=CHAPTER 2A: BEYOND THE WATERY VORTEX=

=CHAPTER 10A: THE MACHINE DRAWS NEAR=

~AO v2.0~

((Courtesy of @codedhopes))

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[The air of despair was suffocating. Even Desmond could feel it as he shut the recorder off.

It just didn’t sit right with him—none of it did.]

Des: (Those scars are real, if nothing else. …If it IS a front as part of a cover, he’s sure hellishly dedicated to the job. And if not…?)

Des: (What is he so intent on hiding that he’ll be willing to suffer so much?)

Des: …—! (Oh, right…)

Des: …You have a daughter.

Des: If everyone is Offline, like you said, who’s going to take care of her?

Mikhail: …

Des: ….

Des: If there’s no one else, Doctor, I’ll have to call Social Services.

[Mikhail opened his eyes again with a stern frown.]

Mikhail: (As IF.)

Mikhail: …

Des: …

Des: Do you at least have anyone that can tell her where you’re going?

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: (I left… Jack instructions regarding this.)

Mikhail: (…Bitterly, this is not the first time she and I have gone through this…)

Mikhail: (She shouldn’t have to understand, she is a child, but…)

Mikhail: (She does.)

Mikhail: (After what we’ve been through, she does…)

Des: …..

Des: -Sigh-

[He seemed to be thinking on this as Desmond opened the door to take him out into the hall.]

((Pic—Mikhail & Des (arrested) ))

Mikhail: …I didn’t bring her with me. She’s with some family friends where she’ll be safe.

Des: ….Who?

Mikhail: I won’t talk about that right now. I don’t want anyone else knowing where she is. I don’t know who else is listening or who will be told, and we just had a call from CherryDyn—

Des: -Freezes- What?

Mikhail: -Dryly- Remember what I said about trouble with public relations? I’m afraid I lost my patience when the CEO called, after all the grief he’s caused this family. He knows that I’m aware of the link and trying to prove it. Given that Greater Dusk itself has been all but eliminated, I would not put it past him or his subordinates to go after my daughter before/as part of going after me. The danger may persist for some time yet.

Des: You... (What in the world were you THINKING, Doctor? At a time like THIS?)

Mikhail: -Snaps at the tone- Yes, I know, but what more do I have to lose at this point? He scares me a lot less than YOU do, Mister Secretary!

Des: …

[He gave a sharp huff and then calmed down.]

Mikhail: …I'm sorry. But I can only see darkness closing in, with no escape.

Mikhail: As long as she's safe, the rest doesn't matter… not anymore…. {There is no hope left for me here.}

Des: …

Mikhail: It’s very important to me that she stays safe, but it is easily a secondary importance that you are able to have access to the truth. There is evil within that company, and there are multiple people I know personally that have suffered because of it. There must be countless “nameless” if that is the case. So… we should go pick that up, at least. My notes are in the lab. Do try not to bother the others at their work. If we’re quiet, we should be able to leave without raising up a panic.

[His expression softened.]

Mikhail: …There’s someone you need to see there anyway.

Des: (…DLN-000…)

Des: (…Why would Graham call Sanda Tech, at a time like this–)

[CRASH–]

Mikhail: ?!

“AH’ SAID LEMMIE GO–”

[Just down the hallway’s intersection was Shade, struggling to push himself forward despite Avi and Beck clinging to his legs, and Pyro trying to restrain him–the other Mighties were worryingly trailing behind.]

Avi: BRO COME ON STOP IT–

Shade: -In near hysterics- AH’ SAID NO, UNCLE MIKHAIL’S IN TROUBLE–

Des: ( “Uncle”? And how—)

Beck: But he’s right there–

Beck: –!

Beck: H…Huh?

Mikhail: Countershade Arthur White! You should BE IN BED! =__=

[It was clear Mikhail was not happy to be seen in his current condition.]

Des: How did he–

[SLAM–]

[At the opposite end of the hallway, a door is heard slamming shut, and a rapid pair of footsteps following suit.

Soi had just enough time to yank Will back by his lab coat into a restraining hug, who looked absolutely livid.]

Will: YOU’RE NOT GOING TO TAKE HIM AWAY–!

Soi: WILL CALM DOWN–

Mikhail: -Would be BURNING IN SHAME if we weren’t so damn TIRED—-

Des: ???????? (How is it they all KNOW?!) -Looks back and forth- (…Crap wait the Mighties are behind us and the Doctors are in front of us–)

“ENOUGH.”

Beck: –!

Beck: Felix–?

[FELIX used HALT!]

Shade: –?!

Des: (What the–I can’t move–?!)

Will: –!!

Beck: (Ngh…Can’t move…)

Des: (How in the world–I can’t even look to see who did that, what is–??)

Dyna: -BZZ BZZ, HEY, CAN’T MOVE–

Cryo: -YO WHAT THE GLITCH IS GOING ON, WHY IS UNCLE MIKHAIL IN HANDCUFFS, WHY DOES DAD LOOK REALLY TICKED OFF, WHY CAN’T WE MOVE-

[Felix strode into view. Like Mikhail, he walked with an alpha gait—a bold leadership that DEMANDED obedience from lessers, respect from equals, and recognition from superiors.

He looked annoyed.]

Felix: I want answers as to why I was told to deliver medical aid, and ended up arriving on a developing fight scene. And no violence.

[He released Desmond, Mikhail, Sanda, and Brandish from the Halt.]

Felix: Talk.

Soi: –Oof–

Brand: -We are honestly just as confused as you are-

Des: Ngh…

Felix: -Glares!-

Des: –!

Des: (What the…Who IS he?)

Des: -Ow-

Des: Doctor Cossack is being brought in for more questioning–

Beck: (What–?!)

Soi: But–weren’t you just–

Mikhail: … -Looks away and sighs-

Mikhail: (Dammit, I didn’t want any of you to SEE me like this…)

Mikhail: (Cripes is this humiliating.)

Will: -ATTEMPTS TO STRUGGLE, nope, can’t move–Mikhaaaaaail–

Brand: …

Brand: (…No wonder Father is so worked up.)

Brand: Can you not question him here further?

Des: -…Looks at Mikhail-

Des: ….

Mikhail: …It doesn’t appear that is going to be given as an option.

Des: There’s still things he needs to answer for.

Des: (And THEN some.)

Brand: …. -Also glares-

Brand: And you expect to leave this building without some kind of explanation to us?

Des: –….

Mikhail: -Warning tone- Brandish—

Brand: Besides.

Brand: Cardinal still needs repairs. You are quite literally taking away the help he needs.

[Mikhail scowled as he scolded Brand.]

Mikhail: Shame on you, Brandish. You know full well that Nineteen can handle the rest of the repairs. Do not try to guilt trip the man, it’s already hard enough on the both of us as it is.

Brand: ….

Brand: >>

Mikhail: There are consequences to keeping secrets. This is one of them.

Will: (Ngh–)

Mikhail: Given what probably would have happened if I had told the full truth before he met Felix, I prefer this option. -_-;

Des: (The full truth?)

Mikhail: (Prison I can deal with. Torture, even. I’ve been through both before. And even as hellish as those are, at least what you say will be seen as truth or lies…)

Mikhail: (As opposed to an asylum, where EVERYTHING is taken to be madness.)

Brand: ….

Brand: …I apologize for my deceit, it’s just…

Brand: >> (Seeing you like this is rather…hurtful…)

Des: This–

Soi: Er–

Soi: I–I hate to interrupt, but we REALLY don’t have time to talk.

Soi: There’s a situation that requires all hands on deck–

Beck: (–?)

Mikhail: -Looks over at Sanda- So you really are sending them out? : /

Brand: –?

Soi: ….Do we really have a choice? We do not want the city or the lab overrun with infected robots again–

Brand: What?

Beck: (–!!)

Mikhail: Then… Felix, I need you to go back to the Meadow. Have Jaden and Carlos sent over.

Felix: … And your sons?

Mikhail: Let them rest. -Looks over at Des, then down at his handcuffs briefly before returning his attention to Felix- I don’t want them getting angry.

Des: Wait–

Soi: Er, Felix, before you go, uh…

[He gestured to the Halted others with a tilt of his head.]

Shade: B /

Felix walked over to Shade and looked at him with a frown.]

[His thoughts went back to the visions he had suffered—the agony he had seen.]

Felix: …

[But he knew better than to bring that up, especially now.]

Felix: … Don’t do anything too rash, Countershade.

Shade: -We thought he was in danger, alright, can ya please let us go, we’re gettin’ uncomfortably stiff here-

Brand: How did you even know?

Shade: -Watch signal-

Brand: –….

Des: ….Watch? -Aaaand looks at Mikhail-

Des: (I thought I completely disarmed him–)

Des: (He’s in his PJ’s, for crying out loud–)

[Mikhail was equally surprised.]

Mikhail: …It does that?

Shade: -Data- -Sends distress signal t’ the server and me if heart rate is above normal stress levels for too long-

Shade: -…..-

Shade: -In hindsight Ah’ should’ve given ya a rundown of the functions, sorry ‘bout that-

Brand: -______-;;;;;;

Des: …..

Des: (What is going ON around here??)

Des: (I thought the Doctor said they were just his children’s friends, yet…)

Beck: -Nnnngh, Feeeeliiiix can you please let us go, it sounds like there’s trouble–

[Felix releases them.]

Mikhail: Thank you. Now Desmond, please, my notes are still in the lab, and we have a power core to deliver.

Will: …..

Will: (Mikhail…)

Will: ….

Des: ….

[As much as Desmond wanted answers, he knew he wasn’t going to be getting any right at this moment. Especially with Dr. White silently glaring at him like that.]

Des: …Fine…

Soi: R-Right–Mighties? We need a quick briefing. We don’t have a lot of time.

Soi: Come on, Will…

Will: …..

Will: -Sigh-

[As the Whites and Sanda all file into the meeting room, there is a thick air of both tension and confusion--as well as still simmering anger from some members of the family.]

Soi: -Ahem—-

Soi: I know some of us are...Er...not in the best of moods...

Will: -Nnn...-

Brand: -Cold, glaring data-

Shade: -...-

Cyro: Yeeeeaaaah, no chill, definitely--

Shade: -Please don't.-

Pyro: Don't snap at your sister, Eight.

Shade: -Mmnf...-

[The second youngest of the Mighties grumbled and leaned his full weight against his largest elder brother--Mic, who was more than happy to provide support.]

Mic: -It's okay, Mic confused too.-

Shade: Tell me about it...

Shade: What the yappin' hell does CherryDyn want with us?

Shade: An' why is Uncle Mikhail under arrest?

Soi: >>....

Will: -Siiigh- Shade...

Will: I swear we will explain later. But right now we need to focus on the situation at hand.

Shade: ...

Soi: ...

Soi: << Will...

Soi: Are you sure this is a good idea?

Soi: Last time he fought Cardinal, he was out for three days, and he just fought Cardinal AND Beck…

Shade: -Hn...-

Shade: ...m'fahn.

Will: ...Son...

Shade: M'fahn, Dad.

Brand: ....

Beck: -Ping!-

Beck: Whatever's going on that CherryDyn had to call us has to be really important.

Beck: I can heal up Shade and myself if he needs it. And we do have the supplies from the Meadow.

Will: ...

Will: (...true...we do still have that supply of E-Tanks...)

Beck: What's the situation?

[Beck seemed very focused--and didn't waste time getting straight to the point.]

Soi: There's a massive malfunction at CherryDyn's Robot Factory. Their defenses were overwhelmed--and now their automated systems are infected with the virus.

Bat: ...Automated, ya say?

Will: Correct.

Will: The factory operates completely on it's own--and it's now generating infected units and unleashing them into the city. We have to stop it.

Dyna: -Bzzzt- Are you sure thiszzz isn't another one of their intentional zzzscrew upszz—

Dyna: -Points a clawed finger at her father- They wanted uszzz to clean up the messzz in Highway Delta too and go catch the Deszztroyer while we're at it!

Beck: (Urk—!)

Beck: -Quickly changes the subject—- Th-That could be true—but—!

Beck: It doesn't really matter, the city's in danger either way!

Beck: <<;; Even if they are really mean...

Will: ...

Soi: R-Right! This is the largest Robot Factory in California--if it isn't stopped, we'll be drowning in infected bots by the end of the day.

Soi: Now--this factory is big, and I mean big. This is going to take all of you to take it on--and while most of CherryDyn's Industrial units are made there, they're no match for all 9 of you!

Will: ...12.

Soi: --Ah, right...

Brand: --?

Will: Jaden and Speedy will be joining you.

Beck: !

Beck: : D! Really?!

[As if on cue, there was a swirl of colored spheres as Felix teleported in with both of the aforementioned Second Gens. They were in their partial battle armor, eyes glowing faint green in alert preparation.]

Beck: Jaden! Speedy! : D!! -HI GUYS--

Cryo: -AW YEAH, MORE FIREPOWER—-

Shade: -Mnnn....-

Cryo: -Oh come on, that wasn't even a pun—-

[Felix quietly slipped off, heading for the lab.]

Jaden: Yeah, we're… happy to help, but…

Speedy: What is going on, exactly?

Avi: -PING!-

Avi: Breaking News: CherryDyn Catastrophe at Compromised Factory!

Avi: ... Basically we gotta go clean up their mess. -Eye roll-

Jaden: Wha— again?

Bat: -Grunt- As much as I hate to admit it, yes. Their factory's gone haywire.

Shade: -Annoyed data, can't we just deal with the bots themselves.-

Speedy: -Looks around- …

Speedy: ?

Speedy: I don't get it.

Will: It's better to take it out at the source--otherwise we'd only be fighting wave after wave of infected Industrials.

Speedy: No, not that.

Will: --?

Speedy: If we're going on a field trip to trash a CherryDyn landmark…

Speedy: Where's Cardinal?

Shade: -Hnnn...-

[No, don't, don't—]

Shade: (Cards...!)

Mic: -Data, shhhh...-

Will: ...

[...well, THERE was a drop in mood if any...]

Will: ...

Will: ...Cardinal is still undergoing repairs.

Will: He's in no condition to go. And--

Will: Since this is nothing short of a full scale assault, with several Combat bots capable of causing widespread damage...

Will: You two are more suited to this given the current circumstances.

Jaden: …

Jaden: -Slightly coldly for him, head bowed a little- So. That was why we were given filler data.

Shade: (...nnn...M'sorry, Ah'...Ah'...)

Brand: ....

Jaden: -Softly now- I understand, now. I'm sorry it had to be like this.

[When he looks up again, his eyes are bright green. He looks over at Shade with a piercing gaze.

Shade very much looked like he wanted to sleep, or at the very least, turn invisible--but he didn't.]

Shade: (Ah' tried, Ah' did, Ah' swear—!)

Beck: Jaden--

[But no. Jaden was not enraged.]

Jaden: You look terrible. You should be in bed. ,': |

Shade: -Nnn...-

Shade: Ah' know. | [

Speedy: -Shifts his weight- Are you seriously coming with us?

Speedy: We can see about getting Nico to come over if you guys need more firepower so that you can rest—

Shade: -We are fahn—-

Beck: -Interrupts- --And the factory's systems are infected. Either I need to purge it or help destroy it.

Beck: I am not letting everyone go there without me.

Beck: I've made up my mind, Speedy.

Speedy: -Holds up his hands- Fair enough, Mighty Nine. Never doubted you for a minute there.

Beck: (...huh. That...didn't take much...)

Beck: (Thought I needed to argue for a sec there...)

Speedy: But if you insist on bringing along your sniper after he's gotten his life wrung out of him…

Speedy: -Toss!-

[Brandish smoothly catches the E-Tank thrown at him, not once taking his eyes off of Shade.]

Brand: ...

Speedy: Might want to give some of that vitality back.

Brand: ...Yes.

Brand: -Tosses to Mic-

Mic: -w-

[Mic doesn't even wait for an answer--he just pops it open and pours the contents over Shade's head, which does make him jolt up a bit.]

Shade: -OI, give a guy a warnin' next tahm—-

Mic: -w-b

Beck: -Snorts-

[He's dry afterwards, though, his systems already absorbing the contents of the E-Tank. Shade stands on his own now--inner turmoil still brewing within, but at least he wasn't ready to keel over.]

Shade: -Let's just get this over already-

Beck: ...yeah...

Soi: Alright then--I'll be uploading a map of the factory for you all to go over, as well as the points to hit hardest. Will's got the plan of attack all figured out, so--

[PING!]

[WARNING. WARNING.]

[Alarms suddenly go off all over the building--!]

Beck: --?!

Will: What—what now—?!

Speedy: Are we under attack or something??

[TITUS CITY AREA IS NOW IN CONDITION RED. TITUS CITY AREA IS NOW IN CONDITION RED. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.]

Bat: —!!

Pyro: Again—?!

[PING!]

[CALL] //: Attention: All individuals in the building please report to the main lab. Attention: All individuals please report to the main lab.

[CALL] //: We have another situation in development.

Will: Good Lord it NEVER ends—!

Will: Quickly! Everyone to the lab this instant!

[When Mikhail, Des, and Felix got there, The Mighty Numbers were gathered around the main screen, which had two live feeds.]

[One was of the main entrance of the CherryDynamics Factory, blown wide open. CherryDyn Models were pouring out by the dozens.]

[And the other feed…]

Speedy: Holy glitch is that a PRISON?!

Will: ….

Will: …Yes.

Will: There’s been a break-in.

Jaden: Seriously? At a time like THIS? Who would want to break INTO a prison?

Mikhail: ({—! No—! They DIDN’T—!}) Where are my sons?!

Jaden: Hmm? They’re still aslee— -Turns around-

Jaden: —!!!

<DWN-013 has entered Defensive Combat mode.>

[His full battle armor rapidly shifted into place. He looked scared.]

Jaden: HOLY glitch, Doctor WHY ARE YOU TIED UP—

Speedy: -Whirls around, shifting also and taking a defensive battle stance out of instinct as he speaks in alarm- Wait, what?!

Des: I’ll uncuff him later!

Des: What is going ON?!

Call: CherryDynamic’s Robot Factory has been mass producing infected models at an alarming rate.

Call: There has also been a reported break-in at the maximum security Prison, and all communication with them has been lost.

Call: CherryDyn Models have also been reported trying to swarm the Prison.

Will: …

Mikhail: What? Why? Who’s being kept there?

Will: ….

Will: Dr. Benedict Blackwell.

Mikhail: … What?

Mikhail: -Now just CONFUSED- I though we discussed this a long, long time ago—

Mikhail: Who would want to go after him? This can’t be his doing. You said he’s been there for ages, and even Dr. Wily isn’t THAT patient! After Rock finally corners him a second time, he’ll only wait a few months before—

Mikhail: … (Wait— he… w-will…?!)

[He doubled over in a sudden, overwhelming headache, with the Robot Masters present doing likewise. Felix managed to catch Mikhail before he hit the ground, despite being alarmed and startled—but Jaden and Speedy were not so lucky.]

Will: –!!

Will: Mikhail–?!

Beck: Guys?!

Jaden: Ow… (Feel like I had the wind knocked right out of me…)

Mikhail: Ghh… gah… not this again…

Will: (–?? Again–?)

Mikhail: This… this happened… or will happen… before…

Felix: Side note—Master Desmond knows the truth now.

Will: ……I…see.

Des: ….

Will: (…Ngh…)

Speedy: Ugh, worry about Dad and what he WILL do in the future later—let’s deal with the now, what do we do?

Will: Mngh…. (…. They’re not going to like this.)

Will: We now have not one, but two major situations we must deal with.

Beck: So we split up?

Will: No.

Will: At least, not you, Mighties.

Jaden: …What? Surely you don’t plan to send us off away from them. -Looks over at Desmond nervously- What if we’re… stopped, and…?

Speedy: -Suddenly notices, and seems to freeze up, then look pained- We’re not gonna get experimented on, are we? The first time people took me apart for science was bad enough.

Des: | /;;;; -No, and frankly we are rather appalled at that notion-

Will: That’s, um… not quite what I meant, you two.

Pyro: –?

Will: You’re more effective as an entire team, rather than in two parts. Not only that, but you have the endurance and skill needed for combat on a massive scale.

Will: It’s only logical that you all will be sent to the Factory. There’s no telling how many infected models are on site.

Will: …Not only that—

Jaden: But—!

Jaden: Doctor, that’s a contagion hazard! D:

Speedy: Oh, shut up, Beck’s on our side and you can tank anything anyway.

Jaden: Why take that risk, brother?! After everything that’s happened?! What do you think would happen if—! What would that do to them?!

Jaden: You and I are immune and make to take this sort of fight—we can handle ourselves! If we must split ways—

Will: Jaden.

Will: I...I know the risks, but the very fate of Titus lies in this. I won't split this family apart anymore than it has this past week. We see this through, together. We will overcome this, together.

Will: ...As..

Will: As long as you do not let any infected Xel into your systems, you all should be fine.

Will: I’ll also be implementing a prototype XelFilter.EXE program into our server before I go.

Beck: ….

Beck: Go?

Mikhail: {What?} Will, what— go where?

Will: ….

Will: CherryDynamics’s Robot Factory is all automated.

Will: The way the system is set up, it can produce models with little to no human help.

Will: Because of this, any and all changes to their Manufacturing Operator Mainframe– The M.O.M units…

Will: …Must be done on site.

Will: Though a certain, mainframe terminal with the ONLY authorized access.

Mikhail: —…

Mikhail: And… you’ve already determined there’s no one else— that’s why it took time, even after I left…

Mikhail: …

Felix: (I hope he doesn’t demand to take Will’s place. I don’t know much about the machines of this world, but I DO know that he’s going to make himself sick if he doesn’t get some rest very soon.)

Mikhail: At least take the sensory defense mechanism with you, Will!

Mikhail: I’m begging you—

Mikhail: You and Sanda are the ONLY friends I have ever since we were relocated in the protection program! PLEASE don’t get yourself hurt!

Pyro: Father–

Beck: Dad, wait–

Mikhail: Boys!

Mikhail: There’s an American saying you people have. “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

Mikhail: He wouldn’t be doing this unless he knew it were the best option—we don’t have time for further delay! Mighties, Angels—get ready to go, you must act quickly!

Beck: ….

Beck: –But what about the Prison?

Will: Sanda’s going there with Call.

Soi: Yes, of–

Soi: Wait, WHAT?!

Felix: -sNORTS-

Will: Sanda.

Will: I know I ask too much of you…

Will: But if someone is going after Blackwell, someone must go and ensure his safety.

Will: …As well as get some answers, if any.

[Speedy gave a loud, annoyed ping of disagreement.]

Speedy: You want answers from him?

[He points at Mikhail (who is standing to the right of him) using both hands, without even looking over. He maintains eye contact with Will the whole time.]

Speedy: Try having him talk to the guy! We’ve more or less known for ages that Blackwell went nuts for the same reasons my Dad did! : /

Will: I will NOT put any more in danger than I HAVE to, Speedy.

Will: …..

Will: …Soi…

Will: If…

Will: If you really don’t feel like you can, I–

Soi: ….Ngh.

Soi: …W-Well…Under the circumstances, I…Suppose this is the only way to talk to Blackwell…Hoorf…

Soi: A…Are you sure you don’t want to swap missions? ^^;;;

Will: You want to go to a factory full of infected robots instead?

Soi: –….

Will: (…Besides.)

Will: (I would prefer it if I NEVER have to see or hear of Blackwell ever again for the rest of my life.)

Des: Are you kidding me–

Des: This is INSANE, you’re civilians, you can’t just–!

Will: On the contrary, Mr. Desmond.

Will: I am not as helpless as I appear to be.

Will: I have means to defend myself.

Des: –…

Will: Brandish?

Brand: –Yes, Father?

Will: Remember that box I gave you? Before you left to train?

Will: The wooden one.

Brand: Yes…?

Will: Please bring it to me.

Mikhail: I still insist you take the sensory device mechanism with you. >>

Will: I didn’t say no, Mikhail. -Chuckles-

[Mikhail walks over and slings his arms over Will’s head to pull him into a hug—as much of a hug he can, given his current condition.]

Will: –!

Mikhail: Be careful out there, alright?

Will: ….

Will: Eheh….

Will: I will.

Will: I have the world’s top fighting team on my side, don’t I? ^^

Cryo: -YEAH I’LL PUNCH ANYONE THAT TRIES TO HURT NOODLE DAD-

Mikhail: -Grins, pulling his arms up and over again to release his friend- And then some. I think you will all be surprised at what Jaden can take and what Speedy can do.

Jaden: As long as Avi doesn’t get me caught in a crosswind unfriendly fire, I can take just about anything.

Jaden: …

Jaden: …I wish Cardinal could come with us.

Will: ….So do I.

[A moment later, Brandish returns with the box in question.]

[…It’s a stained black wooded box. It almost looked solid with no visible way to open it.]

Will: Ah…

Soi: –!

Soi: Wait a sec…

Brand: ….

Brand: You told me to never open it unless I was in real danger.

Speedy: Bro, I’m pretty sure now qualifies. >>;

Will: Yes…

Beck: ?

Beck: But what’s in it?

Will: Hmm…

[Will runs his hands over it, an almost…Far away look in his eyes.]

Will: (…I never thought I’d have to use this again.)

Will: (Or if I even… Remember how…)

Will: Soi…

Soi: –!

[The box suddenly opened–either by voice or by some hidden mechanic only Will knew, was hard to say.]

[Inside was some kind of…]

[… Rapier handle?]

Soi: (…You still kept that–?)

Speedy: …

Speedy: Is that a classy light saber, or—

Will: -Laughs-

Will: Not quite, but that’s a good guess!

[With one hand behind his back, Will grasped the handle.]

[As if by magic, Xel began to appear out of the hole where the blade should Be–slowly settling into that very sharp steel-like point.]

Will: I must admit, I…

Will: …Haven’t quite fenced in a while…

Brand: ….

Brand: You knew how to FENCE and you didn’t tell me–

Will: Eheh…

Will: Oops? ^^;;

Felix: …

Felix: -I want to spar—-

Brand: -So do I–

Soi: -SNORTS-

Soi: Ah, ah! I’d think twice if I were you!

Soi: -Pats Will on the shoulder- Will here won the National Collegiate Fencing Tournament for FIVE years running!

Beck: WHAT–

Will: I, uh…Eheh. That was college, Soi…

Soi: -STILL COUNTS-

Felix: And I trained under Proxan Warriors for five years, give—

[Mikhail gives a hearty laugh.]

Mikhail: You boys can have all the spars you could want once this nightmare is over. Felix, you and Brand are next, if I remember correctly?

Brand: -Winner gets to face Father-

Felix: -DEAL-

Mikhail: Go on. Go out there and end this, to make those happy days once again a reality.

Des: -You guys are NUTS-

Will: Mikhail…

Will: I trust you’ll hold down the lab while we’re gone.

Felix: -Brought back to the now at this- -Frowns- …

Mikhail: I’ll do my best. Mr. Desmond, will you help me with that?

Des: I…don’t really have a choice…

[RING!]

Des: –? (That’s my cell–)

Des: -Takes out phone–

Des: –….

Des: (Oh.)

[CALL FROM: MINNIE MOUSE]

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: ???

Des: Uh.

Des: I have to take this—

Des: Good luck!

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

=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—>>

<FMN-008>: > -GWARGH-

<FMN-008>: > RICK YA DANG BIPLANE, AH’ SWEAR AH’LL SWISS CHEESE YER PROPELLORS—

🎼 Avi

[ VI ] - “JINGLE BELL, JINGLE BELL, JINGLE BELL ROOOOCK–~”The screeching sounds that came from the plane bot could barely register as singing, but sing he did regardless. Complete with jester hat. Avi, you glorious goofball.

=CHAPTER 8B: TRAPPED BY LASER LIGHT=

~AO v2.0~

((Courtesy of @codedhopes))

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

{Washington, D.C., Shortly Beforehand…}

Cardinal: FINALLY…

[He was only a few blocks away. He could see from here that there was a crowd gathered some ways away from his target—

—just outside a clearly defined radius.]

Cardinal: (Ugh…)

Cardinal: (I’m going to have to go right through a window.)

[He yelled over the wind. They were going to come in fast.]

Cardinal: Looks like I was right, Scout!

Cardinal: Hang on, okay?! This is going to be a really rough ride!

Scout: Rarf!

[He tossed a dual-colored sphere in the air, releasing a burst of red light. This materialized into a bird, which caught said sphere before it fell.]

Cardinal: Baron, it’s confirmed. FLY.

[The robin shot off at an astounding speed, almost as if it had teleported itself.

There was a grated rumbling noise.]

Cardinal: Sorry, Jazz. Get somewhere safe—the roof, if you insist on sticking around. I won’t let you crash-land.

[He leaped out of the transformed flying panther…]

[CARDINAL used ITEM-2!]

[…right onto another gadget. He held out his shield in front of him, angling down at one of the windows that looked out into the sky from a roof.]

[MISSION DETAILS: MNN-008, COUNTERSHADE AURTHUR WHITE, HAS TAKEN THE WHITE HOUSE HOSTAGE. AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF OFFICIALS AND STAFF ARE TRAPPED INSIDE.

MISSION OBJECTIVE: EVACUATE THE BUILDING OF ALL PERSONS WITH NO CASUALTIES. RESCUE COUNTERSHADE.

SUB-OBJECTIVE: PRESERVE CULTURAL ARTIFACTS AND STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY.]

[SYSTEMS READY?]

[GO!]

Cardinal: We’re going in!

Scout: Rarf! -LET'S GOOOO—-

[He didn’t really hear the shouting from the crowd in their surprise, but he sure felt their “welcome party” favors. It hurt, but it didn’t phase him one bit. Even when he started taking fire from the White House security system as well.

He did leap down off of the ITEM-2, and there was a VERY high pitched whine noise as his blaster primed.]

BLAM!

[Top of the line security, down to bullet-proof windows? Yes.

Able to withstand a charged shot from a plasma blaster designed to take out tanks—as in plural, multiple at once?

Nooot quite so much.

The sound of glass shattering mixed with that of a starting fire. There was a click and a whirr, the barrel of Cardinal’s weapon changing as he fired again, just as they were landing.

It started to rain.]

Scout: -OOO I DIDN'T KNOW HE KNEW RAIN DANCE-

WHAM.

[They landed down in a hallway hard, the rain putting out the fire.

The security countermeasures started to go berserk, and Cardinal was forced to put up a wall of razor sharp leaf-shaped projectiles to give him time for his next move.]

Scout: -AND Razor Leaf, ooooo-

Scout: Rarf!

[There was a rotating noise and another click, and then…]

Ptew pew pew pew pew!

[…Dozens of tiny snakes—they looked like little mechanical coral snakes.

Then he stood to his full height and blasted a tune.]

Cardinal: (Ready or not, Shade, here I come!)

[The White House was indeed large and vast--finding Shade in this mess was to prove difficult, even with the Search Snakes.

....But it wasn't long before they found traces of his obvious presence.

There were strange, gray orbs floating around the hallways and entrances, glowing a strange, greenish color.

At first, they seemed to be dormant—

...Until they turned red when the Snakes approached...]

————————————

"—?"

"Motion? Thought Ah' told them flesh wastes t'stay PUT. . . Lessee here. . ."

————————————

[The Search Snakes were spread out, but Cardinal had remained where he was.

He was in full armor—something he hadn’t done in real Combat since the last time he fought his brother. Because of this, his whole face was covered, and his expression was impossible to read.

Despite this, his fierce green eyes burned with a fire that pierced even his shades, visible to not only a sensitive camera, but also to the naked eye.

After a moment…]

SHING!

[The leaves that had shielded him scattered, slicing everything in their path as they moved down the hall.

This included, among other things, a security camera.

The feed went down immediately, followed by several others in the same hallway.]

KSSSSSSSS—

[Cardinal had created a small blind spot.]

————————————

"—!"

"Sonofva . . ."

"Who the hell IS this guy. ..?"

"Thinkin' he can come inta' MAH new home. .."

————————————

Scout: Rarf! -NICE SHOT-

Cardinal: Scout, we’ve got a problem. There are people trapped in here.

Scout: —!!

Cardinal: I’m going to have to start breaking down doors.

Cardinal: (If Shade were in his right mind, he’d want me to do this first.)

Cardinal: (And if the President THEMSELVES is here, nnng…)

[His fans whined even louder at the surge of compulsion to follow out a military-grade order.]

Scout: -RARF-

Scout: -WE KNOW HEADBUTT-

Scout: -WE CAN HELP—-

Cardinal: You might need to save that on the people inside, my friend. I’ll explain in a moment—

[He hit the floor to avoid a sudden stream of mixed projectile weaponry.]

Cardinal: Some cover, if you please? -Scout, use Sand Attack.-

Scout: -Rarf!-

[Scout used Sand Attack!]

[Scout didn't need to dig--he simply shook himself VERY rapidly, dust and sand scattering EVERYWHERE.]

[...He was apparently very dirty.]

Cardinal: Heh. -SMIRKS-

[He starts shouting in a taunting tone.]

Cardinal: HEY SHADE! Too bad your glasses got all dusty. Better wipe the dirt out of your eye!

————————————

"Grrrr. .."

"Just keep talkin', Birdy, see where THAT gets ya. .."

————————————

[.......]

[VEEEEEEEEEEEEE--]

Cardinal: I don’t think so.

[CARDINAL used FLASH STOPPER!]

[WOW, everything is hit not only with BLINDING light, but whatever is in those intangible waves of data is enough to STUN everything in the hall.]

Cardinal: >B]

[There is a HUGE clattering somewhere deeper in the house--it sounded like something very heavy just fell--]

————————————

"AUGH MOTHERSCRATCHIN' CHEATER—!"

————————————

Cardinal: -Speaks in a low voice- Scout, when I break through the door, the people inside are going to be terrified. Someone IS going to start shooting. Try and stun them, or at least get their aim off.

Scout: -Rarf!- -Nods-

[Another click.]

[Cardinal used SHADOW BLADE.]

[There was a hissing SHUNK noise as he cut RIGHT into a triple-reinforced, double-locked door of something much stronger than steel.

Another rotating click, and he stuffed a Crash Bomb into the hole the acid was eating away—he didn’t have time to wait.

It blinked and beeped a few times before…]

CRASH!

[Cardinal slammed through the opening shield-first.]

[Bullets start FLYING the second he does, and yes, there is much screaming—]

"GET DOWN—"

Scout: RARF!

[Scout used Tackle! ]

[One of the men in black goes down, gun clattering to the floor. Two more follow suit—it seems like Scout has gotten quite good at dodging incoming fire.]

[Scout used Growl!]

Scout: -GRRRR, STAY DOWN-

[Cardinal doesn’t make any witty comments this time. He just goes into a full-on tackle of his own. He grabs one man in one arm, another after dropping his shield—

And as soon as he rams into the third…]

[CARDINAL used TELEPORT!]

{Outside…}

[Cardinal reappears inches from the crowd outside the kill zone, dropping the two men he was carrying to the ground. The third, already on the ground, had also been taken with him.

This caused no small amount of panic, and he was lit up with half a dozen sniper scopes. A few even got off fire, hitting him square in the left part of his chest.]

Cardinal: -Huffs- (Are you kidding me?)

BWIP!

[He disappears, only to reappear a moment later with two other people, holding them by their wrists. One of them was shrieking and trying to mace him. Again, no effect.]

Cardinal: No offense, but I’ve been through worse!

Bwip!

Paramedics rushed over to the vic—]

BWIP!

[—ooooor not—]

Cardinal: -Drops the guns onto the ground with a clatter- DON’T shoot Beck if he shows up, officers!

[He also tosses over a file folder of notes someone had been working on, hiding behind his shield to better withstand incoming fire.]

Cardinal: Still—you guys might need those!

BWIP!

{Inside}

"HEY--THAT'S MY TIE--"

[One more man in black snuck in while Cardinal teleported back in--]

Scout: GRRRRR—

[Scout used Headbutt!]

WHAM!

[The security man skidded across the room and hit the back of his head with the wall, knocking him out instantly.]

Scout: -GRRRR—- -SHAKES HEAD AND TIE AGGRESSIVELY BEFORE SPITTING IT OUT-

Scout: | [

[Cardinal picks up the man, pausing for a moment as he hears the security out in the hall recovering from the stun he had put on them earlier.]

Cardinal: This is going to be a long day.

Scout: —!

Scout: -SNIFF SNIFF-

Scout: -NOSE IN THE AIR, COULD IT BE—-

[BANG!]

Scout: -YELPS-

[A red laser appears on the ground near Scout's feet, followed by a energy shot, scaring him out of his wits and causing him to run behind Cards.]

Scout: -Whimperrrrr-

Cardinal: -OW, that was loud- Gosh dangit, Shade!

[He grabs Scout with his other arm—]

BWIP!

Scout: —???

[—and when he reappears inside, it’s without the officer…

…and also out in the hallway, yards and yards from where he had ever set foot.

As long as he could see it, he could go there.]

Cardinal: You’re going to have to do better than that, KID!

Cardinal: But if you insist on playing hide and seek…

[Cardinal used SCREECH—]

[He briefly stopped the mufflers on his fans, causing their overworked whine to get broadcast over his speakers.

It was worse than metal grating mixed with fingernails on chalkboard.]

Scout: -WHIIIIINE-

————————————

"AAAAARUGH--!!!"

"Goddamn BUCKET OF BOLTS--AH'VE HAD IT UP T' HERE!"

"Fahn, if ya wanna DIE SO BADLY--"

————————————

[....Oh dear.]

[All of the orbs go active.

And there were red, red lasers, reflecting off of them all at once--which was real, which one was SHADE--]

Cardinal: Oh, please.

[He laughs as his arm shifts again.]

Cardinal: Guess what, Shade?

Cardinal: Two can play at this game.

[Cardinal used GEMINI LASER!]

[Aaaaaand suddenly, the hallway was filled with death laser ping-pong.

And Shade’s were NOT the only ones bouncing at angles!]

[BANG BANG BANG—]

[It was truly a sight to behold.

It was like watching a game of chess, except the pieces were far deadlier.

Gemini Lasers met energy shots, with every red laser changing to accommodate the angle and trajectory.]

[Cardinal didn’t stick around to watch the lights and display contest.

He had already grabbed Scout with one arm, running right into the fire shield-first. About partway through, he leaped and slid down the rest on his back, with his shield out in front.]

Scout: -RARF RARF—- -WHEEEEEEEEE-

[Cards was moving too fast for the lasers to lock onto him correctly—and once the one behind him figured this out—

...They all vanished.]

————————————

"Oh, Ah' see what yer goin' for, Birdy..."

"Can't have that, no sir."

————————————

[—This area seemed to be more decorated...]

[Cardinal barely noticed, and almost didn’t care. He got up to a knee.]

Cardinal: Scout, I need you to do something for me. Find a rope or a cord of some sort. Even a curtain tie will do if it’s long enough.

Scout: -Rarf!-

[He sets the Zig down.]

Cardinal: Please, be careful…

Scout: Rarf! -Sniff Sniff-

[Cardinal took a moment to take in his surroundings.

This looked like a historic display of American History.... Medals, paintings, photos of past presidents...]

Cardinal: …

Cardinal: (Nnngh… I can’t do anything too dramatic in here, I need to move out of this place…)

Scout: Rarf!

Scout: -HOLDS UP A FANCY MILITARY ROPE THING-

Cardinal: !

Cardinal: Thanks, Scout. Now let’s get out of here—

Cardinal: Before Shade does something stupid!

Scout: -RARF!-

Cardinal: (What I wouldn’t give for backup from Tobias right about now…)

Cardinal: (At least that office was one of the only places with anyone inside of the work quarters. I guess most people managed to evacuate.)

Cardinal: (Looks like there’s different kinds of rooms over this way—man, I wish that I could have seen the White House back at home, I’m going into this totally blind—)

[A low noise and a rotating click.]

Ptew ptew pew!

[Another nest of Search Snakes slither on their way.]

Cardinal: (THIS room must be horribly dangerous. This much priceless history? That’s a screaming neon sign for “DEATH TRAP SECURITY” if I ever heard one.)

Cardinal: (I’m going to have to tank some hits, probably…)

[He looks around the room skeptically.]

Cardinal: …

[He grabs Scout and holds him directly between his shield and his body, and makes a run for it.]

[BWAAAAN—]

[Something from the ceiling unlocks—]

[Oh dear THOSE ARE VERY MUCH MILITARY GRADE MACHINE GUN TURRENTS—]

Cardinal: (Aw glitch.)

[There’s a whine as he holds up his free arm, it shifting to have a wrist launcher.]

KTANG KTANG!

[Cardinal used MAGNET MISSILE!]

Cardinal: -EVEN MORE RUNNING FOR IT—-

[The missiles lock onto the turrets, attaching to them before exploding. Unfortunately, while this takes SOME of them out…

…some of them merely malfunction, firing at random.]

Cardinal: DAMMIT—

[CARDINAL used METAL BLADE!]

[He took some hits protecting older paintings from the unfriendly fire, but his shield held firm.

The same couldn’t be said for the turrets that were introduced to one of THE most deadly Power Capsule weapons known to man.

They crashed down to the floor. And as Cardinal approached the end of the room—]

Cardinal: GOSH DANGIT!

[…Locked doors barred his way.

And he could hear the whine, feel the psychological heat of lasers lighting up his back for long ranged target sights.

He whirled around, back pressed up against the surface, taking the incoming fire to his shield.]

Cardinal: (WHY are there locked doors in here?!)

Cardinal: (Augh…)

[To the unfamiliar observer, it would appear the bird had been cornered.]

[VRRRRRRRR...]

[A laser.]

[A very familiar one.]

[PING!]

[MN.8] //: Not so sassy nao, are ya.

<DLN-000>: >Shade.

<DLN-000>: >This is stupid floor design, Shade.

<DLN-000>: >I’ll have to have a word with your brother about this after I haul your chass out of here.

[Oh, he was rushing robodrenaline, alright. “Heart” rate had increased, his fans (while thankfully muffled) were louder, giving off more heat than earlier.

There was also that clicking and whining noise again…]

<DLN-000>: >Your desire for sass is very important to us. Please hold, and the next available representative…

[Cardinal used DRILL BOMB!]

[He shoved something very much like a Crash Bomb into the door behind him. It ground away at the metal as it tunneled in, embedding itself in the door before exploding.]

<DLN-000>: > —WILL GET BACK TO YOU!

[Cardinal used FLASH STOPPER!]

[AUGH, again with the BLINDING light—]

[MN.8] //: -—GNGH-

[There was a deep growl on the other end before it cut out--clearly Shade had not been pleased with that.

Not at all.]

[Cardinal didn’t waste a moment. He turned his back to Shade—he had no choice—and his arm shifted again—]

[CARDINAL used SUPER ARM!]

WHUNK!

[He punched a bigger opening through the thick door where the Drill Bomb had made the first breach.]

WHAM!

Cardinal: -IN YOU GO, SCOUT—-

Scout: RARF!

"WHAT IS THAT—"

Cardinal: Tie them up for me— OW!

Scout: ! D:

???: Please stay behind me—

???: TAKE ANOTHER STEP AND I WILL OPEN FIRE—

Scout: -GRRRRR-

Cardinal: Go ahead, it’ll just put you in the hospital! Metal ricochets, genius!

[He squeezed his way through, hearing things becoming active again behind him.]

Cardinal: I don’t have— ouch! —time for this—

[He grabbed one end of the rope and then—]

[Cardinal used TOP SPIN!]

bbbZZZZZZZzzzKT—

[The top clattered along, circling and snaking around the people in the room. The rope he had tied to it followed after.]

Cardinal: -YANK!-

[WHAM.]

[The sound of multiple human beings hitting the floor at the same time follows suit.

Cardinal used the Super Arm again to sort of push them all into one pile of disgruntled, frightened, aggressive humanity.]

BWIP!

{Outside…}

[Cardinal jumped off and did a backflip out of the way off of the piled people, bringing his shield out in front of him.]

[.......]

[That's weird.]

[No sniper fire?]

Cardinal: -Takes a moment to catch his breath- (Ugh… I can feel the slugs embedded inside me. I’m going to need to shed this armor before too long, at the rate this is going—)

[It took him a moment to realize he wasn’t being shot at.]

Cardinal: …???

Cardinal: -Peeks out behind his shield- ,’B/?

[Vrrrrrrr...]

[...? Wait, that sound—those sound like propellers—]

Cardinal: …

Cardinal: -Looks uuuuuuup—-

AviCam: -FLOATS IN-

Cardinal: …

Cardinal: … -COCKY GRIN BENEATH MASK-

Cardinal: Smile, you’re on candid camera!

AviCam: -MAKES SOME LETTERS IN THE AIR-

[G O F O R R E S C U E—G L.]

Cardinal: See ya later, Hoverbrother. Send my love if things…

Cardinal: … blow up in my face ;D

[He takes the moment to take off his helm entirely. Man, he looks exhausted.]

Cardinal: I can only assume you’re keeping them from crowding around with questions—thanks, because—

[He pulls out what looks like a miniature oil can and douses himself with it. And then another one. Oddly enough, he seems bone dry after. Huh.]

Cardinal: -Puts his helm back on- —I gotta scram!

Bwip!

{Inside}

[He reappears back inside.]

Cardinal: …

Cardinal: …???

Cardinal: (Where the heck did Scout go?)

[The happy Zig was nowhere in sight.]

Cardinal: Nnnngh… (I told him what would happen, so… I guess something went wrong. I hope I run into him on the way rounding up stragglers…)

[There was a buzzing noise as he was lit up with lasers again.]

Cardinal: …

Cardinal: Really, Shade? This is SO boring.

[Buuuuut then they… start spazzing out?]

Cardinal: …?

Kkkkk…

Cardinal: !

Cardinal: (Wait a second—music?)

[Not just any music…]

Cardinal: Eight!

[PING!]

[MN.8] //: Well, well, well.

[MN.8] //: If it ain't the infernal Wily child and the Lil' doggie.

[PING!]

[A surprisingly firm voice echoes though the comms—]

[MN.9] // COUNTERSHADE!

<DLN-008>: >Shut up, Shade.

<DLN-008>: >The only reason I haven’t fried you to a soot speck is because Beck’s my friend and Cardinal would kill me. |[

[The whole building abruptly seemed to fill with harsh static. Not just the noise—the electricity itself. And, as Tobias had predicted, Cardinal was NOT pleased.]

Cardinal: Cut that out, Eight.

Cardinal: Is there anyone else in here?!

<DLN-008>: > Yes—

Cardinal: Then cover Beck and STALL for me, dammit!

[He takes off.]

Cardinal: (With Tobias messing with the security system, that should make it marginally less deadly by making the systems cut in and out—)

Cardinal: (And there’s two of us, he can only be in one place at a time, he’s not Siam, after all—)

[BANG BANG BANG.]

[Crack!]

[Cardinal’s armor had finally taken too much damage from energy shots. It shifted away into his normal gear.]

Cardinal: Fantastic.

Cardinal: -RUNNING FOR IT AGAIN-

[Lasers in all directions--]

[Wait—no...It couldn't be.]

[That can't be him just down the corner.]

Shade: Boo.

Cardinal: Shade, I’m not—

[CARDINAL USED RAIN FLUSH!]

[It was raining indoors and now EVERYTHING was wet—]

[His other arm turned into a blaster.]

[Cardinal used SPARK SHOCK!]

Cardinal: —IN THE MOOD FOR THIS!

[He suddenly was surrounded by live electricity.]

Cardinal: Out of my way or I swear to God I’ll fry you to a core.

Shade: ....

[He stands there for a moment, looking as if he is complimenting the threat.]

[Then.]

Shade: -Grins-

Shade: Alright.

[BANG—]

[—???]

[Wait, that shot came from behind him—

And where did Shade go?!]

Cardinal: -Ow-

[In the bad mood he was, he jumped up onto ITEM-2.]

Cardinal: I told you I’ll get back to you, you impatient brat.

[BZZZRRRRRKKKZZZZZGGGHHHHHHHVVVV—]

[…Well.

THAT hallway and everything in it was sure toast.

Various spheres dropped to the floor, but no sniper (or core thereof) was among the casualties.

Cardinal shot on down the hall, following flashing static panels along the way. Left, right, right, left, up a flight of stairs, down stairs—

He was suddenly thrown off his wind surfer when everything began to float and hold in place. And an object in motion…]

Cardinal: !

WHANG!

Cardinal: OW!

Cardinal: Tobias, what the frag was that for?!

[Disgruntled, he didn’t wait for an answer. Left, right—]

Cardinal: -Comes to a screeching halt- …

Cardinal: … And I thought the last room was a death trap…

[Standing before him were two more impressive looking doors. They were more grandiose and obviously stronger than the last. And… the Presidential Seal was in proud, bold colors right in the center.]

Cardinal: (That’s gotta be the way to the Oval Office!)

Cardinal: … (But… Tobias led me here, so that means…)

Cardinal: (Oh hell…)

[VRRRRRRRR--!!]

[There was a wave of UFO-like Xelbots that flashed into view--before vanishing into thin air, barreling themselves straight into Cardinal's path--]

Cardinal: -NOPE-

TSSSSEW!

[Cardinal used Rolling Cutter!

It’s super effective!]

Cardinal: Hey, Area 51 called! They want their rides back!

Cardinal: Hope those came with a warranty.

[VRRRRRRRRR!]

[Oh, lovely, more turrets--]

[VVVVRRRRrrrrrrrr....]

[....They...powered off?

Suddenly, the lights flickered.]

Cardinal: …

[And dimmed. ]

Cardinal: ?

[To his slight surprise (and fair annoyance), Cardinal began floating again.]

Cardinal: Tobias, for the LAST time—

[PING!]

[MN.3] //: Oooooh, Shaaaaade!

[MN.3] //: BIG ZZZSISTER WANTSZZ TO HAVE A TALK WITH YOU.

[MN.8] //: -Oh, bite me, witch hag.-

[MN.3] //: YOU CAN'T PLAY HIDE AND ZZZSEEK FOREVER--

Cardinal: … Dyna?

[MN.3] //: Go on now, Becky, I got thiszz, I KNEW thiszz place had it'szz own power grid, yum.~

[MN.9] //: Hookay, thanks, Dyna! c:

Cardinal: -Aaaalrighty then- (I better hurry up before the whole gang arrives.)

Cardinal: -Bounces through the lower gravity before it abruptly changes-

[He takes one look at the door.]

Cardinal: (How am I going to—)

[…But was interrupted by the sound of the security systems starting up again.]

Cardinal: .___.

[CARDINAL used SKULL BARRIER!]

[He was just in time to prevent becoming an energy and lead pincushion. Still under fire and holding up the shield, he rotated through his capsules until…]

POW!

[He lowered his hand, turning off the Thunder Beam.

He had managed to blow the fuse, which turned off the security in the hallway…

…and the lights…

…and the air conditioning.

It was starting to get very hot, and things smelled like burnt electronics.]

Cardinal: Man…

[He takes out the Shadow Blade again.]

Cardinal: I feel sorry for whoever holds the homeowners insurance on this place.

[He sliced at the door repeatedly in intersecting diagonal lines. This time, he let the acid eat away at the door.

He didn’t like how unnaturally silent it was now that he had put the whole hallway into radio silence. Only the windows brought any light in at all.]

Cardinal: (Here’s to hoping I’m not too late… not for them, OR for him…)

[Cardinal used HARD KNUCKLE!]

C R A C K!

[Cardinal used SHIELD BASH!]

[And burst RIGHT into the Oval Office!]

[There were only three people inside, all standing around the desk, as if discussing something. The ladies had looked up sharply at the noise, and had backed away before he came crashing in.]

Des: Crap--

[The only other male in the room pulls out a firearm and pulls the trigger--]

[BLAM!]

[A moment of silence.]

Maid: -Oh thank GOODNESS—-

Cardinal: -Looks up with a slight smile-

Cardinal: Nice headshot, sir.

[The maid shrieks.]

Maid: OH MY GOD IT’S IMMORTAL—

Des: .....

Des: Or he just has a very good helmet.

Cardinal: Sorry to crash the party, Mister President.

Cardinal: But we do need to evacuate before my best friend does something he regrets when he gets over his hangover.

[The older lady gave a very puzzled expression.]

Min: …

Des: .......

Des: What?

[Despite the situation—even with his weapon still aimed at the intruder—Des couldn't help but press the subject. It was all as if something out of a surreal dream.]

Des: I'm not the president--

Des: I'm Secretary of Defense.

Des: -What made you think I was POTUS.- : /

Cardinal: …

[Cardinal was on his feet now, standing at attention, very military in posture.]

Cardinal: You’re standing behind the desk, sir.

[The older woman rolls her eyes.]

Des: -Narrows his eyes a little- And...?

Des: -It's 20XX, doesn't everyone know who POTUS is—-

[While he appreciated he wasn't still being shot at, Cardinal was losing patience. They were wasting time, when Shade was still out there.]

Cardinal: And I don’t have time for this. We’re leaving now—

BZAP!

Cardinal: -Baaaacks away from the stern looking woman, okay, she’s got a taser, that gave us pins and needles-

Des: Nice shot.

[Minerva looks down at Cardinal with disapproval. Humorously, her heels made her slightly taller than him.]

Cardinal: >_>;

[It didn't take long for Cardinal to realize where his mistake was. He spoke with begrudging respect.]

Cardinal: …Madame President, I presume.

[Minerva Morandi was not pleased. She sparked the taser again for emphasis, speaking sternly to the intruder that had broken past the last of their defenses.]

Min: Why should we believe you? You broke into the White House, through several top-notch levels of security, disengaged a good portion of the defenses in more than one hallway, and just mentioned your alliance with the terrorist who put us here to begin with.

Cardinal: …

[Cardinal had to admit she had a point. A point he hadn't even considered before.

He wasn't like his brother. Not like Beck. He wasn't a sanctioned hero, with the recognition and support of the masses. No, he was a nameless vigilante, and all he had was his honest answer.]

Cardinal: Because I’m not shooting right now?

Minerva: You didn’t think this through at all, did you.

Cardinal: No sir, I did not.

[The maid snorts a little at that. The poor woman looked like she had seen better days, especially before her sudden promotion after the whole mess had started.

Desmond Donald, on the other hand, seemed to be unsure of whether to be impressed or just incredulous.]

Des: Wow.

Des: He has guts, at least? (Or no forethought.)

Cardinal: Thanks, but we’ve got to—

[He saw a tiny, TINY red light.]

Cardinal: !!!

[He does a teleporting tackle to slam the President to the floor. Fractions of a split second later, there’s a VERY strong shot that leaves burn marks around the wall right behind where her head had been.]

Maid: -STRAINED NOISES, TRYING NOT TO SCREAM-

[PING!]

[MN.8] //: Tch!

[MN.8] //: Keep gettin' in mah way, Birdy, and Ah' WILL make ya regret it!

Cardinal: I could say the same to you, pal.

[Des had abruptly changed his aim toward the direction the shot had come from, even knowing that he was outmatched to handle such a foe. He was defending not just two innocent women: he was defending his President, and his long-time friend. If someone was going to try and take them out, it wouldn't be without a fight from him first.]

Des: -ARE YOU OKAY—-

[She was fine. Shaken, perhaps, but didn’t show it.

Then she became cross, and started to speak to the silent hunter.]

Minerva: So, you've finally shown yourself, have you? Such actions will land you in a great deal more trouble than you can hide from, Radar. This is your last chance— hand yourself over to the authorities, or you will be facing the consequences—

Cardinal: NO!

Cardinal: Leave him alone!

[For the first time since he had come in…

He actually SOUNDED scared.

Desperate, even.]

[MN.8] //: Heh.

[MN.8] //: Was that ya soundin' desperate there?

[MN.8] //: -LAUGHTER-

[MN.8] //: Ah' hate t' disobey a lady, but m'afraid yer term is up.

[MN.8] //: Now.

[CLICK.]

[MN.8] //: R u n.

[For a brief moment, silence.]

Cardinal: …

Cardinal: …Heh…

[He starts laughing.]

Min: ???

Des: ....-Whispers- Um I don't think this guy is all mentally sound—

Cardinal: Shade, Shade, Shade…

Cardinal: You know what?

Cardinal: You’re right.

Maid: ?!

Des: (What—?!)

[MN.8] //: -Ooooh, now ya got his attention-

[MN.8] //: Somethin' change yer mind, Birdy?

[MN.8] //: Was it the fact that yer doin' this all fer nothin'?

Cardinal: Hardly.

Cardinal: More like…

Cardinal: I don’t have time for this, Shade.

Cardinal: Guess I’ll have to make my own!

[He turns and FIRES—]

[Cardinal used TIME STOPPER!]

[There's a harsh KFLSHK! noise and the very dust itself seems to hang suspended in the air, frozen in time.]

Min: ???

[Cardinal waltzes over toward the door, grinning.]

Cardinal: Now then…

Cardinal: Judging from the trajectory of the shot…

Cardinal: -ELBOWS, hard-

CRASH!

[Cardinal pulls a nearby curtain down and tosses it onto… well. Now that it was given form, it was clearly the fallen sniper.]

Cardinal: -Pulls something out of his traveling bag, shaking it- ~

Cardinal: -PSSSHT!-

[After spraying his own symbol on the cape once he found it, he quickly tagged “HOPE lives” on the floor. Then, and only then, could he relaxed and be satisfied.]

Cardinal: B]

Cardinal: -Tosses empty paint can behind him, looking down at the time-frozen sniper- Looks like you lost hide-and-seek, kid.

Cardinal: Too bad.

Min: -Just. Stares- o_o

[The President was both grateful and impressed.]

Min: What… did you do? -Okay his methods are VERY strange but that was rather impressive-

Des: -...What DIVISION is he in is the better question--

Min: -Starts advancing- Who built you?

[Cardinal had not been expecting this sort of response at all.]

Cardinal: I—

[She grabs at his scarf and yanks up a metal bit that glitters in the light.]

Min: I thought I saw a glint of these. -Shakes them once- -Dog tags, Des.- Is there something ELSE you need to tell me about, Desmond?

Des: Min, I swear I don't know about this—

Cardinal: (Uh…)

[It was then that Des noticed the serial number branded into Cardinal's shoulder.]

Des: Wait a second—! You're DLN-000?

Min: ! Seriously?

[Cardinal had had enough. He forces her hand away, holding (gently but firmly) onto her wrist.]

Cardinal: As charming as it is to have conversations with you…

Cardinal: -WHISTLES SHARPLY, SCOUT WE’RE LEAVING—-

Scout: -RARF RARF RARF—-

Cardinal: That effect kinda won’t last forever, we really do need to get out of here—

Des: .....Is...Is that a raccoon—

Cardinal: Close enough. Group hug, everybody!

Scout: -BOUNCES INTO MIN'S ARMS-

Scout: -HALLO NICE LADY-

Min: ! Oh goodness— Now wait just a—

[Nope, he’s already scooped her up and grabbed the others by their jacket fringes.]

Byuubyuubyuu…

{Outside}

Des: —?????

Des: -He can TELEPORT--

[Cheers erupt from the crowd, with the recovered Secret Service members forcing their way through, hemming out reporters and warning back drones with sniper lasers. One camera WAS allowed to come in closer.]

Cardinal: Heh…

Cardinal: Hello again, Avs.

Cardinal: -Puts Madame President down- I see you’ve upgraded this to include a speaker now. Your faith in me is reassuring. B]

[Avi’s voice crackled through the speakers.]

Avi: Bro, you do realize you can't hide from this, right--

Cardinal: Sadly. That’s a cost I’ll have to carry.

Min: (…Hide? Cost?)

Des: (They're talking like they know each other…!)

Avi: OKAY GOOD JUST CHECKING.

Avi: Because sometimes you kinda just let these things fly WAY OVER YOUR HEAD--

[The vague, stressed pun didn’t seem to have any effect… other than making Cardinal’s shoulders sag with weariness.]

Cardinal: …

Cardinal: -Quietly- I’m sorry, Avi. I’m not done yet.

Avi: --....

Avi: Dude, Beck's in there now, just-- come on, man, can't ya believe in him too--?

Cardinal: Six, this is about a lot more than believing and proving and anything else, and quite frankly—

[He douses himself in those strange cans again.]

Cardinal: —I’m tired of seeing my brothers die. I won’t risk any chance of that happening again.

Min: Excuse me—! It's too dangerous to go back inside, and we have some questions for you, 000! Where do you THINK you’re going—

Cardinal: Here, take this, it may help you on your journey— -SHOVES SLIGHTLY SINGED SCOUT-

Scout: -LICKS FOR NICE LADY-

Min: -Ackpth—-

Scout: ~ < 3

Avi: --.... (I guess I tried...)

Avi: please don't hurt him too bad.

Cardinal: I don’t have time for this. You saw the file extension, you know my intentions.

[He gritted his teeth. It hurt, again. Hurt because there was all this pressure, and nowhere for it to go.

Hurt because he couldn’t cry.]

Cardinal: …See you in clearer skies, Avs.

Cardinal: Goodbye…

BWIP.

Min: —…

Min: …Get me Sanda Labs on a secure line. -Stop wriggling, strange raccoon thing—- NOW.

{Back Inside…}

[Cardinal chose not to reappear in the Oval Office, but instead in an open room he had passed through on the journey. From the looks of things, Beck and Dyna had been through not long ago, themselves.]

Cardinal: -Takes in a shaky breath, hoo- (…Okay. Orders… orders over. Good… good, now—just need to find either Eight or Nine…)

Cardinal: (Can’t turn on my transceiver. They know I’m here and they want me out. But I can’t just stand by and let those two slice each other up and stain the rug with their Xel.)

Cardinal: -Grumbles- Where are you, Shade…

[He walks through several halls. Everything was dead silent. The expected countermeasures of security never came.]

Cardinal: …

[He was beginning to get very puzzled.]

Cardinal: (Did Beck already get to you? …And wow, I seriously made this big a mess?)

Cardinal: -Crosses his arms absentmindedly as he enters the secretary’s office- Come on, Shade, I said I would get back to you—

________________

Thaaaaat's it, just a lil further…

______________

[He held his shield loosely by his side as he meandered the halls for another good five minutes.]

Cardinal: …

Cardinal: …I guess Avi was right?

Cardinal: Maybe I should turn my transceiver back on, find out if they’re outside…

[He goes over to look out a window that faces the lawn, scanning the crowds for signs of his energetic young counterpart.]

Cardinal: Just my luck to miss out on the party…

_________________

Heh. Stupid bird.

Should've paid attention t' where you were goin'…

________________

[He turns away from the window, glancing at it over his shoulder.]

Cardinal: I should probably apologize to the President—

[CRUNCH.]

Cardinal: (What—? That doesn’t sound like glass—) -Looks down-

[What Cards saw on the ground--

A dart.

Several.

In the shape of a figure eight, all black as night.]

Cardinal: …

Cardinal: (Wait a dAMN SECOND HE SAID ALL HIS DARTS DO SOMETHING—)

[BANG!]

[The darts all exploded into shrapnel, sharp, dangerous pieces flying everywhere, breaking pottering and lights and anything else that was in its radius.]

[Cardinal wasn’t shielding, so he took a direct hit.

Now, he was made to withstand exactly this sort of thing. To take it and tank it.

Didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.]

Cardinal: -GAH—-

[He staggered back, disoriented by the damage.]

[BANG--!]

[Red lasers fill the room, reflecting off of various objects to keep Cardinal guessing--]

[BANG BANG--]

[--With two more ACTUALLY aimed for him--]

[He took the hits, but answered back with a vengeance.]

KTANG!

[Leaping onto the walls and vaulting onto a statue, he peppered the room with high speed Quick Boomerangs.]

Cardinal: |[

Cardinal: You clearly haven’t learned I don’t go down so easy, Counter.

"Haven't ya heard of try, try again?"

[BANG--]

[A dart this time, yellow--]

[Cardinal used METAL BLADE!]

[The net was torn up even as it came onto him. He leaped onto a chandelier.]

[Cardinal used RING BOOMERANG!]

Cardinal: Haven’t you ever heard “Doing the same thing twice and expecting different results is the definition of insanity?”

[Laughter.]

"Look who's TALKIN'!"

"Ya sure are persistent."

[Cardinal was beginning to lose patience.

He was tired. He felt tired and old.]

Cardinal: Countershade, I have been chasing after you for over a WEEK now. I’ll hardly give up because you’re throwing a temper tantrum.

Cardinal: Get a grip, Shade— Snap out of it! This isn’t like you!

Cardinal: -Crossly- WAKE UP ALREADY!

"Temper tantrum? Boy, ya must be a real antique by now. Seein' as ya ain't made of Xel."

"Who even ARE ya, anyway?"

Cardinal: You can’t be serious. You recognized my brother and you don’t know me? That’s not a funny insult. -Actually sounds rather put out-

"Nope. Ya don't ring a bell."

Cardinal: Are you REALLY that out of it? That’s honestly just pathetic. The “sad, pitiful” kind.

"Gotta hand it t' ya, Birdy, as ya are annoyin', yer good. Heh."

"And Ah' do so love a good challenge."

Cardinal: Fine then.

Cardinal: I’ll make you remember—I’ll bring you out of this, I am going to snap you out of this if it’s the last thing I ever do!

[Cardinal used DUST CRUSHER!]

[All the shrapnel and debris that had been created by Shade and others before him was kicked up in a whirling cloud of sharp death that enveloped half the room, shredding everything in its path before getting embedded into the wall.]

"--Ngh--!"

[There is some painful data, but it is quickly snuffed out by something other than Shade.]

"Oh, it WILL be--ya can't keep flyin' FOREVER, Lil' Birdy..."

Cardinal: Try me.

[…Not his best choice of words.]

"Heh."

"Since ya ASKED so nicely!"

KSSSH!!!

[The chandelier came crashing down, with him inside it.

Even though he teleported away, he still had the force of momentum, and crashed down into the ground pretty hard.]

Cardinal: Hggghhhh…

Cardinal: (Gah… hate HATE falling from heights, come BACK, vision—)

[BANG!]

[Countershade took this perfect opportunity to fire off another shot--it was so easy, once he was blind--]

Cardinal: AUGH!

[Cardinal counteracted with a spam of Metal Blades that went in ALL directions, embedding DEEP into wherever they found score—

And there is a LOT OF rolling around and taking cover--seeing the saw blades stirred up something...Something that made him even angrier. ]

"MOTHERSCRATCHIN'--Ah' HATE when it takes more than one bullet!"

Cardinal: See now, if you REMEMBERED anything, you’d KNOW I don’t go down to one hit!

"Goddamn waste of mah TIME--"

Cardinal: Tch.

Cardinal: Anything you don’t have time to do right the first time, you’ll need to have time to do over.

Cardinal: And I’ve put a hell of a few lifetimes more into this than you.

[BANG BANG--]

[The explosive darts were out now, but single striped instead of the deadly double. Perhaps Shade didn't want to ruin his new 'Home' anymore than it already was. Cardinal tanked the hit with his shield.]

[The Proto Shield held firm as ever, though he moved aside to avoid being backed into the wall.]

Cardinal: -Gets back to his feet, shifting his weaponry again with another click.-

Cardinal: This is not the first time we’ve done this song and dance, Shade!

[Cardinal used BUBBLE LEAD!]

[The acid pellets burst upon contact, hissing and eating away at the floor and various high ground on the other side of the room.]

[SSSSSSSS...]

"Aw FRAG IT--"

Cardinal: You forgetting?! Just means I have ALL THE MORE ADVANTAGE OVER YOU!

[Cardinal used TOP SPIN!]

kzzzZZZZZZZZGGGVVVVGGGHHHTTTT—

[Marble columns were sliced clean through and brought crashing down.]

[CRASH--!!]

"--!!!!"

[There was a few moments of scrambling and--]

[--Silence?]

Cardinal: Nice try, but I know you’re fine. Your camo goes out if you’re not.

Cardinal: And if you want to play this the hard way, I’ll do just that. >B |

[....]

"Alright."

[Click.]

[That came from RIGHT beside him!]

Cardinal: (Glitch—)

[Cardinal used ICE SLASHER!]

[It wasn’t fast enough to prevent the shot that seared through his right shoulder, but. It was enough to send the whole room about ten degrees below zero, and send icicle spears flying.

There was a HISS of pain and a grunt, Shade's camo flickering for a moment--

--Before returning to normal, and the lasers that herald his presence once again came from a completely different direction--

Cardinal ends up backed against the wall, having no other option besides his shield at this point. The Skull Barrier and the Leaf Shield had both been spent during the rescues.]

Cardinal: B[

[Cardinal used ITEM-1!]

[He jumps onto a hovering platform to gain height before firing off some plasma blasts at strategic surfaces—places where he would go if he had that side of the battlefield.]

[BLAM!]

[BANG BANG BANG--]

[As if in response, Shade shoots at the ITEM-1 before unleashing a trio of--oh, no, double stripped darts--!]

Cardinal: !

[Cardinal used WIRE!]

ZZZZZZZIP!

[A grappling hook shot out of his arm, bringing him up toward the ceiling and away from the explosion.

Unfortunately, this position offered him no cover whatsoever, except for his shield—which, as always, remained squarely over his central mass.]

Cardinal: This is getting a bit old.

Cardinal: I’d rather light things on fire, but that wouldn’t be being…

[He smirked.]

Cardinal: …a good House guest~

[BANG--]

[CRASH!]

[He had the wind knocked out of him again, but…

Judging from his wheezing and shaking laughter…]

Cardinal: -Worth it-

[CLICK.]

[....Uh oh.]

Shade: Was it?

Cardinal: Yup.

Cardinal: Too bad it didn’t…

[Cardinal used AIR SHOOTER!]

[STRONG gusts swept across the room, moving EVEN the fallen marble slamming into the wall!]

Shade: --!!!

Cardinal: BLOW YOU AWAY!

Shade: Ngh--

[Shade loses his footing and is forced to back up a ways in order to keep Cardinal in front of him--and on his sights.]

Shade: Enough of this--

[CLICK.]

[...Not even Shade could make a shot in these kinds of winds--]

[...Right?]

[BANG!]

Cardinal: -OOF!-

[Okay. He was really taking a beating now.]

Cardinal: (This has got to stop. Man… haven’t even knocked out his active camo yet, lame. I wish I could use more explosions and fire, that might have helped…)

Cardinal: … (Then again, not being in such a cramped space would have helped anyway.)

Cardinal: Hoo… man, you do hit hard…

[BANG--

BANG BANG BANG--]

[...Shade doesn't answer back.

He just keeps shooting.]

Cardinal: It really is too bad Round Two had to be like this—nngh!

Cardinal: I think you would have preferred remembering!

Shade: Hey.

Shade: Birdy.

Cardinal: What.

Shade: Do me a favor.

[--Wait--why was his voice coming from behind, Shade was right in front of him--]

Shade: Stop yer PRATTLE.

[BANG--!]

[Cardinal was put to the floor, dizzy from being shot in the back. His fans were buzzing a bit, and he had to prop himself up with an arm.]

Cardinal: -WHEEZE- Now that was beneath you, my friend.

Cardinal: You’re an assassin, not a traitor.

Shade: Not my fault yer bein' difficult, Birdy.

Shade: All yer...

[BANG.]

Shade: Sass, all yer brave front--

[BANG!]

Shade: Ya don't fool ME.

[He had to deflect the shots with his shield, but his arm was starting to tire from taking the shock of the blows. He gritted his teeth.]

Cardinal: Is that supposed to mean something, Shade? I’m honestly—nnn!—confused.

Shade: It does. You'll get it REAL soon.

[BANG--]

[...???]

[That's...that's a red dart.]

[Completely red, stuck to Cardinal's shield.]

[--And then it started to glow RED, RED HOT, OW--]

Cardinal: AUGH!

[He could NOT handle that much heat, not so close to his core!

He was forced to drop it to the ground and roll to the side.]

[Cardinal used NEEDLE CANNON!]

[Needle shaped spears skewered anything and everything in sight…

…and some things out of sight.

A slight rip noise betrayed that Cardinal had scored a hit and pinned the sniper’s cloak to the wall.]

Shade: TCH!

Shade: Oh, that is IT.

Shade: -LOCK ON TO CARDINAL'S SYMBOL--

Shade: Yer SCRAP.

[BANG BANG BANG--]

[Cardinal hit the floor, hard.

Silence.]

Shade: -That was mah CLOAK, FRAG YA-

[…But after a moment, he did manage to sit up again, coughing a bit.]

Shade: Fer the love of--

Shade: Ya just don't DIE.

Cardinal: -Raspy- So I’ve been told…

Cardinal: (Great… all I have left is fire…)

Cardinal: You…

[He spoke seriously now.]

Cardinal: You’ve… got to stop, Shade.

Cardinal: You’ve… got to stop…!

[He staggered to his feet.]

Cardinal: This isn’t you. It’s not your fault, but you need to stop—

Cardinal: Don’t you remember who you are?!

Shade: — . . .

[Who...]

[Cardinal grabbed his scarf and shook it. The dart there from Shade, a gift from so long ago, stood out in sharp contrast.]

Shade: ......

[Why did he have his...]

Cardinal: PLEASE! Don’t you REMEMBER me at ALL?!

_____________________

"Yer stuck with me. B]"

___________________

"Catch me if ya can, hunting doggie!"

_________________

[Memories, as if from some far off forgotten dream...]

Shade: --...

Shade: -Confused--

Shade: The hell...

[Cardinal took a quiet step forward.]

Cardinal: Shade!

Cardinal: You’re my best friend.

Cardinal: We TRUST each other, remember?!

—————————————————

“Being able to trust someone and want to be around them, miss them if they’re gone… That’s its own vulnerability, in a way.”

—————————————————

[Another step.]

Cardinal: (Just…)

Cardinal: (Need to get close enough…!)

[Trust...]

Shade: -Blinks--

[The purple and magenta fade from his eye for a second--]

Shade: (What...)

[....And then.]

[....A name.]

Shade: . . .

Shade: Cardinal...?

Cardinal: !

Cardinal: -Another step- YES! I’m here, Shade—

Cardinal: I promised nothing would make me give up on you, and I mean it.

Cardinal: -Another step- You’re sick, but we can fix that— come home, Shade, before you do something you can’t fix.

[…

…Fix…?]

—————————————

[An admission of weakness.

His core was messed up so badly, that…]

[From a powerful enough opponent, a direct hit at full charge, if exposed, would cause him to explode.

And no armor in the world would ever fix it.]

—————————————

Shade: ...ngh...

[The assassin staggers, as if something dull was pressing on his mind, something that was NOT a part of him, something that didn't want him to--]

Shade: !

[Something within screamed--]

[--But then, it all became clear.]

[Clear to the virus, that is.]

Shade: ... ...

[Cardinal was reaching out his hand to touch him. If he could just get a hold of him, he had just enough energy to get them out of here. Away from this place—if not to safety, at least where he couldn’t do any more damage.]

Cardinal: Shade…?

Shade: . . .

Shade: Songbird...Eh...

Shade: Well, that explains the bird part.

[CLICK.]

[There was an unsettling PREDATORY grin on Eight's face, as his rifle was pointed DIRECTLY AT CARDINAL'S CORE--]

Cardinal: !?

[He was too shocked, totally blindsided, taken completely off guard—he didn't even have time to get scared before—]

Shade: Adios, Songbird.

BANG—

[The direct hit from such a close range— point blank range—had done massive amounts of damage.

He didn’t really feel hitting the floor, no…

It was all lost in a vast sea of white-hot pain that engulfed his senses, enveloped his whole body—

He couldn’t even say for sure if he screamed.]

Shade: That hurt, Birdy?

Shade: Ah' BET it DID.

[Cardinal had to turn to his side to avoid choking on oil. Now he felt sick, shivering from the pain and errors that were wracking his body.]

Shade: Oh, Ah' remembered ya, yes—ah' sure did... -GRIN-

Shade: Ah' remembered how t' finally KILL YA.

[Cardinal could hear the words, but they just wouldn’t register— but if they had, he would have been crushed not just in body, but also in soul.]

Shade: That was STUPID, bah the way.

Shade: What were ya even thinkin', huh?

[Even if he wanted to run now, there was no way out. He didn’t have the energy to teleport—he barely had enough to move.

Move he did, though, at least enough to get to his knees.

…]

[…relatively speaking.]

Shade: Eheh...

Shade: Looks like yer wings have been CLIPPED...Lil' Birdy.

Shade: Nowhere t' RUN, nao, is there. Even if ya COULD move....

Cardinal: Hnnnghnnnnnggh…

Cardinal: … (Can’t… can’t move…)

Cardinal: (Need… need repairs…)

Cardinal: (N-need to partition energy into repairs—)

Shade: Still breathin'?

Shade: Ya really ARE persistent!

[The world became a white void of pain as he was kicked in the side, hard. He fell over, and Shade forced him onto his back with a bit of pressure. His vision started to come back in, but—]

[CRUNCH--]

[A boot crunches on top of Cardinal's chest--]

Cardinal: (AUGH!)

[He couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t. Breathe.

The weight was crushing him, breaking him, threatening to put pressure on his core—his constant massive conversion of energy into matter to save him was only intensifying the pain.]

Cardinal: Ghhghkk—!

[He was too badly injured to move. He was using all of his power just to stay alive, now—he could barely hear, barely see—]

>ERROR: HARDWARE DAMAGE CRITICAL

Cardinal: !

>COMPLETE SYSTEM FAILURE IMMINENT

Cardinal: (nnnONONO—)

>INITIATE SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE

Cardinal: AAAAUUUGH!

[Cardinal gave a choked cry of despair as the countdown began— audibly, no less—]

>TEN…

Shade: -Ooh, now... What is this?-

>NINE…

Shade: Oh, right...

>EIGHT…

Shade: Ya Wily constructs go up with a bang when yer too helpless t' RUN.

>SEVEN…

Shade: -Chuckles.-

>SIX…

Shade: Nao ain't that somethin'...

>FIVE…

Cardinal: (No…!)

>FOUR…

>SYSTEM OVERRIDE

>THREE…

>RUN PROGRAM: FINAL_DAYS.EXE

>TWO…

>WARNING: FINAL_DAYS.EXE IS AN UNAUTHORIZED PROGRAM. USING THIS PROGRAM WILL PREVENT COMBAT.EXE INITIATIVES OR SYSTEM MAINTENANCE FROM RUNNING NORMALLY. CONTINUE?

>ONE…

>YES

>DON’T ASK ME AGAIN

> -PING!- COMMAND CONFIRMED.

>SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

Shade: ....

Shade: Tch.

Shade: Was hopin' t' see fireworks. Oh, well.

>EXECUTING PROGRAM: FINAL_DAYS.EXE

[He became limp and weak as the program went live.

He was no longer burdened by instincts meant to preserve him to be fighting fit later, or to continue fighting on.

All the energy that had been spent toward those goals was now going into extensive repair, to keep his vitals up and his senses working. This process would not be interrupted, no matter how much energy it drained from him.

…But as a result…]

Cardinal: -Rattled wheezing from shaky, submissive gasps for air-

Shade: Heh... -Smug smirk-

[He was now completely helpless.]

Shade: Look at ya...

[Everything felt faint. It hurt, and yet…]

Cardinal: -Hazily- (Can’t even move…)

[He felt so tired. So tired.

He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and get his rest….]

Cardinal: (C-can’t…)

Cardinal: (So… so tired…)

Shade: Just look at ya, ya waste of scrap.

Shade: All yer talk and sass and comebacks and fancy display...

[CRUNCH--]

Cardinal: (-PAIN!-)

[Cardinal became briefly blinded by pain, his eyes glazing over. His fans wailed in protest at the crushing weight put on his chest.]

Shade: --And all it took--

[His armor—!]

[SNAP--!]

[His inner plate armor split open—]

<DLN-000>: > -PAIN!-

[With his transceiver off, no one could hear him— no one could hear his anguished data streams—]

Shade: --Was a few shots, from one bot--

C R A C K—!!

[He jerked sharply, almost convulsing as the armor clattered, giving way to expose the energy core within. It was glowing like a small sun—white hot, too.]

Shade: - T'prepare ya t' meet yer Maker. That is... Assumin' there's an afterlife for ya pathetic box bolts...

[Cardinal gave off bleak rattling noises as his coolant system attempted to draw air over broken fans.]

Shade: Best start prayin', lil' Birdy. Yer gonna learn the answer t' that question the hard way.

Cardinal: -Repairs, need… need repairs…-

[His vision came back to him as the conversion went into overdrive, desperate on keeping the fans running, to keep him alive.

This allowed his eyes, dulled before, to resume their green spark—his sunglasses had been knocked off long ago, and so there was nothing between the green fire and the sickly purple gaze.]

Shade: --?

Shade: What in tarnation--

Cardinal: Hnnnnggghh…

Shade: --....

[Wait a second...

There was something just right of the power core, mostly tucked behind it. As it glowed, the mobility rig seemed to just… rebuild itself.

Enough for Cardinal to grasp at something, clutching it with a stubborn resignation.]

[.....]

[Two and two were put together within a second, and the Teal Silence let out a dark chuckle.]

Shade: Stubborn jackass! So THIS is how ya kept yerslef goin' so long, hmm?

Shade: Real clever...

[He suddenly JABBED right at it with his rifle-- which was a VERY bad mistake…]

Shade: ARUGH--!

[…as far as the sniper was concerned.

The tip of the rifle had been vaporized, and Cardinal was filled with a jolt of energy that the conversion provided. From the strength Shade had unwittingly donated, he knocked the rifle out of the way to prevent his friend from losing balance, and possibly ending up losing the rest of his arm to the power converter.]

Shade: NGH--

Shade: Little goddamn bastard--should've known ya had 'nother cheap shot like that up yer sleeve...

Cardinal: -Irratable snort- (Oh please, that’s just how I’m BUILT—you wouldn’t go sticking your hand in stomach acid, would you?!)

[There was still enough strength left from that for him to regain some focus. It took effort, and he struggled to reallocate repairs to non-vital systems.

Like… talking, for example.

Cardinal vented a bit and scrunched his eyes in a grimace, trying his hardest to work up the energy to talk.]

Cardinal: Nnnngh…

[…But he could only groan. The pain was so heavy…]

Shade: Bah, for the love of— spare me yer theatrics, Songbird, S'not like ya can sing anymore.

Cardinal: (But…)

Cardinal: (I’ve GOT to, I need to tell you…!)

[CLICK.]

Cardinal: —hghkkt!

[He knew that noise.]

[He KNEW that noise, and it filled him with dread.]

Cardinal: (No…)

Shade: Heheheh...

[A sadistic smile partnered the laugh that escaped from Shade--the dart that was usually in his mouth was gone...]

Cardinal: (Shade, oh God no— please… no, don’t… you can’t do this…)

Cardinal: -Weak ping of protest-

Shade: Ah' TOLD ya...Ya can't fool me.

Shade: Ya scared now, li' Birdy?

Cardinal: -Strained fan whine of despair-

[He was in distress, that was for sure. A heartbroken dismay was sapping away at the willpower maintaining the diminishing fumes of strength in his body.

Shade leaned over, resting his rifle arm on his left knee as he put his weight on Cardinal’s shoulder. The fans there screeched as they were crushed beneath the sniper’s considerable weight.]

Shade: Good.

[The blinding pain lifted as the weight was drawn away. When Cardinal could see again, he saw his friend’s back facing him.]

Shade: I'll give ya this . ..

Cardinal: …

[A low hum...]

Cardinal: … -even weaker ping-

[He couldn’t mask it. When Shade turned around, Cardinal couldn’t help but give off a faint signal of hopelessness—

Shade was using a sniper scope to light up his core as a target, purely to mock him out of spite.]

Shade: Ya were better ’n most. Damn freakin' annoyin’, too. Shoulda known better ’n ‘’ta come HERE, t' mah huntin' grounds. You got a death wish, songbird? Huh?

[He took a step forward, letting his spurs rattle loudly in his stride across the floor...]

[Slowly.]

[It was tempting. So tempting.

He was tired. He hurt. He was scared. If… if he just let go, the pain would stop, it wouldn’t hurt anymore… he could rest, he could leave before…]

Cardinal: … (No… can’t…)

[Cardinal took in a shaky breath, willing himself to stay alive, even though his energy core…]

Cardinal: (Can’t let it end… like this…)

[…was starting to turn cold.]

Shade: -Data-

Shade: -Well, if ya insist, we can GRANT it for ya.-

Cardinal: (Can’t…!)

Cardinal: (I CAN’T LET IT END LIKE THIS!)

[Cardinal struggled to focus through his failing vision, to look that menacing red-violet eye directly on with his own, dimming green pair.

He shut down all but his central core mass fans to get the energy to speak.]

Cardinal: -Very raspy, distorted gasp- Shade…

Shade: --....

[...He's not sure if he should be annoyed or impressed.]

[Cardinal spoke again. There was a clear but quiet, submissive air of despair in his frail voice.]

Cardinal: Countershade, please…

[Oh.]

[He took a step forward...]

Shade: What was that?

Cardinal: Don’t… don’t do this…

Cardinal: …beg… begging you, please…

[.....]

Shade: -GRIN-

[He smirked cruelly at this, at the sight and sounds of Cardinal begging, pleading for his life, for mercy. Ha! Finally, after all of his talk and bravo!

What a delightful feeling.]

Shade: Heheheheh!

Cardinal: please…

Shade: (Eso es, Pájarito. Ruega por la misericordia hasta que mueras.)

Cardinal: …it’s only… only… g…going to…

Shade: --?

Cardinal: …going to hurt y o u…

Shade: --. .. . ..

[For a moment, that makes Shade pause.

The sick, purple aura left him, the malice, the evil that had dug it's way deep into his core was lifted for just a brief moment—]

Shade: -N-No—-

Shade: (No, no, no…!)

Shade: -Straining- M-must… fight… the power…

[He, too, seemed like he was in just as much pain as Cardinal was.]

[…]

[CLICK.]

[...But the moment... Passed.]

Shade: Enough!

[He spoke with a firm, authoritative command of finality.]

Shade: I don’t have time t’ waste on you. Obviously ya ain’t gonna stay out of my way while ya still runnin’.

Shade: An’ as we’ve already established, ya have this fraggin’ annoyin’ tendency to keep hangin’ on. Fahn, then—I’ll give ya the honor a’ takin’ ya out myself!

Cardinal: (No…)

[Cardinal gripped his hand tighter, as if bracing himself.]

Shade: An’ just tah make SURE you don’t get out of sight at the last second. ..

[He lowered his gaze, and his aim, right down to Cardinal's exposed core.]

Shade: This'll be the last bullet Ah' waste on ya.

[Cardinal forced himself to maintain eye contact, even as Shade lowered his rifle to point directly at the exposed core.

He didn’t… feel scared anymore. Just… defeated.

Hopeless.

…Accepting of his time, resigned to his fate… even as he dwelt with lingering, final regret, on his failure and shame.]

Shade…

[Darkness overtook his eyes.

His power was nearly entirely depleted. He would only last a few minutes longer, at most—one way or another, he had reached, at last… his final day.]

[Vrrrrrrr...]

Oh, Shade…!

[He could faintly hear the sound of Shade’s deadly aim setting up. It seemed… so far away…]

I…

[He heard a faint fizzling and hissing noise as the energy converter fell silent.

There could only be one reason for that—

No more energy left to convert from.

He could feel his heart becoming as cold as i c e …]

I’m… so sorry…!

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

=BONUS CONTENT: BONUS SCENE #4=

~AO v2.0~

((Courtesy of @codedhopes))

((Incomplete prewriting: 07/04/2016T medal ceremony and speeches))

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

{July 4th, 20XX}

[The sky was clear and bright on the morning of Independence Day as the Mighty Numbers took their seats in the crowd.]

((Pings between them as someone—maybe Beck—asks if they know what’s going on. Jack adds that it’s a good question.))

[They were not alone; Jack, the Rebel Angels, the Sandas, and the Cossacks were all there with them. The Robot Masters were in their armor, looking very much uneasy and feeling out of place.]

<DWN-024>: > {All we know is that President Morandi is making a speech. Why we have to be here, I do not know—but Mikhail seemed to think it was important.}

((Some back and forth about this))

<DWN-019>: >Well, I for one find it rather impressive <DWN-019>: >that they put together the setup so quickly!

[They were all gathered together in one of the city gardens. There was a large, grassy field where tables and chairs had been set up, as well as a small platform and a podium. The garden was decorated in red, white, and blue, with the Old Glory proudly on display in the form of small flags in the centerpieces on the tables, and as a large flag near the podium. The garden seemed untouched by the chaos of the last two weeks: indeed, it was as if it had never happened here.]

((Someone remarks that Felix must have come by in the night to restore the gardens to their former glory.))

[The man in question was seated at a nearby table, quietly playing with string. He was hard to recognize at first; he wasn’t wearing his usual gear, and was dressed instead to fit in with the rest of the crowd as much as possible.

Beside him sat several others that they had met on their journey or otherwise knew well—some having traveled for the occasion, and others having returned home to Titus itself.]

Beck: (There’s Mao, Felix… that must be Eli with Gwen and the baby…. And I’ll bet that’s Drake there with them, too.)

[He could see other Xelbots in the crowd as well—most he recognized from advertisements, though a few he had met in person.]

Beck: (Plume, Cassidy, Laura… not sure who the one with the wolf outfit is, but I know I’ve seen her before…)

[There were many dozens of other people he didn’t recognize, and the reporters—]

Beck: -Double take- (Goose?)

[MN.9] //: Goose, is that you?

[The mirror punplane give a winning smile and a thumbs up in the distance. He was in his Civilian form, and only recognizable to those who knew him. He seemed to be standing in for Avi, as far as Beck could tell.]

Beck: (I guess Kate must be here, too…. I don’t see her, though…)

[He turned around to sit back down in his seat, swinging his legs a bit beneath the table.]

Beck: (I wonder what everyone’s here for…)

[He didn’t have long to wait to find out. Soon, the music from the live band faded, and the chatter started to die down. When everything was quiet, the person at the podium began speaking.]

“Would everyone please rise for our national anthem…”

[There was a slight rumble from chairs being pushed back and people standing up. Attention was given to the flag as the song began to play, and the woman at the podium sang in a clear voice. Emotion flickered through the crowd, and the public channels became an almost stifling sea of pride, devotion, sorrow, joy, anxiety, and hope. Even with tuning all but his family out, the channel was still filled primarily with Bat’s rather strong emotion stirred up by the anthem, which overpowered the others’.]

[MN.2] //: Careful there, Batty! Don’t go all waterworks on us when we’re on TV!

[MN.5] //: ((Some sort of retort to this))

[MN.1] //: Settle down, you two. Secretary Donald is about to speak.

[The Secretary of Defense was sharply dressed, and gave off an air of authority.]

[MN.3] //: I wonder when he got hiszz other clotheszz. He didn’t have that uniform with him when you brought him back from the White House, did he?

[MN.7] //: Quiet—

[MN.3] //: Oh, pleaszze—he’szz juszzt introduczzing Madame Prez. No biggie.

[MN.5] //: Look sharp! He just said for the audience to be seated!

[There was a moment of quiet whispering as President Minerva Morandi came and took the podium. A hush fell over the crowd, and then she began speaking.]

Min: Thank you all for coming here. Some of you have traveled long and far to be here, and I assure you—each and every one of you is appreciated and welcomed here today.

[She spoke in a relaxed tone, one that was informative in nature. The same kind of tone you might find in a classroom.]

Min: Today we celebrate and honor Independence Day. This living memorial to the American spirit dawned this year on the tail of one of the most devastating disasters in our nation’s history: arguably the worst crisis in living memory for many of us here today.

Min: A fortnight ago, a crippling virus went live and swept across the nation. This plague of violence and destruction lasted eleven consecutive days. During this time, many homes were destroyed, families scattered, and priceless lives lost forever. We stand here today in a nation recovering from grievous injury: a desolation that has not been seen outside of times of war or terror. The scale is a likes of which has never before been seen in our nation’s history, and will be remembered in the tides of time along with 9/11 and Pearl Harbor. We are all—at most—only one or two degrees of separation from loss. Truly, it has been an ordeal that we will never forget.

[There was a moment of somber silence out of respect for the honored dead, leaving them alone in their thoughts.]

((Reflection on this))

[Min spoke up again.]

Min: And yet, the sun rises. It rose today on a free nation, full of brave men and women who stood tall against the darkness. It rose today on a people of unbroken spirit: a people unconquered by fear or despair. It rose today on a nation that still retains her greatest assets: the dream of a bright, prosperous, and peaceful future… and the people who live to carry out this dream through their force of will.

[She spoke more intensely now.]

Min: You all have heard tales of our countless heroes: from those who serve in an official capacity, to the everyday man brought up to the challenge. For every report of chaos, there is a report—or several—of great deeds. But the greatest story has yet to be told: and that is one we must write ourselves. A story we will write together, standing truly united.

Min: And that is the story of how we rose again, like a phoenix from the ashes, to stand once again as the shining city on a hill.

Min: This is our story. It does not end with desolation and despair—instead, it carries on past the dark and into the dawn. Yes, the sun rises: and it shines down on potential. From the clouds we will spin our own silver linings. We are not a people who break under terror—not in the dismal moments of our distant past, and not after the dark days of the present.

Min: We are a people of spirit: the drive to produce, to create something new. The burning desire to secure a safe and eager future for our friends and loved ones has not diminished, and this fire will carry us through as we pull together and rebuild.

Min: We will work together, side by side. Not just with each other, but also with our friends and allies. Together, we will bring life back to our cities, and peace back to our people!

[There were loud cheers at this, and much applause. Minerva smiled and looked down over her glasses.]

Min: It will not be easy, but nothing worth doing is painless. There will be obstacles—for that is the way that life is.

Min: But we shall overcome them, just as our ancestors overcame the great trials of their pasts. Working together, we will reach for the stars—and together, we shall thrive.

Min: I leave you now with the words of one such hero—words we all can live by.

Min: “Hope LIVES.”

((Undoubtedly some reaction to this))

Min: As long as we hold on to that hope, and do not let it die… working together, we can travel the roads wherever our dreams take us.

Min: Let the fire of hope burn brightly within each and every one of you not only this day, but in the days to come. Do not be afraid to pitch in—no good deed, however small, is without meaning.

Min: And remember: greatness starts with you. It cannot be done without you.

Min: Thank you.

[There was another round of applause, and Minerva stepped down and off to the side, speaking with some individuals who were standing near a table in the back. Meanwhile, Desmond came back up to the podium. He began to speak when the noise died down.]

Des: As the President alluded to, the past few days have been filled with tales of heroic deeds, great and small. The greatest of these have caught the media by storm, and their stories have been heard across the community. Today, we shall recognize these heroes, and give them the full honors that they have earned.

((Some reaction and excitement as they suddenly realize THAT'S why they're there today))

[As they were talking among themselves, Desmond began calling off names. As each person was listed off, they came forward to the platform. There, after Desmond gave a brief description of their bravery and heroic deeds, Minerva presented them with medals and shook their hands.]

((More excitement, Avi recognizes half these stories, Bat’s explaining what the medals are for, etc. etc.))

[There were now only three boxes left on the table.]

Des: ((Calls off Jack’s name))

Jack: —?!!?!

((YAAAAY JACKIE))

[An invisible hand yoinked the stunned CDN out of his seat and gave a prompting nudge forward, almost causing him to stumble.]

<FMN-008>: > Congratulations, Jackie. <3

Jack: ((STILL VERY MUCH ALL ???!?))

((Pic—Jack receiving his medals))

Des: ((Gives an account of Jack’s daring and heroic venture to evacuate the Space Needle in the midst of a rainstorm while under fire, and awards the Secretary of Defense Medal for Valor and Presidential Citizens Medal))

[There was a loud round of applause and the Mighty Numbers cheered.]

((Various more YAAAAAAY JACKIE, and then he goes off to his seat again rather stunned))

[There was a moment of silence after the applause died down, with Des taking a pause. It seemed to draw and heighten attention.]

Des: With heroism comes sacrifice—the sacrifice of self for the sake of others. Not every tale of heroic deeds is without price—and it is such a sacrifice that we recognize now.

((Reaction to this))

Des: At this time, we ask that Cardinal Light’s representative please come forward to receive the medals in his place.

[There was a sudden burst of anxiety across the feeds.]

<DWN-012>: >Wait—one of us has to go up there? On international TV?

<DWN-011>: >Who?

<DWN-013>: >Well, with Cardinal gone, Nico's the acting head of the family…

<DWN-018>: >I don't—!

<DWN-018>: >Can't— can't someone—

<DWN-018>: > -HELP, CAN'T SOMEONE ELSE DO THIS— -

[Aww, that was very much pleading data being sent to the Mighty Numbers—]

[MN.2] //: ...UH, OKAY, SHADE BRO—

[MN.8] //: -Grumbles- -Me goin' up there is gonna stir up trouble-

[MN.5] //: -THEN WE WILL—-

[MN.1] //: Stand down, Bat.

[MN.1] //: As head of this family...I think I should go. From one leader to another.

[Pyro strode up to the platform, standing at the ready. He looked very snappy in the fireproof suit that Felix had made for him, which had finally been put to good use.]

((Pic—Cardinal (as a ghostly entity) being presented with his medals))

Des: When the virus broke out, Cardinal Light set about personally evacuating all of Kansas City’s major landmarks, fighting his way non-stop through several days of combat before he succumbed to internal injuries. This did not deter him from setting out to find his best friend—a journey which took him to the White House. Working under fire, he successfully evacuated the White House of all visitors and personnel with only one casualty—himself.

((Reactions to this))

Des: Although he is sadly not able to be here today, we recognize Mr. Light’s great efforts in helping the heartland and the nation’s capital. He is hereby awarded: the Presidential Medal of Freedom…

[Minerva began pinning the medals to his suit.]

Des: …the Medal of Honor…

Bat: ((Remarks on how he is getting REALLY high honors))

Shade: ((Reflects on this))

Des: …the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal…

Shade: ((More internal commentary))

Des: …and the Purple Heart.

Shade: ((Final—likely wistful or rueful—commentary))

[There was another round of applause, and Minerva shook Pyro's hand firmly.]

Min: When he wakes up again properly, let him know that we'd like to see him, hmm?

Pyro: I will make sure he knows.

[After the applause died down, Pyro took his seat again.]

Pyro: -Touches the medals lightly- ((Internal commentary/reflection))

[Murmurs ran through the crowd with excitement. The air seemed charged—and not just with Tobias and Dyna being on the edge of their seats in anticipation.]

Des: Finally, we recognize the hero who made today possible. The young man who saved not only his family, but the lives of everyone across this nation—and the welfare of those in nations beyond it.

((EXCITED CHATTER))

Des: ((Calls Beck forward))

[Loud cheers erupted from EVERYBODY there as Beck took the stage, creating a din that Des didn’t even try to talk over.]

Beck: ((Reaction to this))

[The noise _eventually_ died down.]

((Pic—Beck getting his medals))

Des: ((Goes on to summarize and praise BECK, THE HERO, going over how he rescued his family and those that had been trapped, cleaning up Titus, purging the virus once and for all, and restoring everyone back to their healthy selves. He is awarded with: the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Secretary of Defense Medal for Valor, and Health and Human Services Secretary's Recognition Award.))

Beck: ((ALL THESE FEELS, HOW TO HANDLE THEM))

[The crowd roared and cheered again, and he got a standing ovation. Fireworks went off overhead.]

((YAAAAAAY BEEEEEEECK, OUR HEROOOOOO

HEROOOOOOOO))

Beck: ((PEOPLE BELIEVE IN ME NOW, AAAAA))

((HEROOOOOOO))

Min: Congratulations, Mighty Number Nine!

((HEROOOOOOOOOOOOOO))

Beck: ((Concluding thoughts on the matter, hope lives))

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

=CHAPTER 10D: SNEAK INTO THE PRISON=

~AO v1.0~

((Courtesy of @limitbreakers))

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

{Meanwhile…}

[Felix looked up from the console as shouting intensified.

He had been focusing on analyzing his own notes on the whole matter, but now…]

<DWN-019>: > GRAH! Why won’t you LISTEN to me!?

<DWN-013>: >No offense, bro, but if that’s all—

<DWN-019>: > IT’S NOT, YOU TWITS!

<DWN-019>: >There are some temporal anomalies and you’re all getting caught up in it! It’s not just you, it’s Mikhail as well—and do I need to remind you, YOU SPECIFICALLY, TWELVE, of how dangerous that could be to YOU, personally?

<DWN-012>: > -Mnnrrgh…!-

<DWN-019>: > Where is Mikhail?!

Felix: -Narrows his eyes a little- -Out loud even though Siam can’t hear- He’s resting— you shouldn’t even be calling, there’s a reason he told me to keep it quiet…

<DWN-019>: >I need Cardinal over here to properly oversee the updates, and I need his help with—

<DWN-013>: > Ugh—

<DWN-013>: >I’m SORRY, Gem, but— -BLAM!- 000 is still processing everything, we can’t move him yet, and it seems there are other problems—

<DWN-019>: >HOW can this possibly get worse?

<DWN-013>: > -Irritable- I think Mikhail is under arrest, Gemini!

Des: --....

Des: (Damn it...)

Des: (Ugh, with the way the Doctor and the Mighties reacted to that, I don't even want to think about how THEY will...)

<DWN-019>: > …

[The feeds were slammed with acerbic data.]

<DWN-019>: > -PANIC DATA-

<DWN-019>: > -PANIC PANIC PANIC-

<DWN-011>: > …

<DWN-011>: > …Joking, right?

<DWN-011>: > Right?

<DWN-012>: > He was IN handcuffs, brother—

<DWN-019>: > Nnnnnnnn-nnn-nnn-noo—

<DWN-019>: > Stars above I don’t think I can do this—

<DWN-018>: >Look, I doubt that if—

<DWN-019>: >IT DOESN’T MATTER! NOT WHAT YOU THINK!

<DWN-019>: > I DON’T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO KEEP THAT DATA FROM REACHING THE COSSACK NUMBERS!

Felix: ?!

Des: --...

Des: (Son of a...)

Des: (This is exactly what the Doctor said before...)

<DWN-018>: > Are you serious.

<DWN-019>: >I’m not the Admin, Nico! I don’t have that kind of power!

<DWN-018>: > That’s it. As head of the family, I’m intervening. Dealing with our dysfunctions is plenty; I am not going to put up with fighting the Russians.

<DWN-018>: >Siam, there’s got to be SOMETHING you can do—

<DWN-019>: > Well I’ll TRY to stall—I think I can by changing the data Snow gets— but hurry up as much as you can, I need the rest of the family back as soon as possible!

[MN.6] //: Roger Dodger–

<DWN-018>: >Fine, do it. Gem, get that guy on the line. We’ve got to talk this out before it gets out of hand. And as for you two…

<DWN-018>: >Speedy, Jaden, you guys were BUILT for Combat, can’t you work ANY faster?!

<DWN-013>: > Grrr…

<DWN-013 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>

[MN.1] //: –!!

[Jaden began to glow white.]

Felix: -Stands, raising an eyebrow- ?

Des: What in the--?

Des: (What is this bright LIGHT? It's almost like...Nine's...?)

Felix: !

((pic))

Jaden: I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!

[MN.1] //: ??!?

[Jaden had changed. The was larger now, and bulkier—and based on the energy ratings from him, he was packing some SERIOUS heat.]

Felix: Well this is new—

Des: (These Robot Masters can change forms too?)

[Hatches popped open.

YEP. Those were some sort of missiles inside.]

Jaden: WE’RE TAKING A DETOUR!

Felix: Goodness. I wasn’t aware they had this capacity.

Des: (...For some reason, that doesn't comfort me in the slightest.)

Des: (Do they ALL have this level of form shifting...?)

[He wasn’t given much time to think on it. A notification opened up a third window in the screen.]

[INCOMING CALL]

Felix: …

Felix: I… I’m not sure how to answer that, but I think we really should.

Des: (....)

[After a brief glance at Felix, Des himself walks over to the terminal and presses a single button, accepting the call.]

Des: (I got a good guess who this is...)

[Nico’s face greeted him on the screen. He was wearing full armor, minus the helmet, and his arms were crossed.]

Des: (...And I was completely wrong--)

Des: -Raises eyebrow- ...I assume you want to speak to either this guy-- -Jabs his thumb behind him-

Des: ...Or me.

Nico: I’m assuming with you, as I know who Felix is.

Des: -Yup, thought so-

Nico: What’s Dr. Cossack’s physical condition? Is he okay?

Des: He's sleeping, right now. Resting. (Even though he really didn't want to, I noticed, but that Felix person did something to get him to rest...)

[Nico seemed to relax quite a bit at this.]

Nico: Thank goodness… that should buy us more time…

Des: (...So this must be one of his patients, I would think...)

[He turns to yell over his shoulder.]

Nico: Siam! The Doctor’s okay, he’s just sleeping!

[As he does so, the brand on his shoulder is visible:

DWN-018. ]

Des: (Another DWN...)

Nico: Okay, next question—

Nico: What’s going on over there? Is he really under arrest, or is my brother exaggerating?

Des: ....

Des: Sir...

Des: Dr. Cossack is currently in custody for...unauthorized access into federal security.

Nico: -Pained expression- (Oh no…)

Des: ...

Des: (And there is still the matter of the Military Base's security breach too...)

Des: Since the Doctor... simply refused to answer all of our questions...

Des: I am...

Des: ...

Des: ...Ugh...

Des:

I am forced to put him under arrest given the situation, and--

Nico: !

Nico: You mean— (N-no, they mentioned handcuffs…)

[He holds his head in his hands, looking very concerned.]

Nico: Might I suggest an alternate form of restraints? Anything?

Des: . . .

Nico: First of all, that… that’s… not exactly what happened. And second of all…

Nico: He was kept chained up in some form or another for at least three months, maybe up to as much as six—and this wasn’t too long ago.

Nico: My brother used spikes on the inside of the bracers, even.

Des: .....

Des: (The burns...)

Des: ....

Des: I'll see what I can do in that regard. …I promise.

Nico: …Thank you.

Des: ....

Des: -Looks to the side- He told me. Showed me, actually.

Des: About where you're from.

Nico: —… -Looks to the side himself, rather distressed expression- (He can’t mean Monstropolis… that would only make Toby look worse…)

Nico: -Forces himself to hear this out-

Des: ....

Des: I still don't completely understand why, but.

Des: ...

Des: I can tell the Doctor...he isn't what the law thinks he is right now.

Des: >> If anything, I know he's stonewalling.

Des: Listen.

Des: I can't...

Des: ....

Des: If he keeps doing that...

Des: . . .

Nico: Please—

Nico: Please don’t SAY it, I can’t—

Des: .......

Nico: Nnng…

Nico: We’re connected to the RMDC, his sons will pick up on that data.

Des: >> (Right....)

Des: ...

Des: (Man, Min, I don't know about you, and no offense, but this is REALLY the worst part of the job...)

Nico: Sir, I…

Nico: (Nnngh…! I can’t just hand Tobias over, but I can’t let Dr. Cossack take the fall for this! Even if I felt like it, his sons…)

Nico: We… can’t we talk this out? Just a little bit? I really don’t want this getting out of control…

Nico: My brother is good, but after M—… after what happened to the First Gens, Mikhail made sure no one else could mess with his kids’ minds, and that includes outside Doctors our equivalents.

Nico: So… we don’t have a whole lot of time, either. I’ll try to stick to the point.

Nico: What happened with the system was more complex than that. What he probably told you is the super-simplified version. Interaction in the Cloud… that’s not how it happened.

Nico: He printed out notes… do you have those on hand?

Des: Mmm--right, I do...

Nico: You might want to read those as I talk this over.

Nico: First of all, he did try getting feeds from the Pentagon first. He had Sanda’s secretary call, I think. But when that didn’t work, he knew that the security system was out of control.

Nico: So when he says he ordered Tobias to take over the security… he means that in the sense he’d have to fight it, and more precisely, the malevolent force controlling it.

Nico: From what I understand based on the data we’re getting in the update, he had to tell Tobias not to go overboard and zap both the system and Shade to soot crisps.

Des: (What--?)

Des: -Flipping though the notes-

Des: (...Shade does have a weakness to electricity, true...)

Nico: Fighting through infected security isn’t an easy ordeal, sir.

Nico: The Cloud is a desolate and dangerous place. Your systems, when they are fully working, would be… like fires of Hell to any unauthorized program—including Awareness ones. Firewalls manifest that way, metaphorically speaking. And viruses? Eldritch abominations. Monsters.

Nico: Fighting against the virus was to restore control to your systems. Because staying there? Would have meant more fighting, and just about equally dangerous fighting.

Des: (--!)

Des: (That explains the sudden return of our feeds--)

Des: (It was in OUR favor--?)

Nico: And that is what happened. As the virus was being pushed back, your firewalls started turning back on.

Nico: Part of the reason Tobias got so agitated and aggressive—don’t know if you heard him while you were there—part of that was that he was starting to get burned by them, and it hurt.

Des: . . .

Nico: -Scratches his head- Trying to get in if the firewalls had been working wouldn’t have been a quick or easy task. The reason Tobias got inside so quickly is because they were down.

Nico: If he’d had to disable them first, I dunno… he’s brilliant, but I don’t think he’s ever intentionally done THAT before. Not to my knowledge. (Other things, yeah, but getting around firewalls he wasn’t already immune to? Not so much.) He couldn’t even bypass the RMDC firewall, actually.

Nico: Barring the control being returned, though, Dr. Cossack needed Tobias to keep it from going too out of control. To take the controls from the virus to keep her from frying Beck, Cardinal, and you guys. Which is what he means by shutting it down.

Nico: It’s hard for an outsider to know what happened in there, sir. He had to cover all options when he let Tobias go, and when he told you about it. I’m not sure how much he knows about what happened.

Des: ......

Nico: Before that incident, well…

Nico: He’s been working on things for Cardinal for a VERY long time. It’s within the past few days for both of us that he’s made some real progress. Medical progress. And he…

Nico: I’m not sure if anyone told you, sir, but there are only three Doctors of his caliber in our entire world. He’s the only one we can trust. Literally… the only Doctor in the world who can do this. Unfortunately…

Nico: …That kinda has exacerbated his innate tendency to wear himself out.

[He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his right hand.]

Nico: Man, he must be exhausted. After all that this has put us through, we all just want it to stop. I’m not surprised he gave the short version—

Nico: Do you know what would happen if any of us were caught?

Des: . . .

Des: It was mentioned.

Nico: …

Des: -Sigh- Ngh...

Des: (Well, this just...)

Des: (The fact that he tried to help us, it makes things better, but unless I can get it out of him...)

Des: (Ugh, but he doesn't even have the energy to be AWAKE right now...)

Nico: He didn’t consult with us beforehand, you know, before talking with you. >.>

Nico: He doesn’t have the authority to give direct orders to Wily Numbers. I’m sure he could if he wanted to, but he respects us more than that. The ability to shut us off was a negotiated exchange for using his server to house our extended neural network.

Nico: No one would have approved of him taking everything onto himself, but…

Des: >>;; (Even I don't...)

Nico: What are you planning to do to my brother if you were to get your hands on him? -Visibly afraid-

Des: Well, we aren't going to dismantle him, if that's what you're...Well.

Des: -We KNOW it's practically murder, honestly--

Des: From the account you've given and Cossack's own...

Des: ....

Des: All we want are a few answers.

Des: Some sense out of this entire mess, and honestly, even the answers themselves are a little... -I don't even have a proper word for it-- ...Delicate...

Nico: I can try…

Nico: Was there something else you were wondering about?

Des: Cossack already explained the Queen's Finals, in a sense.

Des: ....

Des: There was...

Des: Also another security breach, but not at the White House.

Nico: I don’t know how he got past the Brit firewalls, I’m going to guess an emergency services loophole—

Des: Not that. (Though that explains some things.)

Des: The...incident regarding MNN-005.

Nico: …

Nico: Huh?

Des: There was a security breach then where Battalion was...infected.

Nico: Wait, Bat—

Nico: Oh GEEZ—

[He looks TERRIFIED. There are a number of pings in the database showing that the whole line was going into Defensive mode…]

Nico: If—if everyone went where—

[His pupils shrank to only just being visible, and he broadcast over his speakers out of fear.]

Nico: “OH GLITCH YOU MEAN HE WENT TO— HE WENT TO A MILITARY BASE?!”

Des: (...An unauthorized base.)

Des: -~- -This is almost embarrassing to say-

Des: (Still, it seems like I won't be getting answers here too.)

Des: Was DLN-008 active during that time?

Nico: No way! He was still out cold from being fused with Avi!

Des: (So it wasn't him...)

Des: (WHO, then? Some third party?)

Nico: Avi saw the depths of suffering that floats about the collective consciousness, it was bad.

Des: . . .

Nico: Oh man—does Mikhail know? He’s going to freak if he hears that those kind of “fireworks” were getting ready to go live. It’s been our mission since learning of this world to try and prevent—…

[He winced for a moment, seeming to calm down again.]

Nico: …try and prevent things from… reaching what they got for us.

Des: ...More or less...

Des: -Long sigh-

Des: =~=

Nico: Ouch.

Nico: No, that wasn’t us, and it wouldn’t have been Mikhail either. Especially not after the Russian incident. If Cardinal hadn’t gotten there in time, he would have died and that would have set off WWIII. He really still blames himself for this, and he’s super sensitive about it. He wouldn’t have done that.

[A pause.]

Nico: After Beck fixed up Toby and Avi, Toby was asleep until Cossack woke him up to try and get the White House feeds back. He, uh… well. Tobias needed the rest, honestly. It was a very disorienting experience.

Des: (I can only imagine...)

Nico: Sorry, but you’re going to have to look elsewhere for your base phantom.

Des: (Ugh, now what? I'm out of leads...)

Des: (...But at least I have a good idea of what this DLN-008 is like...)

Des: (They all really need some help...)

Nico: I… I don’t think that it’s fair to say Dr. Cossack is responsible for us, no. We’re… sorry about all that’s happened. All we wanted was to… hang out with our friends. Everything just started to get out of whack starting with the finals…

Nico: Poor Jack, too. Sawblade to the back, ow.

[Another pause.]

Nico: -Looking off to the side, still with a concerned expression- I’ll be honest with you, Mister Secretary.

Nico: I’m not just going to hand my older brother over. I can’t do that.

Des: .....

Nico: But… Dr. Cossack… he in all honesty is just our medical provider. He doesn’t have control over us the way he does with his sons. Who by the way, are going to really panic [color=black]if[/color]… -Trails off-

Nico: I’m sorry that he wouldn’t answer the questions, but… that’s the truth of the matter—from the finals to the White House.

Nico: We still want to help sort this out as much as we can, you know. I know Dr. Cossack would help unravel this…

Nico: …if he weren’t in trouble, of course—and also not so exhausted. >.>;

Nico: Isn’t there something that can be done?

Des: Unless Dr. Cossack can say this on record himself, I--

[There’s sudden yelling from one of the feeds.]

Des: --??

-*-*-

Avi: DAD I GOTTA GO–

<DWN-013>: >Woah, woah, woah—

<DWN-013>: > -Avs are you okay— -

-*-*-

Nico: —?

-*-*-

Will: What–

Avi: Got a hot scoop to deliver to Doc Sanda-Man, DON’T WORRY I’LL BE RIGHT BACK–

[Without another word, Avi shifts into Jet Mode and zooooooms back out the way Will and Beck came in.]

Will: Wait–Avi! What about Soi?!

-*-*-

Nico: -Turns to yell over his shoulder- Siam! What’s going on?

Des:

What--what just--

Des: (--Sanda--isn't he at the Prison, why would Six--)

-*-*-

Beck: K-9…?

<DWN-013 and DWN-012>: > …

<DWN-012>: > Scrap—

<DWN-012>: > Canine models can get VICIOUS…

Beck: Combat model designed to patrol and guard–

Beck: Maximum security establishments–!

<DWN-013>: > UGH this is all Fahrenheit 451 on us—

Beck: -THERE’S ONE AT THE PRISON–

Will: SOI!

-*-*-

Des: --. . . .

Des: Damn...

Des: (The Cerberus Units...)

Nico: …

Gemini: …Mikhail was going to be sent somewhere with those?! ._.

Siam: Well it’s not like he would have done anything but sleep—

Gemini: But Dr. Soichiro Sanda is over there!

Nico: Can he handle something like this?! He just went over with his secretary!

Des: (...but--Isn't his secretary also a Combat Unit--?)

Des: (At the very least, he has SOMEONE protecting him...)

Des: =_= (Although I still think it's nuts.)

Siam: I’m sure he’ll be fine…

Gemini: …I think…

Nico: Can’t we just talk to him over the feeds?

Siam: They don’t have that capability on their end, that’s only a Meadow-capacity thing—

Des: (...Meadow? Is that some sort of code?)

Nico: —!

[He looks… shocked at something.]

Des: --?

Nico: “R-Roll—?” -Reaching his hand out to touch the screen-

Des: --???

Gemini: -OH GLITCH expression-

Nico: (N-no… it’s not her, it…)

Siam: NICO YOU STAY PUT—

[Unfortunately, this was the worst thing that Siam could have said. Nico quickly snapped out of it, and his data became almost horrifically aggressive as he turned to glare at his brother—his eyes burned green as his helmet appeared.]

Nico: …You—

[There was a burst of data as everything was VIOLENTLY flung outward by a sudden magnetic field, Siamini included.]

Nico: YOU’VE BEEN /LYING/ TO ME—!

Felix: Oh dear…

Des: . . .

Des: | /;;;;; (Um...)

Nico: How dare you keep this a secret from me?! You’ve denied her MONTHS of time, of celebrations and sadness alike, all because you thought that I couldn’t handle it?!

Siam: -Sitting up, rubbing his head, also in armor now- Alnico—

Nico: DON’T!

Nico: Don’t call me by that name SHE gave me, don’t use it to LIE further!

Nico: We’re going to talk this over later, Geminiman. Talk about two-faced…

Nico: -Narrows his eyes to glance over in Des’s direction in a glare-

[His face plate at least gives the advantage of making him only look annoyed. How mad he really was was hard to say.]

Nico: Permission to enter the building, sir?

Des: --What, the Prison--

Des: . . .

Des: (In hindsight, I have no idea if Call can even handle the K-9...)

Des: (Sanda doesn't have an entire team behind him like White does.)

Des: (He's going to need back up.)

Des: Permission granted.

Nico: -Nods and salutes with two fingers-

[He then hovers out of there, gaining momentum. Gemini helps Siam up, and the two of him look at the transmitter.]

Siamini: Great.

Gemini: He knocked out the transmitter.

Siam: At least that’ll buy us a bit more time…

Gemini: …Are we still transmitting? How?

Siam: Because Felix is there. Something about Psynergy…

Felix: -Shakes his head- I’d focus on the Cossack Numbers for now. : / The Second Generation Wily Numbers are capable of handling themselves: you know this. Though I must ask—did you know about the second forms?

Siam: Not exactly, no—

Gemini: I’ll have to get back to you on that later.

Siamini: Nineteen out.

[That feed closes.]

Felix: -Looks over at Des- …

Des: . . .

Des: (...This is going to be a long day.)

Des: ....

Des: Do you have something else that can...Er.

Des: >> -Looks at Mikhail-

Des: (I'd ask for rope, but that seems insulting too.)

Felix: I can use Halt on him.

Des: . . .Right. . .

Des: (...Just who is...--and how did he do that, back there...)

Felix: …If you need something more conventional… well, I’ll see what I’ve got on me.

[…He starts pulling out some things that just WOULDN’T—or SHOULDN’T—fit in a bag that size.]

Des: O.o???? (What.)

Des: (How--how would that even--)

Felix: Why is it always on the bottom of the bag under all the extra equipment…

Des: (Did he just pull out a suit of ARMOR?)

Des: -Blinks-

Felix: Ah, here we go.

[He pulls out what appears to be some large rocks, a few crystals, some silk, and some reptilian leather.]

Felix: This should work, temporarily, at least.

Des: --???

[Felix used GROWTH!]

((pic))

[A vine started growing from a gathering of Venus psynergy near the floor. Felix let it snake through his hands, intertwining with the silk to create a harness of some sort. He went over to place it around Cossack gently before it finished and bound up together, becoming enclosed.

The leather encased the vines to create the appearance of straps, and it ran to the rocks and crystals. Felix then used these together to create a strong cable, which ended at a stop within the floor itself.

The cable was long enough to allow for sitting, standing, and slight movement in sleep, but not much else. Not being within reach of a console, the only way he could have any input now was to use voice commands—and he was asleep.]

Felix: I trust that will do, at least for now?

Des: . . .

Des: Uh...yeah. o_o (Who IS this person--?)

Felix: -Notices this look and grins- Is there something you wanted to ask me, Master Desmond?

Des: ....

Des: -Yeah I kinda have a question or 50-

Felix: Go ahead. -Looks at the screens, where everyone is busy fighting- We’ve got a while.

Des: ....

Des: How did you...do that?

Des: That and...Back there, with the Mighties and the Doctor...

Felix: Psynergy. Your world might call it “magic,” but it follows a defined set of rules, just as much as physics does.

Felix: I’m not quite human, myself; not in the traditional sense.

Des: (He's not human--?)

Des: (...Well, I guess that makes a little sense, if he can do all that...)

Felix: Research I’ve done indicates that in my world, humanity split into three branches. What most people think of as human is a different branch than what I am. We are closer to “monsters” than to “humans” in most but appearance and behavior. Like many monsters, we can make use of elemental energy, or Psynergy. We are also incredibly sturdy.

Felix: However…

[He pulls off his own gloves.]

Des: ...--!

[Like Mikhail, he has scars— burn scars, but also nasty healed cuts—all over his forearms and some on the back of his hands.]

Felix: We are not invincible.

[He takes off his cape and pulls down on the inside of his collar enough to show there are more around his neck and over his collarbone, probably continuing over his torso.]

Felix: I was trained by Mars Adepts—dragon sons and daughters. They were harsh and often cruel taskmasters.

Felix: I am not a Mars Adept—their style is not my way. Venus Adepts are best at defense and hard hits, not taking the initiative. It took a lot of hard hits from much stronger warriors before we all realized and came to accept that fact.

Felix: That was not the end, however.

[He puts the cape back on.]

Felix: One of my former sparring partners—and one of the two last Warriors of the clan—attempted, with the other remaining Warrior, to kill me atop the perilous heights of Jupiter Lighthouse.

Felix: I was not strong enough to withstand her. If someone else hadn’t intervened, I would have been killed then and there. Her preparation to do so was the last thing I remembered before my strength left me entirely due to the injuries.

Felix: -Pulls his gloves on- I was quite unhappy when the hands of fate—or rather, that which claims to be so—pulled a nasty trick at Mars Lighthouse, and I was forced into a darkness that has ever stained my hands and haunted my dreams. She was but one of the five casualties in that place—all of them tricked onto us, and carried out under my command.

Des: (Jeez, this all sounds like some kinda...storybook or something...)

Des: (With not a very happy fairytale context...)

Felix: But even that would not prove to be the end.

Felix: When we finally came home—somewhere I had not been in years, in nearly five years—

Felix: My former best friend—who by the way, had spent the better part of the last two years quite literally chasing me across the world to the ends of the earth in the effort to slay me—

Felix: —went and told someone that I had been involved in restoring the elemental energy of our world to the natural balance.

Felix: This was forbidden in our home land, and punishable by death.

Des: . . .

Felix: -Shakes his head- I was chased out, and haven’t been home since. I don’t know if I’ll ever see my family again, not in this life.

Felix: Since then, I have wandered the worlds. That is how I came to meet the Rebel Angels, and later the Mighty Numbers.

Felix: I fought Countershade myself, once, before all of this.

Des: You what--

Des: --.... (He isn't human but still, against Eight--?)

Felix: It was a test of endurance, and I lost. We were both holding back, of course—I wouldn’t use my true power on them, not without good reason.

((pic))

Felix: Venus is the element of man… the element of the earth, yes, of plants and the ground, of living things…

((pic))

Felix: …But also of death, of poisons and necromancy, the Judgement of the world…

Felix: While it can be intoxicating, that kind of power is not a toy, and not to be used in play. No—I’d only use that in great need.

Felix: I did lose, but it was a close judges’ call—as I had managed to wear him to exhaustion as well.

Des: . . .

Des: (I...)

Des: ....

Des: (I think I have severely misjudged the scope of all this... Again...)

Des: And you...come here, often...?

Felix: What, to California?

Des: Yes...

Felix: No… I’ve only been over here for birthday celebrations. Everything else was at the Meadow.

Des: --I heard one of the Robot Masters say that before...

Des: The Meadow.

Des: I don't suppose that is code for anything...

Felix: No, not really. It is a literal meadow. Nice place, really. There is a VR set up there, as well as a lab/recreational center.

Felix: I live further out in the undefined parts of reality, in the Wilderness. That’s where Eight and I fought.

Felix: It is a very nice place, and I imagine you’ll be seeing it once the time is right.

Des: --Me?

Felix: Though with time being what it is, you might “already” have done so, and the memories will catch up to you.

Des: --.....

Des: Are you saying I might have already--BEEN there?

Felix: There’s a good chance of that, yes.

Des: I...

Des: Good Lord...

Felix: I understand this can be overwhelming, sir, particularly given your responsibilities. But now that you know, you are only more likely to learn more, to better understand the situation and learn who is friend and who is foe.

Felix: There are more parties in play besides the Rebel Angels and the Cossack Numbers, their sister, and their father.

Des: (....More...?)

Des: (...He can't mean Blackwell, can he?)

Des: ...Like...What?

Felix: For starters, mirror realities. There is a “what-if” come true that has become very close with your own. Tell me…

Felix: Do you remember the publicity campaign for when Mighty Number Eight was first being revealed?

Des: (...That was out of left field...)

Des: ....

Des: There were a few adverts for the overall cowboy design...

Des: (But they looked...)

((pic))

Des: (...Different than what Eight does now...)

Des: ...What does that have anything to d--

Des: Do...

Des: With....

Felix: -Gets a somewhat amused expression-

Des: . . .

Des: (The Highway--!)

Des: There...

Des: (So that image we got from the tunnel cameras in the highway--)

Des: (If what he's saying is right--)

Des: There's TWO Eights?

Felix: Mighty Nine Number Eight and Fighting Mighties Number Eight. The Teal Silence and the Teal Widow.

Felix: The latter is the lady of silence, the siren sniper.

Felix: …Though she does have quite a fondness for dairy.

Des: (...Dairy?)

Des: >> (This makes me wonder how much the CAL knows about this...)

Des: (The whole two of the same person deal...)

Des: ...Are there more?

Des: -Doubles, that is.-

Felix: Well, that whole family, yes.

Des: ....

[Des takes a moment to re-think it all over his head, crossing his arms and placing one hand on his face.]

Des: (Min, I REALLY wish you were right here right now--)

Felix: There’s more to it than that, though. The Fighting Mighty Numbers are benign forces. True, Kate got sick, but, well… if you know about her, you would have to had seen her. And if you saw her, then you saw him, too.

Felix: Yes, Jack helped rescue her. They’re both safe.

Felix: However.

Felix: It’s unlikely that he’ll be released to you any time soon, because they’ve been worried. They know that the rest of his team… “disappeared.” They don’t want any unsavory sources knowing his whereabouts or status.

Des: . . .

Des: (So that's what happened to Dencerjack.)

Des: (Mmm. No wonder we couldn't find him, he practically dropped off the face of this Earth.)

Felix: Including DWN-022.

Des: --Another DWN?

Des: (...22? Just how many are there--?)

Felix: Yes. Not all DWNs are tended to by Mikhail Cossack.

Felix: Most of them are dead. You know why already.

Des: ....

Felix: But there are some… DWN-022 specifically was rebuilt, but—Dr. Wily? He’s still active, Master Desmond.

Felix: As is Viper. He was scouting about where Jack was.

Des: !

Des: (But--)

Des: (All the way back in England?)

Felix: He’s after Cardinal, you know. And now that Cardinal has a close friend… going after them jointly is the way to cause the most pain.

Des: MN.8...

Des: (...Definitely need to bring this up with Min, this Viper character sounds...)

Des: (...He gives me VERY bad vibes for some reason--)

Felix: Exactly. This isn’t over yet. Cardinal has been a target for a while, ever since he pulled one over on Wily… twice.

Des: -Raises eyebrow- (Twice...)

Felix: Wily has never been one to share a spotlight, though. He’ll wait until this is over before he strikes. How long? I don’t know.

Felix: Cardinal will want to keep everyone out of it, but… the chances of that succeeding are… small.

[He sighs, putting a hand to his face.]

Felix: At least the Doctor and his daughter will be safe. They have powerful forces looking after them. But the Rebel Angels? Not so much.

Felix: But one crisis at a time, shall we? No use worrying over something beyond our scope that we know will not happen until this is over.

Des: ....

Des: -Right...-

[((Transition scene here, or not—as need be.))]

[Felix stood.]

Felix: Well then. I need to go speak with Dr. White, now that he’s back. There’s something important I need to ask him, anyway. May I leave?

Des: Er, yes, yes, of course--Thank you for your time...

Felix: Certainly.

[He took his leave.]

Des: ....

Des: -Phone, Phone, where's--

[CALLING: MINNIE MOUSE.]

Des: -Come on, Min, pick up--

[Click.]

“Hello, Ducky. Something up?”

Des: Something like that--

Des: >> I may have some news you might not like.

Des: ...Someone else might be looking for Dencerjack.

Des: Another DWN not in Dr. Cossack's care.

Minerva: …The snake?

Des: Bingo-- (...At this point I'm not surprised she knows by now--)

Des: Also learned that Jack's...well, flown the coup, so to speak.

Minerva: Oh? You know where he is?

Des: More or less.

Des: He's safe, and, well.

Des: ...You know those images we got from Highway Alpha?

Des: From the tunnel cameras?

Minerva: The ones we couldn’t decipher?

Des: I'm pretty sure by now someone in Tech managed to clean up those images.

Minerva: Well, I had the one intern—remember the report that the Pentagon submitted regarding Five’s rescue?

Minerva: About the lower level worker who worked with them, even when his superiors had hung up on the Whites?

Minerva: I set him on duty to tend to tech information that may pertain to the cases, for now…

Des: You might want to take a look at those...

Des: ...As well as launch some sort of investigation into CAL.

Minerva: I assume he is writing up a report, but—what’s this about investigating CAL?

Des: >> I think they know a little more than they're letting on.

Minerva: …

Minerva: -Dryly- They’re assassins and half of them are spies of some degree. Of course they know more than they say.

Des: -Exactly--

Des: >> Felix was kind enough to let me in on this, but...

Minerva: ? -Listening-

Des: ...Mngh, at this point, I feel... ugh.

Des: I feel useless here.

Des: The situation is in good hands, I know that--

Des: But I'm not exactly the one making the decisions here, and I think it's starting to get to me...

Minerva: -Soft sigh, but still listening-

Des: >> Haven't been in the field in a long time.

Des: ...Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky or something.

[She chuckles at that.]

Minerva: Oh, Donald. I understand the sentiment. It’s just part of being in these offices, when you lead such a large amount of people.

Des: ...How are things in your end?

Minerva: I’ve learned some very interesting things. And to that end…

Minerva: I’m going to come over.

[A beat.]

Minerva: As in, join you on the East Coast.

Des: --Wha--

Des: Min--the city is practically still Ground Zero--

Minerva: Mr. Desmond.

Minerva: I can’t go back to my House, that’s been utterly trashed, and needs to be checked for nuclear radiation.

Minerva: I certainly can’t go back to my home; that’s not secure, and doesn’t have proper resources.

Des: --...

Minerva: Right now, all of our leads are generated over there—whereas on Capitol Hill?

Minerva: The only thing being generated is more paperwork as it becomes more apparent that we will need a serious look into internal affairs.

Minerva: I don’t like how little DoHS has done to help matters. I don’t think your counterpart is involved, but “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, as the saying goes.

Minerva: Quite frankly, I need an office somewhere that is both technologically secure and has communication and computation resources. As of right now, that lab is the only place that I, personally, feel sure of—and I went through quite a long list of other safehouses before making that decision.

Minerva: The city itself may be dangerous, but let’s be real here—almost all major cities have been badly hit.

Des: ...Good point...

Minerva: Besides… what I’ve learned has completely convinced me that there is no way someone could steal information or otherwise effectively spy on the place.

Minerva: And that same thing also makes it very necessary for me to speak to Dr. White in person.

Des: -- Dr. White?

Minerva: Yes. Dr. William White.

Des: ....

Des: (That's...I thought our focus was on Dr. Cossack, why would Min want to suddenly talk to him?)

Des: (And directly, at that; if she just wanted him to be questioned, then she'd let me do it--)

Des: ....

Minerva: I believe I learned something about what happened during Battalion’s rescue, and I need to confirm the sequence of events with him.

Minerva: And also discuss his days as a fencing champion.

Des: ...Now you've lost me.

Des: What does THAT have to do with anything--?

Des: --The fencing, I mean--

Minerva: Oh, you’ll find out, Donald.

[Well that was ominous.]

Des: ....

Des: -Sighs- Alright...

Minerva: As for Dr. Cossack—

Minerva: He seems to be more forthcoming when speaking while he isn’t being recorded, anyway; and you’ve had to play bad cop, which has yielded minimal results. It sounds like you’ve learned more from Felix than Cossack himself, which is telling.

Minerva: Perhaps if I play good cop, we’ll learn something enlightening—

[SPLOOOSH--]

"WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND BAKEY--"

Des: What the--

Des: -Hey wait a min--

[...There's...the sound of a lot of water over the phone--]

[Min had hung up, but—]

[The action had certainly not ended.]

[Having burst the door open with a jetstream of water, Cryo proceeded to rush over and spray Dr. Cossack in the face.]

Des: -Is now SOAKING wet--

Cryo: I said--

Cryo: WAKEY WAKEY EGGS AND BAKEY, UNCLE COSSACK--

[Mikhail was scrunching his eyes, swatting at his hair to try and get some of the water out. He, too, was soaking wet.]

Mikhail: -VERY much awake now- {What—}

[He was talking in Russian, presumably from being tired.]

Mikhail: {Cryosphere, why are you screaming about breakfast—}

[Cryosphere responded in English, though.]

[MN.2] //: -CUZ I'M HUNGRY AND EVERYONE IS KINDA GOING BONKERS RIGHT NOW-

Des: --???

Mikhail: {What?!}

[It only takes him one look at the status screens to make his decision. He looks alarmed.]

Mikhail: {Emergency shutdown! Authorization MC005!}

[There’s a flurry of status messages showing all the Robot Masters going Offline.]

[…Well.]

>ERROR: DLN-000 CANNOT BE SHUT DOWN WITHOUT DAMAGE TO SYSTEM.

>Internal Database ALERT: 06.30.20XX MEMORY DATA HAS GENERATED NEW PRIMAL ANALYSIS NEXUS: DATA CANNOT BE ISOLATED UNTIL UPDATE IS COMPLETED. ALL SHUT DOWN PROCEDURES MUST BE PERFORMED MANUALLY BY AN ADMIN.

<DLN-000 is still in Maintenance Mode.>

[…Almost all of them.]

Des: -What is--

Des: -It's just one thing after another, isn't it--

Mikhail: -Mumbles- {Now what is—}

[He stood, but quickly found he couldn’t move over toward the console. He wasn’t even able to reach it.]

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: -Tired- Mr. Desmond, I appreciate this less painful means of restraint, but— a harness, really?

Des: Don't look at me. <<

[Mikhail has already turned to look at the cord binding him to the floor. He had to squint rather hard, though.]

Mikhail: (Vines. Of course.) …So I can see, now. Apologies.

Mikhail: -Puts both hands to his face- I believe we need to obtain a status update at this point.

Mikhail: What’s your call? I’m not the one in charge in this range.

Des: -Turns- Cryosphere, where is your Father--

Cryo: -Back over there, you guys might wanna take a look, things are going cray cray--

[PING!]

[DR.WHITE] //: -Mikhail--

[DR.WHITE] //: -Mikhail if you can see this, Nico just went to the Prison after Soi and Call--

Mikhail: …!

Mikhail: He—

Mikhail: {Mother Mary help us, no wonder…}

Mikhail: Will. Will, we’ll be right over—

Mikhail: Hold on, we’ll come down to the lobby.

Mikhail: -Please-

Des: ....

Des: -Mngh-

Des: Alright, fine--

Des: -But I'm sticking close to you every step of the way--

Mikhail: I’d appreciate that, sir—

Mikhail: It seems the water has washed away my glasses, so I can’t see very well at the moment.

Cryo: -...Whoops-

Cryo: -UH, YOU GO SEE WHAT'S UP, ILL FIND THEM--

Mikhail: Alright, Cryo. Thank you.

Mikhail: Alright, Mr. Desmond, it’s your lead— though I’d appreciate it not being so obvious if you really do intend to use the cord as a lead.

Mikhail: You’ll also have to cut this free somehow, first.

Des: -I got this--

[...Oh, well, that's definitely a Military grade Swiss Army Knife.]

[Mikhail couldn’t see, but he could definitely hear, and he seemed a bit nervous at the sound. He took a slight step back, out of instinct.]

Des: -JUST going to cut this-

[Des moves to cut Mikhail free as quickly as possible--he seems practiced with it.]

Des: -Okay--

Des: That should do it.

[Probably the fact he couldn’t see very well helped in Mikhail not reacting much to it. And he did seem grateful at Desmond being right next to him—gave him a point of reference in moving around.]

[It wasn’t too long before they made their way down to the lobby. Felix and Will were both there.

Felix looked a little surprised to see them in their current state.]

Felix: You’re both soaking wet.

Des: =~= -Don't ask-

Will: Mikhail--

Will: -Oh thank goodness, sorry about the rude awakening--

Felix: Your glasses are missing.

Mikhail: Not important right now.

Mikhail: Where is Alnico? Is… is he really at the prison?

Will: He's--

Will: Yes, we--we couldn't stop him--

Will: -Oh Soi, please be alright--

[Mikhail groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.]

Mikhail: So he found out about her at last, did he? (What a mess…)

Mikhail: Well, he’s Offline, now. Someone will have to go and get him, before he gets further injured.

Mikhail: I’ll—

Felix: No.

Des: ...

Felix: No you won’t, Doctor.

Will:

-Mikhail, please...-

Will: You still need rest--Soi is in there, let--

Des: Not you either, Doctor.

Will: ......

Will: (Soi...)

Felix: For one thing, I don’t recall Master Desmond releasing you, Mikhail.

Mikhail: —…

Des: Right.

Felix: And for another… now that you’re awake, if you insist on being awake and not taking more rest…

Felix: It should be to tend to some patients. Jaden sustained significant heat damage, and Carlos was injured by a fracture in time.

Felix: Now either go rest or go heal and THEN rest, because you aren’t leaving the building.

Des: As for you, Dr. White.

Will: --?

Des: You have an appointment.

Des: POTUS is coming here.

Will: -Wha--

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: What…?

Des: Gentlemen.

Des: Our White House is down.

Des: And all our info is coming from here, in Titus.

Des: Seeing as Sanda Labs is not only fortified, as well as having the technological equipment needed to function as a HQ...

Des: There is no where else President Morandi can go.

Mikhail: …I… suppose that makes sense, but—

Mikhail: What do you mean by “appointment"?

Des: >>

Des: ....

Des: I'm not so sure myself.

Des: But it has something to do with No. 5 and...

Des: ... your championship fencing days, Doctor.

Mikhail: ???

Mikhail: ({What does Bat have to do with fencing, I don’t get it—}) -Clearly confused-

Will: (Championship fenc--)

Will: --....

Will: -Pales-

Will: (Oh my God, no--NO--)

Will: (Sh-She can't have--!)

Mikhail: …Will?

Will: (Oooooodearlordno--)

Will: (No, this--can't be happening, not NOW--)

Will: ...... -Swallows-

Will: I...I see.

Des: (...Well THAT was CERTAINLY a reaction if I ever saw one.)

Mikhail: Will?

[He’s squinting pretty hard, because he can’t see at the moment.]

Will: (I didn't think...)

Will: (I thought...)

Will: I...

Will: -I need to sit down a f-for a bit...-

Des: (A VERY strong reaction.)

Will: (G-Greg--I can handle Greg--)

Will: (B-But her--s-she can do s-so much WORSE--)

Mikhail: Will, are you alright?

Will: (Oh, Mikhail, I'm so sorry--!)

Des: Doctor.

Will: --...

Des: She'll be coming over as soon as she can get a bird in the air.

Des: ...She'll also want a word with DLN-000 once he's recovered.

[Mikhail looks… VERY tired all of a sudden.]

Mikhail: Fully recovered? That could take up to a year.

Felix: —?!

Felix: A year?

Des: .....

Will: (Cardinal...)

Mikhail: …But— regarding Nico and Soi—

Felix: Appointment or not, Will was just in the midst of a very stressful fight, so no, he needs rest, too.

Felix: Master Desmond, may I go over to help them?

Felix: If your superior is coming here, you’ll be needed for a briefing, and you have people to look after. It seems that the staff there cannot help—and Nico is assuredly injured. I’m sure you remember from the Finals and the White House that Robot Masters do not bleed Xel, and if someone else were to notice this from Nico…

Will: ....

Des: ...You raise a good point.

Des: ...And I've... experienced what you can do...

Felix: Not all of it.

Felix: I can also escape fairly well. As soon as I find them, I will be able to leave from that spot, and then teleport here.

Des: -... Impressed.-

Des: ...Although... You're not a Xelbot either...

Will: We have false...transponders...

Felix: That should work, if it is acceptable. Although—would the readings be able to tell I’m organic?

Mikhail: You give off a lot of energy radiation. It… obscures that fact a bit.

Felix: -Raises an eyebrow- I was not aware you’d already measured that.

Mikhail: I didn’t have to measure, it’s actually observable.

Des: (...As in, entirely visible...?)

Des: .....

Des: ... Alright.

Des: You're cleared for entry to the Prison, Felix.

Des: I suggest that someone else prepare a room for POTUS once she arrives.

Will: (Erk--)

[Mikhail seemed to realize something.]

Mikhail: Oh—

Mikhail: Is she bringing Scout with her?

Will: --Scout--

Des: ...Right, the... -Ahem-

Des: I imagine so.

Des: >> I should have known he belongs to you all, really.

Mikhail: Oh? And why’s that?

[Felix had already made his way off. Man, can he move quietly when he wants to.]

Des: Well, he was with 000 during the White House raid...

Des: And he seemed to know Eight as well, in particular.

Des: >> ...That, and we learned that he isn't even...

Des: -We can't tell if he's some sort of dog or raccoon or both-

[Mikhail laughs at this.]

Mikhail: Well, I could tell you more later.

[He shakes his head, putting a hand to his face.]

Mikhail: I… can’t see right now, so I won’t be able to help with repairs. Unless you have instructions for me, Mr. Desmond… no matter where I end up, I’ll probably fall asleep again, so I might as well rest.

Will: -...what DID happen to your glasses--

Des: -Your daughter-

Will: --...Oh-

Will: -Can't help but grin- I'm sure she just got a bit excited.

Des: -Excited is underselling it- =~=

Mikhail: That sounds like her.

[He wrings his lab coat a bit.]

Mikhail: I do have my devices waterproofed, but I’m nevertheless thankful that they didn’t get drenched.

Mikhail: Alright then… might as well tell Pyro and Seven, I imagine they’ll make the best of the preparations.

[He seems… very tired again. Or rather… weary.

Almost defeated, in a sense.]

Mikhail: ({…Not much has changed…})

Mikhail: ({Still so much… to [color=black]answer[/color] for.})

Will: (...Mikhail...)

Will: (Mngh...I'm running out of time...)

Will: (...What...)

Will: (What am I going to do--?)

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

=PROLOGUE B: IT ALL BEGINS NOW=

~AO v1.0~

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

[Fate had such an odd way of forcing her hand.

Worlds intertwined, destinies tethered….]

{JUNE 21st, TUMBLR 2016

11:45:08 AM}

<SEDW to RMDC>: >UPDATING DATABASE…

<SEDW to RMDC>: >UPLOAD FILE: REVELATION.EXE

<RMDC>: >GENERATING CROSS-REFERENCES…

-PING-

<RMDC>: >CROSS REFERENCE FOUND: DLN_COMBAT.EXE

<RMDC>: >COMBAT INITIATIVE DETECTED. Admin access is required to run COMBAT.EXE initiatives. Please access the program at the primary station and enter authorization code.

<SEDW>: >OPEN FILE: REVELATION.EXE

<RMDC>: >COMBAT INITIATIVE DETECTED. Admin access is required to run COMBAT.EXE initiatives. Please access the program at the primary station and enter authorization code.

<SEDW>: >OPEN FILE: DLN_COMBAT.EXE

<RMDC>: >WARNING: This file has been quarantined and locked by MC005. Please access the program at the primary station and enter authorization code.

[… … … …]

<RMDC>: >WARNING! UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED!

<SEDW>: >SYSTEM OVERRIDE

<RMDC>: >SYSTEM ERROR—

[DOWNLOAD IN PROGRESS: REVELATION.EXE

—AI_DWN_000: Loading…

—AI_DCN_000: Loading…

—AI_DWN_008: Loading…

—AI_DWN_011: Loading…

—AI_DWN_012: Loading…

—AI_DWN_013: Loading…

—AI_DWN_018: Loading…

—AI_DWN_019: Loading…

—AI_DWN_024: Loading…

—AI_DCN_003: Loading…

—AI_DCN_004: Loading…

—AI_DCN_007: Loading…

—AI_DCN_008: Loading…]

{The Meadow}

[…Sickness.

Madness.

Memories of the darkest times flooded the server.

Everyone woke up immediately.]

<DLN-000 is now Online.> <DLN-005 is now Online.> <DLN-008 is now Online.> <DWN-011 is now Online.> <DWN-012 is now Online.> <DWN-013 is now Online.> <DWN-018 is now Online.> <DWN-019 is now Online.> <DWN-024 is now Online.>

[Cardinal felt sick to his core. Everyone did, really.]

<DWN-012>: Wha?

<DWN-024>: What is happening?

<DWN-012>: I feel like I’m gonna throw up, and I’m not even organic—

<DWN-019>: H-hang on. I-I’ll run a d-diagnostic. <DWN-019>: Y-you go contact the Doctors. -Talking to himself-

[Jaden was just laying in his recharge station, almost feverish. Errors kept pounding in his head.]

<DWN-013>: G-guys… it’s trying to send me into Lethal…

[But no one heard him.

Everyone had suddenly been overcome by the directive.

It was some sort of external command—a highly complex one, at that. Really, too much for their systems to process.

A command to destroy.]

<DLN-008 has gone Offline.>

[…]

<DLN-005 has gone Offline.> <DWN-011 has gone Offline.> <DWN-012 has gone Offline.> <DWN-013 has gone Offline.> <DWN-018 has gone Offline.> <DWN-019 has gone Offline.> <DWN-024 has gone Offline.>

Cardinal: (They must be preserving themselves…. Uggggh… I feel so aggravated right now…)

[He didn’t try to ping Dr. Cossack, or Dr. White. Whatever was going on, Dr. Cossack would see it. If they were all sick, then he didn’t want to spread it to his cousins.

And he definitely didn’t want to hurt the others.]

Cardinal: (Nnngggghhh…)

[His head pounded. He clutched at it with both hands, his eyes glowing a bright green despite being closed.

Memories bombarded him.]

-*-*-

((Art by dA user Thormeister))

-*-*-

[And then, suddenly…]

[…Beck was not the only one who was reset due to the matter at hand.

It only took a few moments, thankfully. Cardinal woke up feeling very disoriented.]

Cardinal: What was that?

[He couldn’t remember anything that had happened since Saturday evening—yet it was now clearly daytime. …He didn’t know what day it was, but that alone let him know that something had gone wrong.

Normally, if there had been a system crash, then the database would fill in the blanks. But in this case, it didn’t—which meant he had been forcefully reset. And not just him; the whole server, too.

…But why?]

Cardinal: (…Did we seriously have a hard reset?) What happened here…?!

[To his surprise, he saw Dr. Mikhail Cossack nearby, at a terminal. He was clearly focused in his work, as he simply held out his left hand to sign the word “QUIET.”]

Cardinal: …

“There was an attack on the server.”

Cardinal: ?

[Shadow was scowling as he unhooked himself from the mainframe.]

Shadow: It appears to have originated from a different world. Some sort of attempt to reactivate our Menace-related directives.

Cardinal: Ugh. No wonder we felt sick to our cores. …Is everyone alright?

Mikhail: I am trying to contact William but I’m having a great deal of difficulty…

Jaden: -Becoming more alert- Wait, is that a good idea? I mean, what if it got to them?

Mikhail: You don’t understand, Jaden: the source WAS from Will—

Cardinal: What?

Cardinal: (What is going /on/ here?)

[…

…

There was suddenly an overwhelming surge of alarm.]

Siam: Something’s wrong! Gemini: Something’s terribly, terribly wrong!

[Cardinal felt it, too.

A sudden… /darkness/. Weighty and cruel, deep as suffering. It reminded him of…]

Cardinal: (No, this can’t…)

Tobias: -Interrupts- I think I got the TV to pick up their signals—give it a try! Still trying to contact their lab…

[Cardinal turned on the news as some of his more tech-savvy brothers worked away at consoles.

What he saw…]

Cardinal: No…

Cardinal: -System scREECH- NOOOO!

<DLN-000 has entered Alert Combat mode.> <DCN-000 has entered Alert Combat mode.> <DLN-008 has entered Alert Combat mode.> <DWN-011has entered Alert Combat mode.> <DWN-012 has entered Alert Combat mode.> <DWN-013 has entered Alert Combat mode.> <DWN-018 has entered Alert Combat mode.> <DWN-019 has entered Alert Combat mode.> <DWN-024 has entered Alert Combat mode.> <DCN-003 has entered Alert Combat mode.> <DCN-007 has entered Alert Combat mode.> <DCN-008 has entered Alert Combat mode.>

[Snow screamed.]

[…Actually, to say he screamed would be an understatement. He was BLASTING raw Emotion, not just volume—and the world around him was quickly turning to ice. His brothers and his father alike were taken by surprise and alarm, turning all their attention to him.

His younger brothers were forced to shield as he began to throw a horrific tantrum—one that was cut short by Cossack forcefully sending him into Sleep mode before he hurt anyone in his panic.

Things were rapidly getting out of control.]

<DWN-018>: >TOBIAS, DO SOMETHING!

<DWN-018>: >BEFORE YOUR BROTHER FREEZES US TO DEATH!

[Tobias practically flung himself at the mainframe.]

Tobias: I’m gonna force my way through if it’s the last thing I do—and it’s definitely not gonna!

[As he had done before, his /self/ took the reigns of cyberspace and made it bend beneath his heel to his will.

Static filled the line as he broke through and opened the Mighty Number communication channels.]

<DLN-008 to MNN-ALL>: > -PING!-

[…There was no chance to celebrate or take action, though, because just then, the news updated…]

“Once again, the president has declared a nationwide state of emergency. This, based on reports of haywire robots rampaging out of control in all 52 states. I’m being told we have a comment from Gregory Graham—“

[Outraged shouting and anger crowded out the rest of the sentence, and a bit of the speech after.]

Speedy: -YELLING IN ANGRY SPANISH- {OH FOR THE LOVE OF—}

Shadow: -Eyes burning red, hissing in Japanese- {I swear, if he is behind all of this…}

Mikhail: -Speaking (with growing impatience) in frustrated Russian- {ENOUGH! Will you BE QUIET for ONE moment—}

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKHHHHH—

“Hellooooooooo! Is this thing on?”

Siamini: -Trills- What?!

Tobias: !?

[The electric optimist immediately sent out a notification.]

-PING!-

<DLN-008>: >Avi! Avi, no! What are you doing?

[…But Avi didn’t seem to hear him. He doesn't answer. Instead, he continues to give his twisted 'news report'.]

"And now we go to our eye in the sky Avi 1 Heli bot for our daily traffic report!"

[...And in a completely not so different voice...]

"Thanks, Avi! Uh, as you can see, we've got accidents inbound in....well..."

"EVERYWHERE!~ BWAHAHAHAHA!"

Shadow: … What the fuhhh… -Trails off rather than finishing that-

[The Second Generation survivors looked on in horrified silence. For they couldn’t see Avi, not anymore.

The cross-references were too strong.]

Jaden: (Saints preserve us…)

[Speedy just fell to his knees, giving a thousand-yard stare.]

Speedy: ({This… this is Monstropolis all over again…})

[Tobias was starting to feel frustrated.]

<DLN-008>: > DON’T PRETEND YOU CAN’T HEAR ME— now is not the time for games, Aviator!

[Still no response.]

Avi: "Yup, we've got chaos here, chaos there on this BEEEEEAUTIFUL June 21, 20XX! Here on Avi News today, we've got exclusive coverage on today's top story!~

Avi: THE END OF THE WORLD, BABY!~

Tobias: Grrr…!

Avi: "Our nation is on TOTAL MELTDOWN, and Xelbot crime is on the rise!~ Can NOTHING stop this madness?!

Avi: "Short answer? NO!~ BWAHAHAHA!~"

[Tobias…

…had had enough. He decided to try a different tack.]

<DLN-008 to MNN-006>: > -P I N G-

<DLN-008>: > A V I A T O R

<DLN-008>: > YOU’RE BLOCKING THE CHANNELS, WHY

<DLN-008>: >What the frag is going on over there?! I need to talk to Doctor White!

<DLN-008>: > NOW!

[.......]

[MN.6] //: Well, would you look at that! I got a caller!~

[MN.6] //: So, caller number 1...

[MN.6] //: What do you think you're doing on MY airwaves, mmm?

<DLN-008>: > I’M /TRYING/ TO TALK, THAT’S WHAT

[Oooo, he seemed in a bad mood, and wasn’t afraid to let that data show!]

[Why, it’s almost as if he feels… a little guilty, to boot! Has he seen this before?]

[MN.6] //: Ooo, SOMEone seems spicy today! Wow. Talk about blowing a fuse! HA! Get it?

Tobias: (Ngggh…! Can’t… can’t let the cross-references distract me, not now!)

<DLN-008>: >Very funny, Avi.

<DLN-008>: >Hilarious.

[MN.6] //: Thaaaaanks. I practice. ~

<DLN-008>: >I’ll let Dyna know when I see her. -Clearly annoyed-

[MN.6] //: ....

[MN.6] //: Who?

[Tobias was speaking over him already by that point.]

<DLN-008>: >But fiRST YOU NEED TO STOP SITTING ON THE FREQUENCIES

<DLN-008>: >LET ME THROUGH, GLITCHFRAG IT, I’M SHORT ON PATIENCE HERE

[MN.6] //: Eeeeeeh....

[MN.6] //: Ugh, I dunno--see, I got a script to stick to? And uh, all the roles are filled in. Sorry, dude! ^.^

[…

Tobias really WAS starting to lose patience. He seethed.]

[MN.6] //: BUT.

<DLN-008>: > -Train of thought derailed- —?

[MN.6] //: I thiiiiink I can....prooobably....

[MN.6] //: Squeeze you into a short segment….

<DLN-008>: > -Gives off abrupt data of discomfort and dread-

Tobias: (Why does that sound… really really bad…?)

[MN.6] //: How about this, caller number 1?~

[Suddenly--]

[MN.6 HAS ENTERED COMBAT DATA MODE. RESTRICTIONS: NONE.]

[MN.6] //: You wanna be my intern for a while?!~

[Tobias gave a shaky gasp. The world had gone faint for a moment.]

<DLN-008>: >Avi! PLEASE! STOP!

[The data was fought back—forcefully. It seemed that the electric Industrial was not unfamiliar with fighting aggressive data.]

[MN.6] //: Nope! Can't have you snooping around on the feeds, no siriee!

[Another surge of...possessive data--!]

[MN.6] //: I got big, big plans, Caller. Avi News is gonna go GLOBAL!

<DLN-008>: > Nggh—!

<DLN-008>: > NO!

<DLN-008>: >NO YOU WON’T!

[He was… actively blocking data that his system was trying to send out.]

<DLN-008>: >I won’t give up! I’ll MAKE you get out of my way!

[A surge of spurning willpower.

The stubborn willpower of a DWN—the unflinching kind they inherited from their father.

…And yet…]

[…And yet, he wasn’t REALLY giving it his all—that much was obvious.

He was holding back.]

[MN.6] //: Jeez--you're really a spicy one! I'm actually impressed! ~

[MN.6] //: Man, this is JUST like that one movie I watched last Tuesday--the hero, on the brink of defeat, suddenly finds within himself the strength to win!

<DLN-008>: > Grr…!

[A…

BLAST of RAW /GUILT/ AND REGRET]

<DLN-008>: > -VERY bitterly- I’m no hero.

<DLN-008>: > BUT I STILL WON’T LET YOU DO THIS.

[MN.6] //: --!!

[MN.6] //: NGH--

<DLN-008>: >I… I c-can’t let you make my mistakes…!

[MN.6] //: Ow...OK...yeah, that hurt...

<DLN-008>: > …

<DLN-008>: >S-sorry…

<DLN-008>: >Nggh…! Now… please, stop!

[MN.6] //: ......

[....Data.]

[...It...was Avi's Data, yes, but...so much darker. ]

[Anger.]

[MN.6] //: That...hurt.

[MN.6] //: NOW YOU'RE GONNA GET IT!

[Toby was suddenly seized with signals. They weren’t just conversational—they were trying to get inside his head, mess with his mind!]

<DLN-008>: >NO, AVI, STOP! YOU DON’T KNOW—!

[He never did finish his warning.

“You don’t know what you’re getting into…!”]

Tobias: -SCREAMS-

[He was clutching his head in his hands now, overcome with painful disorientation as he fought off the attempt to seize control.

He started sparking up, essentially close to tears as he tried so very hard to overthrow the invasion without harming his best friend.]

[MN.6] //: HA!

[Almost...Almost--!]

[MN.6] //: Aaaand that's a wrap!~

<DLN-008>: > S-stop… Avi, please…

[MN.6] //: You just don't know how to LISTEN, do ya? I said NO.

[KKKKSSST!]

[MN.6] //: NOW SHUT UP.

[MN.6] //: There's nothing you can do against ME, anyway! BWHAHAHAHA!

[Tobias desperately wanted to keep Aviator from gaining access to his neural network. There was no telling what damage that might cause to his family, due to the nature of their almost hive-like minds. And more than that—he just knew that Avi really was not prepared for what he would be getting into.

But he was tired. So tired. He couldn’t withstand both the assault and the barrage of cross-references that this disaster was sending live.

…He weakened.

It only took that one moment of weakness. That one moment of being rendered helpless, unable to fight back.

And in that moment…

Mighty Number Six overtook his mind. The invasive, annoyingly persistent obstacle was HIS, now—]

[MN.6] //: Finally--

[......]

[Nothing in all the worlds could prepare Mighty No. 6 for what came next...]

[MN.6] //: --!!?

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—

[—he had not been prepared for the fact that this would lay bare the soul for him to see!]

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!”

[DOZENS of memories were active—all very real in the here and now, all at the same time! Thoughts, memories, fears, feelings, pains, suffering, sorrows, despair—not just from Tobias, but from a dozen others—not just for what was now, but what HAD been—the past was the present, the pain then was pain now, it was all bOMBARDING THEM RELENTLESSLY—]

[MN.6] //: NG--NNNHAAAAAAAAAAAH--!

[THIS was the reality that the Rebel Angels lived with, the cross they carried—and would forever carry, all life long!

Avi had stared into the abyss of a suffering robot’s (and his family’s) soul…

…and the abyss was staring back.]

>PROCESSING ERROR: BETAEMOTIONS.EXE CONFLICT

>CROSS REFERENCING DATA: ROBOTMASTER DATABASE >KEYWORDS: DEATH, BLUE, MNN, COMBAT.EXE

>RUN PROGRAM: SEARCH >KEYWORDS: DEATH, BLUE, MNN, COMBAT.EXE

>DISPLAYING ALL ENTRIES…

————————————

>VARIABLE: MNN-001

>ENTRY 1: DLN-006 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 2: DLN-005 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 3: DLN-000 JOURNAL ENTRY

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—- -—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

>VARIABLE: MNN-002

>ENTRY 1: DLN-000 JOURNAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 2: IALS JOURNAL ENTRY: CRUEL WATERS

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

>VARIABLE: MNN-003

>ENTRY 1: DWN-018 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 2: DLN-008 JOURNAL ENTRY

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

>VARIABLE: MNN-004

>ENTRY 1: DLN-003 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 2: DWN-021 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 3: DWN-019 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 4: DWN-023 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 5: DWN-024 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

>VARIABLE: MNN-005

>ENTRY 1: DLN-005 JOURNAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 2: DLN-008 JOURNAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 3: DWN-012 JOURNAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 4: 05.07.2016 MEMORY DATA

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

[Avi was BLASTED with pain! PAIN! PAIN BEYOND MEASURE!

He struggled--he had put too much of himself to break free yet--and all he could feel was...pain, hurt, PAIN, DEATH...!

And...for the briefest of moments...]

[...Whatever had a hold on him...whatever was controlling his mind-- recoiled.]

[MN.6] //: STOP! S T O P I T--!!!

[It was no use. Tobias and Avi were caught in a joint system overload that was rapidly approaching a stop error.]

>ERROR: EMOTIONS.EXE OVERLOAD

[…It only got WORSE.]

————————————

>VARIABLE: MNN-006

>ENTRY 1: DWN-012 JOURNAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 2: IALS JOURNAL ENTRY: VENUS LIGHTHOUSE

[Sheba screams as she falls, overcome with terror. It's a horror that she's had nightmares and visions about before for many years, of falling from the sky alone.

She is so terrified that her heart threatens to give out, until a cry shatters the whistle of the wind.]

"SHEBA!!! NOOOOOO! I WON'T LET YOU DIE!"

[Suddenly, she sees Felix jumping off the Lighthouse, diving down at her. He reaches out to grab her wrist.

Vines of golden energy coil down to catch her and bring her close. They are both falling—he's holding her close to protect her. She shut her eyes tight, gasping in fear. If only the wind could save them. She begged for someone—anyone—to save them.]

——————

>ENTRY 3: DWN-010 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 4: DWN-013 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 5: DLN-008 JOURNAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 6: DLN-008 JOURNAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 7: DLN-008 DATA ENTRY

-—-—-—-—-—-—-—- -—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

>VARIABLE: MNN-007

>ENTRY 1: IALS DATABASE JOURNAL ENTRY: RANGER TRAINING

"Too slow!"

I looked up angrily, biting back a remark. Karst looked down at me, lowering her scythe to rest against my throat.

"Always too slow! How you ever managed to catch a Talon Runner is beyond me."

I was silent. The bruise from the day before was still darkening. I knew another slap might cause permanent injury.

"Let him go, Karst."

The touch of death's blade lifted, the chill of steel leaving me. I tried to breathe steadily….

——————

>ENTRY 2: IALS DATABASE JOURNAL ENTRY: VENUS LIGHTHOUSE

Isaac and the others did not hesitate in attacking. And this time, they did not hold back.

I could only watch in horror as the battle raged on. It was a battle between titans. I was not in a position to see it very well, but I could feel it. Summon after summon, with the dragon wearing down with the power of a meteor to crush its opponents.

You might fault me for not describing a battle of magnificence. But you weren't there, you didn't see what I saw. I was watching a fight to the death between people I knew, unable to help anyone or to escape. I saw Isaac fight to the death with the aim to kill for the first time—and it was TERRIFYING.

He seemed sustained by an unnatural strength, and would not fall no matter the injury. His eyes were bright gold, with the same glow about his body—but also a blood red, and a sense of death. These auras shimmered like water as blow after blow faded away. The others were getting worn out, but not Isaac. The Lighthouse itself seemed to heal him, almost as much as Mia was helping.

They held strong, but the dragon did not. I covered Sheba's eyes as Isaac and Garet closed in and struck it directly. Those death screams still haunt my nightmares, as does the image of…

——————

>ENTRY 3: IALS DATABASE JOURNAL ENTRY: JUPITER LIGHTHOUSE

——————

>ENTRY 4: DWN-009 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 5: DWN-016 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 6: DWN-011 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 7: DWN-014 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 8: DWN-022 DATA ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY—DWN-024 JOURNAL ENTRY; DWN-019 JOURNAL ENTRY

-*-

——————

>ENTRY 9: DWN-022 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

——————

>ENTRY 10: 06.03.2016 MEMORY DATA

Blade: Here's how it's gonna go down, your royal highnesses!

Blade: YOU FORFEIT.

[SHING!]

[A saw bomb appears in one hand, and he yanks Dyna towards him, holding it roughly against Dyna's neck. The audience gasps—but none scream.]

Dyna: -HISS-

Blade: Or your sis won't have her pretty little head on her shoulders anymore! ~

-*-*-

SHINK.

Jack: —GNH!

All: !!!

[Jack falls forward, and Brand is there to catch him. NOW the audience starts to partially scream and gasp in surprise.]

[A saw blade embedded itself into his back, blinking lazily.]

-*-*-

[Tobias teleported in at Bladeblaster’s left, poised on the air, and filled with unbridled rage.

His eyes were glowing red as he grabbed the gang leader roughly by the shoulder with his left hand.

Carmen, for her part, had gone in as close to Dencerjack as she could. She didn’t have much time to set up and aim, but she knew what was coming—and for touching her sister, Bladeblaster would PAY.]

Tobias: -BLASTING data with no uncertain clarity of intention-

Blade: ---?!?!

Dyna: Wha--!

[His eyes were a pure red, the whole display—and he was was filled with power that was at a high enough level to function as a generator for an average household for several hours. …But… he wasn’t sparking up.

Far from it.

As he was pulling his right hand and arm back, the electric charge of almost the entire arena was being rapidly and brutally shifted, and the air became filled with the tense, almost painful (and frightening) uneasiness that it has when it is filled with static.

Tobias was gathering all the negative charge to himself!]

Avi: oh SWEET MARMALINE--

Tobias: -D I E-

[Carmen fired off one of her taser darts right where it would hurt the most. It coincided perfectly with Tobias’s infuriated blow.]

[The electric Industrial slammed his right fist right into Bladeblaster’s central mass, simultaneously firing off the most powerful THUNDER BEAM he could muster.

All the static buildup discharged in a violent lightning strike that hit the assassin dead center in a blinding flash, followed by a deafening thunderclap. As was custom for his weapon, the Thunder Beam also fired up into the sky and down at the ground, not just directly in front of him.

Bladeblaster had, in fact, more or less been skewered by lightning— and anyone caught in the line of fire was going to share the same fate.]

[Avi only had a few precious split seconds to react, and if it wasn't for the fact that recognized the tense electric power in the air before Tobias struck, he would have very well been reduced to a mere central core by now.]

[Suddenly he was glad Dyna shocked him for being annoying every now and then.]

[Even when he pretty much barrel rolled to the right, (and surprise, no pun intended) he could still feel the raw surge of untamed lightning narrowly missing him, causing his aerial instruments and other things to fuzz for a bit--making him VERY dizzy.]

[MN.6] //: OhmanI'mgonnabesick--

[And Blade?]

[Besides the sheer white hot pain that rippled through him--he screamed, body convulsing as it couldn't handle both the sudden boost from whatever was in that cross and Tobias's rash attack--and the dart from Carmen REALLY put the icing on the pain cake, so to speak.]

[By now, the radio silence had been lifted.]

<DLN-000 to MNN-001, MNN-005 through MNN-008>: > AUGH! HE’S IN LETHAL MODE!

<DWN-024>: > WE ARE /ALL/ IN LETHAL MODE—!

[Indeed.

Tobias was incredibly quick for an Industrial—the fastest Industrial built, and the second fastest overall.

Only moment had passed, but…]

Tobias: -THERE ARE MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM-

[…He was already pulling his arm back for another hit, drawing from his own reserves to charge up another Thunder Beam.

But what the idealist had in decisiveness, he lacked in foresight.

He had disregarded something very, VERY important.

Bladeblaster held his weakness.]

[What followed...]

[The next sound that came from Blade's throat did not sound holy at all.]

Blade: -GLITCHED SCREECHING-

[Whatever had given Blade that extra boost in power?]

[It had taken whatever coherent thought he had left in his madness.]

[Blade suddenly had a saw in his hand, and raised it so he could slash wildly at the DLN--!]

Avi: NO--!

SKLLLKTTKRRRSHHHLLLRRRKKT—

[Oil and cooling fluids spattered all over Bladeblaster’s hands and weapon, as if they were blood.

Tobias lost his grip immediately and fell to the ground, too dazed in pain and injury to even cry out.

His energy levels had dropped DRAMATICALLY, and were still dropping, as was his core temperature—two more hits like that, and he would be gone.]

——————

>ENTRY 11: DLN-008 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

————————————

[DEATH! DEATH AND SUFFERING, in well past a dozen different ways! And the blood— the blood and the oil EVERYWHERE—]

[Blood-- not blood --so much--death--darkness--

…But STILL, it was not yet over.]

[MN.6] //: -uNHOLY SCREAMING-

[The sounds that came from No. 6...it was HIS voice, but so distorted and twisted by the darkness and pain that it was almost unrecognizable.]

[No. 6...was built to process as much data as possible.]

[...Today, that was his curse.]

————————————

>VARIABLE: MNN-008

>CROSS REFERENCE IDENTIFIED: D E A T H

>DEATH WEARS BLUE

>ENTRY 1: DWN-012 JOURNAL ENTRY: FINAL ENTRY

-*-*-

————————————————————————

[An error message then pops up.]

[Tobias collapsed when Avi finally managed to break free. And there he lay, lifeless on the ground.

The fight for his mind had caused major damage by stunning his Awareness.

It became too much for him to take.]

[…]

[Uh-oh.]

<DWN-011 has entered Lethal Combat mode.> <DWN-012 has entered Lethal Combat mode.> <DWN-013 has entered Lethal Combat mode.> <DWN-018 has entered Lethal Combat mode.> <DWN-019 has entered Lethal Combat mode.> <DWN-024 has entered Lethal Combat mode.> <DCN-003 has entered Lethal Combat mode.> <DCN-007 has entered Lethal Combat mode.> <DCN-008 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>

[…It looks like he hadn’t been alone.]

<DWN-024>: > How dare you.

<DWN-012>: > HE WARNED YOU, BRO. THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR NOT /LISTENING/ TO US.

<DWN-019>: > I /WILL/ TEAR APART YOUR CODE. <DWN-019>: > /LINE. <DWN-019>: > BY. <DWN-019>: > LINE./ <DWN-019>: > IF YOU DO NOT L E A V E <DWN-019>: > /THIS INSTANT./

<DWN-018>: > I’d back off now if I were you.

<DCN-003>: >Unless you would like Father and twins to run you facefirst through an aggressive WhiteCell filter!

[MN.6] //: -GASPS-

[.....Nothing. Avi....there was barely any data coming from him, now...]

[...Then...]

[Whatever was controlling him came right back.]

[MN.6] //: ...!!!!

[KKKKKSSSSSST!!]

[…The normally cheerful DCN was ready to make good on his threat.

He had NOT been bluffing.]

<DCN-003>: > {FATHER!}

[…]

<MC005 IS ACCESSING ADMIN CODES…>

Mikhail: -Cringing as he types- ({Forgive me for hacking, Will—!})

[MN.6] //: ngh--

[Suddenly--]

[With one fell swoop--]

[MN.6] //: RRRGH--!

[WARNING--SIGNAL HAS BEEN LOST.]

[In the Meadow, the Russian doctor curses in frustration, punching the desk and putting his face in his hands.]

Mikhail: {NO! We were so, SO close—!}

Keltso: -Sadly- {…At least you tried.}

Siam: Wait.

Digger: …?

Siam: WAIT.

Gemini: IT WAS ONLY Siam: /HIS/ SIGNAL Gemini: THAT WAS Siamini: LOST—

Mikhail: ?!

Siamini: THE MAIN CHANNEL IS OPEN!

Mikhail: !!!

Mikhail: We… we have to—!

[The communication channels had been left open. Everyone was starting to feel a bit desperate…]

-PING!-

<MC005 to MNN-001>: > -STATUS INQUIRY-

[.......]

[MN.1] //: RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!

[Mikhail was quite taken aback.]

Mikhail: ?!

[MN.1] //: B U R N.

[MN.1] //: A L L... M U S T...

[MN.1] //: BUUUUUUUURRRN!

Mikhail: .______.;;;

[His hands hovered over the keyboard, but he was frozen in doubt and indecision on how to respond to that.

Said hands were in gloves, as usual—

—gloves to hide the burn scars he would always carry with him.]

[MN.1 HAS BLOCKED MC005]

Mikhail: (He… good heavens, he almost sounded like…)

[The Second Gens were more or less cowering in fear. Shadow, however…]

Shadow: (I do not understand…)

[He reached out an intangible hand, stretching the request across time and space.]

<DWN-024 to MNN-007>: > -Ping-

[No response, at first.

He tried again.]

<DWN-024>: > -Ping.-

[…This time, he got through. But he could tell something was wrong.]

<DWN-024>: > -Ping.- {M…Master Brandish?}

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

[MN.7] //: -DISTRESSED PINGING, SCREAMS IN THE BACKGROUND-

[MN.7] //: {Ngh---!! Sh---Shadow...!}

[Shadow scowled.]

<DWN-024>: > {You have no idea the turmoil that this chaos is throwing us into—! I am so relieved to get back in contact with you.}

<DWN-024>: > {We need your help—}

[MN.7] //: {nO--}

[Despair. Horror.]

[MN.7] //: {NO--NONONO!}

[…Fear.

…It was not something that Shadow was familiar with, but he felt it now, as plain as the moon.

Fear. Overwhelming, growing FEAR.]

<DWN-024>: > {W-what?!}

<DWN-024>: > {Sensei, what are you saying—?}

[MN.7] //: {NGH--}

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

[MN.7] //: Must slice...must dice...

[MN.7] //: --aAAARGH--NO! I--MY BLADES--!

[Okay, now he was beginning to panic.

He tried to lock onto Brandish’s signal.]

<DWN-024>: > {Sensei! /For the love of the Lord Father, WHERE ARE YOU?!/}

[MN.7] //: {I CAN'T--I CAN'T--!!}

<DWN-024>: > {NO! YOU /MUST!/}

<DWN-024>: > {PLEASE! I AM BEGGING YOU!}

[MN.7] //: {F-FORGIVE ME--!}

[MN.7 HAS BLOCKED DWN-024.]

Shadow: -Just. Speechless.- (No…)

[…Was this… despair…?

…It was too much for him to take. He had /never/ felt so… hopeless. ]

[Things were looking very grim.]

Mikhail: ({Please… please, let him be alright…})

<MC005 to DR.WHITE>: > -PING!-

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

[A different story for every day of the month, perhaps—but never the chilling truth of what REALLY happened…

Such thing were best left upon the fringes of nightmares, right…?]

((Aaaaaaaaa thank youuu~~ <333 ))

-Amputation- 

Small request for @mowseries |  @sirensniper of the AU version of Countershade <:

I can never turn down MN9 related stuff, honestly. I love a lot of the designs way too much haha. Not super gory on this one given the robot in question is essentially made of nanomachines but aaayyyy!

=CHAPTER 8A: TRAPPED BY LASER LIGHT=

~AO v1.0~

((Courtesy of @unluckyadept, @limitbreakers))

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

{ ((Setting here, will look up exact date and time later)) }

[Breakfast that morning started out as such an exciting and encouraging affair.

The house was full again—full of noise, that is, and commotion.

Pyrogen had been forced to go out early to buy groceries, as Seismic had cleared out everything from both fridges and all the pantries once he was well enough to slightly move. Considering he hadn’t eaten in days, that wasn’t really a surprise.]

[In addition to the sticky glory and sugar that was syrup, there was plenty else to give one reason to bounce off the walls…

…not that the syrup wasn’t enough a reason on it’s own, of course…]

Beck: -IT'S MINE.-

Avi: -BECK COME ON YOU CAN'T JUST HOG THE SYRUP BOTTLE LIKE THAT, BRO-

Beck: -RUNS-

Beck: -SUGAAAAAR-

Avi: WE GOT A RUNNER--

[Cryo suddenly springs forth from her own personal freezer in an effort to stop him--]

Cryo: HAND OVER THE SYRUP BOTTLE BRO--

[...Only to find that Beck had vaulted over her to skid around towards the kitchen exit.]

Cryo: HEY NO FAIR--

Beck: -THE SYRUP IS MINE, NO ONE CAN HAVE IT-

[Avi hovers after him, camera drone floating beside him.]

[MN.6] //: -PING- -WE GOT A RUNNER, FOUR FOOT NINE, BLUE NEBULA SHIRT, WE ARE IN HOT PURSUIT, SUBJECT IS HYPER AND VERY STICKY--

Pyro: AVI, NO FLYING IN THE HOUSE--

Brand: ........

Brand: -It's too early for this--

<DWN-024>: > -Snorts- Is your breakfast always this chaotic, Sensei?

Shadow: -I can hear you all ON AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FLOOR, how even-

[MN.7] //: I'd say 'you have no idea' but then again....

[MN.5] //: -PRIVATE WHAT IN TARNATION ARE YOU DOING--

[MN.4] //: -Whoops, Beck's on a sugar rush, better stay out of the way-

Dyna: I'M NOT CATCHING HIM, HE'LL RUIN MY CLOTHES--

Pyro: -SIGH-

Pyro: -Just USE YOUR BITS, DYNATRON-

Dyna: -But he'll get those sticky toooooo--

Pyro: They're ALREADY STICKY--

[It was at this point that Will came in with a cup of stronger coffee than usual...]

Will: -Yaaawns-

Will: Mmmn....Good morning.

Pyro: Ah--Good morning, Father.

Avi: -FLIES BY THE DOOR- Morning, Daddo! Sorry, gotta fly-- -ZOOMS OFF, UH, WE LOST HIM, BROS--

Will: ?

Pyro: Beck won't share the syrup bottle.

Will: Ah...

Will: Well, that's expected. He's making up for the energy spent this whole week, though...Sugar isn't quite the answer...

Will: ...Oh well. -Sips-

<DWN-024>: >Good morning, Doctor.

<DWN-024>: >How are you this morning?

Will: ! Ah--Good morning, Shadow.

Will: I'm a little worn down, but--that is what coffee is for, eh? ^^

Will: Soi's getting the lab ready for the day, I believe. I heard that Mikhail and Siam have good news to share.

Pyro: !

<DWN-024>: > …

<DWN-024>: > If that is what I hope it to be… -Vaguely eager, because how do emotions work- We must let them know you are awake, as they will want to share at once.

Will: Oh, of course! Ah, just--let me locate Nine first, there's a bit of a situation, it seems. I'm sure he'll want to hear this too...

<DWN-024>: > -Muffled anticipation-

[After Beck was found hiding in the closet of his room with the syrup bottle--now empty--he agreed to come down to hear what Mikhail and Siam had to say.]

Avi: -Toting him around on his shoulders- Lil' bro acquired! ^^

Beck: -w-

Beck: -Syruuuup-

[By this point, the Cossacks were on the line. They appeared to be having breakfast, themselves.

Digger laughed at the spectacle, giving a slight “fist” pump.]

Digger: Haha!~ How is you say, “brother GET!”? You are lucky is not gingerbread man!

[Skull looked over at Keltso. They seemed to share a private joke, because Keltso snorted into his drink.]

Mikhail: It’s good to see you all like this again. Heaven knows it’s been missed.

[The doctor looked tired, but content. He gave a pleasant smile.]

Mikhail: I do indeed have some excellent news to share. Something that’s been long overdue.

Cryo: OOOOOO~

Avi: -THIS SHOULD BE GOOD-

Beck: -Wipes syrup off of his mouth- So what is it, Dr. Cossack?

Mikhail: Well, you know what my overreaching project has been since before we met one another, da?

Digger: Repairing little brothers? :^DDD

Mikhail: Among others, yes.

Mikhail: I must thank you all for your help along the way. Beck, your molds have proven invaluable.

Beck: (^.^)7

Beck: It's no problem, Doctor!

Mikhail: It’s taken quite a lot of searching, but I do believe we have found a suitable answer. It honestly was hard to believe at first, the specs are quite—

WHACK!

Beck: --???

Avi: --The heck was that?

[Out of nowhere, there was an incredible racket coming from the direction of the windows.

It almost sounded like something was trying to break in.]

Cryo: --Yo, It's coming from the window--

Pyro: ???

[Pyro goes over to look at what is causing all the racket--]

Pyro: What is going on out--

Pyro: !!!!!

[...And IMMEDIATELY unlatches the window lock.]

Avi: Uh...Bro? What are you--

[Something feathered and shrieking dashed into the kitchen. It flew right into the toppings and condiments on the table, knocking over drinks and getting grimy feathers into breakfasts.

This bird had certainly seen better days. It looked like it had flown through a pretty hard-affected area—sooty, muddy, and overall filthy.]

Mikhail: -Stands, utterly confused- Pyro, why—

[The poor thing didn’t even stop a moment to rest, but continued screaming.]

???: SCREE, SCREE!

Pyro: Doctor--

Pyro: That's BARON!

Beck: !!!!

Cryo: -Squints-

Cryo: -...DUDE HE'S RIGHT IT'S CARDINAL'S BIRD FORM--

Mikhail: What?!

[Baron was in hysterics, kicking up his wings as he took alight again, hovering in people’s faces.]

Beck: Baron! Calm down! -ACKPFFT FEATHERS IN MOUTH-

Avi: -DUDE YOU'RE GONNA RUN INTO SOMETHING--

Baron: -SCREE, SCREEEE—- -Flies over in Pyro’s face, SCREEEEE—- DDD8

Pyro: -Nearly has to take a step back, this bird is going crazy--

Pyro: Baron--We can't understand you if you just keep screaming--

[Frustrated, Baron flew over near the stove.

He started letting out bursts of fIRE—]

Baron: “●●● ——— ●●●” !!! SCREEE! “●●● ——— ●●●!” SCREE SCREE—!

Beck: ....

Avi: --Dude--Dude that's definitely Morse--

Pyro: ....

Pyro: SOS...

Beck: !!!

Beck: Is Cards in trouble--?!

Baron: SCREE—! “●●● ——— ●●●! ——● —●—●!!!!!!!!”

Avi: --? DC?

Avi: Uh, bro, you're gonna have to be a little more specific with the letters, man--

Will: --No, wait--

[There was a crash noise on the other side of the line. Digger whirled around to see who it was.]

Digger: … Felix?!

[He runs out of view. Baron flies over and starts pecking desperately at Avi’s camera drone.]

Avi: --HEY NO--

Beck: !!!

Avi: Dude no you're gonna scratch the camera--

[Luckily, Will is already opening another feed to the local news, with Soi coming in to see what was all the ruckus about.]

Soi: Why is everyone screaming louder than--

Soi: --Holy hamburger, is that BARON?!

“Felix, no—you’re unwell, you—!”

[Protests could be heard from the other line. Felix was speaking back in agitated Proxan. Dark, deadly looking plants were starting to curl around the doorframe.]

Beck: -Oh man--

Will: Yes, Soi, do me a favor and PLEASE check the news on TV for me--

Soi: Er--Okay?

Soi: --!!!??

Soi: WILL, WE HAVE A SITUATION--

“Let GO of me—they must stop him—”

Mikhail: What KIND of situation— FELIX! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF—!

Soi: -PANIC-

Soi: THE WHITE HOUSE IS UNDER ATTACK--

Will: What--?!?

Beck: The White House?!?

Avi: -WAIT--AS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, WHITE HOUSE--

Baron: -SCREEE D.C., D.C.-

Avi: -FINALLY GETS INTO THE FEEDS HIMSELF-

Avi: -Pales-

Avi: Oh man THISISBAD--

Avi: THIS IS VERY BAD--

Avi: GUYS--THEY'RE SAYING THAT AN UNIDENTIFIED BOT IS ON THE PRIMISES AND THE DESCRIPTION MATCHES CARDS--

Beck: Cards is THERE?!?

Mikhail: {WHAT?! NO—!}

<DLN-008 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>

<DWN-011 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>


<DWN-012 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>


<DWN-013 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>


<DWN-018 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>


<DWN-019 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>


<DWN-024 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>

<DCN-000 has entered Non-Lethal Combat mode.>


<DCN-003 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>


<DCN-007 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>


<DCN-008 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>

Beck: (But--!)

Beck: (If Cards is THERE, then that means--!)

Beck: (--OH MAN, THEY'RE IN--)

Mikhail: {My God, if he gets caught, they are going to destroy him—}

Mikhail: {EMERGENCY SHUT DOWN! AUTHORIZATION MC005!}

((AAAAAaaaand everyone goes back Offline))

<RMDC>: > -PING!- ERROR: COMMAND FAILED. DLN-000 SIGNAL NOT FOUND.

Cryo: -FLAILING ARMS- WHY THE GLITCH IS THE PREZ'S HOUSE UNDER ATTACK--

Pyro: --....

Pyro: If Cardinal is in the White House--then--

Will: . . .

Will: N...No...

Will: NonoNO--!

Beck: SHADE--!

Felix: You… you must stop him, before—!

[Mikhail, taken by surprise (as he had forgotten all about the poor Adept in the chaos), turned just in time to prevent Felix from falling over something. Felix clutched at him, clearly in a very weakened state. He hadn’t eaten in a long time—and it showed.]

Beck: !

Beck: FELIX--!

Felix: There…

Felix: There is DEATH on the horizon!

Beck: --!!!

Will: NO--!

Will: (I will not lose another CHILD--!)

Will: CALL!

Felix: NO!

Felix: You don’t understand—!

Beck: --????!

Beck: -Already in combat form, loading up Xel Stocks-

Beck: You gotta explain FAST, Felix, I don't think we have much time--

Felix: He can’t…

Mikhail: -Helps Felix gently to the floor, turning pale- {Dear God…}

Felix: Couldn’t… he couldn’t outrun him…

Will: -Freezes at that-

————————

“You’re going to have to catch me first, hunting doggie!”

————————

“Catch me if you can!”

————————

Beck: . . .

Beck: -Starts preparing FASTER--

Avi: But--wait--

Beck: No TIME!

Beck: Call, how soon can you get us authorization?!

Mikhail: WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!

[He’s run over to the mainframe, working faster than one could think possible. He seemed desperate.]

Mikhail: Aviator White you find out who the security on the lawn is RIGHT NOW AND TELL THEM TO CEASE FIRE, /THIS INSTANT!/

Avi: ON IT--

Mikhail: {And somebody call back the Pentagon, dammit—that’s why we haven’t heard from the secretary, THEY MUST BE TRAPPED INSIDE!}

[PING!]

[CALL] //: Yes, Doctor. Contacting the Pentagon.

Mikhail: {FIND whoever you spoke to, we have got to get eyes in there, his signal is gone but we have to get him out of there, I’m waking up Tobias because WE DON’T HAVE TIME!}

Will: S-Soi-- -It's all moving too fast for him, Shade--

Soi: Will--Go get Beck as close to the House as possible! Can you do that?

Will: --!! Yes, yes--Right away--

Beck: (Shade--Shade, why this, WHY THE WHITE HOUSE, WHY--)

Beck: (Don't you know Cards is--?!)

Beck: Ready--!

Mikhail: {THEN GO, /NOW!/}

——————

[....Some time later…]

Beck: What is TAKING so long?!

White: I'm going as fast as I CAN, Beck, but there are SECURITY measures preventing direct Xel Transfer that I HAVE to get through FIRST--!

Beck: We gotta get to Cards before SHADE does or--!

Beck: (Or...He'll do something WORSE--)

White: Almost....

White: --! GOT IT--

White: Call!

Call: Affirmative, Doctor. Preparing Xel Transfer...

<DLN-008 is now Online.>

Beck: --!

Beck: Toby--!

<DLN-008 has entered Lethal Combat mode.>

Beck: --Uh oh--

[Mikhail is working at a terminal, apparently communicating with Tobias.]

[DR.WHITE to MN.9] //: Mikhail has things covered, Beck--your main focus should be to retrieve Countershade and Cardinal!

<MC005>: >Tobias has his own mission. Focus on your work!

[MN.9] //: --...Yes, Sir.

Beck: (Hang on, guys, I swear--I swear I won't let anything happen to you--!)

[CAPITOL BUILDING, AKA THE WHITE HOUSE, A FEW SECONDS LATER...]

[MISSION DETAILS: MIGHTY NUMBER 8, COUNTERSHADE, APPEARS TO BE LEADING A ROBOT OCCUPATION OF THE CAPITAL BUILDING. SIGHTINGS OF DLN-000, CARDINAL LIGHT, HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED.

MISSION OBJECTIVE: LOCATE AND PURGE ALL HARMFUL MALWARE FROM MN.8, LOCATE DLN-000. PREVENT BOTH UNITS FROM ENGAGING.

SUB-OBJECTIVE: MINIMIZE RMDC IMPACT.]

[SYSTEMS READY?]

[GO!]

((Stage music here))

[Beck appears in a flurry of blue Xel building upon itself, his feet meeting luxury red carpet. He seems to have landed in the foyer.]

[CALL] //: Attention. Beck has arrived at the Capitol Building.

[DR.SANDA] //: Y...You don't think Shade would actually...Try to...

[DR.WHITE] //: (A fine question indeed, but we all know the answer to that.) Focus, Soi.

[DR.WHITE] //: Beck, what do you see?

Beck: I see--

[Vrrrrrrr...]

[A red dot appears right in between Beck's eyes--]

Beck: --!

[Beck rolls out of the way JUST in time to avoid sniper fire from out of nowhere, the statue behind him becoming littered with bullet holes.]

[PING!]

[MN.8] //: Well, well, well.

[MN.8] //: If it ain't the infernal Wily child and the Lil' doggie.

[So far, Beck had to go and FIND his ill siblings, and while each case differed from the other--

Not two seconds into this and Shade held NO qualms about shooting him in the head.

...In all honesty, that made Beck just a touch annoyed.]

-PING!-

[MN.9] //: COUNTERSHADE!

[Static fill ted the coms.

Angry static.]

<DLN-008>: >Shut up, Shade.

<DLN-008>: > The only reason I haven’t fried you to a soot speck is because Beck’s my friend and Cardinal would kill me. |[

Beck: ...

Beck: (Whew...)

Beck: (At least I kinda don't have to worry about Toby frying big bro to a crisp--yet...)

[There was a slight noise, and it died down.]

<DLN-008>: > Yes—

Beck: --? (Yes? Yes what--?) Toby, who are you--

[Suddenly, gunfire, off in the distance--]

[CALL] //: Sniper fire detected, but I am unable to detect any robot capable of long range gunfire.

[DR.WHITE] //: No, you won't, Call. Mighty No. 8 won't show up on any of your instruments.

[DR.WHITE.] //: ...All part of my design.

[One of the monitors nearby became filled with static and then a familiar symbol—the Wily symbol.

Tobias’s voice came over a small-range frequency.]

“Cardinal is fighting his way through—I can hear him, but I can’t see him yet! I’ll do what I can to disrupt!”

Beck: !

Beck: Thanks, Toby!

“Don’t congratulate me yet, Beck—”

((Whatever noise you want here))

“I CAN’T CONTROL THE SECURITY SYSTEMS!”

[As if to prove this point, the monitor cut out, and resumed a “RED ALERT” security message.]

Beck: ._____.

[REXELECTION: SEISMIC.]

((pic))

Beck: -TANK MODE GO-

[Various turrets unlock from the ceiling and walls, but they couldn't keep up with Beck as he barreled down the next hallway, gunfire chasing after him.]

[He practically ran over various infected robots, not stopping for a second in his search for Countershade and Cardinal.]

Beck: (Where are you, Shade--?)

[DR.WHITE] //: Beck, Shade has to be somewhere in the building--trace the sniper fire back to its source!

[Indeed, Beck saw many red lasers bouncing off the walls and familiar dark orbs in the hall--Beck only saw them in use once in his entire life, and that was way back when he was still on the team...]

Beck: (Shade can see through them, I know that much--and he can use them to bounce his shots off of...)

Beck: (Meaning he has eyes everywhere--he knows exactly what's going on inside at all times--)

Beck: (I gotta get past them somehow--!)

[REXELECTION: BRANDISH.]

Beck: HAH!

[Beck leaps forward and slices one out of the air, both halves of the orb falling into carpet with a small thunk.]

Beck: Okay, so some of them can be smashed... (Or sliced, in this case...)

[CRUNCH--!]

Beck: --? -Looks down, what the heck did he step on--

Snake: -Beep.-

[...Gosh, that looked familiar--]

Snake: -Beep beep.-

Beck: --!!!

[His mind goes RACING back to that day when a Search Snake had snuck into the Meadow--!]

Beck: NO--!

[Beck KICKS IT AWAY--]

[BLAM BLAM BLAM--]

[The snake EXPLODED in the air, sending shrapnel and acid flying--some of it into the gathered orbs, themselves!!]

[There was suddenly distorted CURSING over the feeds as Beck breathed hard, his eyes wide and shaking, and...almost...]

[Glowing...]

Beck: WHAT IS A S E A R C H SNAKE DOING HERE IN THE WHITE HOUSE--?!?

[...Uh oh.]

<DLN-008>: > Because Cardinal is trying to find them, genius!

Beck: --!

Beck: .........

Beck: ....O...Oh...

[That seems to snap him out of it.]

Beck: S-...Sorry, I...

<DLN-008>: > HE TOOK ALL THE CAPSULES, REMEMBER?!

Beck: -Wince--

Beck: (Gnh, that's right--)

<DLN-008>: > Including MINE!

[BZZZRRRRRKKKZZZZZGGGHHHHHHHVVVV—]

Beck: --?!?

<MC005>: > No! They're... they must be already engaging!

Beck: No--!

Beck: (Cards--Shade is WEAK to DYNA'S abilities, you're going to--!)

[Beck swerved around a corner, heading to the place where he heard the electricity--]

Beck: (Ugh, this is like the Power Plant all over again--)

<DLN-008>: > DYNAAAAAA--

<DLN-008>: > I CAN'T FIGHT THE SYSTEM AND FOCUS ON OTHER THINGS AT THE SAME TIME, HELP--

[He did seem to be disrupting the security systems-- it was far from perfect, though, and it was clear he was struggling.]

[PING!]

[MN.3] //: I got thiszz, Toby!

[MN.3] //: Let'szzz zzsee, what can I do here....

[Dyna is silent for a few moments before--]

[PING!]

[MN.3] //: Ah! That'szz the biszznesszz--thiszz place MUST have it'szz own power grid! No wonder you're having zzso much trouble, Toby, the zzspecszz are totally different.

[MN.3] //: Hmmm...Let'szzz try thiszz--

Beck: Whoa--!

[Suddenly, gravity just vanished as EVERYTHING began to float up, suspended, the air crackling with energy--]

Beck: Dynaaaaa, put me down--!

[MN.3] //: Oopszz--

[MN.3] //: Okay, hmm. That waszzn't it--

[THUNK.]

[Aaaand gravity went back to normal.]

Beck: -Ow-

[MN.3] //: Wow, thiszzz iszzn't your typical power grid--I'm gonna need a few zzsecondszz. Can you hold off for a while longer?

Beck: -Back in default form- Yeah, I think...

Beck: --!

Beck: What the...

[He had arrived at the hallway where he heard the electric based weaponry going off.

It was utterly destroyed.]

Beck: Uh.

Beck: I think this is the right way. (Jeez...)

Beck: (Gotta watch my step...)

Beck: CARDS?! SHADE?!

Beck: WHERE ARE YOU?!

Beck: SOMEONE--

[BANG!]

Beck: --Gnh!

[Something hot grazed his shoulder, and he turned--]

Shade: Hello, runt.

Beck: --?!

[Before Beck could say a word, Shade fired off more shots, forcing Beck to find cover behind a presidential statue of sorts.]

Shade: Heh. Coward.

Beck: Shade, please, I--!

[Beck peeked out of his cover to return fire--]

Beck: --???

[...But he was gone.]

Beck: Sh...Shade--?

[Nothing.]

[CALL] //: Mighty No. 8's signal has vanished. We have lost the target. My apologies.

[DR.WHITE] //: .... -sigh-

[DR.WHITE] //: ... It's not your fault.

[DR.WHITE] //: ...It's what I built him to do.

<MC005>: > And Cardinal was built to defend at all costs-- Tobias, where is he?!

<DLN-008>: > Kinds busy with the security--!

Beck: Gah...

[Finding nothing here, Beck doubled back to the foyer, and to the other adjoining hallway to the right. Perhaps, if they were going left, he can cut them off--]

Beck: --!

[A slew of infected combat models awaited him.]

Beck: Aw, you gotta be--!

[They opened fire, and this time there wasn't much cover to hide behind--Beck was forced to tank some hits before retaliating with his default weapon, restoring his Xel Stocks for later.]

Beck: Guuuh, lasers hurt...

[He shakes it off after a while, and continues to run down the hall...]

[BANG BANG BANG!!]

[--only to be CHASED by sniper fire soon after!]

Beck: AH--!

[MN.8] //: Heh. Run along nao, lil' doggy.

[MN.8] //: -VERY DISORTED VOICE-- Run and FETCH for your HUMAN masters.

<DLN-008>: > OW!

<DLN-008>: > -Incredibly aggressive data-

[Tobias seemed to be engaged in a fight against something very powerful…

…something that was making him angry.]

[KKKSST--]

[The connection cuts out.]

[DR.WHITE] //: He STILL has his sights on you, Beck--be careful--!

Beck: Ggh, trying--!

[He manages to dive into the next hallway--]

Beck: --?????

[...Oh that was a lot of Metal Blades.]

Beck: (Oooh, jeez, Shade's not gonna be happy seeing those out--)

Beck: (Not after what happened in the Queen's Finals...)

Beck: (Oh, please, PLEASE don't do anything rash, Shade--you--you gotta still be in there SOMEWHERE--!)

"RARF!"

Beck: --?????

Beck: ...Did...Did you hear that?

[It...It sounded like a very distinct bark--]

<MC005>: > …I must be imagining things, that sounded like Shade’s dog—

"RARF RARF!"

Beck: --!!!!

Beck: No WAY--

[Amazingly, despite all of the gunfire and chaos, madness, and overall hell on earth--

Scout the Zigzagoon was expertly and happily bouncing around the dangers of the White House, tail wagging with GLEE as he POUNCED into the young hero's chest with almost carefree cheerfulness.]

Scout: RARF! : D!!!! -IT'S YOU, TALL MASTER'S BROTHERRRR-

Beck: SCOUT--?!?

Scout: -ALL THE KISSES FOR YOU--

Beck: -GIGGLES, BWAAAA--

[DR.WHITE] //: .....I....? -Speechless-

<MC005>: > …

<MC005>: > …How did he—

<MC005>: > !

<MC005>: > What is he wearing?

Beck: --?

[Scout had something hanging around his neck, besides his teal scarf...]

Beck: Lemmie see that...

Beck: --?

Beck: It's...One of those old USB drives--?

<MC005>: > !!!

<MC005>: > That’s Cardinal’s!

Beck: --......

Beck: Wait--if this is Cardinal's--

Beck: Scout--did...Did you--did you come here WITH CARDS--?!?

Scout: Rarf! : D

Beck: -ARE YOU TELLING ME SHADE'S RACCOON FOUND CARDS, CARDS, BEFORE WE DID--

[You could hear Mikhail facepalming over the feeds.

....And again, over Will's feed.]

[DR.WHITE] //: -We got outsmarted by a raccoon, are you KIDDING me--

Beck: --! Scout--where is he--where is Cards--?!

Scout: ---......

[...He's...Not answering.]

<DLN-008>: > Gnhhhgghhh!

<DLN-008>: > I directed him to the Oval Office!

Beck: --?!? WHAT--?!

[DR.SANDA] //: -I KNEW IT, HE'S GOING TO ASSASSINATE THE MADAME PRESIDENT--

[DR.SANDA] //: BECK! HURRY!

Beck: (Gnh--!)

Beck: Scout--

Beck: I can't bring you back home, but, please--

Beck: If you find Cards--please tell him I'm going to save Shade!

[Beck didn't want to leave Scout in such a dangerous place, but--if he made it this far, then he should be fine...]

Scout: Rarf--

[Beck didn't wait for an complete answer--he ran ahead, leaving the Zig behind.]

Scout: -Whiiiines-

[After a moment of worry, the Zig soon bounces off, determined to find his master--either of them.]

[Meanwhile, Beck continued to forge his way through the capital building turned battleground, avoiding both Shade's sniper fire AND that of the infected robots.]

Beck: --....

[Despite all the noise, and chaos...]

[...He hasn't seen a single human in the building yet, and he didn't know if that was a good or bad sign.]

[PING!]

[Fortunately, that question was about to be answered.]

[MN.8] //: Wondering what happened to all the humans here, Lil' doggy?

[MN.8] //: They ran away, thanks t' that annoyin' songbird of theirs...Feh. Cowards.

[MN.8] //: Every single one of those meat-sticks fled at the first sign of trouble. Pathetic.

[MN.8] //: ...'Cept for the stupid ones, that is. Heh.

[MN.8] //: Like y o u.

[MN.9] //: -Ghn--

[MN.9] //: Shade, PLEASE--!

[MN.9] //: That 'songbird'--you KNOW that person, Shade--!

[MN.9] //: Please don't hurt him!

[MN.8] //: Ya think I'm gonna listen t' YEW, lil' Doggy?

[MN.8] //: Ah' ain't no TOOL fer MAN no more. Not like the REST of ya.

[MN.8] //: Ah' think it's about time someone ELSE had a turn at orderin' fools around, eh?

[KKKSST--!]

Beck: SHADE--UGH--!

Beck: (Either he's ignoring me or he doesn't even RECOGNIZE Cards--like Pyro...)

Beck: DYNA!

[MN.3] //: Almoszzt got it--

[The lights flickered...]

[And dimmed.]

Beck: --!

[...Aaaand everything started floating again, oh no--]

Beck: Waaah--!

[MN.8] //: NGH, SONOFVA--

[PING!]

[MN.3] //: Oooooh, Shaaaaade!

[MN.3] //: BIG ZZZSISTER WANTSZZ TO HAVE A TALK WITH YOU.

[MN.8] //: -Oh, bite me, witch hag.-

[MN.3] //: YOU CAN’T PLAY HIDE AND ZZZSEEK FOREVER–

[MN.3] //: -CACKLES- BECAUSE I'LL FIIIIIND YOUUUU!~

[MN.8] //: GO T' HELL.

[KSSSSSST--]

<DLN-008>: > NICE TRY.

<DLN-008>: > You’ve made this place unbearable…

<DLN-008>: > So we’re already /here/, and we WON’T GO /AWAY!/

[MN.3] //: Niczze play on wordszz, bro.~

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

[MN.8] //: Glitchfraggin' motherscratchin' infested with lightin' bugs--

[PING!]

[MN.1] //: DON'T TALK TO YOUR SISTER THAT WAY, EIGHT--

[MN.1] //: When you get back here I swear I am going to WASH THAT FOUL MOUTH WITH SOAP--

[MN.2] //: -OOO, CAN WE HELP--

[MN.1] //: -You know what yes Cryo you CAN help-

[MN.2] //: HECK YEAH, BATH TIME~~~

[MN.8] //: Ah' ain't got no TAHM for ya FRICKIN' PRATTLE--!

[KSSSSSSSST--]

[CONNECTION LOST.]

[MN.1] //: | [

[MN.1] //: Dyna, have you managed to seize control of the--

[MN.3] //: ~~ < 3

[MN.1] //: --????

[MN.3] //: -Mmmm high grade military level power voltage tastes SO GOOD--

[MN.1] //: You've got to be kidding me--

<MC005>: > …Why are you surprised by this, exactly?

[MN.1] //: I'm not. | [

[MN.3] //: Mmmmm!~

[MN.3] //: Go on now, Becky, I got thiszz, I KNEW thiszz place had it'szz own power grid, yum.~

[MN.9] //: Hookay, thanks, Dyna! c:

<DLN-008>: >Just follow the panels along the side—

[Some of them start lighting up, flickering down the hallway.]

[Unfortunately, Beck didn’t really quite make it too far before—]

POW.

[Someone had managed to blow a fuse, which turned off the security in that part of the White House…

…and the lights…

…and the air conditioning.]

<DLN-008>: > OW!

<DLN-008>: > -OUCH that hurt, WARN a guy before you shove him into a current like that—-

[MN.1] //: DYNA!

[MN.3] //: OW, THAT WASZZN'T ME, BRO--

<MC005>: > …That was Cardinal.

<MC005>: >He must have used Thunder Beam…

((Pic of Tobias in ANGRY RAEG MODE here))

<MC005>: > It’s the only thing he had powerful enough to do that.

<MC005>: >I think that’s the last of the electric power he had at his disposal—he won’t have any left for fighting with…

Beck: (He's...Either getting more serious or desperate...)

Beck: (I gotta hurry, gotta--!)

<MC005>: >Tobias, are you alright?

<DLN-008>: > Nnnngghhhh…

[MN.3] //:

-Kinda dizzy and a LITTLE peeved, she was enjoying a GOOD MEAL--

[BANG!]

Beck: --!!!!

Beck: That came from--!

[MN.8] //: Tch!

[MN.8] //: Keep gettin’ in mah way, Birdy, and Ah’ WILL make ya regret it!

Beck: --!!

[REXELECTION: BRANDISH.]

[A red blur speeds down the hallway at a frantic pace, but he's still slowed down by all the infected enemies around--it was like they were trying to stall him--]

Beck: Out of my WAY--

[SHING SHING--!]

[Then...]

[MN.8] //: Heh.

[MN.8] //: Was that ya soundin’ desperate there?

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

[MN.8] //: -LAUGHTER-

[MN.8] //: Ah’ hate t’ disobey a lady, but m'afraid yer term is up.

[MN.8] //: Now.

[MN.8] //: R u n.

[The comms seemed to go live—as if Shade were broadcasting his twisted takeover—!]

[For a brief moment, silence.

…But then…]

“…Heh…”

Beck: --!

[Laughter.

FAMILIAR laughter—but it wasn’t Shade’s—!]

Beck: --!

Beck: Cardinal--!

“Shade, Shade, Shade…”

<DLN-008>: > ??? (What’s with the scolding tone?)

“You know what?”

“You’re right.”

Beck: --?!?!? (What....?)

[MN.8] //: -Ooooh, now ya got his attention-

[MN.8] //: Somethin’ change yer mind, Birdy?

[MN.8] //: Was it the fact that yer doin’ this all fer nothin’?

“Hardly.”

<DLN-008>: > … Uh-oh—

“More like… I don’t have time for this, Shade…”

[One could hear a faint priming whine…!]

“Guess I’ll have to make my own!”

[K-FLSH!]

Beck: --?????

<RMDC>: >WEAPON IDENTIFIED: TIME STOPPER

Beck: (Time Stopper--)

[Ah! Beck can see the hallway now--]

CRASH!

Beck: --?!?

Beck: (What are you guys DOING--)

PSSSHHHHT!

<MC005>: > …

<MC005>: > -Soi please tell me that wasn’t me hearing him SPRAY PAINTING something just now—-

[DR.SANDA] //: -Oh goodness I--I think it is-- CARDINAL THIS IS THE WHITE HOUSE, NOT A GIANT CANVAS--

[There was a sharp whistling noise.]

“-RARF RARF RARF–”

Beck: --! Scout--!

[Almost there--]

“Close enough. Group hug, everybody!”

“! Oh goodness— Now wait just a—”

[Beck turned the corner—]

Byuubyuubyuu…

Beck: --!

Beck: NO!

Beck: I was so CLOSE--!

Beck: (--But--at least the President is okay, right--?)

[KSSSSSST--!]

[MN.6] //: HEEEYOOOO, this is Avi bringing you guys a quick update--

[MN.6] //: I've managed to tell the boys in blue and black that Cards isn't a threat--and I got visual of him outside--!

<MC005>: > {AT LAST!}

[MN.6] //: Please hold, I think--I think if I can just get this cam over here, I can talk to him--

<MC005>: > {Yes— oh please let this WORK—}

<MC005>: >Beck, is Shade still in that hallway? I think Cardinal may have tagged him, actually—

[KSSSSSST--!]

[MN.6] //: I got visual! And input audio--so we can hear him--

Beck: -Looks around--

Beck: I...I don't see him...

“Heh.”

“Hello again, Avs.”

[MN.6] //: Cards--Cards, man, I missed you-- come ON I NEED AUDIO OUTPUT--!

<DLN-008>: > H-hang on… lemme try and fix that…

[The feed crackled.]

<DLN-008>: >Okay, try now—!

[KSSSSSST--!]

[MN.6] //: TOBY YOU'RE A LIFESAVER--

Avi: Bro you do realize can't hide from this, right--

“Sadly."

[He sounded weary and grim.]

“That’s a cost I’ll have to carry.”

<DLN-008>: > …

<DLN-008>: > -Ugh, I… suddenly don’t feel so good…-

Avi: OKAY GOOD JUST CHECKING.

Avi: Because sometimes you just kinda let these things fly wAY OVER YOUR HEAD--

[MN.1] //: Really, Avi?!

[MN.6] //: -WE PUN WHEN WE'RE STRESSED, OKAY--

<MC005>: > -sNORTS-

[Silence, other than the background chatter.]

<MC005>: > Just a little more…

[…Cardinal spoke up again. He sounded rather defeated.]

“-Quietly- I’m sorry, Avi. I’m not done yet.”

Avi: --....

[MN.6] //: -Ugh we--Cards, we NEED you too--

Avi: Dude, Beck's in there now, just--come on, man, can't ya believe in him too...?

Beck: (Please, Cards--you KNOW I'm the only one that can CURE him, PLEASE, I can DO THIS--!)

“Six, this is about a lot more than believing and proving and anything else, and quite frankly—”

[A splashing noise.]

[MN.6] //: --? Was that water--

“—I’m tired of seeing my brothers die.”

<DLN-008>: > -Uuuuugh…!-

<RMDC>: >WARNING: ??.??.20XX MEMORY DATA CROSS-REFERENCES TO MULTIPLE HAZARDOUS FILES. POTENTIAL SYSTEM OVERLOAD TRIGGER DETECTED.

<DLN-008>: > -Ghhh…!-

Beck --.....

Beck: . . . .

[DR.WHITE] //: --Beck--?

“I won’t risk any chance of that happening again.”

Beck: Ghn--

[But--but--]

Beck: (I--I promised, I won't do that, Cards, I--)

Beck: (I'm not like--like--)

[The Xel of the broken robots around him starts to float--]

Beck: Why don't...you...listen--?

[MN.9] //: -Hurt, hurtful data, that hurt--

<MC005>: > !

Beck: Why don't you b-believe me--

<MC005>: > NO!

<MC005>: > BECK, HE'S NOT TALKING ABOUT YOU—

<MC005>: > With the White House evacuated…

<MC005>: > The Pentagon would be able to target it!

Beck: --!

[DR.WHITE] //: Listen to Mikhail, Beck!

[DR.WHITE] //: Cardinal--he has his own personal reasons for going after Shade, you know this--!

[DR.WHITE] //: It's not that he doesn't believe in you, Beck, please...

Beck: . . .

[A lady’s voice breaks through.]

“Where do you THINK you’re going—”

[MN.6] //: -UH OH--

“Here, take this, it may help you on your journey—”

[MN.6] //: .......

Avi: (....I guess I tried.)

“Ackpth—”

Mikhail: … -Facepalm- (He handed off the Pokémon to the President??)

[MN.6] //: Sorry, Doc, I'm...not a good staller. That's...More Shade's department...

Avi: please don't hurt him too bad.

“I don’t have time for this. You saw the file extension, you know my intentions.”

Beck: --......

[At the sound of Cardinal reminding him of this, The Xel fluxes, and then gently collects towards Beck, healing him.]

-*-*-*-

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

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

-*-*-*-*-

Beck: Never...give...up...on you...

Beck: Not for any...Reason..

[When Cardinal spoke again, he seemed to be in… pain.]

“…See you in clearer skies, Avs.”

[MN.6] // Ggnh--

[MN.6] //: Cards WAIT--

Mikhail: NYET—!

“Goodbye…”

BWIP.

[MN.6] //: CARDS--!

<RMDC>: >ERROR: DLN-000 SIGNAL NOT FOUND.

[MN.6] //: Nghgh--

[MN.6] //: -Hurts, HEAD HURTS--

>A problem has been detected and AI_DWN_008 has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer. All unsaved data has been lost.

The problem seems to be caused by the following programs: BetaEmotions.exe, RMDatabase.exe

If this is the first time you have seen the Stop error screen, restart your chassis—

REBOOTING…

Mikhail: (Great. GREAT. Now Cardinal is gone, and Tobias is Offline. I have nothing!)

Mikhail: -Puts his head in his hands-

[…]

“…Get me Sanda Labs on a secure line.”

Mikhail: … -Not NOW—-

“NOW.”

[DR.WHITE] //: --!!!!!!

[DR.WHITE] //: No--

[DR.WHITE HAS LEFT THE CONVERSATION.]

Mikhail: Will?

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

[DR.SANDA] //: G-Give us a minute--Will COME BACK--

[DR.SANDA HAS LEFT THE CONVERSATION.]

Mikhail: …

<MC005>: > Beck we need him out of there.

[Back at the White House, Beck had somewhat calmed down, but he seemed...somewhat tired. Emotionally, rather than physically.]

Beck: --I...yeah.

Beck: I'm going.

Beck: (Shade...Cards...)

[He had no idea where to start looking, and no idea what Shade would do now that the President was outside, and safe.]

[But...If he had to guess...]

Beck: --....

Beck: Oh no--

<MC005>: >Beck…? What is it?

Beck: (No, Shade, no--)

[If anything, Shade's obvious objective was to kill the President--but now that she was gone, and by Cardinal's doing--]

Beck: Shade's target is gone.

Beck: Remember what happened at the highway--Jack made Carmen's target get away, and who did SHE TAKE THAT OUT ON--

<MC005>: > {Dear God—}

[REXELECTION: BRANDISH]

Beck: SHAAAAAAAAAAADE!

[CRASH, BANG--]

[He had to get to Cards--before--before--!]

Beck: CAAAAAAAAAARDS!

[BANG–!]

[BANG BANG–]

Beck: NO--!!

Beck: (NO, don't do this, please, don't--!)

Beck: (That came from all the way back at the foyer--)

KTANG!

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT—

[Getting back ALL the way to where he started--]

[Beck even ignored the oncoming fire from what was left of the infected robots, even crushing one with a firm hand swipe--as if he pushed the Xel of it away--]

[BANG–]

Beck: Ngh--!

Beck: (Hurts, but--gotta keep going--)

KZZZRRR! KZZRRR!

Beck: --?!?

Beck: What the--

[Wires. Wires covered in purple, all over the hall, he couldn't pass though here--!]

Beck: RRRRUGH!

[Beck was so angry that the leftover Xel around him shivered, collected, and grew HOT, following him as he swerved on his heel in the other direction--]

Beck: (I swear if I see them beating the heck outta each other to an INCH of life, I'm gonna--!)

Beck: GUUUUYS!

Beck: Sto--

[WHAM!]

Beck: --?!?

[...Did he just run smack into George Washington's head?]

Beck: (This was NOT here before--)

CRASH!

[BANG!]

[VRRRRRRR--]

Beck: --????

[The entire bust and pedestal that the granite image of the First President suddenly started moving--]

[The mechanisms inside were robotic, and thus, ALSO affected by the virus--meaning--]

Beck: -EXASPERATED- EVEN THE FOUNDING FATHERS DON'T WANT ME NEAR MY OWN BROTHER--

Beck: WHAT IS UP WITH THIS PLACE--

[BLAM--]

[Shattering the granite head bust seems to work.]

[BLAM--]

[MN.2] //: Dude did you just blast President Lincoln--

Beck: I--

[BLAM--]

Beck: DON'T--

[BLAM!]

Beck: --CARE!

Beck: SHADE!

Beck: I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME--STOP IT! NOW!

kzzzZZZZZZZZGGGVVVVGGGHHHTTTT—

[size=6]CRASH!![/size]

Beck: --!

[...Silence.]

[Oh God, silence--]

Beck: (No--n-no, he--)

[BANGKSSSHHHHKKKGGHHHHT!]

Beck: --!

[BLAM--]

Beck: -MIXTURE OF RELIEF AND HORROR-

[BANG BANG BANG–]

[A LOUD EXPLOSION—]

Beck: Gh--

Beck: -Why are there so many of these STUPID STATUES--

Beck: (If only Shade didn't block that stupid hall on the right--)

Beck: (All of this is just-- stupid, nngh--)

Beck: (I just want my family BACK--!)

[He was halfway there, he could hear the noises of battle getting louder--]

[BANG–]

[CRASH!]

Beck: (Almost--just a couple of more hallways--)

[KKKKKKKRRWOOOOOOOOOOOOH!]

[A strong wind came through the hallway.]

Beck: ---?!?!

[The sudden strong gusts sent our lightweight hero tumbling backwards--]

[REXELECTION: AVIATOR.]

[--Before he switched into Avi's form, flying desperately against the unforgiving winds--]

Beck: Nnnngh--!

Beck: Dad, how much further--

[...No response.]

Beck: --?? Dad--Uncle Sanda--?

[Nothing--]

Beck: (Why aren't they answering--???)

[BANG!]

Beck: Nnnngh--

Beck: (Why is there so much wind, why is everything trying to stop me--??)

[BANG–

BANG BANG BANG–]

Beck: --!!

Beck: (No--Cards--I don't hear him firing BACK--!)

Beck: NO!

Beck: STOP IT! PLEASE--!

[size=louder][BANG–!][/size]

Beck: SHAAADE--

[The winds finally die down, and Beck instantly reverts back to his default before--]

[REXELECTION: BRANDISH.]

Beck: HAAAAAAH!

[Beck slices and dices anything that crosses his path in a red and yellow tornado of slashes that seem too quick for the normal eye to see...]

[SHING SHING SHING--]

[BANG.]

[A pause.]

[BANG!]

[A much longer pause. Beck was beginning to make headway.]

[BANG—]

[Shorter pause—]

“AUGH!”

Beck: CARDS--!

Beck: (He's already hurt, come on, COME ON--)

[BLAM! BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM—]

Beck: --!

[Wait, wasn't that...]

Beck: (Needle Cannon--)

Beck: Cards, please--just hold out a LITTLE longer--

[A set of large oak doors block the path--locked shut.]

[REXELECTION: SEISMIC]

[CRASH--]

[...Or, was.]

[BANG BANG BANG–]

[Silence.]

Beck: (No, please, STOP DOING THAT--)

[This time, the silence WASN’T broken.]

Beck: ......

Beck: (N...No, no, NO--)

Beck: (Oh, Cards, please, say something, a comeback, a pun, ANYTHING--!)

Beck: (YOU--YOU CAN'T BE--)

Beck: AVIIIIIIII!

[PING!]

[MN.6 IS NOW ONLINE.]

[MN.6] //: -LITTLE BRO IS SCREAMING--

[MN.9] //: Avi, I need eyes in the main foyer, NOW!

[MN.6] //: What, why--

[MN.9] //: I NEED TO KNOW IF THEY'RE STILL ALIVE--!

[MN.6] //: --!!!!

[MN.6] //: -Foyer, Shade, Cards, CRUD--

[MN.6] //: --! I GOT VISUAL--

[MN.6] //: -Oh man things are NOT looking good for Cards right now--

[MN.9] //: But he's still--!?

[MN.6] //: Yeah, they...They're talking, I think...I think Cards is getting through to him--!

Beck: -Stops in his tracks-

Beck: (Then maybe--)

Beck: (Maybe...Maybe Shade is...)

Beck: (If Cards can just keep him still--maybe we can do a repeat of the highway like Carmen, or--)

Beck: -RUNS-

Beck: (If I can just get there, I won't have to fight Shade at all, or at least not alone--!)

Beck: (I just have to---)

BANG—

[MN.6] //: -DATA SCREEEEECH--

[MN.6 HAS GONE INTO SLEEP MODE]

[A thud can be heard over the comms--]

[MN.3] //: AVI--!

[Beck staggered and stopped dead at the sudden screech of horror from his own brother, his eyes widening as he came to the realization that--]

Beck: (Avi...Avi faints when he sees blood or something LIKE it--!)

—————————

[Blade suddenly had a saw in his hand, and raised it so he could slash wildly at the DLN–!]

Avi: NO–!

SKLLLKTTKRRRSHHHLLLRRRKKT—

[Oil and cooling fluids spattered all over Bladeblaster’s hands and weapon, as if they were blood.

Tobias lost his grip immediately and fell to the ground, too dazed in pain and injury to even cry out.

His energy levels had dropped DRAMATICALLY, and were still dropping, as was his core temperature—two more hits like that, and he would be gone.]

—————————

Beck: CARDINAAAAAAL!

[Shaking off his temporary stupor, Beck redoubled his efforts, smashing, crashing, and going through all the debris and such that have collected during Cardinal's run of the place...]

Beck: (Don't be dead don't be dead don't be--)

[He trips--]

Beck: (UGH--!)

[And lands on a pile of granite rubble, skidding around the floor and falling again over the small pebbles, picking himself up, and just running for it.]

[...He didn't think he'd ever been so desperate just to get to one place in all his days Online.]

[And the silence… The SILENCE just keeps GOING—]

“ARUGH–!”

[Or not.]

Beck: (--?!? That--...That was Shade--)

Beck: SHADE!

Beck: (Gotta get there, gotta get there before--!)

[--!!]

[At last! The hallway leading towards the foyer, with one locked double door standing in the way!]

[At this point, Beck could barely make out SOME voices...]

Beck: ---!!!

[WHAM!]

[Beck slams himself against the door, but it wouldn't budge--]

Beck: SHAAAAADE! OPEN THE DOOR!

Beck: OPEN THE DOOR N O W--!

"ENOUGH!"

[Shade--]

[REXELECTION: SEISMIC--]

"Ah' don’t have time t’ waste on you. Obviously ya ain’t gonna stay out of my way while ya still runnin’."

[WHAM--]

"An’ as we’ve already established, ya have this fraggin’ annoyin’ tendency to keep hangin’ on. Fahn, then—I’ll give ya the honor a’ takin’ ya out myself!"

Beck: Shade, NO!

"An’ just tah make SURE you don’t get out of sight at the last second…"

Beck: HE'S YOUR BEST FRIEND--!

[WHAM--CRACK--]

"This’ll be the last bullet Ah’ waste on ya."

Beck: DON'T KILL HIM--!!

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

=CHAPTER 9D: HAZY SUSPICION=

~AO v2.0~

((Courtesy of @codedhopes & @super-tired-robot))

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

{Outside the Lab…}

[Mikhail scowled as he closed the door behind him.]

Mikhail: {I don’t have time for that miserable excuse of a—}

"Ahem."

Des: Dr. Cossack?

[Mikhail looked up in mild surprise.

He was too tired to be properly surprised—he had been working on Cardinal almost all night and for over six hours since the date rolled by.  Then he had worked on writing a code that would allow the boys to come back Online—something that would be needed, especially if he didn’t make it through.]

Mikhail: ({No… I can’t think like that. I can’t… mustn’t give in to despair.}) …Mr. Desmond. Good morning.

[The man was in sad shape, that was for sure. He looked like he hadn’t eaten or slept much for a long time—a kind of exhaustion that would make most other people collapse onto the floor.]

Des: .....

Des: (...He looks ready to fall asleep any second.)

Des: (I wish I could postpone this.)

Des: I heard a lot of yelling. Is something the matter?

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: Just some trouble with public relations, that’s all. People are very stressed right now.

[He paused, standing up straight and letting go of the door. He adjusted his lab coat—stained with oil and coolant—and looked at Desmond with an air of authority and command.]

Mikhail: I’ve finished the first stage of repairs on DLN-000. I need to wait on the delivery of a specialized core in order to continue. I’m afraid you won’t be able to talk to him until much later. …

Mikhail: Is there something I can help you with?

Des: ....Yes, actually.

Des: It's been a little longer than others can wait, Dr. Cossack, and I'm afraid we can't procrastinate on this any further.

Des: You've got some explaining to do.

Mikhail: …

[His eyes seemed to dull at that, but his expression otherwise didn’t change.]

Mikhail: …Yes, of course. …That was the agreement, after all.

Des: ....

[Desmond Donald was quiet.

It had indeed been the agreement. They had been looking for leads on the Queen’s Finals scandal for months, and that had only intensified when the same madness took a grip on their home soil. They needed a proper explanation for what had happened—back in the tournament, throughout the last few weeks, and the day before.

Here was a man of mysteries. A Russian Doctor with American patients and no passport to speak of—the only active link between many otherwise unexplained incidents…

…Besides the fact that Mighty Numbers were ALSO involved in each incident.

And yet… it didn’t quite make sense to pin him as the source. And he knew Minerva agreed on that point, or she would have been much less merciful. MUCH less merciful.

And seeing the man now—now, after so much time spent on a tragic task—he was not all that convinced the man was a sleeper agent. The way that he had behaved around the Mighty Numbers, how he had behaved in regards to DLN-000… it didn’t lend itself to the feeling that he was putting on an act. He wasn’t going to discount it, of course… but it seemed…

…it almost seemed like they were just dealing with something that got out of hand only because it was connected to people who lived larger than life. All these things had only started happening after they were seen interacting with the Mighty Numbers. And if THAT were the case, then…?]

Des: …

[…Then it would mean that they were chasing a dead end that would only give them even more work, from the sounds of it. After all, DLN-008 WAS still very much wanted by British forces for his stint at the Battle Theatre.

The main thing he couldn’t understand was—regardless of whether or not he were ally or agent—why he seemed to be the only provider for nearly twenty robots. If he really were single-handedly providing maintenance and direction to that many on an individual basis…]

Des: (…then it really would be enough to make him legitimately exhausted.)

[He could only hope that it was worth it to bother someone who seemed in such a bad state. It was one of the more distinctly unpleasant aspects of the roles he’d been forced into as of late, but it couldn’t really be helped.

The Doctor, for his part, seemed to have spent those few moments gathering the nerve to stay cordial. It was almost as if he were trying not to panic, which was admittedly suspicious… though not unexpected, given he had dealt with governments before, apparently.]

Mikhail: -Swallows once- …Very well then. Do you have a room ready?

Des: We've just finished setting up a room under Dr. Sanda's permission. It'll be a floor above us--a meeting room that's used by the other business men of Sanda Tech, I believe.

Mikhail: …Very well.

[He placed his hands behind his back and walked past Desmond.]

Mikhail: I know where that is; I’ve used that room before, myself. Let’s not put this off any longer.

[LATER...]

[There are several portable cameras placed around the hall, to monitor the two actually entering the room for questioning.]

[Des takes a large white tub container from a folding table placed by the door, holding it out to Mikhail.]

Des: First things first, Doctor. Any electronics and other personal belongings in here.

Mikhail: …Yes, of course.

[He gave a bit of a wry smile.]

Mikhail: Though you don’t need to use excuses with me. I know this is all about disarming. So with that in mind…

[He pulls his lab coat out to the side.]

Des: --!!

Des: (I had no idea he was armed this ENTIRE time--)

Des: (And with a pistol, no less...)

[Mikhail didn’t really seem fazed at this reaction. It was almost as if he had anticipated this.]

Mikhail: You know, Mr. Desmond, you’re free to take it from the holster. I would have done so myself but I didn’t want to get shot due to a misinterpretation. I know you’re under a lot of stress right now.

Des: ....

Des: (This really isn't his first time dealing with armed agents, is it.)

[Des carefully takes the gun out of the holster, and unloads it, dropping the bullets into the tub first before the firearm itself.]

Des: ...Alright...

Des: Anything else that you have hidden away?

Mikhail: Yes. No more firearms. However…

[He digs into his pocket and pulls out a Swiss army knife. He tosses that into the bin.]

Mikhail: …there are a few other things.

[He reached into his other pocket and pulled out a switchblade.]

Mikhail: -Tosses that in as well-

Des: .....

Des: (This guy is armed to the teeth.)

[He then undid a taser from the belt, which had been on the other side from the pistol, and placed that in.

Finally, he pulled off what seemed to be an alert button on a lace string, lowering it carefully.]

Mikhail: Be sure not to touch that one.

Des: ...Is that some sort of panic button?

Mikhail: Yes. It’s designed to stun attackers through sensory perception. It’ll affect the user, too, if used improperly.

Des: .....

Des: (Useful for both human and robotic attackers, I'm guessing.)

Des: Do you even have your phone with you, Doctor? (Because you clearly don't need it for help if you have all this.)

Mikhail: Of course I do. I have family, you know.

[Then, and only then, did he place in his cell phone and a pager.]

Des: ....

Des: So that's it.

Des: Is that really it.

Mikhail: Other than a good number of ballpoint pens. I’m afraid I tend to lose them all over the place.

[Aaaand he drops a few handfuls of those in as well for good measure—whether out of sarcasm or just being tired is hard to say.]

Des: ....

Des: Doctor...

Des: You're almost as armed as when I was just starting my military career.

Des: No offense, but I can't help but be skeptical about questioning you with so many pockets at your disposal. =.=

[Mikhail couldn’t help but laugh at that.]

Mikhail: If you want to interrogate me in my pajamas, I suppose that’s your prerogative. But if you insist—

[He takes off his glasses to clean them, shaking his head and smiling.]

Mikhail: I don’t actually mind too much. I’ll be honest…

[He spoke with no small degree of weariness.]

Mikhail: I’m very tired. And if I’m given the blessing of being given peace and quiet once I’ve said what there is to say, I would desperately like to go to sleep.

Mikhail: I’ll go change.

Des: ....

Des: (I didn't really mean in his pajamas, but... whatever will make this go faster and not be quite so dangerous, fine.)

Des: …Suit yourself, but don't take too long to do so.

[When Mikhail returned once more, he looked significantly different. He had taken the time to wash up a bit and groom his hair and his beard. He’d grabbed a new pair of glasses and a new pair of gloves.

It also appeared that he was being literal about being questioned in his pajamas, but he hardly looked ridiculous—

He was wearing novelty pajamas designed after the Starfleet uniforms from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Specifically, the Captain’s uniform.

It seemed to fit him well, and he had a certain kind of commanding dignity.]

Mikhail: Alright, Mr. Secretary. Let’s begin.

[A recording device was placed in the center of the room. Desmond took the seat across from Mikhail and pushed a button on it to start the recording.]

Des: (...Something tells me this is going to be a lot different than other times.... He didn’t even consider bringing lawyers into this.)

Des: (Granted, he's clearly not American, so that might have something to do with it? I wonder.)

Des: Alright.

Des: Let's start simple.

Des: Who are you?

Mikhail: I am Михаил Сергеевич Казак. I am the Doctor for my sons, the Doctor Cossack Numbers Industrial series. I also serve as the Doctor for the Rebel Angels, a group comprised of seven of the Doctor Wily Numbers Combat class constructs from two different series, and two of the Doctor Light Numbers from two additional different series.

[He paused for a moment, before adding thoughtfully—]

Mikhail: And I suppose I would be willing to serve as the Doctor for the one member of the Special Wily Numbers series—although he’s a bit of a stubborn brat, and too proud to ask for help.

Mikhail: (…And there is Nero, but that would be quite the stretch to explain…)

[He paused for a moment before looking Desmond in the eyes.]

Mikhail: My wife is Светлана Казак.

[…But then his gaze shifted down a bit, weary and sad. Seemed to be fiddling with his wedding ring, even though it was covered by his gloves.]

Mikhail: God granted us a wonderful… such a beautiful child…. Калинка Казак, my daughter.

[He closed his eyes, as if to shut out pain, and was silent for a while.]

Mikhail: …I lost her… she was taken from us several years ago. …Since then, I’ve raised my daughter on my own.

Mikhail: ({Oh, Beloved…. I fear I have never done as good a job of being a father as when I had you at my side to be my better half…})

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: -Looks up again, eyelids half closed in faint disapproval- …But you already know all of this, don’t you.

Des: … …

[That was true enough. He had read up on the files given to him pertaining to the Doctor. And so far, everything matched up just as it was in the file.]

Des: (At least this is starting off better than the talk with Blackwell...)

Des: Fair enough...

Des: But I find it strange that a Russian Doctor is caring for American constructs--and a mixed bag of industrial and combat class, at that.

Des: How'd you come to be their Doctor?

Mikhail: …

[He seems thoughtful, but not at all bothered by the question. It's a while before he speaks up again—using a tone and pace that suggested he was telling a condensed version of a very long story he had told many, many times before.

Mikhail: My oldest son, Дэвид Казак, was originally designated as DLN-005 —designation “Iceman”. I wrote DCN-000 while I was just a boy, really—it was a very long time ago.

Des: A boy?

Mikhail: Heh. Well, legally speaking, yes—I wasn't even old enough to drive.

Des: What??

[THAT took him off-guard. It was not what he'd expected to hear, not what was on file, and an awfully bold claim to make, true or not!]

Des: When WAS this??

Mikhail: Oh, I was fourteen at the time. This was over two dozen years ago.

Des: -A little speechless-

[He had a hard time believing it; there were not many child robotics geniuses, and beyond that—]

Des: -Looking through the papers- How in the world did you get access to that kind of technology as a teenager?

[Mikhail runs his fingers through his hair with a sigh.]

Mikhail: I was working under Dr. Wily at the time. He and Dr. Light were working together to make the Doctor Light Number Industrials—their first AI&A Industrial series. Dr. Wily was originally personally in charge of two projects—the DLN-005 project… and the DLN-008 project.

Des: ....

Des: (That's the serial of that other mysterious DLN...)

Des: (What exactly is going on here?)

Mikhail: He had to drop one of them for health reasons, so I was placed in charge of the DLN-005 project, despite only being an intern at the time.

Des: -Flips through the notes- …DCN-000 was DLN-005?

Mikhail: Yes. That's a different story. I'm glad to tell it, but I get the feeling that's not what you're after, is it?

Des: … (…Not that hard to figure out, I guess.)

Des: …You said “at the time.” Did something… happen?

Mikhail: Yes. -Gravelly sigh- Ugh… Sadly, there were… complications, in the end. Dr. Light and Dr. Wily got into a terrible row when Dr. Light discovered that his colleague had given DLN-008 an emotions program.

Des: DLN-008 wasn't built with emotions? ,': /

Mikhail: Quite the opposite. He WAS built with emotions and full Awareness, and that was what they argued about. Dr. Light was outraged, and wouldn't listen to Dr. Wily's answers and defense of the poor being.

Mikhail: Instead, he ordered DLN-008 to be erased.

Des: What?!

Des: (That is already at least 7 kinds of illegal—!)

Mikhail: DLN-008 overheard this. Practically the whole lab did—I certainly remember it, even to this day.

Mikhail: He was terrified. So… he ran away.

Mikhail: In the end… all the members of that series were given full Awareness, and chose to flee for their lives. But it didn’t last long.

Mikhail: They were hunted down and destroyed, one by one.

[Mikhail closed his eyes and rubbed his face with his left hand.]

Mikhail: I didn’t become involved with the family after the entire DLN Industrial series was completely destroyed, David and Tobias and all—not until a short while ago, when my daughter and I were kidnapped by my old mentor, Dr. Albert Wily… and one of his most dangerous constructs—DWN-022, Viper.

[He clenched a hand into a fist, brooding at the memory.]

Mikhail: As part of that series of events, DLN-005 and DLN-008 came back Online after having been sealed away for about two decades. David managed to get into contact with me, and he and Tobias helped Cardinal Light to find my daughter and deliver her to me. Cardinal arrived just in time to prevent his younger brother, DLN-001—Rock Light—from ending my life entirely.

Des: ....

Des: (I can't even...-- I haven't even heard of something like this taking place, why isn't it on some kind of record--?)

Mikhail: After I recovered and was eventually cleared of charges, I was contacted again by Cardinal Light. I did some extensive repairs on him, and tried to get him to replace his core.

[He sighed, closing his eyes.]

Mikhail: It was his decision not to do so. I respected this decision; I firmly believe in allowing constructs to make such a choice, even if I don’t agree with it.

[He crosses his arms.]

Mikhail: Since then… because Dr. Light is so dangerous to them, and Dr. Wily is insane, that family has come to me. Cardinal Light is in charge of that family—he put them together, rescuing them from death at the hands of their brother.

[He lifts his gaze back up to look Desmond in the eye, even though his head was still bowed.]

Mikhail: So that is how I came to care for them. It has not been easy, but I am the only one they can turn to.

Des: . . .

Des: (What do I even say to that?)

Des: (Like hell there's any protocol for that.)

Des: ....

Des: -Deep breath-

Des: ...

Des: All of this...

Des: If this is true, then why isn't it on record?

Mikhail: …There’s a good reason for that.

Des: ....

Des: And that iiiis...?

Mikhail: …For one thing… after THAT whole incident, I was placed in a variation of witness protection. My daughter and I were actually given new identities not that long ago. There’s a general desire on a number of levels to prevent the incident from happening again, either with Wily or any other person or persons of ill intent.

[His tone was shifting, starting to suggest that he was taking charge, and would not be denied.]

Mikhail: You might as well ask a different question, sir. Details beyond that aren’t something I am willing to discuss on the record, so they’ll have to wait if you want to press further. I’m sure you have other things on your mind to discuss.

Mikhail: What’s relevant to this conversation is that because of all that had happened, what Dr. Albert Wily made me do while I was being blackmailed… it was enough that very, very serious charges were brought against me.

[At this point, he stood up, looking at Desmond with a rather cold and unsympathetic stare.]

Mikhail: It appeared very much, for a time, that Cardinal had rescued me from the flames only for the world to throw me to an even greater fire. I was forced to talk about the matter with my little girl, as I feared and believed she would be left an orphan. Do you understand?

Des: ....

Des: (This is outrageous. If this is a sob story, then he's chosen a poor one by making it too out-of-the-box. I wish that DLN-000 were Online—I get the feeling he would be honest AND more forthcoming. If this is true, though…) -Presses his mouth together in a thin line- (We have to get the FBI on this--something this big just can't have been ignored or missed--)

Des: (Then again, we had a entire military base not in our banks...)

Des: Doctor. Sit down.

[Mikhail silently refused.]

Mikhail: I am done talking about the distant past. What else did you want to know?

Des: ....

Des: (I'm getting nowhere with this. Are all Doctors like this, or am I just unlucky that way?) -_-;; (Time to change angles.)

Des: How did you come to know Dr. Sanda?

[At this, Mikhail did relax just a bit, happy to talk on a more pleasant topic.]

Mikhail: Ah, yes… that was in February, I believe.

Des: ....

Des: Five months ago?

Mikhail: Heh. I know—it feels like it’s been a year, really.

Des: (Something about that seems a bit off…)

Mikhail: It came as quite a surprise, and we were very nervous at first. You see— -Takes off glasses to clean them, smiling and shaking his head- —Carlos—or DWN-012, if you’d rather—Carlos Gonzales was the first one to meet them.

Mikhail: He accidentally wandered in on one of Countershade’s training grounds.

[He had to laugh a little at the memory.]

Mikhail: Poor Shade accidentally scared him witless! But once we came into contact once again, Shadow decided to take a chance, and Brand made the choice on their end.

Des: Hold on. “Shadow”?

Mikhail: DWN-024. He had a hard time understanding why Countershade spared his brother's life, so he went to see for himself what had happened. But instead of meeting Shade, he encountered Brandish.

Mikhail: I've heard it wasn't the most ideal of first impressions they made on one another, but that changed rather quickly. Quickly enough to gain Shadow's respect and Brand's courtesy.

Mikhail: They helped arrange for some meetings, to discuss a truce of sorts with one another. It was tense work for a while, but once we understood one another…

[He gave a happy sigh and sat down to relax again.]

Mikhail: You’d never seen the boys so happy. So hopeful. And it wasn’t long after that… around March 8th, I believe, that is when Countershade and Cardinal became such good friends, too.

[He seemed wistful, now.]

Mikhail: They grew very close. You could hardly separate them at times. Cardinal… he lost so much of his bitterness…. You didn’t know him before, Mr. Desmond, not like how he was when I first met him.

[He sighed and looked away.]

Mikhail: He’s had a faulty core due to shoddy coding for a very long time now. He didn’t have very long left in which he was expected to stay alive. Between that and dealing with Dr. Light and Dr. Wily… he had become a very weary man. He lived without hope.

[He looked up, his gaze distant.]

Mikhail: That’s why it meant so much to him, to all of them, when he really felt that Hope LIVES.

Des: (...Hope Lives...)

Des: (Isn't that what he tagged in the Office...?)

Mikhail: And that’s what you want to know about, isn’t it? Part of your main reasons for asking, since you can’t ask him yourself?

Mikhail: Yes, he and Countershade are very close. Countershade is his only long-term friend, the only one who’s stayed for so long. That is why it was so hard on them when the Mighty Numbers left in the spring and into the summer, to fight in the Queen’s Tournament.

[He paused for a moment, frowning and turning to look at Des.]

Mikhail: …But there’s a lot more to the story than even what happened in the Finals.

Mikhail: They became worried, especially after Bladeblaster threatened Cardinal’s life. Cardinal was sure that Bladeblaster was going to try and assassinate him in order to get at Shade.

Des: (Greater Dusk's leader? What?)

Mikhail: Cardinal was sure—and he's not a man to mentally commit to very many certainties, mind you— that Bladeblaster was going to try and assassinate him in order to get at Shade.

Des: --?! (Well THAT escalated quickly—!)

Mikhail: I assisted in a strategy session—in this very room, actually—regarding trying to figure out how to handle the overall situation… and to try and learn more about CDN-7037: Dencerjack. Or, as we know him, Jack Parker.

Des: (That CDN unit was sorta like their mascot...)

Des: (Just how intertwined IS all this?)

[Mikhail interlocked his fingers and leaned forward, speaking more factually now.]

Mikhail: At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, I believe that Cherry Dynamics is directly involved in Greater Dusk, which in turn served as an experimental “Patient Zero” for the virus in its current state. We have a paper trail that links CherryDyn to the funds that paid for Greater Dusk’s business expenses.

Des: Wait--

Des: CherryDyn was their sponsor?!

Des: (Oh--Oh, man, a paper trail, if we can get our hands on that, that'll send their lawyers scrambling--)

Des: And you can prove this?

Mikhail: I can’t prove the company as a whole, but I can prove a link. But yes, I can prove it. I told you, we have a paper trail—we found it months ago! I always keep my own copies of important files on an isolated server. I’ll get them for you after this is over. For now, though, I need you to listen.

Des: ....Right.

Des: I'm listening...

Mikhail: Jack Parker was originally a Civilian model, showcased to display new advancements in CherryDyn technology. He was neglected and abandoned, and fell onto very, very hard times. He was repeatedly mistreated and abused by employers and landlords, including some downright illegal situations. One day, he was attacked by Bladeblaster and his gang, and subsequently was pressed into service.

Mikhail: He was made to sign a contract without being allowed to read it, and was forcefully converted from a Civilian model to a Combat model.

Des: (...That's...)

Des: (I can't even count how many laws were described as being broken in that spiel.)

Mikhail: After that, he was physically and psychologically abused by his team leader. Repeatedly. It is for that reason that he resisted orders in battle, and even fought back when the infected crosses tried to take control. A cross he had been forced to wear.

[He leans back, drumming his fingers.]

Mikhail: Bladeblaster didn’t tell him what they did, but he felt it once it began to happen.

Des: ....Infected...

Des: (So the whole Queen's Finals fiasco was a trial run, of sorts?)

Des: (With live test subjects, funded by CherryDyn. The same company whose servers were the first ones infected, who have the most robots worldwide…)

Des: (I do believe we got a prime suspect in our hands. Certainly more believable that a large company like CherryDyn could be infiltrated or just go plain wrong, and have the resources to procure something like this…)

Des: (Now, if only we can actually TALK to that CEO...)

[Mikhail sighed and shook his head.]

Mikhail: And here we begin to reach one of the other main things you wanted to know about, if I’m not wrong.

Des: —… (Oh, right—almost forgot. Mmmn…)

[Mikhail looked up.]

Mikhail: …Tobias personally heard his favorite brother die. My son…

Mikhail: … Light Number Eight himself was killed in a manner tragically similar to what happened again. When he saw Jack being attacked, saw him go down in the sands…

[He closes his eyes.]

Mikhail: …

Mikhail:  … … …

Des: . . .

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: -Slowly and hesitantly- …Dr. Wily was not exactly a man with great self-control. Even… even back then. He was… he was very zealous. And his sons… they all reflect that streak of impulsiveness and unbridled fire.

Des: (...!)

Des: (So that's why...)

Mikhail: -Opens his eyes- When he saw that happen, especially after Dynatron was taken hostage…

Mikhail: He just couldn’t stand by any longer. He had an overwhelming directive to save her, to stop Bladeblaster from killing her, or killing Jack.

Mikhail: He made his way through on his own accord—and as you undoubtedly saw, paid the price for his insolence.

Mikhail: …Tobias had no intention of doing anything but stopping the measure, preventing loss of lives. He used force because at that level of Combat, he was willing and permitted to use whatever means necessary to stop her—to stop her from dying. He had no personal intent of compromising the security for the sake of malice.

Des: . . . .

Des: (So all he wanted was to save the Electric Maiden.)

Des: (That makes a lot of sense, given the Doctor's answers so far, and that both of them seem to be lighting-based bots. Looking out for one another...)

Des: (Still...)

Des: What about Bladeblaster?

Des: What was “Tobias” he going to do to him, exactly? He used enough power to send several blocks of London on the fritz, and EVERY witness account indicates he was pulling back for another strike. Was he going to kill him?

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: (As much as I want to vehemently deny it, I…)

Mikhail: (I can’t, not knowing how CLOSE he and his derivative have come to such a thing in the past when in such a state of wild, enraged despair…)

Mikhail: (Even so…)

Mikhail: (They ARE pacifists.)

Mikhail: …He needed Dynatron safe, and he had never fought before except in self-defense. -Hesitant kind of thoughtful- I don’t think he knew or realized what could happen—not on a conscious level—to him or to Bladeblaster. …If you need those notes and logs to clear him, I can provide those as well.

Des: ...Fair enough. (…Not as if we have anything else to go on at this rate, without talking to the Mighty Numbers directly.)

Des: ....

Des: -Shuffles through his notes with a frown- (Okay. We've covered this and that, and we got some important info out of this. Here comes the hard part.)

Des: This brings me to the other issues about DLN-008.

Des: As well as DLN-000 and the White House. We'll start there.

Des: What EXACTLY happened?

Mikhail: …

[He looks to the side again with a tired frown. His gaze seems to be glazing over, weary at the memory.]

Mikhail: …

Des: Doctor.

Des: You need to answer this. Now. It's a matter of national security, and the President herself has made it clear she's tired of being stonewalled. Trust me, you wouldn't want me to escalate this to my superior. So answer the question, WITHOUT any more stalling.

Mikhail: -Pinches the bridge of his nose- Yes, yes, I understand. I rather DID get that impression with the not-at-all-veiled death threat that she leveled on me.

Mikhail: It's just…

Mikhail: -Sad sigh- You're asking me questions to which I can only speculate a large portion of it.

Des: “Speculate”?

Mikhail: -Sad expression- We had almost no contact with Cardinal throughout this entire nightmare. And now… now it's too late to try and get his side of the story.

Des: “Too late”? I thought you said—

Mikhail: His body is fixed, but his mind… that's not something that will take the burden so easily.

Mikhail: I digress. Who do you want to hear about?

Des: …

Des: I asked you to be precise, not to summarize.

Mikhail: Who do you want me to discuss first, then.

Des: …

Des: You tell me. What happened first?

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: -Crosses his arms and shakes his head- | / …Cardinal was the first of anyone to get news of what was going on in your capital city. So I suppose I'll start with him. He would…

Mikhail: He would appreciate that, anyway, for reasons which… if we all live, perhaps someday you'll want to hear of them.

Des: …

Mikhail: …Cardinal Light…

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: …When all of this happened… Cardinal had been so desperately looking forward to being reunited with his best friend. They hadn’t seen—and had barely heard from—one another since the tournament began. He wanted to hang out and have fun, like old times again. …

Mikhail: -Closes his eyes, his face twisting to show heavy sorrow- …Instead, he was faced with the potential loss entirely.

Des: ....

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: … -Swallows- …He probably didn’t have much time to react. But once he could see and process what had happened and what was going on…

Mikhail: He saw the danger. And he had to stop it.

Mikhail: That much I'm sure of. Afer all… he was made as a military robot: made to defend and to give his life for the lives of others on the front lines in war.

Mikhail: With this… he saw the potential for something much worse than just chaos and war.

[He looked up.]

Mikhail: He saw the potential for genocide.

Des: --...????

Des: What?

[Mikhail was NOT pleased at the tone of this response, and he grew bitter, almost angry in a “mild disdain and disgust” sort of way.]

Mikhail: You know exactly what I’m talking about, Mister Desmond. And it almost happened more than one time in the past week.

Mikhail: When faced with the prospect of uncontrollable robot masses, to some it may seem that the only way to cease the madness would be to kill everything with fire. To obliterate the threat so badly that it was stopped completely.

Mikhail: But that would come at what price, if you destroyed all of the Artificial Intelligences and Awareness in your nation in your world, infected AND healthy?

Mikhail: Would the remaining humans be enough to support themselves, to grow food, to give medical care, to risk lives at dangerous jobs?

Des: ......

Des: (.....Gh...)

Des: (It's almost too horrifying to think about...)

Mikhail: This threat, for him, was on the level of a nation. It was about more than his friends. And he knew that his friends, now lost to the virus, could very easily make it a reality.

[He scowled.]

Mikhail: He was already in the thick of it before we could stop him. He made his way to the one place he ever felt at home, and from there acted upon his need to protect the people. Once things stabilized, he set out to follow Shade’s trail. He must have become truly desperate, for he even came to the lab and nearly got cornered.

Mikhail: After that, he must have determined that the one place Shade could do the most damage was the White House. And that is why he went there.

[He looked up again, tired.]

Mikhail: I’m sure you must be worried about security. That’s why you’re asking me this, isn’t that what you were saying?

Des: --....

Des: (...Well, it doesn't help that a total of only four to five or maybe MORE robots were enough to interfere and bypass our entire security system, even if it WAS malfunctioning...)

Mikhail: Well, I assure you that very little short of a well-armed squadron could have prevented Cardinal from entering. He was made to take out armored tanks, and he was willing to take the hits if it meant getting in.

Des: (...So that explains the well-made helmet.)

Mikhail: And as much as he wanted to rescue his friend, his overhanded, commanding priority in a military-grade order was to evacuate the White House and save the President.

Mikhail: And that is why he risked and GAVE everything to save you. ((pl.))

Des: .....

Des: And where does DLN-008 fit into all of this, Doctor Cossack? He isn't military, I assume.

Mikhail: … -Painful expression- ({This is going to hurt…}) -Looks away-

Mikhail: ({I knew…})

Mikhail: ({I knew in my heart, in that moment, that there would be a price to pay…})

Mikhail: ({And… and I accepted it, when it came to find me, but…})

Mikhail: ({That does not make this any easier…})

Mikhail: …No, he’s an Industrial. Built to handle power plants.

Des: Then?

Des: In the past year, he's broken into two top-level security establishments--the Queen's Finals, okay, that I can understand. But that's just me.

Des: I'm sorry, Doctor, but there are consequences for--

Mikhail: (Ghhkt—) -Interrupts- No, Desmond!

Des: Doctor--

Mikhail: Leave him alone.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Min: This is your last chance— hand yourself over to the authorities, or you will be facing the consequences—

Cardinal: NO!

Cardinal: Leave him alone!

[For the first time since he had come in…

He actually SOUNDED scared.

Desperate, even.]

-*-*-*-*-*-

Des: --......

Des: (This again...)

Mikhail: …Tobias is hot-blooded, but he did not—I… repeat, he did not…

[He’s VERY clearly uncomfortable.]

Mikhail: ({There’s… there is no other choice…!})

Mikhail: …You have to leave him alone.

Mikhail: He didn’t go after your security systems on his own initiative.

[Little did he realize…

…the watch he was wearing was the one Countershade had given him for his 39th birthday earlier that year. He’d completely forgotten about that, especially since he’d never had the chance to get the rundown on what it does.

But one of those functions was to report his condition if his heart rate were to rise high enough to show he was in danger.

And this was one of those times.]

Mikhail: …That was my fault.

[PING!]

[HEART RATE ABOVE NORMAL STRESS LEVELS. SENDING DISTRESS SIGNAL...]

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Will: --...? What...?

Soi: What is it--

Will: --....It...It's Mikhail--?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[MN.8 IS NOW ONLINE]

Shade: Mngh....

Shade: Mikhail's...

Mic: ?

Mic: -Go back to sleep--

Shade: Mikhail's not...Mgh...okay...

Beck: Huh?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mikhail: Mine and mine alone.

Mikhail: Do you hear me?

Des: --?!

Des: (Wait, what?)

Des: (HE told DLN-008 to...)

Mikhail: When we saw on the news that he was there, we quickly deduced what had happened. And I knew he was going to die, going to get himself killed if I didn’t intervene. I’m his Doctor, I know what his limits are— you and your people were going to destroy him out of panic, or weaken him enough that Shade, controlled by the virus, would do so himself.

Des: Then WHY didn't you call ahead, or at least--

[Mikhail stood, looking a kind of bitterly frustrated just short of angry.]

((Pic—Mikhail & Des (argue) ))

Mikhail: Called? Do you honestly think that after what happened with Battalion, I could have called!?

Des: What?!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Soi: Will, you shouldn't--you CAN'T hack into their camera's--

Will: Like HELL I can't--

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Pyro: Shade, sit DOWN--

Shade: Mikhail's in trouble--

Brand: He's in the same building, Shade, he's not--

Shade: Ya don't get it, I'm gettin' a distress signal from the watch--

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Des: How do you KNOW about that?!

Mikhail: Your people called Sanda’s labs directly. I vacated the premises, but once I got back… Battalion was home and everyone involved had been sworn to secrecy on a governmental, military level.

Mikhail: What else would any SANE Russian conclude given those facts?!

Des: --....

Des: -Grits teeth- (Damnit, he has a point!)

Mikhail: The constructs went where they could cause the most damage, Desmond! Battalion is a walking tank built as a homage to the military!

Des: ....

Mikhail: Besides, we DID call! We spoke to someone, but they could not help us—and I could not and would> not wait!

Des: (Grr… I’ll have to follow up on that and see who he spoke to about this! In the meantime—)

Des: If you were there, at the time we called regarding Battalion, at least for a while--

Des: Why didn't you say anything?

Mikhail: Why do you think?  I left PRECISELY to avoid THIS conversation, Mr. Desmond. =____=;;

Des: Then were YOU responsible for the security breach at the base THEN?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Will: --! No--!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mikhail: -Leans back a bit and blinks, clearly taken off-guard regarding something he did NOT expect- ({What—?!})

Mikhail: ({There…})

Mikhail: ({There was a security breach?!})

[Mikhail looked over, confused. He seemed to be trying to process the information, unsure whether to ask for clarification or not.]

Mikhail: ({What happened, is this—})

Mikhail: ({Is this some sort of trick, is this a trick question, or—})

Mikhail: ({Was there really a breach, is he just trying to catch me in a lie and use that to say I’m covering for people, or—})

Mikhail: ({If I say the wrong thing, are they going to blame Will and Sanda for this?})

Mikhail: ({I can’t…})

Mikhail: ({I can’t risk asking for clarification…. If something really DID happen, and it’s obvious I don’t know, then Will and Sanda would be their next guess…. If it was someone else, I’m confident they’ll find out in due time. I can’t risk putting Will through…})

Mikhail: ({…He’s been so terrified this whole time, he fled any time someone from the government contacted us. I don’t think he could take the kind of questioning the feds give you…. And I certainly don’t want him to have to be put through that.})

Mikhail: ({Oh, Will…! If only you hadn’t been sworn to secrecy, maybe you could have told me what really happened back there!})

Mikhail: ({I can’t…})

Mikhail: ({…If I say nothing…})

Mikhail: ({…Nothing can be held against you.})

[Eventually it faded to just a frown.]

Mikhail: …

Des: (.... Wasn't expecting that response...)

Des: ....

Des: Alright, then. You don't know. Sit down, Doctor.

[Mikhail didn’t sit down.]

Mikhail: Mnnn. Anyway. -Crosses his arms, tapping his fingers and looking to the side-

Mikhail: After all of that, do you honestly think I could rely on anyone to LISTEN to reason, to stop shooting just because some Doctor nobody told them to, especially me—a Russian?

Mikhail: Tsk. Don’t patronize me. I knew at once that it wouldn’t work, and I was proven right when I called ahead anyway. Perhaps it would under normal circumstances, but everyone was in panic. You didn’t know his intentions, and you were under attack—the logical thing would be to fight back against those not under your control. And so, he would be damaged. And he was! By the systems, by your security outside—

[He puts his hands behind his back and looks at Desmond coldly over his glasses.]

Mikhail: You yourself even SHOT him in the cranium, you TOLD me that YOURSELF in our last brief interview.

Des: --....

Des: (Ngh, he's right, we would've...)

Mikhail: Do you remember the state he was brought in to me? If it had been any worse, even the SLIGHTEST bit worse, Nine would have been too late and 000 would have died— permanently.

Des: (Gh...)

Des: (Having the core exposed like that...Yet another point for the Doctor. Bah...)

Mikhail: I refused to let that happen, I refused to make that risk! And not just the risk to him, to his friends— Cardinal Light was running on nuclear power—

Des: Nuclear?!

Des: (That doesn't make SENSE, there's no Xelbot online that runs on nuclear--they don't NEED to--)

Des: (Great, NOW we have to go through a radiation check!)

Mikhail: —if the virus had forced Shade, if Shade in his unwilling madness had, in that last moment, shot him—

Mikhail: -Clearly a bit worked up- Cardinal would have exploded, we would have lost him—!

Des: Doctor!

Des: Calm. Down.

[Mikhail exhaled sharply, but didn’t budge—even continuing to glare for a few tense moments.

…But then that cold fire slowly died down, and he began to look exhausted again. He sat down heavily, bowing his head.]

Mikhail: …I got desperate. …I refused to allow that to happen.

[He put his head in his hands.]

Mikhail: …I had sent all of my patients into an emergency lockdown that placed them Offline. But once I saw what was going to happen unless Cardinal was helped— I wanted to take him out of there, but his transceiver had been off for a long time. Only a positive visual lock can compensate for the lack of a signal. I needed visual. The only way to get visuals was through the security system… where they were currently under the virus’s control.

Mikhail: I saw no other option but to bypass or at least mitigate the malfunctioning security, since feeds could not be negotiated from the Pentagon…

Mikhail: ({I TRIED, Will, I swear—Call contacted them, but they were BLIND, they had no control…!})

Mikhail: …can’t negotiate what you don’t have in your possession to offer…

[His heart was racing.]

Mikhail: I made the decision to bring Tobias back Online.

[He curls his hands into fists and places them down on the table, his miserable gaze still cast downward.]

Mikhail: And I ordered him to go into the Cloud, force his way in there, give us the feeds, and disable it or turn it off.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Will: NO--!!

Will: (No, Mikhail, NO--!)

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Cryo: MIC SIT ON HIM OR SOMETHING--

Mic: -But we don't want to crush him--

Beck: Shade, calm down--!

Shade: Lemmie GO--!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mikhail: I knew it was wrong, yes, and I did so anyway. That is what matters here, justified or not.

Mikhail:   ({I’m so sorry Will…! But… if I don’t accept this, then it’s only going to bring the axe down on Tobias or you, and I just can’t allow that! This is not your fault and Tobias—he’s just a scared child, he doesn’t deserve such a fate—})

Mikhail: ({If… if someone REALLY has…  has to pay…})

Des: ....

[The Secretary of Defense slowly exhales, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't expect things to turn out this way.]

Des: (This is a huge complicated mess...)

Des: (If HE ordered DLN-008 to infiltrate the White House security...)

Des: (Under the circumstances...)

Des: (I have to assume he's also acting under orders.)

Des: So you ordered him to do it.

Mikhail: Yes.

Des: ....

Des: And whose orders are YOU acting under?

Mikhail: Nobody’s.

Des: .....

Des: Doctor Cossack.

Des: Your files and that of your patients didn't even exist in the last year.

Des: I can only assume someone else FORGED your papers.

Des: Who?

Mikhail: -Somewhat shaky but VERY firm- I won’t answer that.

Mikhail: ({Shade’s ALREADY in a bad enough position as it is.})

Des: Then what ELSE do you want me to think?

Mikhail: -VERY uncomfortable expression- ({I can tell that’s going to cost me…!})

Des: And how much do Sanda and his employees know about this?

Mikhail: -ANGRY- again- ({For the— NO! Please! Leave them all alone, WHY haven’t I been able to make that clear by now?!})

Mikhail: ENOUGH! I told you, no, I’m NOT a spy—

Des: Then WHO are you WORKING for, Doctor?!

Mikhail: I don’t work for anybody, Desmond! Before Wily nearly completely massacred my family, I built my sons within an LLC that was privately, personally funded! I’ve never let anyone be able to claim ownership over my sons—no one tells me what to do, I’m my own boss!

Mikhail: Do you have children, or at least know the lives of parents?

Des: --..... (Min…)

Mikhail: Can you expect to know everything that your children’s friend’s parents are and know?!

Mikhail: No! Doctor Sanda and his children are the friends of my children, of my nephews— we too, in turn, are friends—that’s IT!

Mikhail: So— with all due respect, Mister Secretary—

[He gestures at the camera.]

Mikhail: I’ve told you all I have to say within the hearing range of other listening ears! Anything else will have to be for you alone, and only then can you decide whether it will or can be added back into an official file.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Will: --.....

Will: -Admittedly kind of freaked out how he worded that, how does he know--

Soi: o______o;;;;

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mikhail: …If that’s not good enough to work off of…

[He forces himself to look up, to look Desmond in the eyes with great effort.]

Mikhail: …you’ll just have to… -Takes a breath- …make your decisions… based on… based on what I’ve told you thus far.

Mikhail: ({God—if it really comes to that, please have mercy on me; let it be quick—! I don’t know if I could stand the waiting, I’m not strong enough for that!})

Mikhail: And you can question me again and again, but forevermore, the answers will not change.

Des: . . .

Des: . . .

Mikhail: That is all I have to say.

Des: (....)

Des: (He's not going to talk any more, is he...)

Des: (And this STILL isn't enough to go on. There's still too many questions left unanswered, and he's dead set on keeping that under lock and key--not to mention taking any blame thereof.)

Des: (If nothing else, he's covering for that boy, I know he is.)

Des: ....

Mikhail: …

Des: (...At least we have some very useful leverage against CherryDyn now.)

Des: (Maybe we can even have some kind of breakthrough--and a lead on Dencerjack, if he's still alive...)

Des: .....

Des: You said you printed off those files you said you'd provide.

Mikhail: Yes. I printed them off in advance, as I anticipated that they would be needed.

Des: Fine, but I'll have to take a look at the original files myself.

Mikhail: Very well, I may be willing to grant you access. That would have to be done at a later time, though. The server that hosts the files is no longer accessible via the Cloud. It has to be visited in person.

Des: ...In Russia? Somewhere off country? (Am I going to have to travel half way across the world?)

Des: ...And why?

Mikhail: No, not in Russia. -Sighs, shaking his head and closing his eyes- I don’t live there anymore. Not after what happened. We had to move as part of the protection program.

Mikhail: As for why…

Mikhail: Among other things… data in the Cloud still isn’t safe, even on isolated servers. In order to keep the files intact, I’ve removed all possible access to the server for this time. Sorry.

Des: .......

[Desmond takes out his phone and begins texting.]

[D.D. to M.M.]//: ⚠️: 🔬 🔗 ✅.

[D.D. to M.M.]//: 🔬 🔇 ⛔️ 🔍 re: L008, et. al, etc.

[M.M. to D.D.]//: USE Ɑ STAT?

[D.D. to M.M.]//: 🔂 👀 ABOVE.

[M.M. to D.D.]//: ⚖?

[D.D. to M.M.]//: ❌— 📰, 📁, ANY?

[M.M. to D.D.]//: ❌ re:🇷🇺, 🇯🇵

[M.M. to D.D.]//: ⏱ ⌛️?

[D.D. to M.M.]//: ❌—💬⛔️🔇

[M.M. to D.D.]//: 🎬🔍— ⏲ @ 0

[M.M. to D.D.]//: PROTOCOL?

[D.D. to M.M.]//: 💬

[D.D. to M.M.]//: ⛓🔬🔐

[M.M. to D.D.]//: ∴ ⛓🔬🔐

Des: (....Damn it.)

Des: (...I'm sorry, Doctor, but if you're going to be like this...)

Des: ....

Des: We're going to need you to discuss the matter further until you give full explanations.

Mikhail:  ! -Winces- ({I’ll—!There’s no way I’ll—!}) -Breathing a bit heavier now, a dismayed kind of terrified- ({I’ll never make it out of that alive!})

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Soi: WILL—

[Soichiro had always felt bad whenever he had to use his larger stature against his leaner friend--but Will was determined to get his hands on the lab controls, desperately trying to lock down the lab in a panic.]

Will: THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE HIM, SOI—

Will: I can't—I won't—! NOT AGAIN!

Will: I won't lose another—!

Will: I won't lose another FAMILY—!

Soi: Will—Will, please, you can't—I know this looks bad but don't do anything rash—WILL!

Will: Then I'll stop them MYSELF!

Soi: WILL, ARE YOU INSANE, GET BACK HERE—!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Bat: STAND DOWN, PRIVATE—!

Shade: Somethin' WRONG! He's—he's in danger, Mikhail's in DANGER, the watch says so—

Avi: -Does anybody have any idea what the HECK IS HAPPENING—-

Brand: {Don't you DARE TURN INVISIB—SHADE!!!}

Shade: Gotta go--gotta go check--

Pyro: Don't worry, I got his cloak--EIGHT! DAMN IT, STOP DRAGGING ME--

Cryo: YO, WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT UNCLE COSSACK THO--

Beck: Mikhail is in danger?!

Mic: D:

Dyna: -BZZT, SHADY WOULD YOU STOP DRAGGING EVERYONE OUTSIDE--

Pyro: SHADE!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Mikhail was well aware of what that would mean for him. Well aware.

Linked directly now to two rounds of cases involving the virus, to multiple constructs with security-breaking capacities, all under constructed credentials, with a staunch refusal to divulge his true origins, or to grant access to said constructs… as a non-citizen…

With stakes that high, denial could only earn him treatment as a very well planted spy.

And spies were not granted the dignity of decency that had been established under treaties which protected prisoners of war.

Interrogation, and then enhanced interrogation—but when both of those revealed nothing…]

Mikhail: -Clearly scared and hopeless- … ({This is really it, then…. This is where it will end for me…. Alone, in captivity, not even within my own time. That… that’s really how… how I’m going to die?}) -Swallows- …

[He was becoming enveloped by a sense of despair. It was dragging him down, slowly, into the familiar terrors of waiting nervously for the final judgment made on his case.

It would appear that there just wasn't any way for him to escape this fate. He had been spared once, but for it to happen again—

It would appear that his time in the mortal world was just about over. Just as he had feared… it would all be over, very soon.

Very, very soon.]

Mikhail: … -Swallows again- ({Then…})

Mikhail: ({So be it.})

Mikhail: -Russian- {…I…. I understand.}

Des: ....

[Mikhail struggled to get his breathing under control, and to stop the swallowing, but it wasn’t easy to put a forceful end to the instinctive physical response to panic.

[Despite an incredible amount of effort to regain his composure, Mikhail fell short of achieving a stoic demeanor. Far from it.

He bowed his head, as if it were being dragged down by the weight of his fear.

And though he tried, so very hard, to once again regain a front of calm patience…

This time he broke entirely, once and for all.]

((Pic—Mikhail’s despair))

[Tears.

Tears of despair.

They were silent, at first, but the sharp hiss of erratic breaths through clenched teeth betrayed what cowering brokenness he was trying to obscure from view.]

Mikhail: ({I can’t be sure… what will happen, with me belonging outside of this time…})

Mikhail: ({But… if it must… be this way, then…})

Mikhail: ({My dear Sveta…})

Mikhail: ({I didn’t… think I would be seeing you again so soon…})

Mikhail: -Grits his teeth hard- ({And with so little dignity left in the matter…})

Mikhail: ({I can’t even keep myself together when I knew this would happen!})

Mikhail: ({I…})

Mikhail: ({I’m so sorry…})

Des: -Quietly, with a sense of respect- I don't like this either, Doctor.

Des: (...You seem like a good, if highly troubled man, in my opinion. And my gut's usually right on things like this.)

[Mikhail didn’t respond. Not right away. He seemed to be slipping into a deep sense of regret, based on how his body language began to change from the tense cowering of cornered prey to the exhausted submission of a lifeless prisoner.]

Mikhail: ({I’m sorry, Will… I’m sorry…})

Mikhail: ({Please…})

Mikhail: ({Please don’t hold this against him…. This is his job, and…})

Mikhail: ({I am but a man, and equal before the law means that there shall be no special treatment.})

[He heaved a shaky breath, trying to blink away the tears.]

Mikhail: ({Oh, Nero…! I cannot ask for mercy, and there is no hope for salvation…. If this is to be the end of me, please…})

Mikhail: ({Please, Enigma… take care of my daughter…})

[There was another shaky breath, though his breathing was becoming slower and more regular as the initial shock wore off and acceptance began to creep in.]

Mikhail: … {Do what you must.}

Des: ....

[With a sigh, Des reached around to pull out a pair of steel handcuffs. Unfortunately, this was protocol.]

Mikhail: -Flinches SHARPLY at this- …

Mikhail: -Strained groan- ({Oh, not THESE again…})

Mikhail: (At least…)

Mikhail: (At least THESE ones… don’t have spikes in them…)

[He didn’t say anything. He just looked incredibly defeated.

He started to pull off his left glove silently, hesitating for a moment before letting the silk slide.]

Des: --...!

Des: (What in the...)

[His hands were covered in burn scars. It was clear he’d had some skin grafting done. One could see the edges continued all the way to his arms.

…Looking closer, one could also see such scars beneath the beard on his face.

There were also other scars around his wrists—as if he had been bound there and struggled against it for months.

He really had seen hell before…and he’d actually been speaking literally when he said Cardinal had rescued him from fire.]

Des: ..... (Scars…)

[He hesitated briefly—he wasn’t sure if those scars were prone to sudden pain via pressure. They looked incredibly nasty—and also fairly recent.]

Des: (…I don’t have a choice.)

[Desmond took great care as he closed the restraints around Mikhail’s wrists. There was a cold, somewhat jarring clicking noise as he locked them into place and reluctantly tightened them.

Mikhail bites back a whimper of anxiety, gritting his teeth in silence instead. His heart was still pounding—he almost felt dizzy in the fear… but he was determined not to give in to it.]

Des: (…This is going to suck.)

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