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Mugiri spat angrily, and turned, fuming at the man who had ignored him. He flexed his wings, they trembled with the anger, but other thaqn that he was under control. The fight was escalating in interest, and Mugiri was semi-gratified by it.

*Nana seemed rather glad to see that Proto was no slouch, in this sparring match. Proto's right shoulder had been cut early on, but somehow, he'd muddled through it. Now Zenogais was on the defensive, but surely he wasn't out just yet either. At least with all of this going on, Nana's mind was taken off of both Tyrsais, and Mugiri's earlier comments. It was quite the destraction for the children aswell, as they looked on watching Zenogais get kicked out of the air. It was by their definition 'cool', which would likely have them hanging around the bot more often to catch a glimpse of other 'cool' things. Already, Proto could fly, something that they themselves had yet to do, or be taught. This match was a sight to be seen, and thus far, despite some building damage a better match than the first which almost took a deadly turn. All in all, this was an enjoyable experience, as long as no one else got seriously injured*

Eecheb & Trilla: o.o

Micha: . . .

Mugiri didn't falter at the other's words. He exposed his fangs as well, as he spoke. "I agree to this matter, for now. I will behave for the children's sake, but I suggest you should watch your back from now on, and I will mind mine." Mugiri was completely still, his anger pulsating, and his aura quelling. His self control was meager at best, and it took all he had to not attack Tyrsais now.

Things had yet to change, even as the starved mind tore it's way into the failing shells of Mastema's drones it failed to be entertained. A slight tremble in the direction of the beloved crater had for a moment sparked interest, but such beautification of a desolate tombstone could go as planned, for now. If it presented itself as a problem, which it assuredly wouldn't, then it would be taken care of as it had in the past.

It was intellectually orgasmic to see the Black Company's glorious realm laying in ruin, as he'd always dreamed of it. He regretted only a few subtle details, people in places they shouldn't be. The barrier barred him from his prize, and the notion of another encroaching upon his fixation annoyed him. Would he ever have a chance to repay in full what that lovely sick pile of goo had given him? Likely not, but KB's desire for Mastema in one fashion or another seemed to reach past nearly all boundries.

-

Such thoughts meant nothing to the roving unit, it's clawed feet still chewing up the earth in large burnt chunks. The small cloaking device built into the thing kept it hidden as always, the rifle it carried being checked over once more. Modifications of the core design for the weapon had gone along smoothly, and now everything waited, poised for the moment that would unleash absolute chaos upon what was left of the Black Company.

There was but one faction, and in it's shadow hid the feeble. They were utterly content to hide in their holes, safe-guarding themselves as best they could against the impending doom that awaited them. The roving warlords who took advantage of the mercenaries having abandoned their post. Mastema's shiny citadel was the last bastion of order in the realm, the only true place of note that remained. The BC would not be destroyed until the place was left a burning husk. The unit's eyes locked onto the barrier as it moved along, it's thoughts lost to idle speculation.

The legion moves slowly, but it moves surely.

Well, it had taken a while, but the projector was finally working properly once again. The slide was no longer upside down and projected clearly onto the screen.


Erudemasa walked to the front and cleared his throat to begin his lecture once again.

"Aaaaaanyways, let's continue. Here's a picture of you trying to travel back into the past. You take yourselves from this point in the river and drop yourselves into a point upstream, as it is. After that, you are indeed in the past and are free to move around in it and act. However, you must take note of the big nasty scary eyes behind you. They're what will stop you from changing the past. Next slide!" Erudemasa clicked the button and the picture on-screen was replaced with this:




Turning sheepishly, Erudemasa faced his students. "Okay. That's my cat Mittens who I'm not going to be getting for another 381 years. Don't know how a slide of him got in there. Let's just move on."



Here's what happens when you try to change something. Now, this excludes minor changes that have no bearing on anything. For example, if you tear a minor rip into someone's clothing, it probably won't do anything. Also, if you act in an area completely unrelated to yourself, it's less likely to affect you. However, the instant any of the changes you make in the past affects you, there's trouble. If it in any way ties back to your normal life, then the Scary Eyes take note. The Scary Eyes belong to Paradox, my little brother. It's his job to pluck out those who seek to wreck the time stream. If you cause a paradox, before it can do anything, he plucks you out of the time stream, rends you into little pieces, and calls me to erase all traces of you going into the past. I do this and, after you disappear from the present, you're just gone, in every sense of the word. Note the little bits of you all around the slide."

Eru tapped his pointer on the desk before pointing it at the figure marked 'Me!' "Now, you'll notice I've been in every single one of these slides with my arrow to the timestream crossed out. This is because, unlike everything else, I'm not actually a part of the timestream. My connection to my deity renders me immune from paradox, meaning I can change whatever I want in the past without consequence. I don't, as it's often hard for me to predict what big changes might happen from what I do, but at least I am able to do it, which is exactly why you need me. I can temporarily shield those with me from Paradox as well, but only to a point. He's always been a spoiled brat. Anyways, that's class for today. I've moved out escape route forward in time enough that some rather...bizzare phenomena that followed our departure have ended and the defenses of the Citadel will hopefully not target us immediately upon arrival."

Erudemasa turned and pushed a circular hole out of thin air. This portal lead back to the present, exactly as he said. "Everyone here would like to thank you for flying Erudemasa TimePlanes. We hope that you've enjoyed your trip and hope that you'll fly with us again in the future. Or past."

*Continuing away from the main group, Micha headed elsewhere. There had been someone new in the Citadel for a little while now, but they hadn't been moving that much. Who ever they were, they were probably sleeping or looking for something to eat. It seemed as if they hadn't moved too far into the Citadel, probably under watch from a robot or two, or three. His approch couldn't be so stright forward, then again perhaps it could. The robots shouldn't hurt him, and it was his home afterall, he could go where he pleased within his home. Seeing what ever new being was gracing them should be fine enough. Who ever it was seemed... different. At least more so than the other beings in the Citadel. They seemed..... mortal*

Micha: . . .

*Back with the fighters and everyone else at the base of the main tower, Trilla and Eecheb continued to watch the spar between Proto and Zenogais. Trilla had moved over to sit beside Eecheb, and surprisingly they weren't fighting. When ever both swords cracked together, Trilla would cover her ears, it appeared to be too loud for her liking. Eecheb didn't seem to mind it, he was watching intently for a good while before he started looking a little green again, like he had while at the conference. The boy shrunk back a little, until Trilla gave him a hug. She had noticed his sudden change in nature, and oddly a hug seemed to make it better, he calmed down rather quickly. To anyone watching it would probably look cute, but then again the two of them were when not flailing at eachother with intent to harm*

Trilla: whee heart

Eecheb: sweatdrop

*Nana would continue to watch the action unfold beside Mastema, unless someone decided to have a conversation with her, over the cracking of blades*

((Presently holding off on responding to Xol until Ky and Sundel get a chance to respond to Eru))

Mastema had taken note of his youngest son and daughter actually getting along without incident, and to their delight some others had too. Micha would not be suddenly forced back to this place just yet.

The silence of the audience was broken when Sho asked a question to everyone: "So...... who'd you think's gonna win this one?"

"Proto," was Thanatos's straight forward answer. "Proto's matching Zeno's speed and skill even with a much larger weapon. He has Zeno outmatched."

"You think so?" Sho questioned. "I'm definitely giving Proto this match, but not for that reason. Proto's too good at predicting Zeno's moves.... he's almost seeing how they play out before they happen. If he keeps that up then nothing Zeno does can get through to him. Right, bro?" He chuckled and looked to Mastema.

"I would have to say you are both wrong, for the right reasons however." It was a slightly puzzling response, but then again that seemed to be one of Mastema's fortes.

"Nani??" Thanatos instantly spun around and looked accusingly at Mastema, almost a hint of anger in his voice that Mastema had said he and Sho were incorrect. "Wrong for the right reasons? How does that work? If our reasons were correct then the conclusion should have been as well."

Mastema cleared his throat, "You were both right to say Proto is matching Zenogais's skill with a larger weapon, and that his every action is based on an accurate prediction of Zenogais's attacks. However, I'm giving those as reasons for why Zenogais will win, not Proto." Mastema knew that this wouldn't satisfy Thanatos's question, so he continued: "That seems to be all that Proto is doing: matching Zenogais move for move and skill for skill, but that will not win him the match; it would just keep Zenogais from gaining the winning hand.

Sho nodded. "Ah... I get you. So you think this is going to be a stalemate...."

Mas chuckled and shook his head at Sho: "No, my dear brother. I am saying that if Proto keeps this strategy he has not a glimmer of a hope of defeating Zenogais. Zenogais is starting to realize it; he has total control over everything Proto does in this match."

Sho just blinked, surprised that Mastema was basing his prediction on something that hadn't happened yet. "Guess we'll just have to see ^^;"

Thanatos didn't seem satisfied still but just turned back to the fight, watching it more intently now. "I don't believe your judgment. Proto's awareness is too high on what Zeno's going to do; Zeno can't win if he keeps getting predicted."

"You do not not believe me? Very well; I shall let the fight prove my point." In nearly all cases it was believed the outcome of a fight was never certain, but Mastema acted as if he could see something that gave it away right now.

Any further debate was cut short when Zenogais let out a rather loud shout while jumping away from Proto. Zeno himself had been paying careful attention to Proto, and had noticed that Proto was picking up on the weakest points of his attacks and taking advantage of them. If the weakness was big enough, then Proto acted on it and struck. Instead Zeno decided to come up with something to throw Proto off his game. Pointing his sword right at Proto, four more arms extended from his shoulder blades and his sides. Each of the four arms stretched out and a replica of the Fuuraiken extended to full size from each, giving Zeno a total of five swords. The replicas were the same type normally given to the beta type units.

With five swords now pointed at him, Proto decided he also needed something extra to defend himself. Releasing one hand from the plasma sword, Proto held his left hand out and a few moments later another weapon appeared in his hand: a second prototype plasma sword identical to the first. Proto had gone through the extra effort to make sure he had two working prototypes, should one be damaged. In another move, he brought the hilts of the two swords together in such a way that both plasma edges were facing opposite directions, somwhat like a rotor blade. The weapons combined, Proto stepped back and put the weapon behind him and to the side, parallel to the ground.

The spar was about to take anothe big turn. Zeno now wielded five dangerously fast weapons, and Proto was now using a weapon of awesome power that was more than ten feet long.