Awakening

"Put up the barrier at maximum output now, I want see how they do when completely separate, especially Vexenesis." Layla demanded of the other scientists, they silently went to work as she commanded. Layla was one of the most extreme researchers, she always pushed things over the edge until they were deemed "perfect" by all. Shes cold and distant, she has never cared about anyone else. Layla is all about perfection, and she will never be satisfied until she herself is flawless. Several years ago, Layla was a test subject, herself. They were trying to physically enhance her structure by adding mechanical parts to her body, a cyborg -in terms of most science fiction novels.


Layla sat down in one of the many metallic chairs that aligned the wall, then reached for a bottle labeled 'Symustein' and some other device on the shelf. "Prepare the system for my entry, I wish to view this battle in person."

"Yes, ma'am...it should be ready any time..."

"Good." Layla placed the metallic visor over her eyes, then took one of the pills inside the bottle. She fell back in her chair unconscious soon after, Layla was now inside the simulation.


~~~


The invisible wall between Vexis and Xenon solidified, it became a sturdy metal wall. Once Vexis lost sight of Xenon, she felt...unusually alone. It was like a chain that connected the two of them had just been severed, and left a big gaping hole in it's absence. Vexis felt more vulnerable, as if some shield around her that she had no clue about previously had finally dissipated. 'I'm alone...'

A bright flash of light erupted from on top of one of the crates above, the figure of Layla started to materialize. Layla gracefully leaped down onto the floor, then stopped next to the shadowy version of Vexis. "Hello, Vexenesis." She said with a wry grin on her face, her voice was very chilling to listen to. "And since I'm certain you have no clue who I am, allow me to explain some things. I am Layla Wakemen, one of the main researchers who created you. And this..." Layla gestured to the room around them, "...is all a simulation. This life you've been living these past few months, all these places you've been, all those people you've met, it's all fake." She said, visibly enjoying Vexis's horrified reaction. "All of this has just been a mere test for you, and now, it's time for your final test: you must battle yourself!" Layla let out a wicked little chuckle, "Have fun!" then she disappeared temporarily.


The shadow all of a sudden disappeared from view in a burst of speed, then punched down hard into the floor in front of Vexis. Vexis was thrown back several feet by the impact, a giant hole now covered where she was previously standing. Vexis immediately got up, ready for her enemy's next move. But the shadow did not attack, nor move in the slightest, it just stood there. Vexis watched it closely, then reacted in disbelief as it changed in appearance. The shadow had taken on the appearance of her, an exact replica of Vexis. Though, something was odd about this creature. It's dark green eyes looked hollow and seemed to pull you in, soulless and empty. This wasn't Vexis, nor was it a copy of her. This shadow was Vexenesis, the being that Layla and the other researchers created.


Vexenesis finally made it's move, it darted towards her at an incredible speed, and in a flash kicked Vexis into the wall, hard. Vexis found herself unable to move for some reason, as if invisible bonds were being used to hold her in place. Vexenesis came closer, it reached it's bony hand out to her and placed it on her forehead, a dim greenish glowing emanated from Vexis. Both of them were now covered in this light, it was gradually pulling the two beings together into one. Vexis and Vexenesis were competing for dominance, a test of wills. Vexis was the one that was fading, she melted into Nova energy and was absorbed by Vexenesis.


The girl fought, but the beast won.

~

"Vexis..." Xenon could sense something wasn't right, he felt her aura fade away, like Vexis had just died. His shadow charged towards him again, but Xenon fought it off with ease. Whatever his opponent did, Xenon could mimic and enhance the attack. The shadow stepped back, presumably in fear or submission. Xenon advanced towards the creature, then stopped just a few feet away from it. His limpid blue eyes became foggy with green energy, strands of Nova started to surround Xenon. He held his hand out in front of him, the Nova streams followed his direction and all flooded towards the shadow. Nova energy was pure and powerful, and absorbs lesser beings such as this shadow. The creature gave in, it just stood and allowed itself to be absorbed into Xenon.


The guardian conquered, and the demon fell to oblivion.

~~

Everything started to fade and disappear, Vexenesis, Xenon, and everything around them. Layla was no where to be seen during the battle, but she had watched it all.


The simulation had ended here, Layla woke up immediately after. She removed the visor from her face, then got up and headed towards the two pods. The other two researchers examined the containers closely, any moment now would Vexenesis and Xenon awaken. "All has gone as expected." Layla said, her devious grin never fading. She watched Vexenesis mainly, waiting to see the result.


Vexenesis's eyes suddenly snapped open, dark and hollow as ever. She reached out to the glass panel in front of her, and broke through it with barely any effort. The dark angel left it's container, and stood obediently, awaiting Layla's orders.

Xenon also awoke just after Vexenesis, but instead of violently breaking out of his pod, he gently pushed on the glass until it fell out of it's frame. Unlike Vexenesis, Xenon took his own sweet time on getting out and presenting himself. Once he stepped out into the room, his gaze was fixated on not Layla, but Vexenesis. What had happened to her? Vexis didn't seem herself anymore, she was just and empty drone now.


Layla looked from one angel to the other, satisfied with both of them. "Welcome to the world of the living, Vexenesis and Xenon."

The True "Beginning"

The echo of footsteps on the hard metallic floor could be heard, the dim lighting against the pitch black walls left the person silhouetted. The dark figure stopped at the end of the hall briefly, waiting for the automated door to allow them to enter. Once the door slid open, a giant laboratory of sorts was revealed. Large glass containers each filled with a silvery substance aligned the walls in an orderly fashion, more pods containing a similar fluid stood freely in the center of the room. Out of the hallway entered a young woman who looked in her mid twenties, her face had a very definite point to the chin, her golden hair was tied up into a ponytail currently, her eyes an icy shade of blue. She glanced over at one pod in particular, the one labeled "V". "Layla Wakemen reporting for duty. How's everything working out so far?" She asked the other researchers standing near the container, her icy stare fixated on the being inside.

"Everything is turning out fine, Project Vexenesis seems to respond well with the Symustein." The first man replied, "Although, the tests have shown some odd reactions when we expose her to the Nova radiation."


Layla watched the unconscious Vexenesis carefully, this being would truly be the one to help preserve the Nova stream? There's something rather unsettling and eerie about Vexenesis, and Layla couldn't figure out what. "Well, if it's responding fine, then why not release it now? And how's that one doing?" Layla questioned, then pointed over to the container labeled "X".


Inside this pod floated Xenon, the other side of Vexenesis. Xenon was more normal to Layla, he didn't have that same unsettling quality that Vexenesis did. Xenon seemed more like a guardian, a protector. Whereas Vexenesis was a weapon, an empty vessel for the Nova stream's revival.



"Project Xenon is showing no signs of change, his power seems to double whenever he's in contact with Vexenesis, however."


Layla got a satisfactory grin on her face now, "Good. Increase the simulation combat difficulty now! I want to see the true abilities of these things."



~~~~

Vexis had been cluelessly wandering these woods for hours now, no sign of Xenon or the beast anywhere. 'Where the hell could they have gone? Did Xenon already defeat it on his own?' Just when she started thinking of the possibilities, something strange started happening. Everything around her, the trees, the sky, even the ground below her, started fading to complete and total darkness. Vexis looked around frantically, trying to locate the source of this unusual experience. "What...hows this happening?! Xenon!? Lea!?" Vexis shouted out, but found herself no response other than her own echo. The ground started to collapse in on itself in sections, Vexis fell with it. The darkness was gradually beginning to lighten up the further Vexis fell, until she finally landed in some odd room. This new area was one gigantic warehouse type building, on the wall opposite of Vexis was written "Axion Testing Center IV." Vexis stood up, trying to remember if she had been here before...it seems...familiar. 'Where am I? This isn't that laboratory I busted out of...is it? I wonder....'


Something started to take form on the other side of the room, it looked human...but with wings, one black and one white. Xenon. He didn't seem to notice Vexis, maybe she was just a bit too far away to see? Vexis immediately spread her wings and burst off towards him. "Xenon! Where are we? And where's Kunekaku -" Vexis slammed into something just then, something...invisible? An invisible wall? Vexis jumped back to her feet, then tried once more to reach Xenon. She held out her hands in front of her, every time she tried going forward, some kind of force field just repelled her. "What the? Xenon, what is this?" But yet again, he did not seem to see nor hear her. Vexis stepped back a bit, why couldn't Xenon see her? She could see him...


A loud clashing sound echoed out from behind Vexis, something darted out from the piles of crates near the wall. The creature was completely pitch black -like a shadow, it looked exactly like Vexis in shape. The being had no face, and no other identifying details to it. This strange new...person slowly stepped closer to Vexis, a shadowy blade gripped tightly in it's hand.


On the other side, Xenon found himself encountering a similar being, this shadowy figure looked exactly like him, as well. 'This is certainly unexpected...'

"Uh oh..."

"Tazuma...you mean that those fools ACTUALLY believe that Kunekaku is just some beast for hunting? I thought that at the very least Xenon would know better, oh well, this just makes it even easier." Lea said, she held a devious looking grin on her face as she leaned up against the wall, staring out the window. Tazuma remained silent for a short while, then finally spoke up "Indeed, they honestly seem to believe its just a simple hunt." he started for the front door, Lea followed him. "And do they seem to suspect that you're...well, you know..." Lea asked him as she stood in the uncut grass that was behind the guild. Tazuma faced away from her now, looking out at the large field that was ahead of them "Not a clue." he grinned, then revealed two large black wings upon his back "I don't think Vexenesis even knows that my kind exists!" Lea got a satisfied look on her face now "Excellent."

"Xenon...I don't think Kunekaku is in this forest..." Vexis said rather doubtful -they'd been searching for several hours now with no success. The sun was starting to set, it was getting hard to see in this dark forest now -not that it was any easier while the sun was out. "Xenon? Are you even listening to me!?" Vexis got a bit annoyed with his lack of a response "I ASKED YOU A QUES-" but she suddenly realized that he wasn't there. Vexis looked around, but no sign of Xenon anywhere 'Did he find it? Ahh well...if hes in any trouble I'll probably hear a yell of pain or whatever...' she thought, but then realized that she couldn't exactly just stand here and wait all night "Crap...either I have to find him...or just return to town without 'im..." Vexis noticed smoke rising in the distance "Great...whats he gotten into this time?" she headed in the direction of it. Soon after, an odd looking house came into view, the smoke that Vexis had seen was coming out of the chimney -obviously Xenon wasn't the cause of this 'Who on Aristaisia would want to live in this dark, depressing place?' out of curiosity Vexis decided to check out the little hut. This house was pretty ordinary on the outside, it was incredibly small, had a blue shingled roof, and was pretty well hidden by all the large trees that surrounded it, Vexis tried looking in one of the small circular windows, but saw nothing because a brown cloth covered the inside of it. Vexis decided it was probably nothing and started to walk away "Hello? You need something?" a young girl asked from the door of the hut. Vexis looked back at the blonde girl who was peeking out the door "Well...I was just wondering if maybe my friend came around here...he went missing..." Vexis explained, wondering if maybe she might know something. The girl opened the door slightly more now, revealing the inside of the hut "Please, come in, lady Haruka might know something..." Vexis did just as she instructed, the inside of the house looked even smaller than on the outside, everything was pretty much the color of beige or brown ((like thats much of a change from most people's houses *sarcasm*)) , and it was generally just a normal looking room. "Please follow me, she should be in the basement..." The girl led Vexis down a tall staircase "I'm Calypso by the way, might I ask your name?" she asked curiously while grabbing a lantern to light up the dark room below. Vexis looked around at the large, dark room "I'm Vexis, I'm from Aristaisia...the city, not the planet -we're all from here!" she replied, still examining the surrounding area. Calypso was feeling around the wall for something "Ah! Here we go..." she pushed a blue button and instantly the once simple looking room turned into a huge, brightly lit laboratory/half library. Vexis looked up in awe at the huge and odd looking machines "Yeah...lady Haruka is a Mystic researcher, shes trying to find a way to bring back the Mystics...so far she hasn't found anything...but you should never give up hope on something" Calypso explained, placing her hands on one of the large metallic structures. "My my! We have a visitor do we? Goody goody!" a very odd -and rather hyper- woman entered the room, shes quite short, her face was very angular, her hair a deep red color, and her gray eyes were hidden behind the lenses of her round red framed glasses. Vexis was surprised to see that the person who created this vast laboratory was so...weird "Um...I was just wondering if my friend had come this way recently...his name is Xenon, he looks kinda like me only with white hair...he can be a bit annoying at times, uhh..." Vexis obviously wasn't describing him very well judging by the confused look on Haruka and Calypso's faces. "ANNNYWAY! Welcome! Its very rare that we get visitors here! Welcome welcome welcome!! I'm Haruka, but YOU can call me Hara!" The crazy woman said in her normally hyper state of being "Caly! Go brew up some tea for our guest! Do you know about the Mystics, deary?!" Hara burst out rather randomly as Calypso ran off somewhere to do as she was told. Vexis stepped back towards the stairs a bit "I-I only wanted to know if you might have seen Xenon around..." but Vexis didn't get too close to the stairs before Hara practically shoved her into a chair that happened to be nearby. "I've never heard of a Xenon...is that a new kind of animal breed or something? Oh, how the Mystics were such interesting people! Did you know that they first created Ethiamn with some powerful spells that they formed out of Nova energy!?" Hara was now messing around with one of her machines while shouting out random info to Vexis. Vexis tried to leave once more, but Hara just shouted out "Please stay a little longer!!" so she sat back down, a bit annoyed with this woman already "I just want to find my friend and hunt down Kunekaku..." Hara turned around to face Vexis again now "Did you say...Kunekaku?" she asked, staring at Vexis from behind her huge glasses. Vexis got up very annoyed "Yes! I said Kunekaku! So what!? And now, I'm leaving, goodbye!!" she started to go back upstairs now, letting her temper get the better of her. Hara just watched as Vexis left, then heard the door upstairs slam closed "...this isn't good..."

The Hunt Of Kunekaku Begins!

They finally arrived at the Guardian Alliance (after a trip full of laughter, jokes about Xenon being old, and many other things of the sort), Vexis went in ahead of Xenon -he decided to stay outside. Vexis walked up to the front desk, but was immediately pulled to the side by Tazuma "You're the one who keeps completing the majority of the missions we receive, correct?" he asked, letting go of her shoulder now. Vexis nodded her head "Yes sir, my name is Vexis" she replied immediately. Tazuma looked out the window "Yeah...I'll TRY to remember that...ANYWAY...I want you to take this hunt, take Xenon with you" he said while handing a sheet of paper with info on the creature to her. Vexis examined the creature's info "...You want me to hunt Kunekaku?" Vexis asked him a bit unsure about this "Isn't this that legendary beast that YOU were supposed to kill?" she said while raising her eyebrow with a bit of suspicion. Tazuma sighed "Yes, originally, but Ranroh keeps bugging me no matter how much I try to convince him its too powerful, I figured that if you're the one hunting it hes less likely to bother a fellow MEMBER instead of the boss" he shook his head with a bit of an annoyed expression on his face. "Hey guys! Whats up?" They heard the voice of Ranroh echo out into the hallway as he drew nearer. Vexis's eyes widened as she realized Ranroh was right behind her, looking over her shoulder "Wha-!? YOU get to go on that hunt!?" he whined, practically making Vexis deaf in doing so "Good luck" Tazuma said to Vexis while walking off -leaving her behind with the whiny moron. Vexis punched Ranroh in the forehead without even turning around to face him "OW!! WHATS THAT FOR!?!" Vexis started for the front door without answering his question.
Xenon had been waiting for her outside, he was leaning up against wall of the guild staring off into the distance "Well, we were assigned one heck of a hunt -Kunekaku" Vexis said, trying to fully exit the building with Ranroh hanging onto her arm. Xenon got up and stared at the idiot who was whining and holding onto Vexis at the same time "Awesome...but uhh...whats with the-" he pointed to Ranroh, Vexis looked down at her arm warmer "...Yeah...don't ask, anyway, we should get going now, right?" Xenon nodded and watched as Ranroh jumped up onto his feet "CAN I GO??" he begged the other two. Vexis looked over at Xenon, then turned back to Ranroh "Can you fly?" she asked him, knowing that the obvious answer was no. Ranroh looked a bit puzzled "Well no, but whats that got to do with anything??" he answered her question with one of his own. Vexis nodded over at Xenon, then in a matter of seconds they both disappeared, leaving behind only a few black & white feathers to flutter in the breeze "What the hell!?" Ranroh jumped back suddenly in surprise, then picked up one of the feathers "Are they...?" but his wondering was easily distracted by an attractive woman walking down the street "Ahh well...some things are left better unknown."


Somewhere up in the sky...

"So how big do you think this thing will be?" Vexis asked Xenon, looking down at the scenery below "Uhh, about half the size of Rugnica Plains I'd say..." he answered, also staring down at the ground. Vexis got a bit nervous "You think it'll be THAT huge???" she asked, now regretting the fact that she'd agreed to take on this hunt. "Nah, I was only trying to scare ya! but I think it'll be just slightly bigger than the Guardian Alliance building" Xenon said with a grin on his face. Vexis heard a loud thud! coming from down below "Think thats our monster?" she asked Xenon a bit hesitantly. "Only one way to find out!" Xenon immediately sored down closer to the ground, Vexis followed soon after.

Xenon's confession

The next day...

Vexis felt rather unsettled, she had so many unanswered questions and they only keep increasing without any explanations, last night was another night that she was sent memories of someone else. Though the things she experienced were far different from anything that Lea had sent to her in the past, these were almost (in a way) worse than what Lea usually shows her -a whole world fell apart this time. Vexis went outside and headed for the guild, though she was hesitant to do so in case Xenon was there 'I thought he was different...but apparently I thought wrong, ALL humans are the exact same'. Vexis felt a sudden pain pulse throughout her body "..what is this?" she wondered while trying not to move too much 'Something strong is nearby...it feels like it wants me there with it... she realized she was sensing something. The presence she felt was coming from near the forest just outside of town, Vexis rushed for it and soon wound up in the same place she sensed it -so why wasn't anyone here? She looked all around her, but found nothing "...maybe I was wrong...maybe its just a spare thread of Nova energy..." she started to walk back into town, but someone jumped in front of her. "Don't go just yet...I need to talk to you, Vexis" Xenon said quietly while preventing her from entering town. Vexis looked at him rather impatiently "Why? So that you can prove even more that you're an arrogant idiot?" Xenon looked down "...You're the one who doesn't understand! We're the exact same!" His eyes glowed in a bright red color "You know those memories you saw last night? Those are mine...I sent them!" He soon revealed two wings apon his back -left one black and the right one white. Vexis stepped back a bit in surprise "I was created over 200 years ago, my home planet Lystrium was destroyed about 50 years ago. Then I came here to Aristaisia to hopefully prevent another world from falling...I think I understand more than you what it feels like." Xenon explained to her, his voice was unusually cold and distant. Vexis was now starting to come back to her senses "...I'm sorry...I had no clue...you hid it so well..." she looked down in shame while thinking things through. Xenon folded his wings back in and his eyes changed back to their normal green "Before you go judging someone else you should at least learn a bit about them first, -I learned that lesson years ago when I came across another N-Angel named Yulia, she was the very first one ever made" He returned to his normal attitude now -kind and glad to point things out. Vexis was still a bit confused, thinking about how this guy once knew the very first N-Angel created -'jeez hes old!' she thought jokingly. "Hey! I'm not THAT old!" Xenon yelled out while laughing. Vexis laughed now too "You heard that? jeez...you older angels can do pretty much everything." Xenon started to walk back into town "Nah...not EVERYTHING....close to it though" he teased while heading back the guild, Vexis right next to him.

Kunekaku...? (EDITED)

Vexis successfully completed many missions and hunts over the next few days, they were also starting to challenge her with tougher hunts because of it. Today however, she took the day off, sitting on the roof of the guild, looking down curiously at everyone on the streets below. ' They all seem to know exactly where they're going...and here I am just wandering cluelessly...trying to find my place in this huge world...' She let her mind wander off into it's normally half-aware state. Although, Vexis was soon brought back to reality by a rather loud argument from down below, it was between Ranroh, and that other hunter she saw enter the guild, when Xenon was talking to the mean lady at the desk a few days ago. Ranroh was, of coarse, being his normal, moronic self. "Tazuma!! You've GOT to let me go on this one!" He demanded while chasing after the other hunter. The one called ' Tazuma' stood silently as if Ranroh wasn't even there, he was a tall and strong looking man, his hair was black, cut short. His face was very angular, his eyes were a deep red color, and he generally looked like a very accomplished hunter. "Tazuma! Answer me, dammit!" Ranroh was being a complete idiot, now. Vexis found it to be rather funny that Ranroh was getting all frustrated.

"Out of the question, this hunt is only for skilled fighters" Tazuma finally spoke out, his voice was sharp and easily heard even at a low volume. Ranroh's face almost turned red from anger "BUT I AM A SKILLED FIGHTER!" he whined like a little toddler. Tazuma simply glared at him, then walked off without another word, Ranroh finally figured out that whining wasn't going to get him what he wanted. Vexis jumped down from the roof and gracefully landed in front of Ranroh "Haha! Looks like you lost an argument!" she teased while standing up straight now. Ranroh was surprised to see her appear out of nowhere "You were watching!?" he 'lost his cool' for a brief moment, but then returned to his show-offish/Mr. Coolguy attitude shortly after "I mean...'Hey Vexis', sup?" he tried acting cool, but obviously wasn't. Vexis looked back at the guild's doors "So what exactly were you fighting about? Some kind of hunt?" she immediately skipped to the point. Ranroh sighed, putting aside his Mr. Coolguy act "Yeah...Tazuma the owner of the Guardian Alliance won't let me go with him on this hunt for the legendary beast called Kunekaku...he says I'm not strong enough and that I'm too much of an idiot..." Vexis burst out in laughter "I don't know him and I ALREADY agree with him" she managed to say. Ranroh looked a bit embarrassed for once in his life "Not you too...Xenon also made fun of me..." he hung his head low. Vexis stopped now, she realized that he was ACTUALLY kind of upset "Nah, you may be an idiot, and you may lack strength, but you've got courage -and thats what makes a true warrior" she tried to cheer him up a bit before heading back to her spot on the roof.

The Easy Trial (EDITED)

A few hours later...

Xenon went to talk with the mean looking older woman at the front desk, leaving Vexis alone in the entrance hall. Vexis looked up at the painted ceiling that towered far above her head, wondering how exactly they were able to paint a ceiling so high up. Wait, they had hovering car-things further in the city, duh, that's how. Anyway...Some odd looking guy walked into the guild, slamming the door behind him. He appeared to be a higher-ranking hunter, the fact he was able to nearly break the front door without anyone yelling at him. Xenon came back shortly after, "Come on, Vexis! They're going to give you an entrance test real quick, test your skills." He led her back to the mean woman at the front desk. The woman eyed Vexis with her normal expression that resembled that of an attack dog from back on Earth. "So, you want to join the guardian alliance, eh, girlie?" She snapped in her sharp voice. Vexis wasn't intimidated by her, unlike most people, but that just made the lady even more harsh. "Yes." Vexis answered immediately. The woman stared her straight in the eyes now, her bottom lip tightened as she realized Vexis wasn't backing down any time soon, "Well, girlie, it won't be easy, and don't get your hopes up on succeeding! I'll send you into the training room for your first trial, NOW!" She seemed to almost scream at Vexis, then reluctantly pushed a button that opened a door in the back. Xenon practically pushed Vexis into the training room, as she stalled entering it herself.




Inside the giant training area there were a few little shelves on the side containing various weapons and whatnot, other than that, it was pretty much just an empty white room with cemented floors. She walked in a bit further waiting for something to happen, then a rather familiar person dropped into the training area from above, he turned around all dramatically. What an egotistical jerk. "You!?! Oh, NO! No, no, no, no, NO!!" Ranroh exclaimed as he was surprised to see Vexis, of all people, to be standing before him. Vexis got a look of satisfaction as she saw her opponent, "Oh THIS could not be any more perfect!" Vexis said, getting that mischievous grin on her face. Ranroh looked rather freaked out as she was getting ready for battle, but why could that possibly be? "Uhh....go ahead and pick your weapon of choice and then we can start...." He explained, now regretting that he was the one who volunteered to train the new recruits. Vexis picked up a long , curvy blade and returned to Ranroh. "Ready" She said, now really looking forward to kicking his ass. He drew out his Katana-like-sword and charged at her, she simply ducked out of the way, he hit the floor face-first. "Hah, not so fast, huh?" Vexis taunted him. He got up, brushed himself off and grabbed his sword again, "I wasn't ready, dammit!" he tried to justify. "Riiight..." Vexis teased, this time she was the one attacking. Ranroh was able to block most of her hits, but she threw him off balance soon after, and started mercilessly beating him while he was still on the ground. "GAH!Get her off me!! OW! Dammit!!" Ranroh cried out as she continued to beat him. The door slid open again, Xenon rushed in to stop her from totally killing Ranroh, "Jeez! You creamed him! Not that hes much of a challenge anyway, but good job!" He said to Vexis while pulling her away from her prey. They were now back out in the entrance hall, they returned to the front desk. "Very well, welcome to the guild..." The woman begrudgingly said, with an almost-smile on her face.

The Guardian Alliance (EDITED)

Xenon frantically looked for a way into the building, "Vexis!" He kept shouting out, until she finally jumped down next to him from the hole in the wall above. "Hiya!" Vexis said rather audibly, attempting to surprise him. Xenon jumped back as she had succeeded in spooking him, "You could have warned me first, you know, just as a suggestion!" She pushed him out of the way, "Geez...calm down, would you? Or are you always this hyper?" Vexis continued down the road as if nothing had happened. Xenon rushed up to her to keep up, "What happened in there? I heard some crashes and whatnot..." he was a bit concerned at this. Vexis looked at him intently, "..Its nothing, it was just clumsy me crashing into stuff...as usual..." she lied to make him less paranoid. Xenon, being the cautious person he was, did not believe her, but continued on to the guild, anyway. Vexis just absently followed, her mind drifted off to other things, '...I'll just...dissolve eventually?What about her...I mean...she'll dissolve eventually too...right? And why does this city feel so dead...theres no Nova here from what I can tell...thats very odd...'


"Vexis!" Xenon shouted at her, apparently he had done so many times before now, but she wasn't listening. Vexis finally floated back to reality, after hearing his obnoxious voice. "What?" She answered him with a noticeable attitude. "We're here." Xenon pointed to a tall building with golden doors. Vexis was in awe of how rich this...guild looked, she had imagined it to be a wrecked little shack with tons of criminals hanging out near it. Xenon led her to the entrance "This is the Guardian Alliance," He announced proudly, while entering. Off in the not too far distance they could hear an argument going on between a blonde haired man, (Not too much older than Xenon -about 20 was Vexis' guess.-) and an angry looking girl whom obviously did not like him (yeah right). "I told you!! I'm busy this weekend!" She yelled at him, now walking off. He stood there looking a bit miffed at the fact that he was ACTUALLY rejected for once, "Kimi! WAIT!" But she did not stop. Xenon noticed the loud argument and said "Wait here Vexis, I'll be back in a moment."

Vexis, being a creature of curiosity, stalked a little bit closer to listen in. Although, apparently Xenon had seen her, "Hey Vexis! Stop sneaking around and get your ass over here!" Vexis, reluctantly, got up from her hiding place and headed on over. "This is Ranroh, hes another member of the guild, Ranroh, Vexis, I'm trying to see if Tazuma will let her join..." Xenon introduced them. Ranroh eyed Vexis in a rather disturbing manner, "Well hey there, cutie!"

Vexis just glared back at him sourly, "I see why she turned you down..." Vexis rudely announced to him. Ranroh looked a bit surprised at her way of introducing herself, "I see this one is a bit resistant, ah well, its for the best, I mean, it would seem you've already claimed her, anyway, Xenon." Ranroh said, sighing. Vexis was thoroughly enraged now, "I'll show YOU resistant!!" She attempted to attack Ranroh, but Xenon held her back from murdering the poor schmuck. "Hey! as much as I too would like to severely hurt this idiot, it'll probably lessen your chances of being accepted into the guild." Xenon warned, now letting her go. Vexis just walked off back to the guild before her temper came back, Ranroh looked back at her. "That chick is crazy man, good luck!" He said to Xenon, then rushed off after 'Kimi' again. Xenon followed Vexis back to the building, "Don't worry, we're not all perverted." He joked while leading her to the front desk.

The Great hunt! Vexis VS. Lea?! (EDITED)

Vexis followed Xenon past many gray buildings, oil spills on the ground, and depressed looking people in the waste-filled city of Aristaisia. Vexis wondered why a city named after the planet it was on was so...unappealing. She stopped in front of a tall, crumbling building that looked like it'd been in one intense storm. She picked up a small fragment of a sign that used to stand in front of the shabby old building. "Xenon...what was this building before it was destroyed?" she asked him, while examining the entrance. "I don't know...I think it was a lab or something...but then it exploded one day for no apparent reason...everyone just assumed that it was a chemical explosion, thats why they haven't touched it since. They're afraid that there may be traces of radiation or toxic chemicals left over..." He explained, Vexis was already starting to push past the ruined electronic door to get inside. "H-Hey!!! Get out of there! You want to die?!" Xenon panicked as she left view.


The inside was all black and scorched, small pools of water and...green stuff were splattered across the floor. She went in further, pushing past another heavy metal door. It opened up into large room where the roof was missing part way. Empty broken glass pods lined the walls of this room, a strange blueish liquid glowed on the floor near a few of the pods. "Liquidized Nova energy..." Vexis identified the liquid while leaning in closer to look at it. "Very good Vexenesis! You ACTUALLY know something!" A taunting voice echoed out of nowhere. Lea suddenly appeared out of thin air, in front of Vexis. "You see, this is where I came from," She pointed to a shattered glass pod in the corner of the room. Vexis started to defensively back up towards the exit, but Lea sent a strong shock wave of energy at the door, causing it to block the exit. Vexis tried desperately to move the fallen door, but it was a useless attempt -the door was stuck for good. "Why are you doing this? If you're the same as me, then why are you trying to kill me?!" Vexis demanded. Lea stepped a little closer, as if to tease Vexis, "I'm not trying to kill you, I simply want to see how long you'll hold up, you'll eventually disintegrate into Nova particles, anyway," Lea shrugged. Vexis stood up straight now, as if to show that she wasn't intimidated, "What do you mean?" she demanded once more. Lea got an 'innocent' look on her face (or at least as innocent as she could possibly look), "Its the way they made you, some of the N-Angels last only for a few seconds before dissolving into Nova particles. While others, such as me, are so well built that we can last for more than 100 years without dissolving! But with you, I can't guarantee how long you'll last..." she got a smirk of satisfaction at Vexis' surprised expression. "So are you going to do something, or are you simply just going to sit there looking stupid as always?" Lea struck out at Vexis with a powerful surge of energy. Vexis was thrown back, and got slammed into the wall behind her.

Vexenesis charged at Lea with brute force, but she simply dodged out of the way. "Ah ah ah! You need to do MUCH better than that to strike me!" Lea taunted while continuously moving out of the way. Vexenesis leapt to the side once she started to lose her balance, but that move was a major mistake. Lea knelt down closely to the ground, and rushed towards Vexis. She skidded to a stop and kicked her leg out under Vexis', then jumped up and punched down hard once Vexis fell over. Lea certainly was quite the acrobat...but so was Vexis.


Lea's attacks sure caused a good amount of pain, but they weren't exactly fatal. Vexis got up, a bit wobbly at first. She waited and watched her opponent for a moment, trying to figure out what Lea would do next. Vexis ran forward, and immediately punched upward, she felt her fist connect with Lea's jaw, hard. Ouch, that had to hurt.

Lea stumbled backward, but couldn't escape Vexis' second attack, which was a kick straight to her nose. Vexis finally backed off a bit, unsure if her enemy would do the same or not.


A trickle of blood slid down Lea's face, probably from her -most likely- broken nose. Oops. "Heh, you caused me some pain there, but you're going to have to do far better to beat me!" Lea tried to attack once more, this time, however, Vexis was too fast for her. Vexis jumped back and concentrated on the stores of energy around them, hundreds of razor-sharp blades soon formed out of thin air and charged towards Lea. "Ahh!!" Lea tried shielding herself with her arms, they got cuts all over them, but not much damage was caused overall. Once Lea started backing off a bit, Vexis suddenly fell forward onto the ground out of exhaustion. Lea walked up to her, "Looks like shes a bit better than expected, not much better, though." she then disappeared again, this time though, she had completely left.


~~~~

Later...

Vexis woke up suddenly, still caught a bit off guard by her previous encounter. "Where am I?" She wondered aloud while getting up again, "...oh yeah..." Vexis looked around, and spotted a pile a of rubel by a hole in the wall. Vexis headed over, and gradually climbed up.

(no title) (EDITED)

"Vexis...? Hellooo?"

Vexis was rudely awoken by an annoyingly familiar voice, she opened her eyes only to see Xenon staring her in the face. "WHAT!?" She exclaimed in surprise. "C'mon, I wanted to show you the guild, but you kinda walked away yesterday..." Xenon reminded her, as if the memory of Lea freaking them out yesterday wasn't memorable enough. "I don't want to see your guild...In fact, I should be leaving now." Vexis replied. "Well, where are you going to go?" Xenon asked intrusively.

"I-I don't know." She said, unsure of that herself. "Well come on, then! If you have nowhere to go, the Guardian Alliance is perfect for you!" He led her back to guild. She pulled away from him yet again, "No, I'm done with you, I'm done with your stupid town, and I'm done with this guild of yours, goodbye!" she told him off, then started on her way. This time, however, Xenon let her go. He figured if she needed help, that she would come back...

Xenon was wrong, of coarse. Vexis got herself into many fights, chases, and arguments on her way of leaving the city. She sat down at the base of a tall tree that stood at the gates of town. 'Where WILL I go...? I have no home, no family, no friends, and I'm wanted by many of those stupid scientists...I have nowhere to go...' Vexis finally stopped to think things through a bit, and concluded that there really was no place for her. Xenon saw her on his way to a hunt, the other job he had when he wasn't needed to patrol the forest. Professional Monster-Slayer. How cliché sounding. "Hey Vexis...I thought you said you were done with this 'stupid' place...?" he asked, now curious as to why she hadn't left yet. She looked up at him solemnly, "I have thought about things a bit...and you're right. I have nowhere to go, so here I am, still here in this 'stupid' place." She got up from the ground, now going back into town. "H-hey! Where you going now?" Xenon demanded while chasing after her. Vexis glanced back at him, "You won, I have nowhere, so I'm going to this guild you speak of." she had a more cheerful tone now, or at least, as cheerful as Vexis could be. The crazy, mutant, killing-machine she was created to be. "Uh....which way was it, again?" Vexis asked him, randomly pointing in various directions. Xenon grinned, he was glad to see she was interested in joining now. "Ha, this way, silly!" He yelled out to her, just as she started going the wrong way. "Oh..." Vexis looked a bit embarrassed about having to be yelled at to go the right way.



Meanwhile...

Many painful sounding yells could be heard throughout town as Lea passed by. Several moronic guys tried hitting on her, but all their attempts failed miserably, as she quite clearly caused them pain. "Idiots, when will they ever learn?" She rolled her eyes at them. Lea scanned the 'WANTED' posters on the wall to see what hunts were available for her to get, unfortunately, there were only two posters up, one for herself, and the other for Vexenesis. 'Wonder how hard it'd be to catch her...'

"The Nova Project" (EDITED)

Xenon -completely unexpectedly- grabbed a hold of her and led her through the town, passing by many odd people who stared at her, she glared back at them. "I'm Vexenesis...Vexis for short," She told him, now that she realized he was not a threat. "How did you get here, anyway?" Xenon asked her. "I uh...just figured I'd drop in and visit this town...?" She replied, sounding confused with her own response. It was a lie, of coarse. Xenon chuckled at her response, assuming that the confusion was not intended. "So where are you taking me, anyway?" She asked him.

"To the Guardian Alliance, Tazuma would want me to bring you there, in case you needed help but forgot," Xenon explained. Vexenesis noticed that someone was following them, "Don't look now...but someone is stalking...er...following us..." She whispered to Xenon. He then stupidly turned around to look, but no one was there. "No there isn't..." He told her in a slightly confused tone. "Over here, stupid." Vexis told him, he now turned around to face her again, and now saw the strange looking girl ahead of them. "Who are you?" The girl asked abruptly.

Vexis frowned a bit, "I could ask you the same..." she replied, unwilling to give her name. The girl got visibly frustrated with Vexis for not answering. Her violet eyes narrowed, concentrating on something. "I see...so you're the newest experiment in the Nova Project...your name is Vexenesis," she told the two of them. Vexis looked somewhere between intimidated and befuddled. "H-how did you...?" she wondered out loud. "I know things, and I have methods of getting info. That's all you need to know about me," the girl explained. "Don't worry, dear Vexenesis, our paths will cross another day, until then, I'll be waiting. I'm Lea by the way." She then leapt off somewhere in a burst of speed, before Vexis could ask her a question.

Xenon looked very confused about everything, now. "Who was she? And what was this about a 'Nova Project'?" he asked Vexis. Vexis looked down, uncertainty clearly showing in her expression. "I'm not like you, Xenon." He looked even more befuddled now, "Huh? What do you mean Vex-" He was unable to finish his sentence before noticing that Vexis was now gone, he saw a small pile of giant black & white feathers not too far ahead. He picked one up, examining it, "Wonder what kind of odd bird dropped these...?" he said to himself.

Vexis now started her search all over town for their strange visitor, but found no luck in locating her. Now realizing that it was impossible to find this girl, Vexis settled down in a dark alley in between two large buildings. "No one will find me here..." She assured herself, planning to rest for a while.

Intro (EDITED)

Screams of shock and horror could be heard throughout the halls of the vast laboratory, the many terrified researchers all clung to the walls. The ones that were not dead already, that is. "Vexenesis has escaped, professor!" Yelled one of the scientists. "Professor?!" He questioned, as soon as he noticed the professor lying injured on the cold, tile floor. The scientist ran over to him, "Find her you fool, don't worry about me!" The professor exclaimed at him. "Y-yes, sir!" The scrawny researcher got up and proceeded to the hallway, following the sound of screams he searched for Vexenesis. He finally encountered her. "Vexenesis! There is no escape!" He yelled at her while grasping his stun-gun. She turned around to face him, pulled out her swords and effortlessly attacked. Once the scientist fell to the ground dead, she headed towards the exit. Vexenesis was a so-called "angel" according to these scientists, whom were now trying to escape her deadly grasp. Vexenesis was tall and slender in figure, her long hair was the color of black onyx, her eyes a dark green. She stepped outside and spread her wings for flight. Luckily for Vexenesis, the lab was placed conveniently near the edge of a VERY steep hillside. The angel's wings caught hold of a power gust of wind, she leapt forward and took off. Fast and powerful wings beat on either side of her, her right wing colored black, left wing a pale white. Vexenesis maintained flight for a while, but as soon as she was a few miles away from the laboratory's boundaries, fatigue started to overcome the angel. Vexenesis tried to ignore it, but soon found herself dropping in altitude. She tried to lift herself back into the air, but her wings dissolved into mere streams of greenish energy, rendering the girl helpless.


"Are you alright, miss?" She heard a voice.
She opened her eyes, and saw the white-haired young man kneeling beside her, he held a concerned expression on his face. "Who are you?" Vexenesis questioned, she immediately leapt to her feet. "My name is Xenon, I'm with the guild in Aristaisia. I work as a patrol officer for this area." He replied, his voice sounded so calm and quiet. How could someone be so trusting and kind to a complete stranger? Especially one who just fell out of the sky...