Hal and Rym walked through the hotel halls above the casino. After Tancred and Odell began their card game, the duo had gone to search the upstairs instead.

“I can’t believe him pretending to leave like that!” Rym grumbled as they walked. “It’s like he doesn’t trust me!”

Hal silently walked beside her as she complained about the short Bentalousian man.

“He’s always going on and on about cases and detective work, but spying on a cheating spouse or finding lost pets are all we’ve been doing lately. They hardly pay bills, and he acts like it’s all connected to some grand conspiracy!”

“Is it not best to focus on the task at hand?” Hal asked with a low grumble in his voice.

“I suppose you’re right; I should be complaining to his face if I want some changes in the workplace,” Rym replied. She had not picked up on the Netzian soldier's tone and instead made a mental note to do just that once they finished investigating the hotel. Little did Hal realize she was preparing a whole barrage of things to fire at the grey detective when they saw each other next. “So, how did you end up on this whole mission?”

“My commander saw it fit for me to join in.”

“That’s it?” Rym said with no effort to hide the disappointment in her tone. “No tragic backstory. No grand struggle for survival. Were you at least friends before you left?”

“Before they were strangers, now they are allies on the same mission,” Hal answered sternly.

“Wow, kid, you need to loosen up. Far as I can tell, you’re the youngest here, you know.”

Hal rolled his eyes. His mind turned for a moment to Feya, the leader of the Netzians, who had often tried to get him to goof off with her and ditch work. Even though she was almost three times his age, he was often the more responsible one.

“Age does not dismiss responsibility.”

Rym sniffled.

“I wish my sisters were even a fraction as responsible as you! I have five of them, and only one is trying to do anything with her life!”

“I see,” Hal said as he leaned away from the crying Zenotote ever so slightly.

Rym wiped the tears from her slitted eyes.

“I’m sorry, I got a little emotional there. You should lighten up a little, though. If you’re too stiff, you’ll snap as soon as the wind picks up.”

“What is true for branches is not true for Netzians,” Hal replied with a roll of his green eyes.

“I suppose we won’t see eye to eye,” Rym gave in. They walked in silence for a moment through a patch of closed doors to different areas in the hotel before she spoke up again. “So tell me about yourself! Any family back home?”

“Three sisters.”

“Really? Older? Younger?”

“I am the oldest.”

“I would guess you’ve been taking care of them for a while?” she asked. Hal had neglected to mention any parents, and given his responsible nature, the assumption was easy enough for the detective's assistant to make.

Hal kept his lips pressed firmly together, making sure not to let a single expression betray his desire to appear emotionless in the situation. Rym didn’t bother pressing further but made some guesses as to what Hal was thinking, even with his face stiff like stone.

As they walked, the duo exited the hallway of rooms and entered an ample space at the center of one of the hotel floors.

The space was a round room that went up several stories high. An artificial mountain sat in the center, and streams flowed, in four waterfalls, down the side to a pool below. Fake trees and benches were set out around it. The space served as a small park/recreational area for guests to relax.

“That must have been rough, but you turned out alright!” Rym said as they began to walk around the mountain. Hal was beginning to realize she would continue the conversation whether he talked or not.

A wailing sound suddenly echoed over the heads of the duo. Hal would have felt relief from a break in the conversation if the sound did not concern him. They turned to the artificial mountain’s peak in a flash. At the top was a man dressed in a black tailcoat with a series of red feathers around the neck and his face covered with an odd mask that flashed as a mischevous grin.

The stranger played on an unsightly, giant metal violin which radiated a sound that was colder than one made of wood. He played with vigor, without a care in the world. Three sections from a hat on his head flailed around as the stranger finished a complex and fast-paced piece. When he was done, the masked man slid the bow into his coat and stood up. He bowed to the audience of two.

“Thank you, thank you, hold you’re applause,” the masked man said, even though no one clapped. “I see you are searching around this hotel, and to be honest, I’m supposed to keep some information close to my chest, but frankly, I need you two to turn around or die.”

Rym backed up, and Hal reached into his ability space with his Needaimus bonded arm.

“Oh wow, that’s a neat ability. It almost looks like you are missing an arm, though!” the masked man laughed. As far as he could tell, the green-haired Netzian’s right arm was gone when he grabbed for a weapon. Hal ignored the man and pulled out his oversized sword, Shatter Will.

“What connection do you have with Dia?” Hal asked.

“Ah! So you’re part of that team!” The stranger leaped down from the small mountain and landed in front of the duo. “You know, you weren’t supposed to even make it here. Well, now that you are, I guess I can humor you. I am Nero, second in command of this little group in Nun. We had dear Dia Mond support our plans some time ago, though she is no longer with the group as of… a couple of hours ago, I think.”

“You’re telling us an awful lot,” Rym said as she took a step back. Nero let out a clownish giggle.

“I apologize; it’s a bad habit of mine. I always like to shower people with useful information before I kill them.”

Rym took another step back, and her eyes grew wide. Hal took a step forward and held Shatter Will at the ready.

“Fall back,” the Netzian soldier said to Rym. He couldn’t put it into words, but he sensed danger coming from Nero that he had never encountered with an opponent before.

Rym didn’t wait for Hal to shout anything else. She immediately ran out of the small enclosed park within the hotel.

“You can run, dear, but I will find you later!” Nero playfully shouted to the blue-pink Zenotoe as she fled.

“I’ll get backup!” she shouted back to Hal before disappearing out of view.

Hal was left alone to face his opponent. Nero rubbed the chin of his odd mask.

“You know, you look a little like my dead wife,” he said with a slight chuckle.

Hal ignored the man’s attempts to get him off guard and held his sword at the ready.

Nero shrugged and sighed. Stretched his arm holding the metal violin away from his body. The enormous instrument suddenly unfolded as the masked man spun it in his hand. At the end of a swift motion, the instrument had turned into a scythe.

The didn’t exchange any more words.

Nero quickly closed the gap between them and swiped his blade at Hal’s neck. Hal blocked with Shatter Will by putting the two-handed weapon between his body and the mask man’s scythe. As soon as his first attack was blocked, the masked man let go of his curved weapon and began to strike the green-haired Netzian like a punching bag. Hal grunted and stepped back as Nero struck his face and torso.

The Netzian solider did not waste any time to let go of his sword and get out of Nero’s range. The sword clanged to the ground while Hal increased the distance between them. He quickly pulled his Twin and Gemini, his flintlock-looking pistols, from his ability space and trained them at Nero.

The masked man, for his part, quickly scooped up Shatter Will and threw it at Hal; the point was trained at the soldier's neck. Hal’s yellow eyes grew wide as he jumped to the side to avoid his own weapon. The large blade became imbedded in a fake tree as the Netzian soldier scrambled to regain his footing. Nero didn’t waste any time closing the gap once again. Hal ducked as the opponent's sharp blade sailed over his head and cut the tips of his green hair.

From low on the ground, Hal aimed his pistols up at Nero and discharged two energy blasts directly at the mask. Nero chuckled as he moved his head from side to side. The laser shots harmlessly sailed past in a feat that Hal wouldn't have believed if it wasn’t right in front of him.

“I’m afraid you’ll need some better toys to take me down.”

The masked man turned the point of his scythe to the ground and swung at Hal’s head. The Netzian soldier managed to jump back from his crouching position before the hit landed. He did a backward cartwheel to keep from stumbling.

The two pistols were put back in the ability space, and Hal reached for the next weapon. Nero planted the end of his scythe on the ground and used it to lean on as he mockingly waited for Hal to pull his next weapon out. Hal’s hands emerged back out with iron knuckles on them.

“Getting in close since I have a longer weapon. Sorry to say, I’ve seen it before,” Nero said with a laugh. Hal ignored his taunting and charged forward. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” The masked man shouted as he readied his scythe.

He swung at Hal, but the Netzian stopped short of the blade's range. While Nero was midswing, Hal aimed a flat palm at the masked man. Along spear fired from empty air with more force than possible if Hal had just thrown it. Nero’s eyes grew wide from behind his mask, and he only managed to twist his body slightly before the spear shot though his shoulder. He made several jumps backward away from Hal and laughed.

The Netzian soldier gritted his teeth, he had aimed at his opponent's heart, but Nero had been swift enough to take the blow in a less vital spot.

“I have to admit, I didn’t realize you had a move like that! It just makes me more excited to get to know you!” Nero’s mask hid a much more unsightly smile as he spoke.

Hal grunted. His ability allowed him to fire weapons, or any other objects in it, at an incredible speed—either one at a time or all at once. In most cases, he liked to avoid using the trick.

The space was ample, but it was not a big enough stockpile for him to fire weapons out like bullets, there was a possibility the weapons might get damaged from the attack, and he had to pick everything up to put back manually no matter where it landed. Due to that, Hal only used the attack as a secret move to surprise an opponent. It was less effective the second time, and now that Nero had seen it, he would know to watch out for the attack.

Nero giggled as he pulled the spear from his shoulder. The weapon was tossed aside, and the masked man made no indication he was affected at all.

Hal reached back into his space for another sword. He could tell this fight was going to be a tough one.

Nero's fierce intensity did not fade even as the battle wore on each of them. Hal couldn’t explain how he knew, but he would lose if the fight was dragged out.

He gritted his teeth as he reached into his ability space. He had already used his regular trump of firing a weapon, which proved ineffective. The green-haired Netzian knew that he would have to take a risk if he hoped to survive. From his space, he produced the odd weapon procured in Horizon.

As Hal held it ready, the pipe-looking object roared to life in a blade of fire.

“Oh, that’s something you don’t see every day. I guess you weren’t out of tricks yet!” Nero said through a laugh.

Hal didn’t answer but took a stance with the fiery sword blade as short as possible; the feature which changed the blade length was essential to keep unknown to his opponent. Nero made one last chuckle before leaping across the indoor park. As he flew through the air, he readied his scythe for a clean cut across Hal’s torso.

The green-haired Netzian, for his part, charged across the park with vigor. His teeth were clenched tight enough that one might expect them to suddenly shatter.

Hal moved the fiery sword to intercept the metal scythe as the two opponents came close. They collided not with a metal clang but a small burst of fire. Nero let out an audible ‘hmm’ as his weapon was stopped by the flame.

Hal was equally surprised. He had expected to cut the metal blade in two. The secret of how the strange weapon worked was only known by the creator, Savvy, and the Netzian soldier didn’t have too much care about the mechanics.

Without wasting too much time thinking about the blade, he immediately moved to strike Nero. The masked man spun his scythe playfully in a circle to block every blow from Hal. While the two exchanged blows, Nero walked backward and gave a confident chuckle. Hal continued to strike at every opening he saw on Nero, but each was proven to be a deception as the attacks were easily parried.

With each blow, he became more frustrated. As his anger increased, his attacks became sloppier and easier for Nero to read. A grin lined the face under his mask.

Hal attempted a broad swipe across Nero’s chest; it was a quick move in which the attacker would quickly switch to a forward stab instead of leaving a glaring opening. Nero leaned back to let the fiery blade move just in front of his chest; then, he stabbed Hal’s shoulder with the tip of his scythe before the Netzian could strike again.

Hal grunted but didn’t give in.

He took a step closer and tried the move a second time. Nero snorted as he leaned back once again to avoid the strike.

Hal slid his hand on the hilt of the sword while midswing. The blade suddenly grew in size as it had done in his test. Nero was unprepared as the longer flame blade burned a sear across his chest. The clothes gave way to expose a freshly new burned cut across Netzian skin.

Instead of crying in pain, Nero let out a bloodthirsty laugh.

He leaped away from Hal and rubbed the new wound. The mark from left from the blade was deep and long. Had The Netzian soldier been more accustomed to using it, the cut would have been much deeper. It was likely that the masked man himself could have been sliced in half. Hal mentally kicked himself at the failure. He had missed another chance to take the upper hand.

“You’re a handy guy! I can see you being trouble later on at this rate.” Nero turned his scythe so that the reflection showed Hal in it. “I’m afraid I can’t play any longer; please save me space in the underworld. Or, at least, I’d like to say that….”

The masked man suddenly increased in speed—faster than he had been before—and appeared in front of Hal. The Netzian soldier held his blade up in defense and was batted away like a baseball. He crashed into the mountain in the center of the park and cried.

If malice hung like a cloud, Hal would have sworn the whole room was filled with it. Nero began to hum a haunting tune as he scrapped the scythe on the ground. As a screeching wail echoed in the room from the blade, he added words to his song.

“♪Oh, how sad, the little boy is dead, oh how glad, the little boy is dead. ♪”

Hal quickly pulled the power source off his sword and put both items back into the ability space. He produced a long rifle that looked like it might be more at home in the earth’s first world war. He fired off two energy shots before fleeing into the hotel halls.

“You can run, but it only excites the predator!” Nero shouted back. He spun his scythe in one hand before chasing after the green-haired Netzian.