Exo Saves The Day, Chapter 27

[gynoneko]

Hope you all enjoy this one, please leave me some feedback!

1) How did you like this chapter versus the last one? Which is your favorite in the whole story so far?
2) Are there too many details / not enough? Do they balance well?
3) Are there any questions you have about the story, characters, etc? (any at all, I might not answer if it involves the story, but it might clarify things I need to define more)
4) Out of the entire story, what is your favorite part so far? What is your least favorite part?
5) Is there any part of my writing that distracts you?
6) Who is your favorite character?


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Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4.
Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8.
Chapter 9. Chapter 10. Chapter 11. Chapter 12.
Chapter 13. Chapter 14. Chapter 15. Chapter 16.
Chapter 17. Chapter 18. Chapter 19. Chapter 20.
Chapter 21. Chapter 22. Chapter 23. Chapter 24.
Chapter 25. Chapter 26.

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Exo Saves the Day
Chapter Twenty Seven: Snafu
By Gynoneko


"262!" Joan exclaimed staring in disbelief at her sister. "Wha- What are you doing?"

"What does it look like, sis? I'm taking out the trash." 262's voice, while sweet, was cold and calculating. She had a hint of roughness to her voice that some people would probably love, but made me want to clear my throat.

"You m- murdered him!" Joan said shocked. She looked frozen in place, perhaps out of fear.

"Weren't you here to do the same thing?" the red-head gynoid asked. "Or maybe your little boyfriend here was going to do it for you. Oh look at that, you dropped your gun."

She nonchalantly walked over to us, and kicked the gun away, sending it sliding across the room. It was then that I noticed we were not the only ones there. Against one wall, a trail of blood led up to the figure of a woman pinned to the wall. I recognized her, and Joan would have also had she looked her way. It was Diane, the woman that took a shot at us in the ice cream parlor a few days before. A metal rod that looked like it had been torn off a chair jutted from her chest, pinning her to the wall half a foot off the ground. He head hung lifelessly, as though she were a decoration. But no, it wasn't lifeless, she moved. She was still alive, but in her condition there was no way that would last.

On the other side of the room I could hear some most disturbing. A popping, chewing noise emanated from behind a pillar, as though some large beast was eating its kill, snapping bones and pulling at flesh. I couldn't see what it was, but I had a guess.

Joan may have noticed them, but she showed no sign of it as she continued to gaze at her sister. 262 wore no collar, and her face wore an amused expression, as though she just found a new plaything. She shifted her gaze at me, and her eyes narrowed.

"Speaking of your little boyfriend, it is time I took care of him as well." She didn't sound like she was going to thank me, as I felt the aggression in her voice rise. However, there was something else, she wasn't just a heartless killing machine, she was genuinely angry at me, almost as if I had wronged her directly, even though this was the first time we ever met.

"What are you talking about?" Joan interjected.

"I didn't just come here to kill Liberati, I came here to save you." 262 looked like she genuinely believed she was going to save her sisters as she took an aggressive fighting stance with her katana. "Don't worry, sis, I shall soon free you from his tyranny."

"Tyranny?!" Joan spat. "He has done nothing but help us-"

Before Joan could finish, 262 lunged at me with deadly speed and accuracy. She held the blade as though she had been trained by the great martial arts masters, and my few years at Tae-Kwon-Do wouldn't amount to a pile of beans against her skill. All I could do was jump back and try to dodge her sudden attack.

The katana seemed to get longer and longer as it lunged toward me. I realized too late that I had not jumped back far enough to avoid the blade, and my grievous misjudge of distance was going to cost me my life. All I could think about then was how I had led Tera and the others to their death and mine.

Just as the blade was about to slice through my neck, something struck it and parried the sword away. Joan stood defiant of her sister, a machete in her hand. She moved to position herself between her sister and me, and continued to block and parry her attacks to protect me.

"What are you DOING!?" 262 asked with frustrated anger on her voice.

"Defending my master... my... my best friend" she replied, taking a defensive stance.

"Friend?! HA! Don't make me laugh! He programmed you to say that, didn't he? DIDN'T HE!?" she lunged forward and struck hard at the blade in Joan's hand. With a sly flourish, the machete flew from her grip, and clattered against a wall. 262 took a rapid side-step, allowing Joan to follow her, before she rammed her shoulder into Joan and pivoted on her foot, shoving Joan out of the way, and turning in a new direction, directly at me!

I blocked the blow she dealt with my fist, praying the metallic inner lining of the glove would be enough to stop the blade. It worked, but only barely. The force of the blow pushed me off balance, and sent a shockwave of pain up my arm. I grabbed at my arm just in time to see her lower the blade once again at my head. I had just enough time to raise my hands, but it would never stop a katana.

The sword ricocheted off a metallic arm. Joan had managed to block the blow again, this time with her own body. The metal of her left arm was strong enough to take the hit, but she was clearly feeling the pain of the blow. She was probably still sensitive to the new arm, and something like this must have been like torture.

262 stared at her sister, who once again moved between us. Joan's breathing was labored, and I could see the pain in her body language as she twitched involuntarily and grasped at her arm. The red-headed girl grew furious, hate pouring from her eyes to me. She looked at her sister with sadness.

"So that's how this is going to be is it?" she asked to no one in particular. "Forcing my dear sister to be your bodyguard while you hide behind her letting her take all the damage. You disgust me!" I tried to get a voice in edgewise, maybe talk some sense into her, but she refused to listen. "No! You will NOT speak to me with your lies and deceptions! If I have to tear her apart to get to you, so be it!"

With that, 262 flipped the samurai sword to the blunt edge, and started deliberately attacking Joan. Never before had a seen such vicious attacks performed as such terrible speed! Within a matter of a second or two, 262 had unleashed a barrage of attacks against Joan, striking her body with the blunt sided of the blade, and returning the swing against her left arm with the sharp side. Joan tried to stay up, and dodge attacks while blocking others, always defending me, but eventually it became too much for her.

Joan let out a pained scream like I never heard before. Her voice came out broken, like a skipping record, as her agony overtook her. I grabbed at her to pull her away from her sister, but it became apparent she had no strength left and fell back into me.

Still, the attacks came at her. Each blow was directed at the same spot as a previous one, inflicting greater and greater pain, without cutting her or even breaking anything internally.

I realized too late that I was exposed, and 262 had a clear shot at taking me out, however, she never took it. She had become so wrapped up in the sadistic pleasure of causing her sister agonizing pain, that she lost track of her goals. She started a giggle with each strike, finding them more and more amusing as she went on. Most of the attacks now struck Joan's arm, and she started to shake uncontrollably in my arms. The assault had reached a peak as 262 started to laugh maniacally with each successive strike when suddenly a familiar voice rang out.

"262! Our work here is done. She has been retrieved. Retreat immediately." The voice was familiar because it belonged to the strange man who had been haunting my nightmares, literally. 262 abruptly stopped; a disappointed look on her face.

"But master... We must kill him! He-" 262 objected.

"It has been arranged. Your job is complete. You have failed in this final task; do not fail my commands again." I looked for the voice, and discovered it was coming from the same place as the crunching sound.

262 looked up abruptly at the doorway with a look of surprise, and then turned on her heal. Leonis, the man's large metallic cougar, emerged from behind the pillar, carrying the mangled bloody corpse of a male cyborg in his jaws.

"Drop that" 262 commanded as she walked up to meet the cybernetic cat. "You don't know where that's been." Leonis obeyed and dropped the bloody corpse to the ground.


"Why?" I asked abruptly. 262 didn't even look back at me, and continued to walk toward the balcony on the other side of the room. "Why did you kill him?"

Leonis turned to look at me. "His reckless behavior almost destroyed that which I need the most" the man's voice boomed from the unmoving mouth of the cat. "He has become a liability, and so I removed him from the equation. Your calculation is about to be resolved as well, but for now, I have what I came here for. This battle is over."

Leonis turned away from me just as Tom and Cynthia ran up behind me. Cynthia looked at her daughter in the distance, tears in her eyes, but she stayed beside me speechless. Tom instantly began tending to Joan, who still lay against me in pain and shock.

262 gave Leonis a scratch on the head, before mounting the large metallic beast. With a single hate-fill look back, 262 vanished out the balcony as Leonis took a giant leap with her riding the cat. A second later, they were several rooftops away, and still moving.

What did he mean when he said he had what he came for? It didn't sound like killing Liberati was the only thing on his agenda. Cynthia and Tom tended to Joan, laying her on the ground, and saw to her wounds. They opened several panels on her to make sure she was not seriously hurt, but the pain of the blows still lingered. At least she was breathing easier now, calming down as she was tended to.

"What's going on in there?" Annie asked over the ear piece.

"Liberati is dead. It was 262" I told her.

"26-! Was that her I saw jumping out the window?"

"Probably. Status report" I order.

"All accounted for here" Annie said. "But you better hurry, I can hear sirens in the distance."

"Sirens? The police? That was fast! How are things down there with you Jen?"

Jen didn't respond. I gave her some time assuming she was still caught in the confusion of a panicking crowd. "Status report Jen? Jen, are you alright?"

Still nothing. Tom and I looked at each other worried, and a look of realization dawned into his eyes at the same time as it did mine.

"Tera!" we both said.

Quickly I ran out of the room, and toward the stairs. Remnants of Agent 15 still hung in the air, but I just held my breath and ran through the back rooms toward the main dance floor. People were panicked and confused as whiffs of white smoke started to fill the hall. I used this opportunity to locate the closest fire alarm, and pull the handle.

A fire drill went off, followed by a loud friendly announcement to calmly leave the building. No matter how nice it may sound, you can never convince an already panicked crowd to remain calm. People started running toward the exits as I ran into the hall to look around.

In the corner of the room, propped against a sofa, Jen sat unconscious. I quickly ran over to her, fighting the fleeing crowd. Jen lay there motionless, almost as though she was a passed out drunk, or an overdosed druggie. It was clear to me by the trickle of blood on the back of her neck that she was the victim of an assault.

"Jen! Jen! Come back to me girl." I lightly tapped at Jen's face, trying to wake her up. A glass of clear liquid stood on a table nearby, and I picked it up and sniffed at it. No odor, it must be water. I splashed the cold wet stuff on Jen's face, and to my relief, she opened her eyes.

"Ow! My head!" she exclaimed, holding the back of her head in her hand. "What happened? What is this stuff?"

I looked at the glass, and took another whiff, no odor came to my nose, but a taste confirmed it. The glass was filled with was very high quality vodka, but at least she was awake now.

"Jen are you alright?" I asked, avoiding answering her previous question.

"No! My head is killing me-" she complained. "Where's Tera?"

I looked around. Tera was nowhere to be seen. I started to panic too now. I propped Jen up into the seat so she could be more comfortable while I looked around.

"Tera!" I yelled over the crowd. "TERA!" I started to run around, looking everywhere for her. Most of the crowd had already left, and the police sirens were getting closer. I ran toward the exit. Maybe she'd gone outside when the alarm went off.

I continued to yell her name, looking everywhere for her. I realized now that the little stream of data in the back of my head that gave me updates on her had vanished. Now I really panicked. I started asking random people if they had seen her, describing her briefly to them. No one had, and in all the confusion, it was unlikely anyone would have noticed a single girl disappear.

Glinting by the side of the road, a small gold charm caught my eye. I ran over and picked it up. Sure enough, it was what I feared. I held a small intricate gear in the shape of a heart of the end of a necklace, the same necklace I gave Tera earlier that evening. A girl behind me spoke out.

"Oh yeah, I saw her, she was totally drunk and some guy carried her over his shoulder to his car. It looked like her dad. Hey wait... aren't you that Exo dude?"

"Don't tell anyone I was here" I said, just as a police light came into view. SHIT! I couldn't just run back inside, not with the crowd of people still blocking the path, I had to run, but where? Sirens were approaching from both sides of the street. I was out of option, and had to resort to the only one left I could think of, the most dangerous one.

I reached under my coat, and flipped up a flap on the shoulder of my Exo suit. Underneath the flap was a small switch, which I switched to the 'off' position. This was my safety switch. It enabled all the safety protocols I built into the suit, which prevented me from pushing too hard and killing myself, or breaking my foot if I tripped on my own leg. I had just turned it off, which meant any small motion I overestimated could kill me.

I carefully stood there as a crowd started to gather near me, flashes of cell phone cameras going off. Looking up, I crouched down, just as a police car stopped, behind me, and jumped. With my safety on, I could jump over a car, maybe even onto a truck. But my goal here was to jump onto the roof of this 2 story building. I flew into the air, with more g forced against me than I expected. Luckily, my aim was good, and I had only overestimated the distance by a little bit, sending me 6 feet over my intended target. I landed on top of the roof, away from everyone's prying eyes and the police, but managed to land awkwardly and twisted my ankle.

I dared not reach down to tend to my ankle, not with my safety off. I slowly and gently reach up to my shoulder, and flipped the switch back on. Suddenly I felt the restraints of the system kick in, and I could nurse my wound without causing more damage. I couldn't stay there long though.

"Cynthia, can you get Jen, she's in the club on a seat. Someone hit her in the head and knocked her out."

"I can still hear you" Jen said in pained breath.

"Sure, she'll be right there" Tom replied.

"Hurry though the police are here" I warned.


I hobbled to the other side of the roof, and looked down. Sure enough, the balcony was just below me. I carefully climbed down the side of the roof, and hung by the edge of it, still a good 4 feet off the ground. Dropping onto the balcony below, I put all my weight on my good foot and went into a roll. Luckily I didn't hurt myself again, but I had sprained one ankle already so I had to be careful.

I limped over to Tom and Joan, who was now sitting up. She looked like she was feeling better, but I knew my news was only going to make things worse.

"Where is she?" Tom asked.

"She's... she's gone. Tera's been kidnapped! I'm so stupid! I never should have let her come."

"This isn't your fault. We'll... we'll get her back" Tom said through a cracked voice.

"She'll be alright, won't she?" Joan asked. "We're going to go get her right?" She broke into tears as she tried to talk, but by the end, she could only sob.

"She'll... she'll live" a pained voice said nearby. Startled, we looked over, and saw Diane still pinned to the wall, blood pooling on the ground beneath her.

"Where is she?" I asked as I got up and approached her.

"I... I... don't know. He... approached us first." Her breathing was labored, as one would expect with a length of metal sticking out of her chest. Her eyes wandered around the room. "She got Larry... damn." She didn't seem that upset to see her former boss's corpse lying in a pool of blood. Her eyes then wandered farther over and focused on something else. "Oh... Oh God! Bob!"

I glanced over, and realized she was talking about the bloody mess Leonis had been mangling. I take it the metallic cat didn't eat her food, but she still mimicked it. There was little left that could be used to identify him, but she knew him instantly.

"Oh GOD! Not Bob! NO!!" She cried out again, tears filling her eyes.

I remembered something Joan told me about Diane. Usually Diane and Bob were together with her. They must have been very close. "I'm sorry" I said.

"That fucking FREAK! He killed my husband! Oh god!"

Joan came up to me, and placed her hand on Diane's shoulder. "You two were always kind to me. I'm sorry."

"Please... just kill me. I can't live like this."

We hesitated. Joan shook her head. "You ask too much of me" she said.

"Please. Exo. You can do it!"

"No... I can't. I can't kill you. Come on" I said to Joan indicating for her to help me.

Together, we lifted up the injured cyborg and pulled the metal spike out of her chest, lowering her to the floor. Tom came over to look at her.

"Well you aren't a robot, but I think I can help" he said.

"We need to get out of here now" I reminded everyone. "The police are downstairs. We can't be seen near this."

"We'll help her first" Joan interrupted.

"We don't have time" I repeated. "The paramedics can take care of her."

"And send her to jail for the rest of her life? No! She might not be the nicest person in the world, but I can't leave her to this fate."

"Just let me die" Diane begged.

"No!" Joan and I said in unison.

"I will not let you die. Too many people have already died tonight." Joan was adamant about that, and I respected her for it. "Please Danny."

I sighed. "Fine. We can try to take her with us, but we need to leave now! Can you carry her out without hurting her?"

"The spike missed her vitals" Tom said "... I think. Just be careful."

Joan lifted up Diane, despite Diane's pained protests. Yet another advantage of being a cyborg, you don't have to worry as much about breaking your spine when moved. Then again, she probably wish it did.

"Don't take me from him. BOB!" She reached out weakly to her mangled husband. It was hard to watch.

The three of us ran back out, down the back halls, carrying the injured woman. We only narrowly avoided being seen by the police, as they were apparently too busy dealing with the antics and drug use of the unruly crowd.

"Jen, are you ok?" I asked over the radio.

"I've been better" she replied. "We're on the way. Wait for us."

"What about the police?" Annie asked.

"We told them I was hit in the confusion and..." she took a pained breath. "And Cynthia is driving me to the hospital."

"Good idea" I said.

"I thought so" she replied. "But I meant it too. I think I have a concussion."

"We can't. We'd be caught for sure. Plus we have an injured woman with us who might be able to help."

"I'M an injured woman and I demand medical treatment" Jen shot back. I could see her coming into view now, Cynthia helping her walk under one arm. We all walked calmly toward the cars on the other side of the lot, and tried to avoid acting suspicious or guilty.

"Annie, you and Jack come down here too."

"Roger" she said.

I wasn't in the mood for jokes, but something in my head wanted to ask who Roger was. The thought of Tera scared, alone, and kidnapped terrified me and I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to cope with it. I had taken her into the lion's den, and gotten her kidnapped. It was all my fault, and now I had no idea where she was.

"Hospital! Now!" Jen demanded.

"No! We'll only be arrested" I objected.

"How dare you ask me that!" Annie interrupted over the radio. I heard a slap, and Annie continued. "Jen was right about you. What do you mean say it? I will not say that! Don't make me hit you again!"

"What are you two talking about?" Jen asked harshly.

"Jack wants me to hit on him" Annie said.

"No" I heard Jack yell through her radio.

"Whatever. He said I was to say 'hit on me'" Annie corrected with sarcasm in her voice.

"Hit on me?" The sounded familiar. Suddenly it hit me! "Dr. Hitomi! Jack you're a genius!"



Within 5 minutes, we were all piled into the cars, Jen and Diane in the SUV with Tom, Joan, and... Jack? He insisted he ride with Jen, even though she was still upset at him. He was doing his best to make it up to her, and tended to her while Tom looked after Diane. I did not envy Tom, with Joan, Jack, and Jen all in the car with him, a fight was bound to break out. Annie, Cynthia, and I followed behind in the smaller car, Cynthia driving while I called ahead. The clinic was not 24 hours, but usually they would offer some kind of emergency service, and I wanted to make sure this trip was not in vain.

Sure enough, Dr. Hitomi was on call, even at this late hour. She agreed to meet us there, and I apologized for the trouble and getting her out of bed at this hour. The rest of the trip was made in silence. My head was filled with thoughts of Tera, and how I had lost her. I let her down, her parents down, and myself. I blamed myself for letting her come along, and had no idea if I would ever see her again. I realized the last thing I said to her, and it dawned on me that she had said she loved me, and I was too busy to reply in kind. Did I ever say I loved her? I asked her out, but had I ever actually said it?

"It's not your fault" Cynthia said, breaking the silence. Perhaps she heard me quietly sobbing, or just trying to hold it in, but she said it nonetheless.

"Yes it is. I led her into that pit, and never even told her how I felt about her" I sobbed.

"She already knows. She was the one that wanted to go, and she can be pretty stubborn sometimes. You did the right thing, letting her go. She needs to grow on her own-"

"As a prisoner? She's been kidnapped! I should have stayed with her!"

"And would that have helped at all? Either she'd still be kidnapped, or would you prefer Joan gone. No one could have predicted this. Don't beat yourself up over it."

Annie placed her hand on my shoulder, and gave me a solemn but friendly smile. "She's my sister, and I won't let anything happen to her. We'll get her back."

"How about you?" I asked. "How are you holding up?"

"I've been through worse" she sighed.

"And your fear?"

"Of men?" She let out a long slow breath. "I'm still terrified. Even around you I still feel uneasy. I feel like I have to put on a big face, a tough facade, so men won't go mess with me."

"Even with me?" I asked, trying not to think about Tera.

"Not as much as I used to. I'm getting used to you. Plus you are my master, and... I hate to say it but... Outside my family you are my only friend."

"What about Jack and Jen?"

"Jen's alright I guess, but I don't really know her yet. Hell, I'm still trying to get to know you. Jack... He's friendly but I'm still scared of him." She sighed again and I saw her hold her face in her hands through the mirror.

"What's wrong?" Cynthia asked.

"Sorry. I just... hate being like this! Don't worry about me though, we need to save Tera."

I saw the cut on her face where the bullet had grazed it. It was a clear cut across her left cheek, leaving a bloody tear in her skin. I saw a little of Tera in her eyes, and couldn't stop the flow of tears.

We arrived a short while later at the clinic, and were met by Dr. Hitomi. I was beside myself the entire time, and can't clearly recall all that happened. Jack stayed with Jen, worried about her injury, even though she was still angry at him. Jen really knew how to hold a grudge. Diane was seen first though, even though she was a cyborg. Her human parts still needed treatment, and a lot of medical facilities were equipped to deal with it, although the mechanic parts that were not vital to life would have to be looked at later. Tom stayed with Joan in the SUV and watched over her, making sure her injuries were not too serious.

As for me... I fell into a depression induced stupor. I lost all sense of time as the realization that Tera was gone and it was my fault hit me hard. I remember sitting in the car, resting in the waiting room, and hearing pained screams from Diane and Jack. Yes Jack. Did I mention Jen holds a grudge? I remember how nice Dr. Hitomi was, again, but little else until we were on the way home again.

Everyone was tired, especially the 3 who were injured. Even Joan went into sleep mode to reserve power on the way back. As tired as I was, devastation over what had happened prevented me from getting any rest. She was gone. As we arrived back at the lab, we were greeted by Andrea, who helped assist everyone back into the lab, except for me.

While the others got some well-deserved rest, I needed to think, I needed to breathe. As everyone else went inside in the early morning hours, I wandered aimlessly into the forest nearby. No one tried to stop me. I drifted through the trees depressed and half-aware of my surroundings in the eerily bright night for what must have been hours. Eventually, I found my way into a small clearing with a large rock. It was the same place Annie had staked out nights before, and had a great view of the sky.

Cool night air blew through the trees and engulfed me in a numbing cold. Sitting on the rock, I gazed at the stars, thinking about Tera and my previous encounters that night. I barely noticed the sound of the wind blowing through the trees, the crunching of dead leaves behind me as a deer wandered through the woods, the soft sounds of the city in the background, the faint voice calling for help. A voice calling for help?!

I snapped out of my trance and focused my senses. There was no voice, no cry for help, and yet... there was something. I could ever so faintly sense a cry for help. It repeated several times. Finally, I had to slap myself awake more until I realized what it was. It was Tera, or at least the stream of data inside my head. She was alive, and close! She didn’t normally send messages that way, at least not often due to the energy it takes, but given the circumstances, I’d take any message at all.

I quickly got to me feet and started down the rock. The signal faded out, and I lost the little voice. Abruptly I stopped and turned around. The signal slowly came back. It was weak. She was alive, but she wasn't as close as I'd hoped. The clearing on the hill helped me pick up the signal, but if I moved too much, it would fade out. There was nothing I could do. She was alive and needed help, and I had to do something! I quickly ran down the hill, back out of the forest. My exo suit was low on power, and I had flipped it off, so running was back was not as swift as I would have liked, but I dared not turn it on incase I needed the power to mount a rescue.

It took a little while, but I finally got out of the forest, and stormed into the lab. Andrea was sitting in the main room, still active and on guard duty. She instantly confirmed my identification, but I didn't bother to wait for her to tell me. I ran to the back hall, and into the dorms. Throwing open Tom and Cynthia's door, I stopped to catch my breath.

"What in the world?" Tom asked, looking up at the light invading their dark room.

"It's Tera" I finally said between breaths. "She's alive!"


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/Chapter 27
Chapter 28 here.

[TW]

This might be my favorite chapter of the story.

The pacing is done perfectly, and its a fantastically fascinating chapter with the perfect blend of action and motion, moving the plot forward and keeping the reader invested. I really do feel concerned for the fate of your characters! What I really like about this is that you kept it simple, I felt that the last two chapters seemed a bit convoluted where I wasn't quite sure where things were going, but this one did a great job of bringing it all back home.

Great job, man! And...

SAVE TERA!!!!

[gynoneko]

Glad to know you like it. I've been planning this chapter for several months, and have been anxious to get to it. What specifically was it about the last chapters do you think I could work on?
Thanks for the feedback!

[liliwinnt6]

May I ask, when did Leonis show up in those chapters you made before?

[gynoneko]

I think it is in chapter 17, Metal Mecha Mayhem. You should read at least from "shot glass" (or the chapter before it) on, that is where more of the plot starts taking point.

Hope you are enjoying this so far. We are getting closer to the end, when things will get revealed. Just wish I had more readers, not that many hits per chapter anymore. Maybe it is just the idea of approaching 30 chapters that is scaring people away. I guess I'll post the entire story in one post when I am finished, as well as on the wiki, so people can read it all at once.