*-- STOP!!! Don't go any further till you've read both "Incomplete Hunter" as well as "New Lease on Life" to get the needed info before continuing.
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Rico could feel the heat down the back of his neck, and his body's moisture rising. He was sweating with fear.
"Turn around... no more need for running now..." said the voice, with the "crushed glass" voice. Rico was hesitant, should he do it? Should he finally turn to face his fear? Should he teleport again? Continue running some more?
"What do you want with me?" he asked, wanting to prolong the vision of his nightmare's face as long as possible. It also a question he had been meaning to ask... and now he finally had the chance. The Stranger sighed...
"Fine. Do you have any memory... of your first defeat?" the Stranger asked. This only angered Rico, as he clenched his fists. Who has the nerve to do this? Rico hated those kinds of answers to questions.
"You always answer questions with one of your own?" he shot back to his stalker. A menacing chuckle could be heard before the Dark Stranger continued.
"Only when it bests suits the situation... my friend." It was the Demon Kopii's turn to sigh. What kind of question is that? He's Rico for the godsakes... he's a literal walking dictionary on the different ways to get killed. Stabbing, Incineration, Exploding, Being Quartered, Shot, you name it... it's probably happened to him. He tried to do as the mysterious person asked.
Rico's memories flooded backwards in his life. The recent break-up with Azhreia, his battles with Amana, meeting Azhreia for the first time, then... it all seemed to stop. As a matter of fact... he couldn't remember past some of his earliest memories. Rico just seemed to, for all practical purposes, appear there... almost instinctively targetting Ash Fanrico, the man whose face his own was molded after, and those in league with him. The Demonic Fanrico couldn't understand it... it was if his mind drew a blank.
"I thought so... you don't remember." came the voice finally. He was right too... Rico could not remember... at all. He felt strange, as if his mind was playing tricks on him. The feeling was almost like the Deja' Vu type.
"I can sense the Demon Lords hands in this. They don't take kindly to those like us." said the voice. This struck weird with the demonic kopii, what had he just meant with that "us"?
"What are you getting at?" snapped Rico, trying to get back to the matter in question. Another chuckle sounded, an arrogant type of chuckle... like someone who knows more than you kind of chuckle. To make things simple, it pissed off Rico even more.
"ANSWER ME!!!" he bellowed, growing impatient with the damn chuckling. This bastard finally catches up to him and all he does is chuckle at questions? Sounds like a great fuckin' quest indeed.
"Remember a certain... Lil' Rico?" asked the voice, from the tone of it, the Stranger obviously knew where he was taking this conversation.
"A certain little piece of you meant to keep your lifeforce alive while you regenerated from having been extinguished, remember him?" asked this strange fellow. The answer he got from Rico was a nod. Yeah, Rico remembered the little anklebiter. It also had the worst timing to have appeared in front of Queen Aya, and being adopted by the Doman Royal family.
"Yes... I remember that little shit stain." replied Rico finally, crossing his arms.
"But what does the little anklebiter have to do with anything now?" he asked, wondering where this mysterious person was going with this. Lil' Rico was gone... he served his purpose and was reasorbed after it was finished. What does it have to do with the current situation?
"Well, a side-effect of the 'Vessels', is that they have no real memory prior to their quote on quote 'birth'. They only have shreds of the original's behavior patterns." replied the voice, finally not asking a damn question.
"Yeah... so?" asked Rico, inquisitively trying to figure out that connection. More importantly... how did this guy know all that?
"SO... guess whose vessel... you are." replied the voice, hinting at excitement in his voice. Rico's eyes lit up at that very instant.
"That's right... my Lil' Rico." replied the voice. Rico shook his head. It couldn't be... no... it just could not be true. He couldn't have been like that little twirp... all along. It just... defied all... logic...
"The Demon Lords couldn't get to me... so they got to you. Wiped some of your memories clean, obviously cut down your powers to an acceptable level, and made you one of their slaves." said the voice, who wasn't even trying to hide his excitement over this.
"NO!!!" Rico said, turning finally to meet his enemy. What he saw... was shocking.
The man in front of him, looked for all practical purposes, like a ragged, burnt, and much older version of himself. His armor guards were cracked and rusted in some parts. His sleevless shirt was full of holes, and reaked of brimstone. The pants didn't look any better than the shirt. His hair was longer than Rico's... and his eyes burned darker. It was like looking into a fun house mirror.
"Allow me to introduce myself... I am THE Dark Fanrico." said the man, bowing slightly and grinning from ear to ear.
End of Part 1