PART II: AFTER THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 28: The Xenoroid

Decades ago, a young boy from Edelstein had been kidnapped by Gelimer on his way home from playing with his friends, Claudine, Elex, Brighton, and Belle. Gelimer soon transformed him into a Xenoroid, an augmented type of android, and gave him the name Xenon. (A/N: Small grievance, Xenon is technically a cyborg, not an android. Androids are robots that look and behave like humans, whereas cyborgs are living organisms with mechanical enhancements.) Over the decades, he and another girl named Beryl were put through extreme training and examinations in order to become Gelimer’s most powerful weapons. After years of conditioning, Gelimer administered his final test for Xenon, which was to defeat a holographic replica of Von Leon.

(A/N: Gelimer later allies himself with the Commanders and eventually becomes one himself, but he always planned to betray them and rule the world by himself. Because of this, I believe that part of Xenon’s training was specifically to learn and exploit the weaknesses of the other Commanders in order to become a powerful weapon against them, especially when you consider that his template would be copied and imprinted onto Lotus and possibly many other Xenoroids later on.)

Gelimer was pleased to see that Xenon had easily been able to defeat Von Leon, but before he could celebrate his victory in creating the perfect android, an intruder was detected in the facility. Fearing that Orchid had discovered his secret base, Gelimer checked the monitor and saw that Claudine, Belle, and Brighton had infiltrated the facility.

(A/N: The Xenoroid project was the heart of Gelimer’s dream to create the ultimate being. The plan that he had proposed to Orchid was for Lotus’ spirit to be transferred into an augmented clone body, which resulted in the creation of Vita and several other experiments. While those were mainly for show, he did seem to have some genuine interest in Vita, which makes me believe that he may have at least had some vested interest in those cloning experiments. Gelimer believed Lotus’ body to be perfect, as it had been created by the powerful magic of the White Mage, and so I wonder whether his experiments in the Verne Mine doubled as both a front to appease Orchid and to determine whether he might be able to replicate Lotus’ perfect body as a clone.

In the Verne Mine storyline, we learn that Vita was a perfect replica of Lotus, but she was deemed a failure because she had no magic. Quests in the game’s early history involving Lotus strongly suggest that he was originally conceived as female, which explains why Vita was described as a perfect replica and why there were so many apparent mistranslations that used female pronouns to allude to Lotus. It’s a bit harder to account for Vita being a perfect replica now that Lotus has been canonized as male, but taking a jump into a different series, Omega from Star Wars: The Bad Batch is an unaltered template for Jango Fett, with the only difference being that a genetic mistranslation during the cloning process resulted in her being female, which might be similar to what happened with Lotus and Vita.

Either way, we can disregard Gelimer’s cloning experiments as being nothing more than personal curiosity, as his ultimate dream had always been to turn Lotus into a Xenoroid and use him as the central core for Black Heaven. Because of this, he wanted to keep the existence of his Xenoroid project secret from Orchid, which was why he worked on Xenon in a secret facility outside the Verne Mine.)

Though Gelimer was relieved that Orchid hadn’t discovered the facility, he was still irritated that the Resistance had found it. However, he decided to use the situation as an opportunity to conduct a field test for Xenon. He dropped down a cage to capture the Resistance and sent Xenon to eliminate them. However, Claudine managed to push Brighton and Belle away before the cage dropped down on her. Xenon then arrived to eliminate the Resistance, but the sight of his old friends began triggering his latent memories, causing his head to throb in pain. Just as Gelimer and Beryl arrived, Brighton and Belle retreated in order to formulate a rescue plan. Gelimer then ordered Xenon to guard Claudine while he and Beryl chased down the others.

Perplexed by the strange memories in his head, Xenon decided to visit Claudine in her prison. There, he encountered his friend, Roo-D, a rabbit-fox hybrid Xenoroid, who asked him whether he had remembered anything from his past. In order to jog his memories, she gave him Claudine’s dagger, believing that it held the key to his memories. While she kept a watch for Gelimer’s return, Xenon asked Claudine about the dagger, explaining that it almost felt familiar to him.

As Claudine wondered whether Xenon could be her old childhood friend, Roo-D returned and warned them that Gelimer was coming back. She told Xenon that the only way for him to regain his memories was to escape with Claudine before Gelimer erased the last vestiges of his memories. She explained that long ago, she had made a promise to keep him safe during a time before Gelimer had taken away his memories. In order to protect him, Roo-D had hidden her true nature from Gelimer by acting like one of his loyal underlings.

Choosing to betray Gelimer, Xenon broke Claudine out of her cell and began to escape. Just then, Beryl appeared and turned on Xenon after witnessing his betrayal. Though Xenon managed to defeat her, Gelimer arrived and activated his control circuit in order to freeze him in place. However, Xenon’s strong will to recover his memories helped him override the circuit, allowing him to resist his programming and slowly walk away.

Just as Gelimer ordered Beryl to destroy Xenon, the Resistance rescue party arrived and helped them escape. Back at the Resistance base, the leaders were in disagreement about what to do with Xenon and Roo-D. As Checky and Brighton believed them to be Black Wings agents sent to infiltrate the Resistance, Roo-D offered to remove Xenon’s control circuit as a show of good faith, although she warned them that it would weaken him to the point of near-death. Nevertheless, Xenon told Roo-D to proceed, as he didn’t want to be a danger to those around him.

Roo-D removed the control circuit, which severely weakened Xenon, but left him immune to Gelimer’s control. Claudine then welcomed him into the Resistance and suggested that he speak with the other Resistance leaders in order to gain their trust. She asked him whether he had any memories, but Xenon told her that he couldn’t remember anything about his old life. When Claudine asked if he knew anything about the Black Wings, Xenon explained that he had never heard of them. This surprised Claudine, as Gelimer’s research was funded by the organization, and Gelimer himself reported to Orchid, the leader of the Black Wings.

Xenon apologized and told her that he had only ever seen Gelimer and the other Xenoroids as far as he could remember. Claudine told him not to be sorry, as she realized that she had likely placed too much importance on the secret facility that they had found him in, though she was certain that Orchid or the other Black Wings must have paid him a visit.

Xenon told her Roo-D would likely know more about the topic, explaining that she was Gelimer’s assistant who had helped oversee the Xenoroid combat training program. Claudine thanked him for sharing what he knew and told him to rest for a while. Xenon then spoke with Checky, who asked him to complete Headmaster Ferdi’s basic training program in order to see if it would jog his memories. Although he was still unable to remember anything, Checky nevertheless welcomed him into the Resistance.

Next, Elex asked Xenon whether he had ever been to Edelstein as a child, as he had recognized Xenon as his long-lost friend. Xenon apologized and explained that he couldn’t remember. Though Elex told him that it was hard to trust someone with no memories, he refused to accept Xenon’s apology, explaining that the Resistance needed dedicated fighters, not apologies.

In order to help jog Xenon’s memory, Elex asked him to collect Memory Chips from the Patrol Robots, hoping that being exposed to the town would trigger Xenon’s childhood memories. When he was still unable to recall anything, Elex realized that Edelstein must have changed too much for him to recognize after so long. He then told Xenon to speak with Brighton, who asked him to gain Headmaster Ferdi’s approval, explaining that he would trust Xenon if Ferdi approved of his character. After Ferdi placed his trust in Xenon, Brighton did as well.

Xenon then returned to Claudine, who officially introduced herself and explained that she was in charge of assigning missions to Resistance members. For his first mission, she told him to get to know Edelstein and its people. Belle then called him over and explained that she had never seen Claudine act so emotional, as she had been staring wistfully at her dagger all day long. She then asked him to go the empty house near the giant mansion at the center of town, explaining that the house used to belong to her friend, who had left behind a photograph that Belle wanted him to retrieve.

Xenon found the photo, which showed a young Claudine eating lunch with a child who looked just like him. He returned the photo to Belle and told her that he was feeling an unfamiliar sensation of nostalgia and longing, which confirmed Belle’s suspicions that Xenon was indeed their childhood friend. However, she was surprised at the fact that Xenon had been kidnapped by Gelimer, as the Black Wings hadn’t even been formed at the time. (A/N: Gelimer actually began the Xenoroid project by himself many years before meeting Orchid.)

Belle asked him to show the photo to Claudine, explaining that the boy in the photograph was her close friend. Claudine was filled with wistfulness and told Xenon that the dagger he had asked her about in Gelimer’s lab had belonged to her friend. She explained that she had borrowed the dagger in order to make a sheath for it, but her friend had disappeared before she had ever gotten the chance to return it. Since that day, Claudine had continued holding onto the dagger in the hope that she could one day return it back to him.

Xenon asked what she would feel if her friend came back, to which Claudine told him that she would like that very much. He asked if she would still feel the same way if her friend had become a different person, but Claudine explained that it didn’t matter to her, since everyone changed, adding that people made the best of their situation. She believed that her friend was a good person, which was all that mattered to her. Claudine then told Xenon that she knew of a place that could help him regain his memories and told him to take the path to the outskirts of town from Edelstein Park, explaining that it had once been a popular place for children to play when she was younger.

There, however, Xenon encountered Beryl, who had come to capture him. As Beryl’s inner circuitry had been damaged during their earlier fight in the lab, Xenon was able to easily defeat her, even in his own weakened state. He asked Beryl how she had been able to follow him, to which she responded that she had followed his Pulse. Though she was forced to retreat, Beryl warned him that there was nowhere he could hide from her.

After she left, Roo-D rushed over to Xenon, having detected Beryl’s Pulse in the area. She explained that a Pulse was like a heartbeat that Xenoroids gave out when they were active. Xenon asked if there was a way to turn off his Pulse, but Roo-D told him that it was impossible, as his Pulse was an indicator that he was alive. However, she explained that Beryl wouldn’t be able to feel his Pulse unless they were in the same town, and so she suggested that they leave Edelstein.

Xenon told her that he needed to let the Resistance know that he was leaving, but as he couldn’t risk entering the Secret Plaza and revealing their base to Beryl, Roo-D suggested that he ask Claudine’s younger sister, Ulrika, to pass on the message. Ulrika agreed to let Claudine know, but she made Xenon promise to bring her back a souvenir when he returned. With that, Xenon and Roo-D decided to go to Henesys, as its large population would allow them to blend in.

Just as they reached the outskirts, Claudine caught up with them and explained that Ulrika had told her that he was planning to leave Edelstein. She asked if things were moving too fast for him, but Xenon only told her that it was a personal problem that necessitated him to leave. Claudine offered to help, but Xenon told her that she and the Resistance would be in danger if they stayed too close to him.

Realizing that his mind was made up, Claudine decided to give Xenon her dagger as a reminder of his time with the Resistance, explaining that she was returning it to its original owner. Though he was touched by the gesture, Xenon told her to keep it, as she needed it more, promising that he would take it back once she no longer needed it after Edelstein was safe again.

Xenon and Roo-D then traveled to Henesys, and with neither of them knowing how to blend in, they decided to find an elder of the town who could share their wisdom. They met with Chief Stan, who told them to find a job in order to fit in and sent them to see his wife, Mrs. Ming Ming. Mrs. Ming Ming asked Xenon to find her missing packages of ingredients, which had accidentally been delivered to the Golem Temple. After Xenon recovered the packages, Mrs. Ming Ming used the ingredients to prepare boxed lunches and asked him to deliver them to Camila and Bruce.

After delivering the lunches, Xenon helped Bruce find his missing water bottle, which had been taken by one of the Golems. He also helped Bruce create a freezer pack and a thermal container for Mrs. Ming Ming by collecting Frozen Stones and Burning Stones. As Xenon headed back to town, Roo-D alerted him that she could feel Beryl’s Pulse nearby. Xenon quickly went to deliver Bruce’s gifts to Mrs. Ming Ming, who could see that he seemed to be sad. Xenon explained that he needed to leave town, which was causing him to feel a strange sensation. Mrs. Ming Ming told him that she hoped to see him again and gave him a boxed lunch as a parting gift.

Xenon then asked Roo-D where they ought to go in order to avoid Beryl. Roo-D suggested that they try heading to a different dimension by using the Interdimensional Portal, which had recently appeared in Maple World with the seal on the Black Mage weakening. They traveled through the portal and entered Pantheon, where Cartalion immediately halted them. After realizing that they were from Maple World, he apologized and explained that Xenon’s markings were similar to those of their enemies. (A/N: He’s most likely referring to Xenon’s facial markings being similar to Specter markings.)

He was impressed by Maple World’s technology after learning that Xenon was an android and told him to speak with Fenelle, who could help him learn more about Grandis. He also asked Xenon to give her a letter that he had received from Angelic Buster, which contained information that Fenelle would find noteworthy. After he delivered the letter, Fenelle explained that Pantheon was usually peaceful, but that it had lately become much more chaotic.

Just then, Kylan welcomed Xenon and asked if he had any objects from Maple World, as he was fascinated by all things from the other dimension. Xenon showed him Roo-D, who reminded Kylan of similar-looking creatures on Grandis. He asked Xenon to capture Kaloong and Laloong monsters, after which he made several notes comparing Roo-D with them. Xenon then returned to Fenelle and asked her to tell him about the chaos in Pantheon. Fenelle told him about their struggle against Gerand Darmoor, as well as the recent loss of one of their sacred stones.

(A/N: Fenelle actually says that two of their relics are now gone. The line about the relics is from before the Angelic Buster story revamp, which retconned the four relics powering the Protective Shield as four sacred stones containing a portion of the actual relic’s power, which exists in Heliseum. However, the line about two relics being gone is a continuity error, as the relic - now the sacred stone - from the West Sanctum was recovered by Angelic Buster.)

Fenelle then asked Xenon if he could patrol the Eastern and Western borders, which had been weakened due to the loss of the sacred stone. At the outskirts, Xenon fought and defeated several Specters and returned to Fenelle, who thanked him for his help. Just then, Xenon felt Beryl’s Pulse and, fearing that their conflict would destroy the town, he drew her to the outskirts of Pantheon. After forcing Beryl to retreat, Xenon told Roo-D that he felt as though Beryl showed unusual hostility towards him, going beyond just impassively following Gelimer’s orders.

However, Roo-D told him that it was unlikely, as Xenoroids were programmed not to feel emotions. With Grandis no longer being safe, Xenon returned to Pantheon in order to plan his next move. Just then, a Shadowdealer name Tonero approached him and explained that he had been ordered to give him a Traditional Winner’s Earrings Box. Upon opening it, Xenon found that it contained a message from Claudine, who had asked him to help a secret research organization created by the Resistance.

(A/N: There seems to be a timeline error with Xenon’s storyline. His story seems to have been written with the assumption that the Alliance has been formed, but this creates a contradiction with the Explorer storyline, in which you encounter Xenon, who’s already joined Veritas, the organization that Claudine mentioned. Because the meeting with Xenon happens before the Alliance formation quest, there’s no way that Xenon’s storyline up to this point could take place after the formation of the Alliance. Because of this, several things about this storyline fall apart. Claudine mentions that Veritas recently received funding from the Alliance, which logically can’t happen.

Additionally, it’s almost impossible for the Resistance to have come in contact with the Shadowdealers. It works if you assume that the Alliance has been formed at this point, as you could say that the Nova had introduced them to the Shadowdealers. However, since this storyline has to predate the formation of the Alliance, we’re left with Cartalion mentioning that he’s never seen someone from Maple World before, and given that he’s such a high-ranking knight, there’s almost no way that the Resistance could’ve traveled through the Interdimensional Portal and met with the Shadowdealers without him knowing.

The only other explanation is that the Shadowdealers themselves have visited Maple World, but then there’s no way to explain why the Nova would’ve allowed a black market organization to use the Interdimensional Portal. It’s true that there are multiple Interdimensional Portals throughout Grandis, but the fact that Cadena was told that she would have to use the one in Pantheon means that there aren’t any other ones that are accessible to the Shadowdealers.)

Xenon then traveled to the research facility in Aquarium, where he met Professor Moon, nicknamed Professor Dreamboat, who welcomed him to the Resistance Research Command of Veritas. He explained that they were a research group dedicated to tracking and addressing phenomena related to the Black Mage. Since they were understaffed, Professor Dreamboat was pleased to have Xenon as a field agent.

Xenon explained that he was being tracked, but Professor Dreamboat told him that they would figure out how to circumvent that problem. Xenon asked if he could be outfitted with the same technology that made the base impervious to scanners, but Professor Dreamboat explained that it wouldn’t be viable, as it would essentially make Xenon the size of a two-story building. He instead proposed creating Pulse Disruptors, devices that could drown out Xenon’s Pulse, and resolved to begin researching them.

Some time later, Professor Dreamboat asked Xenon to help him with his research so that he could develop the Pulse Disruptors more quickly. He gave Xenon a device that could record his Pulse and asked him to hunt monsters so that he could gather information on when Xenon’s Pulse would spike up.

Before Xenon headed out, Edwin the engineer also asked for his help. He showed him the Promessa, a top-of-the-line vehicle that could transport the user anywhere. However, he explained that it had cost him everything he had in order to build it, and that Professor Dreamboat was unhappy with the exorbitant costs. In order to avoid spending more on materials, he asked Xenon to gather Gravi Stonegar and Onyx Stonegar Pieces to help restock their supplies. Xenon hunted the monsters in Pantheon, which also calibrated the Pulse recorder, and brought both the recorder and the materials to Professor Dreamboat and Edwin.

Xenon then went to see if Promathus the biologist needed any help. Promathus recognized Xenon as Gelimer’s creation, prompting Xenon to ask if he knew Gelimer. Promathus explained that he and Gelimer had once studied together at a biotechnology lab. He explained that Gelimer had endless talent, not only in biotechnology, but also in mechanical engineering, chemistry, and many other fields. Because of his dangerous research, he had been forced to leave the lab, nearly getting kicked out altogether.

Though he hadn’t heard from Gelimer since then, Promathus told Xenon that he never would have suspected that Gelimer would join the Black Wings. He added that it was rumored that Xenon was Gelimer’s most powerful weapon and explained that Gelimer had been researching androids before he had left the lab. Xenon’s escape meant that Gelimer had failed, which pleased Promathus immensely. He explained that a scientist should use their knowledge for humanity, not personal greed, as it otherwise didn’t matter whether one was a genius or not. Because of this, he believed that it was too late for Gelimer.

He then told Xenon that he had no work for him and told him to leave. Xenon asked Promathus why he seemed to dislike him, but Promathus merely scoffed and asked if Xenon was trying to emulate human emotions by asking such a question. Xenon remained silent, which made Promathus feel uncomfortable. He then apologized for what he said to Xenon, as his dislike for Gelimer didn’t justify his prejudice against Xenon.

After speaking with Promathus, Xenon was contacted by Nathania the alchemist, who explained that she had recently been transferred from Magatia to Veritas, and so she had ordered urgent materials. However, she had instead received a letter from the supplier, which had gotten lost in the lab, and so she asked him to help her find it.

Xenon found the letter in a dirt pile and gave it to Nathania. She told him that her supplier had written that he had run out of some of the materials that she had ordered. Though she had told her supplier to send whatever he had, the supplier had insisted on sending everything at once when it was available, leaving her without any materials. Because of this, she asked Xenon to bring her Tablecloths and Medicines with Weird Vibes from Kerning City.

Soon after, Professor Dreamboat contacted Xenon and explained that the Pulse Disruptors were ready. By burying them around Maple World, he believed that Xenon’s Pulse would remain hidden from detection unless Beryl was within extremely close range. Most of the disruptors had already been installed by the Resistance, and so the only places where they needed to bury the rest were in Ereve, Ludibrium, Pantheon, Henesys, and Edelstein. Xenon buried the Pulse Disruptors in the first four regions and then traveled to Edelstein.

He asked Professor Dreamboat why he had been asked to bury the disruptor in Edelstein if the Resistance could have taken care of it when they had handled the others. Professor Dreamboat explained that he had wanted to give Xenon the chance to visit Edelstein, since he had left in a hurry last time. He also explained that by burying the final disruptor, Xenon would be free to return to Edelstein as he pleased.

After installing the disruptor, he reunited with Claudine, who was overjoyed to see him again. She then told him that Ulrika was asking for him, though she didn’t know why. Ulrika reminded him that he still owed her a souvenir for delivering his message to Claudine and told him that as compensation, she wanted Jr. Necki Skins. Xenon went to Kerning City and collected the skins for Ulrika, who planned to use them to force Checky to take his costume off. (A/N: Poor Checky. We should just accept that his costume is filled with hopes and dreams, just like he keeps telling us.)

Just then, Professor Dreamboat contacted Xenon and explained that they had received intel that there were active Black Wings agents and asked him to investigate. He sent Xenon to the Golem Temple in Henesys, where he encountered Dargoth and Francis speaking. Francis was wondering what Gelimer was thinking by keeping their mission a secret from Orchid.

Dargoth pointed out that they would likely never know what Gelimer had in mind and thought that it was best to just do as they had been told. Hearing Gelimer’s name, Xenon revealed himself and asked them to explain what they were talking about. Dargoth and Francis began to fight Xenon, who easily defeated them both, causing Dargoth to retreat and leaving Francis alone.

After questioning Francis, Xenon learned that Gelimer had ordered them to capture someone, and Francis quickly realized while describing their target that they were meant to be looking for Xenon. He also told Xenon that Gelimer’s orders were meant to be kept secret, even from Orchid. After he proudly declared that his loyalty only belonged to Orchid, Xenon pointed out that it meant that Francis had no reason to obey Gelimer’s orders to capture him.

He told Francis to report back to Gelimer that he had nearly caught him, adding that there would be no point in lying that they had never met after Dargoth had likely reported what had happened. Having learned all that he could, Xenon returned to Veritas and reported what had happened to Professor Dreamboat, who told Xenon that he would discuss it with the other scientists.

Some time later, Promathus contacted Xenon and told him that until recently, Beryl had been the only one chasing after him. However, the Resistance had recently learned that some of the other Black Wings had also been given orders to capture him. Though Xenon’s existence was meant to be a secret from the Black Wings, Gelimer had gotten desperate and had involved some of the other Black Wings to recapture him.

In response to this, the researchers at Veritas had begun to make new weapons for Xenon, though Promathus added that he was against the decision, fearing that it would lead not just himself, but all the scientists of Veritas into following Gelimer’s path. Because of this, he wanted to test Xenon in order to have him prove that he was worthy of the new weapon by bringing back a Black Wings hat. (A/N: I have no idea what exactly this is supposed to prove.)

Xenon went to the entrance of the Verne Mine and bought a hat from a Black Wings member named Stephan, putting it on just as a Black Wings henchman arrived. Though Xenon tried to pretend that he was a Black Wings member, the henchman vaguely recognized his face from the photo that Gelimer had showed him and decided to bring Xenon to Gelimer in order to clear up the matter.

With no choice, Xenon defeated the henchman and brought the hat to Promathus, who then augmented Xenon’s system with the new weapons developed by Veritas. He also told Xenon that he had registered information gathered by the Resistance on all known Black Wings agents onto Xenon’s controller, which meant that Gelimer and the other Black Wings would see him as a total stranger, even if he were standing right in front of them.

(A/N: I don’t see how having Black Wings data would allow him to present himself as a stranger unless it just creates a holographic disguise whenever his controller detects that one of the Black Wings uploaded in the registry is nearby.)

Roo-D then told Xenon that he ought to visit his friends in Edelstein and suggested that he bring them gifts, as he hadn’t seen them in a long time. When neither of them could come up with any gift ideas, Roo-D told him to ask people similar to the gift recipients for ideas. Xenon asked why they couldn’t just ask the recipient themselves, but Roo-D told him that humans liked to make their gifts a surprise. (A/N: Honestly, just give everyone an Amazon gift card like I do.)

First, Xenon asked Professor Dreamboat for gift ideas for Elex, who recommended giving a book and offered one from his collection. He then gave it to Elex, who was less than ecstatic, though he still thanked Xenon nevertheless. He also gave Xenon some advice that books were better with pictures, as they would be easier to read to his kindergarteners.

Next, he asked Promathus for a gift idea for Brighton. Promathus told him that he felt sorry for Brighton, claiming that he must not have many friends if they really were similar. He then gave Xenon a ticket to Gold Beach to give to Brighton, telling him to warn Brighton that overwork could cause premature wrinkles. Xenon gave the ticket to Brighton, who thanked him, but explained that he wasn’t the type to go to resorts. However, Xenon scared him enough with Promathus’ advice on premature wrinkles to the point that he accepted it.

Next, he asked Nathania for ideas on a gift for Belle. After explaining that Belle was straightforward and fierce, Nathania suggested giving an unexpected gift like flowers and recommended getting Dahlias from Edelstein. Xenon gave the flowers to Belle, who was happy to receive them until caterpillars began crawling out of them. Xenon noted that it seemed odd that someone who rode a fierce jaguar into battle would be afraid of tiny bugs.

Next, he asked Edwin what to get for Checky. Since Checky wore a bear costume, Edwin suggested bringing him a teddy bear. He told Xenon to use Dirty Bandages, Ribs, and Horse Skulls from the Excavation Site in order to construct it. (A/N: This is very different from your usual Build-A-Bear Workshop experience.) Even though he was hesitant about the materials, the bear came out quite nicely. He brought it to Checky, who told him that it would make a much better present for Elex. Checky then swapped the book that Xenon had gotten for Elex in exchange for the teddy bear, making them both much happier with their gifts.

Finally, Xenon thought of what to get for Claudine. He remembered that Claudine still had his dagger and decided to get her a new one, believing that she really liked that type of weapon. He realized that his Whip Blade changed shape in battle, and so he got her a training blade from Edwin. Claudine was surprised to get his gift and told him that she liked her dagger better, but promised to keep his gift safe. He returned to Roo-D and told her about his less-than-stellar experience finding gifts for his friends. Roo-D reassured him that he would get better with time, adding that his experiences would help him regain his memories.

Some time later, Promathus called Xenon and asked him about Roo-D. As a biologist, he was deeply intrigued by her unique rabbit-fox hybrid appearance and asked him to bring some samples from similar creatures in Orbis. Xenon went to Orbis and brought Solid Horns and Stiff Feathers from the Jr. Cellions, Jr. Lioners, and Jr. Grupins.

After bringing back those samples, Promathus concluded that they bore no similarity to Roo-D and asked him to bring different samples. He sent Xenon back to Orbis to collect Cellion Tails, Lioner Tails, and Grupin Tails, and though he was unable to form any conclusions regarding Roo-D with them, he explained that she had inspired him on one of his personal projects and asked Xenon to bring him Lucida Tails to finish his research.

Later on, Xenon spoke with Roo-D about her design. She told him that it made sense for Promathus to be researching creatures that resembled her, especially since Gelimer had created her design based on creatures that appealed to humans. She explained that Gelimer had designed both herself and Xenon to be naturally attractive in order to have an advantage in manipulating humans. (A/N: Gelimer believes in the power of pretty privilege.)