I saw it crouch backwards and fling a tongue at me, like a chameleon. Rhendon came back over my com unit. "We call those Chromalisks. They camouflage themselves to remain invisible. Defeat that thing before it disappears." Wasting no time in getting to the action, I firstly dodged the tongue. I had to admit it, this was exciting. Finally, something to match my skills. I then closed in on the Chromalisk and slashed it with my sword, knocking it backwards and eventually leaving it down and out. Rhendon interrupted me again with more bad news. "We've got mechanical forms moving FAST towards you. From the looks of it, they're burrowing through those holes you see in the metal."

Readying my gun, this time, I first checked to see if it worked. Taking aim at a block off in the distance, I made sure the safety was off and clicked the trigger. A satisfying pull, followed with a small "BANG!", and off went a small green bullet, flying straight ahead. It flew some distance and fizzled out. Figures. These guns weren't exactly Valiances, and certainly the range didn't match. I took aim at the first disturbance in the metallic flooring, and fired. I heard the sound of metal bashing into metal, follow by a nigh-unearthly sound. I then saw something glowing rising from the ground.

I quickly saw what appeared to be a sharpened stick-like arm, followed by a metallic body arising from the rest of the hole. It was horrific-looking, making me all the more tempted to open fire, which I did. It raised it's arm and, with deceptive range, slashed me, which caught me off my guard, injuring me with a small cut on my right arm. I quickly saw it preparing a second strike, but this time, I raised my shield up, defending myself from the arm. I then saw it had swung too much, and, seeing my chance, stabbed it repeatedly with my sword, wrecking it. I saw what appeared to be embers of our Heat Storage room. This must've picked a few up. I quickly collected them. Warm to the touch. I stored them in the armor.

It was after this (And some walking) I encountered Rhendon in what appeared to be a small hideaway.

"Ah, good, Sintag. You've finally arrived."

"Good to see you too, Rhendon."

"Let's get down to business. The Proto Bomb was the lst we had, and, well, it exploded, so you're still going to lack one. Also, there's a Rescue Camp right over" - He pointed northward - "That a-way. Get to there ASAP. I'll come after you once you radio safety."

"All right, Rhendon."

It was eight uneventful hours of walking until I had made it there.

I finally approached what appeared to be a series of pitched up tents. I walked inside and discovered other Knights, all of them in bad shape. One had a gaping hole in his armor, caused from an attack, he told me. The power was offline, so everything resembling a machine was offline. I radioed Rhendon. "Rhendon, Sintag here. I've reached the Rescue Camp you mentioned. Things don't exactly look good here."

"The Gremlins must've stolen the generator again. See what you can do. Ask around. Someone's got to be in the know. Also, about those Embers you grabbed. Here's the good news. Quite a lot of things here have those and they seem to have worked their way through the planet. You should be able to use them to make your weapons and armor more proficient. Here's the bad news. The entirety of our Heat Storage Room went sky-high when the Skylark blew. You'll have to collect a lot of Embers to re-power everything to it's former level."

"Oh, joy."

"Not a lot I can do here, Sintag."

"I'm aware. Sorry for the attitude. I was just annoyed."

"That happens a lot with you."

"I'm aware, Rhendon."

"OK. I gotta make my run to the Camp now. Rhendon out."

"Roger."

I then looked and asked around. I saw another knight approach me. "Hey, you there. Want to help me out?"

"Pray tell, with what?"

"We lost quite a few recruits last night. Wanna help me avenge them?"

"While I'm not typically one for revenge, I'm more than up for taking down a few more opponents. Let's go."

On the way over, introductions were made. I already forgot this guy's name, though. Seriously.

"I have a spare Proto Bomb. Here, take it."

I was overjoyed to see a bomb in my hands again. Giving it a few light tosses, I took the gun out, put it in a backpack of things that wouldn't travel with me, and then held the bomb in my right arm. It was very light, I found out, and made of some sort of plastic for the outer shell, the inner shell containing a small explosive. Not very powerful at all. As I stepped over the gate, it sprang up from behind me, trapping me with a small group of monsters, my sword, and my new bomb.

(End of Chapter 2)

As the gates sprang up, several monsters appeared from seemingly nowhere. I wondered for a few moments how in the world they appeared that quickly. Then one of them, a wolf-like thing with a maw filled with...Actually slightly dull teeth, advanced towards me. It reared up, but having learned courtesy of the Chromalisks, which, oddly enough, were nowhere to be seen, I sidestepped it just as it's jaws clamped into what was now thin, thin air.

I then withdrew the bomb. I was, at the very least, trained very basically in using bombs (You charge them, you set them down, boom, everyone dies). Arming the bomb was easy enough, just had to haul it around waiting for it to arm. I then set it down and watched the fireworks. Monsters were scattered. Several were now dead. Several more stood back up, more than ready to face me down with the angriest look on their faces. ...Well, about as angry as animals can be, anyways. Two of those wolf-like things charged me. The other two looked ready to charge me, but collapsed and died.

I took my sword out and slashed one across it's face, inflicting a scar upon it and killing it this time. The second one actually managed to bite me. I yelled out in immediate pain, and, this time, backed off. Blood was now flowing from the wound to my waist, and I cringed. No doubt it was going to be infected soon. The second Knight noted my pain and I saw him take out a cylinder from his pouch and seemingly strap it to a suit of armor, using quick bindings he must have picked up from basic training. I then refocused my attention when I saw the wolf preparing to lunge a second time, rearing it's legs and crouching back as if to gather momentum. I sidestepped it and this time stabbed my sword directly into it's back, killing it with no further ado. The gate lowered.

"You got hurt pretty bad in that fight. Here. This USED to be a spare suit of armor, but the addition of this little Vitapod here ought to keep your butt alive. Hopefully also cure that infection you may or may not have."

I looked over and saw he had led me to a tent, presumably to change. I quickly slipped into the new threads, and felt better basically instantly. This "Vitapod" - Is that what he called it? - Made me feel a lot better. I felt and looked better in the suit. "Oh, also, this. We got a few too many Hatchets in and around camp, so we figured we'd repurpose them as weapons. Suppose this ought to help you." He then tossed me only the biggest freaking sword I had ever seen. I caught it and tumbled backwards. I groaned in pain as I attempted to hold it up. "It's...Kinda heavy..."

"You'll get used to it." The other knight spoke of my complaint.

"Eventually." I grunted in pain again. This actually had a slight burning feeling in my hands. Of all my years of wielding a Leviathan Blade, this was the only time a sword actually HURT to use it. No wonder they had too many of these things.

We walked back to camp. Sunset was ending, FAST. Another Knight approached me with a new task. "We need a new generator. Given your progress in beast-slaying, we figured YOU should go do it. Nothing personal, you're just the best fighter of all us...Wait a minute. You're Sintag, aren't you?"

I smirked a little at this. "The one and only."

The other Knight nodded. "Then you're only the perfect man for the job, Sintag. Follow me, please."

I rolled my eyes, less as a "Yeah, whatever", and more as a, "What am I, everyone's errand boy?" The other knight noted this. "Yeah, well, enough of that. Every second matters here. Faster you go in, faster we are on the grid, safer we are...And the faster you can reach Kora." The guy had the most devious smile on his face.

Gulp. He knew?

Let me explain myself here. Kora and I were the best of friends in training. We formed an almost nigh-ungodly ability to form a plan and act on it VERY quickly. Kora had long helped me since my training days. She became a Com Agent, preferring to be sidelined from combat. And don't tell her this, but I also formed a crush on her.

Seriously, don't tell her.

(END OF CHAPTER THREE)

I leaped into the hole, felt a slight "THUD" as my legs hit metal. I then saw four of those cylinders to my left. "Those are Vitapods!" The knight was yelling to reach me, creating an echo. "To your right is an Arsenal Station! Feel free to exchange weapons and armor there!" I quickly changed the Bomb for the Gun. As hilariously overpowered as that thing was, I needed a more mobile style, I figured. So I stepped on a grated platform, since it drew my eye.

Nothing happened.

Another yell. "Oh! Right! I almost forgot something. Let me just...Ah, here we are. I then saw him slowly lowering something down on a rope. "This is an Energy Tank. Use it."

I picked up the Energy Tank and examined it in my hands a bit. It had a circle with a horizontal line inscribed into it. Clicking the button, a light blue mist FLEW OUT AT ME. I clipped it onto my belt.

"All right, now try stepping on that grated platform again! Those are the elevators we use to go down or up from the Clockworks!"

"Wait, WHAT? The hell are the-" I had stepped onto the platform and was being lowered. "The hell are the Clockworks!"

"Wot! Wot was th-" The voice was cut off.

"Ah, crap..." I turned around, ready to face the terror that awaited below. Actually, never mind terror.

I was going to die of boredom and tedium.

There were.

Absolutely.

No enemies.

IT SUCKED.

SERIOUSLY.

In fact, as soon as I saw an unkempt green...Thing...I was actually slightly relieved. And then, Razwog, as he called himself, sent enemies at me. A froglike robot that walked on four legs. Those laser-sharpened stickarm things, or, as I heard them called throughout camp, Retrodes, stalked menacingly. And then a treelike thing with a giant wooden club for a left arm and a puny right arm that forced me to smother a laugh.

I sent about almost methodically destroying them. I shot the frog-like bot in the eye until it's systems shut down (Rather explosively), repeated my method of killing Retrodes (Read: Wait until they fire their laser (BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAH) and then stab the heck out of it), and then dodged around the treelike thing's massive arm before attacking it, slowly whittling it down until it went up, much like the Retrode, in a comical number of small explosions. I then saw electricity float on up to Razwog's console, giving him a horrible shock and, more importantly, overriding the gate that held me ahead. He ran off, like a coward, swearing vengeance. "Yeah, right. You, and what army, you freak?" Anyway, back to the gate. Down it went, with a small generator replacement floating there. ...Wait, how was it floating?

No matter, I decided to myself. I then ascended to the surface to find that power switched on. It hit me.

Razwog's console was the generator.

So then...What did I just grab?

(End of Chapter 4)

I took the lead, with Rhendon following close behind, warily keeping his Blitz Needle readied up to blast anything that moved aside from us. We stepped onto an incredibly large button. We then saw about 40 tons of TNT followed by a button FOLLOWED BY WIRING appear. All of it was in bombs. All the bombs had a strange symbol on it. I memorized it. No doubt it may prove useful. Then someone stepped out. It was Razwog, the same Gremlin who, hours earlier, I had one-upped by destroying all his little toys.

"We've already met, you." He pointed an unkempt and messy finger at me. "So I'll get right to it. Hand me the artifact, or I'll blow you, this floor, and the artifact into a million tiny little ashes!" Rhendon sighed in anger. "We don't have much of a choice, Sintag." He walked over and placed the artifact, his eyes filled with rage at being in a hostage situation. "Perfect." Razwog stated, simply. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have problems to eliminate. Forty tons and two of them, to be precise." He then hit the button...

The floor erupted into fires. Nothing was safe. Rhendon was dragging me along, with myself, who was scared of fire, too petrified to move. I began crying in fear. When I was a young kid, a fire has devastated my home and family. Since then, I have always been scared to death of fires. Rhendon knew this well and carried me along with a look of sympathy in his eyes. I stopped crying and stodd to my feet, and began RUNNING AT A CLIP. Rage replaced my fear.

I was going to find Razwog.

And I was going to kill him.

Rhendon has trouble keeping pace with me. I stepped onto the large button, and he was panting, sweating (I suspect that was from the fire) and clearly out of breath. Razwog delivered the artifact to something or someone, it was too shadowy to see the other side. He turned around.

"Kek! How did you get here? You were...I did...NRRRRRRRRGH! Fine! If you want to be persistent, I'm going to finish you both MYSELF!" He took out a flamethrower and stepped, overconfidently, to the arena. I looked at him, rage boiling over in me. Razwog sent in several more machines - I suspected he withheld them from our first fight - But they were gone within moments due to having caught the malady of getting SMASHED. I then looked back over at my foe and without warning charged him, knocking him over. A few more machines came in, trying to help, but they too fell victim to the Hatchet's killing power. I then withdrew my Gun and shot down another Retrode, aiming for it's eye-things. Back out came the Hatchet. I was getting used to using this thing. It no longer hurt to carry it.

After that, Razwog stood to his feet, but was smashed by me and riddled with holes, courtesy of Rhendon. I dropped my sword down. For evoking a childhood fear, this was simply personal. I lifted Razwog by the collar with one hand and beat him down with the other. Eventually, Rhendon had to tear me away, worrying this was inhumane. I looked at Razwog. I had beaten several bruises into him and blood was trickling from his nose. I took my hatchet and smashed him downwards one final time, ending him. Rhendon closed his eyes and spoke. "Requiescat in pace (Rest in peace). You monster." I calmed down and realized what my anger hath wrought. I quietly vowed to never become that filled with hatred again. We had to press onward, though. Eventually, we found a small water generator. Activating it, the floor was now doused in water. Rhendon and I walked through the corridor. Along to greet us came a truly massive figure in size and armor.

"Feron." Rhendon spoke. Was this really THE Feron? My childhood hero, Feron?

I quietly smiled a bit for two reasons. I had met my hero, and our journey was over.

"Rhendon! We had a huge amount of activity here. What the hell was going on?"

"Some Gremlin by the name of Razwog detonated the entire floor. Sintag and I barely got out of there alive."

"Well I'm glad you both made it. Now come on! We've got work to do, and this floor is crumbling!"

We all bolted for the elevator and went up. I smelled the fresh air again, a kind departure from the stagnant, smoggy air the Clockworks had to offer. We then walked forwards into a new place. Haven.

"Wait, what about the Rescue Camp?"

"Right, now, concerning those recruits. We've collected what data you've analyzed. We're going to send in a squad of Knights to rescue them. You've saved them all, you two. You should be very proud."

"Unintentionally, but, ah, OK then, Feron."

Feron laughed, quite heartily. "But that's besides the point. Welcome to Haven, Sintag. This will be your home."

I stood ahead and gazed at a bustling town. It was a big place. "This is Haven, eh? I think I'm liking it already."

Feron simply smiled. "Good thing, too."

I took several steps ahead and entered the main town. Ahead of me were tons and tons of Knights. Friends or foes, I had yet to determine.

But I was finally having the sense I was home.

At long last, too.

END OF CHAPTER 5

Tina and I were, despite her overwhelming affection for me, becoming fast friends. She seemed to be quite smart regarding Haven and even gave me a better sword than my Hatchet, something she called a "Bolted Blade." I sheathed it after slicing the air with it. Only marginally heavier than my Proto Sword, which was quite lightweight. I sheathed the new sword into the sheath that I once placed the Proto Sword in. Leaving the arcade since I ran out of energy, I quietly kicked the ground, unsure of what to do next. Tina led me to a small, tranquil garden full of birds or, as the other Knights were calling them, Snipes. We sat down, myself taking in the sights. It was a lovely place. How Tina found this, I'll never know. As soon as we both had sat down, though, Tina was squeezing me. She really had no self-control over herself, I thought.

"Sinny, you look kinda pale. What's the matter?"

I looked down. I was turning a shade of pale, yeah. I suspected potentially I had an illness from one of our missions, courtesy of what Tina called a "lichen".

"Why is this happening?" I think, however, we both knew the answer to that question. During that mission, I ran into a thorn bush to escape enemies (My shield was broken, to be fair) and must have gotten infected with who-knows-what. "Oh no. Tina, where are the medics?"

Tina only responded with nervous laughter that turned my bones to ice. "Over in the Garrison." She helped me up and helped me walk over to the medics.

After that, I passed out.

I reawoke, it must've been hours later, with Tina sitting in a chair next to my bed, staring at me, a worried look on her face. When I sat up, she got up and sat at my side. "You're alive? That's good to know. ...Hey, I got something for you." She pressed something into the palm of my hand. It read like so.

"Dear Sintag.

I hope this letter finds you in good spirits. If you can, please head to the Hall of Heroes once you've re-acquired a Calibur, a set of Cobalt Armor and the Helmet it goes with, and a Defender. We have things to discuss.

From, Jorin."

Jorin? Oh man. I knew that guy. Back in training, we were always neck and neck. It seemed, however, I had kind of overshadowed him. Since he beat me to Haven, he got the title of Cobalt Knight, it read. I felt a pang of envy for my old rival, but then remember he's been spending his whole life in my shadow. It was time for him to earn some respect. Even if it meant being a political bodyguard for our stand-in leader.

I didn't want to leave the bed yet, though. I don't know if the doctors had me on anything as of yet and didn't want to risk it. A few minutes later, Jorin walked in.

"Hey. I heard of what happened to you and, figuring you'd want to check if the doctors had you on anything, I decided to just visit myself. So. How've you been?"

"Oh, real joy, Jorin. First off, I'm happy you're in the Hall of Heroes. Seriously. Second off, I've only crashed into the planet's surface at about X miles an hour, been bitten on the waist, blown up, nearly lit on fire, and potentially poisoned. Nothing too big or anything like that, nope."

Tina spoke up. "And he has me." She hugged me, and I winced in pain, causing her to let go. "Sorry, Sinny."

Jorin was, I could tell, smothering laughter at that last word. I looked at him with relative annoyance. "Anyways, I was wondering if...You wanted my position."

I looked at him. A fast way to my former rank, and then some! It seemed like a dream come true!

...But then I remembered. Jorin had long been under my own shadow, eclipsed by me. I could tell he wanted to earn some respect. So I did the right thing.

"Jorin, if you bring that idea up around me one more time, I will accuse you of not being a true Knight."

Jorin was pretty happy to see this and quietly left the infirmary without another word, leaving me alone with Tina. She soon got up and left for the chair and resumed her quiet stare. I fell back asleep.

When I awoke, I was deemed fit for duty. Seemed all that had been were some minor toxins. Nothing major or anything, would have caused flulike symptoms and paleness to the victim. I got up and noticed Tina's iron ring, which she had given me, on my wrist. She must have attached it while I was sleeping. Either way, she's the only one I'd trust in the field for now. Maybe that's what these symbolize. A lasting trust between two partners. It felt odd and uplifting.

(ALSO, END OF CHAPTER 6!)

Carter has been accepted in as is. And about the weakness to girls thing you and Hogmos share - Boyohboy can I exploit those or at least make it comical.

Also Skye has been accepted, with the nerf of slightly decreased HP.

Update arriving in about three days, people! Keep your eyes as peeled as mashed potatoes. Or peeled carrots. Or keep as wary as the average Minecraft player is of Creepers.

Not messing with some characters because canon in main SK.

Name: Sintag

Age: 17 4/5 (He's basically 18)

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Spiral Order

Strengths: Good swordplay and mostly accurate gunner, moderate HP, moderate defense, moderate attack speed and charge time. Rounded out person.

Weaknesses: Easily caught off his guard, does not know many other weapons than the Order's weapons, CAN NOT BOMB AT ALL WITH ANY DEGREE OF SKILLS

Personality: Typical "Get-the-job-done" fellow with his needs and all.

Weapon Preference (You cannot prefer everything): Swords and Guns, but cannot use a bomb to save himself.

Name: Tina

Age: 17 9/10 (Also basically 18, birthday is two weeks before Sintag's)

Gender: Female

Affiliation: Spiral Order

Strengths: Great swordsman and quick as hell gunner. Moderate HP. Weak Defense. Slightly decreased charge time for both.

Weaknesses: Defense (Can take SOME hits, but Sintag will outlast her easily unless he's been injured), inaccurate with gunning.

Personality: Tsundere, Type A (Mostly tsun (cold), but Sintag brings out dere (warm) side.) Somewhat aggressive, but very influential speaker and easily capable of turning a crowd to her assuming she's currently in "dere". If in tsun, will not speak if she can avoid it and is generally cold and hostile towards others. If in "dere", perhaps overly affectionate and constantly snuggling the person she desires, constantly with a smile on her face. Perhaps a bit extreme.

Weapon Preference (You cannot prefer everything): Swords and Guns. Can bomb, but is shoddy at it and does NOT like to.

After the terrifying experience at the Soldier's Graveyard, I was in the infirmary. Minor bruises dotted me from that sword attack. The medics were skeptical when I relayed my story back, but nonetheless treated me for injuries. My mind ran back over Jorin's next task.

"You now have the power, time to get your defense back. We lost a knight named Wilson in the Scarlet Fortress. We haven't been capable of confirming a death, but he's still in there. Go in there and rescue him. If you manage this task, you'll regain your Cobalt Helm, Cobalt Armor, and Defender. Depth 9. Take any gate."

Tina and I set out for the Arcade, Tina holding a holographic map before her. "Jorin's correct. No matter which gate we take, we'll end up at the Scarlet Fortre-" We were cut off and teleported to Jorin. He was wielding Azure Guardian Armor, a Leviathan Blade, a Valiance, an Aegis. My old gear. I bowed respectfully before him and he explained.

"This is the Lobby. That elevator ahead of you has been pre-programmed to take you to the Scarlet Fortress. Over to my right is Basil. He'll sell you some pretty good recipes, along with some that you really won't find anywhere else. See him for special recipes. His stock changes every time you meet him, too."

"Thanks." I pulled Tina, who fell flat on her rear, to her feet. Jorin then warped away.

"I've also reprogrammed your comlink to teleport you to Haven, the Lobby, and before the console in the center of the room."

"All right then."

We set out on the elevator, myself and Tina.

I stepped out first...And almost immediately felt a sharp YANK backwards onto the elevator. I nearly stepped into a pit of spikes without looking. Tina grabbed me by my collar and had stopped me from stabbing myself in the foot. She then withdrew her gun and, holding it in one hand, stepped off (And dragged me along) when the spikes retracted. She then pulled me up to my feet. "So. Mind if I poke in?" I groaned. The pun was horrible. The fate I had if I stepped onto those spikes, well, I'm not going to be the guy that discusses what exactly happens. Let's just say it'd be incredibly, incredibly painful.

We then saw several kind of enemies. Orange furry beasts, with green eyes, like grass, or acid, mending their friends. Tina told me to prioritize those first. More statue-like things, some zombies (Noticeably absent from our fight in the Graveyard - I was moderately displeased), and MORE SPIKES.

Then came in three new enemies. The first one looked like a dog. Of course, the only two differences between this thing and a dog are simple. These can't move. Dogs don't fire high-energy plasma bullets. The second one looked like a kitten. One difference here - Kittens don't have such unusually deadly tendencies to lunge everywhere and nom your face. And a Gremlin wielding what looked like an amalgam of a wrench and a hammer. Truly, nature was being deadly.

I took aim with the Stun Gun and shot out the Gremlin's legs, incapacitating him. I then slashed the ghost-like cat out and quickly slashed away the dog-like turret gun thing. Gun Puppy would do for now. I DID get shot, once, in the knee, but I wasn't about to complain. Tina didn't make a "But then I took a bullet to the knee" joke either. Kind of have to thank her for that one.

We stepped around a corner, guns ready...

And Wilson just sat there.

"Eh? Rescuing? Me? Well, to make a long story short, I managed to get here through that secret passage." He then pointed it over. And now that I think about it, IT REALLY WOULD BE HELPFUL IF WE WERE INFORMED ABOUT THAT. Thank you.

Tina and I stepped onto the elevator and radioed Wilson's squad he was safe, just too caught up in his studies.

Once we hit surface, Jorin radioed in again.

"Good work, you two, good work! OK, sending you both a Cobalt Helmet, Cobalt Armor, and a Defender in three, two, one..."

A shield landed before us. I replaced my old Iron Buckler, which looked ready to fall apart. Then a helmet. Replacing the com unit on it was easy enough. Then some armor, which I put on.

"OK, now, as for you two. Remember Bosco, the guy with the broken-down Mecha Knight? Well, he put in a request to see you both."

We walked over to the Bazaar and met Bosco.

"Hey there, you two. Well, I'm sure you know about crafting stuff at this point, but I want to take it up a notch. This sword, well, it ought to help you." He then tossed Tina and I an old-looking sword. I spoke up, for the first time in a little while.

"This old thing? I don't know, Bosco. It looks...Beaten."

"Yeah, well, trust me, kid. You're going to adore what you can do with this soon enough. Trust me on that one."

I radioed Jorin again. "OK, so he gave us an old-looking sword, that, according to him, is extremely adaptable. Anything else?"

"Well, yeah. Two things. First off, we have an emergency. Come to the Hall of Heroes. Either case, it's also time for your 2-star clearance, which gives you the right to progress beyond Depth 9."

"OK, will do."

Tina and I walked into the Hall. Things looked, well, bare. Only Jorin, Daxen, and Remi were there. All three looked beaten down. Their gear was damaged, save for Jorin's. Lieutenant Barrus walked forward.

"Well, you two are both outfitted in standard Cobalt gear. Head, to toe. Let's see here. Helmet, check. Armor, check. Shield, check. Weapon, check check. That'll about do it."

Wow. They REALLY simplified the process down.

Jorin tapped me on the shoulder. "OK, now, regarding that emergency. We have a GIGANTIC, emphasize the whole thing twice, wolf-like...Shadow...Running amok. It's playing havoc with our ability to get into Tier 2, and is that aside a major pain in the rear. However, it's also immune to standard weaponry. Even our best recons could only set down the Beast Bells we use to corral it. No one's even come close to killing it. But it needs to be gone from Tier 1. Tell you what. You go down there, you eliminate that beast, and I'll have Barrus clear you for Tier 2 missions. But be warned. Nobody and nothing can damage this thing conventionally. You'll have to think as fast as you slice to emerge alive. Think you can do it?"

"Jorin, I don't just think we can do it. I know that...We're out of energy wow."

"Get used to that. It'll happen way too often."

"Greaaaaaaaaaat."

END OF CHAPTER 9

I stepped out from the elevator. It was 22 hours since Jorin gave Tina and I our objective. Tina followed closely, readying her gun, with her sword kept near her off hand. A wolf-like creature popped from the ground to attack us, but was halted quickly with a rapidfire burst of bullets from Tina's gun. I then looked over and saw a strange bell. Several wolf-like creatures surrounded us near it. I fired a shot from my Blaster through the crowd, hitting and activating the bell. Every one of those wolf-like creatures looked horrifically stunned and ready to collapse from the bell's frequencies. I won't lie, it kinda hurt. But after that, they went down like flies.

We continued on without incident, knocking off, really, whatever got in the way. We stepped on a party button. And then out emerged this gigantic black mass with blood-red eyes. Spikes adorned it's features. And it was charging. FAST.

Snarbolax
Huffs. Puffs. Bites your face off.

Tina shielded herself and got in front of me, but the knockback was so great she was launched backwards, bowling me over and sending us both flying. Had it not been for that gate, we would've been launched clear out of the current floor. I came to, but she was knocked out COLD. I sighed and began to look at the powered armor. Not a lot of damage dealt, just a few scrapes from the gate. I then looked at Tina's armor. It was flashing 0%. No wonder she was out cold. Our armor is programmed to knock us out should it ever fall to 0%, so as to help troops. My armor was blinking at a steady 75%. I looked back at Tina and then linked the gloves.

This was a new medical practice being done by paramedics. They discovered if you link the gloves together by simply holding the injured person's hand, the armor would share exactly 50% of it's remaining power to the downed person. I took Tina's right hand in mine and hoped, no, prayed, it would work. Soon enough, both armors were blinking orange at a 37.5% charge. We'd have to be cautious from here on in. Tina's eyes shone as she got up, slowly, to her feet. "I had a dream where I took a nap..." She then looked at her charge, and I relayed back what had happened in the last ten seconds. "Ohhhhhh. OK cool let's keep going c'mon."

I got to my feet, made sure my gear was still on hand after having been bowled over by Tina, and pushed onward. Periodically, I had that nervous, almost frightened feeling of being watched. This was obvious after Tina and I split up to cover more ground. On the way over, Alfred contacted me.

"I see you're headed into dangerous territory there. I've only been to the Gloaming Wildwoods once, and let me tell you I got out of there ASAP. What made you and Tina forge in?"

"Mission."

"Always a mission, eh?"

"Basically."

Alfred then got off the channel, leaving me alone with several wolf creatures, or as I heard them being called around, Wolvers, and a few Gun Puppies. Again, the feeling of being watched creeped over me. I wished Tina was at my side right now - I was this close to becoming freaked out. I then realized that's what this Snarbolax wanted to happen. It wanted me psyched out so that way I wouldn't be focused. I steeled myself and looked the beast, straight in the eyes. And did it dig like heck.

I then returned my eyes to the battlefield and, withdrawing my blaster, took down the Gun Puppies from range. The Wolvers charged, trying to bite me, but I stopped them with steel meeting bone. A gate lowered and I saw a big golden key. Blatant Macguffin being blatant aside, I grabbed the key, held it over my head, and placed it down into a locked gate, causing it to drop down. Tina returned moments later carrying a key as well, with some minor wounds from a thorn bush. We stepped onto the elevator and went down to the den of the beast.

We then walked in, and there was a pad with a heart floating above it. We stepped on one and were restored to 100% charge instantly. There was a party button.

Stepping on it made it drop down.

And out came Snarby.

(END OF CHAPTER 10)
(Yes, Alfred WILL get in on the action. Same time as Carter.)

I don't feel up for writing Chapter 12 as of today. It actually, my shoulders hurt when I finished chapter 11 off. Hopefully you can forgive the delay...To my very limited fan base. ...Where all you people at?

When Sin + Tina go for Jelly King! ...Or actually Chapter 12 screwit IDC I want to kinda get Alfred fighting.

(Hooray, I broke my naming code last chapter. And now I'm going to try to remain faithful.)

-TWO WEEKS LATER-

Sintag got out of bed. The biomedics worked fast. His arm was now fully functional and working for him. As he stepped back into his Cobalt Armor, he took a longing look at Tina's gun and swapped it for his Blaster.

-SINTAG'S POV-

I left my Blaster in my bag and departed. Barrus contacted me.

"I heard about what happened to Tina. After all that time, I don't expect her to come out of all this alive. I'm sorry for your loss, but we lose more Knights every day. Shrug it off."

"You say that like it's so damn easy, Barrus. What if YOU were Tina's friend, in my situation. Knowing she's in the hands of the enemy, being unable to save her. What if that happened? Would you remain so "cool" and "confident" like you do now?" I finally snapped. "Sintag, OUT." I got off the channel and gave myself some time to relax and chill out. Jorin radioed me.

"I heard of what happened to Tina. Amigo, if Barrus sends his Wardens after you, after what he said, I won't blame you for renegading on us one bit. And frankly, his attitude flat out angers me. I'm sending you some new recipes. These ought to make your gear worthy of fighting that giant jelly Tina got engulfed by. And for what it's worth, Kora says that no matter what comes through of all this, she'll always be your friend." I then saw the recipes, small bits of holographic document, float down to me. I linked them to my comlink. "Jorin? This is great and all, but I don't know where or what I can do with these."

"You remember alchemizing those weapons for Bosco, right? Same machine. Also, sending you a small package of Crystal Energy. It'll save you."

A small bag with the energy logo appeared in front of me. In it were several chucks of what appeared to be solidified Energy. I walked over to that machine, and quietly looked at the recipes, then downloaded them into my personal mainframe. I then toggled the machine to them and inserted in my gear and materials as required. End of it all, I had enough gear to take out that giant jelly. Then, someone bumped into me. I saw what he was holding. A large, green sword that had a greenish-blackish aura radiating from it. It had several bindings holding it for some reason. He carried no shield and wore the same armor I did down to the last detail. He simply folded his arms. "Well, looks like I have more fans then I knew." I told him of my plight. "So, what you're telling is, a jelly engulfed your friend and field partner and you want to go and horribly butcher it to death? ...Sounds like my idea of fun. The name's Carter. Not John Carter, just Carter."

I decided not to try the sarcasm thing and leave it to Carter. "The name's Sintag." I teleported to the lobby, and Carter followed. Alfred teleported in a few seconds later. "Right, so you're setting out to kill this thing? Consider my new gear and myself along for the ride." I noted Alfred did upgrade his gear. The guns looked a lot more dangerous and held three tanks of energy apiece. He was carrying the purplish one into this fight. I stepped onto the elevator and slowly took out Tina's gun. Staring at it, her laughter suddenly permeated my thoughts. I thought to myself. "Please be safe. Please." We then got on the button and a large variety of gelatinous cubes appeared. Some with thorns. Some were small and purplish. Alfred aimed down sight and annihilated the spiked cubes and helped me finish off what I myself was dealing with. Carter hung back. He had no shield on hand and this was obviously going to be a problem. As some slimes approached him, he took a step forwards and swung his giant sword at the slime, battering it backwards with more than enough force to actually seriously injure it. He took a second step forward and smashed the second slime in it's stupid little jerk abducting face...Thing. They don't have faces! And I just contradicted myself! WOW!

We then saw several stone blocks. We hit them all until we came across the last one. Hitting it caused a gray jelly to appear from below it. "ARE YOU SERIOUS! THERE WAS SERIOUSLY A JELLY UNDER THIS! WHY? WHAT MADE IT STOP, THINK, "Hmm, maybe if I put a giant stone block on my head and sat here, they'd suspect a thing!" AND THEN DO THAT!" I then realized this was no time to yell and stabbed it, only for my sword to skitter off it. Carter brutally smashed it's block away and stabbed through it. It writhed for a couple last moments before going still and dissolving.

We then walked forward, the gate having lowered. More jellies appeared and very long, tedious, boring parts dragged out that I hate mentioning and I don't like and I'm skipping them. Point was, we eventually reached the jelly's room. It was massive, purple, and it held Tina in the middle of it's form.

JELLY KING
Mean, fat, and tastes delightfully delicious

Alfred opened heavy fire on it with his Shadowtech Mk. II while Carter charged it. I held Tina's gun up and shot at the Jelly repeatedly. After several rounds of this punishment, the King FLUNG CARTER BACK, HARD. He flew into a block and crashed into it, obviously now knocked unconscious. Alfred hung back while I drew my Tempered Calibur and bumrushed the Jelly, slashing it. A lucky strike caught it's crown, damaging it. Tina awoke in the matter and created a hold for herself to breathe in it's gelatinous mass. She obviously hated this and she withdrew her Calibur and tried desperately to slash it's guts out. It didn't have much of an effect besides a Calibur being launched at me.

At this point I was too angry to comprehend defense. I put my shield away and caught Tina's Calibur on my foot, then, and I KID YOU NOT, kicked it, directly into the King's crown, breaking it off completely. It turned red and spun around, knocking Tina unconscious from dizziness. I then withdrew her gun. "Nothing personal. Just a dollop of REVENGE." Just like my dream. I clicked it, and held it outward. It slowly built up a charge and then I released the trigger, causing a shotgun like spray to pepper the King's squishy exterior. Within moments, it had lost all it's matter. It dissolved, slowly, into a puddle. In the midst of it was Tina. I walked through the puddle, wading through the matter, and slowly looked at her. She didn't stir. I caught her shoulders and shook her. No response. "Tina? TINA! C'mon, PLEASE WAKE UP, PLEASE!" I was yelling at this point. Tears flowed in my eyes. Had we all done this for naught? Was Tina really dead, as I feared? No. It couldn't be. I shook her again. She still didn't awaken. I broke down and wept. At was, as so is very done for the sake of drama, at this point Tina began to stir. "Are you...Crying, Sintag? Why are you sad?" She grabbed me and snuggled up against me. "If it's because of the mess I made by intruding on you and Kora, then I'm sorry. I deserved this." I stepped in. My voice shook, up and down in pitch and tone. I was overjoyed to see her, exasperated at thinking she had died, and still relatively angry. "Tina. What the hell are you saying. You didn't deserve to be taken hostage by some sort of gelatinous monarch. If you falsely give yourself that idea, one more time, you're personally not a friend of mine any more. Sure, you effed up. We all do. We all have our bad days, Tina. I'm just glad you're still alive." "Yeah, funny story. I slowly ate at that slime's innards to survive. They were actually extremely tasty. Also, I found this." She looked at what appeared to be an old cloak, stained pink due to constant exposure to her captor's insides. "I've taken a liking to it and it seems to work nicely for armor. It's also so very comfy. If you boys don't mind..." She looked for Carter, who had hidden himself behind me. "This is all mine." She then got up, but tripped and fell over in the rather slippery puddle of slime matter. As she fell over, she accidentally planted a kiss on my lips for about two seconds before falling over completely.

I blushed like all hell had broken loose and the four horsemen were raining down plagues. "Sorry, Sintag. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry..." She apologized up and down, left, and right, and every other way you can name. I hugged her over my shoulder, understanding the accident for what it was - Simply an accident. I then tried to stand, only to fall over and accidentally kiss HER, too! This was actually tough to walk in! How did I do it so perfectly the first time! ARGH!

At the end of all that, Carter helped me to my feet, and Alfred pulled Tina from the goop. I then, leaning slightly on Carter, walked over the massive puddle of ooze. Blegh. It was yucky stuff to be in. But looking at how sticky and slippery it was, thought for a few fleeting moments it would make a nice suit of armor. Carter sat down and his eyes followed a small bit of jelly moving around, floundering in the puddle of goo. "Right, so, ah, accidental romance aside, do NOT expect me to want to do this often. I'm only making the exception because someone else's life was at stake here. That and I needed a distraction from the hustle and bustle of Haven. So, please and thank you, do NOT invite me in often."

I nodded and got up. I could see why Carter's eyes were following that bit of jelly - It looked like a gem! I walked back through the puddle and began plucking them from the oozing mass, but in the end all I was able to salvage were...Actually, sixteen of those gemstones. I gave four to everyone who helped, even Tina, who helped in her own way. We then stepped onto the elevator, Tina now wearing her cloak (Which looked so very cute on her, not going to lie), and Carter wordlessly wiping the jelly matter off everyone's weapons with a cleaning rag. Tina herself was soaked in jelly matter. She felt slimy to the touch. It was kind of disgusting, but she continued to smother me in affection, coating ME in oozing slime matter. I quickly put her in a shower once we got back to the Garrison and then showered myself, removing that slimy feeling.

It felt good to have Tina back. It felt really good. Even despite the accidental kisses. And then, as I changed back into my armor, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I was knocked three paces back. Kora was standing there, looking pretty happy. She then walked up to me and gave me another hug, holding me in it while she spoke up.

"You were...Brave. You, not only followed Tina when she fell through, you were humble enough to call for help, you saved her with some help...Sintag, I feel like I really like you." She ended off this short and sweet chat with a light kiss on my cheek. I blushed and fell over onto my back, obviously lovestruck, and very dizzy. It took Kora the better part of ten minutes to pull me to my feet, mostly because I was still as a statue and refused to move. She then gave me one more hug and left without another word, herself blushing greatly.

Damn, I was popular today.

(END OF CHAPTER 13)

Author's Note: If I've been moving through this a bit too fast, it's mostly by and large because I'm trying to get to the better stuff quickly. Obviously, this fanfic excludes heating items as part of the equation, for time reasons, and cuts off some filler missions, again, for the sake of actually finishing this or at least getting to the interesting stuff without purple prose being added in.

Even though this fanfic probably has a lot of it. Look to me for first-grade hypocritical humor.