Settling the Score (Altamira)

The loud howl of wind echoed over the massive structure produced solidly of different colored ice. The temperature, design, and magical strength of each different piece of ice artwork was fascinating, the man had to admit that. "So, this will be your battlefield, huh?" the man asked as he looked towards the door to the Dome. A door that he, himself, had found earlier. "After all, not like Zach or Monroe would have found this on their own."

"Anyway, this isn't exactly how I imagined Zachary would find this place, but still, it'll serve its purpose. After all, I can't have him making the same mistakes that his successor made. God knows that guy was just an idiot," the figure obscured by the magical realm said as he moved towards the door. "Well, boys, do your stuff and let this be over."

o=)----------- Monroe ----------(=o

With a strong flip, the mantle of the Quincy floated over his shoulders and balanced itself along his back. "Ready?" he asked the detective as he went over his arms quickly. He had his Silver Tubes and his Seele Schneider all ready to go, and his powers had never felt like they were in better shape. This would be a good test of his improvement since the tournament in Tybalt where the dark archer had been robbed of his chance to fight either the green haired man or the ice mage. Still, one would be fine.

Tracey poked her head out the door and smiled. "I'm almost ready!" she peeped.

"And by that," Alex commented with a smile, "she means she's taking her sweet time trying to solve a case before you two leave."

Monroe couldn't help but laugh at Alex's comment as Tracey emerged in her combat ready gear. The red haired woman crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at the young gypsy. "Was not!" she stated firmly.

"It doesn't matter," Monroe said as he smiled at her. "If you were, you don't need to lie about it. Like I said, I can take care of Zach by myself. But if you really want to come, I guess I can't say no," he told her with a smile that was both deviously happy, and yet slightly nervous. After all, two on one had never much been Monroe's style... unless he knew he needed help. But why would he need help for Zach?

"Shouldn't you two be going?"

The question was so simple, and yet it created about a two minute period of absolute awkward silence. In the next split second after that, the dark clad man felt a jerk on his arm as Tracey dragged him off. "Come on, we need to get going!" she stated.

"Yeah..." Monroe replied as he moved himself so they were holding hands before stopping. "Now then, to speed up this trip!" The Quincy held out his gloved hand and a door of pure energy formed. "This'll speed up where we're going very much so," he stated as he opened the door and the two proceeded in.

Suddenly, the two appeared before a large, dark blue, solid ice door. "That was much quicker than I thought..." he commented. "Normally I appear towards the zone I'm partial to..." The archer shrugged his shoulders and laughed. "Well, it just shows how much power I've got now."

o=)----------- Zachary ------------(=o

The ice mage sat quietly, his arms crossed as a door of ice started to form in front of him. Unlike Monroe or Zorlo where they could simply use their powers to will doors into existence out of thin air, he actually had to focus the ice around him into a door to the Dome. Also, unlike Monroe or Zorlo, the ice mage would have to make sure to dispel the door afterwards, otherwise it would simply sit around and possible be problematic.

The sound of steps down the cave set the red haired warrior's focus off slightly. By that time, however, it didn't matter. The door was completed. The ice mage opened his eyes and looked through the partially translucent door and stood up. "There you are," he said with a smile as Arietta approached. "Are you ready?"

The wind mage nodded and Zachary pushed the door open. A powerful rush of wind nearly blew Zachary off his feet, pushing him a few feet back. Much to the ice warrior's surprise, the ice on his arms wasn't his, but something different. After a few tries, however, he managed to break it off and headed inwards. "Where am I?" he asked, looking around at the strange cliff area he was on.

The large, multicolored ice that he stood upon was connected by a bright colored bridge of ice that seemed to lead to a massive castle. "I couldn't do that before... so how?" he asked as the door behind him closed after Arietta entered. With a powerful slam, the door was shut, and then vanished. "I've got an odd feeling about this."

The two crossed the bridge slowly, the Ice Elemental calmly scanning the area for any traps that Monroe might have set up. After taking careful steps and arriving on the other side of the large bridge, the red haired boy looked up.

The castle was simply massive. The red-yellow refraction of light causing the prism colored phenomena wasn't the only thing that was creating the vibrant colors of the castle. The ice had actually, somehow, become the many shades of green, red, yellow, and any number of other colors that the red haired boy could find.

Zachary rested his hand on the massive double door of the castle and closed his eyes, ready to push the door open, but hesitated. Suddenly a powerful feeling rushed through him. His eyes widened as he realized it was a voice speaking to him.

Enter!

The large doors opened suddenly. The red haired warrior, still in shock, took a a few steps back in surprise as he looked inwards. A staircase that lead to the second floor sat towards the far back of the apparently square rooms as sixteen doors lined the innards of the square room. "Welcome," Monroe stated as he stood on the stairs. The Quincy held his arm out and formed his bow, ready to strike. "Let's end this."

Zachary growled slightly as he drew his sword and stepped forwards. "I won't lose to the likes of you, Monroe. I'll make sure that this battle ends it."

"Whatever you say, Zach. How about we fight already?" the archer asked as he fired off the first arrow.

And there it was--it had started. Zachary and Monroe were fighting, when just yesterday, they'd all been standing around watching the snow over Blancwood. It was funny how fast things could turn competitive and serious again. They'd just been in this situation a while back, in Zach's cave...

Since then, Tracey had taken some precautions so she wouldn't end up getting blasted by wind magic into a wall again. A friend of Monroe's had provided her with armor to wear under her clothes that would protect her from an impact like that, and would quicken her reflexes. That same person had outfitted her with weapons like her new shock-gun, and other devices like her goggles with settings that'd allow her to track Arietta even if she disappeared into the wind like she liked to. She'd even gotten a net-gun that'd fire a cage of metallic fibers charged with electricity to capture her, if she ever did manage to arrest the Madrigal. Alex's aunt or not, she still was a criminal...

Arietta herself seemed to have these new short swords... one ebony black, one alabaster white, which she'd already drawn and was whipping up the wind around her with. Tracey noticed this just in the nick of time before the gypsy sent a gale her way, and leapt away, rolling when she hit the ground, thankful for the quickened reflexes of her armor. The Rubatoian woman was clearly intent on keeping her away from interfering in the men's fight... but that was fine by Tracey. This time, she felt much more prepared to handle herself.

"Your father and Cadenza might be pardoned in Rubato, but you're still a wanted criminal, Arietta! I haven't forgotten that!"

Another sharp gust of wind answered her. The detective dodged as quickly as she could, and fired off a blast of electricity from her gun...

In the blink of an eye, a sword flashed from the sheathe of the red haired warrior's sword as it slashed towards Monroe. The ice innate moved quickly after the dark clad man as the Quincy effortlessly evaded each slash with timing and precision. In moments, the archer had lured the ice warrior in a room away from the women where their fight could be had in peace. Monroe and Zachary's too.

The red haired warrior rushed into the room and slammed the blade of his sword down on the ground. As Zachary began trying to pull his sword from the ground of the massive dining room, Monroe closed the door. The ice innate turned around and held his sword firmly in his hands as he quickly slashed the sword horizontally towards the dark clad man.

The Quincy quickly leapt over the blade and formed his bow in his hand. Monroe smiled as he drew the string of his bow back and began to fire off arrows towards the ice warrior. Zachary quickly began to slash through the arrows with as much strength as he could. With a powerful leap into the air, the ice mage slashed his sword furiously down at his target, managing to split the table where he cut it, only about a forth of it with that move, but that was all that struck the blade of his weapon.

The archer smiled as he watched the sword drawing near him. Zachary was giving this his all, and that was really all there was to it. Kinda sad, actually, the Quincy noted, since the red haired warrior couldn't even strike him. "Try this," he stated as his body vanished. After Zach's sword had cut the table, the Ice Elementalist winced as he fell to one knee. Smoke rose from the hole in Zach's shirt where the arrow had struck.

Why? Why can't I hate him? I've been training since Heaven... and yet... I still can't even keep up with Monroe. Is this... is this how much more powerful he's become? Has he truly become this much stronger?! Zachary asked himself as he turned quickly and slashed his sword again. In desperation and panic, the ice mage quickly began to fling ice spike after ice spike at the Quincy.

"Don't play long range games," the archer said as he lightly stepped from place to place, shooting down each spike that drew near him. "I'm much stronger than I was, and you're barely a little stronger than you were. That's why I can't lose!" Monroe stated as he landed and rushed forwards, kneeing Zach hard in the chest and knocking the red haired warrior into a door opposite the door they entered.

"Now then, let's end this!" Monroe stated as he drew his bow back one more time, aiming an arrow at Zach's head. "Don't worry, you'll live, but not happily."

"I've still got some fight left in me," Zachary stated as he pushed himself up and grabbed his sword. His fingers tightened around the handle of the sword as snow began to dance around his body. "Let the God and I become one!" Zachary yelled as a powerful gust of wind pushed Monroe back a little bit. Zachary's hair shot up and began to dance as it turned white. "I'll fight you with everything I've got. I won't hold back... I'm not Zorlo!"

Arietta disappeared into the wind, and Tracey found she could only grin. This was the test she'd been waiting for--to see how well her new goggles really worked. She slipped them down over her eyes, tinting her world their yellowish-green, as settings began to boot up. Thaumaturgical view switched on, bringing the room to life in thrumming shades of neon blue and cyan--the place was filled with ice magic, it seemed, if the colors were anything to go by. But amongst all of this, there was a swoosh of green, a splotch of color that stood out, moving like the wind--and that, clearly, was Arietta.

Nothing was more satisfying to the detective than the shocked look on the gypsy's face when she reemerged from the air to land her attack and instead found that Tracey had dodged moments in advance. The redhead landed a clean blast on Arietta's arm, making her cry out in surprise and pain and sending one of her short swords clattering to the icy floor. Normally, this was the moment Tracey arrested her target, and could gloat--she stood for a moment, smiling proudly, excitement running through her. She'd stopped a Madrigal! But she was celebrating far too soon. Arietta swiped the girl's feet out from under her with her good arm, cutting a swath through the girl's boots.

The only thing that kept her from cutting clean through was Tracey's new armor. Nevertheless, the detective was knocked off balance, and hit the floor hard.

"I'm not going to let you take me out so you can go running to help Vossler that easily, Red!" the gypsy told her as she got back up on her feet. Both were too stubborn to let this contest be settled so quickly.

It was almost unreal. For a moment, the power surge seemed to be something otherworldly. Was this... was this the full power that had been coursing through him for so long? This power that had been sealed away for epochs and was finally freeing itself. As the snow and ice danced around the Ice Elemental, he couldn't help but grin. He could win now. He would defeat Monroe.

Power exploded off of Zachary, releasing a gust of snow and ice around him. The blast pushed Monroe back slightly as he guarded himself with his bow and stared upon the boy. The Quincy merely smiled. Finally, a real challenge had crossed his path. If Zachary thought he had any chance, even with this new power, he was sorely mistaken. First, though, the archer had to regroup. So, Monroe leapt backwards and kicked the back door out and ran through.

The dark clad man reached a hand into his pocket and drew four small tubes and tossed them above and below the wall, but only so they were just unnoticeable. This trap wouldn't fail. After all, his foe was an idiot.

As the power flow calmed a bit, the ice innate turned around and looked at Monroe. The white haired warrior looked at his body as a thick layer of ice formed intricate armor upon him. A smile crossed the warrior's face as his left arm became covered in a thick, spiky ice and his right hand clasped his sword in its new armor. This power... it was enough. He knew it.

The ice mage turned quickly, powerful gusts of frigid wind blew through the room as he charged towards the Quincy. "Monroe, I'm going to end this here!" he stated, holding his sword across his left arm and swinging it back behind him. Quickly, the ice warrior shot towards the door that Monroe had trapped.

Just as quickly, the trap was sprung. Thin green wires upon the dark clad man's fingers became visible on his right hand as he formed his bow in the left. "Time to show you something..." the Quincy said as he drew the bow string back and released it. Several small arrows traveled along the formed strings into the silver tubes and created a massive explosion in the door. "Das Starten der Zone. Or, in our language, Blasting Zone."

As the smoke cleared, the armor clad warrior stood up. Zachary's armor had massive cracks and parts where it had been burned away, but quickly, it seemed to heal itself. The magic from within the boy quickly fanned the healing of the armor as he rose. "You'll pay!" the ice mage stated as he rushed forwards and slashed his sword quickly.

"Too slow," the archer stated again as he leapt over the sword and evaded the attack effortlessly. A quick moving slash from the ice innate's left arm flashed towards the dark clad man. Monroe took a slight step back and easily evaded the attack again. Quickly,t he Quincy leapt up and placed his foot on the mage's shoulder and launched himself into the air.

Thanks to these eyes... I don't even need to waste energy engaging him. I can wear him out this way. After all, although I'm sure he doesn't realize it, that form is soaking up huge amounts of magical energy. His body isn't trained to handle it. In a few more minutes, he'll be little more than a sitting duck. Although I plan to end this before that happens.

As the Quincy drew near to landing on the ledge of the partial ice bridge that narrowed to a point, the dark clad man quickly used Hirenkyaku to shoot himself towards Zachary. "Come get me!" the archer taunted as he touched down before hitting the ice innate and shot into the air again.

Zachary turned around quickly and blasted a great number of spikes from his frozen left arm towards the Quincy with great strength. As the massive spikes threateningly approached, the archer merely drew his bowstring back and released a counter volley of arrows to shoot down each and every one of the spikes.

The former bounty hunter wasted no time in quickly pushing off the castle wall back onto the partial bridge and sliding to a stop near the edge. He could feel it. Zachary's magic was at its end. Physical and reiatsu feelings told Monroe this. "It ends here," Monroe stated as he drew the string of his bow back and energy began to gather into an arrow that quickly expanded and began to grow larger.

As the white haired warrior looked at the Quincy, his eye sight shifted, creating an odd multi-image of the archer quickly. It was then that Zachary noticed he was having a hard time breathing and was having a hard time keeping himself upright. What... what's going on? Why... why am I so tired? he asked himself as he looked at Monroe. "It doesn't matter!" he cried, rushing towards the Quincy. "I'll defeat you before I pass out!"

"I'm sorry, my friend, but no such thing will occur. I'll end this fight with one last move." Monroe pulled the string back ever so slightly as he smiled. "Riss-Schuss!" he yelled as the massive blast rocketed towards the ice innate. As the two forces collided, a bright green flash erupted. In a second, it was over.

Zachary's body flew through the room they were in before and slammed into the wall, leaving an impression of where he had hit. The red haired boy fell from the indent in the wall onto the ground and laid their limp. His fingers twitched slightly, but it seems he couldn't yet move.

The Quincy entered and crossed his arms, smiling. "I'm sorry, Zachary. This is how this had to end. After all, I need to go help Tracey stop a wanted criminal, and as for you... that great new power of yours was too much for your body to handle. I guessed that, just like Zorlo did. There was no way you could handle that power in your current state. Now then, I've got a fight to go finish. Good bye," Monroe said as he walked out of the room and moved towards where Tracey and Arietta were. "Almost done."

There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach... Arietta didn't need to be there to know that something had just happened to Zach. Both women had heard the explosion earlier, but she had just figured that was some of the building being damaged in the fight--not... some serious bodily injury. But now, her boyfriend's magic was starting to fade from her senses, and she couldn't help but worry...

Tracey had paused too, standing still to listen up for the sounds of footsteps approaching them. Her goggles were on, and Arietta wasn't sure exactly what the woman was seeing with them, but she was looking off in the direction of the footsteps, with a bright grin on her freckled face.

"It's... Monroe, isn't it?" the mage called to her, hands on her hips. Her voice couldn't have sounded more disheartened.

"I see him but not Zachary--looks like you'll have to deal with a two-on-one now, gypsy!" she said, and grinned again, reaching for another gun that was at her side.

It was dark. Everything had become so dark. The light had all faded in one bright flash. After that, nothing was left... nothing but this abyssal darkness. But... where had he gone? The ice mage could feel it... he wasn't dead... yet... nothing seemed to work. His mind floated about the dark recesses as he looked around. There was nothing... he could feel nothing.

Where am I? he asked nothing in particular as he floated around, still limp. If I'm not dead... then where am I? I'm definitely not where I was... but then where is here? The ice innate suddenly felt a wave of power flow over him. Not much, but just enough so he could stand, which he found himself doing in this dark place, and walking on.

A sudden and cold wind blew in. The fact that, one, Zachary felt the cold told him that something was wrong. This wind was far colder than anything he'd felt before that. It almost chilled him down to the bone, it felt. As he stared, a figure slowly formed. A large man forged entirely of ice. A massive knight of ice it seemed. In seconds though, the giant ice knight shrunk to the size of the red haired warrior who approached it.

"You're... you're him, aren't you? The one I felt while I was fighting Monroe? The one that was giving me great power."

"Yes," the large figure responded as it crossed its arms. "I am Mobius, the Frost Monarch. Born in this land epochs before you were even a thought, young one. Yet, one day, I knew one would claim my powers. One would rise above the others and take me forwards. And now, as you lay in my palace, powerless, you stand before me, still brave as you were. Why is it you fight? You know even with the full power you could draw, you couldn't win. So why fight?

"I fight because I can't give up. I had the power to defeat Monroe... but I couldn't wield it correctly. I couldn't figure out why, but the power wasn't what I thought it would be. But still... I know there is a power I can use... something that's as strong as I was... but what?"

The deity laughed as it looked at the boy through the holes in its helmet. "There is always a greater power, young one. The reason that power failed was because our powers were united, but not enough. Your powers and mine together were separate, yet you sought to use them as one. Your body couldn't handle such power. That is why you are as you are now."

"If that is true... then... that means that the only way I can truly wield that power is...

"Yes, little mortal, yes. For me to fuse my powers into you. I have lived a long time with great power sealed within a blade. And yet, that power will never be anything like the power I once had. I'm tired of being trapped in that sword... I seek to be free of this place. To be finally dead. If I give my power to you... I will vanish, and you will become powerful. But tell me, mortal, why should I be so kind to you?"

Zachary looked at his hands for a moment. He thought for a brief second about heaven and the battle there. It didn't take long for him to answer. "Because... because I have someone to protect. I swore after what happened there, I wouldn't die for anything that I didn't believe in. If I believed I truly couldn't believe Monroe, would I be here? It is because of that, I am here, and am trying. If I have the power you claim to have, I'll use it to protect Arietta and all of those who are important to me. So I'm not asking. I'm demanding you give me your power!"

A great wave of wind blew over the two as power seeped from Zachary. Great magical energies rolled off of Mobius as he held his hand up. "Fine then, mortal. Claim my powers. I'll give them to you," he said as he grabbed Zachary's hand and pressed it against his chest. In a moment, light engulfed the two...

o=)--------- ---------(=o

Zachary rose slowly as he grabbed the sword. He looked blank and half dead as he lifted the sword up. A smile slowly graced his face as he called out the words. "Shatter into the four Winds, Northern Chill!" he called out as the sword shattered into a thousand small pieces and began to dance around him. The blades of ice moved at a speed that Zachary couldn't see, and before long, piece by piece, they dug their way into his skin and fused into him. Power surged off the ice innate suddenly. A smile over his face as the power of Mobius and his body became one. "I have come."

o=)--------- Meanwhile ----------(=o

Monroe stepped out the hall and into the room where the two women had been fighting and smiled. "Howdy there. Sorry to tell you, gypsy, but you're idiot boyfriend is defeated. Although he's not dead, he might as well be. The power he thought would protect him and you nearly killed him. Too bad, really," the Quincy stated as he leapt from where he stood and drew his Seele Schneider from his back.

In a flash, the glowing green blade and the blade Ari held clashed in a flash of sparks and energy. Wind magic and photon energy tried to repel each other as the two pushed. With a show of force, Monroe pushed Arietta back into a nearby wall, sending the one blade she was holding sliding from her hand onto the ground. "All right, Tracey, time to wrap this up. We've caught one now," Monroe said, giving Tracey a thumbs up.

The detective smiled as he did this and followed suit as she prepared her net gun to lay the final move on the criminal. Still... something wasn't quite right. As the net fired off, it soon witnessed a blur as a figure swept up the target and slid to a stop. "Nice try," Zachary stated as he placed the shocked Arietta down and looked at the two.

He had changed, just a little, in appearance. His hair was now red with streaks of white and spiked up. The power essence he gave off now from his body now being soaked with Mana seemed to be very different than how his power had felt before. Still, Zachary was ready to fight. The ice innate bent over and picked up Arietta's swords and held them for a second. "I'm not gonna be defeated. I'm also not gonna let you hurt Arietta any more. This battle isn't over yet."

After a couple of seconds, something strange happened. A flash of images in his head flowed through his mind. A complete detailed replica of both of Ari's swords ran through his mind. Zachary quickly shook it off as a thick, strong ice covered his arms. He flipped the weapons blades into his ice covered hands and Arietta took them.

Still, this didn't deter Monroe who, despite being a bit surprised, wasn't done fighting yet. "Take this!" he yelled, firing off his Seele Schneider like an arrow towards the ice mage. With a flick of his wrist, the sword arrow found itself embedded into a nearby wall for a few seconds before it hit the ground. "No way..." Monroe said, mildly shocked as he drew his bow back again and readied to fire another arrow.

Zachary quickly took the offensive and rushed forwards, grabbing the bow and standing face to face with Monroe. In seconds, the design of the bow rushed into the warrior's mind as he stared at Monroe. Quickly, the ice warrior punched his foe in the chest and sent Monroe sailing back into a nearby wall. "That's for Arietta. I've got two more I need to give you. One for me... and one for someone who isn't here to give you your lumps."

"Your out of your league, kid. I'm still too powerful for you. Even with that new armor of yours and your new powers, you think I'm gonna get beaten so easily?" Monroe said as strings of Ransoutengai returned his Schneider to his hand and he activated the blade. "Tracey, wrap up things here," Monroe stated as he leapt into a nearby room, waiting for Zach to follow.

"I'll be back," Zachary said as he knelt over and brushed his hand over Arietta's face. A wave of his magic rolled over her and he watched as her wounds healed. "Wait for me, okay," he told her as he leapt after Monroe.

As the ice warrior entered into the room that Monroe had headed into, he looked around. The Quincy was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, the dark clad man leapt from the ceiling and slashed his sword towards Zachary. The ice innate froze for a second as he tried to cross his arms. After realizing he didn't have the time, he found himself panicking.

What can I do? What can I do? If I don't do something... I'm gonna die, he told himself as he held his hands out.

Use the power I gave you. Recreate what you've traced. Show your power as a Replicator!

"Replicator?!" he announced as he opened his eyes and saw exact copies of the forms of Arietta's weapons made of dark blue ice that blocked Monroe's Schneider and caused a sword lock.

Yes... As a replicator, you can trace and recreate weapons you've touched for more than two seconds with a magical material known as Metalloid Ice. My legacy is now in your hands. Use it, and dream up a power greater than mine. The one that will push you beyond your natural abilities and to those of a warrior who relies not on his natural strength, and speed and such, but on great weapons to make up for what you lack. Show your strength!

With a great push, the ice innate pushed Monroe back and brought the two to a standoff. "New power, huh? Pretty nifty, I must say," Monroe stated with a smile.

"I know," Zachary responded, smiling back. "My new power grants me the name of Replicator. Time to show you just how strong I've become!" he said as both charged. The real battle began now.

Her vision was hazy. Even when the healing magic swept over her, it was blurry, and a little dimmed. She felt chilled to the core--all her clothes were slick from the ice, her skin a little ashen and covered in slight goosebumps. An ice palace was not the place for a gypsy from the desert. She knew that, coming here. But she wanted to try so hard to last things out for Zach...

A smudge of reddish-orange came to stand over her, with a cylinder of gray-blue pointed at her face. It was Tracey, her mind told her, some moments later, but it did nothing to move her out of the way. And yet still... the cylinder--the net gun, she realized--didn't fire off a shot. It continued to point at her, but... nothing more. The detective's hand just... stayed frozen in place, shaking slightly.

"I'm... I'm debating this. This isn't mercy, Madrigal. I'm just... debating."

Debating... what? She turned two puzzled, drowsy green eyes towards the redhead. They could barely stay open, it was so freezing cold...

"I've given it some thought, and Alex might be upset with me... if I arrested her aunt. I don't think her grasp of the law is strong enough that she'd understand I was in the right if I threw you in jail. So I'm... debating. I can't let you just get up and try to rush off to help Zach, but..."

...de Carlo... is actually showing that she cares about something other than "justice"? She's not going to capture me?

The net-gun stopped wavering around, the safety catch was flicked on... but it still pointed at her, if only to show that Tracey could change her mind at any moment, that she wasn't going to let her get away just because she wasn't going to shoot her either.

"While we're here, I'd like to ask you some questions, Madrigal, while I have the opportunity. I have my files, and my data, and police reports, but... I'd like to ask... what kind of person Vivace Madrigal was, from... the viewpoint of someone who knew her personally. I want to figure out... what to look out for... and help prevent... with Alex..."

The two figures were breathing hard as they looked at each other. Zachary's body and magic still weren't fully healed. To top things off, he was wearing out a lot faster than he thought he would be. This new speed, strength and magic weren't quite adapting to his body as fast as he thought they might have. Zachary clutched his weapons tightly as he slid back a bit and readied to charge. Still, both he and Monroe probably knew the truth... this wouldn't last much longer.

Monroe felt his breathing becoming shorter and shorter. He knew that even his stamina was near an end. Even if he didn't like it, the intense cold was taking its toll on his body. Aside from that, he'd used up most of his energy just stalling Zachary before. The Quincy spun his Seele Schneider around his finger as he looked at the ice innate and thought for a moment. Clearly, the two both knew it for certain. The time had almost come.

The Replicator looked at the weapons in his hand and then at the spinning blade that the dark clad man held. There's no way my weapons will reach him. Even with two of them... they're not gonna work that well. I need to think of something... anything... If only... if only... The ice innate ducked quickly as he evaded the initial slash of the archer. A few of Zachary's hairs were split, but he himself was no worse for the wear.

With a quick upper slash, the ice mage pushed the blade of the Quincy's blade arrow upwards. With a second, horizontal slash from his right sword, the Replicator made his move. His attack had been swift, but Monroe was a bit swifter, able to nimbly step out of the way of the foot and a half long short sword.

The Quincy quickly crossed his arm over his body as he made a second horizontal slash. If this attack had come earlier, Zachary wouldn't have had a chance to evade it. If that attack had occurred before his new powers, he would have probably died in that moment. However, this was not the case. Instead, he evaded the attack. The ice warrior bent himself back to evade the blade of the sword as it passed over him as he continued to bend over.

Shifting his body slightly, the Replicator placed his left hand against the ground, still holding his sword, and delivered a powerful kick to the side of Monroe's head. Despite this, the Quincy responded quickly and drove his own foot into Zachary's back. The dark clad man quickly fell to the ground and slid forwards, stopping just short of a wall. As for Zachary, his body bounced up from the ground twice before also sliding to a stop.

Both warriors stood up slowly and held their blades ready. Zachary simply smiled. He knew exactly what he needed to overcome Monroe. Now he just had to make it real. The Replicator closed his eyes and focused on the image he had in his mind. Now he would try to make what he was imagining real from the blades in his hands.

The two blades started to glow as the ice innate held them and Monroe quirked an eyebrow. This would definitely be interesting, he could tell.

Arietta looked at her for a long moment, hugging her knees to try to stay warm.

"Vivace was... a cruel woman. But the reports told you that, yes? Well, she hadn't always been so cruel... she was always demanding, and outspoken, and bossy, but... not always... so mean, so heartless, deep down."

The detective sat down across from her, with quiet interest gleaming in her keen, green eyes, the net-gun still leveled at the gypsy's face, but her fingers in too relaxed a position to pull the trigger with any speed.

"What changed her...?"

"...I don't know that it was any one thing. As we grew up, she kept getting into arguments with our dad. She never bothered with our mom--she thought she was weak, and frail, and that she could step all over her... but our dad and her kept butting heads, he kept 'getting in her way'...

"Finally, it'd all come to a head. She was dating this guy, Dionne--our parents thought me and the other younger sisters didn't know, but in a house full of girls, no secret is secret enough for a bunch of nosy little meninas. We heard their arguments, heard him forbid her from seeing Anton, because of the kind of business he was involved in... that's when she began to lash out more, become more outwardly cruel.

"She used to shout at our mother, and bullied 'denza and me, and used 'gretta and 'nari whenever she needed something done or needed to ask our dad for something but was too proud to do it. She began to sneak out more, and disobey even more, and there were rumors that she was getting into crime...

"Dionne's influence, I think, was the main cause. But it only helped make worse what was already there, in her personality and the way she treated our parents. I think she resented our dad for always getting in her way, and had no respect for our mother for being so frail... anyway... does that answer your question? Will you lower that gun now?"

Tracey's hat shaded her face, her turtleneck and cloak's cowl hiding her expression. But she stood, nodding a little, and holstered her gun. Arietta's story had given her a lot to think about. And worry about. She started to stride away, towards the sounds of the men's fighting, but making no move to join it. Just listening. Pondering.

Can we keep her from... ending up like her mother?

"This."

"Is."

"It!" they both yelled as Zachary opened his eyes. His short swords had fully changed from the way they had been before into a blade almost twice as long as they had originally been. The blades were jagged and broken, looking almost like angel wings as he held them to his sides. This was another power Zachary found he had in the moments he had done it.

"The power to transform weapons after they're whole by adding more Mana to them and reshaping them... the power to modify and make a weapon stronger. I see no immediate problems with this," the Replicator said as the two both took their first steps forwards.

The swords in Zachary's hands had an unnatural glow of blue about them as he drew his left sword back and Monroe swung his blade back. The Quincy made the first move, slashing his blade quickly, and Zachary quickly counterattacked, slashing his sword to knock Monroe's away. As the dark clad man's arm recoiled, still holding his blade tightly as he tensed up his muscles.

After deflecting Monroe's sword, the red haired warrior's eyes widened as he saw the sword in his left hand shatter into almost nothing. I've only got one chance! I'll take it! Zachary stated as he slashed quickly. His blade flashed with great speed, creating a cut along Monroe's chest horizontally from right to left. After the slash finished, the sword shattered, leaving the ice mage utterly defenseless.

"Good try, but I won't be stopped!" the archer said as some of his blood dripped onto the ground and he pulled his blade back and slashed equally as fast. In a moment, it was over. A slash from left to right formed on Zachary's chest as the Quincy's photon blade went out. The two stood for a second, both with wounds that could have formed an "x" if overlapped.

The two stood their for a second as their knees buckled and they fell onto each other, their chins resting on one another's shoulders. As much as they wanted to deny it, neither warrior could move at that moment in time. "Is it over?" the ice innate asked as he looked to his side at the back of Monroe's head.

"Yeah... unless you can move."

"Nope... I can barely talk right now, much less move."

The two stopped for a second, and then something odd happened. The two began to laugh hysterically as they remained where they had fallen. A few seconds passed and the dark clad man turned his eyes over to where Tracey stood. She wasn't too far away when he looked at her and smiled. "Tracey..." he said.

The red haired woman looked at the two and looked almost like she wanted to laugh. That was, until she saw the growing pool of blood under the two. "Monroe... are you okay?" she asked as she moved over towards him.

"I'll be fine... it's just a flesh wound," he stated, smiling at her. "Anyway... It's time to get out of here... this fight is over. No victor... anyway, its pointless to think about now. Sorry I wasted your time coming her," he told her as the two warriors pushed apart and stood up shakily.

"B-... but Monroe, are you sure you're okay?" she asked him as he fell onto her shoulder.

"I'll be fine. Let's just get home to Alex... after all, I wouldn't want to leave her alone... that'd be inhumane of me. And... don't worry, we'll help her. Genetics doesn't decide anything... I've learned that here... It's about your heart and desire... not just where and who you come from," Monroe told the detective with a smile as the two began to leave slowly.

Zachary remained still for a few more moments as he stood up. He rolled up his right sleeve and looked at his temperature bracer. He took a deep breath as he removed the device and began to walk again. Even after removing it, he didn't feel any different. He felt... calm and normal... unchanged. It was almost fascinating that he didn't change to him, after how long he had needed the device simply to live. His newfound freedom from it was both welcome and... a bit strange. He planned to keep the object anyway, since it was a gift from his teacher, but for now, someone else needed it.

"Need some help," Zachary said as he bent down and placed the bracer on Arietta to warm her up. He smiled at the gypsy and helped her up slowly as he continued to fight back his pain. "Let's get you home... Ari... I'm sorry... this whole thing was a waste of time. I... I shouldn't have come... and I shouldn't have dragged you here. So... let's go home... you look like you could use some rest," he told her, hiding his wound and starting to move out of the frozen castle. Now wasn't a time to think about what had happened. Now was a time to start anew.