I still don't know why I am the way I am. I dunno what I even mean by that, bein' honest with you. I dunno why my clothes are so different just 'cause I cut my way in here; I don't think Qiu wore different stuff when she did this? Maybe I did it wrong after all. Or different. This is all... anyway. I dunno why I've suddenly got a dozen weapons on me when the most you could ever say I had before was one and a half. I dunno if I'm supposed to be me from another, like, story? If that makes any sense? Or am I meant to be Kikil's ideal opponent? Am I here to grant her wish? Or mine? I dunno. 

Why am I me? Hoo gosh, that's a question. And, y'know? I guess it doesn't really matter. It's enough that it's true. I know why I wanted to come here, even though I've got no idea where 'here' is. And I know why I know how to use all've these weapons so nice, even though I haven't practiced with any of 'em. It's 'cause I'm Yue. Just... Yue. And what I really wanna know is if that means anything. 

I'm smilin'. Grinnin', really. I just had the [i]best[/i] idea.

I crouch down so I can jump off the ground as high as I can go in a hop. Can't tell you how high that is, 'cept that it puts me at even height with a swooping laser robo-hawk. So, y'know, high but not... ok look this is not the important part, ok? Follow along or you're gonna get left behind. I reach for my back and grab the giant sword secured there; it's big enough that it'll do for this. Really, this must be what it's for. I pull it free, and kick my foot out to start my body spinning, and that's when I feel the jetpack kick in. I feel my body rotate once, twice, and at the end of the third spin I let the sword fly. 

My body drops back to earth like a stone off a cliff, but I stomp the landin' and I'm already runnin' off after the sword as it flies through the air. I kick up again, feel the rush of motion as the jetpack flares up again, and plant my feet on the widest part of the blade. Chen told me that sometimes in Sourcefall, they'd duel on snowboards. This is my little tribute, hope she likes it. Oh shoot, she's not gonna... oh well!

The wind whips my ponytail like crazy as I tear through the air. Bombs fall and lasers burst around me, but on instinct or luck or I don't even care what it is, I bend out of the way before I get cut in half, and the sword's so stupendously huge I can actually ride the burst of the explosions like a bunch of, uh, I dunno what you call 'em. Little hills, but... snowy, I guess? I can even twirl if I stomp my foot with the right timing!

Spin, spin! There's a karate bot flying up at me with a perfect side kick. I lean into my rotation and cut 'em down as we cross in the air. Spin, spin! I can't keep the laughs from spilling out of me, throwing knife after knife into the crowd as I pass. I run out pretty quick, but when my hands reach around to the back of my belt they find a pair of pistols strapped there, waitin'. And I mean, under normal circumstances? I'd call this cheatin'. And I don't really know how to shoot to begin with. But Kikil's got so many machines that I can't miss. And honestly the robots started it first. I hold them out to either side and squeeze the trigger as I flip-fly through the sky above them.

The flashes of light that burst from the tip with every shot are really pretty. 

But sooner or later, this kinda nonsense has to come to an end. I'm gettin' dizzy and the sword's startin' to slow down, besides. I ride another burst toward the ground and crash down into the pavement and a big tank-bot's armor plates with a shower of sparks, and grind to an almost-halt. It's an almost halt 'cause I don't let it end there. I run to the tip of the sword and kick it down behind me so it flips into the air, and catch it on my back again. Each one of these things is an extension of who I am, got it? More'n that, it's a connection to someone I met and a style I learned from. I may not get to keep any of this when I go back home, but bet your butt I'm not leavin' a one of these things behind by choice.

I dash through the sea of machines until the burst of the pistols quiets down to clicks. Nice work, friends! I give them both an appreciative twirl and stick them back into their holders, all careful-like. My sword leaps into my empty hand, and I guess it's eager to prove it's still my best and favorite weapon. Don't worry girl, we've been together ever since Hyra taught my how to handle the weight of a real sword. I lift it above my head to let the edge glint in the neon lights of the city-park, and the glittering moon, and the caged sun.

Ok Yue, come on. This time get it right.

"Se-Secret Sword: The Reverse Side of the Page! Homage technique, Wolf Dancing In the Moonlight!"

Hey. Hey. Ya wanna know a secret? I made that up just now, there's no technique like that. It's not a secret sword either, at least not the way the stories would accept one. But Hyra always says, if you're watching the show then you're looking in the wrong place, right? If I shout and seem all cool, and if I bounce the light off my sword so that it seems like I'm about to do somethin' earth shatterin' and powerful, then nobody's watching my hand fumble through my pouches. 

And definitely nobody's looking at the handful of sun beads I pull out. Not till I scatter them all across the ground around me. The glass cracks and lets a year's worth of collected sunlight spill out all at once. These machines, however they see, they've gotta be used to the dark, kinda dank aesthetic this place has goin' on. Whereas me, I've been chasing this light for years and years. Plus I've got these awesome goggles. In the dazzle of the sudden sunrise, it's a snap to bring my sword down for realsies and cut a hole through the top of the circle of machines that was closing around me. And then I'm off before they can figure out what happened.

I'm runnin' as fast as I can toward the tower. I know the window I need to reach, so I'm not gonna bother with silly things like using the door when I can just climb the side, instead. But there's a little ways before I make it, what's important is that I'm on my way. Every one of these machines in this army is a new technique from Princess Kikil, right? She's amazin', I'll give her that. This might be the funnest duel I've ever had. 

But if all that's true, then it means that every foot I put down that gets me closer to where she's sittin' is a stroke I haven't bothered to block. You see it yet? I'm slippin' under that guard, and before you know it, it'll be [i]my[/i] sword under [i]her[/i] chin. I've got so many to choose from, just now. Haha, hahahaha!

She's gonna be so mad when she notices where I am. I can't wait to meet her next counterpunch <3