There wasn�t a single person left walking around the town after the massive robot landing. All residents and visitors of the town had resided to their homes and to the stores at the appearance of ERZ-1001, that being everyone except Joe Vaelen. Joe was charging his way over to ERZ-1001 with his Sword of War clenched tightly between his hands. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing but by the team the realization came to him it was way too late.
�I don�t know what you are and I don�t know why you�re here but you picked the wrong town with the wrong person at the worst possible time!!� Joe screamed while he leapt into the air and swung his blade down at ERZ-1001.
ERZ-1001 took one large step to his left and watched as Joe�s blade just missed his side. The robot that stood at about six feet eight inches was not affected at all by Joe�s weak charge and slash move. �Kill!!� ERZ-1001 screamed while he moved his left hand to the side and smashed it into Joe�s right shoulder.
�ARGH!!!� Joe cried out in intense pain as his feet left the ground and his body flew several feet to the left. A large thud could be heard when Joe finally hit the ground again. After several seconds of rolling across the gravely pavement he came to an abrupt stop. �Holy�shit��
Joe turned his eyes up to look at ERZ-1001. Surprisingly enough he was now about thirty feet away from the massive robot. When he finally managed to get back up to his feet the shock was accompanied by a massive dosage of pain. An incredible throbbing feeling filled his right shoulder while he struggled to keep his grip on the Sword of War. If it were not for the lightness of the weapon it surely would have slipped out of his shaking hand.
�I�will kill�you!!!� ERZ-1001 screamed.
The moment the words left ERZ-1001�s mechanical mouth the robot turned around to face Joe. He then held both of his arms out and closed his hands. Once his hands were closed tightly a panel at the beginning of each of his wrists opened up and shot out two missiles each.
�You gotta be kidding me!!� Joe shouted.
Instinctively Joe held up his Sword of War and prayed for the best. Realizing that doing this once before saved his life Joe could only hope that it repeated it for him one more time. Luckily for him as the four missiles came in the shield the sword once gave off reappeared. The missiles impacted causing a large explosion mere inches before Joe�s body and although the shield saved him from certain death the impact sent him flying against one of the store walls.
�AGH!!!!� Joe screamed out as his back violently snapped against the wall causing him to lose his breath.
While attempting to regain his breath Joe didn�t notice ERZ-1001 making his charge towards him and before he could spot the robot it was on top of him. With one massive right hand ERZ-1001grabbed onto Joe and threw him across the town. His now severely injured body smacked against the front of the inn and fell down to the ground, his sword dropped out of his hand in the process.
�I will kill, I will kill, I will kill you!!!!� ERZ-1001 screamed out as he once again began his charge towards Joe but this time to finish him off.
ERZ-1001 was only a few feet away as the door to the inn opened up. The commotion outside accompanied by Joe�s body smacking against the inn had certainly stirred the interest of many, one specific person being Edge.
As Edge opened up the door he instantly spotted ERZ-1001 charging towards the inn. His radar like eyes then zoned in on Joe�s body limply resting on the ground. With one small grunt and a few quick steps Edge charged out of the inn and grabbed onto Joe�s body. As soon as he grabbed onto him he leapt into the air and narrowly dodged ERZ-1001�s massive right fist. His fist crashed into the ground creating a decent sized dent.
�What is this creature?� Edge asked aloud while placing Joe down on the ground. �He is alive but injured rather badly.�
�I will kill you!!� ERZ-1001 screamed out now pointing towards Edge.
Edge grabbed onto his Demon�s Blade and pulled it out. Oddly enough the blade was only glowing faintly. �Something is amiss�� Edge muttered. He turned his attention back to ERZ-1001 just in time to see the robot charging towards him fast. �I must subdue him.�
Mere seconds before ERZ-1001 reached Edge he jumped up in the air and flipped over the large robot.
�Stop this!� Edge shouted. �I warn you, robot. Stop this before I am forced to destroy you!!�
ERZ-1001 held his hands out as two laser guns came out of the inside of his wrists. He gripped onto the guns tightly and began to shoot several well-aimed shots at Edge.
Edge jumped back a few feet and gripped onto his blade even tighter. As the shots came in at him he quickly sliced them away upon arrival. His superior swordsman skills accompanied by incredible speed and agility allowed Edge to bat away the shots with very little effort.
�You will die!!� ERZ-1001 screamed out again, this time taking a charge towards Edge.
This time before he grew close to Edge, ERZ-1001 shot out two small smoke bombs that landed at Edge�s feet. The bombs exploding leaving the Naz-Lycan warrior in complete confusion.
�What is this!� Edge shouted.
�Die!!� ERZ-1001 screamed.
Edge could feel the breeze ERZ-1001 gave off as he closed in on him but before contact could be made a very hard clanking noise could be heard. Seconds later a very large metal thud was heard a few feet away from the site.
As the smoke finally cleared Edge looked up to see Weazel standing in front of him. To the side of the two ERZ-1001 was slowly getting up off of the ground.
�Dun dun dun!!� Weazel shouted. �It�s the all loveable Weazel to the rescue!!�
�Many thanks.� Edge said as he nodded to Weazel.
�You will die!!� ERZ-1001 shouted.
�Jeeze�is that all this hunk of metal can say?� Weazel asked.
�My Demon�s Blade is uncertain of his evilness.� Edge stated. �We should subdue him if possible.�
�Right.� Weazel replied. He finally spotted Joe who was still unconscious on the floor. �So the odd scented one got beat up pretty badly huh?�
�Aye, he did.� Edge replied.
�Figures.� Weazel said while slipping into a fighting stance. �Let�s take this thing down.�
�I will attack on, you flank him from the left.� Edge said. �This will work.�
�Worth a shot.� Weazel replied while he shrugged.
Edge and Weazel charged towards ERZ-1001 as the robot waited for them to come in. With his incredible speed Edge reached him first and unleashed a long strain of slashes. All of which were either blocked or clanked off a shield ERZ-1001 had around his body.
Upon reaching ERZ-1001, Weazel charged at him using all of his force to knock him down with a shoulder thrust. The impact was enough to get ERZ-1001 off balance which gave Edge enough time to send a hard thrust kick to the side of it�s mechanical head. The kick made him tilt over even more.
�If someone can short circuit that damn shield I can shut him down!� Weazel shouted. �Can you do it Edge?�
�I�m not certain how we can do that.� Edge replied.
The two leapt out of the one of ERZ-1001�s massive fists. This time they kept a safe distance as the robot began to regain it�s balance.
�That shield has to have some sort of weak point.� Weazel pointed out. �If we only knew where to attack then we�re set.�
�I think it�s his back.� Edge said. �I thought I saw a small panel on his back.�
�Then we should-� Weazel started.
�Lightning!!� Caleb shouted and in the process cut off Weazel. Both Edge and Weazel turned around in shock as they spotted Caleb charge onto the battlefield. The lightning made direct contact with ERZ-1001�s back. Seconds later the group could see his shield dissipate right before their eyes. �Hah! Yeah, I did it!�
�Perfect!� Weazel yelled while he charged toward ERZ-1001. He held both of his hands out as his fingertips opened up to reveal the many wires, which were held inside. After narrowly dodging a punch Weazel landed behind ERZ-1001 and sent his wires into his back panel. This caused ERZ-1001 to freeze in his tracks while Weazel�s eyes turned completely black for several seconds. When they returned back to normal ERZ-1001 was slumped over, he had succeeded in turning him off. �BAM! That�s how you do it baby!� Weazel shouted out in happiness as he pulled the wires back and walked over to Edge and Caleb.
�Wow, it looks like I came back from my training just in time.� Caleb said. �What exactly happened here guys?� Upon finishing his sentence Caleb spotted Joe�s body resting on the ground a few yards away. �Oh no, Joe!!�
�He was battling the robot when I came out of the inn.� Edge said. �He was beaten badly but he is alive.�
�We have to help him!� Caleb shouted.
�You�re the magic user.� Weazel muttered. �Nothing we can do, you heal him.�
�Problem with that is I�m a black magic user!� Caleb shouted. �I don�t know a thing about healing!�
�Meh�� Weazel muttered.
�This is just great!!�
The three turned around to the source of the female voice. They soon spotted Kayla Magnus walking out of the bar and making her way over to Joe�s fallen body. They each looked on with confusion still unaware of who she was.
�You just had to run out of the bar and go on a rampage didn�t you!� Kayla shouted as she finally reached down. She knelt down next to him and turned him onto his back. Joe�s voice had smears of blood on it and it seemed like his right shoulder was severely wounded. That accompanied by several scrapes and bruises on his body gave off the appearance he had just been through hell and back. �Just look at you.�
�Who the hell is that?� Weazel asked.
�I do not know.� Edge replied. �Let us find out.�
�Good idea.� Caleb said.
The three began to slowly make their way over to her.
�First you ask me to explain to you and then when I do you blow up on me.� Kayla muttered. �I shouldn�t even heal you, you pissed me off to much but I guess I�ll be nice and do it anyways.�
Kayla released a heavy sigh while she pulled back her cloak and placed both of her hands on Joe�s chest. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate hard. As she did a white aura began to appear around her hands and seconds later the aura spread out covering Joe�s entire body. Amazingly enough as the aura finally disappeared all the blood smears and bruises had disappeared off of Joe�s body, he looked to be almost at a hundred percent.
�Ugh�� Joe muttered as he slowly opened his eyes. The first sight he saw was Kayla standing over him, her eyes now opened as she looked down at him. The sun was beating strongly while the sunlight shinned brightly right behind Kayla. �Are you�an�angel?�
�Oh�shut up!� Kayla shouted while she stood up.
�Ow�� Joe muttered, �My head hurts again.
�Well that�s because you were a moron and tried to take on that big stupid robot!� Kayla scolded him. �You have a brain in there, use it! You just got here and you think you can take on a thing like that!�
�Hey, wait a second.� Joe said.
He started to sit up but was immediately put back on the ground as Kayla put her foot on his chest and shoved him back down. She kept her foot on his chest and now stood over him, glaring down at him in an annoyed fashion.
�Now are you going to listen to me or are you going to go off and be an idiot again!� Kayla shouted. �Because to be honest with you I don�t feel like running around having to heal you every other minute.�
�Whoa�relax!� Joe shouted as he grabbed onto her white boot and tried to push it off. �Can I sit up already!�
Kayla took her foot of his chest and stood up straight now with her arms folded. �I only speak the truth to you, Joe.� Kayla explained.
Joe finally sat up just in time to see Edge, Weazel and Caleb standing to the side of Kayla.
�Are you alright, Joe?!� Caleb shouted.
�I am now.� Joe replied. �That damn robot came out of no where and was looking for a fight. Last thing I remember I smacked into a wall.�
�Aye, that was where I took you to safety.� Edge said.
�I disabled the robot.� Weazel said. �When I was in his system it appeared as if something had gone haywire inside. I think if I fool around with it a bit I can fix him up to how he was before, that probably will be an upgrade.�
�Are these your friends?� Kayla asked.
�Oh, yeah�� Joe replied. �That�s Caleb Soreus, Edge Damon and Weazel. I met them all in Baz, yesterday.�
�I am Kayla Magnus.� Kayla introduced herself to the three. �I was sent here to find Joe and accompany him.�
�To accompany me?� Joe asked.
�That�s right.� Kayla replied. �If you had let me FINISH, you would have known that already.�
�Sorry, sorry.� Joe said as he waved his hand in an embarrassed manor.
�I am a White Mage.� Kayla said to the ground.
�Really?!� Caleb shouted. �I�m a Black Mage although I just prefer to be called a Sorcerer.�
�I can tell by you�re cloak.� Kayla replied.
�I am a Naz-Lycan.� Edge said.
�Yeah and I AM WEAZEL!� Weazel shouted as he flexed his metallic body.
�Interesting�� Kayla muttered.
�Hey!!� Joe shouted as he started to look around nervously. �Where�where the hell is my sword!!�
�You�re sword is still by the inn.� Edge replied while pointing towards the inn.
�Oh�� Joe muttered. �Hey uh, thanks for healing me, Kayla.�
�Not a problem.� Kayla replied. �Just don�t make a habit out of it.�
�Gotcha.� Joe replied now turning his eyes towards his sword. �Why are you all the way over there, damn it I don�t want to walk over there.�
�Lazy ass.� Weazel muttered.
�Maybe I am lazy but I still wish the damn sword would just come over here.� Joe shot back.
To the surprise of the group Joe�s sword slowly lifted off the ground and began to float in the air towards him. Upon seeing the site Joe�s eyes lit up with shock and excitement as he continued to hold his hand out and watch as the sword grew closer and closer with every passing second.
�Now I�ve seen everything.� Joe said. He looked on in shock as the sword stopped a few inches for his hand and continued to float there. Finally Joe opened his hand up a little wider and the sword made his way into his palm. As he grasped onto the sword it stopped floating and rested in his hand. �No�frickin�way��
�It really is the Sword of War.� Kayla said. For the first time Joe noticed Kayla looking on in surprise and even a small amount of excitement.
�What the hell is the Sword of War?� Joe asked. �And where are you suppose to be accompanying me? You know I still have a lot of questions, Kayla.�
�Well if you didn�t!� Kayla started.
�I know, I know!!� Joe shouted back at her.
�Before I tell you anymore, do you intend to travel with these three?� Kayla asked.
Joe turned his attention to Edge, Weazel and Caleb. He paused for a moment and thought about it before finally replying, �Look, I don�t know where the hell I�m going or what I�m doing here. Caleb said he needed a traveling partner so I intend on sticking around with him. Edge and Weazel we kind of bumped into but Edge is on some kind of quest and well Weazel is running from the law so��
�So basically you don�t have a clue what you�re doing.� Kayla muttered.
�That sounds about right.� Joe replied.
�I am finished with my business here in Calgez, the next place I must go to is Margel which is across the river.� Edge said. �That is the place I am to meet the next person who will continue to help and guide me.�
�Well the weapon shop owner said I could find what I was looking for in Margel so I guess we�ll be traveling together again.� Weazel said.
�Master Cyrus told me I am to learn my next four spells on my own then I�ll have to return to Chos to learn the final spells.� Caleb muttered. �So I suppose I am free to travel wherever I desire for now.�
�The magical city, huh.� Weazel said.
�Yeah.� Caleb replied.
�Well, then we should all stick together.� Joe said. �But where are you accompanying me, Kayla?�
�I am to accompany you to the Library of Forgotten Thoughts located in Grandeur.� Kayla explained.
�Oh, no way!� Weazel shouted. �I�ve been trying to get in there for years!�
�I�d love to go there.� Caleb said.
�Why am I going there?� Joe asked. �More importantly who�s telling you to take me there?�
�You�re going there so you can finally see the truth.� Kayla said. �I know you�ll never believe me unless you actually see this library. We don�t need to go there immediately so I suppose we can travel with you�re friends.�
�But why are you accompanying me?� Joe asked.
�Did you not just see what happened to you?� Kayla asked. �You just got beaten up terribly. Even with your friends, if you were to get hurt here none of them can heal you.�
�It is always nice to travel with a white mage.� Caleb said. �I know this from my school days in the magical academy in Chos. The field tests were to say the least, not so easy.�
�You still haven�t told me who�s telling you to travel with me.� Joe said.
�In time, Joe.� Kayla replied.
�I�m too hungry to argue right now.� Joe muttered. �Can we please eat now?�
�Yes, I am rather hungry myself.� Edge muttered.
�I�ll fix that robot up after we finish eating.� Weazel said. The townspeople had now made their way back out into the town and upon noticing this Weazel shouted out, �ANYONE WHO TOUCHES THAT ROBOT HAS GOT TO ANSWER TO ME AND MY BIONIC MUSCLES OF STEEL!!�
�Must you shout?� Kayla asked.
�I�m a loud person.� Weazel replied with a shrug.
The five made their way into the bar and sat down around one of the large round wooden tables. The inside of the bar was crowded, especially around the bar itself. Unlike the one in Baz this bar was filled with smoke.
Kayla took a long look around the table. She was methodical in her viewing of each person at the table and finally after looking them over for several minutes the white mage broke her silence. �I�m going to ask you guys something I�m sure will arise some sort of emotion in each of you.� Kayla started. Before Joe even had a chance to say a word she shot a look at him and shouted, �Don�t start, Joe!� Joe quickly silenced himself and continued to listen.
�What are you to ask us?� Edge asked.
Kayla smirked as she placed her hands on the table and looked them all over again, �When I say this single word what do you think?� Kayla said. �Gallu.�
She smiled once again as she looked around the table and waited for everyone�s response. There was one thing she knew for certain as she waited; this was going to be interesting.