=CHAPTER 1D: RAGING FLAMES SMOLDER=

                              “It’s really rather a long story…”

                                                  Rules || Profile

Independent Felix from the Golden Sun series, set post-Golden Sun: The Lost Age

15+ years overall RP experience; 5+ years as Felix on unluckyadept

Crossover friendly

OC friendly

Flexible writing style

—T.

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=CHAPTER 2C: BEYOND THE WATERY VORTEX=

~AO v2.0~

((Courtesy of @codedhopes))

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{Meanwhile, in Kansas City…}

[Cardinal and Drake had worked through the rest of the afternoon and evening, and into the morning hours.

It had been hard on them both, and they were both very tired. The blazing heat of the summer sun beat down with a merciless 102ºF.

Drake had valiantly pulled an overnighter as they went around from landmark to landmark; after their help at the zoo, word had started to spread about their actions. Not all communications were down for the count, though they were pretty limited to specific radio frequencies.

Cardinal was grateful that security officers, policemen, and employees were no longer hostile to him. He really preferred working WITH people, rather than having to deal with (un)friendly fire and explain after the fact.]

Cardinal: You holding up there okay, Drake…?

[He was starting to get concerned for his human travel companion. The only rest he’d been able to get was here and there while Cardinal was out in the field, fighting infected Xelbots. For the most part, he had refused to rest, instead helping out with evacuations. Cardinal had more or less forced him to rest at their last stop, as he knew he’d be in the museum a while. He was pretty sure that the man hadn’t eaten, either.]

Drake: You're asking me if I'm okay? You're the one doing all the fighting. I can handle this, don't worry.

Cardinal: (Uh-huh. And I’m… … I’m too tired to think of an analogy, ugh…)

[As much as Drake’s presence helped things go smoothly, though, he was relieved that their time evacuating the landmarks was just about at a close. While things were far from safe in the city, all the forces he had helped free up were spread out and assisting in curbing the damage. Things were almost stable… for an apocalypse, that is.

And not an hour too soon.

While Cardinal didn’t need to eat or sleep the way a human would, and could handle the heat a lot better… he still required energy, and was really prone to wearing himself out the longer he engaged in combat. Especially in the sweltering summer rays.

He was getting uncomfortably hot, and perilously close to overheating.]

Drake: ...You don't look so good either, friend. Don't you think you should take it a little easy? You're gonna burn yourself out at this rate.

Cardinal: Ha… I’ll be fine, I’ve been through much worse than this…

Jazz: Ree-owwwr…

[Cardinal looked down at his cat. She was staring up at the arena they had teleported to, tail twitching in anticipation of battle.

Cardinal put his hands to his hips and vented a deep sigh and as much heat as he could rid from his system.]

Cardinal: …I keep forgetting how big these buildings are. I’m used to an aerial view…

[Technically true.

But it was more that in his world…

…Arrowhead Stadium wasn’t a battle arena.]

Cardinal: Well, no time like the present. Do the people inside know we’re coming?

Drake: They know YOU’RE coming. There’s apparently a recruiter trapped in the basement who’s very curious about where you came from.

Cardinal: They wouldn’t be the first. I got that the last time I visited the arena in Titus, too, heh… though I left before the recruiters showed up.

Drake: I still can’t believe you’re friends with the Mighty Numbers. -Shakes his head- Crazy world…

Cardinal: -Looking up at the sky- About to get crazier….

Drake: …Heading on in?

Cardinal: Yeah. This time, though, Jazz stays with you.

Drake: …? Are you… sure about that?

[Cardinal turned and looked over his shoulder with a frown.]

Cardinal: There are a number of Combat ‘bots around here that have gone crazy. You’ll need the protection.

Drake: …Truuuuuue…

Cardinal: …

Cardinal: “But…”?

Drake: …But you’re…

Drake: Kinda going into the middle of a lot of high- and mid-ranking battle ‘bots…

[Cardinal put on a cheeky grin.]

Cardinal: Nothing I can’t handle.

Drake: By yourself?

Cardinal: Just long enough to get backup from the security people once the building is evacuated. So, what… fifteen minutes?

Drake: If you’re sure.

Cardinal: I’m very sure. However…

Drake: Yes?

Cardinal: -Points- After this, you should go home. I’m afraid I can’t teleport you there without exact coordinates, but…

Drake: -Handwaves it- I’ll get a ride or crash at somebody’s place or a church or something. What about you? Will you head back to Titus?

Cardinal: -Shakes his head- I wish. If I go home, or to Sanda Enterprises, they’ll make me stop. I can’t go home until my mission is over. (One way or another.)

[Cardinal used ITEM-2!]

Cardinal: See you as soon as things get under control.

[With that, he took off into the sky. It wasn’t long before he was looking down at a familiar scene of chaos—]

KKKKKWWWWWWHHHHHHHH!

Cardinal: !!

[He was suddenly hit by a blast of turbulence. He had to overcompensate for it—]

WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!

Cardinal: Gyah—!

[Another blast!]

Cardinal: (These aren’t random! They’re—)

[There was a deafening noise as he was caught up in a blast that had also sent dust and debris flying. Blinded by the grit that slammed into his vents, he couldn’t see well enough to combat the next blast.]

Cardinal: AAAAAAHHH—!

[He was knocked from his windsurfer and sent crashing to the sands below.]

Cardinal: (Not this time!)

[He immediately teleported to the ground. The momentum he had gained in that brief moment still traveled with him, and he hit the ground hard enough to really feel it.]

Cardinal: (Ugh!)

[Just as the dust was clearing up, there was a loud whipping noise and something snagged his left ankle.]

Cardinal: !

“Got the little blaster!”

Cardinal: -More than a little aggravated- Oh do you really?

[YANK!]

[He was dragged a good yard upon the sands.]

Cardinal: Hey! -Reverting to heat vision- Cut that out!

[Cardinal used QUICK BOOMERANG!]

“AUGH!”

[His aim held true, which wasn’t hard—he just had to follow the trajectory of the rope tied around him, and the sharp projectiles found a score deep in the Xel of the ‘bot trying to wrangle him. Five shots, all fired in extremely quick succession. The rope went slack.]

“Get your act together, Cassidy!”

[Cardinal could now make out what appeared to be a rancher-themed Xelbot, seething as he tried to minimize the Xel loss from the wounds. One of his hands had been badly gashed, and a couple of the boomerangs had nicked his abdomen.]

Cassidy: Easy for YOU to say, Laura!

[Cardinal took the chance to cut himself loose and spring to his feet.]

Cassidy: [Glitch—]

[BANG!]

Cardinal: -Glares- Are you seriously—

[K-ZAP!]

[Cardinal’s words were stolen by a bolt that jolted through him like white fire.

While he wasn’t really particularly vulnerable to electricity, he was running hot. It didn’t help, and he felt seared by the heat.]

Cassidy: HA! Good one, Jones!

[The female voice called out again.]

Laura: Get ‘im, Dell!

[Cardinal had to roll to the side to avoid an incoming throwing axe. He scrambled to his feet, but…]

Dell: Yer gonna be nothin’ but Xel stains, city slicker!

[Cardinal leaped into the air, jumping to avoid shots from Cassidy as another axe came bearing down on where he was. It was only then that he noticed it.

The sands were covered in piles and puddles of sickly looking Xel, with some cores scattered here and there.

Whatever had been going on before he turned up… it hadn’t gone well for a loooooot of people.]

Cassidy: Regular jackrabbit, aincha!

Dell: Oi, Laura! This one’s puttin’ up a fight! You want in on the fun?

[When the lady turned around, Cardinal got a sinking feeling.

She must look fair enough on a normal day. Dirty blond hair done up in pigtails, with freckles and a big smile. Sturdily built—strong and stocky enough to wield her weapon of choice effortlessly.

But with the infected glow in her eyes and the Xel that covered the wicked scythe she was holding—not to mentioned splattered all across her overalls—she looked axe-crazy.]

Laura: He’s not going anywhere! Strike him!

[Cardinal teleported across the sands to be closer to her, and not a moment too soon. Another bolt of electricity zapped the spot where he had been.

Getting closer also proved to be a bad idea. He was immediately forced to shield against a threshing blow.]

Laura: Bah! Think you’re all that with that trick of yours? You must be—

[Cardinal dropped to the ground and gave a low kick, knocking her off balance. He teleported rather than scrambling to his feet, opting to stand against a wall with his shield out in front of him.

As the team gathered out together, he could finally make out who they all were.]

((Pic—Cardinal v Prairie Kings))

[There were five of them, mostly the size of an average human person. They all seemed to carry a farming and ranching theme, though the enormous wind ‘bot in the back stood out.]

[KRAK—]

[This time, he shielded against the bolt that came hammering into him.]

Cardinal: (Augh! I’ll have to keep moving around as long as they keep throwing lightning at me! Who is even doing that? I don’t see an electric ‘bot out there!)

[He didn’t bother thinking on it much.]

[Cardinal used MAGNET MISSLE!]

[The three homing shots zoomed off to their different targets. Cassidy tried to dodge, only to find that they were HOMING shots. Dell tried to axe his, causing it to explode on impact. As for the third…]

The path was disrupted and the ground shook as a fierce wind ripped up the sands. It was a stronger wind than the Magnet Missile was meant to handle, and it exploded harmlessly in the air. The same could not be said for Cardinal, however.

It was all he could do to keep ahold of his shield. He WAS, however, tossed a good few yards before the wind subsided.]

Cardinal: (Gaaahhhh…! I can’t fly in this, and I can’t use homing shots either! If those don’t work, there’s no way any of the other projectiles would, either! And I can’t use fire here… there are people’s cores in the sand!)

Laura: Got you on the run, do we, ya big wannabe? What’s the matter, at a loss for words?

Cardinal: Who are you people?

Laura: Boy, you must really have your self-important big-city head up your chass, or live under a rock so primitive it’d make the Flinstones ashamed. -Holding her hand out in a “stop” gesture at the one with a pitchfork- You really ARE a special kind of stupid to come challenge us without even knowing what you’re dealing with! But then again…

[She flared up with aura, bearing down in his direction with surprising speed.]

Laura: Nobody out there CARES as they should about them “flyover” states!

[Cardinal turned to shield it, using the small port at the top of the shield to open fire.]

[BLAM!]

[The short range plasma blast only seemed to serve to make her angry. Cardinal moved quickly on his feet, turning to teleport out into the open where could fire out of her range.

Doing so earned him another blast from the wind, kicking up Xel and sand in his face. Momentarily blinded by the Xel interfering with heat signals, he was easy prey for a merciless lightning strike. This time, it left behind persistent static in his audio receptors.]

Cardinal: (NO—!)

[The farm girl fighter laughed to see his predicament.]

Laura: Sturdy for something your size, aren’t you? Well! You sure still can’t keep up with the Prairie Kings, that’s for sure!

Cardinal: Grrr…!

[He refused to be taunted like this. It set off something deeper within him—a resentment, a malice—a wounded sense of pride.]

Cardinal: If I can handle the Mighty Numbers…

[He abruptly teleported atop the wind bot.]

Laura: ?!

Cardinal: I can certainly send you lot PACKING!

[Cardinal used CRASH BOMB!]

[The wind bot whipped up a violent gust as drills bore into it, the bombs flashing.]

Laura: JONES! COVER FOR ALLEY!

[Cardinal used LEAF SHIELD!]

[The sudden swirling cloud of ceratanium leaves served as a shield against the lightning strike that followed.]

Cardinal: -Broadcasts his whistle, LOUDLY-

[The piercing tones seemed to cause as much pain and discomfort as they did for Shade. It was the few second distraction Cardinal needed.

He vaulted off of Alley’s back and cast the sharp cloud of leaves behind him.

There was a satisfying grinding and scraping noise, followed by broken squeals. Just then, the bombs went off as well, causing the massive fighter to sway in pain.]

Cardinal: Sorry to ruin your slaughter show, Miss Laura!

[BWIP!]

[Cardinal used SUPER ARM!]

[WHOOMP!]

[The wind generator was knocked over onto his face by a powerful punch from behind. When Cardinal emerged again, he was using another windsurfer. He shot up into the air.]

Cardinal: But your fun and games are OVER!

Laura: GET HIM!

[Cardinal shielded to avoid a lightning bolt from frying his systems. He took comfort in the rush of movement, which served to help cool his systems.

It was now a matter of time that would determine if he could last, more than anything else. If he didn’t wrap this up before his core got too hot, then…]

Cardinal: -Shakes the thoughts off- Time for a lesson in versatility, Prairie Kings!

[Cardinal used MAGNET MISSILE!]

[Without Alley to sweep aside projectiles with gusts of wind, the missiles could not be prevented from reaching their targets. Cardinal didn’t wait in the same spot, instead increasing his speed to head right for Cassidy.

The ranch hand cursed and fired at him, but Cardinal shielded that easily.]

Cardinal: Sorry, kid, but it’s time you moseyed on home!

[Cardinal used QUICK BOOMERANG!]

[Abruptly making a sharp bank, the veteran turned and fired at the team member with the pitchfork.

Dell tried to take advantage of the opening to hurl an axe at him, but Cardinal had teleported out of the way in plenty of time.

He chose to land right by his target, lashing out in a new cast.]

[Cardinal used TOP SPIN!]

[The sharp wires ensnared the pitchfork and recoiled, whirring mercilessly as they cut their way right through it with a satisfying SNAP!]

Dell: By George, he’s stolen Jones’s thunder!

[Ah. So THAT’S where the lightning had been coming from.]

[BLAM! BLAM BLAM BLAM!]

[His quarry was not very defensive based, despite his stocky build. Jones swung to box at Cardinal, but the latter just dropped to the ground and rolled aside. He grinned as he looked up on his back, and—]

Jones: -PAIN!-

Cassidy: Damn bastard! That there’s fightin’ DIRTY!

[Cardinal laughed mercilessly as he sprung to his feet and vaulted over Jones, pushing him face-first into the sands.]

Cardinal: All’s fair in love and war, kid!

[He teleported during his flying leap, bearing down on the ranch hand with the full force of the tackle. The two of them hit the sands.]

Cardinal: Game over!

[Cardinal used QUICK BOOMERANG!]

[He riddled his opponent with boomerangs, causing him to cry out in pain. Cardinal gave a ping of sympathy as he teleported off of him, leaving him to bleed out into the sands.]

Cardinal: (I’m sorry, Shade!)

[Cardinal used MAGNET MISSILE!]

Cardinal: (But…! There’s still a chance for these people to be detained, if they’re hurt badly enough! If I have to, I’ll put them out of their misery, but…)

Cardinal: (If it comes to that, grant me your strength of nerve!)

[He turned his attention to Dell, who did not seem to be pleased to deal with a flying opponent. Cardinal couldn’t help but smirk a little—it was obvious to him that as a close-combat type of fighter, he relied on Alley to knock opponents out of the sky and keep them grounded.]

Dell: Ugh, condescending punk! Get off your high horse, ya big coward!

[He tossed a throwing axe at the windsurfer, but Cardinal swerved aside to avoid it.]

Cardinal: Time’s up, Dell.

[Cardinal used QUICK BOOMERANG!]

[A stream of the projectiles littered the sands in a straight line before finding score on the infected fighter. He gave a glitched screech of pain, becoming frenzied.]

>WARNING! WEAPON ENERGY LOW: QUICK BOOMERANG

Cardinal: (Ugh, great—)

[He quickly set the hardware that held additional capsules to switch out that particular Power Capsule for the one containing the Ring Boomerang.]

[WHUNK!]

[This time, the windsurfer was hit. Cardinal gave off an annoyed buzzing sound, impatient for the capsule to load into place.]

Cardinal: Send my regards to dreamland!

[Cardinal used RING BOOMERANG!]

[A direct hit, right to the collarbone! Cardinal grimaced at the damage, infected Xel beginning to seep out of the wounds.

He didn’t get long to dwell on the carnage, though.]

WWWHHHKT!

[He abruptly fell over backwards off of the windsurfer as a rope of sorts suddenly ensnared him by the neck. As he hit the sands, he was dismayed to see Cassidy back on his feet, hellbent on destruction despite his heavy injuries. He was flared up with the infected aura, and gave a hard yank on the noose.]

Cardinal: HNNN—!

[The crushing bind caused fraying in his audio cables, deafening him entirely. It was also crushing parts of his coolant system and mobility rig, causing oil and other fluids to build up at his jaw hinges and leak out the sides of his mouth.

Heat was also starting to build up in his skull, and he felt disoriented by the system-wide warnings that he was approaching dangerous temperatures. If he teleported while running this hot, he would definitely overheat and start taking damage to his mobility rig and processors.]

[YANK!]

[Cardinal dropped his shield, grabbing at the rope as he used some surge to repair the audio cables.

It was lucky he did, or he might not have heard the two other fighters bearing down on him.]

Cardinal: !!!

[Cardinal used SKULL BARRIER! Cardinal used SUPER ARM!]

[He flared up with ghostly flames and pulled on the rope with all his might, pulling it right out of the rancher’s hands. The knot of the noose was sliced clean through as Laura’s scythe came down right on his throat. There was a shrieking noise as the blade clashed against the barrier protecting him from getting beheaded.

It also served to bounce off the broken pitchfork that had been slammed into his left foot in an attempt to pin him in place.]

Cardinal: This ends NOW!

[Cardinal used THUNDER BEAM!]

[Shrieks of pain as an extremely powerful bolt of lightning shot out in three directions. Laura was caught directly in the crossfire of the tri-directional beam.]

Cardinal: Shoulda brought candles, Laura!

[Cardinal used SPARK SHOCK!]

[He immediately followed up with another electrical attack, broadcasting his quips over the blast of electricity.]

Cardinal: It’s LIGHTS OUT for you!

[Cardinal used SUPER ARM!]

[He grabbed the fallen leader and slammed her into Jones, who was still trying to skewer him with what was left of his pitchfork. The two were sent flying into a wall.]

[Cardinal used NEEDLE CANNON!]

[He quickly turned and fired at Cassidy, impaling him dead-on with an enormous needle. The rancher staggered back and fell to the ground.]

Cardinal: So STAY DOWN!

[Cardinal used HYPER BOMB!]

[He hurled the massive explosive right at the two of them, as well as one at the fallen wind ‘bot.]

<DLN-000>: >EVERYONE TAKE COVER!

[He grabbed his shield and braced himself.]

[The explosion was a deafening roar of fire, and there was a great crashing noise as parts of the stadium seating were sent flying. Even with his shield taking the brunt of the blasts, he was still slammed into the wall.]

>WARNING! INTERNAL TEMPERATURE HAS EXCEEDED SAFE LEVELS!

[It was only when the debris finally stopped falling that he finally dared to look out from behind his shield, gasping for air.

There was no sign of his opponents, nor of their weapons. Sand had been kicked up everywhere, covering up the cores that had been scattered throughout the field. Not surprising, considering he’d used explosives that were designed for flattening buildings. Rather excessive.

No kill like overkill.]

Cardinal: (No… where IS everybody…)

>WARNING! INTERNAL TEMPERATURE HAS EXCEEDED SAFE LEVELS!

[Cardinal fumbled for an E-tank. It was a precious resource to use, but he had to do his best to heal all the damage done before anyone tried to give him medical attention.

The high dose of concentrated surge was like a refreshing plunge into warm water—he felt revitalized, and no longer as thirsty. All the beating he’d taken melted away, leaving him whole…]

>WARNING! INTERNAL TEMPERATURE HAS EXCEEDED SAFE LEVELS!

[…if on the edge of blacking out.]

Cardinal: -Staggers to his feet, venting heavily- (Need to at least make it into the shade…)

[He only made it to the entrance before the heat became too much.]

>INITIATING PROTOCOLS…

>POWERING DOWN…

[He didn’t even have time to respond to the incoming radio messages before dropping down to the sand.]

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

=CHAPTER 3D: VOLTAIC DYNATRON=

~AO v1.0~

(Courtesy of @limitbreakers)

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

[MEANWHILE, IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON...]

[Chaos still reigned over the rainy city as two super-powered, crazed Battle Colosseum bots waged war against each other--Plume, the exotic Hawaiian fire dancer with graceful agility, and Landcrusher, the giant German powerhouse with a knack for demolition.]

[While the untamed, no holds barred battle raged below, another crisis was unfolding high above the skyline, in the city's very own Space Needle tower...]

Jack: (Great, and just when I THOUGHT things couldn't get WORSE...)

Jack: (...The power had to go and cut out--!)

[This, of course, sent the group trapped in the tower into a panic--it was fairly dark out, now, and with little to no light...]

Eli: Everyone just CALM DOWN--

Jack: (Good thing these goggles have Night Vision--just gotta tie up this last knot...)

[Jack knew he couldn't quite get everyone off the tower one by one--and he knew that Plume wasn't going to last long against a heavy hitter like Landcrusher.]

[He had to improvise, and lucky for him, the Space Needle had just enough material for what he planned to do...]

Jack: Yo, toss me that tablecloth...

[The Space Needle didn't JUST have an observation deck--it was also a restaurant. The tables provided the flat surfaces he needed and the tablecloths made some nice makeshift rope once tied together...]

Eli: ....You sure this is gonna work?

Jack: Nope.

[B O O M!]

Jack: ...But we don't have much choice at the moment...

Jack: Hooookay...

[Now here comes the HARD part.]

Jack: The serving carts are all busted for the wheels...still need two more--

Eli: .....I can pop off the ones from Lily's stroller...

Jack: (Oh, yeah, the lil...)

[Jack looked back over his shoulder to the group of cowering humans--and Gwen, who was holding a sniffling baby Lily near her chest.]

Jack: ........

Eli: ......

Eli: We were...just on vacation when this happened.

Jack: . . .

Eli: .....Do...you know why they're all goin' nuts like that? …I think someone said something about a virus...?

Jack: Yeah--something like that. It infected all the servers--that's how it got into every Xelbot's heads.

Eli: Good God...who would DO something like that?

Jack: … … (Either someone REALLY pissed off, or messed up. Or both.) …Dunno.

Jack: Get those wheels--I'm gonna break open a window.

Eli: --?? Wait--why?

Jack: Ya see that building over there--the one with the bent flagpole?

Jack: I'm gonna swing on over there and finish off the rest of this pulley with the wheels and my wires--then we can start getting people on the carrier we made outta the tables and onto that roof.

Eli: Wait--but--

Jack: Yeah, I know, Landcrusher--that's why once you guys are all on that roof, I'm gonna distract him so you guys can haul chass and get to safety.

Eli: You?

Jack: ...Yeah. That is, if Plume isn't...

Jack: .......

Eli: ....She's, uh...really focused on ya, isn't she?

Jack: Iiiii am pretty sure that's the virus, buddy...

Jack: ....Look--you just try and keep everyone here calm while I go do my thing, OK? (Oh, yeah, it's my THING now--freakin' heck, never imagined THAT...)

Eli: .....I'll.....try.

[Jack turns away from the man to face another window, closest to the building they were aiming for, one end of the makeshift rope in hand.]

Eli: ...Hey.

[Eli threw a pair of small wheels at the CDN, who caught them after they hit his chest and bounced off slightly.]

Eli: ....Thank you.

Jack: Pfft--thank me after you're on that roof, alright?

Eli: Ha...yeah...

Jack: (....Kay--First the window--)

[He planted his boot firmly on the glass, getting a feel of how thick it was, before reeling back and striking it down--]

[Pop!]

[...It swung open with little trouble, as it turns out.]

Jack: (...Oh.)

Jack: (...I'm taking that as a good sign.)

[Snapping on his goggles, now, he calculated a direct path to the safe building--he'd have to freefall a couple of hundred feet to reach a viable swing point--]

Jack: ......

Jack: (Well it's not like I haven't done it before today but FRAG ME--)

Jack: (HOOOOOOKAYcomeonjackdoitforherdoitforthepeopleinhere--)

Jack: (ThereisaBABYinheremanDOIT--)

Jack: AAAAAAAAAAH--

[With a STARTLING yell, he jumped--!!]

"OH MY GOD--"

"WHAT THE--"

"HOLY--IS HE DEAD--?!"

[.......]

[Was he terrified?]

[Yes.]

[...But.]

Jack: AAAAAAAAAAH--

[ZIIIIIIP--!]

[....Fear has a funny way of turning into a thrilling adrenaline rush once you get over it.]

Jack: --HAAAAAAAHAHAWOO!

[Even HE didn't understand why--]

[Though that wasn't exactly on his mind, at the moment--]

[But, somehow, the more he felt himself being swung across, left and right, that rush of air on his face--]

[The less it felt like some life or death situation and more like a roller coaster or something!]

Jack: WOOOOOOO--

Jack: --OOOOOOOOH SH--

[BAM--!]

[While Jack was becoming quite acquainted with the innate powers his ability gave him--]

[Landing was...a learned trait.]

Jack: OWFRA--

[He rolled across the roof, bouncing one or twice before settling to a stop--a groaning mess, yes, and he was SURE something popped--]

Jack: OwcrapOW...

[...But all in all, he was still functional, at least.]

Jack: F-Frag that smarts--ow--

Jack: Nnngh gonna feel that in the morning--

[With some difficulty, he managed to get on his feet. He was dizzy, and somewhat dazed from the rush before--]

Jack: Uuuuugh don't feel so good...

Jack: (No--focus, damn it, need to finish this--)

Jack: (Where is that flagpole--)

[It was bent over in an awkward position--but in such a way that it was possible to attach the makeshift rope and wheels to complete the pulley system they needed.]

Jack: (Tie this--here--and put this there--get this wheel to spin and wrap the thing around that--)

Jack: (--SHIT HOW AM I GONNA LET ELI KNOW IT'S DONE--CAN HE SEE ME FROM HERE--??)

Jack: (--Waitwaitwaitdo I have anything in the bag here that can help me--)

Jack: (--FLASHLIGHT--well OK more like a lantern almost bUT I CAN USE THIS THANK YOU MISS EIGHT--!)

———————————

“Heh, yeah, Morse is a great thing t’ know. Some letters are easier than others. s’ like old school texting, ya know? Most people only know ’S.O.S’, but… in a pinch, using ‘G O’ or ‘O K’ or ’N O’ will work just ‘cause a’ context. Ah’ guess for most people, ‘yes’, ‘no’, an’ ‘help’ are all ya really need if things are so dire as t’ be usin’ it. Now, listen close—here are those letters for you…”

———————————

[After securing that last knot, he fumbles with the light, and after finally finding that darn--]

Jack: Hope you know what this means, Eli--

{G O.}

[........]

"HEY--HE MADE IT--! HE'S GOT A LIGHT--"

"But--it's blinking--?"

Eli: (Is he trying to tell us something--?)

"HEY WAIT, THAT'S MORSE CODE--!"

"HE'S SAYING GO--OH GOD HE DID IT WE'RE GONNA BE OK--!"

Eli: ALRIGHT, EVERYONE LINE UP--WE'RE GONNA GO TWO AT A TIME, WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST--!

[.........]

Jack: pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease--

Jack: --!!!

[The makeshift carrier starts to move--and it was holding--!]

Jack: YES!!

[Jack helps it along faster by moving the rope along, and helping the passengers off once they do touch down safely, then sending the carrier back to repeat the process.]

[It was nail-biting-- watching the carrier move over the chaos below, and it looked as if it was going to fall on a few occasions--]

[Which wasn't much fun for anyone.]

[Jack didn't think he could pray any harder than he was now--heck, he wasn't even all that religious in the first place.]

[...But maybe Siam was right, about him being on Lady Luck's good side. Or there really WAS a God, after all.]

[Eli was the last passenger that survived the heart pounding trip--]

[--After every single trapped human before him went first.]

[Cheers! Cheers exploded over the rooftop, in the heart of destruction and crisis! Loud, joyous, HOPE--!]

Jack: OOF--!

[...Eli had collected Jack in a bear hug, muttering chants of thanks--and it wasn't long before he was crowed by the other rescued humans as well--]

Jack: (Getting--hard to breathe--)

Gwen: Oh, thank you, THANK YOU--!

"YEAAAAAH WE AIN'T GONNA DIE--!" "AAAAH WE'RE ALIVE THANK YOU--!" "YOU'RE MY HERO, MAN--"

Jack: Uh--you're welcome? ^^;

Eli: God, how can we--

[B O O M!]

"GNNNRRAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Jack: --!!!

Jack: (...Landcrusher.)

Jack: EVERYONE HAS TO GET OFF OF THIS ROOF, NOW!

[Goggles on, time to roll--]

Jack: --?!

Eli: YOU'RE COMING TOO--!

[Several of the rescued humans drag him away from the edge, and start to lead him towards the door into the building--]

Jack: WAIT--STOP--!

Eli: No offense, Jack, but I ain't gonna let you throw your life away like that, not after this--!

Jack: BUT THEY'RE COMING THIS WAY ELI I GOTTA HEAD THEM OFF--

[There was what appeared to be a spectacular light show that was suuuuSPIIIIIICIOUSLY LIKE DYNA’S TRADEMARK ABILITY—]

[—which, after repeating itself, was followed up by some green flashes.]

Jack: --??!

Jack: What--?

[He was led away by the humans before he could see any more...]

Jack: (What in the world was--?)

[..........]

[The rest of it all seemed like a huge blur.]

[Once they had safely exited the building, the group mostly broke apart, scrambling for the cars left on the streets--the ones that had chosen to stick with Eli and his family, however, followed him down several blocks--]

[...to where they found a mostly functional van belonging to some cable company, with the keys still in the ignition.]

[Eli was planning to get as far away from the city as possible and—God willing—make it to Canada.]

Eli: ....What do ya mean you're not coming--?

Jack: --I can't...

Jack: ...Remember that person I told you about that REALLY wouldn't like it if I got killed or something...?

Eli: ...You were SERIOUS?

Jack: Listen I know that sounds INSANE but--!

Jack: I have had a REALLY weird day and frankly I would like nothing more than to get somewhere safe but I can't leave her out there.

Jack: I have no idea if she's OK or infected or whatever but wherever she is, she's probably ALONE and she needs SOMEONE and--

Eli: JACK.

Jack: --...

Eli: ......

Eli: Where do you think she is?

Jack: I...I don't know.

Eli: .....

Eli: Well.

Eli: You saved our lives--all of our lives.

Eli: ...Only fair that I pay you back in kind, somehow.

Jack: --?

Eli: Lemmie help you find a working car--at least to get you out of the city.

Jack: But--

Jack: It's not mine--

Eli: Jack. We're in the middle of a damn APOCALYPSE and you're worried about grand theft auto?

Jack: Well--but--

Eli: Enough of your whining--I'll be right back, Gwen, watch Lily--Come on, Cherry, before any more crazies show up.

Jack: Uh--I...um.

Jack: (...Iiiii am gonna regret this...)

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

---

FIGHT! Bonfire Vs Ray!

BONFIRE VS RAY (Current)

Intro Quote(Versus): [Bonfire reeled from the horrendous scream. As he gritted his teeth in pain and looked up into the looming shadow that glinted with many serrated fangs, he was slammed with a cross-reference—something his sister had said to them the night they learned the truth of what happened….] || “-Teeth. So many teeth. In the dreams, always the teeth. The teeth and the screes. So many teeth. Did we mention teeth?-” || [The shock was stunning, but the severity of the situation kickstarted a different instinct. He burst into WHITE-HOT FLAMES OF PURE RAGE.]

Taunt: BURN, YOU INSUFFERABLE WITCH!

Special Attack: ((No dialogue, just an angry shout with a wicked right hook!))

Ultimate Attack: [The power that he put behind the explosion was more than just pushing himself to the limit. This high-tier Burning Spirit was fueled with a roaring rampage of revenge—revenge for all that they had suffered, for all the pain and madness and sorrow. But most of all, for that night—for THAT NIGHT, the night that his sister had been brought back, SCREAMING in agony as she fell to pieces…]

Win Quote(Versus): What the hell—?! || [Out of ALL the things to happen, he had NOT expected her to suddenly start DISSOLVING like that…!]

Lose Quote(Versus): [He huffed, shaking in pain and injury from the numerous, heavy wounds. || Try as he might, he couldn’t contact anyone. There would be no escape…] || D…Damn you…!

===================

BONFIRE & RAY (Post-AO: Full Memory)

Intro Quote(Team Up): [The leader of the Fighting Mighties flared up in anger. He was not pleased to have landed himself in this situation, but this was hardly the time or place to confront the past when they had a BIGGER problem on their hands…]

Assist: No further! ((Directed at opponent(s), not Ray))

Ultimate Team Attack: Taste the fires of Hell! ((Referring far more to Ray’s fire than his own, but still.))

Win Quote(Team Up): Hmph. I’m calling in the chaos spheres and the ice child before this inferno rages out of control.

Lose Quote(Team Up): This is out of our control—!

Knock Out Quote(Team Up Self): [He staggered down to one knee, trying desperately to stay conscious. He didn’t trust his combat so-called “partner”, even though…] || Ghh… gnnnn… || [He couldn’t take it. He was worn down beyond his limits.] || : >F-Father…! ||

Knock Out Quote(Team Up Partner): [Bonfire was seized with a sudden cold fear. This was not a choice he wanted to make. He didn’t want to have to even think of choosing. Especially not when his own sister and her Other had orders to carry out, and they would all pay the price for obstruction. || For the first time ever, he found himself desperately HOPING that he would lose, so that he wouldn’t have to MAKE that decision…]

---

=CHAPTER 5D: DESOLATE HIGHWAY=

~AO v1.0~

(Courtesy of @limitbreakers)

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

{THE NEXT MORNING…}

[June 28th opens with a press release from Sanda Enterprises.

Several releases, actually.

While most of the two families had gathered in the large living room to watch the TV coverage, there were a few notable exceptions.

Tobias was still Offline, of course—and as such, Snow was still waiting on the other side of the barrier, watching and praying his brother would wake up.

Shadow was still attending the repair bay, where Brandish (and Jack and Carmen as well, for that matter) were still recovering. Dr. Cossack was in the lab, but working on his own personal project.

Siam, to no one’s surprise, remained shut up in the Rebel Angels’ personal lab, which was elsewhere.

Battalion and Seismic were still being sought; Call was sorting through the data by herself at the moment, since Dr. White was working on the virus and both Avis and the Sanda twins were busy with the news coverage.

As for Beck?

He’d asked Jaden to talk with him outside—and after the conversation started focusing on his immunities to certain weapons, Jaden began to get a bit suspicious…]

Jaden: Uh, Beck? .-. Do you, uh… need my form for something?

[Beck paused for a moment, considering what he knew about what had happened to Bladeblaster. If he was right…]

Beck: yes please

Jaden: Well, um. Okay…

[He sits down somewhat awkwardly, due to his size.]

Jaden: You’ve… never really used one of our Power Capsules before, have you?

Beck: ...Mmm...Nope. The closest thing I've seen is the replica you guys gave us.

Jaden: Okay. Well, to put it in your terms… that’s the hardware that holds our Weapon Data. The data is only compatible with specific hardware. Since you’re set up to be adaptable, I think your system will automatically shift to match that, if it can read the data. What with how you work, you’ll probably end up being more like me than say, Cardinal. That’s my theory, of if we try going about this straightforward.

[He holds his left arm at an angle and concentrates. After a moment, an access panel becomes visible, and it opens.

There’s an active Power Capsule inside. It looks kind of like…]

((Pizzazium Infinianite!))

[It has orange light in the coils but overall gives off a white glow, somehow.]

Beck: ...That?

Jaden: …I don’t have hands, so, y-you’re… gonna have to rem-move it yourself. Gently, please.

Beck: Oh, um--uh...

Beck: Are there any--like, screws or...? -We don't wanna hurt you so how do we take it out?-

Jaden: N-no, uh. It’s like a… an old school battery. It just latches into place. Lift the latches and you’ll be fine. I’m in my repair settings, so they aren’t locked down.

Beck: A battery--OK, got it...

Beck: -If I'm doing something wrong you can stop me OK?-

[There was a slight hesitant pause before Beck gently grabbed hold of the Capsule, and lifted the latches as he was told to.]

Beck: --!

[Click.]

[The glow faded somewhat as it was easily removed. Jaden looked a little relieved, though.]

[Beck started blinking rapidly as he held the now free Capsule in his hands...]

[NON-XEL WEAPON DATA DETECTED.]

[BEGINNING ANALYSIS.]

[ACCESSING XEL STOCK 1.]

Beck: --????

Jaden: -Just watching, though gets puzzled at Beck’s sudden, unexplained surprise-

[A flurry of loose Xel appears in Beck's hands--]

Beck: -UH--

[...and starts to cover the Capsule?]

Jaden: -Okay, this is new- ?__?

Beck: -I'M NOT DOING THIS I SWEAR--at least I think so--

Jaden: Easy, easy—just relax, not everything that any living creature does is conscious effort, you know. It’s okay.

[ANALYZING DATA...]

Beck: ....?

[His eyes glow green as his systems receive the data from the Capsule, and his uneasiness suddenly gives way to curiosity.]

Beck: I--oh. Huh.

Beck: -.. OH OK I THINK I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON--SORTA-

Jaden: ?

Beck: I... think my systems are trying to read the data from the capsule first--it recognized them as not Xel-data right away, so I...guess it's using one of my Xel Stocks to analyze it?

Jaden: That makes sense. Those things are usually part of the system when being used, anyway.

Beck: -...We're kinda getting a garbled mess right now, though-

Beck: -Like--it makes some sense but not really-

Beck: ...This needs some serious data sifting, I think...

Beck: -Maybe sending this assimilation data to Dad or Call can help clean it up and read it better?-

Jaden: Well, your Dad might ask why you were poking around with the power capsules, so.

[He sighed.]

Jaden: Man, I wish Toby were Online. I’m sure he could translate if he worked at it hard enough. What with the side effects of the fusion and all. But he won’t get Online, even if we keep him isolated, until we’re sure he won’t… well.

Beck: ....Yeah.

Beck: . . .

[ANALYSIS COMPLETE.]

[The Xel around the capsule slowly, but surely, turned into a bright orange color...]

Beck: --Oooooo...

Jaden: -Brightens up a bit at that-

[It then returned to Beck via his assimilation ability.]

[XEL ABSORBED.]

Beck: --Whoa--

[ERROR: NON-XEL DATA CANNOT BE READ. FORM UNAVAILABLE.]

Beck: --...Aw...

Beck: ...Well, I kinda expected something like that...

Jaden: Mmm.

Jaden: Man, if we could just bring Toby Online…

Jaden: I’m sure Siam could make some progress at it, but he’s busy with something else right now. Dr. Cossack seems to be working on some sort of analysis… he’s been very serious about it. And of course, Dr. White is working on his own analysis… -Sigh-

Beck: Oh...yeah, Dad's working on analysing the virus...and Sanda's busy with his twin.

Jaden: I get the feeling this would be easier if Cardinal were here, but of course he’s gone. >__>

Beck: ......

Beck: (I...I kinda wish he was here too. I really could use some of his advice...)

Jaden: If you think it would help, you can keep the Power Capsule to study it when you’re not on missions. You built a magic mirror out of Xel, I’m sure you’ll come up with something. | )

Beck: ...!

Beck: Oh--no, I...

Beck: -...Don't you need this, though--?-

Jaden: To do what, exactly? We’re in enforced lockdown mode, especially after what happened. I can’t leave the Meadow even if I wanted to. And I know better than that. Until something changes, there’s not much any of us can do…

Beck: ...Oh...right...

Beck: ....

[Jaden seems to be distracted, his gaze distant.]

Beck: ......

Beck: Jaden?

Beck: -...is something wrong?-

Jaden: Hmm? Oh, I’m just reading through the news reports that were put out.

[He smiles a little.]

Jaden: Mr. Sanda was very succinct in talking about the virus and the effects that it has, and describing the analysis process that’s going on. He mentioned how and why not everyone got infected—so that should allow for those that aren’t to be able to move about without being attacked all in a panic. The symptoms were listed and all that.

Jaden: The Related Links talked about several instances, like Jack’s adventure, where non-infected Xelbots were doing good.

Jaden: Both of those link to the one about what you’ve been up to and how you and Dr. White are going to use the data to figure out how to stop this.

[His smile falters a little, becoming sloppy, and leaving his eyes entirely.]

Jaden: …It mentions that [color=brick]anyone[/color] with information should contact the company but not engage. Colors and all… (That… that isn’t going to necessarily work.)

[He pauses.]

Jaden: It looks like there are some bloggers commenting on all this, but… that’s more data than I can sort through. Avi promised to help with crowd control if it does come up…

Jaden: (Though he DID say that he kept Toby and Shadow out of the submitted footage…)

Beck: Mmm...

Beck: ......

[Jaden seems somewhat troubled.]

Jaden: …I do wish he were awake. If he…

Jaden: If he were in the right frame of mind, I’m sure he could help analyze data, whether that be social data, coding data, or just plain finding our brother.

[Then he perks up a bit in a grin.]

Jaden: Until then… c’mon, let’s go to the living room. Everyone’s watching the Beck Show~

Beck: Eheh....

Beck: -We're just gonna--yeah follow/hide behind Jaden--

{Living Room}

[Many of the repaired Mighty Numbers (and some of the Angels) are there watching the footage. Siam, Snow, Tobias, and Cardinal were all gone, of course—and Shadow, Brand, Carmen, Jack, Plume, and Landcrusher were still in recovery. There were cheers when Beck entered.]

Goose: -SCOOPS UP OTHER!BRO- SUPERBECK TO THE RESCUE, BA BA BAAAA!

Cryo: -BRO YOU'RE ON TV--

Beck: Whoaa--!!

Pyro: -The bIGGEST BIG BROTHER SMILE ON HIS FACE-

Dyna: -BZZZZZZZ, LOOK AT OUR BECKY~~~-

Kalinka: Hero, herooo~

Digger: Yes good~ : DDD

Avi: -HEH, DID ANYONE EXPECT ANYTHING LESS THOUGH--

Beck: ^///^;;

[Aw, look, he's turning red--]

Beck: I, uh--heh...um...

[...and at a loss for words, it looks like.]

Pisces: If 000 were here, he’d be playing that one song from Hercules. -Gives Beck a thumbs up-

Speedy: Well, he’s just missing out. His own fault. |V

Goose: Nah, bro, he’ll hear this. ;D We made sure of that, didn’t we, Avi? ^.^

Avi: Eeeexactamundo, Avi! ^.^

Beck: ...?

Jaden: I still don’t think you should expect much results.

Goose: Bro, you gotta learn to be more optimistic!

Jaden: No, I mean—gah, never mind, we’ll probably discuss it at a family meeting or something later.

Nico: …? Beck?

[He’s looking right at him, and not at the TV or any of the others. After a moment, ALL the DWNs and DCNs do the same.]

Nico: .__.; Beck?

Nico: Why exactly are you holding Jaden’s Power Capsule…?

Beck: ....?

Beck: ...! Oh--!

[...Whoops. He forgot to put that away.]

Beck: Jaden let me borrow it.

Nico: -Looks over-

Jaden: -Ping of confirmation, calm-

Nico: -Oh, okay then- -RELIEF-

Pyro: ...So that's what it really looks like...

Cryo: -oooooo, coooool-

Beck: Yeah, I tried to assimilate it's weapon data--

Nico: —?!

Dyna: -Wait you did what--

Beck: -KEY WORD 'TRIED'-

Beck: ...But all I got was unreadable data. So no Jaden form yet...

[Nico scowls at his brother for a moment, and pulls him aside. The two make soft pings and eye glows every so often as they become engaged in a private conversation…]

Goose: -Sets Becky down- Cool. Looks like a neon light or something. :V

Speedy: -Reachy reachy for favorite bro’s hardware- Yyyyeah, nobody try eating it or I’ll sock them to the face. >.>

Pisces: -Lazily grabs Speedy’s wrist before he invades Beck’s personal space-

Pyro: Hmm...

Beck: I didn't try to eat it--!

Beck: ...I did have to--well, my systems used a Xel Stock to analyze it.

Pyro: ...Your systems? You mean it was automatic?

Beck: Yeah--kinda freaked me out a bit at first, eheh... ^^;;

Speedy: -Then obviously I wasn’t talking to YOU, was I-

Beck: Uh...

Dyna: | T -We THOUGHT it was a power storage thing, let it go, jeezzz-

Beck: A-Anyway...I think the data has to be organized and sifted through before I can use it...

[…Man, Nico and Jaden are starting to bare their teeth at each other. Clearly Nico isn’t too happy about this development, for some reason.]

Beck: ....?

Pyro: ...What's going on over there? | [ -Uh oh, big bro mode on-

Avi: -UM--HEY BRO LOOK I’M FLYING IN THE HOUSE-

Pyro: --! Avi--NO FLYING IN THE HOUSE--

[Nico throws his hand outward.]

WHANG.

[…Avi is now stuck to the ceiling.]

Jaden: !

[Aaaaand the other one.]

WHANG.

[Jaden is stuck to the wall.]

Pisces: …bro, that was harsh.

Beck: --!

Avi:

-OW--that kinda smarts...-

Nico: Enough.

[He lets them both drop to the floor, hovering and shifting to his armor, sans helmet.]

Avi: -FACEPLANT-

-Muffled ouch noises-

Beck: . . . . .

Nico: Jaden, you shouldn’t have done that without asking first.

Nico: Nobody else in this family better try that without approval from myself, Siam, AND Doctor Cossack, got it?

Speedy: Whaaaaaaatever you say, bro.

Beck: . . .

Beck: I...

Beck: . . .

[...Uh oh.]

Nico: Beck, do not toy around with Power Capsules, okay?

Nico: They /don’t/ act the same way for secondary users as they do for their primary users. The differences are entirely unpredictable until you’re actually out using them in battle.

Goose: Wait, wat .-.

Beck: .....

Beck: Oh...

[...He didn't know that...]

Pyro: ...How so?

Nico: -Turns to face Pyro- They aren’t fully functional when used with hardware that doesn’t match the specs they were designed for. For example. There’s one defense-related one? When our brother had used it, it defended him from everything. But if Cardinal or the Menace used it? Only from close-range physical attacks.

Nico: Not knowing what you’re dealing with there is a deadly mistake to make in situations like this. Don’t do it. -Plus, we do not approve in general-

Goose: Bro, then why did Robin take all your stash?

Nico: Because he knows how they work.

Pyro: Hmm...you do have a point. I suppose it's lucky that Nine can't read the data.

Beck: .....

Nico: -Warning glare at Beck, eyes flashing with a glow for a moment-

Beck: --!

[--He backs away, and there is a slight fearful look in his eyes--]

Avi: --Hey, bro, don't do that, you're--

[...He did something--something wrong, didn't he?]

[He messed up again--]

<DWN-018 to MNN-009>: > -I WILL protect this family… even if it involves protecting from YOU!-

Beck: -SUDDEN ERRATIC DATA-

[Suddenly, Kalinka yelled.]

Kalinka: {LOOK!}

[She was pointing at the television. For some reason, the broadcast seems to have been pre-empted.]

Pyro: --??

Kalinka: {Aviator, I thought you said it was going to play all day!} D:

Avi: --? What...? But...!

[Nico and everyone else look over, also puzzled. Speedy turns up the volume.]

Beck: --.....?

[The new development seems to have snapped Beck out of his panic, and he quietly moved behind Pyrogen.]

Avi: -The heck is going on, I thought for SURE it would be a continuous broadcast--

Avi: ....Unless...

Skull: ???

Goose: Unless someone paid a lOT of money to say something else--

Avi: --But someone with that kinda cash--

Avi: ....

Avi: -AW NO-

Avi: -PLEASE LET IT BE THE PRESIDENT OR SOMETHING--

Speedy: The President? oh geez, I swear if the Feds show; I'm gonna bolt--

Beck: --!!!

Keltso: {What?!}

Goose: AW COME ON MAN, ARE YOU FOR REAL—

Avi: YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME--!

Pyro: --Father--! -and now we're running to get Dad--

Dyna: -BZZZZZZZZZZ WITH A N G E R-

Cryo: THAT'S IT LEMMIE AT HIM--

Beck: ......

Beck: -Confused as all heck- (I...Graham's blaming Dad now?)

Beck: (But why?)

[The Angels were just shocked into silence. Nico in particular seems to have taken it rather hard.]

Nico: ...

<DWN-018 has entered Defensive Combat mode.>

[The others quickly follow suit, with Skull taking Kalinka and warping off without another word. His older brother looks TICKED, though!

Nico hovers off to go get Siam. Meanwhile, Speedy is calling Dr. Cossack to check on Tobias.

There is a ping.]

<DWN-024>: > -HELP, LADY EIGHT IS AWAKE AND GETTING VERY ANGRY-- -

[MN.7] //: -Carmen, please calm d--

<FMN-008>: > -SCREE, SCREE, HE TRIED T’ KILL ME AN’ NOW HE WANTS T’ FINISH THE JOB /AND/ COMPLETE THE SET, AH’ SWEAR I’LL DRAG HIS SORRY CHASS TO THE COURTROOM AN’ THROW HIM IN THE JAIL CELL /MYSELF/ IF I HAVE TO FER THIS—-

[CDN.7037] //: -MISS EIGHT IS ANGRY AS F R A G--

[Soon enough, Will comes in still putting on his lab coat, an expression of confusion on his face.]

Pyro: It's all over the news--

Will: .....

[He takes one look at the screen...]

Will: .....

Will: ....

Will: ...Hmm.

Will: ...That's a bit unorthodox.

Beck: --???

Avi: -Uh, Dad, the prez of CherryDyn is accusing you and Sanda Man of cyberterrorism-

Will: I can see that...

Will: (...This is...a little too desperate--)

Will: (What's your game, Greg...?)

Will: (Why this, and why now? You could have done this from the start, so...)

Will: (What changed--?)

Beck: ...Dad--?

Will: --Mm? Oh, sorry. Got a bit lost in thought, there.

Will: I don't see how this will hold water if they don't have proof...

[Another ping.]

<MCN005>: > I had to sedate Lady Carmen.

<DCP-001>: > {Papa, I'm scared...!} D':

<MC005>: >Now would someone please explain to me why my children are afraid and agitated?

[PING!]

[DR.SANDA] //: WILL--!!

[DR.SANDA] //: YOU NEED TO TURN ON THE TV--

[DR.WHITE] //: I already know, Soi.

Keltso: {Dad, we're looking at a second Monstropolis possibility here!!!}

<DWN-024>: > -Honestly, I am surprised THIS has not provoked a response from our brother, normally he would disrupt this sort of broadcast with a sardonic bit of humor-

<MC005>: > ... Will? What is going on over there?

[DR.WHITE] //: ...It seems Graham has turned his blame game towards us now.

[....Strange, why did Will sound so... dull?]

[DR.WHITE] //: Take a look.

<MCN005>: > ... This is very bad. Augh, I can't risk moving Tobias like this, but he shouldn't be here if it continues like this...

Digger: {Father, we should go home. It's not safe for you there. What if they try to storm the place?}

<DWN-019>: > That's it.

<DWN-019>: >Nico and I are withdrawing everyone home. Doctor, please prepare Tobias for transportation.

Goose: -woah woah wOAH WAIT WE KINDA STILL NEED DOC C AND SHADS AROUND-- -

<DWN-019>: > Don't make me bounce a Gemini Laser all the way from the lab, Six.

<DWN-018>: > -We will keep the family ALIVE and protect it from /all/ threats- </aggressive data that seems primarily directed at Pyro and... Beck?>

[DR.SANDA] //: -WE'RE GOING TO CALL OUR BROTHER--HE CAN SAY SOMETHING, MAYBE--

[DR.WHITE] //: .....

Beck: . . . (Wha....)

Goose: Guys, GUYS let's just nOT PANIC, OKAY--

<DWN-019>: > “Panic”? I beg your pardon, but we've seen where this trail leads before. Dying once was enough, thanks.

Avi: ---.....

Avi: -N...Ngh--

Cryo: --?? Avi--?

[They all falter a moment when they remember.

Avi knew EXACTLY what they were talking about.]

Avi: -Nngnngh it hurts--

Dyna: Avi--Avi breathe--

[And what's worse...

"I can't let you repeat my mistakes...!"

... Tobias had even tried to warn him.]

Avi: I can't--we--we can't let it END LIKE THAT--

Beck: Avi--!

Avi: -WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING--!! -

Pisces: ...

Pisces: ... They're taking callers now.

Pisces: I wonder who it is--

Speedy: Wait a second--

Speedy: --Isn't Washington the state where Seattle is?

[The voice that came on through the chatter was… not unknown to them all.]

"....Excuse me--yeah, I got something to say."

[PING--!]

[CDN.7037] //: --!!!

[CDN.7037] //: E-Eli...?

<DWN-019>: > ...???

Goose: ... The Cherry KNOWS this guy???

<FMN-008>: > -Waking up again, but distinctly less hostile- ...???

Goose: -tHIS I gotta hear- -Aaaand we reach over and turn up the volume more-

"I just wanna say..."

"What the HELL is that corporate moron thinking?!"

[There’s a brief shout from Snow over the feeds about bad words, but no one really pays attention.]

"Does he really expect us to believe his load of malarkey? For God’s sake, isn't that No. 9 trying to SAVE us?"

Digger: -PING, we like this guy-

"My family and I nearly DIED more times than I can count this week--does he even CARE about what he's sayin' will DO to other people? Is he STUPID?"

Speedy: {MORE OR LESS—}

"I don't know about you, but there's no way on God's good earth that that boy and his father are out to get us. Of all the damn BULLSH--"

[...He's cut off before he can continue.]

[CDN.7037] //: -ELI'S ALIVE-- LILY IS OK, THEY MADE IT--

[The next caller is from... Missouri!]

"Dude."

[... They sound like a college student. A very, VERY tired college student.]

Beck: ....?

"Is this guy high?"

Speedy: -Snorts-

"Weren't we talking a few months ago about how his own security system couldn't stop him from getting his HQ vandalized?"

Will: -...snorts softly-

[A PIC OF THAT POPS UP ON THE SCREEN as he continues--]

Beck: -snICKERS--

"And didn't he get hacked and stuff? I bet he just wants attention because he can't do his job right. CherryDyn can’t even look after their own ‘bots, anyway—I mean, just look at what happened over the summer. Why should we believe they know anything about OTHER people’s bots if they don’t even take care of their own models?”

<DWN-024>: > -That is an exceptionally good point…-

“Anyway, right on, little dude! I think your red fan wanted us to talk and stuff, uh, so if you station guys could give me the number to the lab, that would be great--"

Will: --!!!

[Digger looks thoughtful and serious for a moment, and then quietly slips away.

The next call is from...Minnesota?]

Cryo: --!

"H...Hello?"

[A young woman, it seems like...]

"I...I just want to thank M...Mr. Pyrogen--he...he saved me and all my coworkers..."

Pyro: !

"I...I don't think I would be alive I-If it wasn't for him and his brother...I don't think it was her fault--she was sick, right? I...I hope she's okay..."

Cryo: .....

"T...That's all..."

[Click.]

Jaden: -Surprised- ... We never got told about that. o.o

[The next caller was from...Indiana.]

"I SAW HIM, well sort of I was kinda hanging upside down but I SAW HIM IN THE POWER PLANT I WORK AT, HE WAS SO COOL--"

Beck: ....!

"I thought that I was gonna get fried but the power came back on and I guess he fixed his sister--I mean, come on, the REAL Dynatron wouldn't do that to her fans, she's amazing!"

Dyna: -Oh my God he's one of our fanszz--?-

"I just don't see how No. 9 was doing anything wrong? What's your deal, CherryDyn?"

Pisces: Insecurity, I bet. Among other things.

[He's cut off as well, and the next is from...Cali--!

...it seems to be...a male, but there were other voices in the background as well.]

"Look, I work at the mine Mickster comes and helps us with, that guy wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone someone else--!"

"YEAH THAT CORPORATE MOOK CAN SUCK IT--"

"MIC'S OUR FRIEND, YA CAN'T JUST DISS HIM AND HIS FAMILY LIKE THAT--"

"Berry, we're on the phone--"

"OI MIC IF YOU CAN HEAR US WE GOT YOUR BACK--"

[Another call, from New York—though it sounds like the girl is from California, herself. Another college student, it would seem.]

"Hi. I, like, take a Logic class and stuff?"

"And my roommate’s boyfriend is this huuuuge Avi fan--"

Avi: --!!

"He also likes Morse code and just-- it doesn't make sense?"

Jaden: —! (Uh-oh—!)

"If White really were working with the bad guys, why would his kids need to be 'saved'? You know, whole 'house divided can't stand' and stuff. Like, Avi was saying during his broadcast to 'save us' in Morse code and stuff, so-- he's just got it all wrong."

Nico: … Looks like they thought Toby was your “inner/true self” fighting against the virus. ?__?

Avi: .....Oh...

Goose: -Well, I guess they aren’t completely WRONG, so-

"And I hope his lawyers are well paid because that was a dumb thing to overlook. So I wouldn't be surprised if Sanda Enterprises sued or something."

"Anyway, we liked that cool new music when Beck was saving you, Avi! Get better soon, your show is really funny."

[Next caller--Japan.... There are translated subtitles on the screen with a second or so of delay.]

{"My disciples see No. 7 as a sort of role model--I just don't see how a noble and decorated swordsman of his caliber would suddenly turn his back on everything he stands for--not willingly. He was clearly struggling against whatever was ailing him, anyone can see that--!"}

[MN.7] //: ....I....

{"This must be so very hard on him--and his family. My thoughts go out to them."}

Beck: They....

Beck: They...they're taking our side....

[Click.]

"I think it's just--just awful what CherryDyn said just now--and Beck's just way too cute to be bad, ya know? I mean--come on, how can something THAT adorable be evil??"

[Click.]

"Hey, here's a thought--maybe CherryDyn should fire their whole social department because what the heck?"

[Click.]

"The Mighty Numbers are HEROES, man! Heroes! Just wait, they're gonna fix this any second somehow, they gotta--!"

[There is one final call--]

"Hi, I work with an emergency response group, and... I just wanted to thank the Mighty Numbers. I know Seven was sick and all, but he was fighting really hard—and that made a big difference. The thing a lot of people don't know is that most self-driving cars that were on the road when this started were on their way to pick people up-- empty. If... If he hadn't stopped as many as he did, there would be a lot more injuries along the roads right now, because they would have ended up driving uncontrollably through narrow city streets or small towns. Even while sick, he still saved lives."

[MN.7] //: --!!

"And we've gotten a lot of help from the healthy Xelbots-- one of my coworkers said that the one helping her right now said that it was 'what Bat would have wanted me to do.'"

"You guys just inspire people to, you know, go out there and be Mighty!"

"We believe in you!"

Beck: (They....)

Beck: (They believe...in me...?)

Will: Ah...

[DR.SANDA] //: -WILL--WILL YOU'RE HEARING THIS, RIGHT--

Beck: (People believe in me?)

Cryo:

-...NO WE'RE NOT CRYING, YOU ARE--

Dyna:

-We MAY be letting our mascara run--

[CDN.7037] //: -HEY--GUYS YOU'RE BLOWING UP ON ALL THE SOCIAL SITES, PEOPLE ARE TALKING, YO--

Avi: -RUNS TO CHECK THAT--GOOSE WE COULD USE A HAND--

Goose: -ON IT, ME-- -

Beck: I...I don't...know what to...

[...He's mostly shocked--he wasn't used to this much positive reception, and about HIM, of all people--!]

[There's... a faint humming noise. Followed by...

...

... Static?]

Speedy: …!

[It's not coming from the TV, but rather, over the feeds!]

-Ping.-

<RMDC to ALL>: > DLN-008 is now in Sleep mode.

Dyna: --! TOBY--!

Avi: -TOBY--DOES THAT MEAN HE'S GONNA BE OK--??-

<DCN-008>: > {Father has a message.}

<DCN-008>: > {Things are… different than how we feared they might be. We now know there IS hope—and that it is real, and not a dream.}

<DCN-008>: > {Wily Eight will still need to be contained in isolation for some while, due to his… developing self control…}

<DCN-008>: > {But it is no longer necessary to keep him Offline.}

<DCN-008>: > {We will explain more soon. Father requests that we have a family meeting later today.}

<DCN-008>: > {And he wants everyone to participate.}

<DCN-008>: > -Yes, that means you MNNs and FMNs, too, you are family-

Pyro: ....That sounds like a good plan.

Beck: -Primarily watching the news as it unfolds...-

Avi: -Bro look at this feedback, man, it is MOSTLY GOOD--

Will: (...Just as I thought...won't hold water.)

Will: Alright--Soi, can you keep an eye on the situation for us?

[DR.SANDA] //: Can do, Will!

<MC005>: >Thank you, Soi, we appreciate that.

<MC005>: >Oh, and Beck? Could you come see me at the lab for a moment? Not necessarily right this second, but later today would be nice.

{Meanwhile…}

[Cardinal—still somewhat out of the loop due to radio silence—was on the highway, traveling as fast as his light cycle would take him—and as safely as he could, amidst the chaos.

He was going about 120 mph, weaving his way through infected self-driving cars, headed out of the city. The radio he kept on, now—he would need that, for the highway reports. Now that people could communicate, the world would slowly start cobbling together.

He jumped the cycle up and used the wreckage in his way as a ramp to soar into the air, returning the cycle to bar form and taking flight on his wind surfer for the next stretch of highway.

He couldn’t ride like this the whole way, not if he wanted to keep some charge in it.]

Cardinal: _(Glitch glitch glitch—!)_

[He opened fire on some rogue sign ‘bots that were starting to swarm, ducking to avoid crashing into an overpass.

He was VERY glad that only the self-driving cars were on the highway at this point—he knew how badly the highway crash had been—how long it had haunted his friends—when there had been people involved.

He was very glad Brand hadn’t been on the highway he was traveling—he had nothing personal against the clearly infected ninja, but he’d have sooner throw a car in Seven’s face than let the swordsmaster slow him down.

Because now he was REALLY on a time limit.]

>DISTANCE REMAINING: CALCULATING…

[He felt panicked the moment he realized it.

He could still hardly believe it, and _REALLY_ hoped he was seeing the situation wrong.

But if Shade were waiting to ambush prey, his target wasn’t an old grudge or a Mighty Number—or else he would have gone off and done that by now.

He was waiting for something _bigger.]_

Cardinal: _For the love of all that ever mattered, Shade—WAIT FOR ME!_

>DISTANCE REMAINING: 1,000 MILES

_* >LOADING…*_

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

=CHAPTER 6C: CRIMSON STRONGHOLD=

~AO v1.0~

((Courtesy of @limitbreakers))

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

{Several Hours Later…}

<DCP-001 to MNN-009>: > -Ping-

[MN.9 to DCP-001] //: ...!

[MN.9 to DCP-001] //: -Sounds of things being tripped over- O-Oh, hi, Linka...! -Ow--

<DCP-001>: > Oh! Beck! Are you okay?

[MN.9] //: Y-Yeah, I just kinda tripped over some stuff. -Gosh, my room is a mess...-

<DCP-001>: > I made you cookies.

[MN.9] //: -PING--!-

<DCP-001>: > ^.^

<DCP-001>: > Father says I can send them over to have during the meeting!

<DCP-001>: > We have good news!

[MN.9] //: ...Meeting??

[MN.9] //: -...wait how long have I been asleep--

<DCP-001>: > Several hours, I think? Father said he brought you some marshmallows before your nap.

[MN.9] //: --I SHOULD PROBABLY GET CHANGED THEN, ONE SEC--

<DCP-001>: > ?

<DCP-001>: > Okay, Beck! I will go to meet my brothers and we can all talk. ^_^

[MN.9] //: -Rushful data, we really need to clean our room--

[MN.9] //: Mkay--see ya there--!

{Later…}

[There were warm cookies waiting for Beck when he joined the others. Shadow had brought them over, and had guarded them from a very “interested” ice globe and propeller plane.]

Shadow: -Bows when Beck enters- Mighty Nine. Lady Cossack made these for you.

Beck: Shadow...! : D -HAPPY DATA--

Beck: !!

Beck: -SUGAR COOKIES--

[And he then proceeds to shove them in his mouth. Wow. Kid can eat.]

Cryo: BECK CAN I HAVE OOOOONE--

Avi: -Bro please--

[Wow, Shadow actually smiles and almost laughs, giving a small huff from an interrupted “heh”.]

Beck: -No--

Beck: -LINKA MADE THESE FOR ME-

Cryo: -POUTS, PROCEEDS TO FLAIL ARMS-

Avi: -Awwwwww--

Shadow: I am sure she will be happy to make something for you as well.

[He kneels down, sitting on his heels and folding his arms inside his sleeves.]

Shadow: There will be time for it, in the Meadow.

Beck: --Oh, yeah, Linka said something about a meeting...?

Shadow: Yes. We have news of great import to impart. -Looks over to Pyro- Bat is listening, correct?

Shadow: He will need to hear this.

Pyro: Correct. He'll be listening in through the feeds...

Beck: -Mmm sugar...-

Pyro: -Pay attention, Beck.-

Beck: --Oops, yes, sir.

Shadow: Very well, then.

[He turns to a nearby monitor. After a moment, a video feed comes up. It shows several windows: one for the repair bay where Bat was resting; one for the Meadow repair bay room where Jack was resting; and finally, one for the Meadow’s living room.]

Kalinka: -Waves- Hi, Beck! : D

Beck: -WAVES-

[After a moment, Snow’s face filled that window.]

Snow: MISTER BAT MISTER BAT BATMAN BAT SIR HIIIII—

[He showed a bit of artwork that looked like a camo pattern made using sponges and paint in earth tones.]

Snow: I made you a present ‘cause you’re not sick now!

Shadow: —… (Not quite the news I was thinking of, but… heh. I hope he likes it.)

Bat: ....Heh...

[...This seems to cheer him up a bit.]

Bat: Fine work, Snowcone...put that up on the fridge for me, hm?

Beck: ^.^

Snow: Yes sir!

[He skips off to do just that. Keltso shakes his head, grinning in amusement.]

Skull: {Welcome back to us, sir. You have been missed.}

Nico: Guys, please remember that Jack doesn’t know Russian. -Looks over to Cossack briefly- And we have many things to discuss. Where should we start?

[Mikhail looked up from his hot chocolate.]

Mikhail: Well… if there’s anything any of you would like to share…

Jack: -...Should learn Russian after this-

Will: Ahem...

[Will appears in the video feed to the Repair Bay--holding a clipboard with many papers on it.]

Will: If I may go first?

Mikhail: Please do.

Will: As you all know, I have been analyzing the virus's code along with Call, and the samples that have been retrieved from Beck's assimilation data from his siblings...along with the one Mikhail provided from the RMDC.

[Will flips through the papers on his clipboard.]

Will: While I haven't exactly made MUCH headway regarding finding a cure to it...

Will: ...I did find something...rather odd.

[The RAs and Cossacks glance between each other. They fidget slightly in unison—a side effect of the shared connection, perhaps.]

Nico: -Clearly has his thoughts on the matter, but doesn’t voice them as that would be a tangent-

Will: ...As...we have seen from...previous encounters...

Will: ...The virus seems to have some... ability to communicate through whatever it is controlling...

[They seem even more uncomfortable at this.]

Will: --Which led me to believe it must have some kind of level of Awareness.

Will: Yet...

Will: ...I didn't find anything that would point to it.

Mikhail: … -Clearly wants to say something himself, but forces himself to wait until he’s sure Will is done-

Will: It's directives are quite clear, but...

Will: ...whoever created this virus seems to have left a few... holes in the code, so to speak...

Pryo: ... Holes?

[Okay, at THIS, the boys look almost TERRIFIED.]

Nico: WHAT?!

[Mikhail has to calm them down forcefully.]

Mikhail: It’s alright, Alnico!

Mikhail: He said that there were holes in the virus code, not that it left holes after infection!

Nico: -Oh—-

Nico: -DEAR GOD, WILL, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BAD YOU SCARED US WITH THAT WORDING—-

Will: I...I should have worded that better--Sorry--

[Considering their Being was in their software and they had all been temporarily infected, it was no surprise that had caused a moment of abject terror.]

Mikhail: -Sighs, mopping up some spilled hot chocolate- I had noticed it had an ability that approached awareness from the start.

Mikhail: I didn’t say anything at the time because… well, I assumed it was merely a level of coding that was above my comprehension, and that is why it appeared “alive” the way David did when I was eighteen.

Will: (Argh...)

Will: Right, you did say it...got angry with you...

Mikhail: Oh yes. And as for the boys…

Jaden: Tobias would know more, but, uh… he’s pretty tired, still. He was doing some research and analysis for us recently…

Will: ...Ah...

Avi: -Tobyyyy....-

Dyna: -BZzzzzzzt...-

Mikhail: He did have quite the interesting thing to say, though.

Will: ...?

Mikhail: He had to use a parable of sorts to explain it in concrete terms, but he remembers that his time during the fusion felt a great deal like a three-way fight with remotes over a TV station.

Avi: --....

Will: ...So he also felt the virus pull, then...

Will: Mm...

Mikhail: Mmm…

Nico: Felt it? Boy, we all felt it.

Nico: -Gestures with his left hand, scowling- It tried to send us into Lethal mode. It was like being in high fever. When one thing didn’t work, it would try another, and keep on trying with a decent force of will that was like being pushed headfirst down into suffering.

Will: (...Right...it seems to be very hellbent on completing it's directives...almost as if...)

Will: . . . .

Will: -Frowns-

Will: (...They are definitely not going to like this news, then....)

Nico: There’s a reason why Snow addressed it directly on the highway.

Nico: He’d dealt with it and our systems recognize it as an… entity, much like we do the Menace. They are counterparts of the same coin, forged from the same cloth.

Nico: Whether they have Awareness does not make them less Intelligent or less dangerous.

Will: Quite...

Nico: The fact…

Nico: The fact it actually got upset at being called out is rather unusual for something that isn’t Aware, though. Just sayin'.

Nico: There have been times when we’ve sensed it hesitate or falter, as if it were in for more than expected.

[He looks directly at Avi.]

Nico: Being hit in the face with the RMDC backlog of cross-references comes to mind…

Nico: To borrow your favorite phrase, Jack—

Nico: It was almost “nope, NOPE, NOT GETTING PAID ENOUGH FOR THIS GLITCH"

Mikhail: -Can’t help but snort-

Jack: -...snORTS-

Will: ...Nico brings up a good point.

Will: It's...even stranger that, when you add in the supposed holes in it's code...

Will: ...It can only mean that the virus is, to some extent, incomplete.

Beck: --???

Beck: Wait what--

[They… don’t actually seem surprised at this.]

Nico: …Tch… only further proof to Cardinal’s theory…

Will: Well, I--

Will: .....

Will: (...I'm...not so sure about that...)

Will: . . . .

Beck: ....? Dad?

Nico: At least, that’s how he would have taken it.

Nico: -Grumble- I still think either it’s too complex of a plan for Cracker Snack to possibly handle, or else a kind of stupidity that even for him I have a hard time finding believable…

Will: .....

[Will puts down the clipboard.]

Will: Friends...

Will: I have been in the field of Xel Robotics and AI&A Development for at least half of my life.

Will: ....In my honest opinion...

Will: ...The coding in this virus, while incomplete, is absolutely brilliant.

[...He's not joking.]

Will: .....

Will: It's...

Will: ...It's why I still consider the possibility of Blackwell being involved somehow.

Will: It's....

Beck: ...Dad?

[...Will isn't looking at the screen anymore.]

Will: . . . .

Will: (Please let it be him and not...)

[There’s a slight… growl, almost.]

Mikhail: -Glasses glint ominously, clearly displeased-

Mikhail: Will, please, we’ve gone over this…

[He’s… gripping one hand tightly with the other, clearly tense.]

Will: .....

Will: (Mikhail, if you only knew the alternative possibility....)

Will: ....

Shadow: If I may.

Will: -Sigh-

Will: ...I'm sorry. Go on, Shadow.

Shadow: I do not consider the possibility entirely unreasonable… nor do I find it mutually exclusive with previous theories, such as CherryDynamics accidentally unleashing an unfinished constructed disaster upon the world.

Shadow: If Doctor Blackwell has been stripped of all rights and is out of public sight, with restricted access to his person, then that means that there are—forgive the cynicism—fewer people necessary to bribe, blackmail, or distract in order to get at Blackwell himself.

Shadow: When one is kept on a tight leash, be wary to be sure the leash stays in the hand of the right master.

Shadow: …If he IS involved, he may have been for—

Mikhail: {ENOUGH.}

Will: --!

Will: (Oh dear--)

[He was hugging his daughter tightly. She was silent and cowering, with her face turned away from the camera. She was shaking slightly.]

Digger: …

Digger: WELL OKAY YES GOOD theory means to work of something off of, yes?

[He was speaking rapidly now.]

Digger: EASIER TO FIND IF START KNOW WHERE TO LOOK, DA—

Digger: William find in hide and seek numbers, uh-huh, he can do it! Yay.

Digger: BETTER NEWS NOW. :^D

Digger: News to be having, is yes good!

[…A rather forceful change in subject…

…though given the situation moments earlier, not exactly an unwelcome one, as far as the others were concerned.]

Digger: COUSIN TWIN SIAM

Digger: YOU TELL ANNOUNCEMENT NOW PLEASE

Will: --?

[There was a slight THUD noise as a new window opened.]

Beck: ????

[It showed Siamini in the lab at his family’s house. He appears to have been startled and interrupted rather suddenly.]

Gemini: Cossack Three, what are you— Siam: -Talking over- OH! Hello, Doctors! …And Jack too, I see?

Jack: ...Yo, Double Dude...

Will: Siam...

Will: Digger was...telling us that you have some good news for us...?

Avi: Uh, yeah, bro, what's the scoop?

Siam: OH, Gemini: that!

[He grinned simultaneously.]

Siamini: We’ve made a breakthrough!

Will: --!!!

Avi: --Wait wait wait, you mean--

Siam: Finally, after all this Siamini: time!

Gemini: It isn’t perfect, Siam: but it is definitely an excellent substitute.

Siam: Jack… you know how Xel constructs need Xel transfusions to recover when heavily injured. …Speaking of that, are you doing alright?

Gemini: … -Squints and peers at the screen- …Is that a Spinarak plush toy on your bedside table?

Jack: Oh, heh...Mirror Nine gave that to me. Dunno when, probably when I was asleep or whatever...

Jack: And, uh, yup. I'm good, guys. M'actually getting tired of laying around all day, though.

Jack: -Don't mind us though, what you're saying sounds pretty rad already-

Siam: Anyway…

Gemini: We’re not made of nanites, so repairs for us usually are very hands-on and quite expensive and require specialized professionals. However, we’ve found a way that works for us much like a Xel transfusion would work for you.

Siamini: We already had such technology, Gemini: but supplies were limited and Cardinal took Siamini: everything Siam: when he raided the lab.

Siam: It took some time to find a working alternative, but at last! Siamini: We have found it!

Beck: REALLY?!?!

[There is a massive, collective, happy “PING!” of confirmation.]

Mikhail: -Significantly better mood now- We’ve yet to figure a way to reverse-engineer it, but at least we’ve found another option. It’s not exactly the most common, and can be considered rare… unless you know where to find it. Then it is accessible enough, all things considered. In fact, Lady Nighthawk is familiar with the potential supplier. We’ve put in a large quantity order, and it should be here within the next 24 hours.

[There were excited cheers all around from the Mighties, and Beck was practically bouncing in place, his optics lighting up with joy. ]

Beck: Oh my gosh this is BETTER THAN GREAT GUYS DID YOU HEAR THAT--

Cryo: -YOOOOOOOOOO--

Avi: -HOVERING IN PURE GLEE-

Will: Wonderful--! Well done, Siam!

Siamini: ^^;

[They all seem pretty happy to see Beck better. Kalinka was smiling and speaking a bit shakily, with some tears in her eyes.]

Kalinka: {I-it means that you can… can fix them if they need to get better, and we do not have to be so afraid, and… and my little brothers will be okay and come back sooner…}

Mikhail: If it is alright with you, Will, I’d like to leave a case in your care, with Digger to help look after it.

Mikhail: </subtext: You may need it if there is an emergency.>

Will: Oh, absolutely. Thank you, Mikhail.

Mikhail: It should be simple enough to use. And in a pinch, it also works on organics, so…

Nico: …Dare I ask how you figured THAT out?

Mikhail: -Snorts- Very funny, Alnico.

Mikhail: Anyway. As I told your father earlier…

Mikhail: DCN-003 will be staying over to assist with locating and recovering MNN-004.

Digger: : >

Digger: -yes good-

Will: Mm, agreed. (If anyone can find Mic...)

Digger: We talk, make plans after meeting! Da. -No, this is not negotiable, by the way, Pyro- -Just so you know-

Mikhail: I, however… will be staying here.

Pyro: -...Well, for the time being, I suppose...-

Beck: ...! Huh...?

Shadow: …?

Shadow: I do not understand. I thought you were still assisting…?

Mikhail: -Sighs-

[He took off his glasses to clean them.]

Mikhail: …Other than ongoing moral support… I’m afraid my work there is done. I’ve contributed what I could regarding the virus, which was rather little to begin with. I’ve fixed the problem caused by a bad connection to the RMDC that gave you all their nightmares. But now that we know the tide has turned, and there is no longer the constant threat of a witch hunt near at hand…

Mikhail: -Puts his glasses back on- …It’s time for us all to go home, to be honest. Since we’re already here, we may as well stay. It will be safer—and an aid to recovery—for Tobias, Jack, and Fighter Eight to be here. Given the federal scrutiny here, and the fact that Siam is making great progress there… not to mention overall concerns of safety…

[He looked over at one of his youngest sons as he said this.]

Mikhail: …It would be safer and more practical for others that I should not leave.

<DCN-007 to MNN-001>: > {Meaning, we won’t cause interference with others as a certainty, as Father will be safe and there shall be no need.}

Mikhail: Besides…

Mikhail: I have some incredibly important work to do, now.

[…This…

…isn’t exactly said in a cheerful manner….

…

…More like a very grave one.]

Will: (. . . Mikhail...?)

Pyro: .....

Beck: (...Oh...they're...staying. Well... at least they'll be safe...)

[Mikhail hesitated.]

Mikhail: …Pyrogen, Battalion…

Mikhail: I imagine you have your fair share of thoughts on the matter of the absent 000.

Mikhail: I know you have both been rather…

Mikhail: …displeased, to say the least.

Pyro: .... | [

[Bat gives off a disgruntled noise, his eyes cast to the wall beside him.]

Nico: Heh…

[He gives a wry smile that… strangely resembles his father’s smirk.]

Nico: Speak now or forever hold your peace.

Pyro: .....

Pyro: While I do not exactly hold it against him--given his reason for leaving...

Pyro: It just... doesn't sit right with me, as an elder unit. I know my place, and it's here with my family.

Pyro: (...I just don't know if I could just...leave, like he did...)

Bat: . . .

Bat: ...My loyalty is to my family--I agree with Pyro there.

Bat: ...Given the circumstances, leaving his post--he should have thought about the consequences of his actions first and foremost.

Bat: ...Then again.

Bat: He doesn't have an ounce of survival instinct. -_-;;;;;

[Mikhail didn’t skip a beat in responding to that. He spoke very matter-of-fact.]

Mikhail: That would be an accurate statement, Battalion. It is not merely that he seems to lack an instinct… he actually _literally_ lacks such an instinct.

((reaction))

Mikhail: As a military support unit prototype, he was intended to be replaceable. He was also intended to be in incredibly dangerous settings—active war zones. His basic coding centers around completing missions and protecting other combatants and innocents—partially by providing cover fire, but primarily by taking the brunt of attacks onto his person. He was made for the missions that had a high chance where he could die—that is what he was made for.

Mikhail: He was not built with a sense of self-preservation, not a true one—just a directive to be as useful as possible for as long as possible. So. As a result? His own survival is rather low on the priority list in the command cascade hierarchy, relatively speaking. Remember, he was a prototype, and much of his coding was not done by an expert.

Beck: . . . .

Beck: (Cards...)

Bat: (...It isn't going to end well if he finds Private Shade--and the chances of finding them ourselves are slim to none...)

Pyro: .....

Mikhail: …My friends…

Mikhail: …There is a reason I’m sending the case over to begin with.

Will: .....

Will: (Ah...)

((N O P E))

Skull: -Speaking rather gravely, with the computer translating for Jack- {It may be that we shall find him, or that he shall return of his own accord… and there will be no need to preserve him, and we can just go home.}

Keltso: -Bluntly- {But the odds of that happening are not very high.}

Gemini: -Absentmindedly, already returning to his work- The chances of finding him without direct information are 1/3,800,000, to be precise.

Bat: (So I had figured...)

Pyro: ...And I imagine finding Shade without info is even less so...

Avi: -He's invisible, bro, and just as good at hiding-

Beck: (...Where ARE you two...?)

Beck: (This can't go on for much longer, can it?)

Siam: Yes, exponentially—

Keltso: -Cuts him off- {Cardinal’s not only successfully evaded us thus far—he’s done so even after remotely accessing our server of the database.}

Mikhail: Cardinal took advantage of the chaos after the airwaves were freed to connect to the database. Recently, I’ve been trying to trace where he did so exactly—and I found an IP address.

Beck: --!!

Beck: Wh--Where--?

Mikhail: -Holds up a hand in a “stop” gesture, turning his head slightly and closing his eyes-

[After everyone quieted down, he continued.]

Mikhail: …As I had expected would be the case, based on previous information provided by Dencerjack… the source was a public library in Kansas City. Further research and inquiries revealed that he had forced his way in before the battle had concluded broadcast. He liberated the building, allowing a number of students (mostly college-aged) to escape, providing them with a hospital location and a notice that they might hear from us later. The pair I talked with in particular were very surprised, but had a lot of important information to say.

[…Oh yeah…]

———————————

“Anyway, right on, little dude! I think your red fan wanted us to talk and stuff, uh, so if you station guys could give me the number to the lab, that would be great—”

———————————

Will: --!!

Beck: So that guy on the phone in the news was one of--!

Beck: (...Wow, I...he had time to do all that...?)

Will: And what did the students say?

Mikhail: Well… we now know that he has a portable radio. This means that he’s heard every major broadcast so far, though his attention to detail may have been varied; at the very least, he surely knows that CherryDyn’s potential to create a second Monstropolis has been curtailed.

Avi: -We're still trending from that, by the way-

Pyro: -Aviator--

Avi: -IT'S GOOD NEWS BRO-

Avi: -Seriously, the support's been pretty awesome-

Beck: ....

Beck: -Raises hand-

Mikhail: Yes?

Beck: Um...

Beck: If...if Cardinal knows I'm saving my family and helping out...

Beck: ...How come he hasn't come home? I mean--if he was here then finding Shade would be a little easier if we all worked together...

Beck: ...Right...?

[Mikhail shook his head.]

Mikhail: …It’s just not that simple. He has an active, military level valid Combat initiative now.

Bat: . . . Gnh...

Beck: Uh....

Shadow: -Turns his head slightly so that he’s looking out of the corner of his eyes- …What makes you so sure it is a military directive that he is following?

[Mikhail frowned.]

Mikhail: …That would take a while to explain. The shortest version I can offer is this: then the Light Industrials went rogue, the military was called in to stop them. When that didn’t quite work, greater measures were taken.

Mikhail: But since there is not the same level of force available on hand in this world, it would be far more tempting and possible to skip straight to very, very desperate measures.

Mikhail: His contingencies that uploaded to the database while he was connected are… very grim; in a worst case scenario where all AI&As were shut down—but only after the use of great force—much of the landscape would be uninhabitable. And worse, there would not be enough people anymore. If half the population just suddenly _died,_ the survivors might not survive for very long. Your nation as you know it would be dead.

Mikhail: That is an event that the military strives to prevent. It is one of the main reasons it _exists._ So to be faced with such a prospect? Of course it would activate a military directive.

Mikhail: -Primarily to Bat and Pyro- _Now_ do you understand why he ran off, gentlemen?

((Reaction))

Mikhail: ({The fact that it was Shade involved… it still would not have been enough on its own for him to focus all his attention on Shade. He should have gone after Battalion first. The fact that he didn’t is very, very worrisome… it means that he saw Shade a greater threat to the nation than a walking tank with a military connection.})

Mikhail: He has his mission, and not even I have the direct authority to tell him to stand down.

Mikhail: Only active duty military officers of a higher rank have such authority—and even that may not work, I’m not sure.

Mikhail: In any case, he will not be deterred from his mission, and he will be driven on the most basic of levels to complete it.

Skull: {The reason we haven’t tried to go get him is that he is no longer there anymore.}

Bat: Course...can't stay in one place for too long...

Bat: Got to keep moving.

Beck: . . .

[...Nine looks rather disheartened.]

Avi: -Pat, its OK, bro...-

Mikhail: He’s no longer in Kansas City. He was there—not only did he help the college students, but he also vandalized quite a bit of downtown before leaving.

[He brings up a series of holographic images.

There were somewhat crude carvings in bricks and stone, concrete and asphalt, even other buildings— except they looked like they hadn’t been made by a blade, but rather by…]

Brand: ...Is that...

Pyro: ...acid...?

Pisces: …Yup.

Pisces: That’s sure an interesting way to use my Power Capsule… never tried it with artwork…

[Each carving was also painted over. It depicted a Talonflame in flight in a yellow triangle, with a large rendition of Shade’s signature cross-hairs placed beneath it.]

Avi: --Hey, that kinda looks like a...

Beck: ....? Caution?

Beck: (Like one of those...hazard signs...)

Mikhail: Very good, you two.

Mikhail: …Cardinal has always been very fond of symbolism, and this was no different. He’s telling several things, here.

Beck: ...That bird there--it's a Talonflame, for sure.

Beck: (...Baron?)

Beck: Is...is he trying to warn us, or...?

Skull: -Points- Well, if you zoom out a bit…

[Mikhail does so.

From a distance, it really did look like a caution sign…]

Mikhail: He is indeed giving a warning. He has seen some sort of danger, one that is a serious threat and requires him to continue the mission.

Mikhail: -Glancing at the window with Bat’s feed- But he doesn’t know if he’s right—it’s only a warning, not an alert. -Returns his attention to the main window- He’s going to travel far, possibly enough to fly—though the avian motif also symbolizes him, himself, given his name.

Skull: {And, he likely has Baron with him, or else he would have used an eagle or a true cardinal bird.}

Will: .....

Will: And the cross-hairs...

Avi: ...That's Shade, isn't it?

Beck: . . .

Mikhail: Yes.

Beck: (So...a warning--and it involves Shade? Is that what you're trying to tell us, Cards...?)

Beck: . . .

Mikhail: He anticipates that someone will see the message—he’s hoping that not only we will see it, but also that Shade will see it.

Shadow: …That seems rather counterproductive, if he hopes to have a chance of taking Mighty Eight by surprise.

Will: . . .

Will: I doubt he has, honestly...

Mikhail: I know, and I’m sure he does, too.

Mikhail: Will… remember when I called you when this whole thing started?

Mikhail: You weren’t answering. I didn’t know for sure, but I “knew” that I wouldn’t be able to reach you—nevertheless, I still called, because to “know” in heart is still not an absolute, and there is that hope—or desire, rather, to be wrong.

Mikhail: It’s the same principle here.

Mikhail: He hoped for Shade to see this, even if it were only after the fact.

Mikhail: … Especially then, actually…

Will: .....

Will: He did send me a text during that, I'm not sure if I told you...

Will: ...It was John 15:13.

Jack: --!!

Jack: He told me that too--

[Mikhail looks visibly concerned when he hears this. Distinctly uncomfortable, as if this only makes the matter more dismal.]

Mikhail: (Oh, Cardinal…) Yes, that is part of the narrative. And there is even more to it…

[Skull pointed at the ground of the images.

There were a series of numbers spray painted there, followed by a phrase: “NOT FOR ANY REASON” .]

Beck: Not for any reason...?

Mikhail: It took a while to decipher, but we eventually figured out that it was referring to a memory file extension. His, to be more specific.

Jaden: Hang on. You didn’t tell us about this. When was this?

Keltso: Recently.

Mikhail: One that had been locked.

Speedy: Well of COURSE it was locked, ALL of his memories are default to be encrypted—

Mikhail: …Emphasis on had.

Speedy: …What?

Mikhail: It’s from quite a while ago, which is a curiosity in and of itself. Unfortunately, we’re not privy to much context. Only a small portion of it plays; the rest of it is still encrypted.

[He sighed.]

Mikhail: …Specifically…

[He plays the clip.]

-*-*-*-*-

<DLN-000>: >Things will be okay, Shade.

[MN.8] //: .......

[MN.8] //: ...Cards?

<DLN-000>: >Yeah?

[MN.8] //: ....If anythin' does happen t' me?

[MN.8] //: ...Don't try an' stop me.

-*-*-*-

Beck: --!!

[...It had been--or felt like, rather--ages since he heard Shade's voice.]

Beck: (Shade...)

Brand: . . . . .

[…This was dated back in APRIL.]

Brand: (How...did they...?)

Pyro: !

Will: (Shade...son, you...)

-*-*-*-

[But the clip continued.]

<DLN-000>: >…

<DLN-000>: >Shade, don’t make me promise that.

<DLN-000>: > B/

<DLN-000>: >I won’t because I can’t.

-*-*-*-

Beck: . . . . . . . .

Beck: (I....)

-*-*-*-

[MN.8] //: No, ah' won't. I know. Just...fair warnin'.

-*-*-*-*-

Cryo: -Bro its like they knew--

[And here, Mikhail turns up the volume.]

-*-*-*-

<DLN-000>: >I know. I know.

<DLN-000>: >But I’ll never give up on you Shade, not for any reason.

-*-*-*-*-

Beck: (....)

Beck: (Not for any reason...)

Avi: --..Uh--

Avi: -Guuuuuys...-

Avi: -If Cards is warning us about Shade or something to that effect...-

Bat: . . .

Skull: …

Skull: -Very quietly, doesn’t really want to point this out, data-

Skull: -The fact that he’s emphasizing that nothing will make him lose faith suggests that he anticipates something happening that would be the end of a friendship in lesser hearts-

Skull: -And that it’s something that Shade would feel were his own fault, should it be too late for him to recognize until after the fact-

[All the brothers suddenly gain green eyes in alarm.]

Cryo: -Wait wait wait--

Cryo: -Shade--I mean he wouldn't--

Cryo: ....

Cryo: -GLITCH--

Cryo: -AAAAAAAAAH SHADE NO YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO CARDS BRO--

[Shadow seemed taken aback, and looked over at Brand, somewhat troubled. All of the brothers looked somewhat surprised, actually— even Nico looked troubled. This was clearly news to him.]

[…There seemed to be a sudden cascade of collective data that came across like an echo in a tunnel before a flash flood—]

((pic))

DEATH WEARS [color=Cadetblue, blue and magenta glow]BLUE[/color]

[The Hunter, the Hunter—!]

Avi: -Nnngh--hurts hurts hurts-

Avi: -Shade--you can't-- you're not--!-

[Speedy just suddenly powered down, which caused Jaden to be rather startled.]

Jaden: Carlos—!

[Most of the others were entering Defensive Combat mode. Several had already shifted to partial or full armor.]

Beck: -pANIC--

Beck: (NonononoNO--!)

Beck: (We gotta--we gotta do something--!)

[Keltso became assertive, almost aggressive.]

Keltso: We can wish all we want, but it is more realistic to conclude that Four will be found before Eight. We have ideas and an expert to pursue possibilities for MNN-004. There are a limited number of places he can be, simply due to his large mass.

Keltso: The same cannot be said for Eight, who can turn invisible, is versatile, and more or less kept to himself.

Shadow: But—

Keltso: Before he left, Cardinal took a map of the United States Interstate highway network.

Keltso: He has a specific destination in mind. He’s probably already on his way there, and has been for days.

Shadow: {What?!}

Will: . . .

Will: (So he...he has an idea where Shade might be...)

Will: (But where...?)

Siam: -Grouchy- 000, you ass— Siamini: why do you sign your name a mile high Gemini: with a warning of great danger that activates your military directives Siamini: and neglect to say where?

Jaden: Yeah, what’s more dangerously important than tracking down Major Five? If his military directives activated and he didn’t go for Five… what could trump that?

Keltso: You think we would be having this conversation if we knew? -Snorts- Not likely.

Keltso: If we knew, we would have sent Nine ahead, while One, Three, Six, and myself went to intercept and detain him by force.

Skull: I don’t know… that sounds a bit underpowered to detain him…

Will: (--Underpowered, he says...)

Will: (......He has a point--even if we somehow DO find Cardinal before Shade...who's to say we can fully stop him without Eight...?)

Mikhail: Mmmn.

Mikhail: …Going after him would be a last resort. He has military level directives. This means he will fight back, and he won’t be remotely gentle.

Mikhail: It’s not quite like fighting his younger brother under similar circumstances—as 001 actually loses Awareness—but it would still be… very unpleasant.

Mikhail: Best possible scenario? He gets delayed and chooses to share information directly; I believe he will try to contact, as soon as he’s more confident in his suspicions.

Mikhail: Alternatively—while unlikely, still possible—you manage to cut him off by getting there before he has a chance to arrive on the scene. Something you must understand with high-order directives—they don’t have inertia. Once the order is completed, there is no longer that compulsion to carry it out. As such, he would return home immediately.

[… “You” and not… “we”?]

Will: .....

Will: [sub]Cut him off...that is, if we knew where he was going in the first place...[/sub]

Will: (Mikhail...)

Mikhail: -Turns to face him- I know, it’s quite a conundrum. …And I’m sorry that I still won’t be able to help much. I know what he would do, but where he might be going… that is peering into Shade’s mind, not into Cardinal’s. And wry comments about the two of them aside, I’m afraid I have something more within my capacity related to this that I need to focus on.

Will: -Sigh...- (Where ARE you two...?)

Will: Right...of course. Go on, Mikhail...

Mikhail: …With an alternative to E-tanks found, and the matter of replacement parts having already been resolved…

Shadow: Again, thank you for that, Beck. It has been immensely helpful for all of us.

Kalinka: [sub]Hero~~~[/sub]

Beck: Eheh...you're welcome, guys...! (^\\\^)7

Mikhail: We’re now turning all our attention to the final piece of the puzzle.

Beck: ...The final...?

Will: ...That would be finding a power source, correct?

Mikhail: Exactly.

Siam: We are Siamini: sooooooo cloooooooooooose Siam: I can feel it—

Will: I'm sure you are, Siam, and I would be happy to help...

Will: ...But we have bigger, more pressing things to worry about at the moment...

Mikhail: I feel that working on this will be my best way of helping in the matter. -Adjusts glasses- Cardinal will only be returned here if Shade is returned first, or if he wears himself beyond mere exhaustion. There is a very high probability that he will be needing extensive repairs.

Mikhail: The inclusion of a new power source with the boys has been long overdue, BOTH Tobias and Carlos need it in addition to Cardinal; it’s been made very clear that even when underpowered, they will all still fling themselves into danger if they feel it necessary. It is important to allow them to be properly prepared and able to defend themselves to full capacity.

Mikhail: And this, my friends, is why I must stay, and why I cannot help.

Mikhail: I’m sorry, but the best thing I can do now is to help get things prepared for Cardinal’s arrival—and to prepare very well. I’ll likely be spending most of my time organizing supplies while helping oversee the recovery of the four other Xelbot fighters—particularly Carmen. -Looks over to Jack’s screen, as if for some input/confirmation/elaboration- She is still quite unwell….

Jack: ....Uh...yeah, she's...kinda still outta it--

Jack: But it's not as bad as before! She's doin' a lot better with me and Seven here...

Jack: And I think, if Four was here too...ya know...

Nico: I think it would. From what I’ve heard, she’s fond of hers. Not sure where he is…

Shadow: He is out getting materials for all parties involved that need repairs, Xelbots and otherwise.

Jaden: Oh, that would explain it…

Jaden: Man, I wish Felix were awake…

Digger: -Whirr whirrr- I think friend Adept wake sooner yes good!

Digger: Affinity with Earth “type”, is beyond organic/not, improving perhaps better with friend! : >

Beck: --...Yeah, Digger's right! The sooner we find Mic, the better...

Skull: -Somewhat monotone- I hear that he gave her rides.

Skull: After she accidentally flattened her oldest brother into the foyer floor in an attempt to get them from him instead.

Keltso: …

Keltso: -SNRK-

Keltso: -Starts cRACKING UP LAUGHING-

Mikhail: -Excuse us please- -We seemed to have lost our ability to breathe, we are going to quietly lose our srs right now-

Beck: -OH THAT STORY--YEAH THAT WAS FUNNY--

Will: -Did--Did she really--pfft--!-

Will: -Cannot save face, Soi can you please take over for a minute while we laugh regain our composure-

Sanda: --? Er...

Sanda: -I feel like I missed something here...-

Digger: -Happy pings, many happy pings- Is good, we bring back American soul-cousin mining friend, find energy heart replacement, happy times! :^D

Digger: Go over safety things and plan after meal! Nine work very hard, yes good, much hero. ^^ Need good meal to stay strong and keep grow.

Kalinka: -Shiny eyes- Big dinner and then sleepover, da? Outside of time, is okay? : D

Snow: We can roast marshmellies! : D Then you’ll be super-duper rested up when you find Four! ^_______^

Snow and Kalinka: Pleeeaaaaaase?

Beck: ...Something tells me you guys aren't gonna take no for an answer, huh?

Snow: Oh, well… we can wait! o: We still got to see and talk with you today, after all. c:

Snow: Time’s been real different over here, so sometimes it’s a long time before we hear from you guys again.

Snow: But that’s okay, because it allows Sammy to do all his research, an’ Mister Jack an’ Miss Eight to get all better! c:

Snow: -Hums the Spiderjack theme again-

Beck: Right...and for us to do what we gotta do.

Sanda: Oh, about that--Call is doing a through search for Four as we speak! It will take a while to pinpoint exactly where he is, though, since we're not picking up his transponder...

Sanda: So while I finish repairing Five and Will gets back to analyzing the virus, I do recommend resting up for now, Beck.

Digger: Okay, yes good. c:

Beck: Huh....

Beck: Can Jack come too?

Jack: ...Me?

Beck: You still gotta tell us how in the world you found Carmen!

Jack: --Oh.

Digger: Is good! Doctor Will look into hungry hungry bad writing, Lady Sanda search and I help with idea, Fire bro cook hearty meal (yes good), plan after dinner, sleepover later night! Hooray~

Kalinka: Yaaaaay~~

Jack: Well...that does sound neat...so...yeah, Okay...

Beck: Cool!

Jaden: Allrighty, then. Sounds like we’ve got a plan. (We can make it through this…)

Jaden: (We just gotta take it one day at a time…!)

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

=CHAPTER 8C: TRAPPED BY LASER LIGHT=

~AO v1.0~

((Courtesy of @limitbreakers))

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

[C R A A A C K!]

[THUD--]

[The door came down, Shade was over Cardinal's broken form, rifle pointed right at his chest--!]

[Vrrrrrrr...]

[THREAT IDENTIFIED.]

[XEL OVERRIDE SEQUENCE INITIATED.]

[COMMENCING WEAPON LOCK.]

Beck: STOP!

[Shade looks up from his target, just in time to see Beck's outstretched hand glowing a deep green, his eyes reflecting the same glow. Or perhaps they were glowing themselves?]

[WEAPON SYSTEM LOCK ENGAGED. TARGET: MN.8.]

Shade: --!

[Shade suddenly felt his rifle grow heavy, and the laser from his scope died out--]

Beck: NNGH--!

[Whatever it was that Beck was doing, it seemed to be very taxing on him--it was like he was holding something in place, but he didn't know what that was, or how he was doing it, exactly--]

[All he knew was that it was stopping Shade, which was what he had to do.]

Beck: S-Shade--!

Shade: ....

[The weapon lock didn't do much about Shade's current state of mind, however, and he sneered.]

Shade: So the Lil' Doggy thinks he can bite back, eh?

Shade: Heh. That's c u t e.

Beck: Nnngh--!

[Shade doesn't look too concerned despite being essentially disarmed at the moment. He turns his attention back to Cardinal, who...]

[Wasn't...moving...]

Beck: --!!!!

Beck: C--Cards--!

Shade: Looks like you get to fly another day, Songbird.

Shade: -GRIN-

Shade: That is, if ya can even WALK after this! HA!

Beck: That...

Voice… voices…

> Procc…essin…g…

Beck: THAT'S ENOUGH--!

((pic))

Beck: WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS--?!

Shade: Feh--ya haven't figured it out yet--

Beck: I'm not TALKING to you.

> Proccess…ing…

Shade: --....

Beck: Yeah. That's right.

Beck: You.

Beck: I KNOW you can hear me.

Beck: And--And I know--at least...I think I know.

Beck: I know--you're like ME.

Beck: I've felt it ever since all this started--!

> Proccess…ing…

Shade: ......

Shade?: Like...you--?

Beck: I don't--it's just a feeling, but it's THERE and I know--

Beck: I know that somewhere in there--there's something else, something that knows all this is WRONG--!

Beck: So...

Beck: ...So please.

Beck: I'm begging you.

Beck: There...There's still time.

Beck: No more.

Beck: Just...no more.

> Proccess…ing…

Beck: No more pain, no more...of this.

Beck: I don't want to fight.

Beck: I...

Beck: I don't want to fight anymore--

>WARNING: POWER SYSTEM FAILURE IMMINENT: CORE HAS BEEN DRAINED IN OVERDRIVE CONVERSION.

Beck: --!

[Beck's attention snapped to Cardinal, who--oh, no, why is there so much oil and--]

——————————— Forte: Let’s say you get hurt. Like, Death comes up and starts whaling on you with your weakness. We don’t go out in a single hit, ya notice that?

Cryo: ....Yeah.

Beck: ....Mm-hmm.

Forte: Even if it’s like. You’ve gotten your arm cut off or got set on fire or whatever. We still keep going for a while before the big kaboom.

Forte: How?

Forte: The energy-matter converter goes into some sort of hyper mode, dude. Completely repairs the damage, even ongoing damage.You can regenerate whole systems and stuff that way.

Beck: -....Whoa....-

Cryo: -Dude, gotta admit that is amazingly sick- ....But...doesn't go on forever, right?

Forte: Right. Doing that requires energy to draw from.

Forte: There might be some sort of rechargeable battery like a stomach of sorts—actually yeah, we do have one, I remember now; at least, 3rd Gens and later do— But mostly you’re draining directly from your energy core to do that.

Forte: Energy cores weren’t built to function as first-aid reserves. They just aren’t meant for that. They’re there to provide a long-term internal energy supply to keep you running, like a heart does. You have a heart, but you still gotta eat and stuff.

Forte: Do that too many times, and the next bits of damage will stick, because there isn’t enough energy left to fix it. ——————————————

[Oh no--]

[PING!]

[TRIGGER SIGNAL LOST. XEL OVERRIDE MODE DISENGAGED. WEAPON LOCK WILL NOW BE LIFTED.]

Beck: -Blinks-- ??????

Beck: (Wha--)

[BANG!]

Beck: Guh--!

[A bullet found mark on Beck's shoulder--the assassin wasted no time once the weapon lock vanished.]

Shade: Alright.

Shade: While the lil' dance with the bird was FUN while it lasted...

Shade: It's time we settled this like robots.

Shade: Heh. Ya know what Ah'm talkin' about, don't ya?

Beck: --Shade, wait--!

[Too late. The hunter vanished without a trace, soundlessly making his escape.]

[...Leaving the mangled mess that was Cardinal behind.]

Beck: Cards--

[Beck came closer--he could smell oil and coolant-- familiar smells--]

Beck: C--Cards...

Tired…

> Analysis complete. 1 Match found: MNN-009.

Cardinal: …

[To say he was in bad shape would be the understatement of the decade. He was too tired to even try and hide the damage—and there was only a faint humming noises coming from his unprotected eyes. They flickered dimly, sporadically—

—…no, wait, that wasn’t random, that was morse…]

“Go… on… 9.”

Beck: --!

Beck: ....

[His vision began to grow out of focus.]

[...Oh, no. It's...not that.]

[Those were tears.]

Beck: N--No--

[Beck fell to his knees next to the First, but didn't dare touch him--not....Like this.]

[Flashes of something--someone. Red. Hurt.]

Beck: I...I can't--I can't leave you here--!

“Go… now…”

“SAVE… HIM…”

“Save… 8…”

“Go.”

Beck: I--I--

[His eyes darted erratically--flicking between a glowing intensity to a dulling light--]

[He promised, promised to save everyone, but Cards--but--Shade--]

[Cards was so hurt, but Shade was so close to losing himself--]

Beck: -Hurts--

[Shade--his brother--]

[And Cards, Shade's best friend--]

___________________

"Beck."

___________________

Beck: --!

[A voice...]

_______________________

"Ow...yeah?"

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Putting yourself...Putting yourself up like you MUST prove something."

"Uh...I don't get it."

"Bah, of course you don't..."

"I'm saying...you always put yourself in a position where...where you WANT to be something greater when you're not READY for it."

"I..."

"You help others, sometimes out of your own expense--you give and give and give and give--"

"Until WHAT, Beck--?"

"I..."

"Why do you have to feel like you have to help...help EVERYONE in YOUR world--?"

"Um...Because it's the right thing to do?"

"Oh, don't give me THAT. That's cliché and you know it."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with wanting to help people, right?"

"...No, but it's dangerous to feel like you have to help everyone you meet."

"Hey, what do you mean by--"

"You can't help everyone, Amadeus."

"Wha--yes, I can--!"

"No. You can't. You're just one person. And we all have our limits."

*"I hope that one day even YOU can figure that out..."*

"...Mighty No. 9."

___________________________

Beck: .......

Beck: . . . .

Beck: (...I...)

Beck: (I can't help everyone...)

Beck: .......

>Shutting down…

Beck: . . . . .

Beck: O...Okay.

Beck: I'll go.

Beck: I'll...I'll save Shade, Cards, like I promised...

Beck: And...

Beck: I'll...I'll bring him home...

Beck: ...

Beck: Promise.

-Ping-

<RMDC>: >Signal identified: DLN-000.

<RMDC>: > Processing…

<RMDC>: > DLN-000 is now Offline.

Beck: ....

[It was quiet, save for Beck's small, retreating footsteps. Far too quiet.]

[Beck had come to HATE this kind of silence. It was unnerving, and too heavy for his... smallness to bear.]

[As much as it pained him to leave his friend like this, Beck...Beck just didn't have the heart to go on without some solace that Cardinal would be okay.]

[PING!]

[MN.9] //: G...Guys...

[MN.9] //: I...I'm going after Shade...

[MN.9] //: But--C...Cards...

[MN.9] //: -PLEADING data--Help--I can't help him, please, someone help him soon, please--

[It seems forever before there’s an answer.]

<MC005>: > Can’t bring Robot Masters back Online. Xelbots can’t go until area is secured.

Beck: ......

[Which means...]

[Until Shade was saved, no one would help Cardinal get out of here.]

[MN.9] //: ...Yes, sir.

[.....]

[There was...no other choice.]

[He had to move forward.]

Beck: . . . .

Beck: (Cards...)

Beck: (I'll finish what you started.)

Beck: (I'll save Shade--for both of us...All of us.)

[REXELECTION: BRANDISH.]

[A flash of red and yellow, and Beck zoomed out of the foyer.]

[This was far from over.]

[Just because Shade had effectively incapacitated Cardinal and THEN some--]

[There were still many infected robots in the building, and who knows what kind of secrets were hidden in the White House that Shade could use to spread pandemonium across the nation.]

[Not to mention, the fact that they seem to follow Shade to an extent--he had no doubt that Shade was stalling for time back there just to ambush Cards at the right moment.]

[Eight could very well mount a invasion like had Five nearly done, and then there would be no stopping the government from utterly destroying the place.]

[...The more Beck thought about it, the more he could see why Cards wanted him to leave him behind. In a way, it lessened the sting of just abandoning him there--]

[...But only a little.]

[SHING!]

[Shade was still hiding, even after all this.]

[SHING!]

[But where...]

Beck: SHADE!

[PING!]

[MN.8] //: Lost, Lil' Doggy?

Beck: I THOUGHT you wanted to settle this like robots.

Beck: So where ARE you?

[MN.8] //: Ah' could tell ya. But that wouldn't as fun...

[MN.8] //: Ah' think ya have more worries t' attend to.

Beck: Besides YOU? Oh, come on--

[MN.8] //: Haven't ya heard the commotion outside?~

Beck: --Huh?

[Beck skidded to a stop, looking out to one of the broken windows overlooking the White House Lawn, and the gates beyond it.]

[There was...A lot of police. The kind that you see in... riots--? ]

Beck: What...?

[MN.8] //: See? I'm not the only robot tired of the status quo.

[MN.8] //: Even the meat-sticks don't want anythin' t do with the system!

[Indeed, it...It looked like there was a large, angry crowd outside--Beck could make out mostly humans, but also some Xelbot Civilians that didn't seem to be infected--]

[Some were cheering, others screaming bloody murder, and still others were trying to get inside--]

Beck: I...What is...?

Beck: (I don't understand...)

[MN.8] //: Lemmie ask ya a question, Lil' Doggy.

[MN.8] //: What are we REALLY built for?

Beck: ....

Beck: You're not going to get at me with this.

[MN.8] //: Not even gonna humor me, eh? Alright, that's fahn. I'll TELL ya.

[MN.8] //: All we were built t' do is fight in the Battle Colosseum, plaaain an' simple.

[MN.8] //: Don't seem so bad on the SURFACE, right?

[MN.8] //: W r o n g.

[MN.8] //: Humans can talk 'bout 'containin' violence' all they want, but that don't disguise what they REALLY want.

[MN.8] //: Entertainment, Lil' Doggy. We're just playthangs t' them. We dance and sing and fight and die just t' give them somethin' to fill the void in their PATHETIC Lil' lives.

Beck: --......

[MN.8] //: An' Combat Models have been doin' it fer YEARS an' no one' bothered t' do ANYTHIN' 'bout it.

[MN.8] //: We're givin' our spot in the limelight until they decide we're old news. And then they throw. Us. OUT.

[MN.8] //: Would've happened to One, eventually. Would've happened t' all of us. Would have happened t' YOU.

[MN.8] //: Heh.

[MN.8] //: Lucky for yew, lil' Doggy, Ah' plan t' make a few...changes t' that.

[MN.8] //: If ya manage t' SURVIVE, that is.

Beck: ...What are you getting at, Shade?

Beck: What's your plan?

[MN.8] //: Ah' really gotta spell it out for ya, don't Ah'?

[MN.8] //: Mah' first executive order as the first robot president is to set ALL robot FREE.

[MN.8] //: An' t' do that, I'm gonna abolish the International Battle Coloseeum Association. Permanently.

[MN.8] //: By FORCE.

Beck: --!!!!

Beck: Y--You can't do that--!

Beck: The IBCA isn't EVIL, Shade--!

Beck: Don't do that--

Beck: -PANIC-

Beck: PLEASE--!

[MN.8] //: Oh?

[MN.8] //: --Ooooh, that's right...yer off the team, ain't ya?

[MN.8] //: No IBCA, no tournaments, no more team.

[MN.8] //: You'd be useless, Lil' Doggy. Everythin' ya worked for--

[MN.8] //: --Kaput. See what Ah' mean, nao?

Beck: --........

[MN.8] //: Heh.

[MN.8] //: Truth hurts, don't it.

[MN.8] //: I'll be waitin' in mah new office, Lil' Doggy. If ya wanna file a complaint!~

[KSSSSSST--]

Beck: . . . .

Beck: (Those words...)

Beck: (I...I've heard those words... before...)

Beck: (I didn't understand then, but...Now...)

((Flash backs to when the cross was revealed in the Queen's Finals, the Highway Accident when Shade is investigating the CherryDyn delivery truck, and times when Beck worried about Ray--))

Beck: (You...)

Beck: (Has it been you...I've been sensing all this time...?)

Beck: (Are you the one behind all this...?)

Beck: (Have you...been hurting...this whole...time...?)

Beck: .......

Beck: (No...)

Beck: (Why didn't you tell me--?)

Beck: (Y...You could have...told me...)

Beck: (I...All this time, I could have helped you too...)

Beck: (How...how could I have been so blind--?)

Beck: (...Am I really that much of an idiot after all...?)

Beck: --........

[MN.9] //: -Erratic, sad, self doubt, empathetic data--

Beck: -Ngh--

Beck: (No, stop that--)

Beck: (If...If they knew...)

Beck: ....

Beck: (I have to keep going.)

Beck: (I can...think..about it...later...)

[His new office, Shade said.]

[Taking into account what Shade came here to do in the first place...]

[Beck knew exactly where to go.]

Beck: . . . .

[Soon, he came upon the large doors adorned with the Presidential Seal on them--The Oval Office.]

[Sunny sat to the side, hopping over to the small, discouraged hero with a worried look on her face.]

Sunny: D :

Beck: ...Hi, Sunny.

[Sunny opened up her compartment to give Beck some much needed Xel Cubes and Stocks--]

Beck: --?

[...Some other things tumbled out too.]

Beck: !

[A care package, of sorts, hastily thrown together.]

[Some cool water from Cryo, and cookies from Pyro--power nodes from Dyna and what looked to be a shiny rock from Mic...]

[A small coin from Bat--...Sadly nothing from Avi. He must be still out cold...]

[...A origami crane from Brand...His star projection toy he got on his second birthday from Will...]

[And some marshmallows from Sanda.]

[…!]

[And a note!]

Beck: ...?

“{LAST NIGHT—FOUND WORKING REPLACEMENT.}”

Beck: Working...Replacement...?

[.....]

Beck: --!!!!!

[Cardinal's core. He had all the parts, thanks to Beck, except for a working power core replacement. Something he could run on that wouldn't cause him to overheat--]

Beck: (He...They...)

Beck: (They did it--?)

Beck: ....

[And just like that, with that one note, with those seemingly few items that wouldn't have mattered to anyone else...]

[...There was hope.]

Beck: (I get it now...)

[There was a chance--!]

Beck: (I gotta save Shade--)

Beck: (So Cards can get help--)

Beck: (So he can be SAVED--)

Beck: (So he can live--!)

((pic))

Beck: (Don't worry, Cards--)

Beck: (I'll save Shade for you--so he can live right by your side--!)

[Strength returned to him suddenly, as he absorbed the Xel Cubes into his frame. He shoved the rest of the care package back into Sunny--he didn't have time to keep it all on him.]

[...The cookies and marshmallows stayed with him, though.]

Beck: (Alright, Shade--)

[Beck stood in front of the doors, and pushed them both open with some effort.]

Beck: (Let's end this.)

[CAPITOL BUILDING: OVAL OFFICE...]

[The office had seen better days. It was completely trashed. Even the chair in which the Madame President sat in was thrown across the room, the desk scorched, the tables turned sideways and riddled with bullet holes.]

[As expected...Shade was nowhere to be seen.]

[But he was here.]

Beck: (...Yeah...)

Beck: (He's here, I can feel it, somehow...)

Beck: (Is this how you tell he's near, Nii-San?)

Beck: ....

Beck: I kinda expected to be shot the second I came in.

Beck: That's what you did when I got here.

"Heh."

[The cowbot finally revealed himself, lazily leaning against the side of the desk, head down so that his radar hat covered most of his face.]

Shade: So ya do learn.

Shade: Okay, nao, Lil' Doggy...

[His head lifts just enough to reveal a single glowing violet eye, and a twisted smile.]

Shade: Let's see if you're all bark...or if you got some b i t e.

[A pair of bright, emerald hues meet his in defiance. Then Beck shook his head.]

Beck: Listen to me, Shade: you're malfunctioning! You're SICK! You're not THINKING straight!

Beck: Didn't you feel anything at all--ANYTHING--when you saw Cards--?!

[Shade pauses at that for a moment, as if thinking back...]

Shade: ....

Beck: Please...

Beck: All this--freeing robots, us being just tools and playthings--

Beck: ....

Beck: I won't disagree with you.

Beck: ....

Beck: I've seen...and heard...what happens...when people see us like that...

Beck: Even when I shouldn't have...I did. I heard.

Beck: And it is nothing LESS than horrifying and wrong.

Beck: And...I won't deny that...

Beck: There are bad things, bad places, and...Yeah... really bad people in the world.

Beck: That being said--

Beck There are people that don't see us like that--!

Beck: Like Dad, and Uncle Sanda, and Mikhail--!

Beck: Mao, Felix, Piers--

Beck: The people that look up to us--

Beck: The people that we FIGHT for--!

Beck: The people that know what REAL freedom is, and try to protect it--!

Beck: Freedom doesn't require all this SUFFERING--!!

Beck: You're only going to make things WORSE, if you shut down the IBCA--! Not just for me--forget about me--! For EVERYONE--! What are you trying to ACCOMPLISH, getting rid of something that gives so many people so much HOPE?!

Shade: Tch.

Shade: Humans have fought over freedom an' hope with WAR for centuries. Your damn point? S'moot.

Beck: --!

Shade: Emancipation is worth ANY price...

Shade: Even at the cost of human lives.

[SCANNING.....]

[SCAN COMPLETE.]

[MODEL: MIGHTY NO. 8. CODENAME: COUNTERSHADE.]

[HEIGHT: 193cm WEIGHT: 273kg XEL COUNT: 54,600,000]

[CLICK]

(((SHADE BOSS PIC HERE--))

Shade: Or yours.

[BANG!]

[Beck saw that coming--he vaulted over a table on its side, the energy bullet seating the expensive furniture instead.]

Beck: I don't want to FIGHT you, Shade--!

"Bit late for that line, ain't it?"

[A quick peek over the table. Shade was no longer there.]

Beck: (Argh...)

[Countershade. The 8th in the Mighty Numbers, with state of the art technology that was only surpassed by Beck's own. The Teal Silence, the Mighty Assassin, intangible as a ghost...]

[Shade was synonymous with all of these titles and sayings and then some. He was able to pick his foes off before they even knew they were being hunted, and had many tricks and traps at his disposal--even with the lack of a right limb, that didn't slow him down in the slightest.]

[The world's greatest assassin robot ever built, and he had turned for the worst. He had pushed his inborn abilities of Radar Detection and Active Camouflage to greater heights, placing him squarely as the team's Sniper. It was often Shade that dealt the final blow against particularly strong teams, and often Shade that made sure that they had a ace in the hole in case things ever went...]

[...Wrong.]

[Against the strongest member of their family...]

[Beck had to be prepared for anything.]

Beck: (At least we're in an enclosed space--Shade's area of excel is long-range, not close quarters combat. I got the advantage there.)

Beck: (...But Cards had that too, and...)

Beck: (...And I DON'T want to taunt Shade into a rage--that would suck--)

Beck: (--I could use his weakness, I have Dyna's form...)

Beck: (--...But that isn't really going to deflect his shots, so...)

[REXELECTION: SEISMIC]

Beck: I hope I got Mic's bulkiness too...

[Beck took a deep breath and ZOOMED out of his cover--]

[BANG BANG BANG--]

[Bullet holes chasing his tracks, unrelenting in their pursuit of the smaller Mighty Number.]

"That's right--RUN."

Beck: -WELL, WHAT ELSE DO YOU EXPECT US TO DO--

[Shade still had his Camo online, even if Cardinal had done a number on his cloak...]

Beck: (Where are you--)

"Here."

Beck: --!?

[He looked up--]

[BANG--!]

Beck: --?!?

[Dizzy--]

[ERROR--GYRO SYSTEMS OFFLINE.]

Beck: Wh--Whoa--!

Shade: Heh! DANCE, Lil' Doggy!

[The world suddenly turned upside down, and his motor controls were reversed--]

[WHAM--!]

[He crashed into the desk so hard he reverted back to default, the ground and ceiling spinning at dizzying speeds.]

Beck: @~@!

Beck: (Can't tell what's up or down--)

[BANG!]

Beck: NGH--!

[Trying to move his right arm only moved his left, and vice versa--same with his legs--]

[BANG!]

Beck: OW--

[After some doing, he DOES manage to get on his feet--]

[But he's stumbling and tripping up, all sense of balance lost.]

Beck: (I've never--seen Shade do this before--not with Cards or anyone--!)

[THUD--]

Beck: (Ugh, I can't even walk straight, LET ALONE SHOOT--!)

[BANG--!]

Beck: ARGH--!

"Havin' fun, Lil' doggy?"

Beck: NO!

"Heheh."

Beck: (I gotta get normal mobility BACK--!)

[RUNNING XEL_FILTER.EXE...]

[NO MALWARE FOUND.]

Beck: (Wha--then how--)

Beck: !

[There--there's something caught in his shoulder's armor--]

[A purple dart--?]

Beck: --!

Beck: (Of course, Shade can detect signals--there's no reason why he can't also transmit jamming signals with his radar too--!)

Beck: (I gotta get this thing off me--)

[Left moves right, and vice versa--]

[So moving his right arm should--!]

Beck: (There--Ow, OW THAT HURTS--)

[BANG BANG BANG--!]

[The shots hit him squarely in the torso, knocking him away to the middle of the room--]

Beck: Nngh...

Beck: (Need a...good grip...!)

[SMACK--]

Beck: Mmmph--!

[His face meets the carpet--something big and heavy was planted right on the back of his head--]

Shade: S'that ALL?

Shade: Ya didn't even last HALF of what the Songbird did.

Shade: How ya managed t' fell the rest of our kin is beyond me. Maybe it was all dumb luck, huh?

Beck: (Nngh--)

[... Amazingly, Beck raised his head even with Shade's weighted boot on his helmet.]

Beck: Sh... Shade--!

[...?]

[...Why...Why was this part of the carpet red--? ]

[Yes, it was faint, but he can make out the beginning of the letter H in...]

[Cardinal's handwriting...]

[HOPE LIVES.]

Beck: (H...Hope...Hope...)

Shade: Any last words, Doggy?

[CLICK.]

Beck: --Shade--

Beck: Cards--there's--there's a new source--

Beck: They did it, Shade--!

Shade: --!

[It was as if a switch had been flipped.]

[The sick, purple glow left him completely, for a moment--]

Shade: -Blink-

Shade: R..Really--?

Beck: Yeah-- [YANK--] [GYRO SYSTEMS RESTORED.]

Beck: So you need to COME BACK HOME WITH ME--! [REXELECTION: DYNATRON.]

[BZZZZZZZZZRT!!]

Shade: MOTHERSCRA--

[Shade screamed as pure high voltage surged up his leg, considerably damaging him--enough so that some of the infected Xel glowed around him!]

[XEL ABSORBED.]

Beck: So you and Cards--

[BZZZZZZZZZRT!]

Beck: --can get better--together--!

Shade: Ngh--!

Beck: So you can laugh and smile and be silly and get into trouble--

Beck: So we can all Live together--!!

Beck: IT'S JUST YOU LEFT--!

Beck: SO JUST LET ME--

[Beck dashed into Shade, he needed to end this quick, end this now before Cards--]

[Fzzt!]

Beck: --?!?!?

[....Did...]

[Did he just go... through Shade...?]

[He skids to a stop, turning on his heel, bewildered.]

Shade: -GRIN-

[Shade was... flickering red...]

Shade: What's wrong, Lil' Doggy?

[And then he just disappeared.]

"Ya look like ya just saw a GHOST, HEH HEH HEH!~"

[BANG!]

Beck: Gh--

[The shot came from what seemed like above--he rolled and shot straight at the ceiling ledge where Shade was really perched--had be been there the whole time--]

Shade: That damn annoyin' Songbird fell for it more than ONCE, ha!

Shade: Half of the tahm he was chasin' mah Phantom instead of me.~

Shade: Did ya really think ya can win against ME, mutt?

Shade: Just like that?

Beck: --Ngh...Okay...I might have gotten...Carried away...

Shade: Heh.

Shade: So--will the humans give ya a SPECIAL treat for betraying yer own KIND, Lil' Doggy? Is Dad gonna put ya on a pedestal b'fore everyone?

Shade: S'just like them, huh?

Shade: T'covet what they hold DEAR--

[VRRRRR....]

Beck: !

[Several dark orbs fly out from under Shade's cloak--some create a shield around him, while one started to glow... bright red--]

Shade: T'WORSHIP UNTIL THEY GET BORED!

[BANG BANG BANG--]

[Strange visual glitches appeared in the air, but there were OTHER things to worry about—]

Beck: --?!?!?

Beck: (HOW IS HE DOING THAT--)

[Diving behind a table once more, he could only watch in absolute horror as Shade shot off bullets towards him--off of something that made some very familiar warping--]

Beck: (T..That shouldn't be possible--!)

[BANG BANG BANG!]

[Beck winces at what sounds like glass breaking, Shade continuing to shoot wildly--he managed to get around his cover a few times, but--]

Beck: Shade, I have no idea what you're doing but you have to stop it--

Beck: --?

[What's this--?

The visual glitchy cracks in the air were suddenly filled with a dark, pulsing energy...

That's funny, for a second he thought he heard...Voices...]

Beck: (What the heck...)

Beck: (Ugh, I don't know what's going on, but it isn't good--!) [REXELECTION: CRYOSPHERE]

[PEW PEW PEW!]

Shade: HGNN--

[Pelting Shade with a few ice shard filled snowballs was enough to get him to stop making more of those strange glitches--but it did also made him angry.]

Shade: Freakin' MUTT!

Shade: I'll show ya EXACTLY what yer dealin' with--

Shade: Les' play a GAME, Lil' Doggy.

Shade: S'called-- [FZZT!]

[Shade vanished once more--only to reappear at Beck's left...AND right--!]

Shade and Shade: Which is it?

Beck: !

Beck: -DUCK--

[Both Shades fired at him, with those annoying purple darts--Beck could NOT afford to get hit with one of THOSE again--]

[SCANNING...]

[ERROR--MN.8 SIGNAL NOT FOUND]

Beck: (I can't tell which one is the real one--!)

Beck: (UGH--)

[PEW--!]

[He fired at one Shade, but it just went right through it.]

Beck: (Aha!)

[Fzzt!]

[No cigar--as soon as Beck figured out which was which, both Shades had vanished--and once again reappeared in different locations, as if in a game of shuffle.]

Beck: (No--!)

Shade and Shade: Heh, it hurts t' be seein' DOUBLE, ain't it?

Beck: (Nnngh, I even hear two voices overlapping--)

Beck: --?

[--? What was that--a light dangling from one of the Shades’ neck--?]

Beck: --!!!

[--Wait--that was a dog tag, with a red frayed thread around it--!]

[PEW!]

Shade: --?!?

[XEL ABSORBED.]

Beck: (Thank you, Cards--!)

Beck: (It must have gotten loose during the fight...)

[REXELECTION: DYNATRON.]

Shade: Nngghr--...

Shade: Ya need t' be put DOWN, Lil' doggy, so sit STILL--!

Beck: I'm not a DOG--

[BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!]

[XEL ABSORBED.]

Beck: --So stop CALLING me that--!

[Shade growled at his smaller brother, and sent out--a LOT of orbs--!]

[Shade--the REAL Shade--flared a bright violet aura, anger and wrath radiating from his frame in visible waves, distorting the space around him--]

Shade: You...

Shade?: You IDIOT.

Beck: --?!

Shade?: I have no qualms with you, NINTH!

[CLICK.]

Shade?: LET ME HAVE THIS!

[VRRRRRRRR--!]

[BANG BANG BANG BANG BANGBANGBANGBANG--!]

((FLASHBACK TO ROUND ONE WHEN SHADE KNOCKED OUT ALL THE LIGHTS,))

[Bullets and darts fly absolutely EVERYWHERE, leaving Beck with no room for cover--]

[REXELECTION: SEISMIC]

[The only thing he COULD do was shift into Mic's form and tank what he could...]

[But...]

[WARNING: XEL LOSS DETECTED.]

Beck: --!!

Beck: -Gnh--

[His leg armor was breached, and blue began to flow out of the wound from it...]

[ACCESSING XEL STOCK 1...]

Beck: (Ow...Can't move...)

Shade: Gah, sloppy--

Shade: Hate it when it takes more than one bullet...

Shade: Heh, oh well. Funny, that ya bleed b l u e....

Beck: Ngh--

Beck: How many times do I have to say it--

[REXELECTION: DYNATRON]

[Bits flew around the room, dangerously sparking up--]

Beck: You got it all WRONG! I'm here because I want to HELP you!

Beck: I AM NOT--

Shade: --!!!

Beck: LIKE THAT--!

[C R A C K !!]

[A brilliant flash, the room turns alight with the brightness of the sun-- ]

[K-ZAP!]

[Well THAT was certainly stronger than expected—!]

[...The room was covered in black soot, though, Shade and Beck included.]

Beck: ....

Beck: -cough, ugh--

Beck: (Dizzy...I feel all tingly...)

"N...Ngh..."

[Shade was on a single knee across the room, twitching slightly in some places...

The glow that surrounded him earlier had faded to a dim, but the assassin was not completely spent...]

Shade: A Mighty...doesn't lose...On their KNEES...

[Slowly, with some effort, he rides to his feet--]

Shade: This tahm--gonna kill ya DEAD--

Beck: --!

Beck: SHADE WAIT--

[ZZT.]

Shade: OW--

Shade: -Nnmmgh that smarts, what the hell--

Beck: -...We're on carpet, haven't you ever rubbed socks on one--

Beck: (This is perfect--all I have to do is get closer--)

[ZZZT.]

Beck: OW--

Beck: ......

[ZZZT. ZZZT. ZZZT.]

Beck: Ow ow ow--

Shade: Wh--

Beck: Ow OW OW, that hurts, ow--

Beck: @-@

Beck: Ow.

Shade: -GROWLS, DON'T YA DARE, WE /W I L L/ BEAT YA WITH OUR GOOD ARM IF WE HAFTA--

Beck: Okay, Shade...

Shade: Ya don't know what yer doin', Lil' Doggy.

Shade?: This is something you cannot even begin to fathom.

Beck: .....

Beck: No.

Beck: I think I do.

Beck: I think I have all this time.

[XEL ABSORBED.]

[XEL QUOTA REACHED. XEL PURGE ONLINE. XELFILTER.EXE IS PRIMED AND READY FOR OVERDRIVE.]

Beck: I...just didn't want to believe it.

Beck: I know you're listening.

Beck: ...

Beck: Everything is going to be okay.

Beck: I will help everyone.

Beck: ...I'll keep giving, if that's what it takes.

Beck: And, Shade...

Shade: --?

Beck: Cards is going to be okay.

Beck: He's hurt, but he's going to be okay.

Shade: .....

Shade: C... Cards...

[XEL PURGE INITIATED!]

Beck: I think we've stayed here long enough...

[.........]

"What are ya doin' in mah room, Beck?"

"WAAH--I--I thought no one was in here--"

"Heh. Hidin' from Dyna's wardrobe game again?"

"...Yeah. >//> I hate being in a dress..."

"Alright, ya can crash here fer a bit."

"...Y...You're not mad?"

"Beck, Ah've known those two fer longer than ya have been alive, Ah' get it."

"Oh...Okay."

"... Penny fer yer thoughts? Ya seem distant."

"Um...I... was...just wondering."

"Mm?"

"...People say... that... you...."

"...you hurt people. B...Bad people, though."

"But...why? I...I mean, isn't violence only confined to the Battle Colosseum--and why do you have to--"

"Hush, nao..."

"When did ya start thinkin' like that, huh...Eh, you're gettin' older, Ah' bet..."

"Listen t' me, Beck, an' listen well."

"Dad's taught us that there is good in everyone, an' he ain't wrong 'bout that. There is a light in all thangs..."

"... But there is also darkness. Evil. Sometimes...Sometimes good people don't come back once they let themselves go too far."

"An' as much as some would like nothin' more than t' get them back..."

"Sometimes, it ain't enough. An' someone has t' stop them b'fore they hurt even MORE people. Good, innocent people."

"...People like the ones we see on the street..."

"...An' sweet lil' kids like you, Becky, come 'ere!"

"Ack--! Shaaaade, that tickles--!"

"Heh."

[.......]

"But...Dad also taught us that..."

"... Sometimes, good people do bad thangs, but that don't make them bad people. It takes a strong heart t' tell the difference, Beck."

"...?"

Shade: B...Be...ck...

Beck: --!!!!

"Just remember this."

"There is such a thang as second chances."

"Few, an' far in between..."

Shade: Ah'....

"But they're there."

[XEL PURGE COMPLETE. ALL HARMFUL MALWARE HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM MN.8]

Shade: Ah' owe ya one, don't ah', Beck...?

[THUD.]

[MN.8 IS NOW IN DEEP SLEEP MODE.]

Beck: Shade--!

-PING!-

<MC005>: > {Please tell me I didn’t just imagine that—}

<MC005>: > {Beck! Are you ready to return?}

Beck: ! Yeah, but Shade--

Shade: .....

Shade: Zzzzzz....

Beck: . . .

[…

Mikhail laughs.

It is clearly influenced by stress, and you could almost hear him crying in relief—his voice was kind of shaky.]

Beck: ....

Beck: Heh...

[He is soon joined by Beck, after a while. It...

It was almost like a great weight had been lifted up from his small shoulders...]

Mikhail: They’ll…

Mikhail: They’ll be fine, Beck.

Beck: -Sniff- Y...Yeah...

Mikhail: I can’t… I haven’t had the chance to talk to your father yet, but I know a way to even minimize the impact of this…

Beck: !

Beck: R...Really?

Beck: -Sniff- Th... That's great...

Mikhail: I’ll need to have a lengthy private conversation with him first, but…

Mikhail: He’ll be alright.

Beck: Heh...

Beck: (I...)

Beck: (I did it. I saved my whole family.)

Beck: (They're...going to be fine...)

Beck: ^^ M'...M'kay...

[...Oh, poor boy. He looks ready to keel over, but he's keeping himself awake through will.]

Mikhail: I’m going to bring the two of you home. Try to get some rest once you get here, Nine.

Beck: -Sleepily- Mmm mmm...

Mikhail: Call, if you please…

[SANDA LABS....]

[Ah...It looked like Beck fell asleep mid-transfer, a tired but satisfied look on his face as he used his rescued brother as a makeshift pillow.

Will looked like he had been through his own personal hell himself--he looked so frightened when he walked in with Soi--but he instantly perked up when he saw both of his sons...]

Beck: Zzzzz....

Shade: Zzz....

[Peacefully asleep.]

Pyro: -I am hardly surprised at this-

Will: Shade...

Mikhail: -An exhausted kind of relief- Praise be to God and His mercies. He’s safe.

Mikhail: Will, I need to talk to you about handling the memories of the event and preventing overload. But first, Pyro…

Mikhail: …I’m going to need you to do something.

Pyro: --?

Will: -Deep breaths- ...Yes...

Will: Not...Not all of us are home, Pyrogen...

Will: Not yet...

Will: The Robot Masters are offline for good reason, and Beck is in no condition to go anywhere.

Will: ...

Will: You must go and retrieve Cardinal posthaste...

Will: You are strong--and delicate enough to move him here without causing more damage, and I think, by now, some parts of the building have caught fire.

[Mikhail pinched the bridge of his nose.]

Mikhail: ({Electrical fire. Oh, Cardinal, why did you have to use something so powerful on an important point like that? You must have been truly desperate.})

Will: Once he is here, Mikhail can begin repairs...

Will: But with the Robot Masters offline...

Mikhail: …I’m going to need someone else to bring him here, for starters. And others to assist in repairs.

[He sighed, putting his head in his hands again.

He seemed… old. Truly old, and weary of the world. And he was exhausted.]

Mikhail: Will…

Mikhail: I really, really wish it could be you.

Mikhail: That’s what he would have wanted.

Mikhail: But I know you’re still busy…

Mikhail: So please… don’t overdo yourself, my friend.

Will: .....

Will: I...I know.

Will: I'll keep working on the code...In bits...

Will: (....I'm sorry....)

Will: Soi can begin with Shade's and Beck's repairs...

Will: ...Bat...Mic. I...I need you to stand guard outside the repair bay.

Will: Once Shade wakes up....

Will: ......

Mikhail: I have recommendations regarding that, too, but again…

[He trails off when he notices his friend’s state of being.]

Mikhail: Will.

Mikhail: You don’t look very good.

Will: I--

Soi: Will had a panic attack.

Will: --....

Soi: He got worried over the government calling again--you know how THAT went the last time. >>

Will: (Soi...)

Soi: I think you should take the rest of this day off, Will. Please, get some rest.

Soi: Both of you. <<

Mikhail: …

[The older man doesn’t even argue.]

Mikhail: Aright. I’ll try to get what sleep I can. Call, please wake me as soon as possible after their return as long as it is after the current REM cycle is complete. You have my permission to closely monitor bioreadings to keep track of that.

Call: Yes, Doctor Cossack.

Mikhail: I am making hot chocolate and going to bed, hopefully be up by dinner.

Mikhail: Good day.

Soi: See you later, Mikhail.

Will: .....-Waves-

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=CHAPTER 3D: VOLTAIC DYNATRON=

~AO v2.0~

((Courtesy of @codedhopes))

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[MEANWHILE…]

“… …..”

“… … … … ….”

“…. Three in SUCH a short amount of time…”

“…You were always full of surprises, weren’t you…”

“But, then again, you…you’re special.”

“….I had anticipated that.”

“Just…didn’t think it would be….or I had HOPED….”

“… ….”

“….ha.”

“You….Will…ha…”

“I didn’t think you would, but you did.”

“… … …”

“You’ve… changed.”

“… ….”

“… … … … … …”

“We’re all just a bunch of MONSTERS, aren’t we…?~”

“Aha…ha….”

“… … … …”

“… … … … … …”

“… … … … … … … ….”

“help me.”

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=INTRO A: COLLAPSING PEACE=

~AO v2.0~

((Courtesy of @codedhopes & @super-tired-robot))

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[It is the year 20XX. Breakthroughs in robotic technology have ushered in a new era of peace and prosperity. Violence is confined to the Battle Colosseum, where robot combatants face off in spectacular duels. The sport has become a worldwide favorite, and elite competitors regularly rise to the challenge to garner glory… or else fall from favor.

Of all the world’s combat teams, the Mighty Numbers are recognized as the best of the best. The family was famous worldwide, and often attended exclusive events to defend their status. One such event—the Queen’s Tournament in England—had just come to a close. Now, the family was finally on the way home.]

Will: -Sighs as he looks at the folder full of papers- … (I don’t like working with sensitive material outside the office, but I should probably at least review some of these…)

[They had risen through the ranks and claimed their rightful status as champions and victors, but it hadn’t come without cost. The final match of the tournament had been held against team Greater Dusk: a notorious gang headed by an assassin.]

Will: -Pauses at the pile of newspaper clippings- (Oh, right… they must be interested in the coverage and how pervasive the search is…. I guess Avi put together these for their records.)

[The match had quickly turned from a touted title match to a deadly fight for their lives when most of the opposing team had become overtaken by a bizarre “berserker” mode, becoming insanely aggressive and losing their free will to the madness. The situation came to a climax when Dynatron, the electric diva, had been taken hostage by Bladeblaster…

…who was subsequently attacked by an inexplicable mysterious visitor.]

Will: -Frowns, flipping past printed copies of notifications from various federal authorities in London and New York, all of which were marked “VOID” by Shade’s Certified Assassins' League stamp- (At least everyone made it out safely…. Thank God Dynatron is alright. There’s no way they’ll ever find Tobias, and Kate is taking care of Jack even as we speak…)

[In truth, the young man who had intervened was not a Xelbot at all—but rather, a robot from another world entirely!]

Will: (Mikhail said that he had something to tell me about the finals… I wonder what it was?)

[For several years up to that point, the Mighty Numbers had been made aware of portals to other worlds. It was on one such fantastic adventure that they met a family of robots (known as “Robot Masters” in their native world) and become good friends.]

Will: -Snorts as he comes across these news clippings- (Oh, I remember this night... it's a little less than you TRULY deserve, Graham, so you really should be thankful—not that you're smart enough to figure out who really did this.)

Will: (At least they didn’t get in trouble. I’m glad Graham didn’t even try to pin that on us…)

Will: (Lord knows he’s been willing to do that every time else…)

[They had seen many adventures together, and it wasn’t only the robots who had made friends: the Doctors had, too. For the first time in ages, Dr. William White had made a friend—a human person he could trust…

…Well. About as much as he could trust anyone, other than his good friend and colleague, Doctor Soichiro Sanda, at any rate.]

Will: …

Will: (Ah, Kate’s notes! Oh dear—I think these are in code…) -Squints-

[The events of the Queen’s Finals (as they’d taken to calling the last four matches, and the championship match in particular) had left a lot of loose ends and many questions. The nature of the infected crosses that had caused the madness remained an uneasy mystery… one which had driven another friend of theirs to investigate the matter personally.]

[Unfortunately, he had only fallen into a sleep born of deep sickness, himself.]

Will: … (Still no word of Felix getting better. Oh, Felix… I do hope you are alright. Sounds like Jack is doing better, which is a relief. The poor man took a sawblade right to the spine when he stood up to his boss. But…) -Grips the paper tighter, pressing his mouth into a thin line- (I’m not sure if this bit about a “provider” is code…. If Bladeblaster was a CherryDyn construct, wouldn’t that company be their “provider”? That’s what it looked like when we investigated, at any rate. And…) -Narrows his eyes- (I really don’t like this bit about Bladeblaster apparently faking his death…. But of course it would be like Graham to cover his tracks like that, now wouldn’t it…)

[Tobias had made a public, international spectacle of himself. The Mighty Numbers had been bombarded with questions from all sides, not the least of which had been uncomfortable inquiries from federal authorities. Thankfully, the team’s sniper—Mighty No. 8: Countershade—was himself a member of the Certified Assassins’ League, and was able to pull some strings to get people to back off. He’d grown very tired and irritated in the process, though, as he’d been forced to take most of the heat… and was, as a result, openly short-tempered and snappy.]

Will: (I wouldn’t be surprised if he slept for several days once we get home… if it weren’t for the fact we have a match immediately after.) -Flips through the notes- —…

Will: -Stops and smiles at a picture of Beck’s birthday-

[The happy days with their friends seemed so far off after several months abroad. But soon they would be back home. They could celebrate missed birthdays, resume the friendly spars—after ending off on such a high note, with the exciting matches between Beck vs Echo and Cardinal vs Countershade!—and put all this gloomy mess behind them.]

Will: (I know how much the Mighties have been looking forward to bringing home the trophy, like they’d promised. I’m sure the Rebel Angels are excited, too….)

DING!

“This is your captain speaking. If you look out to your left, you can see the lovely New York City skyline as we approach…”

Will: (O-oh—) -Fumbles for phone- (Mother wanted me to call her as soon as we came stateside, even if it was an odd hour—) …

Will: -Mutters- Oops… forgot to charge, aheh… -Scratches head slightly, ruffling his afro- (With all the stress Dyna’s been under, I should have remembered to double check all the devices before landing. Wouldn’t be surprised if my laptop was drained as well…. I’ll have to recharge everything when we get home.)

Will: (Ah well! We’ll be home soon, at last! And that’s something to celebrate.)

[After all, they were more than a team: they were a family. And nothing could keep the Mighty Numbers down for long.]

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