Viridian Chronicles: Titan 3109

Bryan Panaka breathed deeply. Just one more bout, Then he'd be done. He'd be a Samarai. At 21 he'd be the best, there wasn't any one in all the city of Kapitael, the rest of Alixicon or maybe the whole continent of Veridian who could beat him. At least no one who challenged him. But this was more than just mindless fighting. This was his life. Since he was a kid his dad had told him tales of the Samarai of Alixicon. There had never been any names, since the Samarai didn't keep records, but there were things that happened and wouldn't have happened without the Samarai. But he wouldn't get anywhere in life if he couldn't see what was going on around him. Back to the present.

Sweat dripped off his forehead, making the leather lining of his helmet soft and wet. He focused on his fight. The other contestant was a tall, bulky man, the exact opposite of Bryan's small, lithe figure. When the big man's sword went down Bryan's went up and met it. The man, Smako, the announcer had called him, was clearly surprised by the force that met his blow. Bryan smiled inside his helmet. This would be over before it started.

Bryan shoved the other's sword away and backflipped away. Landing on one knee, Bryan made an upward diagonal slash and cut into Smako's armor. Smako stared at the slit in his chest. He looked up, rage clouding his face. He charged in fury, Bryan barely avoided him. Seizing the opportunity, Bryan sliced into Smako's waist, cutting the larger man in half. The two halves hit the ground.

Then the simulator deactivated. Bryan took off his helmet and saw the smiling crowd. Across the room the REAL Smako was screaming at his trainer. Bryan didn't catch the words, but it didn't sound like they were happy, or maybe it was the fact that Smako had thrown his sword on the ground and was jumping up and down on it. "He's not taking it too well, is he?" Bryan said to his trainer. "Nope" he replied. "I really wouldn't want to be his coach."

Then Bryan saw Taylor and her brother Keni at the door. Taylor was smiling, her light brown hair bouncing. Next to her stood her brother Keniuchio. Keni was his usual self, meaning that he was wearing a black suit and dark glasses. He always wore this because the only difference between him and the rest of the world was that "He made it look good."

"Gotta go coach." Bryan called as he ran over to greet his friends. "Hey, whats up?" he said when he got within hearing range. "Not much, you win?" Keni asked. "No duh." Bryan said. Keni grinned and went off humming to himself. "What's with him?" Bryan asked Taylor. "He had a three grand bet on you." "Three grand?!?! On li'l old me?" Bryan joked. "Bryan." Taylor said puzzled. "What?" "There's not supposed to be any one in the arena is there?" "No, why?" Bryan turned just in time to hear the announcer yell " A mystery contestant has enterd the arena!" Bryan was confused, what kind of publicity stunt was this? The Samarai weren't public figures, so what was going on?

Then he noticed that the transparsteel wall was being lifted and removed. This was a real fight, no holosim inside the helmet, just two fighters and two katana blades.

The announcer was milking this for way more than it was worth. "Ladies and gentelmen, the new contestant who is known only as uh…" as he checked his pad " Shiro" was a word that came suprisingly not from the announcers micophone but from the man who stood in the middle of the ring. "Now Panaka, you've just won the title 'Samarai', But you still have to prove yourself to me." With that he took a step forward and unsheathed his katana. " If you're a Samarai you'll be invincible if not, then you need a little pain to bring you back to reality."

Shiro moved like a japanese guy who has wayy too much sugar in his diet. Bryan could barely see him. "Who is this guy?" Bryan thought to himself "Need to win, need to …." then Bryan's eyes lit up. Literally. They turned about ten shades lighter than usual. Which is really saying something because his eyes were almost white to begin with. His katana shot up and hit Shiro in the wristplate of his armor.

Shiro was stunned, Bryan kicked his ankle, knocking the man to the ground. "Now, let's see who you are." Bryan slipped his blade under Shiro's helmet and flipped it off. "What the?!? It's just a kid!" Shiro stood up, his emerald eyes burning for no apparent reason, his dark brown hair falling in front of eyes.

Then the ground started to tremble. A deep, monotone voice filled the arena. It was more like an echo. All it said was "Knight"

Part 2

Bryan's eyebrows twitched. "Knight?" He asked skeptically. "As in the 'Darkest Knight'? Isn't that a kids fairy tale?"

"You could use the term 'Dark Fariy' and you wouldn't be far off. Dark Fariy's sunk Atlantis. He'd do that too if it was still there." Shiro said

"Atlantis is a myth too, isn't it?" Bryan was convinced this kid had lost it.

"You've got a lot to learn, Panaka." Shiro replied.

As the ground continued to tremble, Bryan and the others headed for the door. "We have to go." Shiro said, monotonely.

"Uh, why?" Taylor asked him.

"Because I'm pretty sure you don't all want to die." Shiro shot back.

Bryan sighed. This kid was nuts. "Alright, we'll head back to the palace. Keni, keep him out of trouble." Bryan said to his friend. "I'm right behind you."

As Taylor started to follow her brother and Shiro, Bryan stopped her. "Taylor, wait a minute. There's something I have to ask you." He told her.

"Yes?" She said sweetly.

"Uh…" Bryan paused as he fished in his pocket. "Will you…" He said as he brought a small box out of his pocket.

Taylor saw the box and guessed what was in it. "Yes" she replied softly.

"You will?" Bryan sounded surprised.

"Of course." She said just as softly.

"Bryan, hurry up!" Keni called.

"I love you." He whispered as he ran off.

"I love you too." She called to the wind.

At the palace, everything was on override. There were people everywhere. "Is it always like this?" Shiro asked Bryan.

"Only at Christmas." Bryan said.

In the throne room, Emperor Panaka was pacing. His jet-black hair was streaked with white, which suited his hawk like face and tall, thin figure. The agitated look on his face, along with the pacing, proved that something was very, very, wrong.

"Dad!" Bryan hollered.

"Bryan! We have a crisis!" The Emperor said as the boys came closer. "Who's your friend?" He asked, noticing Shiro.

"That's Shiro. What do you mean 'crisis'?" Bryan replied.

"A giant floating fortress is on the move towards the city. It wasn't showing up on radar, but it came in quite clearly on the satellite laser system." The Emperor said. "Captain, show them."

"Yes sir." The man in a military uniform said.

As the holoimage appeared, it showed a large castle like ship flying toward Alixicon.

"Any idea why it wasn't showing up on radar?" Bryan asked the captain

"None sir." He replied.

"Think it's friendly?" Bryan asked.

"No sir." The same reply.

"Why?" Bryan asked him.

"Because we sent out a patrol. They got shot down." The captain said.

"Then we must take action!" Bryan said. "Captain, ready a group of el-Gees." Bryan told the captain.

"Yes sir!" The captain said with a tone of glee in his voice.

As the captain left to get the warsuits ready, Shiro said to Bryan. "Those warsuits won't stand up against Knight."

"I know. They're just the escorts." Bryan replied, with the same tone of glee. "I'm going out in the Titan. Keni start up Cronus!" Bryan said to his friend.

"Alright! I was getting bored." Keni said as he pulled back his sleeve, revealing a small watch like machine. "Warsuit Cronus, ACTIVATE!" He shouted in to a small speaker.

"Shiro, c'mon!" Bryan called as he and Keni sped toward the hanger.

At the hanger, there were seven warsuits, none of them standard models. "Titan, ACTIVATE!" Bryan yelled as he leaped the three meters from the eight meter scaffolding to the chest of the warsuit where the entry hatch was.

Keni was already inside the Cronus.

Shiro watched with a feeling of helplessness. "What can I do?" He asked.

"Just try them all until one works. If none of them work, you can have a Zengoro." Bryan hollered from the cockpit of the Titan.

Shiro went over to a red Warsuit. "Wow." He said. Nothing had ever awed him, except for this. It was magnificent. The entire right arm was a gigantic blade. The left arm held a bladed shield, which apparently had some kind of firearm mounted on its underside.

"That's Atlas." Bryan said seeing the way Shiro stared at it. "Go ahead, try it."

Shiro stood right in front of the warsuit. "Atlas, ACTIVATE!" He yelled. The giant panel that served as a door slid open. Shiro stepped in. He had piloted many warsuits. However, this was a different feeling. As soon as he put on the sensor gloves, boots, and helmet, it was as if he was a part of it. "How do I fly this thing?" He called to Bryan.

"It's a VR model. It responds to your movements, as well as your thoughts." Bryan said to him.

"So I just?" Shiro asked.

"To swing the blade raise your right arm. To trigger the gatling's in the chest, tell it to mentally. Same as all the other weapons." Bryan told him.

"Which are?" Shiro said.

"Uh, Keni?" Bryan said to his friend. "One Saib emitter under the shield, twin flamethrowers concealed in the head. The chest gatlings. Missile launchers under the shoulders. Grenade launchers. So on, so on." Keni replied.

Shiro gritted his teeth and said, "Bring it on."

Bryan and Keni both smiled. It was time for some fun.

When the hanger's main door opened, Bryan unfurled the gigantic wings of the Titan. The Turbo Burner right between the wings burned brightly. And he had lift off.

Keni had a similar take off. Stepping out of the hanger, he simply ignited the twin afterburner's, shoving into the air.

Shiro didn't have it as good as the other's. Atlas was not a flight capable warsuit. He had to ride on top of the escort carrier that flew with them.

Inside the floating castle, the Darkest Knight was thinking. "Delkif." He said to a man standing next to him.

"Yes?" The hooded figure said.

"What is the status of the reaction of Alixicon?" The Knight asked.

"Upon our initial entrance in their airspace, they sent a warsuit patrol out to meet us. We shot them down." The man told him

"Good, good, what else?" He asked.

"They sent out an attack force about ten minutes ago." The young man replied.

"Consisting of?" The Knight demanded.

Delkif was hesitant. He did not want to make Knight angry, but he knew that he would get angry if he didn't tell him. "Five warsuits, thirteen zengoro wardolls, and an escort carrier." The man told Knight.

"What model were the five warsuits?" Knight asked.

Delkif was very scared. "Two were el-Gees…"

"Yes?" Knight said patiently.

"And the other three were…. Titan, Cronus, a-a-and……Atlas."

"ATLAS?!?!" Knight roared. "When did they find a third pilot?"

Delkif felt much better. That was over. "Apparently, today." He said.

"Launch a counter strike." Knight replied. He was angry, but he couldn't take it out on Delkif. He decided to participate in the upcoming battle. "Oh and Delkif." He said before his soldier could leave.

"Yes sir?" Delkif said

"Take out a Venoride out for yourself.

Delkif grinned. "Yes sir."

Back at the convoy, Bryan gritted his teeth. "Hey Keni!" He yelled. "Hook five of those dolls up to your com grid."

"You got it buddy." Keni called back as he connected five of the thirteen wardolls up to his computer system.

"Huh?" Shiro cut in. "It's our ritual. Before you start a battle, you hook up a certain amount of wardolls up to your com grid. That way they will match your movement. The more you can keep alive, the better pilot you are." Keni explained.

"Sound's stupid." Shiro commented.

"Like it or not kid, you're one of the seven. You fly Atlas, you follow the rules." Bryan told him.

"It's still stupid." Shiro said to himself.

"I HEARD THAT!" Bryan shouted over the comlink.

"Whatever." Shiro said.

Keni started to laugh.

"Hate to bug you guys, but there's a army heading towards us!" The pilot flying one of the el-Gees said through the comlink.

All of the pilots concentrated on the upcoming battle.

Knight felt much better. "Delkif." He called through his comlink.

"Yes sir?" Delkif said.

"Take out that escort carrier." Knight said.

"Yes sir!" Delkif said gleefully.

Delkif moved the arm of his Venoride warsuit into a firing position. He shot a single missile. The one missile flew toward its target, oblivious to the damage it was about to cause.

Shiro noticed the blip first. He said through his comlink "Guy's, we got trouble."

"Whoa!" Bryan yelled into his link. "Keni, INTERCEPT!" Cronus's right arm shot up. Similar to Atlas, Cronus had a blade for a right hand. Only Cronus had an arm. Its hand only was a blade. The blade shot up and cut into the missile, which exploded on impact. The force of the explosion destroyed all of Keni's wardolls.

"What was that?" Shiro asked.

"A warning shot." Bryan replied.

"They caught it" Delkif said. "Yet the explosion destroyed five of the wardolls."

"But Cronus survived the explosion. It killed five wardolls, but the warsuit that was in the middle of the explosion survived. Why?" Knight said.

"I don't know sir." Delkif said.

"Attack immediately." Knight said.

"Rush'em." Bryan said.

"You got it." Shiro replied.

The two phalanx met each other. Bryan took the first kill. His sword sliced into a Toran warsuit. It plummeted toward the ground and exploded before it got there. Shiro stood on top of the carrier and rained fire upon the combatants, downing several. Keni simply flew through the warsuits, impaling them one by one.

After about an hour only two of the enemy warsuits remained. One Venoride, and a customized Toran.

"Ready to give up?" Bryan called.

"Never." Knight said.

"Can we finish this on the ground?" Shiro asked.

"Certainly." Knight said.

Once the five warsuits were on the ground, the fight began again.

Shiro and Keni fought Delkif.

"You're not too bad." Keni said to Delkif.

"You're going to die." Delkif replied.

"How rude." Keni said.

Bryan was on his own against Knight.

"You're strong." Knight told Bryan. "Maybe I won't kill you." "Just fight." Bryan snorted.

"It's interesting." Knight said. "How you have no idea what's happening."

"What?" Bryan asked. "While we've been fighting, my legions are destroying Alixicon." Knight said plainly, as if it was no big deal.

Bryan stopped short. "No." He choked.

"Oh well, you will be with them soon." Knight said raising his blade.

"No." Bryan whispered.

"Farewell." Knight said simply, bringing his sword down upon Bryan.

"NO!" Bryan screamed, his sword flying up and connecting with Knight's.

"Hmm?" Knight grunted, surprised.

"DIE!" Bryan yelled his sword connecting with the arm of Knight's warsuit.

The blade sliced through it cleanly, with a few electric sparks flashing out of the gap.

"ARRGGHH!" Knight yelled, his warsuit collapsing to the ground.

"Shiro! Keni! We're heading home!" Bryan said.

"Got it pal." Keni called.

When Bryan and the other's got back to Alixicon, it was in ruin.

Bryan choked on his own breath. He had almost believed that person in the Toran Custom. But this destruction was total, so horrible, he could not believe it. The entire city was destroyed. The palace, the malls, The homes, everything. "Start searching for survivors." Shiro told Bryan and Keni.

Keni started but Bryan just stood there.

"No…" He gasped. This had been his home. And here it was. Kapitael, the capital of Alixicon, the greatest nation in the continent of Veridian, in ruins.

"There is nothing that could have been done." Shiro said, trying to console him.

"Yes there was." Bryan choked. "I could have been here, I could have saved everybody, Taylor, Dad… everybody."

"GET OVER IT!" Shiro yelled, as he brought Atlas's non-bladed arm square into Titan's face.

"Sorry." Bryan said, having recovered.

"I would have liked to be here and have saved everybody as much as you would. But we thought that Knight would just blow it up from his floating castle. He didn't. There's nothing we can do about it. End of story." Shiro told him. "I'm sorry about your friend." He added quickly.

"You wouldn't know, you're just a kid." Bryan snapped at him.

"I've been around a couple times. You'd be very surprised." Shiro said.

"Chill you two. It's over. Done." Keni told them.

"We better start looking." Shiro said as the cockpit hatch slid open.

"Alright." Bryan replied.

As they searched the city, they found no one. When they finally came to the palace Bryan stared in horror.

"I said get over it." Shiro told him.

"Leave him alone, He can't help it." Keni snapped.

When they entered the ruins, Keni felt sick. He couldn't believe the carnage. The palace guard hadn't had a chance. They were all dead. It wasn't like in a movie, where you can tell it was all fake, these were men, and they were dead.

Bryan didn't flinch this time, but his eyes betrayed him. They were no longer filled with sorrow, this was a glare of fury. Shiro remained, as always, expressionless. As they advanced through the halls, the carnage only added. Shiro was disgusted.

"They left this mess on purpose so if we came back we could see it." Shiro said.

"Shut up." Bryan snapped.

"They have no honor." Shiro whispered under his breath.

When they rounded the next corner, Shiro got a surprise.

"Wha…?" He grunted in surprise, finding himself staring into the barrel of a pistol.

"Don't move." the young woman holding the gun said.

"Taylor!" Bryan yelled in shock as he followed Shiro behind the corner.

"Bryan!" She screamed, running over and embracing her fiancée.

"You're very lucky Bryan identified you." Shiro told her. "Normally when someone does that, they don't have a prayer."

"Who's the kid?" Taylor asked Bryan.

"That's Shiro. Don't pay any attention to him." Bryan said in reply.

"He's a kid, what's he doing here? He could get hurt." She said concernedly.

"Right, none of you should be here. You could get hurt." A new voice said.

Bryan raised his eyebrow. "Who are you?" He asked the person. "I'm a soldier Knight sent to do his dirty work. Drop the piece, lady." He told them gruffly, pointing the assault cannon at Taylor's gun.

Suddenly there was a scraping noise, and a muffled thump. Shiro came out of the shadow where the voice had come from.

"Kid!" Taylor said. Then she saw the red stain on the sword Shiro held. "You didn't…" She asked surprised. Shiro tossed a small round object on to the ground in front of her. It cracked open and a black mist steamed out of it.

"What is that?" Bryan demanded.

"It's his seed of evil." Shiro explained. "Knight fills a mold, and puts one of these inside. It gives the statue its own false life. And gives him an infinite army of shock troops."

"Then why is there blood on your sword?" Taylor asked.

"That's not blood. It's Kemrey. The seed needs to be watered." Shiro told them, as if it was common knowledge.

"There you are!" A tired Keni gasped as he rounded the corner.

"Keni!" Taylor exclaimed.

"What? You think I was dead or something?" Keni asked sarcastically.

"Sorta." His sister replied.

"You have no faith in me? I'm hurt." Keni said, just as sarcastically.

"C'mon. If there was one here, there will be more." Shiro cut in.

As they neared the throne room, Shiro spotted another patrol.

"They're mine." He said.

"Shiro, there's an awful lot of them, you want some help?" Bryan offered.

"No, I can do this on my own." Shiro told him.

"Before you get yourself killed, there's something you should know." Bryan told him.

"What?" He snapped impatiently. "As the pilot of Atlas, you're one of the Seven. According to an ancient prophecy, Atlas has dominion over fire." Bryan said.

"So?" Shiro was getting bored. "The pilot of a Special is supposed to be able to call upon the element his warsuit has dominion over." Bryan replied

"Point?" Shiro asked.

"I just thought you believed that stuff." Bryan said. Shiro just walked up to the soldiers, and brought his sword down upon a soldiers arm. The scream of pain caught the attention of the other soldiers.

"You are not authorized here." The one who seemed to be in charge told Shiro.

"I would say 'die' but you're not a living thing to begin with, so that would be pointless." Shiro snapped.

"We shall destroy you." The soldiers said as they advanced.

As Shiro saw the soldiers, he realized the mess he had gotten himself into. "I can't ask for help, I've already refused. I can fight, but then I will be killed, Maybe…" He thought to himself. He set his teeth and spaced his feet. "It's now or never." He told himself. As the soldiers got closer, Shiro found himself saying words that he did not know. "KARAKA." He roared as he involuntarily raised his katana. "JINN!" As he swung it in a horizontal pattern, a boomerang shaped arc of flame flew from the after swing of the blade. It went forward and cut into the row of soldiers, incinerating them completely. Shiro stared at the pile of ash that the creatures had been.

"Amazing. It worked." Bryan said from his vantage point.

"What?" Keni asked him.

"The Fire of Atlas. Dad used to go on and on about that stuff when I was a kid. I never thought it was real." Bryan replied.

"Woah." Was all Keni said.

After they searched the rest of the palace and found no one, they left. They went to the abandoned airport and loaded the Titan, Atlas, and the other seven on board a transport.

"Can't let Knight get his hands on these." Bryan said.

When the giant aircraft took off, everything went well. The soldiers had not bothered with the aircraft that did not have people in them. This warsuit transport had been unused for several months, so everything was in tip-top condition. There was fifteen docking ports, a sick bay, enough accommodation space for at least thirty people scattered all over the ship, even a small gymnasium. Bryan knew every nook and cranny of every military ship ever manufactured in Alixicon, making placing people in compartments to suit their needs a breeze. Shiro had to be far enough away from everybody else and near enough to the gym. Keni had to be near the galley and closer to Taylor's than anybody elses, and Bryan's had to be were he could keep an eye on everybody.

About twelve hundred kilometers out of Kapitael, they caught Knight's ship on the radar.

"Strange… it wouldn't show up on the radar before." Bryan pondered. "I wonder why?"

"I dunno." Keni said "Maybe he was cloaked?"

"Then what about the satellite?" Taylor asked.

"The satellite is a visual transmitter." Shiro explained gruffly "It's like pointing a vidcam in a mirror. If a cloak won't show on there, it'd have to be made of lead."

"What ever it's doing here, I'm going to take it down." Bryan exclaimed.

"Wait up!" Keni called.

While Keni and Shiro were getting ready to disembark, Taylor was trying to reason with Bryan.

"Just because you bump into this Knight character doesn't mean you have to go out and attack him." She said. "He might be willing to talk."

"It's a matter of principle and justice, he can't just go and destroy a city, killing hundreds of thousands of people and expect to get away with it." Bryan told her. "He has no doubt done this before, and it can't continue. He must pay."

Taylor was going to say something, but she realized it wouldn't do any good, so she just said. "Don't get hurt."

"Me? I'm indestructible, remember?" He replied. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I'll be fine." He reassured her.

"Alright." She said. "Just be ……"

Then there was a loud banging sound. "Shiro what is it?" Bryan called.

Shiro, who had been elected to stay and offer air support because Atlas couldn't fly, scanned the control panel with his eyes. "They've opened fire on us!" He yelled. "Armor's taken heavy damage, shields were fried by the frequency of the blast. Just got to set them to a higher frequency, then they will be able to take it."

"How long to recharge?" Bryan asked.

"Give it…five minutes." Shiro told him.

"All the time in the…" Bryan was cut shot by the next blast, which tore a hole the size of Cronus in the wall. "Keni get out there and draw their fire, Taylor get in there with Shiro." He yelled over the vacuum of the hole. "Taylor?" He looked around, she wasn't there! "TAYLOR!" He screamed, looking down into the air. She had been pulled out by the vacuum. "NO!" Bryan simply let go. He plummeted toward the ground and suddenly found himself floating in the air.

Part 3

Taylor Yashida was convinced she was dead. But, why then was she still falling? She could see what looked like an angel above her, flying down at a speed like she had never seen.

Bryan floated, the eight shining wings blazing with their own light. Then stopped himself from falling. He didn't quite know how to use these, but he had to save Taylor. He pulled the wings as close to his body as he could, and fell.

Shiro couldn't believe it. Wings! He had never seen anything like this, never even heard about it, but maybe…

Keni was over the edge. There were too many warsuits. Hundred's of them. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't call Shiro; he needed to fix the transport. So he was on his own. He kept fighting, his bladed hand flying through the warsuits. His jagger cannon was almost out of charge. He knew he couldn't keep this pace up for long. Then he took a guess. If Shiro could call up fire… the other Seven should be able to as well. He remembered he and Bryan would play samarai when they were kids, but what had Cronus dominion over? He knew he knew, but it wasn't sticking out. Then he remembered. "Thunder." He whispered to himself. "It's thunder." As he whispered these words to himself, he felt adrenaline rush through his bloodstream. He was going to win.

Bryan flew faster and faster, his eight gigantic wings making him fall at speeds much faster than a person could fall. He caught up with Taylor quite quickly, reaching out his hand and grabbing her.

Taylor was scared. The Angel had come for her. She didn't want to die. Not yet. There were so many things that she wanted to do, that she hadn't done yet. She needed to tell Bryan… but wait, that angel WAS Bryan. The normal, slightly cocky smirk was gone from his face. It was replaced with a fearful expression. She wasn't used to Bryan looking scared; it made him look less…Bryanish. As his hand touched hers she felt much better. The warmth of the aura that surrounded him made her feel much more secure than the cold wind. As he pulled her close to him, she let herself go limp.

Shiro was having a conniption. He couldn't go out and fight. Atlas couldn't fly. He couldn't fly. And the transport didn't have any weapons that could make a difference. He decided to climb up to the viewing area and see what he could see.

Keni was winning. But more kept pouring out of the gigantic castle. He kept fighting. The lives of his friends depended on it.

Bryan was, for now, happy. He had saved Taylor. As held her close to his body, he felt like life was perfect. He put his hand behind her head and pulled it toward him. Then he pressed her lips against his, and all was still.

Keni was losing the confidence that the remembrance of Cronus's abilities had given him. He still didn't know how to use them. So this knowledge did little more than give him a confidence boost. Which had just worn off.

Shiro was ecstatic. He should have thought of this before. He couldn't fly, and Atlas couldn't fly, and the ship couldn't fight. But that didn't mean he couldn't. He had gone up to the viewing area to watch the fight, but now he could fight himself. He unsheathed his sword, and held it up. The blade began to glow orange, and Shiro swung it down with speed and force like he had never done before, except once.

Keni was getting tired. He was spent. It was all he could do to keep himself in the air, but keeping from getting hit was all but impossible. Then it happened. A warsuit that was in the process of blasting him to death was shot out of the sky. "What the…" He said to himself. It was Shiro. He had thrown a flame blast from the viewing area of the ship.

Taylor felt perfect, even if she was being held, floating in the air by a man with eight wings. It was a good thing he had eight wings, if Bryan had seven wings he would be lopsided and going around in circles. But he didn't have seven wings. he had eight. And eight is a perfectly fine number of wings to have.

Shiro was throwing fire like there was no tomorrow. But then, there wouldn't be if he stopped. So he kept going.

Keni kept fighting. Shiro was doing wonders in the battle, but the sight of flames ripping through the warsuits did very little for his self esteem. He knew that he could do what Shiro could do as well, but it wasn't working for him. He couldn't help but wonder why not. Then it hit him. He didn't care.

After a period of time, Bryan separated his lips from Taylor's. The expression on her face was one of tired joy. He didn't blame her for being tired, he himself was exhausted. The days events had worn him out. But now it was time to go home.

On board the ship, Shiro was exhausted. He couldn't keep this up. He had to rest. "What?" he thought. "Bryan's back, that's a help."

Bryan set himself down on the cold steel surface of the ship's hanger. He set Taylor, who had fallen asleep, down in one of the nearby cabins. Then he waved to Shiro. "Keep it up!" He called to him.

Shiro was upset. He couldn't keep it up. Bryan and Keni needed him, but he was out of energy. He knew he had to hold out as long as he could. So he did.

Bryan got into Titan's cockpit and activated the engines. The Turbo Burner flared up, and he flew out the gigantic hole in the wall.

Keni saw Titan fly out, and it gave him a new hope when he did. Bryan was the best warsuit pilot on the continent. No one could lay a finger on him. Keni went back to his fight.

Bryan flew through the warsuits. His twin jagger cannons poured out blast like water. The enemy warsuits didn't have a prayer. Bryan finished them off faster than a half-cent mint.

Keni watched Bryan make chop-suey out of the warsuits. But now they were all gone. Titan still floated there, but Keni could hear a whirring sound. Then he realized where it came from. Titan was about to use its most powerful weapon. The After-Beamer. A part of Titans legs came out on each side, forming twin cannons. The cannons raised and began to charge.

Shiro saw it happen. From his vantage point he could see the whole battle. Bryan was about to take that floating castle down for good. Bryan grinned. Now he was about show this "Knight" character, demon or not, what it meant to mess with the Samarai of Alixicon. His power charge was almost full. Then a little red light flashed, telling him it was done. He fired. The red beam that he knew so much about, but had never seen flowed from the cannons. It was almost as thick as Titan was tall, and it was speeding toward the castle. No one noticed two small, black object leap from the castle and fly away.

When the beam hit the castle, it sent the Titan almost a hundred feet back. But the explosion it created was more beautiful than the most colorful fireworks. Bryan leaned back in his warsuit. He felt confidant that it was over at last.

Part 4

Delkif was furious. They had destroyed the castle. One warsuit had generated enough power to destroy a Daqalarrd Sky Fortress. Delkif made it a hobby to know exactly what he was up against. He had failed.

Keni flew into the transport's large hanger. Shiro had finished the repairs, and had done a very good job. The large hole was covered and welded so good that you couldn't have known it was ever there.

Shiro felt some better. He knew it wasn't over, but for now it was time to rest.

A few hours later, Shiro was lying in his cabin, thinking. Then Taylor burst in.

"Have you seen Bryan?" She asked him.

"Isn't he with you?" Shiro said back.

"No. And he's not with Keni either." She told him.

Shiro wasn't concerned. Bryan was capable of taking care of himself. He leaned his head back and said to Taylor, "He's probably just napping."

"No he's not. Keni ran a scan. He's not on the ship." She said.

"All right. I'll look for him." Shiro gave up all hope of rest now. He got up and walked over to his laptop com port. He pressed the power switch on the side and the machine quickly booted up. "Scanning ten kilometer radius, ok." He said as a radar like screen came up. He pointed to a few large and small spots on it. "This is the hulk of the castle." He said. "And this is us. A few trade ships out here a bit, but that's it."

"Is this a radar?" Taylor asked him.

"Huh? Yeah, this is the radar.Why?" He replied.

"Try the laser." She told him.

"Why?" He asked her.

"Just do it." She said.

Shiro quickly tapped some buttons. " There. I've tapped into the sattilite and." He stopped as he noticed a small blip that hadn't been there on radar. " That would be Titan, but he should have come in hours ago.hm, guess we've found Bryan."

"But why didn't he come in?" Taylor asked.

"Dunno." Shiro said. He pushed some more buttons. "I'm in the ships central computer, Keni's playing 'Star Command' on the main com.Now he's jumping up and down because I turned it off on him. Ok, Magna-beam on. Titan will be in the hanger in five minutes." He said.

"Good." Taylor went off to the hanger.

"Well." Shiro thought. "Maybe I will have time to." He was interupted by a scream.

"HE'S DEAD!" Came from the hanger.

"What the.?" Shiro said. Who? He ran toward the hanger. When he got there, he had a surprise. Bryan was lying on the floor, as if he had fallen directly from the cockpit enterance. "What happened?" Shiro asked.

"He just fell out, as soon as I opened the hatch." Taylor said. Shiro could tell that she was having trouble holding back tears. He checked Bryan's pulse.

"He's alive." Shiro said. "Don't worry."

Taylor was appreantly comforted by what Shiro said. Shiro yelled into the com port. "KENI! Get down here!"

Keni was startled out of his sleep by Shiro's yell. "Huh?" He muttered. "Shiro must have tripped over the door frame again." He pulled himself out of his chair, and walked toward the hanger.

Shiro took another look at Bryan. He seemed perfectly fine, just looked tired. Shiro picked him up, and carried him to his cabin.

Bryan woke up. "Where am I?" He said aloud. He could see Taylor leaning above him.

"On board the Pathfinder. Right where you belong." She told him, leaning over an giving him a kiss on his cheek.

"Huh? I thought I was supposed to be out there in Titan." He said. "Seems a bit more peaceful here though."

"It should be. You blew up that floating castle." She said.

Just then Shiro walked in. "You hit your head." He told Bryan. "Pretty bad."

"I can tell that much." Bryan said to him.

"Knight will be back." Shiro predicted.

"I don't doubt that. But for now." He shifted his gaze from Shiro to Taylor.

Shiro saw Bryan's eyes, and he saw what they hid. "So, set the date yet?" He asked.

Bryan and Taylor were both caught off guard. "Um yeah." Bryan said. "Tonight." His eyes moved up to Taylor. She looked surprised, but happy. And from her smile, he could tell, she agreed.

Delkif's hand wrapped around the cold steel of his handgun. It would be a night to remember.
Viridian Chronicle Log entry: 0001 - Log entry complete