Disclaimer: The original Phantasy Star games, the Phantasy Star Online series, and all related characters are the creation and property of Sega.

This is a story that was completed on 3-21-2007, and I'm now adding to this archive.

She looked down, all around her. The sun was just starting to rise, and the light of the early morning was more than enough to let her clearly see her surroundings. Though it was mostly an endless expanse of sand, occassionally there were some cacti or a few rocks. Alis remembered how those cacti and rocks were deadly obstacles when she sped by them in her landrover. Now, even the tallest cacti just reached barely above her ankle. Just another indictor of how monstrously enormous she really was. She smiled at that reminder, once again feeling as if nothing could stop her, that she had nothing to worry about....

For a moment, it was enough to improve her sour mood. But soon, her frustration toward her comrades came rushing back. I thought they trusted me, she thought, bitterness welling up inside her. I thought they'd follow me, help me do whatever it took to get revenge. Well, if they're not willing to take my side at a time like this, then I don't need them!

Alis let her bitter thoughts fester within her as she kept stomping across the sand dunes of Motavia, carving a path through dune formations that had stood for centuries. But eventually, she realized she didn't really know exactly where the factory was. She only had a vague idea from what Myau told her, and after wandering aimlessly in one direction, she wasn't even sure where she was anymore. Oh great. It's not like I can go back and ask Myau for exact directions, seeing as how they're all against me, she realized glumly.

However, just as she was about to give up hope, she noticed a small bit of smoke rising in the distance. It was about a hundred feet away from her perspective, but in reality, it was well over a mile. Curious, Alis slowly approached, and she breached the distance in no time. She looked down again, seeing a campfire, and the camp's two occupants were Motavians. One was fast asleep, curled up in a sleeping bag, but the other was taking watch, holding a pistol.

The Motavian looked up at the giantess, his beady red eyes filled with confusion and fear. He couldn't even bring himself to aim his pistol up at Alis. For a moment, Alis smiled down at him. Motavians rather looked like antropomorphic rats with beak-like mouths, typically just a little shorter than Alis was. But now, they looked like pet mice, and downright cute. Alis felt a little awkward, seeing as how she didn't mean to frighten this Motavian, despite her bad mood. However, she soon got over it and waved down at him awkwardly. "Uh, hi...." she managed to get out.

The Motavian said nothing. He simply kept staring up at Alis, no doubt still expecting to be squashed any second. Alis decided to break the awkward silence again, figuring this Motavian may be able to help her. "Uh, this may sound crazy, but...do you know which way Uzo is? I'm a little lost," she asked delicately, trying to sound unthreatening. This Motavian wouldn't be much use if he was too scared to answer.

For a few moments, he kept on staring up nervously at Alis. But eventually, he pointed behind him with his free hand, indicating a dirction slightly to the left of the path she'd been taking.

"Uh, OK. Thanks," she said to him, trying to sound grateful. Then she was on her way, taking one broad step over their campsite. Alis only belatedly realized she had probably just given that Motavian a clear view up her skirt. DAMNIT! she thought angrily, now embarrassed. Well, it's no big deal, I guess. And who'd believe him if he bragged out seeing up a giant Palman girl's skirt anyway?

And so, Alis trudged on in the direction the Motavian had pointed out. Myau said the factory was pretty much directly north of Uzo. Hapsby always tends to land to Luveno in a northward direction, so finding my way won't be hard after that....

Eventually, Alis made her way to the outskirts of Uzo. As she neared the town, however, she noticed some children playing, climbing over a large rock. Miraculously, they didn't seem to notice her. Alis hoped she could get by without scaring those kids silly and causing further embarrassment. But as she started to move off to get around the rock they were playing on, she noticed a sandworm suddenly emerging near the kids, poised to strike.

There was no thought on Alis's part. Acting on instinct, she bolted toward the rock. One of the kids - a little girl, who was climbing the side of the rock - suddenly turned and spotted the monster. She let out a scream of terror as the sandworm arched back. But before it could lash out, Alis had reached the rock and effortlessly snatched up the sandworm. To her, it was like grasping a small piece of rope. Alis threw it down against the sand, then before it could do anything else, she unsheathed her sword and cut it in two.

Alis stared at the downed monster for a moment, breathing heavily. Then she turned and looked at the children on the rock. Just like the Motavian was moments ago, they all stared blankly at the giantess in stunned silence. Alis stared back at them for a few moments, until she finally said, "Uh, you kids shouldn't be, um, playing so far away from the town. Monsters and all that."

The children merely stared back, no doubt regarding her as a monster herself. Oh, this is useless, she thought, embarrassed yet again. Hopefully those kids'll get the message and go home. With that, she strode off toward Uzo again. Eventually, she came up to the town from its eastern side, hoping that no one else saw her. Her hopes were quickly dashed, however, when she heard faint screams coming from the inside of the town. No doubt whoever saw her figured she was the newest scourge sent out by Lassic.

Oh lovely, Alis thought dejectedly, sickened by the notion that anyone could ever consider HER one of Lassic's minions. Better cut out before they really start panicking. She glanced down at the Luveno, which, miraculously, was still in the same spot where Haspby landed it yesterday. Without another second's delay, she took off in the direction the Luveno's nose was pointing in, leaving a town which was no doubt full of panicked people behind her. It's no big deal, she assured herself. Besides, once I'm done with this little chore, they'll have less to really worry about.

Alis's tedious trek across Motavia continued. For what seemed like an eternity, she trudged on, with what looked like an endless field of ravenous antlions to her left. The nauseating memory the sight of them evoked made Alis reflexively cover her mouth. Ack, hopefully I'll have this wrapped up before I get too hungry again. If I have to eat another one of those...THINGS.... That was the undeniable downside to being a towering giantess: it was way too hard to get a decent meal.

Eventually, though, Alis spotted what signalled the end of her journey, far off in the distance. From her unique vantage point, she could clearly see an arrangement of antlion pits that made the shape of an arrow, pointing northwest. "There it is! If Myau was right, the factory's just ahead!" she exclaimed excitedly. She realized that every Robotcop in the factory must've heard her outburst, but she didn't care. So what if they had advance warning? It'd be like being warned a tornado or a tsunami was coming. Sure, you KNEW it was coming, but what could you actually DO about it?

Smiling wickedly, Alis unsheathed her trusty laconian sword, all the while gathering up her stored power, letting it rush to the surface. She was thrilled to feel that, after having had time to rest, her magic power was once again at its peak. Strangely, though, the laconian sword didn't pulsate with as much power as it usually did. Alis didn't give it much thought, chalking it up to being some problem caused by its increase in mass. She made one broad swipe with her sword, which kicked up a wind that would've flattened anyone standing nearby, then she charged ahead.

Sure enough, within seconds, she spotted a large structure up ahead. It had a three-story base like that of the bottom of a pyramid, just like the temple that served as a hideaway for Lassic's wretched monster, Medusa. And jutting out from the top were two rows of large smokestacks, four in each row, that were spewing out countless tons of acrid fumes into the atmosphere. And Alis could clearly hear the clangorous sound of heavy machinery, even though she was still several hundred feet away.

Couldn't be more obvious that I've just found what I'm looking for, Alis thought vindictively as she continued her charge. Can't believe we missed this before, when....

Suddenly, another thunderous noise mixed in with that of the factory's machinery: the start-up of engines from fighter ships. A second later, Alis saw them emerge from some hangar behind the factory. They quickly turned about and flew directly at Alis, immediately opening fire upon her. Alis almost laughed as she brought her shield out; the blaster fire ricocheted harmlessly off the metal. One or two blasts struck her in the leg, but did no more than slightly burn her. Please, you think a little burn'll stop me? I've suffered far worse, she thought mockingly as she bolted forward again. Before the Robotcops piloting the ships had a chance to react, Alis was all over them. Her laconian sword tore through one of them like a knife through butter; it exploded in a dazzling flash of pyrotechnics, but Alis turned her face away before she could be blinded. As she did so, she swung her sword around again, slicing through another one.

As she turned away from the second explosion, she felt blaster fire strike the small of her back, which wasn't covered by her diamond armor. She also heard the sound of torpedoes being fired. Acting with the speed of thought, Alis ducked down and rolled forward. She both heard and felt the torpedoes go off some distance behind her after smacking into the sandy ground. I'll have to be more careful. I'm sure those torpedoes can home in on me, she realized.

Alis quickly stood up, facing the oncoming ships. They opened fire again with their blasters, but Alis was ready. She dashed to the side to avoid the barrage, putting away her shield as she did so. Then, she started gathering power within her free hand. Before any of the ships could open fire again, Alis cut loose with her patented double fireball blast. Both of her shots were right on the money, and the two ships erupted in a blinding flash of flames. A third ship was then trying to make another head-on assault, but Alis bolted forward again and swatted it out of the sky with her sword.

Alis, five. Useless toy ships, zero. So far, another shutout for yours truly, Alis thought triumphantly, joy and pride swelling up within her. Just like Wren said, her gangantuan size was a major tactical advantage that just begged to be exploited. And so far, taking down even the toughest machines had proven to be SO RIDICULOUSLY EASY! No sense in stopping now! Alis reasoned just as more ships moved in for another pass, firing torpedoes. She brought out her shield again, which easily blocked them; she barely even felt the explosions! It served to increase her already heady sense of power even more.

Just as she was ready to charge at the ships with her sword, before they could fly off, Alis heard something else: the faint but distinct noise of landrover treads. She looked to her right, and sure enough, several landrover-tanks were quickly approaching. Several dozen Robotcops, approaching on foot and armed with what looked like surface-to-air missile launchers, accompanied them. The cannons mounted on the landrover-tanks looked ready to fire upon her. And fire they did, sending missiles out right for her. Alis easily blocked them with her shield, but more ships moved in behind her and bombarded her with blaster fire. This time, they inflicted a lot more pain, making Alis wince and her eyes water. Urgh. Coming at me from all sides, she realized angrily. Better do something to shake things up a bit.

And Alis had a good idea about how to do just that. She darted toward the armada of landrover-tanks, and before they could fire again, Alis lashed out with a kick at the nearest one. Her foot smashed into the landrover-tank with titanic force, sending it flying into the rest of the formation with a mind-boggling velocity. It steamrolled through any other landrover-tank in its path with ridiculous ease, laying waste to at least a dozen of them, along with several scores of Robotcops, before finally coming to a halt, several hundred feet away.

However, the landrover-tanks that were still intact, and the remaining Robotcops, simultaneously opened fire, sending out a deadly rain of missiles at Alis...for all the good it did them. Alis simply ducked down slightly and held out her shield. All of the missiles either harmlessly struck her diamond armor or her laconian shield. The explosions rattled her for a moment, but soon she was react to act again. While safely behind her shield, she sheathed her sword and collected power into her right hand. Then, while there was a slight lull in the enemy's fire, she cut loose with another double fireball blast. The raging inferno that roared across the sands incinerated any Robotcops that were on foot in the blink of an eye, and reduced whatever landrover-tanks that remained to twisted, charred scrap metal. And when the fires had died down, Alis was astonished to see that the intense heat had actually turned a good stretch of the sandy ground into a sheet of glass!

The sound of the ships' engines snapped Alis back to attention. She turned around just in time to see three more ships coming right at her, firing more torpedoes. She easily blocked the volley of torpedoes with her shield, then she took a few steps forward and swung her sword again. However, this time the ships broke formation and veered off in all directions. Then they came at her from all sides, wildly cutting loose with blaster fire.

"OwWww!!" Alis cried angrily as the blaster fire scorched her skin. They're adapting. Finally using what they have for brains and not letting me get a clean hit in, she reasoned. Sighing, Alis took a good look all around her. They were all circling her while keeping a distance of several hundred feet. Suddenly, one of them turned toward her, no doubt to quickly fire at her again before veering off. A sudden idea popped into Alis's head. When it got near enough to fire upon her, Alis let it. She easily blocked the torpedoes with her shield yet again.

But when it veered off, Alis lashed out with an outstretched hand and called upon her magic. This time, however, she used her rope spell. Before the ship's pilot could do anything, cords of ropes several feet in diameter wrapped themselves around the fighter. Alis clenched the ends of the ropes securely in her hand, and gave them a forecful tug. The ship snapped back, and Alis began to swing the ship around like a giant mace. Once another ship tried to move in, Alis timed her move carefully...and hurled the bound ship right at it! They collided in midair and the shattering impact decimated them instantly.

"Only one left!" Alis cried triumphantly as she rushed at the last ship, which was just beginning to move in as well. It opened fire with blasters, but Alis laughed disdainfully as the weapon fire bounced harmlessly off her shield and breast plate. She unsheathed her sword again, and managed to slice the final ship apart before it could fly away. Alis watched its mutilated remains clatter noisily to the ground, embedding themselves into the sand and kicking up a thick cloud as they did so.

For several minutes, Alis stared down approvingly at her handiwork, breathing heavily, full of vindictive delight. Not a bad way to spend a morning, she thought wickedly. Eventually, she decided it was time to get back to business, so she turned and walked back over to the factory. She walked over the long stretch of land she'd turned into a sheet of glass; the sheet cracked and shattered noisily under her oppressive weight, and she lazily kicked aside the scorched remains of the landrover-tanks she fried moments ago.

She stood beside the factory for a moment and looked up; the smokestacks were quite a bit taller than she was, and the rest of the factory looked sturdily built. Alis guessed it was probably built to withstand just about any imaginable disaster. Of course, no one could've imagined a giant, rampaging girl hellbent on wreaking havoc would ever come along. Hmmm, how should I go about this? Alis pondered, scratching her chin. She looked at the smokestacks again, which were still spewing out pollutants. Then she looked down at the factory's ground level, and finally noticed some Motavians had managed to escape in the confusion. A few were pouring out of an exit right next to her feet. Alis reflexively took a step back as the panicked Motavians made a mad dash for freedom, occassionally glancing up fearfully at her.

Oh that's right! How could I have forgotten!? she thought, mentally chiding herself. Part of the reason I came here was to free the enslaved Motavians! So....

Alis knelt down and dug her fingers into the factory walls. Even the special, reinforced steel alloy instantly caved against her unfathomable strength. She easily began pulling the metal walls off the factory, exposing the main assembly area inside. Soon enough, Alis could get a good look at the inside, seeing all the complex machinery and manufacturing equipment...not to mention scores of panicked and confused Motavians.

"Uh, hi," Alis said sheepishly, afraid that anything she said would cause more of a panic instead of getting the Motavians to calm down. She was proven right. They screamed even louder than ever, tripping and trampling over each other as they fled in all directions. Alis sighed as she watched the chaos unfold. Once again, she was swiftly losing her patience. "ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP!" she thundered, and it finally seemed like she got their attention. "I came here to help all of you escape, and to level this place! I'm going to get you all out of here, but I need you all to do one thing first!"

All the Motavians had finally stopped buzzing around like crazed owl bears and were staring right at her. Encouraged, Alis went on. "I'm also here looking for a prisoner: an old Esper by the name of Tarzimal. If he's here, I need you to find him. Once I know whether or not he's here, I'm gonna bring the whole place down."

Alis heard the Motavians start to mutter among themselves. It was taking them quite a while to decide whether they'd help her. But just when Alis was about to speak up again and demand that they answer, one of the Motavians finally spoke up. "Uh, OK, we-we'll all look," he squeaked. It took a few moments longer, but the rest of the Motavians dispersed, off to search the rest of the factory.

Well, they probably won't run into much resistance. Most of the Robotcops here were probably sent outside to fight me...and get squashed, she thought as she watched them go. Sighing again, Alis sat one the ground and waited for any word from the Motavians. Here was another downside to being a giantess: there were so many places you couldn't fit in, and you had to rely on others. Alis fidgeted impatiently as she was kept waiting. Occassionally, she thought she heard more ship engines getting closer, but it was merely a hot, sandy wind blowing across the land. Still, it served to make her much more antsy than before.

After an absurdly long wait, Alis heard someone yelling from down below. Looking down, she saw a group of Motavians, armed with weapons obviously dropped by Robotcops. The same Motavian that had talked to her earlier spoke up again. "We, uh, we search the whole factory and all the levels below, but, um, there were no prisoners."

Aw damnit, I was sure he'd be here, she thought angrily. Then she looked at the rifle the Motavian was holding. "You, uh, didn't run into much resistance, did you?" she asked delicately.

He shook his head. "We didn't have much trouble overrunning the rest of the Robotcops. A few of use got wounded, but nothing serious."

Alis raised an eyebrow. Funny. Wonder why there weren't more still around. Surely not ALL of them were sent out fight me, now that I think about it, she pondered. Out loud, she said, "Alright, have your people clear out of this dump. Time to do what I came here to do."

The Motavians didn't need to be told twice. Fortunately, there were several working landrovers in the hangars, and the rest of the Motavians were able to pour into them and drive off. Once they were all clear, Alis didn't waste any time getting to work. She walked around to the other side of the factory, then pulled her foot back and slammed it into the factory as hard as she could. The metal instantly caved from the sheer force, and her boot smashed right into the facility, wrecking anything and everything it touched. Alis proceeded to land a few more kicks in the side of the factory, sending large chunks of metal and machinery flying everywhere. Then she unsheathed her sword and repeatedly thrust it deep into the factory, determined to plow into the lower levels and wreck them completely. She wanted to make sure no one could ever use this facotry again for a long, long time.

After a few more thrusts and swipes, Alis decided it was really time to get her hands dirty. She reached deep into the gaping holes she had created and grasped at whatever machines her fingers brushed up against. She would then tear out handfuls of wreck machinery and toss it aside, then reached in to repeat the process again and again. But eventually, Alis got the feeling she was wasting too much time and energy using her bare hands. Forget this, she thought as she gathered up power, then flung fireballs into the gutted factory. Flames roared within the factory, which soon spewed outward after whatever fossil fuels and combustible materials that were inside had ignited. Satisfied with that, she unsheathed her sword a final time and sliced apart all eight billowing smokestacks, leaving the factory completely demolished.

For a while, Alis stared at the smoldering remains of the factory, smiling broadly. Noah and the others can't possibly find any fault with this, she thought to herself. A factory that churned out nothing but killing machines has been razed to the ground, and all the native people Lassic enslaved are free! There really is no limit to what I can do now! And to think, Noah kep insisting that no good would come from me venting all my anger....

But the thought of Noah immediately put a damper on her spirits. That's right, I better head back before they try doing something without me, Alis thought. She turned from the burning factory and began her long trek back to her cave, stomping across Motavia's sandy expanse yet again. And I'll have to tell Noah I couldn't find Tarzimal after all, she realized, feeling surprised by how deeply she felt disappointed with herself, despite everything else she had just done. It was as if...she couldn't bear letting him down.

Oh, why would that be!? she thought frustratedly. He's the one who let ME down! All of them! I thought they had accepted me as their leader, and they had the nerve to question me! Well, this'll show them who's the boss....

And with that, she kept on stomping southward back to Uzo, relishing the thought of telling her companions off and proving to them she was really worthy of leading them....

At long last, she had reached the mountain range again. Though she hated to admit it, she knew she could use some more sleep after slogging around in Motavia's hot, dry weather all day. Her healing magic was more than enough to patch up the minor injuries she had gotten, but she still felt tired. Not to mention she had to let her stomach settle after hunger got the better of her and she ate a few more antlions. After that, she found herself once again longing for being able to eat normally again. Still, she found it hard to decide whether or not she wanted to be restored to her normal size just yet.

Well, at least that robot'll have it in working order by now, Alis thought as she stepped up to the cave's entrance. And hopefully, he'll have figured out where Tarzimal is, too. Once I know where he is, I'll be able to spring him, easily. Then it's off to Palma again. Things are finally looking up again. With that encouraging thought, she knelt down, ready to crawl back into her cave.

However, just as she was about to, she heard an unexpected - and most unwelcome - noise coming from the cave's interior: the distinctive hum of one of Lassic's fighter ships.

Before Alis could even gasp in surprise, the forward light of the fighter ship blinded her. And a split-second later, blaster fire lashed out, striking her in the forehead.

"YEOW!" Alis screeched as she fell back and hit the ground, her hands flying to her forehead. The ships had been so close when it opened fire, the pain from the burns was far, far worse than anything the ships guarding the factory had inflicted. For a while, the pain dulled her ability to think, though eventually, the obvious questions popped in her head: What was that ship doing there? And where were the others?

Alis uttered just about every unprintable word in the Palman language under her breath as she struggled to get back on her feet. Once she was finally standing again and opened her eyes, she saw another one of those ships, idly hovering nearby. Alis gritted her teeth in anger as she drew her sword, determined to slice it apart.

But as Alis stepped forward and reared back her right arm, a crackling voice rang in her ears, no doubt coming from an audio system from the ship. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Alis. You'd only live to regret it." The voice was horribly distorted, yet somehow, it sounded vaguely familiar to Alis.

However, Alis was too enraged to be curious. "Oh, is that so!?" she spat defiantly. "To me, it looks like you'll be the one regretting things...if you don't give me answers! What're you doing here? And what have you done with my friends!?"

A cold, malicious laugh echoed from the ship's speaker. "Funny you should ask," said the voice in a mocking tone. Alis was about to yell something else, but then she heard a faint clicking sound from the ship, followed by a whirring sound. Whatever those sounds meant, Alis instinctively knew it wasn't good news for her. She started to swing her sword, but stopped herself when she saw something rise from the top of the ship....

It was the Assassin, rising up on some lift system. And on the lift with her were Noah, Odin and Myau, all unconscious and bound with metal wire. Alis's heart froze at the sight of them at the Assassin's mercy. Despite their earlier quarrel, they were still her friends, and she couldn't bear the sight of them captured by the enemy.

"Actually, I must thank you for delivering them into my hands, Alis," said the Assassin. "It's because of you that I was able to get hold of them."

Alis's mind was blank. "Wh-What do you...."

"You left them unprotected, vulnerable. By going on your stomping spree and going after my factory, your friends were left without their boss to watch over them," said the Assassin haughtily. "I'll spill a little secret, Alis: I allowed the ones you call Odin and Myau to escape from the factory. When I noticed that meddlesome girl break into the lower levels, I instinctively knew she had come to free them. Luckily, I had the foresight to plant a transmitter in the musk cat's fur in case he escaped. I figured he would have some means of locating you after you vanished in that sandstorm, so I decided to let your friends do my work for me. That girl and her robot came along at the perfect time; they would escape, without suspecting that I wanted them to. Of course, I made sure that girl was taken out. It wouldn't do to have an engineer of that caliber running around with your crowd, making a mess of things...."

Alis's blood went from being frozen to boiling after hearing that. Myau and Odin had been used to get to her, and that girl, Leli...she thought she was doing something to help them, but she ended up being used by this heartless creature and then was slaughtered by her! All reason left Alis as she reared her arm back again, her face contorted with livid fury. She thoughtlessly readied herself to slice apart the Assassin's ship.

But she stopped when the Assassin brought one end of her glaive right up to Noah's neck, as if to behead him. "Uh uh uh, Alis. Don't you realize that if you strike out at me, you run the risk of killing your friends, too? Or do you not even care for them anymore?"

Those words were like a knife in Alis's heart. "Oh yes, Alis. I know all about your little argument with your friends. The transmitter I planted in Myau's fur also served as a hidden microphone. That's how I knew you were coming to the factory, and how I was able to get plenty of our assault craft and Robotcops evacuated with time to spare. Losing a factory was inconsequential if it meant I could capture the rest of your group and use them as the ultimate trump card.

"And I heard everything you said to your friends, including how you said you felt you didn't need them anymore." Alis stared back dumbly at the Assassin, her heart frozen again and feeling utterly helpless. How could this be happening? Today, it seemed like nothing could touch her, that she could do anything by herself! And now, with the Assassin holding her friends hostage, she was powerless to do anything!

"Well, you won't have to worry about the girl's android anymore, at least," the Assassin went on. "I left him back there, buried under tons of stone. So much for that girl's hopes of using that machine to help you."

Once again, Alis went from being frozen with shock to being about to explode with anger. Her contempt for artificial intelligence notwithstanding, she wouldn't tolerate hearing anyone mock the memory of someone who'd sacrificed so much for the cause of overthrowing Lassic. "THAT'S ENOUGH!!" she bellowed with her deafening voice, and was pleased to see the Assassin wince a little. "Just get to the point. Exactly what is it you want!?"

"Finally, you ask," said the Assassin simply. "My answer is simple: you. My primary reason for luring you back to Motavia was so you'd lead me to Tarzimal, but what I wanted the most was to take you out."

Alis stared back at the Assassin, nonplussed. "Me? Why!?"

"Because somehow, you've done more to frustrate Lassic's plans than anyone else. Where hundreds of others have failed, you just might succeed. And I can't let that happen," replied the Assassin hatefully. "For me, this is now personal. And I want this to be between you and me. So here's what I'm proposing: at dawn tomorrow, return to the factory you totaled. You'll find me waiting there. That's where and when we'll settle this. If you refuse, your friends' lives are forfeit!" With that, the lift slowly lowered the Assassin and her unconscious friends back into the ship, which then flew off, as Alis watched it go, powerless to do anything for fear of hurting her friends.

For several minutes, Alis just stood there, heedless of the harsh, sandy winds and the setting sun...heedless of everything except the fact that, in one fell swoop, this Assassin had taken all her friends hostage and left her completely on her own. And from what the Assassin had said, she was partly responsible, because of how she stormed out on her friends and left them wide open and unprotected. The last time she saw them, she yelled at them and said she didn't need them. And now, she'd give anything to undo what had happened, to have them safely with her again....

I-I don't believe this, she thought over and over. The giantess slumped to her knees, consumed by her anguish. H-How can this be? Before, it looked like I could do anything! Everything was going so well. And t-then, that Assassin comes along and takes everyone away!!

Alis wasn't sure how long she knelt there in the sand, too grief-stricken to even think straight. But fortunately, after several long minutes of soul-searching, she eventually was able to think clearly again. The faces and voices of her friends kept popping up in her mind's eye; Myau's cutesy expressions, Odin's calmness and fatherly musings, and most of all, Noah's nervous rantings and longing stares....

I'll get them back, Alis thought resolutely. This flunky of Lassic's is making this personal, giving me a chance to have it out with her...I swear she'll regret that come tomorrow morning. But...she's probably got everything planned, has all sorts of traps set.... What if I can't do it alone? What if I need help?

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the cave's entrance again. Wait a minute...could there be a chance? she thought hopefully. She began crawling through the cave, stopping only when it became so dark she couldn't see at all. She groped around, feeling the wall for any loose boulders. Once she found one, she immediately pulled it off the cave wall and superheated it to incandescence. Once light flooded the cave system once more, Alis could see her landrover some distance ahead. At least she left that behind, she thought as she crawled up to it. Alis took a good look around, and soon spotted a large pile of rocks near the cave wall, one that she was certain wasn't there when she left....

Slowly and timidly, she began removing the rocks from the pile, not knowing what she expected to find. He's got to be here, he's got to be working, she kept thinking. She still didn't completely trust this android, but at the moment, he was probably the only ally she had left, the only one she could now rely on....

Finally, just when Alis was about to abandon all hope, she removed a rock and revealed a tiny arm poking out through the pile. And if her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, the hand was moving slightly!

Hope swelling up within her, she carefully plucked the rest of the rocks off of Wren. There he was, laying almost motionless, his armor looking burned and battered. Alis got the feeling Wren gave the Assassin the fight of her life before she caused that rock pile to fall on him. "Wren! Can you hear me!?" she called out as she gently picked him up and set him in the palm of her hand. She examined him closely for a moment. Myau and Odin had commented about how big and imposing Wren looked, but to her, he seemed just as small and fragile as everyone else.

Just when Alis was about to call his name again, she saw Wren's eyelids flutter open. His head slowly turned, his eyes slowly fixing on her huge face. "A-Alis," he managed to get out as he looked up at her, his voice sounding staticy and stuttery. "The Assassin. S-She came, tried to c-capture your fr-friends. I-I t-tried to fight...."

"I know, I know, she told me everything," Alis said quickly. "She's taken them all hostage, and has challenged me to a personal contest of some sort. If I don't show up, she'll murder them all."

Wren silently stared up at Alis, as if he was awaiting new orders. She then remembered that he was programmed to obey every command she gave him. "Wren, I have a nasty feeling she'll have dozens of traps ready. Fleets and fleets of landrover-tanks and fighter ships and things like that. I-I don't know if I'll be able to handle it alone."

"I-In add-addition, the Assassin stole Tarzimal's lamp," Wren interjected. "S-She seemed to k-know all-all about how it f-functions and h-how she can use i-it. A-And now that it has be-been repaired...."

"Once I show up, she can just zap me back to normal size, and then I'll REALLY be in for it," Alis finished, her heart sinking even more. "Any ideas?"

Wren looked up at her, and Alis had the feeling he was running all sorts of scenarios through his CPU while he remained silent. If that was the case, then he decided on a course of action fairly quickly. "I believe t-there may b-be a possibly wa-way to simultaneously pre-prevent the Assassin from utilizing t-the de-device, and di-disabling wh-whatever armada she has amassed. But in order to do that, w-we must appropriate a co-commercial sapceship f-from Paseo, one with a class Y7 fusion engine a-at least."

"Umm, why is that?" Alis asked the android, wondering how a single ship could possibly turn the tables on the Assassin when she was holding all the cards.

"I-I will ex-explain later," stammered Wren. "F-for now, pl-please set me by the la-landrover. There a-are repair k-kits inside, with which I can re-restore my-myself to a functional sta-state." Alis quickly obliged, carefully lowering her outstretched hand so that it was beside the landrover. Wren slowly sat up and swung his legs around, carefully dropping down from the palm of her hand. He hobbled over to the landrover and stumbled inside.

For several minutes, Wren remained in the landrover, no doubt using the repair kits he mentioned to fix his damaged systems and CPU. Once again, Alis felt so helpless, hampered by her size yet again. She was confident she could help repair Wren if she were normal sized, but as she was, she'd undoubtedly do more harm than good if she tried.

At last, Wren exited the landrover and immediately looked back up at Alis. Alis slowly lowered her head to the ground to better hear the android, and when he spoke up, his voice was his usual dull, flat tone. "My repairs are complete. I am now at 87% fighting capacity, which I believe is sufficient. So I suggest we leave for Paseo immediately. When does the Assassin expect you to arrive for her challenge?"

"Around sunrise tomorrow. And the sun's just set now," Alis replied.

"If we can find a spaceship with a suitable fusion engine, I should be able to complete the necessary work before sunrise," Wren said to the giantess. "There's also another reason it is urgent that we leave for Paseo as soon as possible."

Alis raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Right before the Assassin attacked, I intercepted some transmissions talking about a secret flight that had to be postponed due to solar wind activity, and conditions will be suitable again within hours. All it said, though, was that the flight concerned a prisoner transfer."

Alis gasped. "You...you think that...."

"Yes. There's a high probability that Tarzimal is the prisoner in question. Most likely, Lassic wishes to interrogate him personally."

Alis smiled. "Then what are we waiting for?" she asked impatiently, lowering an outstretched hand yet again. Wren obligingly climbed up onto her huge hand, without any hint of worry. Alis then raised her hand carefully, bringing it up to her shoulder. "Get on," she ordered, and then she heard Wren clamber onto her shoulder pad. After that, she carefully crawled her way to the cave's eastern exit, then rose to her full height. Fighting the fatigue that claimed to overtake her, she began making her way northward again, this time heading for Paseo....