He gave up.

[umslay]

WHO: Ales Mansay and anyone
WHAT: Ales is upset after the Heroes' decision to spare Palitutu, but as she's in a coma and not everyone wanted to let her live, he's not as upset as he could have been. However, his only other friend, Ellie, is in crystal stasis. Time to get serious and work on his killer robot.
WHEN: September 1st, then anytime in September
WHERE: The Hospital and just outside the Aqures Ixen walls.

A. September 1st, Aqures Ixen Hospital

They had been doing so well.

A sense of camaraderie with the other Heroes had returned to Ales as they fought against Ultima WEAPON and Palitutu herself. He trusted them not to be pansies and to kill her, to rid of this world of an agent of chaos. They were better than the heroes of the Glade of Dreams. Yet a few members of the team betrayed that shaky trust. They were willing to let a killer live. Sure, Ales had killed people, but they deserved it and were in the way of his vision for a safe Glade. He didn't murder innocent civilians for his quest to destroy the world. He wasn't stupid.

Despite the overwhelming majority to kill her, those voices were enough for a failure to reconnect. They couldn't deal with Narasimha, and they had to compromise and leave her barely alive.

He was wrong. He was wrong to trust them in the first place. He couldn't depend on the others. From now on, he could only trust himself...and Ellie. Who had turned into a crystal statue.

An unfamiliar pang hit his heart at the news. She was more than a comrade; he trusted her like he trusted no other Hero. She promised to take him to her world once they were free, a place where he wouldn't be hated. They were going to let whatever fate befell onto Crystallis and leave. And without her connection to her world, Ales was trapped between staying here or waiting until the technology to find a new world was rediscovered. Crystallis was dying. He had no choice but to save it.

The Teensie quietly walked down the hallways of the hospital with his hands in his pockets and the brim of his hat covering his eyes. To anyone about the height of a human, he could have been invisible. That's was he preferred; after his faith in the world and the intelligence of humanity was broken, he had little to depend on. Just stupidity.

He stopped in front of the gated room where the statues were kept, staring at one of a cloaked woman. She looked so peaceful, yet her eyes were focused to a point above her. Ellie always had lofty goals. That's what he admired about her. All that was left was her legacy and a secret fortress that only he knew of. He had to protect it.

B. Rest of September, Outside Aqures Ixen

Unsurprisingly, machines were a surefire way to distract Ales from his worried. Giant killer mechas? Even more so.

Anyone leaving Aqures Ixen had difficulty ignoring the giant robot with a hammer for a fist standing just outside the walls. Still as a statue, with only a small blue and black dot crawling over its frame to hint to its true nature.

He was going to do it alone. He was going to fly over the Downopolic, shoot Narasimha, and kill anything that threatened the safely of the universe. He was going to do what so many had failed. He was going to fix everything.

He was going to slip and fall. The Teensie lost his grip and plummeted to the ground.

Comments

[sesenta]

He would discover the answer to that soon enough!

Hint: It's the more naive option of the two.

"I'd be happy to pay for lessons," she beamed. "This is every bit as important as learning to defend myself from combat scenarios, after all. And a suit like this is great protection in a fight."

At his bow, Akane bowed cheerfully in return. "Thanks so much! I'm Akane Kurashiki. It's nice to meet you, Ales."

[umslay]

"Oh, certainly," he replied without a hint of sarcasm. There was no better defense than a giant piece of controllable metal armor with firepower. Well, except for a fleet of airships under his orders. Not that Akane needed that kind of equipment.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kurashiki. When are you planning to take up the Majitek Knight job?"

[sesenta]

"Oh, I have it already. They gave it to me shortly before we left to meet with Palitutu," she smiled. "I was able to hire a teacher, who had that job and Warrior equipped. Magitek Knight seemed more versatile to me, so that's the one I chose for training."

Her shoulders rose and fell with a light sigh. "But I wanted to finish gathering the experience I needed for my first two jobs before I got started on another. I don't like to leave things incomplete if I can help it."

Like murder puzzles!

"This month should do it, I think. I just need to purchase the appropriate equipment so I can be prepared."

[umslay]

Understandable. Mastering one Job at a time was a sound strategy. Unless Akane mastered Onion Knight, there would be no good reason to leave a Job half-finished.

"I'll be in Mysidia at the end of this month, so the earlier the better," he shrugged. More specifically Downopolis, but he didn't dare let it slip to someone he just met. "What are you pairing that job with?"

[sesenta]

"Engineer," she answered with a solemn nod. "That's why I was so interested in your robot designs. Plus Engineer pairs well with Programmer, another job I hope to take in the future." Akane folded her arms with a sigh. "I don't know if I'll have enough time to master all of them, but I intend to try at the very least."

She was working hard in the lab, as it seemed like there was still a great deal of information to sort and sift through. But she hadn't been there for more than a few months, while others of them had been there for years. It was anyone's guess if she'd manage to make use of her skills and intelligence or not.

"Anyway, what about Mysidia? Are you doing any research there?"

[umslay]

"Same here!" He perked up. "It tend to switch between those two - Programmer and Majitek Knight, that is. There's little need for me to revert to anything else, apart from using the Alchemist's skill to harvest crystals." He pointed at the minicopter. The one powered by crystals.

As for Akane's question, Ales took the opportunity to check up on said minicopter. There was nothing wrong with it, of course, but he needed an excuse to angle his head so that the brim of his hat hid his shifty eyes lest she realize he was deceiving her.

"Yes, research. While everyone's busying themselves with getting answers from the Sage, I'll be off doing my own things. I've never had much fondness for people of the magical sort."

[sesenta]

"...Why is that?" It was an opinion she'd never heard anyone openly state before, so naturally she was a little curious. She knew so little about the majority of her fellow Heroes that she eagerly latched onto any opportunity to learn more. She would have friends this time! ...Maybe!

"I don't think anyone from my world ever had access to magic. Not like it's defined here. It's a curious skill, but it seems useful."

So why did he dislike magicians so much?

[umslay]

A pause followed as he considered his reply. He never mentioned the reason to anyone other than Ellie, though Lydia and Twilight Sparkles were closer enough to the truth. Akane was a stranger, but if she were reasonable enough not to argue against killing criminals, perhaps she would be more understanding.

"Politics." Not the whole answer, but close enough.

[sesenta]

"What kind of politics do you mean?" she asked, lacing her fingers together. Akane hesitated, then straightened sharply. "Wait. I'm prying, aren't I?" The hands she'd just put together suddenly jumped up in realization of her potential rudeness. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to! I just...you know...wanted to get to know you better."

[umslay]

A non-committal hum followed. Yes, it was prying, but keeping his opinions to himself cost so much progress. If Ales hadn't been so concerned with acting nice for most of his stay, things would have turned out differently. Better.

If Akane judged him, then he knew where her loyalties lied.

"I'm from a world that got lazy through over-reliance on magic. The leader of the Glade hasn't done anything to protect his people, yet I'm the only native that's bothered to do anything about it." Still not the entire truth, but he would slowly build up to it, make himself look good.

[sesenta]

Akane wasn't in much of a position to judge anyone, outside of child kidnappers and murderers. As far as she could tell, Ales was neither of those things. And he was so cute! How bad could he really be?

"Protect them from what? Did something attack your people?" she asked, her brow inclined with worry. What kind of terrible creature would attack such an adorable race?

[umslay]

Akane ate everything up. As long as Ales didn't mention the parts where he held the Nymphs captive, including his friend of many years, or where he stole and kidnapped the living embodiment of magical energy, though it was debatable how sentient Lums were.

"Everything. Pirates, overlords, dark Lums, whatever danger exists. They have someone as a full-time hero to deal with all these problems. And, well, considering how few preventative measures Polokus takes, this hero of ours does all the work."

[sesenta]

"I see," Akane said quietly, her gaze dropping. "And those with power choose not to use it, even if it's to save themselves."

In her world, she'd faced the opposite problem -- people without power seeking to claim it through any means necessary. Hongou's reasons were truly pitiable, but even so, it didn't excuse him for the terrible things he'd done to other people.

"Then...you're afraid that if you had magic, you would fail to use it to help others as well?"