Mr. Gun's Secret

[gantzgun74]

Bonsai Village stood before the horizon, sitting serene, prosperous, and tranquil.

Sitting atop the roof of one of the buildings was Gantz, now wearing fuedal looking robes to appear as a common villager.

How long had the group arrived there? A few days he had counted, and he knew his friend Nutcase was getting antzier by the minute concerning what secret he had withheld. Gantz, however, was in no rush to say anything. He still had so much to do. So much research... So much experimentation...

He looked up to the sky, watching the clouds go by. He sighed a little. "Rosaline..."

From where his P.E.T was attached to Gantz's belt, Star Man gave Gantz a pitying look.

----------------------

Elsewhere in town, the Climber and Metal walked around town. Climber himself wore numerous samurai robes, as well as a big straw hat. This gave him the appearance of a human so long as no-one saw his pale cloth skin. Metal himself was also wearing robes, though it was also topped with a scarf covering his muzzle. With these coverings, Metal's identity was hidden well, though he had to remain silent so as not to give himself away with his mechanical voice.

Climber looked at a few fruit that was sitting on a stand, unsure which one was which. "Hey, uh... Metaru?" Climber had to take a second to remember that name; the name was given to Metal so as not to draw attention. Metal, without responding, turned to Climber. "Do you remember which fruit Gantz wanted us to get again?"

Metal responded by pointing at a row of fruit on the stand, his metal hands and claws covered by thick leather gloves. The Climber nodded. "Right, got it!"

The Stand Owner looked at the two strangely. "So Fuji Apples is it?" Metal, under the name Metaru merely nodded. "Not much of a talker are you?"

"He's normally quiet." The Climber said, remembering that Gantz said to give that excuse should anybody ask about Metal. "So how much?"

[Hope to hear from you guys soon!]

[nutcase17133]

At the small hut where Gantz, Nutcase, and the others were staying at, Nutcase himself was chatting with Clown Man about the situation they were in.

"I'm real worried. Whatever Gantz had kept secret from me this time was clearly something dangerous." Nutcase said in a somewhat nervous tone.

Clown Man was bouncing around in his P.E.T in oder to keep his acrobatic skills sharp for a possible net battle or virus attack in the future as he said, "He said he's tell us before long. But I gotta wonder what would be eating at him. It's aparently something more dangerous than a Chaos Emerald."

Nutcase looked deeply disturbed by such a notion. He said, "Chaos Emeralds can be used for good or for ill, depending on what's in a person's heart. When those thouights become power by the Chaos Energy, it could either bring peace to a world or destroy it. What in heaven's name could Gantz have that's any worse?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Over the past few days, Beatrice had been fashioning herself a new outfit using the silk materials in Bonsai Village. Considering they were in an Asian themed environment, she was going for an implausible outfit from right out of an anime. First, she needed belts. Lots of them. After she got done somehow crafting a shirt out of belts, she got right to work making a new pair of shorts. Right now, alchemy would be a big no-no, since it would just attract attention to themselves, so she had to make everything by hand. So far, though, Beatrice hadn't been able to find a suitable hair band to use on her hair, so it was still hanging down long, and she wasn't wearing her hat so it didn't stand out as much.

"...Probably going to need to sew a new hat too... though do I really need to? I kinda like my hat... got sentimental value... guess I could always dye it red or something..." Beatrice mumbled to herself. A nearby villager stared at Beatrice since she was talking at herself. After a few minutes, Beatrice ground her teeth and yelled at the villager, "YOU WANNA FIGHT?!" The villager ran off. Beatrice sighed and looked at the measurements of herself she had taken before continuing on to making the shorts. "God, I hate all of these people staring at me..."

------------

On top of another roof, Chip was staring at the sky. He was chewing on a piece of meat (what kind of meat was best left to the imagination).
"...Black and red... come on, there's gotta be a black and red spaceship out there somewhere, right?" He scratched his head again, causing it to spurt blood again. "Oh right. This place is a dimensional vortex. The only ships that end up here won't be able to make it back out. Man, I wanna go home... the Queen's gonna be so mad since we've been gone for so long..."

[gantzgun74]

The Climber and Metal continued to walk down the streets of Bonsai Village, Climber holding a sack full of Fuji apples. As they walked, the Climber turned to Metal looking at him curiously. "So what are you going to do now Metal?" Metal turned to the Climber. "Gantz said once that Beatrice didn't have to stay with him having her own life back... What are you going to do?"

Metal thought a moment. "I suppose..." He said in a low tone. "I shall stick close to Gantz for the time being."

The Climber gave him a curious look. Seeing it, Metal continued. "I owe him my life, and at this point, he is the only one who will rationally believe that I have changed my ways for the better."

"Why won't anyone else believe you Metaru?" Climber asked with a small look.

Metal would've sighed if he had the lungs to. "It is because of my past deeds. The fact that I am a machine also does not help my story, a machine can not change it's programming easily."

"What's programming?" Climber asked curiously.

"Programming is the function machines are created to do, another word for programming is 'directive'." He lowered his head. "I was programmed to be a weapon, a weapon meant to kill."

Climber smiled hopefully. "But your over that right?"

Metal looked at Climber a moment... "No." He lowered his head back down, almost looking ashamed. "No matter what I do, my original program will remain inside my systems. I've shut the directive away deep inside myself, but it shall always be there, threatening to resurface." He continued walking, the Climber following. "Ultimately, it is up to my own newly gained will to keep this programming sealed away." He looked back up to Climber. "I have done a good job at this directive, and I've reaped benefits from the world around me."

The Climber smiled a little, "Glad to know that's the case." As they walked, they found Beatrice having finished her dying her hat. "Oh! Hey Miss Beatrice!" He noticed the Belt made shirt, smiling slightly. "You know, that's actually a good look for you."

----------------------------

As Gantz continued to look into the sky, he lay on the rooftop, his thoughts drifting somewhere far away.

"So... What are we gonna do now Gantz?" Came Star Man, looking at him curiously.

Gantz shook his head. "I can't easily continue my research with Nutcase around, he'll figure out what's going on before I could." The boy reached for his pocket, before pulling out what was inside...

It appeared to be a metallic chip that was dark red and black, it seemed to radiate with evil energy, though the aura was extremely weak so no-one, unless you were within 3 inches of it. How it went unnoticed was because the inside of Gantz's pocket was charmed with a barrier to seal the aura inside, making it hard to sense.

"So, what are we gonna do now then?" Star Man asked.

"Beats me." Gantz shrugged. "We can't very easily start where we left off without Nutcase taking it the wrong way." He eyed the shard carefully. "I'm not sure how much he knows of this little chips power, but he'll likely think this things trying to corrupt me... Even when I've been holding strong over it's power since the day I got it."

[No-one see's Gantz just yet, this was just to serve as a clue as to what Gantz is trying to do. A small one, but it shall be explained much later.]

[Firebreath Fishslap]

((OHOHOH I KNOW WHAT THE CHIP IS. YOU SLY DOG YOU. *plays too many video games for her own good*))

Beatrice looked up from redying her hat back to it's original blue and grinned. "Thanks, Kuraima," Beatrice said, using an exagerated "Japanese" way of saying Climber's name. "Belts make everything better, y'know? Though they kinda chafe... I think I'll wear that tank top Nutcase gave me under it to help. Speaking of which, where'd the nutcase run off too-- oh, could you hold this?" She handed her hat to Climber and started finishing up the final seams on the shorts. "There," she said when she finished. "Much better. Now, I need to make my gloves..."

----------------

Sighing, Chip stood up and started swinging down towards the hut that they were staying at. He walked in on Nutcase and grinned.
"Hey, Crazy-guy! What's up?"

[nutcase17133]

Nutcase looked at Chip, saying, "Not much, just wondering what in heaven's name Gantz could be hiding. Plus I'm bored to death. I lost all my games and comics when the insects destroyed Toon Town."

"Not to mention his girlfriend, Cindy. We're not sure if she's alive or not, but Nutcase has been very concerned about her." Clown Man said as his image turned to Chip.

[gantzgun74]

Metal walked up to Beatrice, giving her a small look, "Is there anyway we can help?"

The Climber smiled at this. "Yeah, I'm more then willing to help too miss Beatrice."

[To make this next idea work, miss FF, let's say Beatrice needs the two to get a few things from the market needed for the gloves.]

------------------------------

Gantz turned the metallic shard in between his fingers, looking at it carefully. He sighed a little, before pocketing it once more. "Now... What to do..."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

A single foot-step from the ground level caught Gantz's attention.

[This is a character I will be bringing in, so no-one add in, nor does anyone enter this specific scene.]

[Firebreath Fishslap]

"Hmm... Oh, right! I need some leather and a couple red gems. Do you think you guys could get that? I'm gonna be making some shoes after these gloves!" Beatrice said happily. "And maybe some gold dye... yeah, get me some of that!"

---------------

Chip sat down. "Yeah, I hear ya. Ever since I got shot down back in '83, I haven't been able to get back to my home planet, 'cause Earth? hasn't made interstellar contact yet. I've been searching for any buzzers to see if I can hitch a ride home, but I think after my fleet got shot down, no one else is coming to get us."

He sighed. "Us drones have it tough, ya know? Every night I think about my home back on Galactiniam, and my friends back there... I miss my kids too. I promised to bring them back some human meat, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen."

[nutcase17133]

Nutcase turned towards Chip with a disgusted look and said, "Look, I mean no offense pal but if I were you I'd be careful who you say those words around. You may end up triggering a war between both Earth and your world, and my kind will not stand for being used as cattle for your kind, or any other race. In fact, some humans I know will kill you on the spot if they hear what your kind eats."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Chip's mouth twitched, and his expression suddenly changed.
[glow=red,2,300]"I'd watch your mouth boy. Your miserable planet was only able to strike us down because my fleet was made up of scouting ships. We have much more powerful ships back on the home planet, and we have an insurmountable army of soldiers ready to sacrifice themselves for the cause. My species is much stronger and longer lived than yours, and like it or not, your planet has become our newest meat farm. And there's nothing you can do about it, because your strongest weapons can't even make our defenses crack, and you haven't even made interstellar contact, so you can't ask for help from the Martians, now can you? So I'd be happy with your new fate, and besides, it's not like you're using those brains now are you?"[/glow]

His expression changed back to its previous one, and he grinned. "Oh yeah, I got some comic books at this market. They're written in this weird language and stuff that I can't read, so you can have them!" He pulled a couple volumes of manga out of his left sleeve and tossed them to Nutcase.

[gantzgun74]

Metal and Climber nodded at this. "Okay, got it! We'll go and do it Miss Beatrice!"

"It will be an easy matter finding the needed items, with my specialized sensors." Metal walked off with Climber right behind, "This should not take long."

----------------------------------

Gantz lifted up to his feet, and looked down to the ground...

Standing there, to his surprise, was a young girl with tan skin, raven black hair pulled into two pig-tails, and Asianic clothes. She appeared to carry a pair of elbow blades. The girl looked up to the boy, giving him a stern look. "Are you the one known as Gantz van Drake, or Mr. Gun?"

Gantz looked down at Talim, with a confused look. "Yes, that would be me."

The girl motioned to Gantz, "Please come down, I wish to speak with you."

Gantz looked at the girl, even more confused then before. With a small jump, he leaped off the roof, and used air-magic to softly land on the ground. "What is it you need me for?" He thought a moment, before walking up to her. She appeared somewhat shorter then Gantz, though just by one foot. "Forgive me if I'm wrong but would your name be Talim?"

The girl looked at Gantz surprised. "How do you... Know my name?"

"I know a lot about the world you come from miss Talim." Gantz answered simply, crossing his arms. "For one, you are from the village Samar, somewhere in the Asian mountains." This appeared to freak Talim out a little, causing Gantz to chuckle. "Forgive me, I'm something of a fan of yours. Your quite well known in your attempts to find the cursed sword Soul Edge."

Talim took that in a moment, before smiling. "I see! Strange, I've never had a fan before."

Gantz smiled too. "Am I to assume that your a fan of me? I'm not conceited, but you DID know my name before we ever introduced."

Talim's smile dropped as she shook her head. "No, I'm afraid that is not the case." Slowly, she lifted up her hands, the elbow blades at the ready. "You have something that I am afraid is corrupting you."

Gantz shook his head. "Ah... I see." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the metallic shard that he had been looking at earlier. "You're after this aren't you?"

A look of surprise came on Talim's face. "Yes that is exactly it." She looked to Gantz, giving him a stern look. "I have been told... That you seek Soul Edge, so that you may use it's power."

Gantz chuckled. "I'm afraid you have been severely mis-informed. I'm not after the Soul Edge nor will the thought ever cross my mind."

"That is not what I was told." Talim said resolutely. "I've been told that you seek to use the Soul Edge so that you may become a powerful warrior." She motioned to the world around her. "Don't you know what power the Soul Edge has? You may become a great warrior if you claim it, but the price will be more severe then you'll ever know." She sighed, "The Soul Edge... Is a very evil sword, along with that, it has the power to eat souls; whoever gains possession of this power will slowly become a heartless, terrible, soul-eating monster."

All was silent... ... ... ...

"Do you think I don't know that?"

Talim lifted her head quickly, looking at Gantz surprised. "I'm well aware of the risks. But I'm afraid you misunderstand all the same. It is not Soul Edge I'm after... It is the Soul Calibur." That caught Talim off guard. "You see, the reason I bare a shard of the Cursed Soul Edge is because I'm trying to obtain the smallest piece of it's energy signature."

He frowned entering explanation mode. "Think for a moment; Soul Calibur is the exact opposite of Soul Edge, am I right?" Talim nodded, knowing that much is true. "Well, by taking the weakened energy signature of the Soul Edge shard here in my possession, and reversing it with magic, I can use the changed energy signature as a tracker, that will lead me to where Soul Calibur is, in this world." He crossed his arms. "It is that simple. And I am close to cracking the secret of how to reverse the energy."

Talim took that in a moment, trying to absorb just what Gantz had explained... Some parts blew her mind, while some just made perfect sense... But then...

Talim looked back to Gantz, frowning, "I want to believe you, but since you know so much about my world, you know what kind of people I meet; they were only interested in claiming the Soul Edge as their own." She held her hands up once more becoming battle ready. "I'd rather not fight, so please give me the Soul Edge piece."

Gantz looked at Talim a moment, before sighing... "So we cannot agree..."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

'Dong'

Only Talim and Gantz heard it; it sounded like, somehow, someway, the bell of an ancient temple from the world Talim came sounded, realizing another battle for the two swords was happening now, and was chiming as if to start it.

Gantz sighed morbidly, as he pocketed the Soul Edge shard, and, with a 'poof!', his keyblade 'Wings of Fantasy' appeared in his hand. Talim was momentarily taken aback at the magic sword, before entering a battle stance. "Wind..." She whispered to seemingly no-one, "Guide me." The wind seemed to blow a little on the scene, as if to answer. 'Dong'

Gantz entered a battle stance himself. "We don't have to fight."

"But how else will I know you speak the truth?" Talim answered. "It is said you can learn a lot about people in what they do. So when I fight, I can often learn more about people then other times."

Gantz chuckled. "Learning people's motives. Yes I know this." He looked back up at her. "Well, if this is the way it must be..."

'Dong'

"Come get me."

The two charged. Gantz swung his sword, Talim swung her left elbow blade to block the swing.

The two blows connected...

The fight was on...

[This battle is between Gantz and Talim, so no interuptee's please? Anyways, moving on.]

[Felix Falora]

Watching the two fight, Vergil sat. It had been a while since he had witnessed a battle, much less been in one, and he decided to just sit back and enjoy the show. Next to him was a little girl with wings of black. She frowned, watching the two fight, then looked up at Vergil. "I don't sense him here."

"Your father should be somewhere. We won't give up the search, I assure you of that. But even I need to rest sometimes... After this fight, we'll continue," Vergil said to the girl, not turning his eyes from the melee that was commencing.

"... ... ... Ok."

[nutcase17133]

Nutcase looked at Chip nonchalantly after his confession, and took the cmic books, and said, "Yea yeah tell me something I haven't heard before. Some freak called Black Doom had the same idea as your race but ended up getting killed by a clone he had tricked a human scientist into making by the name of Shadow. Many other aliens tried to conquer Earth, each one getting foiled time and time again. Have you heard of creeps like Smithy, the Shroobs, or Ridley and his space pirates before? We'll be just fine against your kind, even with our 'inferior inteligence'. It's gotten us this far, we'll be good for a while yet."

Before Chip could retaliate, the human toon, the alien, and the navi heard the gongs from outside from when the fight between Gantz and Talim began. "Now what's going on?" Nutcase asked no one in particular.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Chip grinned and looked back at Nutcase. [glow=red,2,300]"That's because they were fools and didn't think that they should stay in space and just bombard the planet from there. When I return to my planet and tell them of the deliciousness of this exotic species' meat, then you'll see..."[/glow]

When Nutcase looked outside, Chip just grinned. "Y'know, I was sensing somethin' weird from your friend earlier. I wonder if that has anything to do with it." He put his arm (sleeve?) around Nutcase's shoulder. "By the way, don't worry too much about being invaded. That involves me making it back to my home planet, but I can't do that unless I get a space ship, and like I said, your planet's never made interstellar contact, so that's gonna be kinda hard."

[nutcase17133]

As Nutcase looked out the window, he said, "Meh, I'm not worried. We faced worse things than being fated to be strung up in someone's meat locker. Your people are just wasting your time with us."

With that, Nutcase walked out the door of the hut to see what the comotion in town was about as he heard the sounds of fighting going on.