Phantasy Star Online X

Chapter 12
Head of the Hunter’s Guild


This chapter contains:
scenes of violence


Mission 23
From the Depths

A message was left on Ash’s doorstep.
“At 1200 hours today a machine in the Ruins will activate. It causes earthquakes. I need your help to deactivate it. Please come to the west end of the second ruins area so we can stop it.”
1200 hours was the peak exploration time. There would be dozens of hunters in the ruins. Ash strapped on his gear. He called Sue and Shino and told them to meet him at the teleporter.

Ash, Sue and Shino made good time through the ruins. Their combined efforts proved more than enough to tackle the waves of enemies.
As they finished clearing a room on the second floor a cold robotic voice emanated from the shadows. “Hey Ash, it’s been a while.” They turned to face the source.
“Kireek?” Sue asked.
“No,” Ash said, gripping his double saber tightly. “He goes by Black Hound now.”
Sue was shocked. One of the most respected hunters was the last member of the Dark Hearts gang? It couldn’t be true, but as she saw the way Ash glared at him she knew it must be true.
The ground trembled. It was 1200 hours.
“The machine is through there, downstairs.” Kireek said, pointing to the left door.
“Go ahead.” Ash said to Sue and Shino, not taking his eyes off Kireek. “I’ll take care of him.”
Sue couldn’t believe it. Ash was going to fight one of the strongest hunters in history. He didn’t have a chance.

Sue and Shino made their way a quickly as possible, but with each new room they entered a new horde of enemies had to be dealt with. These enemies seemed tougher, and it seemed like there were more of them now. She counted the monsters. There were the same number per room as before. She and Shino were struggling just to stay alive against these monsters, but when Ash was with them it seemed like they were pushovers. It was then that Sue actually realized how much Ash contributed to missions. Just how strong was Ash?

Sparks flew as the red laser blade of Ash’s double saber collided with the purple edge of Kireek’s scythe. They had both taken and received a lot of hits. A deep wound in Ash’s right thigh was bleeding down his leg. As he limped around he left drops of blood on the floor. Kireek’s left forearm was been sliced off and was lying on the floor.
They both took a step back and applied healing items. Ash’s leg stopped bleeding and Kireek reattached his arm. Kireek tried out his arm. Ash smiled as it malfunctioned.
“What are you so happy about?” Kireek asked.
“I’ve been counting the number of healing item s you’ve used. Even if you were carrying the maximum amount possible you’re running out.”
The ground beneath them cracked and large pieces of the ceiling fell around them as they stood motionless, staring at each other.
“Hmph. You too though.”
“Yeah, but I’ve got healing magic.”
“Well, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve too.”
They rushed each other again. Kireek charged energy into his weapon and cut Ash across his right shoulder. Ash knocked him back. Energy traveled from the tip of Kireek’s Soul Eater into his left arm. Kireek wiggled his fingers. The arm was working perfectly now.
Ash gritted his teeth as he used his healing spell. Kireek’s had absorbed his energy and was using it to heal himself. This fight just got tougher.

Sue spotted the control console for the earthquake machine.
“There!” Sue was excited. She was actually doing something useful for once. She wasn’t trying to find a new treasure. She wasn’t slacking off and letting Ash take care of most of the monsters. She was pulling her own weight.
Sue felt Shino push her down. Sue turned her head just in time to see a large piece of debris fall. A huge dust cloud was kicked up and Sue couldn’t see a thing. She coughed and as the dust settled she saw Shino. Her legs were pinned underneath the stone.
“Hurry!” Shino said. “You have to shut the machine down!” Tears welled up in Sue’s eyes as she ran to the machine. She wouldn’t let Shino’s sacrifice be in vain.

The shaking stopped. Ash and Kireek broke off their attacks on each other. Ash used the last of his magic to heal himself and Kireek absorbed the energy from his Soul Eater.
“Guess your plan’s been foiled.” Ash said.
“The earthquakes were just part of the plan. My only real desire is to kill you.”
“Yeah, I know,” Ash said confidently. “I just wanted to rub it in your face before I destroy you.”
They both knew the next round would be the last.
“Then come on.” Kireek taunted.
“All right!” Ash yelled. “Here I go!”
Kireek jumped backward as Ash charged. Ash realized it was a trap just too late. The freeze bomb Kireek placed on the ground exploded and Ash was encased in a block of ice. Kireek charged energy into his scythe and slashed. The ice was shattered and Ash was blown backward blood sprayed from his chest where he was hit. Ash struggled to his feet. Kireek raised his weapon to deliver the final blow, but Ash seized the opening and threw his double saber like a spear. It pierced Kireek, flying through him and imbedding its blade in the wall.
Kireek lowered his weapon and felt the hole is his chest. It was a serious wound, but absorbing Ash’s remaining energy could fix it. Kireek again raised his weapon and it glowed.
Ash fired a green energy shot into the wound. While Kireek was distracted Ash had pulled out his Varista, a large black handgun. It wasn’t powerful enough to pierce Kireek’s armor, but with a gaping hole in his chest to shoot into, it was now more than capable.
Kireek was knocked a step back and Ash fired again into the android’s wound. Kireek fell backward and Ash stood over him.
A deafening, monstrous howl echoed throughout the entire ruins.
“The machine did it after all.” Kireek said.
“What?”
“That machine was supposed to unlock my master. I guess it worked.”
“Damn it! You’re working for someone? Tell me who!”
Kireek laughed. “Take a look around. You see the walls? This entire complex is like a womb. The child who will be born from this place. That is what I work for.”
“Why? Why would you do all this just to make some monster?”
“It promised me…” Kireek spoke quietly. “It promised me flesh of my own.”
Ash felt both pity and disgust. He put three more rounds into Kireek and he stopped moving.

Back on Pioneer 2 Ash was healed in the hospital. Shino’s body was unscathed but her legs were shattered. Sue spent every meseta she had accumulated over the years to have them repaired and restored to their former beauty.
Kireek was brought in. Ash had removed his arms and legs to carry him back to Pioneer 2 easier. After being interrogated by the government, he was sent to the Hunter’s Guild.

Kireek’s torso sat in a chair in the office of Donoph Baz. Donoph sat behind his desk, the desk of the head of the Hunter’s Guild.
“So even you couldn’t defeat Ash.” Donoph said, as he filled out forms on his desk.
“What’s it to you?” Kireek snapped.
“Oh, nothing.” Donoph replied, not even looking up from his papers.
“That’s right. I forgot. I heard he had sex with your wife. And I heard that she met with an untimely demise.”
Donoph looked up at the android. “Yes, she did.”
Kireek looked at Donoph. The only reason this man hadn’t killed Ash was because his aged body wasn’t strong enough to kill him.
“I know of ways to make humans stronger. Much stronger. I could make you stronger than Ash.”
“Why would I want that?”
“Feign innocence if you want. Here’s the deal. If you get my body repaired, I’ll get yours repaired.”
Donoph went back to his papers. A few minutes passed in silence.
Donoph finished his work and looked at Kireek again.
“How does it work?”


Mission 24
The Retired Hunter

Three months had passed since I defeated Kireek. It was a great victory for me and my reputation soared and rumors spread that I was one of the candidates for the Chief Hunter’s position. Word was that Donoph was spending more and more time away from the guild and he might be planning to retire.

And then I received the message from Donoph. He said that he wanted to test me, to see if I was ready to take over his job. He said to meet him in the ruins.
I could see that it was a trap right from the start. There was no way Donoph would ever give me his job after I had slept with his wife. (See Ch. 4) The reason he had been away so much recently might have been he was preparing some trap, or he might have been training to fight me. What worried me most was that the time he started disappearing was right around the time I brought in Kireek.

I met Donoph deep in the ruins. He was wearing his infamous black armor and carried his favorite sword in his right hand. It was a massive sharpened piece of steel, one of the crudest and most imposing weapons I’ve ever seen. Without saying a word, he raised it and came at me.
He swung his weapon with both hands overhead and I dodged to the left. His weapon hit the ground and cracked the stone. He slashed horizontally at me but I leapt back to avoid the blow. He was slower than I had expected, but his power was as advertised. “Deathblow” had been his nickname back when he was an ordinary hunter. He continued to attack and I continued to dodge. He raised his weapon over his head again and I saw my chance. I slashed at the insides of his arms with my double saber. His weapon fell behind him and I let into him with my own, unleashing a flurry of laser blade slashes. He fell and I relented.
“Is that your best?” I asked.
“It would have been three months ago. But thanks to these ruins I’ve not even started.”
Blood was pooling up around Donoph from the wounds I had delivered.
“Dark Falz!!!” He bellowed. “I give you my body!! Take it and destroy the one who stands before me!!!”
Donoph’s blood glowed bright red and was absorbed into the floor. The walls pulsed and came alive. A tentacle shot out from the celing and latched onto Donoph’s back. He screamed as his right arm expanded, bubbled and exploded in a shower of blood. His skin turned black as the void of space and his eyes glowed red. He stopped screaming and his arm started to grow back. As his now black arm grew past his elbow it turned into a large translucent red blade.
The whole transformation took less than three seconds.
Donoph rushed me. He was fast now. Really fast. He attacked me with his sword-arm and hit me several times before I could roll away. I pulled out my Varista handgun and fired at the tentacle attached to Donoph and it was severed. As I had guessed, Donoph moved slower now. He came at me again and I pulled my double saber out again and aimed for his mutant arm.

Even empowered with what ever evil lies in the ruins he just wasn’t a match for me. I’ve grown too strong. I doubt anyone could take me down now. And something within me is unsettled by that fact.

I returned to Pioneer 2 carrying Donoph’s sword. After explaining to everyone that something in the ruins had mutated him and killed him, I was named Chief Hunter.
The day I was given the title was also Matha’s fifteenth birthday, so we had a big party at our apartment.
That night Matha wore her hair down for the first time since I had known her. She wore a tight low cut dress, too. She looked fantastic. I had thought often of her and Sue having sex, and had assumed that Matha was gay, but there was something about her that night that me doubt it. Maybe it was just the way she smiled at me that night right before the party, or maybe I just wanted her to be straight. I knew I didn’t want to be her big brother anymore.

The next day was my first day as Chief Hunter. The first thing I asked for was to see Kireek. He probably knew something about Donoph. Donoph had called out for ‘Falz’ when I fought him. Kireek had said his master was in the ruins. There might be a connection.
My questions would have to wait though. Kireek was missing. He couldn’t have escaped on his own. After a few days of detective work I discovered that Donoph had carried Kireek out of his cell to be transferred to a different cell, but had never arrived. Donoph had also taken several military grade android parts down to Ragol.

Author’s Notes :
Eh…I don’t feel like talking.

Next Chapter : Eleanor’s sister Ult disappears, setting up a series of events that culminate in a final battle between Ash and Dark Falz.