He couldn't stay there anymore. They were all staring at him. Why were they doing this to him? Making him look at those dead bodies. Craig didn't answer him. Winslow seemed to not hear him. He felt a surge of impatience and anger, he shoved past Craig and started running. He didn't care where.

Stupid boss. Stupid work. Stupid stress.

Still here...

Evalc nodded Indeed, that is how I came to be

Evalc stood next to James, looking out the same window in the voids of space.

I too had a family, and simple dreams before they were crushed by the invaders... I felt nothing but hatred for them, it fueled my power and my determination. They tried to take my voice from me, but it only made me stronger. You too will become stronger added Evalc.

Evalc turned around and walked back to his seat I had this ship specially stocked with trainning supplies so you could begin right away. Athough I am not totally familiar with the ancestral powers of the kitsune, I have sensed that your powers lie in your ability to emit fire. That is what you must focus on.

Evalc motioned towards a ragged dummy hanging from a wooden post.

Concetrate all your anger, regret, sorrow, and rage. Feel the very energy around you and the spiritual strength of your ancestors in your blood and shoot it like a gun at that dummy. Once you have caused that dummy to burst into flames we will continue said Claw.

***

"Toby wait!" exclaimed Winslow as he took off after the child.

Gus hurried onto the first ship, behind Claw and Breech, "If it helps, I know quite a lot about the current space-time distortions. It may interest you to know that the last time Evalc took over the universe, it very nearly collapsed in upon itself due to the amount of energy used. And he's using even more this time."

OOC: Woo.

IC:

Provost grunted in pain as he tied the sling. It wasn't so bad now, but it was still painful. He couldn't bear it. At least, bear the thought that he had been beaten by Evalc.

It was a disgrace he would bear for eternity.

What you see as disgrace... Bella echoed in his mind, You shall very soon learn will be your greatest strength.

Soon, the thousands of bodies were laid down in one hundred rows. They were all lifeless, and some missed limbs and organs. Nevertheless, Bella looked at Provost with a smile.

Go on. Touch them.
What? Provost's head came up. What good will that do?
Don't you realize?
Realize....what?

Bella closed her eyes and reached forward. Suddenly, a thin aura appeared around all of the bodies.

What.... Provost's eyes widened. Is going on?
The Provost clones, Bella responded, were once individuals. You assimilated them, thought the Provosts retained a small bit of their original personality......but....they copied your psionic signature.
Then you mean.....
They have both your signature and their psionic signatures. You can assimilate them because they have you inside them...and therefore....
......Two people on one....and they all belong to me. They are me.

Provost slowly held his hand up. At this, the aura brightened. As this happened, he felt the pain in his arm lessen until it was gone.

"Yes." Bella watched as Provost took his arm out of the sling and looked at it in wonder. "You have the power of one Provost now. But combine all of your clones back, all of them, and you will have the strength of a million psionics. You will be more than a threat. You will be his equal."
"His equal....."

Suddenly, at the energy spike, Provost's eyes turned green.

"Tell me what to do."

After tapping into his latent powers, James had learned that his abilities extended beyond just fire. Telekinesis, extra-sensory perception, and increased physical abilites...but Evalc was right in that fire was James' natural and most basic talent. He had tapped into it before, in his greatest moments of anger and despair, often the ability going beyond his control, Very destructive. His success in controlling the ability had been minimal; he could light cigarettes with his fingertips, little tricks like that.

Now that he had a little experience, maybe he could use his ability to create fire more effectively.

James looked at the dummy and focused his anger at it. He brought memories to the surface of his mind, memories of loss, of failure, of helplessness. He watched loved ones die in his mind; he watched the people who killed them smile. Raw hatred errupted out of him, his blood boiling with destructive energy asking, begging to be released. He saw the faces of his enemies on that dummy, and he wanted to burn them all away. He fed his anger, gave it physical strength through the flow of life energy all around him. Unlike before, he didn't let it burn out of control. He focused it, channeled it, bent his anger to his will and told it exactly where he wanted it to go.

He raised one paw in the air, and flames streaked out at the dummy in a stream, reducing it to ashes in seconds. James smiled grimly in satisfaction.

Excellent, General! You are an unbelievably fast learner! excalimed Evalc's transmission,.

Seeing Prower totally dominate his own rage roused Evalc from his bad mood.

Moving targets! Don't let your guard down now, General! excalimed Evalc happily.

Suddenly four or five droids appeared out of the shadows of the craft and rotated around James in erratic patterns.

melt them into slag

***

The pile of corpses had grown mushy and had congealed into a single mound of stench.

"These shells of clones are useless now. Do them honor, Provost," commanded Bella, surprisingly observant of the dead.

Provost nodded solemly, realizing that he had indeed become powerful, but powerful at the cost of so much life. Provost closed his eyes and stretched out his hands, manipulating the very ambient energies that comprised all life. He forced the very electrons in the air and in the bodies of the corpses to ignite and soon the great mound of corpses had become a great funeral power and a beacon for Provost's ascendance.

Bella and Provost watched as the flames consumed the remains of the once numerous Provost Clone Army.

"You are a clone no longer, Provost. You have reached the form you were always intended. Now there remains only one last thing to temper your wild energies into a concentrated technique of fighting," commended Bella.

"I have to fight him... I have to fight him in order to quiet the chaos in my mind... but why?" asked Provost.

"Because he is an old psionic and his ancient fighting styles will teach your very soul to unify and obey you. And when you show him that you are indeed his equal, then you will be complete," replied Bella.

"Very well... Claw... old mentor... I will prove to be your equal!" proclaimed Provost.

Bella motioned for Provost to leave the burning mass of flesh and follow her. After crossing a large dune, Bella revealed her small old-style psionic fighter ship.

"We will take this and follow Claw. There you will undergo your final trial, my son."

Sonia thought back as far as her memory could reach, glad that Bossman had made the courtesy of putting out his cigar. "Well...I think I've always had it," she said slowly, thinking back to her childhood.

"Were you always as fast as you are now?"

"No," answered Sonia, her memories suddenly paining her as she realized that they might not be completely her own. "Not always. I was always a good runner, but the speed developed as I grew older...it just seemed to make sense that I'd have it, you know? I grew up thinking that I was the heir of Sonic and Sally, that I had inherited Sonic's speed. I was even faster than Charles when we grew up together."

She looked at the porthole out onto the airfield. "But I know that was a lie now. But if that's so, then...who am I?" She dropped her face into her hands as tears came unbidden to her eyes. "What am I? Am I like Evalc? Am I going to kill people?"

"If it helps-" Gus started.

"It doesn't help," Breech leant her head against the wall, "How in hell do you fight something like that? I was throwing everything I had at him, and he was just shrugging it off- no, he was ENCOURAGING me! He was just being a smug bast! How in hell do we fight something like that?! Do we have to go back to throwing rocks at him?!"

She was getting worked up again.

"Everyone and everything has a weakness. Evalc's weakness is that he doesn't think he has one," replied Claw.

"It doesn't help that we don't know his weakness either," replied Breech.

"No one person can beat him, that's obvious now. He's highly trainned in combat. But if we team together, with all our powers, all our determination... surely that means something. I refuse to let him come to power again," growled Claw.

***

"Nah, fates's for suckers, doll. Having powers is just like having a hammer. You can use a hammer to fix what's broken or you can use it to bash someone's skull in. Either way it's who uses the hammer that makes the decisions, the hammer doesn't decide for you," laughed Bossman reaasuringly as he patted Sonia on the shoulder.

Sonia felt better after hearing Bossman's comparison. She could see the logic in it. After all, didn't people like CJTails and Rico and Grant Charger, hadn't they used their powers for helping people? Now that she thought about it, there were just as many good examples as bad of those who had incredible powers and used them for good. All she had to do was look at the past, how mighty heroes had risen again and again to fight against Robotnik in the past, how Sonic Hedgehog had used his abilities not for selfishness but for the good of Mobius.

"Th-that makes sense," she sniffed as she wiped her face with the back of her sleeve. "And if I don't know how to use the hammer, then I can't do any good with it, right? And if I can help stop Evalc, then I'll need everything I can get."

"What of people use the shaft of their hammer only? And what if someone uses anothers grip to complete their own hammer?" Kenji said looking distant, yet thoughtful, as though it wasn't clear if he was talking to the group or himself.

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

Toby slowed to a halt and spung around, "Why? So I can die?! I don't WANT to die!" The boys voice was more than fearful, he sounded scared out of his mind.

This was a little more challanging. Incinerating one target wasn't very hard. With a little practice, it would become second-nature to him. But five robot targets flying circles around him was a different story. He'd have to gauge where they were going to be, not where they were. James unleashed another stream of flame, then another, and another. None of them hit, the target drones nimbly avoiding the blasts.

The fox was starting to get frustrated. That frustration fed his anger, which increased his power. Anger certainly has its benefits; anger can give you strength when you would normally have none. Anger can focus your mind and energy, pushing unneeded concerns away. Of course, its a double-edged sword; it can make you focus too much. James doubted he had to worry about that, though. He was just fighting machines.

Screw this. He needed to eliminate their advantage and then slag 'em. Time to use his other powers. Reaching out with the life energy all around him, he closed an invisible fist around one of the bots, bringing it to a halt. The target struggled to escape, but it was a useless battle. A stream of fire later, and it was a molten blob. He tried the same tactic on the next one with similar success. The drones started to fly faster, trying to outrun the force that was restraining them. James smiled, encouraged by his success and Evalc's compliments. He could feel that the psionic master was impressed.

Reaching out again, he managed to grab another drone. Rather than melting it, he used it as another weapon, smashing it into another drone, shattering them both. One left. James drew his sword and energy flowed from his fingertips and into the weapon, making the blade glow an eerie red. In a flash of motion, James struck at the remaining target, slicing it into several pieces before it hit the ground. He sheathed the weapon and admired his work.

He wiped sweat from his brow. It wasn't easy. But he did it. It was possible. And he would only get better with time and practice. Considering where he was going, he would probably get a lot of practice.

Breech shook her head. Claw's absolute certainty was a little comforting, but she was still angry.

"I've never been too good at teamwork," she admitted, "Claw, I want you to train me some more. I want to be better."

OOC: I'm going to assume everyone going managed to board a ship, I'll edit as neccisary

IC:

Claw shifted on his feet awkwardly.

"I'm not much of a teacher, but I can teach you a few things that might help," replied Claw.

The three ships rose from the ground and cut through the atmospere.

"Skip space will be aquired in thirty minutes," annouced a computerized female voice over the intercom.

Claw groaned to himself.

"You don't like skip space entry either, huh?" asked Breech.

"I don't mind skip space, I just hate droning female computer voices," growled Claw, starring daggers into the puncutered sphere that served as a speaker for the intercom.

Claw looked back at Breech then down at the floor, as if trying to think of the first lesson he was taught so long ago.

"My old master taught me that to become an effetive psionic, one must learn to temper your inner demons," said Claw, his eyes closed, reaching back into the depths of his scarred memory, "Too often to people try to defeat their demons. But one cannot kill what is onlt imaginary."

"Your master sounds alot like that old rambler, Pendragon," snickered Breech.

Claw grinned a little, "I don't think anyone could be as cryptic as Master Pendragon. What my old master was trying to say is that before you can began to control the forces from outside, you must learn to control the forces from inside."

Claw pointed to his head as he said this, "Everyone has fear, fear that can never be defeated and doesn't have to be defeated, it simply must be controlled, must be rationalized. Fear can be compelling and powerful in its own right. Breech...."

Claw paused as he searched for the right words, "...You have a lot of trauma, it surrounds you. I'm not a very skilled psionic telepath and even I could see the misery that covers you. If you ever hope to learn to control your powers... you have to rise above your torture and accept it as part of a balance in the great scheme of your mind."

Excellent General, you've picked up psionic techniques that even some of my oldest pupils never learned! You will be a great and terrible blight to the Felusians. But now it is important to control your rage, otherwise you might lose touch with the very energy around you and it could literally consume you, char you you until you are nothing but a blackened skeleton. Keep a handle on your abilities at all times. Meditate, General Prower. Meditate and find the very root of your powers and bubble it to the surface. Force your mind to realize your own dark potentials instructed Evalc.

"Their's lots of different ways ta use a hammer, Sonia, lots of different ways. But you'll do just fine kid," Bossman subconsiously reached into his breast pocket and fumbled for another cigar but quickly realized he had just put out the one he had for Sonia's sake.

Bossman sighed heavily and stretched out, "Say, Sonia, anyone ever tell you who your parents were, or where you mighta picked up that speed 'a yours?"

James nodded and did just that, sitting down with his legs crossed, eyes closed, and breathing slowed. He forced his battle rage under control, smothering the fire in his chest. He quieted and stilled his mind, slipping fully into the energies around him. Energy he could capture, harness, bend to his will. But not now. Now he was just going to observe, to immerse himself within it.

James lost track of time as he slipped deeper and deeper into the trance, time itself losing meaning to him. He could feel the universe around him, billions and billions of objects floating around him in a inky black voice, life forces brightly glowing pinpricks in the darkness. That luminous energy swirled around the cool flame that was he, penetrating him and connecting him to everything else. Distantly, he marveled at the beauty of the whole. This wonder, this understanding of self was the wind that fed the fire, directed it.

Gradually, his concious self shut down, his subconcious taking over, the hidden part of himself. His hidden fears, hopes, dreams. Desires he would never voice out loud. His once terrible fear of losing his loved ones now a horrid scar. His closed-minded, blind hatred of Felusians an open, bleeding gash. His desire to be loved again a gaping hole. This part of himself was the heat of the flame.

James sank even deeper, leaving himself behind, slipping into the unconcious. The most basic of all feeling, primal desires. Emotions at their rawest. The animal brain that resided within all. This was the base, the fuel for the flame.

For a moment, he didn't exist at all. But then he came back, gradually climbing back from his deepest depths, slowly ending the trance, making his way out of the vast sea of energy. In the trance, dreams came to him freely.

Breech looked confused, "You mean... I have to stop being angry about the people who hurt me, and accept it?" she asked him.

"Something like that, yeah," said Claw.

"I..." Breech concentrated, "I want to..."

"Stop concentrating," Claw advised, "Relax."

Breech closed her eyes, and relaxed her body.

~~~

"James..." a voice whispered among the flames.

Breech faded again into the fire.

The flames engulfing James's heart grew bright white and suddenly the old royal guard was aware of something else... something lurking in the depths of space.

James could "see" in the eye of his mind a figure clad in white armor but obscured by... by something, as if he couldn't focus on the figure.

"Prower..." whispered the figure.

James was jolted back into the land of reality. His face was drenched in his own sweat. Evalc watched James with no discernable emotion. James wiped his brow.

"Lord Evalc... I had-"

A vision? Yes, when venturing into your own soul, you tend to find many things, pleasant and unpleasant

"But it was like there was something else... out there," said James, still in a small state of shock.

Evalc raised an eyebrow I would have known if anybody tried to contact you from outside the hull of this ship. It was but a vivid vision, General. Part of your trainning will be learning how to descern fantasy from reality. For now, practice your swordplay, it will help clear your mind

***

"You'll never forget about those that did you wrong, but you can use it to fuel yourself, rather than allow it to bring you down...," Claw explained, he could tell he wasn't doing just a great job teaching.

Claw scratched his head then suddenly unsheathed his katana.

"Let's spar," growled Claw suddenly.

Breech grinned. This was what she understood.

She produced her electrobar, "No hideous death though, right?" she asked, pressing the button that elongated it.

She dropped into a fighting stance, "En garde?" she suggested, a small smile on her lips.

She brought the staff around in an underarm sweep, to try and knock him off his feet.

James nodded towards Lord Evalc and drew his sword. Moving into the hold of the ship, he swung his sword through a training routine, something he had done a million times. But this time, his moves weren't as fluid as they should, his stance slightly off. It didn't provide the focus it usually did.

The vision repeated itself in his mind. He couldn't get it out of his head. The implications of it scared him. Was it real or just a vision from within himself, as Evalc had suggested? Did it even matter where it came from?

Again, he wondered if he were walking the right path. Was it an honorable path, the way of the guardsman, of himself? ...Or had he lost his way? Would Breech be disapointed in who he had become? ...Did he really have any other choice?

He didn't know.

*thump thump*

Was that his own heartbeat? James raised an eyebrow before a wave of disorientation washed over him.

*thump thump*

His vision clouded, he saw the past, the distant past, HIS distant past. He was watching that bastard fox comforting his son, pulling the boy further away from him every day.

*thump thump*

More heartbeats, more flashbacks, more visions of Rico taking his place, stirring anger and opening old wounds. The sheer ease and effortless talent for magic the alien had, he didn't even have to work to be powerful, like a spoiled brat. Lightning cut down robots like nothing, the look of admiration from HIS son toward that alien was nothing short of sickening to him. But he could do nothing but stay in the shadows, hidden from them all, helpless.

*thump thump*

The visions seemed to fade as reality started to settle back in.

James dropped his sword and shook his head, trying to clear it of the images. What the hell had that trance done to him? Was he losing his mind?

Yes, he had felt jealous of and bitter towards Rico, but that was decades in the past. He was over that...or so he thought. It was his own damn fault that he had not contronted Tails sooner, so long ago. He couldn't blame Rico for forming a bond with his son. ...Although he would feel forever jealous of the alien fox for the time he got to spend with Tails.

The old guardsman sighed and picked up his sword. A blinking light on the wall indicated that they were going to leave skipspace in a matter of minutes. James sheathed the sword and made his way to the cockpit.

Winslow didn't seem to want to answer, or didn't have one. The boy snarled, "I don't want to be here anymore! I wanna LEAVE!"

"Bossman?"

Before Bossman could reply to Sonia, Ich-Hast tapped him on the shoulder.

"We have an incoming ship approaching us."

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

Provost sat silently at the controls of the ship, staring at the view in front of him. Claw was there.

Claw....I will defeat you....and then, I shall take on Evalc!

Winslow scratched the back of his head.

"Sounds like a good idea... but where will you go?" asked Winslow.

***

Claw's eyes widened as he sensed a familiar presence. He barely ducked out of the way of a blow sent by Breech.

"Distracted?" asked Breech tauntingly.

"There's something going on..." growled Claw as he dropped his fighting stance, signifying the end of the sparring match.

Breech sighed, "Like what?" she asked, "I wish you wouldn't be so bloody... vauge all the time. Is it something to do with Evalc again?"

The boy looked mad, it was understandable but out of character. He glared and snapped back, "I don't care! Just.. AWAY!"

Jeremy looked down at the little form sadly, a pang of empathy in his eyes if anyone had been looking for it.

"And what would you do when you got there?"

He sighed and knelt to the rabbit's level, eye to eye.

"It's not that easy. Trust me - I've tried."

Rocky coughed.

"You know how it is when something's chasing you - if you run away from it, you just make it want to catch you more. You either turn around and you fight it, or you figure out some way of outsmarting it or getting rid of it."

Jeremy smiled. "And that's what friends're for."

Toby gritted his teeth hard, "I can't. I can't fight it. I can't outsmart it. How can I, I can't just get rid of myself."

Suddenly he looked pale, thinking about what he'd said. He was wrong, Jeremy was right. He could get rid of himself, but he lacked the courage to do it.

Jeremy baulked slightly. Empathy could really have its drawbacks at times.

He stopped couching and knelt squarely on the grass. When he spoke, only someone with good ears or the ability to lip read could've made out what he was saying.

Normally - insofar as he ever had anything to do with little kids - he wouldn't talk to a little kid like this. But this was hardly a normal little kid.

"That doesn't solve anything, either. Trust me - I tried that, as well."

Toby gritted his teeth, "What the hell is the answer then? In the end he was always the one protecting me. I was supposed to protect him but NO, I always started things I couldn't finish. Dammit, its my fault because I didn't work hard enough, I wasn't strong enough."

The boy's eyes looked weird, there was something very not-Toby about the look of pain in the boy's eyes. He looked depressed, worrisome, all the things Toby wasn't. One thing that remained was determination, although determination combined with depression and desperation was a very bad mixture.

The innocent wide eyed boy Jeremy remembered wasn't the person staring him in the face right now. Teeth gritted, eyes narrowed, brow furrowed in frustration.

Provost's ship was nearing the Bossman's fast. It would only be a matter of minutes before Provost docked with them.

<i>Claw......are you ready for me?</i>

Provost looked down and closed his eyes. He could see Claw, searching for what it was that was the source of the great power. Perhaps he would figure it out; perhaps not.

<i>Because I am more than ready for you....</i>

"Provost," growled Claw.

"Provost? That clone king wannabe?" asked Breech.

The ships proximity alarm went off. The ship hurled out of skip space as the planet came into view, they were almost in the atmosphere.

Provost's ship followed, diving into the planet's atmosphere.

"He's not firing," observed Breech.

"He doesn't want a dog fight, he wants a psionic fight," growled Claw.

"But what about all his little clones," asked Breech as both ships hurtled toward the surface of the planet.

"I can only sense him and possibly another on board..." trailed Claw.

A few minutes later both ships were skimming the surface. Provost's ship bumped the hull, shaking Breech and Claw to cold hard floor. Claw leapt to his feet and stormed over to the cargo door.

"What are you doing?" asked Breech.

"Close the door after I go," growled Claw as he slammed the button that accuated the cargo ramp.

Without a second thought Claw leapt out of the moving ship and using psionic power skidded safely to a stop as hit the ground. Provosts ship performed a sharp U-turn and landed several feet away from Claw.

"You wanna fight, you got one," snarled Claw as he extended the razor sharp claws on one of his hands.

OoC: Evalc, where have you BEEN?

BiC:
Breech didn't close the door, of course. She wanted to see this. She gripped her staff tightly, watching Claw step out. This was probably insane, but then again, who was she to consider sanity?

I hate magic, she thought absentmindedly.

OOC: Long story short, bad internet connections, school, and work

"Turn the ship around, Claw just leapt out," barked Breech.

Claw noticed Breech watching from high in the air from the cargo hatch. He motionied for her to keep the ship at a distance.

Provost stood opposite of him about a hundred feet away. Claw could sense that Provost had made tremendous leaps in his psionic training.

He tightened the grip on his katana as he slowly drew it from his belt.

Suddenly, the katana flew out of Claw's hands, landing severl hundred feet away. The strange attack barely registered on Provost's face as he stood.

CLAW: ??!

Provost simply looked at Claw. It wasn't scorn that was written on his face - simply <i>something</i>. Perhaps determination.

PROVOST: No weapons. Just ourselves, unless you really prefer otherwise.

Claw looked uneasily at Provost as he spoke. Was it cockiness? Or something else?

Claw sneered, realizing that Provost had a mastery over pinpointed psionic blasts.

"If you think it's help you," growled Claw.

Claw briefly closed his eyes, taking in the sources of energy all around him, immersing himself into ultra-perceptive state of a well trained psionic.

"Let's move!" growled Claw as he suddenly charged forward.

Breech watched from the ship. She wanted to help, but she knew that if she did, either Provost or Claw would kill her. She felt rather useless.

It was still amazing to watch them fight though - a blur of motion, metal and fur.

"Go, Claw!" she screamed in encouragement. Whether he could hear her or not was irrellevant - it made her feel better.

OOC: Finally have some internet access, I will eventually write a post that will possibly get this behemoth of an RP back in gear again. Until then I would like to take this time to apologize for my sudden absence and plan to make up for lost time soon enough.

OOC: Don't count on it. Most of the people in this thing have either given up RPs or left the board.

Yes, sadly enough. But glad to see you're back Evalc, whether or not we can get this rolling again. We could at least discuss what's going on and try to figure out why we stopped.

Well, I'M here. But I think most people assumed this RP was dead. You'd have to chase the major posters up again.

OOC: She says a month later.

And I still haven't gotten that email from you Evlac, so I can't positively say I'd be here for the end of this beast. Maybe. I'm open for RPing, got a character set up and unsure of what to do here. Email me, or IM me on MSN.

OOC: An attempt to at least head this thing towards a close, I will assume responsibility for Characters that I think may not still be active up until the point the rightful owners reclaim them or the RP is over.

IC:

A hot desert, the dust dancing in the wind as it whipped over the scorched dunes. Two figures blemished the otherwise perfect yellow plains of the wasteland.

"Think you got what it takes, kid?"

Claw had already drawn is katana, the legendary Shadow Katana that was rumored to be indestructible. The blade was so finely made that Claw could channel his own mental psionic energy through it with ease.

"You're past your prime, Master,"

Provost, he had changed so much. Once an innocent hedgehog caught up in a whirwind of galactic intrigue. A creation... that's all Provost was... Bella's mad expirament. I won't fail, mother . Provost revealed a long sword.

Both psionic warriors stood silent. Then wordlessly, both broke into a dead run, charging at each other with all their rage and with every intention to draw blood and death. The two figures collided, their blades exploding in sparks like fireworks. The sudden clash of their psioinic auras created a bubble in which sand was flung from. The blades unlocked from each other and a rapid sword fight ensued. The pointed edges zipped through the air like violent cyclones, ripping at metal, cloth, and flesh. Claw deflected Provost's blade, held up the palm of his hand and blasted Provost with burst of psionic energy. Provost sailed across the sand and became partially lodged in the sand.

Claw wasted no time. He leapt into the air, preparing to drive his katana downward through Provost's chest. Blinded by sand but sensing the movement above him, Provost managed to swing his longsword in a wide arc, forcing Claw to flip out of the way in mid air. Provost freed himself from the sand with an outward burst of energy from his body.

Claw raced towards his former pupil, "This is the end, clone!"

Provost moved to block but the force of Claw's charge knocked the longsword out of Provost's hands. With lightening speed, Provost clapped his hands around Claw's katana, stopping it from cleaving his neck. Provost moaned as a small trail of blood ran from his hands and down Claw's blade. Channeling the static electrcity in the air, Provost sent an electric charge through the katana and into Claw's hands, forcing the aged psionic to drop his blade.

Both warriors cried out in anger. Claw extended his claws, Provost ripped a small dagger out of his cloak. They both slashed at each other, then both stood deathly still. Claw had all ten of his organic blades pointed at Provost's gut. Provost had his dagger pressed firmly against Claw's neck.

"Your strength isn't from trainning or discipline," growled Claw.

"It was enough to match you," scoffed Provost.

Claw could see Provost's triumpant grin. Slowly, Claw's claws slowly retracted into his fingers. Provost lifted his dagger from Claw's neck and placed it back into his cloak.

"What do you want?" growled Claw

"I want what you want. I want Evalc dead, I want his empire in shambles," replied Provost, still grinning.

"That's not all you want," growled Claw, as he picked up his katana and sheathed it.

"Be glad that our goals have aligned themselves," replied Provost as he picked up his longsword.

"As long as you're Bella's puppet, you can't be trusted," accused Claw as he dusted himself off.

"Think what you want of my mother, but it is because of her that we will be able to stop Evalc. With our combined might, with everyone... we can stop him," explained Provost as he wrapped his wounded hands.

Claw was silent.

"Come, you are no longer my master, and I am no longer your student. We can take my ship and catch up with the rest," declared Provost as he turned toward the large dusty silloutte several yards away.

Claw winced at Provosts new found arrogance but realized he had no choice but to take the kid's offer. Begrudginly, Claw followed Provost to his small fighter craft.

"Boss, transmission from a fleet orbiting the planet," rapsed Ich-Hast.

Bossman turned away from Sonia for a moment.

"A fleet? What the devil?" Bossman glanced back over at Sonia, "'Cuse me, toots."

Bossman marched over to the small screen that acted as the ships transceiver. Suddenly a uniformed alien appeared on the screen.

"Greetings, you must be the messenger ship sent from Mobius, correct?" asked the regal alien.

Bossman grinned slightly, "That's right... General Valen."

"What the hell," growled Claw as he noticed the hundreds of blinking dots on Provost's radar.

"It looks like a fleet!" exclaimed Provost.

The small fighter craft jetted across the dry planet landscape.

"Look, there's Breech's transport," pointed Claw.

"For those on your transport who don't know, I am General Valen and I have been appointed to lead an allied force to stop the advance of the Evolian Empire. We received word from reputable sources that you set out from Mobius with the intent to unfiy a defense against the Empire. The universe will not soon forget the oppression of the Evolian Empire and several planets have come together to put a stop to the great threat of the Evalc and his war machine. We have also received word that Master Warden Pendragon is among many of your distinguished part members. We would be honored to have you join us aboard our flag ship, the Samothrice. The rest of your party has already joined us," General Valen stepped out of the way to reveal everyone else from the other two ships were there waiting.

"Absolutely, General, we'll transmit our coordinates," Bossman nodded to Ich-Hast.

***

"Claw? What are you doing in that psycho's ship?" asked Breech through the intercom.

"Long story, what's the deal with the fleet?"

"Some guy named General Valen is leading an allied assualt against the empire, we're boarding his flag ship, I'll transmit the boarding coordinates to you," informed Breech.

"Just like that, huh? I hope Bossman knows what the hell he's doing," growled Claw.

OOC:

On erratic 'net access and likely to be working on RL stuff to a tight deadline until the end of this month, but still here, if I can find some way of making a re-entry.

(Sorry about this... I keep thinking it's closed. E-mail me when you reply?)

"I bet it's a trap..." Breech flexed her claws carefully.

"Why do you think that?" Claw asked her.

"It always is..." Breech shook her head. Caring little for the consequences, she brought the ship back down to ground level, "This is neither the time nor the place for a psionic ego buffing."

The Felusian lowered the cargo hold, "Claw, stop with the brain crap," she told him, "We don't have time. We have to move fast, and we have to move fast NOW!"

OOC- I love that you guys ars still up to this. Just thought Id pop on by to say that. Kind of got nostalgic on a night where I am having a hard time sleeping, so blah blah blah, I came to pay a visit.

OOC: Anyone is more than welcome to jump back in this RP. When I have time I'm going to continue to post and eventually give this thing an ending. I figured a RP this old deserves some closure Good to see you again, Harley, Nate, Sam

IC:

Provost's ship slowly edged it's way into the Samothrice's hangar. As Claw and Provost exited the ship they were met with a small group of uniformed soldiers. Claw's name was well known among law enforcement and a near legend as far as wet works and covert ops went. Provost's deeds of mass self-slaughter had yet to be known. The group of soldiers felt a combination of uneasiness and excitement at the though of escorting the infamous Bladed Terror to see General Valen.

***

Intensive training, that's all James Prower knew since he had left Mobius en route to Felus.

Felus...

That was her homeplanet. The last time he was there those bloodthirsty Felusians killed her, killed her in cold blood.

"HHHRRRAAAAHHHH!" roared James as he forced and compressed the particles of energy around him into a tight ball then embued it with his kitsune ancestral power. He found the more he could control around, the easier it was to call forth his kitsune heritage.

The firey ball of psionic rage suddenly exploeded in his hand and rushed over his body. James Prower burst forward with a volley of punches and kicks towards his sparring partner... Evalc.