Chapter Two:

"Keto."

A single amber eye watched as the cat-like creature wiggled through a hole and dropped down. Roxel hissed as he shifted on the pile of linens he was occupying. Sweat beaded on his face as he struggled to moderate his breathing as pain shot through his damaged body. He wasn't going to last long on this planet, not in his condition and not with their primitive technology. How far he had fallen…

It was somewhat a fitting end for a person like himself.

"Where have you been?"

His companion gingerly climbed up the makeshift bed and carefully wound around his neck, chittering softly in his ear.

'Searching...we're hurt, we're dying.' The symbiont replied as it rubbed its head against Roxel's cheek.

It wasn't a comforting thought. Dying on an alien planet, alone and one of the last of his kind. He had failed in his bid for power to get Reideen and free himself of the Riglas Conglomerate. Beaten by a child pilot from a backwaters planet occupied by primitive people nonetheless. Not that all were bad. The pilot's childhood friend was a kind creature. Even so, they were doomed and Reideen was too alluring to be left alone on a primitive planet such as this.

"There's no helping it Keto. I'm sorry. This wasn't how I wanted things to be."

'Life.' Keto sighed. A myriad of emotion brushed Roxel's conscious. Then the mental image of Reideen's pilot burst into Roxell's mind. Keto had sensed the boy nearby and went to investigate when the boy cut himself on the railing. By the looks of things, the child was preoccupied and never noticed. However Keto did. There was a scent to the boy that hadn't been there earlier and it intrigued the symbiont.

Roxell watched as Keto scrambled up the metal rail and licked the droplets of blood out of curiosity.

What the symbiont analyzed was surprising, but a welcome discovery and he could feel pleasure thrum in the symbiont's mind. Life indeed...Then a thought struck him.

"Let me see Gadion's key."

Keto reached into his mouth and pulled the barette out, holding it up to Roxel to see. The darkened room didn't hinder his superior sight.

It had once been badly tarnished with blackened and cracked gems a week or so ago according to the locals' estimation of time on this planet. However when Keto had tasted the boy's blood and what it entailed, some of that mysterious element that had originally drawn the symbiont had apparently also affected Gadion's key.

The object was no longer as tarnished as it used to be and the cracked gems were on the mend. In fact upon closer inspection, they weren't as red as they used to be either.

Nothing about the situation made sense. As far as he knew, Reideen's pilot was as mundane as his species went. There hadn't been any interesting qualities about him. He was a bit precocious and at the cusp of adulthood with a good set of instincts to him and bad eyesight...but nothing spectacular. Not like that female colleague of his who had psychic abilities for example.

Reideen as powerful of a Guardian it was, didn't have the ability to create that drastic of a change in its pilot. It was a tool of war from the era of when the Powers ruled the universe before destroying themselves, leaving behind scraps for civilizations after them to fight over. One that tapped into whatever strange potential its chosen pilot had.

The kind of almost intoxicating feeling of 'life' that hummed in those scant drops of blood screamed of something different. Oh there was plenty of mundane humanity there, but it could only mask the underlying truth for so long.

There were some changeling species out in the greater universe who underwent drastic metamorphosis upon reaching adulthood as an evolution quirk. Even if Saiga Junki had such lineage, as watered down as it was...there was no way that he could have rejuvenated Gadion's key, which also meant that he could possibly restore the silver Guardian.

However the burgeoning strangeness about the boy may be the reason as to why Reideen chose him, and why he managed to fight off Riglas Conglomerate's pre-invasion forces where many other civilizations have failed to do so, even with other Guardians. Whatever Saiga Junki may be, Roxell wasn't going to pass up an opportunity for potential survival.

'Saiga Junki. Life.' Keto sang in his ear.

Now, to lure the boy to him…

0o0o0o0o0

When Junki had asked if she had plans for the weekend, Shiori had rejoiced, believing that he was asking her out for a date- even though a part of her had a feeling that something was up.

Hindsight is always 20/20.

They had met in the part of the city that hadn't been completely demolished by the aliens in a nice somewhat upscale cafe. When she asked if Hoshikawa recommended the venue, he had surprised her by stating that the tall woman hadn't in full earnestness.

Then the unease crept in.

"Why are we meeting here Junki? You're not the type to do something like this- especially for me." She finally queried when their orders came. Him a cup of plain black coffee with some cream and sugar. Her, tea and milk.

To others Junki wasn't the fidgeting type, but she knew better. He had a more subtle way going about it than most. The direction of his gaze was one sign.

When his eyes finally met hers, they were an intense olive green instead of his typical dark brown with underlying hazel. His eyes were only like that when he was overly stressed or feeling intense emotions.

"I have to apologize to you." He said solemnly, his voice heavy.

Dread curled in her stomach.

Steeling herself, Shiori gave him a false smile. "For what?"

"For being a terrible friend."

A bitter laugh escaped her lips before she could stop herself. Not that she wanted to right now.

She knew that she had been playing with fire when she began to have feelings for him that was more than just friendship, even when it was obvious that he was fixated on Midorino. (Not that she could hate the other girl, not when they both had gotten trapped in that shopping center...and Midorino saved her life.)

"Yeah you have been a terrible friend." Shiori finally said when her laughter subsided, proud that she hadn't cried- yet.

Junki knew about her feelings and this was his way of putting her down gently in so many words.

She searched his still olive green eyes. They had always been his best feature, even hidden behind those half rimmed glasses of his. Constantly changing depending just how deeply he was feeling an emotion, the few times he could be roused to feel that strongly...In this case it was guilt and resignation.

Good. As petty as it was, she felt somewhat better that Junki was feeling guilty.

"I never had a chance."

He grimaced.

Shiori, point one, Junki, zero.

She took a sip of her now cold tea and made up her mind. Screw being a good girl right now. This was her chance to grill and roast him to a crisp.

"Oi Kobayakawa. You there?" Takahashi asked. The much taller boy had a look of concern on his face.

Shiori blinked as she roused herself from her thoughts and remembered she was in gym class. From the corner of her eye, she saw Midorino and Junki discreetly watching her. She studiously ignored them.

"Sorry about that Takahasi-kun. Just thinking about the test next week." That wasn't the truth, but he didn't need to know. Nobody did.

"Did you and Saiga get into a fight over notes again?" He asked. "You've been glaring at him for a while there."

"Something like that. The jerk refused to let me borrow his notes for the test. Me, his childhood friend! As if he needs them!" She exclaimed dramatically.

"Oi Saiga! Let Kobayakawa borrow your notes! Have some pity on us mortals!" A classmate who overheard the conversation yelled as other students tittered.

Shiori could only smile weakly as other students began to heckle Junki in good nature.

0o0o0o0o0

Junki found himself in the oddly vacant ruined portion of the city once again without thinking about it. However unlike last time when he wanted to get away from home to think...this time it seemed as if he had been compelled to come.

A shiver ran down his spine when he got off his scooter. The hairs at the back of his neck were raised and he was acutely aware of the lack of Terasaki and Hoshikawa's presence tailing him. The members of White Heron were still helping the Citizen's Patrol with the humanitarian crisis. Hoshikawa had been released a couple days back and her presence was needed for some of the trickier missing persons cases.

The part of him that was always cautious, calculating and wary was screaming at him that something wasn't right. However another part of him, the part that had reached out to Reideen whispered to him. It wasn't Reideen though...but it was something familiar. Something similar. Something darker and heavier. A presence that cried out.

Then it struck him.

Gadion.

Just as he came to the horrifying conclusion, the sound of scratching caught his attention. There, on the rail he had sat on not long ago was none other than Roxel's black, cat-like creature.

Keto.

In its 'paws' was a familiar barrette, tarnished and its gems cracked.

How?

Why?

On their own volition, his feet began to move and his body lurched forward toward the creature. It grinned that overly large smile with too much teeth at him as it stuffed the barrette into its mouth. Instead of turning to run away like Junki thought it would, the creature suddenly ran up to him before he could react.

It wound around him and before he knew it, the half remembered sensation of teleportation hit him.

Unlike the last time he had teleported- where he had been knocked out, this version left him all too conscious on his feet. The smell of mold, stagnant water, filth and infection instantly hit his nose and he stumbled, trying not to gag at the scent. When he got his bearings, Junki realized he was in a room in some sort of destroyed building. The lighting was extremely poor but it was just enough for him to make out a pile of filthy linens and a vaguely humanoid form.

A single amber eye glowed dully in the dark.

"Saiga Junki." The alien rasped out.

As Junki's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized just how injured the alien was.

Roxel was missing an arm and both legs, which were stumps, coupled with the smell could only mean one thing. Necrosis…By all human means, the white haired alien should have been dead if he had been in this state for two weeks. However he wasn't human, so all theories of human related possibilities were out the window.

"Why did you bring me here?" Junki finally asked, finding his voice. He wasn't sure how he could deal with witnessing a second death in a span of a couple weeks.

The fact that he wasn't dead upon arrival in the room meant the alien wanted something from him. Roxel's cat-thing was deadly if it wanted to be and fast to boot. Speaking of which...he had no idea where the creature was, despite the fact it was translating everything the alien said.

"To live."

"I'm not a doctor. I can't help you."

Sweat ran down Junki's face and back. Despite being so dark, the room was stifling hot.

"Medical knowledge is not necessary."

"That doesn't make any sense."

Junki felt that for some unfathomable reason, the alien was smiling a rather unpleasant smile, even though he couldn't see well enough to confirm the feeling.

'Life.' A strange voice cooed in his ear. High pitched and genderless.

The cat. He hadn't felt the creature climb on him. Yet here it was, perched on his shoulder, barely a noticeable weight.

"Humans call it astrobiology- to describe the biological structure and components of living beings not of this world."

It hadn't been lost to Junki that Roxel had phrased his words the way he did. No mention of you or your kind, like he had at their second meeting. Totally excluding him for a reason.

"On Tikett, we shared symbiotic relationships with beings like Keto who can easily change form. From birth until death, our lives are tied. The flexibility of our astrobiology was an evolution adaptation, made us rather well known in the universe. Our self generation alone was formidable but coupled with our symbiotic relationship made us near invincible. Keto is keeping me alive, but only just. This planet doesn't have the proper requirements for me to stay alive. If I die, he may live for quite some time, forced to search for the closest source to keep himself sustained until he found another to bond with...or go mad and die."

Unbidden, a memory teased itself in Junki's head, his father's body had been found alongside an animal's. The forensics scientist couldn't quite make it out, yet looking at its shape and size, guessed it to be a dog. His mother had answered to the police that his father never worked with animals at his excavations. Could such a creature have long ago landed on Earth? Reideen chose this planet after all so it'd make sense. With the attempted invasion and theft of Reideen, it didn't seem so far fetched that other aliens may have been here as well…

Unless...Reideen's power…

Roxel needed it either for himself and his pet thing…to live. Gadion's barrette being as broken as it was probably didn't have whatever it was the alien needed. Not after being absorbed the way it had been during that last encounter.

"Reideen...you need its power to rejuvenate."

Junki had expected an affirmation instead of a scratchy laugh from the alien. "A very good guess, but no. Explaining will take too long. Keto." Roxel rasped.

The creature shifted from Junki's shoulders and wound around his unmarked arm, twisting around him like a snake. His 'paws' once again held Gadion's broken barrette and bore a creepy grin. Panic bubbled up in Junki's chest as his instincts roared at him to get the thing off of him. He tried to pry the abnormally strong creature off his arm. However it was a futile effort as sharp teeth glinted in the dim lighting before they sank into the vulnerable underside of his wrist.

Blood poured out of the wound as a tooth punctured his artery. Junki staggered, still feebly trying to pry the thing off of him. Off balance, he fell to the filthy floor facing Roxel, whose single amber eye watched. With Gadion's barrette out once again, Junki could feel the strangely compelling presence of the mecha grasping at his conscious. Grasping at him like a drowning person trying to stay afloat, constantly reaching.

"Watch and see why."

He had no other choice but to, all the while cursing his stupidity.

The paw holding Gadion's barrette smeared it with his blood as the creature dined on his blood with a fierce intensity.

"And see that you're a vampire?" Junki asked, his head starting to get hazy between the swift blood loss and Gadion's rather loud presence.

"Now you're purposely being obtuse."

A part of him slowly wondered how it was that the cat thing could continue to translate Roxel's words when it was busy sucking him dry. Junki stared at the bloodied barrette, not sure if his addled mind was playing tricks on him.

Right before his eyes the tarnish was vanishing and the cracks in the gems were repairing. Yet what really arrested his attention was the change in the color of said gems. Blue...

None of this made sense.

At all.

Across the room Roxel watched dispassionately as the boy tried to pry a rather engrossed Keto from his arm. When Keto latched onto something, it was nearly impossible for the symbiont to let go. Not that he wanted the symbiont to do so. He could distantly feel the boy's blood rejuvenating his partner, to an extent himself and Gadion.

The child didn't have a choice but to become what he was meant to be, whatever that was. There were questions of course, but Roxel wasn't a scientist. Keto's survival and his own came first...even at the cost of being indebted to the boy. Even at the complete loss of Gadion.

It hadn't been lost to him that something about the boy resonated strongly with Guardians. Gadion's eager acceptance of the child and Reideen's preference spoke as much, despite the boy's total cluelessness about piloting them. In a way it was frightening how fast the boy grasped the power of the Guardians in such a short time.

As the boy struggled to stay consciousness, his dark eyes were riveted on Gadion's key, Roxel could feel the waves of power washing through his connection with Keto. Tension built in the air and the already stifling hot room was warming up to unbearable levels, even to his species' tolerance levels.

A brush of death was often an interesting trigger for many species and for this boy, it would be no different. If that strange element to him wanted to fully surface, that is. Keto was intelligent enough to stop before causing too much harm to the child.

The shouts in the distance and sounds of shifting rubble didn't break Roxel's concentration on the boy. His handlers were incredibly slow on the uptake.

Just like the barrette's shift in color from red to blue, something twisted and shifted in Junki. The heat was at delirious levels.

Stretching...he felt stretched thin, like a string at its end.

Then anger surged through him like it never had before. True anger.

He was sick of being so helpless, so ignorant of everything around him. Angry that he was becoming something different, that he was constantly at the mercy of others.

Junki could accept being Reideen's pilot, he could accept that for some strange reason that it was sentient and took human form, accept that he was in love with it as twisted as it seemed. He could accept that protecting this planet, its inhabitants were a responsibility he never shirked. Not once. Not that he ever would as disgusting people like Ando were. There were others who completely innocent. People who were good.

But why?

He grabbed at the damnable cat again and earnestly began to pry the creature off of him with the new found strength his anger gave him. It let go of Gadion's barrette as it scrambled to find better purchase on his arm.

Instead of dropping to the floor, Gadion's barrette floated and turned into a bracelet. At the same time, Junki had managed to pry off Keto just as the device widened and encircled his still bleeding wrist. However the cat's whip-like tail had caught around his glasses, flinging them off.

A soft blue glow emitted as the piece of jewelry vanished. His previously unmarked right wrist now sported a new mark to mirror the mark that was on his left wrist where Reideen's bracelet mysteriously resided.

"Interesting."

Alien feelings of contentment and smugness flooded his senses and he turned his gaze to Roxel's direction.

However instead of seeing just a barely glowing amber eye and a very dim room, Junki could see everything with sharp clarity. The alien was smiling at him, his single amber eye bright. It was a sharp smile, not malicious but not pleasant either. Despite the fact his face was caked with filth and his hair matted, missing most of his limbs and horn (Junki had missed that detail earlier due to the dimness)- Junki realized that the expression on Roxel's face was that of elation.

He was pulled from his stupor when the sound of a collapsing wall tore his gaze away from the alien and light suddenly filled the room.

Standing at the gap was Maedesaki and a few government employees. The older man's face held an expression of fatigue and shock. Hovering behind him was Terasaki and Hoshikawa.

Junki realized with a start that there had been no source of light to give him the clarity of vision until the wall had been torn down.

Fatigue washed over him suddenly. Whatever surge of energy that had come from his anger vanished like morning fog as darkness filled his vision.