NationStates Jolt Archive

Gelectriax sunk down low, looking at the fizzing formula that chortled around in his flask, chuckling as he stared intently at its empty glass surface. It was only a matter of time before he could heal his battered eyes and see clearly once more, and with the trickling water of hope running down the side, he sneered evilly at the diamond sparkling water. "Good." He said maniacally, taking it high up and chortling it down quickly, feeling it splash through his veins as the armored demon-affiliated lord laughed and snapped with enjoyment, walking up the stony stairs of his research room and into the large hallway. There, he fell asleep as the formula kicked in.

As Gelectriax woke up, he groggily snapped around in blank wonder, trying to get around as he felt a thin smoothness in his hands, possibly from the beautiful vapor that flowed from the vial, yet his eyesight was pristine and perfect. If he could, he would have chuckled and laughed maniacally, yet his throat felt a bit thin and wry, though it didn't matter. It was only a matter a time of before a small shuffling of the helmet and a peek in the mirror did Gelectriax chortle on his water, his face in surprise.

Or at least to say now, her.

Saerus was never one to like Gelectriax, being a prisoner of his dungeon for years, yet when he was brought to Gelectriax's house by his servants for unknown reasons, he did not expect it was for a cup of tea. In the shining fortress that was the home of the Wicked, Saerus sighed and walked into the room, the shining and glimmering living room adorned in a thin mahogany wall as the many emblems and trophies aligned it gorgeously. Sitting there in the chair, holding a shining cup of porcelain full of tea, a cute and attractive girl with long black hair sat, her eyes slightly showing depression, her tiny nose paired with a lips that were equally adorable. She sighed.

"Hi, Saerus." She said, her voice beautiful and charming, her tongue eloquent and her small shoulders falling as she said it with great distress. "Thank you for coming."

"Hello, dear Lady. I assume you are a friend of Lord Gelectriax?" Saerus asked politely, incredibly attracted to her, yet still restraining his urges. "May you please tell me where he is?"

"I'm right here." She said, grinding her teeth in frustration and depression.

"I don't understand." Saerus said, eying her with suspicion.

"The Battle of Krakkez you made a wish at the well of Omnimun. That wish was that you wanted to receive a foreign gift for a foreign holiday to see what it was like. On Christmas, I gave you ring that you later gave to your wife. My exact words were, 'Get married in a foreign custom so you may feel foreign love'." She said, her hand resting on her chin.

Saerus turned to stone. "G-G-Gelectriax?!?" He said, surprised. "W-What happened to you?! You're..."

"...I tried to fix my eyes, but I think something wrong happened." He said smiling. "At least my eyes are fixed." He said cheerfully, yet with incredible sarcasm.

"Oh dear Enkur, what has befallen you?" He said, his arms arching around Gelectriax before he was punched in the stomach, falling to the ground as he got up and chuckled, blood from his mouth.

"I'm still me. I just happen to have gone through some sort of freak mutation. Though I'm not sure what's going on." He said, sighing softly as Saerus had an evil look on his face.

Time for Revenge. Saerus said, his inner sneer hidden, his heart thumping with excitement. Now it's time to payback for all the horrors he's hit me with. My turn for revenge. "I have to go home for some information. Maybe I have some things on this." He said, as Gelectriax nodded. "Though I think in the meantime, a more feminine name should be taken. Try Miu."

"Fine." Gelectriax sighed. "Hurry up and get the information." He ordered, as Saerus smiled on his way out.

Oh, I'll have information, alright. You'll go through living hell, Gelectriax. He thought, sending a message to his cellphone as his servant picked up. "Send this as an international message to anyone in the world interested." Saerus ordered.

...JENRAK...

To aspiring members of fellow nations. Our esteemed and beautiful lady, Miu of the Kenyeth Family is looking for a young man willing to be her bride, one who will watch over her and look after her until the day she dies. For an image, here. (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/ExtremeDumb/334w3.jpg)

Those aspiring please state your country of origin, your name, your title, your rank and your experience with politics and your history with women in general. She looks forward to hearing from all of you, and please, don't be shy.

Tell us all about you.

...JENRAK...

"Gelectriax, you're getting it now." Saerus said, smiling.

BUMP..This is in large a humorous marriage thread.

Miu walked into the Necromarnen with a striped sweatshirt and a pair of navy jeans, her hair tied up neatly as a little bush of frolicking beauty as she crossed her arms, her face frowning as Saerus sighed. Ferruga had an odd look on his face, squinting slightly. "I thought you were married, Saerus. It's illegal to commit such lustful acts against those who are not your mate." He said harshly, as Saerus frown.

"You sound like a disturbed old man, Ferruga." Saerus snapped back, as Ferruga chuckled loudly.

"I've been around alot longer than you, Saerus. And trust me, while I may not look old, I can feel it." He said sadly, looking at Miu with an odd, scrunched up face. "So, my dear. How are you?" He asked, bowing lowly as she kneed him in the face, falling back and reeling a bit as he looked confused.

"Ferruga, get this straight!" She said, pointing violently. "I will not be placed under subjugation because of my misfortune to be cast into this form. I will find a way to get out of this, I swear to you!"

ooc: So are you looking for(at least at first) letters asking 'Miu' for a date?

OOC: Yep.

Various letters sent from various people(many who've read about Saerus's message on the net.

H3y g1rl y0u cut3, l3ts m4k3 l0ts 0f b4b13s. C4ll m3 d4ddy 4t 555-5555.

Hey baby we ain't nothing but animals so let's do it like they do on the discovery channel. If interested I can be contacted at H0rnd0g.nerd.

I am a young rich man. I am a professional model and am looking for a cute girlfriend. Ps, here is a picture (http://badgas.co.uk/moments/moment_126.jpg).

Dear Miu Kenyeth

I am Baron Marko Lethe of Theao, age twenty-eight. I am a former captain in the Theao armed forces, special forces division as well as having spent a term in Legislative Assembly. I have yet to part on less then pleasent terms with any former girlfriends and would like a chance to take you out on a date.

Marko Lethe

ooc: Only the last one is semi-serious.

"My god, I must admit that this is not as easy as I thought." Miu glared, trying to cook herself a meal as she glared even more at the instructions. "It's just cookies, damn it!" She said, punching a clean hole through the wall, sighing softly as she vented off her uncontrollable anger. "Well, time to check on the mail." She said, taking the porcelain letters on her counter and began to tear them open, only to have Saerus swipe them from her hands.

"They're nothing!" Saerus said, smiling amusingly, as Miu glared suspiciously. Saerus frowned. "Gelectriax, all you've been doing ever since you turned into a girl is glare, glare, glare. Lighten up, girl." He said, hitting her playfully on the back as Miu elbowed him in the face.

"H-How did you get in here?!" Miu shouted, her face throbbing in anger as Saerus made a break for it with her mail. "Give me back my mail!"

Dear Marko Lethe
She would be delighted to talk to you and meet you. Please give us a mailing address so we may send you a ticket to come here.
Saerus Annirak

Saerus Annirak

Thank you for the reply and inclosed is my mailing address. If I may be so bold, are you Miss Miu's relative or her guardian? Either way, I look forward to meeting Miss Miu in person and having a chance to get to know her.

Sincerely Marko Lethe

Marko meanwhile began packing some clothes as well as getting his affairs in sufficiant order that he could depart for an extended period of time without raising problems.

OOC: Is this open for FT nations? If so... I'm in. This looks interesting...

IC:
The royal familys second prince looked at the screen. "Miu." he said gently. "What kind of a name is that anyway..." he continued, after getting over the first impact. "Well, I guess it's about time I got into things... even though I think this is somewhat unnecassery..." he glared at his butler, who promptly ignored him. Prince Jackie (http://www.cinema.com/image_lib/7268_heading.jpg) was actually, strangely, an adoptive son to the king, and viewed with some amusement by the public. He was one of the kingdoms best pilots, one of it's best soldiers, and had a high military rank, though not too high. A message was sent to Miu:
On behalf of the Asfaltum royal prince:
The Royal prince of Asfaltum has noticed your message to the outer worlds, and is interested in getting to know you better. Our prince is a captain and ace pilot in our air force, and is ranked as a general in the army. He has little prior expirience with women, as his relationships never last. We hope you will respond soon, and send us a reply.

Asfaltum Royal Counselor

OOC: It's MT, but as long as you don't bring anything in from the future I'm fine or make references.

IC:

A ticket was sent to Marko, by order of Saerus Annirak.

“I-I can’t believe he actually convinced me to do this.” Gelectriax said, trying in vain to vent his anger as she turned her fists into bony balls, her fingers tapping lightly on the desks as the summer wind burned the windows and the breezing sand frolicked along into the classroom. “I can’t believe it.” She once more, as the teacher stood up in a roaring bellow and pointed angrily at her.

He was a paunchy, stout man with a small pair of puffy slithers on his face, his mouth strong and high as his teeth were shimmering in his jaw, his cheeks peachy and his arms short. He was adorned in a fat t-shirt that encompassed around his waist, his shoulders slightly broad but still loose and his arms thick and round. “This the fourth time I’ve told you, no talking!” He said loudly, saliva flying from his mouth as he sprayed the front row dirtily with cooling water. Gelectriax sighed.

“Fine, fine.” Gelectriax said, blanking out into his flashback.

It was an atmosphere of a thin airy night, Saerus dressed in a black suit as he chuckled slightly as Gelectriax sat there, arms crossed upon her chest as her navy blue t-shirt was there to prevent her from overheating. “Say, Gelectriax, I’ve been thinking.” Saerus said softly, his eye lids slightly drooping, as Gelectriax raised her eyebrow in suspicion. “Right now you have no record in the old records. You’re going to have to retake your education.” Saerus said, as Gelectriax turned to stone.

“No.” She said flat out, frowning. “I am not going back to that teenage-children infested hellhole.” She stood up, as Saerus held her wrist firmly.

“It’s for your own good.” Saerus said, smiling beautifully before Gelectriax placed an arm bar against his face, crushing him to the floor. People were looking around, curious at what had caused such a noise, Gelectriax walking away in disgust.

No matter how much I told him no, he was too adamant. Gelectriax thought, back in the present as the bell clattered and the lunch began. Her first day in high school, and she’s over four times the age of any of them, they just didn’t know. It was a bustle, but sitting alone in the lunch room, she angrily chewed on her poorly cooked sandwich, gulping it down painfully as she glared across the room, many eyes sat upon her either for her odd personality or either her incredible looks. Either way, it was attention that Gelectriax did not want.

Marko recieved the tickets and after making sure everything was cleared then headed to the airport to catch the plane. While he could have chartered a plane, he didn't have anything against 'public' transportation. He was looking forward to meeting Miu and wondered how they'd get along.

The plane ride was routine and after a decent lengthed flight, began its approach to it's destination.

ooc: How old is 'Miu'?

OOC: 49
IC:

Emmen was stuck standing outside in the hot dusty sands, waiting for the plane to fall into the port as the gates to open up, a sign strapped to her labeled 'Marko Lethe' in crudely drawn black markers. She was a woman of impeccable taste, dressed in an over shirt with cupped sleeves adorning a slight blue t-shirt beneath. Her usually long hair was wrapped up in a ponytail and her bangs were long as ever, prickling her lipstick pattered lips. Adorning a pair of hazelnut gems for eyes, she also sported a cute button nose and a small nylon band around her neck. Ear phones in her ears, she was fairly inattentive, her eyes closed as she nodded her head to beat that pounded through her ears.

Spotting the girl with the sign that looked on the decidedly amaturish side. Walking over he looked over her briefly, quickly realizing that she was not Miu. He gently tapped her on the arm as she seemed oblivious to the world around her and waited a couple seconds before adding, "I am Marko Lethe."

ooc: I meant how old does she look, as I don't think a visually 49 year old would be in school.

OOC: Gelectriax is 49 at the time of the accident, but she looks around 17-20. The reason for that is because during the change, a large amount of loss in muscle create a tension in the skin that eventually stretched slightly to make it look like as if the person was 17ish. Saerus wants Gelectriax humiliated even more, though his surface reasons for putting Gelectriax through school is that because Jenrak's databases keeps a distinct record on everyone, there would be no way for Gelectriax to buy or use anything without a record. It can't be changed either because the information is quite static. So Gelectriax has to make a new record to be able to even go outside, but Saerus once again wants her to suffer.

IC:

She smiled. "Mr. Lethe, I'm Mr. Annirak's assistant." She replied. "Get into my car." Her car was not new, being a fairly aged model, most likely 1996, aged to a thin tan shade, a small flicker of rust running along the wheels. "No limousine for you. The plane ticket was enough." She chuckled, unlocking the doors."

"That's fine, thought are you perhaps Miss Miu's sister or aunt?" Marko asked as he put his bag into the trunk before getting into the car.

"Miu..." She asked, confused, before her eyes opened wide. "Oh! No." She said blankly, turning on her car and hearing it slightly putter and rumble, rolling down the window. "I've never met her past yesterday, to be honest. It looks like she came out of nowhere. Mr. Annirak is adamant on getting her married though. It looks like she's nigh impossible to fall in love."

"Do you mean impossible to fall in love in the sense of fall in love with or that she'd fall in love?" He asked as he listened to the puttering of the engine. The situation was mystifying and that made it more interesting. He wondered if Miu would like the gifts he'd brought.

"I'd have to say for her it is impossible to fall in love with, as Mr. Annirak blatantly puts it." She said, chuckling. "I've never known Lady Miu existed until a little bit back, and it seems as if she came out of nowhere, but I can't deny her existence. So, why are you seeking her hand?"

"Ah, should it come to it then perhaps that might change." Marko commented as he wondered about how someone might appear from nowhere so to speak and be incapable of love. A 'path sprang to mind and that might be why Annirak was trying to rid himself of her. "I'm not seeking her hand, but a chance to get to know her. Only a fool seeks something when he doesn't know what might be the consequence."

OOC: You can send the tickets to your local Asfaltum embassy...

OOC: I don't have a embassies.

IC:

"She controls a considerable amount of power, apparently." She replied hopefully, sighing. "The entire western coastlines and the Tsellian military is under her control, as well as six of the nine crowns of the Vingzith. I don't know why she is out of nowhere and has that influence. Though it's probably better to know her first." She replied, stopping finally. "A couple rules - no smoking, no drinking, no disrespect. If Mr. Annirak nods his head, you must nod your lower, if you talk back when not asked to you will be punished."

"How could someone so powerful and influential just appear? Doesn't it prompt members of the goverment or other people of similar power to investigate." He commented as he wondered what he was getting into, especially as Annirak seemed like a bit of a loose screw all on is own.

"I don't know, but my master is the person who has endorsed her public release." She frowned. "I just made her sound like a merchandise."

"Your employer is trying to get her married or at least started on the road to marriage and for a great deal of most of the world's history, marriage was to an extent a buisness transaction. The dowery being the prime example." Marko commented with a faint grin, "And afterall, what is life but a transaction between different people."

"Whether they know it or not."

"I don't care, honestly." She said, sighing, as she walked up to the edge of the living room, a thin yet strong man emerging from the hallways, his eyes glimmering in an azure shade as his hair was a sparkling chestnut brown, his teeth shining and his nose small yet sharp. His lips were s tiny slither of flesh between the masses of muscular bouts that were his cheeks, his significant and handsome presence visible and easily felt. He had a long etch of red paint upon his sleeve, his clothes elegant and brisk, his home large and incredibly grandoise.

"Ah, Emmen. There you are." He said with a soft and tempered voice, smiling broadly as she bowed low, rising up as his fingers snapped. "Do you have the letters to give Ethel? I'm sure that Emmon would be surprised."

"Brother isn't the most flexible character, my Lord." Emmen said, smiling widely, as Saerus chuckled, tapping her shoulder in amusement.

"Well, tell him." He said firmly, before turning to Marko. "Hello, you must be Mr. Marko Lethe, I presume?" He asked. "I'm Saerus Annirak, Lord of the Vizith Kheneer, second High Patriarch of the Jenrakian Infantry, fourth holder of the keskoth share."

"You presume correctly." Marko replied with a hint of a bow that while respectful was neither submissive or differential. "It is an honour to meet you."

"If you don't mind, might I get some information on one Miss Miu?"

"Information regarding Lady Miu is extremely classified at the moment. However, she is descended from Eckurian Haasdra and Meneh Vaazka. However, I'm not expecting a foreigner to know who they are." He said slyly, smiling as a dash of glimmering white teeth sparkled magnificently. "What do you want to know about her?"

"Well for one, what she thinks about meeting me, and why you wish to marry her off or get her started on that road at least." Lethe replied as he wondered about the lines that led to Miu as geneology was not his strength, especially foreign geneologies.

"I am not her guardian, her father, her brother, nor any form in which she would view me as one who she can trust. Though the closest relationship we could have is alumni, at the very least." Saerus said mockingly. "I will be frank. The reason why I want her married to someone is for one reason only; solidifying the oligarchy of the three empires. Are you aware of Jenrak's current political situation?" He asked.

"Ah, a political marriage. That explains a great. Only in the most general terms as from what I've seen and studied, much of Jenrakian politics are rather murky."

"Indeed. A Corporate Religious entity is hard to fathom, yet it works, but there are consequences. Currently the entire empire is split into three main ruling factions; Genshu, the west, Ackramm, the east, and Sendukuz, the north. On top of the recent additions of Krejei, the southeast, we have always never been united, and that is what keeps us powerful, our constant competition against ourselves. However," Saerus said, sighing as his face turned serious. "Suriga has returned, and with him lies the bloodline of the Kataask family. If Suriga crowns himself king immediately, then its unity will possibly stagnate us. That's where Miu comes in. I cannot have her marry anyone within the nobility, since that would be incestuous and against our laws, but what about foreigners?"

Emmon chimed in. "Mr. Annirak is merely saying that to prevent Lord Suriga from becoming an autocrat is to have someone who can challenge him. Women of nobility still need male blood. If we cannot choose anyone within the nobility due to laws against incest, and anyone within our empire due to fear of betrayal, then we must turn to neutral sources outside the empire. So, we're not looking for a marriage to bind a political contract."

"We're looking for an heir to another empire that can challenge Lord Suriga." Annirak said.

"So simply put you desire someone to marry Miu, ensure she bears an heir so that Lord Suriga can not unite Jenrak and break the present balance of power."

"Before I could consent to participate in your plans, I would need to meet Miu. For me even those in a political marriage must have something in common." He commented as he looked at Annirak wondering whether the man would approve of a pawn that was not entirely pawn-like.

"Independent thought." Saerus said, chuckling. "You are one of those who want to make something of yourselves, to be unique, to be different, a shining example of the ambitious yet the proud." He was analyzing him for his own personal amusement, yet a bemused grin fell onto his face. "Miu!" He yelled loudly, as a clatter was heard from upstairs, yet no reply. "I'll get her." He said hastily going upstairs.

Marko bowed his head with a faint smile that combined hints of wry amusement of his own while also containing respect at Saerus' deductions. Annirak did seem to have a handle, however superficial, on his personality and he didn't see a need to change his mind at the moment especially as he would, it seems, be getting a chance to mee Miu shortly.

Cursing in Jenrakian, Saerus was never one too bold, yet he certainly seemed to show that today, falling down the stairs as a large red palm was embedded into his face, his left cheek throbbing in pain as finally Miu walked down the stairs grudgingly, her hands dipped deep into her pockets, her blue t-shirt clashing deliciously with her navy blue jacket, her hair softly bouncing off her shoulders as she held an aura of innocence. Her eyes were sparkling and gleaming with hazelnut radiance, her cheeks tiny and her lips tiny, adorable and without the tarnishing sliver of lipstick on its tips. She seemed like an angel, whispering into Annirak's ear as Annirak laid caressing his swollen cheek cautiously. "Is he the one?" She asked, as Saerus nodded. "Alright."

"Hey!" She yelled out loudly, catching everyone by surprise, her hand high into the air at Marko's face, aiming for a high five. She seemed hyperactive to say the very least.

Miu looked both more loli-esq and less than when he'd seen her picture. She seemed to have a bit of an abusive relationship with Saerus but along an inverted gender line.

With her loud yell and the fact that she'd acted in a most unexpected manner had almost turned his cheek into a mirror of Saerus's. Only the fact that he fenced which kept his reactions fairly sharp saved him and while the drilled in tactical response would have been a throw, that would be very inappropriate.

Backing up a step, he held his hand up for her high-five and replied with a slightly more sedated, "Hi."

It took for a little while when she sat down, she seemed to have matured in image and proper stature, her fingers tapping slightly together as she eyed him intently, her cold stare calculative and her lips pursed together in concentration as she pondered silently, Saerus looking with curiosity. "Edekhrodone." She said faintly, as Saerus frowned.

"Nauhkrun brudhru krunm?" Saerus asked, as she turned her head and nodded, Saerus smiling as he walked over to his kitchen, the sound of boiling water evident as a little flicker of light pranced on the shadowy walls of the pearl furnishings. Miu turned her sights to Marko, seemingly to inspect every single inch of him, calculating his flaws and determining his weaknesses.

"Marko." She said quietly. "Nice name." She replied.

"As is Miu, but I must say you are nothing like what I expected of you." He replied as he met her eyes whenever she looked him in the eye and held it for as long as she was willing. He had been nicknamed Cat during basic training as he was the only one of the company who could win in a staring contest with the commendant's tom.

"Huh." She said, with no interest in a staring contest. "What preconceptions has your mind been deluded with, if I may ask?" She spoke with a cold, icy tone, almost a leering hatred sprinkled with a charming, classical beauty that barely blanketed her seething darkness beneath.

"Not in the sense that you mean, but you most definately seem bi-polar or hyde. That and you do not seem likely to go along with Saerus' scheme, thought you partially fit the type of a black." He replied with a half-grin as he wondered how Miu might take this.

Miu smiled sweetly, raising her middle finger, flipping Marko off as she placed a cute chuckled behind her lips before resuming her usually cold stare. It was quiet, cold, and eerie, a silence that couldn't be broken so easily, without even a faint noise of a pining drop of water or the battering grains of sand fluttering around outside. She had a broad grin on her face. "Well, since I'm stuck in this situation, how about we make the best of it? Do you have a car?" She asked.

"Here, no as Saerus sent someone to pick me up. Elsewhere, most definately yes." He'd mentally chuckled at her giving him the bird as she was, in a sense, a bird herself. "I'm sure however you could convince him to lend us his best vehicle however."

He was fairly certain that whoever she was, she outranked Annirak by a considerable margin considering how he was warned to politeness where as she manhandled him.

"Annirak has no taste." She said, laughing loudly for Saerus to hear, as he rose in anger, towering above them both as his face was grimacing with anger and hatred, every inch of his skin in a fiery loathing towards her.

"I am Saerus Annirak! High Patriarch of the Lancers, Ruler of the Ssessloths, Lord of the - " before he could continue his egotistic rant, another slap flung him reeling back, a tooth flying out as his cheek was pulsing red, blood from his gums as he wiped it back.

Miu made an impatient mouthing motion with her hand. "Blah, blah, blah. I don't care." She said blankly, before getting up, grabbing Marko's hand forcefully, smiling. "Let's go!" She ordered, kicking him.

"Ow." He replied as she kicked him before getting up. "You enjoy beating on people, but what do you do if they reply in kind?" He asked as he followed her, letting Miu lead him where she wished.

Miu made another yapping motion with her hand, ignoring Marko's words as she opened up a small drawer to reveal a tiny wallet, placing in her back pocket before sighing. "Ugh, I'm so tired." She complained, before placing a slightly more cheery disposition on. "Alright, let's go eat somewhere." She offered. "It's the least I can do, Mr. Diplomat."

Watching Miu pocket what was, in all likelyhood, Saerus' wallet caused Marko to grin. It seemed Annirak would be winding up a fair few dollars short as he'd yet to meet a girl who was not at least a tad looser with someone elses money.

"It shall be my pleasure." He replied, "What are you in the mood for?"

"Well, Mr. Businessman," She said, thinking carefully, before replying. "It sounds like I'm in the mood for something delicious. How about a burger?" She asked, looking at Marko curiously. "However the bus doesn't come until 3:00, so we're stuck here for about fifteen minutes. You alright with that?"

"You aren't a telepath are you?" Marko askd with a bit of a grin, "As you just read my mind. A burger sounds great at the moment, loaded with cheeze and bacon. And no, I don't mind the bus but weren't you planning on 'borrowing' on of Annirak's cars?"

Miu looked carefully at him. "No." She replied coarsely, still painted with a suspicious look on her face. "Why should I be borrowing a car? Do you want me to show off?"

"Must have misunderstood you then." Marko replied as he noticed that her voice kept changing, almost as if her regular voice wasn't her natural voice. Just one more piece of information to keep in mind.

"You did." She replied coarsely.

"Saerus mentioned that you were decended from Meneh Vaazka and Eckurian Haasdra. If you don't mind, who are they?" Marko asked, "And do you have a sore throat?"

"My throat is nothing!" She said meekly, before her voice turning serious, interested. "Eckurian Haasdra is the founder of our capital, the center city Haasdra. My people are divided, scattered, split into three empires that vie for domination. However, they all share a portion of the Million city Haasdra. Meneh Vaazka is the sixth Vizith of the Jenrakian crown. I am descended from noble blood, though it shames me to be so."

"Are you sure, as I wouldn't want you to get sick afterall." Marko commented as it seemed compassion, of sorts, got Miu off balance. Another useful tidbit about the mystery of the girl.

"Why does who your ancestors are cause you to feel shame?"

"A story for another time, perhaps." She said doubtfully. "However, the focus is on me!" She said, pointing to her face as she laughed loudly, Saerus sighing as he was tired and famished.

"That it is. So would you like to tell me about yourself or shall I keep asking questions?" He asked as he spared a brief glance at the weary Saerus.

Miu checked her watch. "Looks like the bus is going to be here." She said, flunging the front door open wide as it smashed against the wall, Saerus' groan heard half heartedly as she chuckled, bemused, standing outside amongst a small littlep atch of gravel as she looked onwards towards the blackening horizon.

"Then shall we let the distraught Saerus fix his wall while we go eat?" He asked with a grin as he stepped out after her.

"Yeah, leave it to Saerus." Miu said rashly, standing at the stop as she crossed her arms, waiting as the small slither of steel rolled up through the streets, the bus driver opening the doors as she flashed her ticket, the driver nodding before he looked at Marko, awaiting his flash of a ticket.

"Tricksy Miu." Marko commented lightly, before addressing the bus driver. "I'm a new arrival and have not had the opportunity to aquire a pass at present. How much would a ride and transfer cost?"

"$2.50" He said roughly, as Miu sat, watching Marko, her eyes squinting in concentration.

Marko reached into a pocket and pulled out the necessary monies. He'd made sure to get a fair amount changed before coming as he knew he'd quite likely need it. Afterall, he couldn't expect Saerus to pay for everything.

Miu was lost in her own world, her eyes turning into a soft glimmer as she looked out the window, her voice lost in the vastness of the plains that shimmered with golden twinkles, the grass void rolling hills of dunes and sands. "This is my home." She said sadly, smiling slightly before cupping her hands on her lap. "In the end, it's my home, and there's little I can do to stop this."

After paying and getting a transfer, Marko took a seat next to Miu and asked in a gentle voice, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Miu frowned. "What's with you getting all smooth-like?" She asked angrily, looking back at the window, thinking carefully as she closed her eyes, thinking. "There's nothing nobody can do, since it's my problem alone, and I'll fix it myself." She replied. I need to revert to my old body quick. She thought.

"Just seeing if I could help. Afterall, it's not like I'd enoy you being miserable." Marko commented before she turned to look out the window, a classic sign of 'I don't want to talk about itism."

"How hungry are you?" She asked him carefully, wondering his reply to her information. It's a matter of whether this man was trustworthy in the first place. In the end, this will never work anyways, as I am simply not attracted to men. She thought to herself coarsely. She was, originally, after all, a guy.

"About a good burger and fries, with maybe a milkshake as well. What about you?" He asked

Miu looked like something was on her mind, but from her attitude, it was appearent that she wasn't interested in talking about it at the moment.

"Alright." She confided. "Burger and some fries at the next stop, then I'll have to talk to you personally regarding a few matters that I believe might aid in your decisions on whether you want to stay here."

"Alright." He replied as he briefly searched her face to see if he could get any impression of what matters she wished to discuss. She was interesting, but he wasn't entirely sure if she was marrying interesting.

She pressed the button on the silver rail, a thin and quiet beeping noise ringing throughout the bus as she got up, the bus clambering to a stop as she got up, her feet pounding down as she finally walked onto the cracked sidewalks of the outskirts of Haasdra, the immense capital of Jenrak. It's winding streets and twisted cities were lurking with tall skyscrapers that knifed its way through the blood red sunset, bold tunnels and rails in the glistening heat as the air itself was a sheer mirror glass, smoke-like fog dense and coarse, dangerous yet smothering with beauty. It was an industrial fragrance that sifted through their noses, and while slightly painful, was a soft touch upon the nostrils.

Marko joined Miu on the city's streets, a seemingly hybridized mix of a traditional urban landscape and industrial park that had help from the weather in preserving the smog.

"It is an interesting, but slightly caustic city you have here Miu." Lethe commented as he looked around.

"This city has died long ago." She replied darkly, walking along the pavement towards the nearest restaurant.

"Then it should be rebuilt." He replied, "Or at least fixed."

"You misinterpret me." Miu replied, walking into a small shabby hut of a building, the wafting smell of burgers engulfing their nostrils as simmering noise filled their ears. "Haasdra is not a shattered city, it's a dead city. It's living without any form of heart to its center, and that makes it all the more special."

"That is a much more interesting. If perhaps you don't mind, you could tell me how it came to be this way?" He enquired as he smelt the delicious smell of frying meats with cheese and various other condiments.

"They say that there are two things that destroy men; money and faith. My people have always erred on the side of being empathetic towards those two, so my culture revolves around the most of them. Haasdra is the epitome example of a city built entirely on money and faith. A dead city." She replied, pressing her order into the table.

"Your people hold it at just two? Men are much easier to destroy than that, or at least I've always thought so. So it is a city devoted to religion and money? I know many people who'd ask why you don't just make it the same thing." He replied as he went to emulate her before pausing.

Finding what looked to be correct, he asked, "This will get me a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake, correct?"

"Yeah." She replied blankly. "There are a lot of things that get rid of men, but in the end, those two are the largest." She sighed. "Besides, the reason behind why it isn't a city of both is that it can't be a city of both. Religion and Money are completely different things."

"I've heard religion and money refered to as two sides of the same thing. Both are used to control, manipulate, and generally getaway with whatever they can by those who have it or can preach it." He commented slightly bleakly. He was an optimist but also a realist.

"That's nice to know. Though I could honestly care less about the ideals of others." Miu replied stubbornly, waiting for her order. "In the end, something that is not religion cannot be called thus, and therefore is not fit to be labeled with true religion."

"Perhaps, but it all depends on how you define religion." He replied as he did look about as if Miu was impatient then likely the food was late in arriving.

"What I define it is right, others wrong." She said conclusively, as if a final tone was stretched and etched deep into her voice, the order finally coming along the thin belt amongst the wall, taking her tray as she placed it on the table.

He took his tray off the belt as well. "Do you have any questions for me?"

"Should I? Should I strike up conversation? To begin learning about other people, when I am not obligated to?" She asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"It couldn't hurt, could it? Afterall knowing of others lets you understand them better, what makes them tick." Marko commented lightly.

"Ah, but what if you don't want to know what makes them tick?"

"Then I suppose there is no point to it. Since you do not wish to learn about me, I must then move on to the point of learning about you. What are your hobbies, interests, likes and dislikes? If you don't mind me asking of course." He replied with a grin.

"I'm Me. I have no interest, no dislikes, no hobbies. I'm as plain as you can come by." She replied, looking at him with half burning eyes, staring viciously as she picked him apart slowly through her mind, dissecting him like an insect. "However, I will tell you something very interesting, but that's a different subject. Do you want to hear it?"

Saerus sat down within the small chamber, thinking straight before he looked up his team. "So, it's a complete change?" He asked, as they nodded, the sigh heard as he raveled his hair through his fingers. "Chemically?" He asked again, as they nodded once more.

"The change is entire. Lord Gelectriax is attracted to men now." The doctors replied. "The chemical balances in his body, coupled with his estrogen, has changed him entirely."

"Yet he is as hot blooded as usual."

"You are not exactly plain. " He replied as he met her stare. It was slightly unnerving but it was his policy that if someone wished to look him in the eye, then they would be met. "Of course."

"Are you full?" Miu asked, looking at him. "Because you're a great guy, but you're just a guy. So, do you think you're anything special?"

"Pleasently filled." He replied as he looked at Miu again. She really was quite attractive. "I'd like to think so, and I know to some people I am, but it is all a matter of a person's opinion."

"Then, come with me." She said, getting up as she walked along the edges of the table, getting out along the aisle, opening the door into the blistering heat, standing there. It was odd that she seemed to have little tan in such a scorching country, but then again, many things regarding Jenrakians were odd. She waited for him to follow.

He stood and headed to the door to join Miu, wondering what she wished to tell or show him. He did notice her palor compared to some other of her countrymen but dismissed it as even in hot climates there were many who remained untanned.

A white car rushed along the brassy stone roads, the tires clanking lightly as the sound of the pot holes were audible. She opened the door, getting in as Miu left it open for Marko to enter. "Come, there's a place I want to show you."

"Alright." He replied as he got in the car, "But it seems to be a backward situation. Usually it's the guy who opens the door for the girl."

"I'm not much of a fan of courtesy." She replied, as the car sped along, the rumbling quiet despite the long curving road, the distance of the dunes etching from the city, sparkling spires twisting out of view. "We're going somewhere private for this."

"Ah." He said as he thought of the reasons for her desire for privacy and came up with the sharing of information as he watched the city dwindle in the distance.

As the car stopped, the windy walkway of the cliff held a small cluster of rivers that fingered through the rocky causeway. A large arch of stone stood overhead like grappling arms as she looked on, staring at the large silver sunset within the distance, glaring as she dared not to look at him. "Marko Lethe, interesting name. However, how well are you at keeping secrets?"

"Fairly well, and Miu is as interesting." Marko replied as he looked over the terrain as he followed Miu. "Not sure how well I do against someone truely determained to find out something I know as I've yet to meet a person who could say for certain how they'd react to torture for the first time."

“What I am going to tell you is to be kept a secret to the uttermost extent.” She replied, looking at him with caution. “I will detail it to you if you can make the utmost promise that you will never speak of it to another soul for the rest of your life. Can you make such a promise?”

"I will promise that your secret shall never leave me of my own accord nor throught the actions of torture or the threat of the same as well as I shall utilize all will power at my disposal to resist any chemical or biological agencies." He replied in utmost seriousness. Of course her secretiveness peaked his interest as it was possibly intended to do, but he would attempt to curb his curiosity if she found his answer lacking.

"What if I told you my name is not Miu?" She asked him. "What if I told that I am not an heir to the Empires, with no royal bloodline whatsoever? What if I told you that I am, in no ways, a key to stopping Lord Suriga? That Saerus has played you for a fool, and that beneath my exterior lies the coldest of hearts? What would you say?"

"I would ask your name and ask, if you knew it, what Saerus' motivation is." He replied, "And ask why, if you know this about him, you are letting him manipulate you?"

"Because, deep down, it's dark and empty. Perhaps it's just me, my mind, and all these chemicals boiling in my brain, but for the first time, loneliness, in its bare form, hurts. However, it's not companionship I'm looking to grow. It's isolation I'm looking to kill. A man as transparent and predictable as Saerus is only interested in one thing; revenge."

"So you're looking for someone who'll be there when you are feeling lonely but otherwise stays out of your way? And why, if this isn't too personal, would Saerus want revenge on you?" Lethe asked as he wondered at Miu's appearent revelation.

"My name isn't Miu. It's not close. My name is Gelectriax, emperor of Western Tsellia, and I am, in all essence, a man." Miu replied, looking at the wondrous scenery. "The past few days have been hectic for me. I've been trying to figure out why I've been cursed, but I know this is permanent, as I can't find the exact formula towards this. In an attempt to repair my eyesight, I created an old medicine, yet I mixed up the prerequisites and concocted this." She replied, looking at her thin, slender hands. "I was born a man, now I'm going to die a woman. As much as I enjoyed your company, Marko, if you want to, you may leave, but speak nothing of what I have told you. I'm fairly sure you're shocked by what I've told you, that the woman you have been pursuing was not born as one."

Marko listened in some measure of shock at Miu's, or Gelectriax's, revelation. He thought he remembered the name Gelextriax come up before in the news concerning Jenrak and was pretty sure he was quite a bit older than before.

"Shocked is a bit mild. A couple suggestions for the case of your medicinal problem. If you have the original recipe, and if you could find a number of myoptic MtF trangsgendered peoples you might have willing 'subjects' to test the concoctions on. Once you find the one that works as it did on you, it might be possible to figure out a reverse or antidote."

Pausing a second to consider his words, Marko continued, "Please don't take this the wrong way but how old are you and how old is your body?" Depending on the reply, it might turn out that a step along the road to immortality had been taken.

"I'll have to think about what you said, but while it might mean that a relationship such as Saerus alluded to is unlikely, that doesn't mean that a friendship is unlikely."

"I'm 49." She replied. "It seems that my body has become quite static in growth. Here lies a problem. If you have a body that doesn't grow, how can you get stronger? The answer is simple; you can't." Sighing, she looked up. "There's a difference between finding someone willing to be your test subject and wanting it to be recorded. I have no intentions of remembering this, nor do I intend to have others remember it as well.

"Ah, so while you want a solution found, not at the expense of those who would lord it over you finding out." He commented, "So, I'm assuming that you're planning some sort of revenge on Saerus for setting this all up?"

"Maybe I'm just running away from my own problems, but I'm actually preferring to staying like this. It might be me and my twisted mind, but I believe I can command considerably more power playing the gender card."

"Using feminine wiles to manipulate the men-folk, is that it?" He asked with a bit of a grin. "It probably is an effective solution as most of us men tend to think we're cleverer than any given girl and that leaves a glaring hole for those who are actually as clever or cleverer than we."

"Of course!" Miu said, rising up in victory, laughing evilly, her usual hyperactive self. "As a former man myself, I can twist the minds of enemies into my liking, and then long before then all of Tsellia will be mind!" She laughed and chortled, snickering with an evil presence as a small glint of ambition was visible in her eye. "However, I still can't do this without Saerus off my back."

"And there in lies the problem. You need to figure out a way around or to neutralize him whilst he is in the process of maipulating you." Marko commented as he watched Miu, as he still found him thinking of her or him or however it'd be defined, chortle in a manner diabolical.

"I'm not intent on destroying Saerus. I'm intent on lowering his strength and influence. I possibly know why he's out for revenge." Gelectriax sighed, sitting down as the soft fawning air flew deftly upon her smooth skin. "Years ago, I took Saerus when he was on the battlefield, kidnapped him and made him my slave for who knows how long. I'm guessing he's fighting back now for his lost pride." Gelectriax ran his fingers through his head. "However, there's one way I can hit him back."

"Never said destroy, neutralize but not destroy. Holding him as a slave would foster resentment and rage. If you don't mind me asking, how are you considering hitting back?" He asked as he joined her on the ground, his legs folding into the lotus position with an ease that bespoke a lack of difficultly.

"Simple. He expects me to find his little trick distasteful. What surprise it could be if I pretended to fall in love. His receptors would be quite out of sync."

"I think my conscience is up to that level of falsehood. I'm not sure what he use to be like, but he seemed a trifle over the annoying line of arrogance." Was his reply as he leaned back and straightened his legs.

"Saerus isn't a bad man, he isn't wrong in his desire to get revenge against me for what he's been through." Miu said, chuckling sadly. "But it's not like I'm going to let him have his revenge. If he wants it badly and deserves it, then he'll have to earn it my way."

"Oh, and what method is that? Also, what would you request of me to aid in your scheme to fool Saerus?" Marko asked as he wondered if Miu, or Gelectriax was feeling regretful about prior actions.

"I'll have to think about it." She said, sighing. "It's not going to be easy to fool Saerus. Underneath that blundering and idiotic face of his he's quite a dangerous man."

"Then I shall let you think. Do you have any other plans or revelations while we're here?" He commented

"Not that I know of. We could always try to kill him, that would solve things."

"However it would bring a new problem. While it may be feasible to off Saerus, it also gets the law involved. Which would lead to either jail time, or your identity getting revealed, both of which I think you'd prefere to avoid. I know I'd want to avoid such a thing should I be in your position."

"I'm joking, I'm joking." Gelectriax replied, chuckling slightly, her fingers running through her hair in frustration. No matter how many times she tried to mess it up, it always reverted back to its sleek and glossy form. "Would you be willing to assist me in some, uh, maneuvering?" She asked.

Marko grinned. It seemed she did it almost unconsiously, but her fiddling with her hair was quite cute. "Most likely yes. What did you have in mind?"

"We're going to hit him hard." She cackled with an evil sneer. "Hard. A political marriage." She said deviously. "It's simple!" She said, her thumbs up in a feeling of success. "All I have to do is get married, then that would destabilize Saerus' power within the region. He'd be left powerless."

"But for that to work, you'd need to find a viable political animal who was looking to get married. While I had a brief stint in the arena, I'm no longer a politician." Marko commented as he hoped his statements wouldn't deflate Miu and her delightful 'happy dance'.

"Who says I was considering you?" She asked him.

"I guess a bit of ego. How can I help then now that you've taken a pin to mine pride?" He asked with a chuckle. Miu was very much an interesting person, and enjoyable to be around what with her wit and sense of humour.

"Don't worry, don't sweat about it. There's little political influence needed in this. I have a few people who can already make up a fake resume." She said, thinking.

"You mean forge one. I'm sure they're professionals and thus perhaps a bit leary however about meeting with the new you." Marko commented, "And it'd have to be excellent to avoid a simple net search from revealing it."

"I'm talking about your resume." She said, pointing at Marko before smiling cutely, yet sarcastically. "You see, you already know my secret. You know who I really am, and you're not an official Jenrakian citizen, nor are you religiously involved in the Tsellian. So, logically, I can't get rid of you without repercussions. Why waste a perfectly good person?" She asked.

"Do you think it would stand a chance of working, especially if Saerus gets suspicious?" Marko asked, "Also what would you expect of me?"

"I'm certain this will work, but you will have to follow what I do and say." Gelectriax said, her hands placed upon the top of her head, her fingers running through her hair once more.

"Just to clarify, what kind of things are you thinking, as while I can think at decent speeds on my feet, it helps if I have some sort of guideline going in." Marko added as he scratched an itch at the base of his neck.

"I'll help you with guidelines." She said, smiling seductively before she crawled onto his lap, her fingers running softly on his neck as her lips were dangerously close to his. "I'll explain everything." She whispered softly, before moving back, chuckling.

"Well, that was fun." She smiled, getting up. "Alright, the plan is simple. I'm going to be stuck with you for a couple of days, then we get signed as man and wife. I help you fake your death, I am six provinces more powerful, and you are a couple million dollars richer. Do we have a deal, Mr. Marko?" She asked him.

From far off, peeking through the sleek black scope of a sniper rifle, a silver haired woman smiled before taking it down from her gray eyes. Upon her shoulder, the insignia of her rank was shown; White Matriarch, Rashkta Nirandu - the most powerful of the Jenrakian nobles. "Gelectriax." She sighed, looking at her and Marko, smiling. "You truly enjoy torturing people, don't you? The boy's never going to accept your crazy scheme to rob Saerus of his power."

"All that is fine except for one slight fact, I'm not going to be hurting my family by faking my death." Marko replied as while Miu's little touchy-feelie had helped draw him into her thrall, it wasn't that effective.

"It doesn't have to be something widely known. I just need to make it look like you died in front of Saerus." She said calmly. "The guy is a big procrastinator. He's never going to bother to check up on you."

"And how will that work? I'm sure he's not that much of a procrastinatior as to not to check to see if someone is dead when they die in front of him."

"It doesn't have to be done in front of him. He's nobility, and damn powerful one too." Gelectriax said, taking a small rock off the ground before throwing down into the cavernous end of the large spice-orange hills. "Simple way; explosives. That will be a sufficient excuse for the lack of a body."

"And we here another bit of a problem. A suspicious person would wonder if a faked death would be all that came out of it, as I'm sure you know the saying about keeping secrets..." Marko commented as he mimicked Miu and tossed another small rock down into the hills.

"You think too much into Saerus' mind, Mr. Lethe." She said, frowning. "You give him too much credit. The man is there is there as, I would, eye candy."

"Actually I was thinking about you and your secret. Afterall, and as the saying goes, only two people can keep on and only if one is dead." He replied lightly.

Gelectriax looked at him blankly. "I've never heard that saying before."

"Really, its quite common back home." Marko replied surprised that at the fact that the saying wasn't as universal as he'd believed.

"So, what are your worries, exactly?" Gelectriax asked.

"Well you hold your privacy as near-paramount and since dead men can tell no tales, what better way of ensuring said privacy as to make a faked death real?" Marko replied

"Alright, so I guess you're a stubborn pawn, aren't you?" Gelectriax asked, frowning. "How about this? As insurance, I will offer you this." She said, rolling up her left leg jean leg as she revealed a bracelet-like object on her leg, taking it off before handing it to him, her hand outstretched. "This extremely fragile device here is my last momento of my Vizith. It's extremely important to me. It is extremely fragile. If I use an explosion strong enough to kill you, then it'll be broken as well."

He gingerly took the bracelet and examined it. "I apologise if you've told me this or I've asked it before but who is Vizith?"

Gelectriax raised her left eyebrow in distinct wonder. "Vizith means High Clan. So, this is the last memory I have of my clan. I'm not a social parasite as to enjoy someone's belonging as my momento, if that's what you're thinking."

"I never thought you were. What was your clan like, if you don't mind telling me of course?" He asked as he wondered if he was treading on ground best left alone or not.

"The Vizith Eimuun were a group of barbarians who hold no respect for aristocracy such as myself. They only emit fear and learn from fear, and in the end, no matter how much fear they emitted, they all learned to fear death." She said sadistically, evilly, with a frown of dark hatred emanating from her.

"I see. What shall we do while we wait, so that we may convince Saerus that his little match-making scheme is working?" Marko asked as he watched Miu.

"That's a good question. Honestly, he put me in too much of an embarrassing situation." She said, lying down on her back as her long dark hair flowed diligently across her face, the wind smashing against her skin, silvery green emeralds for eyes amongst a pair of small lips. She frowned, forcing an uneasy aura around her, yet her arm was flung up in a yawning fashion. "What do you want to do?"

"No idea." He added as he lay down as well, "I don't know that much about your country..."

"Playing tourist, I see." She said, clearing her throat, trying to strain herself together, frowning, before a seemingly genuine smile appeared in her face. When she spoke, it was a radiant, feminine voice, bright and bubbly. "Well, sir, what are you interested in?" She asked, though it was obvious that she disliked it.

"What would you recommend" He asked, "The real deal rather than the facsimile that is presented for us tourists?"

"Hmm. I've lived here my whole life, so I'm not sure what kind of things you foreigners would find interesting." She said coarsely, getting up. "How about we go talk to Saerus?"

"Sure, but keep in mind, I don't always do well when surprised." Marko replied as he sat up then rolled over backward and onto his feet.

"Then let's go back." She said, grabbing his hand, holding it tight.

"Let's." He agreed as he winced very slightly. Miu had a grip to be truely proud of. Marko returned her grip somewhat so as to not provide the 'limp fish' as few people liked getting a limp fish when they held hands.

"Remember, I'm originally male, so don't pull anything funny. Or will I kill you." She threatened, her aura darkened and her face creepily eerie with a torrential anger pouring subconsciously from her. "So, let's go."

"I can believe it. Rest assured, I don't intend to pull anything funny." Marko replied as he looked away for a moment if only to give his companion a chance to relax.

"Hmm." She said, closing her eyes, before opening them again, though the meaning was unknown. Standing at the edge, she waited for the bus to stop at the side of the road, seeing a small steel figure far off in the blazing heat. "Hot place." She said, trying to start a conversation, though it was obvious she had little social skills.

"It is at that, I'm use to a bit more temperate weather." Marko commented as he followed her gaze to what could be a bus or a mirage due to the oft annoying strong sun on pavement effect.

"Temperate, ah." She said blankly, her interest quickly fading off. I need to get Menekras to kill this guy. She thought, looking with piercing eyes at Marko.

"I'm use to a bit of a colder enviroment. Back home the summer high would be lucky to pass twenty." Marko replied as he looked over into Miu's piercing eyes.

"Too cold for my tastes." She scurried with dissenting disgust.

"Most people find it so, and I've been partially considering moving but as yet haven't bothered." He added as he noted her distaste for cold.

"A procrastinator?" She asked, as the bus finally stopped, allowing her to get on.

"No, just as yet have not found a compelling enought reason to move." Marko replied as he also got on the bus.

"A compelling reason? What would you find a compelling reason?" She asked, folding out a cap from the back of her jeans, placing it on her head, taking off her t-shirt on the bus as she wrapped it around her waist. Beneath, she carried a greenish-teal tank top with a silvery lace of a brassiere visible slightly beneath her strap. Upon her arm, a belt-like accessory was tied around her bicep, a jet black shade.

She lifted her arms, tying her long, gorgeous hair back into a knot at the back, dipping it into a ponytail as she elegantly placed it through the slot at the back of her hat.

"Oh, love, a career, a sufficiantly compelling reason, that sort of thing." He replied as he watched her change somewhat and wondered how much was deliberate and how long she'd practiced as he wouldn't have imagined many guys would have the naturalish female fashion sense.

"Wondering why I'm so feminine?" She asked, looking at his semi-quizzical look. "You can thank Mr. Annirak for that." She replied, frowning. "He put me through terrible programs to get me more like a woman. Though, I find he's being quite a gender biased bastard."

"More or less. Its not something I expected of you, and I take it he's the typical male chauvenist?" He added as he wondered what kind of programs and if Miu planned on going to the reverse programs, if there were any, to 'de-program' herself.

"I find chauvinist a strong word." Gelectriax replied, looking out at the windows. "A very strong word." She said with a blankness in her tone. "However, I do plan on getting rid of him, before Suriga consolidates his power."

"As it'll be easier to deal with Suriga if you already have an expanded base of power." Marko replied as he wondered if in his prior life, so to speak, Gelectriax was a chauvinist.

"I already have an expanded base of power. Suriga merely controls more than I do, given that his brother Arborgard has gotten his backing." Gelectriax said, sighing.

"Then you just need to get more than he does by 'liberating' that which Saerus controls into your hands then." He confirmed, "And why not go after one of those two directly rather than take the long way round?"

"Because it's one giant, untouchable chunk." She lamented, before sighing. "Ah, well, I'll just have to think of something to get around this." She said, tilting her head back, nodding slightly to an unheard rhythm.

"And without a larger untouchable chunk, trying to carve out a portion of thiers is out of the question. Are you listening to music or something?"

"In my head." She said blankly, closing her eyes, tapping her forehead slightly. While odd, it seemed fairly innocent, and she seemed like nothing out of the ordinary.

"Ah, is it a melody I might be familiar with?" He asked as he had had music running throught his mind before and could relate.

"No." She said briefly, without hesitation.

"Would you consent to teach me or is this something sufficiantly personal or oblique that you would prefer not to?" Lethe asked as he continued to work on picking out the subtle clues, hints and signals that helped show off a person's true nature.

"No." She said blankly.

"As you wish." He replied and lapsed into silence for a period while they rode the bus.

"Say, Marko." She asked, looking out at the window. "Have you ever killed a man?"

"Yes, I have." He replied plainly.

"You misunderstand me. The intent to kill is the obvious thing I'm trying to get here." She said, as the bus stopped, yet she stayed on, the empty, quiet bus evident as the echoing silence shivered amongst the heat around them. There was no driver - only the bleakness of the automatic driver whirring silently in the background. She looked down, her hair dropping dark, black shadows over her eyes, her expression unreadable, yet her voice was soft, somber.

"Say, what would you do if I turned back into a man?" She asked him.

"You mean would I kill again?" Marko asked as he wiped a faint line of sweat from his forehead. "The answer is possibly. As to what I'd do if you turned back into a man, then I'm not quite sure. As by your words you don't really know how you got this way, I'd guess reversal might be difficult."

"You've grown quite soft." Saerus' voice was audible from the back of the bus, hidden behind the seats as his face was strong, cold, stern. "My Lord Gelectriax, are you planning on getting rid of me?" He asked, frowning, as Gelectriax smiled beneath the shadows of her hair, a twisted, leering grin stretched thin across her face. "So, it is, isn't it? I'm sure Miriana should be interested in this little subject." He said, tsking his lips as he touched the back of the seat, leaning slightly before rising up.

He never seemed so before, but now Saerus was a towering, menacing figure, his eyes a staunch emerald green, his lips thin and white in rage as his nose was seen as large compared to his thinning, half-closed eyes with a deep cut of distraught lined along his cheek. His jawline twitched and quivered slightly, his neck bent down a small fraction before rising it up again. "How would Miriana react?" Saerus asked, revealing a long, black rifle barrel poking out the sleeve of his coat.

"Know your place, Annirak." Gelectriax replied with a cold, callous voice, while still slightly feminine, was fraught with chill and an eerie, dominating nature. "Don't get in my way here." She replied, getting up as the bus still ran, lifting up the back of her shirt slightly to reveal a knife hidden behind her back, holding it out. "You have a gun, don't you?" She asked, holding her side slightly as a small worm-like shape was visible underneath her shirt, tied to the knife like a chain. Turning to Marko, she smiled. "Mr. Lethe, please move out a bit and sit at the front before anything happens to you." She said, smiling, as if it had never happened.

"You are a very interesting figure, Lord Gelectriax." A dark, icy voice replied, as a thin, melancholic figure rose from the left back seat, standing beside Saerus. He was drenched in a silver-white coat that draped and twisted in length all the way to the bottom, a long onyx sheath visible draped on his waist belt as magazine belts were like snaking chains. His face was smooth and pale like porcelain, unmoving and near white. Four long lines ran down from the lower eyelid of his eyes to disappear into his shirt at the collarbone, his eyes drooping as if he was in perpetual sorrow, his eyebrows arching up. His hair was slightly long, slightly messy, but nevertheless smooth and jet black. "How quick do the hormonal changes take effect?" He asked, caressing his wrist softly.

"Miriana. So, you brought him here when you knew that you couldn't' take me out, isn't that right, Saerus?" Gelectriax asked Saerus, who scoffed angrily.

"I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to kill him." Saerus said, pointing his gun at Marko as he fired, a small smashing sound heard as Gelectriax's knuckle was visible, held out, the bullet smashing into her elbow as she frowned, showing no signs of pain.

"I think that's enough, Mr. Annirak." Miriana spoke, as Saerus scoffed again angrily. Putting his hand on shoulder, pressing seemingly slightly, Saerus gasped in pain as blood began to peer from beneath his coat jacket where Miriana had touched. "Please, do not hurt the Lady anymore." He asked, as Saerus frowned.

"I promise you, Lord Gelectriax. I will bring you back to normal. I don't know who is in that body of yours anymore. Not the Gelectriax I respected, that's a certainty." He said, before opening the back of the door, walking out.

Miriana closed his eyes in a sigh, before sitting back down.

Marko watched the unexpected arrival of Saerus and Miu's actions as she drew a knife and advanced on Annirak. He'd been about to step forward to her side when she bade him step back which he did, thought he kept his eyes on the two. When the gun was drawn on him, he turned slightly to both present a somewhat smaller target and in preparation to attempt to partially dodge.

The time she took the bullet, the strange Miriana did something to Saerus and then with a few parting words left was too short for him too properly process what had happened, but as the bus's door shut, he did have the presence of mind to make his way to Miu to offer first aid.

Gelectriax showed no signs of pain, no signs of discomfort. She merely looked at the gaping, bloodied wound smashed into her tiny elbow with a slightly uneventful face, before she looked back at Marko. "Welcome to Jenrak." She said, smiling, as the blood still ran down her arm.

"I believe you need a bandage, and from the look of it, serious medical attention very soon." Marko commented as it seemed she'd gone into shock. He looked about to see if there were some form of first aid kit or such on the bus.

"The humerus is shattered, sixteen pieces as the lower peg of the elbow is shifted out of place. There's damage in the lower phalanx of the fist, caused by the strain and the force from the bullet. However, after certain calculation on the rate of blood loss, there's no way she'll die before we get there." Miriana's voice chimed up.

"Even still, the less blood lost, the better and quicker the recovery. Also would you enjoy bleeding, or prefer not seeing your vital fluid dripping upon the floor?" He commented as he took another look for a first aid kit.

"People die everyday. There's no difference in one life being taken." Miriana said, as Gelectriax stared with blank eyes at here gaping wound.

"But there is a difference between being aware of the inevitability of death and the abstract of people dying and having someone dying when you can presonally act to aid them." He replied before turning away from Mirina, "And will you act to help or stand by indifferently?"

Gelectriax began to slightly convulse in growing pain, the body finally showing signs of possibly collapsing. Miriana closed his eyes. "I will stand by indifferently. I am in no way obligated to help the Lady."

At the sight of Gelectriax going into shock, mild as it appeared, Marko proceeded to remove his shirt and turn it into an impromptu bandage. "Then do it because you can." He replied

Miriana sighed. "Fine, fine." He said, as if it were some great effort truly undeserving of his needs. "Do you know what line we're on?"

"Not a clue, and thank you." Marko replied as it seemed that Miriana was going to be aiding afterall.

"The closest we can get is to get a direct line." He said, taking out a small cellphone as he rapidly pressed into it, looking carefully before he placed it on his ear softly. "I want you to bring an ambulance to this phone's location." He said, before sitting back down. "What is your relationship with the Lady?"

"Well, that is a bit of a private matter between us. If you wish to inquire into our relationship it might be better to ask her. And why do you ask?" Marko replied with a reply that was somewhat suggestive of a somewhat intimate relationship.

"Because if it interests me enough, I may have to kill you. The stability of the Kataask crown is my paramount position, and if I let one who is a political leeway for Gelectriax's clan to gain power, I will take action against those who seek to undo the crown." Miriana said with a hint of malice in his voice, tiny bits of metal nearby clanking slightly as if they were ebbing in his silenced anger.

"I believe you are the third person to threaten killing me today, but you can stop sharpening your knife. I'm not interest in seeking out power." Marko replied, using his fingers to count off the threats to his life for the day.

"I never sharpened a knife. What are you talking about?" Miriana said, wondering. It was clear he had never heard such an adage.

Marko slumped slightly, just managing to resist slapping his forehead. Had no one in this country heard common figures of speech. With a faint sigh, he replied, "It's an expression related to killing someone, in much the manner a butcher will sharpen his knives before getting to work."

"How crude." Miriana spoke, closing his eyes before opening them again. "I'm not one to use knives to kill." He said, pulling out a long black barrel from his robes, as Gelectriax raised her hand.

"Stop it, Miriana." She said, as Miriana confided, putting it back gently. "Marko, I'm okay." She smiled slightly. "You're giving me too little credit. It's nothing compared to the pain I regularly go through." She smiled again - a bright cheery grin.

Marko almost rolled his eyes. Miriana just didn't seem to get expressions. "Are you sure, bloodloss and pain are different, and you seemed to be losing blood." He replied

"I'm fine." She said, as she silently whispered. "I need you to take the bullet out."

"Then I need you to lie down. I'm not going to try to remove a bullet when you're standing." He replied in as low a voice as hers. He'd done a few things like this, but much prefered a qualified medic or doctor to do so as he'd only had the standard EMFA courses.

Gelectriax sighed, lying down, her chest rising and falling with her breathing as Miriana stood over her, his staring face dangerously close to hers. She had difficulty keeping her eyes closed. "Gel-ect-riax." Miriana said slowly, mockingly, his melancholic face a cold shiver of a stare.

"Mind moving. You're in my way and I'm busy." Marko said with a dangerous bit of tone to his voice that bespoke the saying of 'Lead, follow or get the hell out of my way' but without the 'lead' portion.

"Fine, fine." Miriana said, standing up as he turned around to look back. "Have you conspired to rid my King of his power?"

"No." Was Marko's simple answer as he continued the process of extracting the bullet from Miu.

"Fine, fine." Miriana sighed, taking up his cell phone, flipping it open to his ear as if it had been on the whole time. "Suriga, you still there?" He asked, as a small deep chatter was heard on the other end. "Yes, I've asked him, and his reply is no. Suspicious, isn't it?" Miriana asked, as the chatter replied. "I thought so too. Very well, very well. Gelectriax is here as well. What about Vijun? No, Annirak attacked her, so he won't get very far."

Gelectriax winced, feeling the soft pressure on her soft skin. "It's been a long time since I felt pain. Damn, this body is not to my liking." She groaned and complained.

"Would you prefere more pain and less of it or less pain and more of it?" Marko asked as he could see two methods of getting the bullet out, the short and immediately painful method or the long and protracted painful method.

"I'm going for more pain, and less of it later." Gelectriax said, nodding.

Marko nodded as he somewhat braced himself. It'd cause a little more damage in the present but nothing non-healable. "So how do you know Kapt' Kill over here?" He asked, in part to 'distract' Gelectriax from removing the bullet. For most people less tense, as might happen from seeing someone about to extract a bullet from thier body, meant less pain.

"Who? Miriana?" Gelectriax asked through clenched teeth.

"Yes, Miriana." He replied as with one final tug, got the bullet out of where it had been lodged.

"Miriana is an experimental specimen under my watch." Gelectriax answered. "He is the strongest of the Elegance project specimens, and he's the only one with a stable disposition. He's one of the deadliest of fighters, and I've never seen him beaten before. I've never been able to reach his level, so I guess you could say I'm jealous of Miriana's capabilities."

"If he's stable, I'd hate to see an unstable model." Marko commented, "And at the risk of him becoming less stable and more stabby, I'd say he has a bit of a crush on you."

"I sincerely hope the end of the world is here before that statement proves itself true." Gelectriax complained, smiling slightly.

"I'm sure it wouldn't be the end of the world if a guy had a 'school girl crush' on you." Marko replied with a smile as she seemed to be in somewhat better spirits.

"I'm sure it would if it was Miriana Treyuko." She said, chuckling slightly, despite the wound. "Besides, please be aware of my gender."

"I guess you know him better but I still don't think it's as bad as you think, and yes I do remember your gender." He replied pleased that some humour had returned while not so much about the threat of increasing injury.

Gelectriax smiled, laughing merrily and chuckling cutely, lost in the path of the conversation, before a sigh came loudly from the back. "How long are you two going to flirt?" Miriana asked impatiently.

"How long do you think we should?" Marko asked Gelectriax with a grin, "A few more minutes just to annoy and make Miriana jealous?"

"No, I just realize that we were flirting." Gelectriax said, embarrassed, closing her eyes in discrete, dysfunctional behavior. "I think it's best to stop."

"As you wish." He replied as he hadn't viewed it as flirting, just friendly banter.

"Lord Gelectriax." Miriana said, standing up, turning around as his back is faced towards her. "You two might want to get off. Your stop is here." He said, as the bus slowed to a halt.

"Thank you Miriana. Shall we?" He asked, offering an arm to Gelectriax since he was walking injured and thus was more likely to need aid.

Gelectriax slung herself over Marko's shoulder, trying to get a good footing as they finally got off the bus. "Well, that was an interesting bus ride." SHe complained.

Upon the bus, still sitting, Miriana reached into his pocket and placed a call on his cellphone. Putting it up to his ear, he began to talk, as the dunes drifted by. "Saerus." He said, closing his eyes in a soft, visual sigh. "I know that you know its permanent, so how long are you planning on keeping this from Gelectriax?" Miriana asked.

"Forever." Saerus replied.

"I can't allow that, can I?" Miriana threatened, as a chortle of discontent came from the other line. "If something happens to her, I'll hold you responsible."

"That it was, now what are the plans?" He asked as he supported Miu's weight, slight as it was.

"We're going to have to pretend this. How good are you at acting?" She asked.

"Depends what type of acting, but in general, I would say I'm decent." Marko replied

"What do you mean depends on what type of acting?"

"Improv, scripted, scripted improv, that kind of thing." He replied as some were naturally harder, especially depending on the situation.

"Okay, Improv should be the one we're looking for here."

"Should be able to manage as long as I don't get hit with too many curveballs. Or as long as you provide a bit of guidence."

"Curveballs?" She asked, clearly once more oblivious to the allusions.

"I really need to get you aquainted with regular expressions. It means something very unexpected." Marko replied as his lack of understanding in this area was somewhat odd.

"Fine, fine. It may be regular to you, but to me it's not. I guess culture here and the rest of the outside world must be in stark contrast, huh?" She asked.

"In some respects, very much so." He replied

"Well, let's just try and improv this thing." Gelectriax offered, walking into the courtyards as the slung open gates were creaking slightly. It was an empty castle, a large bastion of obsidian fury that etched with sharp potency across the soft sky. Saerus' castle was a monument of sheer brutality, horror and the darkest of the Jenrakian souls. Truly, such architect was astounding, yet eerie at the least.

"Lets, thought any leads now would be helpful." He replied as he looked up at the castle and wondered at the mind of Saerus to live in such an edifice.