Daimaru stopped just in front of Sayoko and delivered a Gyo kick to her side, followed by a Gyo elbow in her nose.

"Had enough yet?" Daimaru asked. "How about you make this easy on both of us and just let me kill you?" Daimaru had been panting the whole time. 'Damn, I have to end this quickly. I've used Sunshine Child too much as it is.'

"You seem to be short of breath, and I sense that your aura is running low. I have two possible theories about that." Sayoko stated.

Daimaru grew annoyed hearing this.

"Theory one, you have very little stamina. Theory two, your light speed ability requires a lot of life energy to function." Sayoko explained.

"Big deal, so I'm low on gas. I can still finish you and the girl no problem." Daimaru boasted through his heavy breaths.

"There are many facets of combat. Brute strength, attack force, durability, stamina, speed, agility, creativity! Those who excel in only one category always end up dying young. To be victorious in a fight, you must be skilled in all categories." Sayoko explained.

Daimaru felt his anger explode. "DIE!"

Daimaru activated Sunshine Child again and tried to attack her. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have the necessary aura to reinforce his body. After he activated his ability, he lost control and crashed into a tree at high speed.

'Damn, this is not good. I'm almost out of aura and I can feel a bunch of my bones are cracked. Let's see, five cracks in my ribs, two in my right arm, three in my left arm, four in my right leg, three in my left leg.' Daimaru thought worried. 'Looks like it's time for my ace in the hole.'

Sayoko walked over to the man in order to deliver the final blow.

Once she got close, Daimaru pointed at her and shot a laser from his finger tip, right through Sayoko's heart. Sayoko collapsed immediately.

"SAYOKO!" Nunnally screamed in anguish.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha, what do ya think of my second ability, Sunshine Beam?" Daimaru cackled like a loonatic as Sayoko's blood began to spread.

Daimaru got up and examined his current condition. 'I may not be able to strengthen myself enough for Sunshine Child, but I can at least keep these bone fractures from hindering me from getting back to the others. I won't be able to fight for a while, but I can at least kill the girl with a laser.'

Daimaru started walking towards a very sad, very scared Nunnally.

"Bye bye little nuisance." Daimaru stated as he pointed his finger toward Nunnally and was about to shoot another laser.

Before Daimaru could deal the killing blow, he was struck in the back by a knife, courtesy of none other than Sayoko.

Daimaru fell to the ground and saw that the maid was actually alive.

"Impossible! I shot you through the heart. Why aren't you dead?" Daimaru asked.

"The angle of your shot was off. Your laser went above my heart instead of through it. I wasn't killed, just stunned for a moment." Sayoko explained.

Sayoko raised her knife and rammed it into the light user's skull, killing him.

Nunnally ran over to Sayoko, hugged her, and started crying.

"Come on Mistress Nunnally, we should get back home." Sayoko suggested.

The two began the trek back to Ashford.

And there we have chapter 8.

Look, I know chapters are a bit far between and for that I apologize. Just so you know, I have every intention of keeping this story going until the end, so don't worry.

Sorry, this chapter is a bit shorter than I would have liked. Part of it was kinda a rush job. My dog recently had… THAT surgery and I really needed to focus on her. Poor thing. She could barely move.

Also, I've recently been having some trouble with my internet server.

I would like to give a shout out to Xavier Rall

Author of the fascinating story- "Ghost in the Shell: The X Reality X of X Nen"

I recommend reading it. You can find a link to it in my Favorites.

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Phinks new ability

Name: Other Battle (Quest through the war zone)

Type: Emission

Description:

Phinks punches the ground and sends several streams of aura toward the feet of his enemies and allies. The aura then becomes a portal that teleports said enemy and ally to a location that Phinks has marked so they can battle there. The idea is for Phinks to fight the enemy boss without their allies getting in the way. That is why the activation condition of this ability is that it can only be used when Phinks is trying to get rid of his enemies helpers.