TO CUT A TURNING TAIL

42). Let's gossip and make assumptions!

"Kaila has the highest combat ranking; she has easily been to seven realities." "No kidding!", Jon, is impressed. "Her encounters with the hiddenstones let her understand their psychologies very well. She is great at observing, especially if she is using her ken to create sounds. She says using it just makes her more concentrated and confident of herself", tells Kamaya. Larriel wants to say something's as well, "having her at our backs is a benefit. She is observant just like the kargzaans. You, her, Acker, Samantha, and Kamaya- five great obser." "And even Connell", Jon adds reluctantly.

Larriel continues, "They're like geniuses with the way they decipher actions plus they have good technology. Jean told me it's stolen from an alternate world that Zenith traveled to. But we have great gifts as well. Kaila is one of them, she can decipher and understand all the strategies that can happen at any moment just so she can defeat a person with ease. She is like a pro at all of this. She thinks fast and has developed an impressive combat IQ. She sees something and she has a fine hunch of what possibility would suit for the best outcome. Think it this way, like you can move faster than any of us with the ken, she can think faster than any of us with her ken. She provides us the edge!" Larriel is highly motivated; she cannot stop appreciating the woman.

"See, we don't even know what we are going up against. We just have an idea. We don't when we are under their surveillance. I know the technology here out bests theirs but I'm frightened" squeals Larriel. "You are frightened? I thought you were a kyle! Or are you like Connell? A mystery". Kamaya is merely smiling at their conversation, he reasons for Larriel's fright, "there are surprises. We need to think on spot. The preference is there should be no causality. If there are civilians in the reality we go through, we need to consider them hostages. Zenith doesn't walk on principles; he just knows he has to reach the aim."

"But which one are we going to fight? Hook must know". "You never know, I guess it might be the strange sniper who sabotaged your mission". "Kamaya, snipers don't use canons and all those machine guns!" groans Jon. Kamaya is sitting in a monkey pose, fascinating how his legs do not hurt by maintaining that position.

A glimpse of tension slides on Jon's face, Kamaya is embarrassed he reminded Jon of the sniper. For a distraction, he says, "let's just teleport now". He looks around, maybe it is the last time he will look at the dewed trees from the top of this beautiful hill. "Ah! The weather seems so blissful today!" he thinks. Looking at the trees and walking at a side pose, Kamaya brings out his teleporting rings without turning his head to the pocket. He throws the rings in the air. Cling. He vanishes. Larriel and Jon follow along.

Looking at his ring, Jon says, "the government must be happy they can recycle these rings or send them to someone in the non-money world. I mean, think about it. We didn't even use these machines for more than a year probably".

****

There is a dim room with aesthetic neon decorum. Heavy artilleries and a propagative number of holograms dressed at the slabs that run along the perimeter of this room. the eight of them- Kamaya, Samantha, Acker, Larriel, Jon, Primus, Connell, and Lovi are standing around the table. Kaila is standing along with them through the assistance of self-operated clutches.

"And now with that, we're running forward," she says with sarcastic confidence. In between her and Jon's groupmates, there is a slab with a bright shining hologram on it. "Marubi would have been way better a match than me at this and I'd have been a slightly better mate than him at the 99th eradication. But we were all at fault somehow, so, all I can say now is I'd have to drop from the game. Anyway, there's a chance I'd be there. You're the only people with much energy left but I'm sorry that I won't be able to help you a lot. Anyways, I have done my quota. There are three alternative strategies, depending on the circumstances. I'd share them with you. I'll only emerge in the third case. That is if it is indeed there, if it survived it would be though. You'd get to know what I'm talking about once you see the clips. Ok?", everyone nods in bemusement.