Rest assured that I am reading, even if I donât have anything to say about the current bit. I donât like to comment when I have nothing of interest to say. 
And rest assured that I AM working on the next part, guys; itâs just that the Holidays have slowed me down a bit (got lots of people to help for Xmas! 
) plus Iâm doing a LOT of research for the story as well. Expect the next part soon. Oh and thanks for letting me you are reading, I appreciate it! 
Finally! After an unplanned Holiday hiatus, the story continues! Hope it was worth your waitâŚ
-A Short While Later-
-ââŚAnd in conclusion, of all three worlds, I feel that Ar Ciel is the one that deserves our attention the most. Not only does its shattered state keep its landmasses isolated from each other, but its sound-based magitechnology is quite unique in the multiverse⌠to say nothing of the Reyvateils. I think youâll realize how an all-female race whose minds can be cybernetically reprogrammed would be a great temptation for interdimensional slavers.â
-âIndeedâ Weiila nodded, as Wilfredo finished his report. âVery wellâ she then added, âIâll have some of our volunteer agents keep an eye on it. Anything else to add?â
-âNo, thatâs it.â
-âGood. Thanks again, Wil. Iâll contact you if anything comes up.â
Wilfredo nodded, got up his chair, and walked out of Weiilaâs office. He felt satisfied that heâd done his part to help keep the multiverse a safer place, for now.
-OK, now what? he thought, as he stood in the hall. He had no immediate concerns. Maybe he should head to the cafeteria and have brunch while he planned what to do nextâŚ
-âWil!â a male voice suddenly called behind him.
He turned around, and saw a young man standing not far away from him. He had slick hair combed to the side, and a beaming smile. He was wearing a white suit of light armor, with two swords strapped to his sides. At first, though, Wil didnât recognize him.
The young man approached him with a friendly demeanor. âWhen did you get back? I heard you were gone on a special mission or something.â
Wilfredo cocked a hairy eyebrow as recognition dawned on him. ââŚOmegaflare?â he asked cautiously.
-âYeah, itâs me!â he responded happily. âBut itâs just Omega now. Easier to pronounce, youâ know.â
Wilfredo let out a hearty laugh. âWhy, kid, it IS you! Man, I hadnât seen you in a long time. Youâve changed, boy.â
-âHeey, Iâm not a boy anymore, Iâve grown upâ the young warrior responded playfully.
-âYouâve also bulked up. Been training hard?â
-âYou bet! Iâve been doing some world exploring of my own. Fighting a lot of monsters helps build some muscles! Hey, are you doing anything now?â
-âNot particularlyâ the older adventurer said.
-âGood! Then letâs go over to the cafeteria, so I can tell you all about my adventures.â
-âSure, I was heading there anyway. Letâs go!â Wilfredo said smiling, and gave Omega a friendly pat on the back as they walked towards the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the RPGC Headquarters:
-ââŚAnd over here is the Arenaâ Kairi explained, as she continued to show Leareth around the place, arms still firmly locked around his.
-âArena?â the youngster asked.
-âOh, thatâs just what we call it. Itâs really a combat room, where we train by fighting each other. NOT to the death, of courseâ she giggled.
-âInterestingâŚâ
-âOh, look!â the white-haired girl said, âLooks like somebody is actually training now! Letâs go have a look!â
The two of them walked towards a large window that peered into a small room, where two figures could be seen trading blows. One was a dark-haired man with wings, wearing a white and black suit with silvery armlets and shin guards, who was flying above his opponent. The other was a tall man, covered from head to toe in a white, futuristic-looking armor, who also had feathery wings, though he was just standing on the ground at the moment, dodging and blocking his flying opponentâs blows.
-âCool! Heavenâs Soldier and Manus Dei are sparring! They are some of our best warriors. This should be great to see!â Kairi said excitedly.
Leareth, however, had a shocked expression on his face, not so much for what he saw as for what he could feel coming from the winged warriors. However, he returned his expression to normal before his companion could notice.
-âHeavenâs Soldier is the one with the two katanas strapped on his back. He never uses them, donât ask me why. Makes you wonder why he bothers carrying themâ Kairi continued explaining. âThe other one is Manus. Iâve never seen his face. He is somebody important from, uum, well Iâm not sure, but heâs greatly respected by everybody, so he must be a prince or something.â
Right then, the two warriors suddenly stopped fighting, and bowed to each other respectfully.
-âOh, looks like they are done. Hey, maybe we should go talk to them-â
-âErr, Kairi, this is cool and everything, but Iâm- really hungry, all of a sudden. Does this place have a cafeteria or something?â Leareth suddenly asked.
-âOh, sure!â she replied. âSorry, Iâve been so excited about being the one who gets to explain things around here for once, that I guess I forgot it was time for lunchâ she said in a somewhat embarrassed tone.
-"No, itâs OKâ Leareth reassured her. âLetâs just go eat something now. My treat.â
-âOK!â Kairi said merrily, as the two of them walked away from the Arena, not noticing how Leareth kept looking over his shoulder towards itâŚ
A WAREHOUSE SOMEWHERE IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK CITY:
KABLAMM!! The sounds of gunfire suddenly shattered the silence of the night, coming from inside the warehouse. A window suddenly exploded into a thousand fragments, as a figure leaped out of it and onto the snow-covered roof of a nearby building. The figure, a tall man with dark hair and shades, wearing a black longcoat and carrying a pistol on each hand, rolled back to his feet and turned back to look at where he had come from.
BLAM BLAM BLAM!! More gunshots came out of the shattered window, whizzing by frightfully close to the dark man, who quickly turned around and ran away, jumping from rooftop to rooftop while spying back to see if he was being pursued. Luckily this area of the city had alleys small enough for him to jump across, though even for him it was a strain. The one thing he couldnât find, however, were stairs, or some other way to get to street level. At least, the abundance of pipes, chimneys, antennas and other objects served as a cover from the gunfire.
After running for several minutes, the dark man dared to stop to catch his breath, hiding behind a brick chimney. Cautiously he looked back, guns at the ready. He did not see any sign of pursuit, but he knew his foe, and he knew he would not give up so easily.
-Damn, how can he be alive? he thought. I killed him. I KNOW I killed him. I even checked his corpse myself, blast it! he mentally cursed. UnlessâŚ
Suddenly, the sound of steps caught his attention. He peered out again. A figure was walking on the same roof, not too far away.
It was a large- no, huge- man, with almost inhuman features, all dressed in gray, with scraggly blonde hair and small eyes, also carrying two guns.
-âGleeenton!â the man screamed. âI know you here! Show up, coward!!â he said, in a thick foreign accent.
It was him, all right: The Russian, an internationally known assassin. Or he was, until he made the mistake of accepting a hit on PC Glenton, the worldâs greatest thief- and occasional hitman himself.
-âIt is I, Glenton!â the man laughed. âI come back from Hell, to finish you off! Come out and plaaay!â
Glenton had no intention of âplayingâ if he could avoid it, especially with such a dangerous opponent. He looked around- and saw that the nearest alley was far too wide for him to jump across. His luck had run out.
-âRussian!â the thief shouted. âWhatever they are paying you, I can-â
-âThis is NOT about Money!â the raging man shouted back in the direction Glentonâs voice had come from. âThis is about- REEEVENNNGE!!!â And then started shooting again. BLABLABLABLABLABLABLAMM!!!
The bullets tore through the chimney âand everything around it- like they were made of cardboard.
Several seconds later, The Russian stopped firing, and looked at the result of his handiwork. The brick chimney was in shambles, and the roof was covered with debris.
But there was no corpse.
-âHuh?â The assassin was momentarily stunned. He looked around, but saw no sign of his hated foe. But there was no room for him to flee, unless he had jumped down to the street, which was certain death.
Before he could approach the edge of the building to check, something fell on the snow near his feet. He quickly readied his guns again, but it wasnât Glenton. It was a small, round, smoking object-
-a GRENADE!
-âNO!!â The Russian shouted. âNOT AGAI-â
BOOOOMM!!!
The shockwaves from the explosion almost knocked Glenton from the edge of the roof that heâd been hanging on by his fingers, but he managed to hold on. He waited a few seconds, and then pulled himself up enough to peek at the still-smoking roof.
There was a huge smoking hole on the roof, and all around it, the bloody, torn remnants of a human body.
Glenton pulled himself all the way up, and surveyed the destruction. THIS time, The Russian was dead. He HAD to be. Normally he didnât carry such heavy explosives with him, but luckily his next âjobâ required their use.
The sounds of sirens snapped him back to reality. Of course all of this racket had to attract attention. He needed to find a way down, quickly-
-âExcellent workâ a male voice said from behind him.
-WHAT? Glenton thought in shock, as he instinctively turned around and pulled his pistols out. There, standing not far from him, was a short man, wearing a tuxedo, with long black hair tied back into a tail, black eyes, a black beard, and a sinister smile.
-âDonât worry. The Police wonât find us. Yet.â The man said, completely matter-of-factly.
-âWho the hell are youâ Glenton asked, guns aimed squarely at the strangerâs face, âAnd how did you get so close to me without my noticing?â
-âThatâs a secretâ the man said, smiling even more, apparently unafraid of the weapons pointed his way. âYou may call me⌠Mr. Scratch. And Iâm here to offer you a deal.â
Glenton found himself blinking. The whole thing was surreal. He was standing in a bombed-out roof, with a stranger who popped up out of nowhere offering him a deal? For a moment, he wondered if he was suffering from a concussion from the blast.
-âI work for- a very important manâ Scratch continued. âHeâs interested in hiring your services-â
-âTell me how you got hereâ Glenton insisted, weaving one of the guns on Scratchâs face.
-âMagic, of courseâ Scratch happily replied.
-Of course Glenton cursed internally. It just HAD to be magic.
He then turned around, and started walking away.
-âWait!â Scratch called after him. âI know about your- problem with magic. I can fix that for you, if you want.â
Glenton stopped. He thought about it for a moment. Magic users had always been the bane of his existence. He was even more susceptible to it than average people, a fact he kept as much of a secret as he could. That this man knew about it only made him more amazing. Perhaps he could actually help him?
And yet, there was something about him- nothing physical, as far as he could tell, but- something in glentonâs being was telling him to avoid this strange man.
-âForget itâ he said, and continued walking away.
He didnât get very far, thought, before Scratch said, âWe can bring her back, you know.â
This time Glenton literally froze on his tracks. He couldnât be talking about-
-âYesâ
Scratch said, triumphantly. âI am talking about- Miaâ
Glenton turned around, slowly. Even with his shades on, his fury was apparent. âDonât⌠you⌠DARE speak her name!â
But Scratch was unfazed. âWe can bring her back. Just like we did The Russian.â
The realization hit Glenton hard. âYou- it was you??â
-âYes. Nothing personal, of course. He had a deal with us, you see. It was just business. His vendetta against you was not our fault.â
Glenton continued to stare at Scratch.
-âThe point isâ Scratch continued, âThat we CAN bring the dead back to life, no matter how they died. And all we require of you in exchange is a small favorâŚâ
----TO BE CONTINUEDâ
WRITERâS NOTES:
-Ar Ciel is the setting of the AR TONELICO rpgs
-The Russian is a character from the PUNISHER comic books.
Hey cool⌠nice update Wil, and no worries about taking a Holiday Hiatus. It was worth the wait after all.
And nice to see some more RPGCers showing up. And a sparring match with Manus, not bad⌠not bad at all.
Canât wait to see what these guys want Glenton to do.
Oh hay there, is that some plot? Why, yes it is! How did THAT get there.
Heh. At least this time the Russian wasnât cross dressing.
But, I loved how you handled my character, Wil. And the story looks very promising.
Also love the touch with Mia⌠though, I am going to have to hurt you later. Matter of principle, I hope you understand.
Yay! Free food!
Nice bit with the Russian, Wil. Made me laugh thinking of him rounding the corner with an Ah-ha! look on his face.
Heheh, free food is a very good way of distracting anyone, be it man or woman.
-RPGC HEADQUARTERS: -
-ââŚAnd now they are back to a Dark Blue themeâ Kairi said, as she and Leareth walked along the castleâs halls. âWhich Iâm glad for. A few years back, somebody decided to paint everything here purple. I mean, EVERYTHING, even the potted plants! It was disgusting! Whose idea was that?â
Leareth smiled as she continued to talk endlessly. He actually did not mind it; he found he enjoyed her company, and not just because she was pretty attractive.
-âOh, finally!â she continued. âHereâs the cafeteria!â as they stopped in front of a set of double doors.
-âLet me hold open the door for youâ he said.
-âWhy, thank youâ she giggled. The blond boy reached for the door, pushed it open-
-And came face to snout with a GREEN DRAGON!
-âAAAAH!â the boy gasped, jumping back in shock.
-âNononono, itâs OK!â Kairi quickly explained. âThis is Bahamut, heâs one of us!â
It was then that Leareth noticed that the Dragon âwho was only slightly bigger than a human being- was standing erect, and was wearing a blue cloak.
-âLet me guess- new member, right?â Bahamut said, in a powerful, yet noble voice.
Behind him, some laughter could be heard coming from inside the cafeteria.
-âOh, shut up. Like you didnât jump out of your skin when we first metâ Bahamut shouted back at the people inside.
-âMr. Bahamut, this is my friend Leareth, and yes, heâs a new memberâ Kairi explained.
-âErr⌠nice to meet you, Mr. Bahamut. Um, sorry about that.â
-âItâs OK, son. I understand the reaction perfectly. Intelligent Draconians such as my people seem to be rare in the Multiverse; most Dragons are indeed fearsome brutes. By the way, my name is Xero. âBahamutâ is just my royal title.â
-âRoyal title?â
-âOh yesâ Kairi continued to explain. âMister- I mean Xero is the king of his people! And yet, he often hangs out around here. Can you believe it?â
-âI find the atmosphere here more relaxing than my royal court, to be honestâ the Dragon said. âBut, I see Iâm blocking your way in. My apologiesâ the large reptile said, as he moved aside.
-âThank you!â Kairi said, then again grabbed the still-somewhat flabbergasted Leareth and pulled him inside.
There were several people inside, lounging around in several tables. They looked quite unusual, but at least most of them looked human, Leareth noted.
Two young men were leaning against a counter, looking at the arriving couple, and trying to suppress their giggles, not very successfully. One of them had spiky, sorta-purplish hair and was wearing a greenish adventuring suit; the other had bluish hair and wore a blue-and-white skintight suit. Behind the counter, a young man with blonde hair and glasses looked at them disapprovingly. On a nearby table, a blonde woman in armor drank and an Asiatic young man wearing casual clothes also stared at the snickering duo.
-âCome on guys, cut it outâ the blonde youngster said.
-âAww, you know we donât mean anything, Pokeâ the spiky-haired one said. âDonât tell me you didnât find that funny.â
Kairi pulled Leareth with her up to the counter. âItâs Ok, guys, I know youâre always cracking jokes. I actually like them, most of the timeâ she said. âLeareth, this is GG Crono. Heâs, well, uh-â
-âAhh, come out and say it, Kai. Iâm nobody. A big zero. Zip. Nada.â
Leareth raised an eyebrow at the comment.
-âWhat GG meansâ the blue haired young man next to him explained, âIs that he has no memory of who he is. Classic case of amnesia. Doesnât seem to bother him much, tho.â
-âHey, why worry about what you donât remember?â
-âButâ Leareth asked, âYou donât worry about your past? About loved ones who might miss you⌠or enemies who might be looking for you?â
Crono shrugged. âOh, I know about that. But, it isnât like I can do anything about it, so why worry?â he explained, then took another sip from his drink.
-âHello, Mab!â Kairi said to the blue-dressed fellow. âLear, this is Mabatsekker, an actual superhero from Finland! Hey, whereâs Kat-Chi?â
-âSheâs out shopping. I love her lots, but Iâd rather hang here than follow her around buying stuff for hours.â
-âOhh, youâre just like all guysâ Kairi snorted.
-âHey folks, want something to drink?â the guy behind the counter said. âI got some ready-made coffee, and muffins to go with it!â
-âSure thing, Poke! Oh, and Learâs paying, btwâ she said, winking.
-âEhh, I guess I amâ he said, passing a hand through his hair in an aw-shucks type of gesture.
-âNaah, this is on the houseâ Poke said. âConsider it a welcome-to-the-clubhouse gift.â
-âCoffee, mehâ the armored woman said. âThatâs for civilized namby-pambies. REAL adventures drink ale!â and she took another swig from her frothy mug.
-âYou just want to trick the poor new guy into a drinking contest, Valâ the Asian next to her said. âDonât fall for it- sheâs immune to the stuff!â
-âYou just had to ruin my fun, eh, Lex?â Valkyrie snapped.
Everyone in the room (except Val) laughed at that.
Leareth found himself laughing as well. The atmosphere in the room was surprisingly friendly and inviting. These may be extraordinary people, yet he found them surprisingly⌠normal. And, he had to admit, he liked them, so far.
He smiled for a moment, but then he remembered his mission- and grew serious againâŚ
NEXT: Enough with the exposition! Next chapter, THE ACTION REALLY BEGINS!!!
(Those of who you havenât been introduced yet: donât worry, you will be later. Youâll understand why as the plot develops.)
Oooo⌠even more regulars showing up, nice.
And this is getting almost spine-tingling good, with this spy in our presence and all⌠I wonder just what could his mission be.
Oh please, please tell me I get to torch hm⌠:hahaha;
âŚwatches as Xero ties him to a post and lights a bonfire under him âŚI am a creature of HellâŚDammit! Iâm not a witch!!
TrkJac enjoys.
Not exactly what I had in mindâŚbut that works too
Hmmm⌠Where did Wil go? Canât wait for more.
You know been wonderng that myself Manus. Usually Wil gives an update if he is going to take a while with something, or if things have gotten in the way of his writing.
Hope you are doing okay Wil.
Iâm here, guys. Sorry, but I got waylaid by Real Life, as usual. 
Iâve been busy with work (without warning) for the past few weeks, and then I found myself with little energy to write afterwards. But Iâm feeling better now and I have time to write again, so expect an update soon. And thanks for worrying.
Wil, I might suggest, if possible, rewriting your story so the holiday thing is downplayed as much as possible. Just because while it might have worked when you started, itâs now March. I mean, I don;t know if you stillw ant tot ry to work it in, but⌠yeah, just try to make it an AnyTime scenario.
Also, gief valkyrie wrestling and banana bombs! Woot!