FCGS - Chapter 29

Lack paced the floor of his room with a report written by Chibi in his hand. So Mike is now free. Just leaves Kchan and Izual. But how are we going to find out if they're alright? Foxi hasn't said anything. But it could be possible that they are like the guildsmen in Velvet Touch of Enishi and think that the two are just in a bad mood or something.

Chibi poked her head into his room breaking into his thoughts. "Dinner is in an hour," Noticing his stressed expression, she added "Kashy has also asked if he could speak to you. He left this with me for you." She handed him a scroll that had a golden sunburst seal on it. "Don't stress so much. We'll get through it. We got through the doppelgangers and Loki alright didn't we?"

"When did Kashy come by?" Lack asked a little confused. "I didn't know he did errands personally." Chibi took his hand and led him out of the room and down the hall towards the Dining Room.

"A Hyegun gave it to me," Chibi replied with a smile, satisfied that he was following her without question. "You know, one of Kashy's trained pets. I knew it was from Kashy because of the seal on the scroll." She pulled him into the Training Room near the Dining Room. "I want to spar with you."

Lack was taken aback. "You sure?" Chibi's back was facing him. He moved and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"But with a few rules," Chibi said causing him to relax. "No Asura. You can prepare it but you can't use it. I also would like you to use Mjolnir." Her eyes darkened and in her mind's eye she saw herself and Lack being the only ones left standing against Contra. I'm not strong enough to support you against Contra. Not when it took you and three Hidden Gods to take him down the first time. "You understand where I'm going with this?"

Lack could hear a barely noticeable note of fear in her voice. She saw something. If she wants to get stronger… "Right now?"

"Right now…" Chibi said drawing her sword and turning to point it at him. "I'm not letting you get away."

~~~

Tadakono, Phenomenon and Syaoran looked at the two empty chairs between them. "They aren't here yet," Tadakono said with a sigh and looked around the room as people milled around chatting to friends and finding places to sit. As if on cue, Lack carried a very worn out Chibi and dropped her into her chair. "What happened to you two?" he asked noticing the slices in Lack's clothing across his back.

"Sparring," Lack said casting Heal on Chibi until her wounds disappeared. "You sure you want me to do this?"

"Better I get stronger fighting you than anyone else," Chibi said with her eyes closed. "Can we do it again later? A few hours from now?" Lack nodded and settled in his own chair.

"Why the need to get stronger all of a sudden?" Syaoran asked them. "You're strong as it is already."

"Contra…" The single word caused the noise in the room to die out in their ears. "Hel and Contra."

"But you have all of us as well," Phenomenon said with a strangled sigh. "I still don't understand."

"As it is," Chibi said glancing at Trelawney then closing her eyes again. "I understand the premonition Tre had and keeps having. The Dark Messenger is Contra. As it stands, the only person in our guild that has even a slight chance of defeating Contra is Lack." Lack noticed her eyes darken, blood trickled from one eye. "I've over used my ability today. But what I keep seeing scares me. I need to be stronger."

Lack leaned over and wiped the blood away. "What did you see?"

"A battle," Chibi replied pulling her legs up and resting her head on her knees. "A very bloody battle between our guild and Contra. People kept falling around us." Lack noticed she was shaking. "Resurrect wasn't working. It got to the point that we were the only ones left standing." She looked at Lack with tears in her eyes.

"Did you see us die?" Lack asked her quietly. Phenomenon stroked her back gently. Tadakono and Syaoran leaned closer to listen to the conversation between Lack and Chibi.

"I didn't," Chibi replied blinking away tears. "That's why I want to get stronger. If there's a chance to change what I see then I'm going to take it even if I'm going to be completely worn out every day leading up to the battle."

"Then let's work on everyone stronger to increase the odds," Lack said softly giving Chibi a pat on the head. "That could work too right?" Chibi nodded. Lack quivered inside from what he heard. I didn't expect that. He stood, the single gesture drawing the attention of the guild to himself, and took a deep breath.

~~~

Jemini and Kagura sat within Velvet Touch of Enishi. Their differences in opinion clashing with each other as visibly as locked swords. "She's calling to us." Jemini said softly. "I guess she'll call to us if no one else can hear her." Kagura nodded and looked up at MikeRex who was sitting with them.

"Then I'll come with you and set her free," he replied kindly. "I'll bring a High Wizard and a Professor from my guild as well." He smiled and gave Jemini a hug. "If we're lucky, we'll be able to free Izual at the same time too."

"Kc would of liked that," Kagura added with a smile. She stood and bowed. "I need to go back to Prontera. Would I be able to leave it in your hands?"

MikeRex nodded and Jemini looked away from Kagura. "Don't refer to her in the past tense."

"Kchan doesn't like me," Kagura said walking towards the door. "Whenever she speaks about me, it's always in the past tense."

~~~

Lack leaned against Chibi's closed bedroom door. He could hear her crying inside. I can't go and comfort her. What am I suppose to say when she knows that anything I could say to make her feel better is a lie. Looking at the scroll he still carried, he decided it was best to see Kashy.

Walking towards the Foyer, he broke the seal on the scroll. Colors whirled around him. "So you finally decide to show your face here." a voice said behind him. Lack turned to see the entrance to the Cloud Castle. Standing at the entrance was Kashy.

"You sent for me?" Lack asked holding out the scroll in his hand. "Because it's a difficult time to be holding long meetings."

~~~

Tadakono cast Storm Gust pushing Phenomenon and Syaoran away from him. "While I don't mind trying to get stronger," Tadakono said alternating to Lord of Vermillion. "Will it make a lot of difference?"

Syaoran cast Endure and swiped his sword at Tadakono. "At least we're doing something." Tadakono stepped backwards away from the sword like as if he was floating. "It's better than resigning myself to thinking that Contra will kill me."

Phenomenon threw spheres at the both of them. "That's the last thing I want to think about." He had remembered when he had almost died permanently by Contra's sword. "It's not a pleasant experience."

"Dying never is," Chibi leaned on the door frame watching the three of them. "I have a proposition. If you can defeat my newest creation then you're probably as strong as Lack." A light blue creature stood near Chibi. She placed a hand on its shoulder. "This is Kiseki. He's a doppelganger hybrid. I took the information I received from Momo and turned it into a training device. Only problem is that it won't let me fight it, which is why I asked Lack to spar with me."

Kiseki stepped into the room flexing its fingers. Tadakono looked at it a little confused. "Is it suppose to look like Lack?" he asked noticing the Champion like clothing on it.

"To be technical," Chibi said tapping the doppelganger causing it to change it's appearance to look like Contra. "It changes to whomever you feel you want to be able to defeat. It takes your memories of that person and spars with you using those memories. It's not possible to fake memories to make it easier."

Tadakono tapped the doppelganger and it turned back to looking like Lack. "I'm curious now." He cast Waterball at Kiseki, who dodged and snapped fast towards Tadakono. "He really is like Lack." Tadakono got serious and cast Storm Gust followed by Lord of Vermillion. Kiseki threw spheres hitting Tadakono three out of five.

"You're going to have to do better than that to defeat Lack," Chibi said as Lack himself appeared at the door and raised an eyebrow. Chibi looked back at him with a smile. "They're playing with my hybrid doppelganger…. Training I mean."

"So why does it look like me?" he asked her accusingly. "And why can't you train with it instead of with me?"

"Because Tadakono wants to be able to be either stronger or as strong as you," Chibi replied her eyes looking at him innocently. "It obeys my commands. So if I start feeling like it's too much or that I'm too tired, it won't attack me anymore. Which is why it's better to train with you than with Kiseki." She poked him in the side with a little mock upset expression. "You don't want to train with me anymore?"

"That's not what I mean," Lack said with a sigh. Good. She seems to be back to her old self. "Was curious why you created something like this and can't use it." Tadakono flew back and hit the wall in punctuation to Lack's sentence.

"That's enough Kiseki," Chibi said crouching down near Tadakono. "You alright?"

"My memories of Lack make him out to be incredibly strong," Tadakono said dazed. Chibi dropped a few potions on him and asked slyly. "Want to try the real thing? Because I can tell you now, your memories are incomplete. The Lack is much more stronger and scarier than Kiseki."

"Thankyou," Lack said behind her. "I think…" He looked at Tadakono and smiled. "Want to try?" He cracked his knuckles then moved his head from side to side cracking the bones in his neck. "I can promise you, your memories of my abilities will be complete after sparring with me once."

Tadakono gave a slight shiver before standing and nodding. "Don't hold back on me Lack." Chibi sat down onto the floor and leaned against the wall. Kiseki, Phenomenon and Syaoran joined her. Tadakono and Lack moved to the centre of the room.

"Why do I get the feeling Lack is going to murder Tadakono perfectly?" Phenomenon asked Chibi in a whisper.

"Because he will," Chibi replied using her Azoth to manipulate the hidden controls in Kiseki. "Lack always starts slow then builds up, toying with his prey, if he knows he'll win easily, until finally," A bang announced Lack's finalized preparation of Asura Strike. "He flattens them." She patted Kiseki and said. "Kiseki, record this and store it as Lack in Champion form. Stop after he uses Asura Strike."

Syaoran watched Lack fight Tadakono. He could tell already that Lack was far more superior not just in strength but in knowledge as well. There's no way to defeat him unless you spring something unexpected on him. Lack leapt up and cast Asura Strike knocking Tadakono down.

Lack immediately crouched down and cast Heal. Chibi got up and dropped some potions onto Tadakono's still form as well. "Well?" she asked him. "Scary no?"

"Very," Tadakono replied sitting up. "How is it that you can fight Lack and still be fine afterwards?"

"You fought him no rules," Chibi said helping him to where she was sitting. "We agree upon rules and stick with them." She poked Kiseki and whispered. "Record until we stop fighting." Pulling back, she gave Tadakono a wink. "Want to see?"

Lack sighed and stretched. "Come on Chibi. Enough talk."

Chibi drew her sword and practically flew at him, striking hard and fast. Syaoran's eyes widened. This battle is different. It's not as one-sided as it was with Tadakono. It's a little more even but Lack still has the upper hand. Chibi thrust her sword at Lack causing him to step back away from her. He hasn't prepared Asura Strike. Now that I think about it… Chibi hasn't used her potions yet either.

Chibi stepped skillfully away from Lack's spheres and threw a Bomb at him. Her eyes wild, she scattered Bombs all over the room. Flames sprang up forcing Lack to move further away from her. Chibi coated her armor and sword. She moved through her flames unaffected. A small smile played on her face. Lack ignored the fire licking at his clothes and skin, he darted at her throwing spheres constantly.

Syaoran leaned back from another explosion. This is weird. I never though of Chibi being this strong. But I've never fought her before. Lack's the only one who has ever had to fight her for any reason. He watched Lack bring his palm up and push Chibi in the chest hard. She skidded backwards and fell to one knee trying to catch her breath. It's over.

Lack advanced upon her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Enough?" Chibi nodded and coughed, her chest stinging with every breath. Lack cast Heal on her. "You always get caught with that."

"You're fast when you want to be," Chibi said a little strained. "I think this time you broke something. It hurts so much."

Lack knelt down and touched Chibi's chest pressing hard on each rib until she jumped in pain. "Yeah I broke one…" He held her still and continued to press until he tested them all. "Just one."

Tadakono, Syaoran and Phenomenon stared at them incredulously. "You both went so far as breaking bones…" Phenomenon said stunned. "You really want to get stronger that desperately?"

"If…" Chibi said glancing at Lack, causing him to feel a bit suspicious. "If you knew that you were going to lose someone close to you no matter what you did what would you do?"

"I'd get stronger," Phenomenon replied without thinking. Lack poked her broken rib causing her to jump again. Phenomenon gave him a confused expression . "But even so… Lack went so far as breaking your rib."

"It's how we spar," Lack replied pressing two fingers on the rib and casting Heal intensively. "She'll be alright again in a few hours." He stared at Chibi. "Provided she actually rests."

FCGS - Chapter 28

Contra walked through the ice cavern looking at the blocks of ice. "Feels good to be free again doesn't it?" A female voice reverberated around the room. "I had a hard time getting past the bindings that the Hidden Gods had put in place."

"Hel," Contra said calmly. "Why freeze them? And where's Lack? I thought we froze him as well."

"As expected," Hel said sitting on the remains of the ice that held Lack. "He was able to summon his Guild Members here to free him." She looked at Chibi. "What I don't understand is that they didn't free her either. They know she's alive because her homunculus is no longer here." Summoning a red bullet of fire, she shot it into the ice. It burrowed deep disappearing into Chibi's chest. "She's smart. Be careful around her when they defrost her."

"But why frozen?" Contra asked again watching blood drip out of the hole Hel made. "Why not just kill them?"

"Because the Gods will come after me next if they notice a lot of the High Seats and powerful Guilds disappearing at once," Hel replied breaking off a spike of frozen blood. "I'm not like my father. I'll do things properly in his stead."

~~~

Flyte fell to the ground trembling. Lack crouched down and turned her over. "Mistress…" Flyte murmured as Tadakono, Phenomenon and Syaoran approached the stage to pick up where Lack left off. The Guild's murmurs could be heard clearly by Lack.

"You're all dismissed," he said in an angry tone. "I'll call you to meet again later. After my desire to kill all of you has gone." All talking froze at his words. A mad scramble, everyone disappeared out of the room before Lack had a chance to look up at them. Kakaxi, FerrariSin, Furama, brighteyes, Minna and illusions join Lack.

"Mistress is hurt," Flyte said when Lack picked her up. "Mistress says that you need to get there now. Repairing an angry guild can wait. She says there won't be anything left if you don't get there."

~~~

Hel fired another bullet into the ice holding Izual. "This blood will serve the purpose my father had intended it for."

"Which was?" Contra asked breaking a frozen shard of blood from Kchan. "And what good will it do if you don't have Lack's blood as well?"

"There's time for that," She took the shard from Contra and fired bullets into MikeRex and the three Mediators. "But we need to do this quickly." Contra retrieved the shards from Izual and MikeRex while Hel took the shards from the Mediators. "Let's go." Contra took a hold of Hel's hand and they disappeared in a whirl of snow.

Moments later, Lack and his entourage from the Meeting Room appeared through a Warp Portal. Pressing his hand on the ice holding Chibi he closed his eyes. His mind fell through a dark space to land onto a white circle of light. "Chibi?" Outside, his body froze with a light icy aura.

Tadakono and Phenomenon placed a hand on Lack's shoulder's worriedly. "Lack… Come on." Tadakono also froze. Phenomenon pulled away quickly noticing that it was contagious. "What is going on?"

Tadakono stood next to Lack on the circle of light. "Where are we?" he asked noticing a shadow on the outskirts of the circle. "What was that?"

"You touched me outside didn't you," Lack replied sensing Tadakono nod. "I fell into my own Spiritual Power. You must have been drawn in as well." He extended his hand out towards the shadow. "Why not come closer?"

"And kill myself?" A familiar voice said. "Your power is Holy remember. Unless you want me dead before you set me free, I'll stay here."

"Chibi?" Tadakono said in surprise. "But how?"

"It's a secret that I don't want you to tell anyone else," Lack said sharply. "It's not something I believe is going to be good for anyone knowing. " He looked at the shadow which flickered in response, then turned to Tadakono. "The day Chibi warped Azoth, Eir visited me. She asked me if I wanted to become Chibi's anchor to the human world. She told me some of what Chibi had done and how she had healed her. I knew that Chibi would become something different if I said no. There are benefits… I can use her power as physical strength and she can enter my Spiritual Power to talk to me directly."

"I felt bad though for making Eir need to ask him," Chibi said softly. "I asked her to seal the memory away in Lack so it would just be that we're close friends. When we were frozen in the ice, I felt it was time to remind Lack about the deal he made with Eir. I lent him my power which in turn gave him enough strength to call Kakaxi, FerrariSin and Furama here."

"Then… " Tadakono's eyes widened. "You asked Lack to free your Lif and it became a link that allowed you to talk to Lack and tell him what was happening here." Feeling something jar his physical body he added "If we don't pull out of here soon, Lack, they're going to find this secret out."

"Can I free you now?" Lack asked Chibi quickly letting Tadakono go first. "Is there a reason you saw why you should stay here?" Chibi shook her head. "Then I'll get them to defrost you. Have you been able to contact the others or assess them in any way?"

"I'm only connected to you in this way Lack," Chibi replied her voice letting him know she wasn't amused. "I can't contact them even if I burst an artery trying." Hearing people call out Lack's name, she added "Go."

~~~

"Lack!" Tadakono gave Lack a shake that looked harder than it was. "Snap out of it!"

"What happened?" Phenomenon asked Tadakono.

Internally, Tadakono cringed. He hated lying to one of his friends. "The ice. Because Lack has been frozen by it before, the spell tried to take him again when he touched it. I was pulled in when I touched him, so I managed to burn away the connections before they could take serious hold. He should be coming out of it soon."

Lack moved his hand away, his ears catching the last of Tadakono's lie. He pretended to wobble and sat hard onto the ground. Looking up at Tadakono he said "Thanks."

"No problem," Tadakono replied casting fireball and holding it near Lack to warm him up. Furama did the same. "We should free Chibi before she gets more injured from being here." Lack nodded.

Brighteyes, FerrariSin and illusions broke away the ice with their jurs until it was a thin outline around Chibi. Furama stood and melted the remaining ice. Chibi fell forwards. Furama caught her and held her close. Minna cast Heal and Furama focused his attention to destroying all the spell tags in her body with Spell Break.

"Don't… Heal… Me…" Chibi said shivering. "I know I'm hurt… But don't heal me." Minna continued on and looked at Chibi shocked. Lack held up his hand to stop Minna. Flyte floated over and healed Chibi instead. "Lack…"

"I know," he said softly. "It's alright. Nothing to worry about. Lets get you home." He looked around the cavern. Neither JohnFlora nor Foxi had contacted him about their Guild Masters. Let's see where this goes.

~~~

Lack sat on his chair in the Dining Room. On his immediate left, the chair remained empty and then next to that sat Phenomenon. On his right Tadakono and Syaoran sat. "She's skipping a meal again." Lack murmured to no one in particular. Flyte came and sat in Chibi's chair, her eyes over bright. "You're hiding something too."

"Not really," Flyte replied. Lack felt a small tug in his power like someone was pulling his shirt gently to get his attention. Flyte noticed his expression. "Mistress says don't follow. She sent me here so you know if anything happens to her. She says you need to focus on getting the Guild to understand what is happening."

"You better tell me if something might happen before it does," he growled angrily. "Just where did she go anyway?"

"The Alchemist Society in Al de Baran."

~~~

Chibi landed in a crouch after dodging a Bomb from her copy. Yukiko and Mazenda pitched potions to her. Strapped to her right wrist in place of her glove was one of Lack's insignia gloves. She threw Acid bottles at her copy in quick succession.

"What's wrong?" her copy said with a smile. "We're equally matched. There's no way you can defeat yourself." It spun and sliced through all the bottles before they hit her. "We're the strongest in this Society. You've never had to fight an alchemist class stronger than yourself before."

Chibi didn't answer and drew her sword and swung it in a downward arc. Her copy locked swords with her. Chibi pulled back her right arm and punched hard before bringing her sword around and slicing it across the chest. It can't see Lack's glove. She brought herself close and brought her right fist up hard into her copy's chest. The copy gasped breathless and thrust her sword at Chibi. I can't rely on it. She's as good with the sword as I am. Chibi threw out a bomb at her copy forcing both of them to go flying.

~~~

Flyte cringed and shook slightly. "It's nothing," she whispered knowing Lack just looked at her. "Mistress is battling her copy." A clatter of cutlery told her Lack had dropped what he was holding. "She has your insignia glove. You'll know before I do if she needs you."

"She nicked it from my room didn't she," Lack said surprised at his own calmness. He felt the tug again and sighed. "How will I know?" Flyte waited and Lack suddenly felt like he was going to be pulled inside out.

"She needs you," Flyte replied once the feeling had disappeared. "Now…"

~~~

Chibi stood and leaned on her sword. Her copy stood on the other end of the room watching her. Chibi straightened shakily and noticed Lack's glove. Aiya! He's going to come now. The glove had been cut like it had been half way through a shredder. I better try to finish this before he comes.

Yukiko and Mazenda retreated to the doorway and pitched potions at her again to heal her. Chibi leapt at her copy and they fought furiously. Chibi could feel her Lif coming closer and closer to the building. Her copy noticed her slight distraction and threw a bomb at Chibi.

Chibi noticed the Bomb only seconds before impact. She flew backwards and hit the wall near the door hard before falling forwards onto the floor. Yukiko came forwards and poured white potions all over her. "Chibi…" she said shaking her. "Chibi." Looking up, she saw the copy coming towards them. "Chibi! Wake up!"

Chibi opened her eyes and took Yukiko's hand. "Whatever happens. Don't let Lack into this room." She took off the insignia glove and gave it to Yukiko. "He's coming because he could sense this was damaged. I can feel Flyte entering the building." Chibi stood up and staggered forwards pulling on her own glove. "Don't let them enter this room."

Yukiko nodded and watched Chibi leapt at her copy again. She retreated back to Mazenda. "If you were told to do something, even if it's against your better judgment, even if you know that person is going to get hurt, would you do what you're told or do what you think is right?"

"This is about Chibi isn't it," Mazenda replied. Yukiko nodded. "If Lack is coming," She glanced down at the shredded glove. "Then she probably told you to not let him in there. While I agree that it'll be dangerous to let him defeat her copy, it's more dangerous to let her die by her copy's hand. The copy become reality if that's the case." The room rocked. They could both feel Flyte moving up the hallway towards them.

"Lack," Yukiko said softly as Mazenda darted in to pitch potions at Chibi. "There's something you should know before you decide whether to go in there or not." She held up his glove to him.

"And that is?" He asked watching Flyte also fly in to aid Chibi. He took the glove and placed it into his pocket without looking at it.

"If you are the one to defeat Chibi's copy," Yukiko said softly. "Then Chibi herself is in danger. But if she is killed by her copy, the copy becomes reality. If you must help her, become her support." Mazenda slid back to the doorway out of breath.

~~~

Kashy floated down to the ice cavern with Novus. "So here's where you three have been," he said softly. "I've been worried about you." Giving Novus a sharp look he added "Don't tell them I was worried." Novus lifted his hands in response. "Rena's report to you was right about their location."

Kashy summoned numerous fireballs to dance around the bodies of the three Mediators melting the ice. Novus checked the three over and cast Spell Break to remove all the spell tags. Shadow opened her eyes first and tested all her joints and wings. Balos and Blackrose moved opening their eyes and stretching.

"Morning Kashy," Shadow said with a smile. Kashy gave her an angry glare. "Before you say anything, Loki was the one who froze us here. We couldn't of broken out even if we wanted to."

"Let's talk at the castle," Kashy replied noticing each had a similar wound in their chests. "I assume you can fly there." BlackRose flapped her wings hard and hovered off the ground.

"Well," BlackRose said with a smile similar to Shadow's. "We can fly at least." Kashy gave her a thump on the head in response. "You did ask…" BlackRose added painfully holding her head.

"Let's just get going," Novus intervened. "Palidor is waiting for us up at the castle. We need to hold an meeting to discuss the recent events that have taken place." Kashy nodded in agreement.

~~~

Chibi knelt on the ground breathing hard. Her copy seemed be getting stronger and stronger. Flyte hovered close to her ear. "Mistress… The pieces…"

"I know," Chibi replied struggling to her feet. Her copy laughed hard at her struggle.

"But that means that you could be supported properly now," Flyte said worriedly look at the cuts and bruises all over Chibi's body. "I can't keep up in healing you."

A rush of power enveloped Chibi healing her completely. Chibi looked around. Lack gave her a wink. "I can," he pulled his gloves tight but stayed in a normal standing position. "I'll support you but on one condition." Chibi narrowed her eyes at him. "If you become too badly injured then I'm going to kill it for you."

"If you say so…" Chibi murmured standing and straightening her skirt. Flyte cast Emergency Avoid on Chibi and she darted in to attack her copy. It seems stronger now. Were the pieces adding to my strength before? Chibi locked swords with it, drew Azoth and slashed it across the chest and waist.

"She seems weaker now," Lack said to Flyte. He cast Heal, Blessing and Agility on Chibi. "It doesn't make sense."

"It does," a voice whispered in his ear. Lack smiled knowing well who the voice belonged to. "Her pieces are now gone. Being left in the ice a bit longer than you gave her Spiritual Power a chance to heal without interference. What I want to know is, do you want me to leave the connection between you two in place?"

"Other than being convenient," Lack asked watching Flyte cast Emergency Avoid to increase Chibi's attack speed. "Is there any other purpose it's serving?"

"You mean current or potential?" Lack moved aside to let a Bomb aimed at him go flying past. "It has no current purpose but you know Chibi loves to experiment… So it does have a potential to keep her as a human if anything like Azoth was to happen again."

"Then leave it," Lack replied catching Chibi as she flew backwards from the impact of a Bomb. "You're getting yourself beaten up out there."

"I can't seem to muster my strength anymore," she cried. Lack could see tears in her eyes. "It's getting difficult and I really don't know why."

They both heard a sigh. "You're use to using the strength from the pieces," Chibi's ears twitched in response. "Your actual strength hasn't been used in a very long time. It needs work to get back to the way it was."

"Eir," Chibi said angrily. "You're saying I have no way of defeating my copy."

"Correct," she replied, her voice relaying a degree of cheerfulness.

Chibi pulled out of Lack's arms and stalked towards her copy thoroughly angry. Lack smothered a laugh. "You did that on purpose."

"What I said is true," Eir replied. "But it's also true that when she's angry she gets stronger and can tap into that strength faster." A gust of wind blew near him. "I'll come by Fight Club later."

Lack smiled and Healed Chibi when he caught her the second time. "Want me to defeat it for you?" he asked with mock concern in his voice. Adding fuel to the fire.

"Just stay as support," Chibi snapped and darted back catching her copy by surprise and cutting into its arms and finally thrusting her sword deep into it's chest. She stood and pulled her sword out. Her copy fell to the floor and began to melt away. "I under estimated myself."

~~~

Tadakono, Syaoran and Phenomenon sat listening to the concerns of various guildsmen. "There isn't much we can do. Until Lack and Chibi tie up loose ends from their copies, you can't expect them to drop everything incase it effects the guild itself."

"But it's like they're neglecting us," A Sniper said pulling on her pigtails. "How are we suppose to feel?"

"Patience," Syaoran replied with a sigh. His ears twitched hearing a sound in the distance. "They'll be here soon."

~~~

Lack stepped into the foyer. With a deep breath he walked off towards the Dining Room. Chibi watched him leave the room before sitting down hard on the spot. Flyte floated near her. "Mistress…"

"Enough Flyte," Chibi said, her voice a little strained. "Stay with Lack." A voice called out to her in her head. "Once I've rested I have to head off somewhere. If Lack asks where I am, tell him I'm resting and I don't want to be disturbed. Nothing else… Understand?" Flyte nodded and flew off after Lack. The voice called out to her again. I know. I'll be there soon… I'm talking to myself in my head. She sighed and leaned back against the door.

~~~

"Mistress is resting," Flyte answered Lack. "That aside…" She motioned to the Fight Club guildsmen entering the Meeting Room and taking their places. Phenomenon and Syaoran went up and stood with Lack.

"Where's Tadakono?" Lack asked looking over the congregation before him. "And Furama."

"Tada said he had something he needed to do," Syaoran replied watching the last trickle into the room. "I don't know about Furama."

"I'll ask Kakaxi later about it." Lack said motioning Phenomenon to take their places at the long table. "Now then…"

~~~

Chibi walked through the ice cave with Tadakono and Furama. "I'm sorry for pulling you away from the Guild Meeting," Chibi said quietly to them. "But this isn't something I can do alone. Lack is better able to correct dissention in the guild better than I can. And with Hel and Contra possibly attacking us soon, I want to free those I'm sure that can be freed."

"But freeing Mike?" Tadakono said as they neared the cavern. "Are you sure?"

"I don't know how," Chibi replied as the voice called out to her. "But I can hear him." Chibi pressed her hand against the ice. "I just need one more piece of proof. You can hear me can't you." A voice answered in her head. "You've done it before. My tattoo." She removed her glove from her right hand. It flickered before becoming bright then dulling to it's original faded colour.

Tadakono and Furama stared at her. "We'll set him free Chibs." They moved her gently aside and set to work. "How is he able to still control your tattoo? I thought that once you change guilds, the guild master can't contact you via it."

"He did it before," Chibi replied replacing the glove on her hand. "We went to see him remember?" Tadakono nodded. Chibi smoothed her glove to remove the wrinkles and continued. "I have some theories on how he does it but none seem really reliable."

MikeRex sat shivering violently. His armor ice cold against his skin. "I can do it only if Chibi has Azoth on her. At least that's what Loki told me while I was under his control."

"Azoth is in my bedroom at Headquarters," Chibi replied. "And I didn't have Azoth on me that day we came to visit you. So as usual, Loki lied. That was one of my theories but the second point and now this right here disproved that theory."

"I'm out of ideas as well," MikeRex said getting up and hopping from one foot to the other attempting to warm up. Noticing Chibi's distant expression, he asked. "Anything I should know?"

"You probably have a copy," Chibi replied focusing her eyes back on him. "It's probably why they haven't heard your call. They assume it's your copy being mean. Your copy is your opposite. You need to defeat it yourself. If anyone else kills it… Let's just say it doesn't have pleasant effects. If you happen to be killed by your copy, it becomes reality… So keep that in mind as well." She held out her hand to him.

"If I have a copy and I turn up," MikeRex said suddenly. He took her hand and she helped him up. "They'll think I'm the copy!"

"That's why we're coming with you," Chibi replied. Tadakono and Furama's eyes opened wide hearing that for the first time. "I'm not in the mood to be destroyed by Contra and Hel. So the less copies and the more people we can gather to fight is best. But with your copy leading Velvet Touch of Enishi, we'll have enemies instead of allies." A faint tone of hurt flowed through her words.

~~~

Lack flopped down into his chair watching a finally satisfied guild leave the Meeting Room. "Chibi never came. She didn't really need to rest that long." He got up and walked out the door towards her room.

Flyte flew in front of him and spread her arms wide. "She said she didn't want to be disturbed." Lack looked at her with narrowed eyes. "She doesn't want to be disturbed."

"Where did Chibi go this time?" Lack asked his voice low and angry. "Where did she go and not tell me."

Flyte tilted her head to one side as if to hear something that Lack couldn't. "Mistress says it's alright. She's safe with Tadakono and Furama…" Flyte trailed off just as Chibi had to her.

"And," Lack said his voice low. "She's with someone else as well."

"She says don't worry," Flyte replied again. "She says she'll call on you if she needs your help. But she doesn't expect she'll need it yet. She says you need to worry more on getting the guild stronger because the likelihood of Contra or Hel… Or both… Attacking is high."

"Nothing you can do," Phenomenon said giving Lack a pat on the back. "If Chibi is doing what she needs to do then you need to ensure that you keep the guild safe too. Syao and I will give you a hand."

~~~

Chibi walked through the familiar halls of Velvet Touch of Enishi. Nostalgia playing on her mind. Pressing a hand on JohnFlora's room, she paused before knocking softly. "Come in," a voice called from inside. Chibi opened the door and was confronted with a very surprised JohnFlora. "How?"

"Mike gave me permission to enter for his sake," Chibi replied closing the door behind her. "You've noticed it haven't you? Mike's unusual behavior?" JohnFlora looked at her curiously and sat on his bed patting next to him inviting Chibi to sit also. "The Mike that's been here since returning from Nameless Island is a copy of himself. If I was to guess correctly, he would be the opposite to the Mike you know… Cruel, bloodthirsty, uncaring… Am I hitting the nail on the head so far?"

"But what do you propose I do?" JohnFlora asked looking closely at Chibi. If what she says is true then there's a possibility that this isn't really Chibi either since she went through the same doorway as Mike.

"The real Mike is outside," Chibi replied knowing full well what JohnFlora was thinking. "Go ask the copy if he gave me permission to walk the halls. If he says no then you have your answer. If he says yes, then you'll have to come back here to kill me. Sounds reasonable?"

"How can I guarantee that you aren't going to run off while I do that?" JohnFlora asked watching her carefully and weighing his options on defeating her if she proved to be a doppelganger or some other evil being.

"You know the answer to that already," Chibi replied taking off her glove to reveal her faded butterfly tattoo. "You have more power in this building than I do. You can easily manipulate the door to hold me in."

JohnFlora got up and pressed his hand to his bedroom door. His butterfly tattoo shone brightly leaving a seal on the outside of the door. "I'll be back." He opened the door and closed it behind him, the wood of the door and frames entwining with each other to form a solid seal. What am I going to do? If she's real then I can't let her be harmed or both Lack and Mike will kill me. If she's fake I can't take her on myself. He walked towards MikeRex's and Jemini's bedroom. Opening the door, he looked in briefly. Where could he be? The sound of crying brought his attention to the corner of the room. "Jemini?"

"John!" Jemini burst into fresh tears. "Mike… Mike said he doesn't want me around anymore!" JohnFlora's eyes widened. Jemini held onto him tightly and continued to cry.

"Where did he go Jemini?" he asked gently stroking her hair. "I have a sneaking suspicion that the Mike we have here is a fake. I'm going to find out if I'm right." Jemini stopped crying and looked up at him with renewed hope.

"He went to the Training Room I think," she said with a hiccup. "I hope you're right." She got up and pulled herself together. "I'm coming too."

They walked down towards the Training Room. Sounds of metal ringing out loudly. JohnFlora and Jemini looked in to find MikeRex bearing down on Caya in a very one-sided battle. JohnFlora ran and supported Caya. MikeRex growled angrily and brought his spear hard down onto the two of them. It's true. I don't need to ask him. Chibi was right. He and Caya moved around the room evading MikeRex's attack.

When they neared the door, John called out to Jemini. "Go to my room and release the person in there. She'll help you work out what needs to be done," JohnFlora watched her run off out of the corner of her eye. Hurry Jemini.

~~~

Chibi's ears twitched hearing quick footsteps approaching the door. She moved away and sat at JohnFlora's desk. Jemini burst in and froze. "Chibi…"

"I take it John got his answer," Chibi got up and took her hand. "We don't have much time. Come with me." She dragged the stunned Jemini down the hall and out the door to where Furama, Tadakono and MikeRex stood waiting. "John and Caya are fighting your shadow."

Jemini pulled out of Chibi's grasp and stood away from MikeRex. "How did you know that?"

"I guess that was the case when you came to free me from John's room," Chibi replied not looking at Jemini. "Assuming that John can't fight his brother alone, Mike's copy must of gone into the Training Room after he spoke to you and attacked Caya… Who's almost always in there anyway."

"How did you know he spoke to me?"

"I must have had good timing," Chibi looked at Jemini. "Considering your face is still damp. You had been crying. The copy must of said or done something really mean to cause you to cry. Because you don't look physically hurt, that leaves that he said something to you." She looked back to MikeRex and added "You better go rescue the two of them before they either die from your copy or kill your copy." She glanced back and Jemini and walked over to pull one of Jemini's ribbons out of her hair.

"What are you doing?!" she cried trying to grab the ribbon back.

Chibi stepped away from Jemini's hands and came over to MikeRex. "Bring the point down." She said to him with a slight commanding tone in her voice. MikeRex raised an eyebrow then lowered his spear. Chibi wrapped the ribbon around the shaft of the spear, ending with a bow. She brought out two coating bottles and coated his armor and spear. "So we can tell you apart from your copy." MikeRex nodded and motioned for them to go inside.

~~~

This is bad. JohnFlora cast Kyrie Elision on himself and Caya. The butterfly tattoo on himself and Caya glowed brightly. Mike? "Caya," he said quickly as Caya cast Sightless Raid. "We're going to fall back to the door." Caya nodded and they moved back.

"Mike?" Caya said in surprise as he moved back through the door frame. Noticing a smaller blue figure at his side, his eyes widened in surprise. "Chibi…"

"Anything else I need to know?" MikeRex asked her quickly. JohnFlora cast defensive spells over everyone. "Anything you've left out."

"Your copy is you," Chibi replied throwing bombs to surround the doorway to buy them some time. "You need to think of ways to defeat yourself. It'll be a very difficult battle but your weaknesses you know of are the same for the copy. If you can catch your copy in a weakness then it's a sure win for you. The same goes for it, so be careful."

MikeRex and JohnFlora leapt over the flames and into the room. Chibi kept the flames up as a barrier between those with her and the battle ahead. Caya leaned against her with a smile. "I haven't seen you in a long time. You and Mike seem to be civil to each other now."

"Not completely," Chibi replied watching MikeRex throw his copy across the room. "There are still some things between us that keeps us from being friends but as comrades, that's a different story all together."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Tadakono asked cutting Caya off. He looked apologetically at Caya and continued "Comrades and friends are the same aren't they?"

"The idea is but the actual structure isn't," Chibi replied throwing out more bombs. "Friends are two or more people who can sit and talk, hang out and basically have fun in each others company. Comrades, on the other hand, are different. If you're in a battle, you'd look for the person you can trust to watch your back and know they trust you to watch theirs. Arguments, friendships, fun… They don't enter that equation. In a battle, your main instinct is to survive and if there's someone who can help you reach that goal then you go for it even if that person is your worst enemy." Her eyes darkened and flickered as if looking at something moving near her fast.

"Chibi?" Furama and Tadakono gave her a small shake. "Chibi, the flames are dying down…"

Chibi watched the scene in her head. I don't remember activating my ability. She could sense Tadakono and Furama move away from her to stand in front and cast Storm Gust and Lord of Vermilion respectively as a barrier against the battle. Caya and Jemini took over shaking her. She couldn't respond or snap out of her vision. You activated it didn't you Eir. Without warning me. She focused onto the vision. This isn't good. I'm going to have to intervene. Chibi snapped out of her vision and darted through Tadakono's Storm Gust towards MikeRex's copy.

Time slowed as Chibi approached. She drew four Acid bottles and threw them at MikeRex's copy before circling back behind MikeRex and JohnFlora to the door. For a second, her eyes caught MikeRex's. MikeRex nodded and brought his spear through the four bottles causing the contents to spill over the copy. The Acid began to eat away at the metal on the copy's body and spear. MikeRex brought his spear up and impaled his copy through the heart. Chibi returned and ran directly into Tadakono's arms.

"Why did you do that?" he whispered as everyone cheered with excitement at MikeRex's victory. "You didn't respond to us then you just move so quickly like you were the one on fire."

"I saw Mike's death," Chibi said quietly. "My ability from Eir was activated. I'm pretty sure it was Eir herself who did it because I didn't do it. So I made it easier for him to defeat his copy."

FCGS - Chapter 27

(Pre-Chapter Notes: The kiss that Chibi/Lack give to allow Chibi's power to flow into Lack, is an idea I nicked from an anime called Rental Magica where Adilisia gives Itsuki a kiss after biting her lip. She called it Infection Magic. Because of the Brother/Sister relationship between Lack and Chibi I decided either the kiss to a item like clothing or on the cheek is best.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ready?" Phenomenon asked Furama. "Just a small section."

"I know," Furama cast Fireball and slowly moved it towards the ice melting away a perfectly round circle and exposing Lack's forearm. "I hope I didn't harm him from that." Buzzing started in their ears.

Alastor cast Spirit of Monk. He mentally fell downwards through Lack's Spiritual Power and landed on a large white circle. "Lack?" Lack turned to face him his movements slow.

A shadow at the edge of the circle disappeared after whispering 'Good. They heard you.'

"Will you be alright by yourself?" Lack asked the shadow while Alastor touched Lack's arm.

'I will be. Set Flyte free for me.' Lack gave a nod and turned to look at Alastor. 'And be careful. Who will set me free if you don't return?' A giggle faded away leaving Lack and Alastor alone.

Alastor feeling uneasy about the shadow, felt spell tags throughout his Spiritual Power during his assessment. "We'll get you out of here." Alastor withdrew out and opened his eyes. "Lack's alive. He's been frozen within as well. This is definitely Hel's work."

Tadakono and Furama slowly melted the ice around Lack. Haru focused his power into Lack, breaking the numerous spell tags that kept his insides frozen. The three eased him to the ground. "How many days has it been since I fell through the doorway?" Lack asked slowly, his teeth chattering from the cold.

"It's been over five months," Tadakono replied casting Fireball again to try and warm Lack up. "What happened?" He had a feeling that the copies had been around much longer than they first anticipated.

"When we arrived in Rachel," Lack said holding his hands close to Tadakono's fireball. "Within Freya's Temple. Someone challenged me. This person was strong. I don't mean Kashy strong. I mean God-like strong. Even with Chibi supporting me, we were both knocked down. Mike got angry and tried on his own but was struck down as well. Kchan and Izual faired no better. That's really all I remember." He looked around the cavern and noticed the others who were frozen. "Think it'll be safe to set them free?"

"We're thinking it was Hel who froze all of you," Kakaxi explained watching Lack get up and press a hand on the remaining ice that held Chibi, Kchan, Izual and MikeRex. "We risked defrosting you. I don't know if we should risk defrosting the others until we're certain."

"Chibi could be alive," Lack said softly trying to ease the pain in his head. Silence greeted his words. "Want to know how I can tell?" He turned to look at them then waved them over and pointed behind Chibi to her Lif. He looked at Chibi's closed eyes and felt a small tug at a memory he didn't recognize. "Homunculi die when their owners Spiritual Power is completely gone. In other words, when they are dead. If you defrost Flyte and she's still alive, you can bet that Chibi is as well." They gave him a curious stare. "Chibi told me that a long time ago. She said that it might be useful for me one day. Didn't really wanted to know what she meant by that."

Tadakono and Furama slowly defrosted Flyte. Haru broke the spell tags and they waited. Flyte laid motionless on the ground. Lack touched her hand, his eyes willing her to wake up. "Master Lack?" She whispered quietly not moving. "Mistress says to leave her in the ice for now." She moved her hand to touch his cheek. "She says for defrosting me that you have to look after me." She came close to his ear and whispered. "She says you need to remember how badly injured she was. Leaving her in the ice is safest for now. Because I'm with you, you'll know if anything happens to her." Lack nodded and patted it's head.

"I don't want to try defrosting the other three," he said, his voice getting stronger the more he moved around. "I don't know if they're alive or anything. I'll wait until I hear from John or Foxi about them." He placed a hand on the section of ice that contained Chibi and whispered "I'll be back to get you whether you want me to or not."

Flyte smiled and said "Mistress says that if you are holding her best interests then it'll be best to leave her there until the moon is in the sky during the day." Lack looked at Flyte with a weird expression. "Don't ask me why she said that, she just did."

~~~

"Good that they were able to get you out," Rena said giving Lack a hug. "Looks like they could of gotten Chibi out as well but didn't."

"Chibi said that she needed to stay there," Flyte flew and perched itself onto Lack's shoulder to listen to the conversation. "She said that it was…" He looked at Flyte. "What was it again?"

"It would be best to leave her there until the moon is in the sky during the day," Flyte said looking at Rena. "Mistress says that you know how she knows that. She says you can tell Lack if you feel it necessary to."

Rena raised an eyebrow. "Is she sure? And it feels weird that I'm relaying her secrets to Lack with permission from her homunculus." Flyte nodded and Rena sighed. "You know about how Chibi warped her Azoth right? I was in Chibi's lab one day… I snuck in to Fight Club once because I wanted to know how your guild was so powerful… It was the day she warped it. Eir granted her an ability to see into the future. It has a very short span on it so she can probably only see like half a year in advance and it drains her both mentally and physically when she uses it. She knew I was there and made me swear secrecy from you and Eir bound that promise to me. I guess telling you now because Chibi said I could breaks that binding."

"So she has Trelawney's power only no headaches but instead she becomes weakened and she can control it," Lack said in confirmation. "So that's how she knew you were coming to see Phen that day we stormed Loki's castle." Lowering his voice, he added "Then you know… The deal Eir and I made."

"You've remembered… But your memory doesn't seem to be complete yet," Rena said surprised. "Eir thought it best to seal that information within you and Chibi because she felt bad for forcing you to make that decision. When did you remember?"

"While I was trapped in the ice," Lack replied closing his eyes. "Chibi was able to float into my Spiritual Power but I couldn't go to hers. After they melted the ice, my memories of how she could do that came to me." He sighed and opened his eyes again. "I would make that decision again… Chibi's power?"

"She doesn't just get weakened," Rena replied sensing Lack's wish to drop the current subject. "She can really only use it three times in one day. Any more and she risks tapping into her Spiritual Power to see what is ahead. As far as I know, she rarely ever uses it." Rena held up a hand to let him know she knew no more about Chibi's ability. "The day the moon is in the sky with the sun is a week from now. The Lunar Priests in Prontera would know exactly when… Better yet! Go visit Chibi's sister... Violy." Both Lack and Flyte rolled their eyes.

~~~

"Lack! Long time no see!" Violy and Kagura held hands with him. Violy gave him a little pinch on the cheek. "How's my older sister? She hasn't come by to see me since I married Kagura." Tadakono, Syaoran and Phenomenon had decided to accompany Lack on his visit to Church in Prontera. Kakaxi, FerrariSin and Furama headed back to Fight Club to monitor the copy of Lack.

"Same as always Violy," Lack said uncertainly. Flyte held her hands in front of her face. "I wanted to ask… When is the next time that the moon is visible in the sky during the day?"

"This for one of my sister's workings?" Violy asked shaking hands with Tadakono, Syaoran and Phenomenon as a greeting. "Or something else all together?"

"Would it matter?" Lack asked trying to avoid telling her Chibi was a block of ice. "If it's for one of Chibi's workings, then you'd be helping your sister. If it's for something else then you don't need to worry about it either."

"If it's for Chibi's working," Violy said softly. Tears formed in her eyes. "It means she's either too embarrassed or too stubborn to come see me." Violy looked at Flyte and added "I know that she's alive at least."

Flyte perched herself onto Violy's shoulder and whispered to her. Lack sighed and asked Kagura the same question. "I'm a Solar Priestess… Hence the red clothing. Only Violy can answer your question. But I understand how she feels. Kchan and Jemini haven't come to see me since our wedding." She gave Lack a cheeky smile. "Speaking of weddings, why don't you marry Chibi? You're both obviously close."

Lack stared at her unsurprised. "No matter how many times I hear that it doesn't change the fact that Chibi and I aren't like that." He watched Violy wipe away tears. "Besides, would feel weird to marry family."

"Seriously?" Kagura said watching him carefully. "You two aren't real family so why not?"

"We are family," Lack replied walking away. "We became family the day the Gods favoured us." Kagura followed him to Violy. Lack gave her a pat on the back and asked "There isn't much I can do without the answer."

"Its twelve days from now," Violy sniffled. Flyte gave her a little hug. "Can you tell me if she's alright? I'll come by Fight Club Headquarters in a fortnight's time. Even if she truly doesn't want to see me, can you tell me if she's alright?"

Lack nodded. Kagura looked sideways at him. What does he mean by 'became family the day the Gods favoured us'? Lack gave Violy a quick hug before leaving with Tadakono, Syaoran and Phenomenon. They aren't favoured by the same God… He's hiding something.

~~~

"He really doesn't seem any different from the real Lack," Kakaxi whispered at the Guild meeting. "How will we tell the differences when the real one gets here?" A gasp spread throughout the room. "What happened?"

"The fake is breaking the guild," FerrariSin said with shock. The door banged open to reveal Tadakono, Syaoran, Phenomenon and the real Lack. "This is going to confuse everyone."

"Why would I break Fight Club?" Lack asked his copy on the platform. "Fight Club is strong. We built ourselves to strength from nothing. Time and time again, we are broken down but we continue to fight on." He took off one of his gloves and wrapped one of Chibi's blue ribbons around his wrist. Chibs… Let me borrow your power. "You're my dark side… A copy of myself. I won't let you break what we have worked hard to preserve."

"Why not break it?" The copy replied coming close to him. "Better to go now than fade into the background and not be remembered." It pulled its gloves tight and settled into a fighting position. "Let's settle this then. Which side is stronger."

Tadakono, Syaoran and Phenomenon moved and stood near Kakaxi, FerrariSin and Furama. "This isn't going to be good is it?" Furama whispered in Tadakono's ear. Tadakono shook his head and watched Flyte hover between the two of them. "The blue ribbon was so we can tell he's the real one?"

"The blue ribbon is something else," Tadakono replied confused. "Lack said something about linking to Chibi. I don't know what he means by that but I guess we'll find out."

Lack pressed his lips gently to the ribbon causing it to glow. He changed to Stalker and paused. "I see now…" Flyte cast Emergency Avoid increasing his speed. Lack darted and furiously sliced at his copy with twin daggers forcing it back. "You have no idea what I just did and you can't change to a Stalker."

"Mistress says be careful," Flyte whispered in his ear. "She says don't turn back to a Champion under any circumstances." She stayed behind Lack and cast Heal.

"Did she see that or does she know that?" he asked disappearing into Chasewalk. His voice echoed around the room. "Because it's something I need to know."

"She says both," Flyte stayed in one spot not give away his position. The copy darted at her. Lack smiled and brought his daggers around it's neck, slicing it's throat. "It's not dead yet."

"I hope I'm not that predictable," he murmured jumping back and throwing a dagger into it's chest. Flyte giggled and cast Emergency Avoid again. "What? Chibi said I was didn't she." Flyte nodded floating down to the ground to sit and burst into laughter. "Is it dead yet?"

Flyte cocked her head to one side. "She's not answering." Lack looked back to his copy and noticed it was melting. Flyte flew over to him and whispered quietly in his ear. "Mistress says the one who attacked you is in the cavern right now. She can see his face clearly."

Lack pretended she didn't say anything and went up onto the stage to explain what just happened to the guild. "Keep me informed on what she sees." he murmured quietly to Flyte. "I can't get to her at the moment." Lack began to address the congregation before him.

Flyte stayed near his ear whispering. "She says you need to get there as soon as possible with as many guild members that you can trust. She says that you're going to have a hard time defeating him." Lack made a little movement with his hand, Flyte continued. "She says it's Contra."

FCGS - Chapter 26

"I'm still not use to this," Syaoran said reading a very long summary. Lack highlighted a few lines not completely hearing what Syaoran said. "It's like paper mountain." Lack looked up, his ears twitching slightly.

"Did you hear that?" he asked looking at the door. Syaoran closed his eyes and listened carefully. "It's a strange sound. Not something you'd pick up straight away."

Chibi peeked in and looked around the room. "You haven't seen Rue have you? He's probably hungry by now."

"Who's Rue?" Lack asked confused. Something furry tickled his leg. Looking down, he found a Lunatic with two paws on his leg. "Is this Rue? I never knew you had a pet."

"Rue is actually one of the mascots for the Alchemist Society," she crouched down and gave Rue a carrot. "There's two more and they're all fond of coming in here and making a mess. Should of given you some warning."

"So then what are the other two?" Syaoran asked curious.

"One is an Alice…" Chibi paused and gave a little laugh. "Called Alice. The other is a Bapho Jr called Scythe." She picked Rue up and pet him causing his ears to stand on end. "I don't know where the other two are but if you see them…" She left a pot of honey and a white potion. "I've already sent the letters. Every Alchemist and Creator in Rune-Midgard will be here tomorrow." Lack stopped reading and paid full attention to her. "I'm…" she paused and took a deep breath. "I'm going to..." Chibi's voice caught in her throat.

Syaoran looked at Lack then at Chibi. Lack kept his composure and said "Keep going. Unless you say it I can't do anything about it."

Chibi hugged Rue and closed her eyes. "I'm going to need help switching them from the old system to the new and taking down all the names of those who came. Also chasing up on those who are avoiding the Society for whatever reason." She said quickly before sitting down hard in nearby armchair. Rue jumped out of her arms and onto the back of the chair.

Lack got up and gave her a little pat on the shoulder. "Thankyou for telling me. I'll arrange something to help you." Chibi didn't look up at him. He ruffled her hair and knelt down. "You're changing. It's impressive but you don't need to force it. Even if you didn't say anything I would of arrange things for you." Chibi gave him a dirty look and left the room.

"That… Was evil Lack," Syaoran said after a while. "What are you trying to do? Or is it payback for her outburst earlier?"

"I want her to change. I want her to tell me things and not hide them," he gave Syaoran a smile. "Yeah, part of that was payback also."

Chibi peeked in at that exact moment and said "I heard that. Glad you aren't trivial Lack."

~~~

Chibi stood near the largest orb with a clipboard in her hand. Minna and brighteyes were taking the names of the Alchemists and sent them on to Yukiko and Mazenda who, in turn, renewed their insignia and sent them on to take a seat in front of Chibi. Phenomenon, Syaoran, Lack and Tadakono did the same for the Creators.

Her eyes surveyed the scene before her. The numbers she tallied up in her head upset her. Glancing at Lack, she twitched her nose. Lack nodded and took a deep breath. "Everyone Shut Up!" The noise in the room died completely. Lack swept his hand towards Chibi with a small bow.

"Not exactly what I was expecting…" Chibi said giving him a little nod. "But thank you."

"My pleasure," he replied causing Tadakono, Syaoran and Phenomenon look quizzically at each other.

Tadakono leaned back against the two and whispered "They're fighting again aren't they." Syaoran and Phenomenon nodded in agreement. "I wonder what it's about this time."

"Chibi heard Lack say he was paying her back for blowing up about him using Asura Strike," Syaoran whispered back noticing Lack watching them. "They're on the 'I'll be sweet but I won't say sorry' phase of the argument."

Chibi coughed and glared at the three of them. Yukiko cleared her voice and began. "A lot of you don't know," She placed a hand on Chibi's shoulder. "Since many graduated during the time of your disappearance." Yukiko side glanced at Chibi, who glanced back. "This is the High Seat of the Alchemist Society, Chibi Lilica, or Chibi for short. We thank you all for coming here at such short notice. Now that all your insignias have been switched over to the new system, we'll be better able to keep track of all of you."

Chibi raised her hand to stop Yukiko from talking. She looked out into the crowd. She could hear the whispers about her dual colored eyes, about the new system, and about her inability to lead. "Do you think I like being here?" she asked them in a low but firm voice. "Do you think all of you can do what I do every day? Can any of you be able to face what is happening to our Society and not break down from the strain then I'd gladly give this position to you." Her words were greeted by silence. "I thought so. The new system tracks you even if you lose a piece of your humanity…" Lack narrowed his eyes at her. Chibi glanced at him before continuing "Basically you don't need to come in to renew your data so we can still track you."

Mazenda gave Chibi a quill. "We need to take any information you know about the current situation." This caused the noise level in the room to increase. Mazenda and Yukiko took the opportunity to attempt to ask Chibi a few questions.

Chibi slammed her fist against the wall. Silence spread through the room. "None of you have been paying attention to the Harpy letters Yukiko and Mazenda send monthly." She pressed her fingers against her forehead. "Then listen properly now or I won't be there to save your sorry asses later on."

Tadakono sighed and listened to her speak. Syaoran leaned forwards and whispered "She's really angry. I wonder what's set her off now."

"It's because of her position," Lack said coming close to them. "I can't help her in this and the strain of it is really frustrating her. Either she's going to lose it completely at them or she'll keep her cool and blow up at me later as a release. I wonder which will happen."

"That was out of line," Syaoran said glaring at Lack. "You're also really mad at her aren't you. It's becoming very tedious this little rift between you two." Lack gave him a smile. Syaoran looked at Tadakono and Phenomenon then back at Lack. "You feeling alright?"

~~~

Kakaxi walked through the ice cave. She knew something here had called her. The Fight Club symbol on her shoulder glowed. FerrariSin and Furama followed her, their symbols also glowing.

"Something's happening," Kakaxi said, her voice echoing through the cavern. "Something big…"

"Kakaxi," Furama said looking at three large ice blocks. "You should look at this…"

"Oh my god," Kakaxi stared at the blocks. "It's the missing Mediators."

"That's not all," FerrariSin called from behind the large block of ice. "Lack…" Kakaxi and Furama ran to his side. Kakaxi covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. "We've got to tell Chibi."

"Not possible," Furama said looking around. "We're in big trouble." In the cavern around them, sealed in ice were Lack, Chibi, Izual, Kchan, MikeRex and the Mediators. "Three Guild Masters… Two Second in Command… Three Hidden Gods."

~~~

"The disappearances are happening more frequently now," Yukiko said looking through the file. Chibi sat at her desk twirling her quill. "Chibi? You listening?"

"I am," Chibi replied putting her feet up on the table. Yukiko's eyes widened. "I'm just not in a caring mood at the moment."

Yukiko paused then walked out only looking back briefly. "Something is seriously wrong with you."

~~~

"Lack! We need help over here!" Tadakono yelled furiously casting Storm Gust. "Lack?"

Lack sat back watching the guild battle with an almost perfect smile on his face. "I'm here. Don't worry."

"I am worried," Syaoran said catching his opponent unexpectedly with his sword. "Every battle we've had, every challenge, all you've done is sit there and smile."

"Everything is just so tedious," Lack replied playing with one of his summoned spheres. "Fighting… Everything. Just bores me so much now."

~~~

"Wait," Tadakono said taking a hold of Kakaxi's arm. "They're in ice cave? Then who's…"

"Another doppelganger?" Syaoran asked watching Lack in the Training Room. "Or something else entirely?"

"We don't have Chibi to ask either," Phenomenon said noticing Yukiko and Mazenda. "But then again, if the thing in Chibi's place is a doppelganger, those two would notice wouldn't they."

"She's human," Yukiko said handing Tadakono the clipboard she was holding. "She has the memories Chibi had before you all went to Loki's castle. She even has all of Chibi's strength, skill and abilities." She glanced at Lack. "He's human as well. I can see it. It will be safe to assume that everyone else in the ice cave who have a copy here are human. The only thing that confuses me is that there is no copy of the Mediators."

"Maybe whoever did this," Syaoran said leaning against the door frame. "They couldn't make copies of the Mediators because they aren't 100% human."

"Chibi isn't 100% human and neither is Lack," Phenomenon pointed out. "Chibi has Thanatos pieces in her Spiritual Power and Lack is dual class. Your theory doesn't fit."

"Let's go see Rena," FerrariSin said suddenly. "There has to be some logical reason why this is happening and who is behind it." They left Lack to his training.

~~~

"If there's a logical reason," Rena said leafing through papers in her lap. "I don't see it. The only person who we could get answers from is Loki. But I doubt that we'd be able to."

"What about one of the Gods?" Tadakono asked thinking out loud. "But Eir didn't say anything when she spoke to Chibi. Actually now that I think about it," He glanced at Phenomenon. "Tyr didn't react either to Lack."

"So what now," Ara asked. "We can't just sit here incase those copies actually do something."

"But what can we do?" Kakaxi leaned against a wall. "We could ask the Gods themselves."

"Not possible," Tadakono replied opening his eyes. "Eir says that Chibi is the real Chibi. She just went and saw her just now."

"Then what is going on?" FerrariSin pressed his fingers against his forehead. "If the Gods think that the copies… Who were are assuming are copies… are real then either a God of a higher order is fooling them or…"

"Or…?" Syaoran prompted after a long silence. "Is there an 'or' option or just threw it out there because you want something manageable?"

"Let's test FerrariSin's theory," Rena said causing Syaoran to pause mid-rant. "If it is a God of higher rank than Tyr, Eir and Forseti, it would have to be Odin. Unless anyone can think of any others?"

"Why did you add Forseti?" Phenomenon asked a little confused. "Who's patron is he?"

"Izual's," Rena replied stretching. "Any ideas?"

"What about Hel?," Alastor asked. "According to you two," He nodded his head towards Tadakono and Phenomenon. "Hel was at Loki's castle but after it was stormed and searched, she wasn't there anymore. Add to the fact that she is a Goddess of the Underworld which is a bigger role than the other three…"

"Makes sense," Rena replied noticing Furama shredding paper in a corner. "What are you doing?"

"Hel is the most likely candidate," he replied making a mountain of paper. "Being a Goddess of the Underworld, she could easily freeze them and draw out their dark sides to be 'copies' while she plots her new plan. Creators disappearing was part of Loki's original plan but if we add Hel to the mix… She's taken her father's plan and warped it so she can manage it herself." He looked up at all of them. "These copies aren't copies which is why the Gods don't react and why they have memories that we wouldn't expect them to. These copies are shadows of the original. I'm pretty sure you all have one too, a dark side that you suppress because you're either ashamed of it or feel it is wrong to act that way."

Rena nodded listening carefully. "Makes the most sense so far. But that also means we can't carelessly thaw them out. If it is Hel, she's either already killed them and froze them or froze them when they weren't expecting her. We have no way to know which is which."

"They aren't dead," Kakaxi said suddenly. "Or at least Lack isn't dead. Our symbol glowed, which was how we found them in the first place. Lack can only do that if he is alive and conscious."

Rena thought carefully. "We can't afford to experiment though. If Lack was conscious, would he be able to reach the Emergency System? Chibi was able to when Loki trapped her."

"But Chibi was within her own mind," Tadakono pointed out. "Lack, as far as we know, isn't. He could be fully there but not able to move due to being in a block of ice."

"Doesn't stop him from thinking though," Phenomenon said moving his head back to rest against the wall. His headache was bothering him a little. "In theory, he should be able to reach the Emergency System if he's able to make our symbols glow."

"Frostbite..." Furama said softly. "Hypothermia… Slowed processes. It's possible given their current environment. We don't know exactly how long they've been there. What interests me is that those who disappeared through the doorways at Loki's castle are now frozen in ice."

"They're also people who are either High Seats, Guild Masters, or both," Kakaxi said slowly. "Slowed processes due to the cold is possible." She rested her head on FerrariSin's shoulder, her eyes closed shutting out light to dull pain from her headache. "Rena, you have anything for a headache?"

All the Fight Club members in the room looked at her. Rena smiled. "We have our answer. It's safe to assume all of you have a headache. It could be one of two things: a huge coincidence or Lack's slowly trying to grasp the Emergency System and because of that it's pulling on all of you." She rested her head in her hands and said softly. "You guys have two choices. Neither of which are good. Either you wait to defrost Lack incase the headache is a coincidence, or you defrost him now and if he is dead… Well… Resurrect won't revive him."

"In any case," Phenomenon said standing and swaying slightly. "We should go to the ice cave. If it's Lack trying to contact us, we can thaw him out on the spot. If not… Then we'll figure out what to do from there." The Fight Club members agreed.

"I'll come with you," Alastor said looking at Rena for approval. "While I can't link unless I have physical contact, I can be acting support."

Rena nodded and then added. "Another alternative is defrosting a piece of Lack's arm so Alastor can use Spirit of Monk to assess him. But then again, that exposed piece could die. It's less riskier though than fully defrosting him. Take Haru with you also."

FCGS - Chapter 25

"They've been at it for some time now," Tadakono whispered peeking into Lack's study. "But they're getting through that paperwork faster than we did." He watched Chibi get up and point something out to Lack on the report she was holding. "I wonder how they do it."

"They're experienced," Eir whispered in his ear. Tadakono yelled and fell through the door. Chibi and Lack looked up surprised. Eir bend over and picked Tadakono up. "Sorry for the disturbance. I was just coming to see Tadakono." Chibi narrowed her eyes at Eir. "I'll come see you soon too…. Promise."

The sound of raised voices floated in the door. Tadakono rolled his eyes and said "Not again." He looked at Lack and added "The Blacksmith Society keeps going on strike on us. Kei is at a loss on what to do." Eir took Tadakono's arm and dragged him off before he forgot about her.

Chibi got up and dusted off her skirt. "Then I'll just blow them up. Being flattened by Phen, sliced to pieces by Syao and frozen by Tada didn't affect them. I'll blow them up and see what that does." Phenomenon, Syaoran and Lack followed Chibi down through the long corridors to where the Blacksmiths were.

They looked at her defiantly. Chibi closed her eyes and threw bottles into the air. The three could tell these were bottles filled with Alcohol. "She's really going to blow them up." said Syaoran as Lack and Phenomenon cast Safety Wall around the three of them. The Blacksmiths laughed hard. Chibi drew out a bundle of Bombs. Their laughter began to die out as they realized what was going to happen. Chibi threw the Bombs hard at them. Fire filled the room catching all the Blacksmiths and melting weapons and armor on them.

"Chibs," Phenomenon said after the fire died down and the smell of molten metal and singed hairs filled the air. "That was overkill."

"I did say I was going to blow them up," she replied. Lack stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. The Blacksmiths shivered and ran. "I'll gladly blow you all up again if you strike one more time. But next time, you won't be able to run away so fast." She called after them. She gave Lack a slap on the back and added "I think you delivered the final blow. I doubt my Bombs are really that scary."

Lack stared at her in disbelief. "They're definitely scary. Add to that when you are angry and it's purely terrifying!" He laughed and noticed out of the corner of his eye that the Blacksmiths were watching them. "Chibi…"

"Hmm?"

"Want to fight? Mock-battle I mean."

Chibi stared curiously at him. He moved so she could see what he saw. "All out? Or practice?"

"All out. Don't hold back." he replied pulling his gloves. Chibi could hear the little hints in his voice. "I want to see how strong you are now."

Chibi called her Homunculus and moved her pouches so her pouch with her offensive bottles was closer to reach into. She knew Lack was going to hold back a little because of the strength difference. Drawing her sword, she pointed it at him and said "Come on then."

Lack darted in at her. Chibi swiped at him with her sword in her left hand. With her right, she drew out two Coating bottles. As Lack leapt away from her blade, she coated herself and her sword. Lack summoned spheres then cast Fury and leapt at her once more. Chibi's blade locked against his right Knuckle.

"You're actually going to cast Asura on me again?" she asked him in a whisper grabbing a hold of his other wrist when he attempted to catch her with his right Knuckle.

"Not yet," Lack replied pulling back. "After a little battle I'll use it on you." Chibi frowned slightly. "Unless you can escape it."

Chibi pulled away and threw a few Bombs at him. If he really does want to go all out then I will. She switched her sword to her right hand then drew out two bottles and held them in her left. Creator only specialty… Acid Demonstration! She threw them at Lack knowing well that he hated her Acid bottles.

Lack noticed the green and red bottles and artfully stepped away, the flames from the mixed bottles just catching the tails of his shirt. She's really going all out. Or did I anger her just now by preparing Asura? He moved again away from another pair of bottles, again the tails of his shirt getting caught. She's angry…

Phenomenon and Syaoran watched them battle, increasing in ferocity by the second. "Is it just me…" Phenomenon asked watching as Lack forced Chibi down to her knees. "They aren't mock-fighting anymore."

"They aren't," Syaoran replied steadying himself as the floor rocked from Chibi's Bomb. "Lack's holding back a little but not as much as he was at the start and Chibi's not holding back at all."

Chibi thrust her sword at Lack. Her choice of attack surprised him. Locking sword to Knuckle again, he asked "You're not happy that I prepared Asura, are you?" Chibi pressed hard with her sword against his Knuckle. "They're still watching. If I didn't prepare Asura it wouldn’t seem real to them."

"You also said go all out," Chibi replied slyly. "If I don't even attempt to defeat you then it won't look real either." She reached to her belt and drew Azoth and swiped at him with it. "You aren't using Mjolnir anyway. You using Mjolnir is what people are use to."

Lack caught her wrist and lowered his head to whisper. "You want me to use Mjolnir? You know from the last time I really almost hurt you to the point of no return while I was using it."

"You used Asura on me too that time," Chibi hissed back flicking her wrist and moving it so the blade of Azoth was pressed against his glove. "Its like a damn instant kill move with you." She forced him back and walked away. Lack watched her go a little stunned.

"That was unexpected…" Phenomenon said giving Lack a pat on the back. Syaoran sighed and Phenomenon nodded. "Last time you two had a mock-battle that turned real, she left for Velvet Touch of Enishi."

"I don't know if she'll do that this time…" Syaoran added turning to stare at the Blacksmiths. They froze and disappeared. The three smiled at each other and went inside, just in time to catch sight of a blue cape disappearing through the Main door. "On second thought…"

~~~

Chibi sat at her desk tapping her quill against the piece of paper in front of her. Yukiko and Mazenda stood at the door watching her. "This isn't good." Chibi said after a while. "The recent number of disappearances of Creators is staggering. How long has it been like this?"

"For a few months now," Yukiko replied giving a silent order to Kishu. "I came by Fight Club Headquarters to see you but you weren't there. An Assassin Cross named Kakaxi told me you were on Nameless Island."

"Hmm…" Chibi leaned on the palm of her hand and stared at the page. Kishu entered with a pot of Chibi's favorite Milk Tea and some biscuits. Chibi gave Kishu an absent pat on the head as a thank you. Yukiko and Mazenda waited a little while longer before leaving the room and closing the door behind them.

"She's been here for almost a full week," Mazenda said with a sigh. "Lack's been by but she's no where to be found when he's here." Kishu walked next to Mazenda's Filir, Nowaki. "She's avoiding him."

"Lack said that it was because of his Asura Strike," Yukiko replied. Mazenda's eyes widened. Yukiko noticed and added "He didn't use it on her. But he has in the past. She got angry because he uses it as an instant kill move, which is what Asura Strike is anyway. I understand her reasoning for getting angry but he doesn't understand because she didn't say anything."

"I don't get it either," Mazenda said thinking. Nowaki flew up and perched on her head. "Asura Strike is the instant kill move of a Monk-class. Chibi knows that Lack will use it if he can. So I don't see why…"

"Because if Lack is to test Chibi's strength," Yukiko said cutting Mazenda off. "He can't use Asura Strike. It's basically a way to shut her down without seeing how strong she really is. But technically, she has to be able to withstand Asura Strike to defeat Lack, but because she still can't, it makes her still feel very much inferior even though they are both very strong. Just in different aspects."

"I get it now," Mazenda replied opening the door to the Hall of Notable Alchemists. "So she's avoiding him til she cools off? Or more for contemplation on her angry outburst at him?"

"I think both," Yukiko replied seeing two familiar faces coming towards her. "Phenomenon, Tadakono, What brings you here?" Nowaki and Kishu flew upwards and out a window near the ceiling. "Chibi's not really in a talking mood at the moment."

"We know," Tadakono said with a sigh. "We need to borrow an Alchemist for a Guild battle." Chibi peeked out and saw Tadakono and Phenomenon. Phenomenon gave her a little wink in greeting. Tadakono, not realizing she was there added "A guild called Steel Hearts has challenged ours. Lack's at a loss because our numbers are still on the low side from the battle with Loki. So he's trying to even up the numbers a little."

"Then why not directly ask Chibi instead of borrowing an Alchemist?" Yukiko asked feeling a familiar alchemical reaction behind her. Chibi stood leaning against the doorframe with Flyte's embryo in her hand. She listened carefully to everything being said.

"Lack feels that Chibi wants to calm down before returning," Tadakono replied finally noticing Chibi. "He wants another Alchemist so he can make a comparison. He says he doesn't understand why Chibi got angry and so he wants to see from a different perspective."

"Then take Yukiko," Chibi said disappearing back into the Orbital Room. "Only she and Mazenda are close in strength to myself. Better to borrow one of them for the Guild battle. Tell him after the battle to come see me." The door closed leaving the four looking stunned.

"So she says," Yukiko said. She whistled and Kishu floated back with her pouches. "I'll be your replacement. But I can't promise I'll be as good as her battle-wise. I've never seen her fight before but she's apparently very strong offensively."

"You don't need to worry," Tadakono replied taking her hand. "Chibi's supportive not offensive in our battles with other Guilds." Yukiko let out a sigh of relief and followed them to Fight Club Headquarters. Mazenda walked back to Chibi's office and poked her head in.

"You sure?" she asked Chibi. Chibi lifted her head, her eyes dark red. Mazenda could feel her demonic aura stable but slowly lessening. "You told them to take Yukiko."

"Part of me wants to go back to support them," Chibi said her eyes going back to normal colors. "But part of me wants Lack to understand that it's difficult to be constantly support. Also I have all the paperwork here I need to do as well that's been piling up since I was away."

"Want some help?" Mazenda offered with a small smile. Chibi shook her head. "I'll be in the Orbital Room then if you need me." Chibi waved and Mazenda left the room.

~~~

Yukiko breathed hard. She never had to support so many at once. Minna, as secondary support, filled the holes in her support but it became increasingly difficult. Lack, frustrated, yelled "Phen! Be supportive too. Yukiko just focus on myself, Syao and Tada. Let Minna and Phen work on the rest."

"Right," Yukiko replied and moved. Phenomenon changed to High Priest and darted everywhere Healing and Resurrecting as fast as he could. Yukiko pitched Whites at Lack, watching him move from opponent to opponent. He's not using Asura Strike. She said in amazement. Pitching a few Blues at Tadakono, she asked quickly and quietly. "When Lack fights, does he normally not use Asura Strike?"

"Depends on the opponent," Tadakono replied casting Frost Driver. "He uses it when the opponent appears stronger than himself. Its like flattery I guess. He likes a challenge but with Asura Strike, the challenge isn't there."

"So when he…" Yukiko paused noticing Lack snap towards them.

"He wants her to be able to withstand his full power Asura Strike," Tadakono replied sitting and relaxing.

Lack reached and gave Yukiko a pat on the back. "You did well. I can see now the difference between Chibi's way of battle and yours. I can also see why she is High Seat of the Alchemist Society." A letter floated from the sky to Yukiko. "From Chibi?"

"Yeah," she replied breaking the seal and opening it. "I better get back. She's freaking out." Lack raised an eyebrow. "Creators have been disappearing all over Rune-Midgard much more now. She's freaking out cause apparently Mazenda just told her that twelve have disappeared in the last few hours."

Syaoran, Minna, brighteyes, Phenomenon and Tadakono looked at Lack, who nodded "We'll come with you. It sounds way too much like Loki's work. I hope Loki hasn't broken free from Forseti." The Guild Master of Steel Hearts got up and shook hands with Lack before they left the grounds of Fight Club.

~~~

"Mazenda," Chibi called. "Make sure you take down the name of every Creator that has gone missing. Hei, bring me all the files on those who have passed from Alchemist to Creator." Chibi waved at Lack and the others as they entered the Orbital Room. "Where is Rumi? And Nicholas? I asked them to be here an hour ago."

"I don't know!" Mazenda cried dropping an ink bottle. "They're marks show they are down stairs." Chibi started shaking and Mazenda called "I'll go get them."

"Stay where you are," Chibi replied stalking off to her office. "I'll call them back here." Lack looked around the room at the mess of Alchemists and Creators running around gathering papers, writing things or watching the orbs. Yukiko showed them a place to sit for a while and darted off to help Mazenda. Chibi stalked back out dragging two Alchemists by the ears. "When I say get your asses in here I mean it."

"Sorry Chibi," they mumbled. "We've got the completed lists for you." They handed her the pages they were holding. They shook under her glare.

"That is everything," Rumi whispered scared. "We haven't had many students recently to teach." Chibi glanced over the pages quickly. "People seem to feel that Alchemy is too expensive a profession to take up. And youngsters these days seem to not understand that only the start price is the most expensive…"

"I don't care about how much they think it's suppose to be," Chibi snapped her eyes wild with fury. "How many students have there been that have passed from Alchemist to Creator in the past month? Hei doesn't have complete numbers." Tadakono jumped up and caught Chibi's arm before she hit Rumi. Chibi swung her other arm, which he caught as well, and said "Tadakono!"

Tadakono held her tightly a little surprised that she used his full name. "Calm down. Biting at your juniors isn't going to solve anything." He pulled Chibi closer and gave her a hug. Rumi and Nicholas saw their escape and ran off to find Hei. "It isn't like you to get this worked up. We're all here." He indicated to Lack, brighteyes, Minna, Syaoran and Phenomenon. "We'll help. Just tell us what needs to be done."

"Paperwork," Chibi mumbled quietly. Tadakono could tell she was crying. "Paperwork… And recording. Watching the orbs and recalling Alchemists and Creators to renew their insignias with the new system I've created that tracks when one disappears." Tadakono stroked her hair gently. "Registering those who have attained Azoth."

Lack took a deep breath. "Right then," He got up and signaled to Tadakono to take Chibi somewhere quiet for a while. Tadakono nodded and left. Yukiko and Mazenda came up to him. "What's been done so far?"

"Uh…" Mazenda rifled through the papers she was carrying. "Hei, Rumi and Nicholas are working out our current membership lists, Yukiko and I were watching the orbs. Chibi was with us sending letters." Noticing Lack's slight change in expression, she added "Chibi's the only one who can send letters via the orbs."

"Then I want Phen to go help Hei, Rumi and Nicholas," Phenomenon nodded and left. "I want Minna and brighteyes to stay with Yukiko and Mazenda.
Syao and myself will be in Chibi's office doing the paperwork in there." Syaoran got up and went to Chibi's office. Lack peeked in at Tadakono and whispered "When she's ready, get her to start sending letters." Tadakono gave him a thumbs up and went back to comforting Chibi.

FCGS - Chapter 24

They walked through the corridors, their pace quickening. Izual and Kchan could feel the mounting tension between Lack and MikeRex. Chibi and Flyte walked ahead of everyone, her sword in her hand ready for anything.

"She didn't even think about it," MikeRex murmured angrily. "Why can't you tell me why she'd kill me?"

"Because there's nothing you can do to correct it," Lack replied with a level voice. "In addition, she'd kill me if I told you. That's a side of Chibi I never want to see again." He gave a small growl and added "Why don't you ask her instead of trying to get it out of me?"

"Because I don't want to see her angry side either," MikeRex replied. "She's scary when she's angry. And with those pieces of Thanatos, getting her angry is the last thing I should do."

Izual and Kchan looked at each other. With a small nod, they caught up with Chibi. "Is it ok to leave those two at each others throats?" Izual asked her. "Their auras are going dangerously close to 'kill'."

"If Mike knows what's good for him," Chibi replied as they turned a corner. "He'll drop it. I know Lack won't betray my trust. He won't say anything to Mike. So it's up to Mike to drop it."

"But you know," Kchan added glancing back at the two. "You know Mike won't drop it. He's stubborn that way. Even my sister, Jemini, has trouble changing his mind when he's fixated on something." Kchan noticed her slight pause in mid step before she continued on. "Your…"

"Don't say it," Chibi snapped. "If I don't hear it, I don't feel it. If I don't feel it, then I don't get hurt. I don't want to know. I only told Lack because he caught me crying once. I don't want to hear it again. Got it?" Izual and Kchan nodded shaking slightly. "Lack can handle Mike. He's use to this sort of thing from him anyway." Chibi gripped her sword and tested it's blade with her finger. "But if he hurts Lack…" They felt a very demonic aura flow from her. "I'll kill him."

~~~

Yukiko looked at a piece of paper and then up to a pair of large metal doors. The Fight Club symbol covered them in fresh paint. Pushing open one, she stepped inside. Nervously, she walked up the path to the main entrance. She stood staring at the doors for a while.

"Not going in?" chirped Kishu standing next to her. "You need to speak to her don't you? You won't find her until you go inside."

"But…" Yukiko said nervously. "It's not polite to just go in uninvited."

"Then do you want to be my guest?" A young Assassin Cross asked. Yukiko jumped shaking. "By the look of you, you're from the Alchemist Society. I'm sorry to say but Chibi hasn't been here for a few months now. We're waiting for her to return." She extended her hand. "I'm Kakaxi by the way."

"Yukiko," Yukiko replied shaking Kakaxi's hand. "What do you mean 'waiting for her to return'? Her orb reveals that she's here."

"She isn't," Kakaxi said with a sigh. "During the battle with Loki, three Guild Masters were blown through separate doorways. Chibi was blown in with MikeRex. We know that they're on Nameless Island but we don't know when they'll return. The orbs are showing here because Chibi is usually here." Yukiko looked stunned.

~~~

"Just drop it already," Chibi growled brandishing her sword at MikeRex. Her demonic aura increasing. Lack stood behind her with a red hand print on his face. "You're both getting on my nerves!" Izual and Kchan stood a good distance away.

MikeRex put his poleaxe on the ground and raised both hands. He could feel Chibi's demonic aura increasing by the second. Chibi's sword shook and MikeRex backed away. Lack sighed and raised his hand bringing it down hard near the base of her neck. Chibi's eyes darkened and she fell forwards. Lack caught her and lowered her to the ground.

"What did you do just then?" Kchan asked noticing Chibi was out cold. "More like why."

"Because Chibi was feeding the pieces of Thanatos within her with anger again," Lack said as he and Izual moved Chibi so she laid on Lack's back. "Eir said it was dangerous if she did that. And since she was focused on Mike, I though it was time I knocked her out before she did more damage." He stood and held her in place. Kchan giggled and moved one of Chibi's left hand so it held her right arm.

"Now that's just too cute," Izual said sarcastically. "You really do look like siblings. An older brother bringing his younger sister home after a long day out." Izual, Kchan and MikeRex burst into a fit of laughter. Lack gave them a dirty look and started to walk down the corridor. "Hold on Lack," The three ran after him. "We didn’t mean it."

~~~

Syaoran slid his sword into it's sheath as a heap of Blacksmiths fell to the ground. "Do we have to go through this every single time? Do the work you're suppose to do!" Stepping inside, he came face to face with a Whitesmith. The badge on his chest revealed he was the current High Seat. "They're really pushing the limit."

"It's because Fight Club is so strong," he replied with a sigh. "I'll oversee their work and make sure it gets done. They're doing overtime that the Society isn't getting paid for. I'll make sure they do a proper job."

"I'll leave it in your hands then, Kei." Syaoran replied walking off towards Lack's study where Phenomenon and Tadakono were waiting for him. The thought of the mountain of paperwork that awaited depressed him.

Tadakono looked up as Syaoran walked into the room. "They're working now?" he asked handing Syaoran a report that FerrariSin handed in on Loki's castle.

"Kei's watching them," Syaoran replied taking it and finding a comfortable spot to sit. "I'm glad that we can get through the usual stuff faster now but these reports are time consuming."

"I know what you mean," Phenomenon replied after reading the tenth report on Guild expenditure. "But a lot of these are repetitive. I was looking over the old files and Lack has highlighted important parts or changes in repetitive reports. Ones like the one you're holding Syao, Lack writes little notes all over the pages. I think we should leave the specialized reports for him."

Tadakono nodded and added "Skim over them though just in case there's something important we need to know."

~~~

Kchan touched the transportation device and waited. It glittered and sprang to life. The door slid open to reveal a very small room inside. "I wonder if we all can fit," she mused to herself.

Chibi moved her head and brought her lips close to Lack's ear. "What are you doing?" she whispered in his ear. "Did I fall asleep?" Lack shook his head and followed Izual and MikeRex into the room. "Then…"

"Don't worry about it," he replied and set her down on the floor. "You're not hurt are you?" Chibi shook her head. "Then don't worry about what happen." Chibi blinked and looked at him with glazed eyes. "Just rest. You're still out of it."

Kchan tapped away at the controls near the door. The room shook and the sensation of movement was felt by everyone in the room. MikeRex knelt down near Chibi. He looked at Lack who gave a slight nod. "Chibi," he asked tapping her arm. "Why would you kill me?"

Kchan gave him a smack across the head. MikeRex looked up at her annoyed. "Because she's out of it doesn't mean that you can ask her questions like that."

"It's the only time she will answer and not remember that she answered," Lack replied watching Chibi's expression. "Mike…"

They listened carefully. "Because I still love you," Chibi replied her voice very soft. "When you left me and went to Jemini, it hurt much. Your kindness hurts me now. Everything about you does." Chibi closed her eyes and went to sleep.

MikeRex fell backwards surprised. Lack folded his arms and nodded. "That's why I told you there's nothing you can do to correct it," Kchan sat next to Chibi and moved her so Chibi's head rested on her lap. She pet her hair gently. "And why she'd kill me if I had been the one to tell you." Izual sighed and sat next to Kchan watching them. "You need to pretend that you didn't hear that or she'll really murder you to the point of not return if she ever found out."

"She'd murder us all actually for letting him ask," Kchan added plaiting a piece of Chibi's hair. "She really doesn't want to know anymore."

"If I don't hear it, I don't feel it. If I don't feel it, then I don't get hurt. Is what she said to us Mike," Izual said as the room jerked slightly. "You really better drop it now that you know why." MikeRex nodded and looked at Chibi's peaceful expression.

~~~

Yukiko sat staring at Chibi's orb. Ever since she visited Fight Club Headquarters, the orb had not moved. Mazenda walked in with a teapot and two cups on a tray. "Yukiko," she said slowly noticing the orb had clouded over. "Yukiko, the orb…"

They both stared at the orb as it gave a bird's eye view of the lands it passed over. It flew north past Yuno into the outer world. "Where's that?" Yukiko asked as Mazenda ran around Chibi's office looking for books.

"It's Freya's Temple in Rachel," Mazenda replied bringing the book over to show her. "How she suddenly appeared there, I'll never know."

Yukiko quickly wrote two letters. Handing them to Kishu, she said "Take one to Tadakono, Syaoran and Phenomenon in Fight Club Headquarters and the other to JohnFlora and Jemini in Velvet Touch of Enishi Headquarters." Kishu bowed and walked out of the room. "It'll still take her a while to get back and we don't know if the others are with her."

~~~

Tadakono looked up to see Kakaxi and a red Lif at the door. "Flyte… Or not. It's Kishu isn't it?" The Lif nodded and handed him the note from Yukiko. Phenomenon and Syaoran came over to read over Tadakono's shoulders. "Chibi's in Rachel?" Kishu nodded and bowed leaving the room.

"She didn't stay long," Phenomenon said looking out the door. "I guess she has another order from Yukiko to do." Coming back into the room, he added "What should we do? We don't know if Lack is with her."

"But at least with her here it'll boost morale a bit," Syaoran replied looking over the note again in Tadakono's hand. "And she'd be able to pin-point Lack more easily than just us."

"True," Tadakono said placing the note on the table. "One of us needs to stay here then. There's still the Blacksmith problem that Kei is having trouble controlling and if the three of us disappeared together, the guild might fall apart."

"I'll stay this time," Syaoran offered with a sigh. "I can't promise that Chibi will come home to relax. The paperwork pile will probably be as big as ever."

~~~

"Welcome to the Rachel Airship!"

Chibi showed her insignia and winked at Kchan. They went aboard for free. Lack pulled out his special gloves that marked him as the High Seat of the Monk Society and was also able to get onto the Airship for free. Izual gave MikeRex a pat on the back and with Izual's ruby blade Excalibur marking him as the High Seat of the Knight Society also gained them free travel.

Lack tucked the gloves away quickly. He hated being challenged constantly because of them. Chibi poked him in the side and smiled. "Why won't you wear them? It's not like you can't defeat anyone who challenges you." Lack pulled a face at her. "What? You and Izual are the only ones that would get challenges. Yet you hide your insignia and Izual wears his openly."

"If I could hide it I would," Izual said sneaking up on her. Chibi jumped and fell over, her insignia slipping out of her pocket and bouncing along the floor.

"Flyte," Chibi called pointing at the insignia. The Lif flew after it and grabbed a hold of it. She placed it in the little backpack Chibi had made for her and flew back. "I'm glad I don't get challenged. For some reason, people underestimate an Alchemist's power."

"I'm glad you don't get challenges either," Lack murmured helping her up. "It'd be a constant worry for me if you did." Chibi stared at him somewhat annoyed. "What I mean is that, I wouldn't worry about you fighting if you are able to defeat me."

"That wouldn't happen in a million years," Chibi replied looking away. "You've always been, and will always be, much stronger than me." She sat down and leaned back against the wall. "No matter how much I do, I can never defeat you if we were to fight seriously against each other."

Lack leaned against her and smiled. "I guess…"

Izual, Kchan and MikeRex sat nearby in a small circle. "They really do look like siblings now," MikeRex said noticing Chibi and Lack had fallen asleep. "I don't know why but it just seems strange that they don't end up with each other."

"As in love?" Kchan asked with a giggle. "They aren't attracted to each other in that way. And besides…" MikeRex knew why she trailed off. "But I know what you mean, their traits are similar. Chibi is over protective of him too. Just watch."

Kchan quietly pulled out Lack's insignia gloves and replaced them with the ones he was wearing. Lack moved slightly causing Kchan to freeze on the spot. Izual dragged her back and laughed quietly. "He's going to really be angry when he finds out you did that."

"But it'll be fun won't it?" Kchan replied with a cheeky grin. "Besides, I'm getting bored just watching those too get all close like siblings."

~~~

Tadakono and Phenomenon stood at the airship station in Yuno. The air around them crackled with excitement. A Thief with bunny ears ran past with a mage talking quickly. Phenomenon and Tadakono looked at each other.

"A Champion fighting a Stalker?" Tadakono asked as the platform shook. "Not that uncommon is it?" He snagged a passing Assassin by the scarf and asked "What's going on?"

"That hurt you know!" she yelled at him and froze when she saw the Fight Club symbol tattooed on the left side of his neck. Settling her scarf around her neck so it was comfortable she added "It's a challenge to a High Seat. It's the best entertainment we've had in Yuno this month." She darted off into the crowd. Tadakono and Phenomenon made their way through the crowd towards the fight. They smiled at each other when they heard two familiar voices.

"Enough!" Chibi stood between Lack and another challenger. "Can't you see he doesn't want to fight anymore? All we've had are challenges since we set foot in Yuno."

Lack placed a hand on Chibi's shoulder. "It's alright Chibi. Just keep an eye on my Life and Magical Power." With a sigh, he threw spheres at his opponent, who instantly was defeated. "This is just so tedious."

Chibi shook with anger. "It's not alright…" Lack looked at her, his eyes widening. "It's not alright…" She drew out of her pouch a bundle of Bombs. Lack raised his hands and backed away from her. "There should be a limit on how many times you can be challenged in one day!" She threw Bombs all over the place. Everyone surrounding them scattered off the platform. Explosions and flames appeared everywhere. Chibi continued to shake, her eyes darkening in colour.

Lack cautiously came close and knocked her out once more. He knelt down and whispered. "Thankyou for driving them away… even if you did lose control again." He stared at Kchan, Izual and MikeRex. They looked shocked at Chibi's burst of anger and it's result.

"Had your fun?" Izual murmured to Kchan as Lack advanced towards them, changing his gloves to ordinary ones. "Because we're going to have to pay for doing that."

"Lots…" Kchan replied keeping her eyes on Lack. "But I didn't expect her to… well… explode like that over people challenging him." Lack's aura strengthened letting them know he was incredibly angry. "But I think… This is going to hurt."

Tadakono and Phenomenon crouched near Chibi. Sounds of punishment could be heard very loudly from Lack and the others. Tadakono sighed and helped Phenomenon get Chibi onto his back so he could carry her. Chibi mumbled something incomprehensible before settling into a deep sleep. Lack took in a deep breath and relaxed. Noticing Tadakono and Phenomenon, he came up and gripped hands with both of them.

"Sleeping Beauty seems to be alright," Phenomenon said to him noticing Lack's concern. "She just said something a while ago but I didn't catch it." Lack smiled and they set off towards Warpra leaving Izual, Kchan and MikeRex very sore and worn out.