They all chose to fight. They ran from the server room after Gene, all six of the misfits together marched their way around the circular hallway toward the Transporter Room. Their feet beat against the black linoleum floor. The station rattled more violently than before. Oden appeared so much closer, they could practically reach out and touch the massive planet. Those swirling neon blue, sea-foam green, and dark thunderstorm clouds had obscured the empty calm of space. It was all one unrelenting storm now. At the rate a dozen or so hairline fractures all snaked up along the reinforced glass, it was only a matter of time before they were all swallowed by those turbulent and merciless tempest.

Behind Gene, Luna had once again stumbled into the side of the wall. With both hands she shoved herself off the institution-green colored walls, propelling herself forward again. The thought crossed her mind that if she could shift into her wolf form, four legs might be more stable than two. Unfortunately, Luna didn't have the time or energy to shift. She was already physically and emotionally exhausted. It took everything she had to keep running after Gene. The mission wasn't over, and she would not let her physical or any other limitations drag her down. Failure was never an option.

Marth easily kept his stride behind Luna. His genuine smile was leagues brighter than the darkest spot on the gas giant looming outside their window. This was it, thought the former Shogun, now is the time. I've found a worthy death. Redemption. At last. This possibility only increased his stride as he paced beside Luna. His smile grew wider.

Had the monks at the Shaolin temple considered this scenario when they preached peace of mind and spirit? Kazuna surmised they had not. However, they would in the same breath admit that the scenario didn't matter. Mindfulness and willful dedication to peace superseded any external struggle. Bullshit, Kazuna thought with a grim smile. There was still a tiny piece of Kazuna, that same grain of sand in her mind that held the memory of her island, her home; she wanted to believe that those monks would freak out if they were trapped aboard a spaceship about to crash into a planet.

Midnight couldn't remember if Dracons could breathe in space. She knew she needed air. She knew she could hold her breath, but not for how long. Were you supposed to hold your breath or release your breath in the vacuum of space? She couldn't remember. She was too hungry to hold any one thought for too long. Transforming into her pure Dracon form, fighting, running, it was draining but at the same time, fulfilling. This was why she left home after all. Maybe not this exact scenario, but she had without a doubt found herself part of an adventure. What's more, Midnight sensed this particular adventure held some greater significance than a simple back alley brawl or night outside her family's manor. An adventure with meaning should be enough to sustain her. For now.

Gene was terrified. He was furious. He was wrecked by the confusion of whether any of those emotions were justified at all, or even real. He desperately wanted to believe that the memories in his head could cement his identity. But, if those twenty-two years of found footage belonged to someone else, what did all this matter? All Gene had to go off were the words of Kazuna and Luna; a Wolf Girl and Monk he'd both just met and had three years worth of memories he couldn't be sure were his own. Kazuna could feel his energy, but how? Could whatever mysticism she commanded hold up in court? At least her conviction was enough that she'd risk stepping in front of Karma's blade, but the doubt still lingered in Gene's mind. Then there was Luna...

Gene risked a glance over his shoulder. He immediately felt his pulse spike even more so than from running around on a collapsing space station. Luna was gorgeous, obviously. The way her snow white wolf ears stood back on her head, that powerful athletic form striding forward, and that lush tail that now bristled thick with anxiety and readiness. There was something beyond Luna's overwhelming beauty however that captured Gene's attention. Something deeper. It went beyond memory. There was something so unquantifiable about why and how Gene desired Luna that it was even more maddening than the possibility that his perceived identity was untrue.

Despite all the delirious and insanity laden thoughts, Gene was driven forward by the possibility of Luna. He'd made a covenant. Gene was uncertain of exactly how much governance Luna actually had over his fate, but the idea was enough to hold his anxiety at bay. Gene kept running. Always forward. For the moment, the past was unreliable. His present situation? Disastrous. It was the future that kept Gene's feet striding forward one after another. Until one of the hundreds of ways Gene could actually die on board this station came to pass, nothing would stop him from running toward a future with Luna.

Then, after their latest marathon, they'd arrived. They were not alone. Blocking the misfits' path in the hallway, a dozen RAN Androids stood on guard. Their arm rifles unfolded, charged, and ready.

"We don't have time for this," Gene growled out. "Marth," He shouted and pointed to one of the large metal wall plates, "Make a path."

The Shogun's infectious smile lit up as he dug his bare hands into the metal siding. With a mighty tug, Marth ripped off the panel that was nearly as wide and high as the hallway itself. The androids immediately opened fire, but the misfits' makeshift shield bearer warded off their enemies' concussive blasts. Lined up behind Marth and the slab of wall he held, they gradually pushed forward. Between the tremors that rocked the station and the squadron of killer robots, their current pace would fall short of reaching the transporter room in time.

"We must stabilize the station, buy us time," Kazuna yelled over the blaster fire.

Luna, still clutching the data tablet, dugout her own digital device from her tool belt, "I can try to access the propulsion system remotely. I don't know how much time that will take."

"No," Kazuna said as she sat down and crossed her legs, "I'll do it manually." Gene looked back to find Kazuna making several arcane gestures with her hands in quick succession. With eyes closed, blue steam once again rose from her eyes. As she remained in a seated position, Kazuna's body floated up from the ground and hovered about a meter above the floor.

A mighty CRASH jostled the station. Everyone, androids included, were thrown off guard.

"Whoa," Midnight whispered in reverence.

Gene followed Midnight's dumbfounded gaze to the window. Floating outside in space, a semi transparent golden, glowing giant had appeared. It's massive arms adorned with huge jade bracers pushed against the side of the station. The constant tremors had stopped, its descent into the planet had slowed, but Heimdall itself would still inevitably crash into Oden. Kazuna's colossal astral form had bought themselves minutes at best.

Gene wasn't about to let their Monk's efforts go to waste or pass up an opportunity for a counter attack. "Midnight, are you ready to eat some robots?"

"No," She yawned, "They taste funny. I can rip 'em apart though?"

Gene nodded, "Marth, let her through!"

"Aye, friend Gene," Marth tilted the slab of metal forward enough to create some space between the top of their shield and the ceiling. It was wide enough that once she unfurled her wings, Midnight leapt up through the air and dove over the barrier. The group continued to push forward towards the sounds of ROARING, TWISTED METAL, and android bodies being tossed about the hall.

From the other side of the shield, Midnight huffed out, "All clear!"

Marth let the shield drop forward. It fell with a terrible THUD against the floor. Once the dust and smoke settled, a satisfied Midnight stood inside a circle of dismembered robots. Her tail was still firmly wrapped around the neck of one of the remaining RAN Androids. She panted. Exhausted. Yet, her tail continued to absentmindedly slam the remains of the robot into the ceiling.

"Finished," the Dragon Maiden breathed out and finally let the robot fall.

The misfits hardly had time to appreciate Midnight's destructive victory as a concussive energy bolt blasted the young girl's body against the side of the glass window.

"Lady Midnight!" Marth roared out in concern and anger. The Shogun withdrew his massive blade. He stepped in front of the Dragon Girl's body just in time to deflect another energy bolt.

"Luna, raise a shield. Karma, stand guard over Kazuna," Gene remained regrettably unarmed, but his Third Sight ran a waterfall worth of tactical information past his peripheral vision. Time was running out. If there had only been another squadron of RAN Androids, there may have been a greater possibility of escape. That possibility diminished once Gene saw who stood at the end of the octagonal shaped corridor. Illuminated by the warm accent lights was none other than Director Stephen Jenkins.

Like the other Androids, Director Jenkins' right arm had blossomed open from the elbow down. Panels of flesh had shifted and unfolded to reveal the barrel of the standard concussion rifle hidden within his arm. The device glowed, pulsated as it charged for another attack. Gene's eyes studied the device for the most efficient, fastest way to disarm the last obstacle that stood between them and freedom.

"Mister Norihito, you and your companions have destroyed this station, years of progress, and endangered the lives of my employees-"

"Your prisoners!" Luna shouted in protest.

"Begone villain, and be slain once again by The Blade of Black Tears!" Marth commanded hefting his great sword and aiming it at Jenkins.

The Director was not intimidated or moved. His tone remained even and measured as if simply relaying rote instructions; "You and your companions have merely delayed my plans to save Fryga and deliver my people into eternity. Once I start again, nothing will stop my progress toward advancement. My natural right to conquest. As such, I cannot permit you to leave this station alive."

"You'd sacrifice yourself just to make sure we die?" Gene asked, stalling for time.

"I would do no such thing. My people need me alive to save them." The Director slowly, deliberately began to move his hands, arms and body in precise fluid motions. "I alone can save them. Thanks in no small part to you, Mister Norihito, your companions will contend with another one of your kind while I return to Fryga. You may fight amongst yourselves as only primitive minds such as yours are capable of. Now, and for the last time, goodbye, Mister Norihito."

A series of ominous red lights shot up from underneath Jenkins as he stepped backward into the Clean Room. The steel doors at the end of the corridor slammed shut as Jenkins entered the Transporter. The glowing circular lights remained. Gradually, like metal stencils rising up from liquid magma, a series of Glyphs emerged from the floor. The glowing symbols dripped beads of molten neon oranges and reds as they floated counter-clockwise above the Rune Circle Jenkins had made. A menacing radiance illuminated the walls, bathing them in a volatile blood-red.

"By the gods," Karma whispered in terrified reverence. "The ignorant, insane fool."

Gene turned to Luna for clarity, but she'd become nearly catatonic. Rigid with terror, Luna could only manage to repeat, "No, no, no," under her breath.

"What's going on? What did Jenkins' cast?" Gene demanded.

"Mad Man!" Marth's rage dipped to sorrow as he looked down upon Gene, "He has summoned the Obsidian Angel."

Without further warning, Marth sprinted forward. With a mighty war cry the Shogun ran down the length of the corridor and stabbed his blade through the center of the Rune Circle.

"I knew he could not be trusted," Karma spat out beside Gene.

"What's he doing?" Gene asked nervously.

"He's attempting to draw the dark entity into himself; to steal its power," Karma said, readying his blade, "I cannot allow this betrayal to unfold."

Ignoring Gene's protests, the assassin was already down the length of the hall in the blink of an eye. Gene tried to follow the action, but the red glow from the Rune Circle had suddenly vanished. There was only the sound of steel slashing against steel in the dark. Sharp pangs of swords crossing rang out in the darkness. Then, silence. After a moment's pause, Gene stepped forward in time to catch Karma's unconscious body as it flew backwards through the corridor.

As the Assassin folded like wet tissue paper in Gene's arms, the Katana fell from Karma's hand and clattered to the floor.

"Who dares summon Us? Who here craves... Death?" came a voice so hideous and craven that Gene could feel his blood begin to boil. It was Marth who spoke, but he was accompanied by a legion of others; a demonic choir of malice and vile, all competing for dominance.

Hefting Karma by the shoulders, Gene dragged his comrade off to the side of the corridor's entrance. He quickly took stock of his available assets. His teammates. Not assets. Doubt would not impede Gene's responsibility to his team. Gene could pretend, will himself to be human in this moment. He had to. For whatever reason, this band of misfits all chose to follow him. It was on Gene to deliver.

"This pathetic mortal shell cannot contain Us indefinitely. If you show yourself, summoner, We may spare this fool in exchange for your soul," spoke the thing using Marth as a puppet.

Gene's Third Sight calculated a plan. Not multiple. One plan. In place of that roaring stream of tactical data was only a mere puddle. One lone strategy with the smallest possible margin of success.

"I can't hold this form for much longer, Gene. I'm sorry," Kazuna strained. Her body looked physically ravaged as if she'd been in a fight against a heavyweight boxer in the middle of a desert. She slowly began to float back down to the floor. Outside, Gene watched as the Golden Giant holding the station at bay began to flicker out of existence.

"Luna," Gene said calmly, holding her hand tight, "I need you here, with me, okay?"

Luna nodded hesitantly, "I'm here."

"If you cast a sphere around Marth, can you alter the pressure to hold him in there?" Gene asked. His attention shifted from Luna to the door, praying that Marth remained inside the corridor.

"I-I think so," Luna whimpered, unsure. "But, I won't be able to hold it for long."

With a nod, he reassured her, "I trust you," even if Gene wasn't entirely sure if that was true.

Gene squeezed Luna's hand and gave her space. She'd need line of sight to cast the spell, but Gene wasn't about to put the Wolf Girl in harm's way. Karma was knocked, and Kazuna had all but passed out under the strain of holding a four hundred ton station descending into a planet at 7,600 meters per-second. Midnight was unconscious. Marth was preoccupied. It was up to Gene and Luna to defeat a cosmic entity of death: the same entity that had already killed him once before.

Grabbing hold of Karma's blade, Gene stepped out into view from the corridor to just barely catch a glimpse of Marth. At the end of the hall, lights strobing, Gene saw the shogun floating limp, suspended a few centimeters in the air almost as if he were actually being animated by invisible strings. Looking closer, Marth's physical form had also changed. Protruding out periodically, what looked like black shards of shale would randomly jut out from the Shogun's body, never in the same spot twice. Something inside him was trying to break free. Something was spreading outward from his heart, like dead rose vines slowly consuming him from the inside out.

"WE smell your filth... StarJammer. How has this come to be? We obliterated you. Come closer, let us examine your disgusting mortal shell," hissed the creature.

Suddenly, Gene felt something pierce his skin; trillions of sewing needles wove themselves into his flesh all at once and pulled taught. His arms and legs went rigid, pulled outward and lifted off the ground. His hand continued to hold the hilt of Karma's blade as Gene was forcibly moved directly in front of the door to the Clean Room corridor.

"Your presence REEKS of the Enemy, StarJammer." Gene watched as Marth's head was forcibly tilted back. What could loosely be interpreted as a smile flashed upon the possessed samurai's face, but his jaw had expanded and teeth were replaced by rows of jagged obsidian daggers. "We must... Cleanse you of our rival's presence," the Obsidian Angel hissed again.

"I suppose," Gene strained against the dark entity's psychic control, "We could all use a wash."

It all happened before Gene could release his next breath. He twisted the Katana for the reflective surface of the blade to offer enough visibility for Luna to see her target. The Wolf Girl Completed the final movement to unlock the Rune Circle. A bright flash of violet light shot up from under Luna. In the same instance, a sphere of water formed from the air around Marth. Nearly instantly, the possessed Shogun was submerged. His limbs spasmed wildly. All in vain. Escape became utterly hopeless as Luna concentrated her spell to increase the pressure within the sphere.

"Sphere interior, 15,000 PSI. Holding at... 15,050 pounds," Luna coughed out. Blood had begun to pool up under her eyelids along with a dribble of blood out the side of her mouth as she bit her tongue.

Now came the difficult part.

The unknown factor.

[Systems/_Weapons=?Charged{!Operational}]

[Run:/ConcussionRifle.RXL]

Gene couldn't feel the change, not at first. At least there was no external pain. What Gene felt cut deeper than the self inflicted incision currently forming along his forearm, was definitive proof. Gene was no longer human. He tried to stay focused. He tried to ignore the panels of what were once flesh, bloom outward and unfold. With the panels of tan flesh neatly peeled back, they revealed the barrel of the rifle that had been hidden inside him all along. Whether or not he used to be human, or ever was human in the first place didn't matter in this moment. What mattered was his promise Gene had made to the team and the Wolf Girl he'd fallen for.

His Third Sight automatically targeted the most effective point of contact.

Without any further hesitation, Gene fired.

He emptied the clip.

The corridor disappeared, filled with waves of blinding concussive bolts of energy.

[Systems/_Weapons=?Recharging{!Standby}]

When the din of the corridor returned to normal, Gene saw a stream of water smeared through the large hole of what used to be the doorway to the Clean Room. Unsurprisingly, his first impulse wasn't to escape. Having been released from the Obsidian Angel's mental grip, Gene knelt down beside Luna. She had collapsed within the smoldering embers of the Rune Circle she'd cast. She was unresponsive, but breathing. With his right arm reconfigured to conceal his weapon, Gene reached down and picked up an unconscious Luna.

Before he ventured into the corridor, Gene watched Kazuna regain her faculties.

"Gene?" She asked, delirious.

"On your feet, soldier," Gene ordered, "We need to get Lady Midnight and Karma into the transporter room."

"What about....?" She stopped short of speaking its name aloud.

Gene paused, peering into the dark transporter room, "I'll deal with Marth."

Carefully kneeling down with Luna in his arms, Gene armed himself once again with Karma's katana. His weapon systems were still recharging and Gene wasn't in a hurry to expose his true form again. He'd deal with the existential crisis if and when the time came. They were still all trapped aboard a doomed space station. If all had gone to plan, then the concussive blast through a series of steel plated doors should have jostled Marth free before the Obsidian Angel could fully take hold of Marth. Gene would find out soon enough if that were true.

"Marth!" Gene shouted over the tremors and groans of the crumbling space station.

No reply.

Gene gently set Luna down on one of the black hexagonal transporter pads off to the side of the corridor entrance. As the task lighting continued to brighten, Gene strode forward following the damp streak on the floor leading to Marth. The blade of the Katana extended outward, up, and ready to make a swift incision. Gene prepared himself for the worse as he approached the folded mass of the Samurai that had been slammed up against the far wall.

Relief followed as Marth groaned, speaking in Japanese, "Gene-San, have we won the day?"

Gene's Third Sight translated the Shogun's words and provided the proper response and pronunciation to reply; "Our fate remains uncertain. Go fetch Karama so we may escape."

"Retreat," Marth coughed out, this time in english, "Unacceptable."

"We must pursue Jenkins. He remains at large," Gene answered, adding urgently, "Go bring Karma into the Transporter Room. Now."

Marth's expression lightened at the prospect of continuing the hunt and lifted himself up off the floor. Gene watched as he limped toward the corridor exit, but halted as Kazuna, aided by Karma carried Midnight into the clean room.

"Allow me to assist," Marth offered.

Karma snapped back, coughing out blood, "Your betrayal nearly cost us our lives."

"Betrayal?" Marth gasped, his tone shifting from wounded and quickly ramping up to resentment, "I offered myself to stop the coming of the dark entity-"

"Your lust for power placed us all in jerporry, Shogun!" Karma screamed.

"For one so fast, your hesitation to prevent the Obsidian-"

Kazuna shrieked, "DON'T SAY ITS NAME!"

"ENOUGH!" Gene commanded. "Everyone, take a stand on a transporter pad."

Solemnly, the remaining Misfits sulked to separate transporter pads. As Karma passed by Gene, the assassin's hand grabbed hold of the katana's hilt.

Narrowing his eyes, Karma growled, "You may think and act like the StarJammer, but you are unworthy to wield my Father's Blade, Machine."

"Go stand on your goddamn pad, Assassin," Gene snarled, and shoved the sword back into Karma's grasp. There wasn't time to mull over the petty details. Soon, Gene will have fulfilled his promise. At least, he will have fulfilled a promise. The memory of Gene's character was crystal clear, high definition, played back in perfect resolution; the safety and survival of the team came first. Competing for a close second, was the one who was buried deep within the core of who Gene was.

Gene turned his attention once again to Luna.

She had regained consciousness and sat upright on the pad Gene had placed her on. Luna's fingers swiftly typed away upon Doctor Williams' datapad.

The Wolf Girl's voice came out hoarse and weary, "Seven hundred souls uploaded to the server."

Gene nodded, "Seven hundred more than zero."

Kazuna lamented, "Three hundred less than the total we were meant to save."

A pregnant pause weighed on the Misfits as they stood, sat, and lay upon their respected transporter pad. They looked to Gene.

"Seven hundred," he spoke again, flat, matter of fact, but with an aftertaste of disappointment trailing after his words. As the station once again rattled on the brink of destruction, Gene turned his attention to the black rectangle on the doorframe of the corridor. His Third Sight infiltrated the digital network and wirelessly sent Gene's commands...

[AccessCode(s)=Accepted.X+Connecting=RemoteAccess.RXL]

[BiFrostBridge='Activated':/Destination=<previous>"Fryga_CapitalCityGrandCentralTerminal"]

[BiFrostBridge='Engage']

Gene watched the corridor seal itself shut. Once again he found himself in the White Room; no doors, no windows, no way out. Except, this time, there was a small sense of comfort knowing he was not alone. Marth, the Samurai, had nearly sacrificed himself. Karma, the world's fastest swordsman, had actually been swift to engage an enemy far more powerful than any of them combined. Midnight, the young dragon maiden proved to be invaluable in combat. Kazuna, even weakened as she was, even now cast a Rune Circle; to aid in their travel? Protection? Whatever the purpose, Kazuna's spell couldn't conjure any more danger than they already found themselves in. Probably?

Luna was fading fast. She clutched the datapad in her hands while she curled up into a ball on the floor. The blinding white light of the transporter continued to increase in brightness and intensity, density; pressure toppled on them in successive waves. Each blast of energy that fell upon them was more unbearable than the last.

Gene screamed over the whirling turbines and trembling station; "Luna!"

The heavenly White Wolf turned her ruby eyes to Gene.

"I promise..."