Jigoku no Keston, Sidestory, taking place after the events of Ai no Saori Options

[MorriganAensland]

A/N: Blargh. New story in the Dichotomy continuity. You know the drill by now. If you don't know about this series, go back to Matei Mizuki and start from the beginning. If you just finished Ai no Saori, you're in the right place. Either way, enjoy and be sure to give me some feedback.

The knight

The alarm that went off was uncomfortably close to my face. It was also a tad too loud for my taste. I'd have to talk to Gregor about this tonight.

Considering how early it was, my first instinct was to disable the alarm and go back to sleep. That, however, was not how it was going to play out today. Today was important. Today was the first day that I'd do something with my life.

Whereas before I had access to my own room in an apartment, I now slept in a much smaller one which I shared with another trainee. Breakfast was in fifteen minutes, and I had just enough time to wash up and dress in my tan-colored uniform before sprinting down to the mess.

When you live with humans, everyone looks relatively the same. Sure, some wear jewelry, body mass and size varies from person to person, and hair was an entire can of worms into itself. But when you're with demons and low-ranking gods you realize how diverse sentient life could really be. Rock monsters, individuals entirely composed of steam, angels, and then ordinary looking people like me all were here to start basic training. After all, there was a war and we wanted to stand up for what we believed in and protect the people we cared about.

Besides, Saori and everyone had fought tooth and nail to protect Anser from Midori Ai and her lot. The least I could do was play the big brother role.

The line slowly advanced until I finally got my chance to make a few selections from what was available. My mind drifted back to Saori's childish love of all things ramen, almost missing it as I finally settled on some emulation of the old human staple of eggs and bacon before locating a seat and digging into breakfast. A lot of things were uncertain to me and I barely knew anyone here aside from my roommate, who I had only had a few brief words with before going to sleep.

Things seemed so different from before, when I had been living with just Anser. Aside from that big Prism monster that attacked us right before Saori summoned my little brother, things had been perfectly quiet. We had worried about our parents, but word of any kind of civil war had never reached us. And if I was lucky, Saori and Anser wouldn't hear of it any more.

I couldn't really understand why we were all fighting. The fact that demons and gods were killing themselves was not something I couldn't grasp. It was the fact that there were actual individuals who wanted to go back to living that old way, when we were all bound by predestination. That was why people were fighting against Jun and the others. It wasn't because they wanted domination over the world or whatever, it was just they felt the miraculous victory over Destiny in 2012 was wrong. And since it was wrong, it fell on them to fix it. And it fell on the sane people in this world to stand in their way.

I checked my watch again. I'd have ample time to eat, but afterwards things around here were going to gear up. But I'd come this far, no reason to get cold feet now.

_
“Name: Keston Intorrage,” a man dressed almost entirely in black and with equally dark hair said as I sat down before a desk. I had trouble figuring out exactly what his race was, although he knew almost immediately that I was an incubus. “You're not even sixteen and you want to fight for the Demon Empire?”

“Yes,” I responded. “I feel like it's my responsibility, uh, Mister...”

“Ceircin,” he said when he reached forward to shake my hand. We had done that just a few minutes ago when I had stepped into the room, but maybe he thought this would help me relax some more. It did help... sorta “Erde Ceircin.” He smiled again before continuing. “So anyways, what's an incubus with no kind of military training hoping to do here for his Empress?”

“For Matei Jun,” I responded, “Well, not really... much.”

“Oh?” Erde raised an eyebrow. “You've got to be here for something, right?”

“Yes sir, my brother. His name's Anser. He got summoned by an insane woman a few weeks ago because she wanted a-”

Erde chuckled and raised his hand. “No need. I understand where you're coming from. You're here out of concern for people you know on a personal basis, rather than Jun and her mother, correct?”

“Yes, sir.” I could already feel the back of my neck grow tingling in fear. “The fact is... my parents were killed and their remains viciously mutilated and desecrated in front of my brother simply to inflict trauma on him. Although the Demon Empress has her own problems to worry about, I want to be able to fight here so Anser can spend his remaining childhood in peace.”

“And,” Erde asked, “If you could choose between your Empress and your brother which would you defend?”

Looking Ceircin dead in the eye so he knew I meant every word, I spoke my mind.

“I would let Empress Jun die before I would my only brother, sir.”

…

Erde looked at me for a moment before standing up from his seat and turning his back to me. After a moment, his voice echoed through his office again. “This is a very dangerous belief, Keston. Not many would place their family before their leader.”

“I've seen what fanatical devotion does to people, sir,” I told him. “Besides, Matei Jun's come a long way from being just a little girl enslaved by her own destiny. With the original Great Sea of Evil, she can take care of herself just fine.”

Erde let out a happy laugh. “Common sense is good in a soldier. Tragically, you have no combat experience and we're not in the point yet where we need to send green boys to their deaths. If you're hoping to fight and die for your beliefs, I don't think we can accommodate that just yet. However... there is something you might be interested in. Ever hear of an Arcane Frame?”

“A what?”

Erde turned to me. “An Arcane Frame, it's the formal term for armor developed at research bases.”

“... you mean...”

“It's a safe location, away from the front. You've seen combat before, although not much, so that can help. Besides a few warm bodies learning their way around a war can't hurt, now can it?”

“I guess...”
_
Away from the front had been not necessarily the correct term. Point Rubi was smack dab in the center of nowhere; within the defensive lines of the loyalists but so far removed from the battles that capturing it wouldn't be even the smallest of tactical victories.

Erde had arranged transport and I had managed to take care of housing. My roommate, a guy named Gregor, had been willing to let me rob him of a solitary bedroom as long as I took care of any dishes. Considering that was one of the few things I had experience doing back on Earth, I had no objections. We hadn't talked much when we were told to go to bed, although I had vowed to talk to him more the next day.

“So we never got onto the subject of where you've been for the past eighteen months, right?”

A breakfast tray clacked down next to me, a figure with a gangrene complexion and a small piece of headwear said as he pulled up next to me.

“Ah, Gregor!” I said with a smile before continuing with my meal. “What kept you?”

“Checking my schedule,” he answered before looking over to me. Gregor, as I had found out, was a kappa; and one who wasn't much older than me. “You didn't?”

“No,” I answered before locating the seasonings. “But as to your question, that issue's kind of awkward.”

I told him what I could, about living in relative quiet with Anser until we were attacked, and then getting summoned by Shot Ichiban. He really didn't need to know about the Hallowed Prisms or Saori's questionable career choice, but I did let him know my brother was in safe hands.

“... And you threw all that away to come here?”

“Yeah,” I said with a humorless laugh. “I mean, why not? I wasn't doing anything important, you know? Besides, why are you here then?”

Gregor laughed. “I'll let you know when I figure that out myself.”
_
Considering I hadn't even heard of the phrase “Arcane Frame” until yesterday, I didn't know what I'd be expected to do. But from what Gregor was saying, for the moment we were just going to do basic conditioning. It didn't take long to get out in the fresh air and once again experience the dull world of this plane of reality.

As infinite as the planes of reality were, there was something they lacked: realism. Earth was a planet, an infinitely tiny speck in the infinitely expansive Universe filled with so much. Each plane of reality the gods had some theme to it, but that was all. Above me now was not the cosmos, just a blank, purple sky that would never have clouds or stars.

Gregor was only a few moments behind me, and there were more than a few people milling around outside already. Some were dong the smart thing and doing some light stretches... although one guy I guessed was an Oni -he had a horn on his head, after all- seemed buried in a book. Another person I almost mistook for a girl was just staring up at the sky dreamily.

Gregor and I continued discussing things as we prepared for whatever the trainers had in mind. A few other people pitched in ideas and I was sorta relieved that I wasn't the only one going into this, being totally uncertain about what would happen.

Finally, someone in red armor brushed past me, and with they kind of body build they had, it no doubt was a woman. Granted, the plate armor lacked the stereotypical curves you'd expect for a woman's battle gear, but it was still an exquisite sight to behold.

“Gentlemen,” rang out a female voice. I was correct in my assumptions as the woman turned to me. Nearly everyone had the common sense to come to attention, save for the two morons from before.

The woman in question had surprisingly short blonde hair and similarly colored eyes, and in spite of being one of the shorter people here, she had an aura about her that demanded respect. And when the Oni barely acknowledged her presence, she slapped his book away without shame.

“You can read later,” she told him. The guy tried to speak up, but decided against it. During all of this, the feminine-looking guy ended up slowly standing up and coming to attention as well... even though he really didn't seem to care about any of this at all.

“I will, for the greater period of time while you are here,” she continued, “be your direct superior. Any problems you have will be brought to me, and I'll do my best to correct them. Understand?”

We all nodded as she smiled.

“Great. I hope to be able to work well with all of you, so we can have good memories here at Point Rubi. My name's Atha Sido. And all of yours?” She outstretched her hand and held a professional stance, practically begging for someone to come up and return the gesture.

Oddly, it was that Oni from before that shuffled up and reached out his hand before anyone else could act.

“Fudoh,” he quietly mumbled. “Fudoh Zanki.”

“Intimidating name,” Atha laughed as she turned to the next person in line. “Just make sure not to read when I'm speaking again, okay?”

“Sure, I guess...” Fudoh said as the next person in a rapidly forming line. The guy seemed pretty distant, and as he crossed paths with me I could tell he was thinking about at least something. Not sure what that would be, but whatever it was, it probably was more intriguing than-

“And your name?”

“Oh.” I was already at the front of the line. That had been fast. “Well,Keston Intorrage. Nice to meet you, ma'am.”

“Same to you too, Mr. Keston.”
_
For the most part, things didn't seem that bad, during that whole first day. We were all briefed on our primary duties and how we'd all eventually be assigned to run mock battles to see which suits were the most practical for various types of fighters.

“How was Earth, when you were there?” Gregor asked during our midday meal. “Never been there myself.”

“Nice. Well... when people weren't trying to kill my brother, that is.”

“Wait... you were with humans?!?”

An overly enthusiastic shout shocked both Gregor and I as that feminine-looking guy from before practically crashed into us... eyes wide with glee. It took a moment for him to realize everyone in the mess hall was looking at him, but he eventually straightened up and cleared his throat. After a few moments, people started going back to their meals as the guy made room next to me and smiled.

“I can't believe it, I always was wondering what experiences on Earth were like and interacting with people. Not demons or anything but real, actual humans!”

… The guy didn't seem to realize that even though his volume level had been adjusted, his energetic declarations were no less unnerving than before.

“Yes,” I answered again, “And as I was telling Gregor here, a lot of them were trying to kill my little brother.”

“Was he a bad-”

“No,” Gregor and I repeated in perfect unison.

The individual pouted as he turned away from me. I was liking this guy less and less with each moment. “You're no fun.” The tone was purely infantile, and as he stood up and started to walk away, we were getting dirty looks from almost everyone immediately.

“This is unbelievable...” I groaned. “What was that guy's name anyways?”

“Sebastian,” Gregor told me. “Fairly mundane guy from what I've heard. Might not really be used to all of this.”

“Think that could be the problem?” I sighed.

“Then why would he be here then?”

“Same reason I am, I guess. Maybe he's here because he wants to accomplish something.”
_
The day ended without any more fanfare. Gregor and I ended up shambling back to our room, not even bothering to turn on the lights. It was late, we'd have an early start tomorrow with do stuff dealing with Arcane Frames and-

“Gregor?” I said as I sat up. “I don't think I ever got your last name.”

Silence. I wasn't sure what to make of it and decided that he must've just been really tired. It was too dark for me to see even two feet in front of me, but there was still methodical breathing from the other bed in the room.

…

“Gregor?”

Familiarity is something very, very precious. When you are in a situation that nearly takes your life, that's not something you easily forget. During the battles against the Hallowed Prisms and their goddess, I had been stabbed in the neck, trapped in a giant crystal, controlled like a puppet, and the start of all that was getting a knife in the chest.

So those memories of Amano Nagato's murder attempt proved very useful at that instant when I heard a strange whistling in the air and instantly associated it with a thrown knife. I grasped at a pillow and threw it up to take the attack instead before I realized something.

“GREGOR, WHAT THE HELL!?!”

I'd only known the guy for a day but, I mean, seriously! What would make him suddenly decide to kill me when he could've had an easy chance at it yesterday! A shadowy mass ran at me, and I struggled out of bed. I could hear another knife being drawn and tried to move to the right. My legs were almost out of the sheets just as my mattress was ripped up by the attack, and by the time that “Gregor” was attacking me again, I finally could fight.

And this was... going to suck. I'd just gotten out of a struggle and now someone was after my blood again. I tried to shout out and raise an alarm, but the moment I opened my mouth to speak, the air temperature dropped fifty degrees. I could practically feel my lungs start to shrivel up as my assailant lashed out with his left hand.

Instinct saved me again, and I dove under his arm. It was a feint; if the knife had been in Gregor's hand earlier, then I would've been killed when I was on the bed. My inference proved true as I heard the swishing of a knife swinging again behind me and-

Pain ran through my back as I almost crashed into the wall. T-that was right... “Gregor” had two knives. Dammit, that chilling effect on my lungs wasn't giving me enough air. Between my muscles growing dull and my head going dizzy from the lack of oxygen, if I didn't turn this around right now, it was all over.

“Gregor” charged again, and I could faintly see the shape of his two knives. The way this was going, he might have not even needed them to finish this.

The air was getting colder, and I had to act fast as the assassin came at me. Grasping at my bed, I pulled the mattress up again and used a barrier for the second time in less than a minute. The knives nearly ripped it to pieces, but I had all the time I needed. With everything I could manage, I swung my hands up and let them come crashing down on “Gregor's” head. I was met with something cracking and my hands resting in some sort of dank cavity for a moment with a cold liquid inside.

“Gregor” and I held our stances for a moment. I think I killed him with that, and my entire body felt useless before falling backwards. Everything was going dark, and what was eating at me more than anything else was the confusion. Why was all of this happening? Why would Gregor turn on me like that and why would-

My thoughts ceased. Oxygen deprivation will do that to you.
_
…

I didn't know what time it was when I ended up getting roused by a bunch of people, Atha in front of them all. The air wasn't cold any more and I could finally breath. There was also light in the room then... and my mind almost crashed again.

Gregor was there, two knives in his hands, his headpiece shattered and blood from it having spilled onto the floor. Judging by everyone's looks at me, there was no doubt what had happened.

I had killed Gregor. It was the only possible explanation.
_
Miss Sido had taken me to her office. Conditioning and briefing about Arcane Frames tomorrow would be canceled while investigations were held, and I knew right away she would want answers from me immediately. I just wished I would have some to actually give.

“And he never said anything to you? Not even one word?”

That being said, at least she was trying to meet me halfway and not directly accuse me of an unprovoked attack on the deceased kappa.

“No, I told her for the third time in this whole questioning. “He just was trying to kill me the whole time. It boiled down to fight back or die, and my one opening to attack ended up killing him.”

“I understand where you're coming from,” the blonde said as she looked me dead in the eye, “But a lot of the things you mentioned make little sense.” I almost panicked, but Atha saw my distress and immediately continued. “It's not that your story is that of a liar, it's just...” she sighed.

“What is it?” For a second, the way she was piecing everything together reminded me of Kerrigan.

“If you wanted to kill Gregor, there were plenty of cleaner ways to do it without throwing so much suspicion on yourself.” Definitely Kerrigan-style thinking. “Plus... the nature of blood in his head cavity. Kappa's are supposed to store a water-like fluid.”

“What would blood do to him if it got in there instead though?”

“If it was a certain type of blood,” she continued while looking around. “It would cause a kappa like Gregor to do all sorts of things. And the fact you mentioned the air cooling down in your room so quickly makes it seem like there was someone else in there too. You didn't turn the lights on-”

“But wait! Why wouldn't they just kill me when they had the chance?”

Atha shrugged. “Any number of reasons. For the time being, it might be dangerous for you here and your identity-”

“If you say I should change my name and try to disguise myself with a pair of sunglasses or a mask, then I am walking off the base right now.”

Sido was taken aback by this as she just blinked in confusion. I realized I had some more explaining to do.

“Uh... my brother's Tower loved watching cartoons. She always made comparisons between me and this one rival-type character from a show that aired in 1979 even though we have absolutely nothing alike.”

“Ah. Well, I've never been to Earth, so I wouldn't know about that. Anyways...” she continued, “I can't necessarily rule you out. Even though I have my own suspicions, Point Rubi is a murder site now, and until we figure out who the killer is, nobody is going anywhere. Understand?”

“Yes ma'am.”

“I will arrange sleeping quarters for you later tomorro-” Atha stopped when she looked down at her watch and almost blushed. “Sorry. Tonight. Until then, stay in a crowd and do not do anything stupid.”

“Sure,” I said as I stood up. “I'll watch my back and if anything suspicious happens I'll be sure to let you or any of the other ranking officers here know.”

“Smear tar on your bedroom's doorway too.”

“What?”

Atha sighed again. “It's... complicated. Call it part of my hunch. It could help.”

“You really think tar is going to protect me?”

“Yes. I really do, Keston. If I have the race of our murderer pinned down, it could very well be the difference between life and death.”

[Asher Omega]

Right off the bat and we have one death. this is going to be fun. good work Morrigan.

[MorriganAensland]

The knight

Things were quiet and tense that day. I got a few odd looks from people, but it quickly became clear that people understood there was someone else that was capable of manipulation and indirect murder. And they didn't know who it was. Humans would have at least the reassurance that the psycho was on the same level as them, more or less. Sure, you could think the mystery man might have a gun or a knife, but you could improvise and prepare.

But with demons and spirits and the like, potential victims were at a tremendous disadvantage. If you were an elemental, well, the enemy would just have to take steps to counter any advantages you'd have. If you were a vampire or some other undead creature, there was a treasure trove of rituals and materials that would make you as weak as a kitten. Heck, aside from strengthened defenses, an incubus or a succubus was not that different from a human, complete with all the liabilities and minimal perks.

In short, our enemy knew nearly everything about us, and all we had to go on were a few intuitive guesses.

Tar was, really, not that hard to locate. We couldn't expect an entire crew to come down and fix a road when we were so distant from everyone, and there probably would be enough for me to work with once I got transferred to another room. In the meantime, one of the other ranked officers on the base was listing a broadcast, asking people to safeguard their rooms. They were really covering their bases, including stuff like salt for fully-fledged hellspawn and the like. They kept droning on and broadcasting it every half hour or so, just to make sure everyone was on the same page. I wondered how much of it was just plain misdirection so the hostile wouldn't know Atha believed she had him pegged.

I wasn't hungry, believe it or not, but I had to admit staying in a crowd was still a sound strategy. With that in mind, I simply found a seat in a lobby and decided to try to think through this all. There was pretty much no way to figure out this guy's identity without arousing suspicion and possibly tipping him off. At which point I'd probably be killed. So I really just had to wait until the mystery man struck again... and I hated that.

If Kerrigan were here, she'd no doubt have turned the situation to her favor almost immediately, or at least put the pieces together in a way that she'd have a tactical advantage in some way. But instead , I was stuck with-

A particular oni happened to sit down opposite of me before opening a large book again and continue to read it.

“You're shaken up about all of this, aren't you? Gregor's death and all?” The question was delivered in a surprisingly calm tone as he continued to read, occasionally turning the page. “That's understandable.”

The book was a dead giveaway. “Fudoh,” I responded, “What are you doing here?”

“Hmm?” The book was lowered a half inch and he looked at me before raising it up and continuing to read again. “Ah.” I had to admit, he was acting a lot more confident now that he wasn't the center of attention. “To be honest, there's a whole lot of information out there to read up on... and I'd hate to just up and die before getting my fill. So I thought we could discuss a few things.”

“Well,” I answered, “Put down the book and we'll talk.”

Fudoh turned another page. “When you make it worth my while.” Argh... weren't oni supposed to be really boisterous and outspoken? This guy was certainly arrogant, but he was otherwise totally different from the norm.

People were beginning to mill past us, but they paid us no mind. Likewise, we didn't really focus on them either; Fudoh just reading his unusual book while I tried to get on the same page as him.

“You know, you're attitude doesn't really reflect the fact you're here to help me. And besides... you could turn out to be the real spy,” I pointed out. “So why would you come down here anyways?”

Another page was turned. “Because you're the person least likely to be the one that controlled Gregor. Nobody in the shoes of that man or woman would be foolish enough to make themselves be the primary subject. So I can trust you quite a bit, Keston.”

“Yeah. And what about you?”

“I know I'm not the enemy. That's good enough. Besides...” he shrugged, “I could have a gun behind this book. Incubi have thick skin and hardened bones, but you're not that much tougher than a human. If I wanted you dead right now, I could do it. Or just distract you while I controlled another kappa or maybe someone else.” Yeah. Definitely arrogant. “But the fact is, you technically weren't the one attacked... at least not at first. Gregor was. And then for whatever reason he attacked you.”

Damn. He wasn't anywhere near as modest as Kerrigan, but he at least sounded competent about this all. “... You know... I'm going to be taking everything you say with a grain of salt. There is absolutely no reason I shouldn't rule out the possibility you're still out for my head.”

The book closed as Fudoh glared at me. “I just established the fact-”

“The last time I had to deal with a psychopath, she had a long and very convoluted scheme. One of her subordinates had a few opportunities to kill my brother's Tower, but she ended up not doing so for personal reasons. This could easily be another case of that.”

That got him, and Fudoh's eyes lost a bit of their confidence as he looked down at the ground again. “I-I...”

Dammit. I had heard some people would be shaken up if they lost their footing in a debate, but this was pretty bad. Granted, what I said had been true and I couldn't entirely trust Fudoh Zanki, but if I stayed cautious it couldn't bite me too badly, right?

Scooting up on the bench, I called him out again. “Fudoh.” Once I knew I had his attention I continued. “Let's make a little assumption here. Let's pretend you and I can be sure of our own innocence. And while we try to discuss and make sure we don't get ourselves killed, we try to work together, okay?”

The oni looked at me for a moment before almost laughing. I could almost hear his confidence crawling back as he spoke again. “You know... that's pretty smart... if two people have their backs pressed up against each others', then neither one can be in a position to backstab the other without tipping them off. Not too shabby of an idea, Mr. Intorrage.”

“Thanks,” I responded. For the moment, I'd just keep in mind that I could knock this guy down a peg or two if the need arose. “I spent time living with a psychotic, so you pick these things up.”
_
“The Algol?” I asked as Fudoh and I sat down in the mess hall, more focused on his book filled with designs for Arcane Frames than actually eating. “That's what it's called?”

“Yeah,” Fudoh said as he used a spoon to draw my attention to a certain Frame's arm guards. “It's a new Arcane Frame that's getting limited release to higher-ranked officers. It's supposed to have all the weaponry built in, unlike these older models.”

“What kind of weaponry?”

Fudoh leaned back and took a sip of his drink before continuing. “Melee, from what the official reports say. Honestly... I don't care.”

“How come?”

Fudoh flipped to another page in his book and then showed it to me. Unlike the others, this one was a piece of sketching paper, complete with an unusual-looking Frame there. “I'm working on my own. Home brewed, built from parts I've convinced researchers to give to me since quality control at a lot of development bases consider 'good enough' to not be good enough. I've already got the weapon finished, and it's a bit of a doozy!”

So this guy was an amateur inventor? He kept distancing himself more and more from the oni archtype the more I talked to him. “Sounds cool. What is it?”

Fudoh's eyes lit up as he started to speak before promptly stopping himself. “Huh. Almost forgot... can't really trust you with too much, right?” The distant tone was back, and after a moment, I scooted away from him a little bit.

“... Yeah. You're right.”
_
When I was with Shot and Saori, I noticed there were really two types or horror movies when there were survivors stuck in a single area. There was the type where the killer was a threat due to be tougher and had access to weapons the protagonists didn't... and what are usually the “slasher” movies. What I was finding myself stuck in was the other type... with the enemy possessing a tactical advantage, and being capable of moving through Point Rubi undetected.

I wasn't the only one who was growing uneasy. Even with the periodic broadcasts the officers were making and assurances that safeguards would keep us safe, our enemy had some kind of charisma working for them preventing us from just calming down. A few of the kappas were really uncomfortable and considering what happened to Gregor, they were perfectly justified in those fears.

Fudoh and I went our separate ways, leaving me again to introspective thoughts and more hours spent doing nothing in a lobby. Not necessarily fun, but it was familiar territory It was getting late and Atha or any of the other officers hadn't gotten back to me, leaving me with no rooming at the moment. Time slipped by and I knew it would soon be lights' out. Depending on the enemy's strategy, I would be in the best or worst position in the entire facility.

“I saw you talking with someone else today during lunch.”

The sudden revelation I once again had human contact caused me to react in an unbecoming manner. I turned around, already expecting this would be the point in time where my luck would finally run out. Instead I just saw Sebastian there, holding up a tray with a pair of plain-looking mugs. Steam was rising from them, and the guy didn't seem all that perturbed by my reaction as I slowly made room for him.

“After your little outburst with Gregor yesterday, plus with his death... I thought it would be good to give you some space, you know?” He tried to smile at me, but gave up before long and we were just two trainees sitting down with cups of -by the scent of it- coffee. “Sorry about yesterday though... it's just... oh, I guess living up on Earth is just such an exciting concept when you think about it. Not many of us get summoned anymore, and I was wondering what it was like to wander among humans.” Sebastian laughed. “You know, they say every day a demon based on a human lives on Earth, the more human they become?” He reached down and picked up his cup before taking a sip.

“Not sure about that,” I responded before grabbing the other mug. This guy was still a little annoying, but by acting like this, at least he was curbing my irritation. As I was about to take a swig, I couldn't help but just put it down and laugh. “This is weird.”

“What is?”

“Nothing,” I said as I looked at the guy. “Just the last time I had tea, bad stuff happened to me. Let's just leave it at that.” My foolish stand up to the wielder of the Hallowed Prisms had ended without fanfare and had lead to a lot of headache and troubles for everyone... and it was one of the reasons I had come here in the first place. I reached down for the mug again to-

“Huh. We have a guest.”

I froze and put down the drink. Sebastian didn't act surprised, but I decided not to risk it and slowly, slowly inched away from him. Without even needing to look back and confirm my suspicions, I spoke.

“He was the guy that manipulated Gregor?”

“Yes.” It was Atha. “And you are, sir, a lich, correct? It's not exactly out of your powers to use control people.”

“Oh, I know,” Sebastian sighed. “Of course, I knew the game was up since... oh, when everyone was starting to safeguard their rooms. Before I'd know it, I'd be locked out and in the open. Such a shame too...” Learning forward and resting his chin on his hands he just laughed again. “So much for seeing the strengths and abilities earned from living on Earth in action!”

“What?”

Sebastian's eyes lit up in innocent amusement as he looked at me. “Oh, come on, Keston! Incubi can pass for humans so easily... I wanted to see what kinds of skills you could've picked up! It's a philosophy of my boss Nagask...” The lich almost immediately took on an infinitely more insidious while changing absolutely nothing about his appearance. “'Do as you please. Anyone and everyone who opposes you forfeits living'.”

At this point in time, I realized Sebastian viewed me as a non-threat. The temperature was quickly dropping and his only real concern was living through the next few moments and taking things from there. And to do that-

Sebastian lunged at Atha Sido, the woman expecting it and swinging her right arm up to counter. I was surprised, I mean, it was armored but it couldn't do much of anything if Sebastian put his all into attacking.

The heated chain struck again, distracting and warding off Sebastian for a few moments as I finally noticed a long, thin blade protruding from the top of Atha's right forearm.

Built in weaponry... a sword and some sort of heated chain. Come to think of it... the Frame's design wasn't too different from one of the Algol's that Fudoh showed me earlier.

Atha was quickly moving in to try to box Sebastian further into the room, the lich prancing around her attack but still unable to get away. Once again, I was finding myself on the sidelines, utterly incapable of pitching in when someone had to pick up after me. The stupid and infantile part of me wanted to run in there and finally end my civilian status... but that would be stupid. Atha was doing fine and the absolute worst thing to do would provide an unnecessary distraction.

Sebastian was all but cornered now, with nowhere to go and the burning heat of the chain preventing him from using the cold to incapacitate Atha. Without even trying for anything theatric, Sido ran straight at Sebastian with her Frame's blade ready to run him through.

Wait- NO!

“ATHA, GET-”

Screaming out to her was useless. Maybe that's why my still-honed “don't distract the people saving you” skills weren't stopping it. By the time I had shouted her name, it was over. Sebastian's hand had brushed up against the Arcane Frame's left gauntlet, instantly freezing both it and the chain that came from it. Clever... attacking the coldest part of the weapon to disable the hottest part.

With unparalleled speed, Atha was blown backwards by attacks I couldn't follow. She crashed into the wall, her much of her armor shattering from the impact. She... she wasn't getting up...

“Hmm... not much of a fighter,” Sebastian took on a sing-song tone again... the room temperature low enough that I could see the vapor from his breath. “Oh well. That was awesome how you fought off Gregor though! Totally like-”

“Shut up.”

Sebastian did shut his mouth, but more out of amusement and interest at what I was going to say before hypothermia got the better of me. The lich himself seemed to be doing just fine all the same... but then again... something undead like him wouldn't mind the cold much.

“You're a disgusting manchild, Sebastian. I'm not your goddamn entertainment!”

“Says you...” he pouted. Dammit! This guy didn't view me as a threat at all! Atha was as good as dead and if I joined her here then there'd be too many unanswered questions for my spirit to ever get over. Sensing my frustration, his deceptively childish looks returned to join in with his tone of voice. “Come on... can't even think of anything else to say? What about a rousing speech or something? Don't they teach you people how to fight up on Earth?”

Sebastian threw his arms up in the air in annoyance. “Jeez! You're a completely worthless piece of crap, you know that?”

Dammit. J-just... dammit! I was out of my league and as such, I wasn't of any value to Sebastian. He was just going to charge at me and-

But then something in my head clicked. Sebastian was the kind of guy who would do that. He wasn't going to leave me to the cold, he was just going to end this stupid mess and move on in his infantile search. And since he was going to be impatient... for these few moments, I could do something.

“Oh well... time to end this.”

A lich is, in terms of raw offense, much, much more capable in a fight than an incubus. Being a cold entity of undeath, freezing its surroundings at will was one of the more basic things it could do and one it shared with many other types of undead. There were other things he could do... but I wasn't worth it. He'd just end this with a few punches and end when my body gave out on me.

… Heh. I guess I did pick a few things about fighting from Shot and company, Sebastian.

He ran straight at me. He thought this wouldn't even be a fight. Stupid, stupid lich.

His fist shot out and I dove for the ground. Sebastian would interpret it as the last act of a coward because he'd given up on the idea of me being a solid fighter. His loss.

The blade protruding from the Algol's right gauntlet was my best option. All I had to really do was angle it up and know my enemy would take care of the “running through it” part. And Sebastian didn't disappoint, getting the weapon through the gut and stopping his offensive instantly.

… Gotcha.

Demons, the undead, gods... we all had our own little weaknesses and liabilities. Certain metals, protective charms, a quick little chant... heck. Even Matei Jun's Dai Makai was limited by the Rule of Invitation. Atha came into this fight using an Algol. She came in it because she knew she could win with just this Arcane Frame... so even if a weapon was damaged and frozen, it wasn't useless.

Sebastian's over-anxious desire to finish me off was his undoing as he stared down at his impaled body. I was almost expecting him to shout out “COOL!” and spend his last few moments gushing frantically about my amazing comeback. Instead... he just started crying. Like the little boy who never really grew up, death was a non-issue for him all the way up to this point. And now that it was the most important thing to worry about, he didn't know how to react to it.

… Good riddance.
_
As I said before, when your enemy is an unknown, they had an advantage over you. When they're unmasked, however, you have the opportunity to take that advantage and the paranoia that went along with it away.

“With the lich dead, any influence he might've had on anyone's also gone,” Atha sighed. We were in the hospital or... well, whatever Point Rubi's equivalent to it was. “I think it's safe to assume he was working alone as well. Otherwise he wouldn't have acted so soon after the first incident. And being dead and all will put a stop to any other planned manipulations...”

I felt sorta naked in that room. Aside from the fact that Miss Sido was seriously injured, one of the Algol test model Frames was ruined, and I was again responsible for killing someone, all the other officers at Point Rubi were in the room.

Whatever Atha was, she was made of tough stuff and had walked away from that battle with Sebastian with little more than a few broken bones and a concussion. Everyone seemed relieved now that the threat was dealt with and Sebastian's body had been disposed of via salting and then getting reduced to cinders. After his last stint, taking risks was just plain stupid.

“You had a pretty good grasp of yourself during that fight, Keston,” she said with a smile. “Not to mention I owe you my life... and you probably saved Point Rubi a lot of headache in the long run.”

I sighed. “Well, you saved my life first, so let's just call it even.”

“As you wish. Oh, and incidentally...” someone handed me some paperwork, “A Mr. Fudoh Zanki's offered to be your new roommate. We've run through his background twice to be sure he's clean... and we'll be doing it for everyone else here for some time in the immediate future.”

“Will that be all?” I asked. I hadn't slept in a while, and I just wanted this to be over and done with.

“Almost,” one of the other officers said. “As you probably know already, the Algol Arcane Frames are being tested here for mass production and their performance in mock battles would make or break the possibility of them being mass produced. You've shown a lot of guts on two separate occasions when you could've very easily froze up. You could do very well as a a handler for one of them.”

“You... really mean it?” This wasn't what I had really expected, and I wasn't really that enthusiastic about the actual reward... but the genuinely considered me worthwhile here at Point Rubi.

“Sure,” Atha Sido said with a smile. “Why not?”
_
The door opened. “Hey, Keston.”

“Hey, Fudoh.”

“It over?”

“Yeah...” I said as I moved past him into the room. “Sebastian's dead and Point Rubi'll get a little bit safer now as a result.”

“Pleased with yourself?” Fudoh asked as he pointed to the bed on the left side of the room. “That one's for you.”

Nodding in thanks, I sat down there and then looked at him. “Not really. But I'm starting to pulling my own weight. I need to grow up sooner or later.

“And... thanks too.”

“Oh?” Fudoh asked as he raised an eyebrow. “What's the reason?”

“For letting me room with you.”

“Oh, it's no problem.” Fudoh reached over and once again started to look at the Arcane Frame designs. “You'll get to see my custom machine when it's all done too. Who knows?” He laughed. “I was planning on painting it blue. The Algol's red. And I'm an oni. Too bad we don't have the trope down just right, eh?”

“Sure...” I said before falling into the bed. This guy could be weird if he wanted to. “So when are things going to go back to normal here with scheduling? Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow afternoon, although the officers will still be on the lookout for anyone acting suspicious,” Fudoh said. “I highly don't anyone will, but hey. They run this place, after all. Until then... well, I guess you'll just have to live with the reputation that you killed a lich and saved Miss Sido's life.”

“... You say that like it's a bad thing, Fudoh...” I said before falling back into the bed and looking up at the ceiling. Hopefully this would be the worst of my experiences at Point Rubi... if not, I'd just have to suck it up and keep fighting.

A/N: Blargh. This story didn't turn out the way I wanted, but it was still fun to write and I could set things up for what's going to happen in Shin Minako a bit. I'm gonna take another week off to recoup (plus this week's going to be a nightmare at work) and then start working on it. Hopefully things'll turn out good for the last installment of the Dichotomy trilogy. ^_^

[Asher Omega]

I've got a sneaking suspicion of what Ms. Sido is. I'm not going to voice it just yet. but I can definitely say it isn't a Dragon. Not your style morrigan, which makes guessing who's a what much more interesting. also I liked the line "the lich is dead." Liches are technically already dead so its kinda funny to me.

[MorriganAensland]

Well, actually, Atha Sido's mainly an expy of my concept of Cagalli (having Cagalli's last name as a first name and the SEED/Sido thin, after all). I planned on her to be a straightforward character.

My original plan for this whole story was chapter two would take place four and a half months after chapter one -which would just introduce characters- and focus on Keston and Fudoh being a more adversarial version of a Red Oni Blue Oni dynamic. They would end up fighting a leftover Prism Monster, like the one Saori did in chapter 1 of her story, except it would be gigantic.. Then chapter three would take place one day before Shin Minako and have Nagask Nadesico show up and kill nearly everyone at Point Rubi save for Keston and Fudoh, who would end up fending off one of Nagask's mooks (either Sebastian or a Keiji expy) and then have to travel alone to another base.

It didn't work out that way, and Sebastian (a Take That to Fife, incidentally) wasn't planned to be a mole and Atha Sido wasn't even supposed to exist. BUt this way we don't have Keston falling into the Arcane Frame and doesn't have me killing off characters you barely know for the sake of cheap tension. Besides, I sorta like the idea of an early-SRX team dynamic with them.

Oh, and in case you didn't notice, the Algol's essentially an Epyon.

[Asher Omega]

I was thinking that. or it was an expy of the Tallgeese. well I guess my assumption was wrong.

[MorriganAensland]

Lolz. And yeah, I gunning for as many Char shout-outs as I can with Keston without doing the obvious mask/sunglasses thing.

[LinneaKou]

I knew mecha would pop into this story. I knew it.

Personally, the new setting was a nice change of scenery, and the pace was a little faster than I'd expect. Then again, this is an OVA, so I'm in no mood to harp on pace.

Keston is such a sweet guy, I just want to pat him on the head (which would look really funny, since I'm so short) and tell him that he's important. I know how it feels to be useless or at least feel useless. I hope Keston gets his chance to shine eventually.