-Act 6- The Rival: part 2

"Well-well, the pests are here." Matori said casually. With one quick move, the gun was now pointing towards their new visitors, "Thought you can stop me from getting what I wanted?"

Ziro stood still, staring at her. Though the sudden occasion was more less friendly, he let out a soft breath and asked a question that first came to his mind, "How are you Matori?"

Matori smirked, "What do you think? I'm perfectly well. And you? Not that it will matter once I kill you."

Hearing the seriousness in her voice, Ziro pointed his blaster to her, "I'm fine also," he answered, "Why are you here, Matori?"

"I'm after the same thing as you, right?" Matori drawled, "I know you know this, or else you wouldn't be here. You want those Ageis gears."--she shifted her aim and shot; hitting Oben on the arm with in a snap--"Well so do I."

"Oben!" Ziro turned around, facing his friend sprawled on the floor, but before he could do anything to help, Matori kept her firing, making him roll over to the nearest large beam that supported the roof of the castle.

"Oben!! Get out now!!" he yelled, and peered to make sure he did. Fortunately, Oben got up on his feet and made his way out. Now it was just him with Matori and Avhet.

"Your friend left you behind... how stupid." he heard Avhet snickered to Ziro, "You'd rather die alone?"

Ziro readied his blaster, "Is it just me, or is all you ever do is talk?" quickly leaning to his left, he aimed at Avhet and shot.

Blue stream came out in a rage towards Avhet. He jumped up, causing it to obstruct the colossal beams behind him and completely miss his body.

"Is that all you can do?" Avhet loudly laughed, "I saw that damn shot coming at me from a mile away. Is that all you're capable of?"

Ziro gritted his teeth, "And yet you keep talking. How about you swallow those taunts and actually fight?" he shot back sneeringly as he charged his weapon for another shot.

"Fine.. no more taunting." with that, Avhet pulled out a large gun and pointed to the beam in which Ziro was behind. Aiming at the exact location he wanted, he pulled the trigger slowly and the barrel of the gun began to give a loud whistle before a silent yet speedy bullet was fired.

The bullet whisped through the air and directly into the marble beam Ziro hid behind. And as Ziro thought that the beam would be able to hold off the shot, he couldn't be more wrong as the bullet easily passed through the thick marble beam and into the wall in front of him. With locked eyes to the bullet in the wall, it took Ziro a while to feel the slight quiver of the beam he bunkered behind. To his surprise, the beam began to split and before he was toppled with it's heavy slabs, Ziro rolled to the next beam beside him.

"What the hell was that?!" he yelled out as he hid behind the second beam, trying to catch his breath.

"It's a new weapon. You have Matori to thank for it." Avhet laughed, getting ready to shoot again. As his finger began to pull back, a hand shoved his gun roughly away to the side. Avhet looked over at Matori in confusion.

Matori gave him a snide look, "He's not your problem, Avhet. Leave him to me."

Avhet backed out, very disappointed, and with a nod he gestured his hand to Matori, "Of course." He offered Matori the weapon she made, but she quickly denied.

"A weapon like that in a time like this is cowardly." Matori explained as she pulled out a silver pistol from the holster attached on her right leg and loaded it, "But a weapon like this one in a time like this is exceptional."

Avhet stared at the gun in the woman's hand in awe, "You can't use the 'Ipson' in here Matori! Are you crazy?!"

Without bothering to answer Avhet, Matori aimed the gun to the beam which hid Ziro in and smiled as she spoke, "My dear Ziro, I must say this was a terrible, terrible reunion for the both of us. But who's to say it wasn't going to turn out like this? Hmm.. why I remember when we used to be close friends; were those not the happy times?"

Ziro peered behind the beam to see what his enemy's rambling was all about.

"Happy times, yes," Matori went on, her voice mono tone and still, "Until everything in this world began to hate me.. you knew what I had to do then didn't you?"

"You've gone way out of line Matori, you're not the same person I knew before." Ziro stood up, still eyeing the dark-haired woman unmovingly.

Matori laughed suddenly; an eerie laugh that rang around the castle walls. She abruptly stopped and poised her gun to her side, "Why don't you step up Ziro.. let's... talk."

He didn't have to say it to her, just the quick movement of his eye to Avhet helped her understand.

"Leave." Matori glanced behind her shoulder, "Avhet, go and see if Majora is doing her job."

Not liking the fact that Matori wanted to be alone with Ziro, Avhet stood his ground and replied a quick no.

Lifting the gun so that the barrel was pointed directly an inch in front of Avhet's forehead, Matori warned him with piercing eyes, "I said leave."

With a loud grumble, Avhet abided and haughtily left the castle doors, warning Ziro with his eyes as he passed by. Just as he was making himself down the castle steps, Ziro stepped forward from the beam and brought his attention back to Matori who stood only a couple of yards from him.

The pregnant silence was quickly ended by Matori's oddly gentle voice, "People.. have habits both good and bad. A habit is sometimes considered as a bizarre gift because some people are recognized more because of a habit they have," she stopped for a while before taking seat to where she stood and placed her gun on the floor in front of her, "Sometimes, even a habit can mean that certain person's whole personal life."

Not sure what Matori is trying to mean, Ziro continued to listen and also sat on the floor, his weapon in front of him too.

"Take example.. your habits." Matori looked over to Ziro in speculation, "You have the habit of attracting people to you. You have the habit of having people stick to your side... the bad side of that habit is..." Matori shifted her face into a more angry facade, "You never seem to let a person go when they want to go."

Ziro continued to digest her words, the more he thought closely the more he got the small little meanings and hints in her words, "And what are your habits Matori?"

Matori smiled and looked over to the king of Aquazia's dead body, "My habit is destroying people." she glanced quickly to Ziro, "You should know that."

"That's it? Where's your good habit? I'm sure you have one." Ziro pushed.

"Who said that wasn't also a good thing either?" Matori cocked an eye at him before quickly turning away and shake her head in disgust, "I don't see that habit as a bad thing anymore..."

A moment of silence between the two before Ziro stood up and took a step towards Matori, "Listen, I didn't let you go because I know you're going the wrong way."

"Don't you think I know that?" Matori answered back.

"Then why do you continue to walk that way?!" Ziro snapped and eyed her furiously, "This.. this is bullshit Matori! Look at what you are doing to people! To yourself!"

Matori sat quietly still, returning the gaze at Ziro, patient to what he had to say.

Ziro took another step up, his anger peaking as Matori continued to eye him silently, "Do you even have your eyes opened to what's going on around you?! Do you even see anything anymore?!" he continued another step, "I don't know why you're choosing to end it like this, but I won't let you! You're going to get yourself killed before you can take over this world!"

Within a second, Matori stood up in front of him, her eyes blank and narrow, her lips tightly pressed together, and her shoulder trembling slightly in nervousness, "I do this with good reason, and you know exactly what that reason is! You know what happened; you saw!" she shrieked, her face screwed up in anger, "You saw when you weren't supposed to!!"

Ziro stepped back, surprised at Matori's expression. He knew exactly what she meant, the certain event that occurred long ago that he witnessed and caused his friendship with Matori to break for the first and last time, "I'm sorry... I know I wasn't supposed to be there," he began softly, trying to calm the hyperventilating girl across from him.

Matori felt unusually frustrated with his words and moved her eyes elsewhere from his figure, "You weren't!" she let out shakily, "I-I..."

He could feel it, the pain she hid from the memory that was brought up; a memory full of pain. Feeling a sudden urge to comfort his former friend, and now number one enemy, he walked ahead forward until he was merely a foot beyond her reach. He stood there still, waiting for her response at his actions, and was surprised to see she hadn't moved away an inch.

"I... was so mad..." she continued almost in a whisper, "I was so mad at you. And-and him! I was so mad..."

Ziro gazed at the woman sadly, "I don't know how much I have to say it, but I'll say it again and again, I'm very sorry. I'm sorry I was there, and I'm sorry for what he did to you."

Matori shook her head angrily and stepped off to her right, picking up the 'Ipson' along the way and continued to walk out on the steep castle steps. Ziro watched her figure freeze on the last step before turning back to him with the same expression she held when she first saw him, "It doesn't matter anymore," she said almost uncaringly, as large, black helicopter appeared suddenly in front of her, whipping her hair friskily around her face. She nodded her head to him shortly, "We'll meet again, Ziro, that's a promise," shockingly, she smiled somewhat of a friendly smile at him, "We'll talk again."

Somehow, Ziro stood there dumbfoundedly, watching Matori leave in the black aircraft, without a word to her or any action to stop her departure.

He felt slightly confused standing there, the dead Aquazia lying a good 10 feet away, and with the feeling that they had failed their mission. The helicopter was already out of sight when he gave a deep sigh and began to walk out of the castle also.

It wasn't long after that a huge explosion emitted from the west side of the kingdom. Instantly the thought of the well-being of his fellow comrades came to mind as he rushed towards the Science Facility.

-Next chapter: Act 7 - Breaking the sisterly bond-

A/N: x.x; Forgive me if it sucked, I wasnt' sure if it was good enough. Eh, more coming soon!