El Hazard is the property of AIC and Pioneer LDC.  The author only owns the writing 
and the characters that he himself creates.

Rock and Redemption
Part 18: Ground above Kazusa's Lair 
By the time Fuji and the others reached the surface it was too late. Kazusa managed to 
recreate his entire body out of the rock near their airboat. This time he exchanged detail 
for size. His new body was over four meters tall and looked like a rough-cut statue than 
earlier. Before, the body was a labor of love, akin to a work of art. Now he needed power, 
appearance be damned. 
But it cost him in other areas. To move he had to constantly reshape his body. Each 
action was closer to an bad, computer-animated morph under a strobe light than a 
movement. He cracked the pontoons of the airboat by enlarging his hands then dropping 
them down. Miz formed a quick river to move what was left of the airboat to relative 
saftey. The resulting mud made unsure footing for both sides. Mud and dirt skirted the 
defination of rock. For the time being, it was out of bounds when it came to his powers. 
Kazusa managed to collect enough loose stones from the mud to transform his left hand 
into a shield and right hand into a scoop. As Fujisawa charged, Kazusa began a mud 
slinging attack worthy of any politician. 
Afura and Shayla attacked from above. Afura tried to divert Kazusa's mud balls with her 
wind as Fujisawa made another charge. For a moment, Shayla did not act. Fire would dry 
the mud and make it easier for him to find real stone for his use. If she was going to do 
something, it would have to be soon. Kazusa's body was evolving. In a matter of minutes, 
his body would be capable of real movement. She thought back to the conversation with 
Hiashi when he tried to explain some of the things in sci-fi. Part of it involved his laster 
and how he demostrated it by lighting a candle with a beam of fire bounced off a series of 
three mirrors. "If he could do it, so can I." she thought. 
She reshaped her fireballs into something finer, something with a point and an edge, 
something meant for cutting instead of frying. The result was an attack the size of a sheet 
of paper including thickness. It cut away half his shoulder and went on into the mud, 
flash drying a small amount. Kazusa tried to take a swing at her, but the effort cracked 
what was left of his shoulder causing his arm to fall off. He managed to catch it as it fell 
and tried to reattach it to his shoulder. 
Shayla tried to keep that from happening by throwing more fire sheets. Some attacks cut 
away more of Kazusa's body. Afura lifted those pieces away from his influence. Others, 
which struck his chest or thighs, cut right through doing little damage. Kazusa shrank his 
body shooting the excess like a vulcan cannon at his opponents. Afura and Shayla 
managed to dodge the desperate attack as Ifurita erected a foce screen to protect the rest. 
Kazusa, fully enraged, reached out with his powers. Small boulders appeared to come to 
life and rolled through the mud, crashing into him. The rocks began piling up. Fujisawa 
tried to stop one, but was only run over, pressed into the mud. Then he tried smashing 
them as they passed. But he only succeeded into creating more pieces for Kazusa to work 
with. Even before that last stone collided with the mass, a shape began to rise. 
For a few tense seconds it was just a blob, a collection of stones like a magnified anthill. 
The boulders broke down into stones, then into pebbles, then into finer pieces the others 
couldn't see. Kazusa willed the stone into a new body, an even larger one. This time he 
would not be slowed by a poor design or pained by shattered limbs. Now he was a ghost 
in a shell of rock, his true body buried at the center of the head of a secondary body 
twenty meters tall that he controlled through will alone. 
Miles away the Eye of God, satisfied the criteria given to it was fulfilled, activated an 
anceint program. Power flowed within, working its way around the myraid of computers 
and technology. From the outside it looked no different than before. Only the sharpest of 
eyes could tell it was rotating slightly. Inside the power acculumated and seven invisible 
pulses were sent to a unique receiver. 
Below the battle Hiashi began to regain consciousness. It was a slow process. At first he 
became aware of his existence. Then the memory prior to his blacking out resurfaced. But 
he still lacked the strength to move. For one second he considered returning to that sleep-
like state, but the noise from the fight changed his mind. The battle could accidently 
cause a cave in. More importantly the battle meant he had failed and Kazusa got his new 
body. No. He could not fail like this. It was his fault Kazusa got the Lamp in the first 
place. Hiashi knew Kazusa would have gotten his hands on the Lamp no matter what 
Hiashi did. But Hiashi still felt guilty, as if the Lamp was his responsibility. He realized 
that he had felt that way since it was first clamped onto his arm yesterday morning. 
Choosing between Shayla and the Lamp was one of the hardest things he had to do since 
he came to El-Hazard. Shayla ... no the choice was obvious, but difficult. He could only 
hope she was all right and could succeed where he could not. 
Thinking about the Lamp of Rock made him aware that it was now on his arm like 
before. He didn't remember putting it on, only yanking it away from Afura's body as 
Kazusa's spirit left and the Lamp's power drained. It felt dead now, no more than a piece 
of jewerly. Then he could feel a warm sensation pulse through the Lamp. Then another, 
and another. Each one felt stronger than before. The seventh one also went through his 
mind, giving him understanding. 
He had a vision of the Eye of God saw the last time someone used it to gaze across 
diminsions. It was of how Kazusa spied on him in the hours before coming to El-Hazard. 
Hiashi saw himself, at home, with father using the belt on him. His body went limp as he 
relived that last night through the eyes of an outsider. He saw himself as his will was 
nearly broken then turn around and strengthen with resolve. He saw how indignation as 
well as desperation spurned him to action. He saw how it compared to Father's creulty, 
bordering on sadism. The events moved amazingly fast, how it skipped foward in time 
like a badly edited movie. He watched his father go into the bar as if he didn't really care 
if he found his son. The Eye of God replayed the murder and revealed the faces of those 
responsible as well as their nonchalant attitude over what happened. "<ha> He's right. 
That one won't be missed." Hiashi said feeling the self-inflicted guilt lift off his 
shoulders. 
The rubble was blown away with a clap of thunder. Any dust generated was quickly 
forced to settle. There Hiashi stood. Tan streams of energy flowed from the Lamp and 
around him in a compat helix. A pillar of rock rose under his feet and lifted him up. The 
ceiling parted at his approach, forming a tunnel through the dirt and stone to the surface. 
Above the battle was not going well. Any attacks successful in damaging the monstrosity 
were ignored for the most part. Only when the bits of damaged acculumated to become a 
nuance did Kazusa pause to concentrate on repair. Without this regeneration ability, 
Kazusa would have fallen several times over. Limbs have been practically shattered only 
to be drawn into the torso and emerge undamaged. For his part Kazusa was enjoying the 
battle. It was somewhat exhausting, but also exilerating. He was at the limits of how 
much rock he could presently control. But right now he was doing things he could only 
dream of in his former life. He remebered the fights with adventurers after causing the 
schism in the Elemental Church. While he could not presently cause quakes or rock 
slides, he did have unprecedented control over his rock body and this second body. 
Makoto, Nanami, and the Grand Priestess came from a tunnel. The Elemental Staff 
displayed his power in a spiraling blast of the combined elements. But the strain was 
proving too much for a body weakened by a lack of sustenance. Kazusa countered by 
shooting a stone spear at her. Makoto threw her down, saving her life. But her grip over 
the Staff was lost. The spear missed Makoto by an inch, but shattered the staff. The 
detached tip spit multi-colored sparks as Kazusa laughed in triumph. "Is it repairable?" 
Makoto asked unsure. 
"Yes, but it will take time. Time we don't have." the Grand Priestess answered. 
"Makoto, get the pieces and the Priestess out of here. We'll hold off this thing." Fujisawa 
shouted. 
Shayla tried blinding him with a fiery fog as the others attacked again. The Fujisawas 
managed to disable one leg each as Ifurita and Afura destroyed both arms. Kazusa could 
feel himself falling over from within the head, closest to the fire. He almost shed his 
stony giant and continue the fight at their size, but that would have been too dangerous. 
For the first time Kazusa considered the possibility of defeat. Using what little he had left 
of his limbs, he again reformed his body. A bit smaller but still huge by human standards. 
A still forming hand reached out and grabbed Shayla-Shayla. Kazusa took delight in her 
fear as he slowly began to crush her. Riho expanded to protect her, but he couldn't last 
long. 
A rumbling from below distracted Kazusa from murdering Shayla, but he still kept his 
tight grip on her. Something erupted from the dirt in a cloud of dust. Makoto squited as 
the outline formed. It was humanlike with sharp high-tech lines and larger than Kazusa. 
Even before it emerged from the dust, Makoto recognized it. "I don't believe it. Hiashi 
created Fortress Maximus." 
"Are you sure it's him?" Nanami asked nervously. 
"Can you think of anyone else who'd know about Cybertrons?" 
"Humph, you two are probably the only ones at Shinonome who still remember that old 
show." 
"Can't argue with the results though." Fujisawa commented shielding his eyes from the 
sun. 
With a determined stride, Hiashi marched the robotic statue foward. As it came from the 
settling dust cloud, Makoto noted the colors were wrong. Instead of the blues, reds, and 
other colors, this was only stone tan and grey. It didn't diminish the effect of its presence. 
"Let her GO!" Hiashi shouted firing the primary weapon. 
With only rock and stone to work with, the weapon fired a cluster of pebbles like a 
shotgun. Kazusa's arm was cracked and weakened enough by the blast to let Shayla-
Shayla free herself. For a second she debated between joining Hiashi and flying for 
cover. But when Kazusa charged Hiashi, she knew it was strictly a one-on-one battle. 
Kazusa moved in as fast as he was able. Hiashi stayed his ground firing his weapon two 
more times before being forced to abandon it. They attacked each other using anything 
they could dream up or remember. Kazusa employed the anceint swords and similiar 
weapons by crafting them from the gun Hiashi dropped. Hiashi preferred using his 
robotic fists and the body contortions only a construct can preform. 
His fighting style was nothing more than those observed by others. Makoto could pick 
out elements from movies, video games, even the Three Stooges. Hiashi was using them 
effectively, taking several oppertunities to shot Kazusa at point blank range with hidden 
weapons mounted on the Cybertron replica. 
At first it was obvious the two were too evenly matched. Cracked stone could be repaired 
with a thought and Kazusa was absorbing parts of Hiashi's construct as he knocked bits 
away. Whether it was superior skill, luck, the right attitude, or noble cause, Hiashi was 
starting to come out ahead. Kazusa's construct mirrored its creator in facial expressions 
and movement while Hiashi's remained unemotionless. There wasn't even the look of 
satisfaction on its face as Hiashi made it pound Kazusa again and again. 
It was only on the outside however. Inside the stone Cybertron's head Hiashi fought with 
passion. This was the man who tried to kill him several times, who almost killed Shayla 
by crushing her, the one who tortured him with his father, who used an innocent person's 
body as a vessel for his spirit. Hiashi no longer considered Kazusa to be human. He lost 
that distinction when he abandoned Afura's body for an unfeeling statue. Unless stopped, 
Hiashi feared Kazusa would forget the value of life and destroy and murder without 
regret. Relentlessly he pounded at the controls. He had a plan, but it would take time and 
work to complete. 
His controls were simple. Buttons, switches, pedals, and joysticks appeared and 
functioned as Hiashi willed it. But all of that was only to focus his actions, a way to better 
translate thought into deed without merging mind to the stone. Kazusa's strength was a 
liability since now he felt an echo each blow to his vehicle while Hiashi only felt a shake 
and sence the existence of damage. He saw only through his new senses. The Lamp of 
Rock senced the stone around him. Through that he knew where he was, Kazusa's 
location, and the terrian around them. His power told him where Shayla, Miz, and Afura 
were. But he was ignorant about where other people were. He hoped the others had the 
common sence to stay away from the fight. 
The tide dramatically turned in Hiashi's favor. With a powerful left hook, Hiashi sent 
Kazusa down. Shayla-Shayla approached causciously, wondering what would happen 
next. Unwilling to admit defeat, Kazusa threw himself on Fortress Maximus and began 
absorbing it. Hiashi could feel control over his vehicle slipping. He ejected the head as he 
willed the body and all his bits of stone Kazusa absorbed to explode. Their stone shells 
protected them from most of the damage. Hiashi shattered his beheaded cocoon and 
formed fire wings as Shayla flew within range. 
Kazusa was thrown from the head of the giant and into the ground, bouncing several 
times. The battle had visibly weakened him. All over his body were cracks. He looked 
like he was on the verge of falling apart. Old habits from having a living body made him 
'breathe' heavily in exhaustion. His opponents circled around him again. Afura created a 
wind focused enough to lift Kazusa from the ground to prevent escape. He looked hard at 
Hiashi with eyes full of hate as he landed. "How did you do it? The Lamp was drained. 
Worthless!" 
"The Eye of God restored it ... and more. Now, like the other Lamps, it can now create its 
element instead of merely manipulating it." Hiashi explained. 
"The your giant-" Kazusa started. 
"Created entirely by MY Lamp. I had complete control, even over the parts you absorbed. 
It's over, Kazusa. Surrender now while you can." 
"Never!!" Kazusa shouted and channeled some of the last bit of power he had into the 
ground. 
The earth shook as figures rose like zombies in a Grade B horror movie. Kazusa gambled 
that subjecting Hiashi to statues of his father would distract him enough for Kazusa to 
escape. Fujisawa and the others attacked every statue in reach. Even though they 
crumbled easily, they kept coming. Hiashi stood unmoving and unimpressed. "It won't 
work this time. The Eye showed me the truth. <heh> I ain't 'fraid of no ghost." 
Makoto rolled his eyes. "You just had to say that. Didn't you?" 
"Yep. 'Cause I'm going to do this." Hiashi focused the power of the Lamps in his hands. 
In his left were the elements of the other Lamps. Water was super-heated by fire past 
steam and ionization into plasma. Wind shaped the result into a barely controled winding 
stream of energized elemental particles which ripped through the statues before 
convering on Kazusa. 
His arms and legs were distingtated first. Then his torso. As the steams of energy worked 
their way to his neck he shouted, "I'll be back. You can turn me to dust, but as long as I'm 
on El-Hazard, I'll be back." 
"Then I'll just have to remove you from my new home. You wanted control over Rock? 
Well let me return you to where there is nothing but Rock." Hiashi finished by unleashing 
the power building in his other hand. 
Kazusa's head glowed bright yellow then faded from existence leaving a white hot spark. 
The spark streaked across the horizon and into the Eye of God. From there it was thrown 
across time and space to the dimensions where the Elemental Lamps drew their power. 
Abandoned in a lifeless universe of rock and stone and the only way out permently 
blocked by the Eye. Kazusa could do nothing but hope his soul faded away before 
madness and insanity took over.